Living Stones – Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Supplication
Ephesians 6:18
“… praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
It is difficult to end consideration of this verse without trying to wrap our minds around the idea of supplication. The word is repeated in this verse, 18, of the section on the Armour of God in Ephesians 6:10-20
Paul was insistent that prayer be accompanied by supplication. This was important to his encouragement to prayer, not just in this letter, we see the same encouragement in the letter to the Philippian Christians. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; – Philippians 4:6
As far as the New Testament goes the concept was first referenced in Acts 1:14, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,” then used by Paul in these letters to the Ephesians and the Philippians. And the writer to the Hebrews who in chapter 5 verse 7, referred to Jesus’ struggle and said of Him that, “He had offered up prayers and supplications…”
Supplication, simply defined, is “to petition or entreat someone for something.” However, we understand supplication to not just be a simple petition put before God, rather, supplication is usually fuelled by a passionate zeal and hunger for the required result.
Supplication, therefore, is an attitude of the mind and heart, that both drives the prayer and accompanies it.
Before mentioning supplication, Paul said “praying always with all prayer,” let’s take that to be praying with all kinds of prayers and supplication. There are different types of prayers; here is what he said to Timothy, “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men …” We generally use the word prayer to refer to all types, but more often than not, the scripture differentiates.
Here is a short list of the some different “types” of prayer:
The prayer of faith – James 5:15, Mk 9:23, Mark 11:24
The prayer of agreement or corporate prayer – Acts 1:14; 2:42
The prayer of thanksgiving – Philippians 4:6
The prayer of worship – Luke 2:20, 18:43; Acts 13:2-3
The prayer of intercession – 1 Timothy 2:1, John 17, Ephesians 1:15-18
The prayer of consecration/dedication – Matthew 26:39, Luke 22:41-42
Praying in the Spirit – Romans 8:26-27
Praying in tongues – 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
The prayer of binding and loosing – Matthew 18:18-19
It would seem that it is the different circumstances that determine the type of prayer that is required. However, our prayers need to be accompanied by supplications.
Prayer should not be mere routine, as we have already discussed, and prayer certainly should not be casual. Prayer should be driven by an intense desire to see God move in the life or situation about which we are praying. That intensity of desire should be reproduced in the attitude of the one who is praying.
I know that many of us are sophisticated and are very concerned about the impression that we convey to those around us, whether we are at home or out at church. Jesus seemed less concerned about these things than we are. In the passage from Hebrews that we referenced earlier it says that Jesus’ prayers and supplications were accompanied by “… vehement cries and tears…”
In Luke’s account of Jesus praying in the Garden we are told that, “… being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” What we get from Hebrews amplifies the drama and the intensity of the event.
We have a long way to come to get this intensity of prayer and supplication. But we have Jesus as an example. We also have no shortage of needs before us that should drive us to intense prayer and supplication. There are our needs, the needs of family and friends, the needs of our communities and countries.
Jesus was taking on the sins of the world, I guess that led to Him sweating blood. I am not expecting us to sweat blood, our projects are much smaller than the sins of the world, but certainly I am urging us to a more involved and intense prayer – supplications.
Think on these things:
- Are you concerned about what people would think if they heard you or saw you praying?
- Are there any issues about which you pray that affect you emotionally?
- Have you ever had a need so great that you were moved beyond just praying to supplication?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would put away any casualness in our prayer life and be open to intense prayer and supplications.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex