Be Alert and Pray for Others Always!

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6: 18b

As a teacher, I'm used to being able to set aside a nice chunk of time in the summer to relax and recharge.  Boy, has that NOT been the case this year...sigh...I have felt as if the spring semester never ended.  There has been no break in the flow of work... It's been such a continuous current of problems, issues, responsibilities and tasks that my post-it-notes to-do lists have become notebooks of memos.  

Sigh...

I'm not complaining.  I am blessed to have a great job.  God's provision through this hard times have been amazing, and I am truly grateful.  I am also SO grateful that God has placed a really capable and organized assistant by my side.  She is super diligent and efficient.  I could not do this without her.  She catches me in my absent mindedness and keeps me on track. But...still...I'm just exhausted.  I feel as if I can't let my guard down for one second...or I'd be crushed by the weight of a pile of stuff I didn't see coming.  I have to be alert always, or else, I'd miss something important.

I wonder if that's kind of what Paul warns us about in Ephesians 6: 18b when he says to "be alert"?

It's not enough to wear the Armor of God every day...but, once we have it on, we must remain alert, on the lookout, so we might not fall victims of sneak attacks.  The enemy takes no breaks...neither should we.  That constant state of attention could, however, be totally debilitating, though... how do we survive?  How do we maintain our stance 100% of the time?  What happens if we get distracted, and for a moment, let our guard down?

Well...I guess that's why Paul is commanding us to "always keep on praying for all the Lord's people," right afterwards.  We can't do this alone.  We need all the support we can get.  We know we never fight our battles alone.  If we are wearing the full Armor of God, we know Jesus is with us.  But, He also places the rest of the family of God around us, as a circle of life and protection right here and now.  We activate that circle with our prayers.  When we pray for one another, our defenses become strong and impenetrable.  As we constantly keep our brothers and sisters in Christ in our prayers, our guard is always up, even when we are too weak and tired.  When we are absent minded and distracted...the Lord's people's prayers keep us on track...they are like the faithful assistant, whose eyes catch what we miss and who always has our back.

I have to remember this when I feel weighed down by the heavy burdens of the battlefield: I am not alone.  I have a whole army that's got my back.  And, in turn, I belong to that army too.  Therefore, I've got the backs of my brothers and sisters in arms as well.  My prayers build their walls of protection as they build mine.  May I never forget to lift the Lord's people up in prayer every day...for that's how we stay in this race.  Amen!