To conclude our series on the armor of God as described by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul transitions from his description of the “armor of God” and beseeches the community for prayers.
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He begins by urging the Ephesians to “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (6:18). This exhortation to persevere in prayer is a “command closely linked with Paul’s preceding instruction on spiritual warfare.”[1]
St. Paul’s words indicate “that our persistence in prayer must match the relentless persistence of the devil.”[2] Prayer becomes a key to unlock the power of the spiritual armor Paul writes about. He makes sure that his audience realizes that persistent prayer must not be forgotten. These words on prayer become a bridge to what Paul will write about next.
Paul’s request for prayers quickly “move from the general to the specific –pray always (6:18a), pray for all the saints (6:18b), –pray for me (Paul –twice, 6:19-20).”[3] The Apostle does this in hopes that “others will join the battle and declare the ‘mystery of the gospel’ (6:19) with equal or greater boldness.”[4]
Just like in any army, a single soldier is not enough, but must be accompanied by a multitude of fellow men. At the same time, he is asking for these prayers as “an ambassador in chains” (6:20). Most likely he is writing this letter as a prisoner under house arrest in Rome, where “he was given freedom to preach to the crowds who came to him.”[5] It is no surprise then why he asks for prayers: so that he too would be able to boldly continue the fight of spiritual warfare and not lose hope in his precarious situation.
To conclude, the Apostle Paul uses numerous metaphors and images to describe spiritual truths in his letters. Among them, his use of the “armor of God” has proven to be a striking image to describe the spiritual realities that are unseen in the world. While there are a few similarities to Roman military gear, Saint Paul desires principally to hearken back to the armor that Yahweh is described to possess in the Old Testament.
This makes sense as Paul is coming from a background of intense scripture study as a Pharisee, and desires to make a spiritual point regarding the right type of “armor” to put on to do battle against a spiritual enemy. Paul is focused on the spiritual battle that wages war both from within the human heart, exhorting the Ephesians to be rid of any sinful habits, as well as from without, being on guard against the wickedness and snares of the devil, who seeks to destroy the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the end, Paul sees this spiritual war as a grim reality, but encourages the Ephesians and shows to them that, even though the evil spirits that they see active in their community appear very strong and formidable, the divine armor of God is more powerful and is able to resist the advances of the devil. If his audience heeds his words and puts on the “armor of God,” they will indeed be able to withstand the advances of the enemy and triumph over sin and the evil one.
[1] Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, “Ephesians,” In The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010), 354.
[2] Ibid.
[3]Michael J.Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 528.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Hahn, 354.