My thoughts these days are drifting back to prayer. I want to point your attention to Ephesians 6:18 and the four times that the word “all” occurs in that verse.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

1st all

We are to pray with “all prayer and petition.” What does that mean? Well, it must at least mean that we are not to hold back in our praying. There are different aspects to praying: worship, confession, requests - do it all! Don’t only worship. Don’t only request. Do it all.

2nd all

We are to pray “at all times in the Spirit.” Some people would say that this is encouraging us to pray at all times.  In other words, there isn’t one time that is more appropriate to pray than another. But the phrase “in the Spirit” is added, and I think that that refines the meaning. When we do pray, we are to pray in dependence upon the Spirit. The Spirit helps us in our praying. He guides us. He energizes us. When we pray, we are to do so in conscious, deliberate dependence upon the Spirit of God.

3rd all

We are to pray “with all perseverance and petition.” It is not God’s will to answer all of our prayers immediately. For His purposes He often waits. In those times we are to continue praying, to keep knocking, to not give up! And, this need for perseverance is most usually seen in our petitioning God for answers. Whatever else “all petition” means it must mean that my petition isn’t “all” until I’ve received an answer. Therefore, if I haven’t seen the answer - keep asking!

4th all

We are to pray “for all the saints.” Now, this most likely does not mean that we are supposed to literally pray for every Christian! But it perhaps does throw off the boundaries that we tend to put on our own prayer life. If a person is a brother or sister in Christ, then I can pray for them. Whether they are the same nationality as me, or speak the same language as I do, or are in the same economic bracket as I am, or have more or less education as I do - it doesn’t matter. Pray for them!

Surely somewhere in those four “alls” there is a challenge to your own prayer life!

Let’s pray!