We must also be watchful in our prayer so that we do not fall under Satan’s deception of not making our prayer specific. There are often many things that need to be decided, many people that need to be prayed for, many central messages that need to be released, and many problems that need to be solved. However, when we pray, we seem to be short of something to pray for. There are not even words for our prayer, and we barely manage to finish two or three sentences. We have to know that Satan’s attack is present. It is true that through our laziness, fear of entanglement, lack of love, or unwillingness to advance and be thorough our prayers sometimes become routine. But many times when we gather together we truly want to pray. Yet very few prayers are offered. This proves that something menacing is present. This something is Satan’s design to stop us from praying. If we are watchful, we will find that many cases of forgetfulness, oversight, procrastination, and carelessness did not happen intentionally. Rather, Satan is dragging us down, deceiving us, stealing from us, and robbing us. Therefore, we have to oppose his strategies. We have to pray thoroughly for people, for things, for the truth, and for our problems. Brothers and sisters, we have to realize that a hasty, “economical” prayer is often a careless prayer that will give ground to Satan. We must not let go, and we must ask the Lord to remind us of all the burdens in our prayer and give us the utterance to pray them. At the same time, we have to deal with our own slothfulness and procrastination. Our Lord rose “very early in the morning...and...prayed.” When Simon and those with him hunted for Him and told Him, “All are seeking You,” His answer was, “Let us go elsewhere...that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I came out” (Mark 1:35-38). How specific and thorough is our Lord. He “went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when it became day, He called His disciples to Him, and He chose from them twelve, whom He also named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13). How specific and thorough this is. When the apostle Paul reminded the Ephesian saints to be watchful in prayer and petition, he mentioned “petition concerning all the saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel...that in it I would speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:18-20). This is also very specific and clear; it is something that requires much petitioning. If we have a Body consciousness and if we are concerned for the sinners’ souls, for the saints’ affairs, and for the service of the Lord’s servants, there will be countless things and people that we have to make petition for. There must also be numerous prayers for every truth to be released. In writing to the Ephesian saints, the apostle Paul said, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father...that He would grant you, according to...” (3:14-16). Here we see that Paul’s revelation of glorious truth came from prayer and that the revelation itself is prayer. From this we see that the true worth of the light of the truth comes by prayer. We should pray the truth into our lives and then pray it out. We should pray over all the truths that we have heard and spoken, so that these truths do not remain merely in our mind or in our notebooks, but are manifested in our lives. How many definite and thorough prayers are needed for this!

The devil’s attachment and manipulation are behind many problems. If we are not watchful, we will think that there are only problems with people, things, and events. But if we have spiritual insight, we will see that the work of the devil is present, and we will cast out all the demons behind these things. Sometimes, as the Lord said, a demon “does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21). This requires us to be watchful on the one hand and persist in prayer on the other hand. Otherwise, the difficulty will be like a mountain; either we have to command it to move to the sea, or we have to walk around it. Brothers and sisters, let us wake up. We have to pray in a thorough way. We must expose the deception of Satan and destroy all that he attaches himself to and manipulates. We must cast out the demons behind all the problems.

Not only do we have to be watchful before we pray and while we pray, we also have to be watchful after we pray. We must be watchful to examine all the changes that happen after we pray. We must realize that all serious prayers and prayers with burden are made not only “by means of all prayer” but also “at every time.” It is not once but many times. And it is not once by means of all prayer but at every time by means of all prayer. Therefore, we have to take note of any new development, changes, or movement after every prayer. For example, when Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel, he knelt down and put his face between his knees. He also asked his servant to look at the sea seven times until the servant reported that he saw a little cloud arising out of the sea like a man’s hand. Then he asked his servant to tell Ahab to prepare his chariot and go down so that the rain would not stop him (1 Kings 18:42-44). This can also be seen from Elisha praying for the Shunammite woman’s child. He stretched himself upon the child until the flesh of the child became warm. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, went up, and stretched himself upon the child until the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Then he delivered the child to the mother (2 Kings 4:33-37). Whether Elijah or Elisha, they did not just kneel down to pray without asking for anything. While they were praying they were observing the effect of prayer and the changes in the environment. For example, you may be praying for someone who opposes the Lord. You pray that God will make him believe. You may pray for him by means of all prayer, and you may have God’s promise for this. But the outward circumstance may appear to be worse; he may become stronger in his opposition. If you ignore this and continue to pray the same prayer, it is not enough. You must detect this and tell it to the Lord. If you are watchful, you will receive light from Him. You may realize that your prayer has affected him, and you can begin praising God. Or you may change your prayer and cast another net. Perhaps, after some time, he will soften, and you can then change to another kind of prayer to cast another net. We have to adjust our prayer according to the situation. To do this we need to be watchful.

Ephesians 6 is a chapter on spiritual warfare. The most important thing in this chapter is the prayer mentioned at the end. Among God’s children, prayer is the one thing that is most easily attacked. This is why we must be watchful to fight for a time to pray, to guard prayer, to stop prayers that are not prayer, and to be on guard against Satan’s strategy to cut off our prayer. We must remember that prayer is a service, an excellent service. We have to watch and pray, and we must practice conscientiously, so that Satan will not have the opportunity to destroy our prayer.
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