10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:10-18
The final piece of armour is one which some may be inclined not to include in the Christian armour, in that it seems to stand slightly away from the metaphor of the soldier that Paul has been using throughout the passage, but we are very sure that it ought to be included. The 'weapon of all-prayer' is in many ways the most important part of all the armour both for defence and attack. The words in the hymn,' Stand up, stand up, for Jesus',
Each piece put on with prayer
capture that importance very well. From the Christian point of view, a prayerless warrior is a contradiction in terms. We should note first of all the precise language Paul uses. He says, 'praying always'. This is echoed elsewhere as e.g. in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 'pray without ceasing'. Since this obviously cannot refer to 'stated' times of prayer, retiring into the secret place to pray, as Jesus taught, it must mean another kind of prayer. Unquestionably Jesus taught the duty and necessity of times of prayer but there is also a spirit of prayer and an attitude, as Jesus also taught (cf 'men ought always to pray and not to faint'). It is to this latter that Paul must be referring here. Not otherwise could we be 'praying always'. But consider what this implies. What it means is that it is the quality of our lives - what we are - that will determine our prayers. This is all-important, but not always realised. It is not how we pray, or what we pray, but what we are when we pray what we pray, that is all-important and decisive. In this sense our life is our prayer.