praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Ephesians 6:18, NKJV
Note before sharing the devotional: this wraps up the weeklong series of devotionals from Ephesians 6 regarding spiritual battles and putting on the complete armor of God. I do agree with the devotional below, but I would like to add one point that all should consider. First, I fully agree - we need to be real with God. I am. But, second, we also need to check our hearts. It's one thing to be real with our pain and our struggles, but it's a completely different thing to be boasting in ourselves, or worse, rejecting God and cursing Him. For some, that's being "real," but in reality, those are wrong attitudes and such that will ultimately damn a person. We don't want that. Even God doesn't want that to happen to anyone. After all:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9, NKJV
But we must not only neither reject Him nor curse Him but come to Him with reverence, not boasting in ourselves:
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14, NKJV
Being honest with God means still putting our trust in Him no matter the circumstances.
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3, NKJV
Cultivating Honest Conversations with God
Prayer is one of the most important habits we can develop. Not only does Scripture command us to pray often, but there are tremendous benefits to building a life of prayer.
Prayer connects us relationally to God. We can thank God for who He is and what He has done for us during our prayer time. We can ask Him for things that we need.
Even though we know we should pray, we often do not take the time to do it. Unless we set aside time to talk to God, it doesn’t always find a way into our daily schedules. But Paul, the writer of the letter to the Ephesians, urges Christians to build a life of prayer. He says that every occasion is a chance to talk to God.
All of our requests and needs should be given to God. However, our time praying should not only be asking God for things. We should also spend part of our time in worship—thanking God for who He is and all He has done.
Paul also encourages us to pray for other people. In fact, part of our responsibility towards others is to advocate for them through prayer. We typically remember to pray for others when something negative is happening to them. But God’s Word says we should always be praying for the people in our life.
As we pray, we should not be discouraged when we don’t see immediate change. God is always working in our lives, even if it doesn’t match our desired timeline. We may not receive the answers we want, but we can rest assured that God is always listening and working on our behalf.
Take some time today to pray to God. Thank Him for all He has done for you. Tell Him your needs. Think of a few people in your life that you can pray for. Throughout your week, use every opportunity to pray to God.
https://bible.com/bible/59/eph.6.18.ESV