Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (6:18)
There’s a military term I heard when I was a kid, growing up near an Army post. Our Boy Scout leaders, who were all military men, used it regularly. It was ‘lax’. Situations surfaced in which you as an individual, and as a group or team, did not want to be lax, or at lack of attention. All needed to stay alert and pay attention, whether it was in cleaning a campsite or watching for snakes on a hike. I assume ‘lax’ came from the word ‘relax’, and was indicative of not being alert.
Our leaders were the ones who reminded us not to “be lax.” Similarly, Paul is the voice God has used to remind us to stay alert in our prayers for all believers everywhere. It is important to note as we read this verse that we are not on our own, but connected to a world-wide body of Jesus’ followers who are needing our prayer support and covering in the battles that rage. We depend on each other to stay alert.
Let’s compare this command to ‘stay alert’ with setting a house alarm. Those who have these systems know there is a procedure to go through. Ensuring that doors and windows are closed, then entering a code in the right sequence, and then activating that code through a final button-push will put the system into ‘ready’ or ‘armed’ mode. A final light will appear next to the intended description on the keypad which tells the homeowner that all is in order. The system is ‘staying alert’ while the homeowner is gone.
The point is that steps need to be intentionally taken to ensure the system protects and alerts as intended.
It is healthy for us to admit that we are prone to busy-ness, to being lulled to sleep in the carrying out of daily duties, to run spiritually on auto-pilot, to focus on the details of life surrounding us. We can easily drift into those conditions and states, rather than being aware and conscious of the battles that the Enemy brings our way. To stay alert means to not lose focus on the task at hand.
This word to stay alert reminds me of what Jesus told his inner circle of disciples who went with him to the Garden of Gethsemane just before his so-called trial and crucifixion. “Watch and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation.” It was a call to stay alert while praying.
Think about what gets our attention. Situations like driving in a jam-packed rush hour crowd on a rainy afternoon. Receiving news on a loved one’s health, and agitating and waiting for a follow-up report (how bad is it?!). Or, thinking of scenes from police shows on TV, imagine being in a shoot-out, with bullets flying and bouncing off walls. Our heart rate is up, our eyes are open, and adrenaline is pumping.
All of that would certainly grab our attention and cause us to stay alert. We would be the opposite of lax. The key thought for the battling believer here is to remain in a position of readiness. The Enemy often strikes when least expected, finding a hole in our defense, a vulnerability to be exposed. (And we may not be aware of those holes or gaps.)
It’s an ongoing battle. That’s why we are to pray in all situations and circumstances, and never resort to a lax position. Readiness is demanded and required, and Paul draws our attention to its necessity.
“Father, we ask for your help in staying in a position of readiness. We admit that we lose focus, we get tired of fighting, we turn our eyes on our ourselves and our problems. We can easily forget our brothers and sisters who are needing our prayer support, and our help, in these battles which rage. Remind us and empower us of this responsibility of staying alert.”
Freddy Boswell 