Some years ago, I received a phone call at a dreaded hour — past midnight — from my pastor. A young teen in our church had been jumped as he was exiting a pizza shop in the Bronx. The young man sustained serious stab wounds and was being rushed into the operating room.

I felt the urge to pray for the teen’s heart with my husband Rich (also an IFA contributor). Earnestly and passionately, I pressed in for protection and healing for everything related to his heart.

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Another intercessor, who also got the distress call, was interceding for the youth’s lungs.

As it turned out, the young man’s heart was nearly nicked by the blade, and that one lung had been pierced.

The Lord shared the specifics of the prayer need with us. My fellow intercessor and I were united in Christ and interceded according to the Holy Spirit’s direction.

Unity in Christ through the Holy Spirit led us to the effective prayer.

This kind of unity is exactly what the apostle Paul focuses upon in the letter to the Ephesians.

Most scholars agree Paul’s overall theme in Ephesians is unity —specifically, unity in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

In fact the theme verse of Ephesians is found in Chapter 1, starting in verse 7 through verse 10:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

The unity of all creation — in heaven and on earth — under Christ’s lordship is the mystery of God’s will.

Paul explicates this unity throughout the letter. Chapters 2 through 6 focus on unity under Christ, first of creation (Chapter 1), then humanity (Chapter 2), then the church (Chapter 4), and finally the family (Chapter 5).

In the second part of the letter, Paul teaches how to maintain unity in the Church and family relationships. Paul points to the Holy Spirit’s vital role in developing and maintaining that unity. In Chapter 6, Paul brings the teaching to the individual level.

Essential to developing and maintaining unity under the headship of Christ is for each believer to appropriate the protections, privileges, and power of the gospel. Paul illustrates this by representing key aspects of the gospel through the metaphor of some of the elements of a Roman soldier’s armor.

You may be quite literate with the armor Scripture in 6:10-20, but please try to read it like it is the first time:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Believers enforce godly unity on earth by wielding this armor under the lordship of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

In particular, verse 18 (in bold above) has stood out to me. Did Paul mean this verse to continue the armor metaphor? Maybe. Maybe not.

If he did, Paul may have been thinking this: A lone soldier, even with all the armor on, is more vulnerable than one who is standing with, covering, and being covered by other soldiers. Roman legions were considered almost impossible to defeat if they moved as one.

The picture, then, of this verse is of a warrior always praying with all kinds of prayers — adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, among others. But Paul especially hits on prayers of supplication for other believers (saints). In other words, he underscores the need for individuals in a family, in the Body of Christ, Jews, and Gentiles, to pray for each other—more than just pray for them, but to focus on praying for others.

This is the kind of prayer that brings unity. Persistent, continual, and other-directed prayer. Prayer that seeks the Father’s will for Christ’s kingdom to come and His will to be done. Prayer that seeks direction through the Holy Spirit. That is not to say we don’t pray for ourselves or request prayer for more temporal, less lofty goals. But praying for others as the Spirit leads reinforces the Father’s will to unify all things in Christ.

We can speak about and pray for unity — but we will not see it if we focus on our own agendas.

It will be the obedience, discipline, and action of the individual soldiers in the Lord’s army who will enforce the unity the Father desires to restore in families, the church, humanity, and — indeed — the entire creation.

Lord, teach us to appropriate the armor of God — the protections, privileges, and power inherent in our relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. We repent of self-orientation, fear, and pride that would damage unity in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Teach us how to pray for others with persistence so we maintain the bonds of peace and advance the unity of Christ’s kingdom on earth. In Jesus’ Name.

New York City–based Joyce Swingle is an intercessor and a contributing writer for IFA. With her husband, Rich, also a contributing writer for IFA, Joyce shares the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through theater, speaking, writing, and film. Prior to going into full-time ministry, Joyce worked for about 20 major magazines and now works in pastoral ministry and Christian counseling. www.Richdrama.com.