One of the greatest military victories of all time was the 1967 Six-Day War in which Israel defended itself against impossible odds. One of the casualties of the war, however, was the attack by Israel on the United States surveillance ship, the USS Liberty. Thirty-four people died and the ship was almost sunk.
This was a terrible tragedy because the United States was not even involved in the war, and Israel and the United States are historically friendly.
Unfortunately, no one knows for sure exactly what happened. Of course, conspiracy theories abound, but the official story is that Israel mistook the Liberty for an Egyptian ship. When the Liberty tried to radio for help, Israel blocked the transmission, so they were unable to get through right away.
While it’s hard to know exactly what happened, we know there was some kind of a communication failure. At first, the Liberty was not able to make contact with someone for help, and communication in battle is crucial.
We can have all the right weapons and armor, but if we cannot communicate with our commander, we are in trouble.
That’s why right after listing all the armor of God, Paul talks about communication with God. After telling us to take up all the pieces of armor, he says, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
Prayer is not just another weapon or piece of armor to put on. The idea is that as we put on all the other pieces, we are to be in “praying always,” because prayer is our way of communicating with our Commander.
Remember the last time your phone died, or there was some technological problem and you weren’t able to connect to the Internet? You probably found yourself in a state of panic, maybe even hyperventilating. What if there’s an emergency? What if I can’t get on Facebook or Twitter? Worse yet, what if I can’t watch the latest Pastor Ben Hammond video? We are accustomed now to being in constant contact with everyone.
But how often are we in contact with God? That doesn’t mean that we should necessarily shoot for a certain amount of time praying—like twenty minutes or an hour a day, but that we should live in a constant state of prayer. Prayer shouldn’t be like a phone call, but more like an instant message.
Paul also said that as we are praying and putting on the armor, we should “be watchful.” Remember, the whole purpose of the armor is defending ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. He is relentless, so we should be, too.
Prayer might seem a little intimidating to you. Maybe you’ve heard some people pray with beautiful words and think, “I could never do that.” But God isn’t as impressed with all that as we are. When was the last time you spent some time talking with one of your friends or family members and they said, “Wow, that was a really good conversation…you use the most beautiful language when you talk to me. Some other folks…they just tell me what’s on their mind. But you must have rehearsed what you wanted to say, and used some very impressive words.”
That would be ridiculous. A close friend doesn’t want you to regurgitate an eloquently planned speech when you’re having coffee together. They just want you to share what’s on your heart.
So, forget all the fancy stuff and just tell God what is on your heart.
Part of the dispute over the attack on the Liberty was that when the crew was finally able to make contact with the carrier Saratoga, some fighter jets were sent to the Liberty, but for some unknown reason, they were called back by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Once the communication did get through, it didn’t do any good. Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about that, because God has both the desire and ability to come to our aid.
So, how is your communication with God? Don’t get bogged down in doing everything just right or planning an eloquent speech–just talk to Him.
