Something surprised me in today’s first reading from Ephesians. St. Paul was talking about putting on the armor of God, taking up faith as a shield, and standing firm against the evil one. But then he asks the people to pray for him!

Think about that for a minute. This is St. Paul! I can’t imagine the courage it took for him to do what he did. And yet, even he needed the prayers of others. He asked them to pray that he would have the words and courage to continue proclaiming the Gospel.

If St. Paul needed people praying for him, how much more do we?

That got me thinking about how important it is that we pray for one another. We all have battles we’re fighting, some that others know about and some they don’t. Some are facing illness, addiction, or difficulties in their marriages. Others are struggling with pride, fear, resentment, or simply knowing the right thing to say or do.

We all need the armor of God, just in different ways.

And we need each other’s prayers.

The Psalm says it too. The Lord is our fortress, our deliverer, and our shield. He’s the one we need to rely on, not ourselves.

Then, in the Gospel, Jesus laments over Jerusalem. He talks about how often He yearned to gather His people together, like a hen gathering her chicks under her wings, but they were unwilling.

God yearned…

Think about that. God wants us close to Him. He wants to protect us. He wants us to come to Him. But He doesn’t force us.

And yet, how often do we resist Him?

That made me think of C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. I can almost picture the devil whispering in my ear, “You’re right. You don’t need help. You know what you’re doing. Why should you have to change?”

And the scary part is how easily I can listen to that voice.

Sometimes I rely too much on my own judgment. Sometimes I let pride get in the way. Sometimes I need wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. And sometimes I just don’t want to admit that I might be wrong.

Maybe that’s one of the ways the evil one works on me. He doesn’t have to convince me to do something terrible. He just has to convince me that I don’t need God’s help.

Meanwhile, God is yearning to gather me under His protection, and I’m standing there insisting I can handle things myself.

No wonder Paul tells us to put on the armor of God!

And no wonder he asks others to pray for him.

So my prayer today is that God gives me the wisdom to recognize where I need His protection, the humility to admit when I’m wrong, and the strength to resist the evil one. Help me put on Your armor, Lord, and remember that I cannot do this on my own.

Where in your life are you listening to the voice that says you don’t need God’s help?

And one last thought. If St. Paul needed the prayers of others to carry out his mission, imagine how much our spiritual leaders need them today. Let’s remember to pray for Pope Leo, our bishops, our priests, and all those holy people trying to lead us closer to Christ. They need God’s armor and our prayers just as much as we do.

I pray you get the graces you need today.

Keep up the good fight.

I’m praying for you. Please pray for me.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10–20 | Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9–10 | Luke 13:31–35