The Cloak of Prayer

“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;” – Ephesians 6:13-17.
These Scriptures are widely known for what it discusses which is the armor of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These six pieces are the armor of God. Yet, there is one piece still missing from this list, and is commonly overlooked when people read this passage of Scripture. Many people get to verse 17 and stop but verse 18 contains the last piece, prayer.
“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people.)” – Ephesians 6:18.
Praying at all times is crucial to your life. Prayer is to go with everything you do including all the other pieces of the armor of God. Hence why a cloak describes prayer perfectly and is a great analogy. See, a cloak is the piece that goes and covers all the other pieces of armor. It is a covering and something that goes on top of everything. In Ephesians 6:18, it says to pray at all times on every occasion and in every season; therefore, if we are to pray on every occasion and season, then we are to pray about any matter at hand. Prayer is supposed to be that covering that goes on top of everything we do including all the other pieces of armor. That is why it is a cloak. Now, a cloak is a very handy piece of armor and provides defense to you. How can a piece of fabric provide defense against a sharp arrow or sword? It defends in a different way. Let me explain, metal armor also known as plate armor is designed to absorb a hit without the hit harming the bearer. A cloak is used to hide from hits.
“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” – Psalms 91:4.
Cloaks are often associated with stealth and hiding. Therefore, cloaks provide a measure of defense to you not by absorbing an attack but by preventing an attack. It prevents that attack by hiding from it. The Lord will hide His people under the shadow of His wing so that they will be safe. Psalms even says the Lord will cover you. How do we get that covering? Through prayer. It is your first line of defense because if an attack wasn’t to be prevented then your other armor would absorb that hit for you so you won’t be harmed. When a situation arises or the Lord warns you of something to come, what should your first response be? To pray. Earnest prayer can prevent something from occurring. Again, the cloak of prayer is a prevention type of defense. So many Christians today don’t pray when something arises. They are basically fighting without their first line of defense! Nehemiah is a great example of a man who fought with his first line of defense, prayer.
“And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” – Nehemiah 1:4.
Nehemiah mourned for Jerusalem after hearing what had occurred, but he went instantly to prayer. After his prayer, he would go to the king to ask to rebuild the wall as Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king which is a notable position. What we should take from this story is how Nehemiah prayed before he took action. This prepared him for what was to come.  Another thing mentioned in Ephesians 6:18 is that we are to keep watch with strong purpose and perseverance so that we may intercede for others. You see, while you are covered in your cloak of prayer under the shadow of the Lord’s wing, you should be on alert not only to the attacks coming against you that you may defend properly against them but also for other people as not everyone is hidden. Therefore, when you are led by the Spirit to pray and intercede on someone’s behalf, you are running to them and covering them with your cloak to attempt to hide them and protect them. When you intercede, you are helping them get to safety which is under the Lord’s wing. If you notice something about the Lord’s wing, a mother chicken will cover its chicks with her wing to provide shelter for her little ones. That is how the Lord’s wing works too. Therefore, we run to them protecting them with our cloaks of prayer that we may help them to that shelter. The thing about running to those people who need intercession is that you will have to get into the ditch to help them get out of the ditch. Some people will take much time of intercession to help them get to where they need to be. This requires a lot of endurance and longsuffering. Now, another purpose of cloaks is that they are also very handy in the way they can act like a blanket in providing warmth and comfort. That extra layer of fabric can block some of the cold winds. In spiritual terms, that extra layer of prayer can provide warmth and comfort to our concerns and worries. Praying to God about your concerns is how you should deal with them. David’s psalms expressed deep emotion and distress in his prayers, yet they are comforting in many ways as many of the psalms ended with comforting statements as David would trust in God for his concerns to be dealt with. So overall, prayer is crucial in our everyday walk and it is a wonderful covering. It is our first line of defense when we go out into the wilderness of this world. We are to use our cloaks of prayer to intercede for others to get them to safety and provision under the Lord’s wing.