I N D E X
Watching with all perseverance
The Lord did not simply say, `Pray ... lead us not into temptation'.  He
also said, `Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation'.  Is it right to
pray the one prayer, and forget to watch?  Will prayer alone avail us, if the
Lord has said watch and pray?  `What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch' (Mark
13:37).  The word `watch' in Ephesians 6:18 means `sleeplessness'.  In 2
Corinthians 6:5 and 11:27 we have the word in a setting of tumult, prison,
weariness, cold and nakedness.  It is of the Spirit of the Lord Himself.
`Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep' (Psa. 121:4).
Luke 21:34-36 urges watchfulness by such words as `unawares', `snare', `escape'.
What should we pray for?  In one sense we must all confess with Romans
8:26, `we know not what we should pray for as we ought', but that is not exactly
our meaning in the question.  There are some children of God whose integrity is
beyond question, who feel that prayer must be confined to spiritual things only,
and that such things as problems of daily business, home, etc., are not proper
subjects for prayer.  What then should we pray for?  Surely the apostle has
answered in Philippians 4:6:
`Be careful (over-anxious) for Nothing; but in Every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your Requests Be Made Known unto God'.
Anxiety for nothing, prayer in everything seem to allow no neutral ground.
When once we are saved, may we not believe that all our affairs are a part of
the Lord's concern, that somehow or other, where we live, where we work, the
friends we have or lose, all the complex happenings of every day, are part and
parcel of His purpose?  If the everyday affairs of everyone are outside the
scope of prayer, what is there left of human affairs as part of God's purpose?
For our own part we want to be more simple, more like child and parent when we
pray.
This watchful and prayerful spirit which the apostle enjoins was not to be
spent upon self.  It was `for all saints'.  If one member suffers, all suffer.
It is true unselfishness to pray for the rest of the Body, the church, for our
own individual peace and blessing is largely connected with the blessing of the
whole.  Is there, in all the epistles of the New Testament, a more beautiful
exhibition of unconscious modesty and humility than the words that follow, `and
for me'.  It is Paul that speaks.  Paul, to whom the dispensation of the Mystery
has been granted.  Paul, who had been caught away to the third heaven.  It is
such an one that says `and for me'.  There is a precious mingling of the homely
and the sublime in this concluding passage:
Ephesians 6:18-24
A
Prayer
For all saints (panton ton hagion).
a  Utterance.
b  Boldness.
B
Paul
Prayer for
c  Make known.
c  Ambassador.
b  Boldly.
a  Speak.
a  My affairs.
b  Tychicus.
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