alluded to in connection with this idea. Here we have a description of the "whole armour

(panoply) of God" which is for the believer with a view to the "evil day" (Eph. 6: 13).

A careful reading will show that this armour is sixfold, five pieces being for the

defensive, and only one offensive weapon and that is not prayer, but the Word of God, the

Sword of the Spirit. Prayer does not occur at all in the symbolism of the armour, but

follows on in verse 18.

We do not deny that the believer who has taken to himself the whole armour of God,

will also use to the utmost the privilege of prayer, but this does not of necessity turn it

into an offensive weapon. Rather is it more protective than offensive.

Let us consider what prayer does for the believer and we may then appreciate

something more of its supreme importance in our daily lives. We may remind ourselves

to begin with that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer. If we have waited upon

the Lord for a certain thing, and in His wisdom it is not granted the answer is "No",

and "No" is as much as answer from Him as "Yes". Paul himself learnt this lesson.

Three times he earnestly prayed and asked the Lord to remove his "thorn in the flesh"

(II Cor. 12: 8). The Divine answer was "No" but the glorious experience of the added

grace and strength imparted to him more than compensated for the negative answer to his

prayer. Wise are we if we can take the Lord's refusals without being offended, and have

a complete trust in His matchless wisdom and love for each one of us, a love that will not

allow Him to grant us things that would be to our harm.

1. True prayer gives access to the Father. To appreciate this properly, we should put

ourselves back into Old Testament times. Do we realize that, prior to the all sufficient

offering on Calvary, no believer ever enjoyed access to God? Jehovah surrounded

Himself with barriers of sacrifice and priesthood to impress upon His people the fact that

sin eternally separates Himself from fallen man and until the One offering for sin had

been made and sin righteously put away, there could be no possibility of access to the

Divine presence. Let us consider the following verses:

We may point out, in passing, that the right to enter into the holiest of all did not

confer upon believers of the Acts period the tremendous privilege of dwelling there for

ever. To enter there by prayer is one thing, but to be seated there in Christ Jesus, is quite

another (Eph. 2: 6). This is the exclusive privilege of the One Body and it is revealed in

all its fullness in the second chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians.

Every time we pray, we are able to draw near to God in a sense that no Old Testament

saint was able to do, and this fact alone, should remind us of the inestimable privilege

that prayer confers upon us. It should prevent us from thoughtlessly rushing into the

Lord's presence.