We are not to regard prayer as a seventh weapon, but rather as exhibiting the spirit in which the Divine armor is to be assumed and the warfare carried on. It is easy to see the intimate relation existing, between prayer and each individual part of the Christian's armor.

1. It is to be prayer of all kinds - public and private, oral and mental, formal and ejaculatory.

2. It is to be spiritual prayer: "In the Spirit;" for" He makes intercession for the saints with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26). We must "pray in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 1:20).

3. It is to be persevering prayer: "At all times; at every suitable season. We must cultivate an habitual frame of prayer.

4. It is to be watchful prayer: "Watching thereunto." We must watch against watchlessness, watch for occasions of prayer, watch for answers to prayer.

5. It is to be intercessory prayer: "For all saints." It is most comprehensive in its character. It is based on the communion of saints. We have every heavenly motive for continuing in prayer. We have no ground to expect blessing without it (Ezekiel 36:37). It is a means of getting all blessings, temporal, and spiritual (Matthew 7:7; Matthew 21:22; James 1:5). It is in itself the most heavenly duty we can perform (Philippians 3:20). - T.C.

I. THE VARIETY OF PRAYER. All prayer is the same in essence, but it takes on different modes, just as your intercourse with a friend does. It is not all asking. Sometimes it is only interchange, without any petition at all - talking to God for the pleasure of communion; sometimes a sharp, short cry for help, like Peter's "Lord, save me!" when he felt himself sinking; sometimes merely the aspiration of the heart to God without a word; sometimes a half-conscious sympathy of thought with God; sometimes a formal, public petition; sometimes a struggle to climb over self to God. We are to pray with every prayer, with all kinds of prayer. He is not always the most prayerful man who prays most regularly or most formally, or most publicly. Sometimes more prayer is condensed into a sentence than is to be found in a whole series of prayer meetings. I never can read without emotion the story of the good old German professor, who sat studying until far into the night, and then, pushing his books wearily aside, was heard by the occupant of the next room to say, ere he lay down to rest, "Lord Jesus, we are upon the same old terms."

II. THE SEASONABLENESS OF PRAYER. "Praying in every season"; this includes the habitual contact of the life with God everywhere. Life is full of occasions and suggestions of contact with God, and the Christian is to avail himself of them. You want God everywhere; you want His counsel in everything; your joy is incomplete, yea, empty, without His sanction and sympathy; your sorrow is unbearable without His comfort; your business lacks its one great element of success if God is left out of it; you will as surely fall under temptation as you are human, if God does not help you. Pray, therefore, with every kind of prayer, at every season.

III. THE ELEMENT AND ATMOSPHERE OF PRAYER - ''In the Spirit." What we are, comes very largely out of our surroundings; just as a taper gets much of the material for combustion out of the atmosphere. A light goes out in a vacuum. A swan cannot do his best in the air, nor an eagle in the water. So the power of prayer depends largely on the element in which it works. The only effective prayer is "in the Spirit," i.e., under the impulse and direction of the Spirit of God (Romans 8:26). Otherwise, prayer is only an evidence of infirmity, like the dim burning of a candle in foul air.

1. The Spirit creates a prayerful heart (Romans 8:16). We never can truly pray at all until we can pray "Our Father!"

2. The Spirit suggests the substance of our prayers.

3. The Spirit reveals the love and helpfulness of God, and so encourages us to present our many and deep needs to Him.

4. The Spirit communicates Divine love to our hearts, and this love communicates warmth and enthusiasm to prayers.

5. The Spirit so identifies Himself with our case that He makes intercession for us. In other words, God's own heart pleads for us; and our mightiest plea is there.

IV. ALERTNESS IN PRAYER. "Being awake thereunto."

1. Keep watch over prayer. Cut that great main which leads the water from the reservoir into yonder city, and how long wilt it be ere the city is in distress? Prayer is the medium of communion with God, and without that communion there is no Christian living. No life without God, and no contact with God without prayer; so that, if Satan can cut that main, the life is in his power; and the danger is linked with the treasure, as always. Hence prayer is a thing to be watched - watched as a habit to be encouraged by practice, as a pleasure with which the Christian is to grow into a sweet familiarity by frequent communings with Him in whose presence is fulness of joy; as a duty which he neglects at the peril of his spiritual life.

2. And we must watch after prayer, to see what becomes of our prayers. He would be a strange archer who did not look to see where his arrow struck, a strange merchant who did not care whether his richly freighted ship arrived at her port or not.

3. This watching must be persistent. The conflict with temptation is lifelong; the necessity for prayer never ceases; there is always, therefore, need to watch.

V. THE OBJECTS OF PRAYER. Prayer must not be selfish. It is the language of the kingdom of God; and the kingdom of God is a community, a brotherhood. Prayer is the expression of the life of God's kingdom, and that life is social.

(Marvin R. Vincent, D. D.)

I. THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE.

1. Constant prayer.

(1)Private.

(2)Family.

(3)Public.

2. Habitual watchfulness.

(1)Spirit.

(2)Language.

(3)Actions.

3. Steady perseverance. This is opposed to -

(1)Indecision.

(2). Lukewarmness.

(3)Despondency.

4. Christian affection.

(1)Sincere.

(2)Ardent.

(3)Comprehensive.

II. THE OFFICE OF THE PASTOR - "An ambassador": one who has received a commission, and has a delegated authority. As a minister my duty is -

1. To instruct you with plainness.

2. To entreat you affectionately.

(1)By exhibiting Christ in all the loveliness of His character.

(2)By the exhibition of His work in all its suitableness and sufficiency.

(3)By dwelling on the work of the Holy Spirit, the energy by which the soul is renewed and sanctified, and made ripe for felicity.

(4)By making known the boundless love of God.

3. To warn you with faithfulness.

(1)Against erroneous doctrines.

(2)Against wicked practices.

(3)Of imminent danger.

4. To watch over you with care.

III. The text also affords me an opportunity to SOLICIT YOUR PRAYERS.

1. Pray that I may preach fluently.

2. Pray that I may preach with boldness.

3. Pray that I may preach correctly.

4. Pray that I may preach successfully.Concluding observations: From what has been said we cannot but observe -

1. The connection which subsists between a successful ministry and a praying people.

2. The importance of exemplifying all the graces of the Holy Spirit. Here is prayer, watchfulness, perseverance, comprehensive love; all these are required, and how important are they all.

(W. S. Palmer.)

I. PROPER SUBJECTS OF PRAYER.

1. Our own personal needs.

2. The needs of all our brethren in Christ - "for all saints."

3. The needs of ambassadors of Christ - "for me."

II. PROPER METHOD OF PRAYER.

1. Variety in the method - "all prayer," public and private, secret and social, with confession, petition, and thanksgiving.

2. Frequency - "at all seasons" (R.V.).

3. Seeking the help. of God's Spirit - "in the Spirit" (Romans 8:15, 26).

4. Watchfulness, lest weariness overtake us.

5. Perseverance (Luke 18:1).

(Family Churchman.)

1. First, let us turn to the express injunctions of Scripture. For instance, the text itself: "Praying in every season with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and abstaining from sleep for the purpose, with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Observe the earnestness of the intercession here inculcated; "in every season, with all supplication," and "to the loss of sleep" (see also Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2, 8; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 14:3). Next consider St. Paul's own example, which is quite in accordance with his exhortations (Ephesians 1:16, 17; Philippians 1:3, 4; Colossians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:2). The instances of prayer, recorded in the book of Acts, are of the same kind, being almost entirely of an intercessory nature, as offered at ordinations, confirmations, cures, missions, and the like (Acts 13:2, 3; Acts 9:4).

2. Such is the lesson taught us by the words and deeds of the apostles and their brethren. Nor could it be otherwise, if Christianity be a social religion, as it is preeminently. If Christians are to live together, they will pray together; and united prayer is necessarily of an intercessory character, as being offered for each other and for the whole, and for self as one of the whole.

3. But the instance of St. Paul opens upon us a second reason for this distinction. Intercession is the especial observance of the Christian, because he alone is in a condition to offer it. It is the function of the justified and obedient, of the sons of God, "who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit"; not of the carnal and unregenerate. "God heareth not sinners"; nature tells us this; but none but God Himself could tell us that He will hear and answer those who are not sinners; for "when we have done all, we are unprofitable servants, and can claim no reward for our services." But He has graciously promised us this mercy, in Scripture, as the following texts will show: James 5:16; 1 John 3:22; John 15:7-15.

4. The history of God's dealings with Abraham will afford us an additional lesson, which must be ever borne in mind in speaking of the privilege of the saints on earth as intercessors between God and man (see also Exodus 20:12; Jeremiah 35:18, 19; Daniel 10:2-14; Mark 9:29).

5. Why should we be unwilling to admit what is is so great a consolation to know? Why should we refuse to credit the transforming power and efficacy of our Lord's sacrifice? Surely He did not die for any common end, but in order to exalt man, who was of the dust of the field, into "heavenly places." He died to bestow upon him that privilege which implies or involves all others, and brings him into nearest resemblance to Himself, the privilege of intercession. This, I say, is the Christian's especial prerogative; and if he does not exercise it, certainly he has not risen to the conception of his real place among created beings. He is made after the pattern and in the fulness of Christ - he is what Christ is. Christ intercedes above, and he intercedes below. Why should he linger in the doorway, praying for pardon, who has been allowed to share in the grace of the Lord's passion, to die with Him and rise again? He is already in a capacity for higher things. His prayer thenceforth takes a higher range, and contemplates not himself merely, but others also. To conclude. If anyone asks, "How am I to know whether I am advanced enough in holiness to intercede?" he has plainly mistaken the doctrine under consideration. The privilege of intercession is a trust committed to all Christians who have a clear conscience and are in full communion with the Church. We leave secret things to God - what each man's real advancement is in holy things, and what his real power in the unseen world. Two things alone concern us, to exercise our gift and make ourselves more and more worthy of it.

(J. H. Newman, D. D.)

1. The apostle here supposes our obligation to prayer to be so plain, that every rational mind will see it, and so important, that every pious heart will feel it. Therefore, instead of adducing arguments to prove the duty, he rather points out the manner in which it should be performed.

2. Prayer is of several kinds: social and secret, public and domestic, stated and occasional; and it consists of several parts: confession, supplication, intercession, thanksgiving.

3. The apostle next instructs us concerning the manner in which our prayers should be offered.(1) The first thing necessary in prayer is faith, or a believing view of God's providential government, and of the wisdom and goodness with which it is administered.(2) Our desires must be good and reasonable.(3) Attention of mind, collection of thought, and warmth of affection, are qualifications required in prayer.(4) That our prayers may be acceptable to God, they must be accompanied with justice to men.(5) Charity is an essential qualification in prayer.(6) We must bring before the throne of God a meek and peaceable spirit.(7) Our prayers must be accompanied with a sense of, and sorrow for, sin.(8) We must persevere in prayer.

4. The apostle here teaches us the duty of intercession for others. The goodness of God is the foundation of prayer. If God is good to others, as well as to us, there is the same ground on which to offer our social intercessions, as our personal petitions.

(J. Lathrop, D. D.)

(J. Leyburn, D. D.)

(H. Melvill, B. D.)

1. Then, pray faithfully, believing that God can and will answer you, though not, perhaps, just as you expect. Many prayers are wasted because they are without faith; those who utter them are just trying an experiment to see whether God will hear and answer or not.

2. Next, pray persistently; don't be disheartened because God does not answer at once.

3. Next, pray submissively, striving to give up your will to God's will.

4. Next, pray simply. Some people pick out the longest and hardest words when they speak to God.

(H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.)

(R. W. Dale, LL. D.)

(Bishop Ryle.)

(John Bate.)

I. Let us, first, consider WHAT IS MEANT BY THIS EXPRESSION, "PRAYING ALWAYS." How can the Christian be always in prayer?

1. Well, first, the expression means, that there should be a holy regularity in our habits of prayer.

2. Again, by "praying always" is meant, that you should pray in every condition and circumstance of life; that is, in sickness you should pray for patience, and in health you should pray for a thankful heart; in prosperity you should pray that you should not forget God, and in adversity you should pray that God may not forget you. It is not enough to seek God in times of our tribulation only, we must seek Him in times of our wealth.

3. Further: by "praying always," no doubt, is meant, that we should make everything a matter of prayer.

4. Once more. By "praying always," the apostle means, that prayer should be the pervading habit of the Christian's life - that it should be as a leaven fermenting the whole substance of our moral being; a sentinel continually keeping watch over our unguarded moments; a sanctified enclosure fencing us round by the protection and presence of God. Prayer, like Him to whom it is addressed, knows nothing of our finite magnitude and relations. They are all lost sight of in their relation to the Infinite and the Eternal - to their bearing on our preparation for a state of everlasting existence.

II. But let us consider, secondly, THE COMPREHENSIVE FORM OF THE PRECEPT WHICH IS HERE GIVEN - "With all prayer and supplication." The two words here chosen by the apostle are, without doubt, sometimes used interchangeably in Scripture. But there is an etymological difference between them, suggesting that we consider prayer as having reference to petitions for some good to be desired, whilst supplication be referred to petitions for evils to be avoided. Acting upon this definition, we are first taught to "pray with all prayer" - that is, with prayer for all good things. And this rule should be extended even to those blessings which at first sight we might think it lawful to ask of God without limitation and without reserve - I mean those which relate to our spiritual happiness. "With all prayer and supplication" - that is, as we have supposed, with all deprecation of evil - with prayer, that things really hurtful to us may be kept away. But here, as in the other case, God alone must be the judge of what the evil is.

III. But note, in the last place, THE INTERNAL ASSISTANCE WE ARE TAUGHT TO LOOK FOR IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS DUTY - "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." The expression is obviously the same as that which we have in the Epistle of Jude - "Praying in the Holy Ghost"; and it refers to the promised assistance of that Divine Agent when "we know not what to pray for as we ought." Praying in the Spirit, therefore, is to pray in that spirit of grace and supplication which the Holy Ghost alone can bestow - to pray in that "spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father!" And further, by praying in the Spirit is meant, that we should pray in a right mind - that we should pray fervently - that we should pray with a consciousness that there is an assisting Power to help us. For the Spirit of God not only originates holy desires, but it actuates, it maintains, it cherishes, it keeps alive all praying influences in the heart. Such, brethren, is the great duty with which the apostle shuts up his description of our spiritual warfare. He does not, indeed, make prayer a part of the spiritual equipment, because it is the life, and strength, and safeguard of the whole. You must gird on your sword, and pray; you must bind on your sandals, and pray; you must buckle on your breastplate, and pray. In all things there must be a simultaneous outgoing of that which is to give effect to all the weapons you employ in your spiritual encounter. No prayer, no victory.

(D. Moore, M. A.)

Ephesians, Paul, TychicusEphesusAlert, Always, Behalf, Deep, Desires, Entreaty, Fitting, God's, Keeping, Kinds, Making, Mind, Occasion, Occasions, Opportunities, Perseverance, Persistence, Petition, Prayer, Prayers, Praying, Purpose, Regard, Requests, Saints, Seasons, Seize, Spirit, Strong, Supplication, Thereunto, Unceasing, Unwearied, View, Watch, Watchful, Watching1. The duty of children toward their parents;
5. of servants toward their masters.
10. Our life is a warfare, not only against flesh and blood, but also spiritual enemies.
13. The complete armor of a Christian;
18. and how it ought to be used.
21. Tychicus is commended.

Ephesians 6:18

     3281   Holy Spirit, inspiration
     4018   life, spiritual
     4126   Satan, resistance to
     5534   sleep, spiritual
     7972   tongues, gift of
     8252   faithfulness, relationships
     8409   decision-making, and providence
     8459   perseverance
     8490   watchfulness
     8493   watchfulness, believers
     8611   prayer, for others
     8613   prayer, persistence
     8653   importunity, to God

Ephesians 6:10-18

     5290   defeat
     5944   self-defence
     6030   sin, avoidance
     8485   spiritual warfare, conflict

Ephesians 6:10-20

     8797   persecution, attitudes

Ephesians 6:11-18

     8329   readiness
     8422   equipping, spiritual

Ephesians 6:12-18

     5214   attack

Ephesians 6:14-18

     8486   spiritual warfare, armour

Ephesians 6:16-18

     8349   spiritual growth, means of

Ephesians 6:18-20

     3221   Holy Spirit, and prayer
     7028   church, life of
     8610   prayer, asking God
     8619   prayer, in church

February 6. "Praying Always for all Saints" (Eph. vi. 18).
"Praying always for all saints" (Eph. vi. 18). One good counsel will suffice just now. Stop praying so much for yourself; begin to ask unselfish things, and see if God won't give you faith. See how much easier it will be to believe for another than for your own petty self. Try the effect of praying for the world, for definite things, for difficult things, for glorious things, for things that will honor Christ and save mankind, and after you have received a few wonderful answers to prayer in this …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Armour of God
(Preached before the Prince of Wales, at Sandringham, January 20th, 1867.) EPHESIANS vi. 11. Put on the whole armour of God. St. Paul again and again compares himself and the Christians to whom he writes to soldiers, and their lives to warfare. And it was natural that he should do so. Everywhere he went, in those days, he would find Roman soldiers, ruling over men of different races from themselves, and ruling them, on the whole, well. Greeks, Syrians, Jews, Egyptians,--all alike in his days obeyed …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

Twenty First Sunday after Trinity the Christian Armor and Weapons.
Text: Ephesians 6, 10-17. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the worldrulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

The Panoply of God
'Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.'--Eph. vi. 13. The military metaphor of which this verse is the beginning was obviously deeply imprinted on Paul's mind. It is found in a comparatively incomplete form in his earliest epistle, the first to the Thessalonians, in which the children of the day are exhorted to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. It reappears, in a slightly …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

'The Girdle of Truth'
'Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth.'--Eph. vi. 14 (R.V.). The general exhortation here points to the habitual attitude of the Christian soldier. However many conflicts he may have waged, he is still to be ever ready for fresh assaults, for in regard to them he may be quite sure that to-morrow will bring its own share of them, and that the evil day is never left behind so long as days still last. That general exhortation is followed by clauses which are sometimes said to be cotemporaneous …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

'The Breastplate of Righteousness'
'Having put on the breastplate of righteousness.'--Eph. vi. 14. There can be no doubt that in this whole context the Apostle has in mind the great passage in Isaiah lix. where the prophet, in a figure of extreme boldness, describes the Lord as arming Himself to deliver the oppressed faithful, and coming as a Redeemer to Zion. In that passage the Lord puts on righteousness as a breastplate--that is to say, God, in His manifestation of Himself for the deliverance of His people, comes forth as if arrayed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

A Soldier's Shoes
'Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.'--Eph. vi. 15. Paul drew the first draft of this picture of the Christian armour in his first letter. It is a finished picture here. One can fancy that the Roman soldier to whom he was chained in his captivity, whilst this letter was being written, unconsciously sat for his likeness, and that each piece of his accoutrements was seized in succession by the Apostle's imagination and turned to a Christian use. It is worth noticing that there …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Shield of Faith
'Above all, taking the shield of faith, whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.'--Eph. vi. 16. There were two kinds of shields in use in ancient warfare--one smaller, carried upon the arm, and which could be used, by a movement of the arm, for the defence of threatened parts of the body in detail; the other large, planted in front of the soldier, fixed in the ground, and all but covering his whole person. It is the latter which is referred to in the text, as the word …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

'The Helmet of Salvation'
'Take the helmet of salvation.'--Eph. vi. 17. We may, perhaps, trace a certain progress in the enumeration of the various pieces of the Christian armour in this context. Roughly speaking, they are in three divisions. There are first our graces of truth, righteousness, preparedness, which, though they are all conceived as given by God, are yet the exercises of our own powers. There is next, standing alone, as befits its all-comprehensive character, faith which is able to ward against and overcome …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

'The Sword of the Spirit'
'The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.'--Eph. vi. 17. We reach here the last and only offensive weapon in the panoply. The 'of' here does not indicate apposition, as in the 'shield of faith,' or 'the helmet of salvation,' nor is it the 'of' of possession, so that the meaning is to be taken as being the sword which the Spirit wields, but it is the 'of' expressing origin, as in the 'armour of God'; it is the sword which the Spirit supplies. The progress noted in the last sermon from subjective …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

Peace, Love, and Faith
'Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith.'--Eph. vi. 23. The numerous personal greetings usually found at the close of Paul's letters are entirely absent from this Epistle. All which we have in their place is this entirely general good wish, and the still more general and wider one in the subsequent verse. There is but one other of the Apostle's letters similarly devoid of personal messages, viz. the Epistle to the Galatians, and their absence there is sufficiently accounted for by the severe …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Wide Range of God's Grace
'Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.'--Eph. vi. 24. In turning to the great words which I have read as a text, I ask you to mark their width and their simplicity. They are wide; they follow a very comprehensive benediction, with which, so to speak, they are concentric. But they sweep a wider circle. The former verse says, 'Peace be to the brethren.' But beyond the brethren in these Asiatic churches (as a kind of circular letter to whom this epistle was probably sent) …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Sword of the Spirit
Difficulties meet us even in standing our ground; for the apostle, two or three times, bids us--"Stand." In the rush of the fight, men are apt to be carried off their legs. If they can keep their footing, they will be victorious; but if they are borne down by the rush of their adversaries, everything is lost. You are to put on the heavenly armor in order that you may stand; and you will need it to maintain the position in which your Captain has placed you. If even to stand requires all this care, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Strong Christians.
(Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.) EPHESIANS vi. 10. "My brethren, be strong in the Lord," A weak and cowardly soldier is a pitiful object, but a weak-kneed, cowardly Christian is still more so. S. Paul told the Ephesian Christians to be strong in the Lord, and in these days especially we need strong Christians, strong Churchmen. I do not mean that we want men to presume on their strength, to repeat the sin of the Pharisee of old, and talk of their righteousness, or condemn their neighbours. …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Third Day for all Saints
WHAT TO PRAY.--For all Saints "With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all saints."--EPH. vi. 18. Every member of a body is interested in the welfare of the whole, and exists to help and complete the others. Believers are one body, and ought to pray, not so much for the welfare of their own church or society, but, first of all, for all saints. This large, unselfish love is the proof that Christ's Spirit and Love is …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

"But if Ye have Bitter Envying," &C.
James iii. 14.--"But if ye have bitter envying," &c. The cunning of Satan, and the deceitfulness of our own hearts, are such that when a grosser temptation will not prevail with conscience in some measure enlightened, then they transform themselves into angels of light, and deal more subtilely with us. And there is no greater subtilty of Satan, nor no stronger self deceit, than this, to palliate and cover vices with the shadow of virtue, and to present corruptions under the similitude of graces. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Christian Home
Scripture references: Ephesians 6:1-9; 5:25-33; Colossians 3:17-25; 1 Corinthians 7:12-17; Mark 10:2-12; 7:9-13; 5:19; 1 Timothy 5:4; Luke 15:6; Titus 2:1-15; Exodus 20:12,17; Deuteronomy 6:1-9. THE HOME What is a Home?--It has been answered that, "It is the unit of society." It has also been pointed out that this unit must be kept clean, pure and right, in all its relations, or society and the state will suffer grave consequences. Certainly, in the past, the institutions of society and state have …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Praying, Returning Thanks, Worshipping in the Holy Spirit.
Two of the most deeply significant passages in the Bible on the subject of the Holy Spirit and on the subject of prayer are found in Jude 20 and Eph. vi. 18. In Jude 20 we read, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost," and in Eph. vi. 18, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." These passages teach us distinctly that the Holy Spirit guides …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

The Essence of Prayer.
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."--Ephes. vi. 18. In the last place we consider the work of the Holy Spirit in prayer. It appears from Scripture, more than has been emphasized, that in the holy act of prayer there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit working both in us and with us. And yet this appears clearly from the apostolic word: "Likewise the Spirit helpeth also our infirmities: for …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Best Inheritance in Canaan
THE BEST INHERITANCE IN CANAAN I am troubled about my sanctification. My conversion was so bright and there was such a change that I never could doubt it. But when I was sanctified, there was not so great a change. And it was not so great as that of some I have heard testify. Neither do I feel as bold as some I have heard speak, neither did I taste such a death as others have testified too. In fact, when I compare my sanctification with what others say theirs is, mine suffers in the comparison. I …
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

Ascetic.
(i) Of the works comprised under this head, the first are the three compositions entitled Tractatus Prævii. The first, Prævia Institutio ascetica ('Asketike prodiatuposis ), is an exhortation to enlistment in the sacred warfare; the second, on renunciation of the world and spiritual perfection, is the Sermo asceticus (logos asketikos). The third, Sermo de ascetica disciplina (logos peri askeseos, pos dei kosmheisthai ton monachon), treats of the virtues to be exhibited in the life …
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

Concerning Maximus the Cynic and the Disorder which Has Happened in Constantinople on his Account...
Concerning Maximus the Cynic and the disorder which has happened in Constantinople on his account, it is decreed that Maximus never was and is not now a Bishop; that those who have been ordained by him are in no order whatever of the clergy; since all which has been done concerning him or by him, is declared to be invalid. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon IV. Let Maximus the Cynic be cast out from among the bishops, and anyone who was inscribed by him on the clergy list shall be held as profane. Edmund …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Correspondences
"It is very pleasant when you are in England, and you see souls being saved, and you see the conviction of sin, and you see the power of the Gospel to bring new life and new joy and purity to hearts. But it is still more glorious amongst the heathen to see the same things, to see the Lord there working His own work of salvation, and to see the souls convicted and the hearts broken, and to see there the new life and the new joy coming out in the faces of those who have found the Lord Jesus." Rev. …
Amy Wilson-Carmichael—Things as They Are

The Christian Training of Children.
(Second Sermon.) TEXT: EPH. vi. 4. IN making special mention of our children in our prayers, as we have done to-day, what we have chiefly in our thoughts is not merely to commend their earthly life and welfare, with all that affects it, to God's gracious care; we are much more concerned to obtain a blessing on the unfolding of their spiritual faculties, that it may be carried on in a right way, well-pleasing to God. This prayer is prompted in the first place by the humble conviction that if our manifold …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

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