Ephesians 6:18-24

The closing portion of this chapter divides itself into three parts. Prayer; interest in the details of the work in prayer; and the benediction. The great subject in which the Ephesians ought to have been interested was the glory of God: and their prayers would have flowed forth about it, in the intelligence of renewed hearts that know what to pray for.
There is such a thing as drawing near to God, conscious that there is something He has got to give. I cannot tell what, but He that searcheth the hearts knoweth.
If I am a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a happy thing to see the special need of the work, so as to be able to present it definitely. As to prayer, much is often passed heedlessly by; whilst in others, there is often more correctness in the heart than in the understanding.
There was no such thing as prayer in Eden; prayer is the expression of want. Directly I find a person praying, I am sure there must have been sin connected either with himself, or with the place he is in. The blessed Lord, when He prayed, was in the place where sin was. Paul prayed when he found out there was a God in heaven whom he knew nothing about.
The opening of the subject of prayer in Scripture is in the case of Cain. There was in him no dependence whatever upon God but when God had pronounced his judgment, then he says: " My punishment is greater than I can bear; " he makes an appeal to God; and God takes care that nothing of what he dreaded should take place. What does Cain do with the gift he gets in answer to his appeal? He settles down quietly to make himself as happy as possible without God's presence on earth. A solemn thing this in connection with prayer; the fallen
heart may appeal to God, and God give an answer, and, as the result, the heart, being unrenewed, only makes itself as happy as possible out of God's way.
Persons constantly say: I am safe, because I pray. Take care. If God says of you: " Behold he prayeth," it is well, but not otherwise. It is not a question whether God gives you gifts, but what you do with them_. Is it for yourself that you use them, or for the glory of God?
Our blessed Lord took the place of one who had put in abeyance all His power-who held Himself in abeyance! He took the place of a servant. His being able to do this proved who He was. Man cannot hold himself in abeyance, for his character is too strong for him. Sin is in, and sin will come out. Look at the Lord's prayer in Gethsemane-the only instance of the kind, and replete with instruction for us. He goes into Gethsemane, to pass through, in solitude with God, all that was upon the threshold -all that was coming upon Him. And what is it? " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me! nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." The Lord, holding the place of the perfect Son of man, could not forget what rested on His bearing that name-even the question of guilt. But how was it possible, if He were perfect, for Him to think it an unimportant thing for God to hide His face from Him? He would not have been perfect if He had not shrunk from only this one thing. He did not shrink from the temptation in the wilderness; God led Him into it. But there was in this what was anguish to His soul in the very measure in which He was perfect.
Human nature, in all its perfection, may present desires before God which will not be received. On the other hand, there is such a thing as man entering into God's counsels. This comes out in Paul, where he says: " Most gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Now,' as a good man, could he do otherwise than abhor Satan's messenger? God says: I will not take it away. I give you my light to show you my reason, and leave it there to throw you upon Me. Better rudely to strand your vessel on the shore, if it make my strength perfect in your weakness; you will then pour out your heart before Me.
There never was a case like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul did not stand in the light of the divine counsels; that was why he did not like the thorn in the flesh. But Christ stood in the full light of the thoughts of God, and, therefore, He could not but hate that cup.
There is the flowing-out of grace through human hearts down here. It may be felt that some Christian is so walking with God as to have the ear of God. And this is a blessed-thing, but there is something above it, and that is a person so walking with God that you can go to him to know -what God's mind is. It is a blessed thing to have the ear of God; but how much better to feel that the sympathies of Christ are flowing through my heart, and that I can know what He is going to do.
There is none with whom the power of prayer is more remarkable than with the weakest, members. A babe will get an immediate answer, whilst a father may have to wait, because he has, or ought to have, learned to trust.
If it be not on our hearts in the present day that there is a testimony to go out for God, we shall sink down into some little local interest. The apostle wanted them to care for the work going on then, not merely out of love and friendship for him, but that he wanted their souls to bear part in the work by bearing it on their hearts before God. There is an immense burden on us before the Lord, connected with this want of sympathy with what God is doing.
God in dealing with the souls of His people, traces in His word the path for their feet, and marks out the proper subject for prayer. There may be in prayer a great deal of affection and thoughtfulness, and yet it may be all human. Persons might think God would say: Go; you pray for a wrong thing. But no; He often gives the answer, and then lets us learn by bitter experience how, if we had left it a little more to Him He would have done far better for us.
Often one is plaiting a scourge for one's own back, before one learns to place oneself as a child, and say; Take thou the lead, and I will, follow. There will be pressing desires before God, and He will grant them, and let us see how we have been planning—not for God—but planning difficulties for ourselves. You cannot dictate to God. The blessed Lord only once said: " I will; " and then it was His Father's will.
Do you feel that there is this war going on between God and Satan, and that you are connected with it? And that your heart is out and abroad in connection with it? If it be so, it is surely a special time for prayer. There are countries" all the world over that need a testimony which none but God can render, but which we, if we are like men that wait for their Lord, may have laid on our hearts to pray for for them.
(G. V. W.)
Do you always take pleasure and rejoice greatly when trials and distresses are in the distance before you? How strange it is that heavy trials are often greater blessings than little ones! How is this? It is that little trials often vex saints, just because self is there to be vexed, whereas a heavy blow crushes self, and then there is none of it left to be vexed:
If self were always kept under the extinguisher, God would not have to send us heavy trials to crush it, or little ones to let us find out its unjudged presence, but only " a thorn in the flesh " to keep that, which has been extinguished on the cross, out of our own sight as well as that of other people. H. H. M.