Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 2 · Chapter 6 · Verse and explication 18
Verse 18. Praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance, and supplication for all saints.
HEre is a seventh piece of this armour, or rather a duty, the practizing whereof is injoyned by God as a mean for obtaining all those forementioned pieces of the spiritual armour from Him, together with the right use-making of them against the enemy, and the Lords successfull blessing thereupon. This mean is the duty of prayer, whereby we offer up our desires to God, Psal, 62. 8. for things agreeable to His will, 1 Joh. 5. 14. in the name of Christ, Joh. 16. 23. with confession of our sins, Psal. 32. 5. 6. and thankfull acknowledgement of His mercies, Philip. 4. 6. Which duty is injoyned, not simply, but with six necessary qualifications, the opening up whereof, doth serve for so many doctrins. As, 1. we must pray alwayes, which is not to be understood as if we were to do nothing else but pray; but the phrase implyeth frequency in this duty, and at all times, when opportunity offers, (the original word will bear so much) together with an endeavour to keep our hearts daily in a praying temper, that when God offereth occasion, we may not want a sutable frame and disposition. 2. We must use all kinds of prayer, two whereof are here expressed, first, prayer, strictly taken, whereby we seek these good things which we want from God. Next, supplication, whereby we deprecate evils and judgements whether felt or feared. 3. Our prayers and supplications must be in the spirit, as not being a work of the lip, tongue and memory only; but of the heart and inward man, Matth. 15. 8. being stirred up and assisted by the Spirit of God, Rom. 8. 26, 27. 4. The exercise of prayer must be joyned with watchfulness, a watchfulness especially of the mind. See upon Col. 4. verse 2. doct. 3. 5. It must be with most importunate perseverance, called here all perseverance, implying, that we are not to break off begun diligence in the practice of this duty, Luke 18. 1. yea, and are to reiterate our petitions for one and the same thing, so oft as occasion offereth, untill it be granted, 2 Cor. 12. 8. a seeming repulse or deniall, making us more vehement, Luke 18. 5. Matth. 15. 22. &c. Lastly, it must be extended unto others besides our selves, which others are first expressed more generally in this verse, to wit, all saints, that is, all these, who, having given up their name to Christ, are standing Church-members, and especially those who have more convincing evidences of saving grace than others. See upon Philip. 4. verse 21. doct. 2. Which is not to be understood, as if we were to pray for none but such: we ought to exclude none from our prayers who are in a capacity to be bettered by them, 1 Joh. 5-16. no not our very enemies, Matth, 5. 44. only the saints are to have the chief room, both in our hearts, and also in our prayers, as in all other duties flowing from Christian charity, Gal. 5. ver. 10. Hence Learn further, 1. The Christian souldier doth never receive so much from God, while he is upon earth, as to stand in need of no more; he needeth alwayes more grace to preserve and improve what is already bestowed, 1 Pet. 1. 5. and to supply emergent necessities and wants, whereof while he breatheth there will be alwayes some new discoveries made, 2 Cor. 12. 7. with 9. for, notwithstanding of this compleat armour given them by God, he will have them yet to be alwayes praying and seeking more; praying alwayes, saith he. 2. This whole and compleat armour of God can do no good to the Christian souldier, either to defend himself, or to offend his adversary, without the Lords special assistance, and concurrance, whereby he actuateth those graces, and without the which, habitual grace could never be improved or made use of by us to any good purpose, Philip. 2. 13. for, therefore he directeth them, having put on this armour, to make their recourse to God by prayer for obtaining His special assistance to improve it aright; praying alwayes. 3. The exercise of prayer is most necessary to be made conscience of by the Christian souldier, as that, by which he obtaineth all his other armour from God, Ezek. 36. 26. with 37. together with special assistance to improve it, and apply it to work, as said is: hereby also he doth recover his armour when it is in a good part lost, Psal. 51. 10. fourbish, sharpen and make it clear, when it is eaten and consumed with the rust of security, deadness and hardness of heart, Isai. 63. 17. and by diligent prayer, Satans assaults and tentations are either keeped off, and diverted, so that the other armour getteth not much a doe, Matth. 26. 41. Luke 21. 36. or otherwise vigorously resisted; and the other armour, the several graces of Gods Spirit, made thereby tentation-proof, Luke 22. 32. In a word, prayer is the souls swift and trusty messenger to God, for receiving new orders, new strength, and all things the Christian souldier needeth, either before, after, or in time of fight, and never returneth empty without an answer, Joh. 16, 23, for, he injoyneth the exercise of prayer as most necessary to the Christian souldier; praying alwayes. 4. As the Christian souldier is never fully freed from all his straits, necessities and wants; So he ought to live in the daily sense of his own emptiness, and in the faith of Gods fulness and willingness to supply all his wants; for, he should be praying alwayes, and therefore alwayes sensible of his need to pray, and confident of Gods readiness to answer, Iam. 1. 6. As there are severall sorts of prayer, some mental only, Exod. 14. 15. others vocal also, Psal. 5. 1. 2. some sudden or ejaculatory, Nehem. 2. -4. others more solemn and of greater length, Rom. 15. 30. And of those latter sort, again, some publick or Church-prayers, 1 Tim. 2. 1. others private or Family-prayer, Acts 10. 1, 2, 3. and others secret, as Closset-prayers, Matth. 6. 6. Some, again, are ordinary for ordinary causes, and performed at ordinary times, Psal. 55. 17. others are extraordinary, upon some special and weighty occasions, requiring more than ordinary affection and time of continuance, Joel 1. 14 &c. So all those several sorts of prayer, are to be made conscience of, and none to be neglected, as God doth call to any of them: for, the Apostle, supponing there are severall sorts of prayer, injoyneth them to pray with all prayer. 6. It pleaseth God to exercise his dearest children, not only with the want of several things necessary and good, but also with the presence of many things in themselves evil and hurtfull, and those evils both of sin and punishment, as for other reasons, so for this one, that of both the one and the other, they may be making daily errands unto God in prayer, for getting the former supplied, and the latter either removed or prevented: for, as was shown in the exposition, by prayer strickly taken, and as distinguished from supplication, we seek those good things which we want; and by supplication we deprecate evils and judgements: Now, the Apostle enjoyneth them to use both those; With all prayer and supplication, saith he. 7. However there be more intense affection, and fervencie of spirit, together with more assistance from the Spirit of God required in some sort of prayers, to wit, extraordinary, (Ioel 2. 12. to 18.) than in others; yet all our prayers, even those which are ordinary, sudden and ejaculatory, ought to be joyned with some measure of spirituall fervencie and intense affection; neither can any of them be discharged aright without the assistance of, and influence from, the Spirit of God, as being a piece of most immediate worship to God, who is a Spirit, and will be worshiped in spirit and truth, Joh. 4. 24. for, he requireth that all prayer and supplication be in the Spirit. 8. There is not any duty which Satan is a greater enemy to, or our hearts more averse from, than this of prayer in the spirit, it being no small difficulty to bring our hearts up to it, to keep them at it, or make them walk like it afterwards: for, so much is supponed while he requireth the exercise of watchfulnesse, chiefly over the heart, in order to prayer; Watching thereunto. 9. Neither is there any duty which Satan is more earnest to make us quit and fall from, after we have begun well, and which our hearts are more apt to be discouraged and take up an halt in, than in this duty of praying in the spirit, and chiefly under delayed answers: for, so much is supponed, while he requireth them to persist with all perseverance, and this not only in some, but all sorts of prayer. 10. As Christians ought to pray for others as well as for themselves; So, the more lively, watchfull and importunate we are in praying for our selves, the more our heart will be enlarged with desire to take inspection of the necessities of others, and to hold up their case to God: for, having enjoyned them to pray for themselves with all prayer and supplication, watching thereunto with all perseverance, he biddeth them, next, make supplication for others, even for all Saints.