PRAYER
AND VIGILANCE
"David
Brainerd was pursued by unearthly adversaries, who were
resolved to rob him of his guerdon. He knew he must never quit
his armour, but lie down to rest, with his corselet laced. The
stains that marred the perfection of his lustrous dress, the
spots of rust on his gleaming shield, are imperceptible to us;
but they were, to him, the source of much sorrow and ardency
of yearning." -- LIFE OF DAVID BRAINERD.
THE description of
the Christian soldier given by Paul in the sixth chapter of the Epistle
to the Ephesians, is compact and comprehensive. He is
depicted as being ever in the conflict, which has many
fluctuating seasons -- seasons of prosperity and adversity,
light and darkness, victory and defeat. He is to pray at all
seasons, and with all prayer, this to be added to the armour in
which he is to fare forth to battle. At all times, he is to have
the full panoply of prayer. The Christian soldier, if he fight
to win, must pray much. By this means, only, is he enabled to
defeat his inveterate enemy, the devil, together with the Evil
One's manifold emissaries. "Praying always, with all
prayer," is the Divine direction given him. This covers all
seasons, and embraces all manner of praying.
Christian
soldiers, fighting the good fight of faith, have access to a
place of retreat, to which they continually repair for prayer.
"Praying always, with all prayer," is a clear
statement of the imperative need of much praying, and of many
kinds of praying, by him who, fighting the good fight of faith,
would win out, in the end, over all his foes.
The Revised
Version puts it this way:
"With
all prayer and supplication, praying at all seasons in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and
supplications, for all saints, and on my behalf, that
utterance may be given unto me, in opening my mouth to make
known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am
in bonds."
It cannot be
stated too frequently that the life of a Christian is a warfare,
an intense conflict, a lifelong contest. It is a battle,
moreover, waged against invisible foes, who are ever alert, and
ever seeking to entrap, deceive, and ruin the souls of men. The
life to which Holy Scripture calls men is no picnic, or holiday
junketing. It is no pastime, no pleasure jaunt. It entails
effort, wrestling, struggling; it demands the putting forth of
the full energy of the spirit in order to frustrate the foe and
to come off, at the last, more than conqueror. It is no primrose
path, no rose-scented dalliance. From start to finish, it is
war. From the hour in which he first draws sword, to that in
which he doffs his harness, the Christian warrior is compelled
to "endure hardness like a good soldier."
What a
misconception many people have of the Christian life! How little
the average church member appears to know of the character of
the conflict, and of its demands upon him! How ignorant he seems
to be of the enemies he must encounter, if he engage to serve
God faithfully and so succeed in getting to heaven and receive
the crown of life! He seems scarcely to realize that the world,
the flesh and the devil will oppose his onward march, and will
defeat him utterly, unless he give himself to constant vigilance
and unceasing prayer.
The Christian
soldier wrestles not against flesh and blood, but against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Or, as the Scriptural
margin reads, "wicked spirits in high places." What a
fearful array of forces are set against him who would make his
way through the wilderness of this world to the portals of the
Celestial City! It is no surprise, therefore, to find Paul, who
understood the character of the Christian life so well, and who
was so thoroughly informed as to the malignity and number of the
foes, which the disciple of the Lord must encounter, carefully
and plainly urging him to "put on the whole armour of
God," and "to pray with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit." Wise, with a great wisdom, would the present
generation be if all professors of our faith could be induced to
realize this all-important and vital truth, which is so
absolutely indispensable to a successful Christian life.
It is just at
this point in much present-day Christian profession, that one
may find its greatest defect. There is little, or nothing, of
the soldier element in it. The discipline, self-denial, spirit
of hardship, determination, so prominent in and belonging to the
military life, are, one and all, largely wanting. Yet the
Christian life is warfare, all the way.
How
comprehensive, pointed and striking are all Paul's directions to
the Christian soldier, who is bent on thwarting the devil and
saving his soul alive! First of all, he must possess a clear
idea of the character of the life on which he has entered. Then,
he must know something of his foes -- the adversaries of his
immortal soul -- their strength, their skill, their malignity.
Knowing, therefore, something of the character of the enemy, and
realizing the need of preparation to overcome them, he is
prepared to hear the Apostle's decisive conclusion:
"Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in he power of His
might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. Wherefore, take unto you
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the
evil day, and having done all, to stand."
All these
directions end in a climax; and that climax is prayer. How can
the brave warrior for Christ be made braver still? How can the
strong soldier be made stronger still? How can the victorious
battler be made still more victorious? Here are Paul's explicit
directions to that end:
"Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for
all saints."
Prayer, and more
prayer, adds to the fighting qualities and the more certain
victories of God's good fighting-men. The power of prayer is
most forceful on the battle-field amid the din and strife of the
conflict. Paul was preeminently a soldier of the Cross. For him,
life was no flowery bed of ease. He was no dress-parade, holiday
soldier, whose only business was to don a uniform on set
occasions. His was a life of intense conflict, the facing of
many adversaries, the exercise of unsleeping vigilance and
constant effort. And, at its close -- in sight of the end -- we
hear him chanting his final song of victory, a I have fought a
good fight," and reading between the lines, we see that he
is more than conqueror!
In his Epistle
to the Romans, Paul indicates the nature of his
soldier-life, giving us some views of the kind of praying needed
for such a career. He writes:
"Now I
beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and
for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in
your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from them
that do not believe in Judaea."
Paul had
foes in Judaea -- foes who beset and opposed him in the form of
"unbelieving men" and this, added to other weighty
reasons, led him to urge the Roman Christians to "strive
with him in prayer." That word "strive" indicated
wrestling, the putting forth of great effort. This is the kind
of effort, and this the sort of spirit, which must possess the
Christian soldier.
Here
is a great soldier, a captain-general, in the great struggle,
faced by malignant forces who seek his ruin. His force is
well-nigh spent. What reinforcements can he count on? What can
give help and bring success to a warrior in such a pressing
emergency? It is a critical moment in the conflict. What force
can be added to the energy of his own prayers? The answer is --
in the prayers of others, even the prayers of his brethren who
were at Rome. These, he believes, will bring him additional aid,
so that he can win his fight, overcome his adversaries, and,
ultimately, prevail.
The Christian
soldier is to pray at all seasons, and under all circumstances.
His praying must be arranged so as to cover his times of peace
as well as his hours of active conflict. It must be available in
his marching and his fighting. Prayer must diffuse all effort,
impregnate all ventures, decide all issues. The Christian
soldier must be as intense in his praying as in his fighting,
for his victories will depend very much more on his praying than
on his fighting. Fervent supplication must be added to steady
resolve, prayer and supplication must supplement the armour of
God. The Holy Spirit must aid the supplication with His own
strenuous plea. And the soldier must pray in the Spirit. In
this, as in other forms of warfare, eternal vigilance is the
price of victory; and thus, watchfulness and persistent
perseverance, must mark the every activity of the Christian
warrior.
The
soldier-prayer must reflect its profound concern for the success
and well-being of the whole army. The battle is not altogether a
personal matter; victory cannot be achieved for self, alone.
There is a sense, in which the entire army of Christ is
involved. The cause of God, His saints, their woes and trials,
their duties and crosses, all should find a voice and a pleader
in the Christian soldier, when he prays. He dare not limit his
praying to himself. Nothing dries up spiritual secretions so
certainly and completely; nothing poisons the fountain of
spiritual life so effectively; nothing acts in such deadly
fashion, as selfish praying.
Note carefully
that the Christian's armour will avail him nothing, unless
prayer be added. This is the pivot, the connecting link of the
armour of God. This holds it together, and renders it effective.
God's true soldier plans his campaigns, arranges his
battle-forces, and conducts his conflicts, with prayer. It is
all important and absolutely essential to victory, that prayer
should so impregnate the life that every breath will be a
petition, every sigh a supplication. The Christian soldier must
needs be always fighting. He should, of sheer necessity, be
always praying.
The Christian
soldier is compelled to constant picket-duty. He must always be
on his guard. He is faced by a foe who never sleeps, who is
always alert, and ever prepared to take advantage of the
fortunes of war. Watchfulness is a cardinal principle with
Christ's warrior, "watch and pray," forever sounding
in his ears. He cannot dare to be asleep at his post. Such a
lapse brings him not only under the displeasure of the Captain
of his salvation, but exposes him to added danger. Watchfulness,
therefore, imperatively constitutes the duty of the soldier of
the Lord.
In the New
Testament, there are three different words, which are translated
"watch." The first means "absence of sleep,"
and implies a wakeful frame of mind, as opposed to listlessness;
it is an enjoinder to keep awake, circumspect, attentive,
constant, vigilant. The second word means "fully
awake," -- a state induced by some rousing effort, which
faculty excited to attention and interest, active, cautious,
lest through carelessness or indolence, some destructive
calamity should suddenly evolve. The third word means "to
be calm and collected in spirit," dispassionate, untouched
by slumberous or beclouding influences, a wariness against all
pitfalls and beguilements.
All three
definitions are used by St. Paul. Two of them are employed in
connection with prayer. Watchfulness intensified, is a requisite
for prayer. Watchfulness must guard and cover the whole
spiritual man, and fit him for prayer. Everything resembling
unpreparedness or non-vigilance, is death to prayer.
In Ephesians,
Paul gives prominence to the duty of constant watchfulness,
"Watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication." Watch, he says, watch, WATCH!
"And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch."
Sleepless
wakefulness is the price one must pay for victory over his
spiritual foes. Rest assured that the devil never falls asleep.
He is ever "walking about, seeking whom he may
devour." Just as a shepherd must never be careless and
unwatchful lest the wolf devour his sheep, so the Christian
soldier must ever have his eyes wide open, implying his
possession of a spirit which neither slumbers nor grows
careless. The inseparable companions and safeguards of prayer
are vigilance, watchfulness, and a mounted guard. In writing to
the Colossians Paul brackets these inseparable qualities
together: "Continue in prayer," he enjoins, "and
watch in the same, with thanksgiving."
When will
Christians more thoroughly learn the twofold lesson, that they
are called to a great warfare, and that in order to get the
victory they must give themselves to unsleeping watchfulness and
unceasing prayer?
"Be
sober, be vigilant," says Peter, "because your
adversary, the devil, walketh about seeking whom he may
devour."
God's Church is a
militant host. Its warfare is with unseen forces of evil. God's
people compose an army fighting to establish His kingdom in the
earth. Their aim is to destroy the sovereignty of Satan, and
over its ruins, erect the Kingdom of God, which is
"righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."
This militant army is composed of individual soldiers of the
Cross, and the armour of God is needed for its defence. Prayer
must be added as that which crowns the whole.
"Stand
then in His great might, With all His strength endued;
But take, to arm you for the fight, The panoply of
God."
Prayer is too
simple, too evident a duty, to need definition. Necessity gives
being and shape to prayer. Its importance is so absolute, that
the Christian soldier's life, in all the breadth and intensity
of it, should be one of prayer. The entire life of a Christian
soldier -- its being, intention, implication and action -- are
all dependent on its being a life of prayer. Without prayer --
no matter what else he have -- the Christian soldier's life will
be feeble, and ineffective, and constitute him an easy prey for
his spiritual enemies.
Christian
experience will be sapless, and Christian influence will be dry
and arid, unless prayer has a high place in the life. Without
prayer the Christian graces will wither and die. Without prayer,
we may add, preaching is edgeless and a vain thing, and the
Gospel loses its wings and its loins. Christ is the lawgiver of
prayer, and Paul is His Apostle of prayer. Both declare its
primacy and importance, and demonstrate the fact of its
indispensability. Their prayer-directions cover all places,
include all times, and comprehend all things. How, then, can the
Christian soldier hope or dream of victory, unless he be
fortified by its power? How can he fail, if in addition to
putting on the armour of God he be, at all times and seasons,
"watching unto prayer"?
