Paul would have the Christian warrior use, are not merely those of the closet and of stated seasons, but also those habitual and occasional aspirations, and out- goings of the heart after God, which a constant sense of his nearness and a constant sense of our necessity must produce.
Not only must all kinds of prayer be used, but believers should pray ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, on every occasion ; on every emergency. This constancy in prayer is commanded by our Lord, Luke 18, 1, “ Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” In 1 Thess. 5, 17, the apostle exhorts believers to “pray without ceas- ing. converse with God, and is the expression of all our
” It is obvious, therefore, that prayer includes all
feelings and desires which terminate in him. In the scriptural sense of the term, therefore, it is pos- sible that a man should pray almost literally without ceasing.
The third direction is, to pray ἐν πνεύματι. This does not mean inwardly, or, with the heart ; non voce tantum, sed et animo, as Grotius explains it; but it means under the influence of the Spirit, and with his assistance, whose gracious office it is to teach us how to pray, and to make intercessions for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; Rom. 8,26. The fourth direc- tion has reference to alertness and perseverance in prayer; εἰς αὑτὸ τοῦτο ἀγρυπνοῦντες, watching unto this very thing. This very thing is that of which he had been speaking, viz. praying in the Spirit. It was in reference to that duty they were to be wakeful and