Let us therefore take heart of grace as we contemplate this prayer and the
other prayers of the Apostle. We must not be depressed, or disheartened,
or discouraged, as we ponder the marvellous details and contemplate the
stupendous heights of the Christian life as depicted by St. Paul's
wonderful spiritual insight. On the contrary, we must remind ourselves
that he would not have prayed these prayers unless he had been certain
that God would answer them, and they will assuredly be answered as we set
ourselves resolutely, humbly, lovingly, trustfully to fulfil the required
conditions, "through Jesus Christ our Lord."

APPENDIX.

Considerations of space have prevented the inclusion of all the Prayers of
St. Paul, but for the treatment of the prayer in Rom. XV. 13 reference may
perhaps be permitted to the author's _Royal and Loyal_ (ch. v.) and to his
Devotional Commentary on _Romans_ (vol. iii. p. 103 ff.). And a fuller
treatment of 2 Thess. iii. 16 is given in his _The Power of Peace_.

For the thorough exegetical foundation of the passages included in these
prayers of the Apostle special attention should of course be given to the
various modern standard Commentaries. The following have proved of
particular value in the preparation of these pages. On Thessalonians:
Milligan, Frame, Eadie, and Ellicott. On Romans: Sanday and Headlam,
Godet, and the Notes by Lightfoot. On Ephesians: Armitage Robinson,
Westcott, and Eadie. On Philippians: Lightfoot and Ellicott. On
Colossians: Lightfoot and Ellicott. Preachers will find it nothing short
of an education in Greek to ponder the passages under the guidance of
these master-minds. The first step in all true expository preaching is the
consideration of the words and phrases in order to elicit their full
exegetical value. Following this, and based upon it, will come the
spiritual teaching and personal application, and for this purpose the
following books will be found of great value. On Thessalonians: Denney in
the _Expositor's Bible_. On Romans: Bishop Moule in the same series. On
Ephesians: G. G. Findlay in the _Expositor's Bible_, with R. W. Dale's
well-known Lectures. On Philippians: Rainy in the _Expositor's Bible_, and
Jowett's _The High Calling_. On Colossians: Maclaren's peerless treatment
in the _Expositor's Bible_, with Bishop Moule's _Colossian Studies_, and a
useful American work, _Oneness with Christ_, by Bishop Nicholson. The
subject of this book is definitely