third mainly to the
present ("His power"), though of course each petition has its bearing on
the other two points of time. Every part of our life is thus adequately
supplied and intended to be abundantly satisfied. Nor may we omit to
observe that all through the prayer the emphasis is on God: _His_ calling;
_His_ inheritance; _His_ power. Everything is regarded from the Divine
standpoint, because we are not our own but His. The contemplation of this
glory of the Divine love and grace overwhelms the soul with "wonder, love,
and praise."

In the presence of such a prayer, dealing with such profound realities,
three thoughts naturally arise in our minds. (_a_) How little we know, and
how much we might and should know. (_b_) How little we are, and how much
we might and should be. (_c_) How little we do, and how much we might and
should do. And yet if we will but remind ourselves of the simple secret of
true living, as here described, we might become and accomplish infinitely
more than we have ever experienced up to the present. "To us-ward who
believe." Faith is the simple yet all-sufficient secret. Trust relies on
God and receives from Him. It puts us in contact with the source of
blessing, and in union with Him we shall find spiritual illumination,
spiritual insight, spiritual experience, and spiritual power that shall
all be lived and exercised to His praise and glory.

VIII.

STRENGTH AND INDWELLING.

VIII.

STRENGTH AND INDWELLING.

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God."--EPH. iii. 14-19.

"In no part of Paul's letters does he rise to a higher level than in
his prayers, and none of his prayers are fuller of fervour than this
wonderful series of petitions. They open out one into the other like
some majestic suite of apartments in a great palace-temple, each
leading into a loftier and more spacious hall, each drawing nearer the
presence c