er and supplication in the Spirit, and _watching_
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

How strong are his words, poured forth with such impetuosity of
expression as to seem to a superficial reader to be almost
tautological,--"praying with all prayer and supplication." How
careful, too, is he to remind us that this prayer and supplication must
be "in the Spirit," in response to the Spirit's impulse, and with the
right judgment that He alone can give, and which He will give only to
those who ask Him "nothing wavering."[5]

Nor will prayer alone suffice. There must be a "watching thereunto
with all perseverance"; not relaxing our vigilance, but maintaining it
to the end. Neither is the soul to grow faint in its watch, nor
imagine, in regard to any point, that careful guard is no longer
necessary.

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The word "thereunto" calls for comment. Does the vigilance enjoined
apply only to the work of prayer which has just been mentioned, or does
it reach back to the whole category of duties included in putting on
the armour of God? At first glance it might seem inadequate to make it
refer only to the all-embracing duty of prayer, but if we comprehend
fully all that prayer means, we shall see that it is not necessary that
we should directly connect the injunction to vigilance with anything
else.[6] If we are keenly vigilant to pray as we ought in the power of
the Spirit concerning truth and righteousness, faith and salvation, and
all else that the Apostle has been describing, nothing will be wanting
to us as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. How truly did a Kempis catch
the thought which the Holy Spirit had given the great Apostle when he
paraphrased our Lord's command in the words, "Be watchful in prayer."

Let us consider, then, this twofold weapon with which God will arm us,
for we note that they are not two separate weapons. Our Lord said,
"Watch ye and pray," and the blessed a Kempis gives us, as we have just
seen, the true commentary on the command in the paraphrase, "Watch in
prayer."

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Vigilance without prayer would be to learn of the danger, and yet fail
to guard against it. To pray without vigilance would be to expect God
to work some miracle for us, to protect us when we ourselves had done
nothing to employ the means He places in our hands for forestalling and
defeating Satan. In short, it would be a sin of presumption. So one
cannot avail without the other.

With