“Nothing can, nor ever will, take the place of earnestness in prayer: if we are to have God with us, we must pray. It is marked by perfect calmness . . . For our own souls it is so helpful, because prayer is the expression of entire dependence, but at the same time, confidence in God . . . Constant dependence is the constant expression of faith in God; the soul goes to God with God’s affairs; we realize how much they are our own. The blessed Lord has gone down into the dust of death. Satan’s power was exercised to the fullest, but it was all broken. He comes up again and sits at the right hand of God, takes His people, whom He has completely delivered from the hand of Satan, and uses them for conflict against him — the instruments of His service in the world. A wondrously blessed place if we only knew how to hold it — blessed to be made the Lord’s host against Satan. The more you are in the forefront of the battle, the more you will be exposed to the fiery darts. The more you bear testimony to God’s thoughts, God’s mind, the place the saints have in God’s mind, the more you will be the object of Satan’s attacks. You will necessarily be exposed to more snares and dangers than those who lag behind, and there is no place where dependence is more needed and felt.”
The excerpt above on the necessity and benefit of prayer is from a lecture by J N Darby on Ephesians 6:10-20, entitled “Canaan and the Armour of God”. I have attempted a narration of this encouraging address (below), as it has been both a challenge and a blessing to my soul.
The text of Darby’s lecture may be found at this link: https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/miscbtpb/35011E.html
GREATER RICHES 