The Shield of Faith, the Sword of the Spirit, and Prayer (Ephesians 6:15–18)

“Having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Soldiers put on a breastplate—composite armour plates. An enemy’s blow, falling upon it, does not pass through to the body and causes no wound. This is a most helpful weapon! The spiritual warrior must also clothe himself in it. What then is the breastplate here? — Righteousness. Righteousness here means rectitude—every good and holy disposition of the heart. To see how the sum of such dispositions constitutes a breastplate that deflects blows, let us recall how enemy temptations operate. The swing of the enemy’s sword is the planting of a thought, in the hope that the heart will respond with a sympathetic feeling, on the basis of which he will then construct a powerful temptation. A face that has given offence presents itself, for example: this is the enemy’s sword-stroke. When the heart responds to this with a feeling of ill-will toward the offender: the sword has passed through to the soul’s body and has wounded it. The enemy then rushes at the soul and stirs up within it a whole storm of hostility and vindictiveness. But when a constant disposition to forgive offences resides in the heart—and to keep itself always in quiet gentleness and peaceableness toward all—then however much the enemy may strain to present in thoughts the faces of those who have given offence, no echo will arise in the heart, and consequently the enemy will have nothing to attach his temptation to. His sword-stroke will rebound from the heart, as from a soldier clothed in armour. Now imagine that all the good dispositions are placed in the heart, loved by it and constituting the object of its tenderness and keeping as treasures: then whatever wiles the enemy may employ to sow stirring thoughts in the soul, he will gain nothing from them, because no trace of them will remain in the soul. Thoughts, despite all the girding of them by sobriety, attention, and vigilance, may still slip through—this is why the Apostle was not satisfied with the girding alone, but commanded the putting on of the breastplate as well: to plant all holy dispositions in the heart, so that even if thoughts somehow steal in, no harmful effect will result from them in the heart.

This spiritual breastplate—composite spiritual armour—St. Paul often depicted in his epistles. So in the Epistle to the Colossians he writes: “Put on… tender mercies, kindness, humility, gentleness, longsuffering… forgiving one another… above all these… put on love… and let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:12–15). Similarly the holy Apostle Peter links together such spiritual armour: “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love” (2 Pet. 1:5–7). And in general, one who is clothed in the breastplate of righteousness thinks only upon “whatever things are true, whatever things are honourable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report—if there is any virtue and if there is any praise” (Phil. 4:8). — Who that is thus protected need fear the enemy’s hosts?!

Such good dispositions are all implanted in our nature, as St. Macarius teaches, from the very moment of its creation, but the passions that have entered in have darkened them and covered them over. They need only to be cleansed again by casting off the shameful covering that has settled upon them. This is accomplished already in the first resolution to please God by loving every virtue. Although they may not yet be deeply implanted, the desire for them takes the place of implanting, and however painfully, still deflects every blow and presents the warrior as unconquered. In this sense St. Chrysostom speaks of it: “As armour protects against wounds, so righteousness saves us.” By righteousness he here understands every virtue in general—as if one were to say: “Having planted righteous intentions and undertakings in one’s heart.” Of such people Christ also says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). “One who has fenced his heart with righteousness is as strong as the very armour.” — As for those in whose hearts all the good dispositions are already truly planted, St. Chrysostom says further: “The righteous man is bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1). “One who is clothed in such armour has nothing to fear from the hostile hosts. On the contrary, he can boldly march into the very midst of his enemies.”

Eph. 6:15. And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

“This expression is not entirely clear,” St. Chrysostom observes. If St. Paul were writing instructions for preachers of the Gospel, these words would be self-explanatory. But since he is writing general rules of warfare for all Christians, and preaching the Gospel cannot be set forth as a universal obligation for all, it should not be understood that way here. And St. Chrysostom does not insist on it, but presents it only as a supposition: “Here the Apostle means either readiness for the Gospel proclamation.” “Or”—that is, perhaps. — Nor can one understand here the virtue of peaceableness, as though to say: be ready and always zealous to preserve peace with all—for peaceableness is already contained in the breastplate of righteousness. One could understand the word “peace” not as indicating a particular virtue, but as describing the quality of the Gospel as a message of peace-making, and therefore as already contained in the word “Gospel,” so that this single word alone would be sufficient to express the thought—one could understand here a readiness to live according to the Gospel. St. Chrysostom and our other commentators dwell especially on this thought. So St. Chrysostom says: “By the preparation of the gospel is meant the very best manner of life.” What this best manner of life consists in, he states below: “Let us conduct ourselves worthily of the Gospel; let us act so that our whole life and deeds may be pure throughout the whole course of our earthly journey.” — But the firm resolution for such a life—readiness—is already contained in the command: stand, and constitutes an essential feature of standing. The particular virtues in which this readiness is expressed are already contained in the breastplate of righteousness. — One must therefore either leave undecided what exactly St. Paul means here, or propose yet some other conjecture.

We venture on the latter and take as our guide the words of St. Chrysostom, who says: “Or—if this explanation”—that is, the understanding of readiness for the Gospel proclamation—“is incorrect—(the Apostle) wishes to say that they (the Ephesians) should prepare for departure.” — The remembrance of departure, or of death, with its careful preparation, maintained by all the ascetics—those tireless warriors against the enemies of our salvation—is regarded as the most powerful means for deflecting the enemy’s arrows. Is it not precisely this that is meant here? Only all the spiritual-life manifestations connected with this remembrance must be clarified. — The remembrance of death is not a bore memory. It contains within itself a migration of the heart from this life to another. People remember death not merely to frighten themselves, but so as to become attached to nothing temporal—because, however great it may be, it must be left today or tomorrow. A heart attached to nothing here has cast off all earthly tastes, and finds its savour only in what is not of this earth, and delights in that. One whose heart is such lives bodily here, but in heart is in heaven, in another life. But such a disposition is the very substance of the Gospel. For the Lord says that His Kingdom is within us, and that it is not of this world. One who is inwardly so disposed is within; and one whose heart lives in another world is already not of this world. Is he not then in that Kingdom which the Saviour indicated and of which the Gospel proclaims good news?

Let us take another somewhat different train of thought. What does the Lord command first to those who resolve to follow Him? — “Let them” deny “themselves” (Mk. 8:34). In the flow of the speech, this word means: to love the Lord’s way and to resolve to remain faithful to it even to the laying down of one’s life. It requires readiness for every sacrifice, for every kind of privation and suffering, and even for death. The holy ascetics often pronounce this counsel: do you wish to run successfully on the Lord’s way? — Die first.

We gather all these thoughts into one and say: such is the spirit of life according to the Gospel, that it requires a dying to all that is earthly and a migration of the heart into another life, with readiness for every privation and even death. One who is thus disposed has prepared himself for life according to the Gospel—has fulfilled what the Apostle suggests in commanding to shod the feet with the readiness required by the Gospel. One who is such is unreachable by the enemy’s arrows. — What arrow can reach that heart which is in heaven? Or what sensitive wound can be inflicted on one who is dead—and keeps himself in an unwavering deadness to the world?

The very structure of the Apostle’s speech compels us to stop at such an understanding of his words. Having girded the spiritual warrior with truth, he has transformed his mind; having clothed him in the breastplate of righteousness—he has transformed his will. One expects him to speak of the transformation of the heart. The disposition we have indicated is indeed its true transformation, and together with the first two—the most powerful means for repelling the enemy. But that all three weapons must be interpreted so that the concepts placed in them stand in correspondence (are coordinates) with one another—this is demanded by the form of expression: “having girded, ‘—having put on,—having shod.’”

Let us apply the indicated disposition of the heart to the footwear. One who is barefoot or poorly shod steps timidly, fearing pain from the unevenness of the path. But one who is well shod steps boldly—along rough ground, along stony paths, along paths strewn with thorns. Such is one who has died to all that is earthly and lives in heart in heaven, with readiness for privations and death. He walks boldly, fearing nothing, for he has already prepared himself for everything, and nothing can be thought of for which he is not ready. But one who still lives upon the earth and nourishes earthly tastes, interests, and hopes—such a one continually groans and cries out, as though treading on thorns.

Eph. 6:16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the wicked one.

A new series of spiritual weapons follows—the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit. These too, judging by the structure of the speech, must be interpreted so that the concepts they convey stand in correspondence (are likewise coordinates) with one another. And not only this—but also in a definite relation to the three preceding ones. One may suppose that the shield of faith corresponds to the shod feet with the readiness described, the helmet of salvation—to the putting on of the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit—the word of God—to the girding with truth. They proceed in ascending order. If the first set of weapons as a whole points to what must come from us, the second will point to what comes from God and from the order of salvation instituted by Him. We will conduct our commentary accordingly.

“Above all”—over and above all three of those preceding ranks of weapons, lay a new rank, one particular weapon for each. First, “take up the shield of faith.” “By faith the Apostle here means not the confession of the truths of the faith (knowledge of dogmas), but that which without doubt believes in things future as if they were present, can work signs and move mountains” (Theophylact). “Let faith serve you as a shield, for it points you to the all-powerful God; it reveals to you the rewards for battle, the proclamation of victory, and the crowns for valour” (Theodoret). One might also define it thus: a childlike confidence in God that unites one so intimately with Him that it does not separate itself from Him nor Him from itself. Hence it is all-powerful, for in it God Himself is the one acting—He who also gives it. Holy Chrysostom speaks of such faith: “Most fittingly does the Apostle call faith a shield. Just as a shield covers the entire body, becoming like a wall, so faith defends us in the same way. For everything yields to it. Nothing can tear this shield apart. Hear what Christ the Lord says to His disciples: ‘If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: Move from here to there, and it will move’ (Matt. 17:20).”

In order to understand more clearly what this faith is, let us excerpt several passages about it from St. Isaac the Syrian. “By faith we mean not the foundation of the confession common to all, but that intellectual power which, by the light of the mind, strengthens the heart and, by the testimony of conscience, awakens in the soul a great hope in God, so that it is not anxious about itself but casts all its care upon God without worry” (Discourse 44). “A soul that has once with faith surrendered itself to God and has many times experienced His assistance no longer worries about itself, but is held in wonder and silence… Whoever follows such faith soon becomes free and self-governing, and as a son of God makes use of everything with sovereign freedom. Whoever has loved this faith governs, as God does, every created nature… Many by faith have entered fire, restrained the burning power of flame and passed through it unharmed, and have walked across the surface of the sea as though on dry ground… The treasures of faith neither earth nor heaven can contain. He who has his heart strengthened by faith never loses anything. Even when he has nothing, he holds all things by faith (2 Cor. 6:10), as it is written: ‘Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive’ (Matt. 21:22); and again: ‘The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing’ (Phil. 4:5, 6). ‘All things are possible to one who believes’ (Mk. 9:23), because for God nothing is impossible. What unspeakable riches!” (Discourse 25). “Faith says: for every work, He to whom I once entrusted my soul is sufficient for me. I am not here; He knows it. Upon such a person grace follows and reveals its power in various aids—first in the visible things that concern the body, and then also in hidden matters: it uncovers before him the tangled web of thoughts and their delusion, and puts to shame before his eyes all the malice of the demons” (Discourse 49). Holy Chrysostom says that such faith commands the demons. Behold what a protecting shield it is!

It is difficult for us to receive such judgments about faith. So far is it from us, or we from it. Yet we can surmise that faith is such as a result of the blending of one’s consciousness with the Lord, with the holy Church, and with all the saints. It feels within itself that it is not alone, but that the Lord is with it, and with it the Angels and the saints of God. Hence it feels itself to be as strong as the Church is strong, and as mighty as the Lord is mighty. “By my God,” it says, “I leap over a wall… Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me… If God is for us, who can be against us?” (2 Sam. 22:30; Ps. 22:4; Rom. 8:31).

Nor can we fail to understand that such faith cannot be stuffed into oneself merely by thinking about it or desiring it. It is the fruit of the Lord’s actually receiving the soul into His right hand, actually filling it with His power, actually grafting it living onto the living members of His living body. The power of the Lord, the Head of the Church, and the power of His whole body the Church, is reflected in it. Thus it is strong. This is the true shield!

“The fiery darts” are inward and outward temptations—powerful and decisive, as if they were the enemy’s final efforts, concentrating all his malice. They cannot be precisely defined, for they vary according to the individual and his circumstances. For one person one thing is a fiery dart, for another it is something different. Holy Chrysostom says: “The Apostle called the darts of the evil one both temptations (outward) and furious desires, and by the word ‘fiery’ he indicated their character. Many thoughts agitate the soul, many doubts and unresolvable questions—but true faith gives a calming answer to them all. There are many suggestions by which the devil, inflaming the soul, casts it into all manner of perplexities. For instance, people ask: Is there a resurrection? Is there a judgment? Is there a recompense? — Only keep the shield of faith, and you will extinguish the darts of the devil by it. Has some furious desire risen up in you? Have evil thoughts blazed within you like fire? — Show the enemy your faith in the blessings to come, and he will no longer appear; and more than that, he will perish. ‘All,’ it says, ‘the darts’—not so that some are quenched and others are not. Do you see how many darts the righteous once quenched? Thoughts wage war within us—let us send faith ahead. Furious desires surge within us—let us call faith to our aid. We find ourselves in difficult circumstances and misfortune—let us seek consolation in faith. Faith is that by which every weapon is guarded. If we lose it, then every weapon is immediately shattered. ‘Above all,’ it is said, ‘take up the shield of faith.’ ‘Above all’—above what precisely? — Above truth, above righteousness, and above the preparation of the gospel. This means that those need faith.”

This shield of faith stands in direct correspondence to the preceding footwear—that is, readiness for everything, with detachment from everything. That readiness opens the way to the receiving of this faith, and this faith in turn seals that readiness.

Eph. 6:17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

“The placing of the helmet on the head is interpreted in the Epistle to the Thessalonians as taking up ‘the hope of salvation’ (1 Thess. 5:8). If that same interpretation is applied to the present passage, then the helmet of salvation would be the same as the preceding shield of faith. Holy Chrysostom understands it this way. He says: ‘And take the helmet of salvation’—that is, you cannot attain final security and escape every calamity except through faith. Just as a helmet protects the head from all blows and wounds by covering it from every side, so faith, beyond serving as a shield, also takes the place of the helmet of salvation.”

But if, as one cannot help but agree, each of the weapons proposed by the Apostle is a distinct weapon, then under the helmet of salvation one must also understand something different from the shield of faith. And holy Chrysostom himself was not satisfied with his previous interpretation and offered a new one. He takes the head of the soul and determines for it what the helmet is. The head of the body is covered by a helmet, while the mind—the head of the soul—is covered by divine contemplations, which one enters upon after being cleansed from the passions, that is, after quenching all the fiery darts of the evil one. Here are his words: “When the darts of the evil one (evil thoughts) have been extinguished, in their place we shall have thoughts that will guard what is sovereign (the mind) in us and will not allow it to suffer from any sickness. For when you extinguish the hostile thoughts, others necessarily arise in us in their place that save us and inspire hope. And, as a helmet covers the head, so they will shelter what is sovereign in us.” Oecumenius and Theophylact repeat the same. In the rules of St. Basil the Great, against each passion the most powerful remedy prescribed is divine contemplation—that is, the memory or awareness of God’s omnipresence, and reflection on the divine attributes and works, and especially on the dispensation of our salvation—all of which may be called saving meditation on God. It envelops the entire soul in a light upon which the devil cannot look and through which he cannot see the soul in order to strike it.

But let us look at all the Apostle’s expressions. When he says “gird your loins with truth,” we understand: the belt is truth. When he says “put on the breastplate of righteousness,” we understand: the breastplate is righteousness. When he says “shod your feet with readiness,” we understand: the footwear is readiness for every sacrifice and even for death itself. When he says “take up the shield of faith,” we understand: the shield is faith. Coming after all this to the words “take the helmet of salvation,” it seems we ought likewise to understand, by analogy with the preceding expressions: the helmet is salvation. It only remains to state more precisely what salvation is.

Salvation is, of course, salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. It consists in union with Him, as He Himself said: abide in Me and I in you—otherwise nothing will come of you. “Without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Union with the Lord is accomplished through the sacraments. The first grafting of Him onto us and of us onto Him is accomplished in the sacrament of baptism. This union is maintained and deepened through the sacraments of repentance and communion. The essence of communion is this: “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn. 6:56). Let us apply these truths to our present passage and we obtain: the helmet is salvation—that is, union with the Lord the Saviour in the sacraments, and specifically through frequent confession and communion. Whoever does this cannot fail to come to the awareness that he stands under the Lord—the Head—who covers him more firmly and securely than a helmet covers the head. Earlier it was said that the shield of faith is the power flowing from union with the Lord and the holy Church, with the Angels and the saints. Now it turns out that the necessary means and condition for this union and its deepening is the reception of the Holy Mysteries. And this is what is meant by salvation in the Apostle’s word: the helmet of salvation. Therefore the Apostle did not use the customary form σωτηριας, but rather σωτηριου — “of what saves.” What is salvific for us? Nothing is more salvific than the sacraments! Taking the Apostle’s word in this sense, we obtain a distinct, powerful weapon against the enemies. And it is operative in practice for all who struggle.

“Was this not also the understanding of blessed Theodoret? For he writes: ‘And take the helmet of salvation.’ The Lord Christ Himself, says the Apostle, will cover your head, and as with a helmet will surround it with salvation, so that you may not receive the blows dealt by the hostile ones.”

In this understanding, the helmet of salvation will stand in correspondence with the breastplate of righteousness, under which is understood the whole sum of virtues. Each virtue bears one inscription: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). And to whom is this more applicable than to one who is more deeply united with the Lord through the sacraments, receiving through them also special grace for the doing of every good?

“And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

What the sword of the Spirit is, the Apostle himself explains, saying that it is the word of God—that is, the divinely revealed word. How one can smite the enemy with this word, the Lord Himself showed when, being tempted in the wilderness, He cut through all the devil’s cunning stratagems with the sword of the word of God. To take up such a sword means to know the divine sayings by heart and to bring them forth from the heart at the right moment, in opposition to the devil’s suggestions. The condition for the effectiveness of such a weapon is not only faith and love for the word of God, but also the ordering of one’s life according to it. Since such a state is produced by God’s grace, the one who speaks a word that is both beloved and enacted in his life also brings forth in it a gracious power that scorches the enemy. Those experienced in the battle against the devil—the ascetics—say that if in an hour of temptation one begins to read the Psalms, especially those that speak of something relevant to the temptation, it will immediately vanish, as smoke disappears at a breath of wind. Others say: gather and keep ready in memory passages of Scripture against every passion, and when you happen to be tempted by one of them, recall and read aloud, if possible, these passages—and the temptation will depart.

Holy Chrysostom says of this: “We need to take not only a shield and helmet, but also the sword of the Spirit, so that we may not only secure ourselves from the darts hurled at us by the devil, but also strike him himself. Indeed, possessing this sword, the soul—having also been protected from the fiery darts—can stand against the enemy with full boldness and need not fear for its success; it will be able, having pierced through the enemy’s armour, to slay the dragon and cut off his head. And Paul himself, with this same sword, scattered and took captive the devil’s schemes. By the word of God he means here the commandment, or the teaching, that Jesus Christ entrusted to the Apostles and which they everywhere proclaimed, performing miracles in His name. Let us take heed of one thing: how to keep the commandments of God in everything. For their fulfilment will lead us to the point where in this way we shall overthrow and slay the devil—that cunning serpent.”

In this understanding, the sword of the Spirit—the word of God—will stand in correspondence with the girding with truth, providing an abundant source from which to draw truth. So these three new weapons form a parallel with the previous three: that is, union with the Lord in the Church (which is the same as belonging to the Orthodox Church), the reception of the sacraments, and the word of God. All of this is readily at hand for everyone, and by the power of all of it one can prevail over the enemy’s assaults.

We cannot pass over without attention the particular understanding of the sword of the Spirit expressed by blessed Theodoret. He says that by “the sword of the Spirit” (τοθ πνευματος — of the Spirit) the Apostle meant the power of the Spirit by which the spiritual man rebukes the devil and puts him to flight. “The thought is this: the spiritual person, in whom the grace of the Spirit has begun to act openly, after the purification of the passions, receives a special power over the demons. Hence he says to them: ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you—go out and do not enter again’—and the demons flee. This is the power of the Spirit. The fire of the Spirit scorches them. To perfect Christians such authority has always belonged and still belongs.” — Was this not indeed what the Apostle meant? This thought is also cited, among others, by Oecumenius and Theophylact.

Eph. 6:18. Praying at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

The two preceding ranks of spiritual weapons St. Paul concludes with prayer. Grammatically, this last weapon is joined with the first three: there—“having girded your loins, having put on the breastplate, having shod your feet”—and here—“praying.” But by its very nature it pertains no less to the last three as well. It accompanies all of them and imparts divine power to each. In another place St. Paul said that the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God. This power is drawn down into them from God through prayer. Holy Chrysostom presents the matter in precisely this way. He has armed the soldiers, he says; now he leads them to the King with a petition for aid. “Notice the wisdom of blessed Paul. There he was arming the Ephesians, teaching them all precautions. And here, in conclusion of everything, he teaches how they must come to the King and ask, so that He may send them His help. For having said, ‘with all prayer and supplication’ pray, he indicated that if in any matter they have need of God’s help, it is above all in this one. He as much as said: you will achieve this, and indeed you can accomplish everything, only on the condition that you pray.”

In pointing to the necessity of prayer, the Apostle at the same time indicates what prayer must be like in order to be heard. First—pray, he says, with all prayer and supplication—that is, with complete zeal, with heartfelt anguish, with a burning movement toward God. Holy Chrysostom points to Anna, the mother of Samuel, as a model of such prayer. “She shed many tears, he says. Let us be ashamed before such a woman! She prayed for the gift of a son and wept, while we ask for the Kingdom of Heaven—and do so with a kind of carelessness! — ‘And she stood,’ it is said, ‘before the Lord and prayed: O Lord God of hosts’” (1 Sam. 1:11). “But tears fell before she could say anything. By them she hoped to move the mercy of God toward her. Where there are tears, there is complete contrition; and where there is contrition, there is much wisdom and watchfulness. — Then observe what reverence also in the fact that ‘her lips moved, but her voice was not heard’ (1 Sam. 1:13). With such a disposition does a man come to God who sincerely desires to receive what he asks. Sloth, inattentiveness, distraction, carelessness, and indifference have no place in him.”

Second—“pray,” he says, “at all times.” By this he enjoins unceasing and unwavering prayer. Prayer must not be the occupation of a fixed time, but a constant state of the spirit. “See that you do not limit yourself to a certain hour of the day. Hear what he says! — At all times draw near to prayer, as he also said elsewhere: ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17). Have you not heard of the widow, how she prevailed over the judge through her persistence? Have you not heard of the friend who at midnight importuned and obtained what he sought from his friend? Have you not heard of the Canaanite woman, how her persistent plea moved the Lord to compassion? — These people obtained what they desired, each because of persistence in asking” (Holy Chrysostom).

Third—“pray,” he says, “in the Spirit”—that is, prayer must not be merely outward, but also inward, offered by the mind within the heart. In this lies the essence of prayer, which is the lifting up of mind and heart to God. The holy Fathers distinguish mental-heartfelt prayer from spiritual prayer. The first is performed through the conscious self-activity of the one praying; the second comes upon one and, though perceived, moves of itself apart from the efforts of the one praying. This is Spirit-moved prayer. The latter cannot be prescribed, for it is not in our power. It can be desired, sought, and gratefully received, but not performed whenever one wishes. Yet in purified persons prayer is for the most part Spirit-moved. One ought therefore to suppose that the Apostle prescribes mental-heartfelt prayer when he says: pray in the Spirit. One may add: pray with the mind in the heart, with the desire to attain also Spirit-moved prayer. Such prayer holds the soul consciously before the face of the omnipresent God. Drawing to itself and reflecting a ray from God, it disperses enemies. One can say with certainty that a soul in such a state is inaccessible to the demons. — Only in this way can one pray at all times and in all places.

Fourth—“and watching thereunto with all perseverance.” By this the laboriousness of prayer is enjoined—that is, wearing oneself out in prayer. Experiences of answered prayers, both communal and private, show that Christians who hoped to obtain what they needed through prayer did not approach prayer lightly or as an easy matter, but appointed fasting and vigils, long liturgical services, and numerous prostrations. Such painful labour in prayer drew God’s swift aid. It is precisely this kind of exertion in prayer that St. Paul enjoins here. “Watching thereunto”—that is, for this very purpose, to receive help from above, keep vigil in prayer with perseverance. Perseverance in Greek is expressed by a word indicating patient abiding in labour, sitting at one and the same task, or steadfastness. — Theodoret writes: “The divine Paul commands one to be watchful and to pray without ceasing, and not to slacken bodily labour, but to persist in it with great patience.” — How fittingly, then, in accordance with the Apostolic command, the long liturgical services are conducted in our holy Church! — Since we are always surrounded by enemies, and therefore always in need of swiftly answered prayer, the prayer offices that weary us are necessary for us. And such they are among us. Of this self-exertion in prayer the ascetic Fathers often make mention. There are sayings among them to the effect that a prayer in which one has not laboured bodily and spiritually is not a good prayer. Or: let ease be banished from your prayer rules.

Labour in prayer is an outward matter; but it is not introduced to replace inward prayer. Equally, inward prayer is not introduced so that the practice of outward prayer might be abolished. Both are needed. Holy Chrysostom says: “And watching thereunto,” it is said. “Whatever St. Paul understands here—whether all-night vigils or soberness of soul—I accept both.” Chrysostom then points once more to the Canaanite woman, the widow, and others as examples of prayerful labour, showing how much labour they undertook before they attained what they desired.

“And” in “supplication for all the saints.” This may be taken as a fifth property of prayer necessary for it to be heard. The Apostle writes to the entire Church and enjoins it to pray not for itself alone, but also for all the saints—for every other church of believers, for the well-being of the holy churches of God. He enjoins, that is, that in prayer no one should keep to himself alone, whether one person is praying or an entire assembly of the faithful, but that, since our spiritual needs are the same for all and the enemies warring against us are the same, we should always, in praying, pray also for all. What would come of this? — If the Ephesians pray for all, then all pray for them. And through this their prayer becomes as powerful as the prayer of the entire body of the Church. Let us call this the communal character of prayer, and set it also among the conditions for swiftly answered prayer.