HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg  D.Div

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” Luke 18:1

Always — it was the Master’s word. Always, morning and noon and night, Christians ought to pray and not faint. It is the only word which befits one . . .

• endowed with a nature like mine,
• dwelling in a world like mine,
• dogged by enemies like mine.

There are the constantly recurring temptations of my life. I am beset by perils, more fatal because they approach me unseen and unheard. I spend my days in the midst of incitement to sin. My adversary the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour. Yes, my prayer should be unbroken.

There are the solemn crises of my life. At any instant, the ordinary and monotonous routine may be interrupted, and I may find myself face to face with an emergency — with a duty, an experience, a sacrifice, such as I never encountered before. I shall do valiantly in the hour of testing — only if I breathe the atmosphere of prayer. Otherwise, the crisis will reveal an ignoble and panic-smitten knight.

There are the little cares of my life — it is full of distractions, of worries, which may draw me away from God. Pascal lamented that in certain moods, he could not endure the lighting of a fly on his face, without irritation. But if I make my history a continuous prayer, I shall cease to be troubled or agitated. Then, as one has said, “my voice will be as sweet as the murmur of a brook.”

So Christ’s Always is the only right word. As I would consult my own welfare, I dare not exchange it for any other — I must not weaken its binding force and its universal scope.