Two more weeks, we'll be in Ephesians chapter 6. Today we're going to look at verses 18, 19, and 20. I want to begin reading in verse 14, and read down through verse 20. We read there, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. And for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Let's pray. Father, we've come to your word and we ask that you would open it to our understanding that we might receive good from your hand. Teach us the important place of prayer in this reality of spiritual warfare that we've been considering the last few weeks. We pray and ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Throughout the study of these verses, I've referenced a few times John Bunyan's work, The Pilgrim's Progress. One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why this work has stood the test of time and is so beloved by the saints of God throughout all ages is because of its pervasive use of scripture. Most of you have heard what Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan, and I'll paraphrase what he said. Basically he said if you were to cut him he would bleed Bible and that shows up in his work in his writing though it's an allegory couched in the terms of a vision that he sees. I want to reference a couple of places here in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress that he uses this verse or these two verses that we have read and we're going to give our attention to this morning about praying always with all prayer and supplication. Those of you who have read the Pilgrim's Progress, you'll remember early on in his journey, in Pilgrim's Journey, he reaches what Bunyan calls the Porter's Lodge. And there he is refreshed, there he has several conversations that greatly encourage his heart, and it is there that he is taken to the armory. And in the armory he is shown what John Bunyan calls all manner of furniture. He is shown there what the Lord has provided for pilgrims like himself. He is shown a sword, a shield, a helmet, a breastplate, and shoes that would not wear out. And then lastly, he is shown what Bunyan calls all prayer. And if you keep reading and you fast forward after he leaves the porter's lodge, just a few pages over, he reaches the valley of the shadow of death. And he's making his way through the valley of the shadow of death, And he encounters there, and I'm going to quote Bunyan here, he encounters things that cared not for his sword, just like Apollyon before. At this point, we're told that Pilgrim was forced to put away his sword, which is the Word of God, and he took to himself another weapon, That weapon called all prayer. And he cried out, O Lord, I beseech you, deliver my soul. And if you keep reading, you'll note that he does indeed make his way through the valley of the shadow of death in the strength of the Lord, his God. But he makes it there, and I think this is why Bunyan is so helpful, why he bleeds Bible. He makes it there through appealing to the mercy and the strength of God to come to his aid in the hour of his greatest temptation. I want to read to you the 18th verse in the New American Standard Version. And I do this because the repetition of the word all, you're going to hear it four times, the repetition of the word all comes out a little more clearly in the New American Standard version of the 18th verse. Here's the way it reads. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. So four times we read that word all, and I'm going to use those four uses of that word all just a little later obviously to make four points. But before we get into that just consider with me Sinclair Ferguson says that this verse is perhaps the scriptures most comprehensive single sentence on how we are to pray. If you're looking for a concise biblical description of what your prayer life and mine should be in all of life, but especially in this evil day or the trial of this evil day, which Paul here has called us to and reminded us that we are all engaged in an unseen war, a spiritual warfare, then this verse serves us well. This verse is a tremendous help as to how we are to pray. Now obviously in the Lord's Prayer or the model prayer given in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, we have there a model and I like to think of that as a template of how to pray. Not so much that we are to vainly repeat the words, though done in a right spirit and in a right way, that in itself is not a wrong way to use that model prayer, but it's as we expand upon the things that Christ there told us in that prayer that we should bring before our Father that we are greatly helped. But there again, it comes in the form of a paragraph or several verses, not just one single verse. And so this is, I think, I think Sinclair Ferguson is right. This is the most comprehensive single sentence on how we are to pray. So let me read it again. New American Standard. This is how you and I are to pray with all prayer and petition. Pray at all times in the spirit. And with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance, and petition for all the saints. So we're to pray for every believer. We're to pray at every time in every season. We're to pray with all perseverance. And we are to employ what Paul calls here all prayer. And again, I'll come back to those four things later. First, let me give you a few general thoughts on prayer. Prayer is really considered in two ways. It's a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility. It's a privilege when we consider what Christ has done in opening the way for us to approach the throne of grace. You realize, if we didn't have a great high priest who himself entered behind the veil, then you and I would have no access to our Father in heaven. A couple of verses out of the book of Hebrews to prove the point. Verse 14 of chapter 4, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. A great privilege we have to come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and help in time of need. Have you ever needed grace and help? We stand in need of it right now, don't we? And notice the language of this verse. We're not told that we have to crawl in on our belly with shame face, but that we can boldly, not arrogantly, but boldly, based upon what Christ has done, based upon His being our High Priest, we have the great privilege of coming to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace. Another verse, this out of the 6th chapter, 19th verse of Hebrews, This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become the high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. So that's the great privilege. Let's consider, secondly, the great responsibility. Prayer is a responsibility that we have before God. We are to bow in humble submission to Him and offer our petitions. It is through prayer where our wills are molded to His will. where the desires of our heart are conformed and changed to be the desire of His heart. And then in the end, the verse teaches us that He'll give us the desire of our heart. When we have wrestled with Him in prayer, and He has conformed our wills to His, then we receive the very desire of our heart that has been conformed to His own. We also have a responsibility as we see in verse 18 toward the end to pray with and for one another. We have a responsibility to pray at all times and in all things. Prayer is the avenue of our expressing gratitude and thanksgiving to God. It is the avenue where we beseech him for help. I've heard it said this way before, perhaps you have too, that prayer is the most spiritual work that we engage ourselves in. That being so, it is to be expected that we will encounter the greatest spiritual resistance in prayer. Do you find it hard to maintain any real Prayer in your life. Consistent, persistent. Do you find it difficult? I find it extremely difficult. And I think this thought proves the point. It's the most spiritual thing that we do. Therefore, we can expect great spiritual resistance from the world, the flesh, and yes, the devil, to keep us from praying. Now let us go back to these verses 18, 19, and 20. The first point that I want to make is that prayer here is not to be considered a piece of the armor. It's not as if Paul is saying, in addition to the helmet and the sword and the shield and the shoes and so on, then take prayer. This is not just another piece of the armor that God has provided us as Christians. Let me give you a few quotes to help that understanding perhaps sink in upon you like it has for me. Ian Hamilton is a name I've referenced repeatedly. In studying the book of Ephesians to preach, I've tried to maintain reading about a dozen commentaries. I've not always made it through every week, but I've made a good attempt. His commentary, far and above, has been the most helpful to me. He says, some suggest that prayer is the culminating piece of armor that Christians are to take up and put on. But it is better, in my estimation, to understand that Paul is telling us that prayer is what makes the other pieces of armor effective in our lives. And when we view it in this way, that prayer is not just an additional piece of armor, but the very life-giving blood to these other pieces of armor, then we see that prayer gives life and vigor to us as Christian soldiers. He's not the only one that would take it this way. You all know my affinity for Curtis Vaughn. He says, prayer is the means by which the Christian takes his stand and is the spirit or temper in which he confronts the enemy and puts him to flight while employing the other pieces of armor. Another person says, prayer is that which engages us in the world of spiritual warfare. We have all of these weapons, defensive and even offensive weapons, available to us. Prayer is what employs them in our life. When I was about 13, 14 years old, my oldest sister, right out of high school, married a man who was in the Navy. So they moved to Virginia Beach, and shortly after they were married and settled, my parents and I made the trip to visit them. And on that trip, one of the things that we did, I remember very vividly, two things actually. The first thing that we did is we went to the beach. First time I'd ever been to the beach, I got in the water. Two minutes later, I had a jellyfish wrapped around my leg. That's the first thing that I remember. It was unpleasant. I really haven't liked the beach since. The second thing, and more importantly here, the second thing that I remember, we visited the ship that he was stationed on. It was massive. It was the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. Enormous. If I remember right, as many as 5,000 men were on that ship. And I remember walking on the deck, and you see the the, what I just, what I call the guns, huge. And then you go below the deck and you see all the aircraft, you see all of the helicopters, you see all of these things, each one of them loaded out with missiles and guns themselves. But then you realize you're sitting on this ship in the harbor. It's not employed and active warfare, and you see all of the things that are available when that time comes, when it is out in the sea, if ever the opportunity were to arise for it to actually employ every piece of armor that is available, it would have been a formidable, formidable piece of weaponry taken as a whole. But unless there was someone sitting in the place that was over this ship, knew how to navigate it, and knew how to, through delegation, ensure that all of these pieces of weaponry and armory were ready, then that ship, with all of its weaponry, was useless. That's the illustration that I think we can learn from and perhaps borrow when we consider the weaponry that we have been given by God. We have the breastplate of righteousness, a righteousness that is not our own. We have our waist girt with the belt of truth. Truth concerning our Savior Jesus Christ, who is truth Himself. We have shoes, protection for our feet that prepares us to go out and proclaim the gospel of peace. We have the shield of faith with which we are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. We have the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. We have everything at our disposal that is necessary for warfare. But unless these things are employed, and meditated upon through prayer, then they're just like that massive ship in the harbor, and they're not being used. That's the important place that prayer has in the life of a Christian, particularly in this realm of spiritual warfare. And really, this is where the fight of faith is fought, is it not? We don't engage ourselves physically in fighting for the faith. Our fight and our struggle is in the mind, for the mind, to meditate upon the truth, to have the truth of the breastplate of righteousness, so to speak. We, through prayer and meditation, when we are besieged by the onslaught of the world, the flesh, and the devil, when the fiery darts and the schemes of Satan are employed against us, then through prayer and meditation we remember. He has every strength to take me down, but He'll never take down my Savior, to whom I am attached by faith, with whose righteousness serves me as a covering. The realization, the helmet of salvation, we talked about this last week, the realization that my salvation is completely bound up with Jesus Christ. who has already won the victory. When we employ the means of prayer given us, then all of these pieces of armory come alive. But they are near useless to us unless we do exactly what Paul says here. And with all prayer, pray always. being watchful to this end for all the saints. Let's look at these four different uses of the word all. Remember, this is a comprehensive one verse statement on what it means for you and I to pray. And again, I'm going to appeal to the New American Standard Version where it reads, with all prayer, at all times, with all perseverance, for all the saints. Let me begin by stating this in the negative or the opposite way, and I'll use John Stott's words here. One of his sermons on Ephesians, he makes the statement, most of us as Christians pray sometimes using some prayers with some degree of perseverance for some of God's people. He goes on to say, some, some, some, some. That is the essence of most of our praying. This verse calls us far differently to all, all, all, and all. So if we look at them individually and take them in turn, first Paul says with all prayer and petition. We know from the scriptures that there are many ways in which we can pray. Not only are there different postures of prayer, Bowing in submission, standing before God, those types of things. There are many other different ways that we express ourselves to God. Remember, prayer is at its essence communicating with God. It's a conversation that we have with Him. And when we employ all prayer and petition, we see the varied nature. It is through prayer that we can confess our adoration for Him. It is through prayer that we offer our heartfelt and sincere worship. It is also through prayer that we lay ourselves completely before Him in humble submission, realizing and recognizing that He is our only hope, He is our only stay in this activity of spiritual warfare. But not only do we employ the means of adoring Him, we use prayer as a means to confess our sins before Him, to Him. And we know as believers we don't cease sinning once we are converted. The struggle with sin really begins once we are converted because of remaining sin. So when we use all prayer in this activity of spiritual warfare, part of that is our confession of sin and repenting of sin. Another aspect would be our expression of thanksgiving. Give thanks always in all things. That's part of what all prayer and petition is, to be a thankful person expressing to God your thanksgiving. Yes, for even involving you in this reality of spiritual warfare. Realizing it takes a great work of the Spirit in maturing us and growing us into the person of Jesus Christ to get us to that point to where we would make it an emphasis, a point of emphasis to thank God that I am a target of the fiery darts of Satan. Can we go that far in prayer? I think we can and we should. Because if we weren't the objects of the fiery darts of Satan, then what does that imply? That we're still in our natural state, held captive by him to do his will, and we're already right where he wants us. But having been saved out of that darkness, having been loosed from the chains of His kingdom, and having been translated into the kingdom of the Son of Christ, the Son of His love, Christ's kingdom, that by necessity makes us a target of the adversary. And so we can be thankful. Thankful, Lord, that you have intervened in my life. You have saved me out of the depths of my despair and sin, and you are employing me now in this reality of spiritual warfare in my own life and in the lives of those around me. But yet also, we intercede. We intercede for those around us. We'll get more to that at the end of the verse. The second part of this He says, pray not only with all prayer and petition, but at all times. At all times. I wonder if you find this to be true in your life as I do in mine. Sometimes it takes a great trial to drive us to consistent, persistent faithfulness in prayer. Sometimes the Lord has to bring something into our life that so shakes us and tries us. And that's what drives us to prayer. I love what S.M. Ball says about this thought or idea. He says, everyone in a foxhole is a believer in prayer. You understand the imagery there? Everyone in a foxhole is a believer in prayer. Because what that foxhole represents is you are completely at the mercy of your enemy. And not many enemies take mercy. You're completely unable, other than just digging down and staying put, you're unable to bring any remedy to the situation. And sadly, that's the way many of us as Christians live. It takes a foxhole moment to make us a believer in prayer. And thankfully, God, through discipline and because of his great love for us, brings those moments into our lives that force us into praying. That's a grace. We don't readily see it as a grace and a mercy, but that's really what it is when we consider it. And in truth, that is God dispensing grace and mercy to us, getting us to a place to where we are expressing our dependence upon him again. So at all times, Not just in the hard times, but even in the mountaintop, good times especially. That's when we need to pray and thank God for His blessings given to our life. That He is blessing us and keeping us. His face is shining upon us. And we are reaping the benefits of His fatherhood and His good gifts that have descended upon us. So in every season, at all times, we are to pray in the Spirit. Obviously, much attention is given to this phrase in the charismatic world, in the Pentecostal world. What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? The application of those groups immediately run to speaking or praying in some unknown tongue. And they would lead us to believe that that's what it means to pray in the Spirit. I don't for a moment believe that's what Paul is getting across here. Just as all of worship is to be in Spirit and in truth, so is our prayer. Our prayers are to be in spirit and in truth. Listen to what Sinclair Ferguson says here. To pray in the spirit is to be filled with the spirit as we pray, submitting our minds, thoughts, will and desires to be influenced and mastered by the word of God. Another thought to pray in the spirit is to pray under his influence and with his gracious assistance. Isn't that the point of Romans 8 verse 26? When we don't know how to pray as we ought, then the Spirit comes alongside and helps us in our weakness, bringing His own blessing to our prayers in words that cannot be uttered. This is what it means to pray in the Spirit. To pray in submission, led by the Spirit, in submission to the Spirit, mastered by the Word of God. With His gracious assistance, we are to pray at all times in the Spirit. We've already been told in this book, back in chapter 5, to be filled with the Spirit. And I think this carries over even into this issue of prayer. To pray in the Spirit is to be filled with the Spirit. It's not some manifestation of unknown tongues. It's the manifestation and submission and filling of a known tongue expressed to God. We're also told not just to pray with all prayer at all times in the Spirit, but with all perseverance." Reading in the New King James, this part of the verse, being watchful to this end with all perseverance. Again, New American Standard says, be on the alert. Ed shared with me a story as we were walking over I don't remember, brother, if this was a friend or what the exact, he's shaking his head. This was a friend serving in Vietnam in a foxhole type environment with all of these weapons surrounding him. And yet the realization comes when the enemy approaches that unless they were on the alert, unless they were sitting on ready, none of these weapons mattered if the enemy overtook them by surprise. That's a great illustration of what it means to be alert, to be watchful to this end with all perseverance. We're told in the Scriptures not only is Satan as a lion on the prowl seeking whom he may devour, we're told that he is subtle. That he transforms himself into an angel of light. He comes often in the form of a wolf in sheep's clothing. All the more reason for us as Christians to be on alert and watchful. ready through prayer to employ these means of armor when we find ourselves the object of his wiles and schemes and even his fiery darts. Perseverance. We're told, we're given a parable by Christ that teaches us persistence. Persistence. Men should pray always and not lose heart. This is where one of the struggles, the real ground level struggle of prayer comes. The persistence, the perseverance that is expected. To be watchful. Because the adversary is subtle. He's sneaky. Then the last is to pray, the last all is for all the saints. Obviously the first application of that is all the saints that you find yourself together in a local assembly with, you pray for all of them. Now, it's not my intent here to heap conviction on you by any means, but I wonder when the last time any of us prayed for one another, for everyone, with any persistence. Paul says, pray for all the saints. Why? Because every saint like you is engaged in this spiritual warfare and all need your prayers. And then to take that a step further, we're told in the scriptures to do all of these one another things. Prayer is one of them. Pray with and for one another. Two aspects of that. Pray with. Pray with one another. Individually, corporately. And then pray for one another. If you're going to pray for someone in the way the scriptures expect you to pray for someone in your local church, and you've got to know them, you've got to know what they're going through. If they're rejoicing, you rejoice with them. If they're weeping, you weep with them. You bear their burdens. One of the chief ways that we do that, if not the chief way, is through prayer. And then let's not be guilty of this. I'm praying for you. And then never do it. So and so sends you a message, a text, hey brother, pray for me. This or this. Okay, I'll pray for you. But do we actually stop and approach the throne of grace and spend any meaningful moment in prayer but not just for those in our own local assembly. We're told to pray for all the saints, saints all over the world, most of whom we will never meet, but all of them are engaged in this same spiritual warfare. Recently in our prayer meetings, we've talked about those that are in places of severe persecution. This morning we're reminded of one that lost his life. It's helpful to remember to pray for those who are in these places of severe trial. This is the evil day. Come to life in their life. The evil day is a reality for them right now, this moment for your brothers and sisters in Afghanistan or Nepal or China or wherever they may be. This is the evil day for them. And we're told here with all prayer. To pray for them. With all prayer and petition at all times, with all perseverance for all the saints. One more note as to what it means to pray in the Spirit. I think it's the very opposite of what James calls asking a miss. You remember that verse, to spend it on your pleasures. Let me give you a quote that I found helpful this week, considering that verse. The context in the book of James suggests that this kind of prayer is a disguised form of covetousness. Whereas some fight and steal to get what they want, others misuse prayer as a means of telling God what they think they need and what he therefore should give them. These are prayers offered in the flesh rather than in the spirit. Prayers offered without any reverence to God and His will, but simply motivated by the desires of our own idolatries. That's what it is, I believe, to pray and ask amiss, and being the very opposite of what it means to pray under the guidance, inspiration, submission, and help of the Spirit. Let me move quickly to the last part of this where Paul makes a personal request. Don't we often build in our minds Paul up to this such of a high level that we never really see any weakness in him? Would you notice what he says here as he prays, and for me? The implication there takes us back to the beginning of verse 18, praying always we've gone through the alls and for me, and he has two requests. And notice. what he prays. We can learn so much from him here. He understood prayer like few do. He is the one continually exhorting the saints to pray. But notice, he does not pray for success. He does not pray for deliverance from danger. He does not pray for release from bonds or physical comfort or any other temporal blessing. His prayer is based upon that which would further the gospel. He has two requests really. Those two requests are for utterance and boldness. Pray for me that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. Again, these words from Ian Hamilton are helpful. He says, Paul was not naturally word deficient. He's not asking just for more words. He clearly knew how to make an utterance. What He is asking for is that He may utter incisive, heart-convicting, soul-penetrating, and above all, Christ-exalting words. Every preacher in any situation, indeed every Christian, needs to know that type of utterance. however eloquent, or even however earnest, is never sufficient. We need Spirit-given utterance that has its origin in heaven and not on earth. That's what we should pray for all Christians, and especially those who stand before a people and preach the Word of God. Years ago, I wrote this down in the margin of my Bible. I don't know who said this, But I love it. We need men of God who bring the atmosphere of heaven with them into the pulpit and speak from the borders of another world. That's how you pray for someone charged to preach the gospel. You pray that God would give them utterance. The old word here is unction. And it's so much more than just a string of words that come out of your mouth. The older I get and the longer I preach, I find that words are easy, easier for me than they've ever been. But if there's no utterance or unction, if the Spirit doesn't come and add His blessing, then that's all they are, is a string of words. They find no place to light, and they do no good. That's what we were talking about this morning in our first hour meeting. The gospel and the proclamation of the gospel is outwardly necessary, but unless the Spirit of God brings that home with application, then it's all pointless. Paul here is not praying for words. He's praying that the Spirit would use and bless and give unction to his words. You know what it's like. I know what it's like. I can remember vividly what it's like to sit under the preaching of someone standing before a congregation. And yes, words are coming out of their mouth, but it's like thunder from heaven. It nourishes your soul. It invigorates you. It encourages your heart. It slays you before the Spirit to make you willing to repent of sin that's in your heart, in your life. No man can do that. No man has the power to exert that kind of energy or force over you. Only the Spirit of God, using those words and granting what Paul here requests as utterance, can do that. But he also asks for boldness. Notice he's not asking for arrogance. He's asking for the ability to, in the face of opposition and under immediate persecution, to not fear and to speak the truth. Every preacher needs boldness. Every individual Christian sharing the gospel needs utterance and boldness. The temptation is to cower in fear and not say what you know is going to be taken as offensive. Our desire and our goal should never be to be offensive. The offense of the gospel should not come from our presentation or our choice of words. The offense of the gospel should come from telling someone outside of Christ, you're lost, you're dead in sin. And if you persist in that deadness and sin and you will not repent of your sins and come to faith in Christ, upon the point of your death, you will immediately be ushered into a place of torment where the worm never dies because you're sinful. That's the offense of the gospel. That's why Paul says, I need utterance. That's why he says, I need boldness. Would you please, you can almost hear the pleading in his voice in verse 19. And for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may speak it boldly as I ought to speak. We have several men, myself included, who are often, not weekly, but often going into prison to preach the gospel. Pray for these men. They need utterance. They need boldness to be able to speak the truth. Pray for one another. John Stott, I've already mentioned his name. I love his words here. He reminds us that utterance and boldness must go together. One without the other is no good. That's why Paul includes them both. Listen to his words. He says, Utterance without boldness is like sunshine in the desert. Plenty of light, but nothing worth looking at. On the other hand, boldness without utterance is like a beautiful landscape at night. Plenty to see, but no light by which to enjoy it. The two have to go together. So that's how we pray for one another. That's how we pray specifically for preachers of the gospel. And in this one verse instruction on how to pray, all prayer, various forms, different means, at all times, good and bad, with all perseverance and watchfulness for all the saints. This is what gives life to the pieces of armor we've been given What brings them into the point of active service? It's prayer. I'm going to close with this. I read this week very convicting to me. Is prayer fundamental? Or supplemental in your life? And in the life of your church fellowship? Is it fundamental or supplemental? Could it be that the absence of prayer, which should be the spiritual heartbeat of a church's life, is the reason why so many churches languish in weakness throughout the Western world? Yes, is the answer to that question. Spurgeon was asked, what's the secret to your ministry? You remember how he answered the question? He says, my people pray for me. And he left it at that. Prayer. This is the understatement of all understatements. Prayer is important. It's vital. It's a privilege and a responsibility. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. For these verses that teach us. How to pray that teach us the importance of prayer. The magnitude of it. Father, I pray you would help us everyone to be more faithful. That we would use all prayer and petition. That we would be ready at all times to pray in the spirit to be alert, to pray with all perseverance, and to employ ourselves in praying for all the saints. Father, we thank you for this means. We know it's a great privilege that has come to us at the expense of Christ's death. And it's to that now we turn to commemorate His broken body and the shedding of His blood. We pray, Lord, that you would add your blessing to this ordinance, and we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.