The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me."

Second: _Strength will be our possession_, for the Apostle tells us
that we are to be "rooted and grounded in him." As the roots of the
tree take hold upon the ground and the giant oak withstands the storms
of the Northern coasts, so we may withstand temptation and trial and be
more than conquerors if this prayer is answered.

Third: _There will be cleansing_, for we are told that "as a man
thinketh in his heart so is he." We are told also that we must keep
our hearts with all diligence, for out of them are the issues of life.
It is easy enough to understand how our lives would be pure if Christ
were only in possession.

II

_Prayer for Perception_. Colossians 1:9-10, "For this cause we also,
since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire
that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the
knowledge of God." The need of this prayer was not that the Colossians
were weak, or that they had been conspicuous in the failure of their
Christian experience, for in the third and fourth verses of the first
chapter of Colossians, Paul says concerning them, "We give thanks to
God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye
have to all the saints"; and then in the face of this statement he
prayed earnestly for them. The subject of his prayer was not that he
desired anything, humanly speaking, very great for them; he did not ask
honor, nor did he desire that wealth should be theirs, but merely
states in the ninth verse that they might be filled with the knowledge
of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. I have been
told that literally, this means that they might have full knowledge,
not simply a passing opinion concerning him and his work.

If we study this particular scripture in which Paul is praying for the
Colossians we will learn how this prayer is to be answered.

First: We must meditate upon God's word. He makes himself especially
known to his people in his word. There are certain great principles
which we must remember if we would know God's will.

(1) _We must present our bodies to him_.