God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Men may reform, but they cannot regenerate themselves. Men may give up their crimes and their vices, but they cannot, by their own strength, give up their sins. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? No. Can the leopard eliminate his spots? Regeneration is the great change which God works in the soul when He brings it into life, when He raises it from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. It is the change wrought when the love of the world is changed into the love of God; when pride is dethroned and humility enthroned; when passion is changed into meekness; when hatred, envy, and malice are changed into a sincere and tender love for all mankind. It is the change whereby the earthly, sensual, devilish mind is turned into the mind that was in Christ. The new birth is not the old nature altered, reformed, or reinvigorated, but a being born from above (Robert Lee).
Praying without ceasing means at least three things. First it means that there is a spirit of dependence that should permeate all we do… So even when we are not speaking consciously to God, there is a deep, abiding dependence on Him that is woven in to the heart of faith. Second… [it] means praying repeatedly and often. Third, [it] means not giving up on prayer. Don’t ever come to a point in your life where you cease to pray at all.
