"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day." - John Bunyan
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| Pray |
As I set out to put pen on paper, my heart tilted in the direction of
prayer. I happened on this quote above - it cut so deep, I had to pause
and reflect for a while. It was Ambrose Bierce that defined prayer thus,
"To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single
petitioner confessedly unworthy."
There was a man at one of our meetings in New York City who was moved by the Spirit of God. He said, "I am going home, and I am not going to sleep to-night till Christ takes away my sins, if I have to stay up all night and pray. I'll do it." He had a good distance to walk, and as he went along he thought, "Why can't I pray now as I go along, instead of waiting to go home?" But he did not know a prayer. His mother had taught him to pray, but it was so long since he had uttered a prayer that he had forgotten. However, the publican's prayer came to his mind. Everybody can say this prayer. That man in the gallery yonder, that young lady over there: "God be merciful to me a sinner." May God write it on your hearts to-night. If you forget the sermon, don't forget that prayer. It is a very short prayer, and it has b
rought joy - salvation - to many a soul. Well, this prayer came to the man, and he began, "God be merciful to me a," but before he got to "sinner" God blessed him.
Observe that the man must have been running from God all along, but alas, he had to find his way to Him, by the help of the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry said, "When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying." It is our secure line to our creator, with a divine warranty on it. When was the last time you took out time to take advantage of that secure line called prayer?
There was a man at one of our meetings in New York City who was moved by the Spirit of God. He said, "I am going home, and I am not going to sleep to-night till Christ takes away my sins, if I have to stay up all night and pray. I'll do it." He had a good distance to walk, and as he went along he thought, "Why can't I pray now as I go along, instead of waiting to go home?" But he did not know a prayer. His mother had taught him to pray, but it was so long since he had uttered a prayer that he had forgotten. However, the publican's prayer came to his mind. Everybody can say this prayer. That man in the gallery yonder, that young lady over there: "God be merciful to me a sinner." May God write it on your hearts to-night. If you forget the sermon, don't forget that prayer. It is a very short prayer, and it has b
rought joy - salvation - to many a soul. Well, this prayer came to the man, and he began, "God be merciful to me a," but before he got to "sinner" God blessed him.
Observe that the man must have been running from God all along, but alas, he had to find his way to Him, by the help of the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry said, "When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying." It is our secure line to our creator, with a divine warranty on it. When was the last time you took out time to take advantage of that secure line called prayer?
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