p to pray,
And they that wait at the outer gate
May enter by either way.

There are some that pray by asking;
They lie on the Master's breast,
And, shunning the strife of the lower life,
They utter their cry for rest.

There are some that pray by seeking;
They doubt where their reason fails;
But their mind's despair is the ancient prayer
To touch the print of the nails.

There are some that pray by knocking;
They put their strength to the wheel
For they have not time for thoughts sublime;
They can only act what they feel.

Father, give each his answer,
Each in his kindred way;
Adapt thy light to his form of night
And grant him his needed day.

--William Watson.

TRUE PRAYER

I.

It is not prayer,
This clamor of our eager wants
That fills the air
With wearying, selfish plaints.

It is not faith
To boldly count all gifts as ours--
The pride that saith,
"For me his wealth he ever showers."

It is not praise
To call to mind our happier lot,
And boast bright days,
God-favored, with all else forgot.

II.

It is true prayer
To seek the giver more than gift
God's life to share
And love--for this our cry to lift.

It is true faith
To simply trust his loving will,
Whiche'er he saith--
"Thy lot be glad" or "ill."

It is true praise
To bless alike the bright and dark;
To sing, all days
Alike, with nightingale and lark.

--James W. White.

THE POWER OF PRAYER

Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in thy presence will prevail to make;
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take;
What parched grounds refresh as with a shower!
We kneel--and all about us seems to lower;
We rise--and all, the distant and the near,
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear.
We kneel, how weak! we rise, how full of power!
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or others, that we are not always strong;
That we are ever overborne with care,
Anxious and troubled, when with us is prayer,
And joy and strength and courage are with thee?

--Richard Chenevix Trench.

Asked and unasked, thy heavenly gifts unfold,
And evil, though we ask it,