t My will but Thine be done;" sure that He will present
that prayer to His Father and to our Father, and to His God and our God;
and that whatsoever be the answer vouchsafed by Him whose ways are not as
our ways, nor His thoughts as our thoughts, the prayer will not have gone
up to Christ in vain.
_Westminster Sermons_.
I have been praying long and earnestly, and have no fears now.
"Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, _believing_, ye shall receive."
"Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief." Those two texts were my
stronghold when the night of misery was most utterly dark, and in the
strength of them we shall prevail. Fret not then, neither be anxious;
what God intends He will do.
_Letters and Memories_.
The longer I live the more I see that the Lord's Prayer is the pattern of
all prayers; and whether it be consistent with that to ask that God
should alter the course of the universe in the same breath that we say,
"Thy will be done on earth"--judge you. I do not object to praying for
special things. God forbid! I do it myself. I cannot help doing it any
more than a child in the dark can help calling for its mother. Only it
seems to me, that when we pray, "Grant this day that we run into no kind
of danger," we ought to lay our stress on the "run," rather than on the
"danger"; and ask God not to take away the danger by altering the course
of nature, but to give us light and guidance whereby to avoid it.
_Letters and Memories_.
Pray night and day very quietly, like a little, weary child, for
everything you want, in body as well as in soul--the least thing as well
as the greatest--nothing is too much to ask God for--nothing too great
for Him to grant--and try to thank Him for everything. Glory be to thee,
O God!
_Letters and Memories_.
When you are in the deep--whatever that depth be--cry to God: to God
Himself, and none but God. If you can go to the pure fountain-head, why
drink of the stream, which must have gathered something of defilement as
it flows? If you can go to God Himself, why go to any of God's
creatures, however holy, pure, and loving? Go to God, who is light of
light, life of life. From Him all goodness flows.
Go then to Him Himself. Out of the deep, however deep, cry unto God,
unto God Himself. If David the Jew of old could do so, much more we who
are baptized into Christ; much more can we who have access by one Spirit
unto the Father; much more can we who, if we know who we
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