COMMUNION WITH GOD: PRAYER

101. Prayer is talking something over with God, rather than trying to talk God out of something.

102. One of the greatest scientists who ever lived gave this witness to his faith in God: "I can take my telescope & look millions & millions of miles into space; but I can lay my telescope aside, go into my room & shut the door, get down on my knees in earnest prayer, & I see more of Heaven & get closer to God than I can when assisted by all the telescopes & material agencies on Earth."--Isaac Newton

103. Billy Sunday tells of a minister who was making calls. He came to a certain home & asked for the mother but the child opening the door answered, "You cannot see Mother for she prays from nine to ten." He waited 40 minutes to see that mother, & when she came out of her prayer closet the light of glory was on her face, & he knew why that home was so bright; he knew why her two sons were in the ministry & her daughter a missionary. "All Hell cannot tear a boy or girl away from a praying mother," comments Mr. Sunday.

104. Susanna Wesley, with 17 children, spent one hour each day shut up with God alone in her room, praying for them--& her two sons, under God, brought revival to England while France weltered in the blood of a ghastly revolution.

105. A mother with three children was about to leave home for a few days. Gathering them about her she talked to them about her absence & their behaviour & prayers until she should return. She then poured out her heart with them in prayer. All heads were raised & every face was full of sunshine. After a moment's pause a little two-year-old boy bowed his head down by his mother's cheek, & said, "More." When a parent's love & example can evoke from children a call for more prayer, the home happiness is assured.

106. When war broke out my husband enlisted. I was left with five children, the youngest being a baby of eleven months. Two years later my husband was killed. My eldest boy was then eighteen, & he had to join up. Day & night I prayed for my son's safety. When he came back on his first furlough he had not been home long when he said: "Mother, you've been praying for me.' I said: "I have, my son, day & night." He then told me that there had been six of them in a trench when the hissing of a shell was heard. Suddenly the shell dropped in the trench itself, burying its nose in the mud, unexploded. After tense silence, one of the lads said: "Our mothers have been praying for us."

107. A person's most fervent prayers are not said when he is on his knees, but when he is flat on his back.

108. He who does not pray when the sun shines will not know how to pray when the clouds come.

109. Prayer can KEEP us out of trouble a lot easier than it can GET us out of trouble.

110. I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down & when I rise up. And the answers are always coming.--George Muller

111. A young man had been called to the foreign field. He had not been in the habit of preaching, but he knew one thing, how to prevail with God; & going one day to a friend, he said, "I don't see how God can use me on the field; I have no special talent." His friend said: "My brother, God wants men on the field who can pray. there are too many preachers now, & too few prayers."

112. We can pray, believe, & receive, or we can pray, doubt, & do without.

113. Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace & pow'r are such,
None can ever ask too much!

114. A minister was watching some men repairing a section of a highway. His attention was especially drawn to an elderly man who knelt as he broke stones for the hole in the highway. The minister observed that this man did more work than the ones who were standing while breaking stones. Then he said to the kneeling man, whom he knew well, "John, I wish I could break the stony hearts of my hearers as easily as you are breaking those stones!" With a twinkle in his eyes John said, "Pastor, you could if you worked on your knees!"

115. Prayer makes the darkened clouds withdraw;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives exercise to faith & love;
Brings every blessing from above.

Restraining prayer, we cease to fight;
Prayer makes the Christian's armour bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.

116. A thrilling incident happened in a little hut in Africa. A missionary awoke suddenly. She had a feeling of imminent danger. Fear held her in a vice-like grip. The moon's rays shone through the window, but she could see nothing wrong. She continued to have a feeling of great danger so she awoke her husband. They talked in a whisper. Looking beside the bed, they saw a fearsome creature--a giant cobra whose head was raised, ready to strike & inject venom into the flesh of the missionaries. Quickly the husband reached for his rifle & shot the cobra through its head.
Our story is not complete. One day while a friend of the missionaries was sweeping the floor in her Canadian town, she had an irresistible urge to pray for these missionaries. "They are right now in great danger," she said to herself. So she began to pray. Presently God's peace came into her heart. She knew that God had worked in behalf of her faraway friends. Later, when the missionaries told her of their frightful experience, she compared the date & time of the two experiences. The peril of the missionaries & the burden to pray for them corresponded to the minute!
"More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of!"

117. Forbidding prayers in school won't hurt our country half as much as forgetting prayers at home.

118. The tragedy of our day is not unanswered prayer--but unoffered prayer.

119. Are we as enthusiastic in our prayers as we are in all other areas of our lives?

120. Those prayers that awaken God must awaken us.

121. Prayer is the gun we shoot with, fervency is the fire that discharges it, & faith the bullet that pierces the throne of grace.

122. When the heroic General Gordon went to the Sudan, his parting message to me was written on a card, & referring to a prayer-meeting held at his house: "I value more the prayer of that little circle than all the wealth of the Sudan."

123. The Rev. George Grubb tells in his books, "What God Hath Wrought", the following incident: During one of his campaigns he entered the tent a little earlier than usual one evening, & found the coloured tent attendant walking up & down on top of the rows of seats. "What are you doing?" Mr. Grubb asked.
"Well," he said, "I am claiming all the people who sit in these seats tonight for Jesus, for God says that 'every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you,' so I am walking up & down these seats & claiming them for God." (Josh.1:3)

124. Arrangements had been made for a lecture by the agnostic lecturer, Bradlaugh, who was a forceful orator, & it was feared by a small group of believers in the city that his visits would cause great spiritual harm to the youth of the place. They covenanted together that they would take hold of God for the hindering of the meeting. The evening came, however, & Bradlaugh appeared on the platform before a capacity audience. Was the prayer of the earnest group to go unanswered? After the introductory remarks by the chairman, the great infidel stepped to the front & began to speak. "Ladies & gentlemen," he said, & then passed his hand over his forehead. A second & a third time he repeated those words, & then, turning to the chairman, he said, "For some reason, sir, my mind seems clouded, & I am unable to continue. I am sorry to disappoint the audience." He sat down. The Chairman apologised, & the audience dispersed. Bradlaugh never returned to the place.

125. When thou prayest, rather be thy heart without words than thy words without heart.

126. No man can pray scripturally who prays selfishly.

127. Some people treat God as they do a lawyer; they go to Him only when they are in trouble.

128. He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.

129. When the road of life is steep & slippery, prayer in action gives us traction.

130. Abraham prayed & brought God down almost to his own terms.
Elijah prayed & called down fire from Heaven.
Daniel prayed & was saved from the lions.
Paul prayed & the prison walls were shaken.
Luther prayed & the gates of Rome shook.
Knox prayed & Queen Mary trembled.
Wesley prayed & a great revival saved England.
Muller prayed & great orphanages were reared.
Roberts prayed & a Pentecost swept Wales.

131. Dr. Goodrich...was on the lookout on a wall in Peking during the Boxer uprising in China, & saw the enemy approach within a second of achieving its objective, when suddenly the whole attacking force turned & fled in confusion. Some of those who fled were captured, & when asked why they fled, answered: "We saw the walls suddenly swarming with Angels in white, & we cried out, `The gods have come down to fight for the foreigners, & our cause is lost.'"

132. When the searchers found a five-year-old boy who had been lost in the mountains for two days, they asked, "Were you afraid?" "It was scary," the little boy answered, "but I prayed & God took good care of me."

133. Little Raymond returned home from Sunday school in a joyous mood. "Oh Mother," he exclaimed as he entered the house, "the superintendent said something awfully nice about me in his prayer today."
"Isn't that wonderful!" said the mother. "What did he say?"
"He said, `Oh, Lord, we thank Thee for food & Raymond,'" replied the lad.

134. The greatest of men must turn beggars when they have to do (?) with Christ.

135. Take God into thy counsel. Heaven overlooks Hell. God at any time can tell thee what plots are hatching there against thee.

136. Prayer is a swift messenger, which in the twinkling of an eye can go & return with an answer from Heaven.

137. Could we be content to meet a loved one only in public?

138. The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.

139. Prayer is to ask not only what we wish of God, but what God wishes of us.

140. If I can do some good today,
If I can serve along life's way,
If I can something helpful say,
Lord, show me how.

If I can right a human wrong,
If I can help to make one strong,
If I can cheer with smile or song
Lord, show me how.

If I can aid one in distress,
If I can make a burden less,
If I can spread more happiness,
Lord, show me how.--Grenville Kleiser

The victories won by prayer,
By prayer must still be held;
The foe retreats...but only when
By prayer he is compelled.

141. Tell Him about your heartache
And tell Him about your loneliness too,
Tell Him your baffled purpose
When you scarce know what to do.
Then leaving all your weakness
With the One divinely strong,
Forget that you bear the burden
And carry away the song.

142. Wrestling prayer can wonders do,
Bring relief in deepest straits;
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars & brazen gates.

143. Give me a good digestion, Lord,
and also something to digest.
Give me a healthy body, Lord,
and sense to keep it at its best.
Give me a healthy mind, dear Lord,
to keep the good & pure in sight,
Which, seeing sin, is not appalled,
but finds a way to set it right.

Give me a mind that is not bound,
that does not whimper, whine, or sigh.
Don't let me worry over much about the fussy thing called I.
Give me a sense of humour, Lord;
give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life
and pass it on to other folk.--Thomas H. B. Webb

144. Satan rocks the cradle when we sleep at our devotions.

145. Many people pray for things that can only come by work & work for things that can only come by prayer.

146. Prayer without love has no suction. It does not draw the blessing down.

147. Yank some of the groans out of your prayers, & shove in some shouts.

148. It is foolish to pray against sin & then sin against prayer.

149. Pray, & then start answering your prayer.

150. Lord, make me free...
From fear of the future;
From anxiety of the morrow;
From bitterness toward anyone;
From cowardice in face of danger;
From failure before opportunity;
From laziness in face of work.

151. Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred...
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury...
Pardon;
Where there is doubt...
Faith;
Where there is despair...
Hope;
Where there is darkness...
Light;
Where there is sadness...
Joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled...
As to console;
To be understood...
As to understand,
To be loved...
As to love, for
It is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in dying that we are born to Eternal life. St. Francis of Assisi

152. Prayer is so simple
It is like quietly opening a door
And slipping into the very presence of God,
There in the stillness
To listen for His voice.
Perhaps to petition
Or only to listen,
It matters not;
Just to be there,
In His presence,
Is prayer!

153. Please don't pray for rain if you're going to complain about the mud.

154. There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him.

155. Prayer is not the least we can do; it is the most.

156. To attempt any work for God without prayer is as futile as trying to launch a space probe with a peashooter.

157. We need more Christians for whom prayer is the first resort, not the last.

158. What various hindrances we meet
In coming to the mercy seat;
Yet who, that knows the worth of prayer,
But wishes to be often there?--William Cowper

159. In prayer, you've got to stick up your antenna. Your SPIRIT is your antenna, because it is spiritually sensitive. When you're in prayer your spirit is seeking the Lord. In a sense your spirit comes out & up & reaches out for the Lord. The minute you start thinking about the Lord & get spiritually sensitive, your little spiritual antenna goes up! And it receives the impressions & impulses that you feel in the spirit. God has made the rules that way & that's the way you have to play! You get these things in the spirit when you're quiet or alone or most spiritually sensitive or asleep. It seems like your spiritual antenna can then go up a little higher & get a little better reception.

160. Selfishness short-circuits prayer.

161. The plane had caught fire like a torch.
"I was still conscious," said the pilot, "and I tried to get through the little window next to my seat. Flames licked at my back & legs. I got halfway through, but the chute on my back wedged me in. I had to go back into a fire & try to get it off. But I couldn't. My fingers were numb. The last thing I remembered was shouting, `Please help me, God!' And the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground, with the doctor bending over me. Nobody knows yet how I got out of that window."
He hesitated for a moment, & then added, "My theory, of course, is that the Lord pulled a fast one."

162. When we are listless about prayer is the very time when we need most to pray! The only way we can overcome listlessness in anything is to put more of ourselves, not less, into the task. To pray when you do not feel like praying is not hypocrisy--it is faithfulness to the greatest duty of life.

163. ROYAL TELEPHONE
Central's never busy, always on the line,
You may hear from Heaven almost any time.
'Tis a royal service free to one & all;
When you get in trouble, give this royal line a call.

Telephone to glory, Oh, what joy divine!
I can feel the current moving on the line;
Built by God the Father for His loved & own
We may talk to Jesus through this royal telephone.

There will be no charges, telephone is free;
It was built for service just for you & me;
There will be no waiting on this royal line,
Telephone to glory always answers just in time.
Have you failed to get the answer,
Satan's crossed your wire,
By some strong delusion or some base desire?
Take away obstructions, God is on the throne,
And you'll get the answer through this royal telephone.

If your line is ground & connection true
Has been lost with Jesus, I'll you what to do:
Prayer & faith & promise mend the broken wire
Till your soul is burning with the Pentecostal fire.

Carnal combinations cannot get control
Of this line to glory anchored in the soul.
Storm & trial cannot disconnect the line
Held in constant keeping by the Father's hand divine.

164. God is not mocked. He does not answer prayers if He has already given us the answer & we are not willing to use it.

165. To give prayer the secondary place is to make God secondary in life's affairs.

166. Prayer does not enable us to do a greater work for God. Prayer IS a greater work for God.

167. Prayer is the highest use to which speech can be put.

168. Once in an Eastern place wide
A little child sat weaving;
So patiently her task she plied,
The men & woman at her side
Flocked around her almost grieving.

"How is it, little one," they said,
"You always work so cheerily?
You never seem to break your thread,
Or snarl or tangle it, instead
Of working smooth & clearly."

"I only go & tell the King,"
She said, abashed & meekly;
"You know He said, `In everything.'"
"Why so do we!" they cried. "We bring
Him all our troubles weekly."
She turned her little head aside;
A moment let them wrangle;
"Ah, but," she softly then replied,
"I go & get the knot untied
At the first little tangle!"

169. As it is the business of tailors to make clothes & of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.

170. The measure of our love for others can largely be determined by the frequency & earnestness of our prayers for them.

171. God does nothing but in answer to prayer.

172. She asked to be made like her Saviour:
He took her right then at her word,
And sent her a heart-crushing burden
Till the depths of her soul were stirred.
She wanted a meek, lowly spirit--
The work He gave answered that cry.
Till someone who had once been companions,
With a pitying smile passed her by.
She asked to lean hard on her Saviour,
He took human props quite away,
Till no earthly friend could give comfort,
And she could do nothing but pray.
She had prayed to be made like the Saviour,
And the burdens He gave her to bear
Had been put the great Sculptor's teaching;
To help answer her earnest prayer.

173. I'll never forget a miracle of encouragement the Lord did for us while in some difficult days living in a pension alone & trying to pioneer a new city. One day while Sos was busy arranging documents, househunting & litnessing, I took all four children out to provision our needs.
I had the baby in my arms, two hanging onto my skirt & the oldest was pushing the stroller full of bags & bottles, & boy, was I struggling down that busy crowded city street! Thank the Lord we just couldn't do it in our own strength, & finally we just pulled over to pray.
When we opened our eyes, there were two very old ladies, foreigners--they sure weren't from here as the hey were very white with white hair, in their 80's at least, & we could not understand a word they said! But they were leaning way over into our circle to hear our prayer!
They had the slowest most tranquil spirit in the midst of all that city confusion, & finally one said in broken English, "You are like a beautiful garden, full of beautiful flowers!" Wow!--And she slipped a very large donation into one of the children's hands, gave us a most angelic smile & puttered down the street! All of us still believe these "foreigners" were from Heaven--Angels! Praise the Lord!--Sos & Ahlai

174. To pray without labouring is to mock God: To labour without prayer is to rob God of His glory.

175. Prayer should be fundamental, not supplemental.

176. UNANSWERED YET?
Faith cannot be unanswered.
Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted,
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,
And cries, "It shall be done," sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done.
The work began when your first prayer was uttered.
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.--Robert Browning

177. A MISSIONARY'S PLEA
Dear Mother:
Are they praying for us at home?
Are they meeting together for prayer,
Or, going on still in the usual way,
As they did when I was there?

We thank them all for their money,
We thank them all for their care.
But, oh, just tell them, dear mother
We are needing so much their prayers.

Will you ask them to gather together,
To meet at our Father's throne,
That we may be kept from faltering,
When we feel we are standing alone?

There are moments when courage fails us,
And dangers around us stare;
Do tell them again, dear mother,
We are needing so much their prayers.
Your Missionary Children

178. A Persian fable says--One day
A wanderer found a piece of clay
So redolent of sweet perfume
Its odour scented all the room.

"What are thou?" was the quick demand:
"Art thou some gem of Samarcand
Or spikenard rare in odd disguise?
Or other costly merchandise?"

"Nay, I am but a piece of clay." "Then, whence this wondrous sweetness, pray?" "Friend, if the secret I disclose,
I have been living with the rose." (Song of Songs 2:1; 2Cor.3:18)

179. What comes from Heaven in a promise
Should be sent back to Heaven in a prayer.
180. BECAUSE YOU PRAYED
God touched our weary bodies with His power
And gave us strength for many a trying hour
In which we might have faltered, had not you,
Our intercessors faithful been, & true.

Because you prayed--
God touched our lips with coals from altar fire,
Gave Spirit-fulness, & did so inspire
That, when we spoke, sin-blinded souls did see;
Sins chains were broken;
Captives were made free.

Because you prayed--
The dwellers in the dark have found the Light;
The glad good-news has banished heathen
The message of the Cross, so long delayed,
Has brought them life at last--
Because you prayed.--Charles B. Bowser
181. Somebody prayed, my burden was lighter,
Somebody prayed & my path became clear,
Clouds rolled away, & the sunshine was brighter,
Jesus my Wonderful Saviour was near.

Prayer hands, outstretched, over ocean & mountain
Helped me press onward, when I was afraid.
Thirsty souls drank at the life-giving Fountain,
Somebody, somewhere, had earnestly prayed.

Faith flickered low in my pain-tortured body,
Jesus, the Mighty Physician, was there,
Healing me, giving me joy in His Presence,
Answering somebody's unfailing prayer.

Gems for the Master afar I may gather,
Trophies at last at His feet to be laid,
"Well done," He'll say, but methinks I shall answer,
"It's all by Thy Grace, Lord, 'cause somebody prayed."--Louise J. Walker

182. BEYOND OUR ASKING
More than hearts can imagine
or minds comprehend,
God's bountiful gifts are ours without end--
We ask for a cupful when the vast sea is ours,
We pick a small rosebud from a garden of flowers,
We reach for a sunbeam
but the sun still abides,
We draw one short breath
but there's air on all sides--
Whatever we ask for falls short of God's giving
For His Greatness exceeds every facet of living,
And always God's ready
and eager and willing
To pour out His mercy completely fulfilling
All of man's needs for peace, joy and rest
For God gives His children Whatever Is Best--
Just give Him a chance to open His Treasures
And He'll fill your life
with unfathomable pleasures,
Pleasures that never grown worn out & faded
And leave us depleted, disillusioned and jaded--
For God has a "storehouse"
just filled to the brim
With all that man needs
if we'll only ask Him.--Helen Steiner Rice

183. MORNING PRAYER
Jesus, where'er Thy people meet,
There they behold Thy Mercy-seat:
Where'er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallowed ground.

For Thou, within no walls confined,
Inhabitest the humble mind:
Such ever bring Thee where they come,
And going, take Thee to their home.

Great shepherd of Thy chosen few,
Thy former mercies here renew;
Here to our waiting hearts proclaim
The sweetness of Thy saving Name.

Here may we prove the power of prayer,
To strengthen faith, & banish care,
To teach our faint desires to rise,
And bring all Heaven before our eyes.

Lord, we are few, but Thou art near,
Nor short Thine arm, nor deaf Thine ear;
O rend the heavens, come quickly down,
And make a thousand hearts Thine own!--William Cowper
184. It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they may be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be--which God cares for. Fervency of spirit is that which availeth much.

185. The Lord's answers to prayer are infinitely perfect, & they will show that often when we were asking for a stone that looked like bread, He was giving us bread that to our short-sightedness looked like stone.

186. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE
How sweet the memory--as a child
when disappointments came
My mother's faith & courage sweet,
that put my own to shame.
For in the time of trouble deep
my faith would weaken sore,
While hers just seemed to thrive on trials
and only grow the more.
And then it was I'd hear her say
as my doubts took to wings,
"Why,--God is Still upon the Throne
and PRAYER CHANGES THINGS."

But, after years, I wandered from
the shrine at mother's knee;
For seeming wise & learned men
had clearly shown to me
That such a simple, childlike faith
was now quite obsolete,
Belonging just to ages past,
today--for fools 'twas meet.
"All this", they said, "is only myth
and from gross ignorance springs,
That God is Still upon the Throne,
and PRAYER CHANGES THINGS."

Their way seemed well in weather fair
but Oh! when troubles came
It didn't meet the need at all--
'twas such a futile game.
"Now just hold on", the scoffer said,
"there's nothing else to do."
But that was just the trouble when
there was naught to hold on to.
For I had lost the simple faith
that such assurance brings,
That God is Still upon the Throne,
and PRAYER CHANGES THINGS."

So I turned back with eager heart
to the old-fashioned way;
And now I KNOW that God is real,
no matter what they say.
For better proof could not be had
than truly answered prayer,
And answered too in such a way
as to know--God is there.
And where is greater happiness
than the peace that this truth brings
That God is Still upon the Throne,
and PRAYER CHANGES THINGS." By Grandmother

187. How little we use this method of holy argument in prayer; & yet there are examples of it in Scripture: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Daniel. All used arguments in prayer, & claimed the divine interposition on the ground of the pleas which they presented.

188. The worth of a prayer is not gauged by its dimensions.

189. It IS necessary to draw near unto God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word "Amen".

190. Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean which defies resistance.

191. INTERCESSION, by Grandmother
Say not I do not understand the fierceness of your fight,
For I was with you many times in the darkness of your night.
Though you were many miles away & we were years apart,
I felt oft-times your agony, the pain within your heart.

Say not you fought the battle grim in darkness all alone,
For I was with you there in PRAYER, stood by you at the Throne.
With shield of faith & Spirit's sword I answered at His Word,
And came to battle by your side when first your call I heard.

Say not, "Tis fantasy that one should hear such distant cry".
For we are one in Him we love, His Spirit draws us nigh.
And oft He whispers to my heart the call to "QUICKLY PRAY".
So I have reached you there in prayer though you are far away."

192. Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the Will of God.

193. No praying man or woman accomplishes so much with so little expenditure of time as when he or she is praying.

194. Lord, I have shut the door, speak now the word
Which in the din & throng could not be heard;
Hushed now my inner heart, whisper Thy Will,
While I have come apart, while all is still.

Lord, I have shut the door, here do I bow;
Speak, for my soul attent turns to Thee now.
Rebuke Thou what is vain, counsel my soul,
Thy Holy Will reveal, my will control.

In this blest quietness clamorings cease;
Here in Thy presence dwells infinite peace;
Yonder the strife & cry, yonder, the sin:
Lord, I have shut the door, Thou art within!

Lord, I have shut the door, strengthen my heart;
Yonder awaits the task--I share a part.
Only through grace bestowed may I be true;
Here, while alone with Thee, my strength renew.--William M. Runyan

195. Prayer can do anything that God can do.

196. The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.

197. Prayer is the rope up in the belfry; we pull it, & it rings the bell up in Heaven.

198. The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.

199. Prayer is striking the winning blow...service is gathering up the results.

200. My God, is any hour so sweet,
From blush of morn to evening-star,
As that which calls me to Thy feet,
The hour of prayer?

Blest is that tranquil hour of morn,
And blest that solemn hour of eve,
When, on the wings of prayer upborne,
The world I leave.

Then is my strength by Thee renewed;
Then are my sins by Thee forgiven;
Then dost Thou cheer my solitude
With hopes of Heaven.

No words can tell what sweet relief
Here for my ev'ry want I find;
What strength for warfare, balm for grief,
What peace of mind.

Hushed is each doubt, gone ev'ry fear;
My spirit seems in Heaven to stay;
And e'en the penitential tear
Is wiped away.--Charlotte Elliott