HOW SHALL WE PRAY?



MUCH has been said and written upon prayer, and it is not with the thought of adding anything to what has already been said that we pen these lines, but to call the attention of our readers to it by way of remembrance.

Young friends, do you pray? Do y o u pray? 

Our Saviour when upon earth spent whole nights in prayer, and shall we pray any less than did he? Then, too, let us not be content to simply say our prayers, to go through a form of words, but let us try to feel our need, and then ask for just the things we want. 

A little deaf and dumb girl, upon being asked, "What is prayer?" wrote in answer, "It is the wishes of the heart." Yes, this is true; and unless our petition, comes from the heart, it will not be genuine prayer.

Christ says, "If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it." "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." These are plain, positive, and unlimited promises, save in the condition, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you." 

This "abide in me" is, however, an important thing in prayer. It signifies that to expect an answer to our petitions, we must have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, must have a close connection with God. Then, and only then, may we expect an answer to our prayers.

Sometimes our wants and our woes grieve us more than our sins, and we make these first, and thus fail to receive the expected help; for the Lord will not hear us if we regard iniquity in our hearts. We must be willing to confess our sins.  "Mary," said a mother to her little six-year-old daughter, "you are growing old enough to really pray, instead of just saying your prayers. You ought to ask the Lord for the things you really want, and tell him when you have done wrong, and ask his forgiveness. Then you would be really praying."

"Yes, mamma," said Mary, "but then sometimes I don't want to tell the Lord when I have done wrong."

Mary's answer shows very clearly the real nature of these hearts of ours; we are not willing to confess our sins; but there is no true repentance unless there is confession of sin. Peter says in Acts 3:19, "Repent ye, therefore, . . . that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Repentance, therefore, is necessary for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus understands all our feelings, he knows all our wants; yet he desires to have us come to him and ask. We should consider it a privilege to pray. Jesus will hear and answer, and he is able to help us out of all the difficulties we get into, and save us from the hands of Satan, who is much stronger than we.

May we, dear readers, be of the happy number who love to pray, and who will finally enter the City of God. 




V. A. M.




A LITTLE girl from the Sunday-school of Dr. Mutchmore, in Philadelphia, was on 

board the Narragansett at the time of the disaster. Kneeling down, she asked God 

to save her. The captain saw her in prayer, and rushed to her, and taking her in his 

arms declared that whoever else might be lost she should be saved. He carried her to the life-boat and sent her safely to the shore. The school held a special thanksgiving meeting for her rescue. This, by the way, is the school that was started by the dying gift of four dollars and thirty cents in silver, from a little girl who made Dr. Mutchmore promise to build a church for poor people. It now has five hundred and five scholars.