The Noon-Hour Prayer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Oct 31, 1912

The Noon-Hour Prayer

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.”

OUR seasons of spiritual devotion should never degenerate into mere forms. On these occasions we hold communion with our truest and dearest Friend. We should enter the audience-chamber with joy. Shut in with him, we may tell him all our hearts’ desire. He will not upbraid us nor turn coldly aside. He will not betray to others the confidence that we repose in him. We may whisper into his ear the inmost secrets of our lives. We may tell him our desires and longings, and confess to him our weaknesses and failures. We may lay upon him our burden of grief and woe, tell him how hard it has been to bear the pain of body or the anguish of heart, and seek from him strength and power to enable us to bear the load that his providence permits to rest upon us.

Let us make our communion with God more than a hasty formal exercise. Let us make it rather a time of sweet communion, when with our hearts open to the divine influence we may let God speak to us through his Word and through the leadings of his Holy Spirit. From such communion and from such prayer seasons we shall go out refreshed, strengthened, and encouraged to bear bravely all that shall fall to us in the working out of his great purposes in our experience.

Let us remember the following requests as we bow before the throne of grace during the coming week:—

122. From far-away India one of our missionaries writes asking that we pray for the conversion of his two brothers and two sisters; also that, if it be God’s will, he may be healed of an affliction from which he has suffered for several years.

123. A sister in Oklahoma is burdened for her son’s wife, who is giving up the truth, and whose violent temper makes the home very unpleasant. Let us pray earnestly for this family.

124. A North Carolina brother desires

prayer for his three brothers. One has married an unbeliever and given up the truth, but the others have never been converted.

125. From California a burdened mother writes earnestly requesting prayer in behalf of her only son, a young man twenty-one years of age. He was reared in a Christian home, and was graduated from one of our Western schools, but has fallen into bad company, formed the habit of cigarette smoking, and apparently cares nothing for the truth. This sister also asks that we pray for the conversion of her only brother.

126. “I am afflicted with rheumatism, and for four years have been an invalid. Pray that I may be healed if it is God’s will. Also pray for my son who has given up the truth, that he may again take his stand with this people; and for my daughter, whose husband is not a Christian, that she may follow her Saviour faithfully in spite of opposing influences.” These requests come from a sister in Nebraska.

127. A Wisconsin sister requests prayer for the conversion of her three sons, who are moderate users of intoxicating liquor. They know the truth and respect it, but evil companions have led them astray.

128. A sister in Connecticut sends an earnest request for prayer that God will overrule in circumstances that seem especially trying, and open the way for her husband and herself to once more take an active part in this closing work.

129. A burdened mother in Florida asks the prayers of God’s people in behalf of her son who has gone astray, and who is the innocent victim of unjust accusation.

Answered Prayer

The following cheering note comes from Mrs. Josephine Clark, of Turners, Mo.:—

“I have been praying for my husband for seven years, with other faithful brethren and sisters, that he would be converted to the truth. I had almost despaired, but God had not ceased to work in his behalf. On September 14 he took his stand on all the principal points of the message. He is studying to know what the Lord would have him do. It is the first time he has ever made a profession, and he is forty-five years of age. I think this should be a great encouragement to many who have been praying long years for their loved ones. I praise the Lord for his goodness to us.”