Constant Need of Prayer by the Young by G. B. Thompson

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 26, 1907

Constant Need of Prayer by the Young

By G. B. Thompson

How much our youth need to pray! Prayer is the life of the soul. It is the only sure refuge from the storms and chilling blasts of sin. In the closet we can hide with God, and be safe.

Satan, like a hungry lion, stalks through the land, seeking to destroy souls, and millions of fallen angels are under his control and are aiding him in his destructive work. In “Testimonies,” Vol. IV, page 421, we read: “It is Satan’s studied effort to secure the youth in sin; for then he is more sure of the man.” Think of this, dear young people. Satan is studying how he may destroy you.

This is the most perilous time young people ever faced. It is when a vessel is nearing port that hidden rocks are most apt to be struck. You must have daily help and communion with God, or fail of securing eternal life at last. And to stumble now, when the gates of the celestial city are almost in sight, is sad beyond conception. But it is a time of special danger. The sun of human probation is nearing the horizon. The shadows are lengthening. Gospel light has become almost eclipsed by sin, and the pathway of young pilgrims is growing darker and darker.

I do not say these things to discourage you, but to arouse you to the need of seeking the Lord. In him is help and strength. With him we are safe.

“I would rather walk in the dark with God Than go alone in the light; I’d rather walk by faith with him Than go alone by sight.”

The refuge for tempted, tried, storm-buffeted souls is in earnest prayer. It is this that I am writing to emphasize. You can not be a Christian and walk with God unless you pray.

Especially should the young be found often in secret prayer. In the secret place Jesus at times prayed all night. Daily should we be alone with God. In the secret place you can unbosom to God the dark passions of the heart; you can tell him about your doubts and failures, and secure a firmer grasp upon the throne, and help for the most determined assaults of the enemy. The citadel of a prayerful heart is a fortress impregnable to the fiercest assaults of the legions of darkness.

“Satan trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees.”

The time especially when we should pray is in the morning. This is an excellent way to begin the day, when the mind is clear, and the busy cares of life have not come in to crowd out communion with God.

The Lord gave the Israelites manna, “angels’ food” from heaven. It fell with the dew during the night. But in order for them to have food for the day, it was necessary for them to gather it “every morning.” So we, in the morning, should, by communing with God in prayer, gather from heaven the heavenly manna for the day. The psalmist says: “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Ps. 5: 3.

As an aid in morning devotion, a Morning Watch Calendar has been prepared by the Missionary Volunteer Department. This is not a prayer-book, but a daily reminder, with some appropriate Scripture text, of our duty to meditate upon God’s Word, and to pray. It is a suggestion to spend, if possible, the first half-hour of the day alone with God in personal devotion, that we may be prepared for the conflicts of the day. The neglect of prayer is a fundamental neglect; and if we neglect it in the morning, the chances are that we shall neglect it all day. The object of this Calendar is to remind us of our duty to fix the mind on God in the morning and form an inflexible resolution to be true to the principles of right. The Calendar is a reminder for us in the morning to be still and listen to the voice of Jehovah, that he may direct us in the right way. It suggests to us a precious promise of God’s immutable Word for our meditation before we begin to study about the perishing things of this world.

As an aid to prayer, we can recommend this Calendar, and trust it may be secured by all our young people, and may prove a blessing to all.

G. B. Thompson.