Prayer by M. E. Nordyke

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 19, 1885

Prayer.

By M. E. Nordyke

PRAYER was never designed to be a substitute for labor, and thus throw our responsibilities upon God. Our heavenly Father will hear prayer. He says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee." Jesus says, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you."

It is useless to pray to God while we persist in living contrary to the principles of his word. What right has a man to pray, "Lead me not into temptation," when he has in his pocket a ticket to the theater? What right has a man to ask God for pardon when he daily meets his brethren on the street to whom he will not speak? How can a man expect the Lord to hear him pray for the poor when he himself has just been wringing the last dollar from the thinly clad widow who rents her garret from him? And how can a young lady expect answers to prayer when she has all her affections on frivolities. While we are praying with our lips, let us be careful that we live in accordance with our prayers.

The privilege of prayer can never be overestimated. It is a boon to the weary soul—a sweet assurance that God will guide and keep us, in accordance with his promise. And therefore he who can pray in faith, though languishing in poverty, is richer than the proudest monarch. It is a precious privilege, when trials come, to know that the great God is our Father, and that we can, in prayer, tell him all our sorrows, and rest in his promises. May we ever live so as to claim his protection here, and share in his kingdom when he comes.

M. E. NORDYKE.