September 23: Tested Trust

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 7
Listen from:
SA 109:21{The Psalmist does not say what he wanted God to do for him. He leaves it open. So this most restful prayer is left open for all perplexed hearts to appropriate "according to their several necessities." And so we leave it open for God to fill up in His own way. Only a trusting heart can pray this prayer at all; the very utterance of it is an act of faith. We could not ask anyone whom we did not know intimately and trust implicitly to "do" for us, without even suggesting what. Only a self-emptied heart can pray it. It is when we have come to the end of our own resources, or rather, come to see that we never had any at all, that we are willing to accept the fact that we can "do nothing," and to let God do everything for us. Only a loving heart can pray it, for nobody likes another to take him and his affairs in hand and "do" for him, unless that other is cordially loved. We might submit to it, but we should not like it, and certainly should not seek it. So, if we have caught at this little prayer as being just what we want, just what it seems a real test to say, I think it shows that we do trust in Him and not in ourselves, and that we do love Him really and truly.
He heard the prayer, and gave the will and strength to touch the hem;
And gave the faith, and virtue flowed from Him, and healed them:
For every one whose feeblest touch thus met the Savior's power,
Rose up in perfect health and strength in that accepted hour.