IT so happened in the providence of God, that the father of little Beattie who at one time was prosperous, had become poor through the dishonesty of others. Indeed, he had to work for a small remuneration, but even this income did not last long, for poor Mr. W. fell ill, and upon recovery, his master informed him that he would not be able to find him employment again, as work was so short.
After this the mother of little Beattie was also taken ill, and remained a long time, suffering great pain. Of course the food and clothing of the family was not what it used to be in prosperous days.
It was the custom of little Beattie before retiring for the night, to go into her mother's room for a good night's kiss, to pray to God, and to get a text of Scripture. The little girl I had been trained from infancy to ask God in her own words for her felt needs; also to confess her faults, to ask pardon for her sins from I God, and also from her mother. It was no unusual thing to hear Beattie say, “Mamma, I am sorry I was naughty today. Please ask God to make me good, and pray for me."
Mrs. W. would then place her hand upon the child's head and ask the blessing of God upon her little daughter. The child would look into her mother's face and say, "Mamma, will you give me a text, please?” Then the mother would give the child the text she trusted the Holy Spirit had brought to her mind.
One night in last December, after a rainy day, which made the roads very muddy, little Beattie, who had been on an errand for her sick mother, came as usual for her evening blessing.
"I want you to pray for me, please, mother, and to give me a text," said the child.
“Kneel down, and pray for your-self first," was the answer.
So the child knelt, and began—
"O God, please to bless mother and father, and please to make mother well again.
O Lord Jesus, my slippers are old, and the girls at the Sunday-school do stare at them. I do not want to be proud, O Lord, but please send me some new boots. Amen."
Then Beattie's mother gave her child for the text these words of the Lord: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Luke 11:99And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Luke 11:9).)
The next day the child's father sat looking at his boots, when his little daughter happened to be in the room.
“My boots let in the wet," he said, sorrowfully, to his wife. "No clothes will last forever."
“Why don't you pray for some new ones?" enquired the child. “I have, and God is sure to send me some."
The father and mother exchanged glances, and wished they had more childlike faith— that honors God, and believes His word.
The house was unusually bare of comforts as Christmas drew near, for the long illness of Beattie's mother had been very expensive.
However, about a week before Christmas a Christian over one hundred miles away felt constrained to send some money to the parents of the little girl, and through this act of kindness the husband was enabled to get the boots he so sorely needed, and the wife obtained many comforts necessary for her in her weakness. As for Beattie, she hung up her little stocking on Christmas Eve, and found a pair of strong new boots hanging to it in the morning! These, she declared, God had sent. And surely the child was right.
Little Beattie did not appear much surprised when she saw the boots, but, with her eyes dancing with a great joy, and her cheeks deepened in color, exclaimed "Mamma dear, I knew God would send them, and not let me take cold. Perhaps He did not send them sooner just to see if I would go to my Sunday-school in the old ones, or whether I would be too proud! Because He does try us, doesn't He? "
May all who read this true story trust in God, who is the same now as when He said "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find." RHODA.