MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS, —I hope you have experienced the joy of receiving an immediate reply to a prayer which was, as it were, forced from you by stress of the circumstances in which you found yourself. I mean such a prayer as was, put up by Peter from the raging waves of the Galilean sea. He was walking on the water at the bidding of the Lord, but seeing the wind boisterous he became afraid. Beginning to sink, he cried out in accents of despair, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him (Matt. 14:28-3128And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Matthew 14:28‑31)).
This prayer, the shortest recorded in the scriptures, is an example of the kind I wish to refer to. I have already drawn your attention on a former-occasion to the importance of making an habitual practice of seeking aid from on high; but it is also of importance to remember that we have access at all times to the throne of grace, and that we can never make application at an improper or unfavourable time (1 Tim. 2:88I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. (1 Timothy 2:8).; Heb. 4:1616Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)).
Simon Peter found himself sinking beneath the waves. We can hardly suppose that a fisherman of his experience was unable to swim; besides we hear of him casting himself in the sea in his impetuous haste to be the first to reach the Lord (John 21:77Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. (John 21:7)). But here he was, no doubt, through the novelty of his circumstances, stricken powerless with terror; hence his brief but energetic appeal, which, though it was animated with but little faith, was in no sense disregarded.
Are there not times through the day when you are unexpectedly called to undertake some new duty, or to perform some difficult task, or to decide on some important step? There is neither time nor opportunity to retire to some private place, and there bend your knees in secrecy before your God and Father. Perhaps you are so pressed as to be unable even to frame your need in suitable words.
What is to be done? Are you obliged to forego the benefits of prayer, and act on your own unaided judgment and resources without reference to God? Not so; even in such a case you are at liberty to lift your heart upward in earnest, though brief and silent, desire for succor and support. Words may fail; but “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed.” Let there be but the upturned eye and the deep yearnings of the spirit, and answers will come.
We have another example in the history of Nehemiah. He was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes the king in Shushan; but his heart’s affections were in Jerusalem, the city of the great King, now laid waste and defenseless. He earnestly desired that his captive people might be restored to their own land, and that his beloved Zion might be rebuilt. Day by day he besought that the heart of the king might be moved to the accomplishment of these things. “Prosper, I pray thee,” were his words, “Prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
At length there came a day when Nehemiah had opportunity to bring the subject before the king. And Artaxerxes was not unfavorable, saying to Nehemiah, “For what dost thou make request?” Here was the critical moment. Everything appeared to hang upon the sort of reply Nehemiah should make.
It was then that Nehemiah, distrusting his own wisdom, “prayed to the God of heaven” (Neh. 2:44Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 2:4)). His request was next made to Artaxerxes who graciously acceded.
Here we have a prayer offered in the interval between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s reply. The interval must necessarily have been brief, for Eastern monarchs were not in the habit of waiting long for their cup-bearers to answer them. But there was time enough for the prayer to ascend and for help to come. The case was urgent and the relief was instantaneous.
In like manner, my dear young friends, accustom yourselves to solicit fresh supplies of grace when you find yourselves in difficulties, whatever the hour of the day, or wherever you are. It is in this way you will have abundant instances of what a real thing it is to trust in God.
I am, ever yours to serve,
“YOD.”