A friend once asked Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, “When you were making your experiments, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?”
“Yes,” said the famous inventor, “many times.”
“And what did you do then?”
“Then,” said the professor, “I prayed. Whenever I could not see my way clearly, I prayed for more light.”
“Did the light usually come?”
“Yes, and when flattering honors came to me from America and Europe because of my invention, I never felt I deserved them. I made a valuable application of electricity, not because I was superior to other men, but only because God, who meant this invention for mankind, had to reveal it to someone. And He was pleased to reveal it to me.”
It is not strange that the humble inventor, Morse, received light after prayer. It always follows after obedience, for God has said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:1010Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10). Nor is it at all strange that Professor Morse’s first message on his invention, the telegraph, was this: “WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT!”
ML-09/19/1982