ABOUT twenty years ago a little boy was one evening put to bed by his sister. He kneeled down by a chair to SAY his prayers. A young lady, a visitor, was present, and she listened while he repeated them. He knew that she was observing him, so he said them in a very careful manner. I will now tell you what he did soon afterward. One day he made a kite, which would not fly, but turned round and round. After trying awhile to make it rise in the air, he became angry, and dashed it to the ground, stamped upon it with his feet, and cursed it; not loudly, but mutteringly, lest anyone should hear him. He did it with the same tongue which the lady said had prayed so sweetly. He forgot God when he cursed as when he SAID his prayers.
Some months passed away. He was now eight years old, and often felt much troubled when he thought of his sins. There were, at that time, but few simple and instructive books to teach children about the Lord Jesus Christ; but he thought that he ought to pray, though he did not rightly understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God. It is true that he had often heard Him spoken of, but no one had explained to him that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that he should love and trust the Saviour just as he would confide in his father. To quiet his conscience when it was uneasy, he resolved to say three prayers secretly every day. He continued for some time, he then grew careless.
Many years passed away, and he became a man. His father and mother, and many of his friends had died, leaving very few in the world to love him. Sad and lonely, he wandered to another city, feeling that everything worldly was vain and unsatisfying. Here he had no true happiness, and, as to the life to come, he was without hope; for he knew not the Saviour, though he felt that he was a sinner. One Sunday he went to hear the gospel, when Christ was preached in a way that he had never before heard. Overcome with sorrow, he went to his bedroom, and, in agony of soul, threw himself upon the floor, beseeching the Lord to have mercy on him. The Lord heard and answered him as He did the Philippian jailer of old, when he cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” No other answer can be given now than the jailer heard from the lips of the servants of God, which was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31).