A lawyer came to his client and announced that he could not prosecute a certain claim. The client wanted to know the reason. The lawyer told him of a visit he had made to the home of the man he was to prosecute. He related: "I found the house and knocked, but nobody heard me. So I stepped into the hall, and through a crack in a door I saw a cozy little room. On her bed, her head high on the pillows, lay an old woman. I was about to knock again when the old woman said: 'Come, father, let's begin. I am all ready.'
"Down on his knees by her side went the old white-haired man, and I could not have knocked then for the life of me. With folded hands and face upturned, he began. First he reminded God that they were still His submissive children, and that whatever He saw fit to bring upon them, they would accept, though it would be hard for them to be homeless in their old age. How different it would have been if at least one of their boys had been spared!
"The old man's voice broke then, and a thin white hand stole from under the coverlet and moved softly through his snowy hair. He went on presently, saying that nothing could be so hard as the parting with the three boys had been—unless mother and he should be separated. Then he quoted several promises assuring the safety of those who put their trust in God. Last of all he prayed for God's blessing on those who were demanding justice."
Then the lawyer said to his client: "I would rather go to the poorhouse tonight, myself, than stain my hands and heart with such a prosecution."
"Afraid you'd defeat the old man's prayer?" asked the client with a hard tone.
"Bless your soul, man," said the lawyer, "you couldn't defeat that prayer. Of all the pleading I ever heard, that one moved me most. Why I was sent to hear that prayer I am sure I do not know. But I hand the case over."
"I wish," said the client uneasily, "that you hadn't told me about the old man's prayer."
"Why so?"
"Well, because I want the money that the house would bring. I was taught the Bible myself when I was a boy, and I wouldn't want to run against it. I wish I hadn't heard a word of what the old man said. Another time, if I were you, I would not listen to anything not intended for my ears."
The lawyer smiled. "My dear fellow," he said, "you are wrong again. That prayer was intended for my ears, and yours too. God almighty meant it so. My mother used to sing, 'God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.' "
"Well, my mother used to sing that, too," said the client. He twisted the claim papers in his fingers. "You can call in the morning and tell the old folks that the claim has been met!"
God always has the answer to His children's prayers. It is not for us to question as to how. "With God all things are possible." To us He says, "Only believe."
"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5:14, 1514And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14‑15).
"Trust Him when the day shines brightest—
Trust Him when the shadows fall;
Trust Him, when just simply trusting
Is the hardest thing of all."