Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-12-14
Church Column,

The subject for the Y p. S. G Z.
society for Dec. IL. is, Teach us to
pray Leader, Clara Croft.
The idea Of a god or many gods has
been before the minds Of men in all
ages and countries, and in every age
some form of appeal to the unseen
power or powers Of the spirit world
has been felt to be a necessity. The
consciences of men everywhere have
warned them that they had offended
against some law, even though they
might not have any clear idea as to
the nature Of their offenses. And
this underlined consciousness of sin in
heart and life has naturally led to a
desire to propitiate the offended god
or gods by sacrifice or offerings or
penance of some sort.
Prayer, too, has been a common re-
sort as a means Of propitiating the
gods and Of obtaining favor from
them.
This well-pigh universal desire to
find some channel of communication
with God in order to seek forgiveness
and other favors from Him is put into
mems hearts by God in order that
their sense of need may draw them
toward Him if nothing else will.
| But nowhere except through the in
strumentality of a direct revelation
from God have men ever learned to
look up to God as a loving Father, who
IS pleased TO meet them and to listen
to their desires, and Who is more
| glad to forgive sin and bestow favors
than we can be to receive either His
forgiveness or His benefits, and among
those who acknowledge Christ as the
Son of God the very Fountain Head
Of wisdom and knowledge, how few
there are who are able to receive His
teaching with regard to prayer; how
few there are who really expect that
God will listen to and answer every
| prayer which they present?
Let us see first what the model
prayer, which we call the Lords
prayer teaches us of the manner in
which we should pray. There are but
five very short sentences in this ideal
prayer. For the doxology with which
it is concluded in Matthew does not
have to form part Of the prayer as
originally uttered by the Lord, but to
have been added to it afterwards; ii
does not appear in the text of the re-
yised version. OF these five sentences
the first two are petitions for the uni
versal recognition of God and His
sovereignty, the third is petition for
the supply of our physical needs, the
fourth is plea for forgiveness and
the fifth that we may be kept from
temptation.
The first fact that strikes one about
this prayer is its extreme brevity.
the second is its wonderful compre-
hensiyeness, and the third is the en-
tire absence of anything that could
pander to mans innate selishness.
That prayer embraces all tie world
and includes all coming ages and ii
embraces also the very heart of God.
A more comprehensive prayer could
not be offered if one should spend a
week in trying to pray for all possible
good. For when God receives the
glory that is due to Him and when His
Kingdom is fully established, and that
the highest good, and nothing but
good, shall be the portion of every
living creature. Prayers the souls
sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed.
The soul may be praying all the time
for things which the lips never re-
quest what we call our prayers may
not represent the true wishes CT our
heart.