The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-07-17

one request on his lips he pours out
his soul before his Lord in anguish of
pleading. The one-request prayers
into which are thrown all the intense
desire of ones being are the prayers
which reach the ear of God. lord, if
Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean"
Lord, that might receive my sight"
See the needy multitudes following
Jesus, each with one petition on his
lips for the supplying of some supreme
need. The leper, the halt, the lame,
the blind, the centurion for his ser
want, the ruler for his daughter, all
come with one persistent cry which
never failed to reach the Masters ear.
Paul goes over his whole case with
the Lord, he opens up his heart to the
Divine love and sympathy, he makes
his request known. God hears but does
not answer, and Paul leaves his closet
with heavy heart and darkness all
about him. No light from God. No an
swer. All, Christian, is this your ex-
perience? Have you pleaded your one
request before the Lord in your closet
alone, and gone out again with no light
and no joy? The fault is not that of
your loving and wise Heavenly Father,
but is due to your own condition of
heart, which as yet is not ready for the
blessing which God wants so much to
give. 'The heart is deceitful above all
things" and eve ask, and receive not,
because we ask amiss without at first
being conscious of it), that we may
consume it upon our pleasures" Paul
is in darkness, but he knows the trouble
lies within himself and not with God.
With David he can exclaim: "Why art
thou cast down, o my soul? and why
art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou
in God: for 7 shall yet praise Him for
the help of His countenance."
Again Paul seeks his closet and again
he unburdens his heart before God. As
he waits there before his Lord his heart
is made ready for the blessing; it is
cleansed from selfish motive and de-
sire and his will is brought into har-
mony with that of his Lord. Perhaps
he begins to realize the danger he was
in of getting out of practical touch with
the needy world through too constant
dwelling in the third Heaven expert
ences. This is one danger which besets
the deeply spiritual to-day. We need
the mountain-top experiences; we may
have them, but we must not build our
temples there, one for Christ and one
for the few favored disciples, but we
must get down among the multitudes
to seek and to save the lost. Christ
went down from the mountain of trans
| tiguration to the death on the cross.
We must come down from our noun
tain-top experiences and give our lives
for others, if we would find them again.
AS God taught Paul that lesson, SO will
He teach you, and you will come to real
lie that the thorn in the flesh is given,
lest you should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the
revelation"
Paul went out from the presence of
the Lord at that second seeking re-
freshed, yet humbled. The thorn is
there to remain, and he is sorely buf-
feted. There is joyless submission on
his part. He must endure for Jesus
sake. All, how often this is the condi-
ton of the Christian heart! Realiza-
ton that the affection, the infrmity
must be borne, but a joylessness in it
all which is discouraging and disheart.
ening! With Paul we need to get back
| into our closets third time and hear
| the sweet tones of our Master saw:
| MY grace is sufficient for thee: for
my strength is made perfect in weak
ness" Then we can go out singing
with Paul: "Most gladly, therefore.
will [ rather glory in my infirmities,
| that the power of Christ may rest upon
me-"
Strength Made Perfect. -There is a
difference between strength made per-
feet and strength made manifest. The
helpless and submissive babe in the
mothers arms snuggles close and
draws its nourishment and obtains it's
rest under her sheltering protection,
and thus is her strength made per-
feet in the weak submission of the lit
tie babe. Out on the street midst the
gathering crowd the blue-coated Off
Ger is struggling with the criminal who
desperately seeks to obtain his free
dom. The officer finally subdues his
prisoner and hustles him off to the
lookup. Here is strength made mani
fest.
Here is the little acorn with the
germ OF the mighty oak within the
sheltering walls of it's tiny prison.
Planted, the swelling, throbbing life
pushes down and up, and the strength
of nature is~made perfect in the re-
sultant growth. AS the tree shakes its
spreading branches in the warming
sunshine and refreshing rain, and
pushes its roots downward to the trick
ling stream below, natures forces and
strength continue to find their per-
lection in the submissive will of the
tree. The darkening sky in the west
betokens the gathering storm, and as
the whirling clouds and rushing winds
sweep violently by, 10! we find our
great oak lying low before US and real
ize that the mighty, convulsive
strength of nature has been made man