The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-04-28
Prayer and Promise.


Spent in Thy presence will prevail to
make" Trench.
The apostles Obse rived Jesus in the
act and attitude of prayer. In some
oratory of nature, perhaps they saw
Him kneeling with upturned face.
His glowing lineaments showed the
bliss of communion with God. or re-
pose after wrestling, and the conscious
obtaining of the thing desired. a
gOOdly sight. No wonder it provoked
the question how they could learn to
pray after such a fashion, too. The
universal Teacher taught through
these suppliants all who wouldafter-
ward learn of Him concerning this su-
preme act of the soul He gave first
the model of prayer-the ideas, the
words. The Paternoster,is an epitOme.
Here are the needs alike of the race
and the individual in miniature. 1t
is the alphabet, the numeral system
out of which prayer of every descrip-
ton can be spelled and figured An
alytically, in its seDarate paris, il il
Illustrates the components of true
rounded, acceptable prayer. Syn
thetically, there is in it tenor,a spir-
it-a cumulative power unmatched in
written language. 1t is the chief or
nament of every ritual. Its perpetual
ed alike to chile and adult. The
Lords Prayer is a fine example of,the
avoidance of many words which Jesus
on another occasion insisted upon.
The equilibrium between compre-
hensiveness and condensation is main
tanned. The exordium is reverential
address to the Deity, in which His eX-
istence, unity, and paternal character
are adoringly recognized. The king
dom of heaven" will be found to be
the solvent of the prayer. The com
ing of the kingdom will insure the h al
lowing of the Divine name, and the
doing of the Divine will, as IN heaven,
so on earth The coming of the king
dom insures absolution, reduces temp
tations, and consequently delivers
from evil. Criticism has fairly estab-
lished that the Inscriptions of kingdom
power and glory was not a part of the
prayer as originally given. But the
lofty doXOlogy chords so perfectly thar
il will probably continue in use for
ever. The prayer can be divided into
two parts: The first relates to the
Father, and contains three petitions;
j. e. , concerning His name, His king
dom, and His will. The second con
Germs ourselves, and is cOmprehended
in the words bread, forgiveness, and
deliverance. Rudolph Sitter says in
his Words of Jesus. "All the tones
of the human breast which 60 from
earth to heaven sound here in their
keynotes." From this matchless
formulory Jesus passes to the spirit
which should characteristic suppl
ant. To set this forth, He uses a
homely domestic incident We must
transfer ourselves to the Orient to ap-
preciate it. There was no mail or
timetable to apprise the host of the
hour of the guests arrival. 1t would
like as not be late at night,as travel
was ordinarily continued then, to es-
cape the heat of the day. The guest
wouldsbe downright hungry, as there
were no facilities of the modern res
taurateur The hosts larder would
like as not be empty, the climate
making the preservation of edibles
difficult, and leading them to live from
hand to mouth. Borrowing would be
theneXt thing in order What a touch
of nature in the churlishness of the
half-awak ened neighbor. To him the
getting up from his warm bed, and the
stumbling over his children as they lie
hit and miss upon their tiny mats
about the floor; the taking down of
the heavy bar across the door;all seems
to his drowsy powers a superhuman
eXertion. Yet there comes at length
Il point where it is easier far for the
sleepy niggard to get up and have
done with the matter, than to be pc
riodically reused by the persistant
knocking and calling. The force of
the parable is in its contrasts. Gods
self is Love. His treasures are mex
haustible. He delights to give.
There is no indifference or disinclina-
ton on the part of God which must be
first overcome by mans importantly.
The delay in answer, if there is any,
is for the recipients own highest adj
vantage; that he may study anew his
supposed needs, may analyze his mo-
tives, may review the promises, so
that when at length the answer comes,
he may be in a state of mind and heart
to avail himself of the blessing to the
uttermost. Postponement is for the
advantage of the receiver, not the Civ
er. The Paternoster is still in Jesus
mind. Earthly fathers have judg-