Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-11-11
SUNDAY SCHOOL
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Lesson November Is. Nehemiah
DY BNI rYW.SCrE

Lesson November Is. Nehemiah
i;i-li.
There is an old song which says:
Tt may not be in my way. Il may not
be In thy way. but yet In his own way |
the Lord will provide" And funda-
mental truth Of Christian faith could
form that the simplest man can un-
derstand. 1t is a truth that every |
follower of Christ will do well TO re-
member and remembering, keep close
| to his consciousness. A great many |
times the prayers OF the righteous are |
answered in manner entirely un- |
expected and different to the plans |
they had considered. This is not. as |
with many human beings, desire 10 |
show superiority OF intelligence by |
doing something different from what |
Is wanted, like some people we know |
whose chief conception of independ- |
ence of thot and action Is to obey |
when obedience is necessary, In a |
roundabout way as tho they had not |
actually been obedient. Rather 1t Is
evidence that the Lord, who knows all
things and whose love and concern |
| for our welfare is beyond expression |
| In human language, Is not willing that
we should receive exactly what we
ask for IL that receiving would work
us harm. Instead he gives us the
answer in a way that makes for our
greater good than If we had had our
| own way about 1t. Thus it was with
Nehemiah, who had been long pray
| ing that God would soften the heart
| OF ArtaXerXes for the time when he
should presume to make a request,
was surprised and frightened when
the opportunity he sought burst upon
| him suddenly.
Perhaps too many of us miss the
| greatest blessings because we get too
scared TO accept our opportunities
when they come. We pray long and
| earnestly, yet the climax of our petit
ton Is brought to our understanding
with a power that stuns us and we do
not know what to do or say. Nehe-
miah tok the right way. When the
king asked him the cause of his sor-
row he did not answer lightly or
evasively, nor did he thotlessly blurt
out the fullness of his heart. He
prayed that God would give him the
words with which to persuade the
monarch and bring him success for
his petition instead of the feared re-
buttal. We can wisely follow his
example. our best prayers are often
not audible to anyone but our own
hearts and the ear of divinity. The
most eloquent public prayer does not
always come from the most pious
heart nor is it the kind most ac-
ceptable to the Father We do not
have to get on our knees to pray; we
do not even have\to go into our closet
and shut the door. Our most sincere
and effective prayers may go up
silently from the heart while we are
walking the street pr going about
our daily duties. We properly avoid
paradng our piety, with the lesson OF
the self-righteous Pharisee in mind,
and we can pray most coherently
when we are shut off from the dis
fractions OF daily life; yet the prayer
full heart will be the mood or appeal
ing to God for guidance at all times,
all places, and under all circum-
stances. If we come to n place where
: we cannot pray, we are off the track
and need TO about face at once. The
: thing that we cannot pray for or pray
about is necessarily antagonsitic to
Gods will and the Inconsistency or
prayer under given circumstances
should be sufficient warning that we
are playing with evil. But Nehemiah
Z prayed silently as he stood before the
, king and the very words which
touched the king the most readily
were the ones that he felt impelled
to speak.
, There is more in this matter OF d.
r vine guidance than many OF us who
call upon the holy name are wont to
think, There is no time or place in
, human life when we cannot beneSit
by having such guidance. The man
I who proudly relies upon his own wis
dom or discretion to carry him thru
is leaning upon a metaphysical reed.
, The man who eXerts his physcho-
logical power upon fellow being for
dishonest purpose tho he may seem
temporarily to succeed. is sowing the
seeds OF ultimate failure and is like
wise leaving God out OF his calcula-
, tions. God is all powerful. There Is
/ no request we can make of him that
is impossible for him to fulfill. We
ask him many thirss that we should
be sorry If he did answer, especially
when selfish Uotives are behind the
petition. We Should be thankful that
God overrUes our prayers and gives
us what is good instead of what we
want. Especially in great emergencies
should we consult the divine will be-
fore acting, for he delights to exer-
else his power for the good of those
who love him. We are doing him an
| injustice not to ask his help and guild
| ance.
The opportunity for Nehemiah
came in way he did not expect Not
any question of oratory, nor political
| discretion, nor appeal to the kings
| vanity made this chance for him. but
the sorrow of his heart which he
| could not keep from his countenance
| when he strove to be cheerful II
| was matter OF human sympathy that
moved the mighty monarch of vast