The Clio messenger., 1919-09-18

came fOrln from
that prison-house which to human rea-
son was his tomb. The promise Is
found in Psa. 50:15, "Call upon me In
the day of trouble and 1 will deliver
YOU"
Second, prayer gives protection
from temptation. When the people
under Joshua made the mistake of ac-
cepting the Gibeonites, 1t was because
they "asked not counsel at the mouth
of the Lord" Josh. OLA. What ap-
peared the reasonable thing to do was
like snare cleverly disguised and
unseen to sight. But no disguise or
hiding could veil the sight Of the
Lord. Inquiry Of Him would have
given them to see the unseen and pro-
tected them from this temptation.
Little wonder we are told to 'watch
and pray lest We enter into tempta-
tion." Luke % 40.
Third, prayer brings wisdom in per-
plexity. How often perplexing prob
lens arise which must be solved and
how often the solution we come to
proves to be wrong. We frequently
come to where decisions on important
matters must be made quickly. OF
what untold value then it is to have
divine wisdom. When Nehemiah
found himself in such case the un-
recorded prayer went up and wisdom
came to him as he says in Neh. 2 a,
81 prayed to the God of Heaven and
said to the king" the right word. 1t
is still true that '.if any man lack
wisdom let him ask of God who CIV
eth to all-and 1t shall be given him."
Jas. l IS.
Fourth, prayer brings provision fof
every need. Luke IL 90 10 reads, "Ask
and We shall receive-for every one
that asketh receiveth." We know
from experience how this promise Is
overlooked and we get into the state
of perturbation described in Jas. p,
"Ye lust and have not; We envy and
desire to have, and cannot obtain; We
fight and war, yet We have not" The
passage goes on to declare that the
reason we shave not" is because we
ask not" How much futile struggling
and fighting would be saved us If we
would believe Christs promise and
ask, "Ask and We shall receive"
Fifth, prayer brings revelations of
hidden things as the marginal reading
of Jer. 33 :3 points out: Call upon me
and / will answer thee, and show
thee great and hidden things which
thou knowest not" Many who are
confused by the book of Daniel would
find confusion giving place to order
If they but studied it on their knees,
this, for he declares, 81 prayed unto
the Lord my God, and whilst l was
speaking and praying, yea whilst was
speaking in prayer, even the man
Gabriel said, 'Oh Daniel, l am now
come to give thee understanding
Dan. GA, 20, 81. 1t was while Daniel
was in prayer that the deep and hid
den things were made known to him.
Sixth, prayer enables us to help
others. When Peter was locked up
in the prison there was little that his
friends could do for him except pray
for him. But they could pray and did
pray as recorded in Acts 1915, "prayer
was made without ceasing Of the
church unto God for him." The con.
sequence was that what they could
not do personally, they did do by way
of the throne from whence an angel
came and brought Peter forth to
them. Paul knew of the help in
prayer when he wrote In ! Thess., 5 :25,
''pray for u.s." The exhortation of
Jas. SIG is, "Pray for one another
Finally, prayer brings peace in all
circumstances. Daniel seems to have
found this so when the lions den was
opening to receive him. He went to
that den with a quiet confidence and
deep peace Of heart and mind which
was wholly lacking In the king whose
law was sending him there. The Sc
cret Is found In Dan. 8:10: "Now
when Daniel knew that the writing
was signed, he went into his house
and kneeled upon his knees three
times day and prayed and gave
thanks before his God as he did afore.
time" This is a striking fulfillment
Of the promise found in Phil. 4:6, z:
BE anxious for nothing, but In every.
thing, by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving, let your request
be made known unto God, and the
peace Of God which passeth all un-
derstanding shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus"