LITTLE boy was just getting into bed one night when his grandmother, who was in the room at the time, reminded him that he had not said his prayers.
"There is nothing that I want tonight, .grandma," was his answer. The little fellow thought that as he needed nothing for his comfort at that moment, that there was no need of prayer.
Doubtless there are those, and many of them more mature than this little boy, who have little understanding of the need of prayer; little realization of their dependence upon God, and His goodness every moment of their lives.
Indeed we could not live at all without the strength from God, as the Scripture says,
Not only is He giving to us the ability to live and breathe, but we are indebted to Him for many creature mercies, such as food, clothing and shelter, without which we could not live, and which adds so much to our comfort and enjoyment.
God has also told us to let our requests be made known unto Him, and to ask and we shall receive. He wants us to realize from Whom all these blessings come, and He wants the confidence of our hearts, encouraging us to pray for what we need, and to thank Him for what we have already received, which we have, alas, too often taken for granted.
Over and above all these temporal benefits that surround us, are the more wondrous spiritual blessings, which God has made known to us in His word.
In His love and goodness He has made provision for the salvation of our souls—that part of us that will live on forever. He wants us to be happy in that life that follows this brief earthly one. His desire is that we should share that never-ending life in His beautiful home above, where all is light and love.
To this end God gave His Son to put our sins away, so that we might be fit companions for Him and His Son forever. And the best part of it is that whosoever will may avail himself of this marvelous benefit.
We have tried to tell briefly what God has done for us, and what we owe to Him, how dependent we are upon Him, and in the face of all this, we would ask the reader to judge for Himself if there is any need of prayer,
No wonder we are told to "Pray always." It is good to present our needs, and to pray for others, knowing that with God all things are possible, and when we have nothing to ask for, we should desire a little quiet conversation with Him, as with a loved friend to whom we are deeply indebted.
Our understanding of His kindness is but feeble, but in our little measure, we can thank Him for His present mercies, and for His purposes of grace in the ages yet to come.
Messages of God’s Love 9/7/1930