(1) Be Definite in Prayer "And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, andGod of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidstunto me, Return unto thy country, and to thykindred, and I will deal well with thee: Deliverme, I pray thee" (Gen. 32:9, 11). There are many healthy symptoms in that prayer.In some respects it may serve as a mould intowhich our own spirits may pour themselves, whenmelted in the fiery furnace of sorrow. He began by quoting God's promise: "Thou saidst."He did so twice (9 and 12). Ah, he has got God inhis power then! God puts Himself within our reachin His promises; and when we can say to Him,"Thou saidst," He cannot say nay. He must do asHe has said. If Herod was so particular for hisoath's sake, what will not our God be? Be sure inprayer, to get your feet well on a promise; itwill give you purchase enough to force open thegates of heaven, and to take it by force. --Practical Portions for the Prayer-life Jesus desires that we shall be definite in ourrequests, and that we shall ask for some specialthing. "What will ye that I shall do unto you?"is the question that He asks of every one who inaffliction and trial comes to Him. Make yourrequests with definite earnestness if you wouldhave definite answers. Aimlessness in prayeraccounts for so many seemingly unansweredprayers. Be definite in your petition. Fill outyour check for something definite, and it will becashed at the bank of Heaven when presented inJesus' Name. Dare to be definite with God. --Selected Miss Havergal has said: "Every year, I mightalmost say every day, that I live, I seem to seemore clearly how all the rest and gladness andpower of our Christian life hinges on one thing;and that is, taking God at His word, believingthat He really means exactly what He says, andaccepting the very words in which He reveals Hisgoodness and grace, without substituting othersor altering the precise modes and tenses which Hehas seen fit to use." Bring Christ's Word--Christ's promise, andChrist's sacrifice--His blood, with thee, and notone of Heaven's blessings can be denied thee. --Adam Clarke
(2) Desperate Days "But without faith it is impossible to pleasehim: for he that cometh to God must believe thathe is, and that he is a rewarder of them thatdiligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6). The faith for desperate days. The Bible is full of such days. Its record ismade up of them, its songs are inspired by them,its prophecy is concerned with them, and itsrevelation has come through them. The desperate days are the stepping-stones in thepath of light. They seem to have been God'sopportunity and man's school of wisdom. There is a story of an Old Testament love feastin Psalm 107, and in every story of deliverancethe point of desperation gave God His chance. The"wit's end" of desperation was the beginning ofGod's power. Recall the promise of seed as thestars of heaven, and as the sands of the sea, toa couple as good as dead. Read again the story ofthe Red Sea and its deliverance, and of Jordanwith its ark standing mid-stream. Study once morethe prayers of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah,when they were sore pressed and knew not what todo. Go over the history of Nehemiah, Daniel,Hosea, and Habakkuk. Stand with awe in thedarkness of Gethsemane, and linger by the gravein Joseph's garden through those terrible days.Call the witnesses of the early Church, and askthe apostles the story of their desperate days. Desperation is better than despair. Faith did not make our desperate days. Its workis to sustain and solve them. The onlyalternative to a desperate faith is despair, andfaith holds on and prevails. There is no more heroic example of desperatefaith than that of the three Hebrew children. Thesituation was desperate, but they answeredbravely, "Our God whom we serve is able todeliver us from the burning, fiery furnace; andhe will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. Butif not, be it known unto thee, O king, that wewill not serve thy gods, nor worship the goldenimage which thou hast set up." I like that, "butif not !" I have only space to mention Gethsemane. Ponderdeeply its "Nevertheless." "If it ispossible...nevertheless!" Deep darkness had settledupon the soul of our Lord. Trust meant anguishunto blood and darkness to the descent ofhell--Nevertheless! Nevertheless!! Now get your hymn book and sing your favoritehymn of desperate faith. --Rev. S. Chadwick "When obstacles and trials seemLike prison walls to be,I do the little I can doAnd leave the rest to Thee. "And when there