To be near unto God - pagina 48

—

one deaf to me lest if thou make as though thou hearest not, I become like them that go down into the pit." And what is stronger still, call to mind the Lama Sabachtani of Golgotha, echo of the prophetic complaint of Psalm 22: ''0 my God, I cry in'the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season also I take no rest." And this is the difference between the religious man of the world and the devout believer on have nothing to say of the man of the God. world pure and simple. He does not pray at all. He never cries to God, and never expects an answer. But the people of the world are not all like this. Many are not wholly irreligious. They still observe religious forms. They have not wholly abandoned prayer. It is mostly, it is true, a mere matter of habit. To say grace at the table before one eats, a so-called ''blessing," which consists mainly of a ''whisper," and upon retiring at night a short prayer of thanksgiving and supplication. This kind of prayer is revived in daj's of trouble, and in moments of anxiety, .when a loved one at home is sick unto death, or reverses in business bring a man low. Then the religious man or woman of the world prays and calls. And when prayer brings no help, and danger is not averted, and no answer is granted, the seemingly futile prayer falls heavily back upon the heart ;

We

embittered by disappointment.

The case is altogether different with the devout believer on God. The saintly man of prayer seeks his Father. From experience he knows that it is possible here on earth to hold communion with the Father who is in heaven. He has confident assurance of the hidden fellowship with God.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen