To be near unto God - pagina 440

prayer must be breathed from the soul. The voice here avails nothing. We can compel a hearing with men by speaking more loudly and boldly; but when we would speak to "our Father in heaven" the voice loses absolutely all significance. Then the stentorian voice of the orator has no advantage whatever over the weakest voice of a child. And whether the shipwrecked man in his extremity cries out his "0 God, help me" in the face of the howling tempest, it is all the same. Whether strong or weak, our voice avails nothing here. The bleating of the lost sheep can make the shepherd hear. Our voice can never move God to hear us. The voice in prayer is for our own sake and for the sake of those who pray with us. Even on our knees in solitude we feel impelled to express our prayer in words. Clearness only comes into our prayer by the means of words. It brings relief, it unburdens the soul. The undulation of sensations within comes to rest in the whispered or spoken word of prayer. A prayer without words can cry out from the soul after God, but that takes place instinctively and we do not even call that prayer. Real prayer goes through our consciousness. He who prays must know what he wants to pray for. Hjs memory must be active. He must think of the needs, for which he prays. He must know the mercies for which he gives thanks. He must be fully aware of the task in behalf of which he invokes Divine help. From the mysticism of the heart the praying soul must

come

to be clearly conscious, and this comes to pass in the word and through the voice, and this makes prayer perfect. This shows itself still more 436

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