Virginia Brandt Berg (1898-1968)
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's Throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
Since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His Grace,
I will cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee,
Sweet hour of prayer.
Greetings and welcome to Meditation Moments. God bless you and give you a victory these days. We know that there is victory for you through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is never a victory that is won by might, nor by power, but "by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts," and we can be "more than conquers through Him that loved us and gave Himself for us," and be real overcomers,
But we'll never be overcomers unless we are really praying Christians. -- In Matthew 6:6 God's Word says that "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
I wonder if you have a little quiet place where you pray? I remember reading some time ago about a young man who would watch his mother who had been working hard all day. She wasn't a young woman, and she would seem so weary about 3 o'clock in the afternoon:
Her feet would start to falter and her shoulders would seem a little more bent, and then she went to the "secret place" that she had -- it was a little closet under the stairway -- and there she would stay for quite a little while.
And he said it was always a matter of wonderment to him that when she came out of that secret place of prayer, her shoulders seemed a little straighter, her feet had picked up the old pace and there was a light on her face.
He said that while lots of the sermons he heard preached in his childhood church had never seemed to reach down to his heart, that did, that picture of what his mother got in that secret place of prayer,
The refreshment she received to the revivifying of her spirit, received in the quiet place of prayer, this place that God's Word speaks of in this verse: "Enter into thy closet, shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret."
Do you have a secret place like that? Do you go alone with God and have fellowship with Him? -- There is so much that is said in connection with religion, just religion which isn't fellowship with God, but outward performance, the mechanical part of these things, it's not real fellowship with the Lord.
But there can be no real fellowship unless there is real prayer, and I don't think there is ever real prayer unless there is a little secret place, a place where you go aside with Him alone and let Him talk to your heart.
Then you listen for Him to talk to you, because prayer is not a one-sided thing, it's a conversation where you wait and you listen for Him to answer. -- We say so many times that prayer changes things,
Well, if prayer does change things, why don't we pray?! If there is a real problem in your life today, if there is some hardship that is come upon you or you're passing through some real trial,
How can you cast your burden on the Lord, how can you get out from under that awful pressure unless you go to the Lord alone and tell Him all about it? He's waiting in the secret pace.
If Queen Elizabeth was waiting to talk to you, if someone came to you and said that the Queen of England was waiting to talk to you, how you would hurry down! And you would feel so proud that anyone that held such a high position would want to talk to you!
But God waits in the secret place! The Scripture here speaks of the secret place and that God is waiting there to talk to your heart: He wants to talk to you, He does! "Well," you say, "I haven't gotten through to God and He hasn't seemed to answer, He hasn't seemed to hear."
Well there must be a great desire to hear from God, there must be a deep sincerity, there must be a real longing to hear from God and a real seeking after and searching for Him, and He will reveal Himself.
He says, "Seek Me and you shall find Me." -- When you seek Him in the secret place and open your heart and bare your soul to Him, He will reveal Himself as you listen for Him to talk back to your heart.
I think so much of the all-sufficiency of the Lord and how it far exceeds the bounds of our faith, and yet we so neglect prayer! According to His Word there is no limit to what God can do, so there should be no limit in our faith for the supply of every need.
But how is He going to answer your need unless you ask Him? You say, "Well, He ought to know, it says that God knows everything and He knows my need." But He says, "Ask and you shall receive." He said that, He told you to ask:
"Ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you." -- Spurgeon said he was riding along one day meditating on the Scripture "My grace is sufficient for thee" when he broke into a laugh and said,
"Why, an ant had just as well look at the Pacific Ocean and fear a water famine, as for every Christian to view the shoreless promises in God's Word and fear the lack of any needed supply!" Isn't that true! But you must ask for it! Come to Him in prayer and tell Him all about it and cast the care upon Him.
Remember that all God has ever said or promised is changeless, for with Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning! (James 1:17.) -- Father, we thank Thee for Thy great love and provision for us, and thank Thee for the limitless supply for our needs.
Forgive us Lord that we believe for so little when the supply is so great. Forgive us that we have not taken seriously Thy wonderful promises in Thy precious Word, we are deeply grateful. In Jesus' Precious Name. -- Prayer does change things! God lives and has His hand on the helm of the universe today. Amen.