Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am (Isa. 58:9).
For the basis of this wonderful promise, read the four preceding verses. In brief: "Make your life a blessing, do good to others, and I will do good to you." Multitudes can testify that they have called upon the Lord in their distress, and He has answered.
Sometimes the Lord answers in most unexpected ways. A Christian woman's husband died, leaving her little with which to provide for her and her little daughter's needs. Her only possession of value was her husband's carpentry tools. Shortly after the funeral she was presented with a bill for labor, which a neighbor said was due him. Not only was the bill beyond the widow's means to pay, but she was certain that it had already been paid, although she had no receipt. The man offered to settle for the carpentry tools. In great distress she went to her room to pray for guidance. Soon her little girl, who had been playing in the garage, came in with a stack of papers. They were receipted bills, and the very top one was the answer to her problem. She could say with one of old, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps. 34:4).
God hears prayer, and He answers. "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come" (Ps. 65:2). Many of us are so busy talking to God that, as Savonarola said, we have no time to listen to what He has to say to us. "Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation," wrote Frank Laubach, "and for me the most important part is listening--to God's replies."
On the boisterous sea the disciples cried out when they saw what they thought was an apparition, and a voice, tender, loving, reassuring, came, "It is I: be not afraid" (Matt. 14:27). The greatest answer to our prayers is the presence of God.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God" (Ps. 17:6).
For the basis of this wonderful promise, read the four preceding verses. In brief: "Make your life a blessing, do good to others, and I will do good to you." Multitudes can testify that they have called upon the Lord in their distress, and He has answered.
Sometimes the Lord answers in most unexpected ways. A Christian woman's husband died, leaving her little with which to provide for her and her little daughter's needs. Her only possession of value was her husband's carpentry tools. Shortly after the funeral she was presented with a bill for labor, which a neighbor said was due him. Not only was the bill beyond the widow's means to pay, but she was certain that it had already been paid, although she had no receipt. The man offered to settle for the carpentry tools. In great distress she went to her room to pray for guidance. Soon her little girl, who had been playing in the garage, came in with a stack of papers. They were receipted bills, and the very top one was the answer to her problem. She could say with one of old, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps. 34:4).
God hears prayer, and He answers. "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come" (Ps. 65:2). Many of us are so busy talking to God that, as Savonarola said, we have no time to listen to what He has to say to us. "Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation," wrote Frank Laubach, "and for me the most important part is listening--to God's replies."
On the boisterous sea the disciples cried out when they saw what they thought was an apparition, and a voice, tender, loving, reassuring, came, "It is I: be not afraid" (Matt. 14:27). The greatest answer to our prayers is the presence of God.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God" (Ps. 17:6).
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