November 12 - Morning"The trial of your faith." — 1 Peter 1:7
Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is
likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never
prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her
trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea,
spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a
slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth,
and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock,
and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under
the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway
towards her desired haven.
No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those
which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as
those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that
which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that
which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You
could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled
to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's
strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods.
Faith
increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with
tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.
Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will
have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured
out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of
long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that
degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to
that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till
your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities. November 12 - Evening"And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." — Luke 6:12
If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our
spotless, perfect a Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as
He! Such was His love to His Father, that He loved much to be in
communion with Him: such His love for His people, that He desired to be
much in intercession for them.The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of
Jesus is a lesson for us — He hath given us an example that we may follow
in His steps.
The time He chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence,
when the crowd would not disturb Him; the time of inaction, when all but
Himself had ceased to labour; and the season when slumber made men
forget their woes, and cease their applications to Him for relief. While
others found rest in sleep, He refreshed Himself with prayer. The place
was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where
none could observe: thus was He free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar
interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit oratory for the Son of
God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of
the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended.
The continuance
of His pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the
cold wind did not chill His devotions; the grim darkness did not darken His
faith, or loneliness check His importunity. We cannot watch with Him one
hour, but He watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer is
notable; it was after His enemies had been enraged — prayer was His
refuge and solace; it was before He sent forth the twelve apostles —
prayer was the gate of His enterprise, the herald of His new work. Should
we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under
peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the Master's glory?
Lord Jesus, teach us to pray. November 12 |