Evening, January 14
Go To Morning Reading
“Beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”
Matthew 14:30
Sinking times are praying times with the Lord’s servants. Peter neglected prayer at starting upon his venturous
journey, but when he began to sink his danger made him a suppliant,
and his cry though late was not too late. In our hours of bodily pain
and mental anguish, we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer
as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. The fox hies to
its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and
even so the tried believer hastens to the mercy seat for safety. Heaven’s great harbour of refuge is All-prayer; thousands of weather-beaten
vessels have found a haven there, and the moment a storm comes on,
it is wise for us to make for it with all sail.
Short prayers are long enough . There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out,
but they were sufficient for his purpose. Not length but strength
is desirable. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our
prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride and more wing they
would be all the better. Verbiage is to devotion as chaff to the wheat.
Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer
in many a long address might have been uttered in a petition as short
as that of Peter.
Our extremities are the Lord’s opportunities . Immediately a keen sense of danger forces an anxious cry from us
the ear of Jesus hears, and with him ear and heart go together, and
the hand does not long linger. At the last moment we appeal to our
Master, but his swift hand makes up for our delays by instant and
effectual action. Are we nearly engulfed by the boisterous waters
of affliction? Let us then lift up our souls unto our Saviour, and
we may rest assured that he will not suffer us to perish. When we
can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist his powerful
aid upon our side, and all will be well.