Awaken The Dawn

Refreshment in the Morning

Buddhists spin prayer wheels in a continuous centrifugal motion to gain spiritual merit. Jesus Himself taught us to pray at all times, and never despair, for He wants us to believe that God hears our prayers. Do not be discour- aged with your devotional pursuit, or with your prayer request. My father was a career army man. He returned from over- seas duty in World War II to find that his wife and two sons had become fervent Christians. It was a real shock to him, and also a shock to me to find that my father was not interested in becoming a “born again” Christian. Naturally my mother, brother, and I prayed. My feeble teen-aged effort to convert him was soundly resisted. We prayed and we prayed. Years rolled by. Finally, after about twelve years, I had the joy of seeing him kneel at the altar of the church which I pastored at the time. Prayer was answered! I’m so glad that we didn’t give up. If truth be known, among all the things I have ever prayed for, I had the least faith for my father’s conversion. It was the con- stant petition which my heavenly Father apparently did not mind, and the whole process (as I now view it) built greater faith in my life than had God granted an instanta- neous answer. Jesus understood that God works in His own good time. Given sufficient lead-in time and latitude to work, even- tually and beautifully, the Father will bring the answer to our petition. To a fast-food generation that wants every- thing served up immediately, the prayer closet can be a great teaching tool. I have learned the simple but pro- found truth that even if I lack the certitude to perceive some miraculous answer to a prayer, the fact that I believe that God can hear me and my prayers, and that I

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