More Things Are Wrought by Prayer Than This World Dreams of. . . .

One of my favorite poems on prayer was written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:

More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.
Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats that nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends?
For so the whole round earth is every way bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

Your prayers are heard. Your prayers are answered.

Here is a prayer God always answers, "Yes, Lord."

I spent a portion of my last week in the U.S. Army on a retreat at a Trappist monastery near Bardstown, KY. (I was a soldier at Fort Knox at the time.)

As you may know, the Trappists are a very strict order of monks within the Roman Catholic Church. At that time (1965) they observed a vow of silence. I still remember the wonderful sense of peace and calm I experienced there.

One Trappist monk wrote these words about prayer: "There are two main pitfalls on the road to mastery of the art of prayer. If a person gets what he asks for, his humility is in danger. If he fails to get what he asks for, he is apt to lose confidence. Indeed, no matter whether prayer seems to be succeeding or failing, humility and confidence are two virtues which are absolutely essential."

The Bible says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16, NIV).

God is waiting, dear friends.