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Counsels for the Church
Morning and Evening Worship
Fathers and mothers, each morning and evening gather your chil-
dren around you, and in humble supplication lift the heart to God for
help. Your dear ones are exposed to temptation. Daily annoyances
beset the path of young and old. Those who would live patient, loving,
cheerful lives must pray. Only by receiving constant help from God
can we gain the victory over self.
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If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of
prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism prevail. Iniquity abounds.
Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against
God breaks out in the life. Enslaved by sin, the moral powers are under
the tyranny of Satan. The soul is made the sport of his temptations;
and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes
where the arch-rebel leads the way.
And yet, in this time of fearful peril, some who profess to be Chris-
tians have no family worship. They do not honor God in the home;
they do not teach their children to love and fear Him. Many have sepa-
rated themselves so far from Him that they feel under condemnation
in approaching Him. They cannot “come boldly unto the throne of
grace,” “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Hebrews
4:16
;
1 Timothy 2:8
. They have not a living connection with God.
Theirs is a form of godliness without the power.
The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan’s most suc-
cessful devices to ruin souls. Prayer is communion with God, the
Fountain of wisdom, the Source of strength, and peace, and happiness.
Jesus prayed to the Father “with strong crying and tears.” Paul ex-
horts believers to “pray without ceasing,” in everything, by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, making known their requests to God.
“Pray one for another,” James says. “The effectual fervent prayer of
a righteous man availeth much.”
Hebrews 5:7
;
1 Thessalonians 5:17
;
James 5:16
.
By sincere, earnest prayer parents should make a hedge about their
children. They should pray with full faith that God will abide with
them and that holy angels will guard them and their children from
Satan’s cruel power.
In every family there should be a fixed time for morning and
evening worship. How appropriate it is for parents to gather their