Faith and Prayer
195
Only the sense of God’s presence can banish the fear that, for the
timid child, would make life a burden. Let him fix in his memory the
promise, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
Him, and delivereth them.”
Psalm 34:7
. Let him read that wonderful
story of Elisha in the mountain city, and, between him and the hosts
of armed foemen, a mighty encircling band of heavenly angels. Let
him read how to Peter, in prison and condemned to death, God’s angel
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appeared; how, past the armed guards, the massive doors and great iron
gateway with their bolts and bars, the angel led God’s servant forth in
safety. Let him read of that scene on the sea, when the tempest-tossed
soldiers and seamen, worn with labor and watching and long fasting,
Paul the prisoner, on his way to trial and execution, spoke those grand
words of courage and hope: “Be of good cheer: for there shall be no
loss of any man’s life among you.... For there stood by me this night
the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not,
Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given
thee all them that sail with thee.” In the faith of this promise Paul
assured his companions, “There shall not an hair fall from the head of
any of you.” So it came to pass. Because there was in that ship one
man through whom God could work, the whole shipload of heathen
soldiers and sailors was preserved. “They escaped all safe to land.”
Acts 27:22-24, 34, 44
.
These things were not written merely that we might read and
wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God’s servants of old
might work in us. In no less marked a manner than He wrought then
will He work now wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of
His power.
Let the self-distrustful, whose lack of self-reliance leads them to
shrink from care and responsibility, be taught reliance upon God. Thus
many a one who otherwise would be but a cipher in the world, perhaps
only a helpless burden, will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Philippians
4:13
.
For the child also who is quick to resent injuries, faith has precious
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lessons. The disposition to resist evil or to avenge wrong is often
prompted by a keen sense of justice and an active, energetic spirit. Let
such a child be taught that God is the eternal guardian of right. He