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body of th e believer is a temple of the Holy S pirit and since sp iritu al states are to so g rea t a degree, dependent ànd determ ined by physical conditions, it is surely proper to make physical needs the subject of prayer. FRIDAY, Ju n e 13. Gen. 18:23-33. Abraham ’s P ray er F ailu re usually comes along the line of one’s g reatest streng th of character. Possibly vigilance is relaxed because a man may deem him self invulnerable in th a t p articu lar respect. Moses was the meekest man on ea rth yet he spake unadvisably w ith his lips. Abraham was th e pioneer of faith. He had more faith th a n any o ther man. Neverthe less his failures may all be traced to a breakdown of faith in tim e of need. In th is passage Abraham is pleading w ith God on behalf of Sodom. It is most instructive to note how God keeps pace w ith him, responding w ith prom pt and glad compliance to each successive peti tion. It seems as if God would encour age Abraham to tak e ano th er step in faith and go a little farth er. There appears, however, a g radu al slowing up in A braham ’s intercession. He grows h esitan t and apologetic and finally comes to a full stop, before God shows th e least unw illingness on H is p a rt to b ring th e m a tte r to an end. Abraham sta rted w ith a hypothetical fifty and gradually reduced th e num ber to forty, th irty , tw enty and ten. Then his faith apparen tly gave out. Suppose he had taken ano th er step and w ith th e aban don of perfect faith had cast him self upon the unm easured a n d unm easur able mercy of Jehovah, saying “O God w ilt thou not spare those wicked men fo r thy g reat nam e’s sake,” who knows w hether those sulphurous storm s and molten lava floods of judgm en t would have rolled over th e cities of the plain? The seventeenth of John contains the Lord’s prayer. T h at which th e Lord ta u g h t His disciples in Matt. 6 and Luke 11; is th e disciple’s prayer. H ere is the holiest of all. None b u t th e high p riest can en ter here. The only though t of th e Son is to glorify th e F ath e r. The p rayer begins w ith a definition of etern al life. vs. 3.. Knowledge of God makes Christians w hat they are. Ignor ance of God makes th e world w hat it is. One may love th e beauty and enjoy ¡SATURDAY, Ju n e 14. Jo h n 17:1-12. P ra y e r of Jesu s
the fragrance of flowers w ithout a knowledge of botany. Theology is to religion what botany is to flowers. One may know a g rea t deal abou t God and not be on speaking term s w ith Him. The b etter we know Him, however, the more we shalj be glad to know about Him. The Saviour declares th a t He has finished th e work which th e F a th e r gave Him to do. He was a young man bu t H is work on earth was done. Life is not measured by years. A broken sh a ft which is sometimes seen in a cemetery is no fitting monument for a Christian. Every child of God should have a finished work and should con sider him self imm ortal un til his work is done. He makes th e sta rtlin g sta te m ent in verse 9 th a t He does no t pray for th e world. One would suppose th a t the world needed praying for above everything else. When the high priest of Israel stood before God in th e Taber nacle of old, he did not pray for Hivite, H ittite or Jebusite, bu t only for those whose names were given on his b reast plate. The n earer we get to Christ the more do we need praying for, because S atan will do his utm ost to pull us back and drag us down. Heb. 9:24. SUNDAY, Ju n e 15. Jo h n 17:13-26. P ra y e r of Jesu s It is as g reat a triumph, of Divine power and grace to keep th e sain t as it is to save the sinner. He who is able to do th e one is equal to th e other. The world is like a ro aring furnace of iniquity heated in these last days seven tim es h o tte r th a n ever before, b u t the God of all grace is able to keep His children in th e m idst of th e flames w ith out so much as th e smell of the fire passing upon th e ir garm ents. This high priestly intercession included not only the little company of disciples in th e upper room b u t it extends through all th e fu tu re and takes in every mem ber of the body of Christ. The Saviour pleads for unity no t uniform ity. The one is possible, th e o th er impossible. As soon as we begin to th in k we fly ap art. As soon as we begin to feel we are drawn together. He is th e only centre' of gathering and His name is th e only one to be honored. Love is th e g reat cohesive power and those who love Him most will be th e most united. Oneness in suffering precedes oneness in glory. The sufferings of th is present tim e are not w orthy to be compared w ith the glory which shall be revealed. If we suffer w ith Him here we shall be glorified w ith Him there.
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