This is His commandment, that we believe.-I John 3:23. OUR Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. We thank Thee for the day that is before us, with its opportunities, its privileges, its unexpected pleasures, and its disappointments as well. We rejoice in the opportunity to serve Thee, to witness for Thee in our intercourse with men. May we be ever ready to display a sympathetic interest in the welfare of those with whom we mingle in the home, the train, the busy street, the office and the shop. As we look back over the life of our Lord, we find that wherever He moved among men they were conscious of a rising hope within them, their spirits were quickened, and they faced life's tasks with new courage and hopefulness. Grant, our Father, that we, too, may be used this day, through the Holy Spirit, in making Christ very real to someone. May we find keen enjoyment in the work which we have been called upon to do, and may we seek to know Thy will in the commonplace duties which in Thy providence have been assigned to us. When discouragement confronts us and when obstacles are placed in our paths—yes, even when perhaps we may not have any tangible evidence on which to base our hope-may we then trust Thee fully and completely, for Thou art our Father and our God. Amen. S. EARLE HOOVER, Philadelphia, Penna. Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.-I Peter 2:1-2. LORD our God, we desire to thank Thee sincerely for Thy never-failing love and mercy unto us. For all the great temporal blessings, and especially for the gift of Jesus Christ our Saviour, we bless and praise Thy Holy Name. Cleanse our hearts, we beseech Thee, from all unrighteousness, and forgive wherein we have failed to do Thy will. Grant unto us the strength we need to overcome temptation, and to be brave and cheerful amid the trials and sorrows of life. May the light of Thy truth shine into our hearts, dispelling the darkness of fear and unbelief. Help us, O Lord, to be more generous in our judgment of others. May Thy wondrous love fill and flood our hearts, making us to be kind and sympathetic in our treatment of those whose lives we touch day by day. We pray that Thy blessing may descend upon the people of all lands. May the day soon come when the good news of salvation shall have been made known to all mankind. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. REV. JOSEPH JANES, M.A., Be not afraid, only believe.-Mark 5:36. OUR Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the child's right of approach and of expectancy. Humbly pleading Thy promises, relying alone upon the merits of Thy Son, we pray; in our sorrow, send the Comforter. In our helplessness, supply efficiency for service. In our ignorance and loneliness, show us the way wherein Thou wilt walk with us. Dwell Thou within us, that we sin no more against Thee, that Thy will be our pleasure, Thy cause our masked passion. Give us the courage of faith, the consolation of conscious forgiveness, and the blessed assurance that underneath are the everlasting arms. Make us to cleave to that which is good, and abhor that which is evil. Above all, O Thou Giver and supreme Lover of life, we pray for ourselves not only, but for all men and women, and particularly for all children, that Thou wilt give everlasting life-saving spiritual life, vigorous physical life, pure social life, beneficent mental life-all the life there is that is worth having, for we ask it in His name Who lovingly confided to us, "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it abundantly." Amen. IRA LANDRITH, D.D., LL.D., It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High; to show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning and Thy faithfulness every night. For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the work of Thy hands.Ps. 92: 1-2, 4. OUR loving Father in Heaven, we come to Thee as the good All-Father that cares for us here below, realizing our many wants, but "our God can supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ." Teach us also, dear Lord, to realize fully our many infirmities. "Teach me to know how frail I am," and notwithstanding all, may we go to Thee as children to an earthly parent-trustfully, believingly, and in full confidence that Thou wilt lead our steps aright. Bless our children, loving Saviour, and as they grow up to manhood's and womanhood's stature, may they grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ. Prepare us today for all that Thou art preparing for us. Make us patient, loving, thoughtful and helpful. Bless each one of us, and, what is far better, make us a blessing. For Jesus' sake we ask it. Amen. REV. P. C. CAMERON, B.A., Berlin, Ont., Canada. Ye shall see Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.-Jer. 29: 13. THOU, with Whom to dwell is the light of life and from Whom to depart is the shadow of death, grant us the joy of Thine abiding presence this day, that in us there may be no darkness at all. We are not children of the darkness, O Father, but our paths this day may lead us into the midst of human sorrow and strife and sin. May we walk as befits the children of the Light! Give us, we pray Thee, open and alert minds to discover Thy will, and a holy purpose both to love and to do it. Help us to be true in the midst of all that is false, pure where evil most abounds, friendly to the friendless, and bearers of our brothers' burdens for our Saviour's sake. Take away, we pray Thee, all the guilt of our sin, and give us the joy of the victorious life through our divine Redeemer. At the close of this day bring us, with spirits untroubled and unashamed, to our own firesides, where, by Thy grace, we may find rest, and the peace that passeth understanding. All of this we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Saviour. Amen. WILLIAM HIRAM FOULKES, D.D., LL.D., |