Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

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The Editor's Page
GOD'S FOURTH ANSWER TO PRAYER
We so often read that God has three answers
to prayer: "Yes," "No" and "Wait One might
almost think He has forms to send out for these vari
ous answers. His variety is not so limited, but time
cannot wither nor custom stale His infinite variety.
I am thinking of another answer which may be
substituted for the answer "No" or might rather be
considered as an adjunct of each of the three men
tioned above.
You have all heard this story of the older sister
who was watching the baby in an adjoining room
when the baby set up a great howl. The mother in the
kitchen said, "What's the matter with Johnny" Sis
ter says, "He wants a bug." To which the mother
says "Let him have it." Unfortunately, the bug
which proved to be a bumble bee seems to have taken
the mother literally and did let him have it with all
his heart and soul and then the baby set up another
howl larger than the first. Mother called in again
"What's the matter The sister replies "He's
got it." This may be a good illustration of the times
when God answers No.
I remember attending a church picnic Twenti
eth-Century style in which potluck supplies were put
on the table and the group invited to pass around and
help themselves. Among the many dishes of maca
roni, spaghetti, baked beans, meat loaf, meat balls,
etc., two large plates of deviled eggs were prominent.
One small boy concentrated on these and departed
with a well filled plate. About that time his mother
discovered what had happened and ran in pursuit and
a large part of the spoils were restored to their orig
inal places and a much wider menu selection was sub
stituted. Now to the boy deviled eggs were eggs and
they were nothing more, and eggs were good food,
but that boy was asthmatic and deviled eggs were his
allergy No. 1. To the mother they were not eggs but
scorpions. She knew it meant not only a night of
sickness but days of sickness and breathing would
be a painful operation. He thought he was asking for
eggs but she knew he was asking for scorpions. It
was a case of "Mother knows best."
So it is with our prayers. "God has provided
some better thing for "Your heavenly Father
knoweth what things ye have need of before you
ask Him." "He is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think." God whose store
house is the unsearchable riches of Christ reserves
the right to make substitutions on our daily
orders
and His substitutions are wiser and better. So in
stead of God having but three answers, Yes, No and
Wait awhile, He has such answers as "Yes, More al
"No, but take this instead," "Wait "But
what I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know
hereafter."
A child gets into his mother's sewing bag where
there are needles, pins, shears and all matter of
lethal instruments and picks out the razor blades.
But the wise onlooker, realizing how hard it will be
to take anyone of them away from him, picks out the
mending ball that has no cutting edges and tries to
180
concentrate his attention on it in preference to the
other things.
I am thinking of a home where a baby was born
that was quite under weight. Anxiously and prayer
fully his parents fed him with a medicine dropper,
constantly anxious lest each day would be his last.
After a year or more the baby began to grow but
failed to grow normally. On the playground he was
known as the runt or some equally obnoxious name
and was the victim of all the bullies who couldn't
match the boys of their own size. When he attained
maturity he had difficulty in finding employment.
So much so that he finally accepted the only job
that seemed to be open to him,
much against the re
monstrance of his parents; and their daily prayers
were that he might find something else. He became a
publican or in other words a tax collector for the
hated Roman Government. He was good in figures
and was a success in that job if that job could ever
be counted a success by his fellow countrymen. His
inferiority complex found various ways for compen
sating his consciousness of being looked down upon.
One of these was the wealth he accumulated and he
may not have felt too bad if part of it came from
those who despised his image. But that very short
ness of stature led to his ultimate triumph for he
climbed a Sycamore tree that he might see the most
distinguished guest Jericho ever had, who said,
"Zachaeus, come down for today I must abide at thy
house."
Jericho had a "Who's Who" of unusual im
portance for a city of its size and among the noted
names, there was Rahab the Harlot, Hiel, the Bethelite
who rebuilt the town after its destruction, Elijah
and Elisha passed through there on the last day of
Elijah's life, Blind Bartimaeus was on the list as was
also his fellow blind man, the one who fell among
thieves was one of its guests, and a good Samaritan.
But most important of all was Jesus Himself, and
who among all the list attained such honor as did
Zachaeus Last in the alphabet, the first to grow
from its shortest to its tallest citizen in a single day.
Wherever his parents were on that day they must
have, whether in Heaven or in earth, felt that now
their prayers were answered.
In the Greek city of Tarsus was born a child of
unusual intelligence, his parents delighted in showing
him off, he was such a prodigy; but that had its
dangers, too, for he was apt to become spoiled. But
seeing his
they prayed that he might
ever remain a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of
the Pharisees ; they gave him all the advantages of a
secular and religious education. They sent him to the
feet of Gamaliel and he rose even as a young man to
a seat in the Sanhedrin. His report cards came back
to Tarsus with all A's and the green lights were
showing down the street ahead. He was given the im
portant post of being chosen as the head of the FBI
and assigned the important duty of finding out all the
Christians, not only in his own land but in such
strange places as Damascus. Then suddenly this good
home in Tarsus was shocked to learn that their son,
Saul, had turned traitor to his cause. Comparable to
Benedict Arnold or even worse than that, a Judas
(Continued on page 186)
COVENANTER WITNESS