Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

share"prayer,"not."groups."saries."eyes"not,"worms. They were taught to trust inGod from day to day. Moses, in his blessing upon Asher said, "As thy day, soshall thy strength be.""Seek ye first the Kingdom of God."First things should be placed first in allour endeavor. Every person in his rightmind makes use of some kind of orderlyprocedure as he goes about his work.Important duties are placed first in ourdaily work. The Kingdom of God is themost important objective of life and Jesus says to seek it and not to be overanxious about the things of this world,which the rich fool had for a short timeand then he was taken away from them.We should have confidence in God because he will eventually set things right.The first coming of Christ has causeddivisions as is taught in this passage.Right must always be opposed to wrong.Jesus came first to establish His kingdom and in doing so He held up thehighest standards before people.Theolder brother may have the "lion'sof the estate. But Jesus did notcome into this world to divide up estatesso that each one will get a just share.The world is full of injustice.Jesuscame not to be an earthly judge or anumpire. To insist that Jesus act in sucha capacity is indication that our heartsare set upon the things of this worldwhich Jesus is here warning us against.But when Jesus comesthe secondtime, whether at death or at the time ofHis last final coming He will come asa rewarder and as a punisher. In otherwords He will come to set things right.Heaven is a place where all things willbe right and not wrong.In view of this it should be our ambition to be ready to meet Christ whenHe comes. He says, "Be ye thereforeready also: for the Son of Man comethat an hour when ye thinkOurconfidence in God should be such thatwe will be in a constant state of preparation for the great comingLord.of ourWEEK-OF-PRAYER ANNOUNCEDPITTSBURGH It is not too earlyto begin preparation for the appropriateand fruitful observance of the UniversalWeek of Prayer, January 1 to 8, 1956,suggests the Board of Administration'sGeneral Committee on Evangelism.Whether the local congregation conductsits own series of prayer services at thebeginningof the new calendar andchurch year, or joins other church bodiesin the community in such a "season ofcongregational leaders,especially those entrusted with the spirituallife of the members, will be pleased tohave this announcement of the themeDecember 21, 1955for the week, the Scripture portions tobe read and studied, and the directivesfor prayer that are offered.The theme for this approaching Universal Week of Prayer observance willbe "A Pilgrimage of Prayer." The dayby-daythemes are: Sabbath, January 1,"Commitment for the Journey"Psalm42:43 and Luke 18:1-8; Monday, "Preparation for the Journey" Psalm 40:1-11and Luke 14:15-24; Tuesday, "Beginningand Destination: Knowing God"Isaiah6:1-11 and John 14:6-11; Wednesday,"Failure and Recovery" Numbers 11:4-6, 13:32-14:4; Thursday, "The Uses ofthe Way" Psalm 90 and Phil. 4:4-13;Friday, "Taking Others with Us"Mark 2:1-12 and Psalm 122; Saturday,"The Company of Pilgrims" Psalms 42and 43 and Rev. 4:1-11; Sabbath, Jan. 8,"We Desire a Better Country" Heb. 11:1-12:2 and Mark 4:1-9.For more than one hundred years thisprayer movement, timed fittingly as theNew Year's beginning, has given millionsof God's people the opportunity to praytogether in local churches, interdenominational meetings, and smaller prayergroups or cells during a particular week.In the United States a growing numberof cities and towns and rural communities will participate in this worldfellowship of prayer. Only God can measure the accomplishment of such unitedintercession. And what time has thereever been in our world when prayer onthe part of God's people was more needed?The Joint Department of Evangelismof the National Council of the Churchesof Christ again has prepared helps forthe observance of this week of prayer.It has made available a booklet writtenthis year by Dr. John Casteel of theColgate-Rochester Divinity school. Inthe foreword the writer says: "This little booklet is written for the purpose ofproviding some guidance in the elementsof prayer, particularly for those whohave not had opportunity for a largerexperience and any advanced instructionin its practice. While its suggestions areintended for the individual, it takes account of the fact that many persons areembarking... on the life of prayer asmembers of small praying groups; hencesuggestions are given also for meetingsof theseDr. Casteel suggestshymns and psalms to be sung and provides a deeplyspiritual meditation foreach day with definite directives to individuals and groups engaging in prayer.The Joint department also is offeringa multigraphed manual on "How toMake Universal Week of Prayer Meaningful in Your Community." This manualis a very practical down-to-earth studyof ways and means. It not only outlinesits good suggestions but tells the story ofthe fruitful observance of the weeks ofprayer in various communities.Both the prayer booklet and the manual of suggestions may be ordered directly from the Joint Department ofEvangelism, 297 Fourth Avenue, NewYork 10, N. Y. The use of them is strongly recommended by the General Committee on Evangelism of the Board ofAdministration.United PresbyterianW. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Larimer. Editor.Praver Hour. 1 :00 P.M. MondavTopic for JanuaryDOORS AND WINDOWS(Temperance)"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth;Keep the door of my lips." Psalm 141:3By Mrs. Alvin SmithThis is only one of many prayers weshould be offering up to the Throneof Grace each day. "Lord, open thouminethat we may see the deceptivenessand evil intent in the liquortraffic's strategy; that we may lookon those things that are good."Take heed what ye hear," Mark4:24. Lord, give us hearing ears thatwe may turn from those things thatare false and would lead us astray."Ponder the path of thy feet,Proverbs 4:26. Lord, keep our feet onthe straight and narrow path whenmany around us are on the broad waygoing to destruction."Touch not, taste not, handleColossians 3:21. Lord, use our handsin thy service that we may not playwith sin nor go in the way of temptation. "O Lord, open thou my lips."Psalm 51:15,that I may warn others, that I may tell them the truth."At the last it biteth like a serpentand stingeth like an adder."Proverbs23:32, and that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God, I Cor. 6:9,10.We need to pray, too, that the Lordwould help us to "strengthen the weakhands and confirm the feeble knees"for there are many today who haveno mind of their own, just followingthe crowd.Again in I Cor. 16:9 we are told thata "great door and effectual is openedunto me, and there are many adverChristians,How true this is today! Aswe have a great responsibility to tell the facts, but how manyadversaries there are, even amongprofessing Christians.411