Food for the Soul

"O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." — Psalm 5:1-3 George Mueller (1805-1898) of Bristol, England, obtained the English equivalent of almost ten million dollars in his lifetime through prayer for his homes for orphans. He never asked anyone but God to provide for the needs. Mueller didn't pray for a thing just because he wanted it or even if it was (in his opinion) greatly needed for the Lord's work. When Mueller was burdened to pray for something, he first checked Scripture. Sometimes he would search the Word for days before he would pray about his burden. Commenting on his method of prayer, Mueller said he would search Scripture, ". . . not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I almost always found was that after a very few minutes my soul was led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer." Then, with a finger on the promise in his Bible and his heart turned to God, he would plead that promise until he received what he asked for. He always prayed with an open Bible before him.* Can we pray like that? Perhaps some of these scriptures of promise will help get us started, as we pray for the burdens and needs that come our way: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." - Matthew 7:7-8 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. - 1 John 5:13-14 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:19 Do you believe that God will answer your prayers built on these promises? I do.