Árdís - 01.01.1958, Page 24

22
ÁRDIS
for our mistakes, knowing He will not refuse when we are
truly sorry.
Then we ask Him to take over our lives and use them for the
thing He intended. Not what can we get, but what can we
give.
Finally, we pray for oihers, for our loved ones, for the sick
and needy, yes, even for those who have wronged us.
This is the way Jesus taught His followers to pray. It brings
us a long way from the childish asking for what we want. We
have entered into an Adventure of the Spirit.
Many people find that as they grow in prayer they need to
expand their devotions to include Scripture reading, meditation on
the Scripture read, then prayer. There are many fine devotional
books available to help us. One that would be excellent for an
individual or a group wishing to develop prayer life is called “The
Awakened Heart” by Robert W. Stackel, published in 1951 by the
Muhlenburg Press. “The Meaning of Prayer” by Fosdick is another
fine one. A quite different approach is to be found in the book
“Come as You Are,” by O. H. Austin. Other fine devotional books
are “The Way to Power and Poise,” “Abundant Living” and “Vic-
torious Living” — all by E. Stanley Jones. Most church groups
publish devotional booklets for the use of their members and others,
such as “The Upper Room,” “The Word in Season,” and “Forward
Day By Day.” There are devotional books specially prepared for
women’s groups, such as “The Christian Woman” by Ruth Nelson,
“A Certain Woman” by Elsie Fagerlin, “Patterns for Devotion” and
“Channels of Devotion” by Gladys Murrell, “Church Women at
Worship” and others.
Finally, here are some things to remember.
Pray with faith.
Do not expect immediate answers. Allow time.
Prayer does not take away problems or griefs, but it gives us
power to meet them.
One gets richer dividends with large investments in prayer.
Creed is theory — Prayer is practice.
Creed is a map — Prayer is travel.
Let’s undertake the adventure.