them they enable her to fly," so prayer, instead of hindering in the work of life, gives to it greater efficiency. The man who prays gets something into his life that the man who does not pray misses. He has meat to eat that the world knows not of. The man who stops to repair the broken buckle is the man who wins in life's race. The man who, alike in the parched weariness of the evening and in the dewy sweetness and freshness of the morning, turns aside for a while to nourish the life of his soul by communion with God is the man who in steadfastness of purpose holds on his way amid all difficulties and discouragements until he has finished the work that the Father has given him to do.

CHAPTER III

JESUS MET EVERY CRISIS IN HIS LIFE WITH PRAYER

In every emergency prayer was his unfailing resource. He never took any important step without consulting the Father; he never walked in an unknown way without taking hold of the Father's hand; he never faced any difficulty without imploring the Father's aid. Every new crisis in his life was a fresh call to prayer.

1. He Began His Public Ministry with Prayer.

"Now it came to pass. . . that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3. 21, 22). Luke, who gives us "the kneeling Christ," adds to the picture of his baptism given by the other evangelists the significant touch that as Jesus stepped from the waters of baptism, he prayed. The words of his prayer are not recorded, but it is said that as he engaged in prayer three things took place:

(1) "The heaven was opened," or, as Mark, in his energetic fashion, puts it, "was rent asunder." The parting of the lower skies was symbolical of

the opening to his vision of the higher spiritual realm. To this vision all his experience had led up; and in it all his preparation culminated. He had now come to spiritual maturity, and to the fullness of his Messianic consciousness. Heaven opened to his soul because his soul opened to heaven. He felt himself related to the upper sphere. His life was part of the infinite and the eternal. The vision which comes in some measure to every praying soul when the invisible world stands open and heaven and earth are seen to be inseparably united, had come to him in fullness.

(2) "The Holy Spirit descended upon him" in bodily form as a dove. The object of the Spirit's descent, and of his sensible contact, was doubtless to equip him for the work upon which he was entering, and the form which the Spirit assumed indicated the dovelike qualities of gentleness and purity with which he was to be endowed.

Whatever else his baptism signified, it was an act of supreme self-consecration; it was a sacrificial dedication of himself to his Messianic mission, not only in the way of fulfilling all ceremonial righteousness as an ideal Israelite, and all moral righteousness as an ideal man, but also in the way of fulfilling all righteousness as God's Anointed, who had accepted the task of bringing the world into possession of its spiritual inheritance. Conscious of the greatness of the undertaking, and of his need of divine assistance, he prayed for wisdom and strength. In answer to his prayer the Holy

Spirit descended upon him in fullness of power, as his abiding Helper; as he does upon every uplooking, consecrated soul.

(3) "A voice came out of heaven." Following the heavenly vision, and the heavenly enduement, came the heavenly voice, in which the Father acclaimed him as his well-beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. It is worthy of note that it was his praying Son in whom the Father expressed his confidence, and upon whom he set the seal of his approbation. In the act of prayer itself he saw an evidence of fitness for the work of human redemption which the Son had undertaken. His elect in whom his soul delighted was a praying man who looked to him for help at every step in the way. With the attitude of prayerful dependence he is forever well pleased.

The lesson which here shines out is that the right way to begin an undertaking is by prayer. When so begun, when any son of God standing upon life's threshold girding himself for his appointed task lifts his heart in prayer, the heaven above will open to him; the Spirit in all the plenitude of his power will descend upon him, equipping him for his work; and the Father will, in some definite way, acknowledge him as one in whom he is well pleased.

2. He Prayed Before the Choosing of the Twelve. "It came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6. 12). Literally, it

reads that "He continued all night in the prayer of God." This is an expression not found elsewhere. What it means is that his prayer had its origin and its end in God. It was divinely inspired and divinely guided.

The specific object of his night-long prayer we learn from the context. After his vigil was over, "in the morning, when it was day, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles." It was with Jesus a time of great anxiety. He needed light so as to choose wisely the leaders of his church. He knew how much hung upon the selection which had to be made. How was he to judge aright touching the potentialities which lay concealed in the members of his little band of disciples? Could he trust his own unaided wisdom in deciding who among them should be his standard bearers? In his perplexity he did what all true souls have ever done-he prayed for light and leading. He hied away to the mountain-side, probably to the twin peaks known as "the horns of Hattin," that in the solitude of nature he might be alone with God and, free from distraction, hearken to his voice. As he waited in the presence of the Father, thinking of the choice that had to be made on the morrow, one by one his disciples passed in review before his mental vision; he weighed their merits, balanced their qualifications, singled them out, until he knew unerringly the place for which each one was fitted in the work of his Kingdom.