Page:The church manual (Church of the Brethren 1916).djvu/53

52 power of sin, the kingdom of thy dear Son enlarged, and thy name glorified.

Let us, we pray thee, abound in thy love more and more, and, day by day, feel that thou art with us. Keep us ever near thy side, and when life's work with us is ended, own us as thine,|we ask for Jesus' sake.

"Our Father, who art in heaven," etc.

To every child of God there ought to be a time and place for private prayer, a personal communication with the Lord. When families have their family worship in the morning, the evening, before retiring, is a suitable time for private prayer. For these prayers we need no form. They become to us a precious and private communication between ourself and our Heavenly Father. We go to him as a child goes to its parent. We open out our hearts to him and tell him what we want and need as no other can. It is a closer approach to God than can be made in any other way. In public and in family worship we may go to prayer, and pass through the form, while our hearts and thoughts may be wholly given to something else. But not so in private prayer. To be alone with God is too solemn to admit of any other feeling than that of deep reverence and true worship. Christian parents should urge upon their children and give