His blood. He will order the unruly wills and affections of your heart. He will give you new tastes, new dispositions, new motives. He will dwell in you and with you here, and then receive you to His kingdom above.

OT a moment' to kneel down before

he quits his chamber; 'not a moment' to recall the merciful care that has guarded his sleeping hours; 'not a moment' to ask help for the duties and temptations of the day? No, 'not a moment.' The young man rises quickly, hurries from his room, goes down to the breakfast-table, and is soon off by train or omnibus to the house of business.

But not so is it with his young companion who shares the same lodgings. He knows the value of prayer. He rises betimes in the morning, and has a few minutes' quiet time for reading the best Book, and for earnest, hearty devotion. Nor is the same exercise neglected in the evening. Tired and wearied with the toils of the day, yet he cannot lie

down to rest without prayer.

Sin must be

confessed, pardon must be sought through the precious blood of Christ, and he must commit himself afresh to a Father's tender care and protection. So he reposes in peace, for he knows full well that he is under safe guard in the strong tower of God's defence.

The lesson is not lost on his companion. It awakens thought. It leads him to see his own danger. It reveals to him the solemn truth that he is living without God and without hope. By-and-by he follows the good example that his friend has set him. He begins to pray, and soon finds prayer a comfort and a help. Shortly after he finds his way to the Bible-class and the Sunday-school. He becomes a helper in religious work. Once he had 'not a moment for prayer,' but now he finds many a quiet interval for communion with his Father in heaven, and delights also in fellowship with God's people on earth.

'Not a moment for prayer! Is this the case with anyone who reads these lines? Business and work, recreation and sleep, mealtimes and conversation with friends-these things fill up the twenty-four hours of each day, and 'not a moment' is left for prayer.

If this be so, your heart is not right with God. You are what the Scriptures call dead in trespasses and sins. Where there is no breath, there is no life. Where there is no prayer, there is no spiritual life in the soul.

If you never pray, you know not the value of the soul, and care not for the Saviour. Oh, think of the peril of abiding thus! You cannot be saved without a great change. You must be born again. By the power of the Holy Spirit you must become a new creature in Christ. 'Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.'*

'Not a moment for prayer!' Think how soon may come a moment of fierce temptation that may carry you away as with a flood. The fair promise of life may be utterly laid waste. As the fruit of your own sin, years of remorse or misery may follow. Had you but prayed for grace to help in time of need, a hand would have been stretched out to shield and protect you. But God was forgotten, the soul was neglected, and then came the terrible fall.

'Not a moment for prayer! And yet a moment will come when the arrow of death will arrest your course. Man never continueth Eph. v. 14.

*

in one stay. In the midst of life we are in death. The strongest are sometimes cut down in a moment. The healthiest often yield to some unlooked-for disease. We may not boast of the morrow, for we know not what a day may bring forth.

'Not a moment for prayer! And yet there is a moment coming when the trumpet-blast shall be heard calling thee to stand before the judgment-seat. Sins long forgotten will then be brought to mind: a wasted lifetime; months and years spent without regard to Him who gave them; talents left unimproved; the things left undone as well as the things done amiss-for all this a strict account must be given. Remember it. You may neglect the mercy-seat; but you must stand before the bar of judgment. Time hastens on apace, and soon the King will appear in His glory. Take heed; be ye ready, for ye know not when the time is. Behold, the Judge standeth before the door.' *

I beg of you to live no longer a stranger to prayer. Life is too short and uncertain to be wasted in vanity. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. A young nobleman once learnt this