“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night;
and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of
the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an
helmet, the hope of salvation” ….. “Pray without ceasing. In every thing give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1
Thess 5:6-8, 17-18)
Due to its character as a Gospel Song and not a Hymn, per se, this
gentle and devotional piece may have been omitted from the 1940 Hymnal, but it
has been used to bolster the faith and prayer life of untold numbers of saints.
It reflects the quiet solitude of prayer offered early, while the world sleeps,
in both wilderness and crowded street. When we enter our prayer closets, the
world fades into oblivion as we are alone with God. That closet may be in the
desert, or in a very public place. The prayer may be uttered in the closed chambers
of our hearts, and inaudible to the “madding crowd” all about; or it may be
reverently uttered behind closed doors in the soft solitude of morning.
Regardless the magnitude of the speech, the Lord has good ears to hear.
This Gospel Song was written by Mary A. Kidder of Boston,
Massachusetts, in 1876; the beautiful melody was composed by William O.
Perkins.
Ere You Left Your Room This Morning
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor,
As a shield today?
Refrain
O how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you claim the Holy Spirit
As your guide and stay? (Refrain)
When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who had crossed your way? (Refrain)
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day? (Refrain)
“Ere you left your room
this morning, Did you think to pray? In the name of Christ our Savior, Did you
sue for loving favor, As a shield today?” What soldier, in the dangers of the
battlefield encampment, would dare leave his tent without his weapon and
protective armor: what artist would attempt to paint without his brush; what
farmer would attempt to sow without his bag of seed; and what Christian would
dare face the evils of the world without consulting God at the beginning of
each sortie into the world? Our consciousness and duty to God begins at first
light, or before. When we open our eyes from sleep, our first thoughts should
be of gratitude to the loving God who gave us sleep, and who watches over us as
we begin our busy day. A soldier dares not venture forth to battle without
first seeking the will of his commander. Once he has gotten it, he engages in his
warfare in the name of that commander. No other commander matters – only the
one to whom he answers in duty. Can a Christian be less mindful of the Captain
and Bishop of his soul than the common soldier on the line of battle? Christ is
the One who bled and died for us. It was Christ who bought us with a price –
not to be slaves, but free men and women of righteousness. Do we not seek the
favor of the Father in the Name of His beloved Son who died for us? Prayer,
like the Word of God, is a two edged sword to both protect and to arm for the
battles of the day.
“When you met with great temptation, Did you think to pray? By
His dying love and merit, Did you claim the Holy Spirit As your guide and stay?”
Even the Lord, when tempted of the devil, uttered prayers in the Wilderness –
prayers that were echoes of Holy Scripture. When subject to the temptations of
my early military career, after falling victim time and again to temptations, I
simply undertook the same words of Jesus when Satan tempted Him and when Peter
acted as the devil’s go-between: “Get behind me Satan.” Once those words were
uttered, I was no longer tempted and found it impossible to give in to sin and
temptation on that occasion. If we have the Mind of Christ, how could that Mind
fail to seek divine guidance and assurance at the early hours of the morning?
In His stead, Christ has sent the Holy Spirit as the Comforter who sustains us
in our trials and tribulations. Have you sought that valuable asset at the
breaking of the early dawn – and daily? The Word of God is our Chart for
navigating the seas of life; and the Holy Ghost is our Compass. Every Seaman
must have his chart and compass. The Holy Spirit not only sets the course, but
also provides the wind for our sails. He protects and defends.
“When your heart was filled with anger, Did you think to pray? Did you
plead for grace, my brother, That you might forgive another Who had crossed
your way?” Though there is no sin in righteous anger, there is a sin in anger
that is vetted without a cause. Christ demonstrated anger on various occasions.
We should be angry at men who dreadfully abuse little children, or who oppress
others. Forgiveness is not required for those who seek none. But we often are
angry without a cause. Have you ever noticed when someone passes you on a
two-lane road how you may have called them fools for driving in such manner; or
how often you have passed someone on the same road who you felt was driving too
slowly. In both cases, you may have called them ‘fools’ while it was you who
was the fool! Instead of “counting to ten” when angered, why not call upon God
in prayer. He will never fail you. His gentle grace will soften your heart in
ways that counting to arbitrary numbers meaninglessly will not. Any who seek
our forgiveness must be granted the same. Not just as a matter of obedience to
the commandment, but in obedience to the Holy Spirit that rules our hearts.
“When sore trials came upon you, Did you think to pray? When your soul
was bowed in sorrow, Balm of Gilead did you borrow At the gates of day?” Have
you remembered, when hard trials come upon you, that there is a Balm in Gilead –
the Lord Jesus Christ – whose grace and mercy will ease every pain and heal
every ill? The Christians of the poorer regions of Africa and India are
familiar with incessant prayer. It is because many, being desperately poor,
must appeal to God for the next morsel to fill their own mouths, and the mouths
of their children, daily. It is not only a privilege to them, but a dire
necessity, to pray. Perhaps our National character would benefit from the
deprivation of luxury for a time. When all friends have deserted you, to whom
will you turn for succor? There is a Balm in Gilead – remember? He is “a Friend
that sticketh closer than a brother.” Why struggle with life’s problems in the
early hours of the day before resorting to prayer? Why not pray at the very “Gates
of the Day?”
Refrain
“O how praying rests the weary! Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary, Don’t forget to pray.” God began the
Creation of the world in darkness – the darkness of an unending (until that
time) night. But God changed the night to day . . . “And the evening and the
morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1) When we labor for the Lord, there is
no weariness for it is His works and labors that are exerted, and not our own.
Why not call upon our Father to move the rock in our sand boxes instead of
struggling with a load too heavy for us to bear as His children?
Don’t FORGET to pray! You cannot afford not to.
AOC©2014
