John Paton’s family was not rich; in fact, they were so poor that they often had to wear old, thin clothes, and at times there was no food in the house and no obvious way to get more food. But although this was the case, they were always provided for.
When John was going to school, he was one of the poorer boys, and he did not have warm clothes like the others. One evening, when the family was praying at family worship, the door of their house opened and shut quietly. Once the worship was over, John rushed to the door. There on the floor by the door was a parcel containing a new suit of fine, warm clothes which fitted him perfectly. How pleased he was! He could now go to school with warm clothes and look as smart as the other boys.
John’s mum reminded him that it was God who sent the clothes, and that he should thank God for them, no matter who actually brought them to him. As it turned out, the clothes were from the teacher who was quite unkind to him at other times.
There was another incident which John remembered when he was growing up. It happened at a time when food was scarce. The crops had not been good that year, especially the potato crop. So the prices of other foods went up, too, and many families were going hungry. John’s dad had gone to find work in a town not too far away, hoping to return home the next evening with some food and money. But after his father had left, the food in the house had completely run out. There was no bread (and no flour to make bread), no cheese, and no potatoes- there was absolutely nothing to eat. John’s mum did not like to ask any of her neighbors for help, so she had to persuade her eleven children to go to sleep although they had no food that day. She told her children not to worry because she had told God everything, and she knew that He would send them plenty in the morning.
Perhaps the children were wishing that their mum would go and beg for some food from other people instead of “just praying to God.” Imagine how they all felt with their stomachs rumbling because they had no food that day, and no hope for food until their dad came home the next night. Thankfully this is a feeling which most of us have never really had. Sometimes we might say, “Oh, I’m starving!” when what we really mean is that we are just a little bit hungry, and, usually, when we do have that hungry feeling, we know we can get food quite easily and quickly. Imagine having that feeling going on and on and getting worse and worse and not knowing when it will go away. Although we might not experience this, there are, sadly, many others who do have this feeling.
The next morning, a delivery came to the Paton house. It was a present from John’s granddad, Mrs. Paton’s father. The present was a bag of potatoes, a large bag of flour, and a delicious home-made cheese. Not only was this more than enough food to keep them from feeling hungry that day, but it also gave them many other tasty meals.
Imagine how surprised and amazed John and his brothers and sisters would have been at this wonderful present arriving when they had not expected it! How did John’s granddad know to send them this food just when they needed it? John’s mum had not written to him asking for food; she had not phoned him – because there were no phones then.
John’s mum, seeing her children’s surprise at this wonderful present, called them to her and told them to love God, and to tell Him in faith and prayer all their needs, and that He will supply all their needs so far as it shall be for their good and His glory.
What good advice Mrs. Paton was giving her children! And it would be good if we all could follow it. No problem or worry is to small for us to tell God- He wants us to tell Him everything. We are told in the Bible to “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
But we need to think about the difference between things we want and things we need. Sometimes we think we need various things when actually we do not need them at all-we just want them. Did you notice the phrase at the end of Mrs. Paton’s advice, “for their good and His glory”? God will only say, “Yes,” to our prayers if the things we are asking for will be for our good and His glory. It might be hard for us to understand why God has not helped us in the way we asked, but we should trust Him, for He knows best. But there is one thing we all need that God is always willing to give. He has promised, “A new heart also will I give you…” (Ezekiel 36:26). This is the most important thing to ask God for.
The Gospel Standard