Thoughts for the Quiet Hour

by Dwight L. Moody

He has "need of thee." Turn not thy back upon Him; put not thyself out of the way of being employed by Him; do not begin by laying down laws for thyself as to what thou wilt do and what thou wilt not do; but cry out from the very depth of thy heart, "Here am I, send me,"—W. Hay Aitken.

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Ex. xiv. 13. Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty—leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape; contriving a situation which no human judgment would have permitted, had it been previously consulted. The very cloud conducts them thither. You may be thus involved at this very hour. It does seem perplexing and very serious to the last degree; but it is perfectly right. The issue will more than justify Him who has brought you hither. It is a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power. He will not only deliver you, but in doing so He will give you a lesson that you will never forget; and to which, in many a psalm and song in after days, you will revert. You will never be able to thank God enough for having done just as He has.—F. B. Meyer.

What a perfect message for today with the pandemic going on! Its so easy to be fearful and lose sight of what God might be doing.

Gold cannot be used for currency as long as it is mixed with the quartz and rock in which it lies imbedded. So your soul is useless to God till taken out from sin and earthliness and selfishness, in which it lies buried. By the regenerating power of the Spirit you must be separated unto Christ, stamped with His image and superscription, and made into a divine currency, which shall bear His likeness among men. The Christian is, so to speak, the circulating medium of Christ, the coin of the realm by whom the great transactions of mercy and grace to a lost world are carried on. As the currency stands for the gold, so does the Christian stand for Christ, representing His good and acceptable will.—A. J. Gordon.

Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. James i. 2. We cannot be losers by trusting God, for He is honored by faith, and most honored when faith discerns His love and truth behind a thick cloud of His ways and providence. Happy those who are thus tried! Let us only be clear of unbelief and a guilty conscience. We shall hide ourselves in the rock and pavilion of the Lord, sheltered beneath the wings of everlasting love till all calamities be overpast.—Selected.

The life of fellowship with God cannot be built up in a day. It begins with the habitual reference of all to Him, hour by hour, as Moses did in Egypt. But it moves on to more and longer periods of communion; and it finds its consummation and bliss in days and nights of intercession and waiting and holy intercourse.—F. B. Meyer.

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. Psa v. 3. The morning is the gate of the day, and should be well guarded with prayer. It is one end of the thread on which the day's actions are strung, and should be well knotted with devotion. If we felt more the majesty of life we should be more careful of its mornings. He who rushes from his bed to his business and waiteth not to worship is as foolish as though he had not put on his clothes, or cleansed his face, and as unwise as though he dashed into battle without arms or armor. Be it ours to bathe in the softly flowing river of communion with God, before the heat of the wilderness and the burden of the way begin to oppress us.—Spurgeon.

My God shall be my strength. Isa. xlix. 5. Oh, do not pray for easy lives! Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of God.—Phillips Brooks.

Go up the mountain, and the things in the plain will look very small; the higher you rise the more insignificant they will seem. Hold fellowship with God, and the threatening foes here will seem very, very unformidable.

Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Matt. xxvi. 39. There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.—Faber.

Oh, how therefore we should confide in Him, and in our darkest moments never lose sight of the fact that He is still and ever will be The Living God!—George Müller.

Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Psa. cxlv. 16. Desire, it is a dainty word! It were much that He should satisfy the need, the want; but He goeth far beyond that. Pity is moved to meet our need; duty may sometimes look after our wants; but to satisfy the desire implies a tender watchfulness, a sweet and gracious knowledge of us, an eagerness of blessing. God is never satisfied until He has satisfied our desires.—Mark Guy Pearse.

What means these stones? Josh. iv. 21. Ye also as living stones. 1 Pet. ii. 5. (R. V.) There should be something so remarkable, so peculiar about the life and conversation of a Christian that men should be compelled to ask, "What does this mean?". . . . Is there anything in your character, words, and habits of life so different from the world around you that men are involuntarily compelled to ask themselves or others, "What does this mean?" Not that there is to be a forced singularity, a peculiarity for the sake of being peculiar; that were merely to copy the pharisaism of ancient days. . . . Oh, that we might realize that this is the purpose for which God sends us into the world, as He sent His only begotten Son!—S. A. Blackwood.

The face is made every day by its morning prayer, and by its morning look out of windows which open upon heaven.—Joseph Parker.

The only preparation for the morrow is the right use of to-day. The stone in the hands of the builder must be put in its place and fitted to receive another.

Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here—thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The eternal God is thine helper!—Spurgeon.

To every man his work. Mark xiii. 34. He does the most for God's great world who does the best in his own little world.—Selected.

The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. 1 Sam. ii. 3. God does not measure what we bring to Him. He weighs it.—Mark Guy Pearse.

Our boldness for God before the world must always be the result of individual dealing with God in secret. Our victories over self, and sin, and the world, are always first fought where no eye sees but God's. . . . If we have not these secret conflicts, well may we not have any open ones. The outward absence of conflict betrays the inward sleep of the soul.—F. Whitfield.

The morning is the time fixed for my meeting the Lord. This very word morning is as a cluster of rich grapes. Let me crush them, and drink the sacred wine. In the morning! Then God means me to be at my best in strength and hope. I have not to climb in my weakness. In the night I have buried yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning I take a new lease of energy. Sweet morning! There is hope in its music. Blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified! Successful is the day whose first victory was won in prayer! Holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on the top of the mount! Health is established in the morning. Wealth is won in the morning. The light is brightest in the morning. "Wake, psaltery and harp; I myself will awake early."—Joseph Parker.

Our hands are now sowing seeds for that great harvest. We shall meet again all we are doing and have done. The graves shall give up their dead, and from the tombs of oblivion the past shall give up all that it holds in keeping, to bear true witness for or against us.—Guthrie.

To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Phil. i. 21. Live in Christ, and you are in the suburbs of heaven. There is but a thin wall between you and the land of praises. You are within one hour's sailing of the shore of the new Canaan.—William Rutherford.

He who holds nearest communion with heaven can best discharge the duties of everyday life.—Selected.

Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thess. v. 19. In order that you may not quench the Spirit, you must make it a constant study to know what is the mind of the Spirit. You must discriminate with the utmost care between His suggestions and the suggestions of your own deceitful heart. You will keep in constant recollection what are the offices of the Spirit as described by Christ in the Gospel of John. You will be on your guard against impulsive movements, inconsiderate acts, rash words. You will abide in prayer. Search the Word. Confess Christ on all possible occasions. Seek the society of His people. Shrink from conformity to the world, its vain fashions, unmeaning etiquette. Be scrupulous in your reading. "What I say unto you, I say unto all, watch!" "Have oil in your lamps." "Quench not the Spirit."—Bowen.

He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. John xv. 5. Too much taken up with our work, we may forget our Master; it is possible to have the hand full, and the heart empty. Taken up with our Master we cannot forget our work; if the heart is filled with His love, how can the hands not be active in His service?—Adolphe Monod.

Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find Him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Him in no other way than by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Him in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, "Look for a thing where you dropped it; it is there." So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away.—Spurgeon.

We are often surprised at the outward calmness of men who are called upon to do unpleasant and most trying deeds; but could we have seen them in secret, we should have known the moral preparation which they underwent before coming out to be seen by men. Be right in the sanctuary, if you would be right in the market-place. Be steadfast in prayer, if you would be calm in affliction. Start your race from the throne of God itself, if you would run well, and win the prize.—Joseph Parker.

A quiet hour spent alone with God at the beginning of the day is the best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. A brief season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and seeking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helps us to carry our religion into the business of the day. It brings joy and peace within the heart. And as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of the Lord, faithfully striving to do His will, we have a joyful trust that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our Father's hand is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our toils.—Selected.

Our attention is here drawn to a danger which is preeminently one of this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in service to the neglect of personal communion; but such neglect will not only lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the highest service.—J. Hudson Taylor.

Frances Ridley Havergal says: "If the King is indeed near of kin to us, the royal likeness will be recognizable."

All ordinances of Christian worship—seasons of prayer and devotion, hours of communion with God—are quiet resting-places. Far more than we are apt to realize do we need these silent times in our busy life, needing them all the more the busier the life may be.—J. R. Miller.

An active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not yet performed; knowing that God's bonds are as good as ready money.—Matthew Henry.

I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Isa. xli. 13. Don't try to hold God's hand; let Him hold yours. Let Him do the holding, and you do the trusting.—H. W. Webb Peploe.

Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.—Monod.

Thou art my God: early will I seek Thee. Psa. lxiii. 1. In a world where there is so much to ruffle the spirit's plumes, how needful that entering into the secret of God's pavilion, which will alone bring it back to composure and peace! In a world where there is so much to sadden and depress, how blessed the communion with Him in whom is the one true source and fountain of all true gladness and abiding joy! In a world where so much is ever seeking to unhallow our spirits, to render them common and profane, how high the privilege of consecrating them anew in prayer to holiness and to God.—Archbishop Trench.

Hide thyself by the brook. 1 Kings xvii. 3. Not by the river, but by the brook. The river would always contain an abundant supply, but the brook might dry up at any moment. What does this teach us? God does not place His people in luxuriance here. The world's abundance might withdraw their affections from Him. He gives them not the river, but the brook. The brook may be running to-day, to-morrow it may be dried up. And wherefore does God act thus? To teach us that we are not to rest in His gifts and blessings, but in Himself. This is what our hearts are always doing—resting in the gift, instead of the Giver. Therefore God cannot trust us by the river, for it unconsciously takes up His place

in the heart. It is said of Israel that when they were full they forgot God.—F. Whitfield.

Do little things as if they were great, because of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, who dwells in thee; and do great things as if they were little and easy, because of His omnipotence.—Pascal.

Attachment to Christ is the only secret of detachment from the world.—A. J. Gordon.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matt. v. 14. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine. A lighthouse sounds no drum, it beats no gong; and yet far over the waters its friendly spark is seen by the mariner. So let your actions shine out your religion. Let the main sermon of your life be illustrated by all your conduct.—Spurgeon.

Nothing humbles the soul like sacred and intimate communion with the Lord; yet there is a sweet joy in feeling that He knows all, and, notwithstanding, loves us still.—J. Hudson Taylor.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim. ii. 15. Have thy tools ready; God will find thee work.—Charles Kingsley.

"With thee," companionship; "Keep thee," guardianship; "Bring thee," guidance.

Gen 28:15

It is the little words you speak, the little thoughts you think, the little things you do or leave undone, the little moments you waste or

use wisely, the little temptations which you yield to or overcome—the little things of every day that are making or marring your future life.—Selected.

Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. Gen. xxv. 11. Isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and all-seeing God his constant source of supply. The usual tenor of a man's life, the dwelling of his soul, is the true test of his state. Let us learn to live in the presence of the living God. Let us pray the Holy Spirit that this day, and every other day, we may feel, "Thou God seest me." May the Lord Jehovah be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life. The bottle of the creature cracks and dries up, but the well of the Creator never fails. Happy is he who dwells at the well, and so has abundant and constant supplies near at hand! Glorious Lord, constrain us that we may never leave Thee, but dwell by the well of the living God!—Spurgeon.

My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. John iv. 34. The real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.—J. Hudson Taylor.

Sometimes God sends severe blasts of trial upon His children to develop their graces. Just as torches burn most brightly when swung violently to and fro; just as the juniper plant smells sweetest when flung into the flames; so the richest qualities of a Christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity. Bruised hearts often emit the fragrance that God loveth to smell. Almost every true believer's experience contains the record of trials which were sent for the purpose of shaking the spice tree.—Theodore Cuyler.

Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived, and by it slew me. Rom. vii. 11. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."—Spurgeon.

Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor x. 12. Angels fell in heaven, Adam in paradise, Peter in Christ's presence.—Theophilus Polwheile.

Action and meditation are the two great components of Christian life, and the perfection of the religious character is to find the two in unison and harmony.—Macduff.