If we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its worst. Angels are not kept from us by storms, nor hindered by darkness. Seraphs think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family.

If angels’ visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they shall be frequent in our nights of tempest and tossing. Dear reader, is this an hour of distress with you? Then ask for peculiar help. Jesus is the Angel of the Covenant, and if His presence be now earnestly sought it will not be denied. What that presence brings is heart cheer. CHARLES H. SPURGEON

And a light shined in my cell, And there was not any wall, And there was no dark at all, Only Thou, Emmanuel.

Light of love shined in my cell, Turned to gold the iron bars, Opened windows to the stars, Peace stood there as sentinel.

Dearest Lord, how can it be That Thou art so kind to me? Love is shining in my cell, Jesus, my Emmanuel. A. W. C.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. . . . Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

This is the way God works. In our darkest hour, He walks to us across the waves, just as an angel came to Peter’s cell when the day of Peter’s execution dawned. And when the scaffold was completed for Mordecai’s execution, the king’s sleeplessness ultimately led to his action favoring God’s favored race. (Esther 6.)

Dear soul, you may have to experience the very worst before you are delivered, but you will be delivered! God may keep you waiting, but He will always remember His promise and will appear in time to fulfill His sacred Word that cannot be broken. F. B. MEYER

God has a simplicity about Him in working out His plans, and yet He possesses a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty. His faithfulness to His trusting children is unwavering, and He is steadfast in holding to His purpose. In Joseph’s life, we see God work through a fellow prisoner, later through a dream, and finally through lifting Joseph from a prison to the position of governor. And the length of Joseph’s prison stay gave him the strength and steadiness he needed as governor.

It is always safe to trust God’s methods and to live by His clock. SAMUEL DICKEY GORDON

God in His providence has a thousand keys to open a thousand different doors in order to deliver His own, no matter how desperate the situation may have become. May we be faithful to do our part, which is simply to suffer for Him, and to place Christ’s part on Him and then leave it there. GEORGE MACDONALD

Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in its initial stage. Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility. And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God.

Peter was in prison awaiting his execution, and the church had no human power or influence that could save him. There was no earthly help available, but help could be obtained by way of heaven. So the church gave themselves to fervent and persistent prayer. And God sent an angel, who “struck Peter on the side and woke him up” (v. 7). Then the angel led him past “the first and second guards and [they] came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself” (v. 10), and Peter was free.

Perhaps there is some “iron gate” in your life, blocking your way. Like a caged bird, you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping your situation, you have become even more tired and exhausted and caused yourself more heartache. There is a secret for you to learn—the secret of believing prayer.

Then when you come to the iron gate, it will open as it did for Peter: “by itself.”

How much wasted energy and painful disappointment will be saved once you learn to pray as the early church did in the “upper room” (Acts 1:13 KJV)! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear and adverse circumstances will turn favorable once you learn to pray—not with your own faith but with the faith of God. Many of your loved ones have been bound by Satan and imprisoned by him for years, and they are simply waiting for the gates to be opened. They will be set free in Christ when you pray fervently and persistently in faith to God. C. H. P.

Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the person himself becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah bowed to the ground on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees, and he became the prayer.

Spoken prayer is not always needed, for prayer can often be too intense for words. In the case of Elijah, his entire being was in touch with God and was aligned with Him against the powers of evil. And Elijah’s evil enemies could not withstand this kind of prayer in human form—something that is greatly needed today. THE BENT-KNEE TIME

“Wordless groans” (Romans 8:26) are often prayers that God cannot refuse. CHARLES H. SPURGEON