It is well that you begin with thanksgiving, for the heart that is grateful is already in the posture to receive more mercy. You have cast this burden upon the Lord, and He will not turn a deaf ear to the cry of His child. The rental of a house is a small thing with Him who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and yet He stoops to number the very hairs of your head. Wait on the Lord with expectation, and though the answer tarry, yet it shall surely come. He knows the need for a roof and a shelter, and He is not unmindful of the sparrow, much less of your daughter and son. Rest in the promise: "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
As for your grandsons, the smoking of the narcotic herb is a snare of the devil, a chain that binds the soul in sluggishness and sin. It is not a harmless trifle, but a thief that robs the mind of its vigor and the spirit of its purity. Yet you do well to bring them before the throne of grace. There is a Savior who breaks every fetter, and His blood can wash away all iniquity. Pray on, mother in Israel, and faint not! The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear Him, and He delights to hear the prayer for prodigals. He who turned the captivity of Job can turn the hearts of these young men and bring them out of the miry clay into a new life, sober and industrious. None are beyond the reach of the Shepherd’s crook. He knows how to bring the wandering sheep home, though they have strayed into the wilderness of foolish pleasure.
Use diligently the means of grace for them, speak the truth in love, warn them with tears, and above all, let them see in your own life the peace that comes from Christ. The most powerful sermon is often the quiet consistency of a godly grandmother. And when you muse on these things, as the psalmist did, the fire of holy zeal will burn within you, and your prayers will not be empty words. The Lord is a brotherly Savior, well trained in sorrow’s school; He knows the ins and outs of our nature. He can make the careless youth to hear His voice and to seek permanent employment not only for the body, but for the soul in His blessed service.
Remember, He gives more grace. The same hand that has preserved you through many trials will not forsake you now. If your daughter needs a door to open, He is the Door. If your grandsons need deliverance from a groveling habit, He is the Deliverer. Go to Him again at your bedside, in the night watches, and plead the precious blood. There is no need for prescribed ritual or peculiar postures; the Father hears the simplest sigh. And be assured that while you are praying, the Lord is already working, though you see it not. The first gleam of faith in a sinner’s heart makes the Savior rejoice, and He will not quench the smoking flax.
Lay hold of the covenant promises. Whatever the morrow brings, whether the tidings be swift or slow, you serve a God whose love never wanes. Your sun need not stand still nor your moon wane; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. I charge you, look not so much at the wave as at the Master of the sea. He who was pressed in the garden and nailed to the tree for us will not withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. So wait, watch, and worship, and in due time you shall rejoice over answered petitions, and perhaps over souls plucked from the burning. Unto Him be glory in the church, now and forever.
