really listening to his prayer, for he says, "I love the Lord because He
hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear
unto me therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live." [Footnote: Ps.
cxvi. 1, 2.] And again, "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God
with my voice, and He gave ear unto me." [Footnote: Ps. lxxvii. 1.] It is
in this way we realise that there is a God, a personal living God.

I asked a Christian man one day if he had prayed about some work which was
offered to him, and his reply was, "Yes: I am on the telephone." Can you
say the same? As soon as you have spoken through the telephone you put the
receiver to your ear to listen for the answer. Many people pray without
expecting to get an answer. They are like children who knock at a door and
then run away before it is opened. The prophet Micah says, "I will wait
for God, my God will answer me." [Footnote: Mic. vii. 7.] Yes, he expected
to get an answer.

The Lord Jesus says, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret."
[Footnote: St. Matt. vi. 6.] When a child wants to tell his father
something very private he whispers it in his ear. I daresay you have
noticed that the telephone at the General Post Office is enclosed in a
box, so that no one can overhear what is said. There are many things we
say into God's ear which we could not tell to any one else. It makes Him
very real to us, if we can say in our inmost hearts, "O God, Thou art my
God, my very own Father."

When we speak through the telephone we never say useless words, and our
Lord tells us to avoid needless repetitions when we pray, and He adds,
"for your Father knows what things you need before ever you ask Him." Just
as an earthly father delights to hear his children's, voices, so our