And

LUKE XI. 1-13.-" And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto yon, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek

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and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

ONE of our Lord's disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." Have we ever made the same request? Have we ever knelt down and said, Lord, teach us to pray?" Do we think that we do not need to ask for this, that we know well enough how to pray?-or that, as the Lord has left us that prayer which He gave to His disciples, and which we have all known from childhood as the Lord's Prayer," we can use it whenever we like? If such be our thoughts, then we do greatly need to be taught how to pray, and what prayer is. Do not suppose that, because our Lord, in answer to the request made to Him, gave His disciples a form of prayer, that the mere repetition of these words is prayer. It is a very short and simple prayer, as far as the words go, which He gave them, so that every little child can learn it; but it. requires much grace of God in our hearts to enable us to offer it to Him. We are taught to say, "Our Father in Heaven."

Do we, then, know God as our Father? Do we believe ourselves to be children of God, who, having been baptised into His Son, are made members of Christ, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven? The apostle Paul writes to the Christians of his day, "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received. the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."* Are we letting the Holy Spirit bear that witness to our spirits? Are we daily, practically, and really looking up to God as our Father, as truly as a child looks to its earthly father, believing in His love, and depending on his care? Can you trust your earthly concerns to Him? are you trusting them to Him, because your heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of even before ye ask Him? Are you able to approach Him in confidence and peace, knowing Him as your reconciled Father in Christ, who, having made peace through the blood of His Son, is not imputing unto you your trespasses?

And as for yourselves, so also for your children. Do you believe that when you were permitted to bring them to God in baptism, they were made His children in Jesus Christ, by being 'ingrafted into Christ," so that it is no untruth Rom. viii. 15, 16.

which you teach them, but a mighty and all-important truth, when you teach them to say, "Our Father in heaven?" The more Christian fathers show of tenderness and love, and wisdom, and holy rule towards their children, the better will they enable them to learn their first lesson as Christian children, for they will know what a blessing is in the name of father; and learning to love and obey him who bears that name for them on earth, will be their best preparation for loving and obeying Him who bears that name in

heaven.

"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," is the first petition of our Lord's prayer. How often, just in repeating this prayer, have we, instead of hallowing the name of God, done it great dishonour by our careless, thoughtless way of taking it into our lips; the words are familiar to us, and we use them without thinking what we are about; and this is the danger in becoming familiar with any holy or sacred thing. How often do we show that we are not hallowing the name of God by our careless, irreverent way of entering His house, not feeling ourselves in His presence? How often, when the blessing is solemnly pronounced at the close of Divine service, does it seem a mere signal that the service is over, and how little is it felt that he who is speaking, is speaking in the name of God, and

that we are receiving, or through carelessness failing to receive, a blessing from God? It would be vain to attempt to tell all the many ways in which we fail to hallow the name of God, such as our making light of His holy ordinances, making light of our baptism, as if an ordinance of God could be a mere ceremony, as if baptising in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, could be a small matter, is not that to dishonour that holy name? and so with all other religious ordinances when we treat them as indifferent things, not recognising God in them. If we fail to honour God's name in each other, if we fail to remember that His name is put upon us, and that in all the places and relationships in which He has set us, it is to be recognised-that in father, or sovereign, or minister of God, it is His authority that we acknowledge and bow to; that in friend, or neighbour, or child, we are still to see and honour His name, as in every fellowChristian, whom therefore we love and honour, whom therefore we may not hate, or despise, or dishonour; if we fail in this we so far fail in hallowing the name of God, which we may in many things be guilty of, though we come far short of dishonouring it by profane swearing; therefore let us not only continually pray," Hallowed be Thy name," but pray also that we may be taught to hallow it.