Before Trouble Comes
"Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them" -- Is. 26:16
Some people never call upon God, never pour out a prayer unto Him, except when they get sick, or get into some trouble. As long as they are well, as long as things are going along smoothly, they never seem to think of God. But let some affliction overtake them, or some misfortune befall them, and they begin to cry pitifully for God’s help.
"Lord, in trouble have they visited thee." You are going to have trouble some day. Don’t forget that. Things may be going well with you now. You may be having an easy time. You may be prosperous and successful. You may be well and full of life. There may not be a cloud on your horizon. But in a world like this where there are so many contrary winds, it is too much to expect that you are going to have smooth sailing all the way through. Your day of chastening will come sooner or later.
"They poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them." You may never think of praying now, but you will think of it when the chastening hand of sickness, or of some trouble or sorrow, is laid upon you. You will wish then that you knew more about praying. You will wish that you were on more familiar terms with God. While God will not refuse to hear your prayer because of your previous indifference, yet having waited until driven to call upon Him by the emergency of your need, you will feel somewhat embarrassed. Be wise, and don’t wait for the emergency. The better time to learn to pray is before trouble comes.
