The quiet place and time are needful to train the ears for keen hearing.  A mother will hear the faintest cry of her babe just awaking.  It is up-stairs perhaps; the tiniest bit of a sound comes; nobody else hears; but quick as a flash the mother’s hands are held quiet, the head alert, then she is off.  Her ears are trained beyond anybody’s else; love’s training.  We need trained ears.  A quiet place shuts out the outer sounds, and gives the inner ear a chance to learn other sounds.

A man was standing in a telephone booth trying to talk, but could not make out the message.  He kept saying, “I can’t hear, I can’t hear.”  The other man by and by said sharply, “If you’ll shut that door you can hear.” His door was shut and he could hear not only the man’s voice but the street and store noises too.  Some folks have gotten their hearing badly confused because their doors have not been shut enough.  Man’s voice and God’s voice get mixed in their ears.  They cannot tell between them.  The bother is partly with the door.  If you’ll shut that door you can hear.

The third suggestion needs much emphasis to-day:  give the Book of God its place in prayer. Prayer is not talking to God—­simply.  It is listening first, then talking.  Prayer needs three organs of the head, an ear, a tongue and an eye.  First an ear to hear what God says, then a tongue to speak, then an eye to look out for the result.  Bible study is the listening side of prayer.  The purpose of God comes in through the ear, passes through the heart taking on the tinge of your personality, and goes out at the tongue as prayer.  It is pathetic what a time God has getting a hearing down here.  He is ever speaking but even where there may be some inclination to hear the sounds of earth are choking in our ears the sound of His voice.  God speaks in His Word.  The most we know of God comes to us here.  This Book is God in print.  It was inspired, and it is inspired.  God Himself speaks in this Book.  That puts it in a list by itself, quite apart from all others.  Studying it keenly, intelligently, reverently will reveal God’s great will.  What He says will utterly change what you will say.

Our Prayer Teacher.

The fourth suggestion is this:  Let the Spirit teach you how to pray.  The more you pray the more you will find yourself saying to yourself, “I don’t know how to pray.”  Well God understands that.  Paul knew that out of his own experience before he wrote it down.  And God has a plan to cover our need there.  There is One who is a master intercessor.  He understands praying perfectly.  He is the Spirit of prayer.  God has sent Him down to live inside you and me, partly for this, to teach us the fine art of prayer.  The suggestion is this:  let Him teach you.

When you go alone in the quiet time and place with the Book quietly pray:  “blessed Prayer-Spirit, Master-Spirit, teach me how to pray,” and He will.  Do not be nervous, or agitated, wondering if you will understand.  Study to be quiet; mind quiet, body quiet.  Be still and listen.  Remember Luther’s version of David’s words,[31] “Be silent to God, and let Him mould thee.”