I’d love to tell you about Peter Taylor (P.T.) Forsyth’s (1848-1921) fascinating life, but I’m more intrigued by his observations on prayer. Here is but a sample from his book The Soul of Prayer: “The prayer within all prayer is ‘Thy will be done.’””Prayer is an encounter of wills until one will gives way to the other.”
“Prayer is an art we learn by practice.”
“Prayer is a power that grows by exercise. At first, it groans, then it glides.”
“Do prayer as a duty, and it may open out as a blessing.”
“Learn to be particular, specific, and detailed in prayer so long as you are not trivial.”
“We pray and pray, and no answer comes. Perhaps we are not spiritually ready for it. A time will come when we are ready for an answer.”
“It is a greater thing to pray for pain’s conversion than for its removal.”
“Do not be timid about praying wrong. Take everything to God that exercises you.”
“There is a chamber or two in our souls where we do not enter and take God with us. We hurry by that door as we take Him along the corridors of our life to see only the tidy places and public rooms.
“A prayer is also a promise…Can we pray in earnest if we do not commit ourselves to do our best to bring about the answer?”
“We shall come one day to heaven, where we shall gratefully know that God’s great refusals were sometimes the true answer to our truest prayer.”
P.T. turns from his reflections on prayer in the middle of his book to pray for peace during the First World War. Yes, Lord, grant us Thy peace: