. Did He say,
You shall pray little? No; He said, You shall pray in few words; but
without ceasing, and with your whole heart, and with faith that the
Father will at length hear you. And the longer He keeps you waiting
for His help, the greater must be your faith that He knows why He keeps
you waiting, and at last He will give you more than you asked for. If
that man gave the bread in order to be rid of the annoyance, how much
more will the Father give the child whom He loves?"

To which the man replied: "Well, I did pray thus, I kept on and I
believed, and yet I was not heard."

"What did you pray for?"

"For this," said the rustic. "I have a neighbour who steals the figs
from my tree, and I can't catch him at it. So I prayed that he might
fall from the tree and break his legs. But I was not heard."

James was obliged to laugh aloud over the foolish fellow who prayed to
the merciful Father for vengeance.

"Pray for strength to pardon your neighbour and give him the figs which
he seems to need more than you, and you will certainly be heard."

"And," continued the disciple, "if it is a question of praying without
ceasing, that does not mean you are always to be folding your hands and
uttering pious words; it is rather to direct one's thoughts continually
with longing to the dwelling of God and things eternal, and to measure
everything in life, small things as well as great, by that standard, in
reverence and faith."

A noisy fellow asked: "How can I measure the corn I have to sell by
that standard?"

"If you refrain from taking advantage of the buyer with mixed, damp
grain, but give him good stuff, then you are doing God's will, and are
not harming your immortal soul by deceit, then your corn and your
method of acting are measured by the standard of God and Eternity."

"But see," exclaimed another, "my business friend gave me bad measure
when he sold me oil, and gave me half water. And it stands in the
Scriptures: As it is measured to you, so shall you measure it again."

As they walked on Jesus shook His head. To think that His simple
teaching could meet with so much misunderstanding, especially among
those wanting in will towards it, those who could think of nothing but
their desires and bodily comforts! "No," He exclaimed sorrowfully,
"they do not understand the word. They must have an illustration that
they can see and feel, an illustration they will never forget."

CHAPTER XXVI

Gradu