Providential Prompting
Luke 12:11-12
And when they bring you to the synagogues, and to magistrates, and powers, take you no thought how or what thing you shall answer…


Some time ago a town missionary had in his district a man who never would suffer any Christian man to come into his house. The missionary was warned by many that he would get a broken head if he ventured on a visit. He therefore kept from the house, though it troubled him to pass it by. He made a matter of prayer of it, as was his wont, and one morning ventured into the lion's den; when the man said, "What have you come here for? .... Well, sir," he said, "I have been conversing with people in all the houses along here, and I have passed you by because I heard you objected to it; but somehow I thought it looked cowardly to avoid you, and therefore I have called." "Come in, then," the man said; "sit down. Now you are going to talk to me about the Bible. Perhaps you do not know much about it yourself. I am going to ask you a question, and if you can answer it, you shall come again; if you do not answer it, I will bundle you downstairs. Now," he said, "do you take me?" "Yes," said the other, "I do take you." "Well, then, this is the question: Where do you find the word 'girl' in the Bible, and how many times do you find it?" The city missionary said, The word girl occurs only once in the Bible, and that is in the Book of Joel, the third chapter and the third verse: 'They sold a girl for wine.'" "You are right; but I would not have believed you knew it, or else I would have asked you some other question. You may come again." "But," said the missionary, "I should like you to know how I came to know it. This very morning I was praying for direction from God; and when I was reading my morning chapter, I came upon this passage: 'There shall be boys and girls playing in the streets of Jerusalem'; and I found that the word 'girl' did not occur anywhere else but in Joel." The result of that story, however odd it seems, was that the missionary was permitted to call; and the man took an interest in his visits, and. the whole family were the better, the man and his wife and one of his children becoming members of a Church some time afterwards. Is not God the answerer of prayer?



Parallel Verses
KJV: And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

WEB: When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don't be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say;




Martyrs Inspired by the Spirit
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