Daniel W. Whittle is the author of many hymns that we know and love:
- There shall be showers of blessing
- I know whom I have believed
- Moment by Moment
- The Banner of the Cross
- Have You Any Room for Jesus?
A contemporary of D.L. Moody, he also published a book in 1885, The Wonders of Prayer: A Record of Well Authenticated and Wonderful Answers to Prayer, available FREE from Google Books. From the introduction to his book:
To recognize God’s existence is to necessitate prayer to Him, by all intelligent creatures… It would be horrible to admit the existence of a Supreme Being, with power and wisdom to create, and believe that the creatures he thought of consequence and importance enough to bring into existence, are not of enough consequence for him to pay any attention to in the troubles and trials consequent upon that existence.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, saying, “Our Father which art in Heaven.” As Christians, this is our authority for prayer. In the words, “Our Father,” our Blessed Lord has given us the substance of all that can be said, as to the privilege of prayer, what to pray for, and how to pray. There can be no loftier exercise of soul ever given to created intelligence than to come into conscious contact with the living God, and be able to say “My Father.”
And surely, as my Father, with a loving father’s heart, it must be his desire that I should tell him all my needs, all my sorrows, all my desires. And, so his word commands, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil. 4:6) Under this verse there is positively no exception of any request that may not be made known unto God. So there is true faith and right Christian philosophy in the remark, “if a pin was needful ot my happiness and I could not find one I would pray to God for it.”
The mistake of Christians is in not praying over little things. “The hairs of your head are all numbered.” Consult God about everything. Expect His counsel His guidance, His care, His provision, His deliverance, His blessing, in everything. Does not the expression, “Our daily bread,” mean just this? Can there be any true life of faith that does not include this? Whatever will serve to help God’s children to a better understanding of the blessed privileges of prayer, and prove to them the reality of God’s answering prayer in the cares, trials, and troubles of daily life, will approve itself to all thoughtful minds as a blessing to them and an honor to God.
