“I will do my duty to you as a mother most strictly,” replied she; “so that is agreed upon. Now, you had better go to sleep, if you can.”
“But I must first ask you a question. Why did you thank God for the seamen having left us here, instead of taking us with them?”
“Because the boat was overloaded as it was; because the men, having liquor, would become careless and desperate, and submit to no control; and therefore I think there is little or no chance of their ever arriving anywhere safe, but that they will perish miserably in some way or another. This, I consider, is the probability, unless the Almighty in His mercy, should be pleased to come to their assistance, and allow them to fall in with some vessel soon after their departure.”
“Do you think, then, that God prevented our going with them on purpose that we might not share their fate?”
“I do! God regulates everything. Had it been better for us that we should have gone, He would have permitted it; but He willed it otherwise, and we must bow to His will with a full faith, that He orders everything for the best.”
“And you say that God will give us all that we ask for in our prayers?”
“Yes, if we pray fervently and in faith, and ask it in the name of Jesus Christ; that is, He will grant all we pray for that is good for us, but not what is not good for us; but when we ask anything, we do not know that we are asking what is proper or not—but He does. We may ask what would be hurtful to us, and then, in His love for us, He denies it. For instance, suppose you had been accustomed to pray, you must have prayed God that He would permit you to leave this island in the boat, as you are so anxious to go away; but supposing that boat is lost, as I imagine it will be, surely it would have been a kindness in God, who knew that it would be lost, not to grant your prayer. Is it not so?”
“Yes, I see now, thank you; now I will go to sleep—good night.”