Caesar Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire, famously boasted, “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” The Carrara marble quarries on the north coast of Italy had opened just before he came to power, and he set himself to beautify his capital. But the glory of Rome has crumbled with the passing years.
On the other hand, parents who train their children in the holy art of prayer show them the way to turn their time-bound words which die on the air into eternal realities. Christ’s words “will by no means pass away” though the universe turns to dust (Mk 13:31). As Peter observed of the Master, “You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).
Thus we hear the ironclad promise that He made to His own: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (Jn 15:7). Promises made by the Lord thousands of years ago, when prayed in faith and freshness, still call forth blessings as if He made them yesterday.