Salvation by Personal Contact
L. A. Banks, D. D. 2 Kings 4:33-36 He went in therefore, and shut the door on them two, and prayed to the LORD.… The steamer Ganges, bound for Colombo, Ceylon, had a unique experience in the Red Sea. The captain observed a vessel which was flying signals of distress, when about two hundred and thirty miles from Perim, the nearest harbour. The skipper of the Ganges undertook the task of towing the helpless steamer Fernfield into port. Before he reached the port, however, the connecting hawser snapped. Determined to get her into the port of repair, the captain ran his vessel alongside of the Fernfield — a most difficult operation on the high sea — and lashed her to his steamer, and so escorted her into Perim, the novel sight of the two vessels coming in abreast excited no little attention there. The salvage was very great, as the disabled vessel had a rich cargo of tea, cocoa, cocoanut-oil, and cinnamon. In winning souls personal contact is always the surest method. A long-range hawser is always likely to break. If we lash ourselves with cords of friendship and sympathy to the man or woman we want to save, we can always bring them into port. There is no salvage ever awarded in the admiralty courts of earth equal to the treasures which God grants to the saviour of an immortal soul. (L. A. Banks, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. WEB: He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh.