April 4

But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. — Luke 24:29 BSB

If they hadn’t constrained Him, He would have passed on.

Think of what the disciples would have missed if He hadn’t stayed with them. We have no idea how many blessings of divine love we miss because we lack fervor in our prayers.

We ask and do not receive because we ask with so little urgency. We seek and do not find because we seek halfheartedly and give up too soon. We knock, but the door is not opened because we knock only lightly, without persistence, and then walk away.

This incident inspired the hymn we know so well:

“Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!”