"I think that those views of God which you have presented to me have
had an influence in restoring my mind to its natural tone. But still,
after all, God is a being afar off. He is so far above us that
anything but the most distant reverential affection seems almost
sacrilegious. It is that affection that can lead us to be familiar
that the heart needs. But easy and familiar expressions of attachment
and that sort of confidential communication which I should address to
papa or you would be improper for a subject to address to a king, much
less for us to address to the King of kings. The language of prayer is
of necessity stately and formal, and we cannot clothe all the little
minutiae of our wants and troubles in it. I wish I could describe to
you how I feel when I pray. I feel that I love God,--that is, that I
love Christ,--that I find comfort and happiness in it, and yet it is
not that kind of comfort which would arise from free communication of
my wants and sorrows to a friend. I sometimes wish that the Saviour
were visibly present in this world, that I might go to Him for a
solution of some of my difficulties. . . . Do you think, my dear
brother, that there is such a thing as so realizing the presence and
character of God that He can supply the place of earthly friends? I
really wish to know what you think of this. . . . Do you suppose that
God really loves sinners before they come to Him? Some say that we
ought to tell them that God hates them, that He looks on them with
utter abhorrence, and that they must love Him before He will look on
them otherwise.
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