Today I am basing my devotional on something that Pastor E.M. Bounds referred to as "A Chain of Graces" and how prayer is an integral part of this chain. The scripture we are studying is Romans 3:5, and regarding this verse Pastor Bounds writes: "Prayer brings us into that state of grace where suffering cannot only be endured, but where there is a spirit of rejoicing over it." He goes on to say "It is in the furnace that faith is tested, patience is tried, and where all those rich virtues are developed that make up Christian character." I hope you love these comments as much as I do. But what I want to talk about today is how life leaves its physical as well as spiritual marks on us as we age, and the difference between the marks of the world, and those left by God, and Jesus Christ.