UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 DR. JOSEPH LECONTE. 
 
 GIFT OF MRS. LECONTE. 
 
 No. 
 
PRAYER 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 BEING A STATEMENT OF FACTS IN THE LIGHT 
 OF REASON AND REVELATION. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM W. PATTON, D. D., 
 
 v 
 
 tATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE ADVANCE, AUTHOR OP "THE YOUNO MAN, 
 "CONSCIENCE AND LAW," "SPIRITUAL VICTORY," ETC, 
 
 CHICAGO f 
 J. S. GOODMAN. 
 
 CINCINNATI : C. F, VENT. SAN FRANCISCO : F. DEWINQ & Co. 
 1876, 
 
BV" 
 
 COPYBIGHT. 
 
 A. D. 1875. 
 
 BT J. 6. GOODMAN. 
 
 MARDIK, LTTSE <fe Co. 
 
 ElOECTEOTTPERS AND STEREOTTPERS, 
 CHICAGO. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 AND is there room for another book on Prayer, after 
 the treatises upon this fruitful theme, from the time of the 
 Christian Fathers to the present day? In answering this 
 inquiry, one must remember, that each age of the world must 
 have its own literature. There must then be books to meet 
 present phases of religious experience, even if the truths dis 
 cussed made part of the most ancient faith. Prayer has had 
 its interest, as a doctrine and as a practice, in all the centu 
 ries, and it is still the strength of the believer, and the scoff 
 of the infidel. An attempt is made in this volume to give, 
 in a popular form, the facts and the philosophy of the sub 
 ject. It is written for the people ; yet it assumes that they 
 are neither children nor fools, and will welcome an intelli 
 gent discussion of a fundamental question. The first seven 
 chapters aim, therefore, to elucidate the nature, characteris 
 tics, methods and conditions of Prayer ; to show its true 
 place in the system of the universe; and to answer the 
 specious objections of the skeptics. The argument is de 
 signed to be thorough, without being dry and abstruse. 
 
 But the chief aim of the book is to furnish authentic facts, 
 so grouped and explained, in the light of the principles set 
 forth in the early chapters, as to dispel doubt, and encourage 
 a rational and Scriptural faith. The answers to prayer have 
 been drawn from a wide region of investigation. A few 
 from the olden time have been inserted, but, for obvious 
 
 (3) 
 
 186693 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 reasons, preference has been given to those of recent date. 
 These have been furnished by Christian brethren to an extent 
 which compelled the author to use only a selection; but his 
 hearty thanks are equally returned to all who have thus 
 aided his researches, whether he has had space to insert 
 their communications, or not. A few Christians, who deny 
 the practical value of such testimony to the power of Prayer, 
 will find their ideas curiously represented, and, it is trusted, 
 satisfactorily discussed, in the concluding chapter. 
 
 These answers tft prayer are styled " Remarkable," not 
 because it is at all strange in itself, that such things should 
 take place, under the divine government, but only that they 
 appear so to the incredulity of the world, and to the weak 
 faith of the church. If there were more real prayer, the 
 striking answers would be everyday occurrences. The facts 
 cited are made the subject of discriminating comment, to 
 preserve the reader from unwarrantable inferences, and the 
 embrace of theories which work delusion instead of faith. 
 The desire of the author has been to produce a volume 
 which should be welcomed by every pastor, as helpful to the 
 progress of piety in his church, and which should encour 
 age the Christian to ask and expect great blessings for him 
 self and for others. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL., Dec, 1st, 1875. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OP PIETY. 
 
 The cloud of incense ever rising Thoughtful heathen and 
 Mohammedans pray A proof of conversion The history 
 of piety, the history of prayer The Old Testament worthies 
 Also New Testament saints Jesus and his disciples 
 Later history of the church Martin Luther, quotations and 
 Anecdotes John Calvin John Knox Anecdotes Me- 
 lanchlhon Gustavus Adolphus Philip Henry Samuel 
 Rutherford Jonathan Edwards David Brainerd R. M. 
 McCheyne Thomas Arnold Henry Martyn James B. 
 Taylor Harlan Page Normand Smith, Jr. Montgomery s 
 "Call to Prayer." 17-32 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WHAT TRUE PRAYER IS. 
 
 Importance of definite ideas Christians who explain away 
 Prayer Accept God s explanation Bible treats largely of 
 this topic F. W. Robertson s view; prayer is simply an act of 
 submission to the Divine will Prayer more than religious 
 meditation Is a direct address to God Includes adoration, 
 confession, thanksgiving and petition Adoration, its idea 
 and use Illustrated by Daniel and Jesus Confession, its 
 necessity and effect Cases of Abraham and Daniel 
 Thanksgiving, its propriety Language of the Psalms, of 
 Jesus, and of Paul Petition, the objeQt and heart of prayer 
 (5) 
 
6 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Robertson s theory further stated Similar views of a 
 Western minister Also of an Eastern minister The In- 
 stincts of nature, and the words of Scripture contradict it 
 
 Ludicrous absurdity The commands opposed to it Also 
 
 the promises Also the form of reported prayers, of Jesus, 
 David, Hannah, Daniel, the Church of Jerusalem, and a host 
 of others Also the specific answers recorded for Instruction 
 and encouragement Lines of Trench on value of prayer. 33-48 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHY PRAYER PREVAILS. 
 
 Inquiry for the principle that underlies prayer Does God need 
 human permission ; or an increase of knowledge ; or an im 
 provement of disposition; or an amendment of plan? The 
 inquiries natural and proper Crude ideas to be disowned 
 Bible condemns them Priests of Baal and Elijah Vain 
 repetitions of the Heathen Also of the Romanists Doc 
 trine of Jesus God s moral government; its ends and means 
 
 Parental government, and its methods Its wise use of 
 prayer Transfer of the conception to the Divine govern 
 ment Prayer a simple but potent device to secure the chief 
 thing at which God aims Prayer prevails because it fulfills 
 the necessary moral condition Prayer deliberately inserted 
 by God in the plan of his universe; as truly so as any natural 
 law recognized by the physicists God will adhere to his 
 plan Tennyson s tribute to prayer 49-56 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 
 
 Are answers to prayer natural or ,-. supernatural ? Is the suppo 
 sition of a miracle necessary.? F. W. Robertson s theory 
 Mental reaction Quotations" Physical philosophers admit 
 a liturgical value Their theory stated The theory fails to 
 cover the facts Erroneously limits the effect to the petitioner 
 and to spiritual results -Robertson s assertion incorrect 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 Contradicted by the case of Jacob ; of David ; of Hezekiah ; 
 of Daniel; of Peter These effects not reflex, nor spiritual 
 Spiritual answers also involve a supernatural power The 
 promised Comforter The reflex theory suicidal Men will 
 not resort to prayer as a mere self-magnetism Revert to the 
 original inquiry, after the method The fact alone important 
 God not shut up to one method May answer directly, or 
 mediately Through natural causes; by men; or by angelic 
 agency Examples of each of these methods Letter from a 
 Massachusetts minister Reasons for ordinarily using human 
 agency Striking fact in the experience of Dr. Judson Pro 
 fessor Stowe s illustration and supposition Lines by Adelaide 
 A. Proctor 57-72 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONDITIONS OP SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 
 
 Importance of the subject The conditions to be learned from 
 the nature of the case, and from express assertions of Scrip 
 ture 1. A sense of want Need of God and the value of 
 prayer realized 2. Reverence God must guard his own 
 honor 3. Filial spirit God responds to his children 4. 
 Gratitude Future blessings not to be expected, if ungrateful 
 for past good 5. Humility Prayer to be based on the 
 truth Our demerits to be recognized 6. Faith Implied 
 in the idea of Prayer Positively required in Scripture 7 
 Obedience Only the loyal may petition Only those in 
 sympathy with God can prevail in prayer 8. Forgiveness of 
 injuries Those who ask to be forgiven, must forgive 9. 
 Approved objects God does not abdicate Exercises his 
 perfect wisdom By his Spirit teaches us true wants and the 
 meaning of his promises 10. Importunate perseverance 
 Is much insisted on in the Bible 11. Ask in the name of 
 Christ He the appointed Mediator 12. Appropriate effort 
 Prayer no substitute for work, but its aid 13. Union with 
 others Each prayer a power United prayer an augmented 
 power All the conditions reducible to one A right state of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 heart The conditions real, and must be observed Lines by 
 Robert Southwell ..................................... 73-88 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 
 
 The subject misunderstood The deluded misjudge and distress 
 others Fall into difficulties themselves A reported instance 
 Material for skepticism The erroneous theory; anything 
 to be had, by believing that it will be given Supposed proof 
 texts Objections to the theory 1. Makes God abdicate his 
 throne 2. Badly adapted to moral training 3. Would ruin 
 us and those for whom we pray 4. Involves self-contradic 
 tion 6. Fails to furnish evidence Singular letter from 
 "Father Nash" His death from over-excitement, and a false 
 sense of responsibility Testimony of Rev. Asa Mahan, D 
 D. 6. Bible lends no support to the theory Interpretation 
 of the texts referred to The correct theory ; that in prayer one 
 must believe that God will be true to all he has promised 
 What ground has faith to stand on? 1. The general pledge 
 that prayer shall be answered, in some way 2. Specific 
 promises, numerous and minute Not to be interpreted im 
 aginatively The Bible not a conjuring-book Unhappy de 
 lusions and mistakes from such a use Facts in proof Yet 
 Holy Spirit may suggest and use particular passages Case 
 of Augustine 3. Indications of Divine providence, revealing 
 God s will 4. Leadings of the Holy Spirit These promised 
 as aid in prayer These show us our true wants These ex 
 plain Scripture These interpret providences Mr. Finney s 
 anecdote Professor Upham s view Catherine Adorna 
 Lines by John Newton ............................... 89-111 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRATER. 
 
 Opposition of skeptics to prayer This natural, and ancient 
 Physical philosophers take the lead The dilemma they pro- 
 
CONTENTS. 9 
 
 pose A brief counter-view Explanation of the skepticism 
 Logical necessities Prayer implies the whole of super 
 natural religion Shyness of skeptics Quotation from JRous- 
 seau Comment Prayer founded on reason 1. A universal 
 instinct Guizot s beautiful tribute Instinct pre-supposes a 
 want and a supply The parental analogy Acknowledged 
 by Professor Tyndall, as plausible 2. Historic evidence of 
 prayer as answered In all ages men have so believed Those 
 who pray most, most certain Prayer to be tested; but as a 
 moral force Not on merely physical conditions The fa 
 mous Hospital-test of Sir "William Thompson and Professor 
 Tyndall Proposes to test the prayer-theory, yet violates the 
 conditions Makes an impossible demand Encounters a 
 moral difficulty Ignores submission Furnishes no assur 
 ance of good result 3. Prayer based on moral necessity In 
 AO other way can man be educated Why skeptics object 
 JTrom total misapprehension Professor Tyndall s admission 
 as to spiritual effect of prayer Its greater difficulties How 
 prayer uses natural law Illustration from man s use of it 
 Evolution furnishes an illustration of a possible explanation 
 of prayer The position of the mathematician Euler A. A. 
 Waring s lines 112-136 
 
 CHAPTEB VIII. 
 
 BIBLE-ANSWERS TO PRAYER OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 The Bible teaches by example, as well as precept Biography 
 and History illustrate Doctrine Numerous declarations of 
 David Select instances only given, to mark classes of cases 
 1. Prayers for personal deliverance from danger Ja 
 cob s prayer at Peniel Charles Wesley s famous hymn 
 2. Prayers for others Moses as an intercessor A type of 
 Christ Another poem of Charles Wesley 3. Parental pray- 
 ers Hannah s petition Samuel s character 4. Prayer for 
 reviving of religion Elijah Contest with the priests of 
 Baal 5. Prayer tested by its enemies Daniel and the Per 
 sian Princes Triumphant result 6. Patriotic prayers 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 The invasion of Judea Danger of Jerusalem Insulting 
 letter Hezekiah s prayer Isaiah s prophecy The over 
 whelming result Byron s tribute to the sublime fact. 137-154 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 BIBLE-ANSWERS TO PRAYER NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 A still clearer light with the advent of Christ He the con- 
 necting link of earth and heaven His ministry a series of 
 answers to prayer The New Testament motto is, "Pray 
 without ceasing" Facts selected, to illustrate four states 
 of mind essential to success 1. The prayer of Faith The 
 Roman Centurion and his sick servant Confidence in the 
 power of Jesus Humility aids faith 2. The prayer of im 
 portunity The Syro-Phenician mother and her daughter 
 Another Gentile Discouraging action of Jesus The moth 
 er s perseverance and victory 3. The prayer of union 
 Peter in prison, under sentence of death A whole church 
 prays for him The last night comes, and the deliverance 
 also 4. The prayer of fervent spiritual desire This for the 
 gift of the Holy Spirit A specific promise laid a foundation 
 for faith The ten days of prayer The day of Pentecost 
 The incidental and the permanent Review of the cases cited 
 from the Bible The facts confirm the theory George Her 
 bert s poem on Prayer , 155-167 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PRAYER FOR THE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS (Commenced.) 
 
 Manna in the desert Elijah s ravens Is there such experience 
 now? Let facts answer Mother of Dorothea Trudel Her 
 faith and its reward Case of Henry Young Stilling How 
 he went to the University How he was supported A Cal 
 ifornia experience related by Dr. Horace Bushnell Deliver 
 ance at sea ; the only survivor of the Albion Direction in 
 an emergency, Mr. Blair s experience A result in Parlia 
 ment; Sir Fowell Buxton s prayers How the policy of Ober- 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 lin College was decided ; Mrs. Shipherd s letter Prayer for 
 rain Dr. E. Pond s account Professor Cowle s statement 
 Mr. Finney s narrative William Huntington s "Bank of 
 Faith " A college student supported Mrs. Jane C. Pithey s 
 daily life of faith ; Poor Caleb ; Prayer brings supply from an 
 unknown source John Logan s application of Jacob s 
 prayer at Bethel. 168-189 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRAYER FOR THE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS (Concluded.) 
 
 Miss Lucy R Drake s experience Desire to be a foreign mis 
 sionary The hindrance Engagement at the Consumptive s 
 Home Faith increased Relinquishes salary Gives away 
 savings Relies on God only Money comes as needed 
 About to go to India No society pledged for her support 
 Remarks of the author on this narrative Miss Drake s prac 
 tice not a law for others Billy Bray s pulpit Newport 
 Gardener ; a slave prays himself into freedom Escape from 
 a bear A lady missionary testifies A Will ; an anticipative 
 answer to prayer Another case Prayer a part of God s 
 plan Delivery from unjust wrath Reconciliation Another 
 prayer for rain Anna Shipton and the blind boy Prayer 
 in sundry exigencies The smaller events of life Lines by 
 Paul Gerhardt 190-211 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING (Commenced.) 
 
 Truth and error on this subject James not to be misinter 
 preted Various meanings suggested Universal healing 
 not intended Healing may always be prayed for, with sub 
 mission Is often granted Dorothea Trudel s experience 
 Her institution and methods Classification of the facts 
 1. Thorough consecration the basis 2. The principal aim, 
 spiritual results 3. Natural auxiliaries not neglected 4. 
 No cures promised Instantaneous relief not usually ex- 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 pected 5. Like-minded helpers Prayer availed at a dis 
 tance Case of Mrs. Jane C. Miller, the wife of a Congrega 
 tional minister Instantly healed of chronic rheumatism 
 Attestation by her husband and others Case of Rev. A. Con- 
 nett s daughter Sciatic rheumatism, shrunken and shortened 
 limb Reads of Mrs. Miller s experience Prayer of mother 
 and daughter The sudden cure Healing of a Methodist 
 minister s wife; case of Mrs. Ellen Clark Sherman Nu 
 merous injuries Bed-ridden condition Spiritual exercises 
 A seeming vision or felt presence of Christ Faith to be 
 healed Instant result Permanent relief A home mis 
 sionary saved to the work Testimony of Charles Cullis, M. 
 D. Cure of a tumor ; of consumption ; of cancer in cheek ; 
 of neuralgia All cases not healed Remarks by author 
 A visit to Mannedorf Further report of cases Lines by 
 Whittier... ,..212-242 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PRAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING (Concluded.) 
 
 Luther s prayer for dying Melanchthon Case of Rev. S. H. 
 Platt, a Methodist minister Statements by Rev. Horace Bush- 
 nell, D. D. An English gentleman Comment Insanity 
 cured Another case A young lady healed Her letter 
 Bishop Simpson s life saved Deafness of twenty years cured 
 
 Miss Lucy R. Drake s account; cured of consumption 
 Testimony of Mrs. C. S. Whitney Two cases of children A 
 freedman cured of consumption A girl cured A case in 
 New York city Cure of Bright s disease and paralysis Re 
 marks upon cases cited 1. Large proportion of cures grad 
 ual 2. Vary as to use of medicine 3. Many of the cures 
 naturally explicable 4. Connection of physical and spiritual 
 
 5. The law of a specific faith Views of Rev. C. B. Boyn- 
 ton, D. D. Medical explanation of H. M. Lyman, M. D. 
 Lines in sickness, by Heinrich Puchta..... 243-275 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 
 
 The connection of inward and outward bestowments Instances 
 in the New Testament Christ s double ministry Spiritual 
 victory possible Only half-believed in Power of prayer 
 How Paul obtained grace His "thorn in the flesh" An 
 English lady s experience; transition-case from last chapter 
 to this Delivered from all fear and anxiety Another lady; 
 Victory over irritability; " Jesus, help me! " Prayer the key 
 to "Higher Life" experience Remarks by the author A 
 student s victory Full salvation by faith " My richer ex 
 perience," by Mrs. Whitney The process Desire, prayer, 
 trials, and faith Narratives of R. Pearsall Smith Testi, 
 mony of a physician Of a Presbyterian minister Lines of 
 Horatius Boaar 276-393 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PRAYER TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 
 
 Certain cases of sin call for special grace Effect of sin on the 
 body and mind Failure of philosophy Legal efforts unsuc 
 cessful A gospel needed Augustine s defeat and victory 
 Extract from his " Confessions " Victory over tobacco and 
 opium Rev. W. H. Boole s facts A church officer Thirty 
 years of bondage An aged lady A carpenter in Brooklyn, 
 N. Y. Cases reported by Mrs. C. S. Whitney Triumph 
 over tobacco Prayer subdues the alcohol-appetite The 
 saved man now a minister Testimonies collected by Rev. S. 
 H. Platt Victory over tobacco and alcohol Lines by 
 Charles Wesley 294-306 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSIONS. 
 
 Startling language of the Bible Can one man convert another ? 
 Prayer a power A Bible-class teacher s experience; im- 
 
14: CONTENTS. 
 
 mediate results; a late result Illustration from pen of Prof. 
 Austin Phelps, D. D. A very difficult case at a distance A 
 circle of prayer Power of united petition Experience of 
 Catherine Adorna Prayer for soul of a sick man The con 
 version of an infidel A prompt answer Conversion of a 
 husband; a touching narrative Effect of habitual prayer 
 Experience of Normand Smith, Jr. Success in an unprom 
 ising case of a pupil A praying acquaintance of Rev. C. G. 
 Finney A fact communicated by Rev. Enoch Pond, D. D. 
 Testimony of Rev. P. Hagler Conversion of an infidel major 
 and his family A triple success to prayer A father con 
 verted, at a distance A case on missionary ground A Brah 
 man saved A female skeptic converted D. L. Moody and 
 the Scotch infidel Prayer opens a house and saves souls 
 A sister s prayers How an Emperor of Russia was con 
 verted Several children brought to Christ A dreaded 
 duty performed; the blessed results Extract from "The 
 Two Dreams." .. ..307-337 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PARENTAL PRAYERS. 
 
 Parental prayer noted through the ages Has a basis in the 
 divine institution of the family Also in special covenants 
 and promises Augustine and Monnica Her anxiety and 
 perpetual supplication Long delay, but final success His 
 own account Source of parental faith in prayer Mr. Fin- 
 ney s remarks and illustration Views of Rev. Howard 
 Crosby, D. D., LL. D. Illustrative cases Two praying 
 mothers A son s account; Rev. C. B. Crane, D. D. His 
 father s petition Narrative of Rev. A. S. Kedzie A moth 
 er s faith and its reward Two mothers A praying father 
 in Scotland ; what came of it A mother s confidence A 
 North American Indian mother A burden rolled off 
 Heard at last A son at school Unsubmissive prayers; 
 Warnings Lines by Mrs. Hyde .338-357 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PRAYER FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 
 
 Prayer sweeps a wide circle Praying to obtain a pastor Dr. 
 Wolcott s experience Spiritual baptism of a pastor How 
 a church can better itself Another case The meeting at 
 the red school house Dr. Wisner s account of a revival 
 Revivals under Rev. Charles G. Finney His revival lectures 
 
 A praying soul and a succession of revivals A Scotch 
 revival, two and a half centuries since Recent revivals In 
 America In Ireland In Scotland In Wales The " week 
 of prayer " as a sign of the times Day of prayer for colleges 
 
 D. L. Moody s work Prof. Upham s conception Bonar s 
 version of Psalm cxxvi 358-384 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 These spring from the very heart of Christianity Prayer nat 
 urally connects itself with them Franke and the Orphan 
 House at Halle Succession of deliverances Louis Harms 
 and his missions George Miiller and his Orphan Houses 
 The Boston Consumptives Home and Dr. Cullis Chicago 
 Foundling s Home and Dr. Shipman Remarks of the author 
 on the theory of non-solicitation Its claim to be the faith- 
 method Three objections No support from the reason of 
 the case None from Scripture None from history What 
 its seeming success really means and teaches Lines by Char 
 lotte Elliot 385-400 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 REVIEW OF FACTS IN CONCLUSION. 
 
 Is such a book properly helpful to Christian faith Letter of a 
 minister, in the negative His argument His agricultural 
 illustration His disgust with the constant citing of Mailer s 
 
16 CONTENTS. 
 
 success His idea of the use of prayer Reply His mis- 
 takes as to facts and principles How cited facts on this sub 
 ject may be appropriate Right and wrong farming Right 
 and wrong praying Why Daniel was tested, and the fact 
 - recorded Why prayers seem to be unanswered explained by 
 James Lines by Qeorge Herbert 401-408 
 
PRAYER, 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRATER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 
 
 IT will prepare one to believe in the moral certainty 
 of the prevalence of prayer, if he will consider how 
 characteristic prayer has ever been of piety, and con 
 sequently what a cloud of incense has been rising 
 before God, from the time of Adam s first petition, to 
 the last ejaculation which has anywhere escaped the 
 lips of a sorely distressed soul. The instinct is so 
 universal, that there never has been a form of religion 
 which did not include this as an essential duty ; for, 
 dark as the human mind may be, if once it conceives 
 of God and man as in any kind of relationship, the idea 
 of prayer springs up as the connecting link. Thus, 
 the heathen pray; the Mohammedans pray; all sects 
 of Christians pray ; and even some of the skeptics have 
 a vague faith in the exercise. 
 1* (17) 
 
18 PRAYER AND ITS REMARK ABLE ANSWERS.. 
 
 For piety is emphatically godliness the constant 
 recognition of God. It implies faith in his being, 
 personality, character, providence and moral govern 
 ment. And such faith leads directly to him in con 
 scious communion and worship. Prayer is this inter 
 course in its most pure, direct and natural form. 
 Nothing else brings God so nigh to the soul; that is, 
 nothing else so fills it with the sense of his presence. 
 And we translate, as it were, into the language of 
 prayer, all our thoughts of God, all the doctrines of 
 religion, all the impressions made upon the mind by 
 reading the Scriptures, or by laying to heart the les 
 sons of providence. 
 
 This is the reason that prayer is enumerated among 
 the evidences of conversion. " Behold he prayeth! " 
 is as sure an indication of a new life in man now, as it 
 was in the case of the converted Saul of Tarsus. It 
 is as truly the natural act of a new-born soul, feeling 
 its dependence upon God, as suckling is the instinct 
 ive act of the new-born infant. It must adore; it 
 must confess; it must give thanks; it must petition. 
 How else can it live? 
 
 "Prayer is the Christian s vital breath, 
 
 The Christian s native air ; 
 His watchword at the gate of death : 
 He enters heaven with prayer. 
 
 " Prayer is the contrite sinner s voice, 
 
 Returning from his ways ; 
 While angels in their songs rejoice, 
 And cry, Behold he prays ! " 
 
PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 19 
 
 Thus it may be said that the history of piety is the 
 history of prayer. It evidently accompanied the 
 accepted sacrifice of Abel, as he stood by his slain 
 lamb, confessed his sin, and implored divine mercy. 
 It must have been the breath of the spiritual life of 
 the holy Enoch, during those three hundred years in 
 which he " walked with God." For surely it was no 
 silent walk; but a sweet, loving converse. It was the 
 constant characteristic of Abraham, "the friend of 
 God," who carried to his divine Friend all thoughts 
 and plans for himself and for those he loved. Isaac 
 and Jacob were praying men; and it was from this 
 fact that the latter gained his immortal name of 
 Israel Prince of God; because by his urgent prayer 
 he gained a victory, as one possessed of power like a 
 prince. Moses had special power in this direction, 
 and prevailed wonderfully in intercession for others. 
 Samuel was noted for the same trait, and when he re 
 signed his judgeship, the people made it their parting 
 request, that he would not cease to pray for them. 
 .David was always on his knees, if we may judge from 
 his psalms; which are as much prayers as praises, and 
 in one of which he describes his own habit as follows: 
 " Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and 
 cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." His faith in 
 this for all men, as well as for himself, led him to say: 
 " O Thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh 
 come." Elijah, the petitioner, is as famous as Elijah, 
 the reprover and reformer; so that in the far away 
 time of the New Testament church, he could be held 
 
20 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 up as an example and encouragement in prayer, by 
 James, who, in illustration of his assertion, " that 
 the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avail- 
 eth much," said: " Elias was a man subject to like 
 passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it 
 might not rain, and it rained not on the earth (the 
 land where he lived) for the space of three years and 
 six months; and he prayed again, and the heavens 
 gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." To 
 name no other Old Testament saints, Daniel will stand 
 forever associated with a willing martyrdom, so to 
 speak, in behalf of this duty and privilege, as will 
 his deliverance ever be a monument of its power. 
 
 The New Testament saints kept the same character 
 istic. One of the earliest personages in the history 
 is the aged Anna, of whom it is said that " she de 
 parted not from the temple, but served God with 
 fastings and prayers, night and day." The " devout " 
 Simeon was of kindred spirit, as were Zacharias and 
 Elizabeth, and Joseph and Mary. Jesus not only 
 taught his disciples to pray, and himself offered peti 
 tions publicly, on various recorded occasions, but 
 sometimes he spent whole nights in prayer, alone upon 
 the mountain tops, or in the wilderness; and it was 
 with praying breath that he expired upon the cross. 
 The testimony borne concerning the thousands of con 
 verts made on the day of Pentecost is: " They con 
 tinued steadfastly in the apostle s doctrine and fellow 
 ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." The 
 apostles themselves prayed for ten days, steadily, prior 
 
PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 21 
 
 to that scene of wonders; and in every new trial or 
 difficulty which occurred, we read of their uniting in 
 solemn petition for divine aid. Paul, the last and 
 greatest of the apostles, was full of the spirit of sup 
 plication; and not only does the book of Acts contain 
 references to striking occasions on which he prayed, 
 as for instance in the prison at Philippi, and the part 
 ing scene at Miletus, but his epistles constantly allude 
 to the earnestness and frequency of his prayers for 
 individuals and churches in whom he felt a special 
 interest, and abound in commands and exhortations to 
 Christians to pray in turn for him, and to maintain 
 the habit of prayer " without ceasing." 
 
 The history of the Church since the apostolic period 
 has presented a similar aspect. Prayer has held a 
 prominent place in public worship, and has been in 
 culcated and practiced as a private duty. Although 
 it may be asserted, with some truth, that, at times, 
 and with many individuals, this has been a mere form ; 
 yet it may be replied, that even the preservation of the 
 form shows the importance attached to the duty theo 
 retically, while to the spiritually-minded in every age 
 it has been a precious reality. Hence we find, that 
 in proportion to the devout character and spiritual 
 earnestness of men, has been their reliance on prayer 
 for advancement in holiness, and for success in their 
 plans of life. This could hardly be otherwise when even 
 the devout heathen had a right idea and practice on a 
 point so fundamental ; for Plutarch wrote : " If we 
 traverse the world, it is possibb to find cities without 
 
22 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 walls, without letters, without kings, without wealth, 
 without coin, without schools and theaters; but a city 
 without a temple, or that practiceth not worship, 
 prayers and the like, no one ever saw." Christians 
 have naturally made prayer the breath of their lives. 
 Martin Luther, speaking of his own delighted use 
 of the Lord s Prayer, wrote: "For to this day, I suck 
 still at the Pater Noster, like a child ; I eat and drink 
 thereof like a full grown man, and can never have 
 enough." His custom in private was, to take its sep 
 arate petitions, one by one, and to enlarge upon them ; 
 and he says: "And so I have often learned more in 
 one prayer, than I could have got from much reading 
 and composing." It was said of him, that " he could 
 have what he would of God." And, as we shall have 
 occasion to see, it seemed literally so. One who had 
 overheard Luther at prayer on a certain occasion, spoke 
 with wonder of the deep earnestness with which he 
 pleaded with God. His tones were reverent, as if he 
 felt he was talking to his Maker; and yet he mani 
 fested the confidence of one who is conversing with a 
 sympathizing friend. There was at one time, a crisis 
 in the affairs of the reformation, when only faith could 
 see cause for hope. Persecution had broken out with 
 such power as to threaten to carry all before it. Friends 
 were few and feeble; enemies were many, strong and 
 exultant. But Luther did not waver. He remembered 
 his own sublime hymn: 
 
 " Ein feste burg 1st unser Gott," 
 
PRATER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 23 
 
 (A strong fortress is our God) and sank upon his knees, 
 that Omnipotence might come to the help of weak 
 ness. He wrestled alone with God in his closet, till, 
 like Jacob, he had prevailed. Then he went into the 
 room where his family were assembled, with joyous 
 heart and shining face, and raising both hands, and 
 lifting his eyes heavenward, exclaimed: "We have 
 overcome! we have overcome!" It afterwards proved 
 that just at that time, the Emperor Charles V., issued 
 his proclamation of religious toleration in Germany. 
 No doubt Luther had pleaded, in his prayer, the dec 
 laration of Scripture: " The king s heart is in the hand 
 of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it 
 whithersoever he will." Proverbs xxi: 1. 
 
 As to John Calvin, Dr. Paul Henry, his biographer, 
 says: " To characterize Calvin s holy disposition in a 
 few words, I will direct attention to one of its most 
 remarkable signs, viz., his child-like trust in God, and 
 his invincible faith in prayer, which was his strength 
 and daily resource. In the perilous circumstances of 
 his life, and in his last hours, he constantly expressed 
 the desire that his friends should pray for him and for 
 every good thing." 
 
 John Knox was famous for his earnest prayers. He 
 was heard at the great crisis to plead: " Give me Scot 
 land or I die;" and Queen Mary said that she feared 
 his prayers more than she did all the armies of Europe. 
 And this seemed a curious presentiment; for one night, 
 in the bloody times of persecution, as he and several 
 friends were praying together, Knox spoke out and 
 
PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 declared that deliverance had come, though he could 
 not tell how. The next news was that " Bloody Mary " 
 was dead. 
 
 Zninglius, the Swiss reformer, was also a man 
 mighty in prayer, and he laid the heavy burden which 
 he was trying to bear, upon the Head of the Church, 
 in these words: " O Jesus, thou seest how the wicked 
 and the blasphemous stun thy people s ears with their 
 clamors. Thou knowest how, from my youth up, I 
 have abhorred controversy, and yet, against my will, 
 thou hast never ceased to impel me to the conflict. 
 Therefore do I call upon thee with confidence to finish 
 what thou hast begun! If in anything I have builded 
 unwisely, let thy hand of power cast it down. If I 
 have laid any other foundation beside thee, let thy 
 mighty arm overturn it. O thou vine, full of sweet 
 ness, to whom the Father is the husbandman, and we 
 are the branches, abandon not thy tendrils. Hast thou 
 not promised to be with us unto the end of the 
 world?" 
 
 Melanchthon so prized prayer, that he feared to lose 
 anxieties, lest he should lose the blessed relief of 
 prayer. He said: "If I had no anxieties, I should 
 lose a powerful incentive to prayer; but when the cares 
 of life impel to devotion, the best means of consola 
 tion, a religious mind cannot do without iJhem. Thus 
 trouble impels me to prayer, and prayer drives away 
 trouble." 
 
 In Gustavus Adolphus we have not only a sagac 
 ious king and successful general, but a man of prayer. 
 
PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 25 
 
 "When he was in camp before Werben, on one occasion, 
 he had remained alone in his private apartment for 
 some hours, and at such seasons his attendants were 
 not allowed to disturb him. At length, however, a 
 favorite, who had something important to communi 
 cate, presumed to look in the door, softly, and found 
 the king on his knees. Gustavus called him in, and 
 said: " Thou wonderest to see me in this posture, who 
 have so many thousands of subjects to pray for me ; but 
 I tell thee that no man has more need to pray for 
 himself than he who, having to render an account of 
 his actions to none but God, is, for that reason, more 
 closely assaulted by the Devil, than all other men 
 besides." 
 
 The venerated Kev. Philip Henry, the father of 
 Matthew Henry, the commentator, was a specially 
 godly man. In his life it is said: " He and his wife 
 constantly prayed together, morning and evening." 
 We are told, also, that he made a conscience of family 
 worship, and abounded in it. He said to his children 
 and friends: " Be sure you look to your secret duty; 
 keep that up, whatever you do; the soul cannot pros 
 per in the neglect of it. Apostacy generally begins 
 at the closet door." As to family worship he would 
 say: " If the worship of God be not in the home, 
 write, < Lord, have mercy on us on the door, for there 
 is a plague, a curse in it." 
 
 Rev. Samuel Kutherford, the pious Scotch minister, 
 in the days of persecution for the sake of the " Cove 
 nant," was said to be "always praying,, always 
 2 
 
26 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 preaching, always visiting the sick, always catechising, 
 always writing and studying." When settled at Ans- 
 worth, he was constantly praying as well as laboring 
 for his people; so that he says: "There I wrestled 
 with the angel and prevailed. Woods, trees, mead 
 ows and hills are my witnesses that I drew on a fair 
 match betwixt Christ and Answorth." 
 
 President Jonathan Edwards, at the beginning of 
 his Christian life, adopted this resolution: "Jtesolved, 
 Yery much to exercise myself in this all my life long; 
 viz., with the greatest openness of which I am capa 
 ble, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul 
 to him; all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, 
 fears, hopes, desires, and everything and every cir 
 cumstance." "He made a secret of his private devo 
 tions," observes Dr. Hopkins, one of his biographers, 
 "and therefore they cannot be particularly known; 
 though there is much evidence that he was punctual, 
 constant and frequent in secret prayer, and often kept 
 days of fasting and prayer in secret, and set apart 
 times for serious, devout meditations on spiritual and 
 eternal things as part of his religious exercises in 
 secret. It appears from his diary that his stated sea 
 sons of secret prayer were, from his youth, three times 
 a day, in his journeys as well as at home. He was, as 
 far as can be known, much on his knees in secret, and 
 in devout reading of God s word and meditation upon 
 it. And his constant, solemn converse with God in 
 these exercises of secret religion, made his face to 
 shine, as it were, before others." 
 
PEAYEB CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 27 
 
 The Eev. David Brainerd has, for more than a cen 
 tury, been a model of Christian earnestness and 
 missionary devotion. In the memoir written by 
 President Edwards, it is said: "Though he was of a 
 very sociable temper, and loved the company of saints, 
 and delighted very much in, religious conversation, 
 and in social worship, yet his warmest affections, and 
 their greatest effects on his animal nature, and his 
 sweetest joys, were in his closet devotions and solitary 
 transactions between God and his own soul; as is very 
 observable through his whole course, from his conver 
 sion to his death. He delighted greatly in secret 
 retirements, and loved to get quite away from all the 
 world, to converse with God alone in secret duties." 
 Again it is said: "How sensible was he of his own 
 insufficiency for this work, and how great was his 
 dependence on God s sufficiency! How solicitous that 
 he might be fitted for it; and to that end, how much 
 time did he spend in prayer and fasting, as well as 
 reading and meditation; giving himself to these 
 things!" Again: "Among all the many days he 
 spent in secret fasting and pra}^er, of which he gives , 
 an account in his diary, there is scarcely an instance 
 of one which was not either attended or soon followed 
 with apparent success, and a remarkable blessing, in 
 special influences and consolations of God s Spirit; 
 and very often before the day was ended. But it 
 must be observed that, when he set about this duty, 
 he did it in good earnest, < stirring up himself to take 
 hold of God, 5 and i continuing instant in prayer, with 
 
28 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 much of the spirit of Jacob, who said to the angel, <I 
 will not let thee go, except thou bless me. " 
 
 Eev. E. M. McCheyne was so deeply impressed with 
 this subject, that, as he made advance in piety, he 
 drew up a paper to embody his improved purposes, in 
 which he says: " I am persuaded that I ought never 
 to do anything without prayer, and, if possible, special 
 secret prayer. * * j O11 ght to pray far more for 
 our church, for our leading ministers by name, and for 
 my own clear guidance in the right way, that I may not 
 be led aside, or driven aside from following Christ. 
 I should pray much more in peaceful days, 
 that I may be guided rightly when days of trial come. 
 I ought to spend the best hours of the day in com 
 munion with God. It is my noblest and most fruit 
 ful employment, and is not to be thrust into any 
 corner. The morning hours from six to eight are the 
 most uninterrupted, and should be thus employed, if I 
 can prevent drowsiness. A little time after break 
 fast might be given to intercession. After tea is my 
 best hour, and that should be solemly dedicated to 
 God, if possible." 
 
 Eev. Thomas Arnold, D. D., who accomplished so 
 noble a Christian, as well as literary work, at Eugby, 
 showed his appreciation of prayer as one of the most 
 important instrumentalities, by introducing a special 
 prayer before the class which he taught, in addition 
 to the general prayers of the whole school. His biog 
 rapher says: " On the morning on which he first used 
 it, he said that he had been much troubled to find, that 
 
PEAYEE CHAEACTEEISTTC OF PIETY. 29 
 
 the change from attendance on the death -bed of one 
 of the boys in his house to the school- work, had been 
 very great; he thought that there ought not to be 
 such a contrast, and that it was probably owing to the 
 school-work not being sufficiently sanctified to God s 
 glory; that if it was made really a religious work, the 
 transition to it from a death-bed would be slight; he 
 therefore intended for the future to offer a prayer 
 before the first lesson, that the day s work might be 
 undertaken and carried on solely to the glory of God 
 and their improvement that he might be the better 
 enabled to do his work." 
 
 Among the heroes as well as the saints of the 
 church must be counted Henry Martyn, whose ripe 
 scholarship and many personal attractions adorned his 
 arduous missionary life, whose fervent piety has kin 
 dled the devotion of thousands, and whose lamented 
 and lonely death has stirred the sympathies of every 
 reader of his memoir. The church of England has 
 never produced a more beautiful character. His 
 biographer bears this testimony of his habit of draw 
 ing near to God: " As these extraordinary and seem 
 ingly contradictory qualities were not imparted to 
 him but by the Spirit of God, so they were not 
 strengthened and matured, but in the diligent use of 
 the ordinary means of grace. Prayer and the Holy 
 Scriptures were those wells of salvation out of which 
 he drew daily the living water. Truly did he c pray 
 always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 
 and watch thereunto with all perseverance. " 
 
30 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Multitudes will thank God for the impetus given to 
 their Christian lives by the memoir of James Brainerd 
 Taylor, whose early death deprived the church of one 
 who gave unusual promise of becoming a successful 
 minister. His biographer says: "The attentive reader 
 has doubtless already observed that the great means 
 by which Mr. Taylor made such distinguished attain 
 ments in piety were the Bible, as noticed before, and 
 the throne of grace. He was remarkably a man of 
 prayer. In secret devotions he had his consecrated 
 place and fixed time; nor would he allow anything to 
 interfere with this arrangement. And as he did him 
 self, so he exhorted others to do, have a fixed place 
 and time for devotion. 
 
 Harlan Page was a plain man, of humble, rural 
 origin, and of only ordinary education; but his suc 
 cess in winning souls to Christ has made him an 
 example and an encouragement to multitudes. He 
 relied on prayer as the grand instrumentality of power 
 in religious effort, and in his memoirs we read: u He 
 expected success from God through the blessing of 
 the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer. * * * HE 
 LOVED PRAYER. Besides prayers at social meetings, 
 with the families and individuals he visited, and on 
 special occasions frequently recurring, he regularly 
 not only conducted family worship, accompanied by 
 singing, but every morning and evening prayed with 
 his companion, as they retired and rose, and also 
 poured out his heart to God alone in the closet." 
 
 Another layman, Normand Smith, Jr., a sketch of 
 
PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY 31 
 
 whose life, written by Rev. Dr. Joel Hawes, has been 
 published by the American Tract Society, and whose 
 piety and generosity are consequently widely known, 
 is thus described: "The frequency with which he 
 observed days of fasting and prayer has already been 
 noticed. He was eminently a man of prayer. He 
 aimed every day, and in all things, to maintain a close 
 and humble walk with God. It has been said by one 
 who had the best means of knowing, that prayer 
 seemed to be his meat and drink. It was his constant 
 practice to rise before the family, and spend one or 
 two hours by himself, before attending family duties. 
 At noon, he had a season of prayer, and no company 
 would prevent his retiring; as he would always excuse 
 himself for a little while, that he might enjoy his 
 accustomed converse with God. He usually attended 
 some meeting in the evening, but always prayed 
 before he went. He had a room expressly set apart 
 for private devotion, and would never be disturbed in 
 his retirement. * * * He had a place for prayer 
 also in his store, and would often invite his brethren, 
 when they came in, to unite with him in prayer." 
 
 Here let us pause, as one might write the biography 
 of every Christian, were he to tell of all the men of 
 prayer. Piety is prayer. 
 
 "Come to the morning-prayer; 
 Coine, let us kneel and pray: 
 Prayer is the Christian pilgrim s staff, 
 To walk with God all day. 
 
32 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 At noon, beneath the Rock 
 
 Of Ages, rest and pray; 
 
 Sweet is that shelter from the heat, 
 
 When the sun smites by day. 
 
 At evening, shut thy door; 
 
 Round the home-altar pray; 
 
 And, finding there the house of God, 
 
 At Heaven s gate close the day. 
 
 When midnight veils our eyes, 
 Oh, it is sweet to say, 
 I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord, 
 With thee to watch and pray." 
 
 James Montgomery. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 
 
 IF one is to consider the question, whether God 
 really answers prayer, he must have before his mind a 
 definite idea of what prayer is. Disputes arise from 
 ignorance and mental confusion. Men differ about 
 words, when they agree in the things. They also differ 
 about things, when they agree in the words. There 
 has been a great deal said. about prayer, which lacked 
 discrimination; and so the arguments for and against 
 it have failed to convince. "We should then define our 
 ground distinctly, so that friend and foe may know 
 precisely what we mean to cover by our assertions and 
 our proofs. 
 
 There are antagonists who will concede the value of 
 prayer, if allowed so to define the act as to leave it a 
 mere religious meditation. We never knew anybody 
 who thought it worth his while to oppose religious medi 
 tation; perhaps, because men are not likely to take 
 very much of it, pure and simple. And so there are 
 philosophizing Christians, and even ministers, who 
 timidly explain away prayer, till its substance is gone, 
 and then think that they have accomplished wonders 
 in behalf of religion, by showing that no objections can 
 
 (33) 
 
34: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 be raised against so rational a theory. As little can 
 any advantages be gained by it for practical piety. 
 There is an equation; but it is 0=0! 
 
 There would seem to be but one sure way of decid 
 ing what the true nature of prayer is, as an antecedent 
 to ascertaining its value. It is vain to try to settle it 
 by abstract speculation alone. Doubtless something 
 is to be learned from " the nature of things," of which 
 philosophers and theologians have so much to say. 
 But in this particular case we shall make more pro 
 gress by studying the nature of God, as He has revealed 
 it to us in his Word. Prayer has to do with God. 
 On that all are agreed. How much it has to do with 
 him, and why, and how, are the disputed questions. 
 He can tell us better than the philosophers can; for 
 He knows Himself, his creatures and his plans. He 
 can tell, therefore, whether He has fitted prayer into 
 his plans; and, if so, in what sense. And if He cer 
 tifies us of the fact, He can take care of the philosophy, 
 whether we can or not. No human philosophy can 
 destroy a fact. This is just as true in the moral world, 
 as is the famous assertion of the physicists in their 
 realm, that every atom of matter is indestructible, or 
 that force is persistent. Let us therefore rely princi 
 pally upon the Scriptures to tell us what prayer is. 
 Fortunately that is a favorite topic with the inspired 
 writers; for prayer enters largely into the divine 
 promises and manifestations, and also into human 
 experiences. And consequently prophecy and history 
 are equally full of it. Commands and thanksgivings 
 
WHAT TRUE PRAYER IS. 35 
 
 are fellow-witnesses to its nature. It will aid our 
 object to consider the true idea of prayer as related to 
 its nature, its source of power, and its method of 
 answer. The first topic will alone occupy us in the 
 present chapter. 
 
 What is the proper conception of prayer, as to the 
 nature of the act? Is it a dealing with one s self, or 
 with God; or, possibly, with both? Is it simply a 
 devout contemplation of the divine character and 
 works, though clothed in the garb of an address to 
 God? Is it, as Eev. F. W. Kobertson asserts, only a 
 submission of the human to the divine will ; a saying 
 merely, " Not my will, but thine be done "? Or is it 
 substantially and principally a cry of want, a petition 
 for aid, a direct asking of God, for the purpose of 
 receiving? If the latter be the authentic view, there 
 is something to be said, for or against it, in the mat 
 ter of answers: otherwise the subject of answers is an 
 impertinence, and its discussion a waste of breath. 
 
 The word prayer, both in scriptural and in popular 
 usage, denotes a somewhat comprehensive exercise, 
 throughout which there is a personal approach of the 
 soul to God. It may be in connection with others, in 
 public or family worship ; or it may be as an individ 
 ual and private act only. In either case, and whether 
 the words be audibly repeated or silently thought, the 
 man speaks with God, mind with mind, heart with 
 heart. It is not mere meditation upon God, but a 
 direct address to him. Man talks with God. So 
 Abraham felt, when he said: "Behold now I have 
 
36 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but 
 dust and ashes." Gen. xviii: 27. When a man comes 
 thus to God he is in a complex state of mind ; that is, 
 numerous thoughts crowd in, and various emotions 
 are felt. Hence prayer divides itself naturally into 
 parts, which give expression to these struggling exer 
 cises. Sometimes these occur in consecutive order, 
 especially in the case of cultured minds and of public 
 exercises; but more commonly they are intermingled, 
 as one or another idea comes uppermost. These parts 
 have been named Adoration, Confession, Thanks 
 giving, and Petition. 
 
 With Adoration we usually commence our prayers, 
 and e xpress our sense of the divine majesty and glory. 
 Thus Daniel began his prayer: "O Lord, the great 
 and dreadful (or awe-inspiring) God, keeping the cov 
 enant and mercy to them that love him and to them 
 that keep his commandments." Dan. ix:4. When 
 the persecuted apostles made their appeal, their first 
 words were: Lord, thou art God, which hath made 
 heaven and earth and the sea, and all that in them is." 
 Acts, iv.24:. The Lord s Prayer also opens: "Our 
 Father, which art in heaven." By thus dwelling, for 
 a moment, on God s presence, power, wisdom, holiness, 
 condescension and love, and on his works of creation 
 and providence, we pay him a due tribute of worship, 
 fill our minds with a suitable reverence, and bring to 
 thought precisely those considerations which prepare 
 the mind for what is to follow in the prayer. In other 
 words, we are made to realize with what kind of a 
 
WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 37 
 
 being we have to do; how infinitely above us He is, 
 in position and character, and how able and ready to 
 meet our wants. 
 
 Confession is naturally the next utterance. We 
 pass from a thought of God to a remembrance of our 
 own insignificance and vileness. His greatness 
 reminds us of our littleness, while his purity stands 
 in contrast with our sin. As we exalt him, so we 
 abase ourselves. Truth demands it. It is the fit intro 
 duction to what further we have to say ; for it shows 
 what has been our dependence upon divine aid and 
 mercy in the past, and what it must be in the future. 
 Abraham called himself " dust and ashes," as we have 
 seen; Job said, (vi : 5); "Behold, I am vile, what 
 shall I answer thee" Isaiah exclaimed (vi:5); "Woe 
 is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of un 
 clean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of un 
 clean lips ;" and Daniel added to the words before cited, 
 " We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and 
 have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by depart 
 ing from thy precepts; " and he continued thus to 
 speak for some time. Confession is especially neces 
 sary, when the soul is burdened with a sense of guilt, 
 and the main object of the prayer is to apply to God 
 for forgiveness. Then the application for pardon is to 
 be preceded by the frank, humble and penitent 
 acknowledgment of the sins. One comes to God in 
 such a matter, as he would to an injured or offended 
 fellow man. No one would approach a person whom 
 he had wronged, to ask a favor, without acknowledg- 
 
38 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ing his unworthiness, confessing his misdeed, and 
 imploring reconciliation. "We can do no less in draw 
 ing near to God. 
 
 The soul is then prepared for Thanksgiving. How 
 can it forget, or omit -to remember, what God has 
 already done for it; especially in view of the multitude 
 of his mercies to one richly deserving his wrath? 
 Hence we often notice, in perusing the Psalms which 
 are in large part prayers that they begin with ascrip 
 tions of praise, which occupy many verses before we 
 reach the expression of want and the requests for aid. 
 Thus the ninth begins: "I will praise thee, O Lord, 
 with my whole heart : I will show forth all thy mar 
 velous works." The seventy-third opens: "Truly 
 God is good to Israel;" the eighty -fifth: "Lord, thou 
 hast been favorable unto thy land ; " the one hundred 
 and third : " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that 
 is within me bless his holy name;" and not a 
 few are wholly occupied with thanks. So in David s 
 prayer on the occasion of associating Solomon with 
 him in the government, and the setting apart of 
 treasures with which to build the temple, he 
 broke out in this preliminary utterance of mingled 
 thanksgiving and adoration: "Blessed be thou, Lord 
 God of Israel, our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O 
 Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and 
 the victory and the majesty: for all that is in the heav 
 ens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, 
 O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both 
 riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over 
 
WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 39 
 
 all, and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy 
 hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto 
 all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee, and 
 praise thy glorious name." 1 Chron. xxix: 10-13. It 
 will also be remembered that Jesus began one of the 
 brief recorded prayers thus: " I thank thee, O Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth " (Mat. xi: 25); and that his 
 prayer at the grave of Lazarus commenced, " Father, 
 I thank thee that thou hast heard me" (John xi:41); 
 and that Paul wrote to the Philippians (iv:6): "Be 
 careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and 
 supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
 made known unto God." Probably one reason why 
 our prayers are not more prevalent is, that we are not 
 sufficiently thankful for what we have already received. 
 And now the soul is prepared for Petition, which 
 includes the asking of favors for ourselves, and inter 
 cession for others. This is the very heart of prayer, 
 which is prompted by a sense of want. The man goes 
 to God, not only to adore and praise, but also to peti 
 tion. Otherwise it would suffice for him to sing 
 psalms and hymns. These have their delightful use 
 and powerful influence, but do in no respect supersede 
 prayer, which has the distinct office of asking aid for 
 human weakness. No nation, however ignorant, has 
 confounded two such distinct exercises, although the 
 two acts may properly be associated. In prayer the 
 adoration and praise are intended to prepare for the 
 petition. They are the gateway to the edifice. They 
 show us how to approach God, in order that we may 
 
40 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 draw near acceptably, and may state freely and fully 
 all our wants. Such is the grand design of prayer as 
 a divinely appointed means of securing needed aid. 
 
 Here is where Rev. F. W. Robertson, in his sermon 
 on prayer, conies far short of the truth. Taking for 
 his guide a single expression of Jesus, in the experi 
 ence of agony in the garden, " Not as I will, but as 
 Thou wilt," he resolves prayer into mere submission 
 to the divine will, instead of simply recognizing sub 
 mission as one condition of acceptable prayer. He 
 says : " All prayer is to change the will human into 
 submission to the will divine." " Prayer is one thing, 
 petition quite another." "The divine wisdom has 
 given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the 
 good things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn 
 to do without them ; not as a means whereby we escape 
 evil, but as a means whereby we become strong. to 
 meet it." This is of the character of all half-truths; 
 it is a view practically false and injurious. If gener 
 ally accepted, it would lead to a fatalistic passivity, 
 instead of a resolute activity, and would end in the 
 total disuse of prayer. Indeed, he accepted that con 
 clusion, for he remarks: "That life is most holy in 
 which there is least of petition and desire, and most 
 of waiting upon God." And in his misapprehension 
 of the inference to be drawn from the exclamation of 
 Jesus, before quoted, he says : " Practically, then, I say : 
 Pray as He did, till prayer makes you cease to pray." 
 This was said devoutly and earnestly, by a truly spirit 
 ual man; but by one, also, who looked at truths too 
 
WHAT TBUE PRAYER 18. 41 
 
 exclusively in a subjective way, shrinking from their 
 objective reality, and who also by temperament and 
 disease inclined to the mystical side of religion. 
 
 Mr. Robertson is by no means alone in this concep 
 tion of prayer. Apart from the magnetism of his 
 influence over readers, and the speciousness of his quite 
 too limited illustrations of petition to God, there is a 
 disposition at present to concede too much to the 
 objections of the philosophic skeptics, and to render 
 prayer unobjectionable by making it almost objectless. 
 Thus a valued ministerial friend, at the West, writes to 
 the author: "My own mind looks more to prayer as a 
 power for uplifting the spirit to divine communion, 
 and so helping not so much to obtain what we may 
 desire or want, as to bring us into perfect acquiescence 
 with the order of Providence, and into obedience. 
 Our Lord did not encourage those who sought for 
 6 signs and wonders. * * * I trust your book will 
 be guarded against giving countenance to sensational 
 religion, for I think that is one of our modern weak 
 points." Another able but eccentric minister at the 
 East, writes : " I do not dare preach to my people that 
 men ought always to pray, because they will get what 
 they ask for. My doctrine is, that * men ought always 
 to pray and not to faint, whether their prayers are 
 answered or not. And I deplore the tendency which 
 would seem to exhort people to prayer as a short way 
 of getting what they want. The true value of prayer 
 is, that it stops people from wanting what they can t 
 get." The wonder is, that such a theory is held by 
 2* 
 
42 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 one who is a disciple of him who taught his followers 
 to " ask, 5 with the promise that they should " receive," 
 and not that they should stop wanting; and who backed 
 his instruction "always to pray and not to faint," with 
 the parable of the widow who obtained from the judge 
 what she so importunately asked for, and added: 
 " And shall not God avenge his own elect, who cry 
 day and night unto him, though he bear long with 
 them ? " Thus, as Dr. Bushnell says, " Prayer becomes 
 a kind of dumb-bell exercise good as exercise, but 
 not to be answered." Let the Savior s words be car 
 ried out in the various figures used, on this theory, 
 and its absurdity becomes at once apparent. He bids 
 us " ask." Imagine a child asking for some favor, or 
 for the relief of some want, and standing, hour after 
 hour, repeating his requests, and being told by the 
 father: "Go on asking, my child; it does you much 
 good to ask. The longer you ask, the more good it 
 will do you. Do not expect to receive anything, how 
 ever, as the principal benefit of asking is that, by and 
 by, you will not want anything, and will cease to make 
 any request." Jesus bids us " seek." Imagine a 
 mother seeking a lost child. She looks through the 
 house and along the streets, then searches the fields 
 and woods, and examines the river-banks. A wise 
 neighbor meets her and says: "Seek on; look every 
 where; search every accessible place. You will not 
 finol, indeed; but then seeking is a good thing. It 
 puts the mind on the stretch; it fixes the attention; 
 it aids observation; it makes the idea of the child very 
 
WHAT TRtJE r;:AYE* IS. 4:3 
 
 real. And then, after a while, you will cease to want 
 your child." The words of Christ are " Knock." 
 Imagine a man knocking at the door of a house, long 
 and loud. After he has done this for an hour, a 
 window opens, and the occupant of the house puts out 
 his head, and says: "That is right, my friend; I shall 
 not open the door, but then keep on knocking. It is 
 excellent exercise, and you will be the healthier for it. 
 Knock away till sundown, and then come again and 
 knock all to-morrow. After some days thus spent, 
 you will attain to a state of mind in which you will no 
 longer care to come in." Is this what Jesus intended 
 us to understand, when he said: "Ask, and ye shall 
 receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
 opened unto you " ? No doubt one would thus soon 
 cease to ask, to seek, and to knock; but would it not 
 be from disgust? 
 
 To see the error of such a view, one need only study 
 nature, and the pages of the Bible. Nature makes us 
 feel the need of prayer, and the Bible teaches us how 
 to pray. The fact is, that we are pressed on every 
 side by imperious wants, the supply for which is 
 only slightly within our own control. Often the exi 
 gency is great, and the relief must be speedy. In 
 such an extremity, men have always betaken them 
 selves to God, in every age of the world, under ali 
 forms of religion. It is a primal and ineradicable 
 instinct of human nature, and cannot lead astray. 
 What it prompts to is petition to God. In that it is 
 supported by all the analogies of experience. The 
 
44 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 child is dependent on the parent, and goes daily and 
 hourly to its parent with requests for things needed. 
 The subject is in many things dependent upon the 
 ruler, and offers his petitions for requisite aid or 
 relief. God is felt to be the universal Father and Ruler, 
 and to him, therefore, his children and subjects natu 
 rally go with prayers for assistance in life s necessi 
 ties. If it be replied that God does not need to be 
 informed of our wants, or urged to do us good, as do 
 earthly parents and rulers; we answer, that to impart 
 information and incline to compassion are not the only 
 reasons for petition in these latter cases, and need not 
 be any reason in the case of God. There may be 
 abundant other ground why a parent should encour 
 age a child to ask help, and why a ruler should be 
 pleased when the people send in respectful petitions; 
 as we shall see in the next chapter. And so, doubt 
 less, it is in relation to God. 
 
 But why rest upon general reasoning and analogy, 
 when the Bible makes the matter perfectly clear? No 
 one not morbidly possessed by a theory which destroys 
 his mental vision, can fail to see that in the Bible, 
 from Genesis to Eevelation, prayer means simply peti 
 tion. It is not merely submitting in ignorance to 
 whatever God may choose to send ; but it is asking 
 him, reverently and in a childlike way, to send specific 
 things felt to be pressingly needed. This is plain from 
 the commands, from the promises, from the prayers 
 and from the answers; all of which are placed on 
 record for our instruction. 
 
WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 45 
 
 Jesus commanded his disciples to pray for specific 
 blessings, and not merely to submit themselves to the 
 will of God in general; and the Lord s Prayer, which 
 he gave as a model, contains seven distinct petitions. 
 Again we read: "He spake a parable unto them, to 
 this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to 
 faint." Luke xviii : 7. And the parable was that of the 
 importunate widow, who had a specific request which 
 she urged, and urged, and urged, without ceasing, till 
 it was granted. Similar is the command of Paul, 
 already cited: "Be careful (or anxious) for nothing, 
 but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with 
 thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto 
 God." Phil, iv : 6. This directs us to make particular 
 requests, as the precise thing which God wishes us 
 to do. 
 
 The promises state the same truth, or carry the im 
 plication. Instead of reading: Submit, and all things 
 shall be done for you, we read : " Ask and ye shall 
 receive; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be 
 opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth, 
 and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh 
 it shall be opened." Then the analogy which nature 
 suggests, Jesus positively endorses : " What man is 
 there of you who, if his son ask bread, will give him 
 a stone, or if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?" 
 Matt, vii : 7-11. No language could more plainly 
 authorize specific requests. Take, further, such prom 
 ises as these: " Call upon me in the day of trouble; 
 I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Ps. 
 
46 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 1 : 15. "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain; 
 or if I command the locusts to devour the land; or if 
 I send pestilence among my people; if my people, 
 which are called by my name, shall humble themselves 
 and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked 
 ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive 
 their sin, and wilt heal their land." 2 Chron. vii : 13, 
 14. " And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in 
 prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matt, xxi : 22. 
 " And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, 
 we know that we have the petitions that we desired of 
 him." 1 John v : 15. If prayer is submission, but 
 not request, what do such words mean ; words which 
 encourage us to ask of God specific relief for the par 
 ticular evils which at the time are distressing us? 
 
 Let us pass, then, to the prayers on record in Scrip 
 ture, which were acceptably offered, and observe 
 whether the good men only asked to be made submis 
 sive to the divine will, whatever that might prove to 
 be; or whether they ventured to mention the things 
 which they desired, not imagining that to ask for and 
 expect them, was unsubmissive in spirit. And with 
 these let us note also the answers which were returned. 
 Take the case of Jesus himself, to whom Mr. Kobert- 
 son makes particular reference. His prayer in the 
 garden was conditionally made, with submission to 
 the Father s will; but it was yet a specific request 
 u Let this cup pass from me." And so, at the grave 
 of Lazarus, he asked for the one thing then desired, 
 and said, " Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard 
 
UN1VERSI 
 
 OK 
 
 WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 47 
 
 me, and I know that thou nearest me always " words 
 which obviously mean that God was accustomed to 
 grant him the particular requests which he made. 
 Daniel tells us (chapter ix) of his anxiety to know of 
 the divine purpose as to the return of the Jews from 
 the captivity at Babylon, and that he made it the sub 
 ject of special prayer and fasting; whereupon an 
 angel was sent to give him the exact information 
 desired. When he was cast into the den of lions, 
 because of his faith in prayer to Jehovah, he made 
 petition for safety, and God granted just what he 
 asked, and shut the mouths of the lions, David 
 prayed repeatedly for deliverance from the hands of 
 King Saul, and afterwards from that of his parricidal 
 son, Absolom, and received the very blessings for 
 which he prayed. When Peter was cast into prison, 
 and lay there under sentence of death, we are told that 
 " prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto 
 God for him. - What they prayed for was, that, in 
 some way, Peter might be saved; and God granted 
 that very thing. And so it was in cases without 
 number. What men wanted they asked for, and when 
 they asked aright, and for things truly needed, God 
 granted them. Prayer is thus seen to be in its nature 
 petition, and not merely meditation or worship, or 
 submission. The experience of all saints is like that 
 of Hannah. She had in her heart one all absorbing 
 desire, which she silently expressed to God, in the 
 presence of Eli, who said, " Go in peace, and the God 
 of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked 
 
48 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 of him;" and eventually she stood again before the 
 venerable high priest, and said: "O my lord, as thy 
 soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by 
 thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I 
 prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which 
 I asked of him." 1 Sam. i:lT, 26, 27. Prayer is 
 then an application to God to relieve human want. 
 
 " Lord, what a change within us one short hour 
 Spent in thy presence, will prevail to make ! 
 What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, 
 What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower! 
 We kneel, and all around us seems to lower ; 
 We rise, and all, the distant and the near, 
 Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear. 
 
 " We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power ! 
 Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, 
 Or others, that we are not always strong ; 
 That we are ever overborne with care ; 
 That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
 Anxious or troubled ; when with us is prayer, 
 And joy and strength and courage are with thee?" 
 
 .R, C. Trench. 
 
CHAPTEB III. 
 
 WHY PRATER PREVAILS. 
 
 HAVING ascertained that as to its object, the nature 
 of prayer is petition, and that it is therefore suscepti 
 ble of an answer, it is important to inquire next for 
 the principle upon which it produces its effect. Why 
 does prayer prevail? To what is it indebted for its 
 power? How can it possibly operate on God, to 
 induce him to do that which otherwise he would not 
 do? If his power is almighty, it will be said that he 
 has the ability to reach us, nor must ask our consent. 
 If his knowledge is complete, then He needs no infor 
 mation from our prayers as to what are our necessi 
 ties. If his character is perfect, his benevolence 
 requires no prompting to undertake our relief. And 
 if his plan is all-comprehending, he has already pro 
 vided for our wants, and our petitions are useless. 
 How is it possible, then, for prayer to prevail without 
 arguing imperfection in God? What principle of 
 explanation is suggested by reason and Scripture? 
 
 These are natural questions to an inquiring mind, 
 and we are not left without a legitimate reply. We 
 are to dismiss, at the outset, the crude idea of early 
 ages and of heathen nations, in which God is not 
 only conceived of in a human manner which in a 
 3 (49) 
 
50 PRAYER AXD ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 degree is necessary and appropriate but is repre 
 sented as having human limitations and imperfections. 
 The Bible rebukes such a degradation of the Deity. 
 Thus the worshipers of Baal thought that their prayers 
 would attract the attention of their unheeding god, 
 and so Elijah mocked their loud cries, ironically say 
 ing: " Cry aloud, for he is a god [and ought therefore 
 to help you, if his attention can be gained]; either lie 
 is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or 
 perad venture he sleepeth and must be awaked." 1 
 Kings, xviii : 27. Evidently the prophet meant to deny 
 that such or any kindred hindrances characterized 
 Jehovah, the true God. There are people who think 
 that there is a merit in prayer, which in some manner 
 brings God into our debt, and obliges him to grant 
 that which we need; or at least that the act so pleases 
 him that he is persuaded to be complaisant to our 
 wishes. Hence great faith is placed in the number 
 of prayers, and the "heathen resort to a praying 
 machine turned by wind or water, to the wheel of 
 which written prayers are attached; while the Roman 
 ists repeat, with breathless haste, Pater Nosters and 
 Ave Marias, keeping count upon the beads of a rosary ! 
 But the Bible denies human merit, and Jesus said: 
 "When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen 
 do; for they think that they shall be heard for their 
 much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, 
 for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of 
 before ye ask Him. 1 " Mat. vi : 7, 8. 
 
 The Bible emphasizes everywhere the divine omnis- 
 
WHY PRAYER PREVAILS. 51 
 
 cience, and will not allow that our prayers afford God 
 the least information. Therefore, in the same dis 
 course Jesus reaffirms this truth, saying: " Your 
 heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all 
 these things," (Mat. vi : 32,) and makes that fact the 
 basis of his exhortation not to be anxious about food, 
 or drink, or* clothing. And equally explicit is the 
 Bible as to the comprehensiveness of the divine plan; 
 that it includes all things. " For of him and through 
 him and to him are all things," writes Paul, who 
 also affirms that " we know that all things work 
 together for good to them that love God." Rom. x: 36, 
 and viii : 28. And yet the writers of Scripture, while 
 thus teaching, as strenuously as does any modern 
 philosopher, the perfection of the divine power, 
 knowledge, character and plans, urge with equal free 
 dom and emphasis, the duty and privilege of prayer. 
 Plainly they think that it is a provision required 
 rather than excluded by his perfection, and therefore 
 embraced in the scope of his plan; which is precisely 
 the truth in the case. 
 
 To understand this, we must call to mind the cir 
 cumstances in which God is acting. He is carrying 
 forward a moral government; which involves the train 
 ing and control of free, rational and sensitive beings, 
 by the influence of perceived and appreciated truth. 
 The principal truth which they need to know and 
 appreciate, pertains to his own nature and character. 
 In this respect he is situated as is the father of a 
 family; and he has instituted the earthly family that 
 
52 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 in it we may gain those initial ideas and that prelim 
 inary training which will fit us to understand and 
 trust him. "What a human father needs is, to gain 
 the confidence and love of his children, and to pro 
 duce in them a sense of their dependence, and of his 
 desire to promote their best welfare. Is it not, then, 
 quite conceivable that he should take* pains to use 
 methods which will promote as free an intercourse as 
 possible between him and the children? And would 
 anything conduce more surely to this end than to 
 encourage them to ask him for every needed supply, 
 even when he already knew the state of the case, and 
 was ready to bestow aid? For the thing to be gained 
 is an impression upon their minds of his power, wis 
 dom and love, so that they shall delight to obey him. 
 This is even more important than the specific supply 
 of their wants, which he could provide for otherwise. 
 The mode of supply may thus transcend in value the 
 fact of supply. 
 
 Transfer this simple conception, with which the 
 whole world is familiar, to the relation of God and 
 his human children, and the philosophy of prayer, as 
 regards its moral principle, is at once explicable. We 
 are God s children; but he is invisible, and our knowl 
 edge of him is small. Yet that which of all things is 
 most important for our well being is to know him; 
 for on him are we unspeakably more dependent than 
 children are upon an earthly parent, and God has so 
 made us, that the perfection of our being and of our hap 
 piness is to arise from knowing, loving, trusting and 
 
WHY PRAYEE PREVAILS. 53 
 
 enjoying him. Hence the emphatic language of 
 Jesus: "This is life eternal, that they might know 
 thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou 
 has sent." John xvii:3. But how shall every human 
 soul be brought into free, personal intercourse with the 
 invisible Father, so that childlike faith and loving 
 obedience shall be developed? How shall this be made 
 a power so permanent and so available at all times, 
 as to be a perpetual moral education? By instituting 
 prayer, as the grand source of religious impression, 
 and of needed comfort and help, and by making it, to 
 a large extent, a condition of obtaining special divine 
 aid. One cannot conceive of a device more simple, 
 and yet more potent for gaining the great end of divine 
 manifestation and human impression. 
 
 For, consider its necessary effect. It bases itself on 
 a natural instinct to look for aid to some friendly 
 superior power. And to what power should the 
 dependent creature apply, if not to its Creator? It 
 keeps before the mind the thought of his omnipres 
 ence, of his knowledge, and of his all-sufficiency. It 
 implies his uninterrupted connection with earthly 
 affairs; the universality and particularity of his prov 
 idence; or, as Jesus phrased it, " Are not two spar 
 rows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not 
 fall on the ground without your Father. But the very 
 hairs of your head are all numbered." Mat. x: 29, 30. 
 It presents God as a loving parent, who sympathizes 
 with our sorrows; who understands, better than we 
 ourselves do, our circumstances; who has power and 
 
54 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 wisdom to help our right endeavors and extricate us 
 from peril; and who shows tender mercy to our many 
 weaknesses and sins. In other words, he is the very 
 helper we need, at all times. Now the soul that re 
 cognizes this fact, and acts upon the invitation to pray, 
 is certain to live, as it were, in a divine atmosphere; to 
 be kept continually in reverential, humble, trustful, 
 grateful thought of God and realization of his pres 
 ence. The act of prayer is more solemn and impres 
 sive than any other form of religious exercise; the 
 approach to God is so personal and direct. One calls 
 up the highest and grandest conceptions of the Deity 
 in the words of adoration, the most abasing views of 
 himself in those of confession, the most touching and 
 endearing recollections in those of thanksgiving, and 
 the profoundest sense of dependence in those of peti 
 tion. Surely nothing else can make God stand forth 
 with such reality before the mind, or can bring him 
 into such .intimate communion with our souls. And 
 true prayer is an exercise which more than any other 
 tends to its own reproduction, or repetition, as the soul 
 increasingly feels its need, and has experience of the 
 benefit of appeal to God. Thus, at length, it becomes 
 a habit, a state of miad, an abiding rest in God; which 
 is the very end which God seeks, and to which a cre 
 ated spirit must be brought for its highest good. And, 
 as prayer is one of the simplest of acts, it is within the 
 reach of children and of the most ignorant adults, and is 
 thus adapted to a universal moral training. 
 
 It is thus evident that prayer may prevail with God 
 
WHY PRAYER PREVAILS. 55 
 
 by reason of its fulfilling, on the part of man, a neces 
 sary moral condition, which God wisely requires. He 
 needs no information; nor any coaxing or persuasion 
 to ronse his henevolence and induce him to come to 
 our aid. But he ought to see us in a proper position 
 of humility, faith and love, before he gratifies our 
 desires, and he appoints prayer as the means of bring 
 ing us into that position. This shows his wisdom as 
 a moral ruler; and a very great defect would have been 
 manifest in his scheme of training, had He omitted 
 prayer, and left us to a bare use of the laws of nature 
 according to our imperfect understanding of them. 
 For, in that case, he would have withheld needed help 
 and would have shut us up to mere mechanical influ 
 ences, which would have been only slightly operative 
 on character; whereas now we have larger hope and 
 
 o JL 
 
 we come into vital, warm, personal contact, such as 
 gives us an immediate impression of himself. More 
 over, by annexing such a condition to his gifts, God 
 not only brings us into a position honorable to him, 
 and wise for us, as a condition precedent to the 
 bestowal of desired favors, but he also secures in us 
 such a state of mind as makes the blessings bestowed 
 tenfold more valuable; their incidental effect being 
 worth far more than the direct. 
 
 We are thus brought to the most rational conclusion, 
 that God has deliberately, wisely, and from the begin 
 ning, made prayer a part of the plan of the universe. 
 Far from contravening that plan, it simply fulfills it. 
 Instead of changing the divine will, it thoroughly car- 
 
56 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ries it out. Instead of -violating law, it complies with 
 that law which is highest, as having sweep in the 
 highest or moral realm; only, according to universal 
 analogy, subordinating the lower laws of lower realms. 
 Thus we see chemical law overruling mechanical law, 
 and vital law overruling both mechanical and chemical 
 law, and the law of the moral universe overruling that 
 of the physical universe. For when we talk of God s 
 laws and plan, we must not pause at the bottom of his 
 system, or busy ourselves merely with the scaffolding 
 of his structure. Matter is made for the use of mind, 
 and the material universe is only a platform and an 
 agency for the spiritual. And thus, as God has made 
 gravity a law in one realm, he has made prayer a law 
 in a higher realm, and it is even greater folly to ignore 
 the latter than the former. Arid so it is no more true 
 that God is a Creator of worlds, than it is that he is a 
 HEARER OF PRAYER. 
 
 "More things are wrought by prayer 
 Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
 Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 
 For what are men better than sheep or goats, 
 That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
 If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, 
 Both for themselves and those who call them friend! 
 For so the whole round earth is every way 
 Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
CHAPTER IY. 
 
 THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 
 
 VARIOUS have been the explanations given of the 
 manner in which prayer receives its answer. How 
 does God bestow the blessing desired ? Is the answer 
 to be regarded as supernatural, or natural? Are an 
 swers to prayers miracles? When a Christian asks 
 something at the hand of God, does he virtually re 
 quest God to work a miracle for his benefit? Or has 
 God natural channels of communication with this 
 world, through which he can secure for his people that 
 which they need and for which they pray? One can 
 not avoid meeting these questions, when handling the 
 subject of answers to prayer. 
 
 The simplest explanation offered is that of Rev. F. 
 W. Robertson, who, with many others that stand in 
 unwholesome fear of skeptical scientists, propounds the 
 theory of mental reaction. This is a logical inference 
 from his notion of the nature of prayer as only a med 
 itation on God and a submission to his will. He asks, 
 " Does prayer change the outward universe, or does it 
 alter our inward being? Does it work on God, or 
 does it work on us? He answers these questions in 
 favor of the latter alternative; and how little he en 
 courages the idea of our receiving any actual bestow- 
 
 (57) 
 
58 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ment in answer to .our petition, is seen from his re 
 mark, that, " it would be a strange family, where the 
 child s will dictates; but it would be also strange 
 where a child may not, as a child, express its foolish 
 wish, if it be only to have the impossibility of grati 
 fying it explained." He asks also, increduously, 
 " Whether the good derived has been exactly this, that 
 prayer brought them the very thing wished for?" His 
 idea of the manner in which prayer is answered, is that 
 the effect comes "in moderating our wish; in chang 
 ing the passionate desire into still submission, the 
 anxious, tumultuous expectation into silent surrender." 
 He also states, "And so, in the expectation of impend 
 ing danger, our prayer has won the victory, not when 
 we have warded off the trial, but when like him 
 (Jesus) we have learned to say, arise, let us go to meet 
 the evil. " 
 
 This is the view of some of the physical philoso 
 phers, who allow a certain value to prayer in the spir 
 itual realm, though even there, wholly of a reflex 
 action. The answer to prayer is but a self-answer. 
 It has no divine element. The effect is only liturgical 
 and amounts to a self-magnetising. The form of 
 prayer being that of petition to God, they talk of an 
 answer, yet strangely allow no agency of God in the 
 matter. The manner of the answer, they say, is this: 
 the soul comes before God with a burden of grief, or 
 of desire, or of fear, and expresses itself freely, bring 
 ing to mind his greatness, wisdom and love, to which 
 facts it constantly returns for comfort. Thus, after a 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 59 
 
 time, Laving relieved itself by words, and having be 
 come reminded that God s will must be right, and will 
 and ought to be done, it goes away in such a reverent, 
 humble and trustful frame, as to acquire new strength 
 for duties and trials. God has done nothing, and will 
 do nothing, because of the prayer. The man has 
 simply meditated aloud, throwing his thoughts into 
 the form of petition, and his mind has received a re 
 flex impression from the truths which were thus called 
 up; much as if he had been reading or conversing 
 upon similar topics. He has had a devotional exer 
 cise spiritually elevating. 
 
 The difficulty with the whole theory is, that it fails 
 to cover the facts. It starts with an erroneous limit 
 ation to the petitioner and to spiritual results, denying 
 effect on others and any physical effect on him, except 
 as the body may share through the nervous system in 
 the reaction of the mind. Yet nothing is more abund 
 antly capable of proof, than that prayer works results 
 beyond the individual himself, both in the physical 
 and in the spiritual world, as the subsequent chapters 
 of this volume will show. It is not true, as Mr. 
 Robertson declares, that prayer never removes the trial, 
 but only gives strength to bear it. There are, indeed, 
 many cases in which God does not see fit to remove 
 the trial as in the case of Paul s thorn in the flesh 
 and then the submissive and conditional prayer is 
 answered by the bestowment of gracious divine aid 
 through the Holy Spirit, and not by mere natural reac 
 tion of the mind ; as the apostle distinctly teaches. 2 
 
60 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Cor. xii : 7-9. But the Bible is full of prayers offered 
 for specific deliverance of an outward character, and the 
 answers came in outward effects wrought in nature 
 and in men. Such was the answer to Jacob s prayer 
 for deliverance from his angry brother, Esau; to Da 
 vid s many prayers to be saved from the hand of Saul; 
 to Hezekiah s prayer after the insulting threats of 
 Sennacherib ; to the prayer of Daniel for preservation 
 in the den of lions; and to the prayer of the Jerusa 
 lem Church for the escape of Peter. There was no 
 answer in the mere reflex manner, in such cases. And 
 if it should be said that those were exceptions, in the 
 days of miracles; we reply that no miracles were 
 wrought to prevent Esau and Saul from carrying out 
 their murderous threats, while yet the prayed for event 
 was secured according to promise; and that similar 
 instances of success in prayer, and that too, in connec 
 tion with other persons than the petitioners, occur 
 daily at the present time. 
 
 Moreover, it is to be noticed, and Mr. Robertson as 
 a Christian minister should have given great weight 
 to the fact, that, even in spiritual results secured in 
 the mind of the one who prays, there is a supernatu 
 ral power involved, over and above the natural reflex 
 action of the prayer as a devotional exercise. The 
 promise of the Comforter is to that very end; and 
 this gift is declared to be the one which God is spec 
 ially willing to bestow for our enlightenment, comfort 
 and sanctification. And at the day of Pentecost, the 
 marvelous effects, on friends and foes, of a ten days 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 61 
 
 prayer meeting, are ascribed not to a reflex influence 
 of the praying, on the apostles and others assembled 
 with them, but to the descending power of the Holy 
 Ghost. Paul also said that his ability to endure the 
 thorn in the flesh was by "grace" received, and be 
 cause " the power of Christ rested upon " him. 
 
 Furthermore, a fatal objection to the Robertsonian 
 theory is, that it is suicidal. The moment it should 
 come to be generally believed, prayer would cease! 
 For the instinct to pray is connected with a conviction 
 that God will in some way bestow the needed aid. 
 Our necessities drive us to our knees, because we must 
 have help out of ourselves, and we have faith that God 
 hears prayer. Now prayer does beyond question react 
 favorably upon our own minds; but even this is 
 because we are expecting something far higher and 
 more important, and are looking with reverence, peni 
 tence, gratitude and trust to a Heavenly Father, who 
 actually listens to our petitions and sends the needed 
 blessing. Destroy that conviction, persuade men that 
 prayer has actually no influence on the divine will, 
 and is not a condition of the divine action, and the 
 chief motive to prayer is withdrawn. Tell them that 
 they are only magnetizing themselves and going 
 through a profitable devotional exercise, and they will 
 conclude that meditating can as well be done in some 
 other way; sitting as well as kneeling; reading as well 
 as praying; silently as well as audibly. And, as we 
 have seen, Mr. Hobertson had a suspicion that such 
 might be the final result, and hence we find him ques- 
 
62 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 tioning whether prayer be a duty, and saying: " Prayer 
 then is a necessity of our humanity, rather than a 
 duty. To force it as a duty is dangerous. Christ did 
 not; never commanded it, never taught it, till asked." 
 He counts it only an initial thing in a Christian s expe 
 rience: " Hints are given us, which make it seem that a 
 time will come, when spirituality shall be so complete, 
 and acquiescence in the will of God so entire, that pe 
 tition shall be superseded." Nwt in this world will 
 this be, we suspect, and possibly not in any world; 
 though the command in the opposite direction to 
 " pray without ceasing," may bring an abiding state 
 of mind, which shall be itself a constant petition; by 
 which God shall feel continually appealed to, to honor 
 the faith placed in him and the request ever going up, 
 by granting perpetual guardianship from evil, or per 
 petual grace to endure it. 
 
 Rejecting, then, this insufficient statement of the 
 manner in which prayer is answered a statement 
 which substitutes the incidental for the main effect, 
 and confounds a single reason for prayer with its chief 
 agency we come back to the original question: By 
 what method or agency does prayer receive its answer? 
 In reply to this it is to be said, that so long as we can 
 claim the reality of the answer, and God as its author, 
 it is of no consequence whether we can trace the 
 method, or not. A true philosophy reasons about 
 this as about other phenomena. It is chiefly anxious 
 to make sure of its facts. The facts here are, that pe 
 titions offered to God are heard; and that, in some 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 63 
 
 way, God arranges to bestow what is properly desired, 
 or what will be its equivalent. If this is clearly taught 
 in Scripture, and abundantly demonstrated by exper 
 ience, faith needs nothing more for its intelligent sup 
 port, and piety is furnished with every needed source 
 of comfort and of courage. The curious may naturally 
 ask by what methods God operates to secure the ob 
 ject for which prayer was offered, and it may add to 
 knowledge, and thus to one s intellectual happiness, to 
 learn something on that point: otherwise it is of no 
 importance, and ignorance of the method cannot im 
 pugn the fact. 
 
 We do not know that God is shut up to any one 
 method in this matter. He may work directly, or me 
 diately. He may himself use the system of second 
 causes which he has established, much as we use it, 
 only with a perfect understanding of its forces and a 
 complete ability to employ them; or he may put in 
 motion angelic and human agency, by some secret 
 inspiration. The Bible unhesitatingly places all in 
 strumentalities at his disposal, and represents him as 
 working back of visible agencies. There is truth as 
 well as wit, in the oft repeated anecdote of the good 
 man that, in his poverty, prayed for bread, and was 
 overheard by a skeptic, who, as a joke, tossed in a loaf 
 through the window. Thereupon the thankful receiver 
 fell on his knees, and expressed his gratitude to God; 
 and, when the skeptic laughed at him for this, and 
 told him how the loaf came to be thrown in, shrewdly 
 
C4 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 replied: u No matter; God sent it, even if the devil 
 brought it !" 
 
 The Bible recognizes various modes of divine action 
 in answering prayer. In the olden time, when God 
 was founding the true religion, and attesting it by 
 signs, evidently supernatural, and intended to mani 
 fest his immediate presence and power, prayer ap 
 peared to be answered, on many occasions, by direct act 
 of God: at least no other agency seemed to be em 
 ployed. It was so, when, at the prayer of Jesus, God 
 raised Lazarus from the dead; when, at the request of 
 the centurion, the servant was healed immediately 
 and at a distance; and when, after the earnest entreaty 
 of Elijah, fire came down and consumed the sacrifice 
 on Carmel. But, in other cases, God put natural 
 causes into motion, to secure the desired end. Thus, 
 when Moses prayed in behalf of Pharaoh, that the 
 plague of the locusts might be removed, we read: 
 " And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the 
 Lord. And the Lord turned a mighty strong west 
 wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into 
 the Red Sea: there remained not one locust in all the 
 coasts of Egypt." Ex. x: 18, 19. Subsequently, when 
 the Israelites stood on the shore of the Red Sea, with 
 the Egyptian army pressing up behind, and Moses 
 prayed for deliverance, the record is: "The Lord said 
 unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak 
 unto the children of Israel that they go forward. * * * 
 And the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong 
 east wind, all^ that night, and made the sea dry land, 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 65 
 
 and the waters were divided." Ex. xiv: 15-21. And 
 so, when Hezekiah was sick unto death, and prayed 
 to be spared, the prophet Isaiah was sent to say: 
 "Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father; 
 I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears ; behold 
 I will add unto thy days fifteen years;" and afterwards 
 we read: "For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump 
 of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he 
 shall recover." Is. xxviii: 5-21. 
 
 In yet other instances prayers were answered 
 through the ministry of angels. Thus, when in the 
 deadly agony of the garden, Jesus offered his condi 
 tional and submissive prayer to the Father for needed 
 aid, we read: "And there appeared an angel unto 
 him from heaven, strengthening him." Luke xxii:43. 
 Similarly the record is, that when Daniel was preserved 
 from the lions, in answer to prayer, he said to king 
 Darius: " My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut 
 the lions mouths that they have not hurt me." Dan. 
 vi:22. And in like manner, when Peter was saved 
 from imminent death at the hand of Herod, in answer 
 to the prayers of the church, we read: "And behold 
 an angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light 
 shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, 
 and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And 
 his chains fell from oif his hands. * * * And he went 
 out and followed him. * * * And they went out and 
 passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel 
 departed from him." Acts xii:7-10. So when Daniel 
 prayed to be made to understand the prophecies about 
 
 3* 
 
66 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 his people, liis own account is: "And while I was 
 speaking and praying, and confessing my bin and the 
 sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplica 
 tion before the Lord, my God, for the holy mountain 
 of my God; yea, while I was speaking in my prayer, 
 even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision, 
 in the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched 
 me about the time of the evening oblation. And he 
 informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, 
 I am now come forth to give thee skill and understand 
 ing. Dan. ix : 20-22. 
 
 Very commonly God has answered prayers through 
 human agency. In ways past our present knowledge, 
 he can touch the hearts of men, and incline their 
 minds to 4 what is requisite for the good of his 
 praying ones. As a general intimation of this it is 
 written : "The king s heart is in the hand of the Lord ; 
 as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he 
 will." Prov. xxi:l. Beautiful illustrations of this 
 occur in the books of Ezra and Neherniah. Daniel 
 and other pious Jews had been praying, as we have 
 seen, for a return of God s people from their captivity 
 at Babylon, and for the rebuilding of the holy city and 
 the temple, and these writers tell us how the prayers 
 were answered through Cyrus and other kings of 
 Persia. Ezra opens with these words: " Now, in the 
 first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of 
 the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, 
 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus," etc. Ezra i: 
 1. And after reaching Jerusalem and rebuilding the 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 67 
 
 house, amid many fears, and tears, and prayers, they 
 dedicated it with joy ; " for the Lord had made them 
 joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria 
 unto them," (vi : 22 ;) and Ezra wrote in his journal : 
 " Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath 
 put such a thing as this in the king s heart, to beautify 
 the house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem." vii : 28. 
 Every one will recall the touching narrative of Nehe- 
 miah, as he tells (ii : 1-8,) how he longed to leave the 
 court of Persia, where he was high in favor as the 
 king s cup-bearer, and to go to Jerusalem with author 
 ity to rebuild its prostrate walls; and how he told the 
 king what was the occasion of his sad face. " Then 
 the king said to me, For what dost thou make re 
 quest? So I prayed to the God of heaven. * * * 
 And the king granted me according to the good hand 
 of my God upon me." 
 
 These Scriptural illustrations will show how varied 
 were the divine methods of answering prayer, 
 anciently. He operated directly^ through his own 
 natural laws, by angels, and by men. The method 
 was comparatively nothing. The fact which it was 
 important to remember, and to act upon, was, that 
 God ordered events in harmony with the prayers of 
 his people. Of what account is it to us how he does 
 this? There is no reason to suppose that he is any 
 more limited in his methods now than of old ; or that 
 prayer is any the less a power with God, because we 
 can ordinarily trace the second causes which he is 
 pleased to use in granting our petitions. Unbelief on 
 
68- PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 such a ground would be as irrational as for a child, 
 who had asked a gift of his father, to doubt, when it 
 was received, whether it had really come from him, 
 because it was actually placed in his hand by another 
 person, through whom the father had sent it. 
 
 The reader will now appreciate the meaning and 
 force of a letter which the author recently received 
 from a minister of a church in Massachusetts, who 
 wrote thus: "The Lord has answered my prayers as 
 certainly and constantly as father or mother supplied 
 my wants when a boy, at my request; and in such 
 way that I could not fail to see the Lord s hand as the 
 gifts came out of it. Yet he has always done it as 
 naturally as father and mother did it, and I suppose 
 always will. I could tell you of a way opened to the 
 ministry, in answer to prayer; of a life-partner so 
 given; of horse and carriage, and saddle, etc., sent to 
 me (though I paid for them); of fitting places of w r ork 
 made ready for me through the Lord s planning of 
 months, sometimes; of my present charge given me as 
 directly as anything ever was given ; of deliverance from 
 sickness and pain; of help in hard places, etc. Yet 
 none of it was ever supernatural [in form], but planned 
 for and given me, as I plan for and give to my little 
 girl the things she asks for. There is not a thing 
 that I want, great or small, that I do not ask the Lord 
 for, with the fullest assurance begotten of experience 
 as well as of faith that he will give it to me, if it is 
 wise and kind to do so; but I do not look for answers 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 69 
 
 otherwise than in the most natural ways, or what 
 would seem to others to be such ways." 
 
 This undoubtedly expresses the usual method which 
 God adopts in answering prayer. Other methods, 
 when they occur, are exceptions to what is wisely the 
 ordinary rule; as God properly arranges to have all 
 parts of his system work co-operatively. He can 
 secure a double benefit, when, in relieving our wants, 
 or fulfilling our desires, he can use the benevolent 
 agency of others, and can give a blessing to well 
 directed efforts of ourselves and our friends. And 
 here may come in place the experience of Eev. Dr. 
 Adoniram Judson, the missionary, as given in the sec 
 ond volume of his memoirs. It appears that Dr. Jud 
 son became intensely interested in behalf of the Jews, 
 while he was laboring among the heathen of India. 
 He not only prayed earnestly for their conversion, but 
 awakened an interest in others also, so that he raised 
 one thousand dollars towards a mission in Palestine, 
 which he urged the Baptist Missionary Union to estab 
 lish. But, to his great regret, the enterprise was not 
 undertaken. Were his prayers, then, left unanswered? 
 Let the facts speak. Many years subsequent, indeed 
 only a fortnight before his death, Mrs. Judson read to 
 him from Eev. Dr. Hague s journal of travels in the 
 East, this extract: "There (at Mr GoodelPs house in 
 Constantinople) we first learned the interesting fact, 
 which was mentioned by Mr. Schauifler, that a tract 
 has been published in Germany giving some account 
 of Dr. Judson s labors in Ava; that it had fallen into 
 
70 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the hands of some Jews, and had been the means of 
 their conversion; that it had reached Trebizond, where 
 a Jew had translated it for the Jews of that place; that 
 it had awakened a deep interest among them ; that a 
 candid spirit of inquiry had been manifested; and that 
 a request had been made for a missionary to be sent to 
 them from Constantinople." Mrs. Judson adds : " His 
 eyes were filled with tears, when I had done reading, 
 but still he at first spoke playfully, and in a way that 
 a little disappointed me. Then a look of almost 
 unearthly solemnity came over him, and clinging fast 
 to my hand, as though to assure himself of being really 
 in the world, he said: Love, this frightens me; I do 
 not know what to make of it. What ? < Why, what 
 you have been just reading. I never was deeply inter 
 ested in any object, I never prayed sincerely and earn 
 estly for anything, but it came; at some time, no mat 
 ter at how distant a day; somehow, in some shape, 
 probably the last I should have desired, it came. And 
 yet I have had so little faith! May God forgive me, 
 and, while he condescends to use me as his instrument 
 wipe the sin of unbelief from my heart. 
 
 As bearing both upon the fact and the method of 
 God s answer to prayer, Prof. C. E. Stowe, D. D., has 
 a pertinent argument and illustration in " Remarks on 
 Prayer," published in the Biblical Repository, vol. 
 viii of the second series. " Let us now suppose an 
 example. A pious man in the city of Erfurt, in the 
 reign of Maximilian, mourns over the corruptions of 
 the church, and most earnestly longs for a reformation. 
 
THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER, 71 
 
 He prays, day and night, that the emperor may be 
 converted, and feels that his prayer is accepted, and 
 that his request will be granted. A charity student 
 at law, in the University, the son of a poor miner in a 
 neighboring village, is walking with a friend, that 
 evening, when a sudden flash of lightning throws them 
 both to the ground. He recovers, but finds that his 
 friend is dead. This awful visitation is the means of 
 his conversion to God, and he resolves, on the spot, to 
 devote his whole life to the service of Christ, in the min 
 istry of the gospel. Is this an answer to the good man s 
 prayers? He is praying for the conversion of the 
 emperor, as a means of reforming the church ; but this 
 young charity-student is Martin Luther, a man whom 
 God has qualified to do more for the reformation of 
 the church, than twenty sucli emperors as Maximilian 
 could have done, had they been converted ever so thor 
 oughly. "We do not know, and we cannot always know, 
 what are the best means which God can employ for 
 the accomplishment of his work; but w r e do know the 
 great ends he has to accomplish; and while we are pray 
 ing sincerely, and acceptably, for him to set in motion 
 a particular instrumentality towards the accomplish 
 ment of these purposes, he may, in answer to our 
 prayers, set in motion another, which is a thousand 
 times more efficient." 
 
 Methods are thus various and of minor account. 
 God has his choice of many, and his own reasons for 
 preferring now one and then another. The kind of 
 answer is determined by his sovereign wisdom; and 
 
72 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 this, in a measure, adjusts the propriety of the instru 
 mentalities, as direct or indirect. 
 
 "Pray, though the gifts you ask for 
 May never comfort your fears, 
 May never repay your pleading: 
 Yet pray, and with hopeful tears. 
 An answer not that you sought for, 
 But diviner will come one day: 
 Your eyes are too dim to see it; 
 Yet strive and wait and pray." 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
CHAPTEK Y. 
 
 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 
 
 As prayer is one of the essentials of a life spiritually 
 successful; and as our continual dependence and oft 
 recurring temptations and trials make it daily neces 
 sary, the subject of the conditions of its success, as an 
 appeal to God, ought to be of the deepest interest to 
 every Christian. What are these conditions? We 
 learn them from the nature of the case, and from the 
 express statements of Scripture. They stand related 
 to the object which God has in view, in requiring us 
 to pray; to-wit, the securing a state of mind which 
 shall honor him, shall promote right character in us, 
 and shall make his gifts, when received, most pleas 
 ant and profitable. The promises to hear prayer are 
 not made to the mere form, but to the appropriate 
 spirit. That spirit has regard to various particulars. 
 
 1. A SENSE OF WANT. Those who use prayer as a 
 mere form have no real sense of want. They follow a 
 habit, or comply with a custom. Why should God 
 hear them? They do not feel that they need him. 
 They are not so burdened with their wants, as to be 
 driven to prayer, as the only resource. It is reasona 
 ble that God should withhold a blessing, until we feel 
 our need of it sufficiently. It is not enough that we 
 
 (73) 
 
74: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 mention our supposed wants, in the way of petition. 
 We must reflect upon our condition and circumstances 
 until we are borne down with a sense of need, and fall 
 upon our knees in earnest prayer, as having something 
 really to ask. 
 
 2. REVERENCE. God must regard his own honor. 
 It is for our good, as well as for his glory, that he 
 should be approached with reverence. " Hallowed be 
 thy name " is the first petition in the prayer which 
 Jesus taught. This forbids the coming to God in a 
 light and thoughtless manner, or in a way of indecorous 
 familiarity. It should prevent, also, everything noisy, 
 boisterous and confused, as being inconsistent with a 
 true conception of God s presence and character. 
 Cyprian, bishop of Carthage and martyr, well says in 
 his treatise on the Lord s Prayer: " Let our speech and 
 petition, when we pray, be under discipline, observing 
 quietness and modesty. Let us consider that we are 
 standing in God s sight. We must please the divine 
 eyes both with the habit of body and with the measure 
 of voice. For as it is characteristic of a shameless 
 man to be noisy with his cries, so, on the other hand, 
 it is fitting to the modest man to pray with moderate 
 petitions." And Tertullian, in his treatise on Prayer, 
 inculcating the same duty, said : " But we more 
 commend our prayers to God, when we pray with 
 modesty and humility. * * * The sounds of our 
 voice likewise should be subdued; else, if we are to be 
 heard for our noise, how large windpipes we should 
 need!" The majesty of God should greatly impress 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 75 
 
 us. Every person of dignified station should be treated 
 with due respect by inferiors, and should not grant 
 favors to those who are irreverent. 
 
 3. A FILIAL SPIRIT. Eeverence need not beget 
 slavishness. God would have us realize that we are 
 his children, and he invites us to come with the words 
 " Abba, Father " upon our lips, and the filial spirit in 
 our hearts. A parent is grieved, when his own child 
 comes to him in a cold, distrustful way, as if approach 
 ing a stranger. Jesus taught his disciples to begin 
 their prayer with, " Our Father," in order to cherish 
 this childlike spirit, which God loves to reward. It is 
 our special privilege as Christians to understand this. 
 Faber beautifully expresses it : 
 
 " The light of love is round His feet, 
 His paths are never dim; 
 And He comes nigh to us, when we 
 Dare not come nigh to Him. 
 
 " Let us be simple with Him, then, 
 Not backward, stiff, or cold, 
 As though our Bethlehem could be 
 What Sinai was of old." 
 
 4. GRATITUDE. Can we expect future mercies, if we 
 are not thankful for past blessings? If a spirit of dis 
 content and murmur is in our hearts, as though God 
 had not dealt kindly with us, are we in a frame to 
 approach him, and implore his continued protection? 
 Or if we accept his gifts so lightly, and as a matter 
 of course, that we are not impressed with his goodness, 
 have we not missed their principal benefit, and thus 
 
76 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 disqualified ourselves to ask or to receive added favors? 
 It is not by accident, that the Psalms of David are 
 half petition and half thanksgiving. Let them be an 
 example, while the needed precept is furnished by 
 Paul, when he says: "In everything by prayer and 
 supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
 made known unto God." Phil. iv:6. There is noth 
 ing like gratitude to secure renewed benefactions. 
 
 5. HUMILITY. One must approach God in the 
 spirit of truth; and humility is simply owning the 
 truth as to our character and deserts. As a fact, we 
 are infinitely beneath God in our powers, while our 
 character is sinful, and our desert is that of evil only. 
 Can we approach his mercy-seat, and forget this? 
 And if we should, could he consistently accept us? 
 Jesus taught his disciples to say, " Forgive us our 
 debts"; and he related the parable of the Pharisee 
 and the Publican to enforce the same idea. " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner! " uttered with downcast eye 
 and with the hand smiting the breast, was the sentence 
 which God heard with delight. " Humble yourselves 
 in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," is the 
 language of James (iv: 10). Confession of sin, heart 
 felt and definite, is an important condition of acceptable 
 prayer. Therefore the wise man said: "He that cov- 
 ereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth 
 and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Prov. xxviii: 
 13. Abraham declared himself to be but "dust and 
 ashes," when he prevailed in prayer. Gen. xviii:27. 
 The Psalms also abound in penitent confessions of sin. 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PBAYER. 77 
 
 6. FAITH. The very idea of prayer implies faith ; 
 for why come to God for aid, if there is doubt of 
 his ability, or his willingness, to help us ? To approach 
 him in unbelief is to mock him, and to stultify our 
 selves. It makes prayer a self-contradiction. It is as 
 though a man should come to us, saying, " I am in 
 great trouble, and need your help, but I have no belief 
 that you will render me assistance"! We should be 
 quite likely to verify his unbelief. Faith is so essential 
 to the divine honor, that uncommon stress is laid upon 
 it as a condition. When salvation is asked, the grand 
 condition is, faith in Christ as the divinely provided 
 Savior. And similarly every other request must be 
 accompanied by faith in God s willingness to grant it, 
 if best, and to make good any promise which is con 
 nected with it. Jesus said to the afflicted fatlier, who 
 prayed that the demon might be cast out of his child: 
 " If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him 
 that believeth." Mark ix : 23. Of a certain city which 
 he visited, it is said: " He did not many mighty works 
 there, because of their unbelief." Mat. xiii:58. To 
 the healed woman he said: "Thy .faith hath saved 
 thee: go in peace." Lukevii:50. And so it was in 
 connection with all the miraculous aid which he dis 
 pensed: he required the applicant to have faith. And 
 he laid down this general rule : " What things soever ye 
 desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and 
 ye shall have them." Mark xi:24. The epistle to 
 the Romans (iv: 19-21) commends Abraham, because, 
 " being not weak in faith * * * he staggered not 
 
78 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 at the promise of God, through unbelief; but was 
 strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully 
 persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able 
 also to perform." Similarly James writes: "If any 
 of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to 
 every man liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be 
 given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing waver 
 ing. For he that wavereth, is like a wave of the sea 
 driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that 
 man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." 
 James i: 5-7. A failure in this respect will explain 
 the want of success of many in their prayers. They 
 do not " lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubt 
 ing." 1 Tim. ii:8! 
 
 7. OBEDIENCE. He who prays for divine help must 
 not insult God by maintaining, at the same time, an 
 attitude of opposition to him. The second and third 
 petitions of the Lord s Prayer are: "Thy kingdom 
 come; thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." 
 ~No prayer offered in a spirit inconsistent with this 
 can hope to be accepted. Reason affirms this and the 
 Bible is explicit. Only the prayers of one who is truly 
 consecrated to God can have power with him. God is 
 not a mere convenience, to be resorted to for selfish 
 purposes, in time of trouble. He invites us to enter 
 into his spirit and plans, to identify ourselves with 
 his cause and kingdom, to carry out in our lives his 
 will; and he promises, on this condition, to care for us, 
 and to hear our appeals for aid and blessing. There 
 fore we read in his Word : " The Lord is far from the 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYEK. 79 
 
 wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." 
 Prov. xv : 29. "He that tnrneth away his ear, from 
 hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." 
 Prov. xxviii : 9. " If ye abide in me, and my words 
 abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
 done unto you." John xv : 7. " The eyes of the Lord 
 are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto 
 their prayers." 1 Peter iii : 12. "And whatsoever 
 we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his com 
 mandments, and do those things that are pleasing in 
 his sight." 1 John iii: 22. Thus it will be seen, that 
 when the sinful feel their need of God, and begin to 
 pray to him, a first step must be, " to lift up holy 
 hands," as Paul expresses it; to forsake all that they 
 know to be wrong; to repent of evil thoughts and 
 evil ways; to dedicate themselves to his service; to 
 accept his law as their rule of life; to implore forgive 
 ness for the past, and to make a consecration of the 
 future. 
 
 8. FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. Acceptable prayer 
 must imply that we are forgiven of God; for how can 
 an unpardoned sinner hope to have influence with 
 him? But of nothing are we more plainly assured 
 in the New Testament, and by the Savior himself, than 
 that our own forgiveness by God is conditional upon 
 our forgiveness of those who have injured us. The 
 fifth petition of the Lord s Prayer significantly im 
 plies this, when it says: " Forgive us our debts, as we 
 forgive our debtors;" and, at the close of its record in 
 Matthew, as if to enforce this particular thought more 
 
80 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 than any other, these words of Jesus are added : " For 
 if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
 Father will also forgive yon: but if ye forgive not 
 men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
 your trespasses." (vi: 14, 15.) As if to emphasize 
 this further, on another occasion he directed this for 
 giveness to be repeated, if necessary, seventy times 
 seven; uttered the instructive parable of the serv 
 ant who, owing his lord ten thousand talents, and 
 being forgiven, would not forgive his fellow servant, 
 who owed him but a hundred pence, and was there 
 fore handed over to " the tormentors ; " and con 
 cluded with this application : " So likewise shall my 
 heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your 
 hearts forgive not every one his brother, their tres 
 passes." Mat. xviii: 23-35. And that this truth is 
 to be especially borne in mind in prayer, Mark reminds 
 us (xi: 25): "When ye stand praying, forgive if ye 
 have aught against any, that your Father also which 
 is in heaven may forgive, you your trespasses." And 
 with this may be compared the words of Jesus about 
 bringing a gift to the altar and there remembering 
 that our brother has something against us, which 
 should be settled. Mat. v: 23, 24 Many unanswered 
 petitions may be thus explained. 
 
 0. ASKING FOR APPROVED OBJECTS. God does not 
 mean, in hearing prayer, to abdicate his throne, or to 
 substitute our judgment for his own. Hence he re 
 quires us to ascertain, as far as possible, what his judg 
 ment is, and to conform our prayers to it. Therefore it 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYEK. 81 
 
 is written: " And this is the confidence that we have 
 in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, 
 he heareth us." 1 John v : 14. When, with reference 
 to any specific object, we cannot ascertain God s exact 
 will, we are to offer our petitions conditionally, with 
 submission to the perfect wisdom and love of our 
 heavenly Father. Thus Jesus, in the agony of the 
 garden, prayed: " O my Father, if it be possible, let 
 this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but 
 as thou wilt." Mat. xxvi : 39. To aid us in under 
 standing our true wants, and the application of the 
 promises to them, we need the enlightening and sanc 
 tifying influence of the Holy Spirit, which is freely 
 offered. Thus we are taught that it is our duty to be 
 " praying in the Holy Ghost," (Jude xx,) and to be 
 " praying always with all prayer and supplication in 
 the Spirit," (Ep. vi : 18,) while Paul assures us, (Horn, 
 viii : 26, 27,) that " likewise the Spirit also helpeth 
 our infirmities ; for we know not what we should pray 
 for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh interces 
 sion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; 
 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the 
 mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for 
 the saints according to the will of God." Thus we 
 have divine aid in learning what objects are approved 
 by God. Other light will be thrown on this condition 
 of acceptable petition in the following chapter. 
 
 10. IMPORTUNATE PERSEVERANCE. This is a pre 
 requisite to success in prayer, because it has an inti 
 mate connection with the preparation of a right spirit- 
 
82 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ual condition in us. We saw at the outset that one 
 must have a sense of want. God desires to deepen this 
 to the utmost, and at the same time to test our faith, 
 and to bring it out clearly to ourselves and to others. 
 And so he delays the answer to our prayers, till they 
 assume a more and more earnest -tone, become impor 
 tunate, and show a spirit of perseverance, born not of 
 blind presumption, or of unsubmissive desire, but of 
 enlightened persuasion that the object is important, 
 proper, and one that God will eventually grant. Thus 
 Paul teaches us to pray " always, with all prayer and 
 supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with 
 all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Ep. 
 vi : 18. Jesus spake a parable " to this end, that men 
 ought always to pray and not to faint;" and the para 
 ble was of the importunate widow, who, by her con 
 tinual coming, gave the judge no rest till he redressed 
 her wrongs; and he added: " Shall not God avenge his 
 own elect, who cry day and night unto him, though 
 he bear long with them?" Luke xviii : 1-8. In the 
 Old Testament is the example of Jacob s prayer for 
 deliverance from his brother Esau, and the wrestling 
 with the divine angel, refusing to let him go, till 
 assured of the needed blessing. In the New Testa 
 ment is the illustrative case of the Syro-Phenician 
 widow, who besought Jesus to heal her possessed 
 daughter, and would be deterred neither by neglect, 
 nor by seeming rebuff, and who was finally rewarded 
 for her perseverance and faith by gaining the desired 
 answer. Do not our prayers fail sometimes because 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 83 
 
 through discouragement we cease to pray? In the 
 case of not a few successful prayers importunity has 
 risen to the height of agony. This does not warrant 
 us in saying, with some, that agony is a condition of 
 prevailing prayer; for agony is not a matter of will, 
 but depends upon temperament and occasion; it is 
 nowhere prescribed in the Bible, and it by no means 
 always attends success in petition. Many an accepted 
 petition has risen to God from the quietude of a com 
 plete faith. Yet the agony of spirit which a sense of 
 the need of the divine aid sometimes develops, in 
 great emergencies and previous to striking answers, 
 shows the relation of persevering importunity to suc 
 cess. The same earnestness is also manifested by 
 fasting; all strong desire tending to destroy appetite, 
 and the voluntary laying aside of food, in connection 
 with prayer, indicating a spirit of humility and earn 
 estness. Hence Jesus said of certain very difficult 
 cases of exorcism: "This kind (of demons) goeth not 
 out but by prayer and fasting." Mat. xvii : 21. 
 
 11. ASKING IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. A sinner 
 must needs have an intercessor. This idea was repre 
 sented ritually in the Old Testament economy, by the 
 priesthood and its sacrifices; an arrangement which 
 prefigured the atoning death and living advocacy of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. The statement of the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews is: "But this man, because he contimi- 
 etli ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Where 
 fore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that 
 come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make 
 
84 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 intercession for them," vii : 25. This explains the 
 meaning of Jesus, when he said, just before his 
 betrayal, trial and death: " Whatsoever ye shall ask 
 in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be 
 glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my 
 name, I will do it." John xiv : 13, 14. Again: 
 " "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he 
 will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in 
 my name; ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may 
 be full," xvi : 23, 24. The idea is, that as sinners, 
 we must come in the way which God has provided, 
 even as Jesus had before said: " I am the way and the 
 truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father 
 but by me," xiv : 6. It were contempt for us to 
 approach without using the advocate which God has 
 provided; while to come through him is to make sure 
 of a favorable hearing, if our spirit be otherwise 
 appropriate. The famous hymn of Charles Wesley, 
 "Arise, my soul arise!" is the very essence of the 
 gospel in this respect, especially the lines: 
 
 "He ever lives above, 
 For me to intercede; 
 His all-redeeming love, 
 His precious blood to plead." 
 
 And also these: 
 
 " Five bleeding wounds he bears, 
 Received on Calvary; 
 They pour effectual prayers, 
 They strongly speak for me." 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PEAYEB. 85 
 
 12. APPEOPEIATE EFFOET. Prayer would be an 
 injury, were it to supersede human action. For char 
 acter depends not a little upon personal effort. The 
 result would be weakness and not strength, if all our 
 wants could be supplied through prayer, with no exer 
 tion of our own. We see the effect in the case of the 
 children of rich parents, who are unduly indulged, and 
 have all for which they ask, without necessity of work. 
 They seldom develop into a true manhood. God trains 
 his children in a better way. The heathen understand 
 this. Hence the ancient fable ridiculing the wagoner 
 who piteously called on Hercules, to extricate his 
 wagon from the mud, without putting his own shoul 
 der to the wheel. The Christian as well as the pagan 
 motto is, that God helps those who help themselves. 
 Prayer must never be made an excuse for idleness and 
 sloth. Its design is to rouse us to effort, by the hope 
 of a divine blessing. Not until we are shut up to a 
 difficulty which we can in no way touch, may we rely 
 on prayer alone. In the matter of personal sanctifica- 
 tion, the exhortation is to watch and pray. A signifi 
 cant implication is found in Christ s words : " I have 
 chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and 
 bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; 
 that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
 he may give it you." John xv: 16. Thus Jesus 
 made labor a condition of acceptable prayer, as being 
 a manifestation of sincerity, earnestness and self-denial, 
 and as tending to the highest good of ourselves and 
 of others. He himself labored and prayed, and taught 
 
86 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 his disciples so to do. His instruction concerning 
 daily bread was not simply to pray for it, but to work 
 with faith that God would prosper industry, making 
 his providence second our exertions. Thus Paul, in 
 answer to his prayers, was assured that no life should 
 be lost by the shipwreck at Melita; and yet he required 
 the seamen to use the appropriate means for an escape, 
 asserting that otherwise they could not be saved. 
 Acts xxvii: 22-32. Probably some Christians fall into 
 an error the reverse of that of men of the world : the 
 one class substituting prayer for labor, and the other 
 labor for prayer. But each was intended to aid the 
 other, and progress was to be made by the use of both ; 
 as the body avails itself of two arms and two feet, and 
 as a boat is propelled by the simultaneous stroke of 
 both oars. 
 
 13. UNION WITH OTHER PETITIONERS. If the prayer 
 of one saint has power with God, as fulfilling the 
 requisite moral condition of the bestowment of bless 
 ing, then the prayer of two saints may be said to have 
 double the moral power; and in proportion as God s 
 people unite in asking for a specific gift, must be the 
 certainty of its bestowment. The way is thus opened 
 more clearly and perfectly for the divine action. 
 Therefore Jesus said : " If two of you shall agree on 
 earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall 
 be done for them of my Father who is in heaven." 
 Mat. xviii:19. Hence the marvelous effect of the 
 prayers of the disciples at Jerusalem, before the day 
 of Pentecost, concerning which we read : " These all 
 
CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PKAYEK. 87 
 
 continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, 
 with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and 
 with his brethren." Acts i: 14. This was evidently 
 one reason why Paul continually besought the Chris 
 tians to whom he wrote, to join their prayers to his, to 
 secure the objects which he mentions. "Now I 
 beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ s 
 sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive 
 together with me, in your prayers to God for me." 
 Bom. xv:30. "Ye also helping together by prayer 
 for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means 
 of many persons, thanks may be given by many in 
 our behalf." 2 Cor. i:ll. It is thus evident, that 
 we may strengthen our prayers by associating others 
 with us in making common petition for the desired 
 object. 
 
 These thirteen conditions are annexed to prevailing 
 prayer; but they are really so many specifications of 
 the one condition of a right state of heart a heart 
 unselfish, in sympathy with God, jealous for his honor, 
 and desirous of carrying out his will and promoting 
 the good of all. There is no mysterious or inexplica 
 ble condition, and none beyond the reach of the hum 
 blest petitioner. Yet as these conditions do reason 
 ably and necessarily exist, they must be regarded by 
 those who wish to prevail in prayer. And it would 
 be both unchristian and unphilosophical, for one to 
 think that he could test prayer in a manner inconsist 
 ent with any of these prerequisites to success. For 
 moral experiments, equally with those in physical sci- 
 
88 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ence, have their essential conditions, which arise from 
 the very nature of the case. "When. God ordained the 
 physical system, he did it with strict reference to the 
 nature and laws of matter; and when he ordained the 
 moral system, of which prayer is a force, he did it 
 with equally strict reference to the nature and laws of 
 mind. But of this further notice will be taken, when 
 we come to consider skeptical objections to prayer. 
 
 "When tliou dost talk with God by prayer, I mean 
 Lift up pure hands; lay down all lust s desires; 
 Fix thoughts on heaven ; present a conscience clean : 
 Since holy blame to mercy s throne aspires, 
 Confess faults guilt, crave pardon for thy sin, 
 Tread holy paths, call grace to guide therein. 
 
 " Even as Elias, mounting to the sky, 
 Did cast his mantle to the earth behind, 
 So, when the heart presents the prayer on high, 
 Exclude the world from traffic with the mind: 
 Lips near to God, and ranging heart within, 
 Is but vain babbling and converts to sin." 
 
 Robert Southwell. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE PRATER OF FAITH. 
 
 A chapter is devoted to the Prayer of Faith, be 
 cause the subject is of importance, and is often misun 
 derstood. The misunderstanding, moreover, is not 
 without evil effect. Error never is harmless. In this 
 instance, it has served to perplex and distress some 
 good people, and to delude others; while providing 
 skeptics with a host of objections against the idea of 
 all prayer. Those have been perplexed and distressed, 
 who were wishing to pray acceptably, and were told 
 that they were not exercising the required faith ; while 
 yet they were conscious of a readiness to credit God s 
 word. Having read the Bible carefully, on the subject, 
 and studied the particular proof- texts to which they 
 were pointed, they were not certain as to the extent 
 of their meaning. They were then charged with not 
 being willing to believe the Scripture, and thus with 
 defeating their own prayers, in connection with ob 
 jects which they greatly desired to secure; such as 
 the con version of individuals in whom they were spec 
 ially interested, or the occurrence of a revival in cer 
 tain churches. Urged by persons in whose supposed 
 superior piety and spiritual discernment they had con 
 fidence, they sought to increase their faith by a des- 
 * (89) 
 
90 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 perate will- work; but in vain. And so they remained 
 .in a state of bewilderment and discouragement; not 
 knowing whether they were guilty of unbelief, or 
 whether the Bible did not mean what it seemed to 
 say. 
 
 The deluded class have also had an unpleasant ex 
 perience. Persuaded that their theory of prevailing 
 prayer was correct, they tried to reduce it to practice. 
 In so doing, they had for a time seeming corrobora- 
 tions of their view, the facts coming out according to 
 their desire and petition. This gradually emboldened 
 them to enlarge their experiments, and to announce the 
 result confidently before hand. When the case was 
 plainly going against them, they endeavored to believe 
 more firmly; insisting that their faith was being put 
 to the test, and that, in the end, it would signally tri 
 umph. Quite possibly, also, they fell into criticism 
 of those who doubted their assurances of a favorable 
 result, and thus grieved true hearted brethren and 
 sisters, and created coldness where there should have 
 been warm sympathy. Finally, they were put to con 
 fusion by the disappointment of their hopes and the 
 non-fulfillment of their predictions; which left them 
 on the edge of a reaction into an actual and sad un 
 belief; and for a time paralyzed their spiritual influ 
 ence. 
 
 A case was reported to the author, as having these 
 characteristics. The "prayer of faith," technically 
 but improperly so called, was brought to bear on a 
 lady seriously ill with organic disease, and whose re- 
 
THE PKAYER OF FAITH. 91 
 
 covery was pronounced impossible by the attendant 
 physicians; and she was assured not simply that God 
 could and might heal her, but that, in answer to the 
 petitions of a circle of prayer, she was to be fully re 
 stored to health. This assurance was repeated to the 
 last, and it was said (but this may have been untrue) that 
 some even expected that she would be raised from the 
 dead, to save the credit of their theory and predictions. 
 But the result was sorrowful in all respects. The lady 
 was kept in a dubious and distracted state of mind, 
 between the contradictory declarations of the physi 
 cians and her intimate Christian friends, so that her 
 last days were robbed of much of the peace which 
 might have characterized them, and the gospel of 
 Christ failed to secure the triumphant dying testimony 
 of victory to which it was entitled. The effect upon 
 the unconverted was also unhappy, as it led them to 
 doubt the confident assertions of Christians as to the 
 teaching of the Scriptures. Of course that circle of 
 prayer fell into disrepute, and its leaders lost no small 
 part of the influence which they had previously pos 
 sessed. It was a clear case of being misled by an 
 erroneous theory. 
 
 It will be noticed, furthermore, that when skeptics 
 assail the doctrine of prayer, they invariably state it 
 in the form of this obnoxious theory; knowing that 
 unanswerable objections can be brought against it. 
 They thus succeed in rendering the idea of prayer 
 ridiculous to the minds of those who have not sufficient 
 knowledge of the Bible, to discriminate between the 
 
92 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 view presented by the inspired writers and this delu 
 sion. 
 
 This theory teaches, that we can receive, in answer 
 to prayer, any gift which we really think to be desira 
 ble, if "we believe, at the time of offering the prayer, that 
 it will be granted. This is said to be " The Prayer of 
 Faith," which always prevails; and the cause of fail 
 ure to receive anything for which one prays is declared 
 to be, a lack of the specific faith, that the exact thing 
 petitioned for, will surely be given. As faith, to be 
 reasonable, must rest upon evidence, we are referred 
 to a pledge which God is said to have given to the 
 effect named, in the texts of Scripture which, without 
 naming any limitation, bid us ask, and assure us that 
 we shall receive; to the texts which name faith as the 
 necessary condition of prevailing prayer; to the words 
 in Mark xi: 24: " What things soever ye desire when 
 ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
 have them;" and to the language in James v: 15, "The 
 prayer of faith shall save the sick." God, it is argued, 
 has thus placed himself at our disposal ; so that what 
 ever may be our felt want, a believing petition will 
 secure its relief. But to this view many things may be 
 objected. 
 
 1. It implies that God virtually abdicates his throne 
 in our favor; for it represents him as pledging himself 
 in advance to do whatever we ask him to do. That 
 would be to make man ruler. God would even exceed 
 the folly of Oriental monarphs, who, like Ahasuerus, 
 were accustomed to assure their favorites, in a mood 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 93 
 
 of generosity, that they would give them their 
 request " even to the half of the kingdom " ; or, like 
 Herod, to " promise with an oath to give whatsoever 
 they would ask." It is impossible that God could 
 intend to place the scepter in our hands, by assuring 
 us that he would always conform his action to our 
 petition. Such an unconditional pledge leaves no 
 place for a divine plan. The Bible assures us, that 
 God is operating upon a wise and minute plan, which 
 is to be carried out for the general good and his own 
 glory. But he must needs surrender such plan, if he 
 is to hold himself bound to grant every petition which 
 we present with faith a faith, observe, not in his 
 general wisdom, but in his readiness to give us such 
 specific things as we may happen to think desirable. 
 
 The only possible reply to this objection would be, 
 to claim that, in God s all-comprehending plan, he 
 has from the beginning arranged, that no prayer shall 
 ever be offered in the faith of a specific answer, but 
 such as he shall inspire, and shall be determined to 
 hear. But such a claim cannot be sustained ; facts are 
 against it. There have been numerous cases in which, 
 under the influence of this theory, Christians have 
 selected an object for prayer, and assumed that it would 
 certainly be granted, and then have been disappointed. 
 But a modification of this view has a great truth in it. 
 Let us imagine a soul entirely consecrated to God, and 
 habitually in union with him, which, not merely with 
 reference to some selected object is full of prayer and of 
 faith, but with reference to all objects; and it may be 
 
94 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 truly affirmed, that God will so regulate its desires, 
 that they will fasten only upon such specific blessings 
 as he is about to bestow; and that concurrently he 
 will excite a corresponding expectation in the mind. 
 But the naked, unqualified theory, as before stated, 
 begins at the human instead of the divine end of the 
 series of acts, and puts man s desire, petition and faith 
 first, and God s operation second. This rules out a 
 divine plan, and supposes that the one who prays can 
 make no mistake in his judgment, can have no blind 
 ness in his desires. 
 
 2. This method would be badly adapted to our 
 moral training, which is the end chiefly had in view 
 in the introduction of prayer into the divine economy. 
 It would breed presumption rather than faith, self- 
 confidence rather than humility; and it would fail to 
 develop the spirit of patience, submission, importunity, 
 perseverance and labor. It would introduce into God s 
 family the very evils which are to be deplored in 
 human families where parental indulgence is the only 
 rule. 
 
 3. It would ruin us and those we love and for 
 whom we offer petitions. We should be certain to ask 
 for gifts (as all children do) which would not be for 
 our own good, or for the benefit of those for whom we 
 might pray. Desire is ever blind. We think we need 
 a multitude of things, which we are better without. 
 In times past we have asked for that which, afterwards, 
 we were glad not to have received; and we have prayed 
 to have events prevented, which we now see to have 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 95 
 
 been for our good. God is too benevolent to put so 
 dangerous a power into our hands. 
 
 4. The theory involves self-contradiction; for it 
 would bind God to do opposite things, at the same 
 time, if opposing prayers should chance to be offered 
 by those who accept the supposed pledge. One man 
 wishes dry weather, to-day, while another particularly 
 desires -to have it rain; and each could present an 
 excellent reason for his prayer, so far as he himself is 
 concerned. Christian people are attached to conflict 
 ing parties and interests in politics, in ecclesiastical 
 matters, in business enterprises, in military struggles. 
 Did any such invariable rule of answer to prayer exist, 
 they would call upon God to do the most contradictory 
 things, daily! Can it be that God has exposed him 
 self to such embarrassment ? 
 
 5. The theorists themselves either never venture to 
 act upon their theory, or are unwilling witnesses of its 
 failure. For plainly they do not secure a multitude 
 of objects which they most desire to secure, and for 
 which either they strangely do not pray, or else pray 
 in vain. Their friends and relatives die ; their enter 
 prises fail; their troubles come and remain, as in the 
 case of other men; and their spiritual undertakings 
 are no broader, or more successful than those of Chris 
 tians who pray on a different understanding of the con 
 ditions. The wonder is, if this absolute and specific 
 faith is always rewarded, as they assert that it is, that 
 they do not pray with the requisite faith for the con 
 version of all around them; for the removal of the 
 
96 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 prevailing evils, which they observe and feel; and, in 
 fact, for the salvation of the whole world. What could 
 be more appropriate? Yet they have never succeeded 
 in accomplishing such ends, and their efforts to come 
 into the requisite state of mind, have brought about 
 sad results. The following is an extract from a letter 
 communicated to the author, when he was editor of 
 The Advance, (see paper of March 26, 1868,) by the 
 gentleman who had the original in his possession. It 
 was written by " Father Nash," as he was familiarly 
 called, who had special power in prayer, and was emi 
 nently useful, in that way, in the great revivals of the 
 State of New York, forty -five years ago. But he car 
 ried his idea of the " Prayer of Faith " to an unscrip- 
 tural extreme; which led him to a feeling of personal 
 responsibility exaggerated and overwhelming, and by 
 which his physical system was utterly broken down. 
 The letter is dated, Verona, Oneida Co., N. Y., Nov. 
 7, 1831, and would occupy many pages, if given in 
 full: the following extracts will show his theory: 
 
 "Since you were here I have been thinking of 
 prayer particularly of praying for the Holy Ghost, 
 and its descent. It seems to me I have always limited 
 God in this respect. * * * I have never felt, till 
 since you left us, that I might rationally ask for the 
 whole influence of the Spirit to come down ; not only 
 on individuals, but on a whole people, region, country 
 and world. On Saturday I set myself to do this, and 
 the devil was very angry with me, yesterday, for it. 
 I am now convinced, it is my duty and privilege, and 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 97 
 
 the duty of every other Christian, to pray for as much 
 of the Holy Spirit as came down on the day of Pente 
 cost, and a great deal more. I know not why we may 
 not ask for the entire and utmost influence of the 
 Spirit to come down, and, asking in faith, see the full 
 answer. * * * I think I never did so freely ask 
 the Holy Ghost for all mankind. My body is in pain, 
 but I am happy in my God. * * * I have only 
 just begun to understand what Jesus meant when he 
 said, i All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, 
 believing, ye shall receive. I suppose millions have 
 gone to hell, because I had no more faith to pray for 
 them, and I do not see why I do not deserve to be 
 damned for this. * * I suppose I have done the 
 
 world much more hurt than good. * * * Thus, 
 by my unbelief, I have robbed God, robbed heaven, 
 benefited hell, cheated sinners out of their souls, and 
 cheated myself; so that my portion will be small in 
 heaven; for it will be according to the service w T hich I 
 shall have done for God. I wonder he does not let 
 me go to hell! Wretch that I am, I suppose, how 
 ever, that I shall just escape, as Paul did, because I 
 did it ignorantly, and in unbelief." 
 
 Now this was making himself personally responsi 
 ble for the salvation of the world; as if it depended 
 on his offering " the prayer of faith," as he understood 
 that phrase. He could not endure the strain, and the 
 next morning he added: "I have felt a little like 
 praying that I might be overwhelmed with the Holy 
 Ghost, die in the operation, and go to heaven thus; 
 
98 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 but God knows." Need any one be surprised to learn 
 that, a few days after " Father Nash " had penned 
 these words, he was found dead, upon his knees! He 
 reasoned too logically from his mistaken premises. 
 He believed that, as God had promised to grant any 
 thing which a Christian asked with specific faith, he 
 was bound to secure by prayer the conversion of 
 neighbors, countrymen, and mankind; and he there 
 fore struggled, agonized, and snapped the cord of life, 
 in a desperate attempt to work himself into a faith 
 sufficient to save the land and the world. Kev. Asa 
 Mahan, D. D., who lived and labored, at the time, in 
 that region, states, in a communication to The 
 Advance of May 21, 1868, that several died from a 
 similar cause, while many others suffered from a 
 physical prostration and a moral and spiritual para 
 lysis, from which they never recovered. Yet the first 
 effect of the preaching of this theory seemed remark 
 ably good; for it had in it a partial truth. 
 
 6. Nor does the Bible lend support to this view. 
 Some think that the Bible means a peculiar kind of 
 prayer, by "the prayer of faith;" which differs from 
 other acceptable prayer, in that it always secures its 
 specific object by believing that it will receive the 
 very thing desired ; and that this can be offered only 
 in certain cases, where special promises exist, or 
 special indications are made of the divine will. But 
 the words of James, " the prayer of faith shall save 
 the sick," do not imply any such peculiarity; but only 
 that the prayer so offered, with a faith appropriate to 
 
THE PKAYEE OF FAITH. 99 
 
 the circumstances, would secure the desired result. 
 He does not affirm that we ought not always to offer 
 " the prayer of faith," whatever that may be. Plainly 
 we should; for, as was proved in the last chapter, 
 faith is made a condition of all acceptable prayer. 
 No man has a right to expect any blessing from God, 
 through prayer, without faith, any more than without 
 reverence, or sense of want, or gratitude, or humility, 
 or submission, or obedience. He must " lift up holy 
 hands, without wrath or doubting" All true prayer 
 must be the prayer of faith. 
 
 But in interpreting Scripture, one must never forget 
 that, usually, but a single topic is handled at a time, 
 and the reader is expected to know, or to learn, what is 
 elsewhere said. Because in one passage salvation is 
 made to turn upon the fact of repentance, it must not 
 be concluded that there is no other condition attached. 
 Further inquiry shows that we must also believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we read a text 
 which gives one condition of acceptable prayer, we 
 must not think that this is to be taken alone, apart 
 from the limitations and qualifications mentioned in 
 other texts. Each must aid to define the others. 
 Thus the familiarity of a filial spirit must be limited 
 by reverence; and a spirit of importunity by a feeling 
 of humility. A reliance on the name and merit of 
 Christ must be accompanied by a full purpose of obe 
 dience; a faith that God will give, by a submission of 
 the form and time to his superior wisdom. 
 
 Here is where a mistake is made by the theory 
 
100 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 under condemnation. It finds a passage which reads, 
 "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, be 
 lieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them," 
 and it fails to remember, that this presupposes that 
 another condition, shaping the desire and the prayer, 
 has already been complied with; to- wit, that we 
 should ask only for the things which are according 
 to the will of God. John says, " And this is the 
 confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any 
 thing according to his will, he heareth us;" which 
 certainly does not mean, that if we ask anything ac 
 cording to our own will, (provided only we ask believ- 
 ingly,) he will always hear us. But Jesus, assuming 
 that we understand this, says, that, when we thus 
 have an object of desire, which we have evidence is 
 according to the divine will, then, if by a firm faith, 
 we believe that we have it, we shall find it to be 
 indeed so. This leaves us to submit unknown matters 
 to the yet unrevealed divine will; making our prayer 
 with respect to them conditional. Thus did Jesus in 
 his prayer in the garden ; and received that which was 
 best. Similar was the spirit which Paul exercised 
 with respect to "the thorn in the flesh;" for the 
 removal of which he thrice prayed specifically, with 
 out obtaining the desired object; yet found his faith 
 honored and his prayer answered, by a spiritual 
 equivalent, even special grace which enabled him to 
 gain a victory over the trial. 
 
 What, then, is the Scriptural doctrine of the prayer 
 of faith? Simply this, that when we pray, we must 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 101 
 
 fully believe that God will le true to all that he has 
 promised. This implies that we are ready to learn 
 what his promises are, and to make them -the basis of 
 a sure expectation. Less than this would not harmon 
 ize with the texts which require faith as a condition 
 of prevailing prayer, or with that general principle so 
 clearly announced in Heb. xi : 6 ; " But without faith 
 it is impossible to please him ; for he that cometh to 
 God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder 
 of those that diligently seek him." That it may be 
 seen to what divine assurances faith gives credence, 
 when it engages in prayer, attention should be paid to 
 four points. 
 
 1. The general pledge that Prayer shall he an 
 swered. As we have already seen, the Bible abounds 
 in declarations that God answers prayer; as when the 
 Psalmist says: "O thou that nearest prayer, unto thee 
 shall all iiesh come;" and when Jesus says, " Ask and 
 it shall be given unto you." This is, of course, subject 
 to the natural and obvious limitation, that God will 
 use his superior wisdom in deciding what to give and 
 what to refuse, and also when and how to bestow his 
 favors. Prayer does not set aside God s sovereignty; 
 which is simply his love directed by his wisdom. But 
 then these general pledges are an assurance of real 
 aid. They mean that in human experience prayer 
 will be found to be an actual help; that it will not 
 prove a mockery of human hope. Faith will accept 
 these pledges at their full value, and will so rest upon 
 them, as habitually to carry all wants to God in child- 
 
102 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 like petition, certain that he will do the very best for 
 us that is possible, and taking the comfort of that 
 fact. It will also have the spirit of expectation, and 
 will watch for answers to its petitions, relying on the 
 fatherly character of God and his invitations to his 
 children to make known their desires with the utmost 
 freedom. 
 
 2. We must notice the reason for faith, found in 
 the promises of the Bible on specific subjects. God 
 does more than to give general assurance of a willing 
 ness to hear prayer, and to relieve human want. He 
 makes mention of specific blessings, which he is ready 
 to bestow. These more minute pledges are in various 
 forms of promise, prophecy, covenant and command. 
 A promise is a direct engagement; a covenant is a 
 still more formal and solemn act, usually accompanied 
 by a seal; a prophecy is a statement of divine pur 
 pose, intended for our encouragement in prayer and 
 labor; and a command always implies a result which 
 God is willing to aid us in securing. It is only nec 
 essary, then, to ascertain that the desired favor is cov 
 ered by some promise, covenant, prophecy, or command, 
 to have a perfect warrant for faith that, in answer to 
 prayer, God will bestow that very thing. One could 
 not ask for a better ground of assurance. 
 
 " How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
 Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!" 
 
 We are entitled to claim, at God s hand, whatever 
 he has been pleased graciously to promise. And so 
 
THE PKAYEB OF FAITH. 103 
 
 our prayers may and should have the characteristic of 
 perfect faith, that they will be literally answered accord 
 ing to the blessing asked. 
 
 Are these specific pledges numerous? Do they 
 cover the ground of our usual necessities? Will they 
 impart an element of certainty to our prayers, in the 
 emergencies which men are often called to face? An 
 affirmative reply to these questions is authorized by 
 the language of Scripture. For we find, in the Bible, 
 promises to the righteous of protection, deliverance, 
 food, raiment, wisdom, guidance, sustaining grace, re 
 ward for industry and beneficence, and the presence 
 and power of the Holy Spirit as a guaranty of peace, 
 holiness and usefulness. The prayer of faith uses 
 these divine assurances as a sufficient ground of con 
 viction that God will aid in the emergency to which 
 any of these promises applies, according to the exi 
 gency of the case. The man feels that he can pray with 
 an accompanying certainty of being heard. It is not 
 now so much an occasion of submission, as of grateful 
 expectation. God here has made known his will, in 
 advance. The true submission to it is, to take him at 
 his word, and joyfully to claim what he has authorized 
 us to ask. Not to do so, is a distrust of him, as well 
 as a robbery of our own souls. It is as though a poor 
 man should neglect to present a benefactor s check at 
 the bank, fearing that it might not mean what it said 
 on its face, or might for some cause not be paid. As 
 such lack of confidence is grievous to our heavenly 
 Father, so a firm faith is his delight. 
 
104 PRAYER AftD ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 In interpreting the specific promises, we must guard 
 against a merely imaginative, or a fortuitous interpre 
 tation of them; in which some indulge without war 
 rant from the Bible itself. There are those who, not 
 content with, a legitimate inference from Scriptural 
 promises, treat the Bible as a conjuring book, or an 
 instrument of fortune-telling. They wish to be 
 divinely guided; and so, after prayer, they open the 
 sacred volume, determined to take the first text which 
 meets the eye, as an indication from God of what they 
 are to do. Or they read the Bible devoutly, or engage 
 in prayer, and meet with or suddenly think of a pas 
 sage, the wording of which powerfully impresses their 
 imagination as applicable to their case; especially if 
 it harmonizes wi th their natural wi shes. The dilh cul ty 
 is, that a rational faith has no ground on which to 
 rest, in such a case; there being no assurance in 
 Scripture that God will reveal his will in that way. 
 And it often results in lamentable delusion; as when 
 ignorant persons think they are converted and forgiven, 
 because the w r ords, " Thy sins are forgiven thee," have 
 flashed into their minds, when they were in mental 
 distress. It happens, sometimes, that a truly pious 
 man, whose temperament is enthusiastic, being seri 
 ously out of health, is impressed in reading, or in 
 thought, with some such words as those of the Psalm 
 ist: u I shall not die, but live and declare the works 
 of the Lord." Perhaps he seizes upon this, as an 
 assurance that he is to recover, and have the enlarged 
 opportunities of usefulness which he earnestly desires. 
 
THE PRAYEK OF FAITH. 105 
 
 This may be but imagination, and this mistaken con 
 fidence, though it imparts a joyous hope to the last 
 months of his life, may also so far mislead him, in his 
 plans and arrangements, as to prevent desirable things 
 from being said and done, which would be said and 
 done, were not the mind preoccupied with an expecta 
 tion which is not to be realized. The effect upon 
 others, also, is unfortunate, in that it persuades them 
 that faith is but imagination. 
 
 It is not intended, by these remarks, to deny that 
 the Holy Spirit often uses passages of Scripture unex 
 pectedly seen, to lead the mind to needed spiritual 
 results; nor yet to express doubt that God may be 
 pleased to arrange in his providence that the eye, at 
 times, shall meet appropriate texts, which fill the 
 soul with needed comfort. The instances in proof of 
 such a divine guidance are too numerous and striking 
 to allow of denial. The conversion of Augustine seems 
 to have been thus ordered; for, at the acme of his 
 internal struggle, on the point whether he could for 
 ever renounce the pleasures of sinful indulgence, for 
 Christ s sake, and when he was weeping alone, in 
 agony of conflict, he heard a child in a neighboring 
 house singing something in which occurred the words, 
 " Take up and read." And so he rushed to where there 
 was a volume of Scripture, and, to give his own words: 
 " I seized, opened, and in silence read that passage on 
 which mine eyes first fell Not in rioting and drunk 
 enness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife 
 and envying: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 
106 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts 
 thereof. ^o further would I read; nor needed I; for 
 instantly, at the end of this sentence, by a light as 
 it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the dark 
 ness of doubt vanished away." Here was appropriate 
 instruction fitted to every such soul. But where does 
 the Bible convey a warrant for us to turn it by prayer 
 into an accidental prophet, in a way not very unlike 
 fortune-telling by cards. The case of a minister of 
 strong self-will could be mentioned, who in this way 
 deluded himself into the idea that he was being 
 divinely guided in a course which came near to a ship 
 wreck of his character and usefulness. Only the per 
 sistent contradiction of facts droye him finally to a 
 rational and genuinely Scriptural conduct. And this 
 consideration prepares us for the next support of faith. 
 3. Another warrant for faith, in connection with 
 prayer, may be found in the indications of divine 
 providence. Jesus told the Pharisees, that if they had 
 studied the signs of the times, as diligently as they 
 had the signs of the weather, they would have under 
 stood the will of God. We might not be able to inter 
 pret these signs, were it not for the word of God, 
 which pre-announces his purposes; but with the Bible 
 in our hands, to assure us of the divine plans, we ought 
 to be able to discern the evidence that they are in pro 
 cess of fulfillment in specific cases. When a friend has 
 publicly stated, that he intends to build a house, and 
 soon after we notice that sand, lime, brick and lumber 
 are being drawn to land which he owns, we are war- 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 107 
 
 ranted in the inference, that he is now carrying out 
 his intention, and will fulfill any promise which he may- 
 have made in connection with it. And so God s peo 
 ple find special ground for the exercise of faith as to 
 the answer of their prayers, when they discern, in the 
 events of the day, in the peculiar ordering of circum 
 stances around them, evidence that God is preparing 
 to accomplish a part of his work in the world in which 
 they feel a special interest. For his will appears in 
 his providence, as truly as in his Word ; and they who 
 make a study of divine providence (as all God s people 
 should do) become quick to discern its meaning, and 
 to foretell coming events of a moral and spiritual char 
 acter. The prayers of such saints are full of confidence, 
 and petition almost turns into anticipative thanks 
 giving. 
 
 4. There is still another warrant for a prayer of 
 faith, found in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. That 
 these are a reality, no devout Christian will be dis 
 posed to deny. The New Testament is filled with 
 declarations on this point ; and it was the chief theme 
 of discourse of our Savior at the institution of the 
 Lord s Supper. As the promised Comforter was to be 
 the universal spiritual helper of Christ s followers, we 
 are prepared to learn that his aid has a special relation 
 to our supplications. "We are therefore directed to 
 " pray in the Spirit," and are assured that " the Spirit 
 also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we 
 should pray for as we ought; but the spirit itself mak- 
 eth intercession for us with groanings which cannot 
 
108 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth 
 what is the mind of the Spirit; because he maketh 
 intercession for the saints according to the will of 
 God." Bom. viii:26, 27. It will be seen from this 
 statement, that the work of the Spirit pertains to the 
 exact point requisite to faith; to-wit, an understand 
 ing of the proper objects of prayer, and of the actual 
 will of God. The Spirit may then beget in the soul a 
 strong faith, which shall be concurrent with the divine 
 plans; a supposition which is^n accord with the idea 
 that prevailing prayers are inspired of God, as we read: 
 " I will pour upon the house of David and upon the 
 inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of- grace and of 
 supplications." Zech. xii:10. 
 
 In consequence of this bestowment of the Holy 
 Spirit, the soul of the Christian is prepared to pray 
 with faith. First of all, the Spirit awakens right 
 desires .and directs them to the proper objects; so that 
 prayer goes straight to its mark. When not thus 
 influenced, our desires are blind, being occasioned by 
 mere natural impulse; and consequently they often 
 long for objects which God cannot wisely bestow. 
 But by the Spirit our desires are chastened, elevated, 
 purified, and thus brought into sympathy with the 
 divine plans, as respects ourselves and others. We are 
 prepared to pray with a spiritual intelligence and 
 intuition, and to have a corresponding confidence 
 awakened that we shall be heard. 
 
 Moreover, the Spirit guides to a true interpretation 
 of Scripture; so that we understand the promises, cov- 
 
THE PKAYER OF FAITH. 109 
 
 enants, prophesies and commands, in their adaptation 
 to our duties, temptations, trials and labors. When 
 these are made clear to our apprehension, and we feel 
 that in them we are come into contact with the heart 
 of God, to learn the extent of his love, we exercise 
 faith as the most natural of inward acts. What else 
 does prayer signify, we say, than the use of the means 
 appointed to obtain precisely what we need, and what 
 God has promised? 
 
 In a similar manner, the Spirit aids us to interpret 
 the divine providence. He who is in spiritual sym 
 pathy with God s aims, and is led to an understanding 
 of his Word, has the key to the mystery of earthly 
 events. He sees along the line of divine purposes, 
 and thus with a longer and clearer vision than that of 
 men of the world. During our late war, there were 
 no citizens so persistently hopeful, so certain of success, 
 even at the darkest periods, as those who saw in the 
 struggle great moral issues ; and who believed that the 
 time had come for an answer to the prayers which 
 had so long been offering for the overthrow of slavery. 
 It is true also, that some Christians have a prevision 
 of coming scenes of religious revival. Thy are " filled 
 with the Spirit," and can see indications which others 
 do not notice. They have a consciousness that their 
 peculiarly strong spiritual desires have been kindled 
 by the Comforter, to be gratified and not to be disap 
 pointed. Thus in his " Lectures on Kevivals," Mr. 
 Finney tells this anecdote: "There was a woman in 
 the state of New Jersey, in a place where there had 
 
110 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 been a revival. She was very positive there was going 
 to be another. She insisted upon it, that they had 
 had the former rain, and were now going to have the 
 latter rain. She wanted to have conference meetings 
 appointed. But the minister and elders saw nothing 
 to encourage it, and would do nothing. * * * She- 
 went forward, and got a carpenter to make seats for 
 her; for she said she would have meetings in her own 
 house: there was certainly gc*ing to be a revival. She 
 had scarcely opened her doors for meetings, before the 
 Spirit of God came down with great power." The 
 history of almost any church will furnish similar facts, 
 and the same truth holds true as to individual con 
 versions. 
 
 We come, then, to this conclusion; that there is no 
 prayer acceptable to God, but the prayer of faith ; and 
 that this simply means, that all prayer must be offered 
 in full confidence that God will be true to his word. 
 Perhaps the truth has been sufficiently expressed by 
 Professor Thomas C. Upham, D. D., in his " Life and 
 Experience of Catharine Adorna," of whom he makes 
 these excellent remarks: 
 
 " She had faith in God s character, faith in his good 
 ness and wisdom, faith in his providential arrange 
 ments, faith in his promises. And this faith she ex 
 ercised constantly and practically, during the heavy 
 trials of the earlier part of her life, and amid the 
 weighty duties, which characterized its later periods. 
 If she wanted wisdom, for instance, all she had to do 
 was, to exercise, in sincere dependence upon God for 
 
THE PRAYER OF FAITH. Ill 
 
 his direction, those rational powers which God had 
 given her, fully believing that he would guide her to 
 all those results which were proper, and which were 
 most beneficial. She did not regard it as necessary 
 or desirable, that she should have full or absolute 
 knowledge; but only that kind and degree of knowl 
 edge which God sees best. And in the same manner, 
 if she desired to be delivered from the presence of any 
 temporary evil, she laid the case before God ; fully be 
 lieving that God would grant all that relief which he 
 saw to be beneficial; and she accepted the result, what 
 ever it might be, as the true answer to her prayer, and 
 with entire submission and gratitude. True faith, as 
 it seems to us, is always exercised with the limitation 
 implied in these remarks. It believes that God will 
 give us whatever we ask in accordance with his wis 
 dom and will. It neither goes, nor desires to go far 
 ther." 
 
 Behold the throne of grace ! 
 
 The promise calls me near : 
 There Jesus shows a smiling face, 
 
 And waits to answer prayer. 
 
 That rich atoning blood, 
 
 Which sprinkled round I see, 
 Provides for those who come to God, 
 
 An all-prevailing plea. 
 
 My soul ! ask what thou wilt; 
 
 Thou canst not be too bold : 
 Since his own blood for thee he spilt, 
 
 What else can he withhold? 
 
 John Newton. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYER. 
 
 MODERN skeptics have made multiplied assaults 
 upon prayer. Plainly they deem the practice one of 
 the worst forms of superstition,, and the faith in it one 
 of the most serious obstacles to the progress of unbe 
 lief. Undoubtedly the latter supposition is correct. 
 The more cautious or complaisant of the number 
 graciously allow, that prayer may have value as a 
 liturgical exercise, by its reflex influence; but they all 
 agree in ridiculing the unreasonableness of petition 
 for divine aid with expectation of an agency to be put 
 forth in answer to it. This is, indeed, no new de 
 velopment of unbelief; for scoffers were found in the 
 days of Job, of whom he testifies, (xxi : 14, 15:) 
 " They say unto God, Depart from us ; for we desire 
 not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, 
 that we should serve him? and what profit should we 
 have, if we pray unto him?" But of late there has 
 been a fresh outbreak of opposition to this universal 
 religious rite; as though its absurdity and mischief 
 had been set in a new light. 
 
 The physical philosophers have taken the lead in 
 this latest assault. Professors Huxley and Tyndall 
 follow their captivating popular lectures on science 
 
 (112) 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEE. 113 
 
 and their brilliant experiments, with articles in the 
 reviews, which question the reality of answers to 
 prayer. Their unbelief spreads like contagion, and 
 those who have omitted prayer from moral distaste, 
 not finding it congenial with the character of their 
 lives, rejoice to be furnished, from respectable sources, 
 with a philosophical reason for their neglect. They 
 tell us that we must choose between the horns of a 
 logical dilemma. Either God does, or he does not, 
 intervene in the affairs of men: if he does, and is a 
 being of infinite power, wisdom and goodness, prayer 
 is unnecessary; since he already knows our w r ants, 
 and is disposed to relieve them; if he does not inter 
 vene, but has framed a perfect system of natural laws, 
 to whose working he leaves us, it is useless to ask him 
 to depart from these wise methods to serve our indi 
 vidual convenience; it is even impious and insulting 
 to request it. To this we answer promptly, that God 
 does intervene in human affairs, and yet with no 
 departure from a perfect plan; since the plan pro 
 vides wisely for such action, on his part, while all 
 natural laws are so constituted as to allow of the 
 inter-play of supernatural forces. Moreover, his 
 previous purpose to intervene does not in the least 
 render unnecessary the appointed use of prayer, as an 
 appropriate means of moral education for us; which 
 is its true design. 
 
 But before we enter into the details of the argu 
 ment, let us inquire why there should be this marked 
 hostility to prayer a rite which is not peculiar to 
 
 5* 
 
114 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Christianity, but enters into all religions, and might 
 therefore well claim to be a doctrine of natural or 
 absolute religion. The assault would seem to be the 
 more reckless, in view of the fact that men find in 
 prayer such comfort in trial, such strength in weak 
 ness, such refuge from despair, and such a means of 
 making spiritual ideas impressive. The explanation 
 is, that unbelief must work out its necessary logical 
 conclusions. Logic knows no compassion. It is a 
 matter of reason, not of sensibility. It deals with 
 consistency, not with feeling. It drives the skeptic 
 from point to point in his negations, without mercy 
 to him or to others. It necessitates his rejection of 
 prayer, lest, in admitting that, he admit, in principle, 
 nearly everything to which, as an unbeliever, he 
 objects. 
 
 For the principle of prayer involves Christianity. 
 It starts with the conception of a personal God, in 
 opposition to atheism and pantheism. It involves the 
 idea of a perpetual and minute divine providence, 
 contrary to the assumptions of naturalism. It implies 
 a direct intercourse of the soul with God, as of man 
 with man, by reason of which there is a divine in 
 fluence to impart wisdom, strength, courage, hope and 
 purity, and a divine regulation of outward events to 
 adapt them to the wants of petitioning individuals 
 and communities. But to admit all this, is to admit 
 the whole doctrine of supernaturalism upon which 
 Christianity is based. For, if the love, sympathy and 
 personal intervention of God, by inward and outward 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PKAYEK. 115 
 
 influences, be thus at the call of petitioners, at the 
 present time; then what can be more natural and 
 reasonable, than the Christian doctrine of interposi 
 tions in the early days, by inspired teachers, and even 
 by an incarnation, should that be requisite to meet a 
 great moral crisis? The question is no longer one of 
 power and principle, but simply of wisdom and 
 degree. Prayer thus sets wide open the gate into the 
 realm of the supernatural; and once open, who shall 
 close it? The divine Spirit in direct intercourse with 
 the soul for purposes now needful, prepares one to 
 believe that it may have been in direct intercourse 
 with the soul of Moses, of David, of Isaiah, of Jesus, 
 of Paul, for purposes needful in their days. A per 
 petual inter-play of supernatural forces with the 
 natural, such as prayer pre-supposes, gives one also, a 
 conception of a supernatural realm, and of a moral 
 order, to which what we call nature must be subordi 
 nate. Thus reason suffers no shock, when miracles 
 are announced in connection with a divine revelation 
 and a process of redemption. 
 
 The temptation to a somewhat devout skeptic to 
 admit prayer into his system is indeed great, and the 
 old English Deists were disposed to yield the point, as 
 the condition of having any system worthy of the 
 name of religion. For to acknowledge a God, and then 
 to put him out of connection with human affairs, was an 
 unprofitable, if not an irrational procedure. But the 
 modern skeptic has been taught caution. He sees that 
 the concession will cost him dear, logically; that it 
 
116 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 will plant a germ of faith which may grow to an over 
 shadowing tree, beneath which skepticism cannot 
 thrive. The native shyness of the skeptic in this 
 respect comes out curiously in the case of Rousseau 
 (see Morley s Life of Rousseau, I, p. 75). He had a sen 
 timental recognition of God in connection with natural 
 scenery, and, at one time, used to begin the day, as 
 he tells us, on a hilltop back of his residence, gazing 
 at the sunrise, and engaged in a form of worship, 
 which " did not consist in a vain moving of the lips, 
 but in a sincere elevation of the heart to the author of 
 the tender nature whose beauties lay spread out before 
 my eyes." " This act," he observes, " passed rather in 
 wonder and contemplation than in requests; and I 
 always knew that with the Dispenser of true blessings 
 the best means of obtaining those which are needful 
 for us is, less to ask, than to deserve them." This was 
 pretty well for a man who, at the time, was living in 
 the house of Madame de Warens in immoral relations ! 
 It would seem that skepticism cannot abide the at 
 mosphere of real prayer; such as is set forth in the well 
 known definition of the Westminster Assembly of 
 divines: " Prayer is the offering up of our desires unto 
 God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of 
 Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful 
 acknowledgment of his mercies." In ascertaining 
 w T hether the Christian doctrine of prayer rests upon a 
 foundation of reason, it is well to approach the subject 
 gradually, and to gather up the related facts one by 
 one. It may be noticed, then: 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PKAYER. 117 
 
 1. That prayer appears to be a universal instinct, 
 wherever men have the least conception of a God. 
 Guizot, in his treatise entitled " L Eglise et la Societe 
 Chretienne," has a true and eloquent passage on this 
 point, which may be rendered in English thus : " Alone 
 of all beings here below, man prays! Among his 
 moral instincts none is more natural, more universal, 
 more indestructible than prayer. The child inclines 
 to it with eager docility. The old man betakes him 
 self thither, as to a refuge against decay and solitude. 
 Prayer comes spontaneously to young lips, which with 
 difficulty stammer out the name of God; and to dying 
 lips, which no longer have strength to pronounce it. 
 Among all nations, celebrated or obscure, civilized or 
 barbarous, one meets at every step acts and forms of 
 invocation. Wherever men live, in certain circum 
 stances, at certain times, under the control of certain 
 impressions of the soul, the eyes are raised, the hands 
 clasp, the knees bend, to implore aid or to render 
 thanks, to adore or to appease. With transport or 
 with fear, publicly or in the secrecy of his heart, it is 
 to prayer that man betakes himself, in the last resort, 
 to fill up the void of his soul, or to bear the burdens 
 of his destiny: it is in prayer that he seeks, when all 
 else fails, strength for his weakness, consolation in his 
 grief, hope for his virtue." 
 
 The case is this: the idea of God seems naturally 
 and instinctively to carry with it the duty and privilege 
 of prayer; the one except by a few would-be philos 
 ophers is universally associated with and thought to 
 
118 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 imply the other. This is seen by such a skeptic as 
 Mr. Win. C. Greg, who, in his " Enigmas of Life " 
 (p. 249) thus writes: " The instinct of prayer, of appeal 
 for help in difficulty and rescue in peril, is an inevita 
 ble consequence and corelative of belief in God; in a 
 Being who can hear and answer, who has made us, 
 and who cares for the creatures he has made. It flows 
 from the consciousness of our inferiority and his 
 superiority, of our helplessness and his power. It is 
 an original and nearly irresistible instinct, precisely 
 similar to that which makes the child run to the 
 mother, and the feeble cling to and entreat the strong. 
 We can scarcely imagine its extinction." Professor 
 J. Tyndall himself allows the naturalness and almost 
 inevitableness of prayer, as a theory r , to every one who 
 has faith in God; even while denying that it has proof 
 as a fact. In the Contemporary Review of 1872, in 
 an article on " Science and Religion," he says: " It is 
 matter of experience, that an earthly father, who is at 
 the same time wise and tender, listens to the requests 
 of his children, and, if they do not ask amiss, takes 
 pleasure in granting their requests. We know, also, 
 that this compliance extends to the alteration, within 
 certain limits, of the current events of earth! With 
 this suggestion offered by our experience, it is no 
 departure from scientific method, to place behind 
 natural phenomena a universal Father, who, in answer 
 to the prayers of his children, alters the currents of 
 these phenomena." Now this is to say, that as a child 
 instinctively calls to the parent for help, so a human 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRATER. 119 
 
 soul instinctively prays to God the heavenly parent. 
 The act is an outbirth of creaturely and filial depend 
 ence, and is a spontaneous utterance. 
 
 But nature teaches that every instinct points to a 
 corresponding reality; that it springs from a want, 
 and leads to a supply. Is there in all nature an aim 
 less, or an unrewarded instinct? The new-born child 
 instinctively desires and seeks for milk ; and the foun 
 tain is at hand, in the mother s breast. The instinct 
 of the bird impels it to build a nest, and the nest is no 
 sooner finished, than nature produces the eggs, and 
 leads to incubation, rewarding the whole seemingly 
 blind process, by a brood of young birds. Instincts, 
 needs and supplies are indissolubly bound together. 
 If this be so, then the instinct of prayer in the human 
 soul indicates a divine plan of procedure. It implies 
 other coincident facts; it tells us that in some way 
 divine power and love are pledged to honor the appeal. 
 The reason for such an instinct, also, is everywhere 
 obvious ; for human life is full of events which throw 
 the soul back on a higher power. Individual knowl 
 edge and ability are limited, and men continually fall 
 into difficulties, related often to life s highest interests, 
 from which they cannot extricate themselves; when 
 but for prayer the soul would sink into utter despair. 
 And the broader and deeper our experience, the more 
 complete our dependence is found to be; so that event 
 ually, with souls of the noblest and purest type, to 
 breathe is to pray. 
 
 2. In noticeable accord with this primary instinct 
 
120 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 is the fact that, in all ages, men have insisted that 
 their prayers were answered. It is of little use in 
 philosophy, to argue against an ascertained fact; to 
 show that an event could not have occurred, after it 
 has occurred. Some will remember that the learned 
 scientist, Dr. Dionysius Lardner, of England, pub 
 lished an elaborate paper to prove that the Atlantic 
 could not be crossed by steam vessels, just as the feat 
 was accomplished; and that in a few weeks he made a 
 sudden and a not very honorable flight in a steamer to 
 these shores! It is only a joke, when men tell of the 
 Frenchman who w r as so w r edded to his theory that, 
 when told that certain facts contradicted it, he said, 
 "so much the worse for the facts!" In the case be 
 fore us the facts can be ascertained. Prayer is as old 
 as the human race, and by this time its effects ought 
 to have been thoroughly tested. If it be a delusion, 
 vdid of real power, it should long since have gone into 
 disuse. But so far is this from being true, that it was 
 never more widely or more earnestly practised. And 
 men insist a strange hallucination, surely, the skeptic 
 must think that they receive that for which they 
 pray, in instances so many and so marked, as to leave no 
 doubt of the agency involved. Here and there a case 
 might be explained as a mere coincidence; but no such 
 disposal can be made of the mass of the facts, in which 
 special characteristics in the petitions have found cor 
 respondence in the events. And it is noticeable, that 
 those most accustomed to rely on this source of aid 
 are those who have the strongest faith in it, and who 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYER. 121 
 
 put it to widest use in meeting the requirements of 
 life. 
 
 Of course the test of reality must accord with the 
 nature of the case. As prayer is a moral and not a 
 mechanical power, it is not to be tested as if it were a 
 physical force depending only upon physical antece 
 dents, few in number and within the knowledge of the 
 spectators. We judge of water-power or steam-power 
 by the laws of matter; by the number of pounds 
 which can be moved in resistance to gravity through 
 a given space. There is nothing to be done, but to 
 apply the force, and watch for that single result. But 
 mind has other laws than matter; and moral power, 
 unlike physical, cannot be tested by the production of 
 a single outward result on fixed visible conditions. 
 Prayer, as we have seen, has numerous relationships 
 and many conditions, and only God can know, at the 
 time when the petition is outwardly oifered, whether 
 the necessary conditions have been met. Hence it 
 may seem to be impotent, when its force has not really 
 been invoked, or when the effect has been produced in 
 an unanticipated form. For prayer does not imply 
 that God will do everything which everybody shall 
 ask. That would involve him in unutterable follies 
 and contradictions, to his own dishonor and to our 
 ruin. But it implies that he who offers it does so 
 with a submissive, conditional faith; trusting God to 
 do the specified thing, if it be specifically promised, 
 and be for the best interests of all concerned: other 
 wise desiring him not to do it, but to substitute such 
 
 6 
 
122 PRAYER AND ITS BEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 gift as may be more wisely granted. The prayer being 
 thus conditional in spirit, even when not so in form, 
 may be accepted and answered, when the specific object 
 is not given. And so a form of prayer may be accom 
 panied by a state of heart so selfish, unsubmissive, or 
 unbelieving, as to meet no moral condition, and to 
 fail of influence with God. 
 
 Here was the mental confusion of Sir "William 
 Thompson and of Professor Tyndall, in the famous 
 communication to the Contemporary Review, in July, 
 1872, which proposed a hospital test of the power of 
 prayer. There can be no objection to the idea that 
 prayer, if a real power, may be tested. Does not the 
 Bible appeal to men, to u prove" God with respect to 
 his promises? Mr. Tyndall had a right to demand 
 that the theory of prayer, which he admitted to be 
 natural, should present evidence of being a fact. His 
 words were: "But without verification, a theoretic 
 conception is a mere figment of the intellect, and I 
 am sorry to find us parting company at this point. 
 The region of theory, both in science and theology, 
 lies behind the world of the senses; but the verifica 
 tion of theory occurs in the sensible world. To 
 check the theory, we have simply to compare the 
 deductions from it with the facts of observation." To 
 this the Christian fully assents, and will allow prayer 
 to stand or fall by such a test. 
 
 But Professor Tyndall unfortunately sees fit to add 
 these taunting words: "While science cheerfully 
 submits to this ordeal, it seems impossible to devise a 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYER. 123 
 
 mode of verification of their theory, which does not 
 arouse reseDtment in theological minds." Not so; 
 theologians only object to proposed tests which vio 
 late the very conditions of the theory, and which are 
 therefore wholly inappropriate. Professor Tyndall 
 should not have fallen into such an error; for, as an 
 accomplished lecturer on physical science, and a bril 
 liant experimentalist, he understands the necessity of 
 securing with exactness the necessary conditions of 
 the pre-announced phenomena. To his care, in this 
 respect, and the skill of his able assistant, is his suc 
 cess due. What would he say, if theologians should 
 require him to succeed without regard to these condi 
 tions? If they should expect him to produce com 
 bustion without oxygen; or to explode wet gun 
 powder; or to confine electricity without insulation? 
 But the moral universe has its laws and conditions, 
 as well as the physical, and these must be as rigidly 
 observed, in order to the success of moral experi 
 ments. Let us see whether Sir William Thompson s 
 proposed test, which Professor Tyndall endorsed, con 
 formed to them. 
 
 Here is the now celebrated proposal: " I ask that 
 one single ward or hospital, under the care of first 
 rate physicians and surgeons, containing certain 
 numbers of patients afflicted with those diseases which 
 have been best studied, and of which the mortality 
 rates are best known, whether the diseases are treated 
 by medical or by surgical remedies, should be, during 
 a period of not less than three or five years, made the 
 
124: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 object of special prayer by the whole body of the 
 faithful; and that, at the end of that time, the mor 
 tality rates should be compared with the past rates, 
 and also with that of other leading hospitals similarly 
 well managed, during the same period. Granting 
 that time is given and numbers are sufficiently large, 
 so as to insure a minimum of error from accidental 
 disturbing causes, the experiment will be exhaustive 
 and complete." 
 
 Probably it so appeared to the two distinguished 
 gentlemen who fathered the scheme; for they were 
 thinking of scientific tests of physical forces, and 
 they reasoned about prayer, as if it operated mechan 
 ically ; as if it were a head of water, or a pressure of 
 steam, to be turned upon wheel or piston so many 
 petitions, for such a length of time, for such a number 
 of patients! In other words, they quietly ignored 
 the spiritual laws and conditions which the Scriptural 
 theory of prayer implies. For prayer pre-supposes a 
 moral kingdom, of which it is a leading instrumental 
 ity, and in which outward results are wholly subordi 
 nated to those of a spiritual character. Prayer must 
 therefore spring from a spirit of faith, love, humility, 
 submission, obedience and perseverance, and must 
 desire that which shall be for the good of the peti 
 tioner and for the general welfare. The proposal in 
 question violated the legitimate principles of verifica 
 tion, by paying no attention to what God declares to 
 be essential. 
 
 (1.) It gravely asked, what could not be secured 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEE. 125 
 
 a ward or hospital, whose patients should be specially 
 prayed for " by the whole body of the faithful " for 
 three or five years ! But there is no possible way of 
 thus uniting the prayers of Christendom upon a 
 single institution exclusively, that its results may be 
 compared with those of other institutions. The idea 
 itself is abhorrent to the nature of prayer, which is a 
 spirit of universal sympathy and love, even when it 
 has a specific object. How could Christians, while 
 praying for the unfortunate in one hospital, withhold 
 prayer from the more numerous unfortunates in other 
 institutions; and that for a period of three or five 
 years, and in the face of the Scriptural injunction that 
 "supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of 
 thanks be made for all men" ? The suggestion is pre 
 posterous; while there could be no means of ascer 
 taining whether the experiment, if nominally under 
 taken, was actually carried out. For surely it may be 
 supposed, that the patients in the other institutions 
 would have anxious friends who would pray for them; 
 and that many of the patients would pray for them 
 selves, and all the more earnestly, should they learn 
 that two men of science had arranged with the Christ 
 ian world that no outside petitions should ascend! 
 
 (2.) The proposal encounters this moral difficulty: 
 that God has not been wont to put forth his power to 
 gratify cariosity; and that, in his Word, he has put 
 himself under limitations of human faith. Prayer 
 has its long established place in the ordinary economy 
 of life, in connection with which every sincere and 
 
126 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 reverential inquirer may test its power for himself. 
 To drag it forth for a public spectacle, at the dictation 
 of skeptics, to be applied to what they shall consider 
 to be proper objects, is not a proceeding warranted by 
 the nature of the case, or by the precepts of the Bible. 
 It will be remembered, that, even in the days when 
 miracles were specially appropriate, Jesus, though 
 working them daily, with great variety and publicity, 
 in all parts of the land, yet refused on a certain occas 
 ion, to meet the demand of the unbelieving and scoff 
 ing Pharisees for a " sign from heaven." (Matt, xvi: 
 1-4.) He also declined to perform one for the grati 
 fication of King Herod (Luke xxii: 8, 9); and of his 
 visit to Nazareth it is said, that " he did not many 
 mighty works there because of their unbelief." 
 
 (3.) The proposal ignores the condition in prayer, 
 of submission as to the answer to be returned. It 
 falsely assumes that when a specific request is made, 
 it must always be granted, or prayer is a failure. But 
 God has never promised in connection with prayer to 
 make our ignorance the law of procedure, instead of 
 his wisdom. Hence he has not promised to heal all 
 the sick for whom his people may pray; or any definite 
 proportion of them. It is not the province of prayer, 
 to countervail death, or to usurp the place of medical 
 skill; but only to secure such aid, spiritual and phys 
 ical, in the case of illness, as the particular relations of 
 each case may make best. Hence, at such times, God 
 allows us to pray conditionally, with mingled faith and 
 submission ; and the prayer often meets with signal 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PBAYER. 127 
 
 answers, in the way of recovery, when such answer can 
 be made to fit into the moral discipline of life with 
 happy effect. It would be presumptuous, therefore, to 
 select a given ward or hospital, which must include 
 cases of the most varied moral conditions and relation 
 ships, and to insist that these shall be subjected to the 
 one use of proving the value of prayer in securing re 
 covery from disease. This would be to assume God s 
 place, and to substitute dictation for prayer. Who is 
 authorized to say that the highest interests require 
 that those patients should certainly or in large propor 
 tion recover, while the patients in other institutions 
 should be left without divine aid? 
 
 (4.) It may be added, that Messrs. Thompson and 
 Tyndall could give no assurance, that a favorable result 
 of the experiment would be accepted by skeptics as a 
 demonstration of the real power of prayer. Exper 
 ience shows, that these are not much influenced by out 
 ward events which seem to others to indicate divine 
 power. The marvels of creation fail to convince some 
 of them that God even exists. The miracles of Jesus 
 wrought no conviction in the minds of his determined 
 opponents. When they could not deny the facts, they 
 referred them to diabolic agency. It was a deep in 
 sight into the human heart that led him to the repre 
 sentation of Abraham, replying thus to the prayer of the 
 rich man, to send Lazarus to warn his living brothers: 
 " They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear 
 them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one 
 went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And 
 
128 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the 
 prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one 
 rose from the dead." Modern skeptics, as did the 
 ancient ones, deceive themselves, when they stand in 
 front of the Crucified, and say: "If he be the King 
 of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and 
 we will believe on him." In the case of marked suc 
 cess, in the particular hospital prayed for, the unbe 
 lievers would claim that this was accidental, and due to 
 unknown natural causes; or that it arose from a more 
 salubrious situation; or from better ventilation; or 
 from the excited imagination and hope of the patients, 
 who knew that they were being prayed for by the 
 Christian world, and the proportionate depression of 
 other patients, for whom no prayer was offered; or 
 from some unfairness of physicians favorable to the 
 triumph of Christianity. To suppose that men, who 
 are unmoved by the evidence of the power of prayer 
 from the whole history of the human race, would be 
 convinced by any result of the experiment proposed, is 
 a large draft upon one s credulity. 
 
 5. The moral phenomena of the case, as we have 
 seen in a previous chapter, equally sustain the reason 
 ableness of prayer; prayer is an indispensable means 
 of moral training, and is such an arrangement as God 
 would necessarily enjoin for the closest union of his 
 rational creatures with himself. There is no other 
 such powerful means of giving impressiveness to the 
 being and agency of God. The habitual act affects 
 the imagination and the heart, and leads to the asso- 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRATER. 129 
 
 elation of the divine love, wisdom and will with the 
 events of life. At the same time, it brings out our 
 noblest aspirations, subdues our baser tendencies, and 
 preserves us from discouragement and despair amid 
 the attacks upon our virtue, and amid the trials of 
 our lot. 
 
 Here is the reason that the church resists the infidel 
 assault on prayer. It is not that ecclesiastical or 
 priestly power may be made secure ; for of all religious 
 rites none is so individual as prayer, carrying the soul, 
 as it does, past the priest, and past the church, directly 
 to God himself. But it is felt that he who would 
 destroy the faith of men in prayer, little as he may 
 suspect it, is the enemy of mankind. He would rob 
 them of their greatest help in weakness, their greatest 
 comfort in sorrow, their greatest hope in danger. 
 This fact comes out strikingly, when those who, in 
 prosperous days, have undervalued and neglected 
 prayer, in time of calamity fall upon their knees, and 
 realize that God might as well not be, as not to hear 
 the prayers of his distressed children. Thus we can 
 understand that God should institute prayer, not for 
 his own information, or as a stimulus to his benevolent 
 feeling, but for our spiritual education. We could 
 better do without the gifts, than fail of the moral train 
 ing which is secured by their reception through prayer. 
 Therefore Jesus said: " Men ought always to pray, and 
 not to faint"; and Paul wrote to the churches, to 
 " pray without ceasing." 
 
 We come then to an important inquiry: if prayer 
 
130 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 be a universal instinct, if in all ages men have claimed 
 that they had experience of its power with God, and 
 if it is an indispensable means of moral training, on 
 what grounds do the skeptics object to it? "Why, 
 especially, do certain scientific writers make opposition 
 to it? It is because they totally misconceive its office 
 and methods. They strangely imagine that Christian 
 people hold its object to be, to inform an omniscient 
 Being; or to persuade a God of love; or to induce an 
 infinitely wise Kuler to change the plan of his universe! 
 Pope, in his Essay on Man, introduces this objection 
 in the lines: 
 
 " Think we, like some weak prince, th Eternal Cause 
 Prone for his fav rites to reverse his laws ? 
 
 ********* 
 "When the loose mountain trembles from on high, 
 Shall gravitation cease, if you go by?" 
 
 But we hold no such theory. God knows our need, 
 he is already compassionate, and he will not swerve 
 from plans which are necessarily perfect. It is because 
 he is wise and good, that he has made prayer a condi 
 tion of our prosperity, and has provided a place for it 
 in his plans, as truly as he has for the law of gravita 
 tion. The scientists must broaden their outlook, and 
 learn that above the physical universe is the moral; 
 the former being quite subordinate to the latter, and 
 in fact, but the platform on which it operates; and 
 that each is true to its own laws. God, who is at the 
 head of each, has ordained their respective arrange 
 ments to work in harmony, and he can use prayer, as 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYER. 131 
 
 a means of training his rational creatures, without dis 
 turbance in eitlier realm. For when we .pass from 
 the office of prayer to the method of its answer, there 
 is no insuperable difficulty. The fact should be cred 
 ited, on sufficient evidence, even if the method should 
 be wrapped in inscrutable mystery. Science is con 
 stantly accepting facts which it cannot as yet explain; 
 and certainly ignorance is not to be made a substitute 
 for knowledge, as is done, when men think that not to 
 know how God can do a certain thing, is the same as 
 to know that he cannot do it ! 
 
 A very curious distinction Professor Tyndall tries 
 to make, at this point, between physical and spiritual 
 phenomena. He will not admit that, in answer to 
 prayer, God intervenes to produce physical effects; 
 but he thinks that prayer may avail for spiritual aid. 
 He says that, " in its purer forms, prayer hints at dis 
 ciplines which few of us can neglect without moral 
 loss;" and that "it may strengthen the heart to meet 
 life s losses." But then he asserts that " no good can 
 come of giving it a delusive value, by claiming for it 
 a power in physical nature." Now one cannot well 
 understand the philosophic ground for this distinction. 
 A metaphysical philosopher might indeed exactly 
 reverse the statement, with much greater plausibility. 
 He might affirm that, knowing from constant experi 
 ence the power of free will over the laws of matter, 
 and the ease with which it can overrule, or combine, 
 or counterbalance them, to work out its own results, 
 he was ready to concede that prayer might lead God 
 
132 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 to produce physical effects ; but that the real difficulty 
 lay in understanding how God could answer prayer 
 by producing mental and moral changes, where he 
 would have to deal not with dead matter, but with 
 living spirits; not with necessitated forces, but with 
 freedom itself. "What could Mr. Tyndall reply, except 
 to withdraw also the spiritual realm from the province 
 of prayer? And all because he will not leave the ruts 
 of physical science, and pass to a higher class of phe 
 nomena with their superior laws. 
 
 An illustration of the principle involved, Professor 
 Tyndall himself indicates, as he notices in a passage 
 already quoted, that a father s will controls physical 
 phenomena. Thus a child asks for an apple; and 
 he steps to the orchard, shakes a tree, picks up the 
 apple which falls, brings it into the house, and gives it 
 to the boy. In moving his own body, in shaking the 
 tree, in picking up the apple, in handing it to the boy, 
 he answers prayer by producing physical phenomena. 
 And it is done in accordance with natural law, which 
 is directed by superior spirit-force, as by turns he op 
 poses and uses the law of gravity. Nor can he ex 
 plain the phenomenon of this subjection of matter to 
 Will. Life is full of these manifestations of the play 
 of spirit-force among material forces; as though to 
 teach us, that much more surely and easily must the 
 Infinite Spirit touch and use the laws of nature, to 
 which he has given efficacy, and thus be able to an 
 swer prayer without interruption of natural law. That 
 God does this invisibly, while we act visibly, does not 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYER. 133 
 
 change the principle involved; and then the action of 
 the human will is as invisible as that of God. In both 
 cases we see the effect only. 
 
 In the class of answers covered by the proposed hos 
 pital test, the cure of disease, the answer to prayer 
 need suspend no natural law. God may operate upon 
 disease through the laws of life, the secret of which 
 he possesses, with or without the instrumentality of 
 medicine; or he may secure the sending for the best 
 physician; or he may bring to notice the most appro 
 priate remedy; or he may lead to the fulfillment of 
 some other natural condition of a restoration to health. 
 The result is brought about in answer to the prayer 
 equally, whatever be the method God shall be pleased 
 to employ. That may be indirect, as well as direct, 
 for the Bible gives us reason to believe that prayers 
 are often answered by angelic agency which is ex 
 pressly mentioned in the deliverance of Daniel from 
 the lions, and of Peter from prison. Unseen by us, 
 angels, in the use of natural law, may work effects not 
 more inexplicable to our ignorance, than is our trans 
 mission of telegraphic news over the wires, to a sav 
 age. If Professor Tyndall, by his superior knowledge 
 of chemical and mechanical laws, can do that which 
 to uneducated men appears miraculous, why should 
 he doubt that Gabriel may possess a knowledge of 
 such forces as far beyond his science, as that is beyond 
 the apprehension of a child ; and that God may use 
 angelic agency to work out answers to prayer in con 
 nection with physical phenomena? And this idea 
 
134 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 accords with what the Bible reveals as to the existence 
 and ministry of angels. 
 
 It is furthermore to be considered by the modern 
 scientific objectors to prayer, that their favorite theory 
 of evolution or development furnishes a close analogy 
 to one of the theories advanced to explain the harmony 
 of prayer with natural laws. The development-theory 
 teaches, that the unknown, mysterious First Cause, 
 if such there be, formed the universe, not by distinct 
 creations of different objects, but by the production 
 of countless initial atoms, in which inhered certain 
 forces or tendencies, the combined influence of which 
 has developed by necessary law, from stage to stage, 
 the variety of existence which we see in animate and 
 inanimate nature. Now these numberless existences 
 stand related to each other, and are mutually so 
 dependent that the non-production, or different form 
 of almost any one of them, would have prevented, or 
 greatly modified the production of the others; so that 
 it seems incredible that they should all appear in the 
 right time and place to be serviceable to each other, 
 through mere blind forces. But the development 
 theorists assure us, that this only adds to the com 
 pleteness and wisdom of the original plan; and that 
 their idea is consequently more honorable to God than 
 the ordinary idea of creation by successive fiats; 
 since it represents him as seeing the end from the 
 beginning, and as able to form this marvelous uni 
 verse; by so pre-arranging the play of independent 
 forces, as they wrought in countless parallel lines, that 
 
SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PKAYEK. 135 
 
 all the results, at any given date, should have the 
 proper relations of harmony with each other. 
 
 We will not pause to dispute this; be it so. Such 
 philosophers ought then to find it easy to believe, that 
 prayers and their answers formed part of this very 
 system of pre-arrangement. For if God could so 
 adjust material forces, as that the combination of 
 results should work advantageously in every direction, 
 of its own nature, surely he could, with similar fore 
 sight and skill, arrange that prayers should be occa 
 sioned by one set of phenomena, and that answers to 
 them should be provided at the right moment by 
 appropriate forces. This is only the development 
 theory applied to morals and theology; and the sci 
 entists should rejoice in the added scope. Neither 
 should they be envious that the theologians, centuries 
 since, anticipated them in this explanation; as was 
 done by those who sought to harmonize the universal 
 ity of the divine purposes with the duty of prayer. 
 And possibly it may help to reconcile them to it, that 
 the distinguished mathematician Euler, in his " Let 
 ters to a German Princess," upon science, clearly sets 
 it forth in these words: "When God established the 
 course of the universe, and arranged all the events 
 that must come to pass in it, he paid attention to all 
 the circumstances which should accompany each 
 event, and particularly to the dispositions, desires and 
 prayers of every intelligent being; and the arrange 
 ment of all events was disposed in perfect harmony 
 with, all these circumstances. When, therefore, a man 
 
136 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 addresses to God a prayer worthy to be heard, that 
 prayer was already heard from all eternity; and the 
 Father of mercies arranged the world expressly in 
 favor of that prayer, so that the accomplishment 
 should be a consequence of the natural course of 
 events. It is thus that God answers the prayers of 
 men without working a miracle." 
 
 Thus, view the skeptical objections to prayer on 
 whatever side we may, they prove to be as unworthy 
 of a philosophic as they do of a religious mind. The 
 Bible doctrine vindicates itself to reason as well as to 
 faith, and the Psalmist is justified in his declaration: 
 " The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his 
 ears are open unto their cry." 
 
 " Oh, this is blessing, this is rest! 
 Into thine arms, O Lord, I flee; 
 I hide me in 1hy faithful breast, 
 And pour out all my soul to thee. 
 There is a host dissuading me ; 
 But all their voices far above, 
 I hear thy words : Oh, taste and see 
 The comfort of a Savior s love. 
 And, hushing every adverse sound, 
 Songs of defense my soul surround, 
 As if all saints encamped about 
 One trusting heart pursued by doubt. 
 ******* 
 
 O, tenderness ! O, truth divine ! 
 Lord, I am altogether thine, 
 I have bowed down; I need not flee; 
 Peace, peace is mine in trusting thee." 
 
 A. L. Waring. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 BIBLE.AtfSWERS TO PRATER OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 THE Bible wisely teaches by example as well as by 
 precept, and on its pages we find the biography illus 
 trating the promises, and history showing the fulfill 
 ment of prophecy. We might then expect that it- 
 would give us facts as well as theory on the subject 
 of prayer. It does so, and the difficulty is, to make a 
 selection such as the author s limited space and defi 
 nite purpose require. 
 
 Before calling the reader s attention to specific 
 cases, it is well to notice general declarations put 
 upon record by one who had great experience in this 
 respect. David, because of his devotional nature, and 
 of his many and severe trials, was much addicted to 
 prayer, and the book of Psalms contains not a few of 
 his supplications made in seasons of distress. What 
 is now to be observed is, that he distinctly affirms 
 that his prayers had been answered in a signal man 
 ner. These are some of his grateful words to that 
 effect: " I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he 
 heard me out of his holy hill." Ps. iii:4. "In my 
 distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my 
 God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my 
 cry came before him, even into his ear. * * * He 
 6 * 
 
138 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many 
 waters." xviii: 6-17. " O Lord, my God, I cried unto 
 thee, and thou hast healed me." xxx:2. "I sought 
 the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all 
 my fears." xxxiv: 4. " I waited patiently for the Lord, 
 and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." xl:l. 
 " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not 
 hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath 
 attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, 
 who hath not turned away iny prayer, nor his mercy 
 from me." Ixvi: 18-20. "I love the Lord, because he 
 hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because 
 he hath inclined his ear nnto me, therefore will I call 
 upon him as long as I live." cvi:l, 2. It would 
 appear from such expressions, that the large experi 
 ence of David in the matter of prayer had been emi 
 nently satisfactory. And if that be so, how is the 
 skeptic to allege anything to the contrary? For David 
 was not reciting a theory, but thankfully recording 
 facts. He had put prayer to a thorough test, for 
 many years, and the experiment was a complete 
 success. 
 
 The answers mentioned by the inspired writers are 
 numerous. There is space only for a few of the more 
 marked, which illustrate classes of cases. We will 
 attend first to the Old Testament. 
 
 1. Let us begin with a prayer for personal deliver 
 ance from imminent danger. Jacob had deceived his 
 aged and blind father, Isaac, and obtained the blessing 
 which was intended for his elder brother, Esau; hav- 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. ^. 139 
 
 ing also, on a previous occasion, taken advantage of 
 the reckless Esau s hunger, to sell him some pottage 
 at the price of his birthright. He fled from the 
 country, for his life, hearing of Esau s deadly threats. 
 After an absence of many years, during which he had 
 grown rich in flocks and herds, he ventured to return, 
 and, on coming to the confines of the land, heard that 
 Esau was advancing to meet him, at the head of four 
 hundred warriors. Consciousness of guilt, and a 
 remembrance of his injured brother s wrath filled him 
 with fear, lest this should be the hour of bloody 
 revenge. Resistance would be unavailing, and his 
 imagination pictured a scene of plunder arid slaughter, 
 in which he, his two wives, his children, and his 
 servants would be the victims. In this terrible emer 
 gency the night fell about him. Esau would be there 
 in the morning; his only hope was in God; his only 
 salvation must be prayer! And upon the true princi 
 ple, that prayer is not a substitute for appropriate 
 human effort, but a means of rendering it successful, 
 he took measures to propitiate Esau, and then, sending 
 his family over the river Jabbock, remained alone in 
 the darkness, to plead with God. 
 
 "We can understand the earnestness, and even agony, 
 of the prayer, when everything was at stake; as also the 
 arguments he would use. Indeed a prayer of the pre 
 vious day furnishes an outline of the petition. See Gen. 
 xxxii: 9-12. "We thus learn that he fell back upon two 
 arguments that God was pledged to him by the gen 
 eral covenant made with Abraham and Isaac, and by 
 
14:0 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the special promises given to himself, in the famous 
 vision at Bethel, at the time of his flight to Meso 
 potamia, and on the occasion of his setting out to 
 return. This was firm ground, upon which a rational 
 faith could plant itself. He also confessed his own 
 unworthiness, and with gratitude acknowledged what 
 had already been done for him. As he was thus 
 praying and humbling himself, in the midnight dark 
 ness, he was conscious of a presence with him, as of a 
 human form, which he recognized as a divine mani 
 festation; and he laid hold of the person, to insist 
 upon a blessing. The. seeming man struggled to 
 depart, and wrestled with Jacob, to break away. But 
 the patriarch clung to him desperately, even till the 
 day began to dawn, and after his thigh had been dis 
 located, saying: "I will not let thee go except thou 
 bless me!" 
 
 He was rewarded with victory! God graciously, 
 allowed himself to be overcome by the importunate 
 petitioner; while, as an encouragement to others to 
 imitate his example, he changed the patriarch s name 
 from one which commemorated his sin, to one which 
 immortalized his victory, "And he said unto him, 
 "What is thy name? And he said, Supplanter (Jacob.) 
 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Sup- 
 planter (Jacob,) but Prince of God (Israel;) for as a 
 prince hast thou power with God and with men, and 
 hast prevailed." Arid so the name Israel, which 
 passed first to the chosen nation, and then to the 
 whole Christian church, is a perpetual reminder of 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 141 
 
 the power of importunate prayer. Scarcely had the 
 assurance of safety been given, than Esau was seen in 
 the distance, at the head of his armed men, mounted 
 on camels, probably, and sweeping down like a modern 
 band of the Bedouin. But lo! when they reached the 
 helpless group of Jacob, instead of drawing their 
 swords and beginning the slaughter, they quietly 
 stopped, while Esau ran to meet his brother, " and 
 embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, 
 and they wept!" And so, in answer to prayer, fratri 
 cidal hatred was turned into fraternal love! It is not 
 surprising that, in every succeeding age of the church, 
 this scene at Peniel (or God s-face,) has given tone to 
 the prayers of believers, and has introduced into reli 
 gious phraseology the words "wrestling in prayer." 
 From this narrative it was that Charles "Wesley drew 
 his inspiration for that marvelous, spiritual poem, the 
 first and third stanzas of which are these: 
 
 " Come, O thou traveler, unknown, 
 Whom still I hold, but cannot see ; 
 
 My company before has gone, 
 And I am left alone with thee : 
 
 With thee all night I mean to stay, 
 
 And wrestle till the break of day. 
 
 " In vain thou strugglest to get free; 
 
 I never will unloose my hold : 
 Art thou the Man that died for me ? 
 
 The secret of thy love unfold ; 
 Wrestling, I will not let thee go, 
 Till I thy name, thy nature know." 
 
 2. Jacob prayed in his own great peril: let us take 
 
142 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 an instance of success in prayer for others. Moses was 
 eminent as an intercessor. Seldom is there a record 
 of his praying for himself. Perhaps it was because 
 he was a distinguished type of Christ, the great medi 
 ator and intercessor, that we find him so often suppli 
 cating in behalf of those in distress or danger. The 
 point to be noticed is, that he had special power in 
 this respect. For whomsoever he prayed, an answer of 
 mercy came. Thus w^hen Pharoah was suffering under 
 the successive judgments of God, and, at each step of 
 the discipline, agonizingly besought Moses to pray for 
 his relief, Moses did so, and secured the withdrawal 
 of the plague. When the Israelites went forth from 
 Egypt, his imploring cry for deliverance from the pur 
 suing monarch, divided the Ked Sea for their safe pas- 
 sage. And so, on each fresh emergency of their life 
 in the desert, his constant petition brought the needed 
 relief. 
 
 The culmination came, however, on those two sol 
 emn occasions, when the life of the whole nation was 
 at stake, because of their rebellion and ingratitude 
 toward God, and sentence had apparently gone forth 
 against them for their destruction, together with 
 almost a prohibition to Closes to intercede for them. 
 Thus when they worshiped the golden calf at the 
 very foot of Sinai, where the second commandment 
 had been thundered in their ears, God said to Moses 
 (Deut. ix: 14): "Let me alone, that I may destroy 
 them, and blot out their name from under heaven; 
 and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 143 
 
 than they." Here was everything to discourage peti 
 tion in their l^phalf. The people deserved destruction ; 
 God seemed to have decreed their doom; Moses was 
 apparently bidden not to pray against it; and provis 
 ion was made to fulfill the pledges to Abraham and 
 the other patriarchs, by raising up out of the posterity 
 of Moses himself the promised nation. Thus rever 
 ence, fear, faith and personal ambition might all be 
 said to withhold Moses from intercession. But love 
 for those threatened with death triumphed over every 
 other consideration, and he had such confidence that 
 God would not be displeased with prayer which came 
 from a self-sacrificing and compassionate spirit, that 
 even when three thousand had already fallen (Ex. xxxii : 
 2532), he went up to the mount, and said: " Oh, this 
 people have sinned a great sin, and have made them 
 gods of gold. Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin 
 (do so) ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee out of thy book 
 which thou hast written." And he fell down before 
 the Lord, fasting and interceding for forty days (Deut. 
 ix: 18) till, as he writes it, "the Lord hearkened unto 
 me at that time also." 
 
 The other occasion, equally note- worthy, was that 
 of their refusal to enter Canaan, on the report of the 
 spies, when, as Moses records the occurrence (Deut. 
 ix: 23-29): "I fell down before the Lord, forty days 
 and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because 
 the Lord had said that he would destroy you." At 
 this time his three arguments were; that God after 
 having done so much for his people, and borne so long 
 
144 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 with them, should not now destroy them; that he 
 should show mercy for the sake of his pious servants, 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their fathers, and not re 
 gard simply the sin of the present generation; and 
 that he must not furnish occasion for the Egyptians 
 to think that he was unable to carry his people into 
 the promised land. And again he succeeded. The 
 case stands as a monument of the value of intercessory 
 prayer, and should encourage Christian patriots to 
 pray for their country, and pious souls to pray for the 
 reviving of religion in a time of declension, and every 
 saint to pray for sinners in danger of perdition. 
 
 In all this, Moses is a character of special interest, 
 because he was a type of Christ, the Great Intercessor, 
 who " is able to save them to the uttermost, that come 
 to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make interces 
 sion for them." We read in the epistle to the He 
 brews, that " Moses verily was faithful in all his house, 
 as a servant, for a testimony of those things which 
 were to be spoken after." It is not surprising, then, 
 that the same poetic pen, which was moved to apply 
 so happily the scene at Peniel, has brought out, in 
 words which have thrilled with hope thousands of sor 
 rowing souls, the grand fact of the intercession of our 
 High Priest. 
 
 "Arise, my soul, arise; 
 
 Shake off thy guilty fears; 
 The bleeding sacrifice 
 
 In thy behalf appears : 
 Before the throne my surety stands; 
 My name is written on his hands. 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 145 
 
 " He ever lives above, 
 
 For me to intercede; 
 His all-redeeming love, 
 
 His precious blood to plead; 
 His blood atoned for all our race, 
 And sprinkles now the throne of grace. 
 
 " Five bleeding wounds he bears, 
 
 Received on Calvary ; 
 They pour effectual prayers; 
 
 They strongly speak for me: 
 Forgive him, O forgive, they cry, 
 Nor let that ransomed sinner die. 
 
 " The Father hears him pray 
 
 His dear Anointed One: 
 He cannot turn away 
 
 The presence of his Son ; 
 His Spirit answers to the blood, 
 And tells me I am born of God. 
 
 " My God is reconciled, 
 
 His pardoning voice I hear; 
 He owns me for his child, 
 
 I can no longer fear : 
 With confidence I now draw nigh, 
 And Father, Abba Father, cry." 
 
 3. Let the next case be one of parental petition 
 and prevalence. Hannah was the devout wife of 
 Elkanah, who loved her devotedly. But the years of 
 their married life passed, and she bore him no child. 
 This was a natural grief, and to an Oriental wife was a 
 sore reproach. Hannah felt it the more, because 
 Elkanah had another wife, by whom he had numerous 
 sons and daughters, and who taunted her with barren- 
 7 
 
146 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ness. On one occasion of the yearly visit to the tab 
 ernacle, Hannah s long accumulating desire and grief 
 inspired an agonized prayer to God for help, accom 
 panied by a solemn vow, that the child that should be 
 given her, should be dedicated to divine use, as a token 
 of her gratitude. She would not retain him at home 
 as a gratification to maternal pride arid fondness, but 
 she would bring him to the tabernacle, and leave him 
 there with the high priest, Eli, to be trained for reli 
 gious work. Her agitation was such, as she whispered 
 her prayers, so that others might not hear, that Eli 
 mistook her condition for that of intoxication; but on 
 hearing her statement "No, my lord, I am a woman 
 of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor 
 strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the 
 Lord," he prophetically said: " Go in peace, and the 
 God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast 
 asked of him." " So the woman went her way, and 
 did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." The 
 prayer thus born of sorrow, importunity and faith 
 was signally answered. A son was given unto her, 
 and she performed her vow by taking him to Shiloh, 
 and leaving him with Eli, as soon as he was old enough 
 to do without her daily care. Then she broke forth 
 into a sublime prophetic song of triumph, which 
 formed the model of Mary s similar song at the con 
 ception of the Messiah. The child became the dis 
 tinguished Samuel, the last of the Judges, and the 
 founder of the school of the prophets, whose name 
 was venerated by the Israelites, next to that of Moses, 
 
BIBLE- ANSWEES OLD TESTAMENT. 147 
 
 for his services to the nation and for the power of his 
 intercessory prayers. See Ps. xcix: 6, Jer. xv: 1. 
 
 Here is the encouragement to parental piety and 
 faith. Prayer should begin even before the birth of a 
 child, and the child, when received, should be held for 
 the Lord s service, in such way as he may appoint, in 
 the spirit of genuine consecration. . The prayer thus 
 offered will be heard. Many a son has in a similar 
 way been furnished to the Christian ministry, or di 
 rected to other means of extensive usefulness. 
 
 4. Let us now pass to a prayer for the vindication 
 and revival of true religion. After the secession of 
 the ten tribes, and the setting up of the separate King 
 dom of Israel, idolatry, in the form of the worship of 
 the golden calves, was introduced as a matter of state- 
 policy. When Ahab took as his queen, the handsome 
 and haughty Jezebel, the daughter of the Phenician 
 monarch, she introduced Baal- worship as the court- 
 religion. Under such influences the worship of Jeho 
 vah declined almost to extinction. Then appeared 
 Elijah, in all the zeal and courage of an inspired re 
 former, bent upon securing a revival of the true reli 
 gion and a recovery of the people from their apostacy. 
 Prayer occupied a large place in his plans; for the case 
 was desperate. He had to contend with depraved pop 
 ular taste and passion, and with a determined opposi 
 tion from the weak Ahab under the control of the 
 relentless and capable Jezebel. 
 
 His first endeavor was to convince the king and the 
 people that Jehovah alone was the true God, by a judg- 
 
148 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ment which should come at his prayer, and should be 
 removed only at his intercession. And so he asked 
 that rain should be withheld ; which was done, season 
 after season, for three years and a half, till the drought 
 brought the land to the verge of destruction. The 
 king, in his despair of other relief, sent in every direc 
 tion, even to neighboring countries, to find Elijah, 
 who had withdrawn from view. (1 Kings, xviii : 10.) 
 The time had now come for the prayer- test between 
 Jehovah and Baal, on his success in which the prophet 
 relied to secure the reviving of the true religion ; and 
 so he induced the king to gather to Mount Carmel, 
 nine hundred prophets of Baal and of "the groves" 
 (or rather of Asherah, a female deity associated with 
 Baal), whom he alone confronted, in the name of Je 
 hovah. The test was to be, to see which deity, in an 
 swer to prayer, would send down fire, to consume a 
 sacrifice. 
 
 A scene worthy of being depicted by the highest 
 order of art was then witnessed. For many successive 
 hours, in the presence of the king and of thousands 
 of spectators, the idolatrous prophets wildly called on 
 Baal, and " cut themselves with knives and lancets till 
 the blood gushed out upon them," while Elijah taunted 
 them with their vain appeals, and bade them cry more 
 loudly. When finally no response came, he repaired 
 the broken-down altar of Jehovah with twelve stones, 
 emblematic of the tribes of the chosen people, laid on 
 it the sacrifice, saturated the wood with barrel upon 
 barrel of water, and then prayed for the descending 
 
BIBLE-ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 149 
 
 fire; saying, "Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me; that 
 this people may know that thou art Jehovah God, and 
 that thou hast turned their heart back again." The 
 fire fell, and the people shouted ; " Jehovah, he is the 
 God ! Jehovah, he is the God ! " And in a few hours 
 after, the long- withheld rain descended in torrents. In 
 this case, the interests to be promoted w r ere public re 
 ligious interests, and the prayer was as when, in a time 
 of declension at the present day, God s people plead 
 for a revival. And lest we should reason that Elijah 
 was so peculiar a man, and was called to so peculiar a 
 work, that he could be no example to us, James wrote 
 in his epistle : " The effectual, fervent prayer of a 
 righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man sub 
 ject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly 
 that it might not rain," etc. Hence when we find the 
 cause of God languishing, we are authorized to ask 
 and to expect such form of interposition as will most 
 effectually vindicate religion. As fire is a symbol of 
 the Holy Spirit, the descending fire of Elijah s day, 
 may well become the descending power of the Spirit 
 in our day. 
 
 5. Let us take as the next instance from the Old 
 Testament, a case in which prayer was put to the test 
 by its enemies. It shall be from the experience of 
 that representative man of prayer, jOanie^ the states 
 man and the saint. In power he was next to the king 
 of Persia, and malignant rivals could find no fault 
 with his official administration; so they assaulted him 
 on the side of his religion, and at the particular point 
 
150 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 of prayer. He was known to be a praying man, and 
 a trap was laid for him which hinged on that fact. 
 They applied to the king, without making any refer 
 ence to Daniel, with a proposition most flattering to 
 the royal pride, to-wit : that no petition should be 
 made to God or man, for thirty days, except to the 
 king himself, under penalty of being thrown into the 
 den of lions. The king, taken with the idea of play 
 ing God, for a month, and not once thinking of its 
 bearing upon his loved and trusted prime-minister, 
 rashly consented, and issued the irreversible edict. 
 
 Daniel knew what it meant, and what fate it por 
 tended, beyond any escape that his conscience would 
 allow. But he made no change in his devotional 
 habits. "When Daniel knew that the writing was 
 signed, he went into his house, and his windows being 
 open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled 
 upon his knees, three times a day, and prayed, and 
 gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." He 
 was willing to be a sacrifice, if need were, while yet he 
 had hope that God in some way would disappoint his 
 enemies, and manifest the power of prayer. And when 
 he was arrested under the edict, as a criminal, and 
 sentenced to the den of lions, he submitted with such 
 composure, that even the king, struck by his faith, 
 exclaimed: "Daniel, thy God, whom thou servest 
 continually, he will deliver thee." And when the 
 king, after a sleepless night of anxiety and distress, 
 came early in the morning to the den, and called pite- 
 ously at its mouth, " O Daniel, servant of the living 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTALISNT. 151 
 
 God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able 
 to deliver tliee from the lions?" to his joy, the well- 
 known voice of his prime-minister replied: " My 
 God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions 
 mouths, that they have not hurt me! " 
 
 This is, in one respect, the culmination of the his 
 tory of prayer in the Old Testament; in that prayer 
 itself was on trial, and a representative man of prayer 
 was selected to be the victim of a powerful conspiracy 
 which seemed to.be irresistible. Need we be aston 
 ished, that the result not only made the deepest im 
 pression at the time, but that it has strengthened the 
 faith of believers in all the ages since? A touching 
 fact it was, that the slave-songs at the South, in broken 
 utterance, appealed to this ancient fact: 
 
 " My Lord delibered Daniel, 
 Why can t he deliber me?" 
 
 ^ 6. It would be unwise to close the examples from 
 the Old Testament, without noticing a case of patri 
 otic prayer. Many such might be cited from the 
 sacred history; but it will suffice to recall the experi 
 ence of Hezekiah. The two rival empires for many 
 centuries, in the olden time, were those of Egypt and 
 Assyria. Between them lay the Holy Land a prize 
 which both coveted, and which each had at times pos 
 sessed and it became the pathway of their hosts, as 
 they carried on their conflicts. In the days of Heze 
 kiah, Sennacherib invaded the land, at the head of an 
 immense Assyrian army, and captured the principal 
 walled cities, except Jerusalem. While besieging 
 
152 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Lachish, he sent his general Kabshakeh to Jerusalem, 
 with a large force, to reduce it; who called upon Hez 
 ekiah, in an insulting way, to surrender. The king of 
 Judah refused, and besought the prophet Isaiali to 
 intercede witli God to save the city, saying: "Lift 
 up thy prayer for the remnant that is left." Isaiah 
 assured the king that God would cause the Assyrian 
 monarch to hear a rumor that would intimidate him, 
 and cause his return to his own land, where he should 
 be slain. When Eabshakeh bore back to Sennacherib 
 the refusal of Hezekiah, and an account of his faith 
 in Jehovah, that haughty monarch dispatched to him 
 a blasphemous letter, in which he ridiculed the idea 
 that Jehovah could deliver Jerusalem, any more than 
 the gods of other lands had saved them from his con 
 quering power. The inspired narrative says: And 
 Hezekiah received the letter from the hands of the 
 messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto 
 the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 
 And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord." (Isaiah, chap 
 ters xxxvi and xxxvii.) His prayer was an appeal to 
 God to defend his people, and vindicate his own claim 
 to be the one living and true God. " Now therefore, 
 O Lord, our God, save us from his hand, that all the 
 kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou art the 
 Lord, even thou only." 
 
 Then came a messenger from Isaiah, to assure the 
 faith of Hezekiah, couched in the boldest figures of 
 Oriental style, and telling Sennacherib: "The virgin, 
 the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed 
 
BIBLE-ANSWEKS OLD TESTAMENT. 153 
 
 thee to scorn the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken 
 her head at thee." It also assured him that all his 
 past victories were because Jehovah had used him, as 
 an instrument of his wrath, to punish the heathen 
 nations, but represented the God of the Jews as now 
 saying: " Because thy rage against me, and thy 
 tumult, is come up unto mine ears, therefore will I 
 put my hook into thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, 
 and I will turn thee back by the way which thou 
 earnest." And that very night, the angel of the Lord 
 smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in 
 the Assyrian camp, who, the next morning were found 
 dead. Sennacherib, hearing a report, also, that the 
 king of Ethiopia was advancing with an army against 
 him, hurried back to Nineveh, and there was slain by 
 his own sons. So signally did prayer bring an answer, 
 when religious patriotism was its inspiration. And 
 this event the world has never forgotten. Even within 
 our own century it so impressed the genius of Lord 
 Byron, with its tragic sublimity, that in his Hebrew 
 Melodies, he paid it the tribute of these well-known 
 lines: 
 
 " The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, 
 And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; 
 And the sheen of his spears was like stars on the sea, 
 When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. 
 
 " Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, 
 That host with their banners at sunset were seen ; 
 Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, 
 That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn. 
 
154: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 " For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, 
 And breathed in the face of the foe, as he passed ;; 
 And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, 
 And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still. 
 
 " And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, 
 But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; 
 And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, 
 And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. 
 
 " And there lay the rider distorted and pale, 
 With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail , 
 And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, 
 The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. 
 
 " And the widows of Assur are loud in their wail, 
 And the idols are broke, in the temple of Baal ; 
 And the might of the Gentile, unsmote of the sword, 
 Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 BIBLE-ANSWERS TO PRAYER NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 WHEN we come to the ISTew Testament, the advent 
 of the promised Savior brought heaven and earth 
 together, more surely than the dream-land-ladder of 
 Jacob; as Jesus implied, when he said to Nathaniel, 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see 
 heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and 
 descending upon the Son of Man." John, i : 51. When 
 men came to know the true High Priest, the finished 
 sacrifice, the one mediator, the divinely appointed 
 advocate, they had a ground of confidence in prayer 
 far beyond anything before known. Hence the com 
 mands and the invitations to pray, multiply from the 
 lips of Christ, and, in his human limitations, he adds 
 the power of his own example. Such was the con 
 stancy of the application to him for supernatural aid, 
 and so uniformly did he grant it, that his three years 
 ministry might be called one steady experience of 
 answers to prayer. After his ascension, and the 
 descent of the Spirit, the apostles and early Christians 
 felt that they had a new hold on heaven, a more 
 perfect access to the mercy seat, and a surer guide to 
 acceptable petitions; and so prayer became a mighty 
 instrumentality in securing the progress of the 
 
 (155) 
 
156 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 church. "Pray without ceasing," might be said to be 
 the motto, as it was the injunction of its chief apostle. 
 The space at command will allow the citation- of but 
 four instances; wliich shall be chosen to illustrate, in 
 connection with prayer, the value of faith, of earnest 
 ness, of union, and of spiritual desire; each standing, 
 as in the cases cited from the Old Testament, as the 
 representative of a class. 
 
 1. Early in our Savior s ministry occurred a marked 
 instance, in several respects. It was just after the 
 delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, and as he 
 reached Capernaum. There was residing in that city 
 a centurion a Roman army officer, answering nearly 
 to a captain in a modern army. He, like Cornelius, of 
 whom we read in the book of Acts, had been deeply 
 impressed by the superiority of the Jewish religion, 
 as consisting of the worship of one God without the 
 use of images. He seems to have become a believer 
 in Judaism,, and an admirer of the moral superiority 
 of the nation which the Roman army had conquered. 
 Being a man of wealth, he built their synagogue at 
 his own expense possibly the very one whose ornate 
 remains have lately been discovered at Tell Hum, 
 which many suppose to be the site of ancient Caper 
 naum. At this time, he had a servant, to whom he 
 was much attached, lying at the point of death with 
 the palsy. Hearing of the coming of the wonderful 
 teacher and miracle- worker, this Roman, who had been 
 brought up an idolater, sent the Jewish elders of the 
 city to Jesus, to intercede in his behalf, and to pray 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 157 
 
 that he would exert his power and heal his servant. 
 He had such humility that he felt unworthy to go in 
 person. (Luke vii : 1-10.) As Jesus was approaching 
 the house, the centurion sent other friends, to say that 
 it was not necessary for the Master to come in, nor 
 was he himself worthy of the honor of receiving him 
 under his roof. It would be quite sufficient for Jesus 
 to speak the word of power, where he was, and the 
 servant should be healed ; as when he bade one of his 
 own soldiers go or come, and was instantly obeyed. 
 This was a faith quite unparalleled by anything which 
 Jesus had before met. It was faith, moreover, on the 
 part of a Gentile; so that Jesus exclaimed, " I have 
 not found so great faith, no not in Israel." He then 
 announced that this man was but the representative of 
 a great multitude beyond the boundaries of Judaism, 
 who should enter the kingdom ; and he said : " Go thy 
 way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." 
 And at the same moment the servant was healed. 
 
 Such was, (and still is,) the power of combined 
 faith and humility. The instance is specially instruct 
 ive, as showing the quick response which God makes 
 to the soul s perfect trust in his love; and as proving 
 that true humility, instead of discouraging a believing 
 applicant, leads to a complete reliance on divine grace 
 and the use of appropriate intercession. As the cen 
 turion, with a sense of personal unworthiness, used 
 the advocacy of the Jewish elders, so we, with a far 
 greater certainty, may, in our appeals to God, use the 
 advocacy of the Son of God himself. 
 
158 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 
 
 2. The next instance will also be that of a Gentile> 
 and will illustrate yet another condition of prevailing 
 prayer. There was one occasion, when Jesus passed 
 outside of what are usually considered the limits of 
 Palestine, and went " into the coasts of Tyre and 
 Sidon;" that is into Plienicia, whose population was 
 descended from the old Canaanites. He sought to 
 remain unknown, having gone thither probably for 
 rest; but it was soon reported that he was there, and 
 instantly a woman of the country, whose daughter 
 was a demoniac, called earnestly upon him, as the 
 " Son of David," praying that he would cast out the 
 demon. This was a believing acknowledgment of his 
 Messiahship, on the part of a Gentile, and might well 
 appeal to him on her behalf. Yet he made no reply, 
 seemed indifferent, and acted as if he did not hear 
 her. He wanted to have it appear of what spiritual 
 stuff she was made, and to what kind of a spirit a 
 favorable response would be given. She continued 
 her entreaty so piteously, that the disciples interceded 
 for her, and asked the Master to dismiss her with a 
 blessing. But he, using the figure of a shepherd, 
 replied: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of 
 the house of Israel." By this he meant that his pub 
 lic ministry was, for good reasons, limited to the Jews, 
 as a nation, and he had not entered into Plienicia with 
 any purpose to extend it thither. Possibly, also, lie 
 hinted at the under-lying fact, which John the Baptist 
 had noticed, that God honored a spiritual connection 
 with Abraham more than a blood connection. Mat. 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 159 
 
 iii : 9. Then tlie determined mother came still closer, 
 and threw herself at his feet, (Mark, vii: 25,) crying 
 out in her agony, "Lord, help me." (Mat. xv:25.) 
 How could his compassionate heart resist this appeal ? 
 But he repeated the same idea as before, changing the 
 figure to that of the father of a family: "Let the 
 children first be filled ; for it is not meet to take the 
 children s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." The 
 Greek original has the word for " little dogs," as refer 
 ring not to the wild dogs of the streets, but to the 
 tame dogs of the household, which were allowed about 
 the table. Intent on her point, and not meaning to 
 relinquish the object dear to her maternal heart, and, 
 with a woman s quickwittedness, she replied : " Yes, 
 Lord: yet the (little) dogs under the table eat of the 
 children s crumbs." (Mark, vii : 28.) The victory was 
 hers. Her true character stood revealed. Canaanite 
 though she was by race, she was a daughter of Abra 
 ham in spirit, and must have the reward of faith. 
 Humility, that took no offense at seemingly harsh 
 words, and perseverance that would not yield to 
 repeated repulse, were the very conditions of success 
 ful prayer; and the Savior said: " O, woman, great is 
 thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt!" There 
 is such a thing then, as a will, on the part of an 
 importunate petitioner, at which God takes no offense, 
 when it means perishing want and firm trust. 
 
 3. Now let us test united petitions as a condition 
 of success. Leaving, for the present, a notable instance 
 which would illustrate this point, because it may be 
 
160 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 used for another important purpose, we will take the 
 deliverance of Peter from prison, as recorded in the 
 twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. It was 
 a time of persecution, which had burst out afresh, com 
 ing now from the civil power, in the person of Herod, 
 the king. He first beheaded the apostle James, the 
 brother of John ; and when he saw that this act gave 
 special satisfaction to the Jews, he seized Peter, the 
 very leader of the apostolic band, at the time of the 
 passover, and put him in prison, till that sacred festi 
 val should be over; when he purposed his public exe 
 cution. It was a delay of but a few days, and the 
 case seemed desperate. No doubt the apostle himself 
 prayed earnestly that, if God had no further use for 
 him on earth, grace might be given to meet death 
 calmly, and to bear an unwavering testimony for 
 Christ. Quite probably, in view of the fate of James, 
 he had little expectation of deliverance, and thought 
 that, as ten or twelve years had elapsed since the ascen 
 sion of Jesus, the predicted time had come, of which 
 Jesus spake, when he said to him : " When thou wast 
 young thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou 
 wouldst, but when thou art old, thou shalt stretch 
 forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 
 thee whither thou wouldst not," Nothing is said, 
 however, as to Peter s prayers. 
 
 But we do read of the united prayers of others in 
 his behalf. "Peter therefore was kept in prison; but 
 prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto 
 God for him." This was a matter of absorbing inter- 
 
BIBLE-ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 161 
 
 est to the whole flock ; for Peter was not only the spir 
 itual leader, but the beloved father of that original 
 church. Many .of the members had been converted 
 under his preaching, and all had been guided by his 
 counsels. James had been murdered, and must Peter 
 die also? They could not endure the thought. There 
 was no resource but prayer, as Peter was in the inner 
 prison, and four companies of soldiers took turns in 
 guarding him, by day and night. There was no spe 
 cific promise to plead ; only the general provisions for 
 the wants of the church could be applied. Yet there 
 was the providential indication of a few days delay, 
 during which God might cause the king s heart to re 
 lent; for was it not written in Scripture: " The king s 
 heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water; 
 he turneth it whithersoever he will"? Importunate 
 supplication was therefore made; for the word in the 
 original means not " without ceasing," but " earnest," 
 " intent," or literally, " on the stretch." This was the 
 subject weighing upon every mind, and no one could 
 rest till the momentous matter was decided. A col 
 umn of prayer rose up before God, from the church 
 meetings and from the closets of the saints. And such 
 united and fervent pleading had its reward; for God 
 sent his angel, the very night before the day fixed for 
 the execution, antl brought him out of the prison ; and 
 while one of the companies of Christians were at 
 prayer at the house of Mark s mother (probably in 
 tending to spend the whole of that last night in peti 
 tion), they were astonished to learn that Peter himself 
 
162 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 was at the door. Their surprise should not be con 
 strued as a weakness of faith ; for as they had no spe 
 cific promise to urge, so they had no right to feel as 
 sured of the particular kind of answer which would 
 be given. It might not have been best, that Peter 
 should be spared, any more than James; and if best, 
 no one could foresee the time and manner in which 
 the deliverance would come. 
 
 4. We come, now, to one of the most interesting 
 cases of answer to prayer in the whole record of the 
 church of God ; one in which we have an illustration 
 of the value of combined union, earnestness, persever 
 ance, and faith in a specific promise, to secure a wide 
 spread spiritual blessing that connected with the 
 day of Pentecost. We can look back, and see that the 
 occasion was, in an important sense, the birth of the 
 Christian church, and that it was appropriately pre 
 ceded by spiritual travail. Jesus had ascended to the 
 Father, to act as the Intercessor for his people. Be 
 fore his crucifixion and also after his resurrection, he 
 had instructed them as to the advent of the Comforter, 
 the Holy Spirit, who was to be his substitute, as their 
 everpresent companion and friend. See John xiv: 16- 
 26, xv : 26, xvi: 7-14. In addition to this specific 
 promise, he gave a command, which partook also 
 largely of the nature of a promise: for we read (Acts 
 i: 4-8), " He commanded them that they should not de 
 part from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the 
 Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For 
 John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be bap- 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 163 
 
 tized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. * * * 
 Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is 
 come upon you." In these circumstances, they were 
 prepared for a clear exercise of faith. They had been 
 taught also their pressing need, by the declarations of 
 Jesus, by their sad and mortifying weakness at the 
 time of his apprehension and condemnation, by their 
 sense of loneliness since his ascension, and by their 
 felt inadequacy to the work of going forth to preach 
 his gospel to an unbelieving world. If ever men 
 needed a special divine qualification for a momentous 
 mission, they were the little band of disciples, one 
 hundred and twenty in number, who waited at Jeru 
 salem for this heavenly baptism. 
 
 But how did they wait? Not idly and impassibly. 
 They waited on the Lord, and not simply for him. 
 They knew the divine law of procedure, in cases of 
 spiritual blessing. A promise was meant to encourage 
 prayer. And so the apostles " all continued with one 
 accord in prayer and supplication, with the women 
 and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his breth 
 ren." It was after ten consecutive days had been thus 
 spent, that " suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 
 as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house 
 where they were sitting; and there appeared unto 
 them cloven tongues, like as of fire; and it sat upon 
 each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy 
 Ghost." In this occurrence there is to be noted, the 
 essential and the incidental, the permanent and the 
 temporary. That which was incidental, though im- 
 
PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 portant for the immediate occasion, was the tongue of 
 fire and the gift of speech in foreign languages. For 
 even miracles are only " signs " of something higher. 
 The flame did not abide, and there is no evidence that 
 the gift of tongues was permanent with all who then 
 exercised the power. Paul even speaks slightingly of 
 the latter, in a long passage, (1 Cor. xiv,) in the 
 course of which he says: " I thank God, I speak with 
 tongues more than ye all ; yet in the church, I had 
 rather speak five words with my understanding, that 
 by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thous 
 and words in an unknown tongue." The really essen 
 tial and permanent thing on the day of Pentecost was, 
 the spiritual influence or baptism. The outward mir 
 acle w r as only a wonder, to attract attention, to gather 
 the crowd, to impress with a conception of supernatu 
 ral power, and to prepare for the spiritual effect. 
 
 What was actually accomplished, for the advance 
 ment of the kingdom and the establishment of the 
 church, was the revolution in the mind and heart of 
 the disciples, and the conversion, in one day, of three 
 thousand opposers. The disciples were evidently lifted 
 into a new and higher religious life. They received 
 both light and love. Their minds were enlightened 
 to understand the Scriptures, and especially to inter 
 pret the prophecies and explain the mission of Jesus 
 as the Messiah. At the same time, they were 
 " strengthened with might by the spirit in the inner 
 man," so as to lose their former timidity, and to be 
 filled with zeal and courage. From that moment, the 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 165 
 
 change was such, that their enemies took note of it, and 
 marveled that obscure, uneducated men should speak 
 with boldness and freedom. Acts iv : 13. They 
 braved the lion in his den. They, who had all fled, 
 when the Master was arrested in the garden, not only 
 preached courageously in the temple, but faced the 
 Sanhedrim in full session, and refused to forbear their 
 testimony even under threats of .death, and the actual 
 infliction of stripes and imprisonment. Acts iv : 18- 
 21, v : 17-42. Yea, these experiences only led them 
 to assemble and pray more earnestly still, and the 
 record is: "And when they had prayed, the place 
 was shaken, where they were assembled together; and 
 they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they 
 spake the word of God with boldness." iv : 31. It is 
 no matter of astonishment, then, that this inward 
 renewing should be accompanied by corresponding 
 outward success in preaching the gospel; that the 
 converts numbered three thousand, the very first day, 
 and five thousand, a few days after, counting the men 
 alone; and that the historian inserts such significant 
 words as these: "And the Lord added to the church 
 daily such as should be saved," or literally rendered, 
 " added saved ones." " And believers were the more 
 added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and 
 women." " And the word of God increased; and the 
 number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem 
 greatly ; and a great company of the priests were obe 
 dient unto the faith." Acts ii : 47, v : 14, vi : 7. 
 We have thus reviewed ten cases of answers to 
 
166 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 prayer; six being taken from the Old Testament and 
 four from the New. These have illustrated earnest 
 wrestling for personal deliverance from outward peril, 
 individual intercession for others, parental yearning 
 and petition, prayer for reviving amid widespread 
 declension and apostacy, the testing of prayer itself 
 as a means of rescue from death, patriotic appeal for 
 the nation, the exercise of faith in connection with 
 requests, the value of importunity in one s appeals, 
 the effect of union in soliciting a needed hoon, and the 
 result of waiting upon God for spiritual blessings. 
 Many others equally striking might .have been cited, 
 but these have a variety of object and of characteris 
 tic spirit sufficient to instruct and encourage all saints. 
 Studied carefully, as one would other historic facts, 
 they give us the law of prayer, precisely as physical 
 phenomena give us physical laws. And the law thus 
 ascertained proves to be identical with that which was 
 deduced from Scriptural principles and promises, and 
 from the affirmations of reason, and which was stated 
 in the preceding chapters. A certain right state of 
 mind prompts to prayer, and is found to be linked to 
 the purposes and providence of God. 
 
 Of what an easy, quick access 
 My blessed Lord, art thou ! how suddenly 
 
 May our requests thine ears invade! 
 To show that state dislikes not easiness, 
 If I but lift mine eyes, my suit is made; 
 Thou canst no more not hear than thou canst die. 
 
 Of what supreme, almighty power 
 Is thy great arm, which spans the east and west, 
 
BIBLE- ANSWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 167 
 
 And tacks the centre to the sphere ! 
 By it do all things live their measured hour: 
 We cannot ask the thing which is not there, 
 Blaming the shallowness of our request. 
 
 Of what unmeasurable love 
 Art thou possest, who, when thou couldst not die, 
 
 Wert fain to take our flesh and curse, 
 And for our sakes, in person sin reprove ; 
 That by destroying that which tied thy purse, 
 Thou mightest make way for liberality. 
 
 Since then these three wait on thy throne, 
 Ease, Power and Love; I value prayer so, 
 
 That were I to leave all but one, 
 Wealth, fame, endowments, virtues, all should go, 
 I and dear prayer could together dwell, 
 And quickly gain, for each inch lost, an ell. 
 
 George Herbert. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PRATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 
 
 FOR many centuries, God s people have been accus 
 tomed to refer to the daily fall of manna for the Israel 
 ites, in the desert, and to the similar supplies brought 
 by the ravens to Elijah, as encouragements to faith. 
 It is not that they expect the same method to be used 
 now as then, or other than ordinary means to be em 
 ployed; but they believe that God, through human 
 arid other natural agencies, will, in answer to prayer, 
 supply the temporal need of his people. Do the facts 
 bear them out in this faith? Let us see. 
 
 A GERMAN MOTHER. There has been circulated- 
 in Germany a tract called " Eine Mutter" or "A 
 Mother." It was written by Dorothea TrudeL of 
 whom we shall hear in the next chapter, and is a 
 brief account of her own mother. She was a woman 
 of great faith in prayer, and though her husband was 
 a drinking man, who made little or no provision for 
 the family, and the children numbered eleven, and 
 their straits were sometimes great, they always were 
 saved from suffering. The tract says: "There were 
 times when we had not a farthing left in the house. 
 None but God knew of our condition, and he who 
 feedeth the young ravens when they cry, was not 
 
 (168) 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 169 
 
 unmindful of the petitions of his faithful child. He 
 ever helped us in our time of need. It is on this 
 account that our mother s favorite motto, i Pray, but 
 do not beg, has been so impressed upon our minds. 
 In the course of this discipline, many striking deliver 
 ances were afforded us, and every one around could 
 bear witness that we were not allowed to suffer want." 
 When one of the children was asked on what her 
 mother relied, in her poverty, the child said: "On 
 God alone; she never tells us how God is going to 
 help, but she is always certain his aid will come at the 
 right time." "But," answered the man, "we must 
 be governed by reason." "Nothing is said in the 
 Bible about reason," replied the child; "but it is 
 written, He that believeth shall not be confounded. " 
 When the mother learned of this conversation, she 
 said: "You will experience that they who always get 
 help just at the right time, are those who look in 
 steadfast faith to God, expecting him to act for and 
 aid them." 
 
 THE CASE OF STILLING. Henry Young Stilling was 
 a physician at the court of the Grand Duke of Baden, 
 and was noted for his skill as an oculist. He was an 
 intimate friend of Goethe, who urged him to write an 
 account of his life, because of his remarkable experi 
 ence of providential responses to prayer and faith. 
 He was desirous to study at a university, so as to be a 
 physician, and he prayed to be directed as to the par 
 ticular institution, and was led by a singular occur 
 rence to Strasburg. His plans would require a thou- 
 
 8 
 
170 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 sand dollars, while he knew not how to raise a 
 hundred. Bat he only remarked to his poor relatives, 
 " I wonder from what quarter my Heavenly Father 
 will provide me with money." He started with forty- 
 six dollars, but found himself at Frankfort, three 
 days distance from Strasbnrg, with but a dollar left. 
 He said nothing, but to God, to whom he made his 
 case known. "While walking and praying, he met Mr. 
 
 L , a merchant from his town, who, learning his 
 
 purpose, asked where the money was to come from., 
 and was told, from his rich Father in Heaven. Find 
 ing that Stilling had but a single dollar, he said: 
 "Well, I am one of your Father s stewards," and 
 handed him thirty-three dollars. But when this be 
 came reduced at Strasburg to one, again, he prayed 
 earnestly, and one morning his room-mate unexpect 
 edly presented him with thirty dollars. His fee to 
 the lecturer came due, and must be paid by Thursday 
 evening, or his name be stricken from the rolls; and 
 he had no money. He spent Thursday in prayer, and 
 at five o clock p. M., nothing had yet come, and he 
 broke out in perspiration, while the tears rolled down 
 his cheek. There was a knock at the door. It was 
 
 his landlord, Mr. II , who inquired how he liked 
 
 his room, and then asked whether he had brought any 
 money with him. u No, I have no money." Mr. 
 E. was surprised, and then said: "I see how it is; 
 God has sent me to help you." He left, but soon 
 came back with forty dollars. Stilling threw himself 
 on the floor, and thanked God with tears. His whole 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 171 
 
 university experience was of the same character. He 
 was often in want, and God always relieved him in 
 answer to prayer. And although he was surrounded 
 by skeptics, whom he could not always answer, his 
 faith in the power of prayer kept him from wavering 
 in his loyalty to Jesus Christ. 
 
 A CALIFORNIA EXPERIENCE. .Rev. Horace Bushnell, 
 D.D., in his "Nature and The Supernatural," refers to 
 an interesting character with whom he met in his 
 visit to California. He says of him: 
 
 " He had hired his little house of one room, in a 
 new trading town, that was planted last year, agreeing 
 to give a rent for it of ten dollars per month. At 
 length, On the day preceding the rent day, he found 
 that he had nothing in hand to meet the payment, and 
 could not see at all whence the money was to come. 
 Consulting with his wife, they agreed that prayer, so 
 often tried, was their only hope. They went accord 
 ingly to prayer, and found assurance that their want 
 should be supplied. That was the end of their trouble, 
 and there they rested, dismissing farther concern. But 
 the morning came, and the money did not. The rent- 
 owner made his appearance earlier than usual. As 
 he entered the door, their hearts began to sink, whis 
 pering that now, for once, they must give it up, and 
 allow that prayer had failed. But, before the demand 
 was made, a neighbor coming in called out the un 
 timely visitor, engaging him in conversation, a few 
 minutes, at the door. Meantime, a stranger came in, 
 saying, < Dr. I owe you ten dollars, for attending me 
 
172 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 in a fever, at such a time, and here is the money. 
 He could muster no recollection, either of the man or 
 of the service, but was willing to be convinced, and so 
 had the money in hand, after all, when the demand 
 was made. When Stilling and Francke recite their 
 multitudes of specific answers to prayer, their reports 
 are very hastily discredited by many, because of their 
 strangeness. But I have heard so many examples, 
 personally, of the kind just cited, that I begin to think 
 they are even common." 
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER AT SEA. The Rev. Dr. 
 Wilson of Philadelphia, had the following fact from 
 the pastor of the lady mentioned. The packet ship 
 Albion, full of passengers from America, was wrecked 
 about fifty years ago, on the coast of Ireland, and the 
 news was, that all on board had perished. A minister 
 near Philadelphia on reading a list of the lost, found 
 among them the name of one of the members of his 
 congregation, and went immediately to inform the 
 wife of the sad fact. She had been earnestly praying, 
 during the voyage of her husband, and had received 
 assurance of his safety amid great danger. Hence, to 
 the astonishment of her pastor, after he had informed 
 her of the shipwreck, and showed her the list of names 
 of those who were lost, she told him that it was a 
 mistake; that her husband had been in extreme peril, 
 but was not dead. When the next tidings were re 
 ceived, it proved that her husband was among the pas 
 sengers, and had been in great peril; but that he had 
 escaped, and was the only one saved ! 
 
PRAYER FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 173 
 
 DIRECTION SINGULARLY GIVEN. The famous Samuel 
 Rutherford, whose piety is fragrant to this, day in 
 Scotland, had a friend, a Mr. Blair, who was on his 
 way from London to Port Patrick, and who greatly 
 desired to make two visits, on his road, but had only 
 time for one; as the persons whom he wished to see 
 lived on different routes. One of these was Mr. Kuth- 
 erford, who resided at An worth, and the. other was a 
 lady of special piety, Marion Macknaught, who lived 
 at Kirkcudbright. Coming to the parting of the road, 
 where he mast decide to which of the two places to go 
 he dropped the bridle on the neck of his horse, and 
 prayed earnestly to be divinely directed. He allowed 
 the horse, then, to take his own way, which proved 
 to be the road to Kirkcudbright. "When he reached 
 that place, behold there were both of the friends whom 
 he desired to see; for Mr. Rutherford was on a visit 
 to Marion Macknaught ! Here is a case to which ap 
 plies the statement of the wise man (Prov. xvi : 33) : 
 " The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing 
 thereof is of the Lord." Even the apparent accidents 
 of life, and the movements amid the lower orders of 
 creation enter into the divine plans, and are subordi 
 nated to prayer; even as Jesus assured his disciples 
 that God s purpose was concerned with the falling of 
 a sparrow. 
 
 PRAYER FOR A RESULT IN PARLIAMENT. In the 
 memoirs of Sir Powell Buxton, who was one of the 
 champions of freedom, in the long conflict in the 
 British Parliament over West India emancipation 
 
174 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 occurs a letter to his daughter, in reference to a recent 
 "division," or vote in the House of Commons, in 
 which he says: " What led to that division ? If ever 
 there was a subject which occupied our prayers, it was 
 this. Do you remember how we desired that God 
 would give me the Spirit in that emergency? How 
 we quoted the promise, He that lacketh wisdom, let 
 him ask it of the Lord, and it shall be given him? 
 And how I kept open that passage in the Old Testa 
 ment, in which it is said, i We have no might against 
 this great company that cometh against us, neither 
 know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee - 
 the Spirit of the Lord replying, Be not afraid nor 
 dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the 
 battle is not yours but God s! If you want to see 
 the passage, open my Bible; it will turn of itself to 
 the place. I sincerely believe that prayer was the 
 cause of that division; and I am confirmed in this by 
 knowing that we by no means calculated on the effect. 
 The course we took appeared to be right, and we fol 
 lowed it blindly." What a pity it is, that men do 
 not resort more continually to God for needed wis 
 dom, and for important success. Especially how 
 desirable it is, that philanthropic reforms should be 
 conducted in a spirit of prayer and faith, and not from 
 mere natural impulse. 
 
 PRAYER DECIDES THE DESTINY OF A COLLEGE. One 
 of the most flourishing and influential literary insti 
 tutions in the land is that at Oberlin, Ohio. More 
 than a thousand students gather there, every year, in 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 175 
 
 the different departments, and the ministers and 
 teachers who have thence gone forth into every part of 
 our land, and of the world, have been an incalculable 
 power for good. Oberlin has been a center of piety 
 and of reform. A continuous revival has marked its 
 history for forty years, and it has stood in the fore 
 front of the witnesses against sin. Its part in the 
 anti-slavery conflict is well known, and especially 
 because it dared from the beginning to open its doors 
 to the proscribed colored race, giving them equal 
 literary advantages and kind personal treatment with 
 others. This stamped upon the institution what, at 
 the time, was a most unpopular characteristic, yet 
 one which, in the end, made it strong in influence for 
 good, and rallied around it a host of devoted Chris 
 tian friends, who have grown in numbers with each 
 successive year. 
 
 But this step, we may be sure, was not taken without 
 a conflict of opinion among the good men who were 
 founding the institution. When the proposition came 
 up, in the board of trustees, it gave rise to an earnest 
 and protracted debate; for many of them thought that 
 thus to defy public sentiment would be the ruin of the 
 college. Funds would not be contributed, parents 
 would not send their children, odium would be ex 
 cited, and quite likely mob violence would be aroused. 
 It was replied, that Christian men should stand by 
 truth and right, and should live out, and not live 
 down, their principles. God could be trusted to take 
 care of the consequences. Finally, amid great excite- 
 
176 PRAYER AD ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 merit and agitation, the vote was taken, and stood a 
 tie! The president of the board cast the deciding 
 vote in favor of the proposition, and the glorious 
 future of Oberlin was decided! But that it may be 
 known that prayer directed the momentous decision, 
 let this extract be read from a letter written to the 
 author by Mrs. E. R. Shipherd, widow of the founder 
 of Oberlin; who still lives, to rejoice over the events 
 of that fateful day, and at whose house the trustees 
 held their meeting. Little did those brethren, in their 
 warm discussion, think that God was ^ivin^. in answer 
 
 7 o o" 
 
 to the prayers of a circle of sisters then in supplica 
 tion over that very matter, one of the most signal 
 proofs on record of his readiness to fulfill the promise: 
 " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that 
 giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it 
 shall be given him." James i: 5. 
 
 CLEVELAND, O., Sept. 1, 1875. 
 Dear Sir : Your communication is before me, 
 and I cheerfully give you the particulars of the scene 
 which transpired during the discussions as to receiv 
 ing the colored people into the institution. The trus 
 tees met at our house, and my room was adjoining, 
 and all their deliberations were easily heard. As 
 there was a difference of opinion expressed with some 
 warmth, a couple of our sisters retired for prayer, 
 while I remained to give the progress of the discus 
 sion. They would call occasionally to inquire, and I 
 kept them posted, until at length, Father Keep, who 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 177 
 
 had just been elected president of the board, threw in 
 the casting vote, and came to my room, to relieve our 
 minds; as we felt that nothing could decide that 
 question but the Spirit of God, which we felt had 
 commenced the work, and would direct it aright. As 
 to facts respecting answers to prayer, I have no more 
 doubt than I have of my own existence. In the early 
 history of the Oberlin work, the closet was their only 
 bank, and that never failed. Time and again Mr. 
 Shipherd would come from his study and remark that 
 they were in need of a certain amount of money, and 
 he knew not where it was to come from. But, he 
 would add, "it will come!" and he would call a few 
 of the brethren together to pray; and I never knew 
 it to fail, that, within twenty-four hours the money 
 would come, in a perfectly unexpected way. 
 
 Truly yours, in Christian sympathy, 
 
 MRS. E. K. SHIPHERD. 
 
 How WASHINGTON ALLSTON WAS RELIEVED. This 
 celebrated artist had to struggle, at first, with great 
 difficulties, and to endure the pinchings of poverty. 
 At one time, he was reduced to such straits, that he 
 locked himself in his studio, and gave himself to 
 prayer for a loaf of bread, for himself and wife. While 
 thus engaged, there was a knock at the door; and when 
 it was opened, a stranger appeared, who inquired 
 whether the beautiful painting, " The Angel Uriel " 
 was still in the artist s possession. Mr. Allston pro 
 duced it from a corner, and wiped off the dust. The 
 
 8 
 
 F THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
178 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 stranger said that* he had greatly admired it at the 
 Royal Exhibition, and inquired the price. The artist 
 replied that as nobody had appreciated it, or been 
 willing to give anything near its price, he had ceased 
 to offer it. " Would four hundred pounds purchase 
 it?" said the stranger. "I never dared to ask half 
 of that." "Then it is mine," exclaimed the visitor, 
 who explained that he was the Marquis of Stafford, 
 and took possession .of the treasure, leaving the artist 
 overwhelmed with grateful astonishment at the sudden 
 answer of his prayer. 
 
 PRAYER FOR RAIN. Nothing has excited more rid 
 icule, on the part of the skeptical physical philoso 
 phers than the practice of Christian communities to 
 pray for rain, in a time of drought. They admit 
 that jmen may have such knowledge of nature s laws 
 as to put them to use, for the production of desired 
 effects; but they have no faith that God may do this 
 on a larger scale, in answer to the supplications of his 
 people. They even concede that men have produced 
 rain at times, in limited localities, by conflagrations 
 and cannonades; yet they do not see how God could 
 possibly do the same thing, by a control of natural 
 laws infinitely easy, without overturning the physical 
 universe! But, for aught they know, any angel may 
 understand and control the conditions of rain-making, 
 as readily as a philosophic skeptic on earth can pro 
 duce and condense steam. Let us examine facts. 
 
 Statement of Rev. Enoch Pond, D. D. This ven 
 erable father in the ministry in a letter to the author, 
 
PRAYEK FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 179 
 
 dated Bangor, Me., August 24, 1875, says: " I had this 
 account from the late Dr. Snell, of North Brookfield, 
 Mass. It was a time of severe drought in all the north 
 ern part of Worcester County, and the Bev. Mr. Tom- 
 linson, of Oakham a man eminent for the fervor of 
 his piety and the efficacy of his prayers appointed 
 a day of fasting and prayer on account of it; and Dr. 
 Snell, who was settled in a neighboring town, con 
 cluded to ride over on horseback, and attend the meet 
 ing with his Brother Tomlinson. The day was fair, 
 and the sun hot, and everything seemed parched and 
 ready to die with thirst. The meeting was well at 
 tended, and Mr. Tomlinson was specially earnest and 
 importunate in his prayer for rain. He could not give 
 the matter up. God only could grant the help that 
 was needed, and he must grant it. After meeting, 
 Dr. Snell mounted his horse, to ride home, some six 
 or eight miles. He saw a little strip of cloud in the 
 western sky, but thought nothing of it, at first. Soon, 
 however, it began to enlarge, and gather blackness, 
 and before I got out of Oakham, said Dr. Snell, I 
 was drenched with rain. Oakham was thoroughly 
 wetted, and (which was very remarkable) but little rain 
 fell on any of the neighboring towns." 
 
 Statement of Professor Henry Cowles. In the 
 Oberlin Evangelical of August 31, 1853, edited by 
 Professor Cowles, is this editorial statement of recent 
 facts in that place: 
 
 "The scenes in our church, on Sabbath, August 
 14th, demand a suitable notice, in honor of divine 
 
180 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 mercy. A heavy drought lay on us, coupled with in 
 tense heat. It affected our mind the more, perhaps, 
 for our having noticed, the day previous, that the au 
 tumn grains were wilting under the scorching sun, 
 and that the potatoes, yet small, had apparently ceased 
 to grow. There had been rain in the counties west of 
 us, from fifty to a hundred miles distant; but we could 
 see only the dim form of spent showers : no rain 
 reached our village. Under these circumstances, we 
 met for Sabbath morning worship. Our pastor prayed 
 for rain. His prayer expressed our entire confidence 
 that God always did things well; that he knew, infi 
 nitely better than we, the reasons for giving or with 
 holding rain; but that he would not be offended with 
 us, if we should express before him our views of the 
 case, as far as we could see, and our feeling of intense 
 desire, that he would grant us what seemed to us so 
 great a blessing. * * * The prayer closed, we sang 
 a hymn, and the pastor gave out his text and entered 
 upon his discourse, when the rain broke upon us in 
 torrents. It is rare that we have felt God s presence 
 more deeply than in that solemn moment. Our first 
 thought was, let us suspend this sermon, and give pub 
 lic thanks to Almighty God. Soon the pastor did 
 pause, the storm roaring so loud he could scarcely be 
 heard over the house, and said: Perhaps I ought to 
 stop preaching, and lead out in thanksgiving. After 
 a short sermon, we had a thanksgiving hymn, in which 
 all the people seemed to praise God with one consent. 
 The rain continued with little cessation for four hours, 
 
PRAYEK FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 181 
 
 and then onward for four days, before the weather 
 became again settled; so that the earth is supplied 
 with water as we rarely see it in the middle of August. 
 It was noticed by those without the house, on that 
 Sabbath morning, that it began to rain almost without 
 clouds; that they swept up from every quarter of the 
 heavens, showing that our village was the center of 
 the storm." 
 
 Statement of Rev. Charles G. Finney. About 
 three months before his lamented death, Mr. Finney 
 gave a reminiscence, which Professor Cowles has kindly 
 furnished for use in this volume. Better to under 
 stand it, one must remember that Oberlin lies about 
 ten miles south of Lake Erie, which is the lake refer 
 red to below. Professor Cowles writes: 
 
 " Somewhat more than twenty years ago, the village 
 of Oberlin and its adjacent country along the lake 
 shore, suffered severely through the hot season from a 
 total failure of rain, for nearly three months. Clouds, 
 that seemed to promise rain, were repelled from the 
 heated dry atmosphere over the land, and attracted by 
 the more moist atmosphere over the lake, to pour out 
 their waters there. On one such occasion, the clouds 
 had gathered dark, low, and heavy over the lake, and 
 lay there with no particular indication of rising. 
 President Finney walked out with his eye on these 
 clouds. I give the sequel in his own words, as they 
 fell from his lips, less than three months since. In 
 this walk, I met Ralph, who turned sharply upon me. 
 6 Mr. Finney, I should like to know what you mean, 
 
182 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 in preaching that God is always wise and always good ; 
 when you see him pouring out that great rain upon 
 the lake, where it can do no good, and leaving us to 
 suffer so terribly for the want of that wasted water? 
 His words cut me to the heart; I turned, and ran 
 home to my closet, fell on my knees, and told the Lord 
 what .Ralph had been saying about him ; and besought 
 him, for the honor of his great name, to confound this 
 caviler, and show forth the glory of his power and the 
 greatness of his love. I pleaded with him, that he 
 had encouraged his people to pray for rain, and that 
 now the time seemed to have come for him to show 
 his power in this thing, and his faithfulness as a hearer 
 of prayer. Before I rose from my knees, there was a 
 sound of a rushing mighty wind. I looked out, and 
 lo! the heavens were black; that cloud was rolling up, 
 and soon the rain fell in torrents, two full hours. 
 The writer himself remembers how that cloud lay over 
 the lake; how it drove him, also, to his closet; and 
 that soon and signally the prayers of that hour came 
 back to us in mighty rain." 
 
 THE BANK OF FAITH. This is the title of a little 
 book, quaint and curious, by a very eccentric Congre 
 gational minister in England, who died in 1813. He 
 was noted for his faith in divine providence, even to 
 the minutest events of daily life, and used to write 
 his name thus : William Huntington, S. S. The S. S. 
 meant Sinner Saved! The book is an autobiography 
 from this one point of view, and every page discloses 
 events in answer to prayer for temporal relief. There 
 
PEAYER FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 183 
 
 is space here for but a brief extract, which may be 
 taken as a specimen of the entire volume. Of a time 
 when he was in great need, he says: " However, I 
 found that God now began much to try my patience, 
 and that I ought to importune and watch, and wait 
 upon the Lord, and to keep my eye fixed on him, as a 
 servant s eye is on the hand of his master, until I ob 
 tained an answer. And I never waited on his Blessed 
 Majesty in vain; for it was sure to come at length. 
 After putting up many petitions, and having been 
 kept long in suspense, I one night called on Mr. and 
 Mrs. Smith, in Chandler Street, Oxford Iload, who 
 were great friends to me. Before I departed, they 
 generously made me a present of three guineas. I 
 numbly beg their pardon for mentioning their names, 
 and exposing their secret alms; but as I prayed to my 
 Father, which seeth in secret, and he in mercy re 
 warded me openly, I therefore must proclaim it upon, 
 the housetop, to encourage the weak faith of others, 
 that they may make God their Guardian and their 
 Bank." 
 
 Again : " The next morning a person knocked 
 at my door, desiring to see me. When l.e came into 
 my study, I looked at him, and perceived him to be a 
 gentleman that I had never seen before. He told me 
 that he had once heard me preach at Dr. Gilford s 
 meeting-house, and once or twice in Margaret Street 
 Chapel, and that he had heard me greatly to his satis 
 faction; and the reason of his coming to see me now 
 was, that he had been exercised, the last night with a 
 
184 PBAYEE AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 dream; that he dreamed the word of God came to 
 him, saying, < if thy brother be waxen poor, thou shalt 
 open thy hand to thy poor brother, etc. He asked 
 me if there was such a portion of Scripture. I ans 
 wered, the words were these: [the whole connected pas 
 sage being given.] He told me many of these words 
 came to him in his sleep; and in the morning, when 
 he awoke, he felt the power of them. In wondering 
 who this poor brother could be, he informed me, it 
 was impressed on his mind that I was the poor brother 
 about whom he had dreamed, and asked me concern 
 ing my circumstances. I then told him of the trial I 
 was in, and as he was fully satisfied it was of God, he 
 wondered much at it. At his departure he gave me a 
 new pair of doeskin gloves, two new white handker 
 chiefs, and a guinea. He then blessed me, and left 
 me; and I do not remember ever seeing him before 
 that time, nor but once since. Thus God, who had 
 commanded a widow to sustain Elijah, commanded 
 this man to relieve me. The next day, a friend told 
 me that a person had left a guinea with him for me; 
 and while at Mr. Byrchmore s, in Margaret Street, a 
 lady came to his door in a coach, inquiring for me. 
 "When I went to the door, she put her hand out, and 
 gave me a guinea, and then ordered the coachman to 
 drive away, having done all the business God sent her 
 to do. 
 
 Thus our Most Bountiful Benefactor answered 
 these, my poor petitions, also, after he had been 
 pleased, for a time, to exercise my faith and patience, 
 
PKATEB FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 185 
 
 in order to encourage me to a stronger confidence in 
 his grace and providence. * * * At another time, 
 when Providence had been exercising my faith and 
 patience, till the cupboard was quite empty, in answer 
 to simple prayer, he sent me one of the largest hams 
 that I ever saw. Indeed I saw clearly, that I had 
 nothing to do but to pray, to study and to preach, for 
 God took care of me and of my family also, agree 
 ably to his own promise: c Seek ye first the kingdom 
 of God and his righteousness, and all these things 
 shall be added unto you. 
 
 A COLLEGE STUDENT SUPPORTED. The case of Stil 
 ling at the German university can be paralleled by 
 many cases in our own land. Rev. Wm. L. Bray, of 
 Kalamazoo, Mich., writes thus : " My college chum, 
 Andrew J. Clapp, now in heaven, went through col 
 lege on prayer. He had no means of his own. He 
 would not beg, and was not able to teach ; so he laid 
 himself on God s promises, and never was disap 
 pointed. Many times, just when he must have 
 money or leave, the money came, and very often from 
 unknown sources. Often it was enclosed in an 
 envelope, with not a word to tell where it came from. 
 He believed God sent it. We were in Amherst Col 
 lege; entered in 1854, and graduated in 1858." 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF MRS. JANE CONRY PITHEY. Mrs. 
 Pithey is a member of the Centenary Methodist Epis 
 copal Church, in Chicago. She has become known to 
 a wide circle of Christian friends, as one who lives 
 wholly by faith. For several years she has been dis- 
 
186 PRAYEK AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 abled by the shaking palsy, and has received all her 
 supplies in answer to prayers. She lives in a small 
 frame house, on a narrow and unpleasant street; but, 
 though suffering much from disease, being quite 
 helpless in her chair, is uniformly patient and cheer 
 ful. She told the author of this book, that her first 
 experience of the readiness of her Heavenly Father to 
 hear prayer, was when she was living in Dublin, Ire 
 land, and was but sixteen years of age. Having 
 learned to play on the piano, at school, she was very 
 anxious to possess one; but the ordinary price was 
 far above the family means. One day it occurred to 
 her that God heard prayer, and that it might be he 
 would give her a piano. So she expressed to him her 
 desires with childlike simplicity and faith. A day or 
 two later, she was walking along the street, and saw a 
 music store, which she entered, and then inquired the 
 price of a piano which stood before her. To her 
 amazement, the man replied, " five pounds.". Seeing 
 her surprise at the low price, he added, "I know 
 nothing of this piano, except that it was brought here 
 to be sold for five pounds. She hastened home, told her 
 mother, obtained .the money, and secured her heart s 
 desire. This fact taught her a life-long lesson to 
 carry all her wants, small or great, to her Heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 When her husband died, he left in his pocket 
 book only two silver quarter-dollars. Besides the 
 little cottage, this was all with which to support her 
 self and a bed-ridden mother of nearly ninety-ears. 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 1ST 
 
 But she went to God in prayer, and day by day, ever 
 since, each want has been met. Each needed article 
 was asked for by name, until her hired girl, a Roman 
 Catholic, was astounded at the constant answers 
 given. One morning, as Mrs. Pithey was rising from 
 her knees, at family worship, the girl burst out: 
 " You have forgotten to pray for coal, and we are 
 entirely out." So, as she stood, she added a petition 
 for the coal. About an hour after, the bell rang, she 
 went to the door, and there was a load of coal ! She 
 opened the kitchen door and quietly said, " the coal 
 has come;" when the girl clapped her hands together, 
 and, with an exclamation of astonishment, leaped from 
 the floor. The coal was sent by a Mr. Schufeldt, who 
 knew nothing of her want, and who had never sent 
 anything before, nor ever has since. She felt the 
 Ivant of a carpet, and thought that her Father in 
 Heaven would be pleased to give her one. She asked 
 him for it, and in a few days came a present of a sum 
 more than sufficient to buy one. And her sympathy 
 with others equals her freedom from anxiety in her 
 own behalf. When the Foundlings Home was started, 
 she gave the first dollar toward a permanent build 
 ing, long before any one else had thought of such an 
 idea; and Dr. Shipman, her physician, and also the 
 superintendent of the Home just referred to, says that 
 he never knew her to worry but once, and that was 
 when she had unexpectedly two barrels of nour in her 
 house, instead of one, and had not been able to get 
 one of them carried to the Foundlings Home. Wish- 
 
188 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ing, lately, to give a marriage present to a girl who 
 had lived with her, she fixed upon a certain sum, in 
 her mind, as appropriate, and then asked the Lord for 
 the money. In a short time, Miss D , a city mis 
 sionary, handed her that exact sum, which had been 
 sent to her from Massachusetts. 
 
 WELSH CALEB. Rev. Dr. Joseph Stennet was a 
 Welsh minister, settled in Abergavenny. One of 
 his parishioners was named Caleb, and lived eight 
 miles away, in a solitary place, among the hills. There 
 came severe winter-storms, which blocked the roads 
 for weeks, and Dr. S. feared his poor parishioner would 
 suffer, and perhaps starve. But it turned out that, all 
 the time, he fared uncommonly well. When, after 
 a few days, the last morsel of food was gone, he went 
 to prayer over the matter with his family, and then 
 retired to bed with a peaceful faith. He slept soundly 
 till day broke, when there was a knock at the door, 
 and a horse stood there, loaded with provisions. The 
 man who rode the horse refused to tell whence they 
 came, except that God sent them. The load contained 
 bread, flour, oat-meal, butter, cheese, salt and fresh 
 meat, etc., enough to last beyond the weeks of impris 
 onment. It was two years before Dr. Stennet was 
 able to ascertain who the benefactor was. He was 
 calling in the neighboring city of Hereford, on a Dr. 
 Talbot, who had a pious wife, though himself an infi 
 del. In the course of conversation, he alluded to the 
 case of Caleb. At that Dr. Talbot said he knew the 
 man, and related how he once conversed with Caleb 
 
PBAYEE FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 189 
 
 as he was coming from a meeting held in a barn; but 
 thought no more of him till that severe winter. Then 
 he was in bed, one night, and, either asleep or awake, 
 thought he heard a voice say, u Send provisions to 
 Caleb." Thinking it a dream, he tried to go to sleep, 
 but heard the same words again, more loudly. He 
 awoke his wife, who also thought it a dream; but, on 
 a third call, he got up, called his man, loaded his 
 horse, and sent him off among the hills to find Caleb. 
 It is no wonder that the man s only story on deliver 
 ing the load was, " God sent it, I believe." 
 
 O God of Bethel ! by whose hand 
 
 Thy people still are fed; 
 Who, through this weary pilgrimage 
 
 Hast all our fathers led 
 Our vows, our prayers we now present 
 
 Before thy throne of grace: 
 God of our fathers ! be the God 
 
 Of their succeeding race. 
 
 Through each perplexing path of life, 
 
 Our wandering footsteps guide; 
 Give us each day our daily bread, 
 
 And raiment fit provide. 
 Oh spread thy covering wings around, 
 
 Till all our wand rings cease, 
 And at our Father s loved abode, 
 
 Our souls arrive in peace. 
 
 Such blessings from thy gracious hand, 
 
 Our humble prayers implore; 
 And thou shalt be our chosen God 
 
 And portion evermore. 
 
 John Logan. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 
 (Concluded.) 
 
 This subject is of such importance that another 
 chapter must be devoted to it, and the more so, that 
 even the church has so little faith in the promise : 
 "Trust in the Lord, and do good: so shalt thou dwell 
 in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Ps. xxxvii : 3. 
 
 THE EXPERIENCE OF Miss LUCY R. DRAKE. When 
 this page meets the eye of the reader, Miss Drake will 
 probably be on her way to India, whither she goes as" 
 a faith-missionary, relying on God for support. The 
 author s acquaintance with her is limited, though 
 he has long and intimately known some of her rela 
 tives. Her experience of the healing power of the 
 Lord will be found in a succeeding chapter. In con 
 nection with the present topic, she has kindly written 
 out a narrative, which is now presented with slight 
 abridgement. It is dated, Grove Hall, Boston High 
 lands, Mass., Sept. 10, 1875. 
 
 " Many years ago, I wished to go as a missionary to 
 India, but I knew that I could not obtain a certificate 
 from any physician that I was in health, and therefore 
 it would be useless to offer myself to any Board of 
 Missions. It had never entered my mind, that I might 
 
 (190) 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 191 
 
 go as an independent missionary, and trust God to 
 support me, instead of leaning upon a pledged salary; 
 or, in other words, I never had seen the great practi 
 cal power in the words: Seek first the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness, and all these things shall 
 be added unto you} 
 
 " Upon entering a work where the manager and labor 
 ers were having faith in God to care for their temporal 
 wants, while they obeyed his call, [the Consumptive s 
 Home, Boston,] I began to have some of the same 
 faith in God, and relinquished my salary, which in 
 this way would go into the Lord s treasury. But still 
 I -clung to the annual interest of a few hundred dollars 
 I had saved, thinking that if I should come into great 
 straits, I should have something to which I could 
 turn. This implied a fear, a lack of trust, and I had 
 according to my faith; for while this fear continued, 
 I was obliged to live almost wholly upon this interest. 
 I had held the three hundred dollars for some time as 
 the Lord s, and finally he called for it to be put into 
 the same treasury where my salary went. I simply 
 asked that I might know his will, and be convinced 
 that he did call upon me to give up all my dependence. 
 I did so; without any eye but his beholding it, and 
 he richly poured his blessings into my soul. I never 
 have regretted it. 
 
 " Full trust in him for temporal wants and money 
 began now to work. The first launch of faith was in 
 reference to giving. One evening, my heart had been 
 wrung in deep anguish for my heathen sisters, and I 
 
192 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 "wished I had money to give toward their enlighten 
 ment. The thought came, why not ask God for it; 
 and I believed I might. In two hours no person 
 knowing of my prayer a stranger came to me, at 
 the close of a meeting, and said : i I know nothing of 
 your circumstances, but I cannot help giving you five 
 dollars. At once I knew that my father had fulfilled 
 the desire of them that fear him, and I told the 
 stranger where and how the money was designated. 
 Similar instances have frequently occurred since. 
 
 "As to temporal wants for myself, I soon came where 
 I must ask, or go without positive necessaries. As a 
 husband would not wish to have a wife going about 
 and telling others her wants, but would wish to have 
 the honor of supporting her, so I believed that my 
 Savior wished me to whisper my needs in his ear alone. 
 While seriously thinking what I was to do, in my 
 then present need, the following passed in my mind: 
 4 What do you want? I want money. Then ask for 
 it. And I did, and I went home, that night, with 
 the firm assurance that I should find much money; 
 which I did in a letter sent by a friend, who knew 
 nothing of what I was passing through. In less than 
 six months, the Lord gave me more than half of the 
 three hundred dollars. I look to the indwelling Spirit 
 to teach me how to pray for temporal things as well 
 as spiritual, and I must say to his praise, that I never 
 prayed for one, two, ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty dollars, 
 without obtaining exactly the sum I asked. Again, 
 when it has appeared to me, that I needed certain ar- 
 
PRAYER FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 193 
 
 tides of clothing, but still I did not, know, I have 
 asked him to send the money for them, or the clothes, 
 if he saw it to be a need. Sometimes they have come, 
 but not always: still it was blessed to know that if they 
 did not come, it was not a need; for he hath promised 
 to * supply our need. 
 
 " I have been engaged in evangelistic work, in differ 
 ent parts of our country, for years, and never once 
 have I been permitted to know a real necessity unmet, 
 though sometimes placed in a strange city, not know 
 ing how I was to have the means to return home. Yet 
 it always came, though sometimes by the hand of a 
 stranger. I might be left, also, without a cent, but 
 money came, ere I needed it. Trust for books and 
 opportunities for mental improvement, to assist me in 
 my work for souls, has also been rewarded most won 
 derfully. 
 
 " Having been thus educated by the Lord, it need be 
 no matter of surprise, that, when the Lord Jesus com 
 missioned me, last February, to go to India, to point 
 those who l sit in darkness to the blessed Lamb of God, 
 while no support was pledged by man, yet I could 
 have no fear that he who cares for the sparrows, would 
 for me. I have only looked to the Lord, and after I 
 was willing to go out as the disciples did, (Mat. x: 9, 
 10,) he most abundantly supplied ; so that even every 
 thought and wish has been met by a tender Father, 
 into whose ear alone my wants have been breathed. 
 If my eyes had been opened, years ago, to see my 
 privilege as a < child, or heir, eight years more 
 
 9 
 
194: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 might have been given to work in India. Every soul 
 that shall find Christ through my instrumentality 
 there, will praise God that he gave me faith to trust 
 him for care of the body while engaged in his work. 
 If a human parent only desired to have his child 
 spiritually enlightened, but cared not whether he was 
 fed or clothed, and did not provide for both,, all would 
 exclaim against him ; yet our unbelief in our divine 
 parent for these things robs him of much glory, and 
 our souls of much comfort and freedom from anxious 
 care about those things. < after which the Gentiles 
 seek. This life of trust in my Father for all my 
 need, as the little child trusts its earthly parent, has 
 become so delightful, that I rejoice in the prospect of 
 going to India without any pledged support from 
 man, to teach them there what a Father they have in 
 heaven, who will freely give them all things, with 
 his dear Son." Rom. viii: 32. 
 
 This is a narrative of extraordinary interest, and 
 modestly points out the way in which one soul thinks 
 it has been divinely led, in answer to prayer. Miss 
 Drake does not assert that all souls are to be led in 
 precisely the same way, or are to imitate the specific 
 acts which she has performed. It does not follow 
 that missionary societies are unwise, or that ladies 
 who seek a missionary work are to refuse to go to the 
 heathen under their auspices, merely because Miss 
 Drake, with her peculiar training, finds the independ 
 ent method best suited to her aims and habits. Faith 
 need put us in bondage to no one method. The im- 
 
PRAYER FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 195 
 
 portant thing is to follow the movings of God s Spirit, 
 the indications of his providence, and the directions 
 of his word. Many have had the same spirit of con 
 secration and of faith, who have found their work in 
 other ways, and have been prospered in it marvel- 
 ously. Each may be permitted to testify what God 
 has done for and through him or her; but no one 
 may make personal experience an iron rule for others. 
 God led John the Baptist to a different work, and a 
 different method, from that which he assigned to his 
 Son Jesus. Yet each was accepted John in his 
 strict, ascetic life and legal preaching, and Jesus in 
 his free social converse and doctrine of loving 
 liberty. 
 
 BILLY BRAY S PULPIT. Billy Bray was a Cornish 
 miner, very poor, but very zealous and prayerful, and 
 full of faith. He built several chapels, where he min 
 istered, as opportunity offered. One of these was at 
 Kerley Downs, and it lacked a pulpit. Billy saw, at 
 an auction of old furniture, a three-cornered cupboard, 
 which he thought he could alter into a pulpit. He 
 asked a man near him what it would go for, as he 
 wanted it for a pulpit; and the man recognizing him, 
 said it would bring about six shillings, and handed 
 him the money as a gift for the object. When it was 
 put up, Billy immediately bid six shillings ; but, to 
 his surprise and chagrin, a man behind him bid seven, 
 and took it, as Billy had not a penny to add. " "Well, 
 Father do know best," said he, falling back on his 
 faith; and down he went to his chapel to pray about 
 
196 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 it. Gaining fresh assurance there that all was right, 
 he came out and saw the cupboard going along on a 
 cart. He followed it, and it was carried to a house, 
 where they tried in vain to get it through the door; it 
 was just too large! "Here s a mess," said the pur 
 chaser; I ve given seven shillings for it, and now shall 
 have to chop it up for firewood." Now was Billy s 
 opportunity, and with twinkling eyes he stepped up, 
 and said, " I ll give you six shillings for it, if you will 
 carry it down to my little chapel." " That I will," 
 cried the man, glad of the chance. " Bless the Lord !" 
 ejaculated Billy ; " tis just like him. He knew I 
 couldn t carry it myself, so he got this man to carry 
 it for me." And was it not so? 
 
 * How A SLAVE OBTAINED FREEDOM. In Prof. Park s 
 memoir of Eev. Dr. Samuel ^ Hopkins, he gives an 
 account of a remarkable African, who was a slave in 
 Newport, K. I., and who made great progress in self- 
 education. The following account of the manner in 
 which he gained his freedom rests on the authority 
 of several eminent men, who knew the facts. The 
 slave s name was Newport Gardner. " He was allowed 
 to labor for his own profit during whatever time he 
 might gain by extra diligence. The slave devoted all 
 this gained time to procuring the means of liberating 
 himself and family. He was finally advised by a 
 deacon of Mr. Hopkins church, to spend this time in 
 fasting and prayer for his liberation; and he was 
 assured of more rapid success in this course than in 
 that of manual labor. Accordingly, having gained a 
 
PRATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 197 
 
 day, this pious negro, without communicating his 
 plan to any but Mr. Hopkins and two or three Chris 
 tian friends, spent that day in secret fasting and 
 prayer, that he might obtain his freedom. His mas 
 ter, totally ignorant of his slave s occupation, sent for 
 him about four o clock in the afternoon, but was told 
 that Newport was engaged for himself, this being his 
 gained day. No matter; call him, says Captain 
 Gardner. After some hesitation the slave was called, 
 and his owner gave him a paper, on which was writ 
 ten: <I, Caleb Gardner, of Newport, Rhode Island, 
 do this day manumit and release forever, Newport 
 Gardner, his wife and children, etc., etc., adding 
 some conditions which could easily be complied with. 
 The slave received his manumission with gratitude to 
 his owner, but with still deeper gratitude to his all- 
 wise Disposer above, who had signally answered his 
 request for freedom, even before he had finished his 
 supp lication. 
 
 ESCAPE FROM A BEAR. Rev. James French, a Bap 
 tist Home Missionary, in Colorado, writes to the 
 author, that in 1874, Mr. I. H. Wilt, a devotedly pious 
 brother, clerk of the Baptist church in Bear Canon, 
 Douglas Co,, Colorado, was hunting for cows, in the Foot 
 Hills of the Rocky Mountains, not far from his home; 
 when he was attacked by an enraged cinnamon bear, 
 which had probably been wounded by some one shortly 
 before. Having no means of defense, he sought to 
 escape by climbing a tree, but was overtaken by the 
 bear, who seized him from below by the feet, and tore 
 
198 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 his boots with his teeth, and mangled his flesh to the 
 bones. In his extremity he remembered that God of 
 whom David said : u The Lord that delivered me out 
 of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, 
 he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." 
 1 Sam. xvii: 7. To use his own words, a I cried unto 
 the Lord." The prayer was instantly heard ; for the 
 bear at once released his hold, and ran away. Mr. 
 French says: " I saw him, when he was a cripple from 
 his wounds, and heard him relate how the Lord heard 
 his prayer, when hope from all earthly sources had 
 gone." Of course, in this, as in a multitude of 
 other cases, one may say, that there was a mere natural 
 coincidence; that just at the time the man called on 
 God for help, the bear had exhausted his rage, and was 
 ready to leave. But even a determined unbeliever 
 must think the coincidence not only marvelously hap 
 py, but very singular, seeing that the bear not only 
 ceased inflicting wounds, but, instead of sitting down 
 to watch, as if seized with a sudden panic, inconti 
 nently ran away ! Certainly one cannot censure the 
 saved man, if in his gratitude, he thinks that God 
 heard his prayer, and as surely delivered him from 
 death, as he did Daniel in the den of lions. 
 
 REPEATED INSTANCES OF HELP. A lady-missionary 
 writing, Sept. 17, 1875, from a New England city, 
 bears this testimony to the author, of God s faithful 
 ness in sending needed aid: "In my own case, it has 
 occurred several times. Once, being out of money 
 and provisions, I asked my dear Heavenly Father to 
 
PRAYER FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 199 
 
 give me my daily bread. In less than an hour, one 
 nearly a stranger handed me three dollars. Several 
 times, when away from home, and nearly oat of money, 
 my wants have been met, in answer to prayer; and 
 in every instance, the persons giving me the money 
 knew nothing of my special needs. Once, when 
 house-rent became due, and I had no money, I asked 
 the Lord for it, and a person called and paid a debt 
 amounting to more than was needed. One morning, 
 two years ago, the promise in my Text-book was, He 
 shall give thee the desire of thy heart; and feeling the 
 special need of counsel and advice, I asked the Lord 
 to send to me Rev. Henry Belden, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 from whom we had not heard for many months. He 
 came that day, on the noon train. One bitter cold 
 night, two years ago, last winter, a widow lady living 
 in Connecticut, being very destitute, arose at the mid 
 night hour, and asked God to send help. That same 
 night, a cousin of hers, living in Louisiana, from whom 
 she had not heard for years, was so exercised in mind 
 that he could not sleep, and he arose and asked God to 
 bless the suffering poor. While praying, he thought 
 of this cousin, though not supposing her to be needy. 
 Yet his impressions became such that, at day-break, 
 he rode several miles on horseback to a bank, and sent 
 her a check of fifty dollars." 
 
 ANTICIPATIVE ANSWER TO PRAYER. One of the pe 
 culiarly interesting facts brought out in the experience 
 of God s people is, that he often anticipates their 
 wants and provides a supply ; but does not reveal what 
 
200 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 lie has done, till the exigency arrives, and earnest 
 prayer is offered for divine aid. Then it appears that 
 God had planned that the help should come just at 
 the time when the soul, through a sense of want, prayer 
 and faith, was- prepared to appreciate the gift, and to 
 receive with it a spiritual blessing. The following inci 
 dent occurred among the family connections of the 
 author. 
 
 A lady in a New England city, who was possessed 
 of some property, made her will two or three years 
 before her death. In planning for the wisest disposal 
 of her estate, she determined to remember quite a 
 circle of relatives and connections whose means were 
 limited. Among others to whom a beqpest of five 
 hundred dollars was made, was one from whom she 
 had not heard for years, and who had removed to some 
 unknown part of the great West. After the lady s 
 death, her brother, the executor, proceeded to carry 
 out her bequests. In a letter to the author he says : 
 
 " Five hundred dollars were left to a lady whose res 
 idence I did not know. Upon inquiry, I heard she 
 was in California or Oregon. I sent a notification to 
 her, by letter, of the bequest, wishing to know how I 
 should forward it to her. After awaiting reply for 
 several months, and hearing nothing, I made further 
 inquiries, and learned that she was in Ohio; and, the 
 same day, I received my original letter from the dead 
 letter office, Washington, with an inscription on it, 
 that it had been advertised and not called for. I im 
 mediately wrote to Ohio, saying I had this $500 for 
 
FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 201 
 
 her, and was desirous of paying it, to close the estate. 
 The within extract from her reply will give you the 
 result: 
 
 " I cannot express the pleasure with which I have 
 received your letter. The gift itself came so oppor 
 tunely, and so much as if sent from God, that I could 
 but say, Praise the Lord! As you, I believe, are a 
 Christian, I will, for your own encouragement in the 
 Christian life, tell you my experience of an answer to 
 prayer. Last Friday night was almost a sleepless one 
 to me, on account of a pecuniary pressure, just at that 
 time, for five hundred dollars. I will not detail all 
 the circumstances: sufficient to say, that after a sleep 
 less night, and seeing no way out of the darkness, I 
 was led to throw my burden on the Lord, and ask him 
 if he would not please to send help that day. This I 
 did sincerely, and left it all there, feeling easy then, in 
 my mind. I did not worry at all through the day, 
 Saturday, and at the close of the day, your letter was 
 brought to me. Can I ever do anything else but trust 
 my Heavenly Father? While my angel-mother is walk 
 ing those golden streets, will it not please her, if her 
 children live by faith, here below, and trust him who 
 has said, * Leave thy fatherless children with me. ? 
 When my father and mother forsake me, then the 
 Lord will take me up. " 
 
 Here was a case in which the words of Scripture 
 were fulfilled: "And it shall come to pass, that before 
 they call I will answer; and while they are yet speak 
 ing I will hear." Is. Ixv: 24. This language implies, 
 
202 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 that God foresees both the wants and the prayers of 
 his people, and provides the needed answer by way 
 of anticipation. He kindly led to the remembrance 
 of this needy lady in the will of her relative; for wise 
 reasons he allowed her place of residence to remain 
 unknown to the executor, till the exact time when it 
 was necessary that he should learn it, so that the requi 
 site aid should be sent to his praying child; he inspir 
 ed his child to come filially to her Heavenly Father; 
 and then he rewarded her faith. This is an illustra 
 tion of the fact that God makes prayer an element of 
 his plan of the world ; that he so orders his providen 
 ces, that they leave a place for prayer in the midst of 
 second causes, and thus secure temporal and spiritual 
 good at the same time. 
 
 ANOTHER SIMILAR CASE. As it is instructive to 
 notice how God plans, on the one side, to allow trials 
 to lead his people to prayer, and on the other, to pro 
 vide the answer for that prayer when it shall have been 
 offered, the author would add another case, both of the 
 parties to which are personally known to him, and 
 from one of whom he obtained the facts. Mr. T 
 was a gentleman, doing business at the time in the city 
 of Philadelphia. He had set apart twenty-five dollars 
 for Home Missions, and was about to enclose that sum 
 in a letter to the Society at New York. Suddenly the 
 thought occurred to him that Rev. Mr. L - was 
 doing home-missionary work in Illinois, and that it 
 might be well to send the money to him. He did so. 
 And what was happening in Illinois, in the home of 
 
PRAYER FOK SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 203 
 
 Mr. L r? His good wife was in great distress over 
 
 an empty family-treasury. Bills were coming in, and 
 there was no money with which to meet them. Hav 
 ing no human resource, she went to her closet, and 
 prayed earnestly that God would send help. Receiv 
 ing comfort from this appeal, she went about her do 
 mestic duties, and a little after, a letter was brought 
 from the post-office, which proved to be the one from 
 Philadelphia with the twenty-five dollars. 
 
 PRAYER DELIVERS FROM UNJUST WRATH. All the 
 parties to the following narrative were well known to 
 the author, who received the account from the person 
 principally interested: 
 
 A pastor at the east, Rev. Dr. P , visiting Mr. 
 
 E , a sick parishoner, found him so evidently 
 
 marked for death, that he advised him to attend, with 
 out delay, to any worldly arrangements he might wish 
 to make. Mr. E - desired the pastor to call upon 
 his lawyer, and send him to the house, that he might 
 draw up a will; which he did. The pastor had been 
 intimate with the family for many years. The father- 
 in-law, Mr. A , on coming home, and learning 
 
 that the pastor had been there, and afterwards the 
 lawyer, became very angry, and sent a most insulting 
 letter to the pastor, forbidding him ever again to call 
 at his house. The pastor wrote back a kind note of 
 explanation, which was returned unopened, with 
 another angry and insulting Jetter, refusing to receive 
 any explanations. The pastor then requested a com 
 mon friend of both parties, Mr. S , to call upon 
 
204 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Mr. A , and read to him a full statement of the 
 
 facts. He called, but was not allowed to read the 
 communication, or to make any verbal statement. 
 The pastor then laid the whole matter before God in 
 prayer, for several days. One morning, when in his 
 study, and on his knees, pleading with God to take 
 
 away the unjust wrath of Mr. A , and to restore 
 
 the warm friendship which had long existed between 
 the two families, there was a ring at the door. A 
 servant knocked at the study, announcing a gentle 
 man. The pastor opened the door, when in rushed 
 
 Mr. A , the tears running down his cheeks, and 
 
 crying out: "O, my dear pastor, can you forgive me 
 the deep wrong I have done you?" He fell upon his 
 knees, in his earnestness, and begged for forgiveness. 
 Thus the answer came, even while the prayer was on 
 the lips. 
 
 RECONCILIATION EFFECTED. A letter from a lady 
 to the author gives this further illustration of the 
 value of prayer in reconciling those alienated : " The 
 writer knows a Christian woman, who, on account of 
 business matters, had brought on herself, without just 
 cause, the dire displeasure of another woman, nearly 
 allied to her; and for a long time all intercourse was 
 denied her by the latter. Having occasion to go to 
 the same place, the first mentioned, on the journey, 
 laid the case before the Father, who hears when his 
 children cry to him. She begged him, if he so pleased, 
 to heal this breach in his own way, though to her it 
 seemed almost an impossibility. Some hours after 
 
PRAYER FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 205 
 
 her arrival, a note from the offended one was brought 
 to the house where she was, inviting her to dine; as 
 though nothing unpleasant had existed. The first 
 expression of her heart was, T7hat hath God 
 wrought! With thankfulness she accepted the invita 
 tion, and so those two near and dear ones, alienated 
 for so long a time, were joined in loving intercourse." 
 
 ANOTHER PRAYER FOR RAIN. This same lady writes 
 also, that during the ministry of Rev. Mr. R., in the 
 village of C., there was a season of diouth, so severe 
 and long-continued, that the church felt that they 
 must meet and call on God to grant them the blessing 
 without which both man and beast must suffer. They 
 met, and earnest, believing prayer was made. On 
 their way from the meeting, they saw, like Elijah, 
 signs of rain, and ere long copious shov/ers testified 
 to the goodness and faithfulness of a prayer-hearing 
 God. 
 
 Miss ANNIE SHIPTON AND THE BLIND BOY. Miss 
 Ship ton is the author of sever?.! spiritual books, which 
 have been widely circulated, on both sides of the At 
 lantic. Oiis cT iLese is called, "Tii3 Secret of the 
 Lord," in which elie gives this bit of experience. Ghe 
 read in a religious paper an account of a blind boy, 
 who was learning to read by means of raised letters; 
 and was deeply impressed with the conviction that she 
 should send him something, and the amount also 
 seemed to be fixed at eighteen pence. Che believed it 
 was of the Cpirit of God, and although she did not 
 know the boy s exact direction, she wrote a letter, en- 
 
206 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 closed in it the money and a text of Scripture, which 
 occurred to her, placed it in a large black-bordered 
 envelope, and sent it to a friend, who lived in the 
 same village with the boy. Two months after, during 
 a season of deep depression, a Christian friend called 
 on her, and in conversation said: " So you have a cor 
 respondent at K ?" "No," she replied; " I have 
 
 none there." "That is strange," he answered; "I 
 thought I knew your handwriting. I was in a cottage 
 there, one day, and among the papers and letters in the 
 casement I saw a black-bordered envelope. This at 
 tracted my attention, and I said to the woman, < Who 
 is your correspondent? Ah, sir, she replied, that 
 is a wonderful answer to prayer. Poor Leonard has 
 his blind-books, you know. He has almost all the 
 Testament now, and he wanted a box for them. The 
 carpenter said he would make him one for fifteen 
 pence. So Leonard prayed to the Lord to send him 
 the money. There came this letter, as you see, with 
 eighteen pence, in stamps, and this text, which was 
 indeed for him. We don t know the name, but Leon 
 ard always prays for his friend in London. Miss 
 Ship ton naturally adds : " Precious, precious return ! 
 A flood of thanksgiving rushed through my clouded 
 heart, and carried doubt and distrust away." 
 
 PRAYER IN SUNDRY EXIGENCIES. It is often a ques 
 tion, how far we may refer the smallest matters of life 
 to God; and no other reply would seem to be appro 
 priate except this: that God is interested in erery- 
 thing which affects the happiness of his children. A 
 
PBAYEK FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 207 
 
 letter, now before the writer, from Rev. S. A. Dwin- 
 nell, of Reedsburg, Wis., communicates a series of 
 
 facts as follows: A Mr. H , a man mighty in the 
 
 Scriptures and in prayer, said to Mr. D. : " At one 
 time, while in Baraboo, we were reduced to great 
 straits for food. I said to my wife, we are shut up to 
 God, and must carry our wants to him in special 
 prayer. We did so. About two hours afterwards, I 
 sent my son to the post office, and he returned with a 
 letter from England. I opened it, and found a five 
 pound note ($25) enclosed. It was from an old friend, 
 who said, < I have a strong impression that you are in 
 want, and hasten to send you the enclosed bank-note, 
 without waiting to get a draft. .The impression was 
 evidently from God directly, as he had no earthly 
 reason for supposing that I and my family were at 
 that time in want." 
 
 Mr. D. continues: "In the summer of 1870, I was 
 teaching a Bible-class, on Sabbath mornings. One day, 
 two ministers were present, and the subject for exam 
 ination was prayer in secular matters. One of the 
 ministers, Rev. Mr. Snell, related the following: Some 
 years ago, one of my neighbors, a wicked man, had 
 legal possession of a land-title, which morally belonged 
 to me. He had for a long time refused to give it up 
 to me. There seemed to be no hope of obtaining it, 
 unless God should directly influence him. The docu 
 ment was of great value to me. Having made the 
 case a matter of special prayer, I went to see him. I 
 found him with several companions in a bar-room, 
 
208 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 somewhat under the influence of liquor. Unfavorable 
 as were the circumstances in which I found him, I 
 took him to a retired part of the room, and made an 
 earnest effort to obtain the paper. He refused to give 
 it up. I started for home, and got as far as the door, 
 when he called me to come back. I again used every 
 argument in my power to move him; but he was inex 
 orable. I was about to leave, when he again recalled 
 me. This was three times repeated, when he finally 
 yielded, and gave up the document. It seemed to me 
 that God directly moved him to do it." 
 
 The other minister, Eev. H. H. Hinman, said: A 
 few years ago, when I was a missionary at Meudi, on 
 the western coast of Africa, I was sent, one time, with 
 my family, into the interior, one hundred miles from 
 our base of supplies, and entirely among ths heathen. 
 After a time, from come failure in forwarding provis 
 ions, we Were left in utter destitution, and could only 
 appeal to God for help. Soon after, a native, whom 
 we had never seen before, and never saw after wards, 
 came and left us a supply of food, which lasted us 
 until more was forwarded us from the mission. It 
 seemed that God directly moved upon the mind of 
 that native to help us in Our extremity. We could 
 see no other reason. 
 
 Mr. D. continues, with reference to answers received 
 when he was superintending the repairs on his church: 
 " One day I sent an order to the furnace at LA on ton, 
 for weights to hang the windcw-sash. I learned, 
 when too late to change the order, that they each 
 
PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 209 
 
 should have been a pound heavier than I had ordered. 
 I could only carry the case to God, and ask him to 
 rectify the mistake. After a few days, I received a 
 letter from the proprietor of the foundry, saying: i I 
 have filled your order, but by some unaccountable 
 mistake on the part of my pattern-maker, they are 
 each a pound too heavy. If you can use them you 
 can have them at a discount; otherwise I will keep 
 them. " 
 
 THE SMALLER EVENTS OF LIFE. A letter from Mr. 
 F., a Massachusetts pastor, relates his unsuccessful 
 search for a valuable knife, prized as a present from a 
 friend, on a laurel-covered hill-side; a pause for prayer, 
 and immediate success thereafter. It also mentions 
 the case of a friend in a responsible position under the 
 government, whose accounts failed to balance by 
 reason of an error, which, after long search, he could 
 not detect. In great distress, he betook himself to 
 prayer, and then opening his books, on the very first 
 page which he happened to glance at, and at the top 
 of the colnmn, he saw instantly the looked-for error 
 standing out so plainly, that he wondered he had not 
 seen it before. A lost rubber shoe promptly recovered 
 after prayer, is also mentioned, and the writer of the 
 letter suggests that such cases are " quite as convinc 
 ing as some of more dignity and importance. 1 " 
 
 Another correspondent, Mr. T. S. Goodwin, M. D., 
 of Staten Island, is of the same mind, and writes of 
 his boyish experience, when thirteen years old. He 
 lost a choice penknife, while collecting and driving 
 
 9* 
 
210 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 several cows, from a pasture covered with grass two 
 inches high. Having read Huntington s Book of 
 Faith, he bethought him of prayer, and, in child-like 
 trust, he knelt under a tree, outside the bars, arid 
 prayed for his lost treasure; for he was a farmer s 
 boy, and his spending money amounted to only about 
 fifty cents a year. His words are: "I rose up, cast 
 my eyes down on the ground, and without planning 
 my course, or making any estimate of probabilities, 
 walked across the meadow centrally to near its farther 
 edge, saw the penknife down in the grass directly 
 before me, and picked it up all as readily as I could 
 have done had any one stood there pointing to the 
 exact place. Had I gone two feet to the right or left, 
 I could not have seen the knife, for the grass." This 
 fact is inserted the more readily because it may 
 encourage children to go to their Heavenly Father 
 with their troubles, believing that he is not above 
 listening to their prayers. It is a blessed thing to 
 learn early to make God our confidant. 
 
 Still another writes of his experience as a teacher. 
 He lost a silver-mounted penholder, which had been 
 presented to him, and feared that some scholar had 
 stolen it. Unwilling to charge or suspect the school, 
 he knelt in prayer, during recess, when all the pupils 
 were out, and asked God to help in the emergency. 
 He called the scholars in, and then went out himself, 
 to bring in wood for the fire; and as he stooped down, 
 at the wood-pile, there lay the lost penholder on the 
 ground, where it had dropped the previous day, from 
 
PEAYER FOB SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 211 
 
 behind his ear. He was thus saved from even men 
 tioning the matter to the school. 
 
 God s people should consult him frankly in what 
 ever concerns their welfare. Parents should pray about 
 the little matters which pertain to their children ; ladies 
 should talk over their domestic affairs with the 
 Lord; business men should spread out their plans and 
 wants before the mercy-seat; and the poor, who need 
 employment, or a specific supply, as of a hat, a coat, or 
 a pair of shoes, should tell the fact to their Heavenly 
 Father. They would receive many gifts by so doing. 
 
 "Thy thoughts are good, and thou art kind, 
 
 E en when we think it not; 
 How many an anxious, faithless mind 
 
 Sits grieving o er its lot, 
 And frets and pines by day and night, 
 As God had lost it out of sight, 
 
 And all its wants forgot. 
 
 "Ah, no! God ne er forgets his own, 
 
 His heart is far too true; 
 He ever seeks their good alone, 
 
 His love is daily new, 
 And though thou deem that things go ill, 
 Yet he is just and holy still, 
 
 In all things he can do. 
 
 "The Lord is ever close and near 
 To those who keep his word; 
 Whene er they cry to him in fear, 
 
 Their prayer is surely heard; 
 He knoweth well who love him well; 
 His love shall yet their clouds dispel, 
 And grant the hope deferred." 
 
 Paul Gerhardt. 
 
CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 
 
 (Commenced.) 
 
 There is a great truth, with much adjacent error, 
 connected with the subject of physical healing in 
 answer to prayer. The famous words of James are 
 frequently misunderstood: " Is any sick among you ? 
 Let them call for the elders of the church, and let them 
 pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of 
 the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, 
 and the Lord shall raise him up> and if he have com 
 mitted sins they shall be forgiven him. Confess your 
 faults one to another, and pray one for another, that 
 ye may be healed." James v: 14, 15. It will be seen 
 that sickness and sin are here connected, as are also 
 healing and forgiveness. This naturally points to the 
 fact that God had sent upon some of the churches 
 physical judgments for their sins; as Paul informs us, 
 in the words : " For this cause many are weak and sickly 
 among you, and many sleep (die)." 1 Cor. x: 30. 
 John also is supposed by some, to refer to the same 
 fact (but this is more doubtful) when he says: " If any 
 man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, 
 he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that 
 sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do 
 
 (212) 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING-. 213 
 
 not say that he shall pray for it." 1 John v: 16. If 
 James had in view only this class of cases, then he 
 simply authorizes a specific faith for such persons ; 
 that on confession of their sin, and the offering of 
 prayer by the officers of the church, they should be 
 forgiven and healed. 
 
 Or James may be speaking in a general way of the 
 value of faith, not pausing to name other qualifications, 
 which were to be taken for granted. Mere emphasis of 
 faith must not be mistaken for the assertion of a narrow 
 rule, to cover all cases of illness. That would be to 
 abolish death in the Christian church. It would also 
 seem probable, that the apostles and others in the 
 primitive churches who had the miraculous "gift of 
 healing" (1 Cor. xii: 9-28), received an inward inti 
 mation from the Holy Spirit, when they were to exer 
 cise the gift, and feel assured of a specific answer to 
 prayer. Otherwise Paul, instead of having occasion 
 to write to Timothy, " Trophimus have I left at Mile- 
 turn, sick," would have healed his friend, and taken 
 him with him. The gift was only for use on fit occas 
 ion suggested by the Holy Spirit. 
 
 We come, then, to the conclusion that, in all cases 
 of illness, it is our privilege to offer prayer for recov 
 ery, with a submission of the case to the divine will, 
 and an assured faith that God will actually secure the 
 healing, if such a result is best; that fact being some 
 times preintimated. A multitude of instances will be 
 found in which the answer comes in a way so striking 
 it may be, in the assurance gained, the means used, 
 
214 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the person called in, the peculiar effect produced, or 
 the time when it took place that one cannot fail to 
 recognize the divine intervention. The prayers being 
 conditional, however, those are not to be considered 
 unanswered, which are not followed by healing ; since 
 other needed blessings may be attached to the sick 
 ness, or to its results. What we really ask is, that 
 our Heavenly Father will do the best thing possible, 
 in each case; adding his blessing to the means wilich 
 we appropriately use; whether it be anointing with 
 oil, as in James s day, or resorting to other remedial 
 agencies, now deemed beneficial. There is no reason 
 why prayer should not be accompanied by appropriate 
 effort, in this class of cases, as it is in other cases. 
 We will attend to the testimony of facts as to its suc 
 cess in healing in our own days. 
 
 DOROTHEA TRUDELL S PRAYER-CURE. If the reader 
 has never met with a little volume, entitled " Dorothea 
 Trudell, or The Prayer of Faith," he will do well to 
 obtain and read it, It is but a brief sketch that can 
 here be given of its contents. Dorothea Trudell, who 
 lived in Switzerland, inherited her faith in prayer; for 
 she said: " Our mother was permitted in a wonderful 
 manner to meet w r ith events which passed all general 
 experience. We were taught to acknowledge that the 
 Lord alone is the true Physician, by the fact that no 
 other were summoned, when we or she herself were 
 ill; and when I was attacked by small-pox, at four 
 years old, and almost blinded by it, while my brother, 
 who was fourteen, was seized with epilepsy, our mother 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 215 
 
 believed and trusted, that the Lord would help; and 
 in a short time we both recovered." Dorothea s own 
 experience in that line began when, among a number 
 of workmen employed by her nephew and herself, four 
 fell seriously ill, and steadily grew worse under the 
 care of the physician, until their case became quite 
 alarming. Then she bethought her of the promise in 
 James, and laid the matter earnestly and believingly 
 before the Lord, and all four recovered. Her prayers 
 in other cases were so signally answered, that the wife 
 of a nobleman urged her to open her house to receive 
 patients ; and, notwithstanding her refusal to do so, 
 
 sent patients to her. One, a Madame M , the 
 
 mother of twelve children, had been sent away from a 
 a lunatic asylum uncured; but after being with Doro 
 thea a few weeks, she went away permanently cured. 
 The patients so increased, that a second little house 
 had to be purchased. After a time, a storm of perse 
 cution burst upon her head. She was prosecuted for 
 practicing as a physician, and the two lower courts 
 fined her, and ordered her houses to be closed to pa 
 tients. She says: " Though it was the most grievous 
 day in my life, I obeyed the command ; but houses so 
 hastily emptied filled as fast as ever with the blind, 
 the lame and the deaf, for whom the Lord did great 
 things." An appeal was taken to a higher court of 
 law, where hundreds of testimonials were presented in 
 her favor, and Bishop von Kapif and Professor A. 
 Tholuck bore witness to her self-denying zeal and 
 earnest prayers. Her counsellor, Mr. Spondlin, of 
 
216 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Zurich, made a powerful speech in her behalf, in which 
 he urged that Miss Trudell s whole influence was 
 brought to bear on the soul; that she promised no one 
 a cure, nor yet pronounced any sickness incurable, but 
 said to each patient: u If you only believe, you. may 
 be healed by prayer; let God decide;" that most of her 
 patients were such as had already exhausted medical 
 assistance without avail; and that the doctors had 
 brought the charge against her, without once examin 
 ing her establishment, nor could they show a case in 
 which a single person had experienced any evil effect. 
 The prosecution admitted it all, and only argued that 
 so many sick people must not be allowed to crowd to 
 one place. But the Court decided in favor of Miss 
 Trudell, and threw the costs on her prosecutors. The 
 trial lasted from March to November, 1861, and drew 
 such attention to the house that only a small propor 
 tion of the applicants could be received. On carefully 
 reviewing the facts detailed in the volume, they may 
 be thus classified: 
 
 1. Miss Trudell felt that a thorough self-abnega 
 tion and consecration on her own part was essential to 
 success. She declared that she had now learned what 
 it was to " be nothing." When a rationalistic clergy 
 man asked her how these wonders were performed, she 
 replied : " Nothing is done by us ; all these marvels in 
 bodies and souls are wrought by the strength of 
 Christ s blood! " When he answered that he did not 
 believe in the blood of Jesus, she said: "It would be 
 a poor thing for me to say only that I believe in the 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 217 
 
 blood; no, it is my element, and it is only because 
 Christ has become an offering for my sins, by the sac 
 rifice of his body and blood, that I can stand here and 
 perform all these wonders." 
 
 2. She aimed primarily at spiritual results in her 
 patients. This she did, because she deemed them the 
 more important, and because they had a bearing on 
 the cure of disease. She believed disease to be aggra 
 vated, if not caused by sin; and she wished the pray 
 ers of the patient to be added to her own, for the de 
 sired blessing. Hence she sought the conversion of 
 the unconverted, and the elevation of the piety of 
 others. For this purpose, she held every afternoon, 
 from three to four o clock, a Bible-lesson with them 
 collectively, and during the rest of the day she talked 
 with them singly. The physical improvement often 
 kept exact pace with their spiritual healing. 
 
 3. While she prescribed no medicine, but only 
 anointed with oil, laid on her hands, and offered 
 prayer, she yet did not neglect all natural auxilaries. 
 Her patients were most carefully and wisely nursed, 
 and their minds were brought out from under the de 
 pressing influences. No doubt good nursing and a 
 cheerful, patient and hopeful mind are better than 
 medicine alone, in an average of cases. Yet it would 
 hardly be advisable for physicians to attribute Miss 
 Trudell s success to those agencies alone, lest they dis 
 credit the value of their own professional services. 
 As some insisted that her influence was simply mes 
 meric, it may be well to state, that her slight touch, 
 
 10 
 
218 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 as she prayed, would hardly supply the necessary mes 
 meric conditions, especially as her own health was very 
 feeble; and that a French gentleman, who came as a 
 patient with that idea, carefully investigated the pro 
 ceedings in the institution, and left thoroughly satis 
 fied that that theory would not answer. Once, Doro 
 thea made this point a subject of special prayer, at a 
 time when she was asked to visit an out-patient. She 
 refused to go to the lady s house, but made her the 
 subject of special prayer, and she was speedily cured, 
 without any contact. 
 
 4. She promised no cures whatever, nor looked for 
 instantaneous relief. She did not claim to be clothed 
 with any miraculous power. She asserted that, in 
 answer to believing prayer, by truly consecrated souls, 
 God often healed the sick; but that no one could tell 
 in advance what God would see to be for his glory in 
 a particular case. Usually, the recovery, though 
 prompt in commencing, was gradual in accomplish 
 ment. Yet many very striking cases occurred. We 
 are told that on one occasion a young artisan arrived, 
 in whom cancer had made such progress as to render 
 any approach to him almost unbearable. At the 
 Bible-lessons this once frivolous man became an ear 
 nest inquirer, and learned that he must seek first a 
 spiritual improvement; and from the day he confessed 
 his sins, the disease abated. Some time later, he ac 
 knowledged a sin previously concealed, and then speed 
 ily recovered his bodily health, and returned home 
 cured in body and soul. A lady in S , fell and 
 
PBAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 219 
 
 injured her knee, so that for weeks she lay in the 
 greatest agony, and the physician declared that dropsy 
 would supervene. But when Dorothea, in her usual 
 way, prayed, and laid on her hands, the knee was 
 cured in twenty-four Jhours. 
 
 5. Her assistants were her sister, four nurses, and 
 Mr. Samuel Zeller, brother-in-law of Bishop Gobat, 
 of Jerusalem all like-minded with herself, and serv 
 ing night and day without remuneration. No fee 
 was taken from the patients, but a small sum was 
 accepted from the rich for their board, while the poor 
 were fed gratuitously. 
 
 The institution, which was at Mannedorf, a little 
 village on Lake Zurich, is still carried on since the 
 death of Miss Trudell, by Mr. Zeller, who reports that 
 while cures are by no means invariable, a multitude 
 of favorable results are obtained, even in apparently 
 desperate cases, such as epilepsy, which is a peculiarly 
 obstinate disease, and in lunacy, and maladies occa 
 sioned by Spiritualism. The prayers seem also to be 
 as prevalent when offered for patients who cannot 
 come to the institution, and who are aided in soul as 
 well as in body. One such case has, incidentally, a 
 peculiar interest. A gentleman wrote to have prayer 
 offered for his niece, who was threatened with blind 
 ness. Soon after, he wrote again as follows: "In 
 answer to your prayers for our niece, I must thank 
 fully tell you, her eyes are so much better, that the 
 doctor this morning told her to thank God for having 
 saved her from the most dangerous kind of a cataract. 
 
220 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 While examining her eyes, the doctor, who is a Jew, 
 took up a book lying near, and opening it, told her to 
 try and read, which she was able to do with ease. It 
 was a hymn-book, and the words on which her eyes 
 fell were these: 
 
 " Christ Jesus, glorious King of Light, 
 
 Great Conqueror, David s heir, 
 Come, now, and give my blind eyes sight; 
 O Savior, hear my prayer !" 
 
 " That will do, said the doctor; you are much 
 better. I, for iny part, hastened to my chamber, and, 
 shutting the door, fell on my knees with a cry of joy 
 ful praise." Patients continue to arrive in such 
 numbers that larger accommodations are pressingly 
 needed. 
 
 CASE OF MRS. JANE C. MILLER. The author of this 
 book has the pleasure of a slight acquaintance with 
 Mrs. Miller, and her husband, Eev. Daniel E. Miller, 
 and has heard the facts stated below from their own 
 lips. Rev. Charles G. Finney, ex-President of Oberlin 
 College, furnished to The Advance, then under the 
 writer s charge, her statement, with these remarks: 
 " Mrs. Miller is the wife of a Congregational minister, 
 and a lady of unquestionable veracity. However the 
 fact of her healing is to be accounted for, her story is 
 no doubt worthy of entire confidence, as we have 
 known her for years, as a lame, suffering invalid, and 
 now see her in our midst, in sound health. This 
 instantaneous restoration will be accounted for by dif- 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 221 
 
 ferent persons in different ways. Mrs. Miller, and 
 those who were present, regard the healing as super 
 natural, arid a direct answer to prayer. The facts 
 must speak for themselves. Why should not the sick 
 be healed in answer to the prayer of faith? Unbelief 
 can discredit them, but faith sees nothing incredible 
 in such facts as stated by Mrs. Miller." 
 
 Mrs. Miller s own statement was published in The 
 Advance of Dec. 26, 1872, and is as follows: 
 
 u From my parents I inherited a constitution sub 
 ject to a chronic form of rheumatism, which affected 
 my whole system. For nearly forty years I was sub 
 ject to more or less suffering from this cause. For 
 seven years, until the last three months, I have been 
 unable to get about without the aid of crutch or staff ; 
 generally both. I have used many liniments and 
 remedies, but with no permanently good result. Last 
 summer (1872), several of us, Christian sisters, were 
 in the habit of spending short seasons of prayer 
 together. Some of our number had read the narrative 
 of Dorothea Trudell, and had spoken to me on the sub 
 ject of healing in answer to prayer. My faith had 
 not then risen to this elevation. I had, in fact, ac 
 cepted what I supposed to be the will of God, and 
 made up my mind to be a lame and suffering invalid, 
 the rest of my life. I had long since ceased to use 
 remedies for the restoration of my health, and had not 
 even thought of praying in regard to it. Notwith 
 standing what had been said to me, I remained in this 
 opinion and attitude until the 26th of September last, 
 
222 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 when several ladies met at our house, by appointment, 
 for a prayer meeting. I had grown worse for some 
 time, and was then unable to get out to attend a meet 
 ing. I was suifering much pain, that afternoon; in 
 deed, I was hardly able to be out of my bed. One 
 lady was present, who could speak to me, from her 
 own experience, of being healed in answer to the 
 prayer of faith. She related several striking instances 
 in which her prayers had been answered, in removal 
 *of divers forms of disease to w T hich she was subject. 
 She also repeated a number of passages of Scripture, 
 which clearly justified the expectation of being healed, 
 in answer to the prayer of faith. She also said, that 
 Jesus had shown her that he was just as ready to heal 
 diseases now, as he was when on earth; that such 
 healing was expressly promised in Scripture, in an 
 swer to the prayer of faith, and that it was no where 
 taken back. These facts, reasonings, and passages of 
 Scripture made a deep impression on my mind, and 
 for the first time I found myself able to believe that 
 Jesus would heal me in answer to prayer. She asked 
 me if I could join my faith with hers, and ask for 
 present healing. I told her, I felt that I could. We 
 then knelt, and called upon the Lord. She offered a 
 mighty prayer to God, and I followed. While she 
 was leading in prayer, I felt a quickening in my whole 
 being; whereupon my pain subsided, and when we 
 rose from prayer, I felt that a great change had come 
 over me that I was cured ! I found that I could 
 walk without my staff or crutch, or any assistance from 
 
PKAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 223 
 
 any one. Since then my pains have never returned. 
 I have more than my youthful vigor. I walk with 
 more ease and rapidity than I ever did in my life; and 
 I never felt so fresh and young, as I now do, at the 
 age of fifty- two. Now the eiii Psalm is my Psalm, 
 and my youth is more than renewed like the eagle s. 
 I cannot express the constant joy of my heart, for the 
 wonderful healing of my soul and body. I feel as if 
 I was made every whit whole. 
 
 JANE C. MILLER." 
 
 A year later, Mrs. Miller wrote to a friend, under 
 date of Dec., 1873, a letter in which she says: " I know 
 not of any one who is able to perform the amount of 
 labor I am ; was out all day, yesterday, canvassing for 
 the Advocate and Guardian, and soliciting funds to 
 fill our box, and have done this, day after day, besides 
 doing most of my housework and out-chores, as my 
 husband is always absent in winter, laboring as an 
 evangelist. It has rained most of the week, yet I have 
 not felt it, and am not only healed, but all tendency to 
 the old difficulty seems removed. Bless the Lord, O 
 my soul! " 
 
 Rev. Daniel K. Miller, her husband, confirms the 
 statement of his wife, in these words, under date of 
 Oberlin, O., August 6, 1873: " She had been unable to 
 walk without crutches, for a series of years. A long 
 time ago, we tried many remedies and physicians, with 
 no lasting good results, and were expecting she would 
 remain an invalid. Of late she had applied no remedy, 
 nor taken any medicine. At the time of her cure, she 
 
224 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 
 
 was much worse than for a long while before, being in 
 great pain continually, until the moment she fully 
 believed, and in an instant she was restored to perfect 
 soundness." 
 
 Another confirmatory statement is signed by seven 
 of her nearest relations and connections, and by four 
 neighbors, including a deacon of the church and two 
 ministers of the gospel. 
 
 THE HEALING- OF A CHILD. The case just stated 
 led to another, an account of which was forwarded by 
 a friend to The Advance, and it was published in that 
 paper. A more careful account was afterwards pre 
 pared by the mother, and also by the father, with 
 whom the author has conversed personally, in respect 
 to his daughter. The parents are Rev. Albert Connett 
 and Mrs. Anna E. W. Connett. At the time referred 
 to, he was settled at Carbondale, Kansas, but has since 
 removed to Solsberry, Ind. The mother s account is 
 as follows: "About the middle of September, 1871, 
 our eldest girl, Nettie, then nearly eight years old, 
 began complaining of her left leg. The physicians 
 pronounced it sciatic rheumatism. At times her suf 
 ferings were very great. Frequently she would not 
 walk fora week. She was lame all the time, and never 
 free from pain. In the fall of 1872, she seemed worse; 
 one limb seemed higher than the other, and that 
 limb shrinking away. It was not nearly so large as 
 the other. We called in the physicians again. They 
 said the indications were, that it was hip-disease. We 
 wrote to the Surgical Institute, at Indianapolis, in 
 
PKAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 225 
 
 regard to her. They thought she could be cured there ; 
 but that if she did not have treatment soon, she would 
 be a suffering cripple for life. We wanted to send her 
 there, for treatment, but found it impossible to raise 
 the means. The child grew worse, and on the 29th 
 of December, 1872, she had not left her bed for several 
 days, and her sufferings were intense. That Sabbath 
 morning we read an article in The Advance, Prayer 
 for Healing: A Remarkable Case [it was the account 
 of the healing of Mrs. Miller]. Then came the 
 thought, Why cannot we have faith to believe that 
 Jesus will cure our child ? Myrie and Orthie, of seven 
 and five years, talked together about asking Jesus to 
 cure Nettie. She told one of the children to come to 
 her, and I kept on reading, as though I had read 
 nothing remarkable ; though I am sure that I knew not 
 what I was reading about. I dreaded any conversa 
 tion with the children. At length I could stand it no 
 longer, but left the room, and prayed for faith to 
 believe that my child could be cured. I then went to 
 Nettie. She asked me if I would pray, and ask Jesus 
 to cure her? She thought he would, and the little 
 ones expressed the same opinion. My faith was grow 
 ing stronger. I told them that we would read about 
 Jesus curing sick folks. I then read aloud all the instan 
 ces of healing recorded in Matthew. We all felt, then, 
 that all we had to do was, to ask Jesus to cure her. I 
 prayed, and was followed in prayer by Nettie. We 
 asked for her cure that day. After prayer, I discov 
 ered that a change had come over the child. She 
 
226 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 looked worse than ever before. The thought occurred 
 to me, that God was going to answer the prayer by 
 taking her to himself. At her request, I read to her 
 awhile. She then wanted to be helped into the rock 
 ing chair, though she could sit only on one side. I 
 helped her up, and, while doing so, such a sense of 
 weakness came over me, as I never felt before. I lay 
 down on her bed, and immediately fell into a deep 
 sleep. How long I slept, I know not; perhaps half 
 an hour; or may be an hour. I was then awakened 
 by Nettie telling me she was cured. She would say: 
 O mamma, I am a new girl : Jesus has cured me. 
 How I do love Jesus ! She was the happiest person 
 I ever saw. For the first time in fifteen months she 
 was entirely well, and free from pain. She could run, 
 jump, stand on one foot; in short, do any of the many 
 things a well child could. I then took off the plaster 
 which the doctor put on her hip, a few days before, to 
 make a sore, and we quit giving the medicines. That 
 night we were a happy family, and it was late before 
 the child could compose herself to sleep. On Wednes 
 day following, the doctor came to see her. He could 
 find nothing ailing the child. He seemed to think 
 Mesmerism, or something of the kind, had been used* 
 but after we gave him a plain statement of the case, 
 he said he wished his daughter, who is an invalid, 
 could be cured by prayer, or any other way. When 
 he was ready to go, I brought him the medicines, 
 which he took, but said I had better keep the plaster, 
 as I might need it. He has been here two or three 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 227 
 
 times since. He always questions her closely. The 
 last time he was here, a few days ago, he found her 
 with a big apron on, doing work in the kitchen. He 
 said: Nettie, does your limb pain you much? She 
 said: No, sir; it doesn t pain me any at all. Mr. Con- 
 nett was away, at his appointments, when the child was 
 restored. She continues well of the disease up to the 
 present time." 
 
 About eight months after the cure, the physician 
 M. T. Perrine, M. D., gave the following statement in 
 writing: 
 
 CARBONDALE, Sept. 22, 1873. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Connett s daughter was lame from 
 sciatica, fifteen months before I was called to treat her. 
 I used the common homoeopathic remedies. They 
 heard of the prayer-cure, and resorted to it. She 
 seemed to become better, at once. She has continued 
 better since with the exception of a few days, caused 
 by slipping down. They now consider her well." 
 
 The author of this book has heard quite recently of 
 the continued health of this little girl, from a friend 
 who has visited the family at their present home in 
 Indiana, and also from the father, who writes, Oct. 
 11, 1875: " Our girl, whose case you published in The 
 Advance, still continues well. She is now twelve years 
 old, large of her age, and doing most of the work for 
 our family of six persons." 
 
 THE HEALING OF A MINISTER S WIFE. A few months 
 subsequent to the case last named, occurred the one 
 now to be described. The parties are not personally 
 
228 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 
 
 known to the author, who first learned of the facts 
 from the statements made in the secular and religious 
 papers of the region, but has since met with a care 
 fully prepared account, written after a visit to the 
 place and a diligent investigation of the facts, and 
 printed in a little pamphlet entitled, " Were they Mir 
 acles?" which can be found at the Willard Tract De 
 pository, Boston, and to which reference can be had 
 for more extended details. A condensed account is as 
 follows : 
 
 Mrs. Ellen Clark Sherman is the wife of Rev. Moses 
 Sherman, who, in August 18T3, was in the third year 
 of his pastorate of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of Piermont, N. H. Mrs. S., when a girl, twice fell and 
 badly injured her left knee, so that it became partially 
 stiif, and was pronounced incurable by the physicians. 
 Subsequently she strained herself, so as to bring on 
 serious female-diseases. Twice she fell down steps or 
 staircase, striking her backbone, nearly paralyzing the 
 spinal cord and causing serious and permanent spinal 
 disease. In September, 1872, she took to her bed, 
 where she lay helpless, except when lifted from it, till 
 August 27, 1873. She could not walk a step or stand; 
 nor could she even sit up a short time, without great 
 distress. Medical skill proved unavailing. During 
 the last two or three weeks, it required two persons to 
 move her. She had come to think that her lot was to 
 be a bed-ridden, suffering invalid. At the date just 
 named, she was left alone in her room for the night, 
 and lay awake revolving various sore trials, and was led 
 
FKAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 229 
 
 to commit them by faith to Jesus, and to feel perfect rest 
 of soul. She made a renewed consecration of her all to 
 God, surrendering herself completely to do and suffer 
 all God s will, when a delightful consciousness of accep 
 tance came over her. She then felt a special presence 
 of Jesus, and what some would call a dream, and oth 
 ers a vision came to her. "What followed is given in 
 her own words abridged ; which certainly record a 
 strange experience : 
 
 "Then I became conscious of a movement of the 
 Presence, and it seemed to be filling the room more 
 and more. From the foot of the bed the Presence 
 whispered, Believest thou that I am able to do this? 
 This was repeated many times, while I lay there, and 
 reasoned the matter all over. The power to yield and 
 believe was given, and I said: Lord, I believe; help 
 thou my unbelief? At once the Presence seemed 
 to press up to me over the foot of the bed, and whis 
 pered to me the words, And he breathed on them, 
 and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; and they were 
 accompanied by a warm breathing upon my face. This 
 was repeated many times. Each new pulsation of 
 the Holy Breath flowed deeper through my body; 
 and as it went, all pain ceased. After a little time, 
 I was told by a whisper from the Presence, to raise 
 my left arm, the worse one, to my head. Before, I 
 was not able to raise either without the aid of the 
 other; but now I raised this easily and without pain. 
 Then I was told to raise the other; which I did with 
 equal ease. Then, to turn over. At onee I came over, 
 
230 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 like a cork in water. Then to ring the bell. I did so, 
 and my husband came in, but half-awake, and lighted 
 the candle. I said, < There is a strange influence in the 
 room: the Savior is here, at work upon me; when 
 the words were inwardly spoken, with great emphasis, 
 1 That the people may know that the Son of man hath 
 power on earth still to forgive sin, Rise up and walkP 
 At once I, who had been bed-ridden, and incapable of 
 stepping a step for months, threw off the clothes with 
 my left arm, sprang out of bed upon my feet, and 
 started to walk across the room." 
 
 Her husband s first thought was that she was 
 crazed, and he sprang to help her. But she refused 
 his aid, walked back and forth across the room, and 
 insisted that Jesus had healed her. He called up his 
 son of twelve years, and a woman in the house, and 
 they rejoiced together from one to three o clock, when 
 all retired. In the morning, her son came in to find 
 out whether it was real, or a dream ; when she sat up, 
 on the side of the bed, picked up and drew on her 
 stockings, which she had not been able to do for more 
 than a year, and lifted the left foot upon the other 
 knee, and found it wholly restored. From that time 
 all her troubles neuralgic sick-headaches, lack of 
 appetite, dyspepsia, costiveness, feminine difficulties, 
 kidney disease, etc. entirely left her, and she has 
 gained steadily in strength to this time. 
 
 A HOME MISSIONARY SAVED TO LABOR. A mission 
 ary in Kansas writes of his personal experience, to 
 this effect. He had just begun to preach somewhat, 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING."" 5 231 
 
 as a young Christian, under the direction of his pastor, 
 and in a fit of deep depression was returning from 
 what he meant should be his last appointment, when 
 he took a severe cold in a storm. In a few days he 
 was so low, that the physician pronounced his case 
 hopeless, and he put his affairs in order, arranged for 
 his funeral, and calmly awaited his end. The pastor 
 was away, at the first, but coming home, called and 
 found him speechless, and received answers about his 
 spiritual condition only by signs. He then called on 
 two church members present to pray, and when they 
 had finished, began himself. With the greatest sim 
 plicity he spoke of the Lord s goodness, and of the 
 chastening which he had sent, and then turned to the 
 world s need of laborers, and quoted Mat. ix : 37, 38, 
 from which two years before he had preached a pow 
 erful sermon, which had led several young men to 
 devote themselves to the gospel ministry. "And 
 now," said he, "Lord, wilt thou take them away 
 again?" And he pleaded as did Jacob, when wrest 
 ling with the angel. Then he quoted the text in 
 James, v:14, 15, as to the prayer of faith healing the 
 sick, and cried out, "Lord, I do believe." At that 
 moment the young man seemed to hear a voice say 
 ing, u You must preach the gospel," and at once began 
 to amend. For nearly forty years he has now been 
 obeying that command, and receiving souls for his 
 hire. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF CHARLES CULLIS, M. D. Dr. Cullis is 
 widely known among Christians, as the superintend- 
 
232 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ent of the " Consumptives Home," in Boston; which 
 is wholly supported by voluntary contributions re 
 ceived in answer to prayer. His success in this 
 respect led him to consider whether healing, as well 
 as money, might not be received from the Lord, and a 
 perusal of the memoir of Dorothea Trudell convinced 
 him, that we ought to expect God to do in America 
 what he was doing in Europe. The results of his expe 
 rience were clearly and frankly given in the " Ninth 
 Annual Report of the Consumptives Home." From 
 the many cases described are taken the following, in 
 the words of Dr. Cullis : 
 
 "At this time I had under my professional care a 
 Christian lady, with a tumor which confined her almost 
 continuously to her bed in severe suffering. All 
 remedies were unavailing, and the only human hope 
 was the knife; but feeling in my own heart the power 
 of the promise, I one morning sat down by her bed 
 side, and taking up the Bible, I read aloud God s 
 promise to his believing children: i And the prayer 
 of faith shall save the sick^ and the Lord shall raise 
 him up; and if lie have committed sins, they shall 
 he forgiven him? 
 
 " I then asked her if she would trust the Lord to 
 remove this tumor and restore her to health, and to 
 her missionary work, She replied, I have no par 
 ticular faith about it, but am willing to trust the Lord 
 for it. 
 
 " I then knelt and anointed her with oil in the name 
 of the Lord, asking him to fulfill his own word. Soon 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 233 
 
 after I left, she got up and walked three miles. From 
 that time the tumor rapidly lessened, until all trace 
 of it at length disappeared. 
 
 " Some time afterward, this lady gave testimony in 
 a public meeting to the cure wrought in her by the 
 prayer of faith, and a sorrowing wife present, whose 
 husband was sick with consumption, went home and 
 repeated to him the story. At my request he has 
 written out the case as follows: 
 
 U i 
 
 W , NEAR BOSTON, March, 1872. 
 
 " I was first confined to my house in November, 
 1870, with a violent cold. I lost my voice completely, 
 suifered with pain in my lungs, and expectorated 
 almost constantly. I grew worse every day, and in a 
 week called in a physician. On examination he found 
 my lungs diseased. I also had fever. With all his 
 care my cough grew worse, and night-sweats set in. 
 A few weeks later, my wife was told by the doctor that 
 my lungs were badly ulcerated, and that, my case 
 being hopeless, it was not worth while for him to 
 attend longer; also that she must not be surprised if I 
 should pass away suddenly. I then tried some highly 
 recommended patent medicine, which seemed only to 
 increase my disease. 
 
 " When I became so weak as to be nearly helpless, 
 Dr. Cullis was called in. He sounded my lungs and 
 gave the same verdict, saying that my only hope for 
 recovery was in the Lord. My wife pleaded in the 
 name of Jesus for my restoration; but diarrho3a set 
 10* 
 
234: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS, 
 
 in and my feet began to swell. She, however, con 
 tinued to pray earnestly, urging me to pray for myself. 
 I could not do it, as I had no desire in the matter 
 apart from the will of God, who had dealt with me so 
 graciously in all my sickness, that I delighted in his 
 will. If it was alone of his goodness to me that you 
 desired me to write, I would not know where to end. 
 During the next summer I seemed to gain, but was 
 so dependent on my medicine, that a single day s 
 omission would aggravate my distress. As autumn 
 advanced, I felt that my disease was gaining ground. 
 " c At length my wife heard, at a meeting for Chris 
 tian holiness at the house of Mr. Cullis, Miss D. nar 
 rate her recovery from a tumor by the power of faith. 
 Returning home, she repeated it to me. I knew that 
 our Father in heaven was no respecter of persons, and 
 the more I thought upon it and read the precious 
 promises of God, the more I was convinced that the 
 prayer of faith, shall save the sick^ and the Lord shall 
 raise him up? Believing that he is faithful that 
 promised, I now sent for Dr. Cullis to come and pray 
 with me. Dr. and Mrs. Cullis, with my wife, went 
 with me into an up^er room, where we knelt before 
 God. Dr. C. prayed, anointed me with oil, and in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus commanded me to be 
 healed. Instantly my whole being was thrilled with an 
 unknown power, from the top of my head to the soles 
 of my feet. From the moment I believed, the work 
 was done! My lungs, so long diseased, breathed with 
 new vigor, and I returned thanks to God for the 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 235 
 
 results of faith. Since that memorable night I have 
 taken no medicine, and my health has been constantly 
 improving, so that I am feeling better now than I did 
 before my sickness. To God be all the glory ! 
 
 " It is now more than two years since the above inci 
 dent took place. The writer continues perfectly well, 
 and is engaged in active business, walking before the 
 Lord in humble, fervent spirit. 
 
 " A lady came to me with a cancer in the cheek, which 
 had attained the size of a filbert. It had a very red 
 and angry appearance. After prayer for her healing, 
 she went into the country, when some one remarked : 
 <E. thinks that faith will cure her; but that is some 
 thing that will have to be burned or cut out. Her 
 friends tried to induce the use of various applications, 
 all of which she firmly refused. She returned home 
 in eight weeks, entirely cured. The friends acknowl 
 edge that * faith did do good, once. 
 
 " A lady of East Cambridge writes : < For nineteen 
 years I have been afflicted with neuralgia; added to 
 this, of late years a combination of diseases has ren 
 dered life an intolerable burden, and baffled the skill 
 of every physician to whom I have applied. By the 
 prayer of faith I have been healed, both body and soul, 
 and made to rejoice continually. For the first few 
 months, Satan was busy with me; and when I gave 
 way to doubt, pain again racked my body God has 
 strengthened my faith continually. I can now say I 
 am entirely well, and engaged in arduous work, often 
 among the sick, losing whole nights of rest. 
 
236 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 "It is right to add, that a few instances have occur 
 red in which I seemed in my own consciousness to 
 have the same faith, and yet the healing did not fol 
 low. I offer no theory upon this subject. I simply 
 state facts, and leave the rest with God. And yet I 
 can conceive wherefore he who alone knows the end 
 from the beginning, decides why some should be saved, 
 and others left to suffer and to die. It is not always that 
 even those who are Christians have used a restoration 
 to health or to life, to their own blessing and the glory 
 of God." 
 
 The closing paragraph of Dr. Cnllis, deserves atten 
 tion, as showing the limitations of faith in this prayer 
 for healing. There are two theories which seem dan 
 gerous, to which allusion was made in the chapter on 
 the prayer of faith. One of these teaches, that we can 
 have anything through prayer, by simply believing 
 that we shall have it; which would imply that we 
 could obtain on that condition the healing of any case 
 of disease. This is attended, as was shown, by too 
 many absurd implications to be admitted. Prayer cer 
 tainly was never intended to be a universal panacea, 
 and to do away with the skill of physicians, any more 
 than with nurses, or than with any class of appropriate 
 agencies for securing desired results. More plausible 
 is the theory that only now and then is it the divine 
 purpose to grant healing in answer to prayer, and that 
 in such case the Holy Spirit not only awakens the 
 desire, and inspires the petition, but also creates in the 
 soul the positive assurance, or faith, that the blessing 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 237 
 
 will be granted. Some of the facts seem to favor this 
 idea; but others do not. Thus, confident expectation 
 and assertion are often not followed by the result 
 desired. This makes a stumbling-block for the theory; 
 which also acts discouragingly upon cases where 
 prayer is offered, and no such specific assurance is 
 obtained. And yet these latter prayers are often fol 
 lowed by favorable results. It is better, then, to say 
 that the requisite faith is simply that God will secure 
 the healing, if it shall be best for all interests, and 
 suddenly or gradually, with or without medicines 
 and physicians, as he may choose, in each instance. 
 Iron rules are of human rather than of divine order 
 ing in these matters. 
 
 DR. CULLIS YISIT TO MANNEDORF. In his tenth 
 annual report, Dr. Cullis gives an interesting account 
 of his visit to the institution which Dorothea Trudell 
 founded at Mannedorf, which is now under the charge 
 of Mr Zeller, who originally came as a patient. He 
 says : " Mr. Zeller had not only been restored, but was 
 praying with the sick, God honoring his faith. Doro 
 thea in looking to the Lord for a successor, felt it to 
 be his will that Mr. Zeller should be the one, and 
 accordingly, after much prayer, made over the entire 
 property to him, so that when in the autumn of 1862, 
 she fell sick and died, there was no change of hands 
 no trouble or expense the work going on as hereto 
 fore. Mr. Zeller is thirty-seven years of age. 
 
 " Service is held in the chapel every morning, 
 attended by the household, and any persons in the vil- 
 
238 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 lage who so desire; also a prayer-meeting every other 
 evening. Every day at five o clock, Mr. Zeller meets 
 such as are able, for praying, and anointing for heal 
 ing. Preaching every Sabbath morning. All these 
 services are conducted by Mr. Zeller, who is not an 
 ordained clergyman, but called of the Lord for this his 
 own. work; and his power rests upon him. Persons 
 are often cured while listening to his preaching, 
 though he may not at the time say anything about the 
 healing of the body only of the healing of the soul 
 by the blood of Jesus. There is one marked feature 
 of the work that not imfrequently the soul is saved 
 and then the body cured. * * * Nettie Weber was 
 a faithful worker with Dorothea, and now spends her 
 whole time ministering to the sick. Many are healed in 
 answer to her prayers, especially among the insane, of 
 whom there were thirty at the time of our visit. There 
 were about fifty patients in the house, subject to vari 
 ous diseases; -among them several paralytics and epi 
 leptics. Many others, who avail themselves of the 
 privileges of the house, and take meals there, lodge in 
 the village. Anna Barbara Meili was another healed 
 in Dorothea s time, when far gone in consumption, 
 who remains to devote the life that God has given, to 
 his service. 
 
 " We next visited the churchyard, to look upon the 
 spot where Dorothea was buried. A small iron cross, 
 overgrown with ivy, bearing name and dates of birth 
 and death, alone distinguished her lowly resting place. 
 Accepting an invitation to dine, we sat down with 
 
FRAYEB FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 239 
 
 about one hundred and fifty persons of different nation 
 alities; these all waiting upon the Lord for healing. 
 We enjoyed the simple meal, and would fain have lin 
 gered in the home, so hallowed by the Holy Spirit s 
 presence. * * * On asking the question, whether 
 all were healed, the reply was: 4 No; but none die 
 until the soul is healed. >: 
 
 A FURTHER REPORT OF CASES. This tenth* report 
 of Dr. Cullis also gives a number of new instances of 
 healing during the year. As many suppose these cases 
 to be limited to nervous disorders, rheumatism, paral 
 ysis, etc., it may be well to mention, that one of them 
 was a person long afflicted with a painful heart-disease, 
 and others were cases of consumption. One of these 
 latter is thus described by the patient himself, who 
 signs his initials as S. B. P.: 
 
 " BOSTON HIGHLANDS, July, 1874. 
 
 "During the winter of 1869, which I spent in 
 England, from the effects of a severe cough lasting 
 several months, the lower part of my right lung 
 became hepatized. About the middle of last March, I 
 was taken with congestion of the lungs. Our family 
 physician was called; he visited me for nearly three 
 weeks, and I have no doubt did all that medical skill 
 could do. He succeeded in checking my fever, but I 
 grew weaker, day by day; a subtle disease was evi 
 dently preying upon my nervous system ; I lost my 
 appetite, coughed and expectorated a great deal, and 
 had night-sweats. My wife became alarmed, and after 
 consulting our physician, (who is also my dear friend 
 
240 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 and shared all her anxiety,) called as counsel Dr. 
 Charles Cullis. The doctors examined my case very 
 carefully, and found I had no use of my right lung; 
 they gave very little if any encouragement. From 
 that time I grew rapidly worse; my disease, as the 
 doctors feared, was evidently tending to the brain. 
 The second night after the consultation I was sleep 
 less and quite delirious; in the morning I was so wild 
 that my family could not control me. Both doctors 
 were called, and as they came into my room I cried 
 out in my delirium, I want none of your medicine, 
 only your prayers. I felt a consciousness that deliv 
 erance had come; I threw my arms around Dr. Cullis 
 and wept like a child. The doctor knelt with me by 
 my bed, offered a short prayer for my recovery, 
 anointing me with oil in the name of the Lord. My 
 nerves immediately became quiet; I lay down and 
 remained in a semi-conscious state for about two 
 hours. From my appearance my wife feared that I 
 was dying, but the doctor assured her that that was 
 not the case; that he felt confident the Lord would 
 raise me up. Soon after the doctors left, in spite of 
 the remonstrance of my wife, I got up, dressed, and 
 went below, and for some ten hours I was in an 
 almost constant struggle, trying, as I told my friends, 
 to get myself into the hands of the Lord. At last I 
 said to those around me: In a few minutes I shall go 
 to sleep ; as soon as I am asleep you can put me where 
 you please, I shall sleep two or three hours. In a 
 few minutes I fell asleep; they lifted me from the 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 241 
 
 floor, where I had persisted in lying for several hours, 
 and laid me on a sofa. I slept quietly for about two 
 hours; when I awoke, I felt a wonderful sense of relief. 
 I had during my illness felt sick from the crown of 
 my head to the soles of my feet; that feeling was all 
 gone. I went to bed, and for the first time since I 
 was taken ill, I slept quietly nearly all night; I slept 
 a good part of the next day, like a weary man. 1 took 
 no tnore medicine, but from the hour I went to sleep 
 I commenced improving, which has continued until I 
 feel as well as ever, except that I have not the full use 
 of my hepatized lung, but I breathe the whole length 
 of it, including that part which I had not used since 
 1869. My breathing is improving constantly, and I 
 have no doubt it will recover entirely. 
 
 " For all this I give God the glory. It is said to 
 me by those to whom I relate this experience, It is 
 wonderful. I say to them, Yes, it is wonderful; but 
 not that God fulfills his promises; it is wonderful that 
 his children should doubt his word. 5 It is certainly 
 wonderful that Christians should read the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth verses of the fifth of James, and think 
 it means nothing now it is not for them. I have a 
 friend who has a daughter who came home from the 
 "West last May, apparently in consumption; she had a 
 bad cough, expectorated a great deal, and had profuse 
 night-sweats. She arrived in Boston on Thursday of 
 the week; on the following Monday she had a stroke 
 of paralysis, completely paralyzing her left side. The 
 doctor gave no hope, said she could not live; I advised 
 11 
 
242 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 them to call Dr. Cullis and have him pray for her. 
 He consented to do so, if they would abandon the use 
 of medicine and simply trust her case in the hands 
 of the Lord; to this they assented, and Dr. Cullis 
 prayed for her. To-day she is free from cough, night- 
 sweats, and all other signs or symptoms of consump 
 tion, and has been for nearly two months. Her para 
 lysis is so far removed that she walks about the 
 house." 
 
 We may not climb the heavenly steeps, 
 
 To bring the Lord Christ down; 
 In vain we search the lowest deeps, 
 
 For him no depths can drown. 
 
 But warm, sweet, tender, even yet 
 
 A present help is he; 
 And faith has still its Christ, 
 
 And love its Galilee. 
 
 The healing of the seamless dress 
 
 Is by our beds of pain ; 
 We touch him in life s throng and press, 
 
 And we are whole again. 
 
 John G. Whittier. 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 PRATER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 
 
 (Concluded.) 
 
 LCTHER AND MELANCHTHON. The prayer of Luther 
 for the recovery of Melanchthon, who lay apparently at 
 the point of death, is well known to every student of the 
 history of the Reformation. Melanchthon s learning 
 and facile pen were invaluable to the cause, while his 
 milder manner avoided the offense often given by 
 Luther s impetuosity and occasional coarseness. Hence, 
 when Luther was summoned to the death-bed of his 
 dearly loved friend, he burst into tears and an excla 
 mation of agony. This roused Melanchthon, who said : 
 " O Luther, is this you? Why don t you let me depart 
 in peace?" u We can t spare you yet, Philip," was 
 the Reformer s answer; and then he spent more than 
 an hour on his knees, pleading for his recovery, until 
 he felt that the prayer was heard. Then he turned to 
 Melanchthon, again, whom he took by the hand, and 
 who said: " Dear Luther, why don t you let me depart 
 in peace? " and received as an answer: " No, no, Philip, 
 we cannot spare you yet from the field of labor." 
 Luther had some soup brought, and when his friend 
 declined it, saying, " Dear Luther, why will you not 
 let me go home?" again replied: "We cannot spare 
 
 (243) 
 
244 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 you yet, Philip," and added, in his droll way: " Philip, 
 take this sonp, or I will excommunicate you." The 
 soup was taken, Melanchthon began to revive, and he 
 lived to labor for many years. When Luther went 
 home, he told his wife with triumphant joy : " God 
 gave me my brother Melanchthon back, in direct answer 
 to prayer." And can anyone doubt this, who considers 
 the promises of God, and the peculiar circumstances 
 of the case? 
 
 THE HEALING OF REV. S. H. PLATT. Eev. S. H. 
 Platt is at present stationed in the De Kalb Avenue 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. He 
 has been lame, and a great sufferer in one knee, for 
 twenty-five years, and in both for three years, and has 
 never been able to preach standing until since his 
 recent cure. For many years he has been a believer 
 in the gift of healing in special cases, but could not see 
 any reason to think that it was God s will to heal him; 
 especially as in 1872, he visited Dr. Cullis, at Boston, 
 without gaining permanent relief. 
 
 In the summer of 1875, he went to Ocean Grove, 
 for a vacation, and took with him a collection of nar 
 ratives of faith-cures, which he carefully read, and by 
 which he was much impressed. Sunday, July 25th, 
 two ladies called at his cottage, one of whom was a 
 Miss Mossman, who claimed that the Lord had sent her 
 to tell him that he might be cured of his lameness, if 
 he would only believe. He mentioned his experience 
 with Dr. Cullis; and she said his faith had subsequently 
 failed, and she related to him a marvelous cure of a 
 
PKAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 24:5 
 
 broken ankle at Syracuse, E". Y., by the simple prayer, 
 repeated several times, u Please, Lord, heal my foot/ 
 She stated that hearing of his case, she felt divinely 
 impressed to go to him with the message mentioned, 
 as sh had successfully gone to several others. Says 
 Mr. Platt: " Kneeling, she rested one hand upon each 
 knee, just as she would upon a chair, with no pressure 
 and no motion of any kind, and in a short prayer, of 
 not even two minutes, she asked for < the healing of 
 these knees. * * * I was conscious of no change 
 whatever, either mental, spiritual or physical, until 
 about a minute after she had resumed her seat; when 
 a sensation, unlike anything ever before or since expe 
 rienced by me, began about four inches below each 
 knee, and slowly swept upward with a sort of envelop 
 ing, condensing and toning up feeling, seeming to 
 permeate every fibre of tissue about the joints, and 
 then faded out at about the same distance above the 
 knees. I mentioned this sensation; * oh jes, you are 
 cured was her confident reply ; < only hold on and 
 don t lose it. * * * When pain comes, trust in 
 Jesus. Ask -God to put power into your knees when 
 ever you want to go anywhere, but don t go anywhere, 
 unless he wants you to; and if he wants you to, you 
 can walk any distance. 
 
 Since that time, Mr. Platt has walked without his 
 canes, has preached standing, and has gradually been 
 delivered from pain. Miss Mary H. Mossman is the 
 daughter of a Congregational Deacon in Massachusetts, 
 who for sixteen years has been leading a life of faith 
 
246 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 in Christ and the leadings of the Holy Spirit, and is of 
 slight build and feeble health. Her prayers avail only 
 in cases in which she is specially impressed by the 
 Spirit to pray for the recovery of the person. Mr. 
 Platt had previously tried medical and surgical 
 remedies in vain; as also electricity and magnetism, 
 without any permanent benefit. He has published the 
 full particulars of his case in a pamphlet. 
 
 STATEMENT BY EEV. HORACE BUSHNELL, D. D. In 
 his valuable book, entitled " Nature and The Super 
 natural," Dr. Bushnell makes known some very inter 
 esting facts as follows: 
 
 " I became acquainted, about two years ago, in a 
 distant part of the world, with an English gentleman, 
 whose faith in the gift of healing had been established 
 by his own personal exercise of it. He gave me a full 
 account in manuscript of some of the cases. * * * 
 It became a question with him, soon after his conver 
 sion, whether, as he had been healed spiritually, he 
 ought not also to expect and receive the healing of his 
 body by the same faith; for he had then been an in 
 valid for a long time, with only a slender hope of re 
 covery. After a hard struggle of mind, he was able, 
 dismissing all his prescribed remedies, to throw him 
 self on God, and was immediately and permanently 
 made whole. At length, one of his children, whom 
 he had with him away from home, was taken ill with 
 scarlet fever, and i now the question was I give his 
 own wordb what was to be done? The Lord had 
 indeed healed my own sickness, but would he heal my 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 247 
 
 son? I conferred with a brother in the Lord, who, 
 having no faith in Christ s healing power, urged me 
 to send instantly for the doctor, and dispatched his 
 groom on horseback to fetch him. Before the doctor 
 arrived, mj mind was filled with revelation on the 
 subject. I saw that I had fallen into a snare, by turn 
 ing away from the Lord s healing hand, to lean on 
 medical skill. I felt grievously condemned in my con 
 science, A fear also fell on me, that if I persevered in 
 this unbelieving course, my son would die, as his eldest 
 brother had. The symptoms in both were precisely 
 similar. The doctor arrived. My son, he said, was 
 suffering from a scarlet fever, and medicine should be 
 sent immediately. While he stood prescribing, I re 
 solved to withdraw the child, and cast him on the 
 Lord. And when he was gone, I called the nurse, 
 and told her to take the child, and lay him on the bed. 
 I then tell on my knees, confessing the sin I had com 
 mitted against the Lord s healing power. I also 
 prayed most fervently that it would please my Heav 
 enly Father to forgive my sin, and to show that he 
 forgave it, by causing the fever to be rebuked. I re 
 ceived a mighty conviction that my prayer was heard, 
 and I arose, and went to the nursery, at the end of a 
 long passage, to see what the Lord had done; and on 
 opening the door, to my astonishment, the boy was 
 sitting up in his bed; and on seeing me, cried out, *I 
 am quite well, and want to have my dinner. In an 
 hour he was dressed, and well, and eating his dinner, 
 and when the physic arrived, it was cast out of the 
 
248 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 window. Next morning, the doctor returned; and, on 
 meeting me at the garden gate, he said, I hope jour 
 son is no worse. He is very well, I thank you, said I 
 in reply. What can you mean? rejoined the doctor. 
 I will tell you; come in and sit down. I then told 
 him all that had .occurred, at which he fairly gasped 
 with surprise. May I see your son ? * he asked. Cer 
 tainly, doctor, but I see that you do not believe. We 
 proceeded up stairs, and my son was playing with his 
 brother on the floor. The doctor felt his pulse and 
 said, Yes, the fever is gone. Finding also a fine 
 healthy surface on his tongue, he added, Yes, he is 
 quite well; I suppose it was the crisis of his disease. " 
 "Another of the cases which he reports shows more 
 fully the working of his own mind, on the instant of 
 healing. It was the case of a poor man s child, who 
 had heard him advocate the faith of healing, and now 
 that the physician, after attending him for many 
 months of illness, had given the little patient up, say 
 ing that he could do no more, the parents sent for him, 
 in their extremity, to come and heal their son. He 
 replied to the father: My dear friend, I cannot heal 
 your son; I can do nothing to help him. All that I 
 can do is, to ask you to kneel down, and pray with 
 me to Christ, that we may know what is his will in 
 this matter. He immediately knelt down with me, 
 the written account continues, and my prayer was 
 a reminding of the Lord Jesus Christ of his mercy to 
 the sick, when he was on the earth, and that he never 
 sent any sick away unhealed. I then presented the 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 24:9 
 
 petition of the father and mother, that their son might 
 be healed, and besought the Lord to show what his 
 will was in the case. Whilst I was making the sup 
 plication, it was revealed to me, through the Holy 
 Spirit, that I was to lay hands on the boy; and receiv 
 ing at the time great faith to do so, I arose, and not 
 wishing to be observed by the father, I lard my hand 
 on the boy s head, and said in a low tone of voice 
 I lay my hand on thee in the name of Jesus Christ. 
 In an instant, I saw color rush into his pale cheeks, 
 and it seemed as if a glow of health was given, inso 
 much that I said involuntarily, 1 1 think your son 
 will recover. I then hastily left the room. In less 
 than an hour, the mother came to my house, and in 
 sisted on seeing me, to tell me the wonderful things 
 that had happened to her son. The result was, that 
 the boy was about, the next day. " 
 
 The other cases narrated by him are scarcely less re 
 markable. At the same time, he admits, with charac 
 teristic ingenuousness, that no such gift has been 
 vouchsafed him now for a number of years, and that 
 most of the expectations he had, in connection with 
 the apostolic wonder thus restored, have been disap 
 pointed. 
 
 INSANITY CURED. A recent event has kindly been 
 communicated by Bev. S. J. Humphrey. A physician 
 of his acquaintance, of devoted piety and great faith in 
 prayer, needed seven thousand dollars, that he might 
 add a new building to his medical establishment. 
 Just then a banker brought his insane wife, whose case 
 
250 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 was considered incurable, and said to him, " Cure her, 
 and I will loan you the money!" The doctor called 
 in as witnesses some others who believed with him in 
 the power of prayer, and had the proposition repeated 
 in their presence. For some days earnest prayer was 
 offered by them all, while the doctor used such reme 
 dial means as seemed to him wise. In less than a 
 week, she returned to her husband in sound mind, and 
 the promise was redeemed. 
 
 ANOTHER INSTANCE. President Wm. M. Brooks of 
 Tabor College, Iowa, communicates an instance of re 
 covery from insanity, in answer to prayer, which is 
 as follows; the names being suppressed: A young 
 lady of his acquaintance, of a finished education, lost 
 her reason in the winter of 18712, and in August, 
 1872, was placed in the institution for the insane, at 
 Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. No encouragement was given of 
 her recovery, and a year later, when her father visited 
 her, in June, 1873, she appeared so badly, that he said 
 it would be a relief to know that she was dead. Soon 
 after, Mrs. H. the wife of a Baptist minister, who had 
 long known and loved her, being shut up for days in 
 a dark room, because of inflamed eyes, felt drawn out 
 in special prayer in her behalf, and finally sent for the 
 father and told him of her exercises and of the assur 
 ance gained that his daughter would be fully restored. 
 In a few days, came news of a sudden change for the 
 better, and in a little over two months she returned 
 home well, and is now teaching, with all her powers 
 in full vigor. The acting Superintendent of the Hos- 
 
PEAYEE FOE PHYSIC AL HEALING. 251 
 
 pital, who is not a professed Christian, and who knew 
 nothing of the prayers referred to, said that when the 
 change occurred, there was not a case among the live 
 hundred inmates of which he had less hope, and that 
 it was the most remarkable case of recovery which he 
 had known during the eight years of his connection 
 with the Hospital. 
 
 A YOUNG LADY HEALED IN PENNSYLVANIA. The 
 author has received, from the subject of the healing 
 described, the following letter, which will be read with 
 great interest by those who are studying the phenomena 
 of prayer in its relation to physical cure. Its writer 
 so expresses her own view as to give one a clear con 
 ception of the psychological conditions of her recovery: 
 HARRISBURG, PA., Sept. 9, 1875. 
 
 Rev. Wm. W. Patton: More than three years since, 
 when fourteen years old, I received an injury, the 
 result of which was miletus, or inflammation of the 
 sheath surrounding the spinal cord ; the suifering 
 from which was heightened by a complication of 
 diseases of a chronic nature. Although never well, I 
 had repeated attacks, during which I was obliged to 
 lie in a horizontal position for many months at a time. 
 I had two very kind physicians; but the aid afforded 
 me was only temporary, I never getting free, even for 
 the shortest space of time, from pain in the region of 
 the spine. The pain was severe; yet precious was my 
 Savior s promise: " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 
 Although having the witness of my acceptance with 
 God, in the light of justification, I found there were 
 
252 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 remains of the carnal mind in the heart. Knowing 
 there is efficacy in the blood of Jesus Christ, to cleanse 
 from every stain, and thus seeing my duty, accordingly 
 on Dec. 15, 1873, I asked the Lord for a pure heart, 
 and was led to see the necessity of -entire consecration 
 to God. I found my consecration to God incomplete, 
 in that I was not giving the body so as he would 
 receive it. I found that to consecrate the body, I 
 must give it to be healed in a way the Lord would 
 reveal. * 
 
 After considering and reconsidering the subject for 
 fully thirteen months, knowing that God declares, 
 "With Christ, I freely give you all things;" "He 
 beareth our sickness, and healeth our diseases;" "The 
 prayer of faith shall save the sick; " " All things are 
 possible to him that believeth, I saw it would honor 
 God more, to exercise faith and live; as I had the 
 assurance of an instantaneous healing, as I believed. 
 On Tuesday, January 26, 1875, at 7-J- P. M., I realized 
 my Savior s words: "Daughter, thy faith hath made 
 thee whole." Taking now as the accepted time, I said: 
 " Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief; " the utter 
 ance of the lips corresponding with the desire of the 
 heart. " Ask what ye will in my name, and I will do 
 it," was suggested. My reply was: "To be wholly 
 the Lord s in a word, to enjoy a pure heart, and to 
 be well physically." I was enabled to rise, walk, and 
 show the truly great thing, the Lord had done for me. 
 I have not taken medicine since the day previous, or 
 been abed [confined to the bed] since the moment of 
 
PLAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 253 
 
 healing. * * * Wonderful art Thou, in all thy 
 works, and that my soul knoweth right well! Unto 
 him be glory and praise evermore. 
 
 Yours, with respect, MINNIE H. WALTERS. 
 
 BISHOP SIMPSON S LIFE SAVED. Bishop Bowman, of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, gives this account 
 (which has been published in the papers) of the unex 
 pected recovery of Bishop Simpson at a time when he 
 was supposed to be dying: 
 
 " I remember once, when there was a Conference at 
 Mt. Yernon, in this State (Ohio), at which I was 
 present. Bishop Jones was presiding, one afternoon, 
 and, after reading a dispatch stating that Bishop 
 Simpson was dying in Pittsburg, asked that the Con 
 ference unite in prayer, that his life might be saved. 
 We knelt down, and Mr. Taylor, the great street- 
 preacher of California, led in one of his beautiful 
 prayers. After the first few sentences, in which I 
 joined with my whole heart, my mind seemed to be at 
 ease, and I did not pay much attention to the rest of 
 the prayer, only to notice its beauty. When we arose 
 from our knees, I turned to a brother and said : 
 4 Bishop Simpson will not die; I feel it. I then told 
 him how the feeling had come over me, and he assured 
 me that he had experienced the same impressions. 
 The word was passed around, and over thirty ministers, 
 who were present, said they had the same feeling. I 
 took my book, and made a note of the hour and cir 
 cumstance. Several months afterwards, I met Bishop 
 Simpson, and asked him what he did, to recover his 
 
254: PRAYER AND ITS REMARK ABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 health. He did not know; but the physician had said, 
 it was a miracle. He said that, one afternoon, when at 
 the point of death, the doctor left him, saying he 
 should be left alone [by the doctor] for a half hour. 
 At the end of that time, the doctor returned, and im 
 mediately noticed a great change in the patient. He 
 was startled, and asked the family what they had done 
 for the Bishop; and they replied: Nothing at all. 
 That half hour, I found, by making allowance for 
 difference of localities, was just the time when we 
 were praying for him at Mt. Vernon. From that 
 time on, he steadily improved, and has lived to bless 
 the church and humanity. If the Lord could touch 
 vitality in one direction, he could in another. Bishop 
 Simpson s case, and ten thousand others are living 
 examples of that to-day. God does answer prayer for 
 physical good, I know he does. On the God, who has 
 so often answered my prayers, I will still rely, scientific 
 men and philosophers to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 A DEAFNESS OF TWENTY YEARS CURED. Rev. Frank 
 lin Fisk, who has been forty years in the Methodist 
 ministry, and now resides in Wilbraham, Mass., says, 
 in a letter to his friend, Mrs. (Rev.) David Sherman, 
 D. D., of Maiden, Mass., the original of which lies 
 before the author, bearing date August 30, 1875 : 
 
 " I find in my diary, under date of April 17, 1837, 
 that I called on Father Harding, in the town of 
 "Wellfleet, Mass. He was a venerable octogenarian, 
 had long been a member of the Methodist church, 
 and was highly esteemed by all who knew him, as a 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 255 
 
 man of great purity of character. He told me, that 
 when past forty years of age, he was deaf; so that he 
 could hear no human voice. He had been in this 
 condition twenty years. One morning, while contem 
 plating the miracles of Christ his restoring sight to 
 the blind, hearing to the deaf, etc. that he is the 
 same yesterday, to-day and forever, and the promise 
 that he will i withhold no good thing from them that 
 walk uprightly, he was impressed with a strong con 
 viction that, if he should ask for it, his hearing would 
 be restored. He said he immediately began to pray, 
 and continued with increasing earnestness and faith 
 all the forenoon. Soon after noon, he began to realize 
 a strange rumbling in his ears, which continued until 
 evening; which so wearied and worried him, that he 
 retired earlier than usual, and immediately went to 
 sleep. In the night time he awoke, hearing the wind 
 blow violently, as he thought. He awoke his wife, 
 and asked her if she ever knew the wind to blow so 
 hard before. She was surprised at his idea, and 
 assured him there was no unusual gale. He again 
 went to sleep, and did not awake till the sun had 
 arisen, and was shining into his room. He said it 
 seemed to have a charm and a glory in it, as did all 
 other objects, such as he had never known before. He 
 arose and dressed himself, and, going out at his front 
 door, ascended a wooded hill directly opposite his 
 house. He heard the birds sing, and leaves rustle as 
 they were moved by the gentle breeze. He said he 
 came down, and, entering the house, told his folks he 
 
256 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 could hear now as well as any of them. And he 
 added : I have continued to hear to the present time, 
 a period of more than forty years. 
 
 Miss LUCY K. DRAKE S ACCOUNT. The reader has 
 already learned of Miss Drake s faith and its reward, 
 in reference to the supply of ordinary wants. In the 
 narrative of Dr. Cullis, reference was made to a Miss 
 D., who was healed of a tumor, in answer to prayer. 
 This was Miss Drake, and she lias now written out for 
 this volume her experience of cure from consumption, 
 in like manner, as follows: 
 
 " In 1866, 1 was in consumption, and the disease had 
 made such progress, during the years I had been 
 afflicted with it, that in the judgment of a skillful 
 physician, I was not expected to live through the 
 summer. Of a decidedly consumptive family, and 
 having all the symptoms of the disease in an advanced 
 stage, humanly speaking, I could not have a ray of 
 hope. But for several years I had left my body with 
 its disease in the hand of the Lord, and consequently 
 was without any anxiety about it; having asked that, 
 if he saw it would be for his glory to spare me, he 
 would raise me to health; and if not, he would take 
 me to behold his glory. One evening in July, (the 
 5th,) while reading one of the promises given to an 
 ancient patriarch, my soul was exceedingly stirred 
 with its richness, and, as it met the longing desire of 
 my heart to win souls to Christ I inquired of the 
 Lord, and studied his revealed will, to know if it was 
 his pleasure to give that promise to me. By faith in 
 
PKAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 257 
 
 the promise to give wisdom (James i:5,) having 
 asked, I was thoroughly persuaded that it was mine. 
 It related to future usefulness, and in a few minutes 
 it occurred to me that if it was fulfilled, I must be 
 cured of my disease. I had been, and was then so 
 weak, I could not sit up fifteen minutes at a time, 
 without keen suffering. I said at once, i Of course I 
 must; but the Lord knew that when he gave me that 
 promise; and consumption is as easy for him to cure, 
 as to sway yonder branches with his winds. 
 
 " From that moment not a doubt entered my mind 
 about my recovery; for God had promised it, included 
 in that spiritual promise. I do not remember about 
 that evening; for it was quite late, but the next day 
 great strength was given me, and I did work that 
 would have affected me seriously, for months follow 
 ing, if I had performed it at any time w,ithin months 
 previous. I gained constantly. My physicians and 
 friends were astonished, and only found refuge in say 
 ing, She will be sick again soon. But sickness did 
 not return, and my lungs gradually healed, and, in a 
 short time, I became engaged in preaching to the mul 
 titude the glad tidings of the gospel; and I have con 
 tinued this work since that time. I mention this to 
 show, that the voice required in this public work, could 
 only be forthcoming when the lungs were in a normal 
 condition. 
 
 " There have been several other times, when, having 
 other diseases, recovery was considered doubtful, that 
 after exercising faith in Christ for healing, I have 
 11* 
 
258 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 been cured; several times immediately , and at others 
 gradually. I mention this to show that it is our priv 
 ilege not only to take Christ as onr physician, once in 
 a lifetime, but whenever we need him ; as we may con 
 tinually live by faith in him, to be kept from the 
 power of sin." 
 
 The last paragraph surely cannot mean that no 
 Christian need die, but may always be healed of every 
 sickness; but only that oftentimes God is pleased to 
 cure more than once. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF MRS. C. S. WHITNEY. This lady, who 
 resides in Hartford, Ct, where she is extensively 
 known by her Christian labors among the poor, kindly 
 furnishes the author the following statement of her 
 personal experience: 
 
 "Three years ago, I was healed of a bodily disease. 
 I had been troubled from my birth with canker, and 
 at times suffered greatly. I had consulted some of 
 the best physicians in the land, and had been treated 
 by the most skillful. My case was said to be incura 
 ble. When I learned to trust Christ for everything, 
 I applied to him for healing. My husband joined 
 with me, in this prayer, for three weeks; but all the 
 time I was growing worse. I then prayed for entire 
 submission. About the first of October, 1872, my 
 stomach, throat and mouth were so cankered, I could 
 scarcely eat anything. One day, I took up the little 
 book, entitled Dorothea TrudelP; and while reading, 
 I seemed to hear a voice saying unto me, All things 
 are possible unto him that believeth. According to 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 259 
 
 thy faith be it unto thee. I claimed the faith, 
 and immediately asked God to heal me, and in his own 
 way. While yet on my knees, it seemed very clear to 
 me, that I should go to Boston, and ask Dr. Cullis to 
 pray with me. I obeyed that leading, and made prepa 
 ration to go, the day following. Just as I was ready 
 to start for the depot, I realized that I was cured. An 
 entire change was wrought in my system, and my soul 
 was filled with joy and gratitude. Soon I began to 
 wonder why I had been thus strangely led, and the 
 dear Lord made it all plain by directing my attention 
 to the story of Abraham, teaching me the beautiful 
 lesson of obedience, and again assured me by the voice 
 of his Spirit, saying, Thy faith hath saved thee. 3 " 
 
 Two CASES OF CHILDREN. It may be well to cite 
 two cases in which the patients were, by age and phy 
 sical condition, unable to take any part in the process 
 of recovery, in the way of an exercise of imagination 
 or faith, which often has great nervous influence. 
 Rev. T. W. Greene, a Baptist minister at Denver, Col., 
 furnishes the following from his own experience : 
 
 " While I was pastor of the Baptist church at L , 
 
 in Central Illinois, in the year 1868, I learned, one 
 day, that a family belonging to my congregation, and 
 living some two miles in the country, was in deep dis 
 tress, because of the momentarily expected death of 
 their little child. Making no delay, I hastened to the 
 house. It was very hot weather, and the child was 
 suffering from a low fever. The opposite doors of the 
 room were standing open, to furnish a current of air; 
 
260 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 but the little patient had sunk to a condition in which 
 he did not seem to breathe at all. The doctor had 
 given the child up to die, and gone away. The father 
 had left the room, being unwilling to witness the 
 death. The mother and nurse were the only attend 
 ants at the bedside; though I believe a neighbor was 
 sitting in the opposite corner of the room. The child 
 showed no signs of life, that an ordinary observer could 
 detect. It had no perceptible pulse, and made no cry 
 or movement of any kind. Its eyes were fixed. But 
 I at once felt, that I could pray in faith for its recov 
 ery. I knelt down by the bedside, prayed with much 
 composure, and went back, feeling that my prayer 
 would be answered. I was not surprised to hear, in a 
 day or two, that the child was rapidly recovering; and 
 soon after that it was running about the house. 
 
 " In the same place and year, I visited another fam 
 ily, under very similar circumstances. The child, iu 
 this instance, had been sick for some time with a vio 
 lent form of dysentery, if I remember correctly. The 
 doctor in attendance was an avowed infidel a disbe 
 liever in the inspiration of the Scriptures, in the sin- 
 lessness of Christ, in the influence of the Holy Spirit 
 on the heart, and, indeed, in his existence altogether. 
 All the while I was in the room, he sat on the side of 
 the bed, holding the child s wrist. In reply to my 
 inquiry, How is the child? he gave me to understand 
 that he had no hope of its recovery. The parents and 
 friends had also evidently given up hope. They were 
 waiting, in tears and silence, to see it die. I asked the 
 
FBAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 261 
 
 Lord, in my prayer, to spare the child, not forgetting 
 to mention the condition always to be remembered, 
 in praying for temporal blessings if it was in accord 
 ance with his will. The Holy Spirit, we know, he 
 is always ready to bestow on those that ask him 
 more willing than earthly parents are to give good 
 gifts unto their children. The prayer was answered 
 by the speedy restoration of the child to comparative 
 health : though it took a relapse after a month or so, 
 and died. The doctor said to a number, though not 
 to me, that he could never again deny the reality of 
 prayer, for that, during my prayer, he felt the pulse 
 quicken and grow stronger, all the time. He men 
 tioned it himself, as a case altogether remarkable in 
 his estimation. A third case, so similar that it would 
 hold no interest, occurred while I was pastor, some 
 time before, at "W , in Illinois." 
 
 A FKEEDMAN CUBED OF CONSUMPTION. Miss Rachel 
 C. Mather, who has charge of a Colored Orphan 
 Asylum, at Beaufort, S. C., sends to the author, under 
 date of Oct. 20, 1875, an account which, somewhat 
 condensed, is as follows : " I s come, missus, to say 
 good bye, afore you go Norf ; spec I ll neber see you 
 agin, in dis yere world; de doctor s given me up; he 
 can do no more," said Noble Mitchell, a freed man, to 
 me, on my piazza, one June morning, panting for 
 breath and having every appearance of a man in the 
 last stages of consumption. " I s jes waiting for de 
 Lord to call me home; I s ready to go; I wants de 
 Lord s will to be done." " So do I," I replied ; but I 
 
PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 believe it is his will that you should live and labor. 
 Your wife and six little children need you; all your 
 neighbors need you, to repair their rickety cabins, in 
 cold weather; I need you to build another school house." 
 " It will be a miracle, missus; my cough tears me, day 
 and night; my appetite has lef me; de night-sweats 
 worry me a heap; when I tries to walk, I staggers." 
 " Faith is a miracle-worker. Did not Jesus say, Thy 
 faith hath saved thee ? All things are possible to 
 him that believeth. I then read him the account of 
 Hezekiah s recovery, how Jesus healed the sick, and a 
 few pages from Dorothea Trudell, to which he eagerly 
 listened. After prayer, he left, saying: " I s got new 
 light. I s got new joy in my heart. I s better already. 
 I ll pray de Lord to cure me, an I hopes he will. : 
 
 One month later, while in Boston, Miss Hildare, 
 who took charge in my absence, wrote: "Noble 
 Mitchell is well, and passes by here every day, to work 
 in Beaufort it is wonderful." And so it was; for he 
 had not worked at his trade for five months, and his 
 friends had for sometime looked to see him sink into 
 his grave. He has been at work ever since, and the 
 last six months for me, putting up a new school house. 
 He is a faithful man, a useful neighbor, and an exem 
 plary Christian. 
 
 A GIRL CCTRED. Miss Mather sends an account of 
 a girl, Laura, thirteen years old, who came to her with 
 a hard cough and a pain in her side and steadily grew 
 worse. Her appetite failed, night-sweats came on, and 
 she was confined to the bed most of the day. At last 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 263 
 
 the end seemed near, and Miss M. says: " I lingered 
 by her bed till near midnight, in prayer for her 
 recovery. I could not give her up. Again, in my 
 own room, I poured out my soul in prayer for the 
 child, and then slept. About two o clock I suddenly 
 awoke, and seemed to hear a voice saying: Go to 
 Laura; I can heal her now; the conditions are right; 
 you are both calm and truthful. Well, Laura, I 
 went and said, Jesus has told me to tell you that he 
 will cure you now. Do you believe he will ? Yes, 
 missus, me do believe. O, Jesus, do, please make me 
 well; let me live a long time and be a good and useful 
 woman. The burden rolled off my heart. From 
 that night, Laura rapidly recovered; in less than a 
 month she was strong and well. During four years 
 since, she has been a good, useful gifl." 
 
 A CASE IN NEW YORK CITY. Eev. Edwin F. Hat- 
 field, D. D., who is widely known throughout the 
 Presbyterian Church, has kindly obtained and for 
 warded, at the request of the author, the following 
 letter from Mrs. 3L, the mother of the young girl re 
 ferred to below, who resides in Brooklyn, N". Y.: 
 
 "Dear Sir: I have a daughter who was for fourteen 
 months, afflicted with hip disease. It was brought on 
 by a fall and a consequent dislocation, when she was 
 eight years of age. Her right side was paralyzed, and 
 she had an abscess. I placed her in a hospital, under 
 the care of good nurses and the very best medical 
 advice. Everything possible was done for her, but all 
 to no avail; she grew worse instead of better, and the 
 
PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 doctors directed me, as there was no hope for her, to 
 take her home to die. 
 
 " But I did not cease to hope. I did as the doctors 
 directed, but continued to pray the prayer of faith 
 for her recovery, for two weeks. One morning, at the 
 end of this period, we were conversing together about 
 the wonderful cures wrought by the Savior, when on 
 earth, and particularly that of the man at the pool of 
 Bethesda. In the midst of our conversation, my 
 daughter rose to obtain a drink of water, when she 
 exclaimed, Mother, I can walk ! c Thanks be to 
 God! said I; come, and let me see you. Her 
 crutches, the only means by which she could move 
 about, before, were now useless. Upon examination, 
 I found that the abscess had entirely disappeared,*and 
 that the paralyzed limb was restored whole, like the 
 other. She was again dangerously ill, five months 
 afterwards. I prayed for her recovery, one night, 
 before retiring, and the next morning she arose, per 
 fectly cured. She is now twenty-one years of age, and 
 during all this intervening time, has been free from 
 any trouble of this kind. To-day she is as well as any 
 one, walking and running about without the slightest 
 trouble." 
 
 CURE OF B RIGHT S DISEASE AND PARALYSIS. The 
 author has received a letter from Mr. James H. Black- 
 man, of Sharon, Mass., (P. O. address at Canton, Mass.,) 
 which is of extraordinary interest. Some of the facts 
 have been given before, but never so fully as now. 
 
PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 265 
 
 Slightly abridged, it is as follows; under date of Oct. 
 23, 1875: 
 
 " In the spring of 1870, my wife was taken sick 
 with the kidney complaint. She continued to grow 
 worse during the summer. I took a bottle of urine 
 to Dr. Erasmus D. Miller, a celebrated physician of 
 Boston, to be tested, He sent me a note saying: Her 
 disease is Bright s disease of the kidneys, in a far 
 advanced stage, and incurable. The water was after 
 wards tested by several physicians, who coincided 
 with Dr, Miller. An increase of albumen was appa 
 rent at every test, and the last, (a 2-oz. bottle,) tested 
 by Dr, A. A. Holmes, of Canton, contained nothing 
 but albumen. The water gradually decreased in 
 quantity, and finally stopped altogether, and for two 
 years nothing passed. It is well known that physi 
 cians do not profess to cure this disease. During my 
 wife s illness, her left limb became completely paral 
 yzed, and withered away to the size of a man s wrist, 
 in the largest place, and without any feeling, even to 
 pins and boiling water. She tipped a milk pan of 
 boiling water upon her feet, but did not know that 
 this limb was scalded, till she began to dress the well 
 foot. For three years and two months she did not 
 walk; for two years she crept upon her knees, drawing 
 the lame leg after her; and for the last year she moved 
 herself around in a wheeled invalid chair. During 
 these three years, she was taken out of her bed in the 
 morning, and put into it again at night. For the two 
 years and four months, no physician had been in the 
 12 
 
266 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 house, and she had taken no medicine, and resorted to 
 no bathing or rubbing. She ate but once a day and 
 immediately vomited. 
 
 " During her sickness God gave me a new heart, 
 and I prayed for her conversion, which occurred in 
 January, 1874, and then for that of our daughter, 
 which took place in February. Previously I was a 
 Unitarian, unacquainted with evangelical doctrines. 
 ]^ot knowing that the Christian world had decided 
 that the day of miracles was past, in my ignorance 
 and simplicity I went to praying, with faith in Christ s 
 promise, that my wife might be healed- my wife and 
 daughter joining, after their conversion. God gave 
 me the assurance that our prayers were accepted, and 
 I became bold to say to others that she would soon 
 walk. I made this declaration to Rev. James Jenni- 
 son, Congregational minister at Canton, and he re 
 plied, Why, you can t expect God to do a miracle ! 
 My assurance grew stronger and stronger, and filled 
 me with joy and gratitude. Just then, the water 
 came back in large quantity, and, on being tested by 
 Dr. Holmes, proved free from albumen. On the morn 
 ing of February 25th, 1874, I prayed earnestly in 
 secret, and then placed my wife on her knees, at the 
 family altar, and again prayed earnestly that she might 
 walk. At the close of the prayer, she was unconscious 
 and apparently dead. She remained thus about three 
 minutes, when she raised her head and exclaimed: I 
 can walk ! I know I can walk ! Praise God, I can 
 walk ! She got up oif her knees, and walked twice 
 
FBAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 267 
 
 around the room, exclaiming, c Praise God, I can 
 walk! Why don t you praise God that I can walk? 
 We then commenced shouting, Glory to God! Oh 
 the rapture of that moment! We bowed before God 
 and thanked him for the great miracle he had per 
 formed. 
 
 " I opened the door, and she walked out upon the 
 piazza, and about an hour afterwards she walked out 
 and shook hands with a neighbor, who was so sur 
 prised, that he lost all power of speech. The para 
 lyzed limb became immediately enlarged, and in a 
 few days was plump and round, and stronger than the 
 other. The appetite came back, the vomiting ceased, 
 and Bright s disease, with all its attendant pains, 
 passed away. She is in better health than ever before, 
 and like the impotent man at the Beautiful Gate, goes 
 about leaping and praising God, often walking eight 
 and ten miles in a day, without limping or fatigue. 
 * * * We got our faith by prayer and reading 
 the promises. How could we, after having been born 
 again, refuse to accept those promises as true? Our 
 hearts had been given to him, and we prayed for her 
 recovery, that each might be enabled to go out into 
 the world, and make known the wonderful things God 
 had done for us in giving us clean hearts; and by the 
 grace of God, so will we ever do." 
 
 REMARKS UPON THE YARIOUS CASES CITED. The 
 instances which have filled these two chapters will not 
 make the same impression upon every mind; nor are 
 they all of the same convincing power. It may be 
 
268 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 well to notice several of tlie characteristics, and to con 
 sider their bearing. 
 
 1. A large proportion of the cures are gradual. In 
 this they differ from the miraculous healings by the 
 Savior and the apostles; which were instantaneous and 
 complete, and needed to be such, to make the desired 
 impression, and to serve their peculiar purpose at the 
 introduction of the gospel, as indubitable signs of 
 divine power. But it is not at all necessary to con 
 sider answer to prayer as miraculous; and the moral 
 end sought in the discipline of prayer is sufficiently 
 gained, if the petition, or its equivalent, is finally 
 granted in any of the various methods; God using nat 
 ural laws, and therefore working out the results, often 
 times gradually. 
 
 2. In some cases medicines were employed, and in 
 others they were not. "Why should their use be con 
 sidered as indicating any lack of faith? Why should 
 God be expected to exempt those who pray, from the 
 necessity of using means, in this relation more than 
 others? We must labor as well as pray, in order to 
 succeed in business, or to be useful spiritually. Why 
 not apply the same rule in reference to the removal 
 of disease? Hezekiah prayed for recovery, and it was 
 granted ; but the prophet put a poultice of figs on the 
 boil or carbuncle. It was just as well for God to bless 
 that as a means, as to answer the prayer in any other 
 way. Timothy was troubled with dyspepsia, and Paul 
 directed him to confine himself no longer to water, but 
 to " use a little wine for his stomach s sake and his 
 
PRAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALINQ. 269 
 
 often infirmities." Why did not Paul direct him, 
 instead, simply to pray in faith? Because he might 
 as well, in this as in other things, use wise means and 
 then pray with faith for a blessing. It is not even 
 certain, but that James ordered the anointing with 
 oil, for medicinal as well as for symbolical purposes; 
 for olive oil was extensively used at that day in the 
 healing art, both internally and externally. At all 
 events, it is not easy to see on what authority the use 
 of medicine or of other helpful appliances is to be 
 ruled out as inconsistent with faith. It will hardly 
 be doubted, that Mr. Miiller, of the Bristol orphan 
 houses, is a man of faith, and is ready to carry out his 
 faith to the farthest Scriptural warrant, fearless of the 
 ridicule or contempt of the unbelieving. Yet, 
 recently, his institution was visited with typhoid fever, 
 and five hundred cases occurred. He prayed earnestly, 
 but he also used all known appropriate means. He 
 had every appliance for ventilation and disinfection 
 recommended by the medical authorities; he isolated 
 the sick; and he had the physician visit them twice 
 every day. And by God s blessing only five or six 
 deaths occurred. There was no weakness of faith in 
 this, but only a fulfilling of the words of James: 
 " Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and 
 by works was faith made perfect? * * * For as 
 the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without 
 works is dead also." 
 
 3. Many of the sudden or instantaneous cures are 
 to a certain extent naturally explicable. They are dis- 
 
270 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 orders of the nerves, cases of rheumatism, paralysis, 
 weakness, etc. It often happens, in such disorders, 
 that persons fancy their inability to be greater than it 
 is; that they firmly believe in the impossibility of 
 their doing certain things, when the impotence is 
 largely in their wills. Furthermore, whether the 
 impotence be imaginary or real, it is often true, that 
 anything which sufficiently excites the mind, to induce 
 determined action, restores nervous energy; some 
 times temporarily, sometimes permanently. Thus the 
 Independent mentions a girl, who supposed herself 
 to be helpless, but was told by a physician, that he 
 would horsewhip her, unless she rose from her bed; 
 which she immediately did ! It is said that, at the 
 time of the great Chicago fire, a lady who had been 
 bed-ridden for years, escaped for her life, and was per 
 manently cured. A friend tells the author, of a lady 
 thus bed-ridden, whose friends conspired with a noted 
 tramp, to startle her into action. The tramp came into 
 her room, and took off his coat, announcing his inten 
 tion of undressing and getting into the bed. In her 
 terror, she arose and rushed out, and was permanently 
 cured! Now it may be argued, that such is the tonic 
 influence, on the nervous system, of any excitement- 
 whether it be that of fear, joy, surprise, expectation or 
 imagination of supernatural power that nervous 
 maladies may be suddenly relieved, or even entirely 
 removed; and that this is the explanation of the 
 Rornish and Protestant faith and prayer-cures. Though 
 some of the instances are of disorders of quite a dif- 
 
PRAYER FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 271 
 
 ferent nature such as cancer, tumor, Bright s dis 
 ease, consumption, canker, deafness, etc. jet it may 
 be admitted, that even these might be favorably 
 aifected, by a powerful determination of will and a set 
 tled expectation of cure. But when this is conceded, 
 nothing is subtracted from an intelligent theory of 
 prayer; which includes the divine use of natural causes, 
 physical or mental, that conduce to the desired end. 
 It still remains true, that only prayer has sufficed to 
 bring to bear the favorable influences of mind upon 
 body, and that the physicians having utterly failed, in 
 many cases, after years of effort, a quiet confiding in 
 God has at once developed the power of the human 
 and divine spirit over matter. Who shall say that 
 prayer is then useless, either as an act of submission 
 and consecration, or of faith and petition? 
 
 4. It will be observed that a close connection is 
 traceable between the physical and spiritual experi 
 ences of those healed. This is marked in the whole 
 course of things under- Dorothea Trudell, as also in 
 many of the single cases of which the particulars have 
 just been given. The removal of disease was the cul 
 mination of a spiritual process, in which the soul 
 sought forgiveness and purity, and emerged from dark 
 ness into light. This suggests the connection of sin 
 with disease and death, to which the Bible often 
 alludes, and also the probable relation of holiness and 
 health. For aught we know, the faith of a saint, by 
 which he opens his soul to an influx of divine grace, 
 may stand related to a quickening of the mysterious 
 
272 PK&YER ASD ITS BEMAKRABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 life-principle, which is the gift of God. Whatever act 
 or exercise brings God into the soul, must strengthen 
 life, in every sense. Prayer may then be precisely the 
 means which stand related appropriately to the removal 
 of disease, presenting the soul, in all respects, in the 
 position favorable, morally and physically, for securing 
 divine intervention. And yet there may be nothing 
 traceable by the eye, in the mode of the answer, which 
 contravenes natural law. 
 
 5. The seeming law of a specific faith, in the matter 
 of healing, is worthy of notice. What is claimed by 
 those who have had most experience in that line is, 
 that, while a conditional prayer of faith is proper and 
 necessary, in all our supplications, the Holy Spirit 
 commonly begets within the soul peculiarly intense 
 longing and assured expectation, when it is the will of 
 God to grant a specific answer to prayer. Thus, Miss 
 Mary H. Mossman, who prayed so efficaciously for the 
 cure of the lameness of Rev. S. H. Platt, when asked 
 by him, " Have you ever been sent in this way before," 
 said "Yes; "and when asked, "Have you ever been 
 mistaken and failed, upon such an occasion?" replied, 
 " No, never, when I have been impelled to go as I have 
 been to come here. I have had people come to me, 
 and urge me to pray for their recovery, and it has done 
 them little or no good." In a subsequent interview^ 
 she " utterly repudiated the notion that there is resi 
 dent in her a gift of healing in any other sense than 
 this; and she believes that it is a privilege which all 
 God s people, who live in close communion with him, 
 
PKAYEB FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 273 
 
 may enjoy. Hence the afflicted, instead of running 
 to this or that one, who is supposed to have peculiar 
 power in this direction, should gather a few praying 
 friends, and lay their case before God in earnest prayer: 
 when, if agreeable to his will, they will be healed by 
 the prayer of faith ; or, if more be needed, the Holy 
 Spirit will impel some devout one present to supply 
 the lack, either by anointing with oil, or laying on of 
 hands." This view at least recognizes the common 
 sense truth, that prayer is not intended to cure every 
 case of disease among believers, and to release the 
 church from the sentence of mortality. A special 
 faith is inspired for special cases, in which God sees 
 fit to put marked honor on prayer, for the encourage 
 ment of his people, or the confounding of the enemy. 
 On any other supposition, how are we to account for 
 the lingering illness and final death, at the age of only 
 fifty years, of Dorothea Trudell, herself the eminent 
 exemplifier of faith in the prayer-cure? Had she no 
 faith for herself? Had her co-laborers in the insti 
 tution no faith in praying for her? Undoubtedly they 
 had faith in the general and warranted degree; but 
 God wrought in them no such specific faith as to her 
 recovery, as served to indicate that to be his will. 
 
 Rev. C. B. Boynton, D. D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 
 a letter to the author, makes the following thoughtful 
 suggestion : 
 
 " There have been instances, in my own church, of 
 persons being raised from sick beds, in answer to 
 prayer, as I and others believe. So also in my personal 
 
274: PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 experience, I believe that God has answered prayer; 
 but the circumstances, sometimes minute and not to be 
 explained to others, cannot be so set forth as to produce 
 in others the conviction which I feel myself. The 
 New Testament seems to me to teach, that to spiritual 
 humanity, the true church, belongs the exercise of 
 spirit, or supernatural, power, through faith in Christ, 
 who is the source of that power. I think he endowed 
 the church with this power, to be conferred on her, on 
 the prescribed conditions. It has been lost, in great 
 measure, by unbelief and < non-user. 5 May we not 
 hope for its re-appearance, as the church becomes more 
 spiritual, and understands better her royal prerogatives? 
 Doubtless there are more cases, even now, of answers 
 to prayer, when more than natural power was exerted, 
 than the world or even the church is aware of. May 
 your researches bring them to light!" 
 
 MEDICAL EXPLANATIONS BY H. M. LYMAN, M. D. 
 Since the foregoing was written, and just as it was 
 passing to the printer, the author s eye fell upon the 
 lucid and interesting essay of Dr. H. M. Lyman, in 
 The Advance, of October 14, 1875, entitled "The 
 Faith-Cure." He comments, from a medical point of 
 view, on four of the cases here given, and attributes 
 them to purely natural causes. It does not fur 
 nish occasion, however, for additional remark, as 
 the most of its suggestions and cautions were antici 
 pated and briefly stated in the foregoing pages. It 
 may be well to observe, nevertheless, that the instances 
 referred to in these chapters cover a much larger field 
 
PBAYEK FOB PHYSICAL HEALING. 
 
 275 
 
 of disease than is allowed in the explanation of Dr. 
 Lyman ; that many of the cures indicate no excitement 
 whatever, in the person healed; and that, in some 
 cases, the faith and excited imagination were not at all 
 in the patient, but in those who prayed for him. 
 There is plainly a larger range for spirit-influence over 
 a diseased material organization than physicians are 
 wont to recognize; and the fact opens the way for 
 prayer to invoke that divine aid which can touch the 
 secret springs of life. 
 
 Lord, a whole long day of pain 
 
 Now at last is o er ! 
 Ah, how much we can sustain, 
 
 I have felt once more ; 
 Pelt how frail are all our powers, 
 
 And how weak our trust ; 
 If thou help not, these dark hours 
 Crush us to the dust. 
 
 Draw my weary heart away 
 
 From this gloom and strife ; 
 And these fever-pains allay 
 
 With the dew of life : 
 Thou canst calm the troubled mind, 
 
 Thou its dread canst still ; 
 Teach me to be all resigned 
 
 To my Father s will. 
 
 Then, if I must wake and weep, 
 
 All the long night through, 
 Thou the watch with me will keep, 
 
 Friend and Guardian true : 
 In the darkness thou wilt speak 
 
 Lovingly with me, 
 Though my heart may vainly seek 
 
 Words to breathe to thee. 
 
 Heinrich. Puchta. 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 PRATER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 
 
 IT is noticeable in the narratives of Scripture, espe 
 cially in connection with the ministry of the Savior 
 and his apostles, that there was usually a marked con 
 nection of outward and inward bestowments. If 
 Christ healed the sick, it was to draw attention to the 
 moral diseases of men, and to himself as the Great 
 Physician. If he fed the hungry multitude with 
 miraculously increased loaves and fishes, it was to tell 
 them afterward of their spiritual need, and of himself 
 as the Bread of Life. If he opened the eyes of one 
 born blind, it was that he might also clear the inner 
 vision, and pour light on a dark soul. And the recip 
 ients of his benefactions seem to have exercised faith 
 in him for salvation from sin as well as from bodily 
 maladies. Their completed prayers had a double 
 object, and in the end secured a double answer. And 
 so Jesus taught his disciples that the highest exercise 
 of prayer was in obtaining God s divinest bestowment, 
 the gift of the Holy Spirit. It was to this power that 
 he made the parental analogy apply : " If ye, then, 
 being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
 children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father 
 give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." Luke 
 
 (276) 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 277 
 
 xi: 13. Prayer for the in-dwelling of the Spirit, with 
 all the fullness of his sanctifying grace, ought then to 
 be the most natural and continual of the petitions of 
 the Christian. 
 
 There is reason to fear that too many of our prayers 
 in this connection are veibal only; that is, we have 
 not faith to expect actual results from them. Yet 
 here the greatest certainty is to be expected ; because 
 we can be certain of our real wants and of the divine 
 will. Both are plainly stated in Scripture. One diffi 
 culty is, that ministers so widely preach a philosophy 
 instead of a gospel a self-healing, through natural 
 laws, instead of a divine healing by supernatural grace. 
 They do this, in a measure, unconsciously, in harmony 
 with the spirit of the age. As Dr. H. Bushnell 
 remarks, in his "Nature and The Supernatural": 
 "Calling the God we prove, a personal being, and 
 meaning it in good faith, we yet find ourselves living 
 before causes and looking for consequences. "We only 
 half- believe in prayer. We expect to be delivered of 
 sin, by a long course of duty and self -reformation, that 
 will finally pacify the oifended laws of nature, and 
 bring them on our side again. That God will do any 
 thing for us, himself, or hold any terms of real society 
 with us, we but faintly believe." 
 
 It is therefore important to revive the faith of the 
 church in the direct efficacy of prayer in the matter 
 of spiritual healing. Indirectly it operates, in the 
 ordinary course of mental law, to elevate, awe, refine 
 and purify the soul, by the impression it gives of God 
 
278 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 and duty ; much as reading a good book, or convers 
 ing with a good man would do. But, rightly used as 
 a petition to God, it will accomplish vastly more: for 
 it will also bring the power of the Holy Ghost into the 
 soul as a supernatural grace. 
 
 This was the testimony of Paul in the matter of the 
 "thorn in the flesh ": "For this thing I besought the 
 Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he 
 said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my 
 strength is made perfect in thy weakness. Most 
 gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, 
 that the power of Christ may rest wpon me." 2 Cor. 
 xii : 8," 9. The fact seems to have been, that Paul was 
 subject to attacks of a disease, which came upon him 
 suddenly, which subjected him to much mortification, 
 and which seemed to him to interfere greatly with his 
 usefulness. He refers to the same thing, apparently, 
 in Galatians iv:13, 14: "Ye know how through 
 infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you 
 at the first. And my temptation (or trial) which was 
 in my flesh, ye despised not, nor rejected, but received 
 me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus," Also 
 in 1 Cor. ii: 3: " And I was with you in weakness, and 
 in fear, and in much trembling." The apostle natur 
 ally made this a matter of prayer, that the disease 
 might be healed. He did this, at three separate times; 
 probably at three separate places, where he had gone 
 to preach the gospel, and had experienced these mor 
 tifying attacks. His prayer was answered ; but not in 
 the manner anticipated. God told him that, on the 
 
PBAYER FOE SANCTIFYING GRACE. 279 
 
 whole, grace to bear the trial would be better than to 
 have the trial removed ; and that this would not only 
 benefit him the more, but would be the more helpful 
 to the progress of the gospel. And Paul cheerfully 
 accepted this solution of the difficulty; this response 
 to his prayer for aid. " The power of Christ " thence 
 forth was made to "rest upon " him, so that lie could 
 easily and joyfully endure the trial, and could say, " I 
 take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessi 
 ties, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ s sake; for 
 when I am weak (naturally), then am I strong (spirit 
 ually)." "We are then to expect precisely the kind 
 and degree of grace which our peculiar circumstances 
 may require, and special prayer for such grace will be 
 specifically answered. 
 
 AN ENGLISH LADY S EXPERIENCE. An estimable 
 Christian lady, who resides in London, and with whom 
 the author has had a personal acquaintance for more 
 than thirty years, thus writes to him, under date of 
 Sept. 1st, 1875, concerning her combined bodily and 
 spiritual experience. Her account makes an. instruct 
 ive transition from the topic of the three previous 
 chapters to that of the present chapter. She was 
 afflicted with a disease which commonly terminates 
 fatally, though some casea are saved by a critical 
 surgical operation, which often results disastrously. 
 She writes: 
 
 "That you may the better realize my blessing, I 
 must tell you, the honest truth, that I am a decided 
 coward as to any inflicted pain, and when circum- 
 
280 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 stances raised the question, in my mind occasionally 
 could I ever consent to any operation? I never 
 could answer, Yes. No such thing seemed likely, 
 and I put the thoughts away. But when disease was 
 discovered, sure to be fatal, unless there should be 
 escape by means of an operation, from the effects of 
 which many sink, I was just enabled quietly to weigh 
 the pros and cons, and decide that it should be done. 
 For it was too critical a case for the doctors to prescribe 
 such means; they simply suggest, and let the patient 
 decide. Never before, I think, was I enabled to put 
 the whole thing so completely into the hands of our 
 loving Lord. I only remember two definite requests 
 in my prayers about it: first, that I might not undergo 
 the operation, unless it was to be successful; and 
 secondly, that I might not dishonor him by fear. And 
 emphatically were both petitions answered. During 
 all the intervening months, / had no fear whatever. 
 I talked of it as coolly as of any ordinary occurrence, 
 with the full consciousness that there was something 
 close by very dark, at which if I looked, for five 
 minutes, I shoiild be in perfect terror (I use the term 
 advisedly); but if ever tempted so to do, there seemed 
 a gentle whisper, that I was not to look at that, but at 
 my loving Savior. My sleep was good. Some friends 
 took leave of me, as they thought, for the last time ; 
 but I was kept calm and peaceful, up to the last 
 moment; more even to my own astonishment, I think, 
 than to that of my friends, because I alone knew my 
 own cowardice. To show you that it was no natural 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 281 
 
 calmness, I must add, that the supposed necessity for 
 leaving *my own home for medical treatment cost me 
 some days of severe struggle, before my will could be 
 brought to it. The will was subdued, and then I was 
 graciously allowed to remain at home." 
 
 Here was a gift of grace, to overcome a natural in 
 firmity a special fear of suffering and danger. Prayer 
 can equally bring divine aid to lift one above any other 
 weakness, such as frailties of temper. Let the follow 
 ing instance illustrate the idea: 
 
 A VICTORY OVER IRRITABILITY. A certain lady, of 
 whom the author heard, was in bondage to an impatient 
 and irritable temper. Its sudden outbursts caused her 
 much mortification and grief, for she felt that they 
 were unworthy of a disciple of Christ. And yet she 
 seemed powerless, when the disturbing occasions arose. 
 She made solemn resolutions to restrain herself, and 
 offered general prayers for divine aid, confessing her 
 sin with humility and contrition. But the element 
 of faith was lacking the specific and assured faith 
 warranted by the promises of the Bible. So she 
 struggled, and resolved, and was continually defeated, 
 so that she despaired of victory. But at a meeting of 
 ladies for prayer, she was urged to make a more com 
 plete consecration of herself to God, and in connection 
 with that to put a specific faith into her prayer, that 
 she would be accepted and kept. . She did so, and on 
 her way to her house inwardly prayed for victory, as 
 she knew that her temptations were most common and 
 severe amid domestic scenes, and that she had declared 
 12* 
 
282 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 these to be irresistible. But now she trusted her 
 Savior, and believed, with Paul, that " the power of 
 Christ" would "rest upon" her. Reaching home, 
 and opening the front door, she saw a domestic viola 
 ting one of her most explicit rules, by carrying a slop- 
 pail down the front stairs. This was hard for her to 
 endure with patience, when the act was so suddenly 
 revealed ; but to make the matter worse, and as trying 
 as it well could be, the domestic was so terrified at the 
 unexpected sight of her mistress, that she dropped the 
 pail from her hand, and the contents flowed down the 
 stairs and over the carpet to the hall below ! The lady 
 uttered not a word, but whispering to herself, over and 
 over, "Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me! "gained the 
 victory. With unruffled temper she went in and met 
 the emergency. Learning thus the value of believing 
 and ejaculatory prayer, she found thereafter no diffi 
 culty in curbing what she had supposed to be her 
 uncontrollable irritability. 
 
 It will be remembered that, in Dorothea TrudePs 
 prayer-institution the spiritual healing was made 
 the prime thing, and the physical cure was the adjunct, 
 and in a measure the consequence. Her biographer 
 says: "She used to enter into conversation with the 
 patient as to the state of his mind, and to seek out 
 those inward enemies, which, like the Jebusites, 
 wished to share the land with the Lord. She did not 
 wish to bring Christians under the law again, but she 
 was anxious to see God s freed children like coins, 
 bearing on the one side the image of Jesus in his love, 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING" GRACE. 283 
 
 gentleness, patience, forbearance and humanity, and 
 on the other side, the inscription, i Let every one that 
 nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. " 
 
 This leads to the remark, that prayer holds the key 
 to that precious experience which of late years has 
 been often denominated the Higher Christian Life. 
 The author has uttered his views of this experience, 
 in his little book, entitled, " Spiritual Victory," (pub 
 lished by the Congregational Publishing Society,) to 
 which he would refer the reader for many things which 
 cannot be said here. The present object is, to draw 
 attention to the relation which the u Higher Life " 
 sustains to prayer, as illustrated by various personal 
 experiences. ~No controversy need here be raised over 
 the precise nature of that higher life, nor as to the 
 most appropriate name by which to distinguish it. 
 Suffice it to say, that it is a condition of entire conse 
 cration, of soul-liberty, of filial confidence, of assured 
 hope, of conscious acceptance with God, of intimate 
 union with him in all that respects one s purposes 
 and expectations in life, and of victory over temptation 
 and besetting sin. It is thus a great advance beyond 
 that doubting, vacillating, fearful, conscience-stricken 
 experience, which is so common, and in which there 
 is much condemnation and little peace, occasional 
 reviving and long declension, earnest revolving and 
 small performance. It is a state of abiding light and 
 love, in which the soul has entered into rest, and does 
 God s will with a sense of freedom and blessedness. 
 
 It usually is not apprehended, until one has had 
 
284: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 considerable experience, after conversion, in trying to 
 maintain a spiritual life by dint of resolutions and 
 will-work and legal struggles, and has been brought 
 to a self-despair; when, under proper religious instruc 
 tion, or through study of the divine word and illu 
 mination of the Spirit, the soul learns with surprise 
 the simplicity and power of faith. Then prayer takes 
 on new meaning, and has a continual prevalence, as 
 Jesus said: " If ye abide in me, and my words abide 
 in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done 
 unto you." John xv: 7. There are those who quietly 
 glide into this victorious life ; but more often a struggle 
 precedes, a new submission of the will takes place, 
 earnest prayer is made for the fulfillment of Scriptural 
 promises, and a kind of second conversion occurs, 
 which brings one upon a higher grade of holy living, 
 characterized by habitual consecration, faith and prayer. 
 
 A STUDENT S VICTORY. The following narrative was 
 published some years since, in the Oberlin Evangelist. 
 It was written by a student in an Eastern college, and 
 gives the result, in his case, of prayer and faith brought 
 to bear upon personal religious experience. Many sim 
 ilar narratives were given, from time to time, in that 
 paper : 
 
 " When I felt the peace resulting from closing in 
 with the gospel- terms of salvation, I could not mis 
 take it. I knew I was a Christian, and I never was 
 without evidence of the fact. But soon the tempter 
 came in power, and tried to turn me back, but prayer 
 disarmed him, and drove him back from his prey. 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 285 
 
 * * * For the first few months, it seemed as if I 
 could attend to nothing, but examine my own heart, 
 and read and pray. And the more I examined, the 
 more I could discover the snares of the tempter, and 
 the more it seemed impossible that I should overcome; 
 but the Savior was ever nigh, and one look from him 
 was enough. My greatest difficulty I found in my 
 own heart. I. was continually prone to indulge sinful 
 thoughts, and I felt I ought not to have any. In short, 
 without distinctly knowing what I was seeking, I was 
 striving for freedom from sin, for a pure heart. * * * 
 With strong crying and tears, I prayed and pleaded 
 with God. My prayer was, that I might be made as 
 much like Christ as it was possible for mortal man to 
 be. Thus I continued for weeks. Gradually the bur 
 den left me. In the spring, after a season of great 
 conflict with the tempter, and various humiliating cir 
 cumstances, I enjoyed uninterrupted peace, for about 
 two weeks. Then I was again left to buffet with the 
 adversary for a few weeks, though at times I was filled 
 with love. Afterwards I had another season of about 
 four weeks complete peace. Then I had another strug 
 gle with the tempter; but by the grace of God I tri 
 umphed. All the time I seemed unworthy of the 
 least notice from God, and the thought of my infinite 
 un worthiness filled my eyes with tears. The first 
 week in June, there was another protracted meeting. 
 I felt happy, though most unworthy. Our prayers 
 were continually ascending, and all seemed blessed. 
 On the Sabbath, we celebrated the dying love of the 
 
286 
 
 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Savior. At the close, while singing, there was a sud 
 den burst of light poured into my heart, and so exces 
 sive was the brightness that I could not sing, and I 
 could hardly refrain from shouting aloud. For some 
 weeks, I hardly dared move, for fear I should grieve 
 the Spirit and lose my enjoyment. But gradually I 
 acquired strength, my peace flowed like a river, and 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory took possession of 
 me. I have never lost it, from that time to the pres 
 ent, now more than fourteen months. I find no check 
 to the full flow of joy, but weakness of body. My 
 whole joy is in doing God s will." 
 
 MRS. WHITNEY S " RICHER EXPERIENCE." Mrs. 
 "Whitney s narrative of the power of prayer to secure 
 relief of temporal want, and the bestowment of physi 
 cal healing, has been already given. She has printed, 
 in a little tract, published at the " Willard Tract 
 Depository," Boston, Mass., an account of its power in 
 the higher sphere, entitling it, "My Richer Experi 
 ence," from which the following is extracted: 
 
 " I sought in various ways, such as fasting, conse 
 cration, pleading, and good works. And I received 
 many rich blessings, even baptisms of power, but 
 nothing lasting. I had not then learned the beautiful 
 lesson Christ taught, when he prayed the Father to 
 sanctify his disciples " through the truth." At length 
 I cried out from the depths of an anguished soul, 
 4 Dear Lord, give me purity of heart, let it cost what 
 it may. Make the cleansing complete. God answered 
 
PRATER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 287 
 
 that prayer, and it cost me a great price, even the 
 passing through the iiery furnace of affliction. 
 
 " First, I was called to relinquish many things 
 desirable and lovely called to leave my pleasant 
 home in the West, to suffer the reverses of fortune, bid 
 farewell to the dear church and friends, and all the 
 pleasant associations, and to break the tender ties so 
 dear to me, and seek a place among strangers, far from 
 my childhood-home. I was particularly fond of 
 society, and loved human sympathy, ah, so well ! and 
 my grief and sorrow were by so much the greater. 
 But this was not all. While en route to my new home, 
 I stopped to spend the Sabbath with a friend in 
 Fulton, IS". Y. 
 
 " On Monday, as I was about leaving, there came into 
 my soul such a deep feeling of my need of special 
 strength, that I went alone before God, and poured 
 out my supplications to him. 
 
 " He heard that prayer, and gave me such a sense 
 of his sustaining presence as satisfied me entirely. 
 Oh, how timely! But for this I should have been 
 crushed by the heart-rending scene that awaited me. 
 Our eldest boy, of thirteen summers, asked and received 
 permission to make a farewell visit to a favorite resort 
 of his by the canal. With all the buoyancy of youth 
 and beauty he left me; but scarcely had the sound of 
 his light footsteps died away ere the word came, He 
 is drowning! I rushed to the spot. Oh, what a 
 sight for a fond mother to see ! Did it not require 
 more than human strength, to witness such a scene 
 
288 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 my bright and beautiful boy struggling in death, and 
 I without power to save! Ah, yes; and divine power 
 did sustain me and enable me to say, i Thy will be 
 done. The Lord in that moment brought home to 
 my heart these beautiful words: 
 
 * Other refuge have I none, 
 
 Hangs my helpless soul on Thee ; 
 Leave, oh leave me not alone, 
 Still support and comfort me. 
 
 He did support and keep me calmly. 
 
 "The united efforts of kind and loving friends failed 
 to save him. They bore his form above the waters, 
 that form which but a moment before was so bright 
 and beautiful in life and health, but it was now cold 
 in death. The sight was too much for poor humanity. 
 I sank unconscious of earthly surroundings. But 
 Jesus, the dear, loving Jesus, lingered closely by me, 
 whispering to my sorrowful heart, I will not leave 
 you comfortless. Oh, how precious were his words! 
 how they strengthened me! Then and there he pre 
 pared me for coming scenes : to meet my companion 
 from whom I had been separated six weeks; to per 
 form the last sad offices for all that remained of our 
 precious child; to take the last lingering look of the 
 dear features, now so still and cold. Oh, what a 
 moment of unutterable anguish, as we gazed for the 
 last time upon our beautiful dead, our darling Willie 
 then to close the casket that contained that precious 
 body, and commit it to the grave, there to leave him 
 until the morning of the resurrection ! 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 289 
 
 " How sad then to leave the place, and pursue my 
 journey ! Yet I was kept by divine love and power 
 through weeks and months of extreme loneliness of 
 heart, among strangers, bereft of all human sympathy. 
 
 " Last of all, I had to give up human sympathy, the 
 very treasure I coveted most, and thought my nature 
 demanded. But oh, how trifling it now appeared in 
 comparison with the divine sympathy that the dear 
 Lord was pleased to pour into my lacerated, bleeding 
 heart! 
 
 " When my heart was emptied of all, and so purified 
 to God, he entered the open door, and took the vacated 
 throne within, and gave me perfect peace. 
 
 " The change seemed greater than my conversion, 
 which had been clear and satisfactory. Even the 
 Bible seemed like a new book, filled with so many 
 precious promises; and as the i Blessed Remembrancer 
 revealed the truths to me, verifying that promise, that 
 he would l take the things of Christ and show them 
 unto us, my spiritual vision became so clear that I 
 could see light in his light, and build on that sure 
 foundation, Christ being the chief corner-stone. I 
 realized that Christ had power to i sanctify me wholly, 
 keep me from sin, and preserve me blameless unto 
 his coming. 
 
 A PHYSICIAN S EXPERIENCE. The reader has probably 
 read in the papers of R. Pearsall Smith, an American 
 Christian, of the denomination of u Friends," who has 
 had much success in Germany and in England, in 
 rousing the people of God to increased interest in 
 13 
 
290 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 divine things. He is tlie author of a little book, called 
 " Holiness through Faith,"*in which he has embodied 
 occasional narratives. One of these is that of a phy 
 sician, of which the following is an extract: 
 
 " More earnestly than ever, and many times a day, 
 I prayed for strength to overcome, but found no rest 
 to my soul, until I stopped praying for grace to over 
 come, and gave myself wholly to God, to be kept. At 
 this time the Lord revealed to me, in a wonderful 
 manner, in all its majesty, the power of the prayer 
 which he taught us to use: Our Father, which art 
 in heaven, * * * lead us not into temptation, but 
 deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom and the 
 power and the glory, forever, Amen. Oh, how my 
 soul was filled, as I realized, for the first time, that it 
 was his power that was to keep me for Thine is the 
 power ! The work was all done then no more 
 striving, no more praying for strength to overcome, 
 but simply, day by day, Jesus, keep me; for thine 
 is the power and the glory; and there I rest and am 
 
 TESTIMONY OF A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER. The same 
 little work adduces the testimony of a Presbyterian 
 minister, which may be thus condensed: " I had been 
 preaching with much joy one evening, on the text, 
 4 The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from 
 all sin, and seeking to teach through it, to the sinners 
 present, their privilege of immediate and full remission 
 of sins through the blood of Christ. On returning to 
 my lodgings with a Christian brother, he spoke to me 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 291 
 
 of his enjoyment of the address, and then went on to 
 make some remarks on teaching half-truths from half- 
 texts. He related how, that, for ten years, he had con 
 stantly preached from the words, Who his own self 
 bare our sins in his own body on the tree, without 
 ever teaching the complement, in the last half of the 
 verse: i that we, being dead unto sins, should live unto 
 righteousness. He had taught abiding in Christ, 
 without its result of sinning not. He had often said, 
 6 Who gave himself for us, without adding, that he 
 might redeem us from all iniquity. * * * At a 
 conference meeting of Presbytery, it was one evening 
 proposed, to consecrate ourselves more definitely and 
 fully to God; and the act was accompanied by a won 
 derful baptism of the Spirit, which opened to my soul 
 the hope of the near consummation of my soul-long 
 ings. * * * I was i e( j to see, as never before, the 
 privilege of an entire soul-rest in Christ; and that it 
 was to be entered into by faith. * * * I proposed 
 to a Christian manufacturer, that a few Christians 
 should meet together, the next day, to enter into rest. 
 I did not say to seek rest, but, so confident was my 
 faith, * to enter in? Ten earnest, godly men, mostly 
 from his workshops, on the following day, knelt down 
 in my friend s warehouse, among the boxes. We 
 remained on our knees an hour and a quarter, in 
 prayer, praise, and consecration. Of us too, it might 
 be said: < And when they had prayed, the place was 
 shaken where they were assembled together, and they 
 were all filled with the Holy Ghost. I have been 
 
292 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 conscious, ever since, that it was then and there that, 
 in a definite transaction with God, I entered into a 
 complete soul-rest in Christ; a rest through the 
 cleansing blood, which my soul has never lost for one 
 hour since. It was attended by the satisfying cer 
 tainty, that whatever spiritual blessings I thenceforth 
 claimed, in simple faith, should be mine. * * * I 
 can now see no limit to the possibilities of the life of 
 Christ in my soul, since I have accepted the atonement 
 in its full purposes, both of pardon and holiness." 
 
 Paul wrote to the Galatians (v : 16): " "Walk in the 
 Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." 
 The relations which prayer sustain to this breadth and 
 depth of experience, he thus sets forth to the Ephe- 
 sians (iii : 14-21): "For this cause I bow my knees 
 unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom 
 the whole family in heaven and earth is named that 
 he would grant you, according to the wishes of his 
 glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in 
 the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
 by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love, 
 may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is 
 the breadth and length and depth and height; and to 
 know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
 that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 
 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly 
 above all that we ask or think, according to the power 
 that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church, 
 by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without 
 end. Amen." 
 
PRAYER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 293 
 
 It was intended to insert several additional narra 
 tives, to the same effect as the foregoing; but space 
 fails, and there is the less need so to do, as within a 
 few years, many books have been published devoted 
 specifically to this point. The attention of Christians 
 of all denominations has been directed increasingly to 
 the sanctifying power of a simple faith in God, to 
 preserve the soul amid life s temptations. This faith, 
 through prayer, draws at sight upon the divine 
 treasury, for the needed influence of the Holy Ghost, 
 and the draft is ever honored. There is more readiness, 
 however, to admit a general grace of God adequate to 
 general wants, than to believe in a spiritual power 
 sufficient to give immediate and permanent victory 
 over certain special temptations connected with 
 physical habit. To these, therefore, our attention will 
 next be turned. 
 
 "O thou, my God, my being s health and source, 
 
 Better than life, brighter than noon to me; 
 Stretch out thy loving hand, with gentle force, 
 Bend this still-struggling will, and draw it after thee. 
 
 " Return to me, my oft-forgotten God, 
 
 My spirit s true though long-forsaken rest ; 
 Undo these bars, re-enter thine abode, j 
 
 In thee and in thy love alone would I be blest. 
 
 " Re-mould this inner man in every part ; 
 
 Re-knit these broken ties ; resume thy sway ; 
 Take, as thy throne, and altar, this poor heart ; 
 Oh teach me how to love ; oh help me to obey! " 
 
 Horatius Sonar. 
 
296 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 as an isolated thing. It must be part of a universal 
 and thorough renovation, in which body and soul are 
 yielded up to God in joyous and unconditional conse 
 cration, to be wholly and forever his. Then with this 
 must be earnest prayer, and a corresponding expecta 
 tion, based on the explicit divine promises. God 
 says: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength 
 is made perfect in weakness." " God is faithful, who 
 will not suifer you to be tempted above that ye are 
 able; but will with the temptation also make a way 
 to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." "Neither 
 fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effemi 
 nate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor 
 thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor 
 extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And 
 such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are 
 sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus, and by the spirit of our God" Here is all the 
 support which faith needs. Now for the correspond 
 ing facts. 
 
 AUGUSTINE S DEFEAT AND VICTORY. The principle 
 involved is well illustrated by the case of Augustine, 
 who had been a slave to sensual habits, and who long 
 had sought to overcome them, prior to his conversion, 
 by resolutions and other legal struggles, after the 
 impotent fashion described by Paul in the seventh 
 chapter of Romans. His own account is: "Thus 
 soul-sick was I, and tormented, accusing myself much 
 more severely than my wont, rolling and turning me 
 in my chain/ till that were wholly broken, whereby I 
 
PRAYEB TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 297 
 
 now was but just held. Thou, O Lord, didst press 
 upon me inwardly, with severe mercy, redoubling the 
 lashes of fear and shame, lest I should again give way, 
 and that same slight remaining tie should recover 
 strength and bind me faster. For I said within myself, 
 Be it done now! Be it done now! And as I spake, 
 I all but enacted it, I all but did it, and did it not; 
 yet sunk not back to my former state, but kept my 
 stand hard by, and took breath. And I essayed again, 
 and wanted somewhat less of it, and somewhat less, 
 and all but touched and laid hold of it; and yet came 
 not at it, nor touched, nor laid hold of it; hesitating to 
 die to death, and to live to life ; arid the w T orse, where 
 to I was inured, prevailed more with rne than the 
 better, where to I was unused. And the very moment 
 wherein I was to become other than I was, the nearer 
 it approached me, the greater horror did it strike into 
 me; yet did it not strike me back, nor turn me away, 
 but held me in suspense. The very toys of toys, and 
 vanities of vanities, my ancient mistresses, still held 
 me: they plucked my fleshly garment, and whispered 
 softly: * Dost thou cast us off? and from that moment, 
 shall we no more be with thee forever? and from that 
 moment shall not this or that be lawful for thee, 
 forever? And what was it, which they suggested, O 
 my God? Let thy mercy turn it away from the soul 
 of thy servant. What defilements they did suggest! 
 what shame! But now I much less than half-heard 
 them, not openly showing themselves and contradict 
 ing me, but muttering as it were behind my back, and 
 
298 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 privily plucking me, as I was departing, but to look 
 back on them. Yet they did retard me, so that I 
 hesitated to burst and to shake myself free from them, 
 and to spring over whither I was called a violent 
 habit saying to me, < Thinkest thou, thou canst live 
 without them? " 
 
 Then came up, he tells us, better thoughts, and " the 
 chaste dignity of Continency " who seemed to say to 
 him : " Canst thou not do what these youths, what 
 these maidens can? or do they do it of themselves, and 
 not rather by the Lord their God ! The Lord, their 
 God, gave me unto them. Why standest thou in 
 thyself, and so art falling! Cast thyself upon him; 
 fear not; he will not withdraw himself that thou 
 shouldest fall. Cast thyself fearlessly upon him ; he 
 will receive, and will heal thee." * * * "I cast 
 myself down, I know not how, under a certain fig tree, 
 giving full vent to my tears, and the floods of mine 
 eyes gushed out, an acceptable sacrifice to thee. And, 
 not indeed in these words, yet to this purpose, spake 
 I much unto thee. And thou, O Lord, how long? 
 how long, Lord; wilt thou be angry forever? Hemem- 
 ber not our former iniquities. For I felt that I was 
 held by them. I sent up these sorrowful words: How 
 long? how long? To-morrow and to-morrow? why, is 
 there not an end, this hour, to my uncleanness?" It 
 was when he came to this point of prayer and faith, 
 and rested, as related in a previous chapter, on the 
 words, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make 
 
PRAYEK TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 299 
 
 no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof," 
 that he gained the victory over all his habits. 
 
 VICTORY OVER TOBACCO AND OPIUM HABITS. Rev. W. 
 H. Boole, in his missionary work in the city of New 
 York, has paid much attention to this subject, and has 
 published some of the facts which have come to his 
 knowledge, in a tract called " The Wonders of Grace;" 
 to the contents of which the author has made refer 
 ence in his " Spiritual Victory," in these words: 
 
 " One is of an officer in a church in New York, who 
 had used tobacco for forty years, making, during that 
 time, many efforts to abandon the practice, but always 
 failing because of the resultant inward gnawing. But 
 he was brought to an act of specific faith in Jesus to 
 save him from the appetite; and now, after several 
 years, he testifies: From that hour all desire left 
 me, and I have ever since hated, what I once so fondly 
 loved. Another is of a prominent church member in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., who had used tobacco for thirty years, 
 and could not endure to be without a cisrar in his 
 
 O 
 
 mouth, and sometimes even rose and smoked in the 
 night. After many failures to overcome the habit, 
 one night when alone, he cast himself on his Savior for 
 just this victory; and from that hour was delivered 
 from the desire as well as from the outward act, and 
 now wonders that he ever loved the filthy practice. 
 A certain old lady, who lived near Westbrook, Ct., 
 aged seventy, was a confirmed opium eater, and used 
 daily an amount sufficient to kill twenty persons. She 
 was led to see that the habit was a sin; and as such 
 
300 FEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 
 
 she abandoned it, with specific application to Christ 
 to save her from it. She was heard, and lived for two 
 years afterwards, free from any desire for that drug. 
 A similar case was that of a carpenter in Brooklyn, K. 
 Y., who, from taking morphine to allay the pain of a 
 fractured leg, fell into its habitual use, till he almost 
 lived upon it, for several years after his recovery. He 
 once swallowed, in the presence of several physicians, 
 a dose which it was calculated would destroy the lives 
 of two hundred ordinary men! Not long since, he 
 was made to look at this as sin, and tried to break off 
 the habit, abstaining with an alarming reaction, till 
 five physicians declared that death would ensue, if he 
 did not resume it. This he did for a year; but, then, 
 on a certain Sunday evening, broke off again, casting 
 himself by faith on Christ, from which moment the 
 desire left him, and has never returned, and he has 
 experienced no reaction or other ill effect, but has 
 greatly improved in health." 
 
 CASES REPORTED BY MRS. C. S. WHITNEY. In her 
 letter to the author, on other relations of prayer, from 
 which quotations have been made, Mrs. Whitney thus 
 speaks on the point now in hand: 
 
 " My husband having used tobacco for twenty-five 
 years, became convinced that the habit was sinful, and 
 four years ago, he gave it up. Shortly after, he met a 
 man on the street smoking a fine cigar, and the crav 
 ing appetite that thereupon took possession of him 
 was fearful. He was strongly tempted to yield; but 
 the blessed Holy Spirit revealed Christ to him as able 
 
TO OVEiSCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 301 
 
 to save to the uttermost; and right there, on the street, 
 he asked God to destroy the appetite. That prayer 
 was answered immediately, and to this day he has 
 never since had a desire for tobacco, but loathes it." 
 
 " A Christian brother, living near Boston, came to me 
 recently, and asked me to pray for him, as that day he 
 had been convinced that he could no longer indulge 
 in the use of tobacco, and claim heirship with Christ. 
 Having used it very freely for thirty years, he thought 
 it would cost him a great struggle, to give it up; but 
 he was resolved to do so, if it caused a separation of 
 soul and body. He asked me to pray that he might 
 be sustained during the conflict. I asked him if he 
 could trust God to take away the appetite, that 
 moment. After a brief hesitation he said : < I believe 
 he is able, and, I trust, willing. In a very few words 
 of prayer I asked the dear Lord to do this work to 
 break the bondage, the power of Satan, and set this 
 man free. He responded: c Amen: so let it be. From 
 that moment, he was so delivered from the appetite, 
 that he has felt no temptation to indulge in it since." 
 
 PRAYER AND THE ALCOHOL APPETITE. Kev. "Wm. 
 L. Bray writes to the author, as follows: "Kev. Mr. 
 
 H , now of C , is a converted drunkard. He 
 
 was a drunkard for more than twenty-five years. 
 When he was converted, his appetite was fearfully 
 strong, and for years it clung to him and worried him. 
 At one time he went to Grand Rapids for a load of 
 lumber. It was a chilly day, and, on his way home, 
 he would have to pass a rum-shop. As he neared that 
 
302 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 shop, his old appetite awoke in power, and it became 
 more and more clamorous, until he felt afraid to go 
 forward. He felt that he could not pass the rum-hole. 
 He drove his team aside, went into the woods, fell 
 down before God, and cried mightily for deliverance 
 from this appetite. He said: The Lord heard me, 
 and answered me, and I rose up a free man, and have 
 been free ever since! I had this statement from Mr. 
 II , himself, but I cannot give the date." 
 
 A CASE IN IRELAND. Rev. "William Gibson, in his 
 account of the wonderful revival in Ireland, in 1859, 
 gives an account of one David Cresswell, who had been 
 a Romanist, and was afflicted with stammering to such 
 a degree as almost incapacitated him for communicat 
 ing his thoughts to others, yet who, as far as he could 
 articulate, was a horrible blasphemer. He was, also, 
 addicted to the most immoderate use of tobacco and 
 of strong drink. But, passing a house, he heard the 
 voice of prayer, went in, united in the devotions, and, 
 on leaving, was soon overwhelmed with a sense of his 
 sin, and fell prostrate to the earth. After a fortnight 
 of distress of mind, he found peace in Christ, to whom 
 he made believing application ; and, singular to relate, 
 he lost all taste for both liquor and tobacco, and was 
 cured of his infirmity of speech! The particulars, at 
 length, may be found on pages 369-371 of Mr. Gib 
 son s book, "The Year of Grace." 
 
 TESTIMONIES COLLECTED BY REV. S. H. PLATT. In a 
 previous chapter an account has been given of the 
 manner in which, through prayer and faith, Mr. Platt 
 
PEATER TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 303 
 
 was cured of chronic lameness. He has given great 
 attention to the subject of the present chapter, and 
 has collected the evidence of the efficacy of prayer in 
 this respect into a little treatise entitled, " The Power 
 of Grace," to the careful perusal of which the unbe 
 lieving reader is recommended. A mere sketch of 
 some of the cases detailed by him is all that can here 
 be given. The accounts were received by him in reply 
 to the following question, published in The Christian 
 Advocate and Journal, of July 31st, 1873: "Can 
 men be instantaneously delivered, from the power of 
 acquired habits, such as the use of tobacco, rum, etc., 
 so that they shall thereafter have no craving for the 
 indulgence?" 
 
 A minister testifies that, for more than thirty years, 
 he had been a habitual smoker, arid had at various 
 times attempted to abandon the practice, but each 
 time yielded to the craving of his appetite, and 
 " became a more inveterate smoker than before." 
 But more earnest endeavors to be wholly the Lord s, 
 brought up the question afresh, and he laid the pipe 
 aside, relying simply on his appeal to God to deliver 
 him. He says: "I trusted in the Lord, and not one 
 word of his precious promises has failed me. I have 
 had no craving, no uneasiness, no desire." At the 
 end of a year he writes : " I am filled with wonder, 
 for I expected a terrible fight with an appetite 
 strengthened by an indulgence of about thirty-five 
 years; but the enemy has not showed his head. Not 
 only has the desire for smoking been effectually 
 
304 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 squelched, but a perfect hatred of smoking has been 
 developed, on accounfof the offensiveness of the odor 
 of tobacco. Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the 
 victory! " 
 
 Another minister states: "I had used tobacco from 
 childhood, and the love and use thereof grew upon, 
 me. I became convicted of its sinfulness, went to 
 God and said, < Destroy the appetite, or give me power 
 over it. Save me, that I may glorify thee as a God 
 of power for our present sins, and I will glorify thee 
 evermore. I wrote out the contract, and signed it, 
 and from that blessed afternoon until to-day have no 
 recollection of ever desiring it even." 
 
 The President of a Young Men s Christian Associ 
 ation in Vermont, who had been greatly troubled by 
 his tobacco habit, and "had tried a number of times 
 to leave it off, but could not do so," says: " One night, 
 as I was retiring to rest, I thought I would kneel by 
 my bed, and ask him, who never refuses to answer 
 prayer, to take from me the desire for tobacco; and 
 from that moment it has been impossible for me to 
 use it." 
 
 An editor in Tennessee, who was in this tobacco 
 bondage, says: "I determined, time and again, to 
 desist from it, sometimes abstaining for a few months, 
 or weeks once for twelve months but the desire 
 for it never left me. * * * One Sunday morning, 
 the first day of December, 1850, 1 retired to a secluded 
 place, got down upon my knees, and asked the Lord 
 to help me quit it, determining, then and there, that I 
 
FBAYEB TO OVERCOME EHT8ICAL HABIT. 805 
 
 would, God being my helper, never touch the accursed 
 thing again by any kind of use in the way of con 
 sumption; and from that day to this I have never had 
 any desire to smoke or chew tobacco, or to use it in 
 any way. But I did this, whenever I saw tobacco : I 
 lifted my heart to God, imploring his assistance in 
 abstaining from it. I have now been clear of the 
 desire of it for nearly twenty-three years." 
 
 A man forty-two years old narrates how, from his 
 youth up, he was addicted to tobacco and, also, to 
 liquor, and became a confirmed drunkard. A minis 
 ter held a prayer meeting at his house, and said that 
 religion could cure all evil habits. He says: "The 
 next morning I took out my tobacco, to take a chew, 
 and thought of what the minister had said, the night 
 before. It was a new idea to me. I put the tobacco 
 in my pocket again, and said, I ll try it. I was 
 alone in my barn. I kneeled down and asked God 
 to remove the appetite from me. It was done. Glory 
 to God! I was cured. I felt it; I knew it then; I 
 have never had a desire for it since; there has been 
 no hankering for it, or for strong drink, since. My 
 sins were all forgiven, and I was made a new man all 
 over inside and outside." 
 
 Another man, who had been under the same double 
 bondage, says: " I felt my weakness, and called on my 
 Heavenly Father, and told him the work was too great 
 for me, and prayed that he would do the work for me, 
 and take away the taste, or appetite. * * * He 
 heard my prayer. I never have had a taste or desire 
 13* 
 
806 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 for a glass of intoxicating drink, or a smoke or chew 
 of tobacco, from that time until the present moment, 
 which is nineteen years the seventh of last February, 
 [1873]." 
 
 It is because these specific deliverances have been 
 experienced, as well as those of a more general char 
 acter, that the saint can sing with emphasis the familiar 
 stanzas of Charles Wesley: 
 
 "Thou, O Christ, art all I want; 
 
 More than all in thee I find ; 
 Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, 
 
 Heal the sick, and lead the blind. 
 Just and holy is thy name ; 
 
 I am all unrighteousness ; 
 Vile and full of sin I am, 
 
 Thou art full of truth and grace. 
 
 "Plenteous grace with thee is found, 
 
 Grace to pardon all my sin ; 
 Let the healing streams abound; 
 
 Make and keep me pure within. 
 Thou of life the fountain art, 
 
 Freely let me take of thee ; 
 Spring thou up within my heart; 
 
 Rise to all eternity. * 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 PRATER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 
 
 THEOLOGICALLY it is a startling fact, that the Bible 
 uses language which implies that one man may 
 convert another. Thus James writes (v: 19-20): 
 " Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and 
 one convert Mm, let him know that he who converteth 
 the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul 
 from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." But 
 if this language startles us, when we think of the 
 thoroughness of human depravity, and the necessity 
 of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the case is won 
 derfully relieved, as we notice that the words just 
 quoted from James immediately follows six verses 
 which assure us of the efficacy of fervent prayer. 
 This fact may warrant us in supposing, that the " con 
 verting" power is largely connected with the privilege 
 which the Christian has of securing a divine co-opera 
 tion with his labors. " For we are laborers together 
 with God," said Paul, 1 Cor. iii: 9. And so the facts 
 prove. 
 
 A BIBLE CLASS OF YOUNG LADIES. The author 
 knows of a theological student, who in a Presbyte 
 rian church in New York city, took charge of a Bible 
 class of about forty young ladies, with scarcely a 
 
 (307) 
 
308 PEATEE AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 professor of religion in it. He solemnly determined 
 to seek the conversion of every member. His method 
 was, in addition to a very faithful application of the 
 lesson, on Sunday, and personal religious conversa 
 tion, from time to time, with each at her home to 
 make every scholar a subject of special prayer, by 
 name, in his closet. Usually he took up the cases, 
 one or two at a time, and prayed and labored for their 
 immediate conversion. Sometimes he was enabled, 
 before going to the house, for conversation, to gain an 
 assurance in prayer, that that soul would then submit; 
 and such was the fact. The conversations were almost 
 always closed with prayer, in which he previously 
 urged the young lady silently to unite, and make her 
 consecration to God. As the result of three or four 
 years labor, nearly every member of that class was 
 converted, and seldom did a communion -season occur, 
 in that church, without additions from that class. 
 There was but one of those who remained steadily in 
 the class, who continued obdurate; and she set her 
 will with great firmness against conversion, and 
 seemed insensible to all appeals; though more labor 
 was expended on her than on any two or three others. 
 "When the student finished his studies, and entered 
 
 the ministry, Harriet J was apparently farther 
 
 from God than ever. He went elsewhere to live and 
 labor, as a minister of Christ, and had no further 
 opportunity to speak with her about her soul s sal 
 vation. But occasionally she would occur to his 
 thoughts, and he would pray God to touch her heart. 
 
PRATER FOR INDIVIDTTAL CONVERSION. 309 
 
 Time rolled on, and twenty-seven years had passed, 
 when he chanced to preach, one Sunday, in Brooklyn, 
 his own residence being a thousand miles distant. At 
 the close of the services, a middle aged lady stood at 
 the foot of the pulpit stairs, and as he came down, ac 
 costed him with the words : " Excuse me, but I used to 
 be in your Bible class. Do you. not remember Harriet 
 
 J ? I am now Mrs. , and live in this city." 
 
 Yes, indeed, he remembered her; how could he forget 
 one for and with whom he had pleaded so often? He 
 seized her hand, and said : " Harriet, do you love the 
 Lord Jesus Christ?" And, to his unutterable joy, 
 she replied, " Yes, I trust I do." His prayers, after 
 all, had been heard, and the one notable exception had 
 ceased to be such. 
 
 AN ILLUSTRATION BY PROFESSOR AUSTIN PHELPS, D. D. 
 In a communication to The Advance, January 28, 1875, 
 Prof. Phelps whose charming little book on "The 
 Still Hour," many lovers of prayer have read with 
 spiritual profit and delight gives account of an in 
 stance of success in prayer which is quite striking. 
 This is the statement somewhat abridged: 
 
 A certain man was of Christian parentage, the son 
 of an exceptionally devoted mother. He acquired an 
 appetite for strong drink, from using it medically, 
 became intemperate, abandoned his Christian hope 
 and faith, and, to human judgment, was utterly aban 
 doned of God. For twenty years, his few Christian 
 friends prayed for him, against all probabilities, and 
 hoped against all evidences. A heavy affliction hav- 
 
310 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ing befallen him, in consequence of his intemperate 
 life, these friends hoped that it might be made the 
 occasion of his deliverance. They asked for him the 
 prayers of a company of Christian ladies, entire 
 strangers to him. To this day he is unknown to them, 
 in name or person. He lived three hundred miles 
 distant from them. His history was detailed to them, 
 and they resolved to concentrate prayer upon him, for 
 a time, and see what God would do. They prayed 
 specifically for his moral reform, for the revival of his 
 Christian faith, for his conversion as a child of the 
 covenant. They persisted in prayer; agreeing that 
 each one should bear him on her heart, in secret com 
 munion with God. Among these ladies were some 
 who have had a remarkable experience of success in 
 intercessory prayer. 
 
 The result is soon told. At about the time when 
 his case was first named to that praying circle, with no 
 knowledge on his part that they were interested in 
 him, he suddenly dropped the use of intoxicating 
 drink; and from that hour he has been absolutely free 
 from the alcoholic craving. Within a week, the cavils 
 at religious doctrines ceased. Then his prejudices 
 against Christian usages and people gave way. The 
 coat of mail, which he had worn for twenty years, 
 dropped from him, and his heart lay bare to the power 
 of truth and of the Holy Spirit. His childhood s 
 faith returned to him, freighted with the teachings, 
 the songs, and the prayers of a sainted mother. Then 
 followed a period of profound despair. " No other 
 
PBAYER FOB INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 811 
 
 sinner," said he, " can have sinned so damnably, as I 
 have sinned. No hell can be worse than I endure. 
 Oh, that I could sleep, and never wake again "! For 
 ten days or more, this despair continued, prayer being 
 made for him without ceasing. He seemed unable to 
 pray for himself. He begged like a child to be taught 
 how to pray. His locked lips were like a premonition 
 of the retributive speechlessness of guilt at the day 
 of judgment. At length a change occurred, which 
 may be described in a letter which he wrote to the 
 Christian who, unknown to him, had acquainted the 
 praying circle with his case: 
 
 " I do not know that I can express intelligibly to 
 you, the state of my mind; but most of the time, my 
 soul is filled with what seems to me the joy of heaven. 
 My room appears as if filled with angels. With rev 
 erence I say it, Christ seems to be with me. God 
 seems to look upon me with a forgiving face. Last 
 night, I could not sleep, but sat all night by the fire. 
 My mind was full of the mercy of God, and the glo 
 rious goodness of Christ. I experienced such fullness 
 of joy, as I never dreamed of before. When daylight 
 came, I was astonished at the shortness of the night. 
 I am not conscious of any excitement in it all. It is 
 all peace, perfect peace. I am unable to feel any desire 
 for prolonged life. I feel perfect trust in God. I 
 would leave all that concerns me with him. * * * 
 I feel that time alone can determine whether my heart 
 is changed. My daily life must show it. Yet I feel 
 like exclaiming: Father, I thank thee for this mercy 
 
312 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 to the worst of sinners ! Then I ask myself, is it right 
 for such a sinner as I to take so much delight in 
 prayer ? " 
 
 Prof. Phelps well asks, in conclusion : " Granting 
 the fact of a diseased body, of a brain unnaturally 
 excited by the sudden withdrawal of alcoholic stimulus 
 [which, it seems to the author should depress, and not 
 excite], and making large allowance for other pecu 
 liarities of physical constitution and condition, is this 
 not, after all, a clear case of the saving mercy of God 
 in accenting the physical conditions as they are, and 
 using them in the conversion of the soul? And is it 
 not as clear a case of answer to prayer, long deferred, 
 and give at last to a reinforcement of the power of 
 prayer, trustfully sought and importunately applied? 
 Does it not confirm the faith of a believing spirit in 
 the truth that concerted prayer is prayer intensified, 
 as truly as any other form of concerted action.?" 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF CATHARINE ADORNA. We go back 
 four centuries, to Genoa, in Italy, and there we find 
 the pious Catharine Adorna, visiting and praying with 
 the sick, in the Hospital and in private houses. A 
 wife came to her, one day, and induced her to go to 
 her house, and see her sick husband, who was likely 
 to die, but had no interest in the subject of religion. 
 She went, and talked with him, and left. On the way 
 back, she and the wife stepped into a church, sought a 
 retired place, and earnestly prayed for his conversion. 
 When" the wife returned home, she was astonished to 
 find a great change in her husband s mind, and to hear 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 313 
 
 , . _ _ ^ r , . , ;; i. ., .-,.%. 
 
 him speak like a Christian. The next day, she hastened 
 to carry the news to Catharine Adorna; but, says her 
 biographer, Dr. Upham: "The news was not surpris 
 ing to her. She had prayed earnestly for the sick man, 
 and she had reason to believe that her prayer either 
 had been or would be speedily answered. This belief 
 was founded upon the fact, that, in offering up her 
 supplications for him, she had found herself inwardly 
 and specially drawn by the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit. It seems to have been her practice, in what 
 may be called her special supplications, not to move 
 by her own choice, by the self-originated impulse of 
 her own volition; but to keep her soul in the attitude 
 of humble and quiet waiting, that it might first be 
 moved by the Holy Ghost. And when she prayed to 
 God, under the influence of this specific divine ope 
 ration, her faith could generally see the result in the 
 petition itself. And this was the case, in the present 
 instance." It is interesting, as showing the far- 
 reaching effect of the prayer thus offered, that the 
 wife was so impressed by the result, that when her 
 husband died, she attached herself to Catharine Adorna, 
 in her labors of mercy, became her constant companion, 
 and was with her at the hour of death. 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF AN INFIDEL. In the " Incidents 
 in a Pastors Life," Rev. William Wisner, D. D., 
 gives an account of which the following is an abridge 
 ment: 
 
 A skeptical young man was induced, during a revi 
 val, to accompany a lady, with whom he boarded, to 
 U 
 
314: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 an evening lecture; but he purposely divested his 
 thoughts from any attention to what was said. On 
 their return, the lady and a pious young woman left 
 him in the parlor, and retired to their own rooms, in 
 a distant part of the house, to pray for his salvation. 
 While on their knees, pleading in his behalf, they were 
 alarmed by a cry from the parlor. Repairing thither, 
 they found the family Bible open on the table, arid the 
 young man standing near, with marks of agony on his 
 face. When they inquired what the matter was, he 
 was about, in pride (as he afterwards said) to reply, 
 "Nothing; " but before the words passed his lips, he 
 was so overcome with anguish, that he exclaimed, 
 " Oh, I am an infidel; pray for me/ 7 and fell prostrate 
 on the floor. About midnight, he requested that some 
 of his companions of the legal profession might be 
 sent for, that seeing his remorse they might take warn 
 ing. At two o clock, in the morning, Dr. Wisner was 
 called from his bed, to talk and pray with him; and 
 found him on his knees, not praying, but giving vent 
 to his anguish, and saying, " I am an infidel ! I have 
 denied my Savior, and am now given up of God, to 
 eat of the fruit of my own doing." The next evening, 
 there was a meeting for inquiry, and among others 
 came the despairing young lawyer, supported by two 
 friends. He received further gospel instruction, but 
 only said: "These provisions were once for me, but I 
 have rejected them. I have sinned away my day of 
 grace." But after returning home, about eleven 
 o clock, he submitted himself unconditionally to God, 
 
PRATER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 315 
 
 which, he said, he had before been unwilling to do. 
 Then his soul embraced Christ and he was filled with 
 peace and joy. At the time Dr. Wisner wrote the 
 narrative, he had been a pillar in the church for 
 twenty-four years, and an officer of it for more than 
 fifteen. Thus we may see that the most desperate cases 
 yield to prayer. 
 
 A PROMPT ANSWER. Dr. Wisner also makes this 
 statement, with reference to his accepting an invita 
 tion from a neighboring pastor to come and assist in 
 some special meetings: " I took one of my elders with 
 me, and went to the house of my brother, agreeably to 
 his request. He had made an appointment for me 
 to preach that evening. The congregation was large 
 and solemn, and there were some indications of the 
 special presence of the Holy Spirit. That evening, 
 my elder led our devotions in family prayer, and 
 poured out his soul in great fervency for the conver 
 sion of sinners. He earnestly besought the Lord, that 
 he would so trouble the impenitent that they would 
 feel constrained to awaken us in the night, to inquire 
 what they should do to be saved. After prayer we 
 retired to rest; but about midnight the pastor came 
 into our room, and awoke us, to tell us that a number 
 of sinners had collected at the Academy, who were so 
 distressed with a sense of their lost condition, that 
 they had sent a request for us to visit them. On 
 repairing to the place, the pastor and my elder (for I 
 was not well enough to go out at that hour,) found the 
 principal of the Academy, with a large number of the 
 
316 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 scholars and some other persons assembled to inquire 
 what they must do to be saved. The next morning 
 there were a number rejoicing in hope, and many more 
 deeply bowed down under a sense of their sins. We 
 remained there a few days, and had the pleasure of 
 seeing many proud hearts apparently humbled at the 
 foot of the cross. It was the Lord, who taught my 
 brother thus to pray; and it was the Lord who an 
 swered that prayer by giving us the very thing prayed 
 for. If Christians lived in habits of communion with 
 God, would not his Spirit more frequently teach us 
 what to pray for, and more frequently give us the very 
 blessings which we ask?" 
 
 CONVERSION OF A HUSBAND. In that exquisite vol 
 ume, entitled <k My Mother; or Eecollections of Mater 
 nal Influence," published anonymously, but ascribed 
 to a well known pen, is a touching account of the man 
 ner in which the husband and father was brought to 
 God. He had for years been the object of the relig 
 ious solicitude of his wife, and finally as his case 
 became more discouraging than ever, in a seeming 
 moral apathy, the mother proposed to her children, at 
 home and abroad, to meet with her at the throne of 
 grace in his behalf, at a certain hour of the day. The 
 account continues: "Whatever may have been the 
 mental state of him who was the object of our concert, 
 there was a growing feeling of intensity in our mother. 
 Her spirit had no rest. After they had retired, one 
 night, she said a few words expressive of her concern 
 for him ; he gave her an indifferent answer, and fell 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 317 
 
 asleep. She arose, in the fullness of an anxious heart, 
 and returned to the sitting-room, raked open a bed of 
 coals, and spent the night in prayer. It was cold, 
 being the latter part of February. Behold the differ 
 ence between the believer and the unbeliever: the one 
 sleeps over his own impending ruin ; the other wakes, 
 and wrestles for him, in agonizing prayer. 
 
 " As the day dawned, she fell into a train of reflec 
 tions like the following: <I have borne this burden 
 forty years; I can carry it no further; it is too heavy 
 for me; I must roll it off on God. I feel that I have 
 done. / cannot convert his heart. I can t convert, 
 however much I distress myself. Perhaps I have 
 sinned in distressing myself as I have. God may have 
 seen in me the want of a simple reliance on him; or 
 the want of true and absolute submission to his will. 
 He may have seen me unwilling, or afraid to commit 
 the matter of my husband s salvation entirely to him. 
 But I feel that I must, and do thus commit it to him 
 now. I will afflict myself no more. I shall still pray 
 for him, and use such means as may seem advisable, 
 but saved or lost I leave the result with God. 
 * * * She was conscious of a simplicity of trust, 
 now, and a relief of mind such as on that subject she 
 had never felt before. So prayed and found relief, the 
 wife of Elkanah. In the morning, after breakfast, 
 finding him alone, she said a few words to him, to this 
 effect. She remarked, that they had lived together 
 above forty years; that their union had been an affec 
 tionate and happy one, and it was painful to think, 
 
318 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 that they were soon to be separated without any pros 
 pect of ever being reunited. *..* * < And now I 
 have this one request to make: devote this day to the 
 concerns of the soul; devote it to reflection and to 
 prayer. If you cannot do it for your own sake, do it 
 to oblige me! Struck with her earnest manner, he 
 said, decisively, / will} He was not able to resist 
 the wisdom and the spirit by which she spake. 
 
 " She saw no more of him till quite night, when he 
 came in and sat down, sad and thoughtful, by the fire. 
 She did not know the nature of his feelings; nor was 
 any allusion made to the interview of the morning. 
 It was evident that he was not happy. He had an eye 
 more expressive of sorrow than any eye I ever saw. 
 It glistened, but did not flow with tears, and its color 
 seemed to deepen. Sorrow was in him a sealed foun 
 tain : it found no vent in words. The next day he 
 again disappeared, and was gone till evening. His 
 countenance and manner, when he returned, were still 
 thoughtful; but there was a serenity in his look, which 
 was not there before. I do not know, said he to my 
 mother, < what has ailed me to-day; my feelings have 
 been unusual, and, indeed very strange. Why, how 
 have you felt, she asked. < I can hardly tell you, he re 
 plied: I have no reason to think myself a Christian, 
 or, perhaps, that I ever shall be; but it has seemed to 
 me, this afternoon, as if everything was changed. 
 Everything appeared to speak of God. The trees, the 
 hills, the skies everything, seemed to praise him. 
 And I felt that I loved everybody. If there is any- 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 319 
 
 one that I have hated, it is Mr. G. (a certain revivalist, 
 the particular type of whose zeal, or whose tactics had 
 disgusted him); but I have felt to-day that I loved 
 him like a brother. 
 
 "It was afterwards known, that he spent the former 
 of those two days in a retired valley on his farm, and 
 the other in a wood. He had engaged to spend one 
 day in retirement That he might have appeared to 
 do, merely to fulfill a promise. The second day was 
 eminently probationary and eminently critical. * * * 
 On the following morning, the minister of the place 
 happened to call. He knew nothing of my father s 
 state of mind. * * * They had a long conversa 
 tion, and, on leaving the house, the minister said to 
 the first Christian he met, I have great news to tell 
 
 you; Mr. has become a new man. I have just 
 
 come from conversing with him, and have no doubt 
 of the reality of his conversion to Christ. The change 
 in him is surprising; he is indeed a perfect child in 
 religion. * * * After suitable delay and self-ex 
 amination, he made a public profession of his faith, 
 receiving baptism in connection with that act. * * * 
 My father lived ten years, to test the genuiness of his 
 faith. He died at the age of seventy-five." 
 
 THE EFFECT OF HABITUAL PRAYER. The steady 
 occurrence of conversions in connection with habitual 
 labor and prayer is well illustrated by the facts men 
 tioned in the biography of Normand Smith, Jr., of 
 Hartford, Ct., in which we read: 
 
 " The means he used to impress the minds of those 
 
320 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 who from time to time came into his family were va 
 rious: sometimes he would Converse with them separ 
 ately; at others, he would address them together; but 
 depended most of all upon the presentation of truth 
 in family worship, and the daily exhibition of a Chris 
 tian example, together with a manifest tender concern 
 for their salvation. He has been known to sit up half 
 the night in prayer for a member of his family, whose 
 mind he knew was impressed on the subject of religion. 
 On his dying bed, nearly the last words he said to his 
 brother, engaged with him in business, were, Take 
 good care of the boys! He felt the same benevolent 
 concern for the domestics of the family; and it is an 
 interesting fact, that all who resided in the family, in 
 this capacity, during the last four years of his life, 
 hopefully became Christians. One of the number 
 thus converted, heard him one morning very early, 
 before the family had risen, earnestly at prayer. She 
 listened, and found it was for herself. Her mind was 
 impressed, and she sought and found the one thing 
 needful. 
 
 AN UNPROMISING CASE SELECTED. A ministerial 
 brother tells of a highly-cultivated lady, the principal 
 and founder of an important ladies 7 seminary, who, 
 for some cause, began to doubt whether the Lord 
 accepted her services in that institution. Feeling that 
 her intent was simply to please him, and to build up 
 a seminary that should combine learning with religion, 
 and should send forth Christian and educated women 
 to benefit the world, she laid the matter before the 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION., 321 
 
 Lord in prayer. Feeling a desire to test the thing 
 practically, and to see if the Lord would use her to 
 secure the results upon which she had set her heart, 
 she selected from among her pupils a most unpromis 
 ing person, upon whom to bring to bear any religious 
 influence perhaps the most difficult and trying case 
 in the school and she asked the Lord to give her 
 that soul. It was an earnest asking, a pleading which 
 felt that everything was at stake, and the prayer went 
 up night and day. The young lady concerned knew 
 nothing of this struggle, at the mercy seat, in her 
 behalf; yet, in less than a week, she came of her own 
 accord to the principal, inquiring the way of salva 
 tion, and soon^was rejoicing in the Savior. Not only 
 so, but, after a little, her mind became interested in 
 the lost condition of her sisters in the heathen world, 
 and she devoted herself to a missionary life. It is not 
 amiss to add, that this auspicious result was not only 
 a source of new hope to the self-denying principal, in 
 her depressing labors, but was actually a fore-token of 
 the kind of work which her institution was success 
 fully to do through the coming years. It has ever 
 been a fountain-head of piety and missionary interest. 
 MR. FINNEY S PRAYING ACQUAINTANCE. In his lec 
 ture on "The Spirit of Prayer" Eev. Charles G. 
 Finney says: "I was acquainted with an individual 
 who used to keep a list of persons that he was espe 
 cially concerned for, and I have had the opportunity 
 to know a multitude of persons for whom he became 
 thus interested, who were immediately converted. I 
 
322 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 have seen him pray for persons on his list when he 
 was literally in an agony for them ; and have some 
 times known him call on some other person to help 
 him pray for such-a-one. I have known his mind to 
 fasten thus on an individual of hardened, abandoned 
 character, and who could not be reached in any ordi 
 nary way. In a town in a north part of the State of 
 New York, where there was a revival, there was a cer 
 tain individual who was a most violent and outrageous 
 opposer. He kept a tavern, and used to delight in 
 swearing, at a desperate rate, whenever there were 
 Christians within hearing, on purpose to hurt their 
 feelings. He was so bad, that one man said he 
 believed he should have to sell his place, or give it 
 away, and move out of town, for he could not live near 
 a man that swore so. This good man, that I was 
 speaking of, was passing through the town, and heard 
 of the case, and was very much grieved and distressed 
 for the individual. He took him on his praying list. 
 The case weighed on his mind, when he was asleep 
 and when he was awake. He kept thinking about 
 him, and praying for him, for days. And the first we 
 knew of it, this ungodly man came into a meeting, 
 and got up and confessed his sins, and poured out his 
 soul. His bar-room immediately became the place 
 where they held prayer-meetings. 7 Probably this 
 man of prayer was u Father Nash," of whom mention 
 was made in the chapter on the " Prayer of Faith," 
 and whose success in supplication was noted through 
 out Central and Western New York. 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 323 
 
 FACT COMMUNICATED BY DR. POND. In a letter from 
 the venerable Enoch Pond, D. D., he speaks of "a 
 young man, a member of Amherst College, some 
 thirty years ago. He was bright, social, amiable, not 
 vicious, but pretty likely to be led astray. It was a 
 time of special revival in the college, and the mother 
 of this young man (who was a pious Christian woman) 
 received a letter from one of her son s classmates, say 
 ing that several of the class had set apart the next 
 week to unite in prayer for the conversion of her son. 
 They asked that she would unite with them. She did 
 so, I doubt not, with all her heart, and in about two 
 weeks she had another letter, from the same hand 
 which wrote the first, saying that her son was among 
 the converts. He became an earnest Christian, and 
 was a very successful teacher in Connecticut for many 
 years. He is dead now, but died in hope of the glory 
 of God. I was well acquainted with all the facts in 
 this case, and with all the individuals concerned." 
 
 TESTIMONY FROM REV. P. HAGLER. Mr. Hagler is a 
 Baptist minister at Duquoin, 111., and he writes to the 
 author, as follows: "Last fall we commenced a pro 
 tracted meeting, which "lasted seventeen days. When 
 the meeting commenced, there were three or four of 
 us covenanted that we would pray for the conversion 
 of a certain skeptical man and his family. The result 
 was, that, about the third day of the meeting, he came 
 to church, but sat very near the door. But he soon 
 became interested, and, the second time, he asked for 
 the prayers of the church, and it was not long before 
 
324 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 all the family were enlisted. Before the meeting 
 closed, himself, wife, and four of the children, were 
 converted, baptized, and added to the church. He 
 was a major in the army, in the late war, had been 
 strongly inclined to infidelity, and, according to his 
 own statement, had not been inside of a meeting-house 
 for fifteen years. We all believe it was in answer to 
 prayer." 
 
 A TRIPLE SUCCESS. A letter from Rev. James 
 Aiken, D. D., of Haverhill, N. H. says: " I send you 
 the following statement made to me by the late Rev. 
 Walter Harris, D. D., of Dunbarton, K H. He said, 
 that at a weekly prayer-meeting, held at his house and 
 attended by three brethren, members of his church, it 
 was suggested and agreed, that they should pray espe 
 cially for three prominent men of the parish, that 
 they might be converted to God. In accordance with 
 this agreement, earnest prayer was offered for many 
 weeks. Now for the result. These three men, thus 
 prayed for, came successively, the same evening, to the 
 parsonage, to inquire what they must do to be saved. 
 They found their minister at home, and the brethren 
 with him assembled for prayer. These anxious 
 inquirers soon found peace in believing in Jesus. Of 
 each of them it could be said, Behold, he prayeth ! 
 
 A FATHER CONVERTED. An aged widow, whose 
 husband was a clergyman noted for his broad plans 
 and useful efforts, but whose name is here omitted 
 from deference to her modesty, writes as follows to the 
 author : " I was conscious that my father, although a 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 325 
 
 very moral man, did not understand the new birth, 
 and I often made him a subject of prayer. When he 
 was about sixty years old, I was residing about six 
 hundred miles from home, and one Monday evening, 
 I felt a strong desire to attend a " Monthly Concert " 
 of prayer; but my children were small, and I found 
 it inconvenient to leave them. I decided to spend 
 what time I could, in my room, praying for the con 
 version of the world. The moment I entered my 
 room, my father came before my mind, and I lost all 
 sight of the rest of the world. With groans and tears 
 I agonized on his behalf, till at length I cast him over 
 upon Christ, and felt a perfect peace. The next day, 
 I thought I must continue my effort, and I tried to 
 pray again for my father; but, to my great surprise, 
 I had nothing to say. I could not frame a prayer; a 
 rebuke came over me, which greatly humbled me, that 
 I should be teasing the Lord, after he had already 
 answered my request. From this time I began to 
 look for a letter announcing the conversion of my 
 father. A letter came, and in my haste, I concluded 
 not to read the introduction, but to look about the 
 middle of the first page, where they would speak of 
 father s conversion : and there it was, precisely as it 
 lay in my mind! After communicating with my 
 friends, I found that he had submitted the same 
 evening upon which I had prayed for him." 
 
 Men of the world may call this a mere coincidence; 
 but surely it bears marks of being something more; 
 especially in the light of Scriptural doctrine. Can we 
 
326 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 not see in it the work of the Holy Spirit, who inspires 
 the very prayers which he is about to answer? 
 
 ON MISSIONARY GROUND. In the Congregationalist^ 
 (August, 1875,) Rev. Allen Hazen gives an account of 
 the conversion of a learned Brahman for whose case 
 prayer had been specially offered by the missionaries 
 for many years; as he had been employed as an assist 
 ant in translation, and had been led to a high respect 
 for the Christian religion. But he did not forsake his 
 native faith, though he became eclectic in his views, 
 and, while he worshiped at the heathen temples, would 
 also, on passing a church building, raise his hands and 
 say " Glory to Christ." He led of late years an 
 ascetic life, ate but once a day, and spent much time 
 in meditation, with his body in a painful position. 
 Early in 1875, he was living far from his missionary 
 acquaintances, was old, feeble, nearly blind, and suffer 
 ing intensely from rheumatism. Thinking that there 
 could be no relief from the pain, he determined to kill 
 himself, arid was going up into the third story of the 
 house to throw himself down, when the thought came 
 to him: "I must not imitate Judas, in killing 
 myself?" He thought the suggestion came from 
 Jesus, and he prayed to him for relief from the pain 
 he was suffering, and vowed, that if the relief came, 
 he would at once confess Christ, and profess his faith 
 by baptism. His prayer was heard, and the relief 
 came. True to his word, he went to the nearest mis 
 sionary station, and was baptized. All who know him 
 express confidence in the reality of the change. Here 
 
PKAYER FOB INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 327 
 
 was a double answer to prayer. The Brahman was 
 cured in body and saved in soul, and not only his 
 prayer was heard, but the prayers were answered 
 which had been offered for him by name, for many 
 years, by the missionaries, who had watched his career 
 with so much interest. Prayers are never lost, even 
 when, as in this case, some of the petitioners have 
 passed from earth, without seeing the desired event. 
 In God s time and way the blessing is sure to come. 
 
 A FEMALE SKEPTIC CONVERTED. Miss Lucy K. Drake 
 has communicated to the author this striking illustra 
 tion of the effect of prayer in leading a soul out of 
 utter unbelief. She writes as follows: 
 
 " While spending a few days in a seminary, among 
 the young ladies who came to me for religious conver 
 sation was one of the senior class, who frankly stated 
 her condition to be that of a skeptic, particularly as 
 regarded Christ s divinity. She remarked that this 
 had been growing with her, even through all the Bible 
 lessons attended by her in the seminary. Still she 
 told me, with much evident interest, that she had 
 seen persons in whom she was convinced there was 
 something a power to be kept from sin that she had 
 not. They say it is a divine work; but I am skep 
 tical; yet this one thing I know, I would be willing 
 to do anything, to have what they possess. Would 
 you, indeed, be willing to do anything? I asked. 
 Yes. Will you stand by this assertion? Yes. 
 Then I quietly but firmly said, * There can be no diffi 
 culty ; you will obtain ; skepticism cannot prevent it. 
 
328 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 She looked up surprised, and yet with hope; for previ 
 ously she had evidently regarded her skepticism as an 
 insurpassable obstacle. I then remarked that God 
 had said, Ye shall seek for me and find me, when 
 ye shall search for me with all your heart. It is his 
 work to manifest himself to you; but it is yours to 
 seek him with all your heart. You have a heart, 
 and can put your interest fully into seeking him with 
 all your heart. Will you? Yes, she replied. I 
 then said: "We will kneel; I will pray first, and then 
 you follow, and seek him. 9 Oh, I cannot; I never 
 prayed before any one, and then I do not believe. 
 You said you would do anything; tell God all that is 
 in your heart, your unbelief, and just what you want. 
 I will, she firmly said. After praying myself, she 
 commenced, and having told the Lord, that she did 
 then seek him with her whole heart, she exclaimed, 
 I ve found him! Christ is divine! HE is DIVINE! 
 He is revealing himself to me. How could I have 
 doubted him! and tears of penitence and joy rolled 
 over her face. From the testimony of others I have 
 since learned that she has been, from that moment, a 
 cheerful, devoted Christian, a possessor of that which 
 she sought. 
 
 " In religious work I have never known it fail, that 
 God s promises have been fulfilled, no matter how 
 great the difficulties, if the conditions he has laid 
 down so plainly are complied with by the suppliant. 
 Personally, I have found that if ye have faith as a 
 grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this moun- 
 
PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 329 
 
 tain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall 
 remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. " 
 MK. D. L. MOODY AND THE INFIDEL. After the 
 return of Mr. Moody from his labors in Great Britain, 
 he went to Northfield, Mass., his native place, and in 
 a meeting, there, gave this illustration of the power 
 of prayer to reach the most unlikely cases of sin and 
 unbelief. He is thus reported : " There is not a heart 
 so hard that God cannot touch it. While we were 
 gone, this time, an incident occurred that interested 
 me very much. While in Edinburgh, a man was 
 pointed out to me by a friend, who said; Moody, 
 that man is chairman of the Edinburgh infidel club. 
 So I went and sat down beside him, and said: Well, 
 iny friend, I am glad to see you at this meeting. Are 
 you not concerned about your welfare? He said that 
 he didn t believe in a hereafter. I said, Will you 
 just get down on your knees and let me pray for you. 
 I don t believe in prayer. I tried unsuccessfully to 
 get the man down on his knees, and finally knelt down 
 beside him and prayed for him. Well he made a good 
 deal of sport over it, and I met him again many times 
 in Edinburgh after that. A year ago, last month, 
 while in the north of Scotland, I met the man again. 
 Placing my hand on his shoulder, I asked, * Hasn t 
 God answered the prayer? He replied: There is 
 no God. I am just the same as I always have been. 
 If you believe in a God, and in answers to prayer, do 
 as I told you try your hand on me. Well, I said, 
 * God s time will come; there are a great many pray- 
 14? 
 
830 PBAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ing for yon, and I have faith to believe you are going 
 to be blessed. Six months ago, I was in Liverpool, 
 and there I got a letter from the leading barrister of 
 Edinburgh, telling me that my friend, the inh del, had 
 come to Christ, and that of his club of thirty men, 
 seventeen had followed his example. How it hap 
 pened, he could not say, but whereas he was once 
 blind, now he could see. God had answered the 
 prayer. I didn t know how it was to be answered, 
 but I believed it would be, and it was done. What 
 we want to do is, to come boldly to God." 
 
 PRAYER OPENS A HOUSE. Rev. J. Boyes relates this 
 incident in the Wesleyan, on the authority of the 
 missionary concerned. There was a town-missionary 
 who greatly desired to gain access to a lodging-house, 
 which was of such a low and dangerous character as 
 to make it hazardous to life to enter. He prayed over 
 the matter, and finally concluded to risk the conse 
 quences. He knocked, and after some rough language 
 addressed to him, was allowed to enter. He found a 
 villainous-looking man within, who, learning his char 
 acter and religious object, said: "I will ask you a 
 question out of the Bible. If you answer me right, 
 you may call at this house, and read and pray with 
 us or our lodgers, as often as you like: if you do not 
 answer me right, we will tear your clothes from your 
 back, and tumble you neck and heels into the street." 
 The missionary quietly said, " I will take you." " Well 
 then: is the word girl in the Bible; if so where, and 
 how often?" The missionary replied: " The word girl 
 
PRATER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 331 
 
 is in the Bible; but only once, and may be found in 
 the prophecy of Joel, chapter iii., verse 3: And sold 
 a girl for wine, that they might drink. " "Well," 
 said the man, " I am dead beat; I durst bet five 
 pounds, you could not have told." "And I could 
 not have told, yesterday. For several days I have 
 been praying that the Lord would open me a way 
 into this house; and this very morning, when reading 
 the Scripture to my family, I was surprised to find 
 the word girl, and got the Concordance, to see if it 
 occurred again, and found that it did not. God knows 
 what will come to pass, arid his hand is in this for my 
 protection and your good." The result was, that the 
 inmates came under religious influences, and the man, 
 his wife and two of the lodgers were converted. 
 
 How AN EMPEROR WAS CONVERTED. The following 
 facts are taken from the journal of Stephen Grellet, a 
 member of the Society of Friends, who, with William 
 Allen, visited Russia on a spiritual mission, and 
 received the account from Prince Galatzin himself. 
 When Napoleon s army entered Moscow, a panic 
 seized St. Petersburg. But amid the universal alarm 
 Prince Galatzin remained so calm, that the Emperor, 
 Alexander I., inquired the reason. The Prince drew 
 from his pocket a Bible, a book of which the Emperor 
 was quite ignorant, and was handing it to the Em 
 peror, when it dropped open on the floor. Raising it, 
 and glancing at the open page, he said, fi Permit me 
 to read this very passage, from the ninety-tirst Psalm : 
 i He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
 
332 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
 Oh, that your Majesty would seek this retreat!" The 
 Ernperor stood astonished, and then went to the great 
 church for public worship, as was customary, when 
 ever he left the city for some time. Strange to say, 
 the officiating priest read the same psalm. When 
 sent for, after the service, and asked if Galatzin had 
 told of the interview, the priest said he knew nothing 
 of it; but that he had desired in prayer that the Lord 
 would direct him to the particular portion of the 
 inspired volume he should read, to encourage the 
 Emperor; and that he judged that that psalm was 
 the word of the Lord to him. The Emperor pro 
 ceeded on his way, for some distance, and late in the 
 evening, sent for his chaplain to read the Bible to 
 him, in his tent, as he felt great seriousness of mind. 
 The chaplain came, and began to read : " He that 
 dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall 
 abide under the shadow of the Almighty." ik Hold," 
 said the Emperor; " who told you to read that? " Has 
 Galatzin told you?" "No; but surprised at your 
 sending for me, I fell upon my knees before God, and 
 besought him to teach my weak lips what to speak. 
 I felt that part of the holy word to be clearly pointed 
 out to me. Why has your majesty interrupted me? " 
 The Emperor was astonished, listened attentively, and 
 from that time concluded to read privately a chapter 
 in the Bible, morning and evening. He took Prince 
 Galatzin s Bible, and, to use his own language, " I 
 devoured it, finding in it words so suitable to and 
 
PRATER FOB IHDmOtTAi C&tfVB3tgJO. 838 
 
 descriptive of the state of my mind. The Lord, by 
 his divine Spirit, was also pleased to give me ail 
 understanding of what I read therein. It is to this 
 inward teacher alone that I am indebted." Messrs. 
 Grellet and Allen found him ready to converse on 
 spiritual subjects, and in repeated interviews he knelt 
 with those two simple-hearted Friends, and joined in 
 their fervent prayers. 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF SEVERAL CHILDREN. Mrs. C. S. 
 Whitney, whose interesting experience of healing, in 
 answer to prayer, has been given in a previous chap 
 ter, says further: " In regard to the conversion of 
 souls, many times prayer has been answered imme 
 diately. At one time, in a little prayer meeting, a 
 desire was given me for the speedy conversion of sev 
 eral children present. After some conversation and 
 prayer, we agreed that, each in our own home, the 
 next morning, at nine o clock, should ask God to bless 
 and save. At our next meeting, ten of the children 
 gave evidence of a change of heart; which had occur 
 red at that very hour." 
 
 A SISTER S PRAYKRS AND WAITING. Miss Shipton, 
 from whose " Secret of the Lord " a fact was quoted in 
 a previous chapter, gives, also, this item of her expe 
 rience : " One day, I was in great sorrow over the 
 backsliding of a dear brother. I felt as if Satan 
 stood by, to resist every effort I made to help this 
 wanderer. During a night of special prayer, and 
 many tears, the word came to my mind, If thou 
 wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God. 
 
334 PRAYER AITO ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 I took iny Bible, to comfort my heart with God s 
 blessed promises, and I opened at John xi : 23 : Thy 
 brother shall rise again/ * Said I not unto thee, if 
 thou wouldst believe? Blessed promise! I did 
 believe; but it was not an abiding belief. I looked 
 on the waves of circumstance, and not on him who 
 ruled them. All without was dark, and I, more sad- 
 hearted and dispirited, listened to the tempter s voice, 
 Hath God said? I sat in the garden, praying to 
 the gracious Comforter to comfort me, and to deliver 
 his wandering child. As I prayed, I received strength 
 to take God at his word. My eye was attracted to a 
 spider s web, on a rose tree near me, in the sunlight. 
 A poor fly was caught in the mesh; the more it strug 
 gled, the deeper it was entangled. I felt fascinated, so 
 that I could not withdraw my eyes. The great black 
 spider, in ambush, was ready to destroy his victim. 
 All hope seemed over, when a blast pf wind rent the 
 prison in twain, and the bright-winged captive flew by 
 me in freedom. Then I praised the Lord. Six long 
 years of waiting, with the promise given me often 
 conned, and the picture of the broken web often before 
 me, when, lo! the stone was rolled away, and he that 
 was dead came forth. My Father! I thank thee that 
 thou hast heard me. A day or two after this blessed 
 assurance of life was given me, I received a letter from 
 a Christian friend, and she gave me for my portion 
 1 Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, 
 thou shouldst see the glory of God? I did not apply 
 it at once, yet the words deeply impressed my heart. 
 
PRAYER FOR imHTTDTTAL CONVERSION. 335 
 
 But, in the night-watch, the words came again, and I 
 was led back, step by step, through my hopeless unbe 
 lief, my cruel doubt of God s faithfulness, my ready 
 ear to the tempter s voice, the night of weeping, 
 and the morning of hope, when, in a parable, the Lord 
 wrought out his loving promise; and, in tears of joy 
 and mingled shame at my own unfaithfulness, I again 
 exclaimed, This God is my God, forever and ever. 
 He shall be my guide even unto death. 
 
 A DREADED DUTY AND SAVING RESULTS. ISTormand 
 Smith, Jr., of Hartford, Ct., was accustomed to take 
 part of the apprentices, whom he had in his business, 
 into his family, that he might watch over their moral 
 and religious welfare. They were always present at 
 family worship. He had occasion to leave home, for 
 a week or ten days, and his wife, who had been search 
 ing her heart of late, and endeavoring to make a per 
 fect consecration of herself to the Lord, suddenly 
 found this question raised in her mind: "Are you 
 willing to pray in your family during the absence of 
 your husband?" She shrank from such a trial, for 
 she was young, her disposition was retiring and timid, 
 and the apprentices were from sixteen to twenty years 
 of age. Her mental distress was great, but she wisely 
 carried the matter before the Lord. Leaving all her 
 household matters with her widowed mother, who 
 resided with her, she gave up the day to prayer, from 
 the morning hour, and it was not till late in the after 
 noon that, alone in her room with God, she felt that 
 
336 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 she had gained the victory, and was prepared for the 
 dreaded duty. 
 
 Then great peace came at once into her soul, 
 and she realized the privilege of presenting those 
 young men to God in prayer. To use her own words, 
 in a letter to the author: u In the morning worship, I 
 only had to open my mouth, and God filled it. The 
 room, and even the house, seemed so full of God, that 
 it was impressed on my mind that God was willing to 
 do a work in the family. So I invited Mr. Barrows 
 (now Eev. Prof. E. P. Barrows, D. D.,) to call, at tea- 
 time, and converse with the young men. He did so, 
 and one of them gave his heart to God during the 
 conversation; and, before the week was out, two others 
 did the same, as did three of their companions in the 
 next house. One of them soon began to prepare for 
 the ministry, and is now a settled pastor." When 
 her husband returned to the city, he did not follow his 
 usual custom, of going first to the store, but came 
 directly to the house. Mrs. S. said to him : " I am afraid 
 you will not believe what has taken place in the family, 
 during your absence, if I tell you." He replied: " I 
 am prepared to believe anything ; for my mental exer 
 cises were such, while I was away, that I knew that 
 something had taken place, and I came directly to the 
 house, without going to the store, that I might learn 
 what had occurred." And this was the beginning of 
 a precious revival of religion. 
 
 It is needless to multiply these illustrations, as the 
 
PRATER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 337 
 
 experience of earnest Christians given to labor and 
 to prayer, abounds in them. 
 
 Christ stood in the light, which my eye could not see, 
 But a bright ray passed down from his spirit to me ; 
 Wherever I wandered, twas with me, and when 
 I prayed for a soul, it shed light on it then. 
 Though I did not see it, and went on in pain, 
 Though the soul did not feel it, and knew not its gain, 
 Still it never departed, twas fixed to the spot; . 
 I moved from the place, but it changed not. 
 " I touch through thy hand," said the Savior to me, 
 "And that which I touch shall never get free. 
 My hold, though it be but impalpable ray, 
 Shall enlighten that soul till I usher in day. 
 The day of salvation must come to the heart, 
 Which has ever been touched; the lowliest part 
 E en the hem of my garment the humblest thing 
 That belongs unto me, this great virtue doth bring. 
 Art thou, then, a member, and dost thou not know 
 That wherever thou goest, I surely there go ; 
 That the work that thou doest is not solely thine own ? 
 It is mine, and I never will leave it undone. 
 Go, touch, then, the sinner go whisper my word, 
 Though thou canst not see me, I m there," saith the Lord. 
 Extracted from " The Two Dreams." 
 15 
 
CHAPTEE XYII. 
 
 PARENTAL PRATERS. 
 
 IN every age the power of parental prayer has been 
 signally illustrated. One might well expect this to be 
 the fact, in view of the nature of the family-institution, 
 its basal relation to church and state, the special cove 
 nants and promises made in the Bible to parental faith 
 fulness, and the design of prayer as part of God s 
 moral system. But faith is strengthened by particu 
 lar historical instances, as well as by general consid 
 erations. Let us note some of them. 
 
 AUGUSTINE AND HIS MOTHER, MONNICA. The famous 
 church-father, Augustine, has immortalized the piety 
 and faith of his mother Monnica. He grew up, in 
 Carthage, a young man of genius and of strong pas 
 sions. The latter led him into sensual excesses, and 
 intellectual pride carried him into the heresy of the 
 Manicheans. His mother, a devoted Christian, 
 mourned with deepest grief over the sins and errors 
 of her gifted son, and ceased not to pray for his con 
 version, day and night. Augustine affectingly sets 
 forth the facts in his penitential " Confessions," where 
 he says: "And thou sen test thy hand from above, 
 and drewest my soul out of that profound darkness; 
 my mother, thy faithful one, weeping to thee for me, 
 
PAKENTAL PRAYERS. 339 
 
 more than mothers weep the bodily deaths of their 
 children. For she, by that faith and spirit which she 
 had from thee, discerned the death wherein I lay, and 
 thou heardest her, O Lord; thou heardest her, and 
 didst not despise her tears, which streaming down 
 watered the ground under her eyes in every place where 
 she prayed. Yea, thou heardest her; for whence was 
 that dream whereby thou comfortedst her?" The 
 dream was a vision of her son symbolically represented 
 as coming to the same position of faith and lite as her 
 self. 
 
 Years passed, however, during which his case seemed 
 to be desperate ; for he writes : " Almost nine years 
 passed, in which I wallowed in the mire of that deep 
 pit and the darkness of falsehood, oft essaying to rise, 
 but dashed down the more grievously. All which 
 time, that chaste, godly and sober widow (such as thou 
 lovest), now cheered with hope, yet no whit relaxing 
 in her weeping and mourning, ceased not at all hours 
 of her devotion to bewail my case unto thee." His 
 mother besought a bishop to argue with him ; but the 
 bishop saw that he was too opinionated and puffed up, 
 to be won in that way, and therefore said to Monnica: 
 "Let him alone awhile; only pray God for him; he 
 will of himself, by reading, find out what that error is, 
 and how great its impiety." And when she still urged 
 her point, he said: " Go thy ways, and God bless thee; 
 for it is not possible that the son of these tears should 
 perish." Which answer, Augustine says, she took as 
 if it had sounded from heaven. 
 
340 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 But now came a trial of her faith, and also an illus 
 tration of the unexpected ways in which God answers 
 prayer. For Augustine announced his intention to 
 remove to Rome; of which he thus writes : " So why 
 I went hence, and went thither, thou knowest, O God, 
 yet showedst it neither to me,, nor to my mother who 
 grievously bewailed my journey, and followed me as 
 . far as the sea. * * * And -yet refusing to return 
 without me, I scarcely persuaded her to stay that night 
 in a place hard by our ship, where was an Oratory (a 
 place of prayer) in memory of the blessed Cyprian. 
 That night, I privily departed; but she remained in 
 weeping and prayer, with so many tears, but asking 
 of thee that thou wouldst not suffer me to sail. * * 
 For she loved to have me with her, as all mothers do, 
 but much more than most; and she knew not how 
 great joy thou wast about to work for her out of my 
 absence." 
 
 At Rome, he taught rhetoric, and soon passed to 
 Milan in the same profession, where he came into per 
 sonal friendship with the celebrated Ambrose, under 
 whose preaching he was converted from Manichean 
 error, after many internal struggles to overcome his 
 evil habits. He was, with his friend Alypius, when 
 the final decision was made, and they both joined in it. 
 " Then," writes Augustine, " we went in to my mother 
 [she had followed him to Milan] and told her, relating 
 in order how it took place. Then did she leap for joy, 
 and triumph, and bless thee, who art able to do more 
 than we ask or think." May it not be well said, that 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 341 
 
 Monnica had travailed in birth for her son, spiritually 
 as well as physically? And what mother may not 
 draw encouragement from her example to pray with 
 faith for the conversion of children? And who can 
 tell what honor God will put upon parental impor 
 tunity and perseverance? Monnica s prayers saved 
 Augustine, and Augustine s influence on the Chris 
 tian church has been scarcely second to that of any 
 uninspired man; for not only has he been (with some 
 errors) authority for much that has been good in the 
 Romish church, but he impressed the minds of Luther, 
 Melanchthon, Calvin, Knox and other Protestant 
 reformers more than did any other author. 
 
 THE SOURCE OF PARENTAL FAITH. Many, who are 
 content with a superficial piety, and have no deep 
 earnestness for the salvation of their children, cannot 
 understand how it is that some parents have assured 
 faith and put forth prevailing prayer. It is through 
 the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in truly consecrated 
 souls, by reason of which they realize the necessity of 
 conversion, are filled with intense longings for the sal 
 vation of their children, and are enabled to plead with 
 broad intelligence God s covenant and promises. Rev. 
 C. G. Finney in his lecture on " The Spirit of Prayer " 
 well remarks: "Thus it often happens, when profes 
 sors of religion are praying for their children. Some 
 times they pray, and are in darkness and doubt, feeling 
 as if there were no foundation for faith, and no 
 special promises for the children of believers. But 
 while they have been pleading, God has shown them 
 
34:2 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the full meaning of some promise, and their soul has 
 rested on it, as on the mighty arm of God. I once 
 heard of a widow who was greatly exercised about her 
 children, till this passage was brought powerfully to 
 her mind: i Leave thy fatherless children with me, 
 and I will preserve them alive. She saw it had an 
 extended meaning, and she was enabled to lay hold on 
 it, as it were, with her hands, and then she prevailed 
 in prayer, and her children were converted. The Holy 
 Spirit was sent into the world by the Savior, to guide 
 his people, and instruct them, and bring things to 
 their remembrance, as well as to convince the world 
 of sin." 
 
 YIEW OF REV. HOWARD CROSBY, D. D., LL.D. A 
 lady in New York City, who attended the " Annual 
 Maternal Meeting," in February, 1864, made these 
 notes of the remarks of Rev. Dr. Crosby, who addressed 
 the mothers present. " He said he believed the con 
 version of children rested in the hands of parents, and 
 it was according to their faith. In dedicating our 
 children to God, we were required to believe that God 
 accepted them and would honor his covenant. Faith 
 honored God, and if we clung to the covenant, even 
 though we failed in many particulars in training, our 
 children would be saved. He knew two families in 
 this city; was on intimate terms with them both. 
 Each had brought up a large number of children, sur 
 rounding them with similar religious influences. In 
 one family not a child was as yet converted; in the 
 other, every child had grown up to be strong in Christ. 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 343 
 
 In conversing with the mother of the first-named 
 family, a few months since, on the subject of her 
 children s salvation, he referred her to God s promises. 
 She replied: Oh yes; I know he has given these 
 promises; but there are so many exceptions! Ah 
 Madam, said he, l here is the secret of your children s 
 condition out of Christ. The father of the other 
 family was once met in the street, walking with four 
 little boys, by a friend, who said to him, * When you 
 look at those little ones, and think of their future, 
 don t you feel anxious? No, replied the father, I 
 know they will all be saved, and, besides this, I know 
 they will all be converted in childhood. And they 
 were." 
 
 Two MOTHERS. Harlan Page, writing to his parents 
 of revival-incidents in 1831, said: "A case occurred 
 last week of special encouragement to praying parents. 
 At the close of the afternoon exercises, a meeting for 
 religious inquirers was held in the lecture room, and 
 a few professors, who lived at a distance, stayed in the 
 church, till the evening service. Among them were 
 two mothers who, though strangers to each other, 
 agreed to go to a retired pew, and spend the season in 
 prayer. As the question arose, what they should pray 
 for, one said, I have a daughter, who has no hope. 
 The other replied, So have I an only daughter, and 
 she is now in the inquiry-meeting, and we will pray 
 for them. They kneeled, and while they were still 
 praying, one of the daughters came, found her mother^ 
 and, as soon as she could do it, without interrupting 
 
344 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 her, took her by the hand, saying, O my mother, I 
 hope I have found Christ to be precious. They all 
 knelt again in prayer, and offered their united thanks 
 giving to God. The other daughter was hopefully 
 converted on the following day." 
 
 A SON S ACCOUNT. From Rev. C. B. Crane, D. D., 
 pastor of the South Baptist Church, of Hartford, Ct., 
 the author has received the following interesting 
 account of the answer given to his father s prayers 
 and faith: 
 
 " In the spring of 1835, I entered Hamilton Col 
 lege, New York, full of worldly ambition, but a 
 stranger to the grace of God. On a certain Sun 
 day, near the end of the term, though there was no 
 special religious interest in the college, I was im 
 pressed so profoundly, by the love of Christ for 
 sinners, that I at once devoted myself to his service. 
 I promised not only to be his disciple, but, also, to 
 give myself to the ministry of his word. Yet I had 
 entered Hamilton College solely for the reason that, 
 under Theodore Dwight, then at the head of its law 
 school, I might qualify myself for the legal profession. 
 And it was to me the wonder of wonders, that I could 
 so readily surrender what had been the purpose of my 
 life, and consecrate myself to a work which I had well 
 nigh abhorred. In thus readily changing the plan of 
 my life, I was conscious of no struggle. I was borne 
 onward as a vessel is impelled by the tide. 
 
 "My father, a cairn, well-balanced, and thoughtful 
 man, was then pastor of the church in the neighboring 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 345 
 
 village of Cassville. In reply to my letter announc 
 ing my purpose to live the Christian life, and to enter 
 upon the Christian ministry, and my desire to unite 
 myself with his church, on a baptismal profession of 
 my faith, to my very great surprise, he expressed no 
 surprise at all. For, as he afterwards related to me, a 
 day or two before the eventful Sunday above men 
 tioned, as he was riding, alone, in the round of his 
 pastoral calls, his whole soul was drawn out in prayer 
 to God, that I might become a Christian man and a 
 Christian minister. As he prayed, his desire rose to 
 almost an agony of earnestness; when suddenly he 
 gained the assurance that his prayer was granted. 
 And he awaited my next letter in confident expecta 
 tion that its contents would be what they were. 
 
 " Here is a case which, I am sure, will allow no 
 rationalistic explanation. The nervous excitement 
 theory of revivals and conversion is not apposite. 
 One man. so little given to fanaticism as to be almost 
 cold-blooded, is praying, at a distance, for another man 
 of a like temper. And the second man, in a college 
 where the state of religion is unusually unpromising, 
 obtains an experience which is the exact answer to the 
 prayer." 
 
 A FAMILY EXPERIENCE. Rev. A. S. Kedzie, of 
 Dowagiac, Mich., furnishes a narrative of the steady 
 influence of parental prayer through a series of years. 
 Having described his father s prayerful character and 
 household piety, as exhibited in the commencement 
 of a new settlement in Michigan, he continues thus: 
 
346 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 " Two years after our settlement in Deerfield, my 
 father died. His children then were all under sixteen 
 years of age. For my mother to take his place, as 
 the religious instructor of the family, was a great 
 trial; but her husband s faith was in her, and she 
 would not stand in the way of answers to her hus 
 band s prayers. Her timidity could not do this in the 
 presence of the hired men ; so she detained the chil 
 dren after breakfast, and called them in before tea, 
 and had family worship, in the absence of the hired 
 men. So mother went on for a year. Then a four 
 days meeting was held at Ypsilanti. Mother took 
 my oldest brother to the meeting, and the confident 
 expectation of the family was, that he was to be con 
 verted. The case was stated, that a widow had brought 
 her eldest son forty miles, to be converted. Prayer 
 was offered in his and her behalf. When they 
 returned, we did not dare ask James if he was a 
 Christian; but we knew the question would be 
 answered when the time came for family worship. 
 After tea, mother brought out the old family Bible, 
 and asked James to take his father s place, in conduct 
 ing family worship, which he promptly did. We 
 younger boys preserved our gravity till the close, 
 when we scud to the barn, and screamed with delight, 
 chiefly from sympathy with our mother. 
 
 " Other four days meetings were held at Monroe 
 and elsewhere, and to these, one after another of the 
 children went, with the same expectation on the part 
 of the family, and with the same result. And our 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 34:7 
 
 mother was spared in life, till she found answer to her 
 own and her husband s prayers, and to see her five 
 sons and two daughters members of evangelical 
 churches; three of the sons sustaining official rela 
 tions, one as a ruling elder in a Presbyterian Church^ 
 one as a pastor in a Congregational Church, and one 
 as a class-leader in a Methodist Church." 
 
 To this narrative Mr. Kedzie appends this true 
 remark: " Here is illustration of the commonest office 
 and the largest work of prayer. Little provision is 
 made to justify prayer to the skeptic, by frequent, 
 startling, visible, and undeniable issue of prayer in 
 answers, which, in silencing the skeptic, would foster 
 fanaticism in our weak nature. Instead, in millions 
 of hearts it keeps alive the sense of spiritual things 
 lying back of sense. In prayer, these hearts seek 
 right adjustment to those spiritual forces, and so it 
 serves vaster interests than skepticism can compre 
 hend." 
 
 Two MOTHERS. A quiet, steady faith, leading in 
 the family to persistent and united prayer for spirit 
 ual results, receives a sure reward, as the following 
 brief narative by Eev. Burdett Hart, of Fair Haven, 
 Ct, proves: 
 
 " Two mothers, the only Christians in their house 
 holds, most excellent ladies of strong faith and of effi 
 cient works, agreed to pray, on a certain hour of each 
 day, for their husbands and children, till they should 
 be converted. They did so pray, and their lives har 
 monized ever with their prayers. One by one, their hus- 
 
348 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 bands and children were all converted. Those hus 
 bands became efficient and esteemed officers (deacons) 
 in their respective churches. One of the children 
 became a minister of the gospel, and others were ac 
 tive and benevolent supporters of the cause of Christ. 
 The mothers deemed that their prayers were an 
 swered." 
 
 A. PRAYING FATHER IN SCOTLAND. " The (London) 
 Christian* newspaper gives, on the authority of Rev. 
 J. II. Wilson, of Edinburgh, an interesting account to 
 the following purport: A pious girl in Edinburgh 
 observed in the street, another girl, in charge of some 
 children, who seemed sad; and she ventured to ask 
 whether she was a Christian. " Who bade you ask 
 that? " was the reply. "The Lord bade me." " The 
 Lord?" she said: "I have been praying that, if there 
 is a God in heaven, he would send some one to speak 
 to me about my soul." She explained that she was 
 from Aberdeen, had accompanied her mistress to Edin 
 burgh on a visit, and had been deeply impressed by a 
 sermon she had heard from Dr. Bonar. Maggie, who 
 had spoken to her, not being very competent to in 
 struct, gave her at parting these words of Jesus : " Him 
 that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Two 
 da} r s later she came to Maggie, to announce that she 
 had "found Jesus;" and not long after brought her 
 sister, when the three had a little prayer meeting, and 
 the sister, too, went away rejoicing in hope." 
 
 And what lay back of all this ? A father s prayers! 
 For Maggie soon received this letter: "Dear Miss 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 34:9 
 
 M : You will perhaps think me rather forward in 
 
 writing to you, but I feel as if my heart would burst 
 with gratitude for the kindness you have shown to my 
 daughters, in being the means of leading them to the 
 Savior. I have long prayed for them both, and when 
 they left here to go to Edinburgh, I prayed that the 
 good Lord would save them both, before they came 
 back. He has heard my prayer. On the same day 
 that you spoke to Mary, I was ill in bed ; and as I 
 prayed for them, I felt the preciousness of the text : 
 Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. 
 You can, perhaps, fancy my joy, when by the next 
 post, came a letter to tell me that Mary had found 
 Jesus from that very text. Dear Miss M , I can 
 not thank you enough, but the Lord will reward you 
 for the joy you have brought to an old father s heart. 
 You will excuse the writing; I am well nigh seventy 
 years old. I have only one thing to ask you ; if you 
 get a holiday in summer, come and see poor old Davie; 
 you will be made as welcome as the angels in heaven. 
 Mary says you are an orphan, but you will never want 
 a friend, lass, as long as Davie Ferguson breathes the 
 breath of life. And at the judgment you can take 
 my Mary and Jane up to Jesus, and say, Here are 
 two that, by the Spirit s help, I led to thee. We all 
 send our greatest love to you." 
 
 Here was an instance of secret causation. To hu 
 man view, the events, in Edinburgh afforded by their 
 connection a satisfactory explanation of the result 
 reached. But a hidden cause lay back of them, known 
 
350 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 to God, though unsuspected by others. A sick father s 
 earnest prayer was ascending in Aberdeen, while the 
 child was being reached savingly in Edinburgh. 
 
 A MOTHER S CONFIDENCE. An instance of that 
 assured expectation which sometimes supervenes 
 upon long-continued, importunate supplication 
 which is not the fruit of our volition, or of our 
 voluntary faith, but is an impression born of the 
 Spirit, apparently, as a prophecy of the coming bless 
 ing was mentioned in the daily prayer meeting at 
 Cincinnati, during the revival season of 1857-8. Mr. 
 Shipley, tlie leader of the meeting, related the case of 
 a mother who had prayed for her son, for many years. 
 He grew up to maturity, went abroad, and had lately 
 come back from an eastern city, where there had been 
 a great revival, but without having been himself a 
 subject of it. He told his mother of a number of 
 persons who had been converted, but said nothing to 
 her of himself. After he had retired, her soul being 
 burdened with intense desire for his salvation, she 
 took the Bible, approached his bedside, told him her 
 feelings and the assurance she had that he would be 
 converted that night, read a chapter suited to the cir 
 cumstances, offered a prayer of intense earnestness in 
 his behalf, and bade him good night, saying that she 
 would greet him a happy Christian in the morning. 
 No sooner had she left the room, than he was over 
 whelmed with conviction, and his bed seemed as if on 
 fire. He arose and knelt down to pray, and his eye 
 fell on the open Bible, and the chapter which his 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 351 
 
 mother had been reading. He read it again, and 
 spent the night in a mental struggle, which resulted 
 in his submission to God, with joyful hope in Christ, 
 so that in the morning he met his mother as a changed 
 man. The time had come, when prayer was to prevail, 
 and God gave a premonition of the fact. 
 
 A NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN MOTHER. Rev. E. P. 
 Hammond, the well known evangelist, in a conver 
 sation with the author, stated the following instance 
 of success in a mother s prayers, of which he had 
 learned just before, in a visit to the British Possessions, 
 on the Pacific coast. In an Indian Sunday School, at 
 Victoria, he found a chiefess, or queen, whose people 
 lived about six hundred miles further north. Seven 
 years before, she had come to Victoria, and had 
 attended an Episcopal church since that time, with 
 out any one inviting her to Christ. Passing by a 
 Sunday School, one day, she went in, heard of Jesus 
 as having died for sinners, and ere long put her trust 
 in him. Her joy was such, that she invited her In 
 dian acquaintances to go there, and numbers of them 
 were converted. And now a great burden came upon 
 her heart for her son, the chief, who lived with his 
 tribe, near Fort Simpson. She longed for his conver 
 sion, but knew that nothing was likely to affect him 
 up there, with all the tribe about him. So she spent 
 whole nights in prayer, asking that the Lord would 
 send him down to Victoria to be converted. This son 
 was a very hard character, and had even acted the can 
 nibal. She had not seen him for years. How was he 
 
352 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 to be induced to journey six hundred miles? It 
 seemed hopeless praying; but she persevered. And 
 what was the result? The son took a fancy to go to 
 Victoria, and have a time of carousing; and he made 
 the voyage in a canoe with his wife and his uncle. 
 As soon as his mother saw him, she told him of Jesus, 
 whom she was now loving and serving, and urged him 
 to go to the Indian Sunday School. He disliked it at 
 first, but she brought him there again, still praying 
 for his conversion. He was greatly impressed, when 
 he heard a converted Indian, named Amos, pray. 
 Having learned to read, when he was a boy, his 
 mother had him read to her the fourteenth chapter 
 of John s gospel, and explained to him the way of 
 salvation through Christ. His heart was at last 
 touched and melted, and the cannibal warrior ac 
 cepted the Savior. Then he begged for a missionary 
 for his tribe, and went home to tell his people of the 
 Lord Jesus. It is said that several hundred were 
 induced to follow his example, and they gave Mr. Pol 
 lard, the missionaty, a wagon load of idols which they 
 had worshiped. Such were the results following the 
 importunate prayer of a once heathen mother for a 
 still heathen son ! Her prevailing faith reminds one 
 strongly of the similar faith and success of the Syro- 
 Phenician mother, when Jesus was upon the earth. 
 
 A BURDEN ROLLED OFF. Mrs. Normand Smith, 
 Jr., of whose happy experience in conducting family 
 worship, at one time, during the absence of her hus 
 band, mention has been made in the previous chapter, 
 
PARENTAL PRAYERS. 353 
 
 not many years after that was left a widow, with three 
 young daughters. She says : " I had an uncommon 
 burden for the early conversion of my children. I 
 retired, every evening, to my room, for special prayer 
 on this subject. One night, while I was pleading for 
 covenant blessings upon them, a voice seemed to 
 speak to me: If you have evidence that you are a 
 child of God, then you have a right to the blessings 
 of the covenant for your children. I said: Yes, 
 Lord, I am thine, and then I pleaded for my children. 
 I did not expect an immediate answer, yet it was but 
 a short time, before they were all converted by the 
 quiet leading of the Spirit." And that mother s 
 prayer continued to be answered in the use to which 
 God put these daughters. One became the wife of a 
 minister of Christ; a second was the widely known 
 Mrs. Marshall O. "Roberts, of New York city, whose 
 spiritual character and extended Christian influence 
 in a high social position were of such value, in addi 
 tion to her connection with benevolent institutions 
 and the Ladies Union Prayer Meeting; and the third 
 has pursued quiet walks of usefulness amid the 
 churches and Christian enterprises of her native city. 
 HEARD AT LAST. A correspondent of the Christian 
 at Work, in the number for August 26, 1875, gives 
 an account of a touching scene of which he was an 
 eye-witness in the army, during the late war. It was 
 after the battle of Gettysburg, and a white-haired old 
 man, in one of the temporary hospitals for the 
 wounded, was seen to speak to a young man of twenty, 
 15* 
 
354: PKAYER AND ITS REMARK ABLE ANSWEKS. 
 
 who was lying in a critical condition on one of the 
 beds. He drew out a small Bible to present to him, 
 when the young man pushed it back with scorn, say 
 ing he did not wish to be troubled with it, and had 
 learned, while in the army, that its claims were false; 
 he did not believe a word of it. The old man bowed 
 his head in silent sorrow and prayed, for a moment. 
 Then calling the youth by his name, "John," he 
 reminded him that, after the battle of Bull Run, when 
 the call was made for more troops, he had come home 
 to his mother, (the old man s only sister,) and an 
 nounced the fact that he had enlisted; and that, after 
 sitting stunned for a few minutes, she broke out into 
 an agonizing prayer that her son s life might be pre 
 served, if possible, and at all events that he might be 
 converted, and his soul be saved. He told him, also, 
 what he had before intended to conceal, that two 
 weeks before that mother had been laid in the grave, 
 leaving, as a dying injunction to her brother, to go to 
 the army, find her boy, and tell him to remember all 
 her words; to say that she had prayed for his salvation 
 seven times a day, since he had left home; and to give 
 him that little Bible, in which she had marked passa 
 ges for him to read. When the young man heard 
 this, he cried out in anguish, and after a severe strug 
 gle of will, gave up his opposition to Christ, and 
 accepted his mother s Savior. Three days after, he 
 died, blessing God for the prayers of a pious mother. 
 A SON AT SCHOOL. A mother writes how the 
 earnest, parental prayers were answered for her son, 
 
FAKENTAL PBATEBS. 355 
 
 when reinforced by those of other pleading saints. 
 The parents sent the son to the educational institution 
 which was established for a time on Lookout Mountain, 
 Tenn., hoping for spiritual as well as intellectual 
 benefit. The mother s narrative says: "One Sabbath, 
 it was agreed by the teachers and some Christian 
 pupils, that he be made the subject of special prayer 
 for his speedy conversion. When the afternoon ser 
 vice was over, this little company retired to a large, 
 flat rock, with the canopy of God s blue heaven over 
 head, and sheltered by the trees his own hand had 
 reared. There they prayed for this one specific object. 
 The ear of him who never slumbereth, when his 
 children cry, had received the request. The evening 
 service came; the student, entirely unconscious of the 
 interest in his behalf, was present as usual. But a 
 power, such as he had never felt before, attended that 
 sermon ; and when the service was ended, he was com 
 pelled, by the pressure on his spirit, to seek the coun 
 sel of one of his religious class-mates, that he might 
 learn what he must do to be saved. The Spirit that 
 night answered the prayer of the afternoon, and that 
 soul was born into his kingdom. He is now studying 
 for the ministry." 
 
 This is a pleasant illustration of the intermingling 
 of the labors and prayers of parents and teachers. In 
 thousands of instances, pious parents have sent their 
 children to school and college, following them with 
 continued supplications to God in their behalf; and 
 then, under the faithful influence of Christian teach- 
 
356 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ers, a religions interest has sprung up in the institu 
 tion, and the children have written home to gladden 
 the parental heart with the tidings of salvation found! 
 
 A WARNING; UNSUBMISSIVE PRAYERS. The import 
 ance of submission to the superior wisdom of God, 
 when we pray, should be especially heeded by parents, 
 whose natural desires are strong with reference to 
 their children. Rev. Mr. Kilpin, of Exeter, England, 
 once gave this testimony: "I knew a case, in which 
 the minister, praying over a child apparently dying, 
 said: If it be thy will, spare this child. The poor 
 mother s soul yearning, for her beloved, exclaimed : 
 6 It must be his will? I cannot bear ifs. The min 
 ister stopped. To the surprise of many the child 
 recovered, and the mother, after almost suffering 
 martyrdom by him while a stripling, lived to see him 
 hanged before he was two-and-twenty." 
 
 A very striking case is narrated by Dr. Edmund 
 Calamy, in his life, as occurring in a family by the 
 name of Mart. A young son was exceedingly ill, and 
 the parents were so vehement in their prayers, and so 
 unconditional, that a pious woman expostulated; when 
 the father exclaimed: " Let him prove what he will, so 
 he is but spared, I shall be satisfied." He grew up, 
 manifested a most abandoned disposition, consorted 
 with villains, committed gross crime, and was con 
 demned to die. His excesses had previously driven his 
 mother to derangement and suicide. Dr. Calamy 
 went to see him, a few days before his execution, and 
 found him in a most hardened state of mind. He 
 
PARENTAL PRATERS. 357 
 
 railed at his father, who was present, and scoffed at all 
 religious appeals. In this state of mind he died, and 
 on the day of his execution, his father told Dr. Calamy 
 of the unsubmissive prayer offered so many years 
 before, and said: "This I now see to have been 
 my folly. * * * I read my sin very distinctly in 
 my punishment; but must own that God is righteous 
 in all his ways and holy in all his works." 
 
 Other such instances might be given,- but these will 
 suffice as a warning against unsubmissive prayers, 
 such as parents are tempted to offer in behalf of chil 
 dren whose lives are in danger. It is a happy fact, 
 that we are always safe in pleading importunately for 
 spiritual blessings in their behalf. 
 
 Dear Savior ! if these lambs should stray 
 
 Beyond thy blest inclosure s bound, 
 And lured by worldly joys away, 
 
 Among the thoughtless crowd be found ; 
 
 Remember still that they are thine ; 
 
 That thy dear, sacred name they bear ; 
 Think that the seal of love divine, 
 
 The sign of covenant grace, they wear. 
 
 In all their erring, sinful years, 
 
 Oh let them ne er forgotten be ! 
 Remember all the prayers and tears 
 
 Which made them consecrate to thee. 
 
 And when these lips no more can pray, 
 These eyes can weep for them no more, 
 
 Turn thou their feet from folly s way; 
 The wanderers to thy fold restore. 
 
 Mrs. Hyde. 
 
CHAPTEK XYIII. 
 
 PRAYER FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND 
 REVIVALS. 
 
 THE prayers of Christians naturally sweep a wider 
 circle than that of individual conversions, in which 
 one may have special reason for feeling an interest. 
 Beyond the single soul, beyond the family circle, go 
 out the longing and the petition of the Christian heart, 
 and fasten on the local church with its pastor and other 
 officers, on the universal church with its ministry and 
 membership, and on a world ruined by sin, and need 
 ing the application of atoning blood. A blessing must 
 be brought down, and so the anxious Jacobs of the 
 church begin their wrestling, and ere long become 
 prevailing Israels. Sometimes prayer is directed to 
 God, first of all, in behalf of a minister. It may be to 
 obtain one for a vacant church, which greatly needs a 
 spiritual pastor. Then we have a class of cases like 
 that described in the following, statement, by Rev. 
 Samuel "Wolcott, D. D., of Cleveland, O. 
 
 PRAYING TO OBTAIN A PASTOR. Dr. Wolcott writes: 
 
 " In a church of which I was formerly the pastor, there 
 
 were three or four ladies, somewhat advanced in years 
 
 one of them a widow, whose life had been eventfully 
 
 associated with the progress of Christ s kingdom in 
 
 (358) 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 359 
 
 another community who seemed to have special 
 power in prayer. For years they had kept up a 
 weekly prayer meeting, open to others, though seldom 
 attended by any but themselves. They were sedate 
 and serious, but cheerful; calm, not impulsive; and 
 their evident spirituality was accompanied with a 
 beautiful simplicity of character and transparency of 
 feeling, without the slightest morbid development. 
 They met for prayer during the two weeks I was sup 
 plying the vacant pulpit, at the residence of the lady 
 with whom I was staying. I had made up my mind 
 not to encourage any movement toward a call, or to 
 listen to any overture. They knew this, and spread 
 the case before the Lord. They con tinued in prayer 
 until the assurance came into their hearts, that I 
 should be their pastor. Had I given a negative answer 
 to a call, I should not have been more confident that 
 I was not coming. Had they received an affirmative, 
 their confidence that I would come, would not have 
 been stronger. Had this been a solitary experience, I 
 should lay less stress upon it. But during a ministry 
 of twelve years which succeeded, in which 350 persons 
 were received to the church, and of which the prayers 
 of these godly women were to the last the principal 
 support, I had repeated occasions to notice answers to 
 prayers which were prophetic. I became convinced, 
 that the Most High was in gracious communication 
 with them, and heard and answered their prayers 
 occasionally revealing to them his purpose, through 
 his Spirit, as clearly as your note before me discloses 
 
360 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 to me a purpose of your own. * * * I thus came 
 to understand, during my last ministry more fully 
 than before, the meaning of this prayer of faith, as set 
 forth in the New Testament. When the soul comes 
 into perfect accord and sympathy with the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, its affections, desires and petitions fasten upon 
 the same objects, and no other, which engage his own 
 infinite approval and love. The intense longings 
 imparted by the Holy Spirit are accompanied by the 
 Spirit s discernment. Filled with the Spirit, the 
 believer s desires are concentrated upon the objects 
 which are dear to the indwelling Spirit. Thus he asks 
 in Christ s name, and receives ; for God is waiting to 
 bestow." 
 
 PRAYING FOR THE SPIRITUAL BAPTISM OF THE PASTOR. 
 Many a revival in a church has commenced in the 
 earnest prayers of a few brethren or sisters for a new 
 spiritual baptism of the pastor. Sometimes a defect 
 has been noticed in his ministrations; in other instan 
 ces, there has only been a desire that he might be still 
 further instructed by God himself in the deep things 
 of the Spirit, and that he might be specially prepared 
 for carrying forward a work of power in the commu 
 nity. A case in point has come within the knowledge 
 of the author. 
 
 There was in one of our Eastern cities a minister 
 of rare genius, whose discourses had such literary 
 excellence as to attract large and admiring audiences. 
 He was not sensational, in conscious aim and general 
 spirit, but was pure and simple in character and 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 361 
 
 preached the gospel, as he understood it. But he had 
 unusual talent, was of an emotional and poetic tem 
 perament, and chiefly interested the people by discus 
 sing themes which are on the outskirts of religion, and 
 belong to its morality and esthetics rather than to its 
 central heart and life. The consequence was, that 
 while applauding crowds came, there were few conver 
 sions, and there was no deepening of the spiritual life 
 of the church. Thinking sorrowfully over this fact, a 
 few brethren agreed to make the pastor a subject of 
 special private prayer, that the Lord himself would be 
 his teacher. This united prayer was continued for 
 some time, when, one Sunday, the pastor went into his 
 pulpit, and prayed and preached in a manner which 
 astonished his audience, by its gospel-simplicity, its 
 spiritual fervor, its moving pathos and its earnest 
 endeavor to bring men to an instant and full accept 
 ance of an atoning Savior. He told the wondering 
 people, that he had recently experienced so total a 
 change of view and feeling, that it seemed like a sec 
 ond conversion. The old Bible truths had opened to 
 him with a new meaning, and especially the fact that 
 Christ had made an atoning sacrifice for human sin, 
 and that the vilest sinner might be "justified " before 
 God, on repenting of his wickedness, by faith in this 
 finished work and prevailing intercession of the Son 
 of God. All hearts were melted, as they listened, and 
 all eyes filled with tears, and especially did those pray 
 ing brethren overflow with thanksgiving, as they saw 
 the answer which God had mercifully granted. After 
 16 
 
362 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 that, there was no more feeling that only the intellect 
 was fed. A succession of discourses came, filled with 
 the very marrow of the gospel, and from that day to 
 the present, this minister has been as noted for the 
 spirituality as for the intellectual richness of his 
 preaching. When he subsequently learned of the 
 prayers of that pleading band of brethren, he under 
 stood the way in which the Lord had led him, and that 
 the secret of a pulpit of power is a praying church. 
 
 Incidentally it is well to notice how much wiser was 
 this conduct of the brethren in question, than if they 
 had begun publicly to criticise the pastor and form a 
 dissatisfied party in the church; or to make him in 
 the church conference meeting the subject of prayers 
 which reflected on his piety and preaching; or to annoy 
 him by sanctimonious exhortations in private, to be 
 repeated afterward to a coterie of self-righteous mal 
 contents. Had they so acted, they might easily have 
 soured their own minds, repelled him from the truth, 
 and split the church into discordant factions. As it 
 was, they brought a blessing upon the pastor, upon 
 themselves, and upon the entire church. 
 
 ANOTHER CASE. Rev. C. G. Finney mentions, in 
 one of his Revival Lectures, a somewhat similar in 
 stance. He says: "I knew a case of a minister in ill 
 health, who became depressed and sunk down in his 
 mind, and was very much in darkness, so that he did 
 not feel as if he could preach any longer. An individ 
 ual of the church was waked up to feel for the min 
 ister s situation, and to pray that he might have the 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 363 
 
 Holy Ghost to attend his preaching. One Sabbath 
 morning, this person s mind was very much exercised, 
 and he began to pray as soon as it was light, and he 
 prayed again and again, for a blessing that day. And 
 the Lord, in some way, directed the minister within 
 hearing of his prayer. The person was telling the 
 Lord just what he thought of the minister s situation 
 and state of mind, and pleading, as if he would not 
 be denied, for a blessing. The minister went into the 
 pulpit and preached, and the light broke in upon him, 
 and the word was with power, and a revival commenced 
 that very day. 
 
 The connection of prayer with the usual revivals in 
 churches is too familiar to call for evidence. The rule, 
 with scarcely a known exception, is, that prayer of an 
 earnest and importunate character always precedes. It 
 may have been on the part of the church in general; 
 or it may have proceeded from a single persevering 
 suppliant, as in the following instance, communicated 
 by one long in the Christian ministry and of large ex 
 perience in revivals. 
 
 THE EED SCHOOL-HOUSE. Keligion was at a very 
 low ebb in a town in Vermont. The discouraged 
 pastor gave notice that the usual weekly prayer meet 
 ing in the red school-house would be discontinued, as 
 so few attended. It was in the winter, and a deep 
 snow lay on the ground. There was a praying old 
 lady in the church, who, undismayed by the pastor s 
 notice, and in fact, inspired by it with a new earnest 
 ness, took her lantern on the usual evening, plodded 
 
PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 her way to the school-house, and there spent an hour 
 in wrestling prayer for a revival. On her way home, 
 being exhausted, she stopped at a good deacon s to rest. 
 Astonished to find her out alone, in such weather and 
 at such an hour, he asked, " Where have you been, 
 mother?" "Why, to the prayer meeting," she re 
 plied. " I thought that was given up," said the dea 
 con. "Not at all." "Indeed! Who was there?" 
 " Why, God, the Father, was there; God, the Son, was 
 there; God, the Holy Spirit was there; and unworthy 
 I was permitted to be there! We had a most blessed 
 time, and next week we are to have another meeting." 
 Next week came, the word had been passed around, 
 and the red school-house was crowded with penitent 
 professors of religion, who confessed their past cold 
 ness, and renewed their consecration. A revival of 
 great interest followed. Nearly every church has had 
 experience of the more usual relation of united prayer, 
 and perhaps a single instance will suffice as an illus 
 tration, condensed from Dr. Wm. Wisner s "Incidents 
 in a Pastor s Life." There had been some special 
 interest in the church of which Dr. Wisner was pastor, 
 but it had soon abated: 
 
 " The enemies of religion began to rejoice aloud, 
 that the excitement, as they called it, was over, and 
 only a few young people and children had been affected 
 by it. * * * On the next Sabbath I preached, 
 with an aching heart, from the text, The triumphing 
 of the wicked is short. * * * At the close of the 
 exercises, Monday was appointed as a day of humiliation 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 365 
 
 and prayer; and when it came, it found the whole 
 church with one accord in one place. Christians were 
 deeply humbled under a sense of their sins, and with 
 many tears poured out their agonizing prayer to God, 
 that for his holy name s sake ; he would hear the 
 voice of our supplications and revive us again. 
 Tuesday and Wednesday, the little church continued 
 instant in prayer. On Wednesday afternoon, as we 
 were all on our knees, in the parlor of a private house, 
 one of our elders, an old man full of the Holy Ghost, 
 while pleading with sobs and tears for the return of 
 the Blessed Comforter, said in a tone of humble con 
 fidence: O Lord, open our eyes, that we may see, as 
 thy servants did of old, that there are horses and 
 chariots of fire between us and our enemies, and that 
 they that be for us are more than they that be against 
 us. * * * * * 
 
 " That evening, two or three individuals requested the 
 prayers of God s people; and that night one of the 
 leading physicians in the place obtained comfort from 
 the Lord. The next morning, as we were, a few of us, 
 met at his house for prayer, his wife requested us to 
 pray for a sister of his, who was up stairs, in deep 
 distress of mind. While we were on our knees, 
 praying for her, she came down so full of joy and 
 peace, that she wished us to return thanks to the Lord, 
 for snatching her as a brand from the burning. A 
 new impulse was given to the work. Friday and 
 Saturday were days of much fervency of prayer, and 
 several were brought to submit themselves unto God. 
 
366 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 The Sabbath was a solemn day, and, I trust, a day of 
 salvation. On Monday evening, at my meeting of 
 inquiry, the room was crowded with anxious sinners, 
 and two precious souls, we had reason to hope, were 
 in that meeting delivered, from their bondage to Satan. 
 " The next morning, as I was going into a house, 
 where the man and his wife were the night before con 
 victed of sin, a young man came running across the 
 street, and in great distress threw his arms around me, 
 and besought me to pray for him. I told him, I could 
 not do so there, but I would meet him, in thirty 
 minutes, at Mr. Herrieks a merchant who had 
 recently been converted to Christ. I went into the 
 house where I had intended to visit, and told them 
 they might meet me in half an hour at the place I 
 had appointed for the young man. I went immediately 
 to Mr. H. s, and told him we would, a few of us, be at 
 his house at nine o clock, to spend an hour in prayer. 
 I then notified two or three Christians of the meeting 
 thus unexpectedly appointed, and, at nine, we com 
 menced praying with perhaps half a dozen Christians, 
 and four anxious persons. As soon as we began to 
 pray, the Spirit of God seemed to come down with 
 great power, and three of the four anxious persons 
 soon began to rejoice in the Lord. When these things 
 were noised abroad, the multitude came together, and 
 in a short time two good-sized rooms, which opened 
 into each other, were crowded to overflowing; and 
 many who came to see what was doing, went away 
 rejoicing in Christ. At noon, I endeavored to send 
 
FOB MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 367 
 
 the people away; but they would not be persuaded to 
 disperse, and the whole day was spent in prayer and 
 religious conversation. That evening, we had a prayer 
 meeting in the court room, which was much crowded, 
 and several there indulged a hope of pardon and 
 eternal life. At nine o clock, the congregation was 
 dismissed, and we returned home with more of a dis 
 position to pray than sleep. 
 
 "Wednesday morning, at nine, the assembly at brother 
 H. s was so large, that we were obliged to remove to 
 the court house, which was filled to its utmost capacity 
 with Christians and anxious sinners. "We remained 
 here, with an hour s intermission, until nine at night, 
 when the congregation was again reluctantly sent 
 away. The next morning, we met at the sanctuary, 
 to observe our annual State Thanksgiving, The house 
 was so greatly crowded at an early hour, that, though 
 it was large, and the aisle supplied with benches, ail 
 could not be seated. An awful solemnity pervaded 
 the whole assembly, and for a time the only noise that 
 was heard was the .half-suppressed sobs, which now 
 and then escaped from an overburdened soul. Never 
 before had I beheld so solemn an assembly, and never 
 before or since have I felt so deeply the awfulness of 
 the divine presence. I preached from the words: 
 * Rejoice with trembling, and never have I felt so 
 much like a dying man preaching to dying men. 
 Through the remainder of the week the court room 
 was crowded from nine in the morning until nine at 
 night, with praying and inquiring souls, and very 
 
368 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 many of our leading citizens were brought to put their 
 trust in the Lamb of God. The next Sabbath was our 
 communion, and eighty-six persons were received into 
 the church. A pleasing work of grace continued 
 through the winter." 
 
 It will be noticed that this revival was born of 
 prayer, and that the special prayer was occasioned 
 by the scoffs of the wicked. This inspired God s 
 people with zeal for his glory, and led to earnest and 
 believing supplication for the outpouring of the Holy 
 Spirit. A multitude of revivals have had a similar 
 origin. 
 
 REVIVALS UNDER REV. CHARLES G. FINNEY. Mr. 
 Finney was the most powerful and successful of the 
 revival-preachers during the period from 1825 to 1835. 
 His labors extended, at times, into New England, but 
 were chiefly confined to the state of New York. The 
 work was remarkably thorough, as his preaching was 
 searching, and often destroyed the hopes of those who 
 had been professors of religion for many years. The 
 conviction of sin in the revivals of that period was 
 deep, and the process of conversion sharp-cut and 
 decisive. A distinguishing feature was the prom 
 inence given to prayer. Mr. Finney insisted on 
 greater importunity and faith, and almost made 
 Christians feel, that they had never before prayed 
 at all. He assured them that one of the chief stum 
 bling-blocks in the way of the wicked was, that they 
 heard so many prayers, and saw so few answers. 
 Plainly the professed people of God had very little 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 369 
 
 power in prayer, and did not expect to receive the 
 things for which they asked. Some of Mr. Finney s 
 most valuable and influential sermons were on this 
 point. Let the reader turn to his " Lectures on Ee- 
 vivals," and he will find that Lecture TV., is on " Pre 
 vailing Prayer"; Lecture V., is on the " Prayer of 
 Faith"; Lecture YI. is on the "Spirit of Prayer," 
 and Lecture VIII. on "Meetings for Prayer." In 
 the first of these he remarks: "Prayer is an essen 
 tial link in the chain of causes that lead to a revival ; 
 as much so as truth is. Some have zealously used 
 truth to convert men, and laid very little stress on 
 prayer. They have preached, and talked, and distrib 
 uted tracts with great zeal, and then wondered that 
 they had so little success. And the reason was, that 
 they forgot to use the other branch of the means, 
 effectual prayer. They overlook the fact, that truth 
 ly itself will never produce the effect, because it will 
 not be believed, without the Spirit of God." The 
 sixth lecture he concludes thus: " Now will you give 
 yourselves up to prayer, and live so as to have the 
 spirit of prayer, and have the Spirit with you all the 
 time? Oh for a praying church! I once knew a min 
 ister, who had a revival fourteen winters in succession. 
 I did not know how to account for it, till I saw one 
 of his members get up in a prayer meeting, and make 
 a confession. * Brethren, said he, I have been long 
 in the habit of praying every Saturday night, till after 
 midnight, for the descent of the Holy Ghost among 
 us. And now, brethren/ and he began to weep, * I 
 
3TQ PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 confess that I have neglected it for two or three 
 weeks.* The secret was out. That minister had a 
 praying church." In the other lectures he constantly 
 reverts to this topic. Thus in the thirteenth, on 
 " How Churches can Help Ministers," his fifth point 
 is, that they should pray for them, and he says: "I 
 have seen Christians who would be in an agony, when 
 the minister was going into the pulpit for fear his 
 mind should be in a cloud, or his heart cold, or he 
 should have no unction, and so a blessing should not 
 come. I have labored with a man of this sort. He 
 would pray till he got an assurance in his mind that 
 God would be with me in preaching, and some times 
 he would pray himself sick. I have known the time, 
 when he has been in darkness, for a season, while the 
 people were gathering, and his mind was full of anx 
 iety, and he would go again and again to pray, till 
 finally he would come into the room with a placid 
 face, and say, The Lord has come, and he will be 
 with us. And I do not know that I ever found him 
 mistaken." Probably this was * Father Nash." 
 
 A PRAYING SOUL AND A SUCCESSION OF REVIVALS. 
 In his seventh lecture, on "Being Filled with the 
 Spirit," Mr. Finney states these singular facts: "A 
 pious man in the western part of the state of New 
 York was sick with the consumption. He was a poor 
 man, and sick for years. An unconverted merchant 
 in the place had a kind heart, and used to send him, 
 now and then, some things for his comfort, or for his 
 family. He felt grateful for the kindness, but could 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 371 
 
 make no return, as he wanted to do. At length he 
 determined that the best return he could make would 
 be to pray for his salvation. He began to pray, and 
 his soul kindled, and he got hold on God. There Avas 
 no revival there, but, by-and-by, to the astonishment 
 of everybody, this merchant came out on the Lord s 
 side. The fire kindled all over the place, and a pow 
 erful revival followed, and multitudes were converted. 
 This poor man lingered in this way, for several years, 
 and died. After his death, I visited the place, and 
 his widow put into my hands his diary. Among 
 other things, he says in his diary: I am acquainted 
 with about thirty ministers and churches/ and he then 
 goes on to set apart certain hours in the day and 
 week, to pray for each of these ministers and churches, 
 and also certain seasons for praying for the different 
 missionary stations. Then followed, under different 
 dates, such facts as these: To-day, (naming the date,) 
 I have been enabled to offer what I call the prayer of 
 
 faith for the outpouring of the Spirit on church, 
 
 and I trust in God there will soon be a revival there. 
 Under another date: I have, to-day, been able to offer 
 what I call the prayer of faith for such a church, and 
 trust there will soon be a revival there. Thus he 
 had gone over a great number of churches, recording 
 the fact that he had prayed for them in faith, that a 
 revival might soon prevail among them. Of the mis 
 sionary stations, if I recollect aright, he mentions in 
 particular the mission in Ceylon. I believe the last 
 place mentioned in his diary, for which he offered the 
 
372 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 prayer of faith, was the place in which he lived. Not 
 long after noticing these facts in his diary, the revival 
 commenced, and went over the region of country, 
 nearly, I believe, if not quite, in the order in which 
 they had been mentioned in his diary; and in due 
 time news came from Ceylon, that there was a revival 
 of religion there. The revival in his own town did 
 not commence till after his death. Its commence 
 ment was at the time when his widow put into my 
 hands the document to which I have referred. She 
 told me he was so exercised in prayer during his 
 sickness, that she often feared he would pray himself 
 to death. The revival was exceedingly great and 
 powerful in all the region, and the fact that it was 
 about to prevail had not been hidden from this servant 
 of the Lord." 
 
 This last remark gives the true explanation of the 
 series of facts. " The secret of the Lord is with them 
 that fear him," and the Holy Spirit, having a work of 
 salvation to perform, inspires his people to pray for 
 the very blessing which he is about to bestow. All 
 things concur and co-operate in the wise and compre 
 hensive plans of God. 
 
 A SCOTCH REVIVAL TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES 
 SINCE. This connection of remarkable outpourings of 
 the Holy Spirit with specially earnest prayer is no 
 new experience of the church. From the day of Pen 
 tecost onward, this has been God s method. Let us 
 take an illustration from Scotland. Fleming, in his 
 work entitled, "The Fulfilling of Scriptures," re- 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 373 
 
 marks: " I must also mention that solemn communion 
 at the Kirk-of-Schotts, June 30, 1630 ; at which time, 
 there was so convincing an appearance of God, and 
 down-pouring of the Spirit even in an extraordinary 
 way, that did follow the ordinances, especially that 
 sermon on Monday, June 21, with a strange, unusual 
 motion on the hearers, when a great multitude were 
 convened of divers ranks that it was known, which I 
 can speak on sure ground, near five hundred had at 
 that time a discernible change wrought on them, of 
 whom most proved lively Christians, afterwards. It 
 was the sowing of the seed through Clyddisdale, so as 
 many of the most eminent Christians in that country 
 could date, either their conversion, or some remarkable 
 confirmation in their case, from that day. And truly 
 this was the more remarkable, that one, after much 
 reluctance, by special and unexpected providence, was 
 called to preach that sermon on the Monday, which 
 then was not usually practiced; and that night before, 
 ~by most of the Christians there, was spent in prayer; 
 so that the Monday s work might be discerned as a 
 convincing return of prayer." "Ask, and ye shall 
 receive," has always been the law of God s kingdom, 
 and the privilege of Christ s household. 
 
 RECENT REVIVALS. The revivals of the last twenty 
 years have been numerous, and have pervaded the 
 United States, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They 
 have followed the usual law of divine providence in 
 the furtherance of good causes, to-wit: a development 
 of new methods and fresh sources of influence. Thus 
 
374 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the revivals of a generation since were chiefly the 
 result of God s blessing on the preaching of minis 
 ters pastors and evangelists. But now, an impetus 
 has been given to lay agency, and to conference meet 
 ings, instead of preaching services. This was a signal 
 characteristic of the great refreshing which began after 
 the financial crisis of 1857. The establishment of the 
 Fulton Street Noon Prayer Meeting, in New York, in 
 September of that year, and its marked success, led to 
 the establishment of a multitude of similar meetings 
 in all parts of the land. Those in the principal cities 
 soon overflowed the largest churches and halls. Be 
 sides these central and union noon-day services, 
 thousands of churches commenced special meetings 
 for prayer in their own sanctuaries; which were con 
 tinued for weeks and months, and resulted in thousands 
 of conversions. The value of this experience lay in 
 the fact, that it brought out the lay-element, in prayer 
 and exohrtation, and showed that revivals needed no 
 elaborate machinery, or learned pulpit effort; but that 
 God would bless earnest and prayerful endeavor, by 
 whomsoever put forth. From that time to the pres 
 ent, prayer has been more largely relied on, and the 
 meetings have assumed a primitive simplicity of type, 
 which, properly guarded, augurs well for the purity 
 of our religion, theologically and experimentally. 
 The grand test is working power. No system of doc 
 trine, preaching and worship which fails to develop 
 prayer, faith, spiritual labor, and success in convert 
 ing souls from sin, can long have the face to claim to 
 
:FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 375 
 
 be the religion of Jesus Christ. And with such lack 
 of result, the greater the exclusiveness, the more pre 
 posterous the claim will be pronounced. There can 
 not fail to be a deep impression upon the church, and 
 upon the world, in favor of prayer as an instrument 
 of power, when it is seen what marked results come 
 from the simplest means. 
 
 PRAYER AND THE IRISH EEVTVAL OF 1859. There is 
 not space to reproduce the facts which occupy a vol 
 ume of nearly 500 pages, from the pen of Rev. 
 William Gibson, who, being Professor in Queen s 
 College, Belfast, and Moderator of the Presbyterian 
 General Assembly, and having previously visited this 
 country to ascertain the character of the revival here, 
 was specially qualified to treat of the subject. He 
 makes the part which prayer bore in the introduction 
 of those spiritual triumphs duly prominent. Thus, 
 of the General Assembly of 1858, he says: "It de 
 volved on the convener, the Eev. Dr. Kirkpatrick, of 
 Dublin, to advert to the extraordinary display of 
 divine grace with which the American churches had 
 been visited during the preceding winter, and the 
 accounts of which had been already widely circulated 
 throughout the community. On the reception of his 
 report, the Assembly resolved to devote a portion of 
 its sittings to special conference and prayer, with ref 
 erence to this great spiritual movement. The season 
 thus set apart was one of peculiar solemnity and 
 saeredness; and when one after another of the fathers 
 rose up in his place, to tender his paternal counsels, and 
 
376 FRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 when the voice of praise and supplication ascended 
 afterwards to heaven, all hearts were touched as by a 
 common sympathy, while from the reigning harmony 
 and fervor many fondly cherished the expectation 
 of a time of more abundant blessing." The acknowl 
 edged birth-place of the revival was in the prayer 
 meeting established in a Sabbath school at Tan- 
 ny brake, County of Antrim. Among others who 
 were associated in the Sabbath school prayer meeting, 
 were the four young men whose names have been 
 much before the public in connection with the subse 
 quent revival. As they were some miles apart, they 
 resolved to meet at a central place, and, for this pur 
 pose, chose an old school-house, where were conducted 
 the exercises which have been generally regarded as 
 the origin of the revival. " For a few months," says 
 Mr. Gibson, " they had to walk by faith. * * * 
 They wrestled on. They prevailed. Surely, when 
 God s set time is come when he intends signally 
 to answer prayer he disposes the supplicant to plead, 
 and with growing anxiety to plead on, till the blessing 
 is secured." One of the ministers, in whose congre 
 gation a powerful revival -work was enjoyed, had, a few 
 weeks before, recorded this in his diary: " I am begin 
 ning to have more hope in prayer than I had. What 
 I have heard of the Lord s wonderful doings in Amer 
 ica, and in this land, and all, apparently, in answer to 
 believing prayer, causes me to hope that God will 
 answer my earnest prayers for the outpouring of his 
 Spirit here." And when one comes to read an account 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 377 
 
 of the details of the wide-spread work, he finds prayer 
 interlaced with everything. The leading exercises in 
 many of the places were prayer meetings, and the sin 
 gle cases of answer to prayer were many and marked. 
 The coming of the revival to each place, or district, 
 seems to have been preceded by earnest pleading on 
 the part of certain souls, whom God inspired with 
 the spirit of supplication. In the concluding chapter, 
 Mr. Gibson says: "From first to last, the work has 
 been, to a great extent, a record of answered prayer." 
 During 1859, about 10,000 communicants were added 
 to 306 Presbyterian churches, in Ireland, as the first 
 fruits of the revival. 
 
 THE SCOTCH EEVIVAL OF 1859-61. The same tidal 
 wave of religious interest passed from Ireland to Scot 
 land. Its history cannot here be written. A good 
 summary of events will be found in Hev. Dr. S. 
 Irenaeus Prime s " Five Years of Prayer." What is 
 now in point is, to notice the distinct connection of the 
 revival with special prayer offered by God s people. 
 In reference to the beginning of the work at Glasgow, 
 the Scottish Guardian said : " Our readers are aware 
 that ever since the news of the great revival in Amer 
 ica reached Scotland, prayer meetings for the special 
 purpose of imploring a similar blessing have been held 
 in Glasgow, as well as in other places. The intelli 
 gence which has reached us recently leaves no room to 
 doubt that these prayers have been heard. * * * God 
 has been pleased, from the very beginning of these 
 prayer meetings, to use them as the means of convert- 
 16* 
 
378 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 ing souls and quickening his own people. * * * 
 Christian men and women appear to be attaining to 
 greater faith in the power of prayer." Of the work 
 at Port Glasgow, it was said: " We have been visited 
 here with blessed times of refreshing. We had long 
 been praying much for the gracious manifestation of 
 God s presence and power among us, and when the 
 intelligence of the revival in Ireland reached us, this 
 gave a new impulse to our faith and prayer. * * * 
 One feature of this work is a deep conviction of sin. 
 * * * Another feature of the work is exceeding 
 earnestness in prayer." We are further told that " in 
 Annan the Week of Prayer (the first week in Jan 
 uary, 1861,) was observed with great solemnity, and 
 earnest supplications went up to the throne of grace 
 for the outpouring of the Spirit. The answer was very 
 speedy." Of the parish of Kirkmahoc we read: 
 " Every word that was said to them seemed to have 
 no effect^ and we felt it high time to invoke God s 
 blessing. After engaging in prayer, we recommenced 
 the inquiry-meeting: we were doing something, but 
 not what ought to be done. A second and a third 
 time we engaged in prayer, and after this, every word 
 seemed to be winged with the power of the Spirit of 
 God." Eev. 11. H. MacGill, Secretary of the United 
 Presbyterian church, in a published statement declared: 
 " The invariable testimony of the brethren is, that a 
 spirit of prayerfulness preceded the revival. In Burg- 
 head, one of the fishing villages in the North, the first 
 special fact noticed as preceding the revival was the 
 
FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 379 
 
 following: that at a prayer meeting held in the house 
 of a Christian woman laid for the last thirty years on 
 a bed of affliction, the burden of the prayers, at her 
 request, was for the outpouring of the Spirit for the 
 quickening of God s people and the conversion of sin 
 ners. Ere long, the careless fishing people were awak 
 ened, and many of them converted to the Lord." In 
 the report on the revival made to the Free Church 
 Assembly, Rev. Dr. Woods said: "I scarcely know of 
 any instance where the awakening has not been pre 
 ceded by the spirit of prayer and expectation. * * * 
 There was increased attendance at prayer meetings, 
 and an increase in the exercise of prayer in our social 
 circles, in our families, and in secret. And when the 
 Lord had thus prepared us for receiving the blessing, 
 it pleased him to pour it out very remarkably, and 
 very abundantly." 
 
 THE REVIVAL IN WALES. At the same time, a simi 
 larly mighty work, involving most thrilling incidents, 
 was going on in Wales, as the result of which, in a 
 single year, there were accessions to the churches of 
 about thirty-five thousand members. All agree that 
 the grand instrumentality was prayer. Rev. John 
 Venn, the historian of the revival, says: "Without 
 disparaging the pulpit, or in any way degrading the 
 offices instituted by Christ in his church, it must 
 strike all, that prayer, oral, united prayer, has been 
 greatly honored of God, as a means of commencing 
 and extending the present movement. The exact place 
 of prayer, in the great machinery of moral means, has 
 
 \ 
 
380 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 been better understood, and the belief in its efficacy 
 has been more fully acted upon now than at any for 
 mer time." Another writer says: " We expected that 
 the great outpouring of the Spirit would come by 
 means of preaching. It was so in former days it 
 may be so again and it is so now to some extent, 
 * * * but still it is quite clear that the Holy 
 Spirit s influence, at the present time, is communicated 
 by means of prayer." Still another says: "I am per 
 suaded that the means blessed of God to create and 
 carry on the revival in most places, if not in all, is 
 PRAYER. You can trace its origin and progress in 
 every locality to prayer." Yet another thus testifies : 
 " Prayer meetings have been the principal means with 
 us of awakening the churches. In many places union 
 prayer meetings have been very useful in drawing the 
 public mind toward the great question of salvation." 
 And so the universal statement goes. God is plainly 
 teaching his people a partly forgotten lesson as to the 
 power of prayer for spiritual blessings on churches and 
 communities. 
 
 THE WEEK OF PRAYER. Keference was made in one 
 of the Scotch accounts to the fact that in one place the 
 revival followed speedily upon the Week of Prayer. 
 No sign of the times is more marked than the estab v 
 lishment of this custom, first suggested by a company 
 of missionaries in India, of observing the opening 
 week of each year as a season of special prayer for the 
 progress of religion in the world. The request was 
 very gradually assented to; but now the custom is 
 
FOB MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 381 
 
 well-nigh universal among evangelical denominations, 
 and the effect has been every way note-worthy. In 
 proportion to its earnest observance there has been 
 awakened increased desire and faith, and revivals have 
 been more frequent and prevalent, commencing very 
 commonly with the exercises of that week. 
 
 DAY OF PRAYER FOR COLLEGES. About fifty years 
 since, Christian men were led to think of the great 
 number of students in the colleges of this country, of 
 the vast influence which they would soon exert upon 
 the character of the land, of the peculiar facilities 
 offered by their isolated condition for religious awaken 
 ings, and of the readiness of God to hear united prayer 
 for specific objects. So they first selected each Sunday 
 morning, and then agreed to observe the last Thursday 
 of February, as an annual concert of prayer for the 
 reviving of religion in colleges and kindred institu 
 tions. From that time, began a series of more or less 
 powerful revivals in our American colleges. Prayer 
 increased more and more, and with prayer came earnest 
 desire and appropriate labor. Faith and works wrought 
 together, and the blessing came. The Secretary of the 
 College Society, Kev. Theron Baldwin, D. D., thus 
 speaks of the results, after a series of years : " From 
 1820 to 1823 inclusive, there were revivals in fourteen 
 different institutions; in 1824 and 1825, in five differ 
 ent colleges; in 1826, in six; in 1827, in four; in 
 1828, in five; and in 1831, in nineteen colleges, result 
 ing tn the hopeful conversion of between three hun 
 dred and fifty and four hundred students. In one of 
 
382 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the colleges the revival commenced on the very day of 
 the concert. In 1832, some few institutions were 
 blessed with the effusions of the Spirit, and also in 
 
 1833. A larger number were blessed with revivals in 
 
 1834, and no less than eighteen in 1835, and between 
 one and two hundred students were hopefully brought 
 into the kingdom of Christ. It has been estimated 
 that fifteen hundred students were made the hopeful 
 subjects of grace in thirty-six different colleges, from 
 1820 to 1835 inclusive." It may be added, that the 
 experience of the succeeding forty years has been 
 similar to that just given, though the statistics are 
 not at hand. 
 
 THE LABORS OF MR. MOODY ABROAD. There is not 
 space left to describe such an extensive work as that 
 recently wrought in connection with the preaching of 
 Mr. D. L. Moody and the singing of Mr. I. D. Sankey. 
 But from beginning to end, it has been a signal reward 
 of faith, and an answer to prayer. Before his departure 
 for England, Mr. Moody earnestly sought divine 
 guidance, and received an assurance that he was called 
 to labor for a time in that distant field. Hence his 
 famous reply, when asked why he was going thither: 
 " Ten thousand souls for Jesus! " And God has given 
 him these, apparently, many times over. And the 
 minute history of his labors, especially in the disap 
 pointing circumstances of their beginning, as to the 
 expected human helpers, and the consequent necessity 
 to fall back on God, in earnest prayer reveals the 
 same subsequent spirit. So also does the manner in 
 
FOE MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 383 
 
 which the exercises were conducted in all the places 
 where he labored, in Scotland, Ireland and England 
 prayer being everywhere put forward as the chief 
 reliance. Indeed, pages might be occupied with the 
 striking incidents, in response to prayer, which 
 occurred in preparation for the meetings and in con 
 nection with the exercises, by which God removed 
 serious obstacles, and converted hundreds and thousands 
 of souls to himself. 
 
 PROF. THOMAS C. UPHAM S YIEW. An excellent sum 
 ming up of these facts, as illustrative of Bible-truth, 
 is furnished by the following extract from Professor 
 Upham s " Divine Union ": " The soul which is fully 
 in the experience of divine union will harmonize per 
 fectly with the desires and emotions of the divine 
 mind. If, for instance, there are soon to be especial 
 operations of the Holy Spirit, and if souls are to be 
 enlightened and restored to God, the preparations for 
 such events will always exist first in the mind of God 
 himself. It is not possible that such things should 
 exist accidentally. They are the developments, com 
 ing in their appropriate order and under appropriate 
 circumstances, of the divine thought, of the divine 
 feeling. But if it be true that the heaving of the bil 
 lows, whether gently or more powerfully, will first 
 show themselves in the great ocean of thought and 
 feeling, it will also be true that they will excite a cor 
 responding movement in all smaller streams and foun 
 tains which are in alliance with them. In other 
 words, God, in all good works, moves first; and the 
 
384: PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 minds of his people (all those who come within the 
 particular sphere of the movement) move .in harmony 
 with him. If God desires a particular thing to take 
 place within their particular sphere of feeling and 
 action, the desire of the Infinite mind sympathetically 
 takes shape and develops itself in the finite mind;" 
 and the unspoken desire of the Father shows itself in 
 the uttered prayer of the children. As in nature a 
 small moaning sound of the winds often precedes a 
 wide and powerful movement, so the sighing in the 
 bosoms of the finite denotes an approaching move 
 ment of far greater power in the Infinite." 
 
 When Jehovah turned again, 
 
 Zion s sore captivity, 
 Like the dreamers of a dream, 
 
 Seemed one in that day to be ; 
 Filled with laughter was our mouth, 
 
 And our tongue with melody. 
 
 Spake our heathen lords : Great things 
 
 Hath Jehovah for them done ; 
 Great things hath he done for us, 
 
 We will joy in him alone. 
 Turn our bondage, Lord, like streams 
 
 Dried up by the southern sun. 
 
 They shall reap their fields in joy, 
 Who in sowing weep and mourn; 
 
 He that goeth forth in tears 
 
 With his seed, shall yet return, 
 
 In the gladness of his heart, 
 
 With his sheaves of harvest corn. 
 
 Bonar s Version of Psalm cxxxi. 
 
CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 PRATER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 THE spread of Christianity has everywhere been 
 accompanied by the establishment of hospitals, asy 
 lums, and other charitable institutions for the relief 
 of human distress. As nothing could be more har 
 monious than this result with the spirit of the gospel, 
 and as nothing also could more favorably impress the 
 world with its divine origin, so it might be expected 
 to give occasion to special and successful prayer. And 
 such has been the fact. 
 
 FKANKE AND THE ORPHAN HOUSE AT HALLE. Augus 
 tus Herman Franke was a minister in Halle, Germany, 
 on a small salary, and with no property but his books. 
 He conceived the project of an orphan asylum for the 
 children of the poor. In due time it was opened, and 
 he had several hundred children depending on him for 
 food, clothing and education, and no other resources, 
 but the voluntary gifts of the benevolent. When his 
 treasury was utterly exhausted, he was in the habit of 
 reporting the fact to the Lord, and asking for the 
 needed aid. This was sure to be given, and it will aid 
 faith to hear a part of his testimony: 
 
 " In the month of April, 1696, our funds were 
 exhausted, and I knew not where to look for the neces- 
 17 (385) 
 
386 PKAYEK AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 sary supplies for the next week. This caused me great 
 distress; when some person, who is yet unknown to 
 me, put into my hands a thousand dollars, for the 
 orphans. At another time, when our stores were 
 exhausted, we laid our case before the Lord, and had 
 scarcely finished our prayer, when there was a knock 
 at my door, and a letter was handed in, with fifty dol 
 lars in gold. Twenty dollars soon after came, which 
 fully supplied our wants, and we were taught that God 
 will often hear prayer almost before it is offered. In 
 the month of October, 1698, I sent a ducat to a poor 
 and afflicted woman, who wrote me that it came to 
 hand at a time when she greatly needed it, and she 
 prayed God to give my poor orphans a heap of ducats 
 for it. Soon after, I received from one friend two 
 ducats; from another, twenty -five; from two others, 
 forty-three; and from Prince Paul, of Wurtemberg, 
 five hundred. When I saw all this money on the 
 table before me, I could not but think .of the prayer 
 of the poor woman, and how literally it had been 
 fulfilled. 
 
 " In February, 1699, I was almost entirely without 
 funds, though much was needed .for the daily wants 
 of the children and other poor. In this state of diffi 
 culty, I comforted myself with the promise of the 
 Lord Jesus: Seek ye first the kingdom, etc. When 
 I. had given out the last of our money, I prayed to 
 the Lord. As I left my room, to go into the college, 
 I found a student waiting for me, who put seventy 
 dollars into my hands. Soon afterwards, we were in 
 
PEAYEE FOE CHAEITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 387 
 
 the greatest want, but I trusted in the Lord, and 
 determined to go to my closet and spread my wants 
 before him. I arose to go to my closet, and, while on 
 my way, a letter was put into my hands from a merch 
 ant, informing me that he had received a check for a 
 thousand dollars, to be paid me for the orphan house. 
 How forcibly did I feel the truth of the promise: 
 4 Before they call, I will answer, and, while they are yet 
 speaking, I will hear. 3 I had now no reason to ask 
 for assistance, but I went to my closet and praised the 
 Lord for his goodness. At another time, the superin 
 tendent of the building came to me, and asked if I 
 had received any money for the payment of the labor 
 ers. * No, said I; but I have faith in God. Scarcely 
 had I uttered these words, when some one was an 
 nounced at the door. On going to him, I found 
 that he had brought me thirty dollars. I returned 
 to the study, and asked the superintendent how much 
 money he needed. He replied: Thirty dollars. 
 There they are, said I. At another time of great 
 need, I prayed particularly, i Give us, this day, our 
 daily bread. I dwelt upon the words, this day, for 
 we needed immediate aid. While I was yet praying, 
 a friend came to my door, and brought me four hun 
 dred dollars. 
 
 " At one time, I was recounting to a Christian 
 friend some of our remarkable deliverances from 
 want, by which he was so much affected that he 
 even wept. While I was speaking, as if to confirm 
 my statements, I received a letter containing a check 
 
388 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 for five hundred dollars. At another time, I was in 
 need of a large sum, but did not know where to obtain 
 even ten dollars. The steward came, but, having no 
 money for him, I asked him to come again after din 
 ner, and, in the mean time, gave myself to prayer. 
 "When he came, in the afternoon, all I could do was to 
 ask him to come again in the evening. In the after 
 noon I was visited by a friend, with whom I united 
 in prayer to God. As I accompanied my friend to 
 the door, on his departure, I found the steward stand 
 ing on one side, and on the other a person, who put 
 into my hands a hundred and fifty dollars. On an 
 other occasion, the superintendent began to pay the 
 laborers with only fourteen dollars, but, before he got 
 through, he received enough to complete the pay 
 ments." 
 
 The steward became so accustomed to this experi 
 ence, that when new straits came, he would remark: 
 u Now we shall have reason, again, to admire the 
 manner in which God will come to our aid." The 
 institution was firmly established, and exists at this 
 day on a grand scale, having sometimes three thousand 
 pupils. As Professor Stowe pertinently remarks, in 
 review of this narrative, " If any one can believe that 
 such a long series of answers to prayer can be 
 accounted for on the ground of accidental coinci 
 dences, such a man would scarcely be persuaded 
 though one should rise from the dead." 
 
 Louis HARMS AND His MISSIONS. About the year 
 1850, Louis Harms became the pastor of the humble 
 
PEAYEE FOE CHAEITABLE INSTITUTIONS, 389 
 
 Lutheran church at Hermansburg, Germany, a rural 
 village on the Liineburger Heath. From spiritual 
 deadness he stirred the whole region into life. He 
 also established a training mission-house, built and 
 sustained a mission-ship, sent out and supported a 
 large number of missionaries, set up a printing press 
 to issue religious books and tracts, published a 
 monthly missionary magazine, and founded local 
 reformatories. In six years, the expenses thus incur 
 red were 115,676 crowns, (a crown being little more 
 than a dollar,) while the receipts were 118,694 crowns. 
 Whence this income? He started with nothing, 
 putting all his reliance on prayer. " I prayed," said 
 he, "fervently to the Lord, laid the matter in his 
 hand, and as I rose up at midnight from my knees, I 
 said in a voice that almost startled me in the quiet 
 room, Forward now, in God s name! From that 
 moment there never came a thought of doubt into my 
 mind." The result may be learned by this abridged 
 extract from his own account: " It is wonderful, when 
 one has nothing, and 10,000 crowns are laid in his 
 hand by the dear Lord. I know from whom it all 
 comes. I went to my God, and prayed diligently to 
 him, and received what I needed. To the question, 
 Shall we print? we did not answer, Certainly we can; 
 but we cried to the Lord, Grant it to us. And he 
 granted it; for we immediately received 2,000 crowns, 
 although the thought had not been known to any one; 
 we had only to take and be thankful. A short time 
 ago, I had to pay a merchant, in behalf of the mis- 
 
390 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 sions 550 crowns, and when the day was near I had 
 only 400. Then I prayed to the Lord Jesus, that he 
 would provide me with the deficiency. On the day 
 before, three letters were brought; one from Schweim 
 with 20, one from Biicksburg with 25, and one from 
 Berlin with 100 crowns. The donors were anony 
 mous. On the evening of the same day, a laborer 
 brought me 10 crowns; so that I had not only enough, 
 but five over. I must tell you what brought tears 
 into my eyes, and confirmed me anew in that word. 
 6 Before they call, I will answer. A medicine-chest 
 was urgently wanted for the mission. 1 reckoned up, 
 to see if there was enough left to supply it. Before I 
 had finished, and when I had not yet well begun to 
 commend this matter to the Lord, a letter was 
 brought, in which the anonymous writer stated, that 
 for some time he had been collecting for the mission 
 and had determined to purchase a medicine-chest. 
 The chest accompanied the letter; he only begged it 
 might soon be sent out to the heathen." In 1858 he 
 wrote: " I needed for the mission 15,000 crowns, and 
 the Lord gave me that, and 60 over. This year I 
 needed double, and the Lord has given me double, and 
 140 over." 
 
 GEORGE MULLER AND THE BRISTOL ORPHAN HOUSES. 
 Mr. Muller has been having a similar experience, on 
 a still larger scale, at Bristol, England, where he has 
 established an immense asylum for orphans, which 
 is sustained wholly by contributions. Mr. Mliller s 
 own account of his aim, in starting, states: " I remem- 
 
PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 391 
 
 bered what a great blessing my own soul had received, 
 through the Lord s dealings with his servant, A. H. 
 Franke, who, in dependence upon the living God 
 alone, established an immense orphan house, which I 
 had seen many times with my own eyes. I, therefore, 
 judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church 
 of Christ in the particular point on which I had 
 obtained mercy, namely: in being able to take God 
 by his word, and to rely upon it. * * * Now, if 
 I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, 
 without asking any individual, the means for estab 
 lishing and carrying on an orphan house, there would 
 be something which, with the Lord s blessing, might 
 be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the 
 children of God, besides being a testimony to the 
 consciences of the unconverted of the reality of the 
 things of God. This, then, was the primary reason 
 for establishing the orphan house. * * The first 
 
 and primary object of the work was, and still is, that 
 God might be magnified by the fact that the orphans 
 under my care are provided with all they need, only 
 by prayer and faith, without, any one being asked by 
 me, or my fellow-laborers; whereby it may be seen 
 that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL." 
 From Mr. Miiller s Thirty-sixth Annual Report, 
 which brings the account of the institution down to 
 May 26, 1875, we learn that his faith was put to trial 
 during the last year. This commenced with about 
 $20,000 in the orphan-treasury; which sum, in the 
 course of three months, was reduced one-half, or to 
 
392 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 only enough to meet the expenses of a single month. 
 So low the treasury had not been for twelve years, 
 although, in that time, the orphans had doubled in 
 number! Yet, one month later, after that sum had 
 been expended, such receipts had come in as to leave a 
 balance of $48,000! Mr. Miiller adds: "What can 
 not God do, in answer to believing, expecting prayer? 
 Dear Christian reader, seek to rely upon God increas 
 ingly, and you will see how blessed it is to do so under 
 all circumstances. I have walked, by God s grace, in 
 this happy road for forty-five years and six months, 
 out of the forty-nine years and eight months during 
 which I have been a believer; and on these principles, 
 < Trust in the living God and prayer, this institution 
 has been carried on for forty-one years, during which 
 time, without applying to any one, I have received, 
 simply in answer to believing prayer, the sum of 
 665,000 ($3,325,000)." He then gives, as the results 
 of the use of this money, the following: 46,400 per 
 sons taught in schools wholly sustained, besides tens 
 of thousands in other schools assisted; 96,000 Bibles, 
 above 247,000 Testaments, and 180,000 smaller por 
 tions of the Scriptures, circulated; above 53,500,000 
 tracts and books, in various languages, distributed; 
 many missionaries, of late years over 170 annually, 
 assisted; 4,677 orphans cared for; and five large 
 houses built, at a cost of $575,000, able to accommo 
 date 2,050 orphans. " As to the spiritual results," 
 says Mr. M., " I will here say nothing; indeed, eter 
 nity alone can unfold them; yet, even in so far as God 
 
PRAYER FOE CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 393 
 
 has been pleased to allow us to see already the results 
 of our service, we have reaped most abundantly, and 
 do so more and more, every year, whilst going on in 
 the work." 
 
 THE CONSUMPTIVES HOME. This is an institution 
 at Boston, Mass., which was established by Charles 
 Cullis, M. D., eleven years since, to provide a place 
 for consumptives who were in poverty, and who, as 
 incurable, were not admitted to the hospitals. He 
 determined to follow Mr. Mliller s plan, and solicit 
 no aid from man, but build up an institution by 
 prayer and faith alone. His tenth annual report, the 
 latest published, at the time of writing this account, 
 says : " During the past year the Lord has sent us in 
 cash $22,262.48. For the ten years that the work has 
 been established, without any solicitation froni man, 
 but in answer to prayer, God has sent the amount of 
 $238,061.69. Also in answer to prayer, towards build 
 ing the Cancer House, $4,269.54." The various annual 
 reports are filled with interesting details from the diary 
 of Dr. Cullis, showing how the gifts dropped in vol 
 untarily from all parts of the land and the world, as 
 the benevolent learned of the nature of the work, and 
 how they came as they were needed, from day to day, 
 in answer to prayer for the supply of specific wants. 
 
 THE CHICAGO FOUNDLINGS HOME. This was estab 
 lished on the same principle, by George E. Shipman, 
 M. D., whom the author has known from boyhood, in 
 school, college and active life. In a pamphlet of great 
 interest, which gives an account of the first four years 
 
394 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 of the Home, Dr. Shipman says of its origin: " Then 
 as to the needful funds, where were they to come from? 
 This was made equally clear. God gave me the work 
 to do, and he would provide the means. It seemed to 
 be his will, not only that a Home should be opened, 
 but that it should be maintained in a manner that 
 should demonstrate that he was the hearer of prayer, 
 and that he was ever mindful of his promises. This 
 would not be so apparent, if I depended upon beg 
 ging, for the support of the home. * * * I have 
 never asked anything for the Home, directly or indi 
 rectly, and have never authorized any one to solicit 
 for it. Those who have given entertainments for the 
 Home, of one kind or another, have done it of their 
 own accord^ and, in most instances, in fact, I did not 
 know that they had been given till I received the 
 money." Dr. Shiprnan s journal is filled with details 
 of self-denying labor, of great straits, of earnest 
 prayer, and of ultimate deliverance. The institu 
 tion has now a large and convenient building, and 
 during these four years, notwithstanding the great 
 fire and the financial panic two years later, the Home 
 has received $23,951.06 for current expenses, and 
 $29,820.21 for the building; making a total of $53,- 
 771.27. At the close, Dr. Shipman says: "Can the 
 candid reader peruse these pages, and deny the efficacy 
 of prayer? Is there not evidence adduced sufficient 
 to satisfy any one willing to be convinced? Repeated 
 instances are given and many more might have been 
 furnished when help has come just at a moment 
 
PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 395 
 
 of need, known to none outside of the Home, but the 
 Lord himself, who sent the supply. These have occur 
 red too often to allow the supposition of an accidental 
 concurrence of need and supply; if, indeed, there is 
 any such thing as accident." 
 
 It would not be proper to dismiss the case of these 
 Charitable Institutions without comment upon a theory 
 which has sought to establish itself upon their experi 
 ence. The theory is, that we ought not to solicit bene 
 factions, to aid a religious or charitable cause; but 
 should allow the work to make its silent appeal to 
 men, while we utter its wants in the ear of God, and 
 trust to his providence alone to send the supply. This 
 is considered the true method of faith; and there is a 
 disposition to claim for it a superiority over other 
 methods, and even to demand that it should be adopted 
 as the only really Christian method. On what possi 
 ble ground of reason, or Scripture, is such a doctrine 
 based? Let us see. 
 
 1. There would appear to be nothing in the reason 
 of the case to warrant it. Solicitation is a natural act, 
 in case of want. The poor solicit aid of the rich, the 
 child of the parent, man of God. Why should there 
 be less reason, or more harm, in soliciting for another, 
 or for a cause which represents the wants of many, 
 than for oneself ? Moreover, if all should be influenced 
 by love, and if it is really a privilege to share our 
 blessings with the less favored, and especially with the 
 suffering, then others may be said to have a moral 
 claim on us to let them know of the necessities of the 
 
396 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 poor. How are they to act, if left in ignorance of the 
 facts? Can the benevolent do good, without knowing 
 of the opportunity? Solicitation, rightly performed, 
 is simply diffusing a knowledge of human need, and 
 providing an opportunity for its supply. If it were 
 not God s plan, to use men to bless men, that the ben 
 efactor might have a benefit as well as the beneficiary, 
 there might be reason in the idea, that our appeal 
 should be made only to God. But as he uses others 
 to aid us, so he uses us to furnish them with the oppor 
 tunity to do good. Why should not his Holy Spirit 
 inspire an appeal to them, in behalf of his poor, or of 
 his cause, as well as inspire their readiness to contrib 
 ute needed aid? The mistaken theory puts singular 
 limitations on the action of the Holy Spirit, as if he 
 could move men to give, but not to solicit! 
 
 And if men are reluctant to perform the duty of 
 giving, if they have never awaked to the privilege of 
 using money for the promotion of the happiness and 
 well being of others, we owe it to their souls, to culti 
 vate in them the grace of liberality. And this is to be 
 done by public and private instruction; by the present 
 ment of motives; by personal example and influence; 
 by an array of convincing and persuasive facts. 
 Nothing could be a better means of grace to such souls, 
 than to be solicited to take part in a work of benefi 
 cence, by those who will press the subject upon the 
 conscience and heart on truly Christian grounds. To 
 refuse to solicit from them, is to let them alone in 
 their sin! 
 
PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 397 
 
 And how does reason sanction making a distinction 
 between obtaining money for God s cause, and aiding 
 it in other ways ? What is there so peculiar in the 
 nature and relations of money, that we must only pray 
 for it, in behalf of a good object, but must never solicit 
 it from those to whom God has, in his providence 
 entrusted it; while in all other matters, no one thinks 
 it right to pray, without also putting forth the appro 
 priate effort? If we pray for the conversion of a man, 
 we feel bound to labor for it, also, if that be possible. 
 We consider it an inconsistency to neglect the action, 
 and rely only on the prayer, in such a case. We tell 
 the farmer to- pray for a harvest, and to feel his 
 dependence on God for it; but we likewise insist that 
 he must use the legitimate means, and plough, and 
 sow, and cultivate his land, expecting God s blessing 
 to come in connection with these wise efforts. What 
 authorizes us to take the matter of benefactions out 
 from under the rule, that prayer and human effort must 
 co-operate 1 
 
 2. There would seem to be nothing in Scripture to 
 uphold the theory in question. It bids us pray in 
 faith; but it also tells us to labor in faith, and assures 
 us, that " faith without works is dead." When Jesus 
 needed an ass-colt on which to ride, as he came to 
 Jerusalem, he sent two of his disciples to obtain it, 
 charging them to say to the owners: " The Lord hath 
 need of it." It is really performing the same deed, 
 if, in this day we go to a man for five dollars, or ten 
 dollars, or a hundred dollars, in behalf of a good object, 
 
398 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 telling.him, in like manner, " The Lord hath need of 
 it!" When Paul wrote to the Galatians, of the way 
 in which James, Cephas and John gave the right hand 
 of fellowship to him and to Barnabas, when about to 
 go on a mission to the Gentiles, he says: " Only they 
 would that we should remember the poor; the same 
 which I also was forward to do." That is, they re 
 quested Paul, to present the wants of the poor saints 
 at Jerusalem to the Gentile churches, and to secure 
 collections on their behalf; and he tells the Galatians 
 that he was "forward to do " this work of solicitation. 
 And from his appeals on the subject in his various 
 epistles (Eom. xv: 26, 1 Cor. xvi: 1-3, 2 Cor. viii: 1-15, 
 ix:l-9) we learn how true this was. He considered 
 himself the agent of the Jerusalem-poor, and earnestly 
 pleaded their cause. Why should we fear to imitate 
 the apostle, in behalf of the poor of our day? 
 
 3. There would seem to be nothing in the history 
 of Christian beneficence, to support this theory of non- 
 solicitation. It is true, that large institutions have 
 been established by gifts voluntarily sent in; as we 
 have seen in the case of the orphan-houses of Miiller, 
 the Consumptives Home at Boston, and the Found 
 lings Home at Chicago. But then thousands of chari 
 table institutions have also been established through 
 Christian solicitation, in which good men have car 
 ried their object before God, in their closets, beseech 
 ing him to open men s hearts, and to prepare the way 
 for the application that was to be made, and to aid 
 them in pleading his cause against the prejudices and 
 
PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 399 
 
 the avarice of men. And these -prayers were signally 
 answered. God enabled them to speak for him and 
 for his poor, and he led men to respond with unex 
 pected and unwonted generosity to their appeals. They 
 thus did a work of faith and prayer. 
 
 Moreover, it can hardly be claimed with accuracy, 
 that the institutions so often referred to, as established 
 and supported by prayer and faith only, were not 
 indebted to any soliciting agency. There may be the 
 thing without the name. It may be by printed state 
 ments, when there are no verbal appeals. One insti 
 tution may send out an agent, to relate the story of 
 its necessities and invite charitable people to con 
 tribute; and another may rely on an annual or monthly 
 printed report, which tells of its work, its need and 
 its receipts, and that it depends wholly upon what the 
 charitable may be inclined to send to it. It is difficult 
 to see the radical difference between the two methods; 
 especially if, in the latter case, the friends of the insti 
 tution solicit in its behalf, as individuals, among their 
 acquaintances, and remit the amount collected. The 
 sensible thing, on any plan, is, to get the facts clearly 
 and fully before the benevolent, that there may be 
 a chance for sympathy and for charitable aid. This is 
 accomplished in both classes of institutions; and the 
 delusion is a mild and harmless one, if one class sup 
 poses itself to be indebted only to prayer. 
 
 But do not the so-called faith-institutions teach us 
 some important lessons? Yes; they impress, clearly, 
 certain truths, which, though connected with other 
 
400 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 methods also, need to be specially emphasized. Their 
 success shows the readiness of God to respond to 
 prayer, and to put honor on faith. Straits often 
 come for which human wisdom cannot provide, and 
 then prayer brings divine aid. Effort is to be used, 
 when possible; but if circumstance forbid it, the 
 appeal may be made to God. Mr. Miiller, Dr. Cullis, 
 and others, feel that their whole time and strength are 
 needed to conduct the internal affairs of their institu 
 tions; and that being so, God will provide the external 
 help through the agency of others. Their success 
 also demonstrates the needlessness of relying on any 
 but Christian motives and instrumentalities, and is a 
 proper protest against the use of dubious and evil 
 methods of inducing men to contribute to charitable 
 causes. A genuine work is its own best recommend 
 ation, and God will use the simple statement of the 
 facts, to draw forth the needed pecuniary aid, without 
 a recourse to motives of pride, ambition, ostentation, 
 sectarian zeal, or other selfish principle. We may be 
 thankful that an example has been set in favor of a 
 gospel simplicity of method and motive, even if some 
 distinctions are made without a difference. 
 
 My God! is any hour so sweet, 
 From blush of morn to evening star, 
 As that which calls me to my feet 
 The hour of prayer? 
 
 Lord! till I reach that blissful shore, 
 No privilege so dear shall be, 
 As thus my inmost soul to pour 
 
 In prayer to Thee! 
 
 Charlotte Elliott. 
 
CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 HE VIEW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 
 
 THAT it may not be supposed that the author is igno 
 rant of the objections that may be urged to such a 
 collection of facts as has been presented, or that he 
 fears to face them, he will here insert a letter received 
 from a ministerial brother in answer to a circular note 
 sent to him, among a number of others, asking for 
 facts of interest which might illustrate the power of 
 prayer. 
 
 " In all soberness, I want to suggest to you whether 
 the very tenor of your circular-note to me, and the 
 object you have in preparing your book on. prayer, 
 does not contain its own refutation. It appears that, 
 although there are thousands close round about you 
 who are praying every day, yet the answers are so 
 scarce, that you have need to cover a great area to get 
 your evidence. To make my meaning plain, the Bible 
 says seed-time and harvest shall not fail. Suppose, 
 now, that, in order to prove that seed-time and har 
 vest do not fail, you found it necessary to write 
 to intelligent farmers, all over- the land, to get 
 statements of here and there a successful harvest, 
 while ten thousand farmers in the adjacent counties 
 of Illinois were mourning short crops subtantial 
 IT* 
 
402 PEAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 failures. The twenty, or two hundred, or two thou 
 sand, rich liar vests, gathered up from a continental 
 area, would be no evidence that seed-time and harvest, 
 as a general rule, do not fail. I am a little out, dear 
 brother, with this prayer-controversy, on both sides. 
 For, wherever I go, I find that the Christian world is 
 always sticking that man, Miiller, in my face, as a 
 proof that God does answer prayer. Millions of 
 saints praying, all over the world, and when I ask, Are 
 your prayers answered? they say, There s Miiller, at 
 Bristol; see how his prayers are answered! My dear 
 brother, in your church, and in my church, and in 
 every church in the land, Christian women are pray 
 ing for their sons and husbands, and their prayers are 
 not answered. If you want to make your book per 
 fectly fair, you ought, it seems to me, to take a given 
 area, say three churches in Chicago, and get a state 
 ment: first, as to the total amount of praying; second, 
 the total amount of failure; and, third, the total 
 amount of answering." 
 
 Neither the inquiry made for illustrative facts, nor 
 the object of this book, implies any scarcity of answers 
 to true prayer. The author holds, on the contrary, 
 that all true prayer is answered. But the ordi 
 nary use of prayer is so blended with every other 
 part of the life and action of a Christian, while the 
 answers are so varied. in form, and received in a way 
 so closely connected with human agency, that no one 
 can draw the line between the influence of prayer and 
 that of other instrumentalities. If one were required 
 
REVIEW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 403 
 
 to define exactly what proportion of strength was due 
 to respiration of pure air, in distinction from the 
 effect of food and exercise, of light and warmth, it 
 would puzzle him to answer, though he might have 
 no doubt of the necessity of such respiration. It 
 might help him, however, were certain striking cases 
 presented, in which persons previously ailing had 
 received decided and speedy benefit by changing from 
 the atmosphere of a low, malarious district to that of 
 a mountainous region. And so, while prayer is daily 
 and hourly bringing ten thousand answers, as every 
 spiritual Christian knows, it is not easy to distinguish, 
 for the benefit of an unbeliever, its effect from the 
 coincident influence of other temporal and spiritual 
 causes. Yet, while this is the common rule of divine 
 procedure, there occur partial exceptions, meeting 
 peculiar exigencies in life, which are sufficiently 
 numerous and striking, to indicate clearly a divine 
 agency in response to human petition. These serve 
 an important purpose in encouraging doubting saints, 
 and in inducing thought in skeptics and scoffers. 
 The writer of the letter apparently falls (at least 
 his objection does) into the same error with the skep 
 tical physicists, exposed in the seventh chapter; in 
 that he assumes that the answers to prayer are capa 
 ble of being ascertained and tested in a tangible and 
 mechanical way, as are the effects of physical forces. 
 Otherwise, why should he suppose, or think that the 
 author of this book supposes, that the vast proportion 
 of the prayers offered are not answered? Why make 
 
404 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 the absurd suggestion of taking three churches, and 
 ascertaining the number of prayers offered, and the 
 proportion of the answered to the non-answered? 
 Who could possibly number the petitions of the 
 members of three churches? Who could tell how 
 many of them complied with the spiritual conditions 
 of success, so as to be true prayers, in the sense of 
 the Biblical declarations and promises? Who could 
 understand the forms in which God might see fit to 
 send the answers? Prayer deals with subtle, spiritual 
 forces, as to its moral conditions, and largely also as 
 to its immediate and ultimate effects. And these 
 cannot be seen and handled, weighed and measured, 
 like the crops of a farmer. Hence the agricultural 
 illustration need not stumble the thoughtful reader. 
 Indeed, it- may be put to use on the other side. Let 
 it be supposed that a new territory has been opened 
 to settlement. An experienced scientific agriculturist 
 states that abundant harvests can be secured by atten 
 tion to deep ploughing, steady cultivation of the grow 
 ing crops, and a proper system of irrigation. Soon 
 a hundred thousand settlers have made their homes 
 there, and begun to till their farms. At the end of 
 the year, a complaint arises that no crops can be relied 
 upon in that territory, and the scientific agriculturist 
 is accused of making false statements. What does 
 he, to disprove the charge? Finding that the mass of 
 the immigrants have paid little or no attention to his 
 carefully stated directions, and therefore have raised 
 small crops, and in some cases have failed to secure 
 
REVIEW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 405 
 
 any, he does not trouble himself to publish their 
 experience; for it really has no bearing on the ques 
 tion. He sends to a hundred farmers, of whose dil 
 igence and care he has knowledge, and requests them 
 to testify what their experience has been. They state 
 that they followed with exactness the rules which he 
 laid down they ploughed the land as deeply as they 
 could turn a furrow; they put in their choice seed; 
 they kept down the weeds; they resorted to timely 
 and abundant irrigation and they secured rich har 
 vests. Would the publication of such testimony be 
 worthless? Could the alleged barrenness of the lands 
 of other farmers avail as a contradiction, until it 
 should first be proved as a fact, and should then be 
 shown to have followed a faithful compliance with 
 the directions originally given? 
 
 Now the truth is, that there are prayers and prayers. 
 Multitudes " say a prayer," who yet do no praying. 
 Many Christians and churches also pray so defectively, 
 as to strength of desire, importunity, faith, consecra 
 tion and other required conditions, that they do not 
 come within the scope of the Scriptural promises. 
 What is their experience worth then, in the matter 
 before us ? It should not be said that their prayers 
 are not answered ; but that they do not pray in the 
 Bible-sense. Yet their apparent failure fills their 
 minds with doubt as to the real power of prayer. 
 Skeptics, likewise, stumble over the seemingly vain 
 petitions. Thus there comes to be a pervading unbe 
 lief on the subject, outside of the church, and a paral- 
 
406 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 yzing uncertainty, inside of it. This grieves the Holy 
 Spirit of God; this dishonors the name of Christ; this 
 reflects upon the love and faithfulness of our Heavenly 
 Father. The result is spiritual barrenness, as to char 
 acter and influence. Worldliness prevails, backsliding 
 is common, and revivals are few and feeble. 
 
 In such circumstances, it is well, to aid a weak faith, 
 first by clearly defining the meaning and operation of 
 prayer, and secondly by citing such marked instances 
 of its value, as will illustrate its methods, and vindi 
 cate the fidelity of God to his promises. This has 
 been the author s aim in these pages, and he must 
 believe, that no one can read what has been here 
 declared, without finding his faith quickened, and his 
 closet made more attractive. It is not possible to 
 transfer to print the daily experience of the man who 
 lives by prayer, and receives perpetual answers amid 
 life s multitudinous events. Another cannot see with 
 his eyes, any more than to love and trust with his 
 heart. But occasionally a crisis occurs; a particular 
 want, or danger, or trial stands out with great distinct 
 ness, and human help is unavailing. Then an appeal 
 is made to God, in the name of Christ, under the inspir 
 ation of the Holy Ghost, and in the use of the divinely 
 appointed instrumentality of prayer. The relief comes 
 so adequately, as to time and measure and means, that 
 even a mere spectator can see that the hand of God is 
 in it. 
 
 Daniel had prayed, for years, and yet his enemies 
 were not convinced that there was any power in his 
 
KEVISW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 407 
 
 supplications. God suffered them to put his prayers to 
 the test in the den of lions; and there came such a 
 signal deliverance that, "King Darius wrote unto all 
 people, nations and languages, that dwelt in all the 
 earth: Peace be multiplied unto you! I make a 
 decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men 
 tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is 
 the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom 
 that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion 
 shall be even unto the end: he delivereth and rescueth, 
 and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in 
 earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of 
 the lions." 
 
 It probably never occurred to any one, that to put 
 this striking fact on record, was to imply that ordina 
 rily prayer was not heard. It remained for a modern 
 minister to fall into so strange a misinterpretation of 
 a narrative of marked answers to prayer! Others, 
 blessed with a better vision, behold the illustration of 
 divine power and love, and the encouragement of 
 human faith. To those who still imagine a multitude 
 of seemingly unanswered prayers to be among the 
 unaccountable phenomena, we commend the significant 
 words of James : " Ye ask, and receive not, because ye 
 ask amiss;" and the suggestive lines of one of the 
 quaint and godly poets of the olden time: 
 
 Poor heart lament; 
 For since thy God refuseth still, 
 There is some rub, some discontent, 
 
 Which cools his will. 
 
408 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 
 
 Thy Father cou Id 
 
 Quickly effect, what thou dost move ; 
 For he is Power; and sure he would; 
 
 For he is Low. 
 
 Go search this thing; 
 Humble thy breast, and turn thy book ; 
 If thou hadst lost a glove or ring, 
 
 WouMst thou not look ? 
 
 What do I see 
 
 "Written above there ? Yesterday, 
 I did behave me carelessly, 
 
 When I did pray. 
 
 And should God s ear 
 To such indifferents chained be, 
 Who do not their own motions hear? 
 
 Is God less free ? 
 
 But stay ! what s there ? 
 Late, when I would have something done, 
 I had a motion to forbear! 
 
 Yet I went on. 
 
 And should God s care, 
 Which needs not man, be tied to those 
 Who hear not him, but quickly hear 
 
 His utter foes? 
 
 Then once more pray : 
 Down with thy knees ; up with thy voice ; 
 Seek pardon first; and God, will say; 
 
 Glad heart rejoice! 
 
 George Herbert. 
 
 THE END. 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 4 1932 
 
 4 $32 
 APR 101935 
 
 INTER-LI^ 
 
 LD 
 
 20 
 
 Janl6 53 p 
 LOAN 
 
 REC D LD 
 
 MAY 81962 
 
 LD 21-50m-8, 32 
 
18669.3 
 
 T3