The Wonders of Prayer
by
Various
Part 3 out of 7
connected with his business, made it impossible for him to leave. It was
with real heartfelt sorrow I heard of it. The day before we were to have
started, as I saw another member of the family, who was going with a
friend, packing her trunk, it seemed to me I could not bear it. I
carried my trouble to my dear heavenly Father, begging him to send me a
way to go.
"I rose from my knees with the sweet assurance in my heart my prayer was
heard--packed my trunk and waited patiently. When night came and the men
came home, in the place of the expected buggy came a small spring-wagon,
and a seat for me. What may seem more remarkable, the change between
buggy and spring-wagon was made ten miles away, while I was praying.
"I believe I enjoyed the meeting more for the feeling of thankfulness
that pervaded my whole being while there."
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.
"Nearly five years ago, after a decline of almost two years, I was
brought very near to the grave. Medical aid availed nothing. I was
fearfully emaciated, and my death was daily expected. A devoted mother
and a sister, who had watched over me tenderly during my long illness,
were completely exhausted.
"I determined to apply to the Great Physician, as directed in James
5:14. As I united with others in prayer, unconsciously I uttered these
words, 'I shall yet praise Thee in the great congregation.' All present
felt assured that it was the will of God to restore me to health.
Appearances were against me; for some time I could sleep but very
little, and there was no perceptible gain. But trusting in the sure
promise, the next Sabbath I rode a short distance to church, and, as I
thus ventured out little by little, my strength gradually returned. A
few months later, my mother, who through disease had been in a state of
despair for some years, was enabled again to hope in God's mercy."
SHALL SAVE THE SICK.
"I was desperately ill. My physicians had done all in their power,
without success--and yet I lived! For my father's sake, the hearts of
hundreds waited the issue, and prayed for me! For his sake, the bells in
the neighborhood were tied--the criers did not come within sound of the
house--nor was the sound of wheels heard upon the street. There was a
death-like stillness without and within.
"The physicians sat with folded hands and wept, because the blow seemed
too heavy for my father to bear--the thought that I was going to die
without any assurance that I trusted in my Saviour!
"'It cannot be,' he said, 'I will wrestle with my God until He hears
me!' Sunday came. In almost every church a special prayer was offered
for my recovery. After morning service, a band of devoted women met, and
offered fervent prayers that God would spare my life. Evening came--the
weary doctors went home, leaving the last sacred moments to my parents.
Early next morning they came again, and exclaimed, as they entered the
room, 'She is better! Prayer has saved her!' I still live, 'a spared
monument of God's mercy.'"
ALL-SUFFICIENT FOR ALL NEED.
"I am a mother of seven children. By the help of our Father in heaven,
we have all of us gone regularly to church and Sunday-school. We are
poor; and at length the time came we were not clothed so we could
comfortably go to church. I earnestly asked our Father to show me,
within a week, which was right for us to do: to go in debt for clothes,
or stay at home. Within that week, I received a large package of
ready-made clothing. The clothing came from a source I never thought of
receiving anything from."
A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE.
"At one time, during a season of adversity, there was urgent occasion
for a certain sum beyond the income of the family, and there was no way
of borrowing it. I took the matter to the Lord in prayer, asking Him, if
the money were really needed, as it appeared to be, to send it, and, if
it were not, to remove the distressing circumstances. The answer came in
a sum five times the amount asked for, and in a manner totally
unexpected."
* * * * *
"At another time, the mother of the family was very ill, and, when
apparently near death, the physicians had ordered a remedy which was to
be constantly employed, as her life, so far as they could judge,
depended on its use. One night, her symptoms became so alarming as to
compel the writer (who had charge of the nursing) to use this remedy
more freely than ever, and, about midnight the supply was exhausted.
There was no possibility of obtaining any more before morning, and the
rest of that night, while attending to the other directions of the
doctors, I spent in one earnest, agonizing prayer that God would so
overrule natural causes that death would not occur in consequence of
what I felt to be my own culpable carelessness in not having provided a
larger quantity of an article so necessary. In His great mercy, He
granted the prayer, the dangerous symptoms did not increase during the
seven or eight hours that intervened before the remedy could be
procured. One proof that it was a special mercy, is found in the fact
that there was no other such standing still of the disease, either
before this or afterward. And the doctors were astonished when they saw
that the disease had made no progress, under conditions that rendered
that progress inevitable in the usual law of cause and effect. And when,
on her final recovery, Doctor Parker told her that she owed her life to
the good care I had taken of her, my thoughts went back to the long
hours of that night of anguish, and I said, 'It was the Lord that took
care of her.' 'I meant your care, under Providence,' was the reply."
HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS
"I am a teacher by profession, and, a few years ago, I found myself
placed in a school whose every surrounding was utterly repugnant to my
tastes, and to all my ideas of right and wrong and what good teaching
should be. At first, I kept hoping that things would grow better, and
that I should, at least, be able to have some influence on the modes of
teaching; but I soon found that everything connected with the
establishment was directed by the iron will of an unscrupulous and
tyrannical woman, whose laws were as irrevocable as those of the Medes
and Persians. I at once decided I could not stay there long, but I had
no other position in view, and it was not easy to secure one in the
middle of the term. As usual, I made it a subject of prayer, and the
result was that, in a short time, I was most unexpectedly, and without
the least solicitation on my part, offered a much better position, in
every respect, which, of course, I was only too thankful to accept. That
is only one instance, out of thousands I could name, where God has heard
and answered my prayers, and I believe He will do so to the end."
HOW THE LORD IS CONSTANTLY CARING FOR HIS TRUSTING POOR.
A city missionary recently found, in this city on the streets, a refined
Englishwoman with her children, who had been turned out of her home for
non-payment of rent. With the aid of a few friends he installed her in a
new domicile, and procured work for her. From time to time he visited
her, and rejoiced with her that God had sent him to her in the hour of
extremity. At length, pressure of business kept him away for some time,
until, one evening, he started out to look up a few dollars owing him,
in order to procure some delicacies for a sick wife. One dollar was all
he could procure, and with that in his pocket he was returning homeward,
when he became so impressed with the idea that he should visit the
Englishwoman that he turned aside and did so. He found her in tears, and
asking the cause, heard the sorrowful tale of no work, no food in the
house for to-morrow, which was Sunday. He was in doubt whether to give
her the dollar and suffer his sick wife to go without something
palatable, but in a moment, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble," presented itself to his
mind, and--the dollar dried the widow's tears.
Upon reaching his home he found a lady had called on his wife and
brought with her three or four kinds of jellies, fruit, home-made
biscuit, various relishing things; three times more than the dollar
would have purchased.
The same gentleman, while calling on a poor family one day, discovered a
little house in the rear, which he visited, finding a neat, cleanly
room, occupied by an old lady, crippled with rheumatism. He found she
had no one in the world but a sister, a monthly nurse, to care for her.
When first setting out on his tour that morning, the missionary had
fifty cents given him by a gentleman, who expressed the hope that "it
might do some good during the day." Although a number of visits had been
made, he had not felt called upon to bestow it until then, nor could he
tell why he should want to put it in the old lady's hand at parting, but
he did so.
She was too much overcome by her emotions to speak, but she took his
hand and led him to a little table, on which lay a Bible, opened at the
passage, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it
you." She said, "Please tell me if any one sent you here?" "No." "Did
you ever hear that I lived here?" "I did not." "Then the Lord sent you
in answer to my prayer this morning. For the first time in my life, I am
without food. My sister was to have come home yesterday, but has not. I
was just asking the Lord to provide for me when you knocked at the
door."
Such scenes as these amply repay our missionaries for all the toils and
weariness, all the anxieties and perplexities of the work.
A PRAYER FOR BREAD.
"Washington Allston, who stood at the head of American artists a half
century ago, was, at one time, so reduced by poverty, that he locked his
studio, in London, one day, threw himself on his knees and prayed for a
loaf of bread for himself and wife. While thus engaged, a knock was
heard at the door, which the artist hastened to open. A stranger
inquired for Mr. Allston, and was anxious to know who was the fortunate
purchaser of the painting of the 'Angel Uriel,' which had won the prize
at the exhibition of the Royal Academy. He was told that it was not
sold. 'Where is it to be found?' 'In this very room,' said Allston,
producing a painting from a corner and wiping off the dust. 'It is for
sale, but its value has not been adequately appreciated, and I would not
part with it.' 'What is its price?' 'I have done affixing any nominal
sum. I have always so far exceeded any offers, I leave it to you to name
the price.' 'Will four hundred pounds be an adequate recompense?' 'It is
more than I ever asked for it.' 'Then the painting is mine,' said the
stranger, who introduced himself as the Marquis of Stafford, and, from
that time, became one of Mr. Allston's warmest friends and patrons."
THE DAUGHTER'S PRAYER.
The late Doctor Krummacher, chaplain to the king of Prussia, in
referring to faith and prayer, writes as follows:
"A little incident occurs to me which I can hardly withhold, on account
of its simplicity and beauty. The mother of a little girl, only four
years of age, had been, for some time, most dangerously ill. The
physician had given her up. When the little girl heard this, she went
into an adjoining room, knelt down, and said: 'Dear Lord Jesus, O make
my mother well again.'
"After she had thus prayed, she said, as though in God's name, with as
deep a voice as she could: 'Yes, my dear child, I will do it gladly!'
This was the little girl's amen. She rose up, joyfully ran to her
mother's bed, and said: 'Mother, you will get well!'
"And she recovered, and is in health to this day. Is it, then, always
permitted for me to pray thus unconditionally respecting temporal
concerns? No; thou must not venture to do so, if, whilst you ask, you
doubt. But shouldst thou ever be inclined by God's Spirit to pray thus,
without doubt or scruple, in a filial temper, and with simplicity of
heart, resting on the true foundation, and in genuine faith, then pray
thus by all means! None dare censure thee; God will accept thee."
THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.
"A city missionary, one Saturday night, was going home with a basket of
provisions on his arm. Meeting a policeman, he asked him if there had
any families moved in the bounds of his beat during the week. He
answered, 'Yes,' and, pointing to a building up an alley, said, 'a woman
and some children are living there now.'
"The missionary went to the house, rapped at the door, and was admitted.
The woman was sitting by a small light, sewing. In the corner of the
room, were two little girls, apparently from nine to twelve years of
age, playing.
"The missionary said, 'Madam, I am here to see if you will allow your
girls to attend Sunday-school to-morrow morning.' 'I would, sir; but
what you see on them is all the clothing they have, and you would not
wish them to go as they are now.' 'The Lord will provide, madam. Have
you no money?' 'Not yet, but I have committed my case into the hands of
the Lord.' 'Have you anything to eat?' 'Nothing, sir!' 'What will you do
for breakfast?' 'O, sir, I once had a husband; he provided when he
could. These children had a father; he supplied their wants; but he is
dead now. Yet my Maker, even God, is my husband, and He has promised to
be a father to the fatherless. We have committed all to Him, have called
upon Him in this our day of trouble. I am trusting in God to take care
of a poor widow and her children in a strange place, and I know He will
provide.' 'Thank God for such faith,' said the missionary; and, handing
her the basket, said 'here is your breakfast, and you shall have the
clothing for your children.' With tears streaming down her face, she
replied: 'Oh, thank God for his faithfulness! He heareth and answereth
prayer. May He bless you!' And, said our dear brother to us, 'I felt the
promise was sure, for she was blessed in receiving, I was more so in
giving.'"
A PRAYER FOR A LOAD OF WOOD.
Here is an illustration of the way in which God sends relief in trouble.
The story is told by the Christian woman to whom it happened, in her own
language:
"About the month of January, 1863, I was living in Connecticut, alone
with two little boys, one of them four years old, and the other about a
year and a half old. My husband was away in the service of his country.
When the coldest weather came, I was nearly out of wood. I went down
into the village, one day, to try and get some, but tried in vain; so
many men were away in the army that help was scarce. Very little wood
was brought into market, and those living on the main street, got all
that came, while those who lived outside the village could get none. I
tried to buy a quarter of a cord from two or three merchants, but could
not get any. One of them told me he could not get what he wanted for his
own family. Another said he wasn't willing to yoke up his team for so
small a quantity; but, as I only had a dollar and seventy-five cents, I
could not buy any more, and so I was obliged to go home without any. I
went back to my little ones, feeling very sad. But while I sat there,
almost ready to cry, the words of Abraham came into my mind, 'Jehovah-
Jireh, the Lord will provide.' Then I went up to my chamber. There I
knelt down and told God of my trouble, and asked him to help me and send
the relief that we needed. Then I went to the window and waited, looking
down the street, expecting to see the wood coming. After waiting a
while, without seeing any come, my faith began to fail. I said to
myself, 'The Lord did provide for Abraham, but He won't provide for me.'
Our last stick of wood was put in the stove. It was too cold to keep the
children in the house without fire. I got the children's clothes out,
and thought I would take them to the house of a kind neighbor, where I
knew they could stay till we got some wood. But, just as I was going out
with the children, in passing by the window, I saw the top of a great
load of wood coming up the road towards our little house. Can that be
for us? I asked myself. Presently I saw the wagon turn off the road and
come up towards our door. Then I was puzzled to know how to pay for it.
A dollar and seventy-five cents I knew would only go a little way
towards paying for all that wood. The oxen came slowly on, dragging the
load to our door. I asked the man if there wasn't same mistake about it.
'No, ma'am,' said he, 'there's no mistake.' 'I did not order it, and I
cannot pay for it,' was my reply. 'Never mind, ma'am,' said he, 'a
friend ordered it, and it is all paid for.' Then he unhitched the oxen
from the wagon, and gave them some hay to eat. When this was done, he
asked for a saw and ax, and never stopped till the whole load was cut
and split and piled away in the woodshed.
"This was more than I could stand. My feelings overcame me, and I sat
down and cried like a child. But these were not bitter tears of sorrow.
They were tears of joy and gladness, of gratitude and thankfulness. I
felt ashamed of myself for doubting God's word, and I prayed that I
might never do so again. What pleasure I had in using that wood! Every
stick of it, as I took it up, seemed to have a voice with which to say
'Jehovah-Jireh.' As Abraham stood on the top of Mount Moriah he could
say, 'The Lord _will_ provide.' But every day, as I went into our
woodshed, I could point to that blessed pile of wood sent from heaven,
and say, 'The Lord _does_ provide.'"
A REFRACTORY MAN COMPELLED TO PAY A DEBT.
A refractory man who owed a small debt of about $43, refused to pay it
all, but offered to do so if ten dollars was taken off. His creditor,
feeling that it was just, declined to abate the amount.
For more than a year the creditor waited, after having no attention paid
to his correspondence or, claim by the debtor, who exhibited
unmistakable obstinacy and want of courtesy. At last it was put into the
hands of a lawyer. The lawyer, too, was fairly provoked at the
faithlessness of the debtor in his promises or his attention to the
subject; thus matters dragged wearily for months, yet exercised leniency
in pressing the claim.
The creditor, whose forbearance had now reached the extremity of
endurance, at last was led to take it to the Lord in prayer; saying he
would "willingly forgive the whole debt if in anything he was wrong, but
if the Lord thought it was right, hoped that his debtor _might be
compelled to pay the amount he so obstinately withheld_."
To the astonishment of all, a letter received from the lawyer four days
after, informed him _that his debtor had called and paid the claim in
full_ with interest to date. "In doing so, he said he paid it _under
protest_," thus showing he was _compelled by something he could not
resist to pay it all_.
A HURRICANE PASSES AROUND A SHIP.
A Sea Captain relates to the editor of the _Christian_, a remarkable
incident, whereby in one of his voyages his ship was unaccountably held
still, and thereby saved from sailing directly into the midst of a
terrible hurricane:--"We sailed from the Kennebec on the first of
October, 1876. There had been several severe gales, and some of my
friends thought it hardly safe to go, but after considerable prayer I
concluded it was right to undertake the voyage. On the 19th of October
we were about one hundred and fifty miles west of the Bahamas, and we
encountered very disagreeable weather. _For five or six days we seemed
held by shifting currents, or some unknown power, in about the same
place. We would think we had sailed thirty or forty miles_, when on
taking our observations we would find we _were within three or four
miles of our position the day before_. This circumstance occurring
repeatedly proved a trial to my faith, and I said within my heart,
'_Lord, why are we so hindered, and kept in this position_?' Day after
day we were held as if by an unseen force, until at length a change took
place, and we went on our way. Reaching our port they inquired, 'Where
have you been through the gale?' '_What gale_?' we asked. '_We have seen
no gale_.' We then learned that a terrible hurricane had swept through
that region, and that all was desolation. We afterwards learned that
_this hurricane had swept around us, and had almost formed a circle
around the place occupied by us during the storm. A hundred miles in one
direction all was wreck and ruin, fifty miles in the opposite direction
all was desolation; and while that storm was raging in all its fury, we
were held in perfect safety, in quiet waters_, and in continual anxiety
to change our position and pursue our voyage _One day of ordinary
sailing would have brought us into the track of the storm, and sent us
to the bottom of the sea._ We were anxious to sail on, but some unseen
power held us where we were, and we escaped."
The Captain was a prayerful man, trusting in his Lord, though his faith
was tried, and he thought the Lord was not helping him. Yet the Lord was
keeping his promise to him, "_The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in
safety by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the day long_."
RECOVERY FROM SPINAL DISEASE.
"Miss M---- is the daughter of a respectable farmer, an elder in a
Presbyterian church in Western Pennsylvania. When a young girl her spine
was injured while nursing her aged and helpless grandmother, and she has
been a great sufferer for many years. For eleven years she has not been
able to attend church nor to go from home, and for a long time was
unable to leave her chamber or her bed. Two years ago she was so ill
that hopes of her recovery were abandoned, her mind was thought to be
seriously, even hopelessly impaired. Her physician acknowledged that her
disease baffled his skill.
"A few months ago, being near her residence and hearing that her health
was better, I called on her, and to my surprise, found her able to sew,
walk about, and even go down stairs. She informed me that she suffered
so intensely from the remedies used for her cure, and constantly grew
worse, that she determined to do nothing more; it seemed like fighting
against God; she would put herself into His hands to do with her as He
pleased. Then it seemed to her that the Saviour came to her and said,
'M----, what aileth thee?' She told Him all her case, and He soothed and
comforted her. From that time she began to improve; the paroxysms of
pain grew less, and disappeared; her nervousness was relieved, she could
sleep, her mind was full of peace. She said, 'I am not cured, and do not
expect to be well, but I can bear what I have to suffer, and am willing
to depart whenever it is the Lord's will to take me away to himself.'"
PRAYER FOR A PAIR OF BOOTS.
In the Fall of 1858, H----, a student in the Theological Seminary at
Princeton, N.J., was in great need of a new pair of boots. His toes were
sticking out of his old ones, and he had no money to purchase new ones.
All the money he could command was barely enough to pay his fare to his
home, where be had promised a dear friend to be present on the
approaching communion Sabbath.
H---- was a man of great faith, and was accustomed to carry all his
wants to God in prayer. To God he carried the present emergency, and
earnestly importuned Him, that He would send him a pair of boots, and
that He would do it before the approaching Sabbath. He was persuaded
that God heard, and would answer his petition, yet his faith was sorely
tried. Saturday morning came and still there was no answer; he resolved,
however, to go to his home, fully persuaded that God would in good time
grant his request. He took the morning train at the Princeton depot, and
reached home about eleven o'clock. It was a hard trial for him to go to
"Preparatory Lecture" with his boots in the condition they were in; yet
at two o'clock he went, still praying that God would send him a new pair
of boots. During the service, a merchant in the town took a seat in the
same pew with him, and at the close of the service, without a word being
spoken on the subject, the merchant, after shaking hands with H---- and
inquiring of his welfare, asked him if he would do him the favor of
going down town to a certain boot and shoe store and select from the
stock as good a pair of boots as he could find, and, said the merchant,
"have them charged to me." It was, as, H---- said to me on his return to
the seminary, a direct answer to prayer. Indeed, it might be said of
H---- that he went through college and seminary _on prayer_. He laid all
his plans before God, pleaded his promises, and never was disappointed.
UNDER GARMENTS IN ANSWER TO PRAYER.
Among the students in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N.J., in
1860, was my intimate friend L----. He was at the time poorly clad, but
was a devoted Christian, and is at present a successful foreign
missionary.
One day when on the Seminary campus, I heard two of the students very
thoughtlessly criticising the exceeding shabbiness of L----'s wearing
apparel, his short pants, old shoes, and socks with no heels in them. At
almost every step L---- took when playing ball, his bare heels could be
seen. That day, after evening prayers, I took L---- by the arm, for a
walk to "Orthodox point," a tree about a mile distant from the Seminary.
During our walk, I gently told him of the criticisms I had heard, and
learned more fully than I had ever done of his destitution of wearing
apparel, especially of under garments. I offered him a share of mine, or
the loan of money, so as to meet his present wants, but this he declined
to receive, saying, that he "would take it to the Lord in prayer," and
that God would in good time supply all his wants. I, too, bore his case
to the throne of grace. The next day after this, on going into his room,
he laid before me an empty envelope, and a five dollar bill, and asked
me the question, "Did you throw that envelope with that bill in it,
through that ventilator?" I assured him that I did not. "Well," said he,
"when I came in from recitation a short time ago, I found this envelope
on the floor and that five dollar bill in it. It has evidently been
thrown in through the ventilator." We both recognized God's hand in the
provision made and mentally gave thanks to our Heavenly Father. Soon
after this, "a missionary box" was sent to the Seminary, and my friend
was therefrom well supplied with under garments. Frequently afterward
did he say to me, in substance, "Prayer is the key to God's treasury.
Trust in Him and the Lord will provide."
UNEXPECTED RELIEF.
Henry Badgerow was a man about seventy years of age at the time of the
incident, and a resident of Steuben county, State of New York. This was
in the year about A.D. 1830-31. He had been for many years an invalid--
so much so that he couldn't walk--the result of a horse running away
with him. In a forest, isolated from neighbors, the old man resided
alone with an aged wife. They were quite poor, and wholly dependent upon
the labor of a son who worked away from home for others. This son was at
length taken sick with a fever, and unable to minister to his parents'
wants. This was in mid-winter, when storms were frequent and the snows
deep and lasting. One evening when the storm was at its highest, this
old couple found themselves without a particle of food in the house.
Matters were desperate with them. They could see but starvation staring
them in the face. They resolved upon prayer, having a firm trust in
their Heavenly Father, whom for many years they had been humbly serving.
They did not retire, but continued in fervent prayer that God would send
them food. About two and a half miles distant lived a young married man
in comfortable circumstances, by the name of Joseph Clason (the author
of the story). He was not at this time a Christian, although it was not
long after this he was converted, and has since lived an eminently
active and godly life. About 12 o'clock on the night of the snow storm
above mentioned, young Clason awoke. His first thoughts were of old Mr.
Badgerow and his condition in that storm. His mind became so impressed
with the thought of him, and so wrought upon that he could not again go
to sleep, although trying so to do. At length he awakened his wife, told
her that he was in trouble about Mr. B., for fear he and his wife were
starving. She replied that if he would get right up and make a light,
she would prepare something, and that he had better take it right down.
Young C. did so, taking with him a pail of provisions. After a jaunt
through the storm and snow in the dead hour of night, he reached the old
man's cabin. There he found a light burning. He knocked; the door was
opened by the wife. The old man was fervently praying; but when he saw
young C. with the pail of provisions, he held up both hands and said,
"Now I know that God heareth prayer. Not one mouthful have we in the
house to eat. I know that God sent you here." Young C. staid with the
old couple until daylight. The conversation revealed that about midnight
the old man perceiving that a storm had arisen, and that unless relief
came, which was not likely, they would starve, resolved to appeal to his
Heavenly Father, saying that God who sent the ravens to feed Elijah
would feed him if he went to him in faith, and now God had heard his
prayer, and he blessed God that he could do so in all trouble and trial.
The old man having asked C. how he came to visit them, he replied he
didn't know, but supposed God had sent him, as he had awoke and couldn't
again sleep on account of thought of him.
The incident made a serious and lasting impression on young C's mind.
In the morning, as C. was returning home, he came by his father's house;
his mother, espying his pail, wished to know where he had been. He
replied, "To feed the hungry." His father spreading the incident, the
neighbors all turned out and brought in enough provision to last them
during several weeks, the old man being greatly loved and respected by
his community, on account of his sterling Christian life and character.
Mr. Joseph Clason is still living, now seventy-five years of age, in
Bazine, Ness county, Kansas.
THAT BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT. HOW THE LORD USED IT.
A lady and gentleman were walking up Madison avenue, New York City, from
church, when incidentally the lady said, "We are trying to get up
Christmas decorations and entertainment for our Mission School."
"_Well, put my name down for anything you like_," and then came into his
mind a certain sum to give.
A day passed on, it seemed forgotten; but a note from the lady reminded
him of his promise, and he responded, giving the exact sum originally
thought of, $25. Notice, now, the most singular disposition of it,
which, by the hand of Providence, was made to go on its circuitous way
to meet those who needed it most.
The next Sabbath, the lady and gentleman again meeting each other, she
said, "Your gift was too large. I cannot take so much from you. I shall
give you back part."
"But I won't take it."
"Well, you must. I can't keep it."
It resulted in the lady taking $15 from her muff and forcing it back
into the gentleman's hand.
The gentleman felt badly. "_I intended this for the Lord, and now it is
refused. It is the first time I ever heard that money ever given to a
Sunday school was not wanted. I meant the whole for the. Lord_. If she
don't want it and wont keep it, I will give the rest away. _It does not
belong to me_." Before night he had enclosed it in a letter and sent it
out of the city to an invalid as a _Christmas present_. He had occasion
not long after to visit the invalid, and was fairly astonished at the
extraordinary circumstances connected with its use; and this is his
story, told in his letter to the lady who returned the $15.
"The sequel to the $15 is far more beautiful and wonderful than anything
I have ever known. This invalid had been praying for some money for a
needed article of dress to protect her from cold. _The_ $15 _came the
very next morning in answer to her prayer. But it was more than enough_.
As a consistent Christian, having asked the Lord only for enough to meet
but one need, she felt as if the rest belonged to the Lord and must be
used for Him. So in wondering how to use it, she thought of a poor woman
who needed a new calico dress, and at once bought it and gave it to her.
She had but $5 left. A dear friend was in distress; his horse and
carriage had been seized for failure to pay the livery bill of their
keeping; he could not collect any money of the debts due him, to pay his
bill, and had nothing. His wife and children were in New Britain, and
here he was, no means to get there. The little Christian invalid sent
him her $5, the last money she had, not knowing where her next was to
come from, with these words: "_The Lord has sent you this_," and though
he offered to return, or use only part, she said, "_No, the Lord meant
this for you_. You must keep it, I will not take it back." Now see how
beautifully all these incidents have been made to work for the good of
many, by the managing hand of Providence.
"My original gift of $25 to you was _more than enough_. You did not need
it all for your Sunday-school, and the Lord made you force back the $15
upon me. I could not keep it, because I felt, it belonged to the Lord.
So I sent it to the little invalid.
"She, too, had only needed a part, and used only what she asked the Lord
for, and then she, in her turn, gave the rest away. The most wonderful
part of it is, that the money you gave back to me, and I gave to the
Lord, was _three-fifths of the amount you received_, and the money the
little invalid gave away _to the Lord_ was also _three-fifths the amount
she received. The money which you kept for your use was just two-fifths,
and the money that the invalid kept for her own use was just two-fifths
also. The very next day after she had given her money away_, a lady
called and gave her some money, which _was precisely the same amount_
which _the poor woman's calico dress_ had cost, (though she knew nothing
of the circumstances), and in return for the $5 which she gave her
friend in distress, and refused to take back, the Lord remembered her
and gave her a good home.
THE WIDOW'S WOOD AND FLOUR.--THE UNBELIEVING ONES MADE SPEECHLESS.
The following instance is known to _The Christian_ as true, and to a
remarkable degree indicates how thoroughly God knows our minutest needs,
and how effectively He makes those who ever reproach his name ashamed of
their unbelief.
"A friend and relative of the one who was 'a widow indeed,' one who
trusted in God, and continued in supplications and prayers day and
night, was once brought into circumstances of peculiar straitness and
trial. She had two daughters who exerted themselves with their needles
to earn a livelihood; and at that time they were so busily engaged in
trying to finish some work that had long been on their hands, they had
neglected to make provision for their ordinary wants until they found
themselves one Winter's day in the midst of a New England snow storm,
with food and fuel almost exhausted, at a distance from neighbors, and
without any means of procuring needful sustenance.
"The daughters began to be alarmed, and were full of anxiety at the
dismal prospect, but the good old mother said, 'Don't worry, girls, the
Lord will provide; we have enough for to-day, and to-morrow may be
pleasant,' and in this hope the girls settled down again to their labor.
"Another morning came, and with it no sunshine, but wind and snow in
abundance. The storm still raged, but no one came near the house, and
all was dark and dismal without.
"Noon came, and the last morsel of food was eaten, the wind was almost
gone, and there were no tokens of any relief for their necessities.
"The girls became much distressed, and talked anxiously of their
condition, but the good mother said, 'Don't worry, the Lord will
provide.'
"But they had heard that story the day before, and they, knew not the
strong foundation upon which that mother's trust was builded, and could
not share the confidence she felt.
"'If we get anything to-day the Lord will have to bring it himself, for
nobody else can get here if they try,' said one of the daughters,
impatiently, but the mother said, 'Don't worry.' And so they sat down
again to their sewing, the daughters to muse upon their necessitous
condition, and the mother to roll her burden on the Everlasting Arms."
Now mark the way in which the Lord came to their rescue, and just at
this moment of extremity, put it into the heart of one of his children
to go and carry relief. _Human Nature_ at such a time would never have
ventured out in such a storm, but waited for a pleasant day. But Divine
Wisdom and power made him carry _just what was needed, in the face of
adverse circumstances, and just at the time it was needed_.
"Mr. M. sat at his fireside, about a mile away, surrounded by every
bounty and comfort needed to cheer his heart, with his only daughter
sitting by his side.
"For a long time not a word had been spoken, and he had seemed lost in
silent meditation, till at length he said, 'Mary, I want you to go and
order the cattle yoked, and then get me a bag. I must go and carry some
wood and flour to sister C.'
"'Why, Father, it is impossible for you to go. There is no track, and it
is all of a mile up there. You would almost perish.'
"The old man sat in silence a few moments and said, 'Mary, I must go.'
She knew her father too well to suppose that words would detain him, and
so complied with his wishes. While she held the bag for him, she felt
perhaps a little uneasiness to see the flour so liberally disposed of,
and said, 'I wish you would remember that _I_ want to give a poor woman
some flour, if it ever clears off.' The old man understood the
intimation and said, 'Mary, give all you feel it duty to, and when the
Lord says stop, I will do so.'
"Soon all things were ready, and the patient oxen took their way to the
widow's home, wallowing through the drifted snow, and dragging the sled
with its load of wood and flour. About four o'clock in the afternoon,
the mother had arisen from her work to fix the fire, and, looking out of
the window, she saw the oxen at the door, and she knew that the Lord had
heard her cry.
"She said not a word--why should she? She was not surprised!--but,
presently, a heavy step at the threshold caused the daughters to look up
with astonishment, as Mr. M. strode unceremoniously into the room,
saying, '_The Lord told me, Sister C, that you wanted some wood and
flour_.'
"'_He told you the truth_,' said the widow, 'and I will praise Him
forever.'
"'_What think you now girls_?' she continued, as she turned in solemn
joy to her unbelieving daughters.
"_They were speechless_; not a word escaped their lips; but they
pondered that new revelation of the providential mercy of the Lord,
until it made upon their minds an impression never to be effaced.
"From that hour they learned to trust in Him who cares for _His needy_
in the hour of distress, and who, from His boundless stores, supplies
the wants of those who trust in Him."
A PAIR OF SHOES.--THE LORD'S REBUKE TO THOSE WHO "DIDN'T BELIEVE."
The following incident occurred in Connecticut: In an humble cottage two
sisters were watching over and caring for a much-loved brother, who, for
many long months had been upon a bed of sickness. At length, the younger
of them began to be discouraged. She was dependent, for her clothing,
upon her labor; her shoes were worn out, and how should she get another
pair, unless she could leave the sick bed and go away from home and work
and earn some money.
"Well," said the mother, "I know you need a pair of shoes, but don't
worry, the Lord will provide."
"_Do you think that_ THE LORD _will come down from heaven and buy me a
pair of shoes_?" said the younger sister, with an expression of
discouragement and vexation on her countenance.
"No," said the mother, "but perhaps he will put it into somebody's heart
to buy you a pair."
"Perhaps He will, _but I don't believe it_," said the discouraged girl.
"Well," said the other sister, who was a little more hopeful, "you won't
get them any quicker by fretting, so you might as well be quiet." Then
the subject dropped and the day passed as usual.
As the shades of evening were gathering, a brother who lived at some
distance, and who knew nothing of their previous conversation, called to
inquire after their prosperity. After the customary salutations he said,
"You have been sick here a long time, and I thought I would come round
and see if I could not do something for you; thought perhaps by this
time the girls needed something." Then turning to the younger sister, he
said, "_How is it, aren't your shoes worn out?"_
She dropped her eyes, blushed deeply, and, perhaps, a little
conscience-smitten, answered not a word. Nothing was said of the
previous conversation, though it was not forgotten by those who heard
it. The brother soon saw for himself enough to satisfy him, and said no
more, but went away. The next day _two pairs of shoes_ were sent around
to her, and with them came to her heart a lesson which she never forgot.
She lived many years after that, but was never heard to murmur in that
way again, and often said that the two pairs of shoes taught her to
_wait, hope and trust_, and thereby learn implicit confidence in Him who
sendeth all blessings. The last time she alluded to the occurrence, she
said, "_I was speechless then, but, by the grace of God, I will not be
in the world to come_."
THE LAME HEALED.
Rev. Charles G. Finney, during his life-time, was familiar with the
circumstances connected with the remarkable healing of a sick lady in
Oberlin, O., the wife of Rev. R.D. Miller, and these facts were vouched
for as unquestionably authentic. Mr. Finney says:
"Mrs. Miller is the wife of a Congregational minister, and a lady of
unquestionably 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 different persons in different ways. Mrs. Miller and
those who were present regard the healing as supernatural and 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 are
stated by Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Miller's own statement is as follows, and it
is fully endorsed by the most reliable citizens and members of the First
church at Oberlin:
"From my parents I inherited a constitution subject to a chronic form of
rheumatism. In early life I was attacked with rheumatic weaknesses and
pains, which affected my whole system. For nearly forty years I was
subject to more or less suffering from this cause, sometimes unable to
attend meeting for months at a time. 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. I have been a Christian from early
life, but last Spring, in our revival, I received a spiritual refreshing
from the Lord, which gave a new impulse to my faith. Since then my
religion has been a new life to me.
"Last Summer, several of us Christian sisters were in the habit of
spending short seasons of prayer together, that the Lord would send us a
pastor. Some of our number had read the narrative of Dorothea Trudel,
and had spoken to me on the subject of healing in answer to prayer. My
faith had not then risen to this elevation. I had in fact accepted 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, for I regarded it as the will of God that I
should suffer in silent submission.
"Notwithstanding what had been said to me, I remained in this opinion
and in this attitude until the 26th of September, 1872, when several
ladies met at our house, by appointment, for a prayer-meeting. I had
been growing worse for some time, and was at that time unable to get out
to attend a meeting. I was suffering much pain that afternoon; indeed, I
was hardly able to be out of my bed. Up to this time none of the sisters
who had conversed with me about the subject of healing by faith, had
been able to tell me anything from their own experience. That afternoon,
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 the removal
of divers forms of disease to which 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 answer to the prayer of faith, and that it was nowhere
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 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 hundred and third 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 every
whit made whole."
The testimony of eye-witnesses to this healing is as follows:
"We were all present at the time of the healing, and know the facts to
be true. We are all Christians, and have no interest in deceiving
anybody, and would by no means dishonor God by stating more than the
exact truth. Since the healing, Mrs. Miller is still with us, and in
excellent health. Neither the severe cold of last Winter, nor the
extreme heat of this Summer, has at all injured her health. From our
first acquaintance with her, she has been so lame as to be unable to
walk, except by the aid of crutches. Since which time she has been able
to walk without help, and appears perfectly well."
Her husband, also adding his testimony, says:
"She has 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 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. From that moment to
this she has not felt a particle of her former complaint.
"She can now walk for miles as fast as I wish to, without feeling very
much fatigue, does all her own housework, and attends seven meetings
during the week. In short, she is stronger, and seems as young and spry,
as when we were married, thirty-two years ago. The work of the dear
Savior in her cure seems to be perfect, and she is an astonishment to
all who knew her before and see her now. To _His_ name be all the
praise.
"Another lady, the same week my wife was healed, a member of the First
Congregational Church, confined to her bed with a complicated disease,
was prayed for, and restored at once to soundness."
THE WONDERFUL CURE OF MRS. SHERMAN.
Although there are so many cases of healing in answer to prayer, yet the
incident of the healing of Mrs. Sherman is so minute, and resulted in
such a radical change of the physical constitution, that it is necessary
to relate it in full detail. It is too well proven to admit the
possibility of a doubt.
"Mrs. Ellen Sherman is the wife of Rev. Moses Sherman, and, at the time
of this occurrence, in 1873, they were residents of Piermont, N.H. She
had been an invalid for many years. In the Winter after she was fifteen,
she fell on the ice and hurt her left knee, so that it became weak and
easy to slip out of joint. Six years after, she fell again on the same
knee, so twisting it and injuring the ligaments that it became partially
stiff, and, the physician said, incurable.
"The next Summer, by very fast walking, one day, she brought on special
weakness, which no physician was able to cure. From that moment she was
subject to severe neuralgia, sick-headaches, at least monthly, and
sometimes even weekly.
"In December, 1859, while stepping out of doors, she slipped, by reason
of her stiff joint, and fell, striking near the base of the spine,
directly across the sharp edge of the stone step. This caused such a
sickness that she was obliged to leave the school she was attending.
"Three years after (in January, 1862), she fell at the top of a
stairway, striking just as before, and sliding all the way down to the
foot. This nearly paralyzed the spinal cord, and caused deep and
permanent spinal disease. After this she was up and down for many years,
attended by various physicians, yet nothing bettered, but, rather,
growing worse. It may be said, for short, that every organ of the lower
body became chronically diseased, and that the headaches increased in
violence.
"In September, 1872, through a severe cold, she took her bed, where she
lay, except when lifted from it, till the night of August 27, 1873. She
was unable to walk a step, or even stand. She could sit up only a short
time without great distress. The best medical skill that could be
procured gave only temporary relief. The spine grew worse in spite of
every appliance, and the nervous sensitiveness and prostration were
increasing. During the two or three weeks immediately preceding her cure
she was especially helpless, two persons being required to lift her off
and on the bed. On the Monday before, one of her severest neuralgia
sick-headaches came on. During Wednesday she began to be relieved, but
was still so sick that when, in the evening, she tried to have her
clothes changed, she could only endure the change of her night-dress."
It will be seen from this her utter physical helplessness, and not the
slightest hope of any amelioration. During the night of August 27th, she
enjoyed a blessed time of communion with her Lord, giving herself, in
all her helplessness, wholly to Him to do as he wills.
With feelings beyond all expression, she _felt_ the nearness of her
mighty Savior, and the sense of receiving a new and most delicious
pulsation of new life. At last, though she had been bed-ridden for
twelve months, and incapable of any bodily assistance, she felt an
uncontrollable impulse to throw off the clothes of the bed with her left
arm, and sprang out of bed upon her feet, and started to walk across the
room.
"Her husband's first thought was that she was crazed, and would fall to
the floor, and he sprang towards her to help her. But she put up her
hands against him, saying with great energy, 'Don't you touch me! Don't
you touch me!' and went walking back and forth across the room speaking
rapidly, and declaring the work which Jesus had been working upon her.
"Her husband, quickly saw that she was in her right mind, and had been
healed by the Lord, and his soul was filled with unutterable emotion.
"One of the women of the household was called, also their son, twelve
years old, and together they thanked God for the great and blessed
wonder he had wrought.
"In the morning, after a sleep of several hours, she further examined
herself to see if entirely healed, and found both knees perfectly well;
and though for sixteen years she had not been able to use either, now
she lifted the left _foot_ and _put it upon the right knee_, thus
proving the completeness of her restoration.
"At the end of two years from her healing, inquiry having been made as
to how thorough had been the work, Mrs. Sherman gave full and abundant
evidence. 'I cannot remember a Summer when I have been so healthy and
strong, and able to work hard. I am a constant wonder to myself, and to
others, and have been for the two years past. The cure exceeded my
highest expectations at the time I was cured. I did not look forward to
such a state of vigor and strength. No words can express my joy and
gratitude for all this.'
"The parents of Mrs. Sherman also testify of the wonderful change
physically which occurred with the cure.
"Before, her appetite was always disordered, but on the very morning of
the healing it was wholly changed, and her food, which distressed her
formerly, she ate with a relish and without any pain following; and she
so continues. For years before a natural action of the bowels was rare.
From that day since, an unnatural one is equally rare.
"For fifteen years, with few exceptions, she had had severe neuralgic
sick headaches monthly or oftener. From that time she has been natural
and without pain, with no return of the headaches, except a
comparatively slight one once, from overdoing and a cold taken through
carelessness.
"There was also at that time an immediate and radical change in the
action of the kidneys, which had become a source of great trouble
before. Moreover the knee which had been partially stiff for so many
years was made entirely well. In fine, her body, which had been so full
of pain, became at once free from pain, and full of health.
"The week after she was healed she went fifty miles to attend a
camp-meeting, riding five miles in a carriage, the rest by cars. A near
neighbor said, 'She will come back worse than ever.' Though the weather
was especially bad, she came back better than when she went."
These are but few out of many expressions respecting her extraordinary
recovery, which fully satisfy the believing Christian that _the Great_
Physician is with us now, "_healing the lame_," and curing the sick. It
is faith only, unyielding, which the Lord requires ere he gives his
richest blessing.
The unbelieving one simply sees in it "_something strange_," which he
can not understand, but the faith-keeping Christian knows it is the sign
of his _Precious Lord_, in whom he trusts and abides forever.
DR. NEWMAN HALL'S TESTIMONIES TO THE VALUE OF PRAYER.
Dr. Newman Hall, of London, in his wide experience has met with many
incidents of answered prayer, and thus relates several:
A PRAYER FOR THIRTY POUNDS.
"On a recent evangelizing visit to Newport, one of its citizens said to
me, 'In yonder house dwell a man and wife, who recently needed a sum of
L30 to meet some payment the next morning. Having failed in their
efforts to collect it, they earnestly prayed God to provide it. The
store was being closed for the night when a sea-captain knocked at the
door and asked for some seamen's clothes. The gas was relighted, and
various articles were selected; the purchaser then asked for the
account, and the money was paid--_a little more than_ L30. The man and
his wife thanked their Heavenly Father for sending it in this way in
answer to prayer.'"
RECOVERY FROM DANGEROUS ILLNESS.
Dr. Newman Hall was once visiting, on his dying bed, John Cranfield, son
of the great originator of ragged schools, under the ministry of Rowland
Hill.
"We were conversing on prayer. He said, 'A remarkable instance occurred
in connection with my father. The former organist of Surry Chapel, Mr.
Howard, was dangerously ill. He was greatly beloved, and his friends met
for special prayer that God would spare his life. My father on that
occasion was remarkably earnest in asking that the life of his friend
might be lengthened, as in the case of Hezekiah. The next day he began
to recover; and during fifteen years was a blessing to his friends and
the church.'"
A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER IN DISTRESS.
"My brother," says Dr. Hall, "told me that when superintendent of a
Sunday school he felt a strong impulse, one Saturday evening, to call at
the home of one of his teachers whom he had never visited before. He
found his mother and sisters in such evident distress that he inquired
the cause. With much reluctance they explained that, being unable to pay
their taxes, their goods were to be taken on the coming Monday, and they
had been asking special help from God to save them from a disaster which
they felt would be a dishonor to religion. By the aid of a few friends
the difficulty was at once met, but the timely succor was regarded as
the divine answer to their prayer."
RESCUED IN PERIL.
"With my brother I was once climbing the _Cirrha di Jazze_, one of the
mountains in the chain of _Mount Rosa_. When nearly at the top, we
entered a dense fog. Presently our guides faced right about and grounded
their axes on the frozen snowed slope. My brother, seeing the slope
still beyond, and not knowing it was merely the cornice overhanging a
precipice of several thousand feet, rushed onward. I shall never forget
their cry of agonized warning. He stood a moment on the very summit, and
then, the snow yielding, he began to fall through. One of the guides, at
great risk, had rushed after him, and seizing him by the coat, drew him
down to a place of safety.
"No one could be nearer death and yet escape. On his return home, an
invalid member of his congregation told him that she had been much in
prayer for his safety, and mentioned a special time when she was
particularly earnest, as if imploring deliverance from some great peril.
_The times corresponded._ His life was saved in answer to her prayer."
A PHYSICAL IMPEDIMENT REMOVED.
"A clergyman, of great scholarship and genius, has told me of a
remarkable answer to prayer, authenticated by three missionaries known
to himself, who are personally acquainted with the facts.
"A Prussian, the master of a hotel in India, was anxious to relinquish
his large income, and labor as a missionary among the Santil tribes.
Objection was made to him on account of an impediment in his speech
which would render him, in speaking a foreign language, incapable of
being understood. Believing in the efficacy of prayer, he called
together his friends, specially to ask that his impediment might be
removed. The next morning, he presented himself again at the Mission
House--_the impediment had gone_! He was accepted, relinquished his
business, and is now preaching the gospel to the Santils in their own
tongue."
RESTORATION FROM DEATH.
"My father, the author of the _Sinner's Friend_, narrates in his
autobiography a circumstance which he often used to speak of with great
emotion.
"My mother was very ill, and apparently dying. The Doctor said that now,
if at all, the children might be brought for her to look at them once
more. One by one we were brought to the bedside, and her hand was placed
on our heads.
"Then my father bade her farewell, and she lay motionless as if soon to
breathe her last.
"He then said to himself, 'There is yet one promise I have not pleaded,
"If ye ask anything in my name I will do it." He stepped aside, and in
an agony of soul exclaimed, '_O, Lord, for the honor of thy dear Son,
give me the life of my wife!'_
"He could say no more, and sank down exhausted. Just then the nurse
called him to the bedside saying, 'She has opened her mouth again as if
for food.' Nourishment was given, and from that time she began to
recover. The doctor said it was miraculous. My father said it was God,
who had heard his prayer."
THE HELP OF THE LORD IN LITTLE THINGS.
The Rev. Dr. Patton, of Chicago, in receiving many letters from
clergymen, received one from Mr. F., a pastor in Massachusetts.
In it he speaks of his unsuccessful search for a valuable knife, prized
as a present from a friend, which he had lost on a hillside covered with
laurels. He paused in prayer, asked to be guided, commenced his search,
and was almost immediately successful thereafter.
The same letter 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 column, he saw instantly the looked for error, standing
out so plainly that he wondered he had not seen it before.
The writer also speaks of a rubber shoe being lost and promptly found
after mention in prayer.
These may seem little matters, but they are the privileges of the
righteous to ask "anything" of "Him who careth for them."
A BOY'S FAITH IN PRAYER
In a letter to Dr. W.W. Patton, by Mr. T.I. Goodwin, M.D., of Staten
Island, he describes a little incident which happened to him when only
thirteen years old.
"He lost a choice penknife while collecting and driving several cows
from a pasture covered with grass two inches high. Having read
Huntington's Book of Faith, he thought of prayer, and in childlike trust
he knelt under a tree, outside the bars, and prayed for his lost
treasure; for he was a farmer's boy, and his spending money amounted to
only about fifty cents a year. '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 ten feet to the right or left_
I could not have seen the knife, for the grass was too high.'"
A PRAYER FOR FIVE DOLLARS.
One of the City Home missionaries in New York city received on a certain
day five dollars with special directions that it be given to a certain
poor minister in Amos street. In the evening the missionary called and
gave him the money.
For a moment the good man stood amazed and speechless. Then taking down
a little journal he turned to the record made in his diary of that
morning, and showed it to the missionary. "_Spent two and a half hours
in earnest prayer for five dollars_."
"And now here it is," said the man, with a heart overflowing with
gratitude. "The Lord has sent it." Both giver and receiver had their
faith strengthened by the incident.
GO TO THE POST-OFFICE.
A correspondent of "_The Guiding Hand_" relates this incident:
"In the year 18--, having a brother living in the city of R., I went to
see him. Going to the store where he had been at work, I found that the
firm had suspended, and that he was thrown out of employment, and had
broken up housekeeping, but could not ascertain where he was, only that
he was boarding somewhere out in the suburbs of the city. I searched for
him all day, but in vain.
"It was _absolutely necessary_ that I should find _him_. What MORE to do
I knew not, except to _pray_. Finally, I was impressed to write a line
and drop it into the post-office, and I obeyed the impression, telling
him, if he got it, to meet me at a stated place, the next morning, at
ten o'clock. _I prayed earnestly_ that the Lord would cause him _to go
to the post-office,_ so that he might get my letter. I felt full of
peace, and at rest about the matter. The next morning, at ten o'clock, I
went to the place appointed for him to meet me, _and he soon came in_."
This incident might seem one of ordinary or chance occurrence, but for
the following unusual circumstances:
"As they were returning to their home, his brother said: 'There is
something _very strange_ about my going to the post-office this
morning--_I had my arrangements all made to go with a party, this
morning early, to the bay, fishing; but, when I awoke, I had such an
impression to go down to the post-office, that I had to forgo the
pleasure of going to the bay, and went to the post-office and found your
letter_.'
"I replied, '_It was the Lord_ that impressed you in answer to my
prayer, for I have prayed earnestly for the Lord to send you to the
office this morning,' and, although but young in years and religion, I
gave God the praise for his guidance and His grace."
THE WIDOW'S TREE
Not many years ago a violent storm, with wind and thunder, spread
devastation all through the valley of Yellow Creek, Georgia. For a mile
in width, trees were uprooted, barns and fences were prostrated, and all
the lands were desolated.
Right in the center of the tornado stood a small cabin. Its sole
occupants were an aged widow and her only son. The terrible wind struck
a large tree in front of her humble dwelling, twisting and dashing it
about. If it fell it would lay her home in ruins. Desolation, death
itself, might follow. The storm howled and raged. The great trees fell
in all directions. When it seemed her tree must also fall and there was
no remedy, she knelt in fervent supplication to Him who gathereth the
wind in his fists, that he would spare that tree. Her prayer was heard.
The tree was spared, and was the _only one_ left within a considerable
distance of the widow's cabin.
THE LORD PAID HIS INTEREST.
A most curious answer to prayer occurred in the experience of a home
missionary in Brooklyn. It illustrates how God, in his trials of faith
to see if His people do really cling to the promises, compels them to
march right into the scene of danger, and into the mouth of the cannon,
that apparently is open specially to shoot them down.
The interest on the mortgage of his property was due in a few days. Its
amount was $300. He did not have the money--did not know where to obtain
it. With anxious heart during the day, he kept up his faith and courage
by thinking of the Lord's promises, and, the last night before the
eventful day, was spent in prayer, until the assurance came that all was
well. Often he pleaded, often he reminded the Lord that, as his life was
_His_, to save him from reproach, and not let his trust in the Lord
suffer dishonor before others.
The last moment came--no money--no relief. With sinking heart he went to
the holder of the mortgage to announce his utter inability to meet his
demand. While there, just at the last moment, when he was about to
leave, the gentleman said, "_By the way, here is an envelope I was told
to give you."_
The missionary opened it, _and out came six fifty dollar bills,_ just
the _three hundred dollars prayed for_. The Lord met and delivered him
in the very jaws of the enemy.
WILL THE LORD DELIVER FROM BAD HABITS OF TOBACCO, RUM, LIQUOR,
LICENTIOUSNESS, ETC., IN ANSWER TO PRAYER.
This question having been asked by a clergyman of Brooklyn, Rev. S.H.
Platt, he received a large number of communications, which evidently
prove that the Lord is _willing_ and _does_, either _instantaneously_ or
gradually in answer to prayer, deliver and take away wholly the bad
_habits_ and _appetites_ of those who are willing to forsake their
sinful ways and cleave only to Him. _The Lord's salvation cleanses and
delivers the body as well as the soul_.
We quote a few extracts from his correspondence, which is but a small
portion out of many published in his volume, "_The Power of Grace_."
CURED OF TOBACCO APPETITE.
"A little more than a year has elapsed since I left off the use of
tobacco. This further time has more fully developed the thoroughness of
the case spoken of and the completeness of the victory over an evil
habit. 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 shown his head. _Not only has the desire for smoking
been effectually squelched_, but a perfect hatred of smoking has been
developed on account of the offensiveness of the odor of tobacco. I
frequently cross the street, or change my seat in a car to escape the
puff of smoke, or the fetid breath of a smoker. 'Thanks be unto God who
giveth us the victory.'"
BAD HABITS WHOLLY OVERCOME.
"A physician of extended practice was converted and reclaimed while I
had charge of the place in which he lived. He had acquired the habit of
using large quantities of whiskey and brandy, and withal more or less
given to licentiousness. Since that time he has been steadily advancing
in morals and moral power, till he now preaches the gospel as a local
preacher, side by side with the best of the district."
WAS IT INSTANTANEOUS?
"Yes, as respects tobacco; he became convicted of its sinfulness by a
voice saying, 'That is not the way to glorify God: stop, and stop now.'
And from that moment he says he has never used it, neither does he in
any way like the smell, or even the sight of tobacco."
THE LORD DELIVERS FROM BODILY SINS.
"I had used tobacco from my childhood, and the love and use thereof grew
upon me. I became convicted of its sinfulness, went to God and said,
'_Destroy the appetite, and 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 ever more.' I wrote out the contract and signed it, and from that
blessed afternoon have no recollection of ever desiring it even."
ANOTHER DELIVERANCE.
"Tobacco was a great trouble to me; and I had tried a number of times to
leave it off, but could not do so. 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.
NOT YOUR OWN STRENGTH CAN BREAK THE HABIT.
"I smoked tobacco excessively for fifteen years, commencing when I was
about twenty years old. I often strove to break off from the use of it;
indeed I determined time and again to desist from it, sometimes
abstaining for a few months or weeks, once for twelve months, _but the
desire never left me_, and whenever I tasted it I was sure to take to it
again. I sometimes vowed whilst upon my knees in prayer, to abstain from
it and never touch it again, but I always attempted to do this in my own
strength; hence I failed, being overcome by the almost irresistible
influences it had upon my appetite, so long accustomed to the use.
"One Sunday morning, I 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 would, God being my helper, never touch the accursed thing again
by any kind of use in the way of consumption, and from that day to this,
I have never had any desire to smoke or chew tobacco, or to use it in
any way; 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 DOUBLE CURE.
"At the age of twelve years I commenced to use tobacco, and continued to
use it, both smoking and chewing, till five years ago, when in answer to
prayer the appetite was instantly removed.
"The circumstances were as follows: I had tried many ways to leave off
the use of tobacco, but the appetite was so strong that I could not
withstand it. At one time I left it off for a month, but not a day
passed but I craved it, and when I did begin again it tasted as good as
ever. I found that tobacco was injuring my health. My nervous system was
much deranged.
"For more than a year before I left it off there was scarcely a night
but I lay for two or three hours, before I could go to sleep. I resolved
a great many times I would leave off, but always failed. I had also
acquired the habit of drinking, and became a confirmed drunkard.
"I knew the habits were killing me, but I was powerless to stop. One
evening a prayer-meeting was appointed at my house. The minister in his
remarks spoke about habits, and said that religion would cure all bad
habits, such as tobacco, &c., and that by prayer God would remove all
evil appetites.
"I thought but little about it that night; was very careless and
trifling about it. 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. 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.
"When I go into company where they are smoking, I have no desire for it
at all, neither have I for drinking, any more than if I had never had
those habits. _My nervous difficulty was also instantly cured_. No more
trouble about sleeping, and I know that Jesus can heal and remove and
destroy all evil habits."
A SPECIAL WORD TO ALL SEEKING TO ESCAPE EVIL WAYS.
Should these words meet the eye of any one so troubled over any evil way
or bad habit from whose bondage he would gladly escape, let me say to
you these words of good cheer: "_The Lord can save you, the Lord can
deliver you, the Lord can wholly heal you. He can take away your
appetite and cleanse you thoroughly_. He has done it for many others. He
can do it for you. Realize that your own strength can not do it. Forget
not that it is only in answer to your own prayer. Those who want this
good gift must _pray for it_. Deliverance may be instantaneous or
gradual, but do not cease your prayer. Seek in the Bible for those
promises which show that he can _deliver from all evil_, and plead them
and then trust in Him and his strength to fulfill them.
"Forget not also to ask others to pray for you, and remember that the
answer is sure to come if you add to your prayer these true thoughts of
your heart, '_Deliver me and I give myself to thee forever_.'
"If you expect so great a gift from the Lord, he asks of you, '_What are
you willing to do for me_?'"
HELP AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT. FAITH REWARDED.
A clergyman in the State of New York, through the influence of a
disaffected member, was unfairly and precipitately deprived of his
pulpit, which involved a large family in necessity. At supper the good
man had the pain of beholding the last morsel of bread placed upon the
table without the least means or prospect of a supply for his children's
breakfast. His wife, full of grief with her children, retired to her
bed. The minister chose to sit up and employ his dark hours in prayer,
and reading the promises of God. Some secret hope of supply pervaded his
breast, but when, whence, or by whom, he knew not. He retired to rest,
and in the morning appeared with his family, and offered family prayer.
It being the depth of Winter, and a little fire on the hearth, he
desired his wife to hang on the kettle, and spread the cloth upon the
table. The kettle boiled, the children cried for bread; the afflicted
father, standing before the fire, felt those deep emotions of heart over
his helplessness and impending starvation which those reared in
affluence never know.
While in this painful state some one knocked at the door, entered, and
delivered a letter into the minister's hand. When the gentleman was gone
the letter was opened, and to the minister's astonishment it contained a
few bank bills, with a desire for acceptance. So manifest an answer to
prayer from Divine Goodness could not but be received with gratitude and
joy, and fulfills to the very letter these promises: "Verily thou shalt
be fed." Psalm 37:3. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Heb.
13:5.
To ascertain how this occurrence came to take place, this remarkable
coincidence of relief at the identical moment of time when there was the
last appeal to God, the incident was communicated to the editor of a
religious journal. Having an intimacy with the gentleman said to be the
one whose hand had offered the seasonable relief, he determined the next
time he made him a visit to introduce the subject, and, if possible, to
know the reason that induced the generous action. The story was told
with a modest blush which evinced the tenderness of his heart. On
interrogation, he said "he had frequently heard that minister. On a
certain morning he was disposed for a walk; thought in the severity of
the winter season a trifle might be of service, as fuel was high; felt a
kind of necessity to enclose the money in a letter; went to the house,
found the family, delivered the paper and retired, but knew not the
extreme necessity of the minister and his family, either at that time
nor till this very moment when his friend introduced the subject. Thus
it is seen none but God knew the want or moved the hand that gave the
supply, and brought them to meet at the right time.
SPINAL DISEASE CURED.
"There was a little girl in this place that had the
cerebro-spinal-meningitis; several had died with this disease, and the
physician had given her up to die. The weekly prayer-meeting met in town
that night, and her parents wrote a note and sent it by their little
son, requesting prayer that their little daughter might live and not
die, signed with the names of both parents. From that time she began to
recover, and to-day she is a bright little girl, with full use of every
faculty, and not deformed as most persons are from this terrible
disease. I cannot view it in any other light than a direct answer to
prayer."
AN OLD MAN'S PRAYER.
"I feel also like mentioning another instance. I knew an old father in
Israel, a minister of the gospel, who once in speaking with a brother
minister, after a revival of religion in which five of his grandchildren
had professed their faith in Christ, among others with whom he had
labored; said if he could only live to see his one remaining
granddaughter brought into the fold, and the two Presbyterian churches,
then, called the Old and New school, united, he could say, like Simeon
of old, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation.' About three years after, the two
Presbyteries met near this place in Germantown, Mo., and he seemed as if
he could not contain himself till the time came for the meeting, so
anxious was he for this great desire of his heart to be fulfilled. On
the day of meeting he took sick and could not be present at any of the
sessions, but many of his brethren were with him, among whom was this
one he had been conversing with. The sessions lasted three days, and
upon the last evening his wishes were gratified, the two Presbyteries
merged into one, singing 'Blest be the tie that binds;' and his youngest
granddaughter united with the church, and after the meeting adjourned
this brother came to watch with the aged servant of God. He was
permitted to convey the glad news to him, and see a heavenly smile light
up his countenance as he passed away with his earnest prayer gratified."
THE MYSTERIOUS LEADINGS OF PROVIDENCE.
The following incidents are contributed to the book by a prominent
clergyman:
"A period, ever memorable in the life of the writer, occurred in the
Autumn of 1832, while attending a protracted meeting of more than
ordinary interest and power, held under the auspices of the Baptist
church in the city of Schenectady, under the then pastoral charge of
Rev. Abraham D. Gillette, this being his first settlement. It was in one
of the meetings that the Holy Spirit impressed my mind of its sinfulness
and the need of a Savior, not only to cleanse my soul of sin and sinful
stains, but to save me. These impressions caused me to humble myself at
the feet of sovereign mercy; and in the midst of my pleadings, God
answered my prayer, and opened to me new views, views of the heavenly
kingdom, which so electrified my soul, that with a full heart I could
say, 'Blessed be the Lord who has shown me marvelous works in this
lonely place beneath the star-lit sky.'
"This great change was, and is, to me the most wonderful interposition
of God in my behalf in answer to prayer. This answer to prayer the
promised result of faith in Him."
"Again, in the year 1836, the writer in the year mentioned was employed
by a transportation company, in the city of Troy, in the character of an
employee having direction of a portion of the business of the company
which brought me into close relation with the many boatmen connected
with the company. Association with the boatmen was painful to my
religious nature, compelled, as I was, to hear all manner of offensive
talk. The latter led me to indulge a wish that I might free myself from
such company, in order to form associations with persons of my own
religious turn of mind. But God willed otherwise, as will be learned
from the recital of God's dealings with me on an occasion of a journey
alone in a carriage from Troy to Schenectady. It was on the occasion
alluded to that most of the time was occupied in prayer, and the burden
of my prayer was 'that God would open up a way for me wherein I could
find more congenial company, where in fact my religious feelings would
not meet with the trials incident to my present associations.' But He
who knew my needs better, came to my relief in words seemingly distinct
enough to be heard. This was the answer: 'I have placed you just where I
want you.' Instantly my prayer for a change of location or separation
from my business and its connections ceased, and since, instead of
looking for easy positions, wherein the principles of the faith which is
in me may be undisturbed, I deem it suited to my growth in grace and
increase in devotion to my Master's cause, to covet the association of
men whose only tendency is to evil continually. I have found by
experience in the latter direction, that although many tongues are loose
in the habit of profanity, I am roused more and more by grace to impart
words of counsel. I know that efforts at consistency in Christian
conduct and converse will stop the mouth of profaners of the name of our
Redeemer, God."
Another instance of the presence of God with his children is clearly
manifest in the following sketch of a meeting of two brethren, of whom
the writer was one, held in the conference room of the First Baptist
church in Troy, N.Y., of which church he was a member. The meeting
alluded to occurred in the early spring of 1840 or '41. We were
accustomed to meet almost every day for the purpose of arranging the
Sunday school library, but would occupy a portion of the time, usually
at noon, in prayer for such persons or objects as were presented to the
mind. On the particular occasion we propose to mention, it was mutually
agreed that we pray for one of the brethren, whose gifts were of a high
order, and his usefulness hindered by a lack of spirituality. We
mutually bowed in prayer for this brother, and while thus engaged the
door of the room was opened, and a person entered and knelt between us,
but who he was, or the purpose of his visit we knew not until we had
ended our prayer, at which time the person spoke and requested us to
continue praying for him.
At the conclusion of the service, the question was mooted how he came
there. His reply was in substance as follows: "When standing on a stoop
on the corner of Fourth and Congress streets, cogitating which way I
should go, I was impressed by a voice within which directed my course to
the Conference Room. I debated with the impression, taking the position
that it being noon no meeting was then in progress. Still the impression
remained, and could not be removed. Noticing this, I gave way to the
voice and here I am." Neither of the three thus brought together could
doubt for a moment that our prayer for this brother was answered. His
joy was great in view of being thus called from his delinquency to share
in the fullness of his Savior's love.
"Another instance in the experience of the writer very clearly shows the
power and worth of prayer. About the year 1840, in the Autumn thereof,
he experienced a lack of vital, spiritual energy. This had been of
months' continuance, but to his joy, culminated after retiring to rest.
After this manner, before sleep overcame him, he was impressed to
present his case before the mercy-seat. To do so he arose from his bed,
retired to a quiet part of his home and bowed in prayer, seeking to
occupy the entire night if need be in prayer for the bestowal of the
Holy Spirit, and the consequent revival influences of other days. This
season of prayer was of short continuance; but not by reason of
disrelish for the exercise, but because my prayer was answered and a
complete breaking away of the previous hindrances to my spiritual
enjoyment. Since the event alluded to, now more than thirty-six years, I
have not been afflicted by doubts, and counsel brethren and sisters not
to allow themselves to be made unhappy by this evil to our spiritual
progress."
LIFE SPARED FOR TWO WEEKS.
"On the 8th of January, last, I was called upon to visit a dying man in
Jersey City, whom the doctors had said could not live but a few hours. I
found him in severe bodily sufferings and a terrible agony of mind. He
had lived a moral and upright life in the eyes of the world, but
careless and neglectful of all religious duties, and now with eternity
before him he felt his life a failure and his imperative need of help.
"In his agony he would cry out, 'Lord, help me,' and perhaps the next
moment blaspheme the name of God. I sought to show him his great sin in
having so long neglected God and his salvation, and at the same time
assured him that Jesus was a great Savior, 'able to save to the
uttermost all who would come unto Him.' I went from his bedside to the
union prayer-meeting, held in our city during the week of prayer, where
I presented his case and asked the brethren to pray that God would save
this poor man even at the eleventh hour, and spare him to give good
evidence of his conversion. His case seemed to reach the hearts of all
present, and most earnest prayers were offered in his behalf; so strong
was the faith that many came to me at the close of the meeting and said
that young man will certainly be saved before he is taken from this
world.
"In answer to prayer he was spared nearly two weeks, and for some six or
seven days before his death, gave much clearer evidence of being truly
converted than could have been expected of one in his condition."
A MISSIONARY'S EXPERIENCE IN MEXICO.
"While laboring with my wife as a missionary in Northern Mexico, we
supported ourselves for nearly four years by teaching and such other
ways as the Lord opened up to us.
"But our schools being decidedly Protestant, and I preaching regularly,
the opposition from Romanists was very strong; this, together with the
extreme poverty of the people, made our income very small. Frequently
the opposition would rise to that pitch that only the children of the
poorest would be permitted to come, but we never turned these away,
though they could pay no tuition, trusting that God would provide for us
in some other way.
"Early in the year 1869, we were much exercised to know the will of the
Lord concerning us, whether he would have us continue or not. We brought
our case before the Lord and prayed him to make known his will and
provide for our necessary wants. In about three weeks we received a
check for eighty dollars, sent us, as we felt, truly by the Lord in
answer to our prayer through a friend in New York, who knew nothing of
our circumstances or prayer.
"In August the same year, our condition became such that it seemed as if
in a few days we would be wholly without the necessaries of life. We
laid our case before the Lord, and as he did not appear to open up any
way for us to leave the field, we went forward with our work as
faithfully as we knew how, believing that the Lord would provide in his
own time and way, when one evening, just after family worship, a rap
came to the door. I opened it, there came in quite a company of persons,
all bearing something, and just exactly the things we needed most, and
to the amount of over fifty dollars' worth, and about a sixth of it was,
as we learned, given by Romanists who had opposed us very strongly all
the time we had been there. Truly the Lord answers prayer and turns the
hearts of men to do his will."
THE GREATEST OF PHYSICIANS.
Miss X. of Brooklyn, had suffered long and severely from a distressing
tumor. One physician after another had plied his skill, but to no
purpose; even the celebrated Doctor Simms of New York, corroborated
their verdict, that there was no help for her but in the knife. She
finally consented to that terrific method, but was in no condition of
strength to bear the operation. It was decided to postpone it till the
22d of June. Twelve doctors were invited to be present. Meanwhile a diet
nurse sent from New York, remained with her, to prepare her system for
the ordeal.
Three days preceding the one appointed for the operation, she was
attacked by severe nausea, which lasted two days, and so weakened her
that again the doctors were all notified by the attending one, that a
further postponement was imperative, and a certain date fixed in
November.
All this time her own prayers were unceasing, those of her friends added
to her own; and many a remembrance in the Fulton Street meeting, cheered
and encouraged her.
_By November, the tumor had totally disappeared!_ That was two years
ago. She is still well, strong; able to walk three miles any time.
She is as certain that the whole cure was performed by the Lord in
answer to all those fervent prayers, as she is certain she lives and
moves.
HOW THE LORD PAID BACK THE $5.
Mr. H., missionary, was appealed to by a poor man who seemed almost
distracted. He had a wife and five children; one of them ill; had been
sick himself for three months, and owed rent for the whole of that time.
The landlord had served him with a writ of ejectment, and he could get
no other tenement, unless he could pay five dollars on the rent. He had
applied to a well-known society in Brooklyn; but they were entirely out
of funds and gave him a note to the missionary, hoping he might have or
find the desired help. But missionaries' pockets are more often
depleted, than those of benevolent organizations, and the one in
question was fain to take the applicant to a friend, whom we shall call
Q.
The poor man told his story, asked the five dollars only as a loan, and,
having an order for the painting of two signs, said he should be paid
for them when done, and could return the loan the next Saturday, one
week from that time.
Mr. Q. saw, at once, that the utter destitution of the family, and the
need of _everything_, would prevent the man returning the money, however
much he might wish to, and so refused to lend it. The case was urged,
but without avail; and the missionary sent the man away, promising to
see him again that night or on Monday. After his departure, the
following conversation passed between the gentlemen:
Q.--"Now, H., I don't take any stock in that man. Can you not see that
his paying that money back, is a simple impossibility?"
H.--"Well, perhaps so; but the question with me in such cases, is this:
What is duty? Admit that he cannot pay it, or even that he will not try;
is it not better to relieve his desperate need, than to have him perhaps
turn criminal and prey upon society? He _must_ leave the house he is in;
he _cannot_ get another without the money, and he is desperate; feels
that five dollars he must have, by fair means or foul. Moreover, think
of his wife and children, leaving him out of the question. Now let us
open this little Bible, and see what meets our eye first."
Q.--"Oh, pshaw! You know I do not believe in that kind of thing! Do you
go to the Bible for everything?"
H.--"Why not? Can we have any better guide?"
Q.--"Oh! well, I don't work that way. Now about that man and his money.
I will toss up a penny with you, whether I lend or not."
H.--"No you won't! You know I don't believe in chance, but in the Lord.
And would you sooner rest your decision on a gambler's test, than on
God's promise? Now just let us open the book."
Q.--"Well; what do you see?"
H.--"'The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; but the righteous
sheweth mercy, and lendeth.'" 37th Psalm, 21st verse.
As there was no hunting up of passages, nor leaves turned down to open
easily, the coincidence was impressive, as well as amusing, and H.,
following it up, said, "Lend him the money, and if he does not pay you
next Saturday night, I will."
It was so agreed upon, and, when the man called on the missionary on
Monday morning, he was sent to Q. for the relief.
The week passed on, as they all pass, weighted and freighted with human
ills; some capable of alleviation, some not; but of the former, a full
share had come under the notice and care of the missionary, and Saturday
found him stepping into the Fulton street prayer-meeting, N.Y., for
fresh encouragement and benediction on his labors.
At its close, a gentleman said to him, "Mr. H., I have known you by
sight for years; know your work; but have never given you anything; and
I promised myself the next time I saw you, I would do so. Have you any
special need of five dollars now? If so, and you will step to the bank
with me, you shall have it." Instantly it flashed through the mind of H.
that this was the day when, either the borrower or he, must pay his
friend. It may be supposed that he went to the bank with alacrity. Going
back to B. and meeting the friend, he learned that neither man nor money
had appeared, and at once tendered the five dollars, telling the story
of the Lord's care in the matter.
Q. was so interested in this manner of obtaining supplies, that he
refused to take the money, and instructed H. to use it in the Lord's
work.
PRAYING FOR MONEY FOR A JOURNEY.
A lady, Miss E., residing in New Bedford, received a letter telling of
the serious illness of her mother, in New York. Sick herself, from
unremitted care of an invalid during eight years, poor as Elijah when
his only grocers were the ravens, too old for new ambitions, too well
acquainted with the gray mists of life to hope for many rifts through
which the sunshine might enter, she had no sum of money at all
approaching the cost of the trip between the two places.
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust," is a text bound over her daily life, as a phylactery was bound
between the eyes of an ancient Hebrew. She lives literally, _only one
day at a time_, and walks literally by faith and not by sight. So then
as ever, the Lord was her committee of ways and means; but for three
days the answer was delayed. Then, an old lady called to express her
indebtedness for Miss E.'s services three years before, and ask her
acceptance of ten dollars therefor, "no sort of equivalent for days and
days of writing and searching law papers, but only a little token that
the service was not forgotten."
There was the answer to her prayer; there the redemption of the pledge:
"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about
his people from henceforth, even forever."
EMPLOYMENT FOUND.
A man and wife were out of employment, and in very great trouble. Mr. H.
(missionary) had added his efforts to theirs, and sedulously sought
among the families he knew, for positions for them. After two weeks'
fruitless endeavor, he said to the man, "Well, John, let us go into the
Fulton street meeting and leave it with the Lord." They did so; the
request was read and remembered.
The very next day, Mr. H. received a note from one of the families to
whom he had already applied, and without success, requesting him to send
the man and wife of whom he had spoken. Very joyfully he did so, and
they were both engaged! Mr. H. considered it a very marked answer to
prayer, inasmuch as it was quite difficult to find a family who wanted a
man as well as woman servant; and that particular family was, of all
others, the least likely to make such an arrangement!
A BARREL OF FLOUR.
For the "Faith Home for Incurables" Mr. H. received, one day, five
dollars. A barrel of flour was terribly needed. He went to a large house
in New York, hoping the Lord would incline the proprietor to sell him a
barrel for that sum. He felt too poor, was not willing; and with a heavy
heart, Mr. H. returned, asking the Lord what next he should do. He
called at the store of a friend, where the following conversation took
place. "Well, did you get the flour?" "I did not; they feel too poor,
and I am terribly disappointed. It is almost dark now; I have lost my
time going over there, and at this hour, the flour merchants here are
closed." "Well, Mr. ---- called here, and I told him you were in, and on
what errand you had gone to New York. He said he would send a barrel to
my store if I would send it up to the Home; and I did so, about an hour
ago."
WONDERFUL WAYS OF THE LORD IN GUIDING HIS PEOPLE.
Our missionaries move amidst the reality of scenes which religious
fiction vainly strives to equal. Remarkable proofs of genuine and vivid
piety, triumphs of patience and grace, lifting their possessors above
the most painful and distressing circumstances, are met with in all
their explorations, and more than repay them for toil or privation.
WONDERFUL CONVERSION OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC.
A frame dwelling in an alley, two rooms on the first floor, in the
smaller one a bed-ridden old colored man, who had fought the battle of
life for ninety years, fifteen of them on his bed, with eyes so dimmed
by age that he could not even read; and a wife who was eye, ear and
solace to him, are the salient points of our first picture.
They were both earnest, exultant Christians, around whom the angels of
God encamped day and night. The wife was brought up in the West Indies,
as a Catholic, but her ideas of religion consisted mostly in counting
beads on a rosary. After coming to Brooklyn, she became a servant in the
family of a well-known naval officer, and was always a favorite on
account of her vivacity. One day, a young painter who was working there,
and proved to be one of the Christians whose light shines for all in the
house, spoke to her, and invited her to a prayer-meeting in a Protestant
chapel. She refused, laughing; but the painter's assurance next day,
that she had been prayed for in that meeting, made her restless, uneasy
and sick. In a few days, she was confined to her bed and pronounced by
some doctors, a victim to consumption. One, more sagacious than the
rest, said her trouble was of the mind, not the body, and a minister
would be better than a doctor.
It proved to be the case; she was soon led into a glimmering hope,
though feeling that she literally carried a burden on her back. Starting
out, one night, to look for a place of worship, she turned her feet to a
Methodist meeting from whence the sound of singing had reached her. In
the prayer and exhortation, however, there were words which revealed to
her the secret of faith and salvation. She felt the burden loosen and
fall from her shoulders, so sensibly, that involuntarily, she turned and
looked for it on the floor. In a few moments she began to realize the
freedom she had gained, and started to her feet in joy and wonder.
Her work then began in her own home, and through her prayers of faith,
five members of the Commodore's own family and an Irish Catholic servant
girl, were brought to "Christ, the living way." For years her faith was
proved by her works; her daily example in the household, her watchings
and waitings by the bedside of her helpless husband--poverty, sickness,
perplexities of every sort, but made her hope the brighter, her hold the
firmer. With no dependence for their daily bread but the benefactions of
one and another person, sometimes entire strangers, they never knew what
it was to suffer actual want, nor did Frances ever believe that her
friend would forget her.
REMARKABLE PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM LIGHTNING IN ANSWER TO PRAYER.
I was riding on top of the Boulder Pass of the Rocky Mountains, in the
summer of 1876, when a sudden storm of rain, wind, and furious tempest
came up. There was no shelter from rocks, no trees or buildings to be
seen--a lonely, wind-swept summit. I knew that the lightning on those
high elevations was fearful in intensity. I was appalled at the prospect
before me, but feeling that God had promised to care for his children--
"No evil shall befall thee or come nigh thy dwelling"--I composed
myself, and though on horseback, with the rain beating in torrents, I
offered simple prayer to God that he would save me from the rain and
stop it. But _No_, it came harder than ever; then I prayed that I might
be protected from all danger, "_for I trusted in Him_!"
I rode on and on for miles, chilly, cold, wet through, the clouds
hanging low and the lightning flashing above me, around me, striking
near me, constant flashes, peals of thunder; but I was not terrified.
"God must keep me." _Twice I was distinctly struck_ with the electric
flash, detached portions or sparks from the electric cloud, directly in
the center of the forehead, but it had no more force than just to close
my eyes, shake my head a little, obscure my sight a moment, and then it
was all over, and I was clearer, cooler, calmer, happier, and more
self-possessed than ever before. I attribute my protection from peril
entirely to prayer, and the fierceness of the tempest and the proximity
of danger were permitted by the Lord to try my trust. Those portions
which struck me, if in ordinary times had been given me from an electric
battery in a school-room, a shock with sparks only one-hundredth the
size, would have killed me.
I can thus say with thanks, faith was then made perfect in danger, and
the Lord _was faithful_ in hearing his child's cry, and delivered him.
GOD NEVER FAILED HER.
An aged colored woman, lived that life of faith which shines brighter
and brighter unto the perfect day. Born a slave, on Long Island, she was
never taught to read, never enjoyed any social privileges; but the God
of the widow of Sarepta, who had neither "store-house nor barn," was her
God, and brought her out of the house of spiritual bondage.
She outlived all her early associations; all her children and
grandchildren, husband and brother passed on before, leaving her alone
in poverty and sickness. Yet she sat in her little hut, a cheerful,
happy Christian; a living witness for God as a covenant-keeper.
Doubting, despondent souls were always glad to visit her, to listen to
her simple words of wisdom and gather strength from her invincible
trust. Roman Catholic neighbors persecuted and even threatened her; but
in reply to a missionary who remarked that it must be very trying and
somewhat dangerous, she said, "Don't you know the Lord has a hook in the
Back to Full Books
|