Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-11-13

PRAYER.-Rev. Mr.. Lord preached dis
course last Sunday morning in Bethany
Church, on prayer. He said there were some
things impossible for prayer to do, although
he DID not very clearly define its limitations
except as to its methods lie thought travel
ers might escape falling rocks by prayer, al
though he seemed to convey the idea, after
all, that, in order to do so, they would be
obliged to quicken their footsteps, as well as
to pray. lie didn't say that he thought the
moving mass of rock would be held back until
they got out of the way. The illustration
seemed to Us to be, perhaps, good one of
the reflex influence Of prayer upon the one
Offering it, but as going little if any beyond
that
The reason prayers are not more generally
answered, the preacher said, is because they
are not brought into conformity with the con-
ditiors Of successful duplication but as lie
gave these conditions in some detail his
hearers ought only TO blame themselves here
after il they do not comply with them, and
thus secure an answer to their petitions
Eur j it not possible, after all, that the
reasons all thoughtful clergymeL like Mr..
Lord are obliged to give why prayers for
temporal blessings are not always answered
are only recognitions of the truth that PRAYER
can never work in opposition to the forces Of
nature, and is governed itself BY laws as in
exorable, if not as we'll known, a. those which
control the movements Of the planets? 1t is
as much within the power Of Omnipotence
to stay falling rock as to quicken the foot
steps of threatened traveller If the falling
rock were arrested in its course, however.
most people would ascr5e it to supernatural
power, while they would credit the accelera-
ted speed Of the traveller principally to human
forces, quic1ened into unusual activity bv
apprehension OF danger and it probably
would not occur to any one to suppose thar
natural swftness Of foot was not worth much
more in such a danger than the longest or
the most icrvently pious supplication II il
said that, in the midgt Of the great fire in
Chicago, good woman was noticed By her
noighbors on her knees praying for deliver
ancc from the flames that were Kissing all
around her She was, perhaps irreverently
but naturally, told that muscular aetiv-
ity was just at that moment more of a
saving agent than supplication. There may
be those who think that this advice came IL
the supernatural answer to the coed woman Z
prayers, but persons prepared to believe it
are probably prepared to believe in the mod
ern mira cles IF tile Catholic Church. or tile
pretended marvellous works Of SriritualIzt=
Il tho scs. ra discussion Of the Office and
efficacy d prayer leads, as VII hope il may.
to more intelligent appreciation Of il, id
Will serve an excellent purpose and not tie
least Of these good results viii be the surren-
der Of the idea which many persons profess
to believe, (although they seldom act as
though tLey believed IT'D that the Divine Pow
er is to be summoned BY prayer to aid u,
much as the poets Of ancient Greece and
Rome summoned to the aid Of their heroes
the gods ol their mythology. We supposed
the Christian theology had got away from
this conception OF a deity who was tile mere
servant Of man, and heli that grander concep-
ton Of a God through whose universe, 81
far as human intelligence has surveyed its
workings, there are no ftfuI displays Of pow
er, but only the harmony Of universal ltw.