New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-05
A Minister on PRAYER.

ne announcement that the distinguished
scientist, Professor Tyndal, was TO lecture in
our city has revived in religious circles the
discussion OF his views on prayer, and a very
anie minister, who resides in the country.
mas sent to minister in this CITY n private
letter, from which we are allowed TO ouote
The following, which we'll illustrates the no.
sltion taken by an advanced class of RELIC
ious minds. He had written:
a person in a stream of deep water and
unable to swim, or in any outward dificultv or
danger, cannot be cxtricated without the
practical human aid of himself or others.
Ills own prayers or the united prayers of all
iiankiha cannot save him without human
aid" To this his correspondent in this citv
had expressed dissent, whcreupon the country
minister wrote again: SIN the nature Of
things no prayer can be effective that is not
IN harmony with the mind and will of God.
and with His laws, which arc the exponents
OF Ills mind and will. We find a very in
structive lesson on this point in what Is re-
corded Of the blessed Jesus. Having full
assurance that God heareth him always. and
that with God all things are possible, we are
bound to believe thatif the mind and will OF
the fatner ever was to be changed by prayers
1t certainly could have been done BY this
humble, affecting, and agonizing imploratiou
in the Garden of Gethsemane. 'Oh. INV
Father, il it be possible, let this cup pass
from me- three times repeated. But God
saw 1t was not in accordance with His pur-
pose, and hence, though the cup should not
pass from him, He impaired strength to add
nevertheless, not as | will, but as thou
will, and sustained him in resigned obedience
to His Fathers will. We well know that
the united prayers of the whole world against
eclipse or against sunrise would be utterly
unavailing because not in harmony with His
laws, the opponents of His will. A PRAYER
that will be answered must accord with the
Divine mind and purpose. Hence the spirit
OF true prayer is that in which the soul is
Influenced by the Spirit of God, so that its
aspirations will be in harmony with His mind
and will. There is no limit TO the power Of
God. He is omnipotent. But there is a
limit to the direction of the power and its
mode of action. He never brings His power
to bear against His own work, His mode of
action in any process or for the accomplish
ment OF any purpose being perfect. Every
repetition OF the same action must be in the
same way, else it would be imperfect. This
necessary immutabiity in His mode of action
gives rise to what are termed laws which
never can vary. These laws possess the
greatest imaginable simplicity. Light, for
instance when unrestricted moves in straight
lines, and when reflected makes the angle of
reflection equal to the angle of incidence, by
means of which it moves through the shortest
possible distance in space. lie never does
the same thing in two ways. If we find he
does certsin thing in one way to-day, this
is His promise that He will do the same thing
in the same way in all time, and these promi-
ses are yea aud amen forever They are
never known to be broken.
The only test to us of what God can do
is what He does. | believe with Agassiz
that He cannot create 4 lion with horns or
horse with claws. We see and know He
works by means, instrumental means, in the
outward affairs of men, and feel bound to
believe from reverential regard for His
truth and unvariableness, that He works on
the outward affairs Of men in no other way.
Deity has neither hands nor feet His obedi-
emf children become hands and feet for Him.
What desire above all things is truth not
authority, even that of the letter of Scrip
lures, but truth, simple truth. '-BdHimore
4mPyirap.