The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-11-30
PRAYER.

AG&N4NN "A SAS1N
more than the simple request for the
blessings of this life, or the deliveranee
from the ellis that flesh is heir to-" It
is the solemn communion between God
and man, the life Of religion, the soul Of
Christian hope. acknowledgements
of the vaunted nineteenth century to
attempt, withelOquentwO rdsandlearned
arguments, to disprove the efficacy Of
prayer, and to proclaim its vanity to
those weary, fainting souls who wait the
angels footsteps in Bethsaida's pool.
The Rev. O. B. rockingham, the her
aid of this new gospel, is no Voltaire to
pelt with the cold, hard stones of sar-
casm the religion of the Most High, o
a Tom Paine to dazzle the eyes Of weGker
souls with the titful brilliancy of an ig-
~niS.fatuus, but a shepherd of souls, who
teaches them Faith and fOrbids them
Prayer. He says "prayerisou out of place,
because every possible effect of prayer
is guaranteed without it." prayer is
imperative, because it is unnecessary"
Then the prayers Of the afflicted Israel
ties, when they grOaned beneath the
burden Of Egypt's heavy yoke, were ut
tered all in vain; and their liberation
from Phaloah's cruel ~despotism would
not have been delayed, had they never
bent the knee "befOre Jehovah's awful
Throne"
hid MT fhn ~ Jro7C of Tcrnn1fC 1nc4c
nestle close to the heart of Deity when,
with souls trimming over with "the joy
that only freemen know they were led
by the Pillar of cloud down the sunny
slopes where the green shore Is kissed
by the jOcund waves Of the Red sea?
Their songs Of praise were throbbing on
the pulses of the air, and their forty
years of bondage seemed buried MEM
DRY on whose grave already budded the
tiny fOweretOf Hope. They pause, and
as their eager eyes scan the eXpanse of
"wave devOuring wave" upon their ears
falls the faint sound of trampling feet
and vengeful shouts. Pursued by Pha-
raOfl, his hatred sha1pened by the sound
Of Egypt's wailing for her first born,
lsraeTs serried hosts stagger with the
rude shock Of Fear. They glance upon
the seething waters, each crested wave
whitening under the tread Of coming
Death. They glance behind, and the
defiant sunlight flashes back from the
gilded chariot of Egypts King; and
they feel again the heavy bonds and
hear the clanking chains of captivity.
In answer to the prayers of His people,
the waters shudder back from the touch
Of the Lord, and the hosts of Israel pass
through dry-shOd. Was the prayer on
the shores Of the Red sea imperative ?
OF would our learned teacher have us
believe the waves obeyed some known
law of hydraulics? All, knowledge
comes, but Wisdom lingers.n
If prayer be vain, then Christ died in
vain. From his first miracle at the feast
in Cana, when the water saw it's God
and blushed," to His last petition on
the Cross, the life of our Savior was one
continued answer to prayer. Could the
voice of reason silence the blind man
whose aching heart was thrilling to the
music Of the foOt-fallO of the Son of God 2
Faith and Hope stood guardians at the
dark portal of his soul, and their soft
whispers silenced the din of them who
would have silenced the sufferers pierre
ing cry: "ThOu, son of David, have
mercy upon me-" Was this prayer Gin
operative?" or did the "blind see" ac-
cOrding to some known hygienic law?
And when "there arose Il tempest and
deepcalleduntOdeep whileupon the ship
wherein Il Saviorlay asleep, the foam
ing, kissing waves hurled themselves,
like the hosts of He'll against the walls
OF Heaven; and the redlightning, like the
cleaning sword Of Lucifer, cleaved the
horriddarkness and showed, "as through
an opening pail, q Hell-the ocean I'M
der:"did the terrified disciples then pause
to ask, isprayer" out 0fptGce ?" "Save,
Lord, or we perish!" they cry to Him
whose voice winds and waves obey. In
answer to this prayer, the waves sink to
sleep like that of innocent childhood,
and the hoarse din Of clasling elements
gives place to murmurs soft as the ca
dence Of an evening hymn.
We may live withOutprayer when the
sun of Prosperity hangs in the zenith,
and bathes our souls in it's glory !; when
down the stream of life, with youth at
thehelm, and pleasure at the Prov" ou1
little bark glides along to the rythm OF
laughing waves that kiss the shore
whose "tawny brow is decked with
shells.n But ~
Nicer unmixed with grief has Heaven
Its joys on mortals she'd
Life's tranquil stream may hurl itself
over the rocks of woe, and as our frai
bark shivers on the brink, letus look III
to Faiths guiding star and cry "Save
Lord, or we perish!"
And if the time should come when al
voices fall harsh on the heart tina
mourns for the
"T0uch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still"
then none can comfort like Him, who
even in His agony OH the Cross, whe1
the earth shook with His groans, bent tt
:, hear and answer the prayer of the THE
} at his sides Lord remember me whel
Thou contest into thy Kingdom"
It is pride alone that makes us refus,
| to bow before Jehovah; that pridewhicI
fired the heart of the rebel saint an