Columbus index. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1869-1893, 1874-05-08
EFFICACY OF PRAYER
Read Before the Ministers Association Of Co..
lumhus.

We desire in this paper 70 empha-
size the fact that God hears prayer.
We who receive the Bible as the rev.
elation Of Gods win can have no as
surance more certain than its explicit /
teaching on this subject. But this |
teaching is explained and demon
strated to us by our own personal
c0mmunings with God. There is in
the world q mighty army Of wit
nesses, whose integrity Of character,
clearness of mental vision, honesty
of purpose, and earnestness Of duty,
are not excelled by any; they are try.
ing to make happy homes and pleas
ant communities; to build up noble
states and widespread charities; de-
voted to the best purposes of human
lite, they grieve when evil ab0unds,
and rejoice when good prevails;
they are the eight of the world and
the salt of the earlh;D each one of
this vast multitude has a clear record
of personal communion with God.
They would doubt the testimony of
the eye as to seeing, or the witness
of the ear as to hearing, as soon as
doubt the assurance Of consciousness
as to divine communion. Then add
to this that every generation Of men
in all the past has had its multitudes
ofwitnesses 20 the same great truth.
All this weight of testimony blend
| ing with our own constant experience,
and explained by assurances which
come from every part Of the Bible;
backed by all the evidence OF verify
which God through all the ages has
thrown around the record of His will;
these together make the strongest
evidence that can be given of the
efficacy of prayer. We could doubt
any phenomena Of lite with as much
consistency as we could doubt this.
But all are not thus assured, and
it is necessary to study this subject
that we may be able to remove the
difficulties from many sincere minds.
Many good men are troubled by a
want of clearness as to the neceSsi-
ty of prayer in view OF the unchange.
ableness Of Gods nature and pur-
pose; for with him "is no variable.
ness, neither shadow of turniDgP
But prayer does not suppose any
change in God, either as to nature or
purpose. tits his nature and his pur-
pose to bless men when they are in a
condition to be blessed. Prayer puts
them in that condition. The change
is all in man, not in God. There are
certain flowers which are dependent
on the direct rays of the sun for
qualification. These turn to the
sun in the morning and follow him
through the day. This turning is
their prayer for help. So mans ma
ture must be turned to God in order
that all the good possible to him may
be developed and refined. Prayer
turns the unfolding side of our ma
ture TO God, and his lore warns us
into life and joy.
Another difficulty supposed by
many leaElhd men to show the utter
!, fntility efi q prayer, is the unchange-
ableness ct the laws Ofnature. The
entire universe, they tell us,i govern.
ed by laws Interchangeable; the world
was made by them; and every breeze
that sweeps the earth, and cloud that
waters the face Of nature, are con-
7 trOlled by laws as immutable as the
very source of things. The immuta-
bility of law, il is also urged, applies
to the action of mind and soul, even
to the generation of thoughts and
spiritual aspirations, and hence the
utter futility of prayer. But the fu-
tility of prayer even Oh this SUPPOSE
ton, and viewed at this disadvant-
age is not so clearly seen; because it
is certain that prayers are offered, and
fif all things are fixed by laws, then
prayers are so fixed, and it cannot be
shown that the answers to them have
not been fixed by the same unchange.
able laws.
| But this is by no means the an
swer we wish to make to this sup
posed difficulty. OF course we be.
lieve the universe is controlled by
laws. This is evidence to us of a
great lawgiver. Laws cannot reign
in any other sense than that of sub
lection to a superior viii. They are
the servants; not the masters of the
universe. We do not pray to I'M
changeable laws, but to the God Of
laws, and that by law as we be
lieve of his own make. If we are
to determine the existence of n law
by the constant recurrence of phe.
nOmena under given circumstances,
then We must believe that it is a law
Of our nature to pray. If we deter
mine that gravitatiOn is universal
law of nature by observing its pres
ence in every form Of matter; il by
the constant recurrence of a desire
and necessity for food we determine
that it is law Of nature to eat; or by
the constant action of the lungs that
it is law Of our nature TO breath;
then on the same ground VIC are to
determine that il is a law of our ma
ture to Lray. The desire to pray, the
felt necessity Of prayer, is universal;
it is born in us. More hearts respond
to the vital power of this feeling in
us than, with few exceptions, to any
other instinct Of our nature, In ev-
cry part of the world, surrounded
| by every form Of error, men are
praying. Men on that low level OF