Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-12-26
The Average Prsx.r.mee,tns.

Tire prayer meeting coust tutes 80 impor.aa,
a part or the Christian socis life Of this CO an
try, and Is so much a thing o. the people that
il legitimately topic for the examination AMI
discussion of lsymen, We approach the subject
with abundant reverence for the time hOnoced
estimate OF its usefulness, and only W tn q visa
for the advancement OF its efficiency as an
agency for spiritual culture. That IL Is In any
respect the boon that IL should be, to the hun
dreds of thousands who attend upon and psrti-
cipate in Its exercises, no one pretsnds That
it j. the lsmeSt and most nearly impOteDt OF
of any Of the agencies employed by the church,
in perhaps two cases out of every three, Is evil
dent te all. Let us see II we can present a fair
picture OF the average PRAYER nesting.
In church of, say two hundred snd Fifty
members. there is an average attendance OF
fifty persons. There are maize up, 80 Tar as the
men are concerned, of the principal church
oficisls-the delcOns, elders, &c. rns remaia-
der are women-the beet women OF the church,
and such of their families a. they can ind ice 20
accompany them. The clergymen, OEerwOE kef,
and discouraged by the small number IN attea-
dance, Is there 20 lead. He gives out his hymu,
pTsys, reads the Scriptures, and, with few
remarks, "thTOws open the nesting" TO the
layme1 for prayer or eXhOr2tion. There is
long period OF silence. the deacon, who suspect
that their voices have been heard too
often, or that they may be in the Esy Of Others,
remain silent. AT last, either one OF them IL
q led upon by the pastor, some poor man,
uIdeT the spur OF sense of duty. rises anu
UttsIs, SIS well as lie can, the words OF prayer.
Every body sees that he Is in struE ge and N Il
lie Is little at home that lie is only ANXIOUS t.
get through without breaking down. The su-
ence Is, ct course, sympathetic. and, instead
: f being led in prayer, becomes a. anxious for
h m a. be is for himself. And so, with long
I patches Of embarrassing aud painful 81 snCe,
( inteTsr ersed with cTeary platitudes OF prayer
I and speech, unrefreshing and lacking spOn-
taneity TO SAD degree, the meeting goes on t.
| the end, which comes when the Cbspel clock
Shows that an hour has been spent in the ser
| vice. To suppose that sny great good cpmss
! from the spending OF an hour in th,s way, e ~
/ offer an insult 10 common sense.
II wOuid be inst uctiye, IL the facts could be
/ know now
attend the average prsyer-psetiDg DO 80 be-
! cause they truly delight in If, how many be-
/ cause they wish to stand by and encourage
! their pastor, and how IN any because they think
| il Is, or may he, their duty. Ii would also be
instructive, il the facts could be ascertaiDet, 70
know how many men are kept away by the fear
! OF being called upon to engage actively in the
| exercises, and how many remain ct home be-
| cause they have learned by experience that the
| average prayer-meeting is dreary place 10
| weary men--one which bores without benenting
/ them. We fear that, IL the facts were SnOHn
as they relate TO these two points, the average
pTsyer-meetiug would hnd itself in very sOrrs
! standing. When men 20 to a rel giou. meeting
of any sort they go to be reinforced or refreshed
or instructed. How much or any one OF these
/ objects can be realized in such p meeting we
| have described? How much OF the still higher
! object of spontaneous, Joyous worship can be
/ secured, by listening 20 the painful laundering
! of some piOus and conscientious layman? lie Il
not the truth that the average prayer-mseting
| is a sad mOckery of both God and man?
Can it be possible that the Almighty Father
1
spontaneous, SO far from joyous, go painful in
| its exercises, and so Improbable in its cOunsals
| as this? IL, once week, whole church would
come together joyfully, and sing their s0ngs,
! and pray their prayers, and speak their
though t., AMI commune with one another on
the great topic which sbsorbs them that would
be meeting worth having. But how would
/ such ameetirg compare with the dead drag or
the ayera &c prayer meeting? Ii would compare
! as life compares with death, az beauty with de-
/ f0Tmity. SO utterly yaiueess, to all human ap-
prehensiOn, are the prayer meeting carried ON
/ By some churches, that it may well be cues
| toned whether they sre not rather a detriment
/ than an advantage, a harm rather than a help,
| to the regular work OF the pastors, aui the
spiritual prosperity OF those whom they lead aad
teach.
| There is something to be said for the laymqn
| in this connection. which will leave his pIety
unimrugned. In the first place, he labsrs at an
! absorbing employment. He goes TO the meet
| ing utterly weary, and without the slightest
| preparation OF heart or brain for any active
participation In its exercises. He needs help,
aud does not feel capable OF Offering any. H5
IS empty or his vitality, and needs to be re-
fTeshed and diverted from the current. ~
thought in which his trade or profession holds
him. Again, as a rule, he is unused to public
speech OF any sort. IL il Impossible for him ID
lose the consciousness that he is speaking; and
becoming critical upon hiGself, his spOrtsn eity
! aEd al! The good that comes OF it, are lost. lie
siHss TO his seat at last, humbled iutO the dust
in the conviction that be has been engaged in
performance, in regard TO whose success or
failure be feels qualification OF mortified pride
1t Goes him no good, ami what Is thus frrItless
TO hini is, by force OF its nature, rruit!ess OF
good to others.
Shall the prayer meeting be dropped when IL
ceases hoIeiessly t. be tBe viVityIng, ssogt.
neOUs agency OF worship and COMMUNION tla.
II ought 10 he? Can any change be male ia IT,
methods that will work q reformation? Can lr
be modified so as TO avoid the evils we i.av, 10.
dicated? These are questions that We cannot
answer, but il is not hard 10 see that : ,naeri7s
conducted entirely by the pastor il = thousand
tunes better than poor pr8yer-mestiag, ami
inst, IL a praYer-meeting must b. had, - D.
better to conduct It after some liturgie 4. f,-ut
than TO trust to the bind and hIindirg lasi-
lnPs OF Ignorant and half distracted men,
Spontaneous lay prayers in public are very
nice In theory, but in practice in the main, thew
are apples that break into ashes on the topgue
The opinion seems reasonable to us that auy
pas or, or body of pastors, who will present to
the American churches liturgy for social use
so genial, so hearty so full of the detail OF COM
mon wants, and so appreciativs of the aspira-
tioEs OF the people, as TO be the best possible
expression OF social worship and common peti-
tons, will do more to lift the average PRAYER
meeting ont of decrepitude, not to say dis grace,
than can be done by any other means. II nom
Episcopal Protestants wish TO learn why in i
that the Episcopal church makes converts with
such comparative ease, they need not 90 ont
side OF our suggestion for their inform Atom
Dr. j. q. Holland; Scribasr's for September.