The New York herald., 1876-01-29
BEEcHER ON PRAYER
LET IT BE SHORT AND SWEET.


The lecture room OF Plymouth church was again
crowded to its utmost capacity lasi evening upon ine
occasion OF the regular weekly prayer meeting Very
many thought that some important matters would
up before the business meeting after the prayer
meeting had been dismissed, but in this they we're
grievously mistaken, for nothing was done
After the usual praying and singing had been gc
through with Mr. Bcecher began his tac crrsSaS,inR
upon the too frequently foolish ar nonsensical pray
ers offered up By people wing Would have il believed
that they are OIL 50 plOaS 'Now, any number Of
people would be shocked" said Mr. Beecher, "if
should speak of God as gentleman, and yet we hear
folks every day call God lion lamb, q rock or
shadow, tower or buckler, q loaf OF bread or
anything else you please. II however, select
that which is the most complete thing on earth 10
call Him, the reporters would doubtless say in the morn
ing papers that sacrilegious and that this was
the kind OF thing that Plymouth church teaches II is
liberty allowed by the SCRIPTURES and why then, should
We not use itf Christians, well as Others fall into
the habit OF treating God an ungentlemanly way
You do not treat Him as you would treat whom
you knew to be gentleman In every particular The
average prayer begins by telling God who He is how
He feels and what He wants and winds up by telling
Him what the suppltcant wants Suppose should upon
meeting in tho street gentleman who al once knew
Intellectually, accost him. with hat hand and at
once proceed to rattle OF lot OF odds and about
the weather the streets the dogs the hens the trees
fences the houses or anything else but sensible sub
yecL Wnat do you suppose he would think OF meS
Would not he say that was crazy And would not he
wonder from what asylum had just eseapedS He
would think and very Justly too, that treat
ing him IN gentleinanly manner And yet II is just
In this way most people treat God They positively
ungentlemany They start tos pray for nelp for
some imaginary thing, and they declare themselves
utterly unworthy, call themselves
ALL MANNER OF NAMES
and protest that they are but filth aud rags. God
my grandchildren-my boys are getting too old for
this sort of thing They have their faults like their
grandfather. can see 1t in them. But how
would feel If they came 10 me- lay down their
bellies and began telling how mean they would
say, "Get upl" cannot bear to waow in
the dust increasingly. God does not require it He is
not an Oriental despot, requiring His subjects roll
around in the miro whenever they have anything to
Ifpeople really feel that way-but they rarely dot
is, perhaps, all right God wants honesty and sim
pciiy from all OF us l can understand how, when
munity or for his country no should feel
an overwhelming degree OF humiliation. l remember
whom slavery was rampant in the land and particularly
just prior TO the war, at time when literature
had been disemboweIed to get rid of any and all evil
dence against slavery, felt that there nothing in
the Old the New Testament too solemn to express
my feelings But that extraordinary occasion;
do not feel y now But every day ! feel that
God But always remember that He is more willing
TO give than to receive and therefore do suppl
cate as some do Now many people pray for many
things they don't want but, then, It is the present
style OF prayer, and they think they get II all in
They say 'srhy will be done when they don't know
what that means "Wean me from this world o Lordin
SAID one in his morning prayer He goes to his
business and finds that his ship has sunk bank has
failed and half OF his property is swamped He at
goes back and says, 80 Lord why is this"
Mr. Boecher now told his congregation just how they
should approach God-not with Iteration and reitera
ton nor with mean compliments, but just as one
would treat largc-hearted whoe-souled gentleman.
man who was called upon TO pray just prior to the
close OF the meeting was exceedingly brief and we'll
nigh inaudible