Jamestown alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1882, 1881-10-14

rect granting. Conditons-IIuman
nature neither infallible nor pure
Bound to the Word-Right spirit-Na-
TONS testimony-National sn-ln His
name, Faith. 3.-No change of fixed
laws, principles or ends. Mot bound
to work miracles. 5.-May be answered
Thoughts read and answered-Is his
life lost? Conclusion.
TEXT M John + "a; Anq this is the confidence
cordng to His will, He hearcth us.
From that memorable I'd Of July when
the noble Garfield fell lnortally wounded
until the 18th of Sept, when the patriot
wasted body, the prayers of the nation
and of the Christian world beseiged the
throne of God for his recovery. In church
and chapcl-in Roman cathedral and
Jewish synagogue-in universities and
cOl1egcs-ln the homes Of the people and
the highways of life-on land and on sea-
from mountain top and secluded valc-by
thrOned mouarchs and courtly noblcs-by
holy women and righteous men and inno-
cent children-ln CerenOnlOuS words and
broken calculations went forth the voice
of supplication as though the nation were
wrapped in an atmosphere Of prayer. A
reverential love for the man, and a melt
ing sympathy for his sutlerings; an in
stlnctlvc horror at the startling tragedy Of
his shooting and an undelinable dread Of
what might come; sea of trouble, dash
ing its cold spray amid dense and sombre
shades of uncertainty upon the hearts OF
men, and a Christian faith in God and in
the power of prayer, together with the
dcep-rootcd instinct OF human nature to
cry for help to him in the dark hours OF
bitter and uncomprehendcd trials, are
among the salient causes of this spontanc-
GUS and almost world wide phenomenon
And yet the arrow of death sped to its
shining mark despite the pleas Of earnest
geons, hut not in mockcry of either. Re
medal agencies do not lose their virtue,
nor do intelligent men abandon their use
because now and then they fail to reach
the lioped-lOr result; ana to lay whole
sale argument against them on such an
inadequate and narrow ground as this IL,
IS like bl!ndfcldlng the eyes because there
has been an eclipse OF the sun and rcf,:s-
ing more to see his bcaniny light. The
use which the fact OF President ua-!iclu'o
death has been made to subscrvc III the
argument against the efficacy Of prayer,
and which will doubtless continue to te
made OF it, is Illogical and unfair; and re-
salts 1IUjn Il misapprchunsiON vi the doc
trlnc Of prayer, and misco1isructiUn Ui
the facts in the case together with Vi
clCus process OF reasoning from these il,Sc
premises. Ii would he both uncOurtcouS
and uMWlsc to attribute Il deliberate mai
ice to the ch2n!p!o!is OF this argument
against a doctllnc which is i'll such deep
accord with tile proiCunuc:st feelings ana
impulses Of the human heart, and which
is rs The bread Of life to hungry millions
ct cur to!ing and aspiring race; but it IS
neither illogical nor unknd to remind
them ti.at prayer is one OF the central i'll
stitutcs of the Christian religon--that
that IS the established religion ON which
our modern civilization is hased and from
which it draws the inspiration of us liter
aturc, arts, science ana laws--of It's lnsti-
tutions and lis amelit rating and clcVating
fOrccs-and that therefore in order to
make this case cover their anticipated
ground and dislod@c from the minds OF
men the conviction that ''lhc eifcCtual fer
vent prayer Of the righteous man avallcth
much," it is incumbent on them to es-
tabllsh one or ali of several most cOmpre-
hensive and difficult propositions; and un
til this shall have been done, the citadel
which has repelled the blasts Of stormy
centuries will remain unmoved
When it can be demonstrated that the
granting Of the very thing askoAa for is
the only possible way of answering a
prayer; that, rising above human in
1irmitics and misapprehensons, the sup
plants have fulfilled all the conditions
on the performance of which alone God
has promised to answer it,-that the OBJ
ject, sought would not, if granted, antag
onizc any fixed law or principle of the Di
vine Government, Or frustrate any of the
infinite ends which its agencies are ap-
pointed to work out and for the accom-
plishment of which they sweep realms Of
motive and of fact Which are now mac
cessiblc to the broadest and acutest hu-
man intelligence; that the promise Of
God to answer prayer as given in His word
carries with it the constant obligation to
work miracles whenever necessary to pro-
duce the result sought by the petitioner;
and that God has not nor ever will ans
wer the prayers in behalf of Mr.. Garfield
in any way; when these five propositions
are established by an array of proofs that
cannot be set aside, then and then only need
the believing world feel any solicituue for
the stability of the doctrine.
l. 1t is automatic that there is more
than one way Of answering petition. 1t
may be granted or refused. 1t can hardly
be imagined that an infinitely wise Being
would bind himself to give a favorable re-
sponse to every suppllcation that might
find its way to His ear from each one of
the millions of His crcaturcs-creaturc
who are swayed by divers and cver-vary-
ing interests and motivcs-subject to i'm
pctuous and often wayward emotions and
desires-and incapable of comprehending
IL x>fs hat ,t1
over the mighty problems and forces of
which He presides, as the directing and
controlling mind, and mistake in refer
ence to which on His part would involve
the universe in peril. In the very nature
of things, He must retain in His hands the
right and power to refuse to grant an i'll
advised supplication; and the refusal
would be no more of a proof against the
efficacy of prayer or the disposition of God
to bestow in answer to it, than the refusal
of parent to grant chlld's petition on
grounds of utility would prove him bereft
of the attributes of fond and wise pa
rent, or that the little one ought not to be
encouraged to fly to the strong or to
nestle in the arms of parental love by the
yearning and coniiding spirit of prayer
So long as the tragical story of Christ's
sufferings and death shall continue to stir
the pulses of the world and awaken
latent sympathies and dull and sluggish
hearts; so long as the words of the MEM
orable prayer, elf it be possible, let this
cup pass from me-" uttered amid the SOL
emn stiffness and depressing gloom of
that garden spot made forever historic by
the struggles of the sSSon of Man" with
the sin of the world shall stand recorded
in the imperishable annals of His life-so
long will there be meridian evidence that
prayer may rise from straitened souls
which for reasons hid in the secret coun-
sells of the Fathers will, it is impossible to
grant.
And it would be the boldest presump-
ton for mortal being to attempt to draw
a definite line between answerable and
unanswerable prayers. That difficult task
must be referred to the all-comprehend-
ing mind which can discern the turn OF
mighty circumstance and weigh with ex-