Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-10-13

CONDUCTED BY
REV. BERT LATHAM.
IOriginal ]
PRAYER.

Original
PRAYER.
There is a class of men who are of the
opinion that it is useless to pray. They rea-
son thus: God is Interchangeable. All his
plans are of old, and he will accomplish all
his purposes. Therefore, it is useless to ask
him to do this or to do that. He will do as
he pleases. Others say that everything in
the Universe is governed by fixed laws; hence
before God can answer prayer, he must change
the laws of nature.
Some men who have mere smattering OF
scientific knowledge, boldly assert that it is
foolish to pray for rain, or for any change in
the weather. The clouds depend, say they,
upon the wind and the wind depends upon
fixed law. All this sounds well, and is calcu.
lated to beguile the simple; but, really, it is
nothing but empty sound. There is in it not
particle of common sense or Scriptural the
ology.
God, in his providence and grace, does his
own work, but he has made man co.worker
with him. He is an Interchangeable God. He
governs the world by laws which are fixed.
They cannot be changed but one of the fixed
laws of God is that we must ask in order to
receive we must seek in order that we may
find we must knock in order that God may
open for US.
If the laws of science forbid US to pray,
they also forbid US to work. If God has
established laws which make it foolish to
pray for rain or for dry weather, then accor.
ding to the same laws, it is foolish for the
farmer to do anything towards providing
food for himself and those dependent upon
him. All such reasoning is 80 absurd that
it seems strange that any one would be infu-
enced by it,
The simple Bible truth is, God commands
US to ask for whatsoever we may need. He
made US dependent creatures. This is fixed
law which some scientific men ignore. From
God we all derive our being, and by him we
are kept in being. The only fixed law Of
which we have any clear idea, is thatrevealed
in his word. 1t is simply this: God is a
prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God
We know nothing about the fixed laws by
by which the clouds and the winds and the
waves are governed.
1t is true that by close observation, we
may learn something of the laws which con-
troll the winds and the clouds, but it is so lit
tie that it is of no practical use. 1t is our
privilege to ask God for any and everything
that may be for his glory and our good.
There are some, no doubt, who are ready
to deny that God ever answers prayer. There
are some men who are ready to deny every
thing except that they are wiser than every
one else Their denying, however, does not
change the facts in the case God answered
the prayer of Hannah, and in answering it,
violated what some scientific men would call
fixed law. He answered the prayer of Eli
jah and sent down fire from heaven and des-
troyed his enemies. This was another liked
law violated. He answered the prayer of the
same prophet on two other occasions, viola
ting fixed law, according to some scientific
men, in both instances. At one time, the
prophet prayed that it might not rain, and it
rained not for three years and six months.
At another time he prayed that it might rain,
and small cloud, not larger than man s
hand, soon overspread the whole heavens and
poured down food of rain.
We need not 60 to the Bible to find exam
Piles in which God has answered prayer.
There are millions Of human beings now
alive, who are ready to testify that God has
heard and answered their prayers. These
are not silly men and women. They are men
and women of good understanding and sound
iud gment.