The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-01-02
" The Week Of Prayer Z" and ."The
Week OF Fair.D

"The Week Of Prayer" and ."The
Week Of Fair"
It is an open question whether the
habit we have 80 generally fallen into of
postponing all expectation of revival in
terest in the churches, until the week of
prayer shall inaugurste it, is wise or
otherwise. The Spirit of God cannot be
bound; and this iron rule looks much
like an attempt in that direction. There
are several serious objections in our mind
to stereotyped observance of this now al
most traditional habit. 1t is an encour-
agement, and is made in part justifica-
ton, of lack of expectation and spirit
ual activity during the remaining eleven
months and three weeks of the year.
Everything is staked on that one week.
If special blessing does not come during
that brief spasm of effort, as rule, all
special effort is deliberately RENTED for
another year. Besides it encourages
tendency to think that the gracious work
of Gods Spirit is more dependent upon a
certain season than upon the attitude of
Gods people toward him, whereas the
season of the year has nothing whatever
to do with it. Whatever of blessing the
churches may reap as the outcome of the
week of prayer is not because Of the sea-
son, but because Gods people have set
their faces toward him to seek his face
and favor. He is found as readily at any
other time. He waits to be gracious
every day. Why then should we delay to
come to him until the first week in Janu-
ary? And why, after the week has
passed, should we cease to come to him,
and relax our expectancy and desire
Again, while &" the solemn assembly" is
in line with Gods Word to us, our habit
is growing too much in the direction of
stalking all on "solemn assembly !" and
personal work and spiritual effort is
largely RENTED. We lay aside our in
dividuality and count on the efficacy Of
an assembled combination. A study of
the great revivals, we think, will reveal
the fact that the assembling of the PEG.
pie to pray and seek God, with confess
sion and thanksgiving, has been rather
the outcome of revivals begun in a few
hearts before, than means Of securing or
awakening an interest. If the assem-
bling of the church for special week of
prayer is the result of rule, and not of
life already stirring in the hearts of some
of the people, it is almost sure to prove
an abortive effort of the flesh, to bring
about spiritual result. We pillow the
ground and SOW the seed at certain
season, mainly for the reason that the
law of seed-time and harvest is shut up to
certain times but it is not so in spiritual
things. "Now is the accepted time y
with God and it looks like an attempt
on our part to make law and inaugu.
rate season in which the Spirit shall
work. In these directions it seems to us
there lie some grave dangers; and the
barrenness of spiritual results of the late
years is warning and admonition thai
we should not be slow to heed. 1t may
be said spiritual fruit does result from
this annual week of prayer. We are
ready to concede that such is the case
but it is rather of the goodness of Goo
in spite of the wrongness of method thar
as result of it. No doubt there arr
many earnest and burdened souls in tn,
church, who have been anxionsly looking
and waiting for this season to conn
around; and so have delayed the harves
which has been ready for their gathering
until then, whereas they might have an
ticipated their joy by weeks and possibl.
months, had it not been that they wer
bound by this rule. We would not ad
wise against the observance of the CON
ing season toward which, no doubt, man
anxiouss hearts have been looking TO
weeks and it may be months past
but we would most earnestly sugges
whether the week of prayer has not bee
of late years rather abused than used fo
the glory of God and the salvation G
souls. In this connection we note sir
gular and growing juxtaposition of wants
This is the season that is commonl
looked forward to as the season of spiri
ual activity; in which all the vital force
of the church are supposed to be gathere
together and husbanded for active effort
and yet it is true, in not few commun
ties and churches, that it is also the SCI
son set apart for all those wasting an
enervating practices, which are increasin
with alarming rapidity and volume. "
refer to the omnipresent church fairs, fe
rivals, suppers and entertainments. W
recently heard some very active ladies SO
with" certain church fair, bazaar an
supper before the week of prayer COM
on" Now we submit that this is mo
hnochinB. TUT every ono WIN hhoV
aught of the workings of the flesh and
the Spirit, knows that the "week
prayer" and the week of fair are CO.
trary one to the other. In the one IL
flesh or natural man is uppermost, in Il
other it is sought to bring the spiritu
man to the front. But is there not som
thing of mockery in all this ? We 8
apart the same season for special effort
two opposite directions. OF course it W
be denied that the church fair is earn
institution; that while many undesirat
features and results attach to them, st
"they are necessity % and the 81
jnstifes the means. But, beyond Out
ton, this is an unholy yoking up (or
least an attempt to do SOY of the flesh a
the spirit. In most cases it will requi
more than one week of prayer to dissips
the bad results of "the week of fair"
all this there seems to US to be sad mi
ture of unequal things. The financi
and the spiritual necessities of the chur