The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-01-10


his recovery, aud insisted, at the same time,
that he should take some warm soup, the
soup being Just as important as the prayer.
In the time of the great plague that came to
York, of England the priests prayed all night
and all day for the removal of the plague,
but did not think OF clearing out the dead
dogs and cats that lay In the cutters, causing
the sickness We mus. use means as we'll
as suppications. IL a man has "evening
prayers" asking for health, and then sits
down to full supper OF indigestibles
at II O'Clock Nd night, his prayer
is mockery, farmer has no right to
pray for the safety OF his family when he
knows there is no cover on the cistern. The
Christian man, reckless about his health,
ought not to expect the same answer to his
prayer as the Christian man expects who re.
tires regularly at ten o'clock at night, and
takes his morning bath with the appendix OF
a Turkish towel.
That God answers prayers offered in the
right spirit, seconded by our own effort, Is
the first and the last lesson OF this text, and
it is lesson that this age needs to learn. II
all communication between earth and heaven
is cut Off, let us know it II all the Chris
tian prayers that are going up toward God
never reach Him, then, say, let silence smite
the lips of tho afflicted world, and the nations
smother their groans and die quietly. God
does answer PRAYER. The text shows it
You say: ~ don't believe the Bible; think
that those things were merely condolences,
which are often brought as answers to
prayer" Do you say thati Was it mere
happen so that Elijah prayed for rain Just
as the rain was gong to come anyhowl Did
Daniel pray in the wild beasts den just at the
time when all the lions happened to have
lockiaw, Did Jesus pray at the grave OF
Lazarus just at the time when Lazarus was
gong to dress himself and come out anyhowf
Did Jesus lose His place in His sermon, and
make mistake, when He said: ASK, and it
shall be given you; seek, and We shall find:
knock, and it shall le op ned unto you"
And, lest some were so stupid they could not
understand it, He goes on: "For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
fndeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened
To prove that God does hear prayer, put
on the witness stand Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Ezekiel, jeremiah, Micah, John, Paul, Peter
battle fields, We Oriental threshing floors, ye
Judean corn fields, We Gallean fishing
smacks, is God deaf and dumb and blind
before all human petition. That God answers
prayer, ! bring the ten millions facts Of
Christendom to prove. There has never
paper enough come ont of the paper mills to
write the story. Has not many a mother
prayed back her bad boy from the ends of
the earth-from Canton, from Madras, from
Constantinope-unti he knelt beside her in
the old homestead. Have there not been
desperadoes and renegades who have looked
into the door of prayer meeting to laugh
and scott at it, who have been drawn by the
power of prayer, until they ran to the altar
crying out for mercy! Did NC the black
smith in Lyons, N. Y, pray to God until
there came a great awakening that shook
the community.
have had in my own experience, and
have had in the history of my own family,
the evidence that God answers prayer. My
mother, with three Christian women, as
sembled week after week and prayed for
their children; they kept up that prayer
meeting of four persons year after year.
The world knew nothing of it. God an
swered all those prayers. All the group
came in; the eleven sons and daughters Of
my mother came in, myself the last.
Sickness came to my househod-hopeless
sickness, as it seemed to many. At 3 o'clock
OH Saturday afternoon the invalid was car.
ried to the steamer for Savannah. At IL
o'clock the next day, being Sunday, standing
in this very place, man of God prayed for
the recovery of the sicl, one. At that time,
II o'clock. she who had been Frustrated three
weeks, with some help walked up on deck.
The occurrence was as near to being miracu-
Ious as | can imagine. That she was hope
lessly sick, people who sat up with her night
after night, and are here, can testify. That
the prayer for her recovery was offered in
this pulpit, thousands of people could testify.
That at / o'clock on that Sunday morning
she walked up on deck, as by a miraculous
recovery, call the passengers on the San
Jacinto, COMMANDED by Captain Atkins,
December IL, to testify. This is no second
hand story.
Prayer impotent! II dared to think
there was no force in prayer, methinks God,
after all He has done for me and mine would
strike ME dead. Prayer impotent! Whv it
&c ba ,yh iaStf orca in t,a N nj ip,ht
ming has no speed, the Alpine avalanche has
no power, compared with it.
And now, in conclusion, l have to present
you some checks, blank checks. on the bank
of heaven, written in blood, AMI signed by
the hand wounded on the cross. 1t is not
safe for you to give blank check with your
name to it. You do not know what might
be written above. But here is blank check
which God says can give you; it is signed
by the hand writing of the Lord Jesus Christ
and you can fill it up with nything yon want
to- ASK. and it shall be given to you:
seek, and We shall find" l do not say that
your prayer will be answered in Just the way
you expect but do say it will be answered
in the best way. Oh! will you trust Hima
This is the outcome of all this subject.
If should ask the men and women in this
audience who have found God prayer
answering God to rise up, you would nearly
all rise up. In time of darkness and trouble,
as in time OF light and prosperity, he an
swered you. commend you to that God to
whom your parents dedicated you in in
fancy. They believed so much in prayer that
their last word was suppfication for you.
Having heard you in days of prosperity, He
will not reject your last petition, when in
the darkened room, after they have wiped
the dew of death from your brow, and the
whole group of loved ones have kissed you
good-by, You have only strength enough left
to pray: Lord Jesus, receive my spiritl"