The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-10-08

I
to this natural energy.
So the power Of PRAYER was to the world
rather O frightful power, If it was any
| power at all. But that has been changed, and
men begin to use it In some things, and the
time will come when it will be used in all
things, and there will bs a Bible in every
counting room, and supplication will ascend
from every commercial establishment, and
| when business firms are formed the question
will not only be asked as to how much this
one and that one put in of capital, but the
| question will be asked: ''Do you know how
to prayT' Mightier agent than any natural
! force yet developed will be this Gospel elec-
| tricity flashing heavenward for help flash
| ing earthward with divine response. God in
business life. God in agricultural life. God
in mechanical life. God in artistic life God
in every kind Of life.
Your religion for the most part is hung up
so high you cannot reach it, 1t Is hung up
! on the cloudy rafters of the sky, where you
| expect to snatch it up as you finally go
through for heavenly residence. Oh, have
| your religion within easy reach now! Re-
ligior is not for heaven, but for this world.
Once in heaven we will need no prayer, for
we shall have everything we want. We will
! neei no repentance, for we shall have for
ever got rid Of our sins. We shall have no
need Of comfort, for there viii be no trouble.
The Christian religion is not for heaven,
where everything is all right, but for this
Washington Allston, whose name you
recognize as that OF great American
painter, was reduced to extreme poverty,
and one day got on his knees an 1 asked for
a loaf Of bread for himself and his starving
family. While he was bowed in thai prayer
there was a knock at the door, and a man
came in and said SLOW about your paint
ing, the angel Uriel," that received the
prize at the royal academy Has it been
soldT' mo" said Al!aton. "How much do
you want for it," Allston replied: Il am
done fixing a price, for cannot get it."
dd "W tSs four hundred S pounds +be be enough
than asked ;" said Allston. The four hun.
dred pounds two thousand dollars) were
paid, and the purchaser introduced himself
as the Marquis Of Stafford, who thereafter
was one of the most liberal patrons of the
rescued artist. "Oh, that all Just happened
SOP Did it? Tell that to some ignorant
man, some benighted woman, who has never
read the promise, Call upon Me in the day
of trouble, I will deliver thee" or that other
promise, "The crooked shall be straight"
SWELL" "says one, "you don't apply this in
every direction" Yes, 1 DO. rake rne most
uncertain thing on earth-the weather. The
Bible distinctly says that prayer controls the
weather. James v, IT, iS: "Elias was
man subject to like passions as we are, and
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and itrained not on the earth for the space
of three years and six months; and he prayed
again and the heavens gave rain" Do you
s:y that was the weather OF oFden tins?
There have been instances in modern times
lust as marvellous. There's not Christian
Ship captain but could give you instances
I:.-;,, ;ota ar in
answer to prayer. It has been my good
fortune to know many ship captains. They
are all in our services. They leave their
vessels on Sunday mornings and join us IN
worship.
warrant there are enough Of them pres
ent this morning to take whole feet in
safety across the Atlantic. Whenever Ihave
heard them testify it has nightly confirmed
me in what knew before, that God answers
prayer concerning the weather. And there
have been cyclones that started up from the
Caribbean Sea, sweeping down every sail and
every smokestack and every mast in their
course, which in answer to specific petition
have been diverted and made to curve around
some particular snip, leaving rnat in calm
waters, and then resuming their original
path Of destruction. The weather proba-
bilities again and again have announced a
tempest, and we were all ready for 1t, but to
the surprise Of most people the next day we
saw the announcement that the atmospheric
fury had changed its course. The probabil.
ity is 1t struck prayer and glanced of. II
tine for forty-two months, should think
somebody now might have prayer that
would affect it for a couple OF days.
John Easter was many years ago an evan
gelist in Virginia. A large outdoor meeting
was being held in that State. Many thou.
sands had assembled in the open air, and
heavy storm clouds began to gather. There
was no shelter to which the multitude could
retreat. The rain had already reached the
adjoining fields when John Easter cried out,
Brethren be still while call upon God to
stay the storm till the Gospel is preached to
this multitude" Then he knelt and prayed
that the audience might be spared from the
rain, and that after they had gone to their
homes there might come refreshing showers.
Behold, the clouds parted as they came near
and passed to either side of the crowd and
then closed again, leaving the place dry
where the audience had assembled, and the
next day the postponed showers came upon
the ground that had been the day before
omitted.
Do you say it only happened SO? cannot
see what you keep your Bibles for, and tina
God YOU worship is not my God. Your God
far up that the world cannot touch him. and
his throne is an eternal iceberg. My God IS
a father, here and now, and O father will
give his child what he asks for il it is best for
him to have it. Pray about everything taat
concerns you, secularities as well as spiritual.
ities. Take to God all your annoyances and
perplexities. The crooked shall be made
Straight. Some people talk as though God
controlled things in general but not in par
ticular; that he started everything under
certain laws and then let it take care of it.
self, as an engineer might start his iocomo-
tive on an iron railroad track aud then jump
off. What would happen to such q locomo,
tive is what would long ago have happened
to our world il God had started it and AFTER
ward allowed it to look out for ITSELF.
There Is no such thing as general Prov,
dence. 1t is particular providence. God
has no General care for forest. 1t Is care
of every cell of every leaf and root IN that
forest Col has no general care OF the ocean.
It is care Of every drop of water III the
LIQUID magnitude. God has no general care
for the human race. 1t is care OF every In.
dividual of that race, and Of every item OF
individual history. Ipreach Him. a GOD IN
infnitesimals an every day God, God re-
sponsive, and one breath Of earnest prayer,
though that breath should not be strong
enough to make a candle flicker, will absorb
more of the divine attention than il the arch
angel stanling at the foot OF the throne
should flap both wings.
It is remarkable how many crooked things
,re in the providence Of God being made
straight. About thirty years ago our ma,
t;ona affairs were as crooked as depraved
American politics and bad men and Satan
could make them. From the top OF Maine
to tha foot of Florida the nation was red