The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-06-03

one was capable OF giving an intelligent
answer.
In another part of the church sat, Sab
bath by Sabbath, u beautiful and talented
woman, who was great society leader
She went to church because that was a
respectable thing to do, and IN the neigh
borhood where she lived it was hardly
respectable not to go. Worldly was she
to the last degree, and all her family
worldly, She had at her house the finest
germans that were ever danced, and the
costliest favors that We're ever given,
and though she attended church she
never liked 10 hear any story of pathos,
and as to religious emotion of any kind,
she thought it positively vulgar, Wines,
cards, theaters, rounds of costly gayety
were to her the highest satisfaction,
One day a neighbor sent IN 4 visiting
card, and this lady came down the stairs
in tears and told the whole story of how
she had not slept for several nights, and
she feared she was going to lose her soul,
and she wondered il some one would
not come around and pray with her,
From that time her entire demeanor was
changed and though she was not called
upon to sacrifice any of her amenities of
life; she consecrated her beauty, her
social position, her family her all to
God and the church and usefulness,
Everybody said in regard to her, Have
You noticed the change, and what in the
world caused itg' and no one could make
6ot, 10 ctory ayplapat inn
In the course of two years, though
there was no general awakening in that
church, many such isolated cases of such
unexpected and unaccountable CONVEX
sions took place. The very people whom
no one thought would be affected by
such considerations We're converted. The
pastor and the officers of the church
were on the lookout for the solution of
this religious phenomenon. Where is
it." they said, "and who is it and what
is it," At last the discovery was made
and all was explained. A poor old
Christian woman standing in the vesti-
bule of the church one Sunday morning,
trying to get her breath again before she
went up stairs to the gallery, heard the
inquiry and told the secret.
For years she had been in the habit
of concentrating all her prayers for par
ticular persons in that church, She
would see some man or some woman
present, and, though she might not
know the persons name, she would pray
for that person until he or she was con
verified to God. All her prayers were
for that one person--just that one, She
waited and waited for communion days
to see when the candidates for member
ship stood up whether her prayers had
been effectual. 1t turned out that these
marvellous instances of conversion were
the result of that old woman's prayers
as she sat in the gallery Sabbath by
Sabbath, bent and wizened and poor
and unnoticed.
A little cloud of consecrated humani-
| ty lowering in the galleries. That was
| the secret place of the thunder. There
Is some hidden, unknown, mysterious
source of almost all the moral and reli-
| gious power demonstrated. Not one
| out of million--not one out of ten mil
| iion-prayers ever strikes human ear.
| On public occasions minister Of reli.
gion voices the supplications of an as
semblage, but the prayers of all the
congregation are in silence. There is
not a second in a century when prayers
are not ascending, but myriads of them
are not even as loud as whisper, fol
God hears thought as plainly as vo
| ~, rThot ell of S11pn1ino tipr
| hemisphere and perpetual-is the Sc
cret place of thunder.
| THE SECRET PLACE OF THUNDER.
| In the winter of 1875 we were worship
ing in the Brooklyn Academy of Music
in the interregnum of churches. We
had the usual great audiences, but was
oppressed beyond measure by the fact
that conversions were not more numer
Gus. One Tuesday invited to my house
five old, consecrated Christian men-al
of them gone now, except Father Pear
son, and he, in blindness and old age
waiting for the Masters call to come W
higher.
These old men came, not knowing
why | had invited them. | took then
to the top room of my house said Il
them: Il have called you here for spe
cial prayer. | am in an agony for {
great turning to God of the people. W,
| have vast multitudeS in attendance anC
they are attentive and respectful, but
cannot see that they are saved. Let Il!
kneel down and each one pray and no
leave this room until we are all assured
that the blessing will come and h&
come" 1t was a most intense cryin!
unto God. l said, Brethren, let thi
meeting be a secret" and they said i
would be. That Tuesday night specia
service ended
On the following Friday night &C
CURED the usual prayer meeting. N
one knew of what had occurred on Tues
day night, but the meeting was unusu
ally thronged Men accustomed to pray
in public in great composure broke
down under emotion. The people vert
in tears. There were sObs and silence
and solemnities of such unusual powe1
that the worshipers looked into eact
others faces, is much as to say, "Wha
does all this lneaIl:'' And when the fol
lowing Sabbath came, although we wer
in secular place. over four hundret
arose for prayers, and religious awaken
ing took place that made that winte
memorable for time and for eternity
There may he in this building many win
were brought to God during that grea
ingatherins, but few of them know tina
the ripper room in my house on Quinc
street, where thoae five old Christina
men poured ont their souls before God
Was the secret Place Of thunder.
The day will come-God hasten it
when people will find out the velocity
the majesty, the multipotenceof prayer
I,e brag ABOUT our limited expires
trains which put us down thousan
niles aw"y in twentyfour hours, bu
Eere is su.,>:,hiHg by which in me
ment we may COZ. ont people five thou
sand miles away. We Drag about on
telephones, but here is something thu,
beats The telephone in utterance and +,
ply, fyl God says, Before they call,
will hear We brag about the phone
graph, in which a man can speak, an
| L. 1. I ~. e