The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1892-06-03

his soul the ngnt soon OaWne0, ana the
old miser, not only revolutionized in
heart but in life, began to scatter bene-
factions. and toward all the great chari-
tics of the day he became acheerful and
bountiful almoner. What was the cause
of this change? everybody asked, and no
one was capable Of giving an intelligent
answer.
In another part & the church sat,
Sabbath by Sabbath, beautiful and
talented woman, who was a great so
ciety leader. She went to church be-
cause that was a respectable thing to
do, and in the neighborhood where she
lived IL 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 were ever given, and though she
attended church she never liked to hear
any story of pathos, and as to religious
emotion of any kind, she thought it
positively vulgar. Wines, cards, thea
tiers, rounds of costly gayety were to
her the highest satisfaction
One day ncighbor sent in a visiting
card, and this lady came down the
of how she had not slept for several
nights, and she feared she was going to
lose her soul, and she wondered if 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 fam
lily, 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 it?7 and
no one could make satisfactory expla-
nation.
In the course of two years, though
there was no general awakening in that
church, many such isolated cases of
such unexpected and unaccountable
conversions took place. The very peo-
pie whom no one thought would be af-
fected by such considerations were con-
verted- The pastor and the officers of
the church were on the lookout for the
solution of this religious phenomenon.
"Where is it?" they said, land 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 vestibule 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 mar 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-
verted 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. It 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 humanity
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
ion-prayers ever strike a human ear.
On public occasions a minister of rei-
gion voices the applications of an as
semblage, but the prayers of all the
congregation are in silence. There is
not a second in century when prayers
are not ascending, but myriads of them
are not even as loud as whisper, for
God hears a thought as plainly as a
vocalization. That silence of supplica-
tion-hemispheric and perpetual-is the
secret place of thunder.
In the winter of 1875 we were wor-
Shipping 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 nu-
merous, One Tuesday invited to my
house five old, consecrated Christian
men-an of them gone now, except
Father Pearson, and ne, in blindness
and old age, waiting for the Masters
call to come up higher.
These old men came, not knowing
why had invited them. took them
to the top room of my house. said to
them: 81 have called you here for spe-
great turning to god of the people. We
have vast multitudes in attendance and
they are attentive and respectful, but
can not see that they are saved. Let us
kneel down and each one pray and not
leave this room until we are all assured
that the blessing will come and has
come" 1t was a most intense crying
unto God. 1 said, Brethren, let this
meeting be secret" and they said it
would be. That Tuesday night special
service ended.
On the following Friday night oc-
cured the usual prayer meeting. No
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 were
in tears. There were sobs and silences
and solemnities of such unusual power
that the worshipers looked into each
others faces, as much as to say, what
does all this mean?" And when the
following Sabbath came, although we
were in a secular place, over four hun
dred arose for prayers, and religious
awakening took place that made that
winter memorable for time and for
eternity, There may be in this build
ing many who were brought to God
during that great ingathering, but few
Of them know that the upper room in
my house on Quincy street, where those |
FIVE old Christian men poured out their
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