Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-01-23

pwful circumstances. II am a Christian.
I will die as q Christian" "Let the re-
deemed Of the Lord say So"
Emoacy Of Prayer.
What confirmation would come II all
who had answers to prayers would speak
out; IL all merchants In tight places be-
cause Of hard times would tell how, in re-
| sponse to supplication, they got the money
to pay the note; II all farmers in time of
drought would tell bow, In answer to
prayer, the rain oamo just In time TO savo
the crop; II all parents who prayed for a
wandering son to come hcme would tell
how, not long after, they heard the boy s
hand on the latch of the front door,
Samuel Hick, an English Methodist
preacher solicited aid for West India mis-
sions from rich mieer and failed. Then
the minister dropped on his knees, and the
miser said, ~ will givo thee a guinea if
thou wilt givd1oyer." But the minister
continued to pray, until tho miser said,
II will give thee guineas if thou wilt
give over" Then the money was taken
to the missionary needing Oh, the
power of prayer Melanohthon, utterly dis
couraged, was passing along place where
children wero heard praying, and he came
back, saying: Brethren, take courage.
The children are praying for us" Moth
ing can stand before prayer. An infidel
came into Bible class to ask puzzling
questions. Many of the neighbors came
in to hear the discussion. The infdel
| arose and said to the leader of the Bible
class, ~ hear you allow questions askedP"
"Oh, yes, said the leader, "but at the
start let us kneel down and ask God to
guide usl" "Oh, no." said the infldel,
II DID n2t come to prayl came to dis
cuss. "But, !" said tho leader, "you will
Of course submit to our rule, and that is
always to begin with prayer. The leader
knelt in prayer, and then arose and said to
the infdel, "Now you pray" The infdel
replied: II cannot pray. have no God to
pray to. Let me go! Let me go!'' The
spectators, who expected fun, found moth
Ing but overpowering solemnity, and re-
viyal started, and among the first who
were brought in was the infidel That
prayer did it. In all our lives there have
been times when we felt that prayer was
answered. Then let us say SO.
There fingers on this side of the river
any time to CROSS over, the apostle of
prayer for this century, Jeremiah Calvin
Lanphier, the founder of the Fulton street
prayer meeting, and If he should put on
his spectacles and read this salute him
as more qualified than any man since
Bible times in demonstrating what prayer
can do. Dear Brother Lanphier! The
high heavens are full of his fame. Having
announced meeting for 12 o'clock Sept.
23, 1867, he sat in the upper room on Full
ton street, New York, waiting for people
to come. He waited for half hour, and
then a football was heard on the steps, and
after awhile in all persons arrived, but
the next day 90, and the next day 40, and
from that time to this, for over SO years,
every day, Sabbath excepted, that Fulton
street prayer meeting has been q place
where people have asked prayer and an
swers to prayer have been announced, and
the throb Of that great heart of supplica-
tion has thrilled not only into the heav-
ems, but clear around tho world, more than
any spot on earth. That has been the
place where the redeemed of the Lord said
so!
The Value of Kind Words.
Let the same outspokenness be employed
toward those by whom we have been person
ally advantaged. We wait until they arc
dead before we say SO. Your parents have
planned for your best interests all these
years. They may sometimes, their uerv-
Gus system used up by the cares, the losses,
the disappointments, the worriments Of
life, be more irritable than they ought to
be, and they probably have faults which
have become oppressive as the years go by.
But those eyes, long before they took on
spectacles, were watching for your welfare,
and their hands, not as smooth and much
more deeply lined than once, have done
for you many good days work. Life
has been to them more of a struggle than
you will ever know about, and much of
the struggle has been for you, and how
much they are wrapped up in your well
fare you will never appreciate.
Have you by word or gift or behavior
expressed your thanksp Or il you cannot
quite get up to say it face to face have
you written It in some holiday salutationf
The time will soon pass and they will be
gone out of your sight, and their ears will
not hear, and their eyes will not see. If
you owe them any kindness of deed or any
words of appreciation, why do you not say
SO? How much we might all of us save
ourselves In the matter of regrets If we did
not delay until too late an expression cf
obligation that would have made the last
years of earthly life more attractive The
grave is deaf, and epitaphs on cold marble
cannot mako repsration.
In oonjugal life the honeymoon is soon
past, and the twain take 1t for granted
that each is thoroughly understood. How
dependent on each other they become, and
the years 90 by, and perhaps nothing is
said to make the other fully understand
that sense of dependence. Impatient words
sometimes come forth, and motives are
misinterpreted, and it is taken as a mat
ter of course that the two will walk the
path of life side by side until about the
same time their journey shall be ended,
but some sudden and appalling illness un
loosens the right hands that were clasped
years before at the altar of orange bios
SONS, the parting takes place, and among
the worst of all the sorrow is that you
did not oftener, If you ever did at all, toll
her or tell him how indispensable sho was,
or how Indispensable he was to your hap.
piness, and that in some plain, square talk
long ago you did not ask for forgiveness
for infirmities and neglects, and by some
unlimited utterance make it understood
that you fully appreciated the fidelity and
reinforcement Of many years. Alas,
how many such have to lament the rest of
their lives, "Oh, If had only said sor'
The Christian Ideal.
My subject takes wider range. The
Lord has hundreds of thousands of people
among those who have never joined his
army because Of some high ideal Of what a
Christian should be- or because OF a fear
that they may not hold out, or because of
a spirit Of procrastination. They have
never publicly professed Christ. They
have as much right to the sacraments and
as much right to all the privileges Of the
church as thousands who have for years