The Yale expositor., 1900-11-16

the slender nerve that moveth tae
muscles of omnipotence." Prayer is
the healthful respiration of the soul.
II Is the whisper OF helplessness into
the ear of help. 1t is laying hold OF
almightiness, omniscience and omni-
presence at one and the same time.
Prayer ellists all divine and angelic
reinforcement. Prayer is laying hold
of a pulley fastened to the heavenly
throne. Prayer is the first breath OF
a newborn soul and it is heard in the
last gasp of earthly Christian expert
ences. Prayer In an instant 1t
mounts the highest heavens. Neither
seraph nor archangel ever flew swifter
or higher than the infants petition at
her mothers knee. What an oppor-
tunity is prayer! Why not oftener use
it praying for ourselves and, like Job.
praying for Others? What better work
would we 90, what better lives would
we live, what better hopes would wa
entertain. If we multiplied and ip-
tens,fied cur prayers!
John Newton's PRAYER.
In all the tossing Of this lifo lay hold
OF the rope OF prayer mentioned by
John Newton. who was converted on
shipGoard from being a blasphemOus
sailor to become a great preacher of
righteousness and who said: when l
0rst amused myself with going to sea,
when the winds rose and the waves
became rough, / tumbled and tossed
about like porpoise il the water. At
last | caught hold Of rope that was
floating about, and then | was enabled
to stand upright So when in prayer
a multitude of troublous thoughts in
wade your peace, or when the winds
and waves Of temptation arise, look
out for the rope, lay hold Of the rope
and stay yourselves on the faithful
ness of God keeping his promises"
Now, if God has during these re-
marks shown us the uEes the import
ance, the blessedness of prayer, sup
pose we try to co what Job did when
he prayed for his eXasperators. Many
Of us at the beginning of this subject
felt that, while we could pray for our
kind to us. we never could reach the
high point Of religious experience in
which we could pray for those who an
noy us and make us feel worse in
stead of feeling better That was a
Matterhorn, that was an Alp, to the
top of which we feared we could
never climb, but we thank God that
INV n mo ha
reached that height at last. Let us
pray! o Christ, who didst pray for
thine assassins, we now pray for those
who despitefully use us and say all
manner of evil against us. For their
eternal salvation we supplicate. When
time is no more, may they reign on
thrones and wear coronets and sway
scepters of heavenly dominion. Mean
while take the bitterness from their
soul and make them soon think as
we'll of us as now they think evil.
Spare their bodies from pain and their
households from bereavement. After
all the Misunderstanding and contro-
verses of this life are over, may we
keep with them eternal jubilee in the
mansions on the hill. And as thou
didst turn the captivity Of Job when
he had prayed for those who badly
used him and health came to his body
and prosperity to his estate, now that
we have by thy grace been able to
make supplication for our antagonists,
cure our diseases if we are i'll, and
restore our estate if it has scattered,
ard awaken gladness in our home
steads il they have been bereft, and
turn the captivity of our physical pain
or financial misfortune or mental dis
tress. And thine shall be the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever
ard ever. Amen.