The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-03-05
FIRST LENTEN LECTURE
AN AUDIENCE OF ONE THOUSAND AT
TABERNACLE CHURCH.
Rev. j. Cumming Smith in His First
Talk OF a Series Discusses the
Subject OF Prayer.

The Rev. j. Cumming Smith had an audi
ence of nearly one thousand persons at the
first of his series of lenten lectures at the
Tabernacle Church yesterday afternoon. In
part he said:
Jesus reveals the fatherhood of God. and
therefore the value and eternal validity of
prayer. Two certainties loom up like noun
tains out of the mistiness of theological
sceneries. The first is the reflex action of
prayer. To commune with the eternal
Father must still the mind and solemnize
the hope. The sense of His supreme man
agement of all our earthly lives induces us
to pillow ourselves on the bosom of His
wisdom. No intercourse with His holiness
can fail to purge our minds. Not only is
the inner life revitalized by such fellow
ship, but through the minds uplift the
outer life gains help. Constant communion
with God of hope must quiet the nerves
and calm the stormy sea- Mind cure or
faith cure is atheism if God be left out
With God back of mind and potent through
the mind mind cure is a method of prayer
IL every business man rose betimes and
assembled to the attitudes where God dweIIs
and spent one hour in the morning in that
realm OF calm thought and ozone and
breezlneSS then he would carry all his finan-
clal problems with mastery and require no
vacation. Nerve rest implies an oVerstrain,
and this again implies some deep lack of
cheerful, sunny trust in God. He who
overworks lacks faith. He who fancies the
whole world lies on his shoulders lacks the
faith which shares the weight of the worlds
responsibility with Him who made all
worlds.
Prayer always has it's sweet reaction on
the soul. a little child and woman in
lonely, silent sorrow offer perfect PRAYERS
Men are awkward; they are oratorical in
their effort, or they inform the omniscienr
on mundane affairs, they use hack
neyed phrases, or they use prayer as a
chance to hit other peoples weak points
Children sobbing or sunny shoot arrows
that pierce the, heart of God Women sim
Gene and lovely in uplOok appeal irresist-
IDLY, and the rebound In their own expert
ence is the answer.
Some schools so dealt the inner life as
to limit prayer to this reactive feature
The school of Maurice and f. w. Robert
son and all intuitive minds tend to this
view l feel while it is the chief il is not
the whole truth, and 1 reach the second
certainty.
THE DESIRES OF MEN
THE desires of men have the power to
work out toward their objects. and the
world is shocked with what men need.
Fatherhood if infinite implies laws not for
one child, but for all children. Laws come
into view at once. Some desires are easy
of satisfaction. If a man wants game he
trudges through the woods while his
hounds scour the grounds to start fowl or
hare. If a man desires learning or afiuent
imagination he reaches out and finds the
world responds to his effort for that spe-
cif1c culture. Sometimes there are desires
that require centuries. Devout souls have
prayed for cures for cancer or consumption
No doubt the world has hidden away in its
wondrous pharmacy some juice or root
that will kill the tubercle germ For every
disease there Is he
cOvery is delayed. Why? Because all in
ventions do not come until they are due
If they came beforehand they would wreck
the world while they seem to bless il
Cures might increase the malady Cures
might lessen the precautiOn. Not until the
human race at large has attained a high
point of intelligence and self-goVernment
would it be safe for God to unlock the
secrets that would drive off every plagur
Even Pharaoh was better because of
plaques. Diseases are educators and will
be till mankind knows how to steer clear
of what causes diseases. Hence the law
of development and the slow timely dis
cOVery OF cures must be a law by which we
interpret all Scripture texts. Indeed, a man
must go outside the Bible to understand the
inside of the Bible Science and narrow
prayer disagree Science and true PRAYER
are two names for the same thing. Nature
and history are as imperial and illuminative
as the Scripture, for while in the one God
speaks, IN the other God works. Sects need
TO broaden out and not mangle revelation
I'VE deplore the habit of criticising the
immortal masterpieces. Every few years
some contracted circles find fault with the
Lords prayer. 1t is not good enough. 1t is
not complex enough. 1t is not based they
say, on the mediation of Christ. Why
should il be? If God is father the PRAYER
itself is sufficient The sacrifice of Jesus
is not required TO soften a sullen God or
make Him bend 10 our weak voices. Let
all pray. Let heather pray. Let the child
in the dewy morn of innocence pray Christ
helps men 10 pray | protest against all
narrow and stereotyped explanations of the
microscopy functions Of Christ. They are
medieval They spring out of harsh
thoughts that darken the beauty and orbal
perfection OF God. God is larger than our
minds He hears gladly heather and Chris
tian, orthodox and heterOdOx-all but the
pharisee. Let US not measure the munih-
cent economies of Gods love by our yard
sticks"