The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-23
DR. VANCE BREACHES.
AN ELOQUENT MINISTER FROM
 NEWARK, N. J.
He Comes to Montgomery to Conduct g Meeting at Central Presby- terian Chu-ch--Spoke @
 on Prayer.

pr. James I. Vance, pastor of the Dutch Reform Church of Newark, N. J.. arrived in Montgomery yesterday morning and conducted services at the Central Presby- terian Church last night.
 Dr. Vance is a forceful and inspiring speaker. and is possessed of a magnetic personality. He Is a Southern gentleman, born and reared, the son of Col. R. l.. Vance of Bristol, Va.
 His sermon last night was clear, con else and eloquent.
 pr. Vance will preach at the Central Church at 10:3O o'clock in the morning and at 8 o'clock in the evening. Saturday morning he will hold a special service for children.
 Dr. Vance, in addressing the congrega- ton last night, spoke of his pleasure in coming here to join with the ministers in this service for Christ. and by His help and grace. hoped to lead others into the Kingdom of Christ.
 The. subject of his discourse was Prayer" The text from which he preached was from the 11th verse of the 9th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Behold, he prayeth." e:.
 "SauI had stoutly resisted God" said pr. Vance, had breathed out threaten inRs and slaughter against the disciples, but now he is praying His sight is gone and for three days he has been without food or drink, but now, behold, he pray the :"
 Relief is at hand. he said, for now he prays. and prayer moves the Almighty. Prayer rises from the human heart and pushes its way toward the mercy seat and strikes against the harp of God.
 Dr. Vance showed that too little time oaIA a a.. sociate prayer with religion, but do be- lieve in 1t.
 So few" he added, "pray-the kind of prayer that breaks into the consciousness that moves us. and a prayer that moves man will move God"
 He said the great trouble is. that people pour the same old monotonous petitions into the ears of God, day after day, and the main thing in prayer Is not Tn the words of the prayer. though public pray CTS should always be intelligent. There are some things in the hearts. some thing that cannot be put into words. Dr. Vance emphasized the fact that no Christian can afford to leave prayer out of his daily life, for the success or the failure of Christianity depends upon the success or the failure of prayer beautiful thought advanced by Dr. Vance in connection with prayer Is that to the mere petitioning God for things we want or need is not all of prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray-"Our Father, which art in Heaven that was asking nothing, but showed the spirit of adoration. Confessions and thanksgiving to God is prayer Opening up the life to God and bringing unto Him the daily needs, is prayer.
 Another beautiful thought presented here was that beyond all earthly forces and earthly splendor Is God, and prayer Is the avenue through which the poorest the humblest of sinners may reach Him.
 Prayer Is to the soul, what air Is to the lungs" said pr. Vance. Vitality is better than drugs, with which to fight disease" And he said prayer is the greatest of all known spiritual weapons.
 In speaking of the special services which he has come here to hold, pr. Vance said that no spiritual good can be accomplished without the aid of prayers and there must be prayer within and prayer without, for prayer has all to do with the success of a meeting such as this one, and what Is wanted most and needed most is revival of prayer"
 Science has disclosed that the world is governed by natural laws, and Dr. Vance told an instance of a professor, an atheist, who in speaking to his class, said that he had dissected and examined many bodies, but had never yet found a place for a soul. He spoke of the .ab- surdity of such an assertion.
 True science" said pr. Vance, Ifs coming more. and more to acknowledge God in all creation"
 Dr. Vance then graphically depicted the different phases and types of people who have lost faith in prayer, giving in each instance, the reasons for the loss of faith.
 In more cases, said Dr. Vance, the an- swer to prayer did not come just as soon or In just the way expected, and when eveErwe give up praying, then satan wins theSNlctory. God has not promised to give us everything for which we ask. but what we need most is a deeper trust and a willingness to say in truth and sheer ity. Thy will be done
 others who have felt that prayer was a failure" said Dr. Vance. ''are those who are too sinful. They do not care to pray, because they do not dare to pray. They need to give up their sins before Gods answer can reach them."
 Christ prayed" said Dr. Vance. "He prayed on the Mount. He prayed on the seashore. He prayed in the garden of Getnsemane and He prayed on the cross, and above all else, as an example He taught His disciples to pray.
 Dr. Vance said that to take prayer out of the Bible would be like taking the heart out of the human body, for If there Is any truth and consolation in the Bible. 1t Is in prayer; if there is any worth in Christian experience the worth Is in prayer.
 The first man prayed" he said "and all the way down through the history sR men they are found praying. The needs of Ollr nature demand DraYeH
 Dr. Vance spoke of the diseases of prayer; of prayer suffering from doubt, neglect and indifference; of formality in prayer as a disease-producing ossifica- tion. Yet the prayer habit is a good one, and he showed the necessity of teaching the children to pray. The trou- ble of habit is, he said, that 1t degener-