Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-05-25

Flying through the air went great
beams. 1t was death overhead. 1t
was death all around. 1t was death
everywhere. The dead were so many
that after the water had subsidized they
were piled into boats and taken out
and dumped into the gulf stream. They
We're too many even to be buried.
How did you feel during that awful
tragedy?" asked. As calm as I do
now" he replied knew that In the
face OF this storm and flood no human
arm could save me. Human help was
beyond the question. 1t could do no
good * IL came. could not swim.
Besides that, I had In my house wife
and two little children and five or six
old people who had come there for
shelter. So when the storm was raging
Its fiercest l gathered them all togetl-
err In an upper room. Then l said:
Friends. the Bible tells us that IL we
come to God In believing prayer and
ask Of him anything we will he will
grant us that request. Now. / believe
God will save us IL we ask him. Do
you believe as i believer Yes they
said. Then we ali knelt and we all
prayed. When i arose, felt that God
would save us. I never had n tremor
about the result. He did save us. Aft
err awhile n roof came floating past.
My aged negro servant caught II. He
held 1t for a little while by the side OF
the house. placed the whole family
upon the roof. Then l climbed there
myself. 1t was an awful night. No
horror could be greater than those
hours we passed through. Yet all
through the night kept saying: 4 be-
lieye. believe. / believe he will
save us. believe And save us he
did" Could you in time OF trouble
make believing prayer like that?
Could you appropriate to yourself the
promise as he did, Do you believe
God will bless you as an Individual IL
you obey his commandments the same
as he blessed his people In the Gal
weston food and blessed the disciples
OF old who tarried still in Jerusalem
until they were endued with power.
from onshigh?
Why,the Power Came.
s But these disciples of old did more
than to simply believe that Christ
would give to. them the higher power If
they would obey his commands. Dur
ing the days preceding Pentecost, by
prayer. by supplication and by conse-
Grafton Of their full lives TO God, they
put themselves into proper condition
to receive this power of the Holy Spirit.
They not only threw themselves upon
the divine love. but they prayed and
kept on praying something like this:
40 Gn6 I'll f-o n
make me clean vessel for the spirit
life! o God. take oil selfishness and
meanness and world lines out of my
life! o God, may l live and breathe
and plan and work only for theew Is
not that your idea OF how the disciples
OF old passed the days in Jerusalem
preceding the moment when the power
of the Holy Spirit came upon them i'm
tongues OF fire? II you and l would
only do as those disciples OF old did !
and come with such prayers and plead
ings upon our lips, do you not believe
that Christ would also endue US with
power from on high?
If might be pardoned a smile, my
idea OF those days preceding Pentecost
were not like our evangelistlc meet
ings when a preacher would stand ND
and deliver a text and then have an in
PRODUCTION and a conclusion. They
were rather like the days of the Welsh
revival of 1905. There, am told, the
people crowded into the churcaes. and
there was no set leader. Now a hymn |
would be started. Now the premises of |
God would be repeated by many differ
sat lips. Now testimony would be |
gwen. Now an earnest prayer would |
be lifted up. The meetings would not |
start at z or o'clock and run for an |
hour and half and have eyery one |
look at his watch If the service |
went q second over ninety minutes.
BUT there the meetings would start at
any time. Then when the meetings.
once got started they would run on and
on, sometimes five or even ten hours
long. as though the Christian people |
We're loath to leave each other and go |
homo and 60 to sleep. Yes, the Welsh