Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-06-28


living and praying for others. Listen |
to this remarkable history: During the |
famous London dock strike of few
years ago q young man sitting at his |
breakfast table and reading the story
of suffering in the papers suddenly |
said, IL have no right to all this plenty |
while so many are starving" So he
went and drew all his money out of
the bank. Then he bought a lot of food |
and started out To find the homes of
the strikers. He went TO street near |
the docks and stopped before one of |
the biggest tenements and asked the |
landlady If there were any hungry
around. She answered. Lots of them"
Then she told the young man upon
what floors of her own house he would |
find those who were I'm the worst need |
He went from room to room. In some |
of those rooms the men and the women |
who were starving would not touch his |
food because their neighbors were
worse off than they. at amt that Pm |
above being helped" said one gaunt |
haggard man. but I've got enough
ahead to keep me and mine in bread
for one week more. IL the strike amt
off by then I'll take help and thank
you. But there's worse Off than we
are now, and they must be helped
first" At last the young man returned
to the landlady who had directed him
among the starving and bluntly said.
when did you eat anything last?"
"Oh. had something to eat day before
yesterday. You know they cannot pay
their rents now, and l have to keep
hnnnf ll.rk
bread. Why not?" Because" said
the brave woman, II know of some of
them upstairs who have not had
morsel OF food for three days. and ]
wanted you TO help them first" Wher-
ever that young man went during that
London dock strike he found starving
men and women, thinking not so much
for themselves as for others. Thus
may we breathe forth our prayers.
May we pray for others Nav we
plead for others. Like Paul. may we
be able to say. 30 God. for thy honor
and glory may live and may I die"
Let us I'll the six water pots to the
brim when we lift up our petitions to
God
Ampify Your Prayers.
Amplify your prayers. Make them
big enough TO take i'm the necessities
of the whole human race. But do more
than that After you have prayed thus
go forth with the confidence that God
will answer your prayers upon n big
scale. The trouble with n great many
OF us is that we pray big and then
plan small. We lay out our designs
for st. Peters or Milan or n Sc.
x-fll 10 rI-f.
our designs into mortar and brick 10y
building little meeting house or a
village church or roofess barn or a
hencoop.
One Of the small cities OF England
wished 10 build n large cathedral The
citizens came TO famous London
architect and asked him TO design one
which would cost S1,000.0O0. After the
elaborate design had been completed
the committee came back and asked
the architect IL he would cut down his
design and build instead church
worth $4,000. With that the sarcas-
tic architect said. Gentlemen, cannot
you make il 80 shillings more SO we
can throw In fine spireT' Thus some
OF us In our prayers have been petit
tioning God for St Peters cathedral
We have laid out our prayers upon the
most elaborate scale. We have asked
for the conversion of the world We
have pleaded for the emancipation of
the human race from the tyranny O;
sin. We have asked for everything
we ought 10 have asked for. But
when 1t comes To filling up the water |
pots to the brlm we say: "What is the
use? If we can get God to answer
our prayers thimbleful. that is all we
have right to expect" We ask for q |
fine cathedral: then we are satisfied to |
plan for village meeting house or n |
little mud hut. Now. my friends. YOU
have hC right to ask God for big |
things unless you at the same time co |
forward In triumphant faith. planning |
to work out your prayers, expecting
God TO answer your petitions In due |
time
He Got the Funds.
The great trouble with some peo-
pie." said famous speaker once |
heard. lis this; They ask God for a |
certain blessing; they declare that they |
make their petitions In good faith; then |
after they arise from their knees they |
never expect God TO answer their
prayers. Now. when was In the army |
ran out or money. l had to have a |
certain amount TO meet necessary ex-
penses. So wrote home to my father |
ana told him my needs. told him
what-i wanted ! knew he would send
me that money, because what I wanted
was right 10 have. and my father was
financially able 20 meet my wants. So
wrote 10 my father TO send nv mon.
ey 10 certain postofiice. as ! expected
70 DE there IN about three weeks. I'm.
on the faith which had In NV father
went ahead and supplied nv necessi |
Ties. and when | arrived at the post.
once got my money as | expected
Now that Is the way we should honor
God. We should believe in him. We
should ask big things of him. And
Then we should go forth I'm simple
faith. expecting that he will answer
our prayers" No man ever spoke truer
words than these
The more l pOndered upon this part
OF my subject the more l remembered
that the greatest workers for Jesus
Christ have been men who had no
financial capital save their faith. They
hved In one sense mp TO the last cent of |
their income. They prayed for big
things. and then, having deliberately |
and calmly made up their minds that |
COD wanted them to undertake bic |
things. they went ahead and built their |
hospitals and started their reformatory |
movements and their nonav na,oo |