Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-06-29

sell, OF Brooklyn Tabernacle, preached TO large
! audiences here today two occasions. We re
port his discourse on prayer from the text, BE
| hold. he prayeth," as follows
| The thoughtless utterance Of journalistic petit
, tion is not prayer. though 1t be so called.
The poet expresses the truth on the subject In
the words:
Prayer Is the souls sincere DESIRE
Uttered or unexpressed."
Some of our Lords most severe criticisms OF
the journalistic piety OF his day condemned those
pray, rs which were offered IN public places 20
be heard OF men, to be considered plo ,T
) His curt criticism Of such prayers was erny,
say unto you. they have their reward. They
were in reality praying to men, SEEKING Lor
human appreciation. They got the rewa. u.nSy
sought, in that many were deceived ana tnouEh'
them holy, pious. But while men might De Ge-
ceived with such outward pretenslons' COG lcok-
eth upon the heart and onS n susS to
worship him worship him In spirit and In
truth" John Nv, pa. . 4.
Ananias when directing nim to Saul or Iarsus'
The latter had been persecutor OF the ehuren'
an injurious person, honest at neart Ou' - M 40
God service by opposing the Church OF christ;
Following the lead Of his elders, the Scrlbes and
to make OF him foe to Christ and an opponent
Of all those who sought to walk In MS ways.
The Lord had allowed him to proceed to con on
siderable extent in his prosecutions OF ths
church. The Lord wished certain amount Oh
uercution TO come against his cause, and per
mitted honest he arted man to 20 70 eohslu,
this wa5 to accomplish the scattering OF tne
church. that the believers, going every Wnere:
might proclaims the gospel; that Saul hmseiI
might feel Inundated and forever afterward De
/ On guard against a prosecuting spirit ana
against the danger Of being deceived resPectihns
| the Lords will. When the due time came be
wHs smltten with what he describes TO have
been a glance of the Redeemers face, while on
his way to further prosecute the cnuren al
Damascus
The flash, above the brightness Of the sun 1t
MONDAY, worked serious injury 10 saul e ~
sight completely binding him. led by the
hand, he was entertained in Damascus at the
house OF oac called Judas. He recognized the
source Of his afflctfon. The Lord mad reproved
mF for his persecution, saying. why persc.
tutest thou me?' Saul inquired, VINO ar.
thou Lord?' And the response was, Il am
Jesus whom thou persecutest' perst-
cutting a member Of the Body Of Christ Is perse-
cutting the head of the church. AFTER reaching
Damascus, Saul evidently continued MS pray.ns.
He accepted the fact that his experiences were
miraculous. and proved that he had been serving
God but not according 10 knowledge; that be
as resne.ted the cause Of his Creator. In his
blindness of natural sight the ~yes OF ms uhder
standing began to olSn' he was so bis Course
had been, and how he had been rlghtlhg asuhst
Cod that he could neither eat nor sleep, but
was continually in prayer for forgiveness anu
Ter some manifestation OF divine favor which
would indicate this. He had finally come 10 the
proper attitude Of heart. and as CONSEQUENT e
the Lord received his petition and answered IL
by sending a faithful believer TO restore his
physical sight in measure, ond to further Sn
tighten his understanding. The explanation CIV
on by the Lord to Ananias In sending MIN 70
"BEHoLD, HE PRAYETH."
How much meaning there was IN lnese iu"
words! They meant, Saul of Tarsus Is chang
ed man; he is no longer the seit-coniiuent one,
boastful OF his phariseeism, his holiness MS
tithes and his service Of persecution; bnt' num-
HE'D TO the dust he has come to realize that
while he thought he did service to the hlng Oh
kings, he was In reality servant OF the evil one
while II is true that good men have prayed,
and In spite OF their prayers have made mis-
takes, it has doubtless generally oeeh true true
been along the lines Of too great confluence
in themseves-too much self-assurance In re
spect TO the teachings Of the Bible, too much
self-confidence as respects their service OF the
truth. And when good men have maue mistakes
after praying for Divine wisdom, II is not only
possible but probable that their prayers were
only partially sincere; that when they prayed
TO the Lord, Thy win be done on earth as IN
heaven" they sometimes mesnt ~ approve my
"deceiving themselves" Let us all be on guard
against any such self-deception. Let us remem-
/ in heart" Let us remember that to be pure
hearted means to be sincere, and to utter moth
! search our hearts, as the Scriptures suggest, 10
scrutinize our words thoughts, our con-
duct with a view to noting to what extent self
will. or our own plans and arrangements, are
cere in desiring to know and to do the Lords
will. - -
! Most of you probably have heard the story OF
early frontier life, in which two travellers were
obliged to seek shelter in a mountain home, In
locality where they had been warned was
dangerous, especially as they had money. Only
the necessity of the OCCASION forced them to
seek the shelter. They purpoSed keeping guard
| throughout the night, the one sleeping while
| the other watched in turn, fearing they would
| they had reached this conclusion. one Of them
noticed a crack in the door, and peering through
| II beheld the uncouth householder on his knees
| in prayer. He explained the situation to his
companion, and they both realized their safety
and went to sleep in peace.
There is a principle involved in this matter
/ Of prayer. The heart which seeks Fellowship
with its Creator seeks the Hottest companion
| and more out OF willful sin and depravity.
| Those who have no fellowship with God cannot
keep up for long prayer Of formality In Sc
cret. There must be motive. either to be
| seen of men or to be heard OF God, otherwise
there would be prayer.
Whoever seeks his Creator in prayer is pro-
portionately amenable at heart to righteous In
fluences. Whoever has no appreciation Of prayer
J thereby shows that propOrtionately he is es-
tranged from his Creator-Out Of fellowship with
| Him. And while such may at times, or perhaps
| for a considerable time, be outwardly moral and
| honest. we may be sure that their estrangement
| from God might at any time lead off into sin.
| They are off the path OF divine fellowship, and
on the path Of carelessness and worldliness,
which may at any moment lead Off into the
ways OF unrighteousness.
| Throne of Heavenly Grace.
| st. Paul exhorts the church, Let us come
! boldly (couragcously) to the throne Of heav-
| emily grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
| find grace to help in every time time OF need:
world, but the household Of faith. as indicated