Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-21

do YOU starve your spiritual body2 II
nlne-tenths OF you were as weak physi-
cally as you are spiritually you couldn't
walk
when I was assistant secretary OF
| the Young Mems Christian Association
at Chicago, John q. Peyton came home
from the New Hebrides and was lectur-
Ing and collecting money. He was rails
| Ing money to buy a seagoing steam
| yacht, for his work took him from island
| to Island, and he had to use a rowboat.
| and sometimes It was dangerous when
| the weather was bad. so he wanted the
yacht. II was my privilege to go to
lunch with him. We would go out to a
restaurant at noon and he would talk to
| us. Sometimes there would be as many
| as 10 or 20 preachers In the crowd. and
| now and then some OF us were so In
terested In what he told us OF the work
for Jesus in those far-away islands that
we forgot 10 eat. / remember that he
said one day. All that am owe to my
Christian father and mother. My father
was one OF the most prayerful men l
ever knew. often in the daytime he
would slip into his closet, and he would
drop a handkerchief outside the door,
and when we children saw the white SEN
tlnel we knew that father was talking
with his God and would 20 quietly away.
II is largely because OF the life and in
fiuence Of that same sanity father that
! am preaching to the cannbals in the
South Seas
at is an insult to God and a disgrace
to allow children to grow up without
throwing Christian influences around
them Seven-tenths of processing Chris
tians have no family prayer and do not
read the Bible. IL Is no wonder boys and
girls are going to hell. 1t is no wonder
the damnable bathrooms are wrecking the
virtue OF our girls.
I'm the 14th chapter of Mark It is
told that when Jesus had sent the null
titudes away He went up Into the noun
tain and was there alone with God
Jesus Christ never forgot to thank God
for answering His prayers. Jesus asked
Him to help Him feed the multitude, and
He didn't neglect to thank Him for It.
Next time you pray don't ask God for
anything. Just try to think of all the
things you have to be thankful for, and
tell Him about them.
Pride keeps us from proper prayer.
Being chesty and blg-headed Is respon-
sible for more failures than anything
else In this world. 1t has spoiled many
an employe. Some fellows get a job,
and In about two weeks they think they
know more about the business than the
boss does. They think he Is all wrong
II never occurs to them that 1t took
some brains and some knowledge to build
that business up and keep 1t running
till they got there.
Here's two things to guard against,
Don't get chesty over success or dis
couraged over seeming defeat.
And when he prayed he said, Lag |
arus. come forth; and he that was dead |
came forth II we prayed right we would |
raise men from sin and bring them forth |
into the light of righteousness.
And as he prayed the fashion of his |
eountenance was altered. Ladies', do
you want to look pretty? If some Of |
you women would spend less on dope, |
pazaza and cold cream, and get down !
on your knees and pray, God would
make you prettier. Why, l can look into
your faces and tell what sort of lives
you live. If you are devoting your time
and thoughts to society. your counte-
nances Will show it. If you pray, 1 can
see that.
Two famous men walked the streets
OF London one day. One was William
Pennyfather, the great philanthroplst
ana deVout Christian of England, and
the other was Radcliffe, the famous in
hdel and attorney. Pennyfather said
In mans face, and Radcliffe jeered the
Idea. Pennyfather was too modest to
offer himself as an example, but Just
then poor mendicant. a street beggar,
and Radcliffe said, Wen try
t on that fellow AS the Tnendicant
|
ACE of the inidel lawyer with his
sneers at religion, and turned away
Then he looked into the mild and gentle
ace OF Pennyfather, and he said: oh,
nan with God and heaven in your face,
please give me penny!' Radcliffe was
taggered. There must be something in
hat he muttered as he walked away |
That man didn't know either of us, and
lie didn't know what we had been talking
bout
we haven't had genuine revival In
his country since 1857. That revival
n New York. 1t spread quickly, and
t spread everywhere. Teamsters would
ump from drays, printers would leave
he shops with the Ink on their hands, |
merchants would leave their counters,
nd everywhere men would quit work
pread to Boston and Chicago and Gin
innati and Pittsburgh and st. Louis
nd San Francisco and IL jumped the
ceans TO Europe and Australia, and mill
ons were converted, We have had little
revivals-since then, but
ot religious landslide. What the
hurch needs is not a larger member
hip, a new carpet, a bigger pipe organ,
ut more men who know how to pray. ,
every man who has helped to light
p the dark places OF the world has been =
praying man. never preach a sermon
hen 1 never forget TO thank God for
elping me when ! preach. / don't care
yhether you read your prayers out OF
book or whether you just say them
o long as you mean them. A man can
cad his prayers and go TO heaven. or
e may just say his prayers and go to
ell. We've got to face conditions, When
read find that all the sanity men
rho have done things from Pentecost
ntil today have known how 10 pray.
! was a master stroke OF the devil when
9 got the church to give up prayer, I
me OF the biggest farces today is the I
verage prayer meeting. 1
Some pray, Thy win be done then s
o out and do something to block Gods
I'll and keep His kingdom from coming.
Matthew says: But when thou pray s
st, enter into thy closet, and when thou I
asst shut the door, pray to thy Father. e
hlch Is in secret, and thy Father, which '
.est In secret shall reward thee openly s
hey say that the roots OF the trees s
zach out for many yards around-ths 8
scret source OF their outward strength.
you have no secret religion you'll have
D public religion. So many people never !
ray They do no personal work and '
icy don't teach In the Sunday school
hen the revival services come along
lsy're Of no use. At the Chicago Y. NJ.