Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-04-28
Sunday School Lesson
Blu Dr.. Marion Neil. Hull

prayer; but what more need they de-
sire? for prayer placed at their dlsposal
all the power of heaven. They selzeu
this opportunity and prayed definitely,
earnestly and with expectation
Peter was kept in prison during the
Passover feast, for Herod and the Jews
were too pious to soil their hands with
blood during that solemn assembly, al
though they had no computations about
IL after the feast was over. TIE night
before Peter was to be delivered to the
people the church gathered at the home
of Marks mother and continued in def
mite, earnest prayer. The best made
plans fail when God is not reckoned
with, and this is the way God answered
the prayer of the church: Peter was
aroused by a light and some one touched
him on the side. An angel of God was
present: there was no hurry. There
was elaboration in every movement.
The snackles fell from his feet at the
first word of the angel Passing the
first and second guards, they came to
the door which led to the iron gate
which led to the street. The angel
going before, Peter following, the door
opened of it's own accord. The angel
led through one street away from the
prison and then disappeared.
But God never does anything unneces-
sary. There is the greatest economy in
the use of spiritual forces. The angel
went just as far as was necessary for
him to go, but when he had brought
Peter to the place when he could so by
himself he left him. God never wastes
any energy. Peter had been as anyone
would be who was walked up suddenly
out of a sound sleep. He did things
more or less mechanically at first but
realized the reality of it. that it was no
dream as he had supposed at first. He
went to the home of Mark, where he
supposed that the church would be gata-
| cred. He knocked on the door and
called for admission. Rhoda, the maid,
| recognized his voice and was so over
joyed that she ran back to tell the 9TH
ers that their prayer had been answered
and Peter was there, instead of opening
the door to let him in. They did not
believe her; told her she was crazy,
and they might have made her believe
she was crazy had not Peter continued
knocking.
? What is prayer? Intercession differs
from supplication petition, essentially
! in that the object of the prayer is
Others" rather than ourselves. Pray
er is different from anything else in the
world. Prayer differs from work, from
reflection, from waiting, from planning,
from thinking. Prayer is the reference
of our lives to God. We refer the
world of mind and matter to Him and
we adore. We refer our sins to Him
and we confess. We refer our needs to
Him and we make petition. We refer
the needs of others to Him and we make
intercession. We refer our blessings to
Him and we give thanks" Jesus has
given us the supreme example of pray
er for He lived His life in continual re-
ference to His Father but more than
this, He definitely referred everything
to God by prayer. Jesus evidently held
it to be an engagement of the most def
mite and deliberate and definite concen-
tration of the faculties, an undivided at
tention upon a specific work.
Such prayer as this however, is cost
ly 1t demands effort. To pray is to
labor. It costs time. We must have a
definite engagement with God and keep
terfere with it.
greatest mistakes in our prayers are
wondering thoughts. These are frequ-
emily due to i'll health, to WEAKNESS, to
, finite concentration of our mental activ>
| ity. Sometimes our thoughts wonder
| because we do not appreciate where we
are and to whom we are speaking:
| but il is worth the price. 1t costs the
death of self. Sometimes we cannot
pray as we should because sin stands
| between us and God. 1t may not be any
outrageous sin, but ga turning aside or
| slackening of our tendency to Him as
the supreme object of our desires. 1t
| is not abandoning God for a creature,
| but 1t is a dalliance with unlawful OBJ
| jects whilst still adhering to God"