Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-27
OUR PRAYERS
FOR VICTORY
Doctor Adams Gives Reasons for
Day of National Sup
plication
By GEORGE d. ADAMS. d. De

I A lNlN IItSlutIl call lot n hdN VI f''N'N'
~ In which this nation shall make its
petition to Almighty God for His blessing on
"our boys" the cause for which they hght
and a righteous and speedy victory, is
matter of too great Importance to be passed
over lightly. To some whose lives nave
never been touched by the deeper spiritual
! things Of the soul it may seem but marx
| OF sentimental weakness. However, II II
were sentimental only, it would be mighty
| thing for a great people to be moved by
! such a sentiment in the midst of the most
/ awful day Of the worlds history.
Others may be inclined to treat 1t as the
! Indulgence Of harmless superstition ana
| pass 1t by lightly because they have never
! felt the ncarncss Of the unseen world. Su-
pcrstiton-wcll if it were that alone VINO
would dare cross the will Of this great peo-
pie bowed under such a supersutionE faul
called the altar worship Of the gods by the
Greeks "superstitious," but when the Greek
soldiers rushed into battle shouting He"S
softer kdi Nike CZeus Saviour and victory
they were irresistible and they brought back
the victory. But 10 the vast majority OF
the people of this land this call seems right
d
ourselves. for both the religious and the
irrcIgious sense the awful presence OF uh-
seen forces against which our minds struE-
aro i'm u vain effort to understand. And the
most natural thing is to fail to praying
about it,
4 great danger, sudden fear or intense
suffering brings "a prayer to the lips OF IT,"
utterly goddess. National calamity, such as
resticucc or famine or the crisis of Ef'aI
war. has again and again in ages past
brought whole tribes aud nations to their
knees beror, their gods or their God GIVEN
aa adequate cause, the individuals and ma
tons Of every religious belief and Of no be-
lief whatever turn to prayer with quick
ness of instinct that outstrips reason what
rrorc i'm keeping with the inner conscious
r,s. of mans need for prayer in a crisis
tlan this sane and deliberate call of our
President? And why should it b, observed
With all seriousness by the whole people
Not because We are afraid of cnGuIu"
death and are brought to our knees as th"
,ur-iug sailor is brought by the hurricane.
,;ot because we gee anything but victory
ahead of US in this awful war. But be-
cause. as il seems to me, for very ulut'eht
and perfectly sane reasons
, r,..,....,,
Inc instinct oI Ii"Sei
First. Prayer is the expression "i the
faith of individual or people.
All men believe something; even the
'uostic believes that ne believes nolhihE
and every man is made stronger by eNerCiS-
ing his faith i'm the things he believes. Inc
impulse 10 pray reveals the iact that All
men believe that there is a God above lhem |
10 whom they can COMMUNICATE theW nee"
and from whom they can receive help. rms
ia the least of faith and brings the lowest
type of prayers; but even so, lie who cries
out 10 his God with sense that he can hear
and can help becomes by that very. act a !
stronger man and for the moment at least
feels the thrill of power associated with ms |
weakness
What is true of the individual is true of
a people. 1t was the constant utterance /
Of their faith in the worship of Jehovah
The ideals may descend 20 the lowest forms
Of idolatry or rise 10 the conceptions of |
the perfect revelation Of God. IT matters |
not; whusocver exercises his faith in a being |
above him by prayer to that being becomes |
stronger for his task All of this is what
is called the reflex Of prayer on the life |