The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-16
INTERNATIONAL s
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
By w. L. ELLIS

might learn it before it is too late.
Bv that law Nehemiah's spirit
showed itself upon his features. II
you pray hard, your face will show II.
If you are petty and selfish and sus-
picious and mean, that, too, will show
upon your face, as plainly asian auto
mobile advertisement in a newspaper.
Life's dominant desires cannot be hid
If had to have the face of many
millionaire. along with his money,
would prefer TO do without the money.
ieNehemiah's solicitude for Jerusalem
was apparent to the king upon his
throne. Thereby his prayer was an
swered.
Some of us have never wanted any
thing in the world so greatly as Ne
| hemiah wanted the restoration of
Jerusalem. Such are to be pitied-
/ They have merely wanted good times,
/ and automobiles and summer trips
| and the qualification of whims: and
/ so they have never really lived. When
we want any great boon earnestly
then we think of it always in prayer
fashion. Millions of mothers are
| thinking Godward thoughts of their
sons today. and sweethearts dream
prayers of lovers, because of the dan
gers of battle and camp. No great
soul can refrain from praying in time
| of lofty desire. All our best aspira-
lions are inextricably bound up with
/ thoughts of God. AS we see sad-faced
Nehemiah standing before the Per-
! sian monarch, we are adm "nished to
| let all our trouble be big ones, at
least of Jerusalem size. Souls are
made great by the size of their con-
Germs. Love of country, solicitude
for the welfare of others than self.
sorrow and work in behalf of the
poor, burning zeal for justice-these,
| and their like, are the anxieties that
/ exalt while yet they weigh down.
The Man Who Prayed in a Hurry.
Two great passions flowed together
to make up the solicitude that wrote
itself on the face of Nehemiah. One
was filial piety. Jerusalem was the
city of his fathers and of their
graves. Our western world does not
fully apprehend the length to which
respect for parents goes in the East.
Perhaps the interchange of ideals
which this fluid time is effecting may
help us in this respect. The other
great desire of Nehemiah was Datri-
! otto. His love for his native land,
like that of our own people at the
present time, was an overmastering
passion. So possessed was he by these
ideals that the king read them on his
face, and inquired the reason for the
unwonted sadness.
5 That was critical moment for
: Nehemiah. 1t is dangerous to attract
the especial attention of despots. Men
Z who serve kings are expected to smile.
{ So Nehemiah, we are told, prayed.
{ This was not the long, fine, formal
prayer about which we studied last
l week. 1t was an e1aculatory prayer
such as perhaps a teacher of grammar
could not parse. 1t shot straight GU,
of the heart to heaven. AS Moody
used to say, it went to heaven so fast
that the devil had no time to interfere
with it. Peter prayed the same sor
of prayer to Jesus when he was sink
ing in Galilee; there was no time fol-
ornate petitions then. Zaccheus PRAYED
i the same fashion AS if such petit
tons are particularly popular with
God, because of their clear sincerity
they are quickly answered. Blessings
continue as they originate. by PRAYER
Perhaps that is what the apostle
: meant by the injunction to be instant
t, in prayer.
: A Chance to Do the Hard Thing.
d There were courtiers not a few
i about the Persian court who would
Y have envied Nehemiah the oppor.
1 tunity which came when the kinu
t asked him what he desired. TheS
Y wanted jobs for themselves, and fol
t their wives relatives. But Nehemiah
: sought only hard thing for himself
: and great boon for mis- people He
Y reminds US of the colleee-bred Iads
g who are eager to 80 into the aviation
( service. He wanted to go to Jerusa-
a lem, and investigate the plight of tho
= city, and of the remnant who re.
e manned therein.
a That was no small journey, as the
d British prisoners from Kut ell Amarra
f which is not far from the ancient Per
sian palace, can testify; as can 1 also
o 1t meant giving up comfort and ease
;, and the meeting of obstacles and
: enemies. Old xenephon led the Ter
D Thousand over part Of the same route
r Also it meant a large military escort
= and materials for rebuilding. Verify
Y you did ask. That is the way to go t.
: a king. Whoever goes to God for
I porridge should carry a large bowl.
n said old John Bunyan.
/, I. Letters for the journey were asked
u 1t was on this very route covered by
Nehemiah that 1 arrived one evening
in the town of Severek, to spend the
= night. 1 called on the governor with
: a letter from the Sublime Porte. ard
& straightway they wanted to throw out
v of the best room i'll the inn a guest
T already established, because of the
p letter 1 bore. In the east the recipient
. of such a letter will sometimes touch
! it to his head, in token of loyalty and
i esteem. In the case of Nehemiah, thf
r letters did the work, he set out 20
e Jerusalem. He was aided on the way
e and succeeded in his mission. His
n prayer had been answered-by way
: of his own interest and endeavor
8 How God delights to answer our
s prayers on our own feeti
: Keeping After Great Goals.
n Terse Comments on the Uniform
Prayer Meeting Topic of The Young
Peon1esS Societjes-C Christie n En-