The Washington herald., 1918-02-10
The Herald's Sunday Sermon
WHAT Is PRAYER?

Memorial Congregational Church:
Text-"Lord. teach US to pray
Luke III.
This IL a scientific age, an age Of
investigation, an age of honest doubt.
an age in which the wide-awake man
is prepared to give a reason for the
faith that Is In him. When Robert
<. Peary set forth his claim to the
discovery of the north pole the world
said possibly so and possibly not so:
and not until Peary's report had un-
dergone a rigid examination. had
stood the test of criticism. and had
been pronounced as true. did the
world accept his claim to the, dis
covery of the pole. The world acts
on the principle that a claim must
be proved beyond q reasonable doubt
before 1t is accepted as q fact, and
the world has a right to make such
demands.
This Is also an economic age, a prac-
teal age. 1t is not an age in which
theories and visions are belittled. but
an age in which public opinion is call
ing for theories and visions that work
out for some practical good. The pub
lie is saying, THAT looks good on
pdpCIs uuN lllC ScSChlidi lhiNb M NJ"
does 1t work on the field OF contest?"
In other words. public opinion is ready
to cast aside any proposition. regard
less OF its attractiveness. that will not
stand the test of criticism and prove
to be of some practical value.
The subject Of prayer. like every
other great subject. has been open to
investigation and criticism. The
world has often said. what lie prayer?
! Is IL a visionary subject, a subject
for the dreamer; Is 1t only a theory?
Or is it a fact, something tangible
that we have in our possession and
can use for our own good? Will It
bear investigation, or must It be ac-
cepted at the command OF supersd-
ton?
believe I voice the sentiment OF
thoughtful people the world over
when I say that prayer has stood the
test of centuries of investigation and
criticism and beyond doubt has proved
its practical value TO p1an.
Now, let US think of prayer as
law. a universal law in the spiritual
world. Says Henry Ostrom. Prayer
is a law in the spiritual world, just as
gravitation and vegetation are laws
in the material world" 1t is natural
for man to pray, just as natural as it
is for an apple to fall to the earth,
the grass to grow or the rose to bios
som.
But how do I know that prayer Is q
law in the spiritual world? Just as l
know that gravitation and vegetation
are laws in the material worldly
experiment and observation. When 1
toss a ball into the air. say hundred
or more times. and every time 1t falls
TO the earth. discover a lava law
that the earth has the power of at
traction. This law we call the law
of gravitation. When I put seeds of
various kinds in to the ground year
after year, and each year the seed
produces fruit after its kind. some
ten. some twenty. and some sixty
fdd. 1 discover a lava law that
when seed is put into the earth under
proper conditions 1t will produce seed
of the same kind. This law we call
the law of vegetation.
BY the same process. though in
different realm. We discover the law
of prayer. When we trace the history
of man we find that in every age, in
every place. man has sought commu-
MON with a Being higher than him
communion We call prayer. Further
more, we find this to be true of every
class, from the man who wallows in
the gutter to the king who sits upon
the throne. Explorers have found
tribes who knew nothing of literature.
that had not the slightest conception
of modern civilization. but they have
never found a tribe that did not pray.
Those who go about the streets and
underworld. commonly called gun
men. may not care for music, may
not be concerned about the nations
welfare. may have no use for the
Christian church, but there come mo-
ments when these men are glad to
have the opportunity to pray. On
the other hand, there are men who
occupy high seats of honor and re-
sponsbility. men who have in their
possession all that this world can give
them, and these men. too, in their
busy moments find time to pray.
Look at Socrates: the wisest man
and greatest philosopher of his day
he was at his best while kneeling in
prayer. Witness Banjamin Franklin,
an author. a diplomat. a scientist, a
man VINO. gave us many of our mod
ern electrical devices. 1t was Frank
lin, who, il the early days of the ma
tion's inde pendence, when our Consti-
tuition was young and untried. rose
and said: 81. therefore. beg leave to
move that henceforth prayers implor-
ing the assistance OF heaven and its
blessings upon our deliberations be
held in this assembly every morning
before We proceed to business"
And it was George Washington who
then rose from the Presidents chair
and replied: Let us now raise a
standard to which the wise and hon
est can repair; the event is in the
hands of God" And our young men.
inspired by the results of scientific
research. brimming full Of patriotism,
boasting of the spirit of freedom en-
throned in our Constitution will do
well to remember that that Constitu-
ton was conceived, born, and nur-
tured in an atmosphere of proyer.
Tennyson struck the keynote when he
said: by prayer. as by chains of
gold, man is bound fast to the feet Of
God"
We find. therefore. by observation
and experience a law in the spiritual
world. that man always and every
where has reached out beyond the
human and sought communion with
the Divine. This law we call the law
Of prayer.
Since prayer Is q law, It must be In
harmony with reason and common
sense. Prayer involves the personality
of God. When we pray, we talk to a
being with intelligence. one who rea-
sons; a being with feeling. one who
loves; being with will power, one
,,,ho oets-a nersnnalitv person a.,
III. HERALD. p.lrx on. cent.