Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-16
Prayer


prayer is the souls sincere desire,
uttered or unexpressed."
In this time of unrest, this time of
sorrow, this time of faithful striving
after what is right, as well as by many
q ceaseless striving to escape RESPONSE
bility and salf-denial, one need not be
surprised to find all sorts of so-called
prayers" and all sorts of theories
fairly bombarding one.
can't tell how many prayers and
pamphlets have been sent me. And still
they come. If 1 were in the least super
stitious I'd be afraid to let one of the
requests be unnoticed
A subscriber asks my ideas on the
subject of the prayer that is now an
noying the lives and minds of the super
stitious. 1t is called the Red Cross
prayer, and is the same old prayer that
scared the lives out of some people
twenty years ago, only it now has the
Red Cross for it's object. 1t is as usual
a garble of stuff and it promises all
sorts of bad luck to those who fail to
keep it going. There is a streak of SUI
perstition and fear in most of US. We
cannot see the future, we know that
We have not lived up to the best in us
and we are not sure that our SINS of
omission perhaps, will not find us out
AS We SOW, so shall We reap, grows into
a flaming sword in the minds of some.
There is a morbid idea in some minds
that calamities are more liable to come
than blessings; they are the sort that
the prayer appeals to. Those people will
write the nine copies nine days and then
go right on doing something, maybe
slandering an innocent person or bear
ing false witness, or grinding the face
of the rcor" Doing the so-called little
hot ranHpr them nhnOXiOnS
singing flies. Then there is a. class OF
people who really want to do every
thing in their power to help the world,
and to live on a. higher plane, they
measure the prayer by this rule: There
can be no harm in it, 1 will send 1t on
There is nothing absolutely neutral.
Either it helps or binders. In the, case
of these so-called prayers we will sup
pose it is sent out by one of the latter
class. Take your own self, for instance.
You send it to nine people. Are these
nine women among your acquaintance
that have time to write an absolutely
useless letter., When you wrote that
letter did it not take time that could
have been used in writing to some one
needing a word of cheer, or a line from
you telling of your keeping them in
your thoughts? If you should be so
fortunate as to have every friend and
acquaintance .T1Snl- III SlShL NhCA uAOAJ
YOU know that CHEEKY letter written
to a soldier in France or Italy would
do more good than ninety chain prayers.
Take the financial side of the chain"
Twenty-seven cents added to the price
of the stationery used in nine letters
would feed a starving baby at least
three days. Ten cents a day is all tha'
is asked for their milk.
So. you see there is real harm In send
ing the chain prayers, If you do not
know where to send the money for the
babies, give 80 cents to your Red
Cross chapter. There would soon be
quite a pile of pennies for them to use
in buying supplies. -
To whom arevyou praying when you
send; that sheet of paper, to the reelPr'
,ieut or to God? If to God you need not
write it off, and if you want your friend
to pray to God, and that is what all
of us want, why not write personal let,
ter and say so. Don't try to scare any
one into praying. Such prayers do not
amount to anything. God could have
put flaming sword between Eve and
the fruit, but that is not Gods way
little lower than thu angels, made
in. his own image, it. is our prerogatiVe
to decide for ourselves, God is not afar
off He is ever ready to turn a liston-
ing ear to our petitions He hears the
heart-you remember that Hannah re-
ceived her hearts desire even though
her lips moved not and the priest be-
fore the altar thought she might be
drunk. -+
Pray without ceasing, remember that
a little talk with our Elder Brothers,"
our Counsel" our Friend" makes many
a problem clear. Let us not forget that
we are only cogs. in the great wheel
called the universe and that our heaven
ly Father is going to answer our ped-
ton in a way that will give the great
est good to the greatest number The
little streak of selfshness in our hearts
may be like unto that which some Of
US is displaying in these war times,
making us take all the sugar and flour
we can get, even though others may
starve What we cannot see we need
not worry over" is mighty poor motto
when it is applied to starving people.
So let's worry over Belgium and the
starving babies enough to give them the
stamps these chain letters demand.
Along the same line. only more sacri-