The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-06

1mnh Delivered by Rev. Billy Sunday at City Auditorium,


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God Almighty upon the hsadts of Tn,
unsaved people. You let God have I
chance TO work through your hearti
and minds for one day.
We have drives on war. We have
drives on the Liberty Loan Why
Christ? But you couldn't get the
church to do II II you wanted to-
You can get some of them to do It.
1t Is because yerybody gets UP and
goes 10 talking about a thing that
makes It popular.
And so prayer opens the soul and
makes 1t receptive to the influences
OF God. When you neglect prayer
you shut God out and the man or the
woman whose soul Is opeu. is most
receptive to the Influences Of God.
Blessed are those who pray to God.
If you find somebody that LIS growl-
Ing about my vocabulary. l will show
you somebody that doesn't pray. /
VIII show you perhaps. some preach
er that doesn't preach the truth
when be does preach. Tho only rea-
son he says he is preaching As be-
cause he il standing on an elevated
platform above the other folkA
Prayer leads to activity. You can't
pray thy Kingdom come" and then
not do verifying In your power TO
bring about the coming OF Gods
Kingdom.
Half the people when they pray
don't mean II. They will turn
around and do the things that they
know will prevent the coming Of
Gods kingdom. II Cots viii were
done you would get down on your
knees and pray and you would 70
TO prayer meetings instead OF the
theater.
II Gods win were done you
wouldn't be sitting down at q friends
table and drinking wine and cock
tails. They do not want Cots will
done.
prayer leads to activity, You
can't pray for the conversion OF
your husband and then not do every
thing in your power to bring that
man 10 Christ. Neither can you pray
for the conversion Of your neighbor
or a community In tho world and
answer your prayer. III you want 70
know how much God thinks abo IT
prayer when you make 1t. how much
sacrifice are you willing to make ia
have your prayer answered7 Prayers
are costly.
An May Rend.
+ God translated the Bible no that
three hundred million people can
read 1t that would not have read IL
David Livingstone prayed for the
people Of dark and benighted Africa
and God said. Answer your own
prayer" and Livingstone went Out
In he tungies of Africa to answer
his prayer
David Bra,nerd prayed for tho In
dams and God said. "Answer your
own prayer. and Brainerd went ou'
ana answered his own prayer.
John Eliot prayed and God said
Answer your own prayer and HI
translated the Bible into the Indiar
/ language so the Indians could reat
about Jesus Christ and the Son o.
God
] was preaching In \ town IN
Iowa and every time ! asked IL Their
was any one wished me to pray fol
! them a. woman jumped to her fec
and asked me TO pray for her son
And every time I asked for peopl,
10 come forward noticed q younf
man get up and 70 for the door. A
little later on / saw this woman X
out, had no idea there WAS an,
connection between the two Incl
dents, and Az soon as I could fint
out ! discovered that this boy wen
to a little restaurant which was ths
ioafing place OF the town
Sometimes II In a barber shop;
sometimes IL Is livery stable
sometimes little back room In 9
corner grocery store that IN the
town loafing place.
This woman followed her boy u
the store and she said, Come or
and give your heart to God"
He said, II don't want to 70 out
l will stay here"
She said: II am ashamed to think
that you THINK more OF tho company
here than you do OF me I cared
for you and worked for you and nov
when / ask you to do som ethinE. to
think that men like this have a
have, / am ashamed that / ever gave
You birth"
Then she took hold Of his hand
and prayed for twenty solid minutea
He said. Mother, you need no,
pray any more for me, am goina
with you. come on. ws'fi 70 back"
l can see her face now ~ Il light.
ed mp like q halo OF glory when she
pushed him over the threshold of that
open door and folIowe.: him In and
down the aisle, and / can sec her Al
she said:
Mothers don't give up. He h
thirty-eight years old and ! have
prayed for him every day since the
day first kissed him"
Don't give up. Prayers are cost
iy. They lead to activity. II you
pray for somebody God viii tell you
to go after him. You can't SIT
al ound like frog on . log and ex-
pect the preacher to do II or any
body else, and you fan yourself and
say. ''Oh, isn't II hot?"
You can't pray earnestly and then
be unwilling to give of your time and
Of your Influences and of your money