The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-05-12

James, 9Th chapter, 18th verse.
In his sermon at the tabernacle on
Friday afternoon, Rev. w. A. Sunday
said:
Does it pay to pray? Wen find out.
Mrs. Browning asked Charles Kings
ley one time the secret of his beauti-
full and attractive life. He replied by
saying, Il have a friend"
That man or woman who can look
into the face of all people on earth
and say everyone is my friend and
then look up into the face of God and
say, He is not my friend" you are
to be pitied.
But if you can look into the face
of God and say "He is my friend"
every decent man or woman on this
earth is your friend. So it is a great
thing to be able to say that the devil
has nothing to do with you, no use for
you. But God has. He has lots of use
for you.
There are two benefits derived from
prayer. First, upon yourself it reflects
a blessing. Second, in the direct an
swers to prayer and the blessings
which come from them.
Henry Drummond tells of young
lady the beauty of whose life was an
attraction, and everybody that came in
contact with her was astonished, and
one of them asked her for the secret.
But she refused to reveal it, she con-
stantly replied, wait until die and
then open the locket which hangs
around my neck"
And when at last she died they
pried open the locket and found this
hov 10f
seen, love-"
And there is such transforming pow
err in meditating on God and prayer
that 1t will make your life like mag
net is to steel, it will draw and you
the world.
One of the old guard at Waterloo,
when the English surgeons operated
on him, said: You cut one inch deep
er and you will find the image of my
emperor engraved upon my heart"
Queen Mary, when entering a foolish
war with France, said: when l am
dead, if you will look into my breast
you will find Calais written on my
heart"
Prayer Helps Realize
Presence of God
Now first there is the reflected bless
ing. l am going to speak to you large
Iy this afternoon from experience.
First, prayer helps US realize the pres
ence of God. Not that you should not
realize it all the time, but l think
if there is time in anybody's expert
ence when you do, it is when you pray.
II will be with thee whittier thou
goest and / will go unto the land of
your father
l read the other day a beautiful leg
end of st. Bridget. One time she was
approached by a blind nun who be-
sought her to open her eyes, and the
legend said that st. Bridget prayed
that her eyes should be opened, and
the eyes of the blind nun were opened
and she looked upon the bubbling
springs and the rushing streams, and
the shaded groves and the flowers and
as the sun went down, she turned to
st. Bridget and said:
pray God will shut my eyes quick
and keep them closed as long as l am
alive, for when they were shut 1 had
no thought about anybody but God
but since they have been open 1 have
thought of everybody but God and
have had no thought of God since
could look upon the beauties of the
world. Pray quick that my eyes will
be closed again"
Prayer seems to shut out the world
and the thoughts of the world and
gives God a chance to move through
your heart and mind. So take for
granted that we want experiences Of
that kind, and so prayer helps US real
lie the presence of God.
Prayer helps us realize our depend
ency upon God. | pity anybody that
thinks he can get along without God
You can't take one breath without God
You are in debt to God for the breath
you draw, for the food you eat, for the
water you drink. Yet lot of people
reach out their hands and take these
things and all they do is to turf
around and damn God.
| wonder at Gods patience with PEG
pie. You can't even draw a breath
q without the will of God. Prayer helps
Us to realize our dependency upon God
Jesus spent the night in prayer ant
the next day three very important
things in his ministry occurred. The
first he chose twelve disciples which
formed the neucleus of the church o.
today. Whether or not he talked witt
God about those men and their char
acter do not know. But the very mex
day he asked twelve men to be associ
ated with him as his disciples.
Second: the people pressed upon hin
for the healing virtue that went on
from him.
Taught His Disciples
Sermon on Mount
Third: he sat on the mountain side
and taught his disciples the sermon
the Sermon on the Mount or the
"Beatitudes" those matchless thing:
you find in the fifth, sixth and seventh
chapters of Matthew.
All right. you let the church of Coo
spend a day in prayer and fasting
spend a night in prayer and see wha
will happen for the cause of God AL
mighty upon the hearts of the unsaveC
people. You let God have a chance t.
work through your hearts and minds
for one day.
We had drives on war. We haC
drives on the Liberty loan. Why no
have a drive on winning men TO
Christ? But you couldn't get thu
church to do it if you wanted to. Yol
can get some of them to do it. 1t il
because everybody gets up and goe
- to talking about thing that makes j
" popular.
And so prayer opens the soul anC
makes 1t receptive to the influences
of Cod When you neglect prayer