The Washington herald., 1922-08-19
Prayer Answered BY Actual
Results, Declares Bryan
Says Prayer Line Of Communication Was Es.
tablished in the Beginning and Has
Never Been Interrupted.
By WILLIAM ]. BRYAN.

talk today The text IL the irst
chapter of Nehemiah, wherein is
recorded one of the truly great
prayers OF the Bible-rthe supplica-
| tfon that one Of the most remark
able Of Biblical characters made to
God before he sought permission
from the Persian King to whom he
was cup bearer that he be allowed
to go to Jerusalem and rebuild
that desoiate city.
The effectual. fervent prayer Of
. righteous man avaiieth much"
God assures us In His Word: or. as
the revised version has It THE
suppiication of righteous man
availeth much In its working" No.
where is this better Illustrated
than In the important consequences
I flowing from Nehemiah's prayer.
And his 10 prayer that gives clear
answer to the question that has
troubled many hearts: How shall
we pray?
| Prayer Is In itself an evidence of
faith. One will not pray unless he
believes that there 10 q God
personal God.
| The pantheist may believe that
God Is everywhere and in every
thing, but such q God does not
draw forth 'supplication" or fer
vent prayer" God must be near
enough TO hear and willing to an
swer-such q God as Christ de-
scribes when He tells US that our
nVes are precious in the sight of
God and that the Heavenly Father
Is even more willing than earthly
parents TO give good gifts unto
His children.
Proof Of Gods Nearness,
Boreham, an Australian minister,
mas presented in a very persuasive
way the proof of Gods nearness.
He quotes the questions asked
from two standpoints. A little girl
In a hospital wonders whether God
can hnd her when there are SO
many cots in the room. while a writer
OF prominence thinks 1t belittIes
God to assume that He would be
interested in the personal Affairs
OF insignificant human beings.
The ehild's question is excusabIe,
Tor the world seems very big to the
chile and 1t might naturally won-
aer now anyone. even God, could
know everything about every
body and feel an interest in the
details of a multitude Of lives. But
the chilo learns as II grows, and
after while can comprehend that
God great enough to plan every
thing and create everything is great
enough to know what He has done
and to feel personal interest In
every one of His creatures.
we need not worry about the
child; its faith will lead its mind.
II the faith is allowed to lead
Such questionings are only dan
gerous when the mind assumes to
lead. The finite cannot compre-
hend the infinite; therefore the
mind, when 1t is in control, closes
the door to faith and will not ad-
dress petitions to the throne of
God.
over-EstimatinE the Mind.
Romanes. in his notes on religion.
analyses the reasons that led him
into avowed agnosticism; he saws
that his mind would not permit him
to pray because he over-estimated
T. . mind and nder-estimated the
heart and will.
when, after wandering for a
quarter of a century in a starless
night. he began to work his way
back to the religion of his youth,
he called Huxley to account for
saying that science had demolished
faith. and finally paid tribute to
the supremacy of love in the elo-
quent words of Bourdellon:
The mind has = thousand eyes,
The heart but one;
But the light Of . who.e life dies
When love II done.
Romanes says that 1t was eyo-
luton that led him away from or
thodox Christianity; he accepted it
as the fundamental law of the uni
verse and. conforming his views to
1t. dropped one after another of the
tenets of the Christian faith until
he stood alone in an infinite uni
verse without chart or compass.
He followed what he believed to
be the imperative DEGREES of his
reason and was even heroic in the
acceptance of conclusions which he
thought necessary. even though
they compelled him to forsake "the
hallowed glory of a creed that once
was mine for the lonely mystery
of existence as 1 now find it," He
said that in SO doing his heart ex-
perfenced the severest pang of
which 1t was susceptible.
No Prayer without Faith.
/ have dwelt upon the basis of
prayer because there can be no
prayer without a faith to build il
upon.
When one believes in God-not
merely complacently accepts the
fact of Gods existence. but makes
belief in God the controlling pas
sion Of his life. dominating every
impulse and energy-he can ap-
proach the throne of God fervently
and offer supplication that
bridges the space between his
heart and the heart of the Heavenly
Father.
Prayer is the central thought of
the Old Testament: every prominent
figure among the Israelites prayed.
and prayed fervently.
The prophets were conspicuous
for their petitions to jehovah
their prayers ranging from requests
for divine guidance in the affairs
of life to the sending down Of fire
from heaven and the raising OF the
dead. Often prayer was accompa-
MED by fasting, that the petitioner
might separate himself from the
distracting environment of worldly
cares and find uninterrupted COM
munion with God.
The First Thought in Prayer.
Nehemiah's prayer began with a
confession of sin-this is the first
thought that arises when the heart
turns to the Heavenly Father.
However Indifferent one may be
to transgressions at other times. he
cannot be unmindful of his sins
when he comes under the influence