Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-05-03

the last Judge
All through the record, however
are little bits that give us the truest
insight into the character of Samue
and the reason for the great influ
ence that he exerted on his OWL
people and since. They discover tt
us the great fact, the outstanding
characteristic Of the mamie was
a man of prayer!
He had been born In answer tt
prayer. He had been given to Coo
by his mother, when she uttered ont
OF the most remarkable prayer
prophecies on record. He had beer
reared in the atmosphere of prayer
He was recognized by the people a:
a prayer. When they came to Miz
pah, it was their request that HI
cease not to cry to God for then
that they might be delivered out o.
the hand of their enemies. It was
at G1lgal when Saul was proclaimed
king that they recognized their sins
and begged Samuel to pray for them
1t was to him that Saul came wher
seeking his fathers asses to ash
that he pray that they might bt
discovered to him. He was univer
sally recognized for his prayer abil
iity.
He did exploits in prayer. At Miz
pah his prayers produced conviction
of sin in the hearts of the indiffer
ent people. At Gilgal his prayer
brought a thunder storm at the time
of the wheat harvest. 1t was Sam
uePs prayers that accomplished the
victory over the Philistines, for il
was AS he offered the lamb. for 6
burnt offering that the storm came
and disconnected the enemy. Tt was
his prayer that discovered Saul hid
den among the stuff.
| Prayer was his great resort. Wher
his problem seemed unsolvable, Sam
uel prayed. When the people de
manded a king, he prayed the mat
ter through with God, and then
went back to Him a second time and
rehearsed in Gods ears all that the
people had said. He resorted tc
prayer when Saul could not be
found. He resorted to prayer when
Saul was rejected, crying unto God
all night. He erected an altar when
he went back to the old home at
Ramah and there prayed year in
and year. out to Cod
One Of the remarkable parts OF
| the record is that of his converse
tons with God. This began as a
child, this talking with God. 1t con
| tinued during adolescence-God let
none of his words fall to the ground
One of the most extended converse
lions was in the matter of a, king,
| God told him in his ear the day be-
| fore Saul appeared that he would
come and must be anointed. God had
quite a conversation with him about
his mourning over Saul, and his
| choice of David to take his place,
And then when he was inspecting
Jesse's sons, God spoke to him when
David came in saying, arise and
anoint him. He was in constant
fellowship with God, and talked with
Him about matters, great and small
1t was prayer that marked Sam
uel as an unusual man, and gave
him such an influence over the life
Of his nation then and since.
The Strategic Value of Prayer
All! if we today could catch Sam
uel's prayer spirit; and knod~that
we can do anything when we have
prayed but that We can do moth
| ing until we have prayed. The SUI
! preme need of the hour today is
men and women who pray. And the
reason is this: The devil is making
! a supreme effort today; his activi
| ties are becoming more intense eV
I cry day. He is resisting at every
point every effort to accomplish the
divine plan for the redemption OF
| the world.
The situation is tragic. In Sam
uel's prayer spirit; and know thai
the word of the Lord was precious
the recognized leader was so weak
| that there was really no leader, the
nation was politically bankrupt, and
religiously inert. 1t was through
Samuel's prayer life that the change
was accomplished.
The world today is in chaos. In
no country is there a leader strong
enough to solve it's probleRs. Eng
land, France, Germany, Russia
China, Turkey, America-the list
might be extended-no leader in any
country strong enough to grasp the
helm. The world is rushing madly
along into the Niagara of satanic
domination. The DEVILS plan is tc
wreck human governments so as to
make possible the rulership of his
personal representative-the anti
| Christ. The spirit of lawlessness is
| everywhere rampant.
Religiously the situation is more
distressing. The church is the bes1
| institution in the world; the worlc
cannot get along without it, even In
| its present state; but in spite of al
| that the ,church-the truth must be
| faced-has lost it's hold. And the
| devil is responsible for this. If you
| doubt for one moment the hold the
| devil has on church members even
! then think this through-God's day
| is desecrated; Gods house is neglect
| ed; Gods word is doubted and criti
| cized and rationalized; Gods Son is
| humanized, wrought to the level Of
| mans mind. And this is by those
who call themselves His followers
| The church is in flood Of apOstasy
| All about us-in the world, in the
| air-are the agents of the most sub
| tie, most pertinacious, most de
termined, most powerful enemy OF
| Man and of God. And the danger OF
| it and difficulty is tNlt he never
fights in the open.
What is needed? Men of prayer
like Samuel. Because prayer is the
mightiest weapon of attack. Prayer
can accomplish his defeat. Are we
| discouraged? No! We are alert. We
know our enemy and his methods
and his power; but we also know
that at the Cross of Jesus Christ
he was defeated, whipped to a fin
ish. He will not admit it until he is
forced to do so; but he must wher
you bring him face to face with the
Cross. There Christ overcame him
there He purchased for US not only
pardon, but power over the works
of the devil. 1t is to the Cross that
we must fly when we see the devi
gaining power over any individual
over any church, over any part OF
Gods plan for the redemption of the
world. 1t is at the Cross that we
must remind him that he was de