Year: 1871

The prayer meeting is the most impor-
tant institution of the church. 1t is the
engine-room here the power is received
to move all the machinery. Here the
shot are cast that are to hit the enemies
of God out yonder. Here the bolts are
forged that are to breach the walls of
the citadel Of sin.


A church that is worth anything has
live prayer-meeting. Prayer-meetings
are often killed with prayer. Strange
but true. At least killed with what is
called prayer. The prayers, however,
would not be SO killing if they were not
so long. If nothing was ever said about
long prayers, it is hard to tell where
some dear brethren would stop.


Some prayers are systematic enough
to kill meeting ie they had no other
destructive quality.


If you can be patient enough to ana
I'VE them, you will notice that they
have exordium, statement of facts, ar
gument, peroration, etc, but no petitions,
no supplications. They are speeches or
orations, delivered on the knees, or
standing with eyes closed.


Some eprayersareas sortof generalrepo
to the Lord of the state of things in the
church and in the world, with recon-
mendation to look after them as soon as
convenient Occasionally you hear
prayer that would do very well for an
exhortation if not offered as prayer.


Again a brother who is not pleased
with some one in the church, while os-
tensibly praying to the Lord, is praying
at some one near him.


Then you hear the rambling prayer,
rambling here and there and yonder.
The dear brother rambles on eight or
ten minutes, and you think he is put
ting on the brakes (excuse the express
sion) when be breaks out in behalf of
missionaries. Now he must needs 90 to
India, China, and, of course, to the
isles of the sea" By the time he gets
back he finds something loose there that
needs attention, so he winds up after
about fifteen minutes, with about half
the congregation nicely composed to
sleep and snoring, the other half so ner-
vous they can hardly keep still. When
the "Amen" comes, several Of the less
godly jumpup and rush out of the house,
as if they had stood it as long as human
nature could endure it, and now must
have breathing spell.


OF course the minister is resigned.
He don't find it necessary to caution the
people about undue excitement and noise
1t is so still that the silence is almost au-
dible. Here you have the eloquent
prayer, sickening with rhetorical flour
ishes.


But any of these styles of prayer
might be endured if not so long but
the long prayer wears oat and stupefies
the most godly congregation.


On the other hand, short singing and
short praying keep everybody awake
and excite interest. just feel the need of
something and with the simplicity of
child ask the Lord for it.


There is no sence in praying for every
possible thing in every prayer.


With the altar full of penitents, and,
as you would suppose, all the interest
centering in them, | have known broth
er to offer general prayer, just referring
incidentally to the penitents at the close
How much do you think such prayer
would further the interest and objects of
the meeting general, when the need of
immortal souls called for specific prayer


Suppose that the Syro-Phenician wo-
man when she came to get the devil cast
out of her daughter had commenced her
prayer by naming all the attributes of
the Deity, then described the religions
or irreligious state of her neighborhood,
then spoke of the general prevalence of
paganism, then asked that the millennium
might come pretty soon, then prayed for
the sick and afflicted, and "all for
whom we are in duty bound to pray"
FOR the missionary society, tract cause,
etc., winding up with few words about
the devil possessed child; do you imag-
inc that Jesus would have taken any
notice of such string of plentitudes


But she had want that was eating up
her very soul; she came to Jesus crying
about that; her earnest. sincere, natural
pleading touched his heart of love, and
soon the prayer was answered. In your
public prayers, bring the matt r engag-
ing the attention of the meeting to the
throne, and then close, allowing some
one else to take up the strain, while you
pray On in secret pleadings, though you
soon wear a congregation out with long
public prayers.


When some good brethren are called
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