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PRAYER.
Editor of The Conservative :
*
lu reply to A Worn Out Super
stition by Mrs. E.E. . Evans ,
I wish to say that pray
ing is neither worn out nor is it
superstition. That the people who
believe in the efficacy of prayer make
mistakes , through ignorance , is true ,
and that they fail to some extent is
also apparent. Christian people ,
through want of understanding of the
word of God , and consequently of the
will of God , make mistakes. Com
pared with the success of the business
of the world , the children of God have
not made a great success of their work.
The fault is with the workmen , but
not with the means nor the work it
self. A man will not succeed in serv
ing the Lord unless he knows how to
do his work. That there is cause for
criticism among those who are ignor
ant of the word of God , no intelligent
man will deny. If the men who claim
to be servants of God would reform
their ways and let their light shine
before men , they would present an
array of facts which would silence all
gainsayers. If the prayer formulas
were all burned , except the one in
Matthew which Jesus taught , the
world would be better off. The Lord
never made a prayer book nor printed
a bill of fare in reference to our daily
bread. God intends that every man
shall do his own praying and that he
shall ask for what he needs and for
what he ought to have. That men
fail very frequently in praying is
certain , and for well known causes.
"Ye ask and ye receive not because
ye ask amiss ; ye ask and ye receive
not , because ye wish to consume it on
your lusts. " Very few people know
how to pray. They pray to the Lord
or to the Holy Spirit ( and call him
Ghost ) instead of praying to the
Father in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Then they dictate to Him re
gardless of whether it is according to
the things of God.
In regard to praying for the recovery
of McKinley , I am sure that many ut
terances , kindly expressed , were mis
directed. The same was true of Gar-
field. While feeling deeply the loss
and laying the matter before the
Lord , I did not ask for the restora
tion of either , ana felt that praying
was in vain.
Yet , while many petitions fail , the
history of the world is full of in
stances where prayer has been an
swered. George Mueller established
an Orphanage , sustained it for years
by contributions which he obtained
from the Lord by private petitions.
Two young girls hero in Denver
established a Rescue Home for poor
and fallen girls and. sustained it by
money and provisions sent in answer
to prayer. ' I visited them and learned
that many times when the fuel and
food were all gone they would retire
to the prayer room ( they called it
"Power House"aud ) tell the Lord what
they needed , and in a few minutes
some one or more would come in with
what they asked for. A book could
be written of a thousand pages con
taining items like these , and find as
may truthful witnesses as the book
has pages. After the destruction of the
Maine , the people were determined to
force McKinley into a declaration of
war. He knew what the people diJ
not know , that Dewey's fleet was not
supplied with ammunition , and a dec
laration of war would result in dis
aster. He retired to his closet and
plead with the Lord to restrain the
people until he could send supplies.
If yon remember , the Lord had quite
a job on his hands , but He held the
fierce passions of men until the supply
ship arrived at Hong Kong , and with
it the message to strike the Spanish
fleet wherever you find it. Many in
stances of this kind are given of Lin
coln. You have all seen the picture
of Washington at Valley Forge , pray
ing.
Abraham prayedthatlshmael might
live before him. Well , Ishmael is
there yet , in the wandering Arab.
Solomon prayed that the Jews might
be restored to Canaan. There is now
in Denver a lady representing the
Zionist movement for the restoring of
the Jews to that land. The Bible says
they are going back , and the signs say
they are getting ready. After speak
ing of returning to their land and
enumerating the blessings in addition ,
the Lord says , "yet for all these
things will I be inquired of by the
house of Israel to do it for them. ' '
In short , it will come in answer to
prayer.
I might name a man who has made a
business of asking the Lord for the un
derstanding of prophecy , who saw the
wonderful future of Egypt before he
heard of the plans of England to
throw the Nile waters over the whole
land. He can also tell you the future
of the Euphrates valley , where the
great city will be built ; the change of
physical features , where the eastern
commerce will center ; the people who
will build the city. I do not think
that infidels know that a railroad has
been projected from Constantinople
to the Persian Gulf , running through
the fertile valley showing that the
Scriptures will be fulfilled. Only the
parts which events now show are pre
sented , however , for the consideration
of the sceptic.
The influence of prayer is the his
tory of civilization. Jesus taught His
disciples to pray , "Thy Kingdom
come" and also wo are taught in
Psalms to ' ' ask of Me and I will give
theo the heathen for thine inheritance
and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possessions. " Well , they
have been asking it and "tilings are
coming our way. ' ' Wo do not reckon
time by Olympiads , nor the founding
of Rome nor the Hegira of Mohammed.
Anne Domini has banished all these
modes of reckoning , and the whole
world submits to this Christian order.
Rather suggestive , is it not , that
when Hume , Voltaire , etc. , dated
their tirades against Christ , they were
compelled to say "in the year of our
Lord Jesus Christ1' ? It must be humil
iating to an atheist to be compelled to
go to schools organized by praying
men , and be compelled to listen to the
professors pray. Not one school has
infidelity ever establishednor institu
tion for the benefit of the race , not
even Girard College. The opponents
of prayer and the Bible and Christian
ity seem to be compelled to resort to
superstition ( as they call it ) in order
to get names for children. Hume
went back through 8,000 years of fog
to find David. Elizabeth runs back
1900 years and finds the mother of
John and cousin of Mary , the mother
of Jesus , both praying women. From
Abel to the last priest , prophet and
king and the last apostle , the world
has found names for its children.
Both men and. women of prayer have
millions of namesakes because they
are worthy. The Antis as Cain ,
Atrithophel , Pharaoh , Herod and
Judas Iscariot are left alone. How
many namesakes have Hume , Tyndal ,
Bolingbroke , Porphyry or any of the
great infidels ? How many children
will be named for Wilkes Booth ,
Guiteau , Leon Czolgosz , for Lucy
Parsons or Emma Goldman ? They
all opposed prayer , practiced anarchy
and all were opposed to the marriage
relation. They "sink into the waves
with bubbling groan , without a
grave , nuknelled , uncoffined and un
known. ' '
HUGH A. BARCLAY.
Denver , Colorado.
SCHOOLS.
Editor The Conservative :
It has been on my mind to make a
few suggestions about schoolsbut after
seeing your article entitled The
School Trust , it appears you only
need encouraging.
You are on the right road and will
probably "get there. " I want you
to say that it is wrong to use the pub
lic money to give training to a small
proportion of the people , in lines that
nine-tenths cannot or will not use.
Why give help to those who would
learn professions and not to those who
learn trades ? Would you not have a
higher education ? One would say :
Would you not have builders , black
smiths , farmers , merchants , carpen
ters , tanners ? I answer : Certainly
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