A Visit To Friends.
"I will hold thee by thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear
not, I will help thee."
"Once I held in my hand an open letter, containing an invitation to
visit friends I had never seen. My heart bounded with pleasure at
thought of the journey, and the pleasant visit to follow; but, on second
thought, it almost stood still--where could I get money and proper
clothing? Several weeks passed
wrote my friends I could not come at present; but, in my heart, I could
not give it up. My parents were visiting in the far West, and I had no
one to advise me; so, up in my little room, night after night, I made it
a point to tell the Lord about it; and soon it seemed as easy and right
as though I were talking to a friend. One day, my brother-in-law said he
would pay my expenses to and fro. I thanked him, and took fresh courage,
and still kept on praying. Then the same good brother gave me money for
a dress; then a friend furnished other articles, and soon, I was en
route for the quaint old city by the sea. Every step was accomplished by
the simple way of prayer; and, when I slept, late that night, in a cosy
room at the Methodist parsonage in N.B., I could look back over the last
few weeks, and thank God for the _power of prayer_. But the best of it
all was the lesson I had learned--one which I shall never forget, while
memory holds her magic power--to carry _everything_ to God in prayer; to
trust him in every matter, however small; and this is the whole secret
of the power that lies in prayer."
"I found another lady visitor at my friend's and we were to share the
same bed. This was a little trial; I had to ask the Lord to give me
patience--and He did. One night, I was very restless and nervous; I
could not sleep. I knew I was disturbing my friend--soon she said,
'Annie, I am going to ask the Lord to come and put you to sleep. Now,
lay still, and in five minutes you will be all right'. I did so, also
breathing the words, 'Give me sleep, dear Saviour.' The room seemed to
be full of a soft, soothing influence, and I fell asleep. Once only in
the night I awoke, but soon went asleep. When I awoke in the morning,
rested and refreshed, Tillie, who was dressing near me, looked up with
her pleasant smile and said, 'Annie, how wonderful it was. You were
asleep in less than five minutes. It seemed as though Jesus stood close
by your side; I could _almost see_ Him, I felt so clearly His presence.
He is here now, Annie; can't you feel Him near? He was very good to you
last night.' Yes, indeed, I felt the influence of His presence, and, all
day, whenever I entered the room, I felt it, and it seemed as though I
must tread softly, it was so like holy ground. This feeling lasted
through my stay, and, last Winter, while again visiting the home of my
friends, it all came back to me again. This beautiful influence has ever
kept with me, and I never close my eyes in sleep until I say, 'Oh, Lord,
breathe upon me the sweet spirit of sleep.' However weary, sick or
nervous I may be, I feel that the soothing power will come; and, with my
hand in His, I rest peacefully, at last."
More
-
A Pair Of Shoes.--the Lord's Rebuke To Those Who "didn't Believe."
The following incident occurred in Connecticut: In an humble cottage two sisters were watching over and caring for a much-loved brother, who, for many long months had been upon a bed of sickness. At length, the younger of them began to be discoura... A Persecutor Punished By The Lord.
A most devout, hard-working and poorly paid man, was the object of constant persecution by a cross-grained, ugly, infidel neighbor. For three years the thing went on, till the Christian thought he must remove from the place. He could not do it wit... A Physical Impediment Removed.
"A clergyman, of great scholarship and genius, has told me of a remarkable answer to prayer, authenticated by three missionaries known to himself, who are personally acquainted with the facts. "A Prussian, the master of a hotel in India, was anx... A Poor Old Sick Lady Restored.
"The poor, sick old lady for whom I requested your prayers some time since, wishes to return thanks to Almighty God, for _restoring her health_, and _sending friends_. It is wonderful how your and our requests are answered." ... A Poor Student Prays For Money.
"I was a poor student in a Manual Labor Institute at the West. The month of February was our regular Winter vacation. We were privileged to keep our rooms and have board at one dollar a week. But I had absolutely no money. I was six hundred miles ... A Powerful Dream.
"My father, a minister of the gospel, was prostrated by sickness. A large family of little ones was dependent upon him for support. Funds ran low. One evening my mother remarked that she had broken the last dollar. My father lay awake most of the ... A Prayer For $25.
"God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform." "I had a present of twenty-five dollars once, which was a direct answer to earnest, pleading prayer. I was entirely out of money for months--I could not earn a dollar. I had those ... A Prayer For A Horse.
"My horse died, and, after traveling through the snow-drifts to my appointments, till I was lame, half sick, and unfit for service--as I had not means to purchase a horse, I thought of quitting the work and going to teaching, and laid the matter b... A Prayer For A Load Of Wood.
Here is an illustration of the way in which God sends relief in trouble. The story is told by the Christian woman to whom it happened, in her own language: "About the month of January, 1863, I was living in Connecticut, alone with two little bo... A Prayer For A Servant.
"Some time after, we failed to find anything like suitable help in the house, which we greatly needed. Before starting out one morning, in secret I prayed to God to direct me as I went on my uncertain business, and prayed as I called at different ... A Prayer For A Wife.
"When I believed it would be well for me to seek a companion for life, I asked of God direction in making a wise choice, and that, in a matter of so much importance to me and others, I might meet with success or _hindrance_, as my heavenly Father ... A Prayer For Bread.
"Washington Allston, who stood at the head of American artists a half century ago, was, at one time, so reduced by poverty, that he locked his studio, in London, one day, threw himself on his knees and prayed for a loaf of bread for himself and wi... A Prayer For Fifty Dollars.
A clergyman writes _The Christian_ as follows: "The Winter of 1872 I spent in missionary work, carrying the glad tidings of the kingdom of God into new fields in the 'regions beyond.' With my devoted wife, I labored ardently for the salvation of... A Prayer For Five Dollars.
One of the City Home missionaries in New York city received on a certain day five dollars with special directions that it be given to a certain poor minister in Amos street. In the evening the missionary called and gave him the money. For a mom... A Prayer For Four Dollars.
A Home Missionary from Brooklyn called one day upon an editor to gather some tracts for distribution which he had published. The editor became interested in the story of his visits among the poor, and though at first not specially moved to give mo... A Prayer For Thirty Pounds.
"On a recent evangelizing visit to Newport, one of its citizens said to me, 'In yonder house dwell a man and wife, who recently needed a sum of L30 to meet some payment the next morning. Having failed in their efforts to collect it, they earnestly... A Prayer Not Answered.
"Many years ago, a man then recently married, settled in my native town. It was then quite new, destitute of religious privileges, and given to all manner of wickedness. There was no Sabbath, and no sanctuary. The man was pious. The thought of bri... A Recovery From A Death-bed.
"Some forty years ago, in a rural parish in New England, a young man lay apparently on his death-bed with a putrid fever. His aunt, in whose family he was staying, was a woman who had long lived in habitual intercourse with the unseen world throug... A Refractory Man Compelled To Pay A Debt.
A refractory man who owed a small debt of about $43, refused to pay it all, but offered to do so if ten dollars was taken off. His creditor, feeling that it was just, declined to abate the amount. For more than a year the creditor waited, after ... A Remarkable Case.
On the afternoon of Monday, August 20, 1869, I was sent for to visit Mrs. M., who was reported to be very sick. Arriving at the house, I was told that "Mrs. M., after a hard day's work, had retired to rest Saturday night in her usual state of heal... A Remarkable Decision By A Jury.
"In one of our northern cities, a trial at law took place between a Christian and an infidel. The latter had sued the former for a heavy sum, falsely alleging his promise to pay it for some stocks which he claimed to have sold him. The Christian a... A Remarkable Dream.
The late Dr. Whitehead was accustomed to repeat with pleasure' the following fact: In the year 1764, he was stationed as an itinerant preacher in Cornwall. He had to preach one evening in a little village where there was a small Methodist Society.... A Remarkable Prayer And Its Answer.
A lady, who had led for many years a life of faith, caring for orphans and invalids, was led one day in thought to wish that she might devote all her money to the work of the Lord, and use it specially for one branch of his service which few had e... A Remarkable Prayer Concerning A Remarkable Text.
A clergyman, accustomed to preach regularly in his journey through Fleming Circuit, Kentucky, was preparing on one Saturday for the labors of the next day. He was then staying at the residence of a family named Bowers, from which he was to journey... A Remarkable Promise.
At one period in the history of the Consumptive's Home, a sum of three thousand dollars placed in the safe, and reserved to be used for payment on the purchase of a new building was stolen, and there was not left a single dollar; every penny was g... A Servant's Prayer For A Good Home.
"I was brought up religiously as a servant in a family in Connecticut, and from twelve years of age until twenty-three, knew no other home. The old couple died, and I lived with their children, but they were so different that I became very unhappy... A Severe Tumor Healed.
During the year 1872, there was under the professional care of Dr. Cullis, at the Consumptive's Home, a Christian lady with a tumor which confined her almost continuously to her bed in severe suffering. All remedies were unavailing, and the only h... A Situation Obtained By Prayer.
"Yesterday I sent a request that God would give me sustaining grace and abiding faith, and in his own good time give me a situation where I might be able to support my family. In that very afternoon, I made a contract of $1,200 a year. Praise the ... A Skeptic Overpowered.
"More and more God is pouring out His Spirit, gloriously answering your prayers and ours. I have been constantly asking your prayers, and though, for a while, the vision tarried, _yet it has come. The young man_, from a neighborhood where there wa... A Special Word To All Seeking To Escape Evil Ways.
Should these words meet the eye of any one so troubled over any evil way or bad habit from whose bondage he would gladly escape, let me say to you these words of good cheer: "_The Lord can save you, the Lord can deliver you, the Lord can wholly he... A Spring Mattress.
"Last Summer, when I bought my bedstead, I did not have money to get either springs or a mattress, so I fixed up a clean, straw bed, and covered it nicely with a thick comfortable. It was pretty hard--I did not rest well. So, one sleepless night, ... A Steward Of His Lord's Bounty.
An aged benevolent friend in a western city, states some interesting facts respecting his own experience in giving systematically as the Lord prospered him. He says, "Our country and professors of religion in it have become 'rich and increased in ... A Sunday School Teacher In Distress.
"My brother," says Dr. Hall, "told me that when superintendent of a Sunday school he felt a strong impulse, one Saturday evening, to call at the home of one of his teachers whom he had never visited before. He found his mother and sisters in such ... A Telegram Of Prayer.
An incident was related at one of the meetings by a clergyman who had written a telegram asking for prayers. God heard it before it was sent. "When we were in Switzerland, my daughter was taken very ill, so that the doctor despaired of her life.... A Very Present Help In Trouble.
"At one time, during a season of adversity, there was urgent occasion for a certain sum beyond the income of the family, and there was no way of borrowing it. I took the matter to the Lord in prayer, asking Him, if the money were really needed, as i... A Vessel Saved.
A vessel was six months making the passage from Liverpool to Bermuda Island. Fogs enveloped it; winds sent it hither and thither; captain and mate lost their reckoning, lost their senses; and when, added to the rest, the vessel sprung a leak, gave... A Visit To Friends.
"I will hold thee by thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee." "Once I held in my hand an open letter, containing an invitation to visit friends I had never seen. My heart bounded with pleasure at thought of the j... A Wagon-load Of Food.
"A young minister and his wife were sent on to their first charge in Vermont about the year 1846. On the circuit were few members, and most of these were in poor circumstances. After a few months the minister and his wife found themselves getting ... A Watch Given To The Lord--how The Lord Returns A Better One.
"Last year, during a season of great need, I sold my watch; yesterday, the Lord returned it by a gift of a much better one from a friend, who had purchased it abroad, knowing nothing of my need, thus proving, 'He that soweth bountifully, shall rea... A Woman Delivered From The Habit Of Drinking.
"I visited a family for whom I have felt a deep interest for weeks past. The father had been out of employment some time, and they have lacked food and clothing. Much of their trouble has been caused by the intemperance of the mother. Her husband ... A Wonderful Cure.
An earnest Christian woman who believed the Lord greater than any earthly physician, cries, "_O, praise the Lord. He hath delivered me in six troubles, and in the seventh he hath not forsaken me_." "And the seventh was the worst. By the help of _e... A Worldly Man Surrenders.
A clergyman says, "I was very anxious for the building of a mission chapel to accommodate a flourishing mission-school that had been organized under my pastorate. Knowing that a certain physician of the city was possessed of abundant means and had... Abraham Lincoln's Faith In Prayer.
When President Lincoln left his home in Springfield, Ill., February 11, 1861, on his way to Washington, he made the following farewell address to his friends and neighbors: "My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel a... All Our Needs.
"About eight years ago, while a Student in college, I became embarrassed for want of funds. Debts began to accumulate. Anticipating money from usual sources, promises had been made to pay at a certain date. "The time to make these payments appro... All Saved.
In a dismal basement, A. found a very interesting American family. The father, in the last stage of consumption; a little girl of ten years, an invalid from infancy. The mother and two daughters, both under fifteen, were out all day at work, tryin... All-sufficient For All Need.
"I am a mother of seven children. By the help of our Father in heaven, we have all of us gone regularly to church and Sunday-school. We are poor; and at length the time came we were not clothed so we could comfortably go to church. I earnestly ask... Almost A Bankrupt.
A prominent Christian had just entered a merchant's counting-room, when the head man of the place said to him, "Let us kneel and ask God to help me through, for without his help, I shall be a bankrupt before the setting of the sun." So they knelt ... Almost Lost.
"Your prayers and mine for my son have been answered. He was almost lost, on the downward road of intemperance. He has now reformed." ... Almost Persuaded.
"Some weeks since I requested prayer for a member of this Institution who was 'almost persuaded' to be a Christian. Thanks to our Father, and to those who have offered prayer in her behalf, she has been _altogether persuaded_, and has united with ... Always Answered.
"Several times in years past I have asked for the prayers of this meeting, and always found them answered." ... An Extraordinary Life Of Faith And Trust.
For many centimes there has not been a more remarkable testimony of unfaltering trust in the faithfulness of God in supplying human wants, than is found in the life and labor of George Muller and his Orphan Home, in Bristol, England. His record is... An Infidel's Life Spared A Few Days.
"During the Summer of 1862, I became acquainted with a Mr. A----, who professed infidelity, and who was, I think, as near an atheist as any I ever met. I held several conversations with him on the subject of religion, but could not seem to make an... An Injured Leg Restored To Proper Length.
"Some months ago a young lady called, requesting to be prayed for. She simply told me that some years ago she was run over and her hip badly injured. I asked her if she could trust the Lord for healing. She replied, 'Yes.' I prayed, with her, and ... An Intemperate Husband Saved By Prayer.
"Some three weeks since, I asked you for my intemperate husband, that you would pray that he might be _willing to be saved. He has been made willing to give up the intoxicating cup,_ and says he has _not any desire_ for it. To God be all the prais... An Intemperate Young Man Reclaimed.
"Rejoice with me, and thank God for his gracious answer to prayer. The intemperate young man for whom I requested prayer some months ago, has turned away from his cups, and is earnestly striving to overcome his appetite for strong drink. He is com... An Old Lady Saved From Little Annoyances.
"Your prayers have been heard and answered in mercy. The old lady has not been quite so much annoyed. Thank God for some peace for the aged one, not able to bear what younger people can, that go out into the world and can find relief. I thank my h... An Old Man's Prayer.
"I feel also like mentioning another instance. I knew an old father in Israel, a minister of the gospel, who once in speaking with a brother minister, after a revival of religion in which five of his grandchildren had professed their faith in Chri... Another Deliverance.
"Tobacco was a great trouble to me; and I had tried a number of times to leave it off, but could not do so. One night as I was retiring to rest, I thought I would kneel by my bed and ask _Him_, who never refuses to answer prayer, to take from me t... Another Example Of Beneficence.
"A liberal donor, in enclosing $100 to a sister institution, but strictly withholding his name, says, 'When I began business, it was with the intention and hope to become rich. A year afterward I became, as I trust, a Christian, and about the same... Another Instance Of Superhuman Control Of The Locomotive, In Answer To
... Another Wonderful Record Of $25.
_A Christian minister_, living in Northern Indiana, was in want, and knelt in prayer again and again before his Father in heaven. His quarterly allowance had been withheld, and want stared him in the face. Constrained by urgent need, and shut up t... Answer To Prayer In All The Little Temporal Anxieties Of Life
The question having been asked, "Does God answer Prayer, in even all the little anxieties and cares of daily life." _The Illustrated Christian Weekly_, called in 1876, for testimonies of the surety of God in fulfilling his promise, and giving answ... Answer To Prayer In Temporal Matters.
A speaker said at one meeting, "God answers prayer in temporal matters. In a Western college, at a time when the last morsels of food had been eaten, and some had to go away from the table empty, four of the number retired to pray, and before they... Answered The Same Day.
"You received a letter yesterday. My husband rose for prayers the same night." ... Answers To Prayer From Its History, Records And Correspondence.
The following Incidents of Prayer and the remarkable Answers, have been obtained from the records of the Fulton Street Prayer Meeting in New York City. They include both facts which have been related by speakers in their daily meetings, or furnish... Answers To Prayer.
Dr. Newman Hall, minister of Surrey Chapel, London, gives the following instances of answers to prayer from his own experience: "The writer's brother, when superintendent of a Sunday School, felt a strong impulse, one Saturday evening, to call o... Are You There.
A mother, one morning, gave her two little ones books and toys to amuse them while she went up-stairs to attend to something. A half hour passed quietly away, and then one of the little ones went to the foot of the stairs, and in a timid voice cal... Ask And Ye Shall Receive.
"In 1874, through Providence, I became sore pressed to provide for myself and family; two of my children had just begun to learn to read. I was desirous to procure for them the 'N.---,' (a children's journal,) but I could not see how I was to pay ... Asking For Large Gifts.
Upon the 26th of September the record of the Home was as follows: "There is due on the first of next month, $2,450 interest on our property, and we are now within four days of the time, with not a dollar towards it. For several days I have been as... Asking The Lord To Help Him In His Lessons.
"A little boy was at school, he was diligent, and determined to succeed, but found that parsing was rather hard. "One day he went to his mamma for a little help in analyzing some sentences. She told him the proper manner of doing it, and he foll... Away From Home, But Not Away From God.
"Some weeks since I sent in a request for prayer for my sons who had fallen victims to intemperance and vice. My heart rejoices to-day in the hope that it has. "Two who left home, and had gone to distant cities to seek employment, have writte... Bad Habits Wholly Overcome.
"A physician of extended practice was converted and reclaimed while I had charge of the place in which he lived. He had acquired the habit of using large quantities of whiskey and brandy, and withal more or less given to licentiousness. Since that...