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 goods,' but I fear that a due
proportion is not returned to the Giver of every good.
"I commenced business in 1809 with $600, and united with the 'Northern
Missi
the payment of two dollars a year from each member. That year I married,
and the next united with the Christian church. No definite system of
giving 'as the Lord had prospered' me, was fully made until the close of
the year 1841. The previous fourteen years had been assiduously devoted
to the interests of Sabbath-schools and the temperance enterprise, when
I found both my physical and pecuniary energies diminished, the latter
being less than $30,000.
"After days and nights of close examination into my affairs, with
meditation and prayer, I promised the Lord of all, I would try at the
close of every year to see what was the value of my property, and the
one-quarter of the increase I would return to him in such way as my
judgment, aided by his word and providence, might direct.
"For more than fifteen years I have lived up to this resolve, and though
most of the time I have been unable to attend to active business, the
investments I have made have more than quadrupled the value of my
property, and in that time enabled me to return to Him 'from whom all
blessings flow,' $11,739.61."
More
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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...