Before They Call I Will Answer.
"The writer was once in great trouble to know what was duty. Urged by
ministers and laymen in high standing to undertake a work not exactly in
the line of the ministry, he hesitated. God's displeasure was feared,
lest in doing what was desired 'sin might lie at his door.' To refuse
the wish of good and wise men might be resisting God's call. In this
trial of conscience he sought in fasting and special prayer the guidance
distinctly to his mind. He brought it to God as his own promise, and
pleaded, if it could be graciously done, that He would literally fulfill
it to the suppliant. In the very act of thus pleading, he heard a rap on
the door. Opening it, there stood his mother-in-law. She said, 'Two
gentlemen are in the parlor waiting for you.' I went down, and the
interview revealed the exact fulfillment both of the promise and the
prophecy. The Lord answered my prayer two days before I called on Him.
One of the two came from New York to my home in a Western city to
inquire about _the very thing which was troubling me. He was to me an
entire stranger_, never having heard of him until I saw him. Having
consulted his friend, the Rev. M.W. Jacobus, D.D., they together came to
call on me about the matter at the very moment I was pleading with God
that He would mercifully, 'while yet speaking, hear me.' Now could
Tyndall and his followers desire a more literal, a more exact
fulfillment of this prophecy and promise as proof of its inspiration,
and of prayer as God's ordinance than that prayer for such fulfillment
of these words actually before the prayer was made, and while the
petitioner was 'yet speaking?'"
It will be noticed that the best judgment of good men advise one course,
but trust in God for superior wisdom brought the case to answer in a
totally different manner, by means of an unknown person, a total
stranger, who neither knew him nor his desire. The circumstance should
convince the world.
More
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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... Before They Call I Will Answer.
"The writer was once in great trouble to know what was duty. Urged by ministers and laymen in high standing to undertake a work not exactly in the line of the ministry, he hesitated. God's displeasure was feared, lest in doing what was desired 'si... Better Than We Expected.
"We asked your prayers; they have been answered. They were answered more and better than we had hoped or dreamed they could be." ... Bishop Simpson's Recovery.
Bishop Bowman gives the following instance from his own experience: "In the Fall of 1858, whilst visiting Indiana, I was at an annual conference where Bishop Janes presided. We received a telegram that Bishop Simpson was dying. Said Bishop Janes... Blessings Amid Calamities.
"The roof of one of our houses having caught fire from a spark from a neighbor's chimney, it was mostly destroyed; some of the furniture, and the whole home badly damaged by water. All hearts thanked the Lord the circumstances were no worse. In th... Bread To The Hungry.
"God was pleased to deprive me totally of my hearing in early boyhood. By the late war I lost all of my earthly possessions. I have a wife and family totally dependent on me for a support. A man employed to attend to my little manufacturing busine... Buying A Cow.
"Our father going away abroad, he sold one of our two cows, and took the proceeds with him. (He, the father, was a reckless spendthrift, idle, and fond of the public inn.) A rich neighbor directly offered to loan us money enough to buy another; th... Cast Out Into The Street, Yet Not Forsaken.
A piteous wail was heard on the street one day, and a poor Scotchman crossed over to see the trouble. A widow and three children sat on their few articles of household furniture. Put in the street, when they could no longer find five dollars for t... Casting All Your Care On Him.
"Once, soon after the death of my husband and the loss of all his large property, I had a bill of _fifty dollars_ to pay, and was notified two weeks beforehand that not a day's grace would be given. Besides what I was earning by my pen, I had due ... Chains Broken At Last.
"Long months, week by week, I have asked you to pray that my husband might be saved from the eternal doom of a drunkard. God has mercifully given him strength to break the fetters that bound him fast." ... Changing The Course One Point.
Walking across Palace Square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an American ship-master, (says a correspondent of the _Watchman_) he invited me to accompany him to his hotel. While there he showed me a very large gold medal he had received from the B... Church Troubles Quelled.
"I might mention a dozen instances in which church troubles were gathering, and trials between members appeared certain, when all my tactics failed, and the wisdom of brethren was of no avail; my last resort was to ask God to send help and deliver... Commendable Examples.
The Methodist Missionary Society mention one of their donors who, for twenty years, has used the power given him of getting wealth, for his Lord, in which time he has been enabled to appropriate to benevolent purposes _more than thirty thousand do... Compound Interest.
_The Christian_ tells of a minister in Ohio, who in 1860 was engaged to statedly supply a congregation who were in arrears for a whole year's salary to their former pastor, and were only able to promise their 'supply' five dollars a Sunday till th... Concurrent Testimony Of The Value Of Prayer.
A request was published by the _Illustrated Christian Weekly,_ asking that all who could report positive facts as direct results of prayer, and thus, tend to show that _"God does answer prayer,"_ should communicate them. Very many were communicate... Consumption Instantly Healed.
"At a meeting in the Chapel of the Consumptive's Home, held March 7, 1876, public prayer was offered for a young man in Florida, who was apparently gone in consumption; an interested friend had previously written him that prayer would be offered f... Cured Of Cancer.
A lady came to the Consumptive's Home with a cancer in the cheek, which had attained the size of a filbert. It had a very red and angry appearance. After prayer for her healing she went into the country, when some one remarked, 'E. thinks that fai... Cured Of Catarrh.
"I have been afflicted with catarrh for over twenty years. I had consulted many physicians and used many remedies--all failed to help me. In the Spring of 1874, I grew so much worse that life became a burden; I suffered from dizziness and great pr... Cured Of Epilepsy.
"I wrote you to aid me by your prayers, that my afflicted son, who was troubled with epilepsy, might be cured. Thanks be to the Heavenly Father, he is better." ... Cured Of Neuralgia.
A lady of East Cambridge writes, "For nineteen years I have been afflicted with neuralgia; added to this, of late years a combination of diseases has rendered life an intolerable burden, and baffled the skill of every physician to whom I have appl... Cured Of Severe Fits.
"Once again, one of my brothers had a fit brought on through fright. It was a most violent and painful attack, and we were greatly alarmed. This time, also, our father was out; and our mother said to us, I know this fearful illness, my children; i... Cured Of Spine Disease.
Dr. Cullis thus speaks of a signal answer to his prayer. "While at the home of L.R. in England, I was asked to pray with his daughter, who had spinal curvature. Subsequently L.R. writes, 'We. are full of thankfulness and praise about E. She is qui... Cured Of St. Vitas' Dance.
"Very early in childhood, I was seized with a nervous trouble, something like St. Vitus' Dance. As I grew older it did not pass off, but settled into a disease of the muscles. It became a terrible affliction. It was usually under my control, but I... Cured Of The Small-pox.
"Even when I had the small-pox, and became blind, no doctor was sent for, and no one was told of it. Our father was not at home (he, father, most unfortunately, was not a religious person); and when our mother asked him to come, telling him how il... Cured Of Tobacco Appetite.
"A little more than a year has elapsed since I left off the use of tobacco. This further time has more fully developed the thoroughness of the case spoken of and the completeness of the victory over an evil habit. I am filled with wonder, for I ex... Deliverance Of Daniel Loest.
John Daniel Loest, a celebrated German tradesman of Berlin, Germany, was, by the aid of the Lord, so prospered in his worldly circumstances, that by steady industry, he raised himself to rank with the most respectable tradesmen of Berlin, where he... Dividing With God.
A merchant, in answer to inquiries, refers back to a period when, he says, "In consecrating my life anew to God, aware of the ensnaring influences of riches, and the necessity of deciding on a plan of charity before wealth should bias my judgment,... Dr. Newman Hall's Testimonies To The Value Of Prayer.
Dr. Newman Hall, of London, in his wide experience has met with many incidents of answered prayer, and thus relates several: ... Drunkards Reformed.
"Return thanks to God for two men signing the pledge, about one month ago, who have been enabled to keep it through great temptation. _They were drunkards for over twenty years_. Their reformation was in answer to a praying mother's prayers, and t... Employment Found.
A man and wife were out of employment, and in very great trouble. Mr. H. (missionary) had added his efforts to theirs, and sedulously sought among the families he knew, for positions for them. After two weeks' fruitless endeavor, he said to the ma... Evil Averted.
A correspondent of the _Guide to Holiness_ says: "We remember a poor woman who had had a life of sore vicissitude which she bore with remarkable Christian cheerfulness; and after a time of the suspension of trial, a bad prospect came in sight. She... Exactly Eighty Dollars.--"they Are Safe That Trust In Thee."
A clergyman somewhat advanced in years recently related to a correspondent of _The Messenger_ an incident in his own life, which well illustrates the provident care of our heavenly Father over his children. "His first church was at V----, and, t...