By JA M E S C . ! .

M CC U R L E
J u s z P u b e z s lz e d
’ ’
‘

T H E G R E AT A PPEAL
Iz m o , C L OT H , G ILT T O P, 7 5 C NT S E

E NV I R O NM E N T
QU I T E
-H OUR S E R1 E S . I 8 M O , CL OTH , 2 5 C E NT S

TH E M A N W H O W A NT E D T O H E P L
QU I ET -H O
UR S E R IE S . 1 8M o, C L OTH , 2 5 C ENT S
his c hee r ing i p i i g message a pp eals all that i s
T ns rn to
no lest and b est in the young hea r t I swa r ms with illust r a
,

b t
tions and e am p les of humanity s hel p e r s — T/ E g l l
.

’
x . ze va n e z ca

T h thoughts pr esented in these few p ages

e y well pr o e m a v
an ins p i r ation to— many to p la c e themsel es on the side of the v
w r ld s hel p e r s Ob
o
’
. s e r 7/e r

I i s sh r t p o i nted and ful l of i llus r a i ns f r m li f

t o , , t t o o e .

Cu m b e d P r e s éy t e
'

r lcm rz an

PO SSIB I ITIE S L
I Q M O, C L OT H , 30 C E NT S NE T

nusually b r i ght and p e r tinent dis c ou r ses full f h Ame r i

U o t e
c an q uality of di re c tness T/ S 5 s
,

. ze . . e s

A t r uly inestima b le manual of do c t r ine and d o i n l ev t o . e

E p it y Ti
x os or ( Edi b gh ) m es n u1

B y all means let ou r young men and women r ead th i s olume v

I will sti r u p within them and stimulate many a good p u rp ose
.

t
and hel p them in the all im p o r tant pro c ess of ma k ing some -

thing wo r th while of themsel es T O b v .

’
ze s e r ve r

Th b oo k e most hel p
15ful in p i r it and r ef r eshing b e c ause S
of its si p li c ity — T! O t l k
,

m . ze u oo

Th style e di r e c t and fo rc eful and the p e r usal of the olume

15 v
lea es one th an of the dig y of
,

v W i d pp m c re ase a re c 1 at 1 0n m t m an
as a cr eatu r e of fi p b l 1n n 1te Eo ss xg l t i i t le s . va n e zs

F LE M ING H . R E V E L COM PAN Y L

PuB Li Sh E RS
A M IG H T Y M E A N S
OF U SE F U L N E SS

A Ple a fo r In t e r c e sso r
y Pra e
y r

R EV .
JA M E S G . ! . M c CL U R E

Fle m ing H . R e ve l! Co m pan y

C h i c ago , Ne w Yo rk £5 T o ro n t o
Pub lish e rs of E va ng e lica l L it e rat ure
C O PY R I G H T 1 9 0 2
FLEMIN G
R E V E L L C O M PA N Y

M a rc h
 Gont e nt s .

THE MI GH TY M I NI S T R Y OF IN T E RC E SS ION
T H E T A L E N T OF IN T E RC E SS I ON

F O R W H O M CH RI S T A S ! S IN T E RC E SS I ON

T H E CO M FO R T E R S O U G H T FO R SE R V I C E

SPE CI A L PE T I T I ON S F OR O U R B E L O V E D

T H E C H R I S T I A N VV O R R E R S IN T E RC E SS I ON
’

B E S T R E QU E S T S FO R B E S T PE O PL E

IN T E RC E SS I ON FO R T H E U N S A V E D
 Ilnt t oouct org M o te .

T he pu r pose of this book is to exalt the power

and se r viceableness o f Inte r cesso r y Pr aye r M any .

Ch r istian wo r ke r s lead such b usv lives eve r y hou r ,

being claimed fo r speaking vi siting studying o r

, ,

the like that their minds abso r bed in such duties

, , ,

are in dange r o f minimizing the sac r ed and impor

tant duty o f Inte r cession .

I earnestly hope t hat this book will remind every

reader o f a mighty means o f usefulness that is avail
able to us all I believe that sustained Inte r ce ssory
.

Prayer will hasten the day o f Ch r ist s glo r y —that ’

such Inte r cesso r y Pr a yer is o ne o f the la r gest needs

o f o ur time. I f the r eade r o f these pages will give
himsel f anew to Inte r cesso r y Pr aye r making such ,

Intercession the ve r y hea r t o f his Ch r istian activity ,

these pages will have accomplished thei r pu r pose .

J A M E S G K M . C CL URE. .

L ak e F ore s t, Ill .
 tt he m ighty m inis t r y of I nt e r ce s s io n
‘

One of
the mightiest instrumentalities for the
wo r ld s advance i s intercessory prayer— p r ayer for
’

others Some souls have r ealized this fact One

. .

such was Samuel He was much like our Wash

.

ington a wise p r actical leader who had great

, , ,

forethought and who secured large results .

A ll through his busy public career while he was ,

trying to re form and elevate I srael he prayed for,

Israel He laid proper emphasis on instruction and

.

administration : the principles that he taught were

the s oundest and the deeds o f his O fficial leader
,

ship were flawless But he believed that his full

.

usefulness to his fellow men and his full devotion

to God were not accom p lished until he had prayed
to God to bless men .

”
To Samuel it was a sin against the Lord not
to p r ay fo r others In one o f the mos t remarkable
.

addresses in all histo r y an add r ess that reminds

,

us o f Washington s Farewell A dd r ess delivered as

’

he was reti r ing from public leadership Samuel so ,

9
 A Mighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

—
de signated failure to pray for others a sin again st
”
the Lord .A t a moment that was in many respects
the consummate moment o f his li fe a li fe eminently ,

j udicious pu r e and beneficial he declared that

, ,

though he ceased to e x ercise the functions o f o f ficial

leadership one thing he would not cease to do
,

pray fo r I s r ael ! fo r to cease doing that would b e a

S in
.

Some such startling assertion seems necessary to

arouse o ur attention to the wondrou s power for
’
God s glory and for human good that there is in
intercessory prayer It too as well as p r ophetic
.
, ,

teaching and public leadership may be a mighty ,

m InISt ry o f usefulness .

A n incident in English history illustrates this

ministr y Henry V I I I was king o f England
. . .

W illiam Tyndale a scholar wi shed to t anslate the

, ,
r

Greek New Testament into English S O that the ,

’
English people coul d have God s wo r d in their
own tongue The king and church alike refused
.

to allow such a translation There was not a spot .

in England whe r e T yndale was safe to carry out

hi s proj ect S o he we nt to the C ontinent There
. .

he labored under stress and di fficulties He made

,
.

his translation He sent it over to England The

. .

authorities burned it Still he kept at hi s work

.
,

10
 The M ighty Minis try of Inte rce ssion

pe r fecting the translation Enemies dogged his

.

footsteps He was deceived bet r ayed imp r isoned

.
, , ,

and at last burned to death Hi s dying wo r ds were

.

—
a prayer a prayer o f intercession : “
Oh Lord , ,

”
open the king o f England s eyes ! ’

Little did it seem as though that prayer would

be answered The king was set against the ci r e n
.

lation o f the B ible and there was no indication

whatever that he would change his mind But that .

true prayer o f intercession had been o ffered All .

’
un se lfi shly Tyndale had prayed that the king s eyes

might be so opened that he would se e what a bless

ing the English Bible would be to the English peo
ple and would desi r e the people to have that B ible
,
.

The prayer was answere d ! In a l ittle time Henry

V I I I saw the B ible in an enti r ely new light
. .

Instead o f persecuting those who favored its t r an s

lation he helped them He even gave his r oyal sanc
i
.

t ion to the issue o f the B ible The English t r ans

.

lation which i s in o ur hands today proclaims when , ,

eve r we read it that the p r ayer o f intercession pre

,

vails The Engli sh Bible i s a witness to the power

.

o f intercessor y prayer .

—
It is startling to us sometimes especially w hen
we have grown ca r eless o r lukewa r m about inter
ce s o y prayer
s r — to turn to the Gospel as John wrote
II
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e ful
n e s s

’
it and the place occupied there b y C hrist s in
se e

te rce sso ry prayer The closing hours o f Ch r ist s

.
’

li fe had come He poured o ut His heart to H is

.

disciples S o help ful so living were the word s H e

.
,

then spoke that the four chapters b eginning with

,

“ ”
Let not your heart be troubled are the best l ov e d ,

chapters o f the B ible How do they end

.
? H ow
does C hrist conclude Hi s last opportunit y o f free
association with His disciples ? He concludes it
with a prayer— a prayer not for Himself but fo r ,

them ! for them and those who should believe o n

Him through their wo r ds Thi s was Hi s last
.

legacy His crowning service to mankind ere He

, ,

died .

Earlier in Hi s ministry He had said to Pe ter ,

”
‘
I have pra yed fo r thee Peter had no thought
.

w hatever o f hi s particular need : he did n ot and

could no t foresee that he would be e x posed to pe
culiar temptations that might lead him t o forsake

hi s M a ster and even to deny Him But Ch r i st

, .

foresaw the whole e x posure and in anticipation , , .

C hrist pra yed for him W hen the temptations came

.
,

and Pete r did deny his Lord Peter did not utterly ,

fail because the prayer o f intercession prevailed I n

, .

’
the ve r y hour o f denial Pete r s heart melted and ,

p enitently he came back to Christ .

12
 The M ighty M inistry of In te rce ssion

W e can follow thi s special prayer o f interces sion

by Christ for Peter and we can note its e ffects We .

cannot in the same way follow the general prayer

o f intercession as given in John s seventeenth chap
’

ter and note its particular answers Yet we do not

, .

doubt that the courage o f James at Jeru salem and ,

the sweetness o f John at Patmos and the safety ,

and peace o f hundreds like our o wn selves all over

the world were secured through that ve r y prayer
, .

H ow much this wo r ld o f ours would have lo st

had there been no intercesso r y p r ayer ! Stephen
prayed fo r the group o f p e ople who stood about him
as he was being stoned to death— and 10 out o f that ,

group comes a young man Paul who give s his , ,

whole heart and li fe to the cause o f Christ W hat .

an omission it would have been i f Stephen had not

prayed ! Away back in distant days when Israel ,

contended W ith the Amalekites in the valley M ose s ,

was on the mountain with A aron and Hur at his

,

sides M oses st r etched out his arms in p r ayer that

.
,

God would give victo r y to Israel The day dragged .

on. M oses was Old and his a r ms heavy But .

A aron and Hur helped him upholding his out ,

stretched a r ms in s upplication : and when the day

went down victo r y was with I srael

,
.

— —
Intercessory p r ayer to prevail is t o be u nse l f
I
t
 A M ight y M e ans f
o Us e f uln e ss

ish All p r ayer S ays Not my will but Thine b e

.
,
“
, ,

”
done . We are neve r to p ray for things me r ely
pleasing to us i rr espective o f their relation to that
,

holy w ill o f God which embraces all Hi s creatu r es

as well as our particula r selves Pure and devoted .

souls will not obt r ude thei r individual interests as

imperative among counsels that pertain to all hu
,

manity Not o ne o f u s should ask God to make the

.

day clea r for him o r he r— unless a C lear day i s best

for all the inte r ests o f God s w ill Our health and ’
.

strength and the health and st r ength o f o ur friends

are to be sought by u s only as they minister to the
’
advance o f God s blessed wishes for u s and other s .

Intercessor y p r ayer ! for whom shall it be o f

fe e d
r ? Inte r cession is always fo r persons ! we sup
plicate for things we inte r cede fo r persons Who
, .

“
shall these pe r sons be ? For kings and for all
that a r e in autho r ity Paul says ,
”
Kings and al l .
“

”
that a r e in autho r ity i s an inclusive designation
comprehending all charged with the responsibilities
o f public oversight and public wel fare .

Tyndale prayed fo r Henry V I I I ! we are to pray .

for all rule rs .

The design o f such prayer i s defined namely ,

t hat rulers shal lso use thei r power that the p eo p le

“

1
4
.
 The M ighty M inis try of Inte rce ssion

may lead a quiet and peaceable li fe in all godliness

”
and honesty The prayer is not that our special
.

o ffi cer whoever he may be police mag istrate j ustice

, , ,

o f the peace mayor gove r no r president may be

, , , ,

preserved in st r ength and may conduct his o ffice so

as to secu r e the p r aise o f his pa r ticular following :
but it i s that every o fficer may administer his station
“
to the good o f others in all godliness and hon
”
esty. Intercessory pra yer rises above a party an ,

administration a sect a college a C orpo r ation ! it

, , ,

views all things in the light o f eternal and world

—
emb r acing p r inciples p r inciples o f righteousness
—
and goodness and t r uth and in reality it asks that
those who hold O ffice shall be men who carry out the
f —
very will o God for the good o f humanity .

O f such p r ayer there never can be too much .

Office is deceptive Office has power and o ften

.
,

—
that powe r in itsel f gives a sense o f sel f suffi cie ncy
“
to the person who holds it I s this not great Baby
.

? ”
lon that I have builded boasted Nebuchadnezzar .

To whom forsooth was he responsible ? M e n and

, ,

women in the line o f hereditary mon archies o ften

forget that thei r autho r ity as all authority o f any ,

kind i s a God con ferred gi ft and that they must

,
-
,

use it as God wishes else they desecrate it Even

,
.

when p eople have temporary authority con ferre d

1
5
 A M ighty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

upon them b y the franchises o f others they m ay ,

give thei r constituents sup r eme place in considera

tion and thus rest their dependence upon those
,

constituents rathe r than upon God To keep ofiice .

by pleasing their constituents becomes their chief

aim The temptation to do this is fearful Kno x
. .

did not care fo r o ffi ce did not care whether the

,

queen honored him o r dishonored him whether she ,

let him live o r put him to death What Kno x cared

.

fo r was Scotland s wel fa r e He did not consult

’
.
,

nor did he fea r the will o f men : he consulted and

,

he fea r ed the will o f God alone .

T oday the r e is not a person bea r ing authority

who does not need our intercesso r y prayer Pau l .

held his apostleship by a special call thereto but ,

“ ”
in his sense o f insu fficiency he said Pray for u s
, , .

Every m inis te r needs p r ayer He has hi s o wn pe

.

culiar temptations : to formality to slackness to, ,

discouragement He may do and say ver y foolish

.

things ! he may be like the S hepherds o f prophetic

days who cried peace when there was no peace and ,

denied the people the spiritual food they lacked .

On the other hand a mini ster o f pure motives and

true piety may be a g r eat blessing The people .

prayed and when Peter stood up at Pentecost

, ,

three thousand hearts were changed The pe Ople .

 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

A uthority is wide spread and -

diversified .

Te ache rs have it They too are e x posed to t e m pta

.

—
tions perhaps to be unduly dogmatic perhaps to ,

do their work for the wo r k s sake perhap s to wit h ’

d r aw too much f r om the responsibilities o f the

C hurch and the burdens o f the State The power
, .

for good o f a teacher s li fe i f that li fe be earne st

’

, ,

scholarly unselfish and godly i s mighty D ay by

, ,
.

day there comes the contact between the teacher

and impressible souls Little by little truth s can b e
.

indoctrinated i deals magnified ambitions purified

, , .

I f the spi r it be what it m ay be the e ffect will be , ,

pe rhaps a li felong blessing The pupil in after years

,
.

w ill e x press views and en force sentiments that to

,

him are absolutely his ow n— and still it was the

teacher away back in the past who somehow so ,

inculcated all these views and sentiments that the

teacher not the pupil is thei r real author
, ,
.

—
Teache r s n e e d p r ayer praye r that they m ay b e
patient that they may see good possibilities in ever y
,

pupil and that the v may endeavor to bring out

,

“ ”
those possibilities in all go dliness and honesty .

We wish sound views o f society o f business and o f ,

gove r nment taught ! w e wish the eternal principles

o f r ighteousness eng r afted upon young li fe When .

a man o r woman so a r ouse s th e nobility o f pupils

1 8
 Th e M igh ty M inis try o f In te rce ssio n

that the pupils sco r n to do the w r on g o r the petty

t hing and aspire afte r st anda r ds that a r e Ch r ist
,

like then the teache r fulfills his mission

, B ut the .

ve r y best teache r is in dange r o f ca rr ying a heavy

hea r t because r o utine is so unceasing and d r udgery ,

So pe r sistent We do well then to p r ay that he

.

may always come to his classes like a benediction

and that his personal fellowship with his pupils
m ay be an unceasing inspi r ation .

“
Nor may we le ave o ut f r om autho r ity e m ploy
”

e rs of lab or Ce r tainly such employe r s have their

.

peculia r temptations O ften they a r e deceived

.
,

O ften they a r e seve r ely t r ied by the slackness and

un faith fulness o f thei r employee s The supe r io r .

mental and material gi fts whe re b v employe r s hold

authority may p r ove a sna r e to thei r hearts B e .

cause othe r s have a lowe r o r der o f talent employe r s

may forsooth look down o n the others Sel f made
, ,
.
-

men find it ha r d to deal gently with those whose

incapacity alwavs keeps them weaklings B ut these .

sel f made men a r e unde r special r esponsibilities

-
.

B ecause God has made them leade r s God has com ,

m itte d the welfa r e o f tens twenties hundreds

, , ,

thou sands into thei r hands Thei r views their

,
.
,

decisions thei r example, a r e f r aught w ith mighty

,

influence The tendency with many men concern

.

I9
 A M ighty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

ing these employers i s not to pray for them b ut , ,

to berate them F ault i s f ound with their de fi cie n

.

cies and sometimes even antagonism i s arou sed

,

against them .

The whole world today even w here t here are ,

C hristian churches i s filled with those who do not ,

understand o ne another The e ffort to maintain .

interests dea r to o ne se t o f people seems to blind

the eyes o f that set to the interests dea r to another
set Hence the opposition and the bitterness But
. .

“
it is fa r far better to p ray fo r captains o f indus
,

”
try than to arouse hatre d against them Employer s .

are b ut weak fallible men to whom God has as

, ,

signed tremendou s r esponsibility Let us ask him .

to open thei r eyes as the eyes o f HenryV I I I were

,
.

opened and the result will be that the heart s o f

, ,

employe r s will become wise and th e lives o f em

l
p yo e e s will b ecome enriched .

The p r ayer o f intercession O ff ered for all t hat

are in authority o ffered not as a per functory utter
,

ance but o ffered straight out o f a bu r dened heart

, ,

assures all that a r e in authority that we understand

thei r burdens sympathize with thei r di fficulties and
,

“ ”
expect godliness and honesty to characte r ize their
pu r poses A man i n authority who i s ca r eless o r
.

wicked is a libel on his station ! authority i s con

20
 Th e M ighty M inis try of In te rce ssion

fer r ed by God only—

that he who has it may strive
to make this wo r ld a happy beauti ful place fo r ,

every human li fe .

Our prayer o f intercession is not complete when

o ffe r ed merely fo r those in autho r ity ! it is to be
“
o ffered for all men ”
When the High Priest .

came into the Holy o f Holies with the breastplate

ove r his heart the name o f eve r y tribe was e n
,

g r aved o n that breastplate F ace to face with God .

he inte r ceded for all We all need inte r cession

. .

Whittier exp r esses in The Prave r Seeker the call

“ ”

o f every human soul for our sym p athy and inter

ces sion
.

A l o ng t he as ei l whe re p raye r w as m ad e
A wo m an, all in bl ack arraye d ,

Cl o se il e d b e t we e n the k n e e li ng host
ve , ,

W i th gli d i n g m o t i o n o f a g ho st ,

Passe d t o t he d e sk an d l ai d t he re on
A sc ro ll w h i ch b o re t h e se w o rd s al one ,

Pray fo r m e !
‘ ’

B ack t o the ight fro m whe nc e she c am e

n

To un i m agi n e d g ri e f o r sh am e !
A c ro ss th e t hre sho l d o f t hat d oo r
No ne k n e w t h e b urd e n that Sh e b o re !
A l one sh e l e f t t h e w ri tt e n sc ro ll ,

The l e g e n d o f a t ro ubl e d so ul ,

Pray fo r
’
!
‘
m e

Glid e o n, poo r gho st o f woe or sin !

a c o m m o n n e e d w i th i n !
’
Thou le av st
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Use fulne ss

E ach b e ars li k e th e e so m e nam e l e ss

, , w e i ght,
Som e m i se ry i nart i c ul at e ,

So m e se cr e t s in so m e sh ro ud e d d re ad
, ,

Som e ho use ho ld so rrow all unsaid .

Pray fo r
‘ ’
us !

H e p raye th b e st
l e ave s ungue sse d
w ho
The m yst e ry o f ano the r s b re ast
’
.

W hy c he e k s gro w p al e w hy e ye s o e rfl o w
’
, ,

Or h e ad s are wh i t e tho u n e e d st not k now

’

, .

Eno ug h t o n ot e b y m any a Sig n

That e ve ry h e art hat h n e e d s li k e th i ne .

Pray fo r us !
‘ ’

In M r M ood y s long and useful lab ors there

.
’

was one story that he loved to tell because it sug

gested the glo ry o f God and in no wi se suggested
the glory o f M r M oody He told it to indicate hi s
. .

b elie f in the powe r o f p r aye r This i s the story .

“
A fter the Chicago fi r e he went t o London to rest
and to learn from the B ible scholars the r e H e had .

no intention o f preaching One Sunday morning .

he was persuaded to preach in a church in London .

Everything about the service dragged He wished .

that he had neve r consented to p r each There was .

a woman in the city who had heard o f M r M oody s .

’

wo r k in A merica and had been asking God to send

him to London Thi s woman was an invalid He r
. .

sister was present at the chu r ch that Sunday morn

ing W hen the b e are r r eached home she asked her
.

22
 The M ighty M inis try ,
f
o In te rce ssion

S ister to guess who had spoken for them that morn

ing She guessed one afte r another o f those with
.

whom her pastor was in the habit o f exchanging ,

neve r guessing a r ight He r siste r said No M r .

,
‘
,
.

M oody from Chicago The sick woman turned .

’

pale and said This is an answer to my praye r I f

, ,
‘
.

I had known that he was to be at o ur chu r ch I ,

S hould have eaten nothing this mo r ning but waited ,

o n Go d in p r aye r Leave me alone this afternoon : do

.

not let anyone come to se e me ! do not send me any

’
thing to eat A ll that afternoon that woman gave
.

hersel f to praye r A s M r M oody preached that . .

night he soon became conscious that there was a

,

di ff e r ent atmosphe r e in the chu r ch The powers o f .

‘

an unseen wo r ld seemed t o fall upon him and his ’

hea r e r s A s he d r ew to a close he felt impressed to

.

give out an inv itation He asked fo r all who would .

accept Christ to r ise Four o r five hund r ed people .

rose . He thought that they misunderstood him ,

and so he put the question seve r al ways that there

might be no mistake But no they had understood .
,
.

He then asked them to go to an adj oining r oom .

A S they passed out he asked the pastor o f the ,

chu r ch who these people were He replied I do .

,
‘

’ ’ ‘
A re they you r people ? Some o f
‘
not know .

them . A e they Christians

’
r
‘
? I do not think sO ’ ‘
.
’
 A M ighty M e ans f
O Us e fuln e ss

In that adj oining foom he put the question very

strongly but still there we r e j ust as many who
,

rose He told them to meet thei r pastor the ne x t

.

night Next day he left fo r D ublin but no sooner

.
,

had he reached the r e than he received a teleg r am

fr om the pastor saying that he must retu r n and help
him fo r a g r eat r evival had commenced and there
, ,

were more out the second night than the first Hun
d reds were added to the church at the time .

That was the beginning o f M r M oody s work as

.
’

an inte rnational e vange lis t Out o f that work came

.

the religious quickening o f G r eat B r itain and Ire

land and the salvation o f thousands upon thousands
,

o f souls throughout the wo r ld Well was it for

.

England and all Europe that the inv alid woman did
not cease to pra y for the m in istry o f God s world
’
.

24
 A M ighty M e ans o
f Us e f ulne ss

ever very little He was so burdened with the souls

, .

o f men that he gave almost his whole time and

strength to intercession He was a very silent man

. .

M r F inney had known him f r om boyhood and had

.

the g r eatest r espect fo r hi s character This M r . .

C la ry lying in bed as a consumptive and drawing a

, ,

little table to his S ide woul d w r ite in hi s j ournal

,

day b y day My heart has been moved to p r ay for

“
,

U tica for Syracuse for B inghamton for R oche ster

, , , ,

fo r R ome A fte r M r Cla r y s death M r Finney

’
. . .
,

Obtained thi s memorandum b ook and found that in

’
the precise order o f the burden laid upon that man s
heart was the order o f blessing as pou r ed upon M r .

Pinney s minist r y in the places named A mong

’
.

other notes he discovered a memo r andum about

C eylon Looking into the reco r ds of the A merican
.

Board he found that at the time when M r C lary

, .

was p raying o n hi s sickbed for C eylon there had ,

been a great forward movement in that land .

We are familiar with the thought that every tal

ent we possess o r can possess S hould be cultivated .

Sometimes the talent i s that o f money making -

,

sometimes that o f public speaking sometimes that ,

o f doing d r udgery faith fully We believe in many.

kinds o f talents and we believe th at eve r y individual

,

has some special talent given him by God to b e, ,

26
 The Tale n t f
o In te rce ss ion

used fo r the wo r ld s good The man wh o knows

’

how to lay a d r ain well has a g r eat opportunity o f

aiding the public health The woman wh o can r eg
.

ulat e a home s atmosphere so that it shall be re

’

lig iously beneficial also has a great Oppo r tunity .

Eve r y now and then when someone stands forth

,

ve r y p r ominently as a w r ite r o r as a speake r o r as

, ,

“
a philanth r opist we say What a g r eat talent that
, ,

” “
person has ! We immedi ately think What a loss
the world would su ffer i f that person s talent should ’

”
not be used ! Ce r tainly o ur wo r ld would be the
poo r e r i f a V ictor Hugo had not w r itten h is books ,

and a Henry Wa r d B eeche r had not preached his

se r mons and a George Pe abody had not e r ected his
,

buildings The whole o f Weste r n New York and

.

great parts o f Ohio and Illinois a ff ected by the ,

men who came f r om western New Yo r k would ,

have su ffered a distinct and grievous loss had not

M r F inney spoken and labo r ed as he did
. .

But do we keep to the f r ont in o ur minds this

thought that the r e is a talent o f prayer as truly as
,

there are other talents ? M r C lary used the talent .

o f p r ayer as God ent r usted it to him The r esults .

o f his use o f intercession were very great Thou .

sa nds O f lives would have been the poorer had he

not used his talent .

 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

T here are many worthy people asking themselves

what more they can do to advance the good o f the
world . They give themselves to every kind o f
beauti ful enterprise ! they provide holidays for the
wea r y ! they take little child r en from the crowd o f
the city to the open spaces o f the country ! they nurse
the sick ! they fu r nish safe pleasures to the tempted !
they teach ! they p r each ! they do eve r ything that
human ingenuity under the inspi r ation o f Christian
,

love can suggest The many beauti ful agencies o f

, .

help all under Ch r ist and all for C hrist at wo r k in

, ,

the world are legion Let not one o f them be

.

r elaxed Let all be sustained and let a thousand

.
,

more be added to them as opportunity may arise .

A bility to use any or all o f these agencies is a talent .

A s a talent let it be magnified But side by side .

with these di ffe r ent talents let there be recognition

o f still anothe r talent a talent that perhaps some
,

—
times lies w rapped in a napkin unused the talent
o f inte r cession The Yo rib a C hristians call p rayer
.

“
the gif t o f the knees ”
for to them praye r i s a
,

S pecial endowment directly bestowe d by God .

Every now and then we are conf r onted by some

grave statements conce r ning the use o f this talent
o f inte r cession It is not a r a r e occu rr ence to hear
.

the ve r y men w ho we might think would most real

, ,

28
 Th e Tale n t f
o In te rce ssio n

ize thei r dependence on divine help confess that

their o wn pe r sonal use Of intercesso r y p r ayer i s
very limited This information Often comes o ut at a
.

time when there i s a gathe r ing o f ministe r s o r per ,

“
haps a more general gathering o f Ch r istian wo rk
” “
e rs . The questions then a r e asked How much ,

time each day do you spend in inte r ceding with God

fo r the advance o f His wo r k ? I s it an hou r a hal f ,

”
hou r ? IS it fi fteen minutes ? The answers to such
questions are startling The numbe r o f pe r sons
.

who r egula r ly give fi fteen minutes a day to thi s

means o f blessing is ve r y small .

O f cou r se we all understand that intercession is

not a matte r o f place no r o f attitude Dr Hen r y . .

M Scudde r when questioned in public o n this very

.
,

“
subj ect once said I walk the st r eets o f Chicago
, , ,

picking my way in and out o f the multitudes and

”
I am p r aying fo r those multitudes eve r y minute .

SO othe r s may p r ay as did D r Scudde r W herever

. .

—
they may b e on t r ains in stores at public enter
, ,

t ainm e nt s they may continually and earnestly ask

God to bless those who a r e a r ound them Such .

praye r may be unobse r ved by any hum an eye but ,

the divine eye Obse r ves it and to that eye it is

,

direct praye r When we se e people in thei r sorrow

.

or see them in their thoughtlessness o r se e them ,

29
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

like Lot exposing thei r child r en by too near resi

,

dence to S odom we may S ilently li ft our hearts to

,

Go d fo r them .

While not one word passes our lips no r one ,

change takes place in o ur bodily attitude o ur in ,

t e rce ssion is tr ue inte r cession Go d hea r s it and

.

regards it .

Even afte r all such silent p r aye r has been reck

o ne d as intercession how large a place does such
,

intercession have in our l ives ? How does its place

compare with the place held by othe r matters ? I f
the place i s a small o ne i s the r eason fo r that small
,

place o ur m isunderstanding o f the value o f inter

ce sso y prayer
r ? Have we thought about inte r
ce ssion as a talent ent r usted to u s for whose use
we are r esponsible ? We hea r the call s for o ur
money and w e t r y to r espond conscientiously to
cases o f need We intend also to advocate all e n
.

t e rprise s that make fo r the wel fa r e o f humanity .

We hold ou r selves r eady to do much r unning think ,

ing working for e very cause known to be dear to

,

C h r ist But do we fo r get that Ch r ist spent a whole

.

night in p r aye r be fore He chose His twelve fellow

wo r ke r s and before He preached His Se r mon o n
the M ount ? D o w e fo r get that the ea r ly chu r ch
continued fo r days in praye r be fore Peter s words ’

30
 The Tale n t o
f In te rce ssion

at Pentecost could be e ffective ? D oes our eye fail

to note that Paul s Epistle to the Ephesians has two
’

distinct p rave rs in it as though Paul s hope fo r the

,
’

good o f the Ephesians rested not so much in his ,

words o f instruction as in God s powe r and bless

,
’

ing ?
The history O f the C hristian chu r ch never has
been completely written That histo r y has been
.

attempted and well attempted The deeds done by .

men in the name and for the sake o f Christ have

been told These deeds make a remarkable record
.

the record o f all martyrdoms o f all missiona r y ad

,

vances o f all philanthropic co n quests These nine

, .

teen hundred years have witnessed scenes that are

well calculated to sti r the blood and make b r ave the
heart o f the student o f chu r ch histo r y But nothing .

e x cept e x terior e ffects and the supposed motives

back o f these exterior e ffect s have as yet been de
sc r i b ed The th r one o f g r ace o ut f r om which go
.
,

the answe r s to prayer i s cu r tained No o ne has

, .

been able to draw aside that cu r t ain and S how the

world the spiritual helps that in answer to p r aye r
have issued from that throne It is by these helps .

that histo r y la r gely has been wrought o ut There .

a r e some instances in which we can t r ace the direct

influence of inte r cession . We read in the Sc r ipture
31
 A M igh ty M e ans e
o
f Us e fuln e ss

that Pete r w as delive r ed f r om prison because men

and women meeting togethe r prayed for his de
, ,

liverance When then we se e Peter a f r ee man

.
, ,

knocking at the door o f John M ark s home we un ’

de rstan d that the means whereby he has b ecome

free is prayer .

In p r o fane histo r y too there i s an occasional

, ,

narrative that indicates the unseen force o f p r ayer .

The M arquis o f A rgyle was one o f Scotland s nob le ’

witnesse s for Christ s cross and crown On the

’
.

mo r n ing o f the day o n which he was to b e e x e

cut e d he was engaged in settling worldly a ff airs .

Seve r al o f the leading people o f Scotland were in

the prison r oom with him Suddenly in the midst
.

o f his business his soul w as visited with such a sense

O f the divine favo r as almost overwhelmed him He .

attempted to conceal his emotions He a r ose and .

went to the fireplace to stir the fi r e B ut soon he .

“
turned around and with g r eat fe r vor said I see ,

that this will not do I must now declare what

.

the Lord has done for my soul He has j ust now .

,

at this ve r y instant of time sealed my charter in ,

‘
these wo r ds Son be o f good chee r ! thy sins be
, ,

A little later he went to the scaf

’
fo r given thee .

fold I n the hou r when he was put to death he

.

had the most perfect assurance and a most triumph

ant calm .

32
 A M ighty M e ans o
f Us e f uln e ss

of men we r e so ea r nest in thei r desi r e to have a spir

“
itual awakening that they got up befo r e daybreak ,

day afte r day in the long winte r months and gave ,

themselves to earnest p r ayer fo r that de fi nite thing ‘

A revival began and spread from clas s to cl ass until

almost eve r y man in the college was led into faith
in C hrist ”
. M ar y Queen o f Scotland reali z ed
, ,

that in John Kno x the talent fo r praye r had been

so cultivated that it had become a mighty force .

“
She once decla r ed , I fear John Kno x s prayers ’

”
mo r e than an arm y o f ten thousand men .

It is impossible to estimate the power for useful

ness latent in hea r ts capable o f prayer NO o ne .

conceived the powe r lying latent in steam until the

spi r it o f steam asserting itsel f began to trans form
, ,

the ea r th No one conceived the powe r lying latent

.

in elect r icity until elect r icity asse r ting itsel f began

, ,

its world wide minist r y The powe r ly ing latent

-
.

in hearts capable o f prayer is S imilarly great .

Luther p r ayed fo r th e D iet o f Nurembe r g He in .

t e rce de d w ith intense ea r nestness He laid hold

.

o f the th r one o f g r ace with such powe r that he

seemed to prevail with God He felt su r e even

.
,

be fo r e the D iet took action that those who com

,

posed it would stand fi r m in R e fo r mation p r inci

ples And they did The people o f E nfi e ld M as sa
. .
,

34
 The Tale nt o f In te rce ssion

chuse tt s, p r ayed all night that the sermon to be

p r eached by thei r pasto r Jonathan Edwa r ds might
be blessed to the good o f souls When the sermon
.

w as p r eached the cong r eg ation le ft thei r pews ,

c r owding up the pulpit stai r s and asking what they

might do to obtain the s alvation o f God .

D e Quince y divides all lite r atu r e into the lite r ature

o f knowledge and the lite r at ur e o f powe r A S there .

i s a literatu r e of power so the r e i s a p r ayer o f powe r .

It is the p r aye r o f powe r o f which we stand in need .

A powe r less Ch r istian ought to be conside r ed as

g r eat a misnome r as a powe r less thunderbolt I f .

the talent o f p r aye r S hould be cultivated as assidu

o usl y a s the talent of business i s cultivated the re ,

sult would be that numberless people who neve r .

can be fo r ce ful in speech no r bounteous in b e ne fi

,

cence no r ene r getic in evangelism would become

, ,

’
as e ffective fo r ces fo r the world s help as any men
and women who have ever l ived .

M rs Elizabeth Pr entiss in o ne o f he r lette r s used

.

“
the significant expression lea r ning the myste r ious
,

art o f p r aye r by an app r enticeship at the th r one o f

”
g r ace
. How many o f us have eve r thought o f
” “
learning to p r ay ? O r o f an app r enticeship at
,

the th r one O f g r ace ? ”

In anothe r sentence M rs .

“
Prentiss enlarges o n thi s idea She says : I think
.

35
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e f uln e ss

many o f the di fficulties attending upon the sub j ect

o f prayer would disappea r i f it could be rega r ded

in early li fe as an art that must be acquired th r ough

daily pe r sistent habits with which nothing shal l
,

” “
be allowed to inte r fere Thus she makes learn
.

”
ing to p r ay as much o f a t r aining as learning to
sing o r paint o r write She exalts p r ayer into an
, , .

“
art —”
and makes u s r ealize that the same applica
tion concentration persistency and hea r tiness need
, ,

ed to become a sculpto r a r e needed by us i f the tal

,

ent o f p r ayer ( possible to eve r y o n e ) reaches its

g r eatest development Happ y the man who like
.
,

Epaphras commended o f Paul lea r ns so well the ,

lesson o f p r aye r that his distinguishing ch aracte ris

“
tic i s that he always labors fe r vently in pra yer for
others .

What blessings a r e awaiting the world i f we

only develop the talent o f p r aye r to its f ullest po s
sib ilit y ! Has not the time come when we one and ,

all will do o ur pa r t to re asse r t the power o f the

,
-

C h r istian chu r ch ? A nd r ew Bona r with g r eat so r

“ ”
ro w w r ote ih his dia r y : I wo r k mo r e than I p r ay .

“
A lso he wrote : I must at once return through the ,

Lo r d s stren gth to not less than th r ee hou r s a day

’

spent in prayer and meditation upon the Wo r d .

T here i s no doubt that God longs to have His

36
 The Tale n t f
o In te rce ss ion

servants so love thei r fellows that they shall rest

not day nor night in interceding in their behal f He .

waits fo r the e ffectual fe r vent p r aye r Oh that

.
,

’
thousands upon thousands o f God s people would
awake to thei r possibility and would become pow
,

e rful in H is Kingdom th r ough learning to pre vail

with Go d in prayer !
 f orW h o m (Ib ris t E BRB lllltCt CCSSlOll
‘
.

The general classes o f people for whom Paul

asked our intercession have been considered A .

ve r y important inquiry now presents itself : A re

’
the r e special persons indicated b y C hrist s com
mands o r p r actices who stand out with pre e minence
as pe r sons for whom we should pray ?
’
When we study Ch r ist s own p r actice s we find
five classes o f people for whom He p r ayed or for
whom He taught us to p r ay One was the sick
. .

He Himsel f healed the sick using miracles

,
.

These miracles we r e Chri st s adve r tisements

’
.

They called attention to H is wond r ous powe r His ,

wondrous wo r ds and His wondrous pe r sonality

,
.

He might have used heralds to sound a t r umpet

and get the ears o f the c r owd whom He then would
address But He p r e fe rr ed to present Himsel f di
.

re ct ly to men in the deeds o f healing Such healing

.

was a blessing in itsel f . Such healing evidenced

the kindliness o f Hi s heart and made clear His pu r
pose to relieve distress Such heal ing also from
.
,

38
 F o r W ho m Chris t A s k s In te rce ss ion

its marvelous powe r ma r ked Him as the unique

,

On e who co uld not be confused with any othe r .

Only once i f then did Ch r ist p r ay ove r the S ick

, , .

One was b r ought to Him who was de af and had an

impediment in his speech Ch r ist took him aside
.
,

looked up to heaven sighed an d healed him

, , .

“
Looked up to heaven That is the only ph r ase in
.

Ch r ist s li fe containing even a hint that He p r ayed

’

ove r the diseased He seems neve r to have asked

.

’
Heaven s aid to heal anyone He always cl aimed .

th at He had powe r in himsel f to heal Th at o ne .

upwa r d look we think w as intended to assist the

Obse r ve r It helped the obse r ve r to associate the
.

deed of healing with God above and so it helped ,

him to believe that the powe r whe r eby Ch r ist

w r ought the mi r acle was divine
,
.

B ut while Ch r ist did not p r ay fo r the sick He ,

intimated that we should p r ay fo r them A lunatic .

boy w as b r ought by the boy s fathe r to Ch r ist The

’
.

disciples had not been able to he al him Ch r ist .

healed the boy The disciples inqui r ed why they

.

had failed to he al him Ch r ist answe r ed th at their

.

failu r e was due to thei r lack of faith B ut He im .

mediately added that a dise ase o f this kind would

“ ”
not leave a man ex c ept by p r aye r .

Thi s re fe r ence to p r aye r seems to be a direct in

 A M ighty M e ans of Use fulne ss

t im at io nthat Ch r ist expects us to pray fo r the sick .

It wa rr ants u s in b r inging all our weak and su ff er

nig ones to Him that they may be made whole .

Ch r ist Himsel f neve r r e fused the p r ayer add r essed

to Him by loving hea r ts fo r the healing o f disease .

“ ”
He healed them all Likewise He bade all who
.

we r e wea r y and heavy laden come t o Him assur ,

ing them that He would give them rest .

A second class fo r whom Ch r i st taught u s to

p r ay we r e childre n H e did this by direct e x ample
. .

A s M atthew states it “
M othe r s b r ought young
,

children to Ch r ist that He should put His hands

”
on them and p r ay .

The significance o f this scene i s o ften lost M an y .

think of it as though C h r ist me r ely placed His

hands o n thei r heads and said some kindly words
“ ”
ove r the children .No He prayed for them
. .

A blessing spoken by a godly man over a child i s

indeed in its very natu r e a p r aye r A ccordingly .

it is t r ue that we r e John the B eloved he r e today ,

and we r e he placing his hands o n the fo r ehead o f a

,

little child presented to him to say M ay God ever

“
, ,

”—
take care o f you and keep you l ittle child
,
that
,

blessing would be a p r aye r .

“ ”
But when Ch r ist p r ayed ove r little children
there must have been it would seem distinct in
, ,

40
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

w here great masses o f children center tell us that ,

street boys a r e sta r ted upon their ca r eers even b e

fore they are twelve Captains o f police matrons
.
,

o f re form schools and city missiona r ies repo r t that

,

character good o r bad i s stamped upon children

, ,

even be fo r e the children r each thei r teens .

A ll students o f the re h gio us expe r ien c e make

simila r r epo r t The fathers and mothe r s who have
.

children to be nurtured the S unday school teachers

,

who have scholars to be guided the inst r ucto r s who ,

through five days and the nurses who through seven

,

days a r e charged with the care o f young lives have ,

a very grave r esponsibility A s goes the child so .

,

goes the world .I f Satan can hurt child r en he ,

hurts the kingdom o f heaven and all that that ,

kingdom stands for Instead o f our being careless

.

conce r ning children we should be sol icitous and

,

even p r aye r ful for them O ur p r ayer should be in.

the ve r y sp irit and to the very ends that character

iz e d C hrist s prayer for them — that they may belong
’

to and do the service o f the kingdom o f heaven

, , .

The thi r d class fo r whom C h r ist taught us to

pra y we r e disciple s T his praye r also He taught
.

us by direct example .

S ometimes He prayed for a particular disciple ,

as for Peter : sometimes for the Twelve the special

, ,

42
 n Chris t A sk s In te rce ssion
F or W h or

ones who in His day were charged with heralding

Hi s t r uth : and sometimes for the whole body o f
believers present and futu r e alike
,
He carried .

Christian people on His hea r t He felt that the .

greatest responsibility that ever devolved upon men

was devolved upon them A S the F ather had sent
.

Him into the wo r ld even so did He send them into

,

the wo r ld They we r e to be His rep r esentatives

. .

They were to b r ing forth much f r uit to His glory .

So g r eat was thei r mission that be fore He chose the

twelve He sought God s blessing in prayer Late r
’
.
,

as He was to ascend from Olivet and leave His fol ,

lowers He prayed for those followe r s

, .

C hristian people need prayer They are in the .

wo r ld to continue today the very wo r k which Christ

when here began They are to seek the needy re
.
,

lieve the opp r essed deliver the imprisoned They

,
.

a r e to com fort the sorrow ful and to rescue the

sinner Eve r y soul o f all humanity i s to be cheered
.

and brightened by them S ervice i s their dist inc .

tive calling It i s fo r this they are chosen as Christ s

.
’

disciples Prayer then should be o ffered that every

.

communicant every o ffice r every worker in the

, ,

Christian C hurch S hould answe r to this call to

“ ”
service I am glorified in them Christ said and
.
, ,

according to the faith fulness with which His dis

ciple s do His work is Christ glorified among men .

43
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

The three classes o f persons that have b een m e n

t ione d as those for whom Christ taught u s to pray ,

are distinct classes by themselves We pray for .

them because we in fer f r om H is words or e x ample

that we S hould do so Now comes the fourth clas s
.

for whom we are to pray Thi s fourth class is one

.

for whom w e a r e positively com m ande d to pray .

“
Pray for them that de spite fully us e you and
p e rse cute you C h r,
ist said What .He charged
u s to do He Himsel f did On Calvar y whe n men
.
,

“
maligned and tortured Him He p r ayed , Father , ,

”
forgive them fo r they know not what they do !
,

The people for whom He thus prayed we r e the in

flamed and passionate multitudes that surrounded
the cross Pr ominent among them were the prie st s
. .

The Scripture reads that these priests stirred up

“ ”
the people to shout C ruci fy ! and that the prie sts
persuaded the people to choose Barab bas rather than
Ch r ist .

T he Ober A m m e rgau peasants when the y place

-
,

the scene o f the c r ucifixion o n the stage S how the ,

priests moving actively among the c r owd The .

priests whispe r suspicions and b r eathe o ut hatred ,

until the popular mind i s ala r med and even embit

t e re d
. The peasants make as does the S c r ipture
, ,

the p r iests the agg r essive pa r ty in the crucifixion .

44
 F or W hom Chris t A sk s Inte rce ssion

“
When Ch r ist p r ayed F orgive them he p r ayed
, ,
”

for these ve r y p r iests who despitefully used Him

and persecuted Him A few days late r Pentecost
.

came Thousands o f hearts tu r ned to Go d in peni

.

“
tence . A n d a great company o f priests believed ”
.

The praye r indeed was answe r ed !

It i s not easy to p r ay for those that abuse us .

We must have control o f sel f and love to othe r s

to o ff er such p r ayer The absence o f bitte r ness is
.

not enough The r e must be the p r esence o f sym

.

pathy Christ was wonde r fully wise when He com

.

m an de d this p r aye r D ivided counsels are a hin

.

dra mce in any good cause S o long as j e alousie s e x

.

ist e d between the a r my O ffice r s o f o ur civil w ar ,

that war was a failu r e SO long as o ffice r s a sserted

.

their o wn dignity to the det r iment o f their fellow

o fficers there could not be success A nimosities
,
.

had to be surrende r ed Loyalty to a single com

.

mander had to be cherished Then the war has .

tened to its close .

We are to pray for the divid ed camps o f C hris

t e ndom We are to p r ay that dissensions among
.

God s people S hall cease Like M oses o f old we

’
.
,

are to rej oice when othe r s than ourselves have in

“
spiration from the A lmight y and say Let Eldad , ,

and M edad be among the p r ophets . Would God

”
that all the p eople might prophesy !
45
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

The hurt to a man s o wn hea r t In che r ishing

’

hatred is fearfu l Had Christ s spi r it on the cross

.
’

been bitter the c r oss would have been the place o f

,

His shame not His glo r y He could not have died

,
.

in peace unless Hi s hea r t was sweet Hate i s folly . .

It discolors vision and biases j udgment It m akes .

the man o f war nu r se his w r ongs and sulk in his

tent when he should be o n the battle line Nothing .

has hinde r ed the advance o f Ch r ist s army more ’

than the unkind feelings cherished by C hristians

towards those with whom they disag r ee Such feel .

ings a r e to be ove r powe r ed with love Eve r y de .

nomination must sac r ifice its cherished distinctions

rathe r than let th ose distinctions be a hindrance to
’
C hrist s cause Whateve r embitters u s against other
.

“
C h r istians must be surrendered Wo r ds like Cal .

” “
vin ism and A rminianism intended to be sources
”
,

o f love must never be sources O f hate

, Special doc .

trines must not become idol s to us and so stand b e

tween God and the wo r ld s good Christian men ’
.

cannot a ffo r d to qua rr el Qua rr eling inc apacitates

.

for use fulness Qua r reling hardens the hea r t to

.

the reception o f truth In p r aying fo r those who

.

despitefully use us we do not pray that God will

humble them to o ur special view s o r o ur special
methods R ather we pray that God will lead them
.

46
 F or W h o m Chris t A s k s Int e rce ssion

as shall seem wisest and best to Him and will use ,

them to His ow n infinite glo r y .

The last pe r sons for whom Ch r ist charged us

to p r ay we r e lab ore rs for H is hart/e s t fi e ld .

Here i s a p r ayer that stands o ut by itsel f It .

introduces us into a new r ealm o f thought A gain .

and again this p r aye r i s fo r gotten Ch r ist saw the .

multitudes They came f r om cities and villages

. .

They we r e piti full y ignorant They we r e piti fully

.

weak They we r e like sheep that do not know where

.

—
pasturage and safety a r e like shepherdless sheep
that a r e exposed to every danger These multitudes .

made direct appeal to His hea r t His hea r t an .

swe re d to that appeal What hea r t is the r e i f it

.
,

have the least deg r ee o f tende r ness that does not ,

pity the misled the mistaken and the imperiled ?

, ,

Seeing the multitudes and knowing their need He ,

“
said The harvest truly i s plenteous but the lab or
, ,

”
e rs a r e few .

What Chri st then said many another has since

“
repeated . S o many needy lives in the wo r ld and
”
so fe w people to help them ! The deepe r we se e

into the hea r ts o f men the more we realize their

,

sor r ows and thei r sins The r e is not a village so

.

small but that in it there a r e souls to be visited ,

com fo r ted and upli fted No t a town so o r derly

,
.
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

but that in it there are vices to be fought Not a .

city so evangelized but that in it multitude s are on

the way t o destruction Who S hall pu r i fy the homes
.

o f squalo r who take the children from the streets

,

and save them who protect the boys and girls O f

,

S i x teen and direct their youth ful energy into holy

pleasures ? The market places need righteousness ,

the court room s need j ustice the schools need con ,

sec r ation the churches need thousands upon thou

,

“ ”
sands O f workers C ome ove r and help us i s
.
,

the cry that i s r inging o ut f r om multitudes that no

man can number Politics needs integrity govern
.
,

ment needs faith fulness the army and the navy need
,

spirituality M issiona r ies eve r ywhere are calling

.

for men and women to ente r unoccupied fields .

It i s startling to consider that the o ne great

’
pra yer laid upon C h r ist s people as a people i s this
pra yer for laborers In general te r m s we say each
.

“ ”
day Thy kingdom come !
,
In specific terms we
“ ”
are to say Send forth laborers into thy harvest
,
.

Praying fo r o ur enemies i s usually a help to our

p ersonal sanct ifi cat ion B ut praying for laborers i s
.

’
a help to the whole world s salvation .

“
Today as always the great lack o f the King
, ,

dom i s labo r e r s ”
Eve r y Ch r istian enterprise 1a
.

ment s because so few will help in its work Every .

4 8
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

ture o r sancti fy commerce Wherever there are

, .

those who fight against sin and strive to rescue the

’
pe r ishing there are God s laborers I n homes fac
, .
,

to r ies railways farms there are great multitudes

, , ,

o f such .

But grante d that there are these multitudes thus

engaged in thei r dive r sified e ff o r ts fo r human good ,

still the on e praye r Ch r i st commanded u s to O ffer

“
fo r labo r ers needs always to be upon our lips .

S o many men b r ought up in C hristian surround

“ ”
ings are not labore r s ! They go to Alaska Their
, .

single purpose i s to get gold Their interests are .

wholly selfish A s a result o f their selfishness their

.

influence upon the natives i s destructive Were the y .

“ ”
laborers how di ffe r ent thei r influence woul d be !
So with many o f the t r oops that go to the Phil
ippine s They d r ink they ca r ouse they carry evil
.
, ,

with them S o with many o f the merchants that

.

ente r the treaty po r ts o f China They r elax their .

principles They live impurely How they disgrace

. .

Christ ian it v ! How they hinder t h e mi ssionary !

Suppose me r chants as they a r e they were in C hina
, ,

“ !”
as labo r e r s What a blessing instead , of a curse ,

they would be !
The g r eat pu r pose of every C hristian home i s to
“
raise up labore r s The on e specific pra yer C hrist
50
 F or W h om Chris t A sk s In te rce ssion

taught fathers and mothe r s to o ffer concerning their

“
child r en is that they may be labo r e r s ”
It i s to this .

end that pa r ents a r e t o feed them p r otect them , ,

educate them Child r en fail o f thei r glo r y unless

.

“
they become labo r e r s ”
Pa r ents fail o f thei r re
.

sponsibility unless they beseech God t o equip thei r

child r en fo r His se r vice .

“ ”
The wo r ds send forth a r e in the G r eek o ne
wo r d That wo r d used by Ch r ist i s a ve r y st r ong
.
, ,

“ ” “
word It means d r ive out
. th r ust o ut ”
It is .

the ve r y wo r d applied to Ch r ist when He finding ,

the Temple occupied by money ch ange r s and those

“ ”
w ho sold doves cast out those int r ude r s It is
, .

“ ”
also the wo r d used when Chri st cast o ut devils .

Parents pasto r s and teachers a r e to p r ay that God

, ,

“ ”
will th r ust o ut those dea r to them into the harvest
field They are to p r ay that God will send such an
.

i rresistible conviction into their hea r ts as will com

pel them to do the labor O f the ha r vest “
M ay my .

”
child have no rest until he i s Thy laborer So may .

we , should we pray
so .

Yes unless a family a chu r ch an institution ex

, , ,

ist s to r aise up labo r e r s it fails of its mission A ll,

.

teaching all f r iendship all art all lite r atu r e answer

, , ,

to thei r sup r eme end when they help create Chris

“ ”
tian laborers .

51
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

W e a r e to p r ay that thousands upon thousands o f

labo r e r s may be th r ust fo r th They are needed in
.

America and in A f r ica . They are needed in every

school business and chu r ch in the world M ay we
, , .

never neve r forget that there is but o ne specific

,

prayer whi c h we are charged by Ch r i st to o ffer con

cerning His kingdom That p r ayer i s that God
.
,

“ ”
would th r ust fo r th labore r s into Hi s harvest .

52
 t h e Co m f o r t e r S o ugh t f or S CIV ICC
’
.

The p r aye r fo r the Holy Spi r it as the Comfo r te r !

D o people unde r stand the r eal signifi c ance o f this
special p r aye r ? Have they a distinct idea o f what
is involved in it when they O ffe r it fo r themselves
and o f what is involved in it when it becomes an in
te rc e ssio n fo r othe r s ?

The p r ayer fo r the Holy Spi r it as the Holy Spirit

we are taught to O ffer with f r equency and f r eedom .

We cannot be t oo u r gent in seeking fo r all the gi fts

o f the Spi r it ! love jo y peace long s uffe r ing kind
, , ,
-
,

ness goodness faith fulness meekness and sel f con

, , ,
-

trol.

It rej oices us to know that God i s mo r e w illing

to give the Holy Spi r it in these gifts than ea r thl y
pa r ents a r e to give good gi fts unto thei r child r en .

Come Holy Spi r it ! has long been the c r y o f the

,
”

church and it always will be the c r y o f the church

,
.

B ut the prayer fo r the Holy Spi r it as the Com

fo r ter seems to be a ve r y special p r aye r Its Signifi
.

cance was indicated when C hrist s prayer fo r the

’

53
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

Holy Spirit as the Comfo r ter received its answer

at Pentecost M any public assemblages o f Chris
.

tian wo r ke r s voice that answe r The more intent.

those who compose such assemblages a r e upon per

suading othe r s to obey the will O f Go d the O ftene r ,

the p r aye r i s o ffered for the Holy Spi r it the C om

forter and the deeper the earnestness that is e x
pressed in it Where formality o f r eligious li fe
.

prevails and where sense o f r esponsibility for the

sp iritual wel fare o f others i s weak the prayer is ,

O ffe r ed less and less f r equently and less and less

fervently . S el f centered people and sel f satisfi e d
- -

churches give it small place in thei r petitions .

Years ago a band o f men and women in the Lo

diana M ission India looking o ut upon the r eligious
, ,

needs o f thei r o wn country and o f Eu r ope A merica ,

and the wo r ld at large saw how g r eat these needs

,

a r e Thei r hearts became deeply stirred The de

. .

sire took possession o f them that mankin d eve r y

where should speedily know the fulness o f the bless
ing o f the Gospel Inspired by this desire they is
.

sued a call fo r a world wide obse r vance o f a Week

-

o f Praye r The o ne sup r eme purpose o f that Week

.

should be to p r ay that the Holy Spi r it would use

,

the chu r ch to the s alvation o f the world .

The praye r fo r the Holy Spirit as the Com forter

54
 The Co m f orte r So ugh t f or Se rvice

is a praye r C hrist O ffe r ed for o the rs He speaks .

o f this p r aye r o ffered b v Him as having a twofold

, ,

sugg estion F i r st it suggested Hi s love fo r His

.
,

disciples Second it suggested His desi r e fo r a

.
,

particula r kind O f blessing on them It was then .

, ,

Ch r ist s love fo r His disciples that caused Him to

’

o ff er it They were soon t o lose His comradeship

. .

A S a consequence they would need spiritual guid

ance courage and st r ength This was especially
, .

true in view o f the fact that the responsibility o f rep

r esenting Him be fore the world and advancing His
kingdom would with Hi s depa r ture devolve upon
, ,

them The r e fore He now asked and stated that He

.
,

would continue to ask that the C om forte r that is , ,

a Spiritual Powe r f r om Heaven S hould enter thei r ,

hea r ts directing emboldening and suppo r ting them

, , .

Thus so fa r as he could protect them f r om lone li

,

ness and weakness He would p r otect them— b y se

,

cu r ing fo r them special help A ccordingl y he asked .

God to give them the Holy Spi r it the Com fo r te r o r ,

“
as Wycli ffe called Him the Helpe r , .

The English word Com forter means p r imaril y a

’
Strengthener a Supporte r People o f C h r ist s day
, .

were accustomed to the Greek word used by C hrist ,

“
Paraclete or C om forte r
”
, It meant o ne who went .

into the court room when a person appeared be fore

55
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

a tribunal and stood at hi s side giving him counsel , ,

cheering his spirit and advocating his cause S uch .

a com forter was a most valuable aid He helped .

his fr iend to keep a clear head and answer wisely .

He saved hi s f riend from perturbation as he sug ,

gested the action to be taken at any given moment .

The mission o f the com forter was to cheer and

strengthen him at w hose side he stood .

When C hrist interceded for the C om forter His ,

disci p le s were ab out to appear before the world as

be fore a tribunal They were to stand in a great
.

court room and be witnesses for the truth as it is in

C hrist The supreme responsibility laid upon them
.

was to plead the cause o f C hrist in the presence o f

their fellows and persuade others to accept the
claims o f C hrist F o r this great and impo r tant re
.

sponsibility they needed help There fo r e C h r ist so

.

pa r ticularly and earnestly sought fo r them the gi ft

o f the C om forter .

The r e was o n e special designation in this pra yer

“
that Ch r ist linked with the C om forte r namely , ,

“ ” ”
the Spi r it o f Truth Thi s Spi r it of T r uth was
.

“
indeed to be anothe r Com fo r ter even as Ch r ist ,

Himsel f up to this time had been thei r fi r st Com

fo r te r The Spirit w as to do fo r them in inst r uction
.
,

in counsel in guidance j ust what Chri st hitherto

, ,

had done .

56
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

advance H is wo r k A ll those truths which C hrist

.

entered earth to present the Holy Spi r it was to help

,

them to p r esent He was to give them powe r to

.

know the r ight to bless their fellows and to honor

,

C h r ist The Spirit o f Truth would encou r age them

.

for Christian activit y and would sustain them in

C hristian su ffering He would create a g r eat body
.

o f men who like knights would r ally to the de fense

,

o f r ight and would battle fo r the down fall o f wrong .

A special condition o f mind i s requisite that the

Holy Spirit may possess men as Christ then p r ayed
that the Spi r it might possess Hi s disciples The .

Holy Spi r it in thi s mission o f the Comfo r ter the ,

Pa r aclete i s intended only for those w ho are ready

,

to glo r i fy Ch r ist be fore the wo r ld The man that .

i s indi ffe r ent whethe r his influence tells as power

fully as possible fo r helping Ch r i st s cause cannot ’

receive the Holy Spirit as the C om fo r te r Such a .

man i s in no sympathy with the particula r work He

has come to accompl ish Such a man i s not a tool
.

meet fo r the Spi r it s use A nanias and Sapphira

’
.
,

swayed by selfish pu r poses cannot be the Spi r it s in,

’

strument no r can D emas loving this present world

, ,

more than the souls fo r whom C hrist died No .

pe r son can eve r have the C om fo r te r who wi she s

Him as an Opiate Such a pe r son has no worthy
.

58
 The Co m f orte r So ugh t f
or S e rvice

conception of the Comforte r s mission no r has he

’

any t r ue r ealiz ation o f what the Com fo r te r wishes

done People who ask to r eceive Him fo r these
.

pu r poses alone h ave no ide a o f His pa r tic ula r func

,

tion in the kingdom o f g r ace U nless they wish.

Him that they may be bette r fitted fo r se r ving

C h r ist in the lives o f others they a r e unp r epa r ed
,

to profit by his p r esence Ine r t r ock th at has no

.

intention o f p r oducing veget ation i s not adv antaged

by sunlight It i s the me adow that awaits the sun
.

light in o r de r to b r ing forth g r ass and flowers that

alone is advant aged by the sunlight .

The r e a r e m any people who need to have thei r

unde r standings ar oused to a clea r pe r ception o f the
mission o f the Com forter He comes to pre pare
.

m e n an d w om e n for Chris tian use f uln e ss That i s .

His one single pu r pose When we p r ay that He

.

may be given to a boy our only reason for so pray

,

ing is that the boy may be fitted to do something fo r

Jesus Christ among his com r ades o r in his home .

This inte r cession c annot be O ffered fo r o ne who i s

to continue sluggi sh in wo r ks o f b e ne fi ce n ce The .

coming of the Com forte r i s a trumpet call to actio n

—and that action ea r nest Ch r istian usefulness
,
.

Wonde r is O ften exp r essed that when the day o f

Pentecost was come the men and women who met
,

59
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e f uln e ss

the occasion were S O brave and r eady The e x .

planation o f thei r brave r y and r e adiness i s this

Ch r ist p r evious to His A scension cha r ged them to
, ,

wait in Je r usalem until the Holy Spi r it should come

upon them as He had prayed that the C om fo r ter
might come What did they need the Holy Spirit
.

fo r ? Why should they wa it a single day fo r Him

when time w as so p r ecious ? What woul d they do
with this gi ft of powe r th r ough the Holy Spirit
when they should receive it ? The answer to these
questions i s found in the m ission o f the Com forter .

He was n ot awaited to give them a sense o f for

g iv e n e ss nor
,
to be a lullaby o f peace in thei r hearts ,

—
no r to teach them mo r al ideas but to empower them
for a definite and special se r vice A pa r ticular work .

had been ent r usted to them Speaking gene r ally .

they were to be Ch r ist s labo r e r s in the ha r vest field

’

o f need Speaking specifically they were to be H is

.

witne sse s They we r e to advocate Hi s cause de

.
,

clare H is truths tell His love and testi fy to His

,

saving powe r in human li fe Thi s they were to do .

everywhere i n Jerusalem and to the utte r most pa r ts

,

o f the earth I n view o f thi s specific se r vice this

.
,

witness bearing Ch r ist p r ayed for the C om fo r ter to

,

come to them The Com fo r te r was to be to them

.

the g r e at dynamic whe r eby they could fulfil their

60
 The Co m f orte r So ugh t f
or S e rvice

mission He was to empowe r them to do what

.

devolved upon them as wit n esses .

They r ecognized that this w as the pu r pose o f

Christ s p r aye r A cco r dingly when the sound as
’
.

o f a rushing mighty wind came f r om heaven and ,

the tongues o f fi r e appea r ed ( exte r ior sign als indi

cating to the disciple s that the hou r fo r action had
a rr ived ) these men and women who had simply
been w aiting to b e ar the ir te s tim ony sp r ang fo r ward
to give it The conception of the C h r istian li fe that
.

animated thei r whole being was b ringing the w orld ,

to Chris t through witne ss b e aring for H im This .

conception the Holy Spi r it now told them should be

exp r essed in deeds H e enabled them to exp r ess it
.
,

enlightening thei r minds i n the knowledge o f Scrip

tu r e kindling their b r ave r y giving them utte r ance
, ,

and imparting power to win souls The p r ayer for .

the Holy Spi r it as the Com fo r ter means se r vice fo r

Christ in saving men I rr esponsibility for the wel
.

fa r e o f others disinclination to e ffo r t withdrawal

, ,

from the wo r ld s woe are as far f r om this p r ayer as

’

east i s f r om west When Ch r ist prayed this prayer

.
,

He wished God to take those few men who were

His disciples and S O charge them with the fo r ces o f
Heaven th at they would r ise triumphant above all
hesitation and would sp r ing fo r ward to conque r this
61
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

world in His name Nothing S hould te r ri fy no r

.

dete r them They should go anywhe r e speak to

.
,

any man endure any p r ivation in attempting to

, ,

lead men to believe in Christ .

Sometimes in the campaign o f an a r my the bugle

c all suddenly sounds The camp has been asleep
. .

B ut the hou r has come fo r fighting and the bugle

“ ”
sounds the notes o f battle Immediately the men
.

a r e awake St r aightway horses a r e saddled a r

.
,

tille r y is unlimbe r ed and ten minutes after the call

the whole c amp i s t r ansfo r med The army that .

ten minutes be fore appeared so impotent and in

deed was so impotent th r ough th at bugle call has
,

become powe r ful Let oppo r tunity fo r action now

.

come and the a r my will mani fest its might It will

,
.

answer to the end for which it has been c r eated and

it will fight with ene r gy an d da r ing .

The p r aye r fo r the Com fo r ter is the prayer that

Go d will sound Hi s bugle call in the heart o f the
C hristian and will a r ouse him to agg r essive action .

The Ch r istian is no mo r e to sit at ease NO more .

i s he to d r eam O f himsel f o f his home and o f his

, ,

pleasures He i s now a soldier in the fiel d enlisted

.
,

’
unde r Ch r ist and fo r Ch r ist to do a soldie r s service
,
.

He is to fight his captain s battles r esisting the evil

’
,

o f li fe and t rving to draw men to follow his leader .

62
 The Co m f orte r So ugh t f or S e rvice

When that p r aye r was answered in Pete r s heart ’

he could not r est until he had looked st r aight into

the eyes O f the people at Je r usalem and told them
th at they needed a Saviou r When it was answe r ed
.

in Pilkington s hea r t he felt th at he must go to

’

U gand a take up M ackay s work and ca rr y forwa r d

’

the interests fo r which M ackay had lived and died .

When that p r aye r was answe r ed in M a r y Lyon s ’

heart S he founded the M ount Holyoke training

school where gi r ls should catch the spi r it o f Ch rist s ’

li fe and be inspired to r edeem the wo r ld When that .

prayer was answered in F B M eyer s hea r t he

. .
’

started with an ene r gy entirely new to r each every

, ,

living man with words that glowed with the love o f

C hrist.

T he pray e r fo r the Holy Spi r it the C om forter is

one that many a parent hesitates to O ffer for his

child : it involves t oo much fo r the child The an .

swe r to that p r aye r may thrust the child o ut o f his

present luxu r ious surroundings into e ffo r ts sel f
, ,

denials and sacrifices f r om which the pa r ent desires

to protect his child That p r aye r for a child mav
.

make a child leave home and go fo r th as Hen r y ,

M artyn did to meet responsibilities otherwise avoid

,

“
able : may end forever hi s being an o r nament to
”
society and because o f hi s zeal and persistency
, , ,

may cause all society to look o n him askance .

63
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

No r does eve r y man da r e o ffer thi s prayer for

to

himsel f Students who o ffer it fo r themselves mav

.

find God straightway showing them path s o f use

fulness so di ffe r ent f r om those they che r ish that ,

to walk in them will r equire a wholly new plan o f

li fe Young men in theologic al semina r ies who pra y
.

thi s p r aye r fo r themselves m ay se e fields o f o ppo r

t unity opening befo r e them such as they neve r have

been willing to consider M e n and women who p r ay

.

it fo r them selves may se e thei r business and social

practices in such a new light that they will be ,

ashamed to continue those p r actices and will have

to change thei r methods .

The praye r for the C om forter i s a very searching

prayer It is the prayer that answe r ed gives the
.

chu r ch power . Its answer cause s the chu r ch to

b r eak loose f r om listlessness and all hindrances and ,

become a giant— mighty to the pulling down o f S in s ’

st r ongholds and to the upbuilding o f ! ion s palaces ’

.

We believe in thi s prayer In o ur heart o f hearts

.

we tho r oughly believe in it We wish every youth

.

would o ff e r it fo r himsel f and eve r y pa r ent would

O ff e r it for hi s child Then the age o f r eligious in
.

di ffe r ence would end Then the age o i religious

.

chivalry and knighthood would begin Pentecosts .

would be whe r ever the Ch r i stian church i s There .

64
 S p e cial p e t it io ns f or (M t JBe Iovcb .

Once a peculiar discussion arose among some nu

de rgraduat e s gathe r ed in a college roo m at C am
b r idge England
, . The question had been asked ,

What kind o f a man would you like to have at your

”
bedside in case you we r e d y ing ? S o it was p ro
posed that each should write unde r cover the name
o f the mini ste r he would w ish with him in such Cir

cum st an ce s Pape r s we r e b r ought o ut each wrote

.
,

a name the pape r s we r e folded collected and read

, , .

TO the su r p r i se o f all each one had written the

same name and that n ame was the name o f one o f
the least mentioned ministe r s o f Camb r idge The .

m iniste r was a quiet m an whose chu r ch was never

crowded B ut quiet and lacki ng in brilliancy as
.

he was the ministe r was known to be a man o f

,

p r aye r who ca r ed mo r e fo r God s blessing on

,
’

othe r s than fo r men s applause O f himsel f These

’
.

unde r g r adu ates somehow believed in him and in his

praye r.

A n earnest man s p r aye r i s a force fo r good

’
.

66
 Spe cial Pe titions f or Our B e love d

Abraham had influence with Go d fo r S odom A gain .

and again A b r aham p r ayed that God would spare

Sodom f r om dest r u c tion an d eve r y time he so
,

p r ayed God yielded to his wish No o ne now knows .

,

no one eve r will know — until eternity dawns— the

evils that have been averted f r om human lives by
the p r aye r s o f others .

B esides ave r ting evils f r om othe r s the p r ayers o f

loving hearts have secu r ed blessings to them A .

young man at D othan was S O ala r med because of

the seemingly ove r whelming fo r ces th at th r eatened
Is r ael that his hea r t failed him B ut Elisha prayed
, .

“
and said Lo r d I p r ay thee open his e ye s th at he
, , ,

”
may se e .Thereupon the young man looking up to
the mountain that was nea r by saw the mountain
filled with ho r ses and cha r iots o f fi r e r eady to de ,

fend I s r ael against the enemy Immediately the .

young man s cou r age asserted itsel f and he became

’

fearless .

True love for others is intended to inspi r e prayer

for them Such love was in Paul s hea r t fo r the
.
’

Philippian Church Words o f endea r ment we r e

.

O ften o n his pen when he w r ote to them He called .

them M y b r eth r en dea r ly beloved and longed fo r

“
, ,

my j oy and my c r own ”
That love led him to pray
.

for them This was his prayer

.

67
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fulne ss

T H A T Y O UR L OV E M A Y A B O U N D YET M O RE A ND
M O RE I N ! N O W L E D GE A N D I N ALL JUD G M E NT ,

“
T H A T YE MA Y A PPR O V E T H I NG S TH A T A R E Ex
CE LLE N T,
“
T H AT YE M AY BE S I N C E R E A N D W ITH O U T OF
F E N SE T ILL T H E DA Y O F C H R I S T

“
B E I NG F ILL ED W IT H T H E F RUI T S OF R IGHT E O US
N ESS W H I C H A RE BY JE S U S C H R I ST
, ,

U NTO T H E GL O R Y AN D PR A IS E O F GOD
“
.

T his p r aye r has fou r g r eat petitions The first .

“
of them i s , that your love m ay abo und ye t m ore
”
and m ore in k nowle dge j and in all udgm e n t .

Sometimes we ask ou rselves what special requests

,

shall we make fo r others ? This p r aye r r emoves all

uncertainty Our r equests ce rtain lv should be that
.
,

othe r s may have increasingly loving dispositions

that are at once intelligent and discriminating .

Paul has a r ema r kable w ay of putting words to

gethe r In small comp act sentences he says much
.
,

and says that much j udiciously To him a loving dis.

position w as the sup r eme p r oduct o i Ch r istianity

I n the desc r iption he gives in hi s fi r st lette r t o the
C orinthian church o f the cha r acteristics and uses o f
love he make s love the best possession that can be
,

“ ”
held by the human hea r t Love neve r faileth
. .

Eloquent talking will some day be valueless In .

68
 Spe cial Pe titions f or Our B e love d

formation though it be encyclopedic will eventually

, ,

be disappointing S o too will lu x ury and applause

. .

But a loving disposition will always be valuable and

sati sfying U nse lfi sh interest in others is a last
.

ing j oy and an unceasing benediction F ellow man .

needs love Go d rej oices in love and ete r nity per

,

p e t uat e s love Love

. i s the immo r tal pa r t o f o ur

being fo r it is the only pa r t worthy o f immortality

,
.

“
When anyone p r ays for another that his love
”
may abound yet mo r e and more he prays a g r eat
prayer for him What st r ength and j oy and noble
.

ness would characterize men i f in eve r y soul that

“
now has s ome love that love should abound
, The
good in many a man i s small and inexpressive I n .

de fense and e xplanation o f him we Often are obliged

“ ’
to say : I f the secret springs o f that man s li fe
could be seen it woul d be known how many noble
,

”
traits he has ! But the piti fulness is that a friend ,

has to insist that the noble t r aits exist The lost .

piece o f money was in the house No one denied it .

was the r e But a g r eat S ea r ch was requisite to find

.

it and b r ing it to light !

,

That you r love may abound Once I went into

.

a palatial home and found at eve r y step yes almost , ,

at eve r y hal f step some beauti ful a r ticle brought

, ,

from Italy o r Egypt India or Japan A S these orna

, .

69
 A M ighty M e ans o f Us e fulne ss

ment s whichever way I looked filled my eye I said

, , , ,

“ ”
Beauti ful things ab oun d in this house ! The heart
“ ”
in which love abounds is a blessed heart Gener .

ous instincts and gracious forgivenesses are in it .

Tender sympathies a r e in it It has no place for .

envies and j ealou sies A nge r and malice hatreds

.
,

and grudges every little and eve r y la r ge unloving

,

ness are crowded out o f the heart When sunlight .

“ ”
abounds in a house da r kness must fly away
,
.

“ ”
When warmth abounds in a heart no room i s left ,

fo r coldness Our wo r ld would become unspeak

.

ably sweet and help ful i f in all Ch r istian hearts lov

,

“ ”
ing kindness abounded yet mo r e and more The .

most attractive lives woul d become even more at

t r active M e n like D rummond and Peabody would
.

take o n a new winsomeness Even the weakest and .

least pleasing Ch r istians would begin to glow w ith

beaut y Harshness and bitte r ness would go as
.
,

mists go be fore the r ising sun— and these weakest

and least pleasing Christians would be strong and
’
bright That which in a man s o wn soul taste s
.

sweetest to the soul itsel f i s love That which in a .

’
man s o wn mind most re freshes the mind itsel f i s
“ ”
love. AS love abounds yet more and more con ,

tent abounds j oy abounds godliness abounds

, ,
.

R e ference has al r eady been made to the fact that

70
 Spe cial Pe t itions for Our B e love d

Paul used wo r ds j udiciously In this ve r y petition

.

he so uses them Notice the full statement of this

.

“
petition : that your love may abound yet more
”
and more in k nowle dge and in all judgm e n t .

“ ” “ ”
The words knowledge and j udgment safe
gua r d the petition and m ake it an e x ceedingly wise
“ ”
o ne
. Knowledge means acquaintance with the
facts o f a given situation in whi c h love i s drawn out
“ ”
j udgment means disce r nment o f the proper meth
o ds in which love should express itsel f What Paul.

had in mind was that these Philippians should love

“ ”
intelligently should use sense in thei r a ffection
,

and in the exp r ession o f thei r a ffection Love may .

become the spo r t o f eve r y impulse U nwise love .

has wrought g r eat evil in the wo r ld Sometimes .

such love has been like a fre nz v Paul pravs that

.

it may never be a f r enzy He wishes it to be deep

.

and st r ong and full volumed but neve r like a r iver

-
,

that b r eaks down its dam o r like a fi r e that dest r oys

its chimney Love i s not to r un aw ay with j udg
.

ment but the rathe r is to be cont r olled and directed

,

by j udgment .

When the C r usades we r e p r oclaimed in E uTOpe ,

thousands o f people impelled by the pu r est motives

, ,

rushed into the C r usades They loved Ch r ist : they

.

’
were r eady to do and even to die that Ch r ist s
71
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

sepulch r e might be r escued from the M oslem The .

enthusiasm o f the hou r swept them Off thei r feet .

Ca rr ied captive by a lo ve that did no t stop to con

side r what was involved in thei r action they bade ,

farewell to their homes and started for the Hol y

Land as unprepa r ed fo r t r avel as an unarmed
,

soldier i s for battle A S a consequence they fell b y

.

the wayside o r perished by disease .

The r e i s no contradiction between love and in

t e llige n ce. They a r e meant to act in harmony .

We a r e convinced that intelligent love i s possible

when we study a hea r t like that o f M oses He loved .

the child r en o f I s r ael so intensely that for their wel

fare he would willingly sac r ifice hi s very li fe But .

intense as hi s love was it was always directed by

,

wisdom A ccordingly love sought o ut the best bless

.

ings and the safest situations that could be desired

for I s r ael .

Paul himsel f i s a simila r illustration o f the unio n

o f love and intelligence . He was ve r y magnanimou s
and tender hea r ted He exemplified the love he So
.

em phatically desc r ibed A nd still however devoted

.
,

he was to others , he neve r s aid a foolish wo r d to

them no r did he eve r extend a hu r tful sympathy
,
.

“
To p ray that the sphe r e o f love may be in knowl
”
edge and j udgment i s to p r ay that the kind heart
72
 A M ighty M e ans of Us e fulne ss

rie nce s : A
young man hears warnings against de
ce pt io n p r ofaneness and impurity
, He says I will .

”
me r ely t r y them and se e what they a r e Then he .

“ ”
tries a deception a profaneness an impu r ity The
, ,
.

“ ”
way o f t r ying evil is often the way o f expe r iencing
death Boys and men go to destruction simply by
.

trying infe r io r and hu r tful th ings The mere tast .

ing o f evil a r ouses within them an appetite fo r evil ,

and the poison o f wrong ente r s eve r y ve in o f their

li fe F o r a man to try things not excellent when
.

he may try things that are e x cellent i s both folly and ,

S in.

But no wiser and sa fe r course o f conduct can b e

“ ”
suggested than that o f trying things that are e x
ce lle nt It i s the course o f conduct that leads to
.

holy characte r .

0 ,
k b ut t ri al o f H is l ove
m a e ,

E p e ri e nc e w ill d e c id e
x

H o w bl e st are th e y an d o nl y the y
W ho in H is l ove abid e
”
.

D iscernment i s needed to know the things that

a r e excellent The r e fore it was that Paul prayed
.

“ ”
fo r knowledge and j udgment The eyes o f the .

understanding must be opened i f good i s to be

recognized as good though it be in r ags and evil ,

i s to be r ecognized as evil though it comes as an

74
 Spe cial Pe titions f or Our B e love d

angél Of light D eception is o n eve r y hand It came

. .

to Eve it came to Esau it came to Solomon It

, ,
.

lu r ks in eve r y society whe r e some com r ade exerts

a pernicious influence it waits in eve r y st r eet where
,

some misc r eant whispe r s an evil solicitation .

The men and women who always being able to ,

know the things that are excellent app r ove them , ,

a r e sure to be splendid specimens o f C hristian

“
beauty . E x cellent ! The wo r d makes us think o f
”

things that r ise up high like the g r eat mountains

,

that tower above the foothill s and have their summits

“ ”
in the skies Excellent !
. The word speaks to us
o f graces that a r e the sup r eme g r aces — the lo fty

g r aces of fa r advanced holiness o f perfect peace o f

-
, ,

“
Christlike j oy He who has S O long tried the e x
.

”
ce lle nt things that they have become incorporated
into his being has ve r y e x alted ideals and very e x
,

alted j oys He cannot demean himsel f to the low

.

and the soiled .

’
The thi r d petition in Paul s prayer for the Philip
“
pians is that ye m ay be since re and without of
”
fe ns e till the day of Chris t .

There i s a wealth of S ignificance in the adj ective

”
sincere as Paul used it Our English translators
.

chose a strong wo r d when they t r anslated Paul s ad ’

“ ”
j ve S incere
e c t i S ince r e is a Latin word meaning
.

75
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e f uln e ss

without wa x ( sine ce ra) The Latins applied it to

.

a vase that did not need to be patched up but was

perfectl y whole Sometimes vases had cracks which
.

were concealed by wax B ut a sincere vase had no

.

faults o f any kind needing to be covered S o a S in .

cere man i s a genuine man free from flaws sound , ,

and whole in every r espect .

But Paul s G r eek adj ective really means proved

’

”
in the sunlight It suggests a type o f character
.

that can stand the strongest inspection A cloth seen .

in the dim o r in the a r tificial light o f a store appears

o n e thing Take that cloth out into the sunlight
.

and it is seen to be another thing D avid seemed .

fair so long as no sunlight fell upon him but when ,

Nathan made him stand whe r e the sunlight fel l

directly upon him then D avid was no longer fair
,

but foul Judas in the shadow was a f r iend : Judas

.

in the sunlight was a traito r The sunlight i s a re .

vealer When the sunlight o f full scrutin y falling

.

on motives causes those motives to appear b r ighter

and pure r the sunlight reveals a magnificent char

,

acter It i s this featu r e o f C hrist s life that i s so

.
’

unique : it was spent in the open where men con ,

st ant ly saw him and still

, not o n e o f them all could

find a flaw in Hi s cha r acte r Even the man who .

’
betrayed Him was obliged to testi fy to Christ s spot
76
 Spe cial Pe titions for Our B e love d
“
lessness as he declared I have betrayed innocent
”
blood .

“ ”
The men o f today who p r oved in the sunlight
, ,

are seen to be pure and unselfish a r e the men who

d r aw their families and thei r associates to Christ .

S ooner o r late r the sea r chlight of inspection falls

upon every one He whose integ r ity and high
.

mindedness then become the more appare nt i s the ,

man who most glo rifi e s the name o f Ch r istian and

most adds power to the Ch r istian Chu r ch .

This thi r d petition asks that men be sincere and

“ ”
also without o ffense
,
. A n o ffense is that which
causes people to stumble I f a stone o r log o r animal
.

is in a pathway and people stumble over it that ,

stone log o r animal i s an Offense In the olden time

, .

“ ”
special roadways led to the cities of r e fuge The .

fleeing man who could reach o ne o f these cities

ahead o f his pursue r was safe Great attention was .

paid to these roadwavs Eve r ything that could pos

.

Sib ly cause a runne r to stumble was r emoved from

them The purpose was to make the way to salva
.

— “
tion clear without a S ingle o ffense in it To ”
.

leave in the roadway o ne stone that would cause the

runner to fall and so to fail o f reaching the city o f
re fuge was a te r rible wrong .

S o today it is a te r rible wrong to be an o ffense to

77
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fulne ss

any one o n hi s way to the city o f God Good things .

le ft undone as well as evil things done may make

, ,

us an o ffense I f ou r vi r tue s a r e not b r ight o ur

.
,

ve r y dimness may cause the r uin o f others The low .

burning o f the lamp in the lighthouse has been

known to w r eck vessels To be S ilent giving no
.
,

alarm when dange r app r oa c hes is to let o ur b r other ,

be unprepared fo r the dange r The man that i s .

”
without o ff ense i s a g r eat spi r itual helper To go .

th r ough one s whole li fe neve r hinde r ing o ne single

’

soul f r om being bette r but the rather aiding man y

souls towa r d God and the j oys o f heaven is an e x ,

p e rie n ce we may well wish for ou r selves and m ay

well seek for others .

“ ”
Till the day o f C h r i st S uch is the ending of
.

“ ”
thi s petition to be S ince r e and without o ffense .

Some day the M aste r is to appea r A ll things then .

will be seen in H is light That light will search .

men s hea r ts and lives even as the sunlight has

’

failed to do M e n shall be completely r evealed to

.

themselves and completely decla r ed to others .

Happy they who then — in f —

the day o C h r i st shall
“ ”
be seen to be sincere and without O ff ense .

Paul s p r aye r fo r the Philippians closes with the

’

words b e ing fi lle d with the fruits of righte ousne ss

,
“

w hich are by Ie sus Chris t, un to the glory and praise

”
of God .
 Spe cial Pe titio ns f or Our B e lo ve d

These words constitute the fou r th petition o f

Paul s p r aye r They voi c e his wish that those whom
’
.

he loves may have an abundant expe r ience O f the

benefits o f God s g r ace “
F illed ! ”
Paul loved to
’
.

“ ” “
use the wo r ds full and filled ”
He sought the
.

full indwelling of the Holy Spi r it in his o wn heart

and he desi r ed that same full indwelling in the
hearts o f others He longed to have r ighteousness
.

the overpowe r ing passion o f men s souls He p r ayed

’
.

’
that they might be filled with the knowledge o f God s
will and that thei r peace might pass unde r standing .

His own spi r itu al expe r ience was rich and deep .

“ ”
That ye may be filled with all the fulness o f God
was his desire fo r othe r s .

“ ”
F illed with the f r uits o f r ighteousness The .

f r uits o f r ighteousness a r e com fort and content e n ,

e rgy and sweetness ,

powe r and salvation F illed .

with such f r uits ! The autumn time suggests the

beauty o f such an expe r ience When the mows are
.

filled with hay and the bins a r e filled with grain ,

the time fo r harvest j oy has come A ll nations sing .

that j oy R ussia and England F r ance and A mer ica

, ,
.

The fruits o f ha r vest a r e glo r ious so too a r e the ,

fruits o f righteousness . He who is fille d with the

fruits o f r ighteousness has a hea r t filled with last
ing happiness and a li fe filled with abiding st r ength .

79
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Use fulne ss

”
Which are by Jesus Christ Yes Je sus C hrist
.
,

i s the sou r ce and means whereby these fruits enter

’

the hea r t and li fe A n d when once they enter

.

“
the heart and li fe these fruits are unto the glory
,

”
and praise o f God They cause those in whom
they dwell to reflect honor o n Go d M e n filled with
“
.

”
the f r uits o f r ighteousness are living illust r ations
o f the power o f divine g r ace : they a r e God s epistles
’

written to S how the beauty o f His service On earth .

they a r e God s attractive ambassadors and then in

’

“ ”
heaven they are God s eternal glo r y and praise
’
.

I n the history O f Hambu r g occurs the story o f an

interce ssion . The city was besieged D ays and .

weeks had worn o n until the people o f this city were

i n dist r ess The day came when it seemed to the
.

commander that he could not hold out another h our .

Heavy hearted he entered hi s garden Hi s armor .

had nOt been put o ff fo r many nights A s he walked .

through the ga r den he noticed the cherries on the

tree s They were la r ge ripe luscious A thought
.
, , .

came to him Ne x t day he dresse d three hundred

.

children o f Hamburg in whit e Then he loaded .

them with these cherry branches When all was .

ready he opened the gates o f the city and had the

child r en walk st r aight toward the besiegers The .

be siegers could not imagine what the procession

80
 t h e c h r is t ian W o r k e r s tlnt e rce s s ton
’
.

In a village in New Yo r k state the following scene

once occurred The pastor o f the chu r ch w as to go
.

away A ll the families dwelling within two miles

.

o f the chu r ch belonged to his cong r egation The .

pastor had labo r ed long and faith fully am ong them .

Hi s li fe had been blameless H is preaching had

.

been fo r ce ful He had gone into the homes with

.

interest and affection fo r all Besides h e had

.
,

spoken some wo r d o f counsel to almost every in

dividual in the enti r e congregation He had rebuked .
,

encouraged com fo r ted and pe r suaded according

, ,

to the need in each case O n the morning o f his

.

departu r e he came to a r ising ground whence he

could se e the chu r ch the houses lining the village
,

street and the scattered homes o f more than th ree

,

fourths o f hi s people The r e he tu r ned and looked

.

back Then he st r etched out his arms li fted his

.
,

eyes and with quivering voice called upon Go d

,

“
Blessed Father this i s the people I have loved I
,
.

have la b ored for them with my whole soul I can .

82
 The Chris tian W In te rce ss ion
’

ork e r s

do no mo r e D O Thou take c ar e o f them and bless

.
,

them and bring them o ne and all to Thy glo r y

,
.

Then he looked once mo r e upon all the homes

whe r e the o ld and the young the thoughtful and ,

thoughtless we r e tu r ned about and passed on his

,

way .

’
That scene does not stand alone in the wo r ld s
“
histo r y A b r ah am Lincoln once said :
. I have been
d r iven many times to my knees by the ove r whelm
”
ing c onviction that I had no othe r place to go .

Thousands o f e ar nest faith f ul men h aving used

, ,

eve r y means within thei r powe r fo r the sp i r itual

good o f othe r s have r ea c hed moments when no
,

“
other resou r ce was left them except p r aye r What .

”
mo r e can I do ? a teacher o f a Sunday school class
o ften asks afte r he has put his whole so ul into t r ying
to make Sc r iptu r e t r uths r each the hea r ts of his
“
schola r s What mo r e can I do
.
? ”
a pa r ent o ften
asks afte r he has t r ied to live spotlessly in his home
, ,

and has spoken to his c hild r en with all possible pe r

suasion o f Ch r ist s c laims fo r thei r allegi ance
’
.

A t su c h times the r e is b ut o n e answe r It i s the .

answe r given in Paul s ex ample at M iletus F o r

’
.

th r ee yea r s he had labo r ed in Ephesus He had .

been manly independent and tende r He had

, ,
.

wo r ked with his o w n h ands to s uppo r t himself ! he

83
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Us e f uln e ss

’
had coveted no man s money ! he had gone from
house to house by day and by night saying the need
ful wo r d and S howing a sel f denying loving spi r it -
,
.

He had been a faith ful f r iend and a f aithful min

i ste r He had testified by his li fe and by his lips to
.

—
the beauty o f Ch r i st H e had even w ith te ar s
.

u r ged people to leave sin and walk in righteousness .

B ut now his oppo r tunity w as ove r He was to .

se e thei r faces no mo r e He had done and said

.

enough to enable eve r y o ne o f them to be a splendid

Ch r istian at once a blessing to his fellows and an
,

hono r to God Only one r esou r ce remained pos

.

sible to him : that was p r aye r He knew the ab so .

lute necessity fo r heaven s blessing o n his wo r k He

’
.

himsel f said Paul may plant A pollos may water

,
“
, ,

but God giveth the inc r ease ”

Pr aye r w as to him
.

a re fuge and a st r ength A cco r dingly on the sands

.
,

o f the se a S hore ,
su rr ounded by the rep r esentative
worke r s o f the Ephesian chu r ch he knelt down and ,

li fted his hea r t towa r d heaven in petition .

What was the natu r e o Paul s p r ayer W e are ’

f ?

not told positively But we a r e told S O suggestively

.

that we feel su r e its nature is indicated in the words

o f his fa r ewell

“
A N D N O W B R ETH R E N
,
I C O M M E N D YO U TO
,

GOD A N D To TH E W ORD OF H IS G RA C E W H I C H I S ,

84
 Th e Chris tian W ork e r s
’
In t e rce ssio n

AB L E To B U I LD Y OU U P AN D T o GIV E Y OU AN IN
H E R ITAN C E AMO NG ALL T H E M W H I C H A RE
S AN C T IFI ED ”
.

The key wo r d o f the p r aye r is the wo r d able

-
.

“ ”
The wo r d able r e fe r s both to Go d and also to
“ “ ” “ ” “ ”
the wo r d o f His g r ac e ”
Able able
. able , ,

that was the idea in Pa ul s mind as he knelt down

.
’

to p r ay fo r these C h r isti an wo r ke r s .

He commended them to God What does it mean .

“ ”
to commend a pe r son to God ? To commend to
God i s to hand ove r to God fo r His ca r e an d bless
ing When Ch r ist c ame to the fin al moment of His
.

“
life He said F athe r into Thy hand I commend my
, ,

”
spi r it. Thus He int r usted His spi r it t o God fo r
His care and His blessing I f tod ay a dying pa r ent .

desi r ed to make p r ovision fo r his child so that the ,

child afte r his death should have p r ope r ove r sight

and p r otection he would c all to hi s bedside some
,

f r iend in whose integ r ity wisdom and loyalty he ,

“
had confidence and he would sav to him : He r e is
,

my boy I want you to take him and do fo r him

.

eve r ything yo u can so that all will be well with him

,
.

I commend him to you .

B ut is the r e any speci al r e ason why w e S hould

“ ”
thus commend people to God ? A re they in any
particula r dange r ? On e thing Paul felt and felt
85
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Us e fulne ss

with his whole being— the exposu r e o f eve r y Chris

tian to spi r itual pe r il He neve r complained o f this
.

pe r il Nor on the othe r hand did he ever fo r get it

. .

To Paul eve r y man s soul was the battle field whe r e

’

Satan fought desperately Li fe to him w as n ot S O

.

much a game o f chess which Satan plays w ith every

’

youth the youth s soul being the stake

, No r was it .

so much all sorts o f f r ightful creatures such as ,

Bunyan saw th r eatening eve r y pilg r im s p r og r ess

,
’

towa r d Heaven It was more than these To Paul

. .

human life was an army o f actual evil beings who ,

well o r ganized and well directed had but o ne mis ,

—
sion the r uin o f man s soul They we r e p r incipali
’
.

ties and powers and r ule r s o f dark ne ss sp iritual fi

foes that were all the mo r e e ffective because they

were unseen foes that subtly infusing into the soul
, ,

erroneous ideas weakened its p r inciples and per

,

suade d it into evil Paul neve r lost thi s idea f r om

.

his thinking To him all the influences o f hell we r e

.

’
in league against a soul s wel fare There fore in .

the ve r y spi r it o f his M aste r he kept urging men

always to be on thei r gua r d He exhorted them to .

realize that o ne single hour O f ca r elessness might

imperil thei r ete r nal wel fa r e .

No r was Paul w r ong It i s j ust as certain as the

.

fact o f e x istence that the ca r eless soul even in the ,

86
 The Chris tian W In te rce ss io n
’
ork e r s

Ch r istian worker is exposed to spi r itual danger

,
.

In Ephesus the r e we r e pe r sons eage r to mislead

those ve r y people whom Paul had taught These .

persons were ready to tu r n conve r ts back to idolat r y ,

to lure them again into the vices o f D i ana wo r ship

and to make them wo r se than they had been befo r e
Paul rescued them There are such people in the
.

wo r ld n o w No words can be too seve r e to cha r ac

.

“
te riz e them Grievous wolves Paul called such
.
”

people — “ ”
wolves because they do not hesitate to
take simplicity and deceive it innocence and corrupt ,

it high mindedness and pull it down to dest r uction

, .

Once in Texas I saw brought into ranch head

quarters the skins o i eight little wolves Why was .

anybody killing little wolves ? Because those little

wolves left unkilled some day would be grown
, , .

Then a band o f them would find a bunch o f cattle

that was astray on the r anch plains The wolves .

would surround the bunch would select some spe ,

cial animal as their victim and every time that in

,

“ ”
the milling it came near them would bite at its ,

flanks At last the animal weakened by los s o f

.
,

blood would fall A moment later they would be

, .

tearing it t o pieces .

A wol f among young cattle is a fearful thing .

A wol f among S heep i s even more fearful But a .

87
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e f ulne ss

wol f in human form among weak souls i s the mo st

fearful o f all fearful things .

That minister in the New York State village look

ing back in his fa r ewell saw the village tavern .

The r e was the chee r ful bar room where man y a

-

pa r ishioner had ta rr ied sometimes drinking too

,

much sometimes listening to low an d soiled con

,
.

ve r sation A gain and again after he had almost

.
,

pe r suaded hi s parish ione r s to C h r i stian earnestness ,

these parishioners had been d r awn into the tavern .

Somehow be fore they came out all their concern

fo r the religious li fe had disappeared .That tavern
was to him like a great wol f : it de stroyed hi s S hee p .

Satan must have laughed man y and many a time

as he saw the change wrought in one S hort quart e r
o f an hour in that tavern .

Wherever people go there are spiritual dangers .

They may be as impe r ceptible as malaria but as ,

powerful The r e a r e C ong r essmen who leave their

.

quiet ho m e chu r ches to go to Washington Whe n .

they return home it seems as though the li fe blood Oi -

thei r piety had been sucked d r y Let any pare n t

.

know that tomo rr ow his child is to be placed in

such su rr oundings o f temptation as Joseph faced
when ca rr ied to Egypt : let any f r iend know that to
morrow his companion i s to meet the evils that are
88
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Use fuln e ss

was p reached in Trinity Chu r ch Boston on the , ,

S ubj ect o f weak Ch r istian lives and upon r eligious ,

indi ff e r ence and doubt Said the p r eacher People

.
“
,

are coming to me every week and saying that they

have lost their faith and that they have no strength
o f Ch r istian convictions They are university stu
.

dents they are graduate s they are young men in

, ,

business and olde r people in society I ask them i f .

they are keeping up r egular attendance upon church

services whe r e the B ible i s read taught p r ayed and , ,

sung A lmost invariably they answe r No

.
,
‘
.
’

The very familia r it yo f the B ible o ften detracts

from the force o f its message Its words fall im .

potent upon the heart A n d still the Bible under

.
,

God has such a power in it that it may both protect

,

from evil and also secure holiness It is a word o f .

“ ”
g r ace that is O f love undeserved love The
, , , .

“
Bible as a word o f grace i s a provision by love
”

and i s an expression o f love It reveals to men that .

personal love which God has fo r each o f them the ,

knowledge o f which should make every human crea

’
ture understand hi s unspeakable value in God s
sight and should summon him i rresistibly from all
,

discou r agement and sin .

“ ”
That word pu r poses to do two things for men .

The one to make them pe r fect men in this present

,

90
 The Chris tian W In te rce ssion
’
o rk e r s

li fe ! the othe r to insu r e the m pe r fect blessedness

,

in the li fe to come .

The method by which this fi r st pu r pose is to be

ca rr ied out is noticeable The wo r d indicating that
.

“ ”
method is the wo r d b uild The Bible i s to do fo r
.

men e x actly what a builder does when he e r ects

a house He makes his foundation and then by
.

gradual processes o f const r uction he erects a build

ing The advancement is no t hasty Jonah s gou r d
. .
’

sprang up in a day and perished in a day But no

, .

building o f wo r thy size and beauty intended to ,

last many years can be made in a day Ye ars upon

, .

years must go into the building o f perfect cha r acte r .

This process o f building a complete man is slower

than any other p r ocess with which we have to do .

A n d still the ve r y slowness o f this process suggests

that character thus fo r med is made to last to la st ,

as it would seem fo r an eternity

, .

“ ”
But the Bi b le i s ab le to accompli sh this great
result R ightly used it i s the means o f trans fo r ming
.

weaknes s into strength and even o f changing death

into li fe I f read supe r stitiously as a cha r m or
.
,

i r reverently as an ordina r y book or formally as a ,

matter o f lette r rathe r than o f spi r it it becomes a ,

“
hind r ance to the soul B ut i f r ead a r ight it builds
.

up the soul in Jesus C hrist and establishes it in the

”
faith .

91
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

’
When the soul tests all view s o f li fe by the Bible s
’
views and when the soul is dominated by C hrist s
,

pu r ity sel f sacrifi ce and self control then the soul

,
-
,
-
,

becomes stronger and stronger fo r duty wise r and ,

wiser fo r truth — sweete r happie r and holier The

, , .

reve r ent heed o f God s word secures fi r mness in

’

p r inciple and development in powe r .

Such continuous use o f the B ible never fails o f

profitable r esults To pray that people may hide
.

the Bible in thei r minds and hearts i s to pray that

they may g r ow pure and use ful To give a person .

a Bible with the exp r essed or une x presse d prayer

that it m ay be all that God designed it to be to that
pe r son i s to p r ay that the person —
little b y little ,

— “
but with all su r eness may be built u p into a
noble help ful att r active C hristian
, , .

Give the Bible opportunity and it w ill do it s work .

”
Can you make a good mechanic o f me ? the young
“
man asked as he went to the master mechanic I .

can i f you will do j ust what I tell yo u and will con

” “
t inue doing so fo r five years C an you make a
.

”
singer o f me ? the young man asked as he went to
“
the singing teacher Yes certainly I can i f you
, ,

will li sten to all I sav and will practice what I say ,

”
fo r seven years The hope o f the master mechanic
.

and o f the S inging teache r is in having opportunity .

92
 The Chris tian W ork e r s Int e rce ss ion
’

Let the B ible have opportunity and the desired re

sult s are ce r tain .

On e thing else Go d and the Bible can do besides

“
b uilding up they can give an inhe ritance am ong
”
all the m which are s anctifi e d .

D uring all those yea r s when the I s r aelites o f old

wandered in the dese r t they had a hope that sus
,

taine d and inspired them They looked ahead to a

.

blessed land w here wandering would be fo r ever

over and all the uncertainties of pilg r image would
cease There each o ne o f them would r eceive an
.

“ ”
inheritance a safe and happy spot where sur
, , ,

r ounded by God s people he would have his per

’

p e t ual home The . thought o f that inhe r itance

( God s gi ft reserved for them His children and
’

heirs ) put cou r age and strength into the Israelites .

It spoke to them o f trial ended and o f joy pe rpe tu

ated.

“
The word inheritance pa ssed from the Old into
the New Testament C hristian write r s used it
. .

They gave it an enlarged meaning With them it .

stood fo r the pe r fect and ete r nal blessedness which

God confers upon His people when C hrist s work is ’

“
complete . The inhe r itance among all them that
” ’
are sanctified is God s Heaven B ut God s Heaven
’
.

is the holiness the peace and the fellowship which

, ,

93
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Use f uln e ss

are the crowning possibilities o f human life and

“
whose sphe r e is the very presence o f God Oh .
,

”
God prays the mother when her boy goes from
,

“
home to the war Oh God bring my boy home in
, ,
‘

”
j y
o and safety S o. the man w h o loves soul s p r ays ,

“
Oh God bring these souls to Heaven pu r e and
, , ,

true. Guard them keep them all th r ough thi s

,

earthl y li fe and at last sanctified and wo r thy we l

, , ,

”
come them to Thy home .

That i s a prayer that may well be on our lips for

all C h r istian worke r s It i s a request to God that
.

the outcome o f li fe may be eternal blessedness A S .

the owner o f a vessel when the vessel sta r ts upon

,

“
the ocean may say I hop e m y boat will have a
, ,

prosperou s voyage car r ying its cargo in safety out

, ,

”
riding all gales and entering its port in peace : so
we may pray that men should live beauti fully and
at the end r each Heaven M any a man has had .

this wish fo r his f r iend The wish is a noble one

.

that the f r iend may live S O worthily that God at the

last will hono r him with the c r own o f li fe That is .

exactly what Paul p r ayed fo r the Ephesians and

what we should p r ay fo r othe r s .

“ ”
God and His wo r d a r e able thus to sancti fy
’
men H is wo r d is a pu r i fying powe r Ch r ist s in
. .

cisive utte r ances conce r ning covetousness hatred , ,

94
 The Chris tian W In te rce ssion
’
ork e r s

impurity and fo r malism condemn and humble men .

Ch r ist s gentle utte r ances conce r ning fo r giveness

’

and love com fort and heal men Let the B ible do .

its perfect wo r k and men will be sweetened e n

, ,

“ ”
r iched and even sanctified until the pathway o f
thei r souls shall run st r aight on to Heaven .

The editor o f o ne of the most influential news

papers o f New Yo r k City went o n e winter day into
the hills o f New England Night came on while he .

was sti ll far f r om his destination The snow was .

deep He lost his way He could not tell which

. .

road to take NO on e was at hand to guide him

. .

He was helpless NO house was in sight A t last

. .

he detected a light far in the distance He drove .

toward it He found that it was in a school house

.

and that a little handful of people we r e meeting .

there to p r ay They we r e commending souls to

.

”
God and His wo r d They had t r amped th r ough
.

the snow as best they could and we r e he r e to make

intercession He asked them the di r ection he S hould
.

take They gave it He d r ove away and was safe

. . .

That little meeting on the cold snowy night made , ,

up o f people who had le ft thei r wa r m homes that

together they might o ff e r s upplication to God stayed ,

in the edito r s memo r y W hen he r eached the g r eat

’
.

city the meeting const antl y asse r ted itsel f in his

95
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fuln e ss

mind . A s he saw men giving large checks for

cha r ity he thought o f it A s he studied the m anv
.

beauti ful e ffo r ts made for human betterment he

thought o f it .

One day he w r ote an a r ticle for the daily issue

o f hi s pape r desc r ibing his expe r ience o n that w in
,

te r night He showed the whole scene the hills the

.
, ,

snow the lost t r avele r the school house and the

, ,

little b and o f interceding soul s Then in a conclu

.

sion that exp r essed his pro foundest conviction he ,

“
said : I believe that such meetings as that which
p r oved light and safet y to me a r e today the greatest
powe r in the world to bring light and safety to the
”
souls o f men .

9 6
 A M ighty M e ans o f Us e f ulne ss

of a noble orde r They were people for whose spir

.

ituality and st r ength he always thanked Go d He .

even gloried in their piet y and wherever he went

mentioned their goodness with the highest approb a
tion .

He put his requests for these Thessalonians into

thi s prayer :
W H E R E FO R E A L S O WE PRA Y A L W A Y S FO R YO U
'

T H A T O UR GOD W O U L D C O U NT YO U W O RTHY OF
TH I S C A LLI NG ,

“
A N D F U LFI L A LL TH E P L E A S URE OF H IS GOO D
N E SS A N D T H E W OR ! OF F A ITH W ITH P O W ER
“
T H AT TH E N AM E OF O UR L O R D JE S U S CH R I ST
—
MAY BE GLO R I FI ED I N Y O U A N D Y E I N H IM ,

‘
A C C O RD I NG To T H E G RA C E OF O U R GOD A ND
TH E L O RD JE S U S CH R I S T ”
.

“
The fi r st r equest o f this prayer i s that God
w ould coun t you w orthy of this calling .

“ ”
This calling i s an inclusive ph r ase It has to .

do b oth with time and with ete r nity It exp r esses

‘

eve r y duty o f time and eve r y rewa r d both o f time

and o f ete r nity to which God invites the soul It
,
.

means the li fe o f Ch r i stian se r vice he r e an d the

li fe o f Ch r istian sanct ifi cat ion he r ea fte r .

When Paul used this ph r ase his eye w as o n the

,

p r esent and the futu r e alike In his j udgment e x

.

98
 B e s t R e q ue s ts for B e s t Pe ople

iste nce could be seen aright only as it is seen in the

light o f ete r nity A ll things are not to continue as
.

“ ”
they are . The day o f the Lord i s to come and
with its coming great changes are to ensue A ll .

evil influences then will be ove r powered A ll good .

influences then will be established The eyes o f .

Ch r ist are to search every hea r t Eve r y secret thing .

is to be uncovered That which is impure S hall be

.

put to S hame That which i s pure shall be honored

. .

“ ”
The day o f the Lord at once W ill be fear ful and
glorious— fea r ful to the evil glorious to the good
, .

When a man is asked to be a Christian he i s

“
asked to be ready for that day This is his call .

”—
ing namely to SO live in all lowliness meekness
, , ,

endurance and love as now to be the very best man

he can be and then to be prepared for eternity .

There is no appeal that can r each the heart o f man

“ ”
comparable to this calling It summons to the
.

highe st possible dutie s and it enforces the strongest

possible virtues The C h r istian is to be the very
.

best type o f man the human mind can conceive .

Such he is to b e now Then at the end in comple

.
,

tion o f characte r he i s to r eign fo r ever with Go d

, .

“
A man o f this ”
calling i s especially honored .

Great responsibility rests upon him He i s chosen .

’
to b e God s fellow worke r in saving the wo r ld He
-
.

99
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Use fulne ss

i s too the man o n whom cente r s the gaze o f all

, ,

those heavenly beings who watch the spiritual strug

gles o f earth When his work i s done then comes
.
,

his greatest honor— he i s welcomed by Christ into

the eve r lasting habitations o f blessedness .

“
Those who are already started in this calling
need our intercession Good and worth y as they .

are they still lack many g r aces Spotlessness i s not

, .

yet theirs They are not doing fo r C hrist all that

.

they may do no r are the y being for C hri st all that

,

they may be The best C hristians are the most con

.

vince d o f their deficiencies Paul called himsel f .

“ ”
chiefest o f S inners The better he became the
.

more he felt his impe r fection SO felt the faith ful .

“
centurion I am not worthy that thou shouldest
.

” “
come under my r oo f he said Would God that I
, .

”
coul d better illustrate the beauty o f holiness ! i s the
language o f the t r uest Ch r istian .

But there i s a distinction between actually being

“ ”
worth y o f the calling and b eing counted w orthy
o f it C h r ist selected twelve men to be H is disci
.

ples Every o ne o f them had flaw s in his characte r

. .

“ ”
Still h e counted them worthy to represent Him .

John Newton was not wo r thy to p r each Christ .

No r is the mission wo r ke r worthy to teach Ch r ist

-
.

Nor i s any soul seeke r wo r thy to call h imsel f

-
 A M igh ty M e ans o f Us e fuln e ss

request we could make for C hristian people i s that

“ ”
they may b e counted worthy O f thei r calling .

H OW rapidly would God s wo r k advance i f every

’

C hristian were reverenced by his associates ! Would

’
not the finger o f sco r n n o w pointed at Christ s
,

Chu r ch immediately d r op— if the members o f that

,

chu r ch bo re Christ s name worthily ?’

It i s beauti ful when a man already earnest b e

comes inc r easingly earnest — W hen a soul already ,

noble becomes increasingly noble It is even glori .

o us when a li fe commends C hrist to the world in

cre asingl — when that li fe s influence like a mighty

’

y ,

A mazon accumulates volume at each advance

,
.

Well may we make the petition for all holy men

“
of God Oh that they may be more and more e f
, ,

”
fe ct ive for Ch r ist eve r y day they live !
The second request O f Paul s praye r for good ’

people i s ,
“
thatf ulfi l all the ple as ure of
God m ay

H is goodne ss and the w ork of f aith with powe r

,
”
.

’
Thi s i s a petition that all God s desires for the
spiritual development o f good people may be thor
oughly carried out !
His desires for them are e x ceeding many and
e x ceeding great He desi r es that every S in and
.

eve r y wo r ldliness b e laid aside He desires that .

their souls b e absolutel y pure and their lives might

1 02
 B e st R e q ue s ts f or B e s t Pe ople

ily powerful What God wishes i s that the Ch r i s

.

tian should be both beauti ful and strong so Ch r istly ,

that men should be hold in him God s likeness and

’

that every li fe touched by him S hould be en r iched ,

by his goodness When V icto r ia was a child the

.
,

hei r to a throne he r mother might o ften have said

,

“
to V icto r ia : I f all my wishes for you are fulfilled
you will be a t rue pure woman and you will be a
, ,

” ’
wise good queen
,
That mother s wishes for her
.

child we r e many and la r ge She desired thousands .

upon thousands o f blessings on her child But how .

few and small the desi r es o f any earthly pa r ent fo r

a child a r e compared to the desires cherished by
God for those who a r e at once the child r en o f His
“
love and the heirs o f Hi s glory ! I will dwell in
them and walk in them and I will be thei r God and ,

“
they S hall be my people I will also per fect that
which concerneth them .

T his petition that all God s desires for His chil ’

dren should be fulfilled ends with the r emarkab le

,

“ ”
words w ith power The prayer is that these
.

desires S hall not be fulfilled weakly but fulfilled

mightily .

There is nothing in the Sc r ipture more th r illing

“ ”
than the wo r d power as used by God in connec
tion with H is blessings “
Ye S hall be baptized
.

1 03
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e f ulne ss

with the Holy Ghost and with powe r Christ said ,

”
.

In due time a man like Peter wh o was too weak to

con fess C h r i st be fo r e one pe r son had such strength
that he spoke fea r lessly be fore thousands Power ! .

M e n never cease marveling at it They watch the .

o x cart lumbering along the highway and they rec

-
,
‘

ogn iz e the li fe in it indicated by movement B ut

, .

when they stand beside the railway and se e the loco

motive come r ushing down the track d r awing its ,
'

thousands o f tons and sweeping by with re sistle se

“ ”
speed they say Thi s i s power !
, Li fe indeed is in
“
the o x cart but li fe with power i s in the locom o
-
,

tive .

W hen God fulfils His desires in men wit h

”
power those desi r es are abundantl y gloriously ful ,
o

filled M e n thus blessed enter into the banquetin g

.
.

house o f Go d and eat H is pleasant fruits The y .

’
go fo r th in God s name conque r ing and to conquer .

My people shall be willi ng in the day o f m y

” “ ”
p ower Go d said W hen God s powe r is mani
,
.
’
~

fe ste d in willing souls a little on e becomes a thou

,

'
sand and a small one a strong nation Be fore God s .

mighty movements in the heart all discouragemen t

“
disappears Songs take the place o f sighs
. The : .

base things o f the wo r ld and the things that are

despised and the things that a r e not b r ing to nought
,

1 04
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Use f uln e ss

“
in the third petition . He prayed that the nam e

of our L ord Ie sas Christ m ay b e glorifi e d in you and

ye in H im .

No greater higher prayer than this can b e

, oi

fe re d . Here is the c onsum m at e petition o f all pe

t it io ns fo r good people .

This p etition has in view both the present day

“
o f earthly service and that other day the great ,

”
day when C hrist come s in glorious maj esty and
, ,

every eye shall se e Him .

“
To pra y that C hrist s name m ay be
’
glorified
“ ”
in men i s to ask much The name o f Christ is .

that by which C hrist i s known C hrist s name .

’

stands for C hrist s kingdom and fo r C hrist Him

’

sel f .

T he p rayer i s not that C hrist s name may b e ’

glorified in the wo r ds nor even in the deeds o f m e n .

M any a man whose heart was evil has said kind

words ab out C hrist and has even dedicated churche s
to Ch r ist The prayer i s that C hrist s name m ay
.
’

“
be glo r ified in you It is a p r ayer fo r such holy
.

cha r acter i n C h r istian people as shall actuall y

“
glori fy thei r M aster
”
.

“ ”
It i s much to glori fy anyone o r anything that
i s great Successful runners in the Olympic games
.

glorified the city o f thei r bi r th F r anklin when his .

1 06
 B e st R e q ue s ts f or B e st Pe ople

r epresent ations secu r ed the recognition o f F rance

fo r the A me r ican Colonies glo r ified his count r y .

“
Even so a man may glori fy Him in whose name
eve r y knee should b o w o f things in heaven and
,

”
things in earth and things unde r the e ar th l Such
glory f r om man is Ch r ist s highest glo r y ’
.

He r e i s a fact o f marvelous Signifi cance the —

highest glo r y o f Jesus C h r ist comes to Him from

r edeemed and sanctified humanity M e n and .

women that are t r ue pu r e holy a r e Hi s greatest

, ,

hono r When the pe r secuting Saul became the

.

p r eaching Paul he became a glo r y to Ch r ist When

,
.

today men live patiently sweetly help fully they , , ,

too a r e a glo r y to C hrist M e n may so live as .

to disgrace Christ s name They can b e so care

’
.

less So evil that they d r ag Ch r ist s name in the

,
’

mi r e But when like R obe r t M u r ray M cChe yne

.
, ,

they spend thei r whole ene r gy fo r the t r uth the ,

name o f C hrist is hono r ed When like Blaise Pas .

cal constantly subj ect to bodily pain they live so

, ,

patiently that thei r ve r y voices a r e a benediction ,

that same name o f Ch r ist i s glorified .

To pray that a Ch r istian may b r ing glory to

C h r ist s name is to p r ay that the Ch r istian s heart
’ ’

may be so filled with the f r uits o f the Spi r it that

his home shall reve r ence his piety that society shall ,

1 07
 A M igh ty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

feel the mo r al omnipotence of h is goodness and ,

th at the wo r ld shall se e in him as in a mirror the

, ,

ve r y reflection o f the spotless Christ .

This culminating petition for Paul for good pe o

ple concludes w ith a remarkable expression It is .
,

“
that ye m ay b e glorifi e d in H im .
”

The branch has vitality and p r oductiveness

through abiding in the V ine The Ch r istian has
.

beauty and power through abiding in Christ The .

b r anch i s glo r ified when the V ine sending its sap ,

into the b r anch causes the b r anch to b r ing forth

,

buds and cluste r s The C h r istian i s glorified when

.

Ch r ist impa r ting H is o wn divine life to the Chri s

,

tian causes him to b r ing forth the f r uits o f right

,

e o usn e ss No glo r y that man can have is comparab le

.

to the glo r y o f being a noble Ch r istian Learning .

,

pomp applause pale into in signifi can ce beside good

,

ness When that goodness i s Christ inspired it is

.
-

t ran sfi gurin gly beauti ful .

M acaulay w r ote conce r ning ancient A thens !

He r powe r i s indeed mani fest at the ba r in the ,

senate on the field o f battle and in the school o f

,

”
philosophy B ut these a r e not he r glory
. Then
he mentioned her literatu r e He desc r ibed it as
.

the wisest exp r ession o f he r best men He spoke .

o f the com fo r t and inspi r ation that he r literatu r e

1 08
 A M ighty M e ans o
f Us e fuln e ss

that day will they S how forth Ch r ist s glory The ’

.

mo r e they st r ove to save Ch r ist s world the mo r e ’

will thei r cont r ibution t o C hrist s t r iumph forever ’

exalt H is p r aise .

C an thi s g r eat prayer for good people b e ah

swe re d ? Yes it can We have eve r y encourage
, .

ment to pray it The wo r ds with which Paul con

.

cluded this p r ayer assured him as they shoul d as ,

sure us that God can answe r it Those words are

, .
,

“
acco rding to the grace f
o o ur God an d the L ord
”
Je sus Chris t .

“
That g r ace p r ovided a plan o f salvation That .

”
g r ace b r ought Jesus Ch r ist to earth That .

g r ace opened blind eyes and r aised the dead It .

b e autifi e d a John It r escued an Augustine

. It .

has worked and still wo r ks all the wonders o f re

generation and sanct ifi cat ion No limit can be .

placed upon its power It can change the vilest .

sinner into the holiest saint It can take the heart .

o f stone and make it the hea r t o f flesh It can im .

plant in dying man the powe r o f an endless li fe .

We may o ffe r this praye r in confidence Go d is .

glad to hear it and is ready to answe r it He bids .

us do good unto all men especially unto them who ,

are Of the household o f faith His followers are .

Hi s human dependence He wishes them to sta nd .

1 10
 B e st R e q ue s ts f
or B e st Pe ople

among their fellows as Mt B lane stands among the

.

mountains white pure and towe r ing He wishes

, , , .

His church to put on he r beauti ful garments He .

wishe s her to be the salvation o f the ends o f the

earth.

The very b est people need our intercession T hey .

are called by God to de fend H is interests to S ho w ,

fo r th His virtues and to advance His cause The .

la r gest duties ever devolved upon men devolve

upon them They a r e exposed to severe te m pta
.

tions I f they fall great is their fall and g r eat the

.
,

’
consequent ha r m o f God s name I f they stand .
,

they accomplish much for their Lord They appeal .

t o us for o ur p r ayers as Lincoln appealed to his

,

neighbors for their prayers when called to the presi ,

deney o f the U nited States he started from his ,

“
home toward the national capital : A duty de
volves upon me which is pe r haps greater than that
, ,

which has devolved upon any othe r man S ince the

day s o f Washington H e would neve r have suc
.

ce e de d e x cept for the aid of divine p r ovidence upon ,

which he at all times relied I feel that I can .

not succeed without the same divine aid which sus

t aine d him and on that same A lmighty Being I
,

place my reliance fo r s uppo r t ! and I hope you my ,

f r iends W ill all pray that I may rece ive that divine
,

III
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Use fulne ss

assistance without which I can not S ucceed b ut with ,

which success i s certain .

Let us then se e to it that We so pray for t he se

special ones that they shall answer to their high
privileges and their glorious responsibilities Our .

praye r fo r them is safe and W ise when we pray :

“
T H AT O UR GOD W O U L D C O U N T YO U W O RTHY OF
TH I S C A L L I N G
,

“
A N D F U L FI L A LL TH E PL E A S URE OF H IS GO OD
N E S S A N D TH E W O R ! OF F A ITH W ITH P O W ER
“
T H AT TH E N AM E OF O UR L O RD JE S U S CH R I S T
M A Y B E GLO R IFI ED I N Y O U A N D YE I N H IM ,

“
A C C O RD I NG TH E
To GR A C E OF O U R GOD A ND TH E
L O RD JE S U S CH R I ST .
”

112
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Use f ulne ss

apostolic letters when heard in a church congrega

,

tion appea r to be di r ected to eve r y S oul in the con

,

g gre at io n
. These wo r ds a r e s o inclusive o f all ,

that eve r y hea r e r feels that they are intended fo r

him . So it i s that the prayers for the best peo p le
m y b e o ff ered fo r any and all people .

It i s true how e ver that while no human eyes can

, ,

detect unerringl y who are the real Christian s and

who are not the real C h r istian s people do di ff er in ,

thei r attitude toward C hrist He H im sel f spoke o f .

two classes as existing in His day— those that were

fo r Him an d those that we r e against Him These
, .

classe s always e x ist S ome persons are striving to

.

’
follow C h r ist s will and some are not S ome per
, .

“ ” “ ”
sons are in C hrist and some a r e out of C hrist .

O ften it is di fficul t to d r aw a dividing line between

these two classes I n this matter as in m anv an
.
,

“ ”
other matter there i s a border lan d where peopl e
,
-

o f di fferent classes appear very much alike H er .

‘

“
b e r t Spencer spe aks O f the indefinite border land -

”
between the animal and vegetable kingdoms where
animal s and vegetab les are scarcely distinguishable .

In the border land between the saved and the un

-

saved no eye but that o f omniscience can discriminate

with absolute accurac y .

But when we m o ve fa r ther and fa r t he r away

1 14
 In te rce ssion f
or the Uns ave d

from this bo r de r la nd in either direction evidence

-
, ,

becomes so definite that with much assu r ance we

“
say o f those o n one side These ce r tainly seem to
,

”
u s to be saved and O f those o n the other side
,

“ ”
These certainly se em to us to be unsaved To .

God s eye there neve r is Obscu r ity : with Him a

’

“ ” ”
man is always seen to be for Him o r against
Him .

The unsaved rest with great weight on the hearts

o f earnest men A s the o r iginal G r eek e x p r ession
.

seems to indicate the desi r e o f Paul s heart and

,
’

the prayer o f all his prayers was that men m ight

“ ”
be saved . D avid Brainerd was simila r ly bu r
de ne d with desi r e for the salvation O f men He .

traveled the forests and swamps o f M assachusetts

in dead O f winte r kneeling in the snow and be seech
,

ing God to save the Indians A sleep he d r eamed .

o f thei r salvation awake his first thought was of

,

their r escue Th e abso r bing love o f souls that has

.

animated some hearts cannot be e x aggerated T he .

thi r st fo r gold that compelled men to seek C ali

for mia and A laska has not been S O strong as that
thi r st which has caused C h r istian hearts to pray
unceasingly fo r the unsaved John Smith the de .
,

“
voted Wesleyan p r eacher used to say I am a ,

broken hearted man not for mysel f b ut on account

-
, ,

1 1 5
 A M ighty M e ans o f Us e f ulne ss

of othe r s : my Go d has given me such a sight o f the

value o f p r eciou s souls that I cannot live i f souls
,

”
are not saved Oh give me souls o r else I die
.
, ,
.

Intelligent p r aye r fo r the unsaved S hould bear

in mind that they need to be saved f r o m their
unco nce rn .

M onica s first thought was

’

,
“
Oh that my ,
so n ,

A ugustine ,may be awakened to a sense O f his Sit

n ation He seemed to he r like a man asleep in a
boat that is gliding to a cata r act He talked with .

the wi se laughed with the me r ry and companioned

,

with the vicious He frittered away his splendid

.

p owers O f mind and body seemingly uncon scious ,

O f his fatal tendencies M onica prayed that God

.

would r ouse him from hi s unconcern In the Old .

home in A f r ica she p r ayed for him On the M e d .

ite rrane an she prayed for him In Europe she .

prayed for him S leep went from her !

.

S aved f r om unconce r n ! SO many are going the

way O f death heedlessly The y eat drink and play
.
,

they labo r they sleep and all the while secondary

,
-

things a r e the end and aim O f their living M anv .

a man i s like Jonah — not a pro fl igate but S impl y ,

a deserte r f r om duty Jonah slept o n that storm

.

—
tossed vessel disloyal as he was to h imsel f to ,

his fellows and to hi s God . Above the t or m the

s

1 16
 A M ighty M e ans f
o Use fulne ss

error No o ne though he lives a thousand year s

.
,

o f e ffo r t can ever Of himsel f become pe r fect

, , For , .

acceptance God does not r equi r e pe r fection but ,

penitence Go d simply asks the soul to se e in Jesu s

.

Ch r ist the righteousness which Go d freely O ffe r s ,

and then to approp r iate that r ighteousness .

“
There is widespread need Of the p r ayer S ave ,

them from error ”

M issionar ies in lands O f idol
.

at r y need to have it o n their lips dail y The people .

a r ound them misconceive the natu r e o f Go d and

mi sconceive the methods O f p r opitiating Him A S .

the missiona r ies realize the superstitions o f the

“
heathen they e x claim again and again C ome , ,

Lo r d in Thy power and deliver the people from

,

thei r blindness .

The p r aye r i s equally needed in Gospel lands .

M any pe r sons hea r the t r uth all their days and

still r emain ignorant o f its meaning I mysel f felt .

fo r yea r s that to be a C h r istian would be to limit

my freedom not e nlarge it : would be to diminish
,

my j oy not increase it Go d appea r ed to me to be

, .

’
a hard master The se r vice o f C hrist s cross seemed
.

fo rbidding ! the service O f my o wn g r atification

seemed satis fying Hund r eds O f othe r s like m y
.
,

“ ”
sel f need to be saved f r om such views Satan
, .

is a j ealous j ailer He holds fast many souls in

.

1 18
 In te rce ssion f or the Unsave d

s uch beliefs as— that the faults O f others a r e an

e x cuse fo r thei r o wn deficie n cy ! that ide al s o f con
duct adopted without r e fe r ence to divine r evela
tion a r e all that a r e r equi r ed ! th at che r ished g r udges
are o f small impo r t and th at postponement O f
,

obedience to God i s safe A ll s uch beliefs kee p .

p eople back f r om s alvation : they da r ken the eyes

o f the understanding and O ften they lead lives into

immorality .

But there is power in prayer to save f r om all

erro r s The father o f John G Paton knel t eve r y
. .

night fo r years in the little Scotch home and made

”
his intercession . I h ave heard w r ote hi s son in ,

“
hi s own autobiog r aphy that in long afte r y ears
,

the worst woman in the vill age o f To r thorwald ,

then leading an immo r al li fe b ut since changed by

the grace O f God was known to decla r e that the
,

only thing that kept her f r om despair and from

the hell Of the suicide was when in the dark win
,

ter nights she c r ept close up unde r neath my fathe r s ’

window and hea r d him pleading in family wo r ship

,

that God would conve r t the S inner f r om the er r or

‘

O f wicked ways and polish him as a j ewel fo r the

“ ” “
Redeemer s c r own I felt said S he
’ ’
. that I, ,

was a bu r den o n that g ood man s hea r t and I knew

’

that Go d would not disappoint him That thought .

1 19
 A M ighty M e ans of Use fulne ss

kept me o ut of hell and at last led me to the onl y

”
Saviour .

Prayer for the unsaved should bear in mind that

they need to be saved f r om thei r sin .

To be saved fro m sin i s to be saved from it s

u il
g t its powe r and its corruption
, S in is the vio
.

lation o f God s law To violate human law r e nd e r s

’
.

the violator guilty He is guilty until in some w ay

.

his guilt i s removed He i s not and cannot b e a

.

full citi z en so long as hi s guilt remains No r c an .

the man who violates God s law be other t h an ’

guilty be fore God until in some way he i s s av e d

from his guilt .

It i s fea r ful to be guilty be fore God Guilt i s .

cruelty towa r d God and peril toward o ur s e lve s

Cr uelty toward God because it means wil ful re
,

sist an ce to the most tende r o f all tender he ar ts

peril towa r d ourselv e s because we r e final jud g
,

ment to be p r onounced immediately our guilt wo u ld ,

be o ur condemnation He who lov e s a soul th at i s

.

in sin will pray that it be saved from sin s guilt ’

.

He will pray too that it be saved f r om si n s ’

p o w e r . The powe r o f sin i s seen in the d r u n k ar d

Hi s drunkenness i s his master In the mo r nin g
.

he wishes always to be sobe r : in the evening h e

is again a captive to hi s d r unkenness . S o too wit h
1 20
 A M ighty M e ans o f Use fulne ss

rea son : it causes Barab b as to seem preferable to

Christ U nde r the co r ruption o f sin men take
.

“ ”
naturally to evil U nless that co rr uption i s
.

checked it like leprosy with the body pollutes the

, ,

whole system N0 o ne can check it but God Even

. .

He can check it only by making o f man a new c r ea

—
ture with a new disposition and a new purpose .

“
This God i s glad to do A new hea r t will I give
.

”
you . This promise God has fulfilled thousands
and thousands o f times M e n who hated Him .

have come to love Him They have been rescued .

f r om death and made alive in Jesus Christ The .

faces that were set ea r thward have been se t heaven

wa r d Instead o f becoming more and mo r e cor
.

rupt e d by sin they have been saved f r om all sin s

’

’
disease and all sin s misery and been brought to ,

holiness and j oy S urely we do well when we pra y

.

fo r othe r s “
Save them 0 Go d f r om the terrible
, , ,

guilt the awful power and the ruinous corru p tion

,

”
o f sin .

Prayer for the unsaved should b ear in mind that

they need to be saved from their alie nation .

The prodigal boy in the far country i s away from

home and fellowship The p r ayer that he may be .

saved involve s mo r e than del ive r ance from wrong

it involve s also adoption o f right I t asks that the .

1 22
 In te rce ssion f
or the Unsave d

b oy may r eceive his F athe r s kiss and welcome

’

that the sense o f God s love m ay flow in o n his soul

’

that peace m ay be established between him and

Go d and that fellowship with his F athe r may be
,

fo r ever his To be s aved is to be delive r ed out

.

o f the li fe of evil and b r ought into the li fe o f Go d ,

so that the sunlight seems b r ighte r than eve r b e

fo r e and the feast o f the Lord i s the st r eng th of
the soul .

Such salvation— o f happiness health and safet y

,

is salvation indeed The soul thus saved i s at one

.

w ith Go d g r owing mo r e like Him and becoming

,

better p r epa r ed fo r God s immediate p r esence It

’
.

matte r s not whether the consciousness o f such

r econciliation with God comes to a man in a par
t icular hou r o r comes in the course o f yea r s It .

is enough that the man takes on la r ger st r ength

and beauty becoming increasingly loyal to C h r ist
,

’
and increasingly satisfied with Ch r ist s service Not .

until Paul is r eady to die can he say I have f ought

“

the good fight ”

.No r may anyone expect that the
p r ocess o f salvation will cease this side of heaven .

Eve r y man must struggle and endure unto the end

—to be fully saved .

But when that end comes and heaven i s ente r ed ,

then salvation is complete Saved f r om uncon

.

1 23
 A M ighty M e ans o f Use fuln e ss

ce r n God s se r vants se e His face

,
’
Saved from .

e rr o r they w alk in God s light Saved f r om sin

,
’
.
,

they dwell whe r e the r e is no mo r e cu r se Saved .

f r om sepa r ation they a r e fo r eve r with the Lord

, .

Pe rc hanc e in h e ave n , o ne day t o m e

Som bl e sse d soul w ill c om e and say
e

A ll hail b e l o ve d ! B ut fo r t h e e
‘
,

M y so ul to d e ath had b e e n a p re y .
’

A h t h e n, w hat
, sw e e t n e ss in t h e t ho ught
On e so u l to gl ory t o have b ro ught ! ”

Some yea r s ago in Springfield Illinois an ear n , ,

e st man gathered about him a p r aying band and

“
made this suggestion to them : When you r each
home thi s eveni ng w r i te down the names o f all
pe r sons in Springfield whom yo u would like to
have saved and then p r ay fo r them by name th r ee
, ,

times a day that they may be saved Then m ake

, .

you r best possible e fforts to induce those persons

”
to tu r n to God fo r salvation .

The r e r esided in Sp r ingfield at that time an

invalid woman who physically was almost ab so
lute ly helpless She had been bed r idden fo r seven
.
-

teen yea r s She had been fo r a long time p r aying

.

to God in a gene r al way to save a multitude o f

souls When he r family told he r o f the suggestion
.

“
made to the p r aying band she said Here is ,

1 24
 A M igh ty M e ans f
o Us e fulne ss

not wish that you had made it large r Pray not .

”
fo r crutches but fo r wings
, Yes w e cannot think
.
,

o f a p r aye r so large for the unsaved that Go d will

not wish that we had made it larger He as k s His .

people to inte r cede in behalf o f the unsaved The .

unsaved a r e very preci ous to H im C hrist longs .

for their salvation even with t r avail o f soul .

Eagerly he awaits our e ffo r ts fo r th e m F o r to .

us He has committed the ministry o f reconciliation .

Eve r y hea r t then that i s bu r dened with the salva

tion o f a f r iend becomes co m panion to Ch r ist and
shares in His travail o f soul The honor o f such .

companionship ! It is admission to the holy o f holies

o f C hrist s heart It is pa r ticipation in His in
’
.

tensest passion It i s sha r ing in the g r eatest burden

.

He today i s car r ying .

S u r ely when the days o f earthly li fe are over and

men and women ente r heaven they that on ea r th ,

sha r ed Christ s t r avail will i n heaven sha r e Christ s

’ ’

j oy Thei r previous experience will prepa r e them

.

to app r eciate that j oy M onica who inte r ceded will

.
,

because sh e inte r ceded enj oy the more the t r iumphs

,

o f redeeming g r ace S o too w ill eve r y p r aying

.

soul th at b r ought another l i fe to ete r nal glo r y have ,

its own especi al gladness and peace .

M ay Go d ordain a new band o f men who today

1 26
 Inte rce ssion f or the Uns ave d

and he r e being one with Ch r ist in His travail fo r

souls sh all be the means unde r God o f b r inging
, ,

many so uls to Ch r ist s pe r fe c t s alvation

’
.

A n d may you and I se e to it that we enroll o ur

selves in that b and and hencefo r th keep not silence
day no r night as we inte r cede with st r ong c r yin gs
,

a d tea r s
n — —
fo r individu ls whom we name be fore
a

God— fo r His g r acious holy and ete r nal s alvation

, .

1 27