The Wonders of Prayer by Various

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"'How is grandmother?'

"'Come in, Mrs. A----,' answered the grandmother. 'How did you get here?
We have been in thick darkness all day.'

"The room was exceedingly neat, and the kettle stood boiling on a small
clear fire. Everything was in perfect order; on the table stood a little
tea-tray ready for use. The sick woman was in bed, and her daughter sat
working in a corner of the room.

"'I see you are ready for tea,' said the lady; 'I have brought something
more to place upon the table.'

"With clasped hands the woman breathed a few words of thanksgiving
first, and then said, 'O, Mrs. A----, you are indeed God's raven, sent
by him to bring us food to-day, for we have not tasted any yet. I felt
sure he would care for us.'

"'But you have the kettle ready for tea?'

"'Yes, ma'am,' said the daughter; 'mother would have me set it on the
fire; and when I said, 'What is the use of doing so? you know we have
nothing in the house,' she still would have it, and said, 'My child, God
will provide. Thirty years he has already provided for me, through all
my pain and helplessness, and he will not leave me to starve at last: he
will send us help, though we do not yet see how.' In this expectation
mother has been waiting all day, quite sure that some one would come and
supply our need. But we did not think of the possibility of your coming
from such a distance on such a day. Indeed, it must be God who sent you
to us.'

"'The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of
all their troubles.'"

HOW THE STOLEN SLEIGH WAS RETURNED BY A THIEF.

The widow of a minister of the Gospel sends to "_The Christian_" the
following instance illustrating God's faithfulness in hearing and
answering prayer:

"About the year 1829, my husband, who died January 2d, 1854, lent his
sleigh and harness to a man calling himself John Cotton, to go some
twenty miles and be gone three days. Cotton was quite a stranger among
us, having been in our place but six weeks. During that time he had
boarded with my husband's brother, working for him a part of the time,
and the rest of the time selling wooden clocks, of which he had bought a
number. Three days passed, but he did not return. The fourth went by,
and we began to think he had absconded. On inquiry, Mr. P. found that
the clocks had been purchased on credit, and all sold for watches or
money; that Cotton owed sixty dollars toward his horse, and had borrowed
of the brother with whom he boarded, horse-blanket, whip, and mittens.
Now it seemed sure that he was a rogue, but what could be done? Pursuit
was useless after such a lapse of time.

"My husband felt his loss severely, for we had little property then, and
what we had was the product of hard labor. But he was a Christian, and,
I believe, always made his business a subject of prayer.

"About three weeks passed away. One evening, having been out longer than
usual, he came in, and, with his characteristic calmness, said: 'I shall
not worry any more about my sleigh and harness, I think I shall get them
again.' 'Why do you think so?' His answer was: 'I have been praying to
God to arrest Cotton's conscience, so that he will be obliged to _leave
them where I can get them_, and I believe he will do it.'

"From this time, which was Wednesday evening, he seemed at rest on the
subject. The next Tuesday morning, as he stepped into the post-office, a
letter was handed him from Littleton, N.H. It was written by the keeper
of a public house, and read thus:

"'_Mr. P.--Sir, Mr. John Cotton has left your sleigh and
harness here, and you can have them by calling for them_.

Yours, etc., J--N
N----N.'

"He returned home with the letter, and started for L----; went there the
same day, some forty miles; found sleigh and harness safe, with no
encumbrance. The landlord informed him that, a few nights before, at
twelve o'clock, a man calling himself John Cotton came to his house,
calling for horse-baiting and supper; would not stay till morning, but
wished to leave the sleigh and harness for Mr. S.--- P.--- of
Marshfield, Vt. He said he could not write himself; and requested the
landlord to write for him, saying he took them on a poor debt for Mr.
P., in one of the towns below! He started off at two o'clock at night,
on horseback, with an old pair of saddle-bags and a horse blanket, on a
saddle with one stirrup and no crupper, on one of the coldest nights of
that or any other year. He took the road leading through the Notch in
the mountains, left nothing for either of those he owed, and we have
never since heard from him."

"NONE OF THE LORD'S CHILDREN LEFT DESOLATE."

"_The Christian Era_ tells of a Dutch preacher who held a meeting one
evening in a strange city. While he was preaching, and enforcing upon
the hearts of his hearers the doctrine of the Cross, a police officer
came into the room and forbade him to go on. He even commanded him to
leave the city. As he was a stranger in the place, and the night was
dark, he wandered around the city gates. He was not, however, without
consolation; for he remembered Him who had said, 'Lo, I am with you
always. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me.'

"He had long been in the school of Christ, and had learned to watch for
the slightest intimations of His will. While he was thus wandering
around, suddenly he saw a light in the distance. 'See,' he said to
himself, 'perhaps the Lord has provided me a shelter there,' and, in the
simplicity of faith, he directed his steps thither. On arriving, he
heard a voice in the house; and, as he drew nearer, he discovered that a
man was praying. Joyful, he hoped, that he had found here the home of a
brother. He stood still for a moment, and heard these words, poured
forth from an earnest heart: 'Lord Jesus, one of thy persecuted servants
may, perhaps, be wandering, at this moment, in a strange place of which
he knows nothing. O, may he find my home, that he may receive here food
and lodging.'

"The preacher, having heard these words, glided into the house, as soon
as the speaker said, 'Amen.' Both fell on their knees, and together
thanked the Lord, who is a hearer of prayer, and who never leaves nor
forsakes His servants."

THE NEW COAT THAT FITTED EXACTLY.

"A few years since, a young preacher in the State of Massachusetts, who
was laboring in a field which yielded no great pecuniary returns, had
laid aside the sum of fifteen dollars from his scanty income, with which
to purchase himself a coat, of which he stood in need. Before he had
time to obtain it, there was presented to him a certain charitable
object which seemed to demand a portion of his little store. After some
consideration as to whether it was his duty to give as much as the ten
dollars, which first presented itself to his mind as the proper sum to
bestow, he concluded to follow his convictions, and thus assist one who
was more needy than himself, and trust in the Lord to provide the coat.

"Within two or three days afterwards, he was visiting at the house of
his mother, in another town, and she, as mothers will, noticed that his
coat had arrived at that condition which usually affords the preacher of
the Gospel evidence that he is shortly to have a new one, and she made
some remarks about its worn appearance, saying, 'It seems to me you need
a new coat.' 'I know it,' he replied, 'and I shall get me one as soon as
I get the means.' She said, 'There is a coat up stairs which your
brother had made for him not over two weeks ago, which he never has worn
but once, because it was _made too small_, and he said that you might
have it, if you wanted it.'

"The coat was accordingly brought down and tried on, and it fitted
exactly. The young man gladly accepted the coat, wondering a little at
the wisdom of the Lord in clothing him at the expense of his brother,
who was not particularly interested in the Lord's work, and who was so
much larger than he was, that nothing short of the wisdom of Providence
could have made a coat that was measured for one of them ever to fit the
other."

This was the return that God made to him for his sacrifice to the Lord.
_Never withhold from the Lord_.

PRAYING TO STOP THE WIND AND THE SAILING OF A VESSEL.

The late aged and venerable Rev. Dr. Cleaveland, of Boston, relates the
following incident:

"In a revival of religion in the church of which he was pastor, he was
visited one morning by a member of his church, a widow, whose only son
was a sailor. With a voice trembling with emotion, she said, 'Doctor
Cleaveland, I have called to entreat you to join me in praying _that the
wind may change_.' He looked at her in silent amazement. 'Yes,' she
exclaimed, earnestly, 'my son has gone on board his vessel; they sail
to-night, unless the wind changes.' 'Well, madam,' replied the doctor,
'I will pray that your son may be converted on this voyage; but to pray
that God would alter the laws of His universe on his account, I fear is
presumptuous.' 'Doctor,' she replied, 'my heart tells me differently.
God's Spirit is _here_. Souls are being converted here. You have a
meeting this evening, and, if the wind would change, John would stay and
go to it; and, I believe, if he went he would be converted. Now, if you
cannot join me, I must pray alone, for he must stay.' 'I will pray for
his conversion,' said the doctor.

"On his way to the meeting, he glanced at the weather-vane, and, to his
surprise, _the wind had changed_, and it was blowing landward. On
entering his crowded vestry, he soon observed John, sitting upon the
front seat. The young man seemed to drink in every word, rose to be
prayed for, and attended the inquiry meeting. When he sailed from port,
the mother's prayers had been answered; he went a Christian. The pastor
had learned a lesson he never forgot. The Lord had said, 'O, woman,
great is thy faith; be it unto thee, even as thou wilt.' God answered
that prayer because the mother was seeking to advance His own kingdom.
God always hears a prayer that will in any way bring a soul to the
Lord."

INSANITY CURED AND SUICIDE PREVENTED.

"_Augusta Moore_, writes _The Christian_, of a young lady called home by
the illness of her widowed mother, who died before she could reach her.
This alone was a terrible shock to the delicate daughter, who, having
been reared in luxury, was ill-fitted for firm endurance of calamity.
But, when it became known that a relative, in whom she had placed
confidence, had managed, in ways that need not be explained, to defraud
her out of her inheritance, her mind gave way and _she became insane_.

"For years, her distressed husband strove in every way to restore her
reason, but she seemed rather to become worse, and showed signs of
intentions to commit suicide; and her family and friends lived in a
wretched state of apprehension. In spite of the most faithful
watchfulness, she twice succeeded in securing the means for
self-destruction, but something prevented her from accomplishing her
design. At last, it occurred to a friend to present this woman's case in
the prayer-meeting, to the Lord, and earnest prayer was offered for her
restoration.

"No immediate result appeared; but the friends _persevered_. During the
Winter, a revival of religion occurred in the town where she dwelt, and,
with much difficulty, the insane woman, who declared that she was
utterly and finally forsaken by God, was prevailed upon to attend the
meetings. They began immediately to have a good effect upon her. She
could sleep better; she grew more cheerful, and, in a short time, her
reason returned to her. A happier, or more grateful woman than she now
is, no mortal eyes ever beheld, and she affords one more instance of the
Lord's willingness to hear and answer fervent prayer."

ANSWERS TO PRAYER.

Dr. Newman Hall, minister of Surrey Chapel, London, gives the following
instances of answers to prayer from his own experience:

"The writer's brother, when superintendent of a Sunday School, felt a
strong impulse, one Saturday evening, to call on a member of his
Bible-class, whom he had never visited before, and to inquire if he was
in any need. He found him very ill. Though the mother and sister seemed
in comfortable circumstances, he felt constrained to inquire if he could
aid them in any way. They burst into tears, and said that the young man
had been asking for food which they had no power to supply, and that, on
Monday, some of their goods were to be taken in default of the payment
of rates. When he knocked at the door _they were on their knees in
prayer for help to be sent them_. By the aid of a few friends, the
difficulty was at once met--but the timely succor was felt to be the
divine response to prayer.

"With that brother, the writer was once climbing the Cima di Jazzi, one
of the mountains in the chain of Monte Rosa. When nearly at the top,
they entered a dense fog. Presently, the guides faced right about, and
grounded their axes on the frozen snow-slope. The brother--seeing the
slope still beyond, and not knowing it was merely the cornice,
overhanging a precipice of several thousand feet--rushed onward. The
writer will never forget their cry of agonized warning. His brother
stood a moment on the very summit, and then, the snow yielding, began to
fall through. One of the guides, at great risk, rushed after him and
seized him by the coat. This tore away, leaving only three inches of
cloth, by which he was dragged back. It seemed impossible to be nearer
death, and yet escape. On his return home, an invalid member of his
congregation told him that she had been much in prayer for his safety,
and mentioned a special time when she particularly was earnest, as if
imploring deliverance from some great peril. _The times corresponded!_
Was not that prayer instrumental in preserving that life?"

BISHOP SIMPSON'S RECOVERY.

Bishop Bowman gives the following instance from his own experience:

"In the Fall of 1858, whilst visiting Indiana, I was at an annual
conference where Bishop Janes presided. We received a telegram that
Bishop Simpson was dying. Said Bishop Janes, 'Let us spend a few
moment's in earnest prayer for the recovery of Bishop Simpson.' We
kneeled to pray. William Taylor, the great California street preacher,
was called to pray, and such a prayer I never heard since. The
impression seized upon me irresistibly, _Bishop Simpson will not die_. I
rose from my knees perfectly quiet. Said I, 'Bishop Simpson will not
die.' 'Why do you think so?' Because I have had an _irresistible
impression_ made upon my mind during this prayer.' Another said, '_I
have the same impression_.' We passed it along from bench to bench,
until we found that a very large proportion of the conference had the
same impression. I made a minute of the time of day, and when I next saw
Simpson, he was attending to his daily labor. I inquired of the Bishop,
'How did you recover from your sickness?' He replied, '_I cannot tell_.'
'What did your physician say?' '_He said it was a miracle_.' I then said
to the Bishop, 'Give me the time and circumstances under which the
change occurred.' He fixed upon the day, and _the very hour_, making
allowance for the distance--a thousand miles away--that the preachers
were engaged in prayer at this conference. The physician left his room
and said to his wife, '_It is useless to do anything further; the Bishop
must die_.' In about an hour, he returned and started back, inquiring,
'_What have you done?' 'Nothing,'_ was the reply. 'He is recovering
rapidly,' said the physician; '_a change has occurred in the disease
within the last hour beyond anything I have ever seen; the crisis is
past, and the Bishop will recover_.' And he did."

The doctor was puzzled; it was beyond all the course and probabilities
of nature and the laws of science. What was it that made those ministers
so sure--what was it that made the patient recover, at the exact hour
that they prayed? There is only one answer, "_The ever living Power of a
Superior Spirit which rules the world_."

THE SEVEN LETTERS.

The following incident is given by "_The Presbyterian_," on the
authority of a private letter from Paris:

"At a Bible reunion, held at the house of an English Congregationalist
minister, where several colporteurs, teachers and others meet for
devotional reading and conversation, a brief anecdote was related by a
clergyman living in La Force, who established there an institution for
epileptics, where he has now three hundred, supported entirely on the
principle of faith, like Muller's orphanage.

"At one time, he found himself in debt to the amount of five hundred
pounds. After a sleepless, anxious night, he found, on his table, seven
letters. Opening five, he found them to be all applications, some of
them most painful in their details, for the admission of new inmates.
His excited mind could not bear it. Without opening the other two
letters he threw them to his wife. 'Put them into the fire,' he said,
and turned to seek relief in the open air. 'John,' said a sweet voice,
'this won't do. Come back.' So he did, taking up the sixth letter, which
proved to be from a stranger, enclosing a check for three hundred
pounds. The other envelope gave him just what was needed, just that and
no more. He thanked God, and took courage. Will he ever again hear the
sweet, sad voice, 'Wherefore didst thou doubt?'"

THE LORD DID NOT FORGET THE POTATOES.

"A correspondent of _Arthur's Magazine_ tells of a poor woman who had
been washing for us, who said: 'Seems as if the Lord took very direct
ways to reach people's feelings sometimes. Now, I was astonished once in
my life. I lived away out West, on the prairie, I and my four children,
and I couldn't get much work to do, and our little stock of provisions
kept getting lower and lower. One night, we sat hovering over our fire,
and I was gloomy enough. There was about a pint of corn-meal in the
house, and that was all. I said, 'Well, children, may be the Lord will
provide something.' '_I do hope it will be a good mess of potatoes_,'
said cheery little Nell; 'seems to me _I never was so hungry for taters
before_.' After they were all asleep, I lay there tossing over my hard
bed, and wondering what I would do next. All at once, the sweetest peace
and rest came over me, and I sank into such a good sleep. Next morning,
I was planning that I would make the tinfull of meal into mush, and fry
it in a greasy frying-pan, in which our last meat had been fried. As I
opened the door to go down to the brook to wash, I saw something new.
_There, on the bench, beside the door, stood two wooden pails and a
sack. One pail was full of meat, the other full of potatoes, and the
sack filled with flour_. I brought my hands together in my joy, and just
hurrahed for the children to come. Little dears! They didn't think of
trousers and frocks then, but came out all of a flutter, like a flock of
quails. Their joy was supreme. They knew the Lord had sent some, of his
angels with the sack and pails. Oh, it was such a precious gift! _I
washed the empty pails, and put the empty sack in one of them, and, at
night, I stood them on the bench where I had found them, and, the next
morning, they were gone_. I tried and tried to find out who had
befriended us, but I never could. The Lord never seemed so far off after
that time,' said the poor woman, looking down with tearful eyes."

THE PRAYER IN THE WOODS.

A friend relates the following incident, as received from the lips of a
poor afflicted, crippled orphan boy, whose own experience is a practical
illustration of the words: "When my father and my mother forsake me,
then the Lord will take me up." Ps. xxvii 10.

"Out of many instances of answered prayer I will tell the following one:
In August, 1874, I wished to go to Lowell, a distance of some thirty
miles, or more. I had no money, and did not know how to get there. I
asked the station-agent and the conductor, but each refused, saying it
would not be consistent with their duty. Knowing of no human help, I
left the depot and went into the woods, some ways from the station,
where I could be alone, and tell that Friend who is able to provide, and
who is rich unto all that call upon Him. I knelt down beside the stump
of a tree and prayed, and told the Lord all about it, and asked Him
either to give me money, or provide some way that I could go where I
desired. I felt that the Lord heard and answered me, and filled my soul
with praise and joy. The language of my heart was, 'Bless the Lord.'

"As I turned and was going out of the woods, I heard a voice saying,
'Halloo.' As I had seen no one, and knew not that any human being was
near, I was surprised at this greeting. 'Halloo!' said the stranger,' I
never heard such a prayer in my life. Why did you go and pray?' I told
him that I felt heavy, burdened, and I took the burden to the Lord. He
said, 'I heard you pray--you want money, do you? The Lord has opened the
way; here is five dollars. It is the best way to go to the Lord, and
trust Him to open the way. Go and use the money.' I thanked him, and I
thanked the Lord, and went oh my way rejoicing in Him whose promise is,'
My God shall supply all your needs,' and who himself had heard and
answered my request."

THE LORD CAN DO IT.

"In one of the mountainous towns--says _The Christian_--in the north-
western part of Connecticut, there lived, some time since, an aged
couple who had seen some eighty years of earthly pilgrimage, and who, in
their declining days, enjoyed the care of a son and daughter, who
resided with them at their home.

"In process of time, the son became sick, and drew nigh the gates of
death. The doctor pronounced him incurable, saying that one lung was
consumed, and that he could live but a short time.

"The fear of her brother's death, and the thoughts of being left alone
to bear the responsibility of the aged parents' care, burdened the
sister's heart exceedingly, and led her to cry mightily to the Lord, to
interpose for his recovery, and spare him still to them; and her
importunate supplications ascended to God, until the answer came to her
heart as a sacred whisper,--'I have heard thy cry, and have come down to
deliver thee.'

"Comforted by this sweet assurance, she rejoiced exceedingly, knowing
that what our Heavenly Father promises he is abundantly able to perform,
and that He will fulfill his word, though heaven and earth shall pass
away. But her faith was destined to be tried, and, on the very day after
she had obtained the assurance of her brother's recovery, in came some
one, saying, 'The doctor says S---- can live but a little time.' For an
instant, these words were like a dagger to the sister's heart, but she
still held fast her confidence, and replied: 'If _men_ can't cure him,
the _Lord_ can.'

"From that very moment, the brother began to amend. On the next day,
when the physician came, he looked at him, commenced examining his
symptoms, and exclaimed in astonishment: 'What have you been doing? You
are evidently better, and I don't know but you will get up, after all.'

"His recovery was so rapid, that in two weeks' time he was out about his
customary duties on the farm; and that in weather so damp and foggy that
it would have kept some stronger men in-doors. But he was well; the
prayer of faith was answered, and it had saved the sick."

ANSWER TO PRAYER IN ALL THE LITTLE TEMPORAL ANXIETIES OF LIFE

The question having been asked, "Does God answer Prayer, in even all the
little anxieties and cares of daily life." _The Illustrated Christian
Weekly_, called in 1876, for testimonies of the surety of God in
fulfilling his promise, and giving answer in little things as well as
great things. Many, even good Christians have believed that they should
not pray for anything for themselves, but only for those things which
were to be used for God's work. The following instances show that those
who are devoted to God's good work and helping in his service can ask
for anything needed for their personal comfort, and expect the Lord to
grant them. In truth the Lord _has commanded_ all his disciples, "_Ask
and receive, that your joy may be full." "Anything that ye shall ask in
my name, I will do it_."

BREAD TO THE HUNGRY.

"God was pleased to deprive me totally of my hearing in early boyhood.
By the late war I lost all of my earthly possessions. I have a wife and
family totally dependent on me for a support. A man employed to attend
to my little manufacturing business as manager, by imprudent management,
deprived me of every earthly dependence for a support. I had no refuge
but God. This feeling was intense beyond expression--God was my only
hope. I laid my case before him. Then this came to me, 'Seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you.' 'Now,' I said, 'I am deeply conscious that I and my
wife seek and desire the kingdom of God above all things; God then will
give us temporal help.' Then a feeling came over me, a feeling of
waiting upon God. It was sweet waiting. I was at rest. I had thought
frequently if I could get _two hundred dollars_ I could start my little
business again. While thus trusting, and waiting, and praying, a package
was handed to me by the express-agent containing $200 from a stranger in
a distant county, against whom I held an old note dated 1856; and for
many years I had forgotten the note, and would have taken twenty-five
cents for it any time. The man was bankrupt, and did not fear the Lord,
nor know anything of my situation in life. He was under no legal
obligation to pay the note."

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