The Wonders of Prayer by Various

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NO "IFS."

"A number of years ago I went West to better my condition.... After a
little time I went into business of my own, had but little capital, and
my good name to be punctual in paying for what I bought on credit was of
great importance to me. I had promised to pay on a certain day a note of
about $60. I thought I was sure to get the money, but was disappointed;
I went to the Lord for help, not knowing how he could send me the money,
but convinced that he was able to do it. At about noon the same day a
man inquired for me. I knew him by sight; he had the name of being a
hard man, took all the interest he could get, and never put any money
out without security. He had not the note, but he asked me if I wanted
to hire any money; if so he had _sixty dollars_ he would like to let me
have. The man took my note and never did ask for any security.

"At another time, being away from home some 2,000 miles, was at the
house of an uncle; same evening I received a letter from my wife that
the children were very sick and but little hope of recovery. The letter
had been written for over a week. I communicated the contents of the
letter to my aunt; went up in my room and prayed the Lord to be their
physician. I felt so sure that my prayer would be answered that I could
not help singing; when they heard me they thought what a cold-hearted
man I must be to sing if the children were dying at home. _But from,
that day the children did get better, and in a short time were out of
danger_.

"In my younger years I had a good many ifs, but those are all gone; I
know that the Lord has the means at his command to answer all my prayers
if I come believing, asking in the name of Christ."

THE HORSE IS HIS.

"The writer was preaching Sundays at a little country church, about 70
miles by rail from the institution where he attended. He went Saturday,
returning on Monday. One Saturday the train ran off the track. All day
long they worked at the wreck. At last, finding it too late to make
connection with the other railroad, he took the down train back to the
institution. What should be done? A promise to preach forty miles across
the country had been made. There was also an appointment six miles
beyond for an afternoon service. It was now night. To drive across the
country was the only way open, or stay at home. Two disappointed
congregations the result in the latter case. But the roads were heavy
from recent rains. 'Twill be so late that none can direct. Friends said,
'Stay; you can't go forty miles across, to you, an unknown country.' But
the writer felt it duty to go. Hiring a horse noted for endurance, at
nine o'clock at night--dark, threatening--he set out. As he headed the
horse in the direction of the village--for he could find none who could
tell him the exact road--he prayed: 'O God, starting out to preach thy
word to-morrow, direct the way--guide this horse.' The night wore on; as
cross-roads came, dropping the lines over the dashboard, the same prayer
was offered. When the horse chose a road, the driver urged him on. As
day began to break, emerging from some wood in an unfrequented road,
they entered the village they sought. The sermon that morning was from
the text, 'Son, go work to-day in my vineyard.' The largest congregation
of the Summer had gathered. It will not do to say that the horse knew
the road. Returning in broad daylight the next day, though directed and
directed again, we lost the way and went seven miles out of our course.
A scientist might laugh at this way of driving, or at asking God to
guide in such trivial matters. But we shall still believe that God led
the horse and blessed us in our attempt to serve him."

ALL OUR NEEDS.

"About eight years ago, while a Student in college, I became embarrassed
for want of funds. Debts began to accumulate. Anticipating money from
usual sources, promises had been made to pay at a certain date.

"The time to make these payments approached. The anticipated money did
not come. A student in debt is most dependent and hopeless. In great
distress, locking the study-door, I sat down to think. First came
visions of an auction sale of a few books and scanty furniture; then of
notes and protests; finally the promises of God came into mind. I knew
he had promised to supply my wants. 'All things whatsoever ye have need
of,' came home in great power. I am needy, I have given up business,
all, to preach the gospel. I remember as 'twere yesterday the feelings,
the struggles, of that hour. With all earnestness I asked for help in my
hour of distress. At last I felt confident that the aid needed would
come in time, Saturday; this was Monday. I thanked God for the answer--
and being questioned by a needy creditor of that afternoon, assured him
that his money would be ready.

"Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday passed--no sign, but faith said God will
not fail. Friday morning--heart beat fast as I went to the
post-office--it seemed as if through its agency the help would come.
Nothing. But it must be here to-day. Returning from the office Friday
evening, wondering how God would send deliverance, I saw on my table a
long official envelope. A classmate preceding me at the office had
brought it. A letter from a gentleman in Wall street whom I have never
seen. On Monday, he casually asked of a tea-broker, an acquaintance, if
he knew of any one in H----. The broker mentioned, after a little
thought, my name.

"The letter contained a request for service of a peculiar sort,
connected with some legal matters, contained money and promise of more.
_Over three times the sum I asked God for was finally given. More than
enough for a term's expenses_.

"I never mentioned the matter of my need at that time to a human being,
nor spoke of the prayer. I have always thanked God for that, and am sure
he provides for me in accordance with his promise."

HE HEALETH THE SICK.

"The wife of Deacon W. was sinking rapidly with pneumonia. Friends gave
up all hope of her recovery, and even the hopeful physician felt that he
was hoping against hope. In his despair the husband bore the case
directly to God; he sought the prayers of his minister and of the
church; and he asked all Christians to pray that the mother of his
little children might be spared. She lingered between life and death for
several days, when unexpectedly to many, she began to gain strength, and
in due season was about again. This was several years ago, and she has
been an active worker in the church and Sunday-school ever since."

A POWERFUL DREAM.

"My father, a minister of the gospel, was prostrated by sickness. A
large family of little ones was dependent upon him for support. Funds
ran low. One evening my mother remarked that she had broken the last
dollar. My father lay awake most of the night, praying to his God for
help in this emergency. That same night a man in a parish not many miles
distant was much impressed by a dream. He dreamed that a minister who
preached in his church not long before, was sick and in want. He knew
neither his name nor his place of residence. He arose at the first dawn
of day, and going to his own pastor inquired the name and address of the
stranger who had recently preached for them. These obtained, he mounted
his horse, and knocked at our door just as my mother drew up the
window-shades. She answered the knock, when, without a word, a stranger
placed an envelope in her hand and immediately rode away. The envelope
contained a ten-dollar bill, which we all believed was the Lord's answer
to our father's prayer. Afterwards these facts were disclosed by the
pastor to him whom the Lord chose to disperse his bounty."

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE.

"In 1874, through Providence, I became sore pressed to provide for
myself and family; two of my children had just begun to learn to read. I
was desirous to procure for them the 'N.---,' (a children's journal,)
but I could not see how I was to pay for it and meet other obligations.
So I carried it to our Father in heaven, asking if it was best and
according to his will my children should get the 'N.---.' In about ten
days afterward I received a note from a lady friend, with whom I or none
of our family had had any communication for weeks, and in that note she
advised us that her little daughter, the same age as our second, had
sent as a Christmas gift a subscription for the 'N.---,' to be sent to
our Mary's address. 'If ye abide in me, and my words in you, ye shall
ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.'"

CASTING ALL YOUR CARE ON HIM.

"Once, soon after the death of my husband and the loss of all his large
property, I had a bill of _fifty dollars_ to pay, and was notified two
weeks beforehand that not a day's grace would be given. Besides what I
was earning by my pen, I had due me, in a neighboring city, just the
amount I should need--the income on my only remaining piece of real
estate; and, as my tenant was always prompt, I wrote to him where to
send me the money, and gave the subject no farther thought. But, when
the time for his response was already past, and I heard nothing from my
debts, and but a few days to the time of my own need yet remained, I
felt anxious and sought divine direction as to the course I ought to
pursue. Rising from my knees, I took up my Bible, and the very first
words my eyes rested upon, were these: 'Casting all your care upon Him,
for he careth for you.' All anxiety from that hour left me; but I felt
impelled to apply to a certain editor for the payment of _twenty
dollars_ he owed me, and I felt sure the other thirty would come from
somewhere.

"So the days passed until the morning of the day upon which I should be
called on for the fifty dollars, and _still I had not a single dollar_
on hand to meet the claim. At ten o'clock my creditor came, but half an
hour before him the postman had put into my hand a letter containing a
check for _fifty dollars_, the exact amount I needed. It had come from
the editor to whom I had applied for twenty dollars, and lo! he had sent
me fifty. The thirty advanced he said I could give him credit for on my
next MS. He did not know my need, but God did, and thus He had answered
my prayer."

IN EVERYTHING MAKE KNOWN YOUR WANTS.

"Six years ago, on the low country of South Carolina, a friend asked me
to go with him to a camp-meeting. I was delighted with the idea, for, in
my estimation, a good camp-meeting comes nearer heaven than any other
place on earth.

"Just three days before we were to go, an unexpected circumstance
connected with his business, made it impossible for him to leave. It was
with real heartfelt sorrow I heard of it. The day before we were to have
started, as I saw another member of the family, who was going with a
friend, packing her trunk, it seemed to me I could not bear it. I
carried my trouble to my dear heavenly Father, begging him to send me a
way to go.

"I rose from my knees with the sweet assurance in my heart my prayer was
heard--packed my trunk and waited patiently. When night came and the men
came home, in the place of the expected buggy came a small spring-wagon,
and a seat for me. What may seem more remarkable, the change between
buggy and spring-wagon was made ten miles away, while I was praying.

"I believe I enjoyed the meeting more for the feeling of thankfulness
that pervaded my whole being while there."

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.

"Nearly five years ago, after a decline of almost two years, I was
brought very near to the grave. Medical aid availed nothing. I was
fearfully emaciated, and my death was daily expected. A devoted mother
and a sister, who had watched over me tenderly during my long illness,
were completely exhausted.

"I determined to apply to the Great Physician, as directed in James
5:14. As I united with others in prayer, unconsciously I uttered these
words, 'I shall yet praise Thee in the great congregation.' All present
felt assured that it was the will of God to restore me to health.
Appearances were against me; for some time I could sleep but very
little, and there was no perceptible gain. But trusting in the sure
promise, the next Sabbath I rode a short distance to church, and, as I
thus ventured out little by little, my strength gradually returned. A
few months later, my mother, who through disease had been in a state of
despair for some years, was enabled again to hope in God's mercy."

SHALL SAVE THE SICK.

"I was desperately ill. My physicians had done all in their power,
without success--and yet I lived! For my father's sake, the hearts of
hundreds waited the issue, and prayed for me! For his sake, the bells in
the neighborhood were tied--the criers did not come within sound of the
house--nor was the sound of wheels heard upon the street. There was a
death-like stillness without and within.

"The physicians sat with folded hands and wept, because the blow seemed
too heavy for my father to bear--the thought that I was going to die
without any assurance that I trusted in my Saviour!

"'It cannot be,' he said, 'I will wrestle with my God until He hears
me!' Sunday came. In almost every church a special prayer was offered
for my recovery. After morning service, a band of devoted women met, and
offered fervent prayers that God would spare my life. Evening came--the
weary doctors went home, leaving the last sacred moments to my parents.
Early next morning they came again, and exclaimed, as they entered the
room, 'She is better! Prayer has saved her!' I still live, 'a spared
monument of God's mercy.'"

ALL-SUFFICIENT FOR ALL NEED.

"I am a mother of seven children. By the help of our Father in heaven,
we have all of us gone regularly to church and Sunday-school. We are
poor; and at length the time came we were not clothed so we could
comfortably go to church. I earnestly asked our Father to show me,
within a week, which was right for us to do: to go in debt for clothes,
or stay at home. Within that week, I received a large package of
ready-made clothing. The clothing came from a source I never thought of
receiving anything from."

A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE.

"At one time, during a season of adversity, there was urgent occasion
for a certain sum beyond the income of the family, and there was no way
of borrowing it. I took the matter to the Lord in prayer, asking Him, if
the money were really needed, as it appeared to be, to send it, and, if
it were not, to remove the distressing circumstances. The answer came in
a sum five times the amount asked for, and in a manner totally
unexpected."

* * * * *

"At another time, the mother of the family was very ill, and, when
apparently near death, the physicians had ordered a remedy which was to
be constantly employed, as her life, so far as they could judge,
depended on its use. One night, her symptoms became so alarming as to
compel the writer (who had charge of the nursing) to use this remedy
more freely than ever, and, about midnight the supply was exhausted.
There was no possibility of obtaining any more before morning, and the
rest of that night, while attending to the other directions of the
doctors, I spent in one earnest, agonizing prayer that God would so
overrule natural causes that death would not occur in consequence of
what I felt to be my own culpable carelessness in not having provided a
larger quantity of an article so necessary. In His great mercy, He
granted the prayer, the dangerous symptoms did not increase during the
seven or eight hours that intervened before the remedy could be
procured. One proof that it was a special mercy, is found in the fact
that there was no other such standing still of the disease, either
before this or afterward. And the doctors were astonished when they saw
that the disease had made no progress, under conditions that rendered
that progress inevitable in the usual law of cause and effect. And when,
on her final recovery, Doctor Parker told her that she owed her life to
the good care I had taken of her, my thoughts went back to the long
hours of that night of anguish, and I said, 'It was the Lord that took
care of her.' 'I meant your care, under Providence,' was the reply."

HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS

"I am a teacher by profession, and, a few years ago, I found myself
placed in a school whose every surrounding was utterly repugnant to my
tastes, and to all my ideas of right and wrong and what good teaching
should be. At first, I kept hoping that things would grow better, and
that I should, at least, be able to have some influence on the modes of
teaching; but I soon found that everything connected with the
establishment was directed by the iron will of an unscrupulous and
tyrannical woman, whose laws were as irrevocable as those of the Medes
and Persians. I at once decided I could not stay there long, but I had
no other position in view, and it was not easy to secure one in the
middle of the term. As usual, I made it a subject of prayer, and the
result was that, in a short time, I was most unexpectedly, and without
the least solicitation on my part, offered a much better position, in
every respect, which, of course, I was only too thankful to accept. That
is only one instance, out of thousands I could name, where God has heard
and answered my prayers, and I believe He will do so to the end."

HOW THE LORD IS CONSTANTLY CARING FOR HIS TRUSTING POOR.

A city missionary recently found, in this city on the streets, a refined
Englishwoman with her children, who had been turned out of her home for
non-payment of rent. With the aid of a few friends he installed her in a
new domicile, and procured work for her. From time to time he visited
her, and rejoiced with her that God had sent him to her in the hour of
extremity. At length, pressure of business kept him away for some time,
until, one evening, he started out to look up a few dollars owing him,
in order to procure some delicacies for a sick wife. One dollar was all
he could procure, and with that in his pocket he was returning homeward,
when he became so impressed with the idea that he should visit the
Englishwoman that he turned aside and did so. He found her in tears, and
asking the cause, heard the sorrowful tale of no work, no food in the
house for to-morrow, which was Sunday. He was in doubt whether to give
her the dollar and suffer his sick wife to go without something
palatable, but in a moment, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble," presented itself to his
mind, and--the dollar dried the widow's tears.

Upon reaching his home he found a lady had called on his wife and
brought with her three or four kinds of jellies, fruit, home-made
biscuit, various relishing things; three times more than the dollar
would have purchased.

The same gentleman, while calling on a poor family one day, discovered a
little house in the rear, which he visited, finding a neat, cleanly
room, occupied by an old lady, crippled with rheumatism. He found she
had no one in the world but a sister, a monthly nurse, to care for her.
When first setting out on his tour that morning, the missionary had
fifty cents given him by a gentleman, who expressed the hope that "it
might do some good during the day." Although a number of visits had been
made, he had not felt called upon to bestow it until then, nor could he
tell why he should want to put it in the old lady's hand at parting, but
he did so.

She was too much overcome by her emotions to speak, but she took his
hand and led him to a little table, on which lay a Bible, opened at the
passage, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it
you." She said, "Please tell me if any one sent you here?" "No." "Did
you ever hear that I lived here?" "I did not." "Then the Lord sent you
in answer to my prayer this morning. For the first time in my life, I am
without food. My sister was to have come home yesterday, but has not. I
was just asking the Lord to provide for me when you knocked at the
door."

Such scenes as these amply repay our missionaries for all the toils and
weariness, all the anxieties and perplexities of the work.

A PRAYER FOR BREAD.

"Washington Allston, who stood at the head of American artists a half
century ago, was, at one time, so reduced by poverty, that he locked his
studio, in London, one day, threw himself on his knees and prayed for a
loaf of bread for himself and wife. While thus engaged, a knock was
heard at the door, which the artist hastened to open. A stranger
inquired for Mr. Allston, and was anxious to know who was the fortunate
purchaser of the painting of the 'Angel Uriel,' which had won the prize
at the exhibition of the Royal Academy. He was told that it was not
sold. 'Where is it to be found?' 'In this very room,' said Allston,
producing a painting from a corner and wiping off the dust. 'It is for
sale, but its value has not been adequately appreciated, and I would not
part with it.' 'What is its price?' 'I have done affixing any nominal
sum. I have always so far exceeded any offers, I leave it to you to name
the price.' 'Will four hundred pounds be an adequate recompense?' 'It is
more than I ever asked for it.' 'Then the painting is mine,' said the
stranger, who introduced himself as the Marquis of Stafford, and, from
that time, became one of Mr. Allston's warmest friends and patrons."

THE DAUGHTER'S PRAYER.

The late Doctor Krummacher, chaplain to the king of Prussia, in
referring to faith and prayer, writes as follows:

"A little incident occurs to me which I can hardly withhold, on account
of its simplicity and beauty. The mother of a little girl, only four
years of age, had been, for some time, most dangerously ill. The
physician had given her up. When the little girl heard this, she went
into an adjoining room, knelt down, and said: 'Dear Lord Jesus, O make
my mother well again.'

"After she had thus prayed, she said, as though in God's name, with as
deep a voice as she could: 'Yes, my dear child, I will do it gladly!'
This was the little girl's amen. She rose up, joyfully ran to her
mother's bed, and said: 'Mother, you will get well!'

"And she recovered, and is in health to this day. Is it, then, always
permitted for me to pray thus unconditionally respecting temporal
concerns? No; thou must not venture to do so, if, whilst you ask, you
doubt. But shouldst thou ever be inclined by God's Spirit to pray thus,
without doubt or scruple, in a filial temper, and with simplicity of
heart, resting on the true foundation, and in genuine faith, then pray
thus by all means! None dare censure thee; God will accept thee."

THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.

"A city missionary, one Saturday night, was going home with a basket of
provisions on his arm. Meeting a policeman, he asked him if there had
any families moved in the bounds of his beat during the week. He
answered, 'Yes,' and, pointing to a building up an alley, said, 'a woman
and some children are living there now.'

"The missionary went to the house, rapped at the door, and was admitted.
The woman was sitting by a small light, sewing. In the corner of the
room, were two little girls, apparently from nine to twelve years of
age, playing.

"The missionary said, 'Madam, I am here to see if you will allow your
girls to attend Sunday-school to-morrow morning.' 'I would, sir; but
what you see on them is all the clothing they have, and you would not
wish them to go as they are now.' 'The Lord will provide, madam. Have
you no money?' 'Not yet, but I have committed my case into the hands of
the Lord.' 'Have you anything to eat?' 'Nothing, sir!' 'What will you do
for breakfast?' 'O, sir, I once had a husband; he provided when he
could. These children had a father; he supplied their wants; but he is
dead now. Yet my Maker, even God, is my husband, and He has promised to
be a father to the fatherless. We have committed all to Him, have called
upon Him in this our day of trouble. I am trusting in God to take care
of a poor widow and her children in a strange place, and I know He will
provide.' 'Thank God for such faith,' said the missionary; and, handing
her the basket, said 'here is your breakfast, and you shall have the
clothing for your children.' With tears streaming down her face, she
replied: 'Oh, thank God for his faithfulness! He heareth and answereth
prayer. May He bless you!' And, said our dear brother to us, 'I felt the
promise was sure, for she was blessed in receiving, I was more so in
giving.'"

A PRAYER FOR A LOAD OF WOOD.

Here is an illustration of the way in which God sends relief in trouble.
The story is told by the Christian woman to whom it happened, in her own
language:

"About the month of January, 1863, I was living in Connecticut, alone
with two little boys, one of them four years old, and the other about a
year and a half old. My husband was away in the service of his country.
When the coldest weather came, I was nearly out of wood. I went down
into the village, one day, to try and get some, but tried in vain; so
many men were away in the army that help was scarce. Very little wood
was brought into market, and those living on the main street, got all
that came, while those who lived outside the village could get none. I
tried to buy a quarter of a cord from two or three merchants, but could
not get any. One of them told me he could not get what he wanted for his
own family. Another said he wasn't willing to yoke up his team for so
small a quantity; but, as I only had a dollar and seventy-five cents, I
could not buy any more, and so I was obliged to go home without any. I
went back to my little ones, feeling very sad. But while I sat there,
almost ready to cry, the words of Abraham came into my mind, 'Jehovah-
Jireh, the Lord will provide.' Then I went up to my chamber. There I
knelt down and told God of my trouble, and asked him to help me and send
the relief that we needed. Then I went to the window and waited, looking
down the street, expecting to see the wood coming. After waiting a
while, without seeing any come, my faith began to fail. I said to
myself, 'The Lord did provide for Abraham, but He won't provide for me.'
Our last stick of wood was put in the stove. It was too cold to keep the
children in the house without fire. I got the children's clothes out,
and thought I would take them to the house of a kind neighbor, where I
knew they could stay till we got some wood. But, just as I was going out
with the children, in passing by the window, I saw the top of a great
load of wood coming up the road towards our little house. Can that be
for us? I asked myself. Presently I saw the wagon turn off the road and
come up towards our door. Then I was puzzled to know how to pay for it.
A dollar and seventy-five cents I knew would only go a little way
towards paying for all that wood. The oxen came slowly on, dragging the
load to our door. I asked the man if there wasn't same mistake about it.
'No, ma'am,' said he, 'there's no mistake.' 'I did not order it, and I
cannot pay for it,' was my reply. 'Never mind, ma'am,' said he, 'a
friend ordered it, and it is all paid for.' Then he unhitched the oxen
from the wagon, and gave them some hay to eat. When this was done, he
asked for a saw and ax, and never stopped till the whole load was cut
and split and piled away in the woodshed.

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