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 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE DARSIE
 
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 Before the Throne 
 
 'Lord, Teach Us How to Pray" 
 
 By 
 GEORGE DARSIE 
 
 CINCINNATI 
 
 The Standard Publishing Company
 
 Copyrighted, 1914, by 
 The Standard Publishing Company
 
 To Clara 
 
 My faithful wife, whose unceasing prayers, 
 sustaining helpfulness, sympathizing support, con- 
 stant love and affection, and abiding faith and 
 spirituality have been a never-failing source of 
 inspiration and strength, this prayer volume is 
 lovingly dedicated. 
 
 21350S5
 
 PREFACE 
 
 David supplies the logic of prayer. He 
 is the author of its fine syllogism. His 
 major premise is: 
 
 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, 
 The Lord will not hear." 
 
 His minor premise is: 
 
 "But verily God hath heard; 
 He hath attended to the voice of my 
 prayer." 
 
 His conclusion is: 
 
 "Blessed be God, 
 
 Who hath not turned away my prayer, 
 
 Nor his lovingkindness from me." 
 
 Every one, eminent in piety, accepts 
 this conclusion. He believes in the per- 
 sonal audience the heavenly Father gives 
 to every supplicating cry uttered by his 
 lips. He holds that every prayer of faith
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 rings the door-bell of heaven, and secures 
 a certain response. God can hear, and 
 he does hear. God can help, and he does 
 help. God can answer, and he does 
 answer. God has not withdrawn from 
 this world and left it to run itself. He 
 is not far from any one of us. Every 
 ray of sunshine is the smile of his love. 
 Every breath of the wind is the whisper 
 of his voice. The blue sky that bends over 
 us is but the visible image of his loving 
 bosom holding myriad worlds in the infi- 
 nite depths of its tenderness. When we 
 kneel, he sees us. When we pray, he 
 hears us. He has a special, separate, dis- 
 criminating, personal, constant interest in 
 every child. 
 
 To pray is a privilege to be prized, 
 appreciated and improved. To pray ac- 
 ceptably and persuasively is a cultivation 
 the rarest and choicest in the possession 
 of the human heart. To develop prayer- 
 fulness is an aim worthy the ambition 
 of the greatest as well as the hum- 
 blest Christian. It will contribute to 
 his spiritual life and growth as nothing
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 else in which he engages can possibly 
 do. It will supply an essential part of 
 his Christian armor for his warfare with 
 sin and Satan. It will keep him in living 
 contact and perpetual conversation with 
 the Friend "that sticketh closer than a 
 brother." 
 
 "I tell Him all my sorrows, 
 
 I tell Him all my joys ; 
 I tell Him all that pleases me, 
 
 I tell Him what annoys. 
 He tells me what I ought to do, 
 
 He tells me what to try, 
 And so we talk together, 
 
 My Lord and I." 
 
 GEORGE DARSIE. 
 
 Terrt Haute, Indiana.
 
 RECOGNITION 
 
 When a student in Bethany College, I 
 read three articles which greatly profited 
 me. They were from the pen of one 
 whose influence on my life has been 
 greater than that of any one man. They 
 were entitled "What Prayer is For," 
 "Prayers of Ignorance" and "Rejected 
 Answers." The chapters on "The Bene- 
 fits of Praying for Others," "Not Know- 
 ing What He Said" and "The Knocking 
 Peter" were suggested by them. The 
 illuminating essays and uplifting sermons 
 of Wm. M. Taylor and Henry Ward 
 Beecher have been most suggestive in 
 the preparation of the contents of this 
 book. E. J. Meacham, at whose invita- 
 tion the following chapters were first 
 prepared for the pages of The Lookout, 
 has proven a wise and discerning coun- 
 selor. "Render to all their dues; tribute 
 to whom tribute is due honor to whom 
 honor." GEORGE DARSIE.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. PAGE 
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE 5 
 
 II. 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER ON GOD 15 
 
 III. 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER ON HIM WHO PRAYS 21 
 
 IV. 
 WHAT PRAYER MUST BE TO BE EFFECTIVE 29 
 
 V. 
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER 37 
 
 VI. 
 "PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER" 45 
 
 VII. 
 THE BENEFITS OF PRAYING FOR OTHERS 53 
 
 VIII. 
 THE PRAYING CHRIST 61 
 
 IX. 
 A PRAYING. CHURCH 69 
 
 X. 
 
 A FITTING PRAYER 79 
 
 zi
 
 xii CONTENTS 
 
 XI. 
 "Nor KNOWING WHAT HE SAID" 89 
 
 XII. 
 THE KNOCKING PETER 97 
 
 XIII. 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 107 
 
 XIV. 
 "!N His NAME" 119 
 
 XV. 
 LET Us PRAY 127
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 () l
 
 I. 
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE
 
 I. 
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE. 
 
 "Prayer is the key to the morning, and 
 the bolt of the evening." 
 
 "Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
 
 The Christian's native air; 
 His watchword at the gate of death, 
 He enters heaven with prayer." 
 
 It is the soul's sincere expression to 
 God. It touches every faculty, passion, 
 feeling and emotion of the being in its 
 wide sweep. It brings us before the 
 throne in sweet and intimate fellowship 
 and communion. And there we should 
 be often 
 
 In "supplications" The love of the 
 world is strong within us. Its ambitions 
 beckon, its pleasures appeal, its aims and 
 fashions and practices allure. The mur- 
 muring streams, mossy banks, refreshing 
 shades and fragrant flowers, which adorn 
 its broad way at its entrance, furnish a 
 glamour that wins and grips. Oh, how
 
 6 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 we need to be before the throne in "sup- 
 plications" most frequent, that the evil of 
 the world may be averted, that we may 
 not become its slavish devotees, or go 
 with the crowd to moral destruction. 
 
 We should be before the throne in 
 "prayers" for every spiritual blessing in 
 Christ Jesus. We are by nature blind 
 and ignorant. We know not God or our- 
 selves. We are in darkness as to our 
 origin, duty and destiny. We want, oh, 
 how we want, the light! How faint and 
 feeble the light of reason, science, philos- 
 ophy. But how sure and safe the light 
 which streams from the sunlit hills of 
 God's word on all the great and thrilling 
 questions of life, death and immortality. 
 And with the Bible open before us we 
 come before the throne and pray: 
 
 "Open thou my eyes, that I may behold 
 Wondrous things out of thy law." 
 
 Oh! the hours of weakness which we 
 all have. How little able we are to 
 meet life's fierce temptations, life's awful 
 battles, life's unrelenting foes. How un-
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE 7 
 
 equal seems the struggle. How certain 
 our disastrous defeat. But hold, ye fear- 
 ful and unbelieving, "they that be for us 
 are greater than those who are against 
 us." To the throne, to the throne, you 
 must go ! Trust not the struggle to your 
 own feeble strength, rest not in the fail- 
 ing arm of flesh, but in the everlasting 
 arm of Him who will always be your 
 refuge and your strength. Let your 
 prayer forever be: 
 
 "I need Thy presence every passing hour ; 
 What but thy grace can foil the tempter's 
 
 power? 
 
 Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? 
 Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me." 
 
 When the rude blasts of sorrow blow, 
 when deep calleth unto deep at the noise 
 of God's waterspouts, when all his waves 
 and billows have gone over you, there is 
 only one unfailing source of help, and 
 that is to God's throne for comfort. The 
 hand that smites can heal. He who sends 
 the sorrow provides the balm. Oh, tired, 
 heart-broken sufferer, God is only trying 
 to make you lift up your heart to him.
 
 8 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 "Joy of the desolate, light of the straying ; 
 
 Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure; 
 Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying, 
 
 Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not 
 cure." 
 
 Learn to pray: O gracious God, lead 
 me into the deep, dark waters, but give 
 me thyself. Rob me of all I prize, but 
 so it give me more of thee. Take me 
 even through the valley of the thickest, 
 blackest shadows, but if it bring me 
 before thy throne, and give me thy 
 rod and thy staff to comfort, all shall 
 be well. 
 
 It is not great single burdens which 
 crush people so much as a combination 
 of little burdens, cares and anxieties. 
 Afflictions, misfortunes, calamities come 
 usually one at a time and at long in- 
 tervals, but the countless cares of life 
 that cease not to wear and grind that 
 never let up that harass and worry day 
 in and day out, year in and year out, 
 they are the things that more than all 
 else crush us to earth and leave us pros- 
 trate. It is not the weight of calamity,
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE 9 
 
 but the ''weight of care, that crushes into 
 dumb despair." How many with Long- 
 fellow feel to say and to sing: 
 
 "My heart was hot and restless, 
 And my life was full of care, 
 And the burden laid upon me 
 
 Seemed greater than I could bear." 
 
 If you could but lift care from the 
 shoulders and hearts of men and women, 
 what a relief and benefaction it would be 
 to mankind. But you can not; only God 
 can. Therefore, go before his throne for 
 rest and peace. To a longing how deep 
 and universal does Jesus appeal when 
 he says, "Come unto me, all ye that 
 labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
 give you rest" rest from the burdens 
 of worry and care. What a responsive 
 and harmonious chord does the apostle 
 Peter strike within us when he urges, 
 "Cast all thy anxiety on God, for he is 
 anxious for you." He does not ask you 
 to share your anxieties with him, but to 
 give them to him. He is strong to bear 
 them. They are heavy for you, but, oh, 
 how light for him!
 
 10 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 "I bring, I bring them all to Thee, 
 The burden is too great for me." 
 
 Before the throne we should come in 
 "intercessions" The very word is sug- 
 gestive of "others" He would have us 
 remember before his throne "others." 
 He would have us swallow up our self- 
 love in a broadening love for them. In- 
 tercede in their behalf. 
 
 Let us come before the throne of God 
 in "thanksgivings" It is easy to make 
 gifts, but it is hard to receive them 
 graciously. "I thank you" should be 
 ceaselessly in our hearts and upon our 
 lips when we come before the throne. 
 What have we not for which to thank 
 God? The contemplation of all our mer- 
 cies overwhelms our thoughts. Peace 
 reigns. The arts of peace flourish. Our 
 schools, colleges, seminaries, universities, 
 churches grow and prosper. Telegraph, 
 telephone, railroad systems multiply and 
 expand. The field, forest, vineyard, or- 
 chard, the mine, the meadow, the gar- 
 den are abundant in products. Great 
 harvests fill our large storehouses. Man-
 
 BEFORE THE THRONE 11 
 
 ufacturing, commercial, mercantile and 
 mechanical interests abound in activity. 
 Wealth increases. Contagion is stayed. 
 The health of the people is remarkable. 
 The gospel of Christ is the power of God 
 unto the salvation of individuals and 
 nations in every soil and clime of the 
 whole round world. Christ is able every- 
 where to seek and to save the sinful and 
 lost. The spirit of sincere and devout 
 thanksgiving should possess us v God is 
 wondrously good to us. Let us remem- 
 ber the source of all blessings. Let 
 every mercy bring us to his feet. Let 
 every gift of his grace and of his provi- 
 dence impress us with his abundant sup- 
 ply of every needed thing. Let us see 
 God everywhere, always and in every- 
 thing. Let us come before his throne 
 and say: 
 
 "Bless Jehovah, O my soul, 
 And forget not all his benefits: 
 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; 
 Who healeth all thy diseases ; 
 Who redeemeth thy life from destruc- 
 tion;
 
 12 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness 
 
 and tender mercies." 
 Let us pray in the words of Joseph 
 Addison : 
 
 "When all thy mercies, O my God, 
 
 My rising soul surveys, 
 Transported with the view, 
 
 I'm lost in wonder, love and praise. 
 
 "Unnumbered comforts on my soul 
 
 Thy tender care bestowed, 
 Before my infant heart conceived 
 From whom those comforts flowed. 
 
 "When in the slippery paths of youth 
 
 With heedless steps I ran, 
 Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe 
 And led me up to man. 
 
 "Ten thousand thousand precious gifts 
 
 My daily thanks employ ; 
 Nor is the least a cheerful heart 
 That tastes those gifts with joy. 
 
 "Through all eternity, to Thee 
 
 A joyful song I'll raise ; 
 But oh ! eternity's too short 
 To utter all Thy praise!"
 
 II. 
 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER 
 ON GOD
 
 II. 
 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER ON GOD. 
 
 The common belief that the only value 
 of prayer is to be found in the reflex 
 benefit to the soul in the act of praying 
 is as absurd and ridiculous as to say that 
 the sole benefit of eating is to strengthen 
 the muscles of the jaw, or that the sole 
 benefit of breathing is to strengthen the 
 muscles of the chest. As well might a 
 physician advise his patient to take a long 
 walk every morning to a certain spring 
 to drink of its water, knowing all the 
 while that the spring was dry, but ex- 
 pecting the benefit to come from the 
 walk. No physician would thus trifle 
 with a patient. Nor would God com- 
 mand his people to pray, and then say, 
 "It makes no difference, as to results, 
 whether you pray or not." 
 
 The first condition to 'all prayer is 
 faith, and it is impossible without it. 
 "He that cometh to God must believe 
 
 15
 
 16 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 that he is, and that he is a rewarder of 
 them that seek after him." Now, the 
 man who says that God doesn't hear, 
 and yet who approaches and prays God 
 to give him what he doesn't believe he 
 will give him, flings insult into God's 
 face and is the best illustration I know 
 of what men call a "pious fraud." It 
 makes prayer a farce, a mockery, a 
 hypocrisy. 
 
 The reflex influence of prayer on the 
 soul is impossible unless we are assured 
 that God hears and answers it. There 
 can be no earnestness and fervency, no 
 soul or spirit in it on the part of him 
 who prays without firm belief in its ef- 
 ficacy. Take away that faith, and prayer 
 is a pure formality, an unmeaning pro- 
 nouncing of idle words. It is the "effec- 
 tual fervent prayer of the righteous man 
 that availeth much." And no man can 
 pray thus unless he believes that his 
 prayer will have weight with God. The 
 reflex influence and benefit of prayer is 
 the result of belief in its efiicacy. 
 
 To doubt the efiicacy of prayer is to
 
 EFFECT OF PRAYER ON GOD 17 
 
 doubt God and his word. Downright in- 
 fidelity has no more virulent form than 
 this. It gives the lie to hundreds of 
 passages. It makes God a willful de- 
 ceiver and falsifier. It makes the history 
 of his people from the beginning till now 
 a myth. It changes the whole character 
 of the Bible. Jesus says, "If ye shall 
 ask anything of the Father, he will give 
 it you in my name." "Ask, and it shall 
 be given you; seek, and ye shall find; 
 knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 
 for every one that asketh receiveth; and 
 he that seeketh findeth; and to him that 
 knocketh it shall be opened." It was 
 Hezekiah's piteous pleadings which se- 
 cured to him fifteen years' lease of life 
 after God had warned him "to put his 
 house in order." When Elijah wanted 
 to blight the land of Israel because of 
 its own and its king's idolatry, to restore 
 the widow of Zarephath's son, to bring 
 down fire from heaven to consume his 
 sacrifice on Carmel, to end the three and 
 a half years of drought with rain, he 
 had recourse to God in prayer, and not 
 
 (3)
 
 18 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 once did the answer fail. Abraham, Ja- 
 cob, Hannah, David, Solomon, Elisha, 
 Daniel and Cornelius talked to God in 
 prayer as a dutiful child talks to a con- 
 siderate father, and always found "the 
 Lord God merciful and gracious, long- 
 suffering and abundant in goodness and 
 truth." 
 
 It is the experience of Christian people 
 in all ages that prayer prevails with God. 
 It is the conviction of every pious heart. 
 
 "More things are wrought by prayer 
 
 Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy 
 
 voice 
 
 Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 
 For what are men better than sheep or goats, 
 That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
 If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer 
 Both for themselves and those who call them 
 
 friend ? 
 
 For so the whole round earth is every way 
 Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."
 
 Ill 
 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER 
 ON HIM WHO PRAYS 
 
 19
 
 III. 
 
 THE EFFECT OF PRAYER ON HIM WHO 
 PRAYS. 
 
 Prayer brings our wills into submis- 
 sion to God. It enables us to practice 
 what Joseph Cook styles "similarity of 
 feeling with God." A higher Christian 
 attainment it were impossible to acquire 
 than the sanctification of the will, saying, 
 "Not my will, but thine, be done." 
 
 Prayer brings divine strength to every 
 life. When in the Garden of Gethsem- 
 ane the Master had prayed three times, 
 "there appeared unto him an angel from 
 heaven, strengthening him." There are 
 two ways to rid us of an awful burden: 
 1. Take it away. 2. Give us strength 
 to bear it. The prayer of Jesus was 
 for help to drink the cup that would set 
 free a guilt-laden humanity and save the 
 world. And that is what he received. 
 And that was the answer to Paul's thrice- 
 repeated petition for the removal of his 
 21
 
 22 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 thorn in the flesh: "My grace is sufficient 
 for thee: for my power is made perfect 
 in weakness." And Paul adds: "Most 
 gladly therefore will I rather glory in 
 my weakness, that the strength of Christ 
 may rest upon me." 
 
 "Are we weak and heavy-laden, 
 
 Cumbered with a load of care? 
 
 Precious Saviour, still our refuge, 
 
 Take it to the Lord in prayer." 
 
 "Let us therefore draw near with bold- 
 ness unto the throne of grace, that we 
 may receive mercy, and find grace to help 
 in time of need." 
 
 As a spiritual exercise, prayer is 
 strengthening. We do not get the soul 
 in different ways, under different laws, 
 from those in which we get the body and 
 mind. If a man does not exercise his 
 arm, he develops no biceps muscle; and if 
 he does not exercise his soul, he acquires 
 no muscle in his soul, no strength of 
 character, no vigor of moral fiber, no 
 beauty of spiritual growth. Prayer ex- 
 ercises the soul, as the gymnasium does 
 the body. It develops a rich, strong,
 
 EFFECT ON HIM WHO PRAYS 23 
 
 vigorous, well-rounded Christian char- 
 acter. 
 
 It is a source of comfort to tell our 
 troubles to God. That of itself will lift 
 the load from us. When we have told 
 a loving friend about any trial or sorrow, 
 how that lightens it. When another feels 
 our woe and we know it, how much that 
 helps us to bear it. When John's dis- 
 ciples had sorrowfully buried their be- 
 loved leader, "they went and told Jesus." 
 To whom else could they so well go? It 
 brought them the needed comfort. When 
 Hezekiah received Sennacherib's threat- 
 ening letter, "He went up into the house 
 of Jehovah, and spread it before Jeho- 
 vah." What a human thing to do! It 
 brought him the reassurance he craved. 
 When Elijah's fit of despondency was 
 upon him, he poured out his soul to God 
 in a frightfully jaundiced outlook for 
 his people and the country in general. 
 God came to his rescue in a complete re- 
 covery of his natural elasticity by abun- 
 dant food and rest, and sent him back to 
 finish the work he had given him to do.
 
 24 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 And when we come before our Father 
 to tell him our cares, how in so doing 
 they roll from our weary hearts into his 
 great heart, and there comes forth from 
 him the sustaining power of an almighty 
 grace that soothes and rests and cheers 
 and strengthens in our bitter need. 
 
 Prayer has a transforming influence 
 upon the life and character. Of Christ 
 it is written: "As he was praying, the 
 fashion of his countenance was altered, 
 and his raiment became white and daz- 
 zling." One night of prayer changed 
 the whole character and career of Jacob. 
 He wrestled with the celestial messenger 
 from the skies till the break of day, when 
 his importunate wrestling prevails and all 
 he asks is given. He is entirely a new 
 man, and, to express this fact, his name 
 is changed from Jacob, the supplanter, to 
 Israel, the prince of God. We, too, come 
 forth from seasons of prayer changed, 
 elevated, ennobled, transfigured in life 
 and character. 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking of 
 the inspiriting influence of certain com-
 
 EFFECT ON HIM WHO PRAYS 25 
 
 panics of great men into which he was 
 thrown, said that the atmosphere of in- 
 tellect and sentiment with which they 
 surrounded him was so much more stim- 
 ulating than wine that if he took liquors 
 for any purpose it would be to keep him 
 sober! In just such a way prayer brings 
 us into a celestial company whose spirit- 
 ual atmosphere exhilarates like mountain 
 air and stimulates like a sea breeze. It 
 keeps us in tune with the Infinite. It 
 makes real to us the divine promises, "I 
 will never leave you, nor forsake you;" 
 "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world." It secures the Holy 
 Spirit as an abiding guest in every pious 
 heart to perform his threefold ministry 
 to comfort, to strengthen and to sanctify.
 
 IV. 
 
 WHAT PRAYER MUST BE 
 TO BE EFFECTIVE 
 
 27
 
 IV. 
 
 WHAT PRAYER MUST BE TO BE 
 EFFECTIVE. 
 
 1. Secret. We can pray blessed 
 thought anywhere. But the best place 
 for availing prayer is the closet. Here 
 all is secret. And the great powers are 
 secret powers. "The foliage of the vine- 
 yard is woven in secret looms, and the 
 juices of the grape are distilled in sub- 
 terranean laboratories." The power that 
 swings the earth on its axis and holds 
 the planets in their places is a secret 
 power. Jesus loved secret prayer. And 
 when teaching his disciples how to pray, 
 he said: "But thou, when thou prayest, 
 enter into thine inner chamber, and hav- 
 ing shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
 which is in secret, and thy Father which 
 seeth in secret shall recompense thee." 
 
 2. Humble. Those who stand firmest 
 in the presence of sin bow lowest in 
 the presence of God. Moses, who never
 
 30 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 cringed in the presence of Pharaoh, took 
 off his shoes at the burning bush. Eli- 
 jah, who on Mount Carmel resembled 
 the oak, the king of the forest, when 
 he came to pray for rain, "cast himself 
 down upon the earth, and put his face 
 between his knees." Paul, when discuss- 
 ing with men, claimed that his call and 
 gifts were second to none of the apostles, 
 but, when looking into the face of God, 
 confessed himself "the chief of sinners." 
 That is ever the spirit of effective prayer. 
 It is the way of the publican and not of 
 the Pharisee. 
 
 3. Definite. Many prayers are indefi- 
 nite, abounding in circumlocution and in 
 pointless generalities. They are like the 
 Spanish sailors in Santiago Bay who shot 
 at random, or the mimic battle where 
 powder alone is used. Having no defi- 
 nite object in mind, when the regular 
 time comes for prayer, the lips do their 
 best by repeating stereotyped phrases in- 
 herited from others. We should know 
 what we want, and ask for it. When we 
 enter a store, we do not ask for every-
 
 WHAT PRAYER MUST BE 31 
 
 thing on the shelves, but only for the 
 things we want, and the salesman hands 
 them to us. There is too much pointless 
 praying which starts after nothing and 
 ends nowhere. The poor publican was 
 definite, "Lord, be merciful to me a 
 sinner." Blind Bartimaeus was definite, 
 ''Lord, that I might receive my sight." 
 The dying thief was definite, "Remember 
 me when thou comest in thy kingdom." 
 4. Active. There is a logical connec- 
 tion between our prayers and our activity 
 in the direction of our petitions. A little 
 boy heard his father ask the Lord to 
 feed a destitute family near by, and the 
 child said, "Papa, if you will give me the 
 keys, I will answer your prayer by taking 
 those hungry people something to eat." 
 We should not ask God to do what we 
 should do. If we expect a letter to reach 
 its destination, we stamp it; otherwise 
 we know it will go to the Dead-letter 
 Office. Uncle Sam will do his part, but 
 we must do ours also. There is a dead- 
 prayer office, too, and thousands of well- 
 worded and eloquent petitions are buried
 
 32 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 there. Wives pray for the conversion 
 of husbands, and teachers for scholars, 
 but what are they doing for their con- 
 version? It is right for a penitent sinner 
 to plead, like the publican, for mercy, 
 or, like Paul, for light, and that his 
 friends should do likewise. But these 
 prayers avail nothing when accompanied 
 by inconsistent disobedience. We pray 
 for daily bread, but not for bread in 
 violation of God's law. We plow, sow, 
 reap, garner, grind and bake, and so 
 meet God where he promises to meet us. 
 The man who prays for daily bread, and 
 folds his arms and does nothing, may 
 think he is trusting God; but really he is 
 tempting God to let him starve. So also 
 the sinner who prays to God to forgive 
 his sins and refuses to obey the voice of 
 God that is, refuses to obey the gos- 
 pel of Christ may think he is trusting, 
 when he is only tempting God. Paul 
 prayed for mercy and light, but when 
 he learned the way of salvation he 
 walked in that way. It is a taw of 
 nature and grace alike that God does
 
 WHAT PRAYER MUST BE 33 
 
 for man what man can not do for him- 
 self; and what man can do, God has 
 determined he shall do, or perish. 
 
 5. Prayer must be offered in harmony 
 with God's will. "Thy will be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven" is one petition 
 of the Lord's Prayer. "Not my will, O 
 Lord, but thine, be done," was the Mas- 
 ter's Gethsemane prayer. "Go show thy- 
 self unto Ahab, and I will send rain on 
 the earth," was the word of God to Eli- 
 jah when he left Sarepta. He showed 
 himself to Ahab, but the earth was still 
 hot and bare, and so he prayed to God 
 in harmony with his will to send rain. 
 Some might think, where the will of God 
 is so definitely expressed, prayer is not 
 necessary. But the knowledge of God's 
 will is intended to incite to prayer, not to 
 restrain it. It is the mold into which 
 we are to pour our hearts, showing us 
 that for which to ask. 
 
 6. Of course prayer must be offered 
 in faith. "Let him ask in faith, nothing 
 doubting." He must believe in God, and 
 that he hears and answers prayer. 
 
 (4)
 
 34 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 "To doubt would be disloyalty, 
 To falter would be sin." 
 
 7. A condition of acceptable prayer is 
 right living. David says, "If I regard 
 iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not 
 hear." To cherish, love or adhere to evil 
 is to close the ears of God. The prayer 
 of the wicked is an abomination. "The 
 eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, 
 and his ears are open unto their prayers ; 
 but the face of the Lord is against them 
 that do evil/' Not only must our lives 
 and acts be all right, but our hearts also. 
 We must hate and forsake our sins. 
 Pray: 
 
 "Clear thou me from hidden faults. 
 Keep back thy servant also from pre- 
 sumptuous sins; 
 
 Let them not have dominion over me: 
 Then shall I be upright, 
 And I shall be clear from great trans- 
 gression. 
 Let the words of my mouth and the 
 
 meditation of my heart 
 Be acceptable in thy sight, 
 O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer."
 
 V. 
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER
 
 V. 
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER. 
 
 Read Luke 18: 1-8. Jesus wished to 
 comfort and encourage his disciples, in 
 view of the direful and approaching 
 events surrounding the destruction of 
 Jerusalem. "And he spake a parable 
 unto them, to the end that they ought 
 always to pray, and not to faint." In- 
 stead of yielding to the fears and appre- 
 hensions of the hour, their recourse is 
 in prayer to God, and not in single pe- 
 titions, but in repeated petitions, in im- 
 portunate prayer, that will not take "No" 
 for an answer. To impress this point, 
 Jesus speaks the parable of the unjust 
 judge. 
 
 "There was in a city a judge/' This 
 judge's character is very unpromising 
 to those who come seeking justice. He 
 "feared not God, and regarded not man." 
 He had no sense of responsibility, no 
 recognition of obligation to God or man. 
 
 37
 
 38 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 Hence, he is utterly lacking in the essen- 
 tials of a just judge. The protection he 
 would give the innocent would be the 
 protection of wolves to lambs, of hawks 
 to chickens. To seek his court to ob- 
 tain redress seems a hopeless case. And 
 yet in this parable this judge stands for 
 whom, do you think? For God! No 
 doubt there were many just judges in 
 the land, yet Jesus passes them all by 
 and fastens on this unjust and wicked 
 judge as a representative of God! Why 
 is this? He has a very good reason. 
 It is because this judge's character is 
 the very opposite of God. He chooses 
 him for purposes of contrast, and not of 
 resemblance. 
 
 "And there was a ividow in that city; 
 and she came oft unto him, saying, 
 Avenge me of my adversaries." She 
 asks the law's protection. Her case is 
 recognized tacitly as a good one. The 
 judge's duty was plain, but he refused 
 to do it. It was a widow who asked it. 
 "The very name stirs the fountain of 
 our sympathy by telling us of sorrow,
 
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER 39 
 
 loneliness and bereavement. Like a vine 
 torn by the scaling lightning from the 
 tree around which it hung, and left to 
 trail in the dust, yet leaving still some 
 tendrils clasping the rifted trunk, so is 
 woman when death writes 'widow' on 
 her broken heart." Though God's law 
 plainly said, "Ye shall not afflict any 
 widow or fatherless;" though it said, 
 "Cursed be he that perverteth the judg- 
 ment of the stranger, the fatherless and 
 the widow" yet this judge cared not for 
 any of these things. Only two things, 
 seemingly, could influence such a man 
 power and money. This widow had 
 neither. She came to him in weakness 
 and poverty. Her case seems utterly 
 hopeless. Purposely does Jesus picture 
 it so. And as the judge represents God, 
 so the poor widow represents the child 
 of God praying. And as the one repre- 
 sents God by contrast, so does the other. 
 Prayer is not a hopeless calling on God, 
 but the very opposite. 
 
 When she said, "Avenge me of my 
 adversary," the record says, "He would
 
 40 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 not for awhile." But his repeated re- 
 fusals did not daunt or divert her. She 
 kept on just the same. If one asking 
 did not suffice, she asked again and 
 again, until her petitions prevailed. Her 
 mind was made up. She would have her 
 rights. "When a woman will, she will, 
 and when she won't ,she won't." This 
 judge found that he had come across 
 just such a case. And he surrendered. 
 Not to equity, or justice, or law, but to 
 importunity. "Though I fear not God, 
 nor regard man; yet because this widow 
 troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she 
 wear me out by her continual coming." 
 She had neither power nor money, but 
 persistency, "And the Lord said, Hear 
 what the unrighteous judge saith. And 
 shall not God avenge his elect, that cry 
 to him day and night, and yet he is long- 
 suffering over them? I say unto you, 
 that he will avenge them speedily. Nev- 
 ertheless, when the Son of man cometh, 
 shall he find faith on the earth?" If the 
 unjust judge heard, shall not God, his ex- 
 act contrast, hear? If the widow's hope-
 
 IMPORTUNATE PRAYER 41 
 
 less petitions prevailed, how much more 
 the petitions of the "elect, that cry to him 
 day and night." Yet God likes to see 
 our earnestness shown by importunity. 
 And as the widow importuned the unjust 
 judge, so should we importune our heav- 
 enly Father. 
 
 "Men ought always to pray, and not 
 to faint." Times of stress and trouble 
 come now as well as then. Clouds lower 
 and storms rise and we see no way 
 out. The remedy is prayer importunate 
 prayer. "Be instant in prayer." "Pray 
 without ceasing." "Nevertheless, when 
 the Son of man cometh, shall he find 
 faith on the earth?" That is, shall he 
 find faith in prayer and its power in 
 importunate prayer and its power ? God's 
 word teaches its importance all through. 
 It brought healing to the Syrophcenician 
 woman's daughter. "And he said unto 
 them, Which of you shall have a friend, 
 and shall go unto him at midnight, and 
 say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves ; 
 for a friend of mine is come to me from 
 a journey, and I have nothing to set
 
 42 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 before him; and he from within shall 
 answer and say, Trouble me not: the 
 door is now shut, and my children are 
 with me in bed; I cannot rise and give 
 thee? I say unto you, though he will 
 not rise and give him because he is his 
 friend, yet because of his importunity he 
 will arise and give him as much as he 
 needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and 
 it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 
 find; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
 you." Jacob wrestled all night in prayer. 
 Elijah prayed seven times for rain. Jesus 
 prayed three times in the garden. 
 
 Why does God ask importunity? Is 
 it because he is unwilling to answer? 
 Does he have to be made willing? Ah, 
 no! It is for our good. It is to test 
 our faith, earnestness, determination, and 
 so strengthen them. Although God does 
 not seem to hear prayer, he will hear and 
 answer and bless in his own good time, 
 and we will find that no prayer offered 
 in faith is ever lost. And though he 
 sometimes refuses us what we ask, it is 
 always to give us something better.
 
 VI. 
 PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER
 
 VI. 
 
 PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER. 
 
 It is the natural impulse of every re- 
 ligious heart to pray. The prayerless 
 Christian is a contradiction of terms. 
 But there is a higher kind of prayer 
 than prayer for self. Prayer may be- 
 come, and often is, very narrow, exclu- 
 sive and selfish. We may be so bound 
 up in contemplation of our own affairs 
 that our petitions may not embrace needs 
 beyond the limitations of our home. But 
 that, of course, is a perversion of this 
 blessed spiritual exercise. To guard 
 against this tendency, God's word urges 
 us continually to "pray one for another." 
 No less does our consciousness of human 
 necessities urge us to do likewise. Nat- 
 urally, one who is religious enough to 
 pray at all will be likely to let the range 
 of his supplication widen to other inter- 
 ests than his own. 
 
 And we are not left in doubt for whom 
 
 46
 
 46 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 we should pray. "I exhort, therefore, 
 first of all, that supplications, prayers, 
 intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for 
 all men; for kings and all that are in 
 high place." These various terms cover 
 broadly all phases and forms of prayer, 
 and are a rich designation of expressions 
 to use in praying. But notice that the 
 application is to all men. How broad 
 the philanthropies of the gospel, and how 
 wise the out-reachings of Christian be- 
 nevolences. 
 
 We are to pray for kings and all who 
 are in authority. We do not pray enough 
 for our rulers. We should bear them up 
 before God. When Lincoln left Spring- 
 field, 111., to become President of the 
 United States, he asked his lifelong as- 
 sociates to pray for him. This is the 
 attitude of every public man who has 
 any realization of the duties and re- 
 sponsibilities of his office. Pray for the 
 mayor in his office, the judge on the 
 bench, the Governor in his chair, the 
 President in the White House, the law- 
 makers in Congress, the policeman on
 
 PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER 47 
 
 his round all who serve in any public 
 capacity. They will be blessed and helped 
 thereby. 
 
 Pray for the unfortunate and afflicted. 
 The world is full of people in distress, 
 poverty, sickness, trouble. How easy it 
 is to forget them in our happiness and 
 prosperity. If we can not relieve dis- 
 tress, we can at least feel and pray for 
 those who are in the "deeps." We shall 
 be there ourselves, sooner or later. We 
 are born to such things, as the sparks 
 fly upward. They are certain to come 
 some time, and then we shall appreciate, 
 if not before, the strength of a heartfelt 
 prayer to God for those who are in sor- 
 row. 
 
 We should pray for our enemies. We 
 have the highest authority for saying, 
 "Love one another, and pray for them 
 that persecute you; that ye may be sons 
 of your Father which is in heaven: for 
 he maketh his sun to rise on the just and 
 the unjust." Hard? Yes. But it is 
 not impossible. Have any slandered you, 
 stung you with false accusations? Pray
 
 48 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 for them, as Stephen prayed for his mur- 
 derers, and as Jesus, on the cross, said, 
 "Father, forgive them, for they know 
 not what they do." 
 
 Pray for God's people. We should 
 pray for our own church that it may 
 intensify in spirituality, grow in mis- 
 sionary zeal, acquire more aggressiveness 
 and do a work that will "tell on ages and 
 tell for God." Pray for your preacher, 
 the spiritual leaders of your congrega- 
 tion, your Bible-school officers and teach- 
 ers, Endeavor workers, and all who have 
 been called to serve the congregation. 
 But, do not stop there. Paul closes his 
 Ephesian letter by saying, "Grace be with 
 all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in uncorruptness." God has a people in 
 all the churches and religious bodies of 
 the world. Pray for them. Pray for 
 their unity, faithfulness, loyalty, spiritual 
 uplift and unfolding. 
 
 And then we should pray for the un- 
 saved, that the truth may reach and il- 
 luminate their minds, change their hearts 
 and lives, lead them to live soberly, godly,
 
 PRAY ONE FOR ANOTHER 49 
 
 righteously every day. God will hear 
 and answer such a prayer. 
 
 We need more prayers for missions 
 and missionaries. And that not only in 
 the pulpit on Sunday, but also in all the 
 services of the Lord's house, and at home 
 every time we lift our hearts to God. 
 What we pray for, we will work for and 
 give to, and the more earnestly we pray 
 the more cheerfully and generously will 
 we give. Jesus just as truly taught us 
 to pray "Thy kingdom come," as he 
 taught us to go preach his gospel. Did 
 you ever offer one sincere petition for the 
 evangelization of the world? Did you 
 ever a single time bear up before God 
 the heroic and devoted men and women 
 who are out yonder in heathen lands try- 
 ing to dispel the gross darkness which 
 covers the people?
 
 VII. 
 
 THE BENEFITS OF PRAYING 
 FOR OTHERS 
 
 61
 
 VII. 
 
 THE BENEFITS OF PRAYING FOR OTHERS. 
 
 It broadens our sympathies. It makes 
 us think about and care for others. It 
 breaks up our littleness and exclusive- 
 ness. It causes our affections to flow 
 into wider channels of benevolence. A 
 man who does not pray for missions 
 does not give to missions. And one who 
 does, can not help it. Praying for others 
 makes us remember that we live in, and 
 are a part of, a great world of trial, suf- 
 fering, want and woe, with which we 
 can at least sympathize, and for which 
 we can pray, if we can do nothing else. 
 We live too much to ourselves, too far 
 removed from the lives of others. We 
 are too often like fellow-prisoners shut 
 up in cells with thick walls between us 
 and with all communication cut off. How 
 forcibly Jesus, in the parable of the good 
 Samaritan, teaches us that every man in 
 distress is our neighbor. "Look not every 
 
 53
 
 54 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 man upon his own things only, but every 
 man also upon the things of others." 
 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so 
 fulfil the law of Christ." If we would 
 learn wideness of sympathy, broadness 
 of benevolence, unselfishness of feeling; 
 if we would have a heart that beats re- 
 sponsive to the sighs and sorrows of suf- 
 fering, sad humanity we must cultivate 
 the habit of praying for others. 
 
 It makes us love men to pray for them. 
 You just can not hate any one for whom 
 you pray. You can not cherish ill will 
 and malice toward him. You just have 
 to love him. When you hold him up be- 
 fore God and ask the blessings of Heaven 
 to descend upon him, it is simply im- 
 possible to feel unkindly toward him. If 
 there is any person you have found it 
 particularly hard to love, whose name 
 arouses in you bitter antagonism, pray 
 for him, carry his name before God, and 
 ask God's best gifts for him, and, almost 
 before you know it, your repugnance has 
 vanished. The reason is that in prayer 
 for others we learn, as it were, to look at
 
 PRAYING FOR OTHERS 55 
 
 them with God's eyes. We learn, like 
 God, to regard them with compassion and 
 forbearance. We learn to make allow- 
 ances for their natural and inborn infirm- 
 ities, for the unfortunate circumstances of 
 their lives. We get a higher sense of their 
 value. We view them as heirs of immor- 
 tality, and think of what they shall be 
 when, rid of their imperfections, they are 
 admitted to the shining Tranks of the re- 
 deemed. Seeing them thus in the light 
 of eternity and in their relations with 
 God and the endless future, how our ugly 
 feelings melt away, and we crave for 
 them every divine blessing. "What we 
 need is such a feeling toward men that 
 every day we shall carry their cases be- 
 fore God and look at their vulgarities 
 in the light of God's pity, and not in the 
 light of our own contempt and cynical 
 criticism/' Oh, you sour-hearted Chris- 
 tian, whose feelings toward the mass 
 of your fellow-beings is one perpetual 
 stream of rancor, bitterness and gall, if 
 you would know the sweetness of love, 
 the gladness of a kindly spirit toward
 
 56 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 all, get down on your knees and pray 
 fervently for others, breathe their names 
 at the mercy-seat! 
 
 Praying for others destroys all dispo- 
 sition to indulge in harsh and unchari- 
 table judgments of them. Nothing is 
 more common than malicious judgments 
 of others. Instead of trying to find an 
 excuse for them, we often try to find an 
 offense against them. Instead of waiting 
 to know the full facts, we leap to con- 
 clusions and pronounce hasty condemna- 
 tion. So few are deliberate and just in 
 their judgments. We try men in the 
 prejudiced court of our own minds and 
 condemn them unheard. We work up 
 an imaginary case, and on it, as a basis, 
 heap maledictions on their heads. We 
 introduce our one-sided test, make our 
 unopposed argument against them, bring 
 down upon their heads accusation and 
 denunciation, and they are not allowed 
 to cross-examine one of our witnesses, 
 introduce one of their own, or speak one 
 word in denial, extenuation or explana- 
 tion. We shall never be done with this
 
 PRAYING FOR OTHERS 57 
 
 miserable business until we learn in sin- 
 cerity to pray for others. How can we 
 be other than charitable in our judgments 
 with those for whom we pray? If God 
 has borne long with you and me, why 
 should we not bear with them? Oh, 
 harsh and cruel tongues and judges, who 
 would rather tear a reputation to tatters 
 than mend it, who would rather think 
 evil than good of a fellow-being, learn 
 to be gentle and kind in your judgments 
 of others by invoking daily blessings on 
 their heads!
 
 VIII. 
 THE PRAYING CHRIST
 
 VIII. 
 THE PRAYING CHRIST. 
 
 One of the sweetest pictures in the 
 life of Christ is portrayed by Mark: 
 "And in the morning, a great while be- 
 fore day, he rose up and went out, and 
 departed into a desert place, and there 
 prayed." It is a complete and perfect 
 picture in one brief, graphic sentence. 
 Imagine the fresh morning air, the beau- 
 tiful hillside sloping down to and over- 
 looking blue Galilee, the absence of the 
 crowd, the quietness and solitude of na- 
 ture, and the praying Christ, talking with 
 his Father in close, intimate communion! 
 We might easily ask, Why couldn't he 
 stay in Capernaum and pray? Why 
 couldn't he pray in Simon's house where 
 he was stopping? Why couldn't he lift 
 his soul in prayer as he lay upon his 
 couch, at the early hour when all about 
 him were asleep? He could, no doubt, 
 
 but he preferred the place of solitude, 
 i
 
 62 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 the silence of nature, the rugged hillside 
 where, alone and unobserved, he could 
 pour out his heart to God. And we 
 might also ask, Why did Jesus need to 
 pray at all? Wasn't he God? Didn't he 
 have all power? Couldn't he command 
 the winds and seas and all the forces of 
 nature? Weren't the resources of the 
 universe at his disposal? Why did he 
 need to ask anybody for anything? Ah! 
 he had a human nature as well as a 
 divine, and it had the same longings and 
 needs that our nature has, and they could 
 not be met and satisfied without daily 
 and constant communion with the Father. 
 Especially do we find Jesus praying 
 at every crisis of his life. He had re- 
 course to prayer at his baptism, when 
 making the selection of his apostles, just 
 before feeding the five thousand, on the 
 mount of transfiguration, in his last in- 
 timate farewell meeting with his apostles, 
 at his betrayal in the Garden of Geth- 
 semane, and when hanging by his pierced 
 hands and feet between heaven and earth 
 on the cruel cross of Calvary. If there
 
 THE PRAYING CHRIST 63 
 
 is a time above all others when we need 
 the help of prayer, it is when facing a 
 crisis. 
 
 But, aside from the times of crisis and 
 special stress, Jesus was accustomed to 
 pray. The instance recited by Mark is 
 an illustration. So far as we know, noth- 
 ing out of the ordinary was transpiring. 
 Jesus was engaged in his regular work. 
 Things were moving smoothly onward. 
 And yet he felt the need and sought the 
 privilege of communion with his Father, 
 even at such a time. It was his daily 
 custom, it was his constant habit. "And 
 it came to pass, as he was praying in a 
 certain place, that when he ceased, one 
 of his disciples said unto him, Lord, 
 teach us to pray, even as John also 
 taught his disciples." What could be 
 more suggestive of a habit of prayer 
 than these words? And isn't it remark- 
 able that the request to be taught to 
 pray came from Christ's disciples? They 
 mentioned it first. Ah ! there was wisdom 
 in that. Prayer is a thing of natural in- 
 clination to pious hearts. Force it on
 
 64 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 God's children and you may destroy the 
 natural inclination. Jesus waited, there- 
 fore, till the natural inclination asserted 
 itself in the request, and then acceded 
 to it. 
 
 But do you notice that it was his ex- 
 ample that excited the desire to pray? 
 "As he was praying in a certain place" 
 the request was made of him to teach his 
 disciples to pray. And why should not 
 his example excite the same desire in 
 us? We, too, are his disciples. If Jesus 
 needed to pray, why do not we need 
 also to pray? If prayer was his daily 
 custom, why not ours? If prayer helped 
 him, why not us? If he loved this soli- 
 tary place and the quiet hour alone with 
 God, should not we esteem it an equal 
 privilege and great joy to be often on 
 the hillside with none but God near? 
 If at times of crisis he prayed with 
 special intensity, why should not we? If 
 he couldn't get along without ceaselessly 
 calling on God, how can we ? Yea, more, 
 every reason that can be given why 
 Christ should pray, becomes a reason
 
 THE PRAYING CHRIST 65 
 
 a thousand- fold greater why we should. 
 If he was always and everywhere "the 
 praying Christ," O Christian man or 
 woman, how much more should we be 
 praying Christians! 
 
 Prayer gave Christ power, and so does 
 it all Christians. Luther was a man of 
 power, because he could not get through 
 any day without going to God at least 
 three times in earnest, agonizing prayer. 
 Mary Queen of Scots feared one of the 
 prayers of John Knox more than an 
 army of ten thousand men. The prayers 
 of Henry Ward Beecher enriched the 
 lives of thousands of Christians because 
 his own life had been transformed, beau- 
 tified, hallowed, glorified thereby. And 
 prayer will thus bless our hearts and 
 lives, increase our zeal and earnestness, 
 and give us power to work for God. 
 
 (6)
 
 IX. 
 A PRAYING CHURCH 
 
 67
 
 IX. 
 
 A PRAYING CHURCH. 
 
 The apostolic church has always, and 
 rightly, been considered a model for all 
 succeeding times to pattern after, and 
 therefore a model for us to-day. But 
 as such it emphasizes some things which 
 we have not always, I fear, sufficiently 
 appreciated. We have been accustomed 
 to look to it for doctrinal rather than 
 practical purposes; that is to say, we 
 have used it as a model for settling the 
 true name by which the church should 
 be called, the organization of the church, 
 its rule of faith and practice, its creed, 
 its foundation, and so on (which is all 
 right and proper). But the apostolic 
 church is a model in some other respects, 
 which more closely touch the springs of 
 practical living and influence us more 
 strongly in our daily lives. Particularly 
 is it a model of a praying church. 
 
 It was born in prayer. Returning to 
 
 69
 
 70 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 Jerusalem, after the ascension of Christ, 
 the apostles entered an upper room and 
 "continued stedfastly in prayer'' until the 
 day of Pentecost was come. It was a 
 protracted prayer-meeting, and out of it 
 came the church of Christ. It is char- 
 acterized by steadfastness in prayer. Of 
 the three thousand who became obedient 
 to the faith after Peter's first gospel 
 sermon, it is said, "They continued sted- 
 fastly in the apostles' teaching and fel- 
 lowship, in the breaking of bread, and 
 the prayers/' It gained strength in per- 
 secution by prayer. When Peter and 
 John in Jerusalem had been commanded, 
 with threatenings, to "preach no more in 
 the name of Jesus," they went to their 
 own company and reported all the chief 
 priests and elders had said to them. 
 "And when they heard that, they lifted 
 up their voices to God with one accord 
 and said, And now, Lord, look upon 
 their threatenings: and grant unto thy 
 servants to speak thy word with all 
 boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy 
 hand to heal; and that signs and won-
 
 A PRAYING CHURCH 71 
 
 ders may be done through the name of 
 thy holy servant Jesus. And when they 
 had prayed, the place was shaken where- 
 in they were gathered together; and they 
 were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
 they spake the word of God with bold- 
 ness/' No less remarkable was Peter's 
 deliverance from the murderous intent 
 of Herod, that night in which he slept 
 between two soldiers to whom he was 
 bound by chains, and "the keepers before 
 the door kept the prison." He could look 
 forward to nothing but certain martyr- 
 dom the next day, "but prayer was made 
 without ceasing by the church unto God 
 for him." Suddenly "the angel of the 
 Lord came upon him." A light shone in 
 the prison. He was aroused and bidden 
 "to rise up quickly." And the chains 
 fell from his hands. Hastily making 
 ready, he followed the angel, at his word, 
 so astounded all the while that he "wist 
 not that it was true which was done by 
 the angel, but thought he saw a vision." 
 The great prison gates swung wide at 
 their approach. Passing through, they
 
 72 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 went the length of the street, "and the 
 angel departed." "And when Peter was 
 come to himself, he said, Now I know 
 of a truth that the Lord hath sent forth 
 his angel, and delivered me out of the 
 hand of Herod, and from all the expec- 
 tation of the people of the Jews. And 
 when he had considered the thing, he 
 came to the house of Mary, the mother 
 of John, whose surname was Mark; 
 where many were gathered together and 
 were praying/' His deliverance was a 
 remarkable and almost unbelievable an- 
 swer to the prayers of the church. Paul 
 never wrote a letter without asking the 
 prayers of the people, "that utterance 
 may be given unto me that I may open 
 my mouth boldly, to make known the 
 mystery of the gospel for which I am an 
 ambassador in bonds." He urged upon 
 them "with all prayer and supplication, 
 praying at all seasons in the Spirit." He 
 is the author of the fine expression, 
 "Pray without ceasing." Peter insists, 
 "The eyes of the Lord are upon the 
 righteous, and his ears are open unto
 
 A PRAYING CHURCH 73 
 
 their prayers; but the face of the Lord 
 is against them that do evil." The apos- 
 tle James asks: "Is any among you suf- 
 fering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? 
 let him sing praise. Is any among you 
 sick? let him call for the elders of the 
 church; and let them pray over him, 
 anointing him with oil in the name of the 
 Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save 
 him that is sick, and the Lord shall 
 raise him up; and if he have committed 
 sins, it shall be forgiven him. Confess 
 therefore your sins one to another, and 
 pray one for another, that ye may be 
 healed. The supplication of a righteous 
 man availeth much in its working. Eli- 
 jah was a man of like passions with us, 
 and he prayed fervently that it might 
 not rain; and it rained not on the earth 
 for three years and six months. And 
 he prayed again; and the heaven gave 
 rain, and the earth brought forth her 
 fruit." A part of the entrancing vision 
 of John on the lonely island of Patmos 
 relates to prayer: "And when he had 
 taken the book, the four living creatures
 
 74 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 and the four and twenty elders fell down 
 before the Lamb, having each one a harp, 
 and golden bowls full of incense, which 
 are the prayers of the saints." What a 
 beautiful figure of speech: "Having each 
 one a harp, and golden bowls full of 
 incense, which are the prayers of the 
 saints." These are all wonderful in- 
 stances that God hears and answers 
 prayer and urges the importance of it 
 everywhere and always. The apostles 
 continually drew near to God in prayer. 
 The early church was a praying church. 
 And to-day the praying church is the 
 living church, the spiritual church, the 
 working church. C. H. Spurgeon and 
 F. B. Meyer, in London, and A. J. Gor- 
 don, in Boston, built up and sustained 
 churches of power because they made 
 them churches of prayer. In vain does 
 any church attempt anything for the God 
 of glory unless it is begun, carried on 
 and completed in prayer. It should take 
 God into all its plans and purposes. It 
 should carry everything to him in prayer. 
 It should feel its dependence on him, seek
 
 A PRAYING CHURCH 75 
 
 his counsel and aid, submit all things to 
 his guidance. Its members should pray 
 for it in their closets, in their homes, at 
 their places of business, in all the under- 
 takings of human life. The value of 
 such prayer to a church is that it blesses 
 the hearts and lives of the members, in- 
 creases their zeal and earnestness, gives 
 them power to work for God, promotes 
 fellowship, discourages censorious judg- 
 ment, cherishes mutual helpfulness, dis- 
 covers mutual needs, develops power in 
 the congregation, discloses gifts and 
 graces, makes truth personal.
 
 X 
 
 A FITTING PRAYER 
 
 77
 
 X. 
 
 A FITTING PRAYER. 
 
 Read 1 Chron. 4:9, 10. These two 
 verses occur in a long and tedious list 
 of genealogies which consumes the first 
 eight chapters of the Books of Chron- 
 icles. You read along, pronouncing name 
 after name and family after family, and 
 never dream that there is anything else, 
 when you come upon this passage like 
 a flower blooming in the desert, or a 
 treasure hidden in the sand, or a star 
 peeping through dark clouds. You can 
 never tell, when reading the sacred Scrip- 
 tures, where you will strike a gold mine 
 of precious lessons; and certainly we 
 strike one right here. 
 
 The mother of Jabez gave him a very 
 sinister name with which to go through 
 the world. Jabez means "sorrow." The 
 reason given for calling him Jabez was 
 that he came into the world under sor- 
 rowful circumstances. His parents evi- 
 
 79
 
 80 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 clently were very poor. They had a large 
 family. They could with difficulty sup- 
 port and feed the children they already 
 had, and another mouth to feed, in the 
 person of little Jabez, seemed almost a 
 calamity. The untoward little stranger, 
 therefore, was quite unwelcome when he 
 came. And yet he speedily proved him- 
 self the best of the lot, showing how un- 
 justly he had been named and making for 
 himself a welcome in which no warmth 
 or heartiness was lacking. "And Jabez 
 was more honorable than his brethren." 
 He was a higher and grander type of 
 man than they. They had been wel- 
 comed and rejoiced over, and parental 
 hopes beat high as their future careers 
 were contemplated, yet they were a grief 
 and disappointment. He had been un- 
 welcome and sorrowed over and his 
 future contemplated with misgivings, and 
 yet he was a joy and a blessing. 
 
 No doubt Jabez' hard lot had much to 
 do in making a man of him and in bring- 
 ing out those sterling qualities in his 
 character which are so becoming. Idle-
 
 A FITTING PRAYER 81 
 
 ness, luxury and indulgence have ruined 
 millions. Hardihood and struggle and 
 toil have been the making of millions. 
 There is some hope for a boy who has 
 to battle his way and make himself. But 
 for the boy for whom everything is paved 
 and smooth, there is little in store. 
 
 Jabez' true nobleness comes out in his 
 prayer. He was a religious man, who 
 took God into his plans. He was a pray- 
 ing man, for sorrow draws men to God. 
 And the prayer he offers is a most fitting 
 one. It touches the exact needs of every 
 soul. It is worthy of perpetual use. 
 
 "Oh that thou wouldest bless me in- 
 deed." There are some things which 
 seem to be blessings, but are not. There 
 are some things for which we pray that 
 God shows his mercy in withholding 
 from us. How often we ask for what 
 would be only a curse to us. We pray 
 for wealth, honor, power, worldly suc- 
 cess, and things of that kind that might 
 be our moral ruin. It is a great test of 
 what a man is, to know that for which 
 he most ardently prays. A man's prayer 
 
 (7)
 
 82 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 may be very selfish and ignoble, and 
 show him to be far from what he ought 
 to be, but Jabez wanted nothing that 
 was not a real blessing. "Oh that thou 
 wouldest bless me indeed." And our 
 prayer should ever be the same. O 
 Lord, give me not what I most want, 
 but what I most need, that thy blessing 
 may rest upon me. Oh, I trust that that 
 will be our constant petition. 
 
 "And enlarge my border'' That is the 
 particular blessing he asks. The refer- 
 ence is to his family's ancestral estates. 
 It had formerly possessed a certain terri- 
 tory that was now very much reduced, 
 whether through misfortune or improvi- 
 dence we know not. But Jabez is am- 
 bitious to get all the ancestral acres back 
 again. That is his prayer, "Enlarge my 
 border." A family always had the right 
 to redeem its own land. When a family 
 has for many generations possessed a 
 homestead, it becomes very dear. This 
 homestead was precious to Jabez. And 
 he wanted it back. He labors and prays 
 to that end.
 
 A FITTING PRAYER 83 
 
 But it is spiritual enlargement we most 
 need and for which we should pray. 
 How few of us have our own spiritual 
 dominion under cultivation. We have one 
 thousand acres and about one-tenth im- 
 proved! We need the growth of knowl- 
 edge and virtue and righteousness, the 
 increase of faith and hope and love 
 until we attain to the measure of the 
 stature of the fullness of Christ. We 
 need the enlargement of the border of 
 character and manhood. We need to 
 heed the apostolic admonition, "Be ye 
 also enlarged." 
 
 "And that thine hand might be with 
 me." To win back his ancestral inherit- 
 ance, he proposed to make the fight 
 himself. He is willing to do the strug- 
 gling himself. But he does want God's 
 presence and aid. That is the right 
 conception. So, in struggling for the 
 overthrow of our sins and vices and evil 
 habits and seeking the enlargement of 
 character, we are to work as if all de- 
 pended upon ourselves and pray as if 
 all depended on God. We especially need
 
 84 
 
 the aid of our heavenly Father. We are. 
 doomed to perpetual failure without him. 
 We must become strong in the Lord and 
 in the power of his might. We must 
 put on the whole armor of God. We 
 must use the invincible weapons which 
 he has provided, and the victory will be 
 sure to come. Oh "that thine hand might 
 be with us." 
 
 "Keep me from evil, that it may not 
 grieve or dishearten me or be to my sor- 
 row." He would not ask to be absolutely 
 kept from evil, but only that which might 
 "grieve or dishearten" him, or be to his 
 sorrow. Sickness, disease, suffering, dis- 
 appointment, trial, trouble, come to all. 
 No one can escape evil of this kind. It 
 is a part of the necessary discipline of 
 life. It is calculated to do us good. It 
 chastens, purifies, elevates us. It teaches 
 us patience, resignation, fortitude, cour- 
 age, strength. And our prayers should 
 not be for them not to come upon us, but 
 when they do come that they may not 
 dishonor or overwhelm us; that, on the 
 contrary, they may drive us closer to
 
 A FITTING PRAYER 85 
 
 God, that we may learn to lean on him, 
 that they may be of him sanctified to our 
 good to our spiritual enlargement; that 
 we may be made grander and purer and 
 stronger men and women by them. 
 
 That was Jabez' prayer, and it should 
 be ours. It is a noble prayer. No won- 
 der it is written, "And God granted him 
 that which he requested." And so will 
 God grant our prayer.
 
 XI. 
 
 "NOT KNOWING WHAT HE 
 SAID"
 
 XL 
 
 '"NOT KNOWING WHAT HE SAID." 
 
 Peter, upon the mount of transfigura- 
 tion, asked to build three tabernacles, 
 "not knowing what he said" James and 
 John once went to Jesus and asked the 
 privilege of sitting, one on the right hand 
 and the other on the left, in his kingdom. 
 Jesus could grant no such request, and 
 so said, "Ye know not what ye ask." 
 Ambition, not need, dictated the petition. 
 It was out of harmony with Christ's 
 mission and purpose. King Midas of 
 old requested that everything he touched 
 might turn to gold, and was horrified to 
 find that the unreckoned results of his 
 foolish prayer doomed him to starvation 
 and death. 
 
 Many are the prayers made at random. 
 They are prompted by fancy or impulse, 
 instead of a deep and well-considered 
 want. They are little more than the 
 mouthings of blindness and ignorance. 
 
 89
 
 90 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 They may be prayers of faith and trust, 
 of fervor and earnestness, of eloquence 
 and elegance, but they are not according 
 to God's will, and in mercy he passes 
 them by. It may be said of them as of 
 Peter's prayer, "not knowing what he 
 said." 
 
 We pray ignorantly and in unbelief 
 when we ask for "a baptism of fire." 
 The Bible does not teach that as a de- 
 sirable thing. The baptism of fire, as 
 I read the Bible, means hell fire. Fire 
 is the symbol of divine punishment. It 
 is spoken of as the doom of the lost. Iti 
 this connection, "the lake which burneth 
 with fire," "everlasting fire," "where the 
 fire is not quenched," are familiar ex- 
 pressions that will occur to all. And in 
 the very place where the "baptism of 
 fire" is spoken of, the explanation of its 
 meaning follows in language that clearly 
 confirms this conclusion. One, therefore, 
 could not well ask for such a visitation 
 from God and be very much blessed if 
 his prayer were answered! 
 
 We offer a prayer impossible of an
 
 NOT KNOWING WHAT HE SAID 91 
 
 swering when we ask God to baptize 
 sinners with the Holy Spirit. The Chris- 
 tian, of course, enjoys the permanent 
 blessing of the indwelling Spirit. He 
 is a sanctifying, strengthening, comfort- 
 ing influence in his life. The Christian 
 has a right to pray for his abiding pres- 
 ence. But the sinner, unconverted and 
 unregenerated, does not. Of him it is 
 written, "Whom the world cannot re- 
 ceive." The Holy Spirit operates on 
 sinners through the Word of truth. Not 
 until the sinner has believed and re- 
 pented and obeyed God in holy baptism 
 is the promise of the Holy Spirit as a 
 guest enjoyed. To pray God to baptize 
 sinners with the Holy Spirit, therefore, 
 is to blunder like Peter, "not knowing 
 what he said." 
 
 And we do not know what we say 
 when we pray God to be reconciled to 
 sinners. God is not man's enemy, but 
 man is God's enemy. God does not hate 
 man, but man hates God. Wherever. the 
 Bible speaks of reconciliation, it is man 
 to God and not God to man. God is
 
 92 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 willing and anxious to save. Speaking 
 of Christ, the apostle says: "And you, 
 being in time past alienated and enemies 
 in your mind in your evil works, yet now 
 hath he reconciled in the body of his 
 flesh through death, to present you holy 
 and without blemish and unreprovable 
 before him." So, to pray for God to 
 be reconciled to sinners is to pray ab- 
 surdly. 
 
 Equally, men know not what they say 
 when they pray God to forgive the dis- 
 obedient. It is right and proper for 
 them to pray and for others to pray for 
 them, provided they want to obey God. 
 It is right for them to pray if, like Saul 
 of Tarsus, they pray for light, and, when 
 it is granted, walk in it; or, like CorneT 
 lius, pray for guidance, and, when it is 
 given, follow it. But God does not for- 
 give man in disobedience. Prayer must 
 never be made a substitute for obdience. 
 Of what avail are divine commands if 
 the blessing^ associated with them can 
 be enjoyed without submission thereto? 
 God never has and never will say in an-
 
 NOT KNOWING WHAT HE SAID 93 
 
 swer to any prayer, "Well, never mind 
 about doing what I command." To pre- 
 sume that he will say such a thing is 
 an ignorant presumption. It is to re- 
 peat over after him Peter's inconsidered 
 prayer on the mount of transfiguration. 
 Obey the Lord, yield to his holy com- 
 mands, consecrate yourself to him, and 
 then pardon comes. Let us pray for our 
 unconverted friends, but let that prayer 
 be for them to believe on Christ and 
 obey him. Let all our petitions rest on 
 the assurance "that, if we ask anything 
 according to his will, he heareth us."
 
 XII. 
 THE KNOCKING PETER
 
 XII. 
 THE KNOCKING PETER. 
 
 Read Acts 12: 14, 15. The very thing 
 they were praying for, Peter's deliver- 
 ance from prison, had come to pass, and 
 yet when the maid announced that Peter 
 stood at the door, they would not believe 
 it. It is hard to say which is the greater 
 marvel, the way their prayer was an- 
 swered, or the way they treated the an- 
 swer when it came to pass. 
 
 Peter knocks at the door at the very 
 moment the company were engaged in 
 praying for his deliverance. Rhoda an- 
 nounces his arrival. They refuse to be- 
 lieve the announcement. "And they said 
 unto her, Thou art mad. But she con- 
 fidently affirmed that it was so. And 
 they said, It is his angel." And yet they 
 found that the announcement was true. 
 They would not believe the answer to 
 their own prayer. God hears our prayer 
 now, as well as then. His word assures 
 
 (8) 97
 
 98 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 us that he does. Scores of instances 
 establish the fact. And yet if some Rho- 
 da should announce the answer, we would 
 say, "Thou art mad." One reason so 
 many Christians doubt the efficacy of 
 prayer is that they do not believe God's 
 answers when they come. 
 
 We pray to be useful; for God to show 
 us how we can serve him; to open before 
 us opportunities of work for his cause. 
 He does so, and yet we spurn it when it 
 comes, like Peter knocking at our gate. 
 There is no one who wants to work for 
 God but can easily obtain the chance. 
 There is no one who prays to be made 
 useful but his prayer is answered. The 
 trouble is we don't want to do the kind 
 of work God sends us. We don't want 
 to be useful in the way and place God 
 appoints. Like Naaman, we would be 
 willing to do "some great thing" for the 
 Lord, but the little, common, every-day 
 things, that bring neither eclat nor prom- 
 inence, we despise. To teach a Sunday- 
 school class, to gather up neighbors and 
 take them to prayer-meeting, to warn one
 
 THE KNOCKING PETER 99 
 
 in peril from fierce temptation, to speak 
 a word in season to him who is weary, 
 to be more gentle and kind and patient 
 in the midst of our family, to visit the 
 sick, encourage the disheartened, comfort 
 the sorrowing, watch for souls, to be 
 everywhere helpful to and considerate of 
 others these are the opportunities sent 
 of God to knock at our gate, and yet 
 how often we shut them out. Because 
 the command he gives takes a little effort 
 and requires some pains and involves a 
 few things not entirely agreeable, we re- 
 fuse to accept the answer to our prayer. 
 We pray to be made better in life and 
 character. Realizing our shortcomings 
 and imperfections and sorrowing over 
 them, we say : "O Lord, make me a purer 
 man, stronger to do the right, braver to 
 resist the wrong, more kind and gentle 
 and patient, more like Jesus my Saviour, 
 more like the high standard of character 
 given in thy holy word." God proceeds 
 to answer our praver. He always works 
 through means. There is no means he 
 more frequently employs in the per fee-
 
 100 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 tion of character, there is no means more 
 necessary to this end, than sorrows and 
 afflictions. Jesus himself was made per- 
 fect through suffering. God often has 
 to whip the faults out of us as he did 
 out of Jacob. And yet, like Jacob, we 
 cry out and say, "All these things are 
 against me." O friend, when you pray 
 to be made a better man, and in answer 
 thereto God sends the knocking Peter of 
 affliction to your gate, accept the answer 
 when it comes. 
 
 So also we pray for comfort. Sorrow 
 comes upon us. Trial and bereavement 
 enshroud us with darkness. We cry unto 
 the Lord for comfort. He is ready to 
 comfort. He hears and answers. A kind 
 and sympathizing heart comes to bring 
 us solace and cheer. But we lock our- 
 selves up in a dark room and refuse to 
 see any one. He gives us work to do 
 to drive away the clouds and happify the 
 heart, but we refuse to do it. He sends 
 us a thousand messages of comfort in 
 his word, but there it lies on the stand 
 unopened and unused. The services of
 
 THE KNOCKING PETER 101 
 
 the Lord's house are at hand, designed 
 for all the afflicted and grief -stricken, 
 and full of strong consolation, but they, 
 too, are refused and neglected. The first 
 place David went when his child died 
 was unto the house of the Lord to wor- 
 ship. But that is now the last place we 
 think of going when sorrow lays a heavy 
 hand upon us. And so it is that when 
 the knocking Peter of comfort comes to 
 our gate, though we have prayed and 
 longed for his coming, we won't let him 
 in! We make the prayer and then re- 
 fuse the answer! 
 
 We pray for forgiveness. He says, 
 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
 and righteous to forgive us our sins, and 
 to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
 Yet when we have confessed, we re- 
 fuse to accept the assurance. For fifty 
 years people have carried their sins on 
 their consciences, when it was their most 
 gracious privilege to have known they 
 were forgiven had they only believed. 
 They need to learn to take God at his 
 word. They should be careful not to
 
 102 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 slam the door in the face of the knock- 
 ing Peter. 
 
 We pray for God's kingdom to come, 
 and his will to be done on earth as it is 
 in heaven; for the hastening of the day 
 when the kingdoms of this world shall 
 become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
 his Christ; for the speedy arrival of the 
 time when the earth shall be full of the 
 knowledge of the glory of the Lord as 
 the waters cover the sea; that the nations 
 of the world may be discipled and won to 
 Christ; that the dark and destitute re- 
 gions of the earth may be reached and 
 illumined by the blessed gospel. Grand 
 men and women volunteer to leave home 
 and friends and kindred and country to 
 bury themselves for life in heathen dark- 
 ness for Jesus' sake. Work is begun, 
 schools started, religious services estab- 
 lished, a center of light inaugurated that 
 sends its rays out into the blackness on 
 every side. And yet, although it comes 
 as the direct answer to our prayer, how 
 many of us, when the basket is passed 
 to receive the offering for world educa-
 
 THE KNOCKING PETER 103 
 
 tion and evangelization, either never see 
 it, or else dole out our pittance for mere 
 appearance' sake. A prayer for world 
 conquest, or for a larger and grander 
 spread of the gospel in our own land, is 
 a mockery and a crime from those who 
 will not back it up with liberal and self- 
 sacrificing contributions. God's answer 
 comes to us in the form of demands and 
 opportunities for enlarged giving to the 
 support of missions. And our every re- 
 fusal is a clear repetition of the comedy 
 of the knocking Peter and that little band 
 of praying friends and followers! 
 
 We pray for the conversion of souls; 
 for the conversion of our children, our 
 neighbors and their children, our friends 
 and loved ones. Yet we fail to speak an 
 earnest word in season. We would let 
 a protracted meeting pass unused for 
 their conversion. We would see them 
 on the point of coming out for Christ 
 and say not one word of encourage- 
 ment. We won't let the knocking Peter 
 in. We remain securely inside with the 
 door bolted and the windows all barred!
 
 104 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 How can we expect to maintain a 
 living faith in the efficacy of prayer if 
 we persistently refuse to recognize the 
 answer when it comes like Peter, knock- 
 ing at our door?
 
 XIH. 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 
 
 105
 
 XIII. 
 A THRILLING PRAYER. 
 
 "Love your enemies, and pray for them 
 that persecute you," is the hard require- 
 ment of Jesus in his Sermon on the 
 Mount. He adds experience to precept 
 when on the cross he prays, "Father, for- 
 give them; for they know not what they 
 do." How he must have loved his ene- 
 mies to have prayed for them under such 
 circumstances! What self-command over 
 every feeling and impulse and passion of 
 his heart he exhibited! Where can the 
 world look to see such sublime suppres- 
 sion of every spirit of hatred and re- 
 venge, such unequaled forbearance in the 
 presence of such unparalleled provoca- 
 tion? The petition of Jesus praying for 
 his murderers is the most thrilling event 
 in all the Bible. 
 
 How we all need the lesson of this ex- 
 ample ! How we fly off the handle at the 
 slightest injury! How even the smallest 
 
 107
 
 108 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 offense rankles in our heart! How slow 
 we are to forgive and forget ! How hard 
 to bury the hatchet! How often, with 
 the handle sticking out, we are ready to 
 seize it when crossed in the least thing! 
 But here is the Son of God being mur- 
 dered, and that, too, in the most dis- 
 graceful and horrible form known to the 
 world of his day, and yet as he hangs 
 by the piercing nails his heart overflows 
 with love and compassion for his mur- 
 derous foes, and he prays, "Father, for- 
 give them; for they know not what they 
 do." 
 
 "Forgive" Jesus says. That is a great 
 word. To do that is to do a great thing, 
 a godlike thing. To forgive is to over- 
 look and pass by an offense; to cease to 
 think of it or cherish it; to restore the 
 offender to the place he forfeited; to put 
 him back where he was before; to forget 
 the offense and treat it as though it had 
 never been committed. Jesus asks his 
 Father to do all this toward his mur- 
 derers! And it means that he himself 
 had already forgiven them!
 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 109 
 
 But of course he does not expect his 
 Father to do it unconditionally. They 
 must be brought to see their own guilt, 
 acknowledge it, repent of it and turn 
 away from it. To forgive men before 
 they do this is to confirm them in their 
 evil course and encourage them to con- 
 tinue therein. Jesus' prayer, therefore, 
 was not answered instantly, but was an- 
 swered on the day of Pentecost, and 
 thereafter. When, under Peter's scathing 
 arraignment, "Ye denied the Holy and 
 Righteous One, and asked for a mur- 
 derer to be granted unto you, and killed 
 the Prince of life; whom God raised 
 from the dead; whereof we are wit- 
 nesses," the people sought forgiveness 
 through faith, repentance, confession and 
 obedience, then, and not until then, was 
 it granted. Every convert made in Jeru T 
 salem and throughout Judea of those 
 concerned in the accusation, condemna- 
 tion and crucifixion of Christ was an 
 answer to Jesus' prayer, "Father, for- 
 give them." 
 
 Our attitude to those who injure us
 
 110 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 must be the same as that of Jesus to his 
 murderers. Revenge and hatred must 
 not rankle in the heart. Malice must 
 have no place therein. We must have 
 a forgiving spirit. We must be willing, 
 ready, anxious to forgive. But we can 
 not forgive fully until the offender re- 
 pents. Nor is it right that we should. 
 Every sin is a two-edged sword. It cuts 
 two ways into the heart of him who 
 commits it, and into the heart of him 
 against whom it is directed. Now, so 
 far as it hurts you, you can afford to 
 pass it by and forgive; but in so far as 
 it hurts him who commits it, you can 
 not until it has been healed by repent- 
 ance. Otherwise you encourage, justify 
 and approve of sin. The great end of 
 every Christian when sinned against is 
 to save his brother. That is the supreme 
 thing now. How can you save him from 
 the evil of his own heart? Certainly not 
 by treating him the same as before, but 
 by endeavoring as best you can to get 
 him to see, acknowledge and repent his 
 sin. That alone can save him. And
 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 111 
 
 then alone can you fully forgive him. 
 The reason Jesus could utter this sub- 
 lime and thrilling prayer of forgive- 
 ness was that the crime his murderers 
 were committing was made pardonable 
 by ignorance. "For they know not what 
 they do." They did not know what an 
 awful crime was staining their hands. 
 When they afterward came to know, it 
 appalled them and they cried out, "What 
 shall we do?" But just now they had 
 no adequate conception of their guilt. 
 "To him that knoweth to do good, and 
 doeth it not, to him it is sin." But 
 when a man does not know, then his 
 guilt is greatly palliated, though not 
 excused. Ignorance lessens it. Jesus 
 plainly teaches that Tyre and Sidon are 
 to have consideration over Bethsaida and 
 Chorazin, and Sodom over Capernaum, 
 in the day of judgment, because they had 
 less light and knowledge. Paul obtained 
 mercy for persecuting the church because 
 he did it ignorantly in unbelief. The 
 heathen will be recipients of God's faith- 
 fulness and justice because they know
 
 112 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 not the truth. God is not unjust. He 
 will not hold men responsible for dis- 
 obeying the law of which they never 
 heard. The Judge of all the earth will 
 do right. And he will consider the igno- 
 rance in our own land the ignorance 
 that results from the absence of ad- 
 vantage and opportunity, and from in- 
 born and instilled vices, prejudices, pre- 
 possessions and all the influences which 
 warp men's minds and prevent a clear 
 apprehension of the truth. 
 
 But while ignorance palliates sin and 
 makes it pardonable, it does not ex- 
 cuse or justify it. In spite of their igno- 
 rance, these people were guilty of sin 
 and needed forgiveness. There is no 
 point to Jesus' prayer if ignorance ex- 
 cuses sin. He asked his Father to for- 
 give them because they were sinners, 
 however great their ignorance. While 
 Paul obtained mercy because of his igno- 
 rance, yet he calls himself "the chief of 
 sinners." While "the servant that knew 
 not, and did things worthy of stripes, 
 shall be beaten with few stripes," yet
 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 113 
 
 shall he be beaten with stripes. While it 
 will be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Tyre than for the cities which enjoyed 
 the light of Christ's presence, yet it will 
 not be wholly tolerable for them. While 
 Peter assured the murderers of Christ, 
 "I know that in ignorance ye did it, as 
 did also your rulers," yet he has them 
 to understand that "ye by the hand of 
 lawless men did crucify and slay." There 
 is no mistaking their guilt. None are 
 so ignorant but they have some ideas of 
 right. Even heathen nations have some 
 light, and according as they treat the 
 light they have, will God deal with them. 
 The murderers of Christ knew not the 
 enormity of their great sin, but they had 
 some consciousness of it, however faint, 
 enough to have stayed their hands. The 
 reason, therefore, that ignorance does not 
 fully excuse sin is that it is never abso- 
 lute. 
 
 Our duty to religious ignorance is to 
 spread the light. "Go into all the world, 
 and preach the gospel to every creature." 
 People will sometimes say, "If ignorance 
 
 (9)
 
 114 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 makes sin pardonable, why enlighten the 
 ignorant? Why send missionaries to the 
 heathen, if they are not responsible?" 
 For the same reason Jesus authorized his 
 apostles to preach to his murderers ! For 
 the same reason we don't quit preach- 
 ing here at home! If the argument 
 proves anything, it proves that we should 
 tear down every church, silence every 
 preacher, burn every Bible and so re- 
 lapse into heathenism ! Ah ! men are sin- 
 ners in spite of their ignorance, and God 
 wants them to see their sin, turn from it 
 and live right lives. He wants them to 
 know of his Son and be transformed into 
 his likeness. He wants the knowledge of 
 God to cover the earth as the waters 
 cover the sea. He wants men's hearts 
 and their service. 
 
 The very sin these murderers com- 
 mitted is a sin of which every man who 
 rejects Christ now is guilty. To reject 
 Christ now is the greatest sin in the 
 world. It is equivalent to the crime of 
 those who two thousand years ago cried, 
 "Crucify him." But, unlike those mur-
 
 A THRILLING PRAYER 115 
 
 derers of Christ, men to-day know what 
 they do. Twenty centuries have demon- 
 strated his power to save. He stands as 
 the only hope of men. If Jesus prayed 
 for his murderers, how much more for 
 those who have never owned him as 
 Lord of lords and King of kings. He 
 wants them to turn to him, and experi- 
 ence his salvation full, free and ever- 
 lasting.
 
 XIV. 
 'IN HIS NAME' 
 
 117
 
 XIV. 
 
 "!N His NAME." 
 
 Every duty, blessing and privilege of 
 the gospel comes to us "in His name/' 
 How often the New Testament states 
 this fact in regard to Christ's early fol- 
 lowers! If they preached, they did it 
 like Paul at Damascus, "boldly in the 
 name of Jesus." If they wrought mir- 
 acles, it was by following the instruction 
 of the Master: "In my name shall they 
 cast out demons." To the lame man who 
 lay at the beautiful gate of the temple, 
 Peter said, "In the name of Jesus Christ 
 of Nazareth, walk." To the spirit of 
 divination in the mind of the sooth-say- 
 ing maid in Philippi, Paul said, "I charge 
 thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to 
 come out of her." If men were called 
 to the duty of repentance and the bless- 
 ings of the remission of sins, it was after 
 the manner of Him who said "that re- 
 pentance and remission of sins should 
 
 119
 
 120 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 be preached in his name unto all the 
 nations, beginning from Jerusalem." If 
 they were summoned to enjoy the priv- 
 ileges of justification, it was after the 
 pattern of the Corinthians, who "were 
 justified in the name of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and in the spirit of our God." 
 If commanded to obey God in baptism, 
 it was according to Acts 2 : 38, or the 
 Ephesians, of whom it is said, "They 
 were baptized into the name of the Lord 
 Jesus." "And whatsoever ye do, in word 
 or in deed, do all in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the 
 Father through him." 
 
 There was a time when the name 
 of Christ was not thus used. To it 
 Jesus refers when he says, "Hitherto 
 have ye asked nothing in my name." 
 Previous to the time when Jesus spoke 
 these words no prayer was ever uttered 
 "in his name." What we call the Lord's 
 Prayer makes no mention of Christ. It 
 ends, "For thine is the kingdom, and the 
 power, and the glory for ever. Amen." 
 Even that is an interpolation, and Luke
 
 "IN HIS NAME" 121 
 
 makes it end, "And bring us not into 
 temptation." This fatal omission makes 
 the Lord's Prayer to us an invalid prayer, 
 unless the name of Christ is added to it 
 in some way. "No one cometh unto the 
 Father, but by me." A Christless prayer 
 now is no prayer at all, and has no as- 
 surance of an answer. Parents teach 
 their children: 
 
 "Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep; 
 If I should die before I wake, 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take." 
 
 And it is a very beautiful sentiment, 
 but it is not a prayer, unless it is closed 
 by the phrase, "in his name." I care 
 not where, or by whom offered in the 
 church or in the family, in the lodgeroom 
 or the open field, in palace or hovel 
 a prayer that does not, either tacitly 
 or expressly, plead the name of Christ, 
 ascends not to heaven. This has been 
 true ever since Jesus said, "Hitherto have 
 ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and 
 ye shall receive." "Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, If ye shall ask anything of the
 
 122 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 Father, he will give it you in my name." 
 It was in consequence of Christ's death 
 on the cross that his name acquired 
 such tremendous significance. "And be- 
 ing found in fashion as a man, he 
 humbled himself, becoming obedient even 
 unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 
 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, 
 and gave unto him the name which is 
 above every name; that in the name of 
 Jesus every knee should bow, of things 
 in heaven, and things on earth, and 
 things under the earth, and that every 
 tongue should confess that Jesus Christ 
 is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
 So that Christ's name became the all- 
 prevailing name after, and not before, 
 his death: "But we behold him who hath 
 been made a little lower than the angels, 
 even Jesus, because of the suffering of 
 death crowned with glory and honor." 
 "He, when he had offered one sacrifice 
 for sins for ever, sat down on the right 
 hand of God; henceforth expecting till 
 , his enemies be made the footstool of his 
 feet." In anticipation of that time He
 
 "IN HIS NAME" 123 
 
 said to his apostles, "All authority hath 
 been given unto me in heaven and on 
 earth." And the first time they stood 
 up to preach, they said, "Let all the 
 house of Israel therefore know assuredly, 
 that God hath made him both Lord and 
 Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." 
 His name then began its power, for it 
 marks the time when he took his seat 
 on his mediatorial throne and was be- 
 queathed the scepter. To this he refers 
 in the striking words, "Hitherto have 
 ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and 
 ye shall receive." "Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, If ye shall ask anything of 
 the Father, he will give it you in my 
 name." And his name shall continue 
 thus to be used until his kingdom has be- 
 come co-extensive with the world. "For 
 he must reign, till he hath put all his 
 enemies under his feet." The reign of 
 Christ on earth began on the day of Pen- 
 tecost. And the significance and power 
 of his name shall continue through all 
 the centuries of the Christian dispensa- 
 tion in which we are now living, until
 
 124 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 the time when the purposes of his reign 
 have been accomplished and he hands 
 over the kingdom to his Father. It is 
 analogous with the mediatorial reign of 
 Christ on earth, began when it began, 
 and will end when it ends. And to 
 ignore the name of Christ is to repudi- 
 ate his mediatorship between God and 
 man, to seek to pull the crown from his 
 brow, the scepter from his hand, and 
 to dethrone him as the rightful ruler 
 and lawgiver, priest and prophet of the 
 world. 
 
 The name of Christ carries with it the 
 authority of Jesus. What is done "in 
 his name" is done with his authority. 
 To do anything "in his name" requires 
 that it be done with his express and un- 
 doubted sanction. 
 
 His name makes our prayers effective. 
 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my 
 name, that will I do, that the Father 
 may be glorified in the Son." "Hitherto 
 have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, 
 and ye shall receive, that your joy may 
 be made full." He is the great lawyer
 
 "IN HIS NAME" 125 
 
 who never refuses a client and never 
 loses a case. His intercession prevails in 
 our behalf. 
 
 "By Thee my prayers acceptance gain, 
 
 Although with sin defiled ; 
 Satan accuses me in vain, 
 And I am owned a child." 
 
 As a watchword, "In His name" is 
 unexcelled. To embody it in our creed 
 and to exhibit it in our practice is to be a 
 Christian. No higher honor, no grander 
 privilege, belongs to any of the souls 
 of men than belongs to him who lives 
 and moves and does all "in His name." 
 There is no sublimer earthly destiny pos- 
 sible to man than falls to the lot of 
 him who discharges aright the obliga- 
 tions which the name of Christ imposes, 
 and lives in daily illustration of the 
 distinguishing elements of the Christian 
 character. Above all others can he in- 
 deed be truly said to live. His years, 
 at least, do not fly past as the turning 
 over of blank leaves. Every line of each 
 glowing page is written full with mes- 
 sages that speak of the noblest meaning
 
 126 
 
 and the truest purpose of life. Fulfilling 
 the highest aim of existence and making 
 the most of his talents and opportunities, 
 he can truly say: 
 
 "Take the name of Jesus with you, 
 
 Child of sorrow and of woe ; 
 It will joy and comfort give you, 
 Take it, then, where'er you go. 
 
 '"Take the name of Jesus ever, 
 
 As a shield from every snare; 
 If temptations round you gather, 
 Breathe that holy name in prayer."
 
 XV. 
 LET US PRAY 
 
 127
 
 XV. 
 LET Us PRAY. 
 
 We praise thee, O God, for the pure 
 and lofty spiritual purpose of the Word 
 of truth to guide and save the souls of 
 men, to make known the world's Re- 
 deemer, to unfold the plan of salvation, 
 to show men the way of escape from 
 their sins, how to live righteous and holy 
 lives here and attain to eternal life here- 
 after. 
 
 Help us, O Father, to square our daily 
 conduct by it, to feed our hungry souls on 
 its precious truth, to drink from its living 
 fountains of waters, to allow it to dwell 
 in us to cleanse us from all evil, to in- 
 spire and strengthen us for all that is 
 good, to accept the glorious Saviour it 
 presents, to obey the loving gospel which 
 it brings, to enjoy the spiritual blessings 
 which it provides, to form the holy char- 
 acter it enjoins, to live the blameless and 
 useful life it urges, to try and reach at 
 
 (10) 129
 
 130 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 last the heavenly home it promises and 
 pictures. 
 
 And may we heed the urgent command 
 and supreme necessity to speak it forth 
 to all of every nation, kindred, tribe and 
 tongue, until all shall know it and ap- 
 propriate its blessings and privileges. In 
 the name that is above every name, we 
 ask it. Amen. 
 
 God, I come to thee in full con- 
 fession of my sins my real, actual, spe- 
 cific sins. I confess them all. I make 
 a clean breast of them. I have been un- 
 truthful. I told a wicked falsehood to 
 this man, another to that. I have sworn 
 profane oaths. I have been dishonest 
 in trade. I cheated and overreached in 
 several instances. I have slandered my 
 neighbor. I allowed my temper, my 
 pride, my selfishness to get the better of 
 me and rule my spirit. I have been 
 guilty of unclean thoughts and desires. 
 
 1 want to turn from these things and 
 turn toward thee with full purpose of 
 heart. Thou hast promised forgiveness
 
 LET US PRAY 131 
 
 and cleansing. I covet both. I need 
 both. Grant me thy forgiveness to re- 
 move the guilt of sin, cleansing to take 
 away its love and practice and pollution. 
 Thou art faithful and just to do this 
 faithful to all thy promises and just in 
 rendering to all their dues. And back of 
 all is thy infinite love and mercy. Thou 
 who forgivest iniquities and healest dis- 
 eases, do this for Jesus' sake. Amen. 
 
 Thou, O Christ, art all we want and 
 need. O thou Bread of life, of which we 
 may eat and hunger no more; O thou 
 great Physician, able to heal all our dis- 
 eases and save unto the uttermost those 
 who put their trust in thee; O thou great 
 and good Shepherd, who assures us that 
 he knows his own and will lead all to 
 that eternal fold whence they shall go 
 no more out forever; O thou light to 
 illuminate the darkness; O thou true, 
 lasting, tried, sympathetic, all-knowing 
 and all-wise friend, who sticketh closer 
 than any brother; O thou cleanser from 
 sin and deliverer from its captivity; O
 
 132 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 thou resurrection and the life; O thou 
 mighty Advocate with God through 
 whom blessings come to us from the 
 chalice of God's grace come to us in 
 these varied and manifold ministries in 
 which thou dost meet us in every pos- 
 sible exigency of life, or death, as the 
 very friend we need. 
 
 In thy dear name, we ask it. Amen. 
 
 We come, dear Father, to voice the 
 needs of those borne down by the toils 
 and cares, the trials and sorrows, the sin 
 and guilt of life. 
 
 We would remember at thy throne of 
 mercy those who know the ache of limb, 
 the weariness of brain and body incident 
 to life's unending grind. 
 
 And we would have thee remember, 
 gracious Father, the afflicted and crushed 
 by life's heavy burdens and awful sor- 
 rows. 
 
 And, oh, the sin and guilt many are 
 carrying! What a load is upon them! 
 How it oppresses and drives to mad- 
 ness and despair! How it consumes the
 
 LET US PRAY 133 
 
 strength and banishes the joy of life! 
 Remember them in thy goodness and 
 mercy. 
 
 Thou dost remember them. Thou hast 
 said, through thy Son: "Come unto me, 
 all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
 and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 
 upon you, and learn of me; for I am 
 meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall 
 find rest unto your souls. For my yoke 
 is easy, and my burden is light." Rest 
 unto their souls. Rest from anxious 
 cares, from awful sorrows, from terrible 
 guilt. Oh, help the careworn, sorrow- 
 crushed, sin-laden to accept this precious 
 invitation and find rest, rest forever, in 
 Christ's name. Amen. 
 
 Our Father in heaven, we know how 
 precious in thy sight thy church is. It 
 cost the life-blood of thy Son. The toils 
 and tears and cares of thy people in all 
 the ages have been given to it freely and 
 generously. It has come to us as a price- 
 less inheritance. May we make and keep 
 it "a glorious church, not having spot or
 
 134 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 wrinkle or any such thing; but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish." 
 
 We. pray that it may be a church glo- 
 rious in its doctrine, its holiness, its work, 
 its unity and power, its conquests. 
 
 Especially, dear Father, do we pray 
 for the primeval glory of the church's 
 unity and power. May the day speedily 
 come when there shall be one flock and 
 one Shepherd. May the Captain of our 
 salvation yet command an army that 
 marches to battle in one mighty host and 
 under one all-conquering banner. 
 
 And may the day be not far distant 
 when the knowledge of the Lord shall 
 cover the earth as the waters cover the 
 sea; when the heathen shall be Christ's 
 inheritance and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth his possession; when he shall 
 have dominion from sea to sea, and from 
 the river to the ends of the earth. May 
 the church be the instrument of this glo- 
 rious consummation. In every land and 
 continent of earth and island of the sea 
 may it unfurl the banner of the Cross. 
 May the globe on which we dwell one
 
 LET US PRAY 135 
 
 day be the trophy, through the church, 
 of Christ's all-conquering power. In his 
 name. Amen. 
 
 "We thank thee, O Father, for all that is bright 
 The gleam of the day and the stars of the night, 
 The flow'rs of our youth and the fruits of our 
 
 prime, 
 And blessings that march. down the pathway of 
 
 time. 
 
 "We thank thee, O Father, for song and for 
 
 feast, 
 The harvest that glowed and the wealth that 
 
 increased ; 
 
 For never a blessing encompassed earth's child 
 But thou in thy mercy looked downward and 
 
 smiled. 
 
 "We thank thee, O Father, for days yet to be, 
 For hopes that our future will call us to thee; 
 That all our eternity form, through thy love, 
 One Thanksgiving Day in the mansions above." 
 
 We thank thee, O Father, for the se- 
 curity of our homes, the freedom of our 
 land, the facilities of Christian education, 
 all the best attainments of the present 
 and the grandest hopes of the future. 
 In return for all thy benefits, we bring
 
 136 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 to thee all the adoration of our hearts, 
 all the strength of our noble purposes, 
 all the influence of our lives, the full 
 surrender of all our active powers, the 
 complete ownership of all our possessions. 
 Beautify, happify, magnify, glorify our 
 lives in so doing, as thou hast promised. 
 Control us completely. Make us more 
 like Christ. Do it for his sake. Amen. 
 
 We are thankful, dear Father, for the 
 trumpet-calls to service: "Go, work to- 
 day in my vineyard;" "Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature;" "To every man his work." 
 We thank thee, O Father, for the purify- 
 ing, sweetening, strengthening and hap- 
 pifying power of service. 
 
 We thank thee, gracious and loving 
 Father, for the delightful fellowships of 
 work. We have fellowship with thee 
 and with one another. We are laborers 
 together with thee. 
 
 And, oh, the assurance of victory ! The 
 might of thy omnipotence is pledged to 
 it. Every foe shall go down before thee.
 
 LET US PRAY 137 
 
 Every obstacle shall disappear. Every 
 difficulty shall vanish like the mist. 
 Around thy throne on high we shall wave 
 the palm branches of eternal triumph. 
 
 May we, then, engage in well-doing, 
 in continual well-doing, and engage in it 
 confidently and hopefully. May we go 
 forward in the path and work of life 
 with renewed strength and usefulness. 
 May we feed the hungry, clothe the desti- 
 tute, minister to the unfortunate, enter- 
 tain the stranger, make this land Im- 
 manuel's land, extend thy kingdom until 
 it shall be coextensive with the globe, and 
 make the desert places blossom like the 
 garden of the Lord. Freely we have re- 
 ceived, freely may we give. We ask it, 
 for Jesus' sake. Amen. 
 
 Help us, our Father, to get into har- 
 mony with thy purpose concerning us. 
 Thou dost seek our spiritual not material, 
 our eternal not temporal, our highest and 
 not lowest good. Help us to see in the 
 events and experiences of our lives, be 
 they sunshine or shadow, thy providence
 
 138 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 making all things work together for our 
 good. 
 
 May we trust thee implicitly, believe 
 the precious promise, take thee at thy 
 word. As the passengers on shipboard 
 on a dark night in the trackless ocean 
 trust the hand at the helm, so teach us 
 to trust thy almighty hand that guides 
 our lives. 
 
 And help us to hold fast to our love 
 for thee. Thou art love. It dictates thy 
 acts. Though our lot be a sad one, 
 though it be all night and darkness, yet 
 may we know that things do work for 
 good to them that love thee. 
 
 We rejoice in the security this promise 
 vouchsafes to us. The very angels en- 
 camp round about us as a defending wall 
 of fire. Gibraltar itself is not so im- 
 pregnable as are we encircled by thy om- 
 nipotent arm. As the shadow of a great 
 rock in a weary land, as a bubbling foun- 
 tain in a sandy desert, as a guiding star 
 through the rifted clouds, as a mighty 
 anchor to the tossing ship on a stormy 
 night, so may thy sweet promise be to
 
 LET US PRAY 139 
 
 us in our time of need. In Christ's name, 
 we ask it. Amen. 
 
 We come, dear Father, praying for de- 
 cisions. We have presented the Christ 
 and his claims. We have preached the 
 gospel, which is thy power unto the sal- 
 vation of every one who believes it. We 
 ask now that men may believe and obey. 
 Knowing the way of salvation, may they 
 walk in it. Having been informed of 
 their duty, give them grace and willing- 
 ness to do it. Like Solomon, may they 
 make a wise choice. Like Moses, may 
 they choose rather to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God than to enjoy the pleas- 
 ures of sin for a season. Like Mary, 
 may they choose the good part which 
 shall not be taken away. 
 
 And may they choose now. Oh the 
 tremendous now! Now is the accepted 
 time, to-day is the day of salvation ! Life 
 is full of uncertainties, repentance put off 
 is frequently repentance made impossible, 
 there is so much to be done and so short 
 a time in which to do it, all of which
 
 140 BEFORE THE THRONE 
 
 things urge immediate action. Oh, may 
 men act! Help them to act now! May 
 they come pleading: 
 
 "Nothing in my hand I bring; 
 Simply to Thy cross I cling; 
 Naked, come to Thee for dress; 
 Helpless, look to Thee for grace; 
 Foul, I to the fountain fly: 
 Wash me, Saviour, or I die." 
 
 In Christ's name. Amen. 
 
 THE END.
 
 A 000038138 4