,praying for ,money         ,spiritual  
,telepathy        ,day of ,pentecost    
,axioms       ,praying for ,money       
,unanswered ,prayers       ,prayer for  
,others        ,forms of ,prayer        
,by       ,,russell ,h4 ,,conwell       
,,volume #i             ,,national      
,,extension ,,university    #eig ,fifth 
,avenue1 ,new ,york   ,,effective       
,,prayer  ,copyright1 #aiba1 by ,harper 
,brothers ,printed in the ,united       
,states of ,america     ,chapter ,i     
,spiritual ,telepathy   ,it would be no 
more surprising for the discovery of a  
means of direct spirit communication    
with the spiritual life than it was to  
be convinced that ,marconi had          
discovered a sure method of telegraphing
 and telephoning without wires4 ,the    
discovery of the laws which made        
electricity a servant of mankind was an 
astonishing revelation which was as     
unbelievable as is the law of spiritual 
telepathy4 ,human telepathy1 which is a 
mysterious means of communication       

between persons without the use of known
 material agency1 is in the initial and 
experimental stage4 ,but the possibility
 of such thought transference is        
generally admitted4 ,the psychical      
researchers into that science should be 
encouraged in every way4 ,on the eve of 
every such advance in human achievement 
there always appear a host of           
superstitious dreamers and wild         
prophets1 even in the study of science1 
who hinder the sane searcher and often  
becloud the mind of the student who is  
on the direct road to the needed        
discovery4  ,spiritualism1 which is here
 used as a comprehensive term1          
frequently confuses the deliberations of
 honest truth-seekers with the          
advertised works of deceivers1 but it   
includes much in its curriculum that is 
worth careful study4 ,among the host of 
disordered or weak minds who claim so   
much that is foolish in connection with 
spiritual revelations there are a       
respectable number of thoughtful1       

conservative searchers who cannot be    
easily deceived4 ,in all the successful 
isms in a ,christian civilization1 and  
in all the popular religious sects1     
there is ever some basic truth4 ,some   
one idea is so true and so strongly     
emphasized that it often carries along a
 back-breaking load of absurd theories4 
,the thoughtless throng hears of several
 well-authenticated cases of fraud1 or  
of absurd teaching1 in connection with  
spiritual meetings1 or messages1 and    
leaps to the conviction that all claims 
of so-called spiritualists are not      
worthy of consideration4 ,so many       
thousands have tried so sincerely to    
recall their dead without the least sign
 of an answer that they refuse to       
examine the testimony of great men1 like
 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 whose belief      
differs from their belief4 ,they will   
not read what great minds have expressed
 on the subject4 ,but the great         
discoveries recently made in            
materialistic sciences have led         

thoughtful men to hope for great        
discoveries in the relation of this     
existence to another life4 ,this        
expectation1 or strong hope1 made the   
study of the spiritual revelations and  
conditions at the ,temple a most        
thrilling occupation4  ,the reports of  
the answers to prayer so often use the  
words happened to think that the        
observer cannot escape the conviction   
that either the living human mind does  
send spirit messages or that some       
mysterious power acts for it in         
forwarding messages4 ,the great list of 
mysterious impulses and intuitions which
 were noticed in those interesting      
seasons of prayer could not have been   
all accidental nor could they be classed
 under the natural laws of cause and    
effect4 ,the connection between the     
cause as seen in the prayer and the     
effect as related in the                
happened-to-think result is often wholly
 hidden4  ,a mother in ,philadelphia    
prayed for her prodigal son and at that 

exact time the son1 alone in a ,chicago 
hotel1 felt an uncontrollable influence 
to turn back to his home4 ,a father     
prayed that his son might decide to be a
 missionary1 and the son1 a sailor off  
the coast of ,south ,america1 at that   
same moment made the decision4 ,a wife  
prayed that her husband might be sent   
home sober4 ,at the time she was        
kneeling by the kitchen table he was    
waiting at the saloon to be served with 
brandy1 but he happened to think that   
his mother had prayed for him on her    
deathbed and he could not take the      
liquor4  ,a doctor1 sadly defeated in   
his fight for the life of his patient1  
went to his bedroom and prayed for      
light1 and he happened to think that the
 patient might have swallowed some piece
 of metal4 ,there was no report of the  
like symptoms in any case he could find 
in the medical books4 ,but so deep was  
the impression that he secured a        
powerful magnet and drew forth the      
death-dealing needle4 ,a merchant had an

 offer for his entire stock which seemed
 favorable1 and1 as he was in need1 the 
offer seemed providential4 ,but while   
the suggestion from the pulpit that each
 worshiper pray for success in his      
occupation was being adopted he prayed  
for his business4 ,at that hour his son 
in ,denver was also praying in church4  
,when he there thought of his father he 
decided fully to go home and enter      
business with him4 ,so completely did he
 decide that the next morning he        
telegraphed to his surprised and        
delighted father that he would come home
 if his father needed his assistance4   
,the joy of having his son at home again
 overcame his determination to complete 
a favorable bargain1 and he declined the
 offer promptly4 ,before the son reached
 ,philadelphia a sudden change in the   
paper market doubled the sale value of  
the father's stock4  ,one writer for a  
daily newspaper was meditating on some  
object of prayer in the silence of the  
praying congregation when the idea of a 

textbook on journalism for college use  
came to his mind for the first time4 ,it
 led directly to a series of syndicate  
articles which enabled him to purchase  
the home for which he had been praying4 
,a mechanic who had been out of work1   
owing to a fire1 prayed for a job4 ,at  
the same time a builder who was a       
stranger in the church was praying for a
 competent partner4 ,when the prayers   
were finished they happened to look at  
each other across the church and each   
wondered why the other looked at him so 
intently4 ,the pews in which they sat   
were at right angles and it was a       
natural thing for the occupant of one   
pew to glance at the inmate of the other
 pew4 ,after church each approached the 
other with the simultaneous expression1 
,it seems to me that we have met before4
 ,but that was their first meeting4     
,their firm is now engaged in large     
construction work in concrete houses and
 factories4 ,a servant girl in a small  
home prayed for a dress suitable for    

church and at that hour her mistress was
 visiting a friend who remarked that the
 photograph of a deceased daughter      
greatly resembled the visitor's servant 
girl4 ,a few minutes later the friend of
 the mistress said3 ,i wonder if my     
daughter's dresses would fit your       
servant8 ,if they will fit her1 there   
are here two new gowns that the         
dressmaker sent home after my daughter's
 death4  ,so a young man1 without       
advanced education1 prayed hard for an  
opportunity to get mental training to   
fit him for the ministry4 ,at the same  
moment a principal of a ,new ,jersey    
academy was in the gallery far removed  
from the young man and he prayed for    
direction in finding a suitable janitor4
 ,the academy principal mentioned his   
need to one of the church members who   
happened to know the young man4 ,it was 
arranged that the young man should work 
for his board and tuition and have five 
hours a day for study4 ,the worshiper   
described himself in his sketch of the  

answer to his prayers as one whom ,god  
has led into the fulfillment of all his 
highest ambitions4 ,he is pastor of a   
strong church in ,cleveland4 ,a little  
tot prayed for a singing doll1 and her  
mother told her that a doll was too     
small a matter to pray for4 ,but the    
father overheard the conversation1 and1 
after purchasing the most costly one he 
could find at his noon hour1 he left it 
on the little one's bed in the night    
when everyone else was supposed to be   
asleep4  ,a widow prayed for some       
leadership in the sale of some wild land
 in ,louisiana4 ,her relatives urged her
 to let it go1 as the taxes will soon   
eat it all4 ,but the unexpected payment 
of a debt due her led her to feel that1 
as she had been temporarily provided    
for1 she would wait4 ,in about seven    
weeks she read in a paper that a company
 had struck oil on the next section to  
her estate4 ,she consequently leased the
 mineral privileges of her land at a    
high price4  ,a minister prayed for a   

sermon text and found that the          
,sunday-school superintendent had       
thoughtlessly left in the ,bible the    
,sabbath before a slip of paper on which
 was written the title which ,mary      
,magdalene used when addressing ,jesus  
in the ,garden near his tomb3 ,rabboni4 
,the minister now remembers that sermon 
when nearly all others are forgotten4 ,a
 student whose mental faculties were    
unusually dull for his age prayed that  
he might pass his examination in        
mathematics4 ,that night in his dreams  
his subconscious self worked out plainly
 on a blackboard the two hardest        
problems4 ,a farmer prayed for some     
deciding hint in his choice of seed for 
his land4 ,on his way home he held a    
bundle in his lap which was in a        
newspaper wrapper4 ,in one column on the
 wrapper directly under his eyes was an 
article on the soils and products of his
 country which opened his vision and    
made his farming safe and profitable4   
,an ,alsatian girl prayed that her      

father and mother might come to         
,america4 ,they knew nothing of her     
petition1 but on that same day and hour1
 allowing for the difference in the     
reckoning of time1 the parents resolved 
to come to ,america1 and financial aid  
was promised them4 ,a lawyer was asking 
the ,lord for some clew to lost         
evidence1 so necessary to his case to be
 tried the next day1 when the name of a 
witness whose relation to the case he   
had not before thought of1 and whose    
name had been long forgotten1 was       
suggested to him4 ,while doubtful of the
 value of the witness1 he sought his    
name in the directory and found that the
 lost witness was all-sufficient for the
 case4 ,a dealer in real estate asked   
the ,lord to prosper a proposed         
transaction1 if it were for the best1   
and to hinder it if it would be         
injurious4 ,he unintentionally omitted  
the word not from the draft of a        
contract which he drew the next day and 
the accidental omission brought him to  

unexpected possession of a profitable   
block of houses4  ,to the unbeliever all
 these testimonials prove but little4   
,but to the experienced observer of     
repeated answers to prayer they are     
conclusive proofs of ,god's disposition 
to answer the effectual1 fervent prayer 
of the righteous man4 ,as a woman may   
feel when she puts her weary life into  
the care of a strong and affectionate   
husband1 the trusting believer in prayer
 rests in ,god in a peaceful condition  
of soul1 which passeth all              
understanding4     ,chapter ,,ii  ,day  
of ,pentecost   ,that great day at the  
,baptist ,temple stands out in the      
history of the local church there even  
as the greater ,pentecost must have been
 first in the memory of the disciples at
 ,jerusalem4 ,no one who entered        
personally1 body and soul1 into the     
services of that ,easter in             
,philadelphia can possibly forget the   
overpowering impressions of the ,divine 
,spirit4 ,tongues of fire seemed to the 

spectator no longer an extravagant      
metaphor to use4 ,for the sake of a     
careful examination of the question     
whether the baptism of the spirit is of 
,god or men1 the plain facts are here   
stated4  ,it was ,easter morning1 #ahic1
 when the sun began to gild the ,city   
,hall tower4 ,people flocked to the     
lower hall of the ,temple from all      
directions4 ,each greeted the other with
 the words1 ,he is risen1 and faces     
glowed as they assembled4 ,there was no 
prearranged program and no              
announcements4 ,the people began to sing
 with enthusiasm before the leader      
ascended the platform4 ,then came the   
moment of silent prayer4 ,it seemed as  
if the place was shaken4 ,the whole     
company trembled as if they realized    
they were in the visible presence of the
 ,almighty4 ,the most conservative shed 
tears4 ,there were many brief           
expressions from the audience1 and often
 three were speaking at the same time4  
,there was no shouting1 no riotous      

disorder1 no wild movements of          
uncontrolled emotion4 ,excited crowds at
 political gatherings1 angry mobs1 and  
panic-stricken crowds seem to have a    
form of that emotional common pressure4 
,but that ,easter gathering was a       
surrender of soul to the telepathic     
influence of a common spirit4 ,one      
elderly ,quaker shouted at the close of 
the meeting1 ,i would like to stay here 
forever1 reminding all of ,peter's call 
for three tabernacles on the ,mount of  
,transfiguration4 ,there was an         
intermission of an hour before the      
morning preaching service in the        
auditorium4 ,but the people would not go
 out for breakfast4 ,some fasted all    
day4 ,they talked about ,christ and of  
their home in ,glory and exchanged      
promises to pray for friends1 for       
missions1 and for churches4 ,before the 
hour of the established morning service 
the large upper ,temple had overflowed4 
,there had been no advertisement of the 
services4 ,there were no unusual        

decorations of the auditorium and no    
special music provided4 ,the preacher   
had not prepared a sermon1 nor had he   
read over that morning a selected       
chapter4 ,he had been too much crowded  
with visitors and pressing calls of the 
needy and dying to devote even a half an
 hour to mental preparation4 ,but no    
feeling of doubt or of weakness entered 
his heart4 ,he felt a strange support   
and uplift of soul which kept away all  
fears4 ,he had not decided to preach at 
all1 and hesitated whether he had not   
best venture on an experience meeting in
 the time usually allowed for the       
,easter sermon4 ,but the choir was      
inspired2 they1 too1 felt the impression
 of a solemn convocation4 ,they never   
sang like that before1 and the old tunes
 were vibrant with a resurrection life4 
,the people sang and wept4 ,city        
officials1 principals of the schools1   
court judges1 and merchants1 let the    
tears fall4 ,there seemed to be an      
absolute surrender of all classes to a  

common pressure toward ,god4 ,the       
preacher arose with a most powerful     
impulse to kneel and weep4 ,he forgot to
 announce a text1 but he began to talk  
brokenly on the appearance of ,christ to
 ,mary ,magdalene in the ,garden near   
the tomb4 ,his vision of the scene was  
so real to him that he has never through
 the years lost that clear view of it4  
,the preacher seemed to be there in the 
,garden4 ,he saw the ,lord2 he heard    
that divine voice2 he saw that lovely   
face1 the smile which greeted ,mary4    
,the preacher heard the conversation1   
saw the excited woman fall at her       
,saviour's feet1 and heard him say1 ,i  
am not yet ascended unto my ,father6    
,oh1 where is there a language to       
describe to mortal men the all-pervading
 glory and the thrills of angelic joy   
which the preacher experienced under    
those circumstances8 ,to himself he     
seemed to be taken out of his physical  
limitations4 ,he was not himself4 ,he   
was a higher personality4 ,he saw       

visions of beauty and heard the harps of
 ,glory4 ,he lacks no words nor         
thoughts4 ,he speaks the ideas which are
 given him4 ,there is no other joy on   
earth with which to compare that4 ,it is
 so unlike the richest or sweetest      
emotions which other forms of happiness 
awaken4 ,it is supreme6 ,unaccountable  
things occurred that morning which no   
prolonged or hard study has explained4  
,the preacher cannot feel sure that he  
was inspired1 and hesitates to mention  
the facts lest men should doubt their   
truth or ascribe to him an egotistical  
claim to sanctity4 ,but the experience  
with that sermon1 and sometimes with    
other addresses1 presents a             
psychological study which none of the   
authorities on mental law have yet      
explained4 ,the stenographic report of  
the sermon showed that the speaker      
quoted from ,homer1 ,justinian1         
,macaulay1 ,shakespeare1 ,longfellow1   
and ,moliere accurately1 without        
hesitation1 in the onrush of his excited

 speech4 ,but when he read them in the  
shorthand report he could not remember  
that he ever had read those quotations  
and was absolutely unable to recall that
 he used such words4 ,the interpretation
 which he unhesitatingly gave of the    
scene in the ,garden and of the words of
 ,jesus were also new to him and caused 
him anxious hours of research afterward 
to learn whether his views could have   
been correct4 ,but no sermon in his     
forty years of work in the pulpit has   
proven so reasonable or so generally    
acceptable to the devout critics of     
,scriptural exegesis4 ,he has tried to  
account for the quotations by           
accrediting them to the telepathic      
influence of stronger minds in the      
audience who were familiar with them4   
,but that1 too1 can be only a guess4    
,the mystery is not cleared up by such  
speculation4 ,perhaps the preacher      
should have called in some one else to  
write this chapter2 but that some one   
else is not on call4 ,hence1 these      

incidents are set down without a claim  
to uncommon inspiration4  ,probably     
thousands of priests and preachers have 
felt a like exaltation4 ,but the closing
 hymn which began with general          
participation by all the people was so  
broken before its close that the last   
verse was carried only by a few4 ,the   
people wept for joy4 ,the preacher knelt
 at his chair and prayed for aid to lead
 in the prayer and benediction4 ,but the
 benediction was not heard1 and the     
audience was slowly convinced that the  
benediction had been pronounced by the  
observation that the minister dropped   
his hands and walked away4  ,the        
,bible-school service in the afternoon  
was as solemn and impressive as the     
morning4 ,many of the hundreds baptized 
that day expressed themselves as having 
felt the dovelike ,spirit of ,peace     
descending on them1 too4 ,nearly1 if not
 all1 the scholars and visitors turned  
sincerely and permanently to the ,lord4 
,the evening services were given up     

wholly to praise4 ,the rejoicing was    
deep and strong4 ,the crowd standing in 
the aisles and on the steps did not move
 until after the benediction4 ,the      
number of those in the sittings was     
three thousand one hundred and          
thirty-four1 and of those standing who  
got inside the doors was seven hundred  
and eighty-three4 ,out of that number   
over three hundred decided openly to    
confess their belief in the ,christ4    
,these numbers are not especially great 
when compared with those of the great   
revivals1 and are only mentioned here   
for the purpose of study4 ,over seven   
thousand converts have been taken into  
the membership of the ,temple in        
thirty-nine years1 but they have not    
been the direct results of seasons of   
special revival4  ,great were the       
expectations of the church at that      
,easter as they prepared for a great    
immediate harvest4 ,but it was not      
gathered then4 ,the personal1 individual
 gathering of converts continued as     

usual4 ,the great ,pentecostal          
visitation seemed to have had another   
purpose4 ,each candidate for baptism as 
usual required individual instruction   
and often continued prayer before he or 
she could be thoroughly convinced of the
 necessity of a public confession of our
 ,lord4  ,but the members of the church 
had in the ,pentecost received a new    
baptism of spiritual fire1 and the      
interest in missions and in the ,bible  
was greatly increased4 ,five missions   
were established which soon became      
strong churches4 ,young men arose by the
 score to study for the ministry1 and   
large gifts were made to the ,temple    
,university4 ,many kinds of local       
enterprises for the poor1 the drunken1  
the foreigners1 and the aged were opened
 by them in the city and suburbs4       
,chapter ,,iii  ,axioms   ,the prayerful
 soul must be sure that ,god is1 and    
that he heeds the call of his children4 
,the religious soul must believe in a   
real ,divine ,being4 ,one condition     

necessary to successful prayer is a     
fixed belief in the ,maker of all       
things4 ,the ,christian should keep his 
brain supplied with axioms4 ,an axiom is
 a self-evident truth1 an immovable1    
unchangeable fact4 ,it is a fundamental 
principle of which all sane men are     
cognizant4 ,it is a statement of truth  
which is below and above all argument--a
 truth which all men recognize as a part
 of their mental existence4 ,an axiom is
 simply a reference to a necessary      
condition in the framework of the human 
constitution4 ,every living man acts on 
those conditions1 whether he recognizes 
them or not4 ,the man whose common sense
 recognizes those immovable principles  
builds his belief and action on them    
safely4 ,prayer1 like all other         
religious things or conditions1 needs to
 have a sure foundation4 ,therefore1    
axioms which are used as the basis of   
mathematical science are true           
everywhere1 and the worshiper needs to  
recognize them as fully as the civil    

engineer4 ,here are presented some of   
the axioms on which the believer safely 
rests his faith4 ,they cannot be proven1
 because they are vitally and           
essentially true4 ,their nonexistence is
 positively unthinkable4 ,if these      
axioms are not essential to all mental  
action1 then the world is a dreamy      
unreality4  ,two parallel lines will    
never run together or cross each other4 
,all recognize the absolute truth of the
 statement1 and yet no one ever went to 
the end of the lines to get local       
evidence of the fact4 ,two halves are   
equal to the whole1 states the college  
professor before his class4 ,he would be
 an idiot if he tried to prove it4 ,he  
may illustrate the idea by cutting an   
apple into halves and putting them      
together again4 ,but the essential truth
 of the proposition every mind had      
accepted before he mentioned it4 ,two   
quantities or objects which are equal to
 a third quantity or object are equal to
 each other4 ,a boy smiles at the waste 

of time in telling him such an axiomatic
 or self-evident fact4 ,but the         
instructor is not attempting to         
inculcate a new principle1 but rather to
 call attention emphatically to an      
immovable fact woven into the vital     
fabric of all human minds4 ,the thinker 
who stands squarely on those fundamental
 facts can trust himself and can be     
trusted by all4 ,a careful review of one
 thousand and twenty letters relating to
 established cases of successful prayer 
showed that the believer accepted as    
fundamentally true axiomatic facts of   
which the following is a partial list4  
,we know only because the mental        
knowledge is an essential part of our   
intellectual existence4 ,we therefore   
know3       ,that two and two make four4
       ,that we exist4       ,that we   
are independent1 thinking beings4       
,that there is moral obligation to do   
right4       ,that there is good and    
evil4       ,that our essential self is 
not the body4       ,that every effect  

has an adequate cause4       ,that all  
things made had a ,maker4       ,that   
there must have been a ,first ,cause4   
,that all things change4       ,that    
nothing can be annihilated4       ,that 
wickedness should be punished4          
,that goodness should be rewarded4      
,that all happiness depends on the state
 of mind4       ,that there is a        
permeating spirit moving on all the     
events about      mankind4       ,that  
man must eat to live4       ,that when  
man has done his best1 yet his success  
still depends on      ,providence--often
 called ,good ,fortune or ,good ,luck4  
,that prayer can influence external     
conditions4       ,that light is not    
darkness4       ,that love is not hate4 
,that up is not down4       ,that the   
future is not the past4       ,that all 
men must leave the body4       ,that    
mankind is sinful4       ,that somewhere
 justice must be done to clear up the   
inequalities of      this life4         
,that men essentially evil would not be 

at home or welcomed in a      heaven    
occupied only by the good4       ,that  
worshiping an ideal of perfect          
righteousness makes the      worshiper  
like the ideal1 as a perfect model makes
 a more perfect      statue4       ,that
 some things have more intrinsic value  
than others4       ,that the highest    
satisfaction of soul is in the communion
 with ,god4       ,that the soul is     
indestructible and must live forever4   
,these axioms are unchangeably true1 and
 all doubts or attempts to prove them   
bring only confusion and partial        
insanity4 ,to doubt generally that we   
see or feel or smell or think is to     
undermine all knowledge and to make life
 a crazy jumble4 ,some things we do     
know2 it is suicidal to doubt them4     
,these are mankind's chief good4 ,they  
constitute the world's greatest         
treasure1 which is everyday common      
sense4 ,if common sense1 unadulterated1 
be given any man he will worship ,god4  
,the keenest scientist cannot safely    

leap off that one ship4  ,one of the    
testimonials wherein the author1 who was
 never a student in the school of doubt1
 tells why he came to feel the necessity
 of prayer relates to one day's         
experience4 ,he had decided1 after much 
thought1 just how he would use his time 
before he left his little home in the   
morning4 ,he had made up his mind to    
take a trolley car1 but a heavy truck   
had fallen on the track1 so he was      
compelled to change his plan and walk4  
,he reached his small store one half    
hour late1 and a customer that he had   
arranged to meet had called and gone4   
,he intended to call on a salesman1 of  
whom he was to purchase a new stock of  
goods1 and the telephone was out of     
order1 owing to the effects of the      
electricity of a distant thunderstorm4  
,he sent for a cab for the purpose of   
visiting the salesman at the hotel in   
another part of the city1 but the horse 
attached to the cab fell at the store   
door and broke necessary parts of the   

harness4 ,the accident made his proposed
 trip useless1 because of the delay4 ,he
 ordered his lunch which he usually ate 
in the back store1 but he did not get   
time to eat it1 owing to a visit from a 
salesman from ,new ,york1 who wished him
 to take a large bankrupt stock of a new
 line of goods4 ,the coming profits     
seemed large and sure4 ,he would have   
missed that trade had the car been on   
time or the telephone in order or had   
the horse not fallen4 ,even the lunch he
 had so confidently expected to eat was 
thrown away4 ,he went home at night with
 an entire change in his plans1 and     
entered on a new line of trade4 ,his    
wife was absent1 attending on a sick    
neighbor1 and his evening paper was too 
torn to read4 ,when he knelt at his     
bedside that night to pray the feeling  
of utter dependence on ,god's providence
 made him throw himself on the ,lord as 
he had never done before4 ,and after he 
was in bed he could hear his daughter   
entertaining her company in the parlor  

by singing1 ,i'll go where ,he wants me 
to go4 ,that merchant was a man of great
 discernment and honest daily piety1 and
 is said to have acted as agent for the 
government in the war time in the       
purchase of ninety millions' worth of   
his line of goods4  ,another writer told
 of a young student for the ministry who
 came home on a visit to his village    
church and tried to prove that the world
 was not created by a personal ,god1    
that evil and sickness are only         
delusions1 and that we do not exist4    
,but an old farmer1 noted for honesty1  
and whose common sense had caused the   
people to insist on his holding for     
years the office of mayor1 arose after  
that leader of the meeting sat down1 and
 remarked1 ,i still believe that1 after 
all that has been said1 my cows are real
 cows1 and my wife is real1 ,christ is  
real1 and my tax bills are real2 and ,i 
believe that that young man will some   
day come to himself1 and admit that he  
was a theological idiot4 ,but that old  

farmer also testified that he did not   
feel the need of asking ,christ for     
definite things1 but declared that      
prayer was his daily recreation1 and all
 things worked together for good4       
,chapter ,,iv  ,praying for ,money   ,in
 all the forty years of praying1 of     
which only a partial record could be    
kept1 there was no topic more           
satisfactory than the experience of such
 a large company in praying for money4  
,there was no prearranged plan of       
procedure and no speculative purpose to 
obtain the help of ,god in the          
accumulation of property4 ,but for some 
reason1 which is not now recalled1 there
 was given out for an evening's         
meditation the topic1 ,shall we pray for
 money8 ,there was a strong division of 
opinion1 some asserting that we are not 
authorized to pray for anything but for 
the ,holy ,spirit4 ,others asserted with
 complete confidence that prayer should 
be made for anything which we felt we   
needed4 ,the majority appeared to be    

assured that men must work and seek only
 the kingdom of ,god1 and that they     
should believe that all other things    
would be given from ,god as we should   
have need4 ,fortunately or              
providentially the men and women who    
held to the theory that ,god commands   
his disciples to pray for money         
determined to put the matter to a fair  
test4 ,they were led by a consecrated   
deacon1 at whose house they held the    
weekly meetings4 ,they did not ask the  
,lord for money at first1 but prayed    
daily for instruction on the important  
question whether it was a duty1 or was  
permissible1 for men to pray for success
 in their secular business4 ,there were 
four men and several business women     
whose experience was especially         
valuable4 ,one of them was the owner or 
partner in a bookbindery4 ,the company  
of believers devoted an entire evening  
to prayer for the prosperity of his     
business4 ,they agreed1 further1 to pray
 for that one thing in unison at twelve 

o'clock each day for one week4 ,the     
conditions were especially for          
observation1 as the owner of the        
business was a devout1 unselfish        
,christian who had determined1 years    
before1 to give a tenth of all his      
income to the ,lord's work1 and he stood
 willing to give his all if any good    
cause demanded such a sacrifice4  ,the  
first week was without visible result1  
and some who were weak in faith         
abandoned the attempt to test the matter
 in that way4 ,but the small number left
 began to study the conditions to which 
the ,lord had required obedience in     
order to be certain of a favorable      
answer4 ,their first conclusion was that
 it is right to ask the ,lord for the   
necessities of life1 which always       
included food1 clothing1 shelter1       
health1 and worship4 ,the good deacon   
stated that he had all of those things4 
,he1 however1 stated that he owed quite 
a large sum in his business obligations1
 and he had prayed to the ,lord to aid  

him in paying his debts4 ,then with one 
accord that company decided to pray for 
that one thing4  ,the amount of the     
debts cannot now be recalled1 but it was
 several thousand dollars1 contracted   
for business furniture and machinery4   
,although there are several witnesses   
living1 it is difficult to state with   
assured accuracy the amounts involved4  
,but to those who shared in the         
experiment the principal facts stand out
 clearly in the memory4 ,the first noon 
prayer was on ,wednesday1 which was the 
day following the prayer meeting4 ,the  
deacon1 after his noon lunch1 went into 
a publishing house on ,chestnut ,street1
 as was his custom almost daily4 ,there 
he was introduced to a gentleman from   
,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 who told the      
deacon that for the first time in life  
he had forgotten his train4 ,he did not 
know the deacon's business when he told 
the deacon that he must return to       
,washington without visiting ,new ,york1
 as his business in ,washington could   

not be left longer without immediate    
attention4 ,but in his explanation he   
mentioned that he intended to give out a
 contract in ,new ,york for the binding 
of blank books for the government4 ,when
 the deacon mentioned the fact that he  
was a bookbinder1 and doing the same    
kind of work1 immediately the gentleman 
became interested1 and remarked that he 
did not know before that such work could
 be done in ,philadelphia4 ,he made some
 inquiry in the store and1 finding the  
deacon's reputation for integrity and   
honesty was very high1 he arranged with 
the deacon to put in new machinery1 to  
hire another floor in the building1 and 
agreed that the government should make  
an advance payment on the first order4  
,the deacon hurried to another member of
 the prayer circle who was a jeweler    
also on ,chestnut ,street and1 with a   
tear1 declared that the ,lord had       
already shown his hand in his business4 
,the third day1 as the deacon was       
looking at some machinery1 the salesman 

told the deacon that he had heard that a
 ,new ,york bindery was going out of    
business on account of a larger         
opportunity for the firm in another line
 of work1 and the salesman advised the  
deacon to go over and see it4 ,when the 
next weekly meeting of the prayer circle
 was held the deacon had bought in ,new 
,york all the machinery that he needed1 
all in good condition1 and at an        
astonishingly low price4 ,ever after    
that the deacon1 when he entered his    
office in the morning1 shut himself in  
for ten minutes and prayed for the      
,lord's direction in his business4      
,another prayer test followed by the    
agreement of that prayer circle to pray 
for the jeweler1 who was one of the     
circle and whose business was in a most 
deplorable condition4 ,the jeweler was  
old and forgetful1 and his son had moved
 out of the city rather than stay among 
his acquaintances when the inevitable   
financial wreck should come4 ,the       
jeweler stated his condition fully to   

the meeting1 and even declared his      
intention of calling a meeting of his   
creditors as a preliminary to bankruptcy
 proceedings4 ,he said that the         
condition was so manifestly his own     
fault that all he dared ask of the ,lord
 was that the creditors would be lenient
 toward him4  ,two or three days after  
that meeting the jeweler's son was      
called to ,philadelphia to attend the   
funeral of a member of his wife's       
family4 ,after the funeral1 while       
talking with a manufacturer from        
,baltimore1 who was one of the mourners1
 the son said that his father was a     
first-class clock maker of forty years' 
experience1 but that he was unfitted for
 the management of finances4 ,the       
manufacturer said that he needed an     
experienced man to superintend a new    
factory in ,baltimore1 then under       
construction4 ,the son advised his      
father to write to the manufacturer for 
the job to begin work when he should    
close his ,chestnut ,street store4 ,the 

jeweler wrote a long description of his 
troubles1 and asked for employment4 ,the
 manufacturer1 after receiving it1 took 
a train to ,philadelphia and then spent 
the afternoon and the greater part of   
the night in trying to make a reasonable
 estimation of the value of the         
,chestnut ,street business4 ,the outcome
 of that examination was that the       
manufacturer took over the whole        
business1 paid off the debts1 and formed
 partnership with the jeweler which     
opened into a prosperous trade4  ,an old
 lady who must have been one of that    
prayer circle wrote that she recalled   
the fact that the circle agreed to pray 
for her business1 which was then a      
notion store on ,columbia ,avenue1      
,philadelphia4 ,she writes that soon    
after the united prayer for her business
 began there was a fire which destroyed 
the store next to her lot4 ,in the      
reconstruction of the next store the    
owner was anxious to build larger and   
offered her an unexpectedly large sum as

 a bonus and also desired to combine in 
a partnership with her to put both      
stores into one general store4 ,the     
bonus she invested in an annuity1 and   
the business afterward paid her enough  
to live in all the comforts of a        
cultured life4  ,it is said that        
everyone of that prayer circle became   
prosperous1 but it may be helpful to    
mention one more of the most remarkable 
cases4 ,a young clerk in a great        
national bank1 who came from a farm to  
learn what he could there of finances1  
stated freely that he was getting all   
that he was worth to the bank1 and that 
he was contented with his financial     
condition4 ,he told the circle that he  
did not wish to be included in their    
prayer list4 ,but when the reports began
 to come in of the successful prayers   
and the circle grew in numbers and in   
interest he began to consider how much  
more good he could do if he had a larger
 income4 ,he handled thousands of       
dollars daily1 and checked up often the 

accounts of prosperous and generous     
business men of the city4 ,at last the  
desire to be of more use to the ,lord   
led him to begin to pray for money4     
,finally1 he confessed his changed      
attitude and asked the circle to give   
one week of prayer for him4 ,a few days 
later an epidemic of the grippe laid in 
bed all but three of the bank's         
employees4 ,one day the assistant       
cashier and the clerk were the only     
persons on time at the opening of the   
bank4 ,they persuaded a vice president  
of another bank to come to their        
assistance1 and he was so impressed with
 the young clerk's efficiency and       
coolness that he offered him the place  
of assistant cashier in his own bank4   
,the position was finally accepted1 and 
led to his promotion1 a few years after1
 to the presidency of the bank4  ,the   
experience of that prayer circle was    
more or less the general experience of  
the church members4 ,the suggestions of 
a church service1 the aid to an honest  

and industrious life1 and the greater   
health of church members1 generally     
confirm everywhere the fact that the    
,christian faith and habits are surely  
the most favorable for the life that now
 is1 as well as for the life which is to
 come4  ,in connection with this phase  
of our narrative there should be written
 a brief account of an experience which 
surprised even the most conservative    
minds4 ,appeals for subscriptions have  
been made rarely in the ,temple4 ,such  
appeals have accomplished but little4   
,the regular gifts of the many persons  
have steadily paid all expenses and     
provided enough over to finally pay off 
all debts4  ,but there were seasons when
 unusual sums were needed and when the  
money was furnished from some unexpected
 sources seemingly in direct answers to 
special prayer4 ,on one occasion there  
was an especially large sum given into  
the treasury when it was imperatively   
needed and when no notice of the need   
had been given from the pulpit4 ,on one 

,sunday morning the preacher could find 
no other satisfactory subject on which  
to build a sermon1 and he talked with   
the people about the ,bible-school      
lesson for that day4 ,the subject       
included a description of how the ,jews 
were required to select the best lamb of
 the flock for an offering to ,god4     
,they did not hope that ,god would hear 
their prayers unless they gave their    
best to the ,lord4 ,the sermon closed   
with a sentence or two of application to
 our own times4 ,the emphatic           
exhortation stated that offerings and   
prayers should go together1 but the     
offering should precede the prayer4 ,at 
the evening service some person sent to 
the pulpit a note1 asking that the      
printed order of services be changed so 
as1 thereafter1 to substitute the word  
'offering' for the word 'collection4'   
,the minister1 acting on the impulse of 
the moment1 announced a change in the   
order of the services1 and said that as 
the ancient custom of making an offering

 before asking the ,lord for a gift or  
blessing was surely acceptable to ,god1 
an offering would be taken before the   
prayer1 instead of after the prayer4 ,no
 unusual sum came in that evening4 ,the 
notes of the church were coming due ten 
days later4 ,but those debts were not   
thought of by minister or ushers in any 
relation to that offering1 though       
prayers were often made for the help of 
the ,lord in the payment of the debt4   
,the following ,sunday morning the      
collection was said to be the largest   
ever received by the ushers2 while the  
fact was not mentioned from the pulpit1 
it was the subject of general comment   
among the people after service4 ,at the 
evening service the offering was so     
great that one of the ushers related how
 he had to go out and empty the basket  
he was passing and come back to finish  
taking the offering4 ,nothing else had  
been done or said1 and the church notes 
were paid as a matter of course4 ,but   
the prayers made that day were made     

immediately before the offering was     
taken4 ,the question was put to the     
audience twice to ascertain if anyone   
who made a special offering on that     
particular day had not been answered1   
and there was no exception in the mass  
of testimony to the efficiency of each  
prayer that day4 ,the recitals of the   
marvels which followed that prayerful   
offering were too startling for general 
belief4 ,the reports may have been      
exaggerated in the time of such general 
excitement1 but the people had complied 
with the conditions1 and ,god had       
answered clearly according to his       
promise4 ,they had brought the tithes   
into the storehouse1 and the ,lord had  
poured out the blessings as an          
infallible result4 ,the letters which   
came to the officials of the church     
relating incidents concerning the       
effects of the prayers made that day    
were not filed then as they have been in
 later years1 and the record here must  
depend wholly on the memory of two or   

three witnesses4  ,the following partial
 list of cases is very nearly correct4  
,the cases of sudden and in some cases  
instantaneous recovery of the sick were 
related by hundreds of people4 ,in one  
case a poor man whose only living child 
was insane put his money into the basket
 that morning and prayed for his child's
 recovery4 ,both he and she often       
declared that while being forcibly given
 a cold bath at the time that offering  
was made she felt a loud report in her  
head like the report of a pistol1 and   
her mind was found to be normal in all  
respects from that instant4 ,the father 
went to the sanitarium that afternoon1  
as was his custom on the ,sabbath1 and  
his daughter met him at the door in her 
right mind4  ,a lady sold her best      
clothes and all her jewelry on ,saturday
 and brought the whole of the proceeds  
and gave all as an offering as she      
prayed for her own healing4 ,she        
suffered greatly from sciatic           
rheumatism1 inherited from several      

generations4 ,she fell on the front     
steps of the church1 as they were       
helping her to the carriage1 and arose  
to find the pain had permanently        
disappeared4  ,one old gentleman who was
 involved in a ruinous lawsuit over a   
lease of his little shop brought all the
 profits of the previous week and       
deposited them as he prayed for a legal 
and just victory4 ,the next day or on   
the second day his goods were so badly  
damaged by the smoke and water1 caused  
by a fire in the store next door1 that  
the insurance company took the stock at 
his valuation and the landlord withdrew 
his suit4  ,another case generally      
believed1 but not fully confirmed1 was  
of an ,englishman who1 not having money 
enough to pay his fare to ,australia1   
deposited all that he did have into the 
offering and prayed for his passage4 ,it
 was asserted and not contradicted that 
he found a one-hundred-dollar bill the  
next day in his wallet or in his bureau 
drawer1 placed there by some friend whom

 he could not discover4 ,another related
 how she determined to risk all on one  
prayer1 and gave all as she prayed4     
,when the plumbers came to repair a leak
 the next week after the prayer they    
discovered a loose board in the floor   
under which her father had secretly     
hidden his money4 ,the sum she found was
 much more than enough to pay off the   
overdue mortgage on her cottage4  ,there
 were probably fifty such cases reported
 in detail at the time4 ,but a solemn   
sense of sacredness connected with those
 experiences pervaded the assemblies1   
and no notice of the cases was given    
from the pulpit4 ,and yet a calm and    
careful examination of the results of   
that exercise of faith has often        
suggested a strong doubt whether that   
experience did not do more harm than    
good4  ,the direct and immediate results
 convinced the devout believers that    
when a true servant of ,god makes a     
sincere offering ,god will invariably   
accept the offering and answer in some  

manner his petition fully4 ,but it seems
 impossible to find the line between the
 motives which may make an offering     
acceptable or unacceptable to ,god4 ,the
 remarkable success of that day of      
offering led many to believe that they  
could drive a bargain with the ,lord4   
,absurd as it seems1 there were many    
earnest ,christians who believed that   
they could invest a small sum in an     
offering and by asking for a large sum  
would make an immense profit in the     
transaction4 ,a dangerous spirit of     
gambling arose4 ,noble men and women    
were caught in a theological net spread 
by the spirit of evil4 ,the heavens soon
 became brass and no offering seemed    
acceptable4 ,it was a dangerous period  
in the history of the church4 ,some gave
 up all faith in prayer4 ,the           
speculative spirit led some to give     
largely with a hope of a hundredfold    
return4 ,the treasury of the church was 
being filled rapidly1 but there were    
divisions over the investment of the    

money4 ,some strong members left the    
church1 while several counted their     
offerings as a dead loss and went back  
into the world altogether4  ,but there  
is left a good foundation for a         
consistent belief in the power of       
consistent prayer in producing objective
 results4 ,while it may be difficult for
 a human father to discern between the  
motives of his child who brings him a   
gift so as to be sure that the gift is  
the exhibition of a pure affection1 yet 
the ,lord has no such limitation4 ,he   
knows whether the offering is a gambling
 venture or a lovely deed inspired by a 
pure1 unselfish love4 ,god does love and
 does answer a cheerful giver4 ,the     
loving son remembers the unselfish      
devotion of his mother and the offerings
 she gave him without thought of any    
return or reward and his delight to have
 her ask him to do for her4 ,god is     
love1 and he loves the lover4 ,his      
intrinsic nature compels him to answer  
the call of his beloved4 ,but he cannot 

be driven or tricked into granting the  
prayer of a greedy deceiver whose whole 
motive is selfish4 ,the idea is         
foolishly unrighteous which looks upon  
the arrangement of ,providence as a slot
 machine into which the pretended       
worshiper may put a copper penny and    
draw out a gold dollar4 ,as gold must be
 given for gold1 so love must be given  
for love4     ,chapter ,v  ,unanswered  
,prayers   ,the many letters which      
report that prayers have not been       
answered made the examination into that 
department of the investigation to be   
most discouraging until the testimonies 
were read the second or third time4     
,slowly it dawned on the reader that the
 writers did not know1 after all1       
whether their prayers were answered or  
not4 ,a bright light was let in on the  
subject by the expression of one who    
stated that he had prayed for the means 
to pay off a mortgage on his home until 
he had abandoned all hope and had       
decided to sell his house to the        

railroad company for a siding4 ,in      
answer to a later inquiry the           
discouraged petitioner stated that the  
jury1 to which by contract both parties 
agreed to leave the assessment of the   
land damages1 had given him money enough
 to buy a much finer home away from the 
continual annoyance of passing trains4  
,many of the wholly disappointed        
petitioners closed their complaints or  
doleful faultfinding outbursts with the 
stereotyped quotation1 nevertheless1 not
 my will1 but ,thine be done6 ,to some  
the heavens are as brass2 to others1    
their prayers did not go higher than    
their heads1 and to still others their  
prayers became meaningless and like     
words called into the thin air4 ,this   
phase of our topic could not be followed
 up as far as a careful investigator    
could wish1 because it involved so much 
correspondence and so much delay4 ,but a
 general statement of the conclusions   
reached by those whose prayers had1     
seemingly1 not been answered can be     

safely made4 ,they all naturally and    
necessarily formed a concept of ,god by 
imagining him to be an all-mighty and   
all-good man4 ,the human mind seems     
incapable of forming any other idea of  
,god than can be obtained from a human  
model1 greatly enlarged4 ,jesus knew    
what was in man when he taught his      
disciples to say1 ,our ,father4 ,human  
kings1 human fathers1 human saints human
 sinners are really pictured in the     
minds of all who strive to visualize the
 ,almighty1 or his ,son1 or the angels4 
,no ,hindu can even think ,nirvana4 ,no 
mind can meditate on nothing4           
,everything conceived in the mind must  
be like something else4 ,reasoning from 
the known to the unknown1 or the lesser 
to the greater1 is the only possible    
process by which man can know ,god4 ,so 
all those seemingly defeated ones had   
looked up to ,god as to a great man1 and
 when he seemed to do nothing in answer 
to their requests they concluded that he
 either did not hear or that he would   

not even reply4 ,they did not think1    
however1 of their heavenly ,father as   
they would of an earthly father who was 
perfectly good4 ,a good and wise father 
must often deny his child the article   
for which he asks1 but he will not      
dismiss the matter with a curt denial4  
,he will try to find something else for 
his child1 as has been already stated in
 a previous chapter4 ,the testimonies   
which asserted that the all-good ,god   
had denied or ignored the requests of   
his followers were the strongest proofs 
of the fact that ,god had granted their 
requests4 ,the father who would not give
 a stone to his child who asked for     
bread would not give a stone to his     
starving child who asked for a stone4   
,in those seasons when the attention of 
the people was centered specially on the
 results of prayer there was often heard
 the expression1 ,perhaps ,he sees that 
it is best for me that ,i should not get
 the blessing for which ,i asked4 ,but a
 consensus of opinion taken from the    

mass of correspondence showed a general 
belief that there are no unanswered     
prayers4 ,they believed that in some    
other way which was better and wiser    
,god sent his child a more valuable     
token of his love4  ,those reports gave 
the student an insight into the popular 
religious beliefs of the common people4 
,the theological creeds and formulas    
which are found in the libraries are    
written by talented1 studious scholars  
who put their own conclusion into print 
and do not attempt to set out the       
opinions retained by the masses4 ,often 
a silent congregation retains a strong  
belief in some theological idea which   
the preacher does not recognize4 ,often 
the minister of a church1 having the    
reputation of being firmly orthodox1    
teaches theories which are not accepted 
by his hearers4 ,hence1 the scrutiny of 
all that correspondence covering so many
 years gave an insight into the faith of
 the everyday ,christian which was      
enlightening and helpful4  ,the         

testimony came from a much wider circle 
than the actual membership of that      
church1 as visitors at the ,temple from 
other quarters of the earth sent in     
their accounts of the way the ,lord had 
answered their prayers4 ,in those       
letters some remark or some statement   
often unconsciously disclosed this      
belief relating to prayer4 ,their       
beliefs concerning death1 the ,judgment1
 the future life1 the methods used by   
the ,lord in his administration1 and the
 occupations of the saints in heaven    
most strangely harmonized when a careful
 digest was made4 ,the divine plan of   
salvation and the ,creator's purpose    
revealed in natural law were sometimes  
quite at variance with the dogmas of the
 pulpit4 ,but the common theories came  
out so distinctly that a statement of   
them is a matter of no difficulty4  ,the
 common people connected directly or    
indirectly with the ,christian churches 
believe3       ,that every person lives 
on as an individual after the body dies4

       ,that the life on earth          
determines the state of happiness or    
misery      in the spiritual existence4 
,that the soul is of the same substance 
as that of the angels4       ,that the  
occupation of the redeemed in the spirit
 world is the same      as that of the  
angels4       ,that the departed persons
 know one another and keep company with 
those they have loved and known on      
earth4       ,that they serve ,god as   
his messengers to the inhabitants of the
      earth4       ,that they cannot be 
called nor can they visit the earth     
unless      especially sent by the      
,almighty4       ,that the condition of 
the wicked or of those unfit for ,god's 
service in heaven is unknown4           
,that after the ,judgment there may come
 the annihilation of the      wicked4   
,that heaven is a condition of          
everlasting progress in knowledge4      
,that salvation depends on the intrinsic
 character1 and that a      conversion  
to ,christ is a conversion to a godly   

character4       ,that many of the      
ceremonies of the churches are useless1 
and that      the various denominations 
should endeavor to unite in some one    
federation4       ,that ,god is         
gradually building up a perfect human   
race on earth4       ,that he commands  
his servants to come to his aid in      
securing that      end4       ,that the 
best or only way to fit ourselves for   
heaven is in the      practice and      
discipline of helping humanity in the   
development of a      higher race4      
,that ,christ is a divine ,spirit1      
existing from everlasting to            
everlasting1 and that his atonement for 
sinners is a part of ,god's      great  
purpose to people earth and heaven with 
perfect beings4  ,but the consensus of  
the opinion which related to prayer and 
the methods the ,lord adopts to convey  
his answers should have special notice  
here4 ,there was a decided agreement in 
their imaginative conception of the way 
the ,lord arranged for the conveyance of

 his decisions to those who call upon   
him4  ,they hold in common that ,god is 
immanent in nature1 and his replies to  
our requests may come as quietly and    
mysteriously as ,god's answer to the    
farmer who1 in an act which is a prayer1
 places a seed in the ground4  ,many    
testified to their belief that all      
things work together in producing the   
effects of prayer on those who love     
,god4 ,nearly all1 also1 believed that  
,god often called an angel to him when  
the prayer of faith came to him from the
 earth1 and that he gave the angel      
personal instructions to visit the      
petitioner and aid him or her4 ,the     
views of the ,bible and its doctrines1  
according to the general opinion1 appear
 to be that it is the best book ever    
written1 and that it was inspired by a  
purpose so pure and unselfish as to be  
divine4 ,one old lady expressed the     
general sentiment of the entire body    
when she wrote that1 the ,bible is the  
best book ,i know of1 and it is the only

 one which tells me about heaven1 and ,i
 don't let any fool of a scholar argue  
it out of my life4  ,the feeling of the 
average reader of the ,bible is         
decidedly in favor of the ,king ,james  
translation of the ,bible1 with the     
introductive address to the king        
omitted4 ,the division of that old      
translation into short verses was of    
great assistance to the memory1 and was 
generally quoted by all classes4 ,but   
when the new translation was set solidly
 in type it decidedly changed the       
appearance of the book and added        
emphasis to an impression that a new and
 different book had taken the place of  
the ,bible4 ,the ,bible was largely     
discarded by the common people wherever 
the new version was forcibly introduced4
 ,the old translation1 with explanatory 
notes in the margin1 was the ideal      
,bible for the masses1 and had it been  
retained the general disappearance of   
the ,bible from the homes and libraries 
would have been avoided4 ,the so-called 

authorized version was followed by many 
versions privately translated to        
emphasize some creed or belief and added
 much to the confusion of the common    
people4 ,the changes in the wording of  
the new translation were sufficient also
 to make those who had quoted the old   
version with confidence doubt the       
correctness of their previous knowledge1
 and led1 naturally1 to the             
discontinuance of ,bible quotations by  
those who knew the ,bible best4 ,the    
popular opinion appears to be that the  
new translation was a great hindrance to
 the use of the ,english ,bible4  ,the  
number of readers of the ,bible1        
however1 is much larger than the        
estimate which many modern writers give4
 ,the ,sabbath school and haphazard     
pulpit essays have not so completely    
supplanted the home study of the        
,scriptures1 as has been so often       
stated4 ,the use of the ,bible as the   
standard of moral character continues to
 be the practice of millions who may not

 study it closely or may not read it at 
all4 ,that miracle-working ,book is     
still a most powerful moral force in all
 departments of our civilized life4 ,no 
patriot or respectable scholar can      
ignore the value of the ,bible as the   
highest literature or as the foundation 
for all just human laws4 ,the people do 
believe in it4     ,chapter ,,vi        
,prayer for ,others   ,although it is   
difficult to divide the subject of      
prayer into clearly separate            
departments1 yet1 for the purpose of    
concentrating the thought of the reader1
 and with the idea of emphasizing the   
importance of the events selected1 this 
chapter has been set apart for special  
discussion4 ,the possible relation of   
the law of mental telepathy to this     
experience has already been suggested   
and need not be repeated here4 ,but the 
recent general sympathy with the parents
 of a child which was stolen led many   
,christians to pray for the recovery of 
the precious little one4 ,at the ,temple

 in #ahhi such a case was presented at  
the church services and an appeal made  
to the people to ask the ,lord to       
influence the kidnapers to bring back   
the child4 ,that led to the discussion  
of many previous cases where the parents
 believed that their lost child was     
returned to them in answer to prayer4   
,in two cases each child was carefully  
deposited at the door of its parents4   
,in both cases they had held special    
meetings of their neighbors to pray for 
the return of their child1 and in one   
case they had appealed to the priest for
 his intercession4 ,if the ,lord used   
his direct power to bring the child home
 it must have been used through some    
event or some direct suggestion having  
an influence on the minds of the        
captors1 because in the cases here      
mentioned there was no clew revealed    
which could lead to the abductors4  ,but
 an older case may illustrate what most 
probably did occur in other instances4  
,in #ahhi a child two years of age was  

stolen from the front yard of a home in 
,charlestown1 ,massachusetts 7now a part
 of ,boston74 ,a large ransom was       
demanded which was far beyond the reach 
of the parents4 ,after several weeks of 
excited search by all the police        
organizations of the nation the child   
was secretly returned1 without ransom1  
and left cheerfully rapping on its      
parents' door4 ,one of the robber gang  
who had conspired to steal children for 
ransoms1 and who had laid the successful
 plan to capture that child1 was        
arrested several days after the return  
of the child and confessed his share in 
the crime4 ,his account of the          
influences and events which led to the  
restoration of the child was a most     
impressive and convincing illustration  
of the spiritual forces ,god may use in 
such cases4  ,the band of four robbers  
could not quiet the child when they     
carried him away1 and they resorted to a
 gag which nearly killed the child4 ,but
 the frightened little fellow screamed  

whenever the gag was taken from his     
mouth and would not eat or drink4 ,the  
child was evidently near to death4 ,then
 one of the robbers carried the child to
 a woman who occupied a room over a     
saloon in ,brooklyn1 ,new ,york4 ,the   
woman was able to pacify the child1 and 
explained to acquaintances that the     
child was an orphan whose mother1 a near
 relation1 had just died4 ,the woman    
knew that the child was being held for a
 ransom1 of which she was promised a    
large share4 ,but she did not know from 
what part of the country the child came4
 ,she was an irreligious1 coarse1       
profane woman1 and cared only for money 
and drink4 ,but one day she sent a      
letter to the resort of the gang and    
told them that she had a clear          
presentiment that something dreadful    
would happen to them if they did not    
hurry up the business of returning the  
child4 ,as they paid no attention to her
 warnings she wrote again1 saying that  
she would keep the child but ten days   

longer4 ,they then visited her or wrote 
to her to care for the child three weeks
 longer1 as they were sure of the swag  
by that time4  ,in the following week   
one of the gang was caught by the foot  
in a falling window sash as he tried to 
leap to a fire escape and he was burned 
to death while he hung there4 ,the hotel
 was in full blaze when he awoke and his
 only possible escape was by that       
window4 ,another one of the gang        
swallowed a broken glass button when    
hastily eating a piece of biscuit at a  
railroad restaurant4 ,he was taken to a 
hospital or sanitarium in ,montreal1    
where after long agony he died1 and his 
body was buried in the public ground4   
,when the woman who held the child heard
 of that she took the child boldly to   
the house where the other three or four 
abductors met and flatly told them that 
all of them would come under a curse if 
they did not return that child to his   
parents4 ,but they made a joke of their 
comrades' death1 and gave her brandy    

until she wandered home drunk4 ,the     
child was then placed in charge of a    
poor widow in ,hoboken1 who was told    
that the mother was dead and the father 
was at sea1 but would soon return4 ,they
 paid liberally in advance for the      
child's board1 and none of the          
circumstances awakened the least        
suspicion in the widow's mind4 ,one     
night she slept with the child's arm    
across her neck4 ,she awoke with a      
dreadful feeling of being choked to     
death by a strong man who exclaimed1    
,that child is stolen1 and you must     
appear before ,god at once to give an   
account4 ,the details of her experiences
 are here quoted from the ,new ,york    
,herald4       ,the widow called it a   
waking dream4 ,she was so shocked by the
      experience that she would not keep
 the child and sent for the man      who
 had brought the child and demanded that
 the child be at once      taken away4  
,she did not believe that her warning   
was a premonition      of any crime nor 

that the child had been stolen1 but she 
was in a      state of strange terror   
and told the man who came for the child 
that she was too nervous to board so    
young a child4       ,it appears that   
when the robber returned to the usual   
rendezvous1      after leaving the child
 at an orphan asylum and agreeing to pay
 for      the board of his child1 he    
found another member of the party down  
with a sudden and dangerous fever4 ,then
 he1 too1 was struck with an            
impression of coming doom4 ,it remained 
upon him night and day4 ,he      became 
so intoxicated that he was locked in the
 jail4 ,in the      depression of his   
recovery from the drink he determined to
 kill      himself4 ,then the idea that 
he might escape from his horror by      
taking the child back to its home became
 so insistent that as soon      as he   
was released he went after the child and
 took it back on the      night train4  
,he told the lisping child to rap on his
 father's door      and call for papa4  

,then he hastened away and did not      
return to      his former gang4  ,this  
authentic incident may or may not prove 
that prayer was answered1 as it is not  
known what prayers were offered for that
 child's recovery4 ,but it does show how
 the ,lord may work in other cases where
 prayers are openly made4 ,the angels of
 ,god are sent to pronounce curses on   
the disobedient sometimes1 and terrible 
plagues are sent on men by them4 ,hence1
 the ,lord does use various curses to   
work out his will and it seems          
reasonable to believe that he does warn 
men and women by terrible mental        
impressions4  ,this theory is strongly  
confirmed by the testimonies found in   
this large correspondence4 ,lost        
children were restored after prayers    
were made for them in startlingly       
impressive manners4 ,at ,cape ,may a    
fisherman obeyed a wholly unexplainable 
impulse and put back to the marshes1    
feeling that he had left something1 but 
unable to remember what it was4 ,there  

he heard the cry of the lost child1     
wading waist deep in the incoming tide4 
,a merchant of ,wilmington1 ,delaware1  
wrote that his child was taken by the   
grandparents when his wife died1 and    
after the grandparents died the child   
was hidden by the relatives4 ,the reason
 for the action was because of a        
difference of religious faith4 ,he began
 one day a regular system of prayer for 
the recovery of his child4 ,he went to a
 fishing camp in the woods of ,maine in 
,august and his child came into his log 
hut for a drink of water4 ,she was with 
a party who camped near by in tents4    
,another stolen child was the little son
 of a doctor who prayed long and hard   
for the return of his little son4 ,the  
sudden attack of chills felt by a       
passenger on a ,hudson ,river boat at   
the pier caused the officers to call him
 on board from the wharf4 ,the afflicted
 matron and his own child were in the   
same stateroom together4  ,one          
trustworthy officer of the church       

testified that his child had wandered   
away from the railroad station while he 
was asleep on the bench1 and that he    
could not find her after an all-night   
search4 ,he prayed at his family        
prayers1 asking the ,lord in sobs to    
protect and return his child4 ,he said  
that an impression as strong as a voice 
insisted in his mind that he ought to   
search in some freight yards across the 
river4 ,the yards were one mile from the
 station4 ,he told his friends how he   
felt and insisted that he would go to   
the yards and search4 ,there he found   
his starving child under an old fallen  
fence4 ,he never could discover any     
satisfactory solution of the mystery of 
her presence in the railroad yards4 ,she
 must have toddled the whole mile among 
vehicles in the night4 ,he has firmly   
believed in guardian angels ever since  
that day4  ,there were numerous cases   
told of mental impressions made upon    
children away from home by the influence
 of a mother's prayer4 ,to all of these 

incidents the skeptic will assert that1 
though there be millions of cases where 
men and women happened to think of the  
person praying at the moment the prayer 
was offered1 it would not be conclusive 
proof that the thought was suggested by 
the prayer or in answer to it4 ,but this
 suggestion presents other cases wherein
 it is far more difficult to disbelieve 
than it is to believe4 ,the weight of   
evidence is almost overwhelmingly on the
 side of the ,christian believer4  ,the 
belief that ,god will so adjust his     
providences as to bring to a person     
friends1 weather1 business1 health1 and 
domestic peace in answer to the prayer  
of some insistent friend is almost      
universal4 ,general ,garibaldi stated   
that he found that his belief in the    
efficacy of his mother's prayers in     
securing protection of his life when in 
danger was accepted by all his friends  
as a statement which at least might be  
realized4 ,the common-sense view that   
where a theory cannot be subjected to   

proof either way it surely is wisest to 
believe in that view which has the      
strongest influence for good on the life
 and usefulness of the believer4 ,what a
 man believeth1 as well as what he      
thinketh1 determines what he is4 ,he who
 believes in the efficacy of his        
father's or mother's prayers lives a    
nobler life than the skeptic4 ,the      
sincere trusting heart which believes   
that the ,christ is the ,son of ,god1   
and that man is under the oversight of a
 loving heavenly ,father1 is nearer the 
highest standard of human perfection    
than is the unstable and reckless man   
who claims that all things exist by     
chance4  ,the friend who sincerely prays
 for you is a friend who would sacrifice
 most for you in case of need4 ,two     
lovers1 separated far and praying long  
for each other1 is an exhibition of the 
truest1 sweetest love4 ,it is1 also1 the
 best test of ,god's disposition to heed
 the requests of his children4 ,no      
prayer for another can be felt to be    

effective which is not inspired more or 
less by real love4 ,the loving heart is 
a large part of a great previous        
character4 ,he or she has an            
intercessory disposition--an intrinsic  
tendency toward doing good1 and that1   
with a strong1 clean mind1 makes a true 
,christian4 ,such men are grateful to   
those who pray for them1 and are        
impelled to pray for others4 ,these are 
some of the reasons given by ,christians
 why people ought always to pray4       
,chapter ,,vii  ,forms of ,prayer   ,it 
appears that the extremest ritualist    
does not feel wholly bound to his prayer
 book4 ,the people exercise great       
liberty in the choice of words or       
postures when they go to ,christ in     
anxious prayer4 ,appropriate forms are  
reasonably sought for varying occasions1
 and some of the forms of prayer which  
are venerable for age and sublimity are 
reverenced and adopted because so often 
they best express the heart's sincere   
desire4 ,the ,lord's ,prayer is recited 

with profit in a formal church service1 
but is seldom recited in time of extreme
 need4 ,during the earthquake at ,san   
,francisco no one was known to have     
repeated the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,christ   
directed his disciples to pray after    
that manner1 and the spirit of that     
prayer1 as well as the divine ideas or  
principles it contains1 are applicable  
everywhere4  ,but the exact words in    
,english are not adjustable to every    
occasion4 ,men in earnest ask for what  
they need in their own words and in     
their own way4 ,the effectual and       
fervent prayer of the righteous man     
availeth much because it is fervent and 
righteous4 ,to be in every way right1   
and then to add the inspiration or fire 
or fervency1 are conditions which only  
the righteous can fill4 ,but1 happily1  
the sinner is not required to be right  
in all things before his prayer is      
heard4 ,the stately dignity and         
beautiful phraseology of the ,catholic  
churches1 the impressive forms of the   

old ,english ritual1 or the simple      
appeal of the mission worker are all    
alike acceptable to ,god when they are  
the expression of real heart worship or 
of a call for relief in some actual     
need4  ,in the worship at the ,baptist  
,temple there has been no form of prayer
 in which the people so sincerely and so
 generally joined as in the prayers     
found in some of the hymns4 ,a study of 
the human or apparent agencies which may
 have had some influence does not fully 
account for the spirit of prayer which  
some hymns awaken4 ,a cool and          
analytical examination of this subject  
was made by the preacher one ,sabbath   
morning for the purpose of recording it 
here4 ,a relation of the plain facts1   
without using the circumstances to      
establish any sectarian theory1 will    
most clearly set out the case before the
 impartial critic4 ,the hymn chosen that
 morning for the opening of the service 
was selected chiefly because it is a    
prayer4 ,the three verses are as        

follows3      ,,father1 ,,whate',,er    
,,of ,,earthly ,,bliss      ,father1    
whate'er of earthly bliss       ,thy    
sovereign will denies1     ,accepted at 
thy throne of grace1       ,let this    
petition rise3      ,give me a calm1 a  
thankful heart1       ,from every murmur
 free2     ,the blessings of thy grace  
impart1       ,and make me live to thee4
      ,let the sweet hope that thou art 
mine       ,my life and death attend1   
,thy presence through my journey shine1 
,and crown my journey's end4  ,the      
people were everywhere in motion4 ,some 
were coming in1 some were standing near 
the doors1 some were talking in low     
voices in the rear of the deep gallery1 
and many were arranging for their wraps 
or hats1 while all1 in the freedom of   
the social atmosphere ever prevailing   
there1 were smilingly nodding to        
acquaintances or searching for hymn     
books4 ,the opening chorus of the       
,children's ,church1 at their regular   
service1 in the lower hall1 could be    

indistinctly heard4 ,the painful and    
awkward silence which embarrasses and   
chills the incoming worshiper in some   
churches was altogether absent that     
morning4 ,the preacher began to read the
 hymn without waiting for silence or    
attention4 ,he simply remarked1 ,let us 
sincerely and intelligently use this old
 hymn for our opening prayer4 ,the      
congregation arose while the organist   
played a sweet1 tender prelude1 giving  
the impression that the organ itself was
 praying4 ,a fair-haired child1 kneeling
 in a snow-white night robe1 lisping its
 evening prayer1 was suggested to       
hundreds by the worshipful music4 ,the  
well-trained religious chorus began to  
sing with devotion and unity and opened 
the prayer with the harmonious call1    
,father6 ,the congregation instinctively
 raised their eyes toward heaven4 ,then 
all came strongly into the hymn with the
 petition3      ,father1 whate'er of    
earthly bliss       ,thy sovereign will 
denies1     ,accepted at thy throne of  

grace1       ,let this petition rise3   
,give me a calm1 a thankful heart1      
,from every murmur free2     ,the       
blessings of thy grace impart1          
,and make me live to thee4  ,there was a
 single strain of an interlude and then 
the solemn prayer was entered upon with 
an unction and appreciation that        
thrilled every soul in the great        
audience3      ,let the sweet hope that 
thou art mine       ,my life and death  
attend1     ,thy presence through my    
journey shine1       ,and crown my      
journey's end4  ,then came a pause1 and 
with a magnificent volume of sound the  
emphatic ,amen6 confirmed the           
earnestness of the prayer4 ,that was a  
real prayer6 ,the holiness of the spirit
 of worship had taken possession of the 
whole congregation4 ,all were interested
 in the reading of the ,bible1 and when 
the notices were being read a most      
saintly old deacon sent up a slip of    
paper to the preacher on which were     
written these words--,pastor1 please    

give us another prayer for the next     
hymn6 ,the pastor read the note to the  
people without comment1 and looked over 
the hymn book for another prayer1 when  
his eyes fell on the following hymn3    
,,jesus1 ,i ,,my ,,cross ,,have ,,taken 
,jesus1 ,i my cross have taken1         
,all to leave and follow thee2          
,naked1 poor1 despised1 forsaken1       
,thou1 from hence1 my all shalt be3     
,perish every fond ambition1       ,all 
,i've sought1 and hop'd1 and known2     
,yet how rich is my condition1          
,god and heav'n are still my own6       
,let the world despise and leave me1    
,they have left my ,saviour1 too2       
,human hearts and looks deceive me2     
,thou art not1 like man1 untrue2        
,and1 while thou shalt smile upon me1   
,god of wisdom1 love1 and might1        
,foes may hate and friends may shun me2 
,show thy face1 and all is bright4      
,go1 then1 earthly fame and treasure6   
,come1 disaster1 scorn1 and pain6       
,in thy service1 pain is pleasure2      

,with thy favor1 loss is gain4     ,i   
have called thee1 ,abba1 ,father2       
,i have stayed my heart on thee1        
,storms may howl1 and clouds may gather1
       ,all must work for good to me4   
,man and trouble may distress me1       
',twill but drive me to thy breast2     
,life with trials hard may press me1    
,heaven will bring me sweeter rest4     
,oh1 'tis not in grief to harm me       
,while thy love is left to me2     ,oh1 
'twere not in joy to charm me           
,were that joy unmixed with thee4       
,know1 my soul1 thy full salvation2     
,rise o'er sin1 and fear1 and care2     
,joy to find in every station           
,something still to do or bear4         
,think what ,spirit dwells within thee2 
,what a ,father's smile is thine2       
,what a ,saviour died to win thee3      
,child of heaven1 shouldst thou repine8 
,haste thee on from grace to glory1     
,armed by faith and winged by prayer2   
,heaven's eternal day's before thee1    
,god's own hand shall guide thee there4 

,soon shall close thy earthly mission1  
,swift shall pass thy pilgrim days1     
,hope shall change to glad fruition1    
,faith to sight and prayer to praise4   
,oh1 pity the seekers after ,god who go 
to a house of prayer to be provoked and 
harassed by the performance of some     
gymnastic performance in acoustics1 by  
some professional entertainer of        
theatrical audiences4 ,pity1 indeed1 the
 devout soul pleading for comfort in    
some deep sorrow whose sore heart is    
wrenched and bruised by the discordant  
attempts to leap1 catlike1 from shelf to
 shelf1 up and down the musical scale4  
,pity the overtempted contrite sinner   
who enters to pray for the strength to  
keep his resolution to reform and finds 
himself in a sham ceremonial which      
introduces the inartistic performers who
 almost force him to do worse4  ,the    
extremely cultivated voice which seeks a
 prize exhibition of varied tones1 or   
the extremely crude egotism of the      
community singer who ties himself in    

squirming knots as he yells the sacred  
and pathetic hymns which were written   
for the deep devotions of a broken heart
 are both sacrilegious and disgraceful4 
,pity the congregation who1 after       
wasting a most precious hour inside1    
hasten out1 discussing along the street 
the wonders of the wild musical         
exhibition1 and forgetting that they    
went in to worship4  ,when the hymn we  
mentioned above was announced and read  
deliberately the preacher said1         
feelingly1 ,let us pray6 ,the prayer in 
that hymn was used by all4 ,as they     
sang1 their faces flushed4 ,old men shed
 tears1 and the preacher decided1 before
 the last verse was sung1 to take for   
his theme the last two lines3      ,hope
 shall change to glad fruition1         
,faith to sight and prayer to praise4   
,one could almost catch the gleam of the
 glories that ,john saw at ,patmos4 ,the
 place was a ,bethel to all the         
assembly4 ,all were glad they were      
marching on to ,zion1 and praised ,god  

with all their hearts for his promise of
 a home in that land where there is no  
night4 ,the deep1 soul-filled joy of the
 morning worship carried good cheer1    
hope1 and courage into a thousand homes 
and made the week's labors enjoyable and
 prosperous4  ,in choosing the form of  
prayer the temperament and state of     
health of the worshiper may be an       
important consideration4 ,but whether in
 hymns or psalms or gestures1 the call  
must be earnestly sincere4 ,when the    
formal1 monotonous recitations of the   
customary ,church rituals are recalled  
it becomes a marvel that the ,church    
survives the pious hypocrisy and        
sacrilegious indifference of the ,church
 pulpits and altars4 ,the pulpit is seen
 by all and the words and tones of the  
preacher are heard by all2 the place is 
the most conspicuous in the church life2
 and if the action or the ceremony is   
hypocritical or careless there1 then the
 whole church is permeated by the same  
spirit4 ,the form of expression must be 

a secondary consideration in all prayer1
 while appropriateness and custom have  
rightfully an influence on the petition4
 ,yet the essential thing is in the     
natural cry of a needy soul4 ,prayer1 as
 a public function1 should be a         
stimulant or an instructor leading the  
individuals in the congregation to pray 
by and for themselves4 ,the people must 
pray4 ,the need of this was apparent in 
many of the requests made for prayer at 
the ,temple in ,philadelphia4 ,lord1    
teach us to pray1 is ever the appeal of 
the religious masses4 ,the union of two 
or three in concerted prayer for a      
definite thing was very effective4 ,the 
observation of the same hour by many    
people has often developed a deep       
religious life and secured practical    
results4 ,the testimony of one active   
business man exhibited triumphantly the 
use of continuous prayer and may serve  
as a comprehensive illustration4 ,he    
wrote3       ,i fought it out with      
myself1 knowing the ,lord ,christ would 

work      with me4 ,when ,i awoke in the
 morning ,i thanked ,god for shelter and
      sleep4 ,then ,i began to pray for 
the least things of my morning          
preparations--my clothes1 my bath1 my   
comb and brush1 my articles      used in
 any way4 ,i thanked ,god for1 and      
prayed for1 the continuance      of his 
kindness4 ,i managed to keep in a state 
of prayer at the      breakfast table4  
,i prayed for instruction in purchasing 
the      necessities of the home4 ,i    
prayed as ,i left my door4 ,i prayed    
along      the street for wisdom to     
transact business4 ,i prayed for the    
persons ,i met on my way4 ,i prayed for 
the clerks1 for the      customers1 for 
thoughts1 for words1 for farsightedness1
 for a      contented disposition       
consistent with activity4 ,if ,i wrote a
 letter      ,i asked the ,lord to aid  
me in the writing and to protect the    
letter      on to its delivery4 ,i did  
not speak aloud or tell people ,i was   
praying4 ,i kept the ,lord constantly in

 mind4 ,i had some      discouraging    
experiences with myself1 but ,i kept    
pursuing the idea4      ,at last it grew
 easy and enjoyable4 ,it was in every   
way a success4      ,i did not waste my 
money4 ,i did not carelessly destroy    
articles ,i      used4 ,i did not       
overeat4 ,i did not get angry with my   
employees4 ,i      felt a real interest 
in the welfare of others4 ,i did my best
 and      left all to ,god4 ,it is now a
 settled habit4 ,my health is almost    
perfect4 ,before ,i began to pray ,i was
 asthmatic and gouty4 ,if this      has 
anything boastful about it1 the ,lord   
forgive me4 ,but in the      request for
 my experience you insisted on frankness
 in all      accounts4  ,whether it be  
possible for all to reach that prayerful
 condition and retain it permanently    
cannot be denied or asserted infallibly4
 ,but it is evident that but few reach  
it4 ,the exhortation that is appropriate
 here appears to be to urge an honest   
effort to get as near to that devotional

 condition as possible and to hold all  
the ground we do gain4