The Wonders of Prayer Part 37

"It was a bleak and chilling day in the Winter of 1847-8. The doctor was going his rounds and met a poor colored boy in the street. He was nearly frozen to death. He accosted the doctor, and asked him most piteously for a little money, stating, at the same time, that his master, an old Quaker, had excluded him from the house, and compelled him to remain in the barn; he could stand it no longer, and desired to go home--twenty miles up the river. The doctor now had the materials for another test of the promise. 'You shall not suffer if I can help you,' was his cheering reply to the boy. He requested him to call at his office, and went to a neighboring hotel and told the landlord to keep the boy until farther orders. Late in the evening the boy again appeared at the office, and stated that the landlord had said, 'We don't keep darkies over night.'

The doctor immediately started out in search of new quarters, and, after some difficulty, found a colored woman who was willing to keep the boy for a few days. In a short time the river, which had been closed with ice, was open. The doctor paid the bills, gave the boy a dollar, and bade him G.o.d speed. That is what he calls lending to the Lord. Now for the payment. When he called at the house of the colored person to pay the bill, he 'accidentally' met an old lady, who scrutinized him closely, and at length said, 'A'n't you Doctor B----?' 'Yes,' was the reply; 'but who are you?' 'No matter about my name; I owe you four dollars, which you have long since forgotten, and which I did not intend to pay you till I saw what you have done to that poor boy. The Lord bless you for your kindness. Next week you shall have your money.' She came according to her promise and offered the money, but the doctor was unwilling to take it, as he had no charge on his books. She forced it on him. He afterwards simply remarked, 'My meeting that woman was not a mere _accident_; the Lord always fulfills his promise. I generally get my capital back, with compound interest.'"

THE PRAYING SHOE-MAKER.

A shoe-maker being asked how he contrived to give so much, replied that it was easily done by obeying St. Paul's precept in I Cor. 16: 2: "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as G.o.d hath prospered him." "I earn," said he, "one day with another, about a dollar a day, and I can without inconvenience to myself or family lay by five cents of this sum for charitable purposes; the amount is thirty cents a week. My wife takes in sewing and washing, and earns something like two dollars a week, and she lays by ten cents of that. My children each of them earn a shilling or two, and are glad to contribute their penny; so that altogether we _lay by us in store_ forty cents a week.

And if we have been unusually prospered, we contribute something more.

The weekly amount is deposited every Sunday morning in a box kept for that purpose, and reserved for future use. Thus, by these small earnings, we have learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The yearly amount saved in this way is about _twenty-five dollars_; and I distribute this among the various benevolent societies, according to the best of my judgment."

THE HISTORY AND BUSINESS SUCCESSES OF LIBERAL GIVERS.

Mr. Nathaniel R. Cobb, a merchant connected with the Baptist church in Boston, in 1821, at the age of twenty-three, drew up and subscribed the following covenant, to which he faithfully adhered till on his death-bed he praised G.o.d that by acting according to it he had given in charity more than $40,000.

"By the grace of G.o.d, I will never be worth more than $50,000.

"By the grace of G.o.d, I will give one fourth of the net profits of my business to charitable and religious uses.

"If I am ever worth $20,000, I will give one-half of my net profits; and if I am ever worth $30,000, I will give three-fourths; and the whole, after $50,000. So help me G.o.d, or give to a more faithful steward, and set me aside.

"N.R. COBB."

FAITH IN G.o.d'S LIBERALITY.

A clergyman, himself an exponent of G.o.d's bountiful dealings with men, was called upon in test of his own principles of giving to the Lord.

Preaching, in the morning, a sermon on Foreign Missions, an unusually large contribution was taken up. In the afternoon, he listened to another sermon, by a brother, on Home Missions, and the subject became so important that he was led closely to agitate the question how much he should himself give to the cause. "I was, indeed, in a great strait between charity and necessity. I felt desirous to contribute; but, there I was, on a journey, and I had given so much in the morning that I really feared I had no more money than would bear my expenses.

"The collection was taken; I gave my last dollar, and trusted in the Lord to provide. I proceeded on my journey, stopping to see a friend for whom I had collected forty dollars. I was now one hundred and forty miles from home, and how my expenses were to be met, I could not imagine. But, judge my surprise, when, on presenting the money to my friend, he took a hundred dollars, and, adding it to the forty, placed the whole of it in my hand, saying he would make me a present of it.

"Grat.i.tude and joy swelled my bosom; my mind at once remembered my sacrifice of the day before, and now I had realized the literal fulfillment of the promise, 'Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and running over, shall men give into your bosom.'"

HE GAVE HIS LAST $5 TO THE LORD.

A missionary agent thus relates this incident in the life of a poor physician:

"I preached a missionary sermon in the town of -----, and a physician subscribed and paid five dollars. A gentleman standing by told me that the five dollars was all he had, or was worth; that he had lost his property and paid up his debts, and moved into town to commence practicing, with no other resources than that five-dollar bill. He and his wife were obliged to board out, as he was not able to keep house.

"I resolved, at once, that I would keep watch of that man, and see what the Lord would do with him. About a year after this interview, I visited the place again, and found the physician keeping house in good style.

"During the Summer, while the cholera raged in the country, by a series of events, guided, as he believes, by the providence of G.o.d, most of the practice was thrown into his hands, and he had taken more than $2,500."

BELIEVE NOTHING OF YOUR G.o.d BUT WHAT IS MOST n.o.bLE AND GENEROUS.--PRES.

EDWARDS.

MORE THINGS ARE WROUGHT BY PRAYER THAN THE WORLD DREAMS OF.--TENNYSON.

PRAYERS ANSWERED

IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL ANXIETIES.

HELP IN PAYING A MORTGAGE.

A business man in New York had several large amounts due for payment. An unprecedented series of calls from tradesmen wishing their bills paid sooner than customary, drained his means, and he was satisfied from the situation that his means would not be sufficient to pay them all. His business receipts, at this juncture, fell to one-half what they had usually been. A loan was due at the bank; a mortgage on his property, as well as large notes. He could do no more than ask the Lord constantly in prayer, to either send supplies of business, or open ways of relief.

Committing his cares all to the Lord, he endeavored to throw off his burden and with diligence in trade do what was possible for protection.

He was greatly surprised when the bank loan fell due to learn that a trifling payment would be acceptable, and the rest extended at his convenience. This was remarkable, as the security had depreciated somewhat, and the loan had been then extended longer than usual.

The holder of the mortgage did not call as usual for his interest. In great surprise the tradesman dropped a note, saying he would meet his demand, but if not all the mortgage was needed, its extension would benefit the use of the capital in his business. To his surprise, he received a reply that the mortgage would be extended one-half until the next interest day, and the rest might be paid now if it could be spared.

_This was just the money which the tradesman could spare_, and was intending to propose, but refrained from mentioning it.

A sudden opportunity in business arose which enabled him to see how to use the rest of the money he had on hand, as capital, whereby he could clear within three months the remainder of the mortgage before it became due.

Thus the Lord in answer to prayer, relieved his necessities, eased his creditors, gave him knowledge and intelligence of profitable ways of trade, and helped him freely according to his faith.

Thus business needs prayer, as well as the interests of the home, the church and the soul. When the means derived in business is used to bless the Lord's poor, "_The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble_."

A REMARKABLE PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER.

A lady, who had led for many years a life of faith, caring for orphans and invalids, was led one day in thought to wish that she might devote all her money to the work of the Lord, and use it specially for one branch of his service which few had ever entered. She possessed only a thousand dollars; and not knowing whether the thought was her own and therefore rash, or whether it came from the Lord, she asked the Lord in prayer, that if the thought was from _Him_ "it might be continually before me; if it were not, that I might cease to think of the matter."

"It was kept before me as a privilege, to help me realize a greater personal nearness to G.o.d as my Father. It was a very important matter, and fearing a mistake, I requested a sign. I asked G.o.d, if he wished me to give the money, (which we held at His disposal,) that _He_ would send me _one dollar,_ (no more, no less,) from some individual with whom I had no acquaintance. About three weeks after my request, I attended a prayer-meeting, where about a dozen ladies were gathered. After the meeting, an elderly lady I had never seen before, put something in my hand saying, '_You will not be offended, dear, will you?_' When I looked at the money, I found that it _was just one dollar_, my token. I exclaimed, mentally, dear Lord, do not let me ever doubt thee again. I afterwards asked the lady why she gave me the dollar. She said, 'Before I went to the prayer-meeting, I felt that I ought to take a dollar with me, and when I saw you, I felt that you were the one I should give it to.'"

"Nearly five years have pa.s.sed since then, when I gave all, and my purse has never been empty. I have been constantly occupied in work of love, and my Father has sweetly cared for me in every respect."

This lady in her faith work has had under her constant care as many as twenty-two helpless invalids, of utter poverty, yet prayer has always brought them needed supplies, and the Lord has kept them.