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IN INDIA — IN ANSWER TO PRAYER

The following very interesting account was written by request, expressly for this book. The author was a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India for a number of years. He is, at the date of our publication, pastor at Huntington, O.: In January, 1888, my devoted wife, since gone to glory and myself, were appointed by Bishop Thoburn to open work in a district of the native state of Hyderabad, India.

Our parish embraced more than a thousand towns and villages, over a million souls — a district practically untouched Christian evangelism. Full of faith in God, the missionaries cheerfully proceeded to the new field of conflict. Six months later. visited for the third time, Kinnal, a village of probably souls, sixty miles from our center, for the purpose of supervising a day-school and Sunday school, recently begun, preaching the gospel to the people.

We had not a single Christian convert in the village except Andronika, our native teacher, and his young wife and these were imported for the purpose intimated. Weary from our long bullock-cart ride, we spent an h6ur in rest and at dinner, after which the school work was after. At five o’clock the people were called together to hear a short gospel talk, and witness the first Christian baptismal service they had probably ever seen.

Nearly the entire village, in an amazingly brief time, had congregated in the street just in front of our little mission-room, which we had –recently purchased for thirty rupees ($10).

The village was just being scourged by those deadly diseases, cholera and small-pox, and the deluded natives had sacrificed nearly all their poultry, sheep, goats, and much fruit, to appease the anger of their imaginary deities; and still the scourge went on. For eight months there had been no rainfall, and the people were in a semi-starved condition, and hence a ready prey to these virulent diseases. It is need. less to say that our simple discourse upon “Jesus, the all-sufficient sacrifice,” had many eager listeners in this sad, spirit-broken assembly.

Then followed a scene we shall never forget. Just in front of the missionary and his companion stood Andronika and his wife presenting their little babe for Christian baptism. Before the ceremony was finished, a man of the weaver’s caste prostrated himself before us, preparatory to the making of an urgent appeal. We beckoned him to wait until the close of the service. Then, after another prostration, the poor fellow advanced to make his request.

With a sad expression on his face and tremulous voice, he proceeded to say: “My wife is dying. For four days I have been breaking coconuts and making poojahs, and my wife has been growing worse all the time; now I beg of you — to pray to your God, to see if he will hear and save my wife!” We were conducted by the sad husband into a little mud hut near by, followed by the multitude. There lay the poor wife, unconscious and moaning.

A brief examination all the broken-hearted husband had said. It was quite evident that the case was beyond human help. An indescribable burden came upon my soul while contemplating the situation. I turned to my dear wife and said: “There no use giving this woman any medicine; it is too late, I can do nothing for her. Only God can help her. And if the purpose of the miracle on Mount Carmel, in answer to the prayer of Elijah, was to vindicate God’s cause before the worshipers of Baal, may not the Lord raise this woman to health, to vindicate himself in this province of a million devotees to false gods?” Her answer (I’ll never forget it) was: “According thy faith be it unto thee.”

Then I said to the husband: “Jesus Christ, who is the only God, can save your wife if he thinks best. Now if he cures her, will you then forever renounce your idols, and worship Jesus Christ only?” – A moment of intense anxiety, and his aged mother rushed up to him, and plead with him in tears to answer in the negative.

He replied: “I can make better answer after she is cured.” But I insisted that I could not feel justified in asking my Savior to interfere in his behalf, unless he was willing to answer the question in the affirmative, and worship Jesus if he showed Himself by His superior power to be God.’ Then there came to the poor tried soul another awful struggle.

All his relatives and the priests gathered around him and tried to persuade him that it would be better for his to die than that he should mal- such a promise.- Another moment of awful suspense, and the brave soul turned answered: “Houdu” (“yes,” in the Canarese tongue) Jesus Christ can save my wife, it shows that what you right — my gods are false, and I ought then to Christ”With eyes uplifted, we prayed the dear Lord to get Himself a great name among these benighted souls. Oh what a baptism of assurance came into our souls!We turned immediately to go away, and in less than a minute the excited husband came rushing after us, “Jesus Christ, He is God! My wife is well and began, in every conceivable way, to express his gratitude.

Till nearly midnight the voice of that joyful man, up and down the narrow streets of the village, was heard crying: “Jesus Christ, He is the only true God!” Towards morning, a copious shower of rain fell, and the natives said: “It is because the missionary is praying.” At five o’clock next morning, we left the village, with hundreds of its grateful people following in procession, to do honor to those whom they said brought so much blessing to their village.

For miles they followed, and not until we earnestly remonstrated, did they turn back. We believe that that event of providence will be blessed to the salvation not only of hundreds in that village, but to many in other places; or among those who witnessed what has been related, were more than a score who had been sent from adjoining villages to induce, if possible, the missionary to begin work in their towns. These may for a time continue in heathenism, but they will not forget the strange Power which wrought such wonders before their eyes. Praise the Lord for His wonderful goodness! — A.E. Winter.

I DON’T LOVE YOU NOW, MOTHER

A great many years ago I knew a lady who had been sick for two years, as you have seen many a one, all the while slowly dying with consumption. She had one child, a little boy named Henry.

One afternoon I was sitting by her side, and it seemed as if, she would cough her life away. Her little boy stood by the post of the bed, his blue eyes filled with tears to see her suffer so. By and by the terrible cough ceased. Henry came and put his arms around his mother’s neck, nestled his head in his mother’s bosom, and said, “Mother I do love you, I wish you wasn’t sick.” An hour later, the same loving, blue-eyed boy came in all aglow, stamping the snow off his feet. “O mother may I go skating? It is so nice Ed and Charley are going.” “Henry” feebly said the mother the ice is not hard enough yet.” “But mother,” very pettishly said the boy, “you are sick, how do you know?” “My child, you must obey me,” said his mother.’ It is too bad angrily sobbed the boy, who so loved his mother. “I would not like to have my little boy go,” said his mother, looking sadly at the little boy all covered with frowns; “you said you loved me, be good.” “No, I don’t love you now, mother’,” said the boy, going out and slamming the door.

Again the dreadful coughing came upon her, and thought no more of the boy. After the coughing had commenced, I noticed tears falling thick upon her pillow, but sank from exhaustion into a light sleep. In a little while muffled steps of men’s feet were heard coming into the house, as though carrying something; and they were carrying the almost lifeless body of Henry. Angrily had he left his mother and gone to skate, \ disobeying her; and then broken through the ice, sunk under the water, and now saved by a great effort, was brought home barely alive to his sick mother. I closed the doors, feeling more danger for her life than the child’s, and coming softly in, drew back the curtains from the bed. She spoke, “I heard them-it is Henry; Oh I knew he went. Is he dead?” But she never seemed to hear the answer I gave her. She commenced coughing-she died in agony — strangled to death. The poor mother! The boy’s disobedience killed her.

After a couple of hours I sought the boy’s room. “Oh I wish I had not told mother I did not love her. Tomorrow I will tell her I do,” said the child sobbing painfully. My heart ached; tomorrow I knew we must tell him she was dead. We did not till the child came fully in the room, crying, “Mother I do love you.” Oh l may I never see agony like that as the lips he kissed gave back no kiss as the hands he fell lifeless from his hand instead of shaking his hand like it always had and the boy knew she was dead “Mother I do love you now” all the day he sobbed and cried “O mother mother forgive me” Then he would leave his mother “Speak to me, mother!” but she could never speak again, and he – he last words she had ever never speak again him say, were, “Mother, I don’t love you now.”

That boy’s whole life was changed; sober and sad he was ever after. He is now a gray haired old man, with one sorrow-over his one act of disobedience, one wrong word embittering all his life — with those words ever ringing in his ears, “Mother, I don’t love you now.”

Will the little ones who read this remember, if they disobey their mother, if they are cross and naughty, they say every single time they do so, to a tender mother’s heart, by their actions, if not in the words of Henry, the very same thing, “I don’t love you now, mother?”

HOW WILLIAM TENNENT DEFEATED THE POWERS OF DARKNESS

During the great revival of religion in America, which took place under Mr. Whitefield, and others distinguished for their piety and zeal at that period, Mr. Tennent was laboriously active, and much engaged to help forward the work; in the performance of which he met with strong and powerful temptations. The following is from his own lips: On the evening preceding public worship, he selected a subject for the discourse intended to be delivered, and made some progress in his preparations. In the morning he resumed the same subject, with an intention to extend his thoughts further on it; but was presently assaulted with a temptation that the Bible was not of Divine authority, but the invention of man. He instantly endeavored to repel the temptation by prayer, but his endeavors proved unavailing. The temptation continued, and fastened upon him with greater strength as the time advanced for public service. He lost all the thoughts which he had prepared on the preceding evening. He tried other subjects, but could get nothing for the people. The whole book of God, under that distressing state of mind, was a sealed book to him; and, to add to his affliction, he was “shut up in prayer;” a cloud, dark as that of Egypt, oppressed his mind.

Thus agonized in spirit, he proceeded to the church, where he found a large congregation assembled, and waiting to hear the word; and then he was more deeply distressed than ever; and especially for the dishonor which he feared would fall upon religion through him that day. He resolved, however, to attempt the service. He introduced it by singing a psalm, during which time his agitation increased to the highest degree. When the moment for prayer commenced, he arose, as one in the most painful and perilous situation, and, with arms extended to heaven, began with this exclamation: “Lord, have mercy upon me!” On the utterance this petition he was heard; the thick cloud instantly broke, away, and light shone upon his soul. The result was a deep solemnity throughout the congregation; and the house, at the end of the prayer, was a place of weeping. He delivered the subject of his evening meditations, which was brought to his full remembrance, with an overflowing abundance of other weighty and solemn matter. The Lord blessed this discourse, so that it proved the happy means of the conversion of about thirty persons. This day he ever afterwards spoke of as his harvest day.” — Anecdotes of the Ministry.

HOW THE PRAYER OF FAITH REACHED A FAMILY

A day or two after our conversion, we called at a neighbor’s, and while there heard the lady of the house say some very hard things against the work of God, which was shaking that whole section of country like an earthquake. We were deeply grieved, but went away without saying much. But scarcely had we reached home before the Holy Spirit spoke to our heart, and told us to go back to that neighbor’s and pray.

We hesitated a little, but the burden upon our heart became so heavy that we could no longer keep still, and were so strongly drawn to go back to neighbor B—- ‘s that we decided to go, and asked our stepmother to go with us. She wanted to wait to get ready, but our burden was too heavy for delay, and she yielded, and started with us at once. It seemed as we went that we could hardly keep from running; and as soon as we entered the house we fell upon our knees, exclaiming, that God had sent us there to pray.

We scarcely realized our surroundings, and do not know how long or loud we prayed; but when we arose from our knees we could see that all in the house were wonderfully affected, and the one who, so short a time before was saying bitter things against the Lord and His work, was wringing her hands, and weeping, and saying “‘What have I done? I did not know that I was so wicked that anybody needed to pray like that for me.” We shook hands with all present, and left the house.

Soon a Christian young lady, who was at Mr.B—-‘s when we were there, came over, and in a kind way said that she did not wish to discourage us, but she feared our prayer was too abrupt to do any good. But as she spoke, the Lord gave us the positive assurance of that family’s salvation, and we began to praise the Lord. And so it was; for in a very short time the entire family were converted. Thus did God so early in our Christian experience, literally verify his own word.

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” — Editor.

HOW CARVOSSO PREVAILED WITH GOD FOR HIS CHILDREN

Carvosso, noted for the earnestness and faith of his prayers, tells as follows of the conversion of his children:

“I had always prayed for my children, but now I grasped the promise, with the hand of faith, and retired daily at special seasons to put the Lord to His word. I said nothing of what I felt or did, to any one but the Searcher of hearts, with whom I wrestled in an agony of prayer.”

About two weeks after he was called from his work, to pray with his daughter, who became a seeker of Christ. His oldest son was converted at the same time.

Regarding his younger son he says: “I laid hold, by faith, on the promise which I had while pleading for my other children. One day while I was wrestling with God, in mighty prayer for him, these words were applied with power to my mind: “There shall not a hoof be left behind.” Soon after he yielded, and obtained the knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins.

“A dull and careless way of praying for our friends will avail nothing. It may conceal hypocrisy, or strengthen deception concerning our own piety, but it will not move God nor convert a single soul. Our friends know that we are not in earnest, and care little for it. But, let us take hold of the matter in a spirit corresponding to the magnitude of the object to be secured, and there will be a movement!” — Prevailing Prayer, by Wigle.