STUDY IX. CAN THE MODERN MAN PRAY?

"Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth; and he hath seen a man named Ananias coming in, and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias departed, and entered into the house; and laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts ix, 10-17.)

PART IV. PRAYER ANSWERED THROUGH SUGGESTION.

DR. EDWARD I. BOSWORTH has made a suggestion concerning answer to prayer which is worthy of careful thought. He says that most prayers which a mature Christian prays can be answered if God is able to put a thought into the mind of a man. Most of the legitimate prayers will naturally be with reference to other persons. Not that we may not pray for other things; but, on the whole, most of our prayers could be answered by persons. Now, if God can put into the minds of other persons the proper thoughts, most such prayers may be thereby granted.

Merrell Vories, a young college man, went to Japan as a government school-teacher. He was very active out of school hours in personal work among his students. Soon he had won a number to the Christian life. The Buddhist

priests then became angry and secured his discharge from the school. Vories found himself in a foreign land without much knowledge of the language, without a position, without a mission board behind him. Besides, he was the target of bitter criticism and was liable to physical persecution. What should he do? If he left, his little band of followers would soon be scattered. If he stayed, he faced hardship, persecution, and physical evil. He and his students prayed long and earnestly. Finally it was decided that he should stay, cost what it would. He set about finding a livelihood. Two days later a draft for twenty-five dollars came to him in the mail. This draft was renewed a month later, and so for two years it arrived every month without Vories knowing whence it had come. An American business man traveling in Japan heard the story of Vories's work and said he was deeply impressed that he should send some money there. He followed the deep impression, thus enabling Vories to stay at his post and push his work. I believe God suggested that thought to the American business man and thus answered Merrell Vories's prayer.

Why should I doubt that God can put a thought into a man's mind? I can do it by blundering word, by written sign, by expression of face, by many means. Surely God is not more limited than I. Thought is the reaction from stimulus, and we all know that the strongest possible stimulus to thought is personality. Why should we doubt God's ability to suggest a thought to a human person and thus answer prayer?

STUDY IX. CAN THE MODERN MAN PRAY?

"Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee. For I see that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me." (Acts viii. 18-24.)

PART V. NEGATIVE CONDITIONS OF PRAYER.

THERE is much false talk about the answer to prayer. Every prayer may be answered, and yet few answered just as we felt they ought to be answered. This leads us to lay down the first negative law of prayer.

Prayer is not making demands on God. It is an attempt to put ourselves in harmony with his will. To demand means that we suppose we know better what we need than God knows. If so, we are the God, and the one to whom we pray is a puppet. "Thy will be done" is no overpious phrase. It is simply the recognition of God's infinity and our finitude.

Again, we cannot legitimately ask God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. We may commune with God about any matter that affects our lives, but we may not ask him to relieve us of the responsibility of living. If a teacher of mathematics solves all the problems for the pupils, there will result a dull class. We must learn by mastering. If God's purpose is to build character in me, he must let me struggle with some of the problems of life. He cannot do all things for me.

Again, I may not demand that God free me from the pain which is consequent upon my sinfulness. If I am careless about the sanitation of my premises and get typhoid, I need not expect God to save me from all suffering. I may pray for wisdom to avoid such suffering again, and I may pray for wisdom in overcoming the present disease, if his wisdom sees fit to help me. Prayer is not a kind of fire escape to keep us out of difficulties.

Lastly, we may not ask that which is selfish. God can never lend himself to a selfish scheme. No good parent will give to one child what will injure another one of the children in the home. Such action would indicate a partial or prejudiced parent. God cannot help me in my business if my business injures others. I cannot ask God to give me wisdom that I may outwit and defraud my neighbor. We said any prayer could be answered, granted there was a divine free will and a sufficiently important cause. But selfishness is never sufficiently important. A selfish desire weighs as zero in the sight of a just and loving God. He who would really pray must not demand; he must not shirk; he must be willing to bear his own evil; he must not desire to succeed at the expense of others. No such prayer can be legitimately answered in the affirmative.

STUDY IX. CAN THE MODERN MAN PRAY?

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. And in praying use not vain repititions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. vi. 6-15.)

PART VI. POSITIVE CONDITIONS FOR PRAYER.

If prayer is to be availing, surely it must have laws or standards.

First of all, it would seem that we must ever keep foremost the meaning of prayer as the attempt of a man to find harmony with God. We will be aided in this by the study of God's world, by studying the lives of other Christians, and by meditation. Prayer is not so many words said, so many beads counted, so many wheels turned, so many kneelings and uprisings. Prayer is the soul's attempt to know and do the will of God. It must, therefore, be characterized by deep humility and openness to the truth.

The second condition of real prayer is earnestness. No good father gratifies every whim of his child. That would be to spoil the child and weaken the character. If we are to be developed in life, God must give us a chance to live for some things, to struggle, to agonize. This is perhaps the meaning of the parable of the importunate neighbor. The