November 1930
500
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
perhaps started on its way to us, although it may take many days to come. T he Bow i n the C loud Three things are needed to make a rainbow. First, a cloud. When man’s sin overshadowed paradise, the bow of promise shone, and when the thunder clouds gathered about the Saviour’s path, the divine voice assured Him that as He had glorified the divine name by His life, so He should glorify it much more by His death. When the black, clouds of conviction, bereavement, and soul anguish beset us, we should look out for the bow. It is always there though sufferers do not always perceive it. Second, rain. There are no rainbows unless there be falling drops to catch and unravel the sunbeam. It may be that all trouble is worse in its anticipation than in its endurance, but it is certain that the big drops of sorrow have to patter on our souls before we can realize all that God is prepared to be to us and do for us. Third, sunshine. It is only when God comes into our grief that we can see the treasures of love and grace which are stored for us in Him. We never know how great a blessing sorrow may be until we carry it into the light of the King’s face. It is the dark canvas on which the artist produces the most marvelous effects. “ I will be with him in trouble.” What a blessed thing trouble is when it assures us of His loving presence! staff. Thirty years ago, as a young man, Dr. Wang was one of my first four medical students. Now he is super intendent of the large Hunan-Yale Hospital in this city, a man who is well known in China. “ At present, in the river at Changsha, there are several gunboats: one American, two British, two Chinese, two Japanese, and one Italian. On the evening of our arrival, there was severe fighting at three places quite near to Changsha. At one of these points the Communists broke through the wired entanglements and made a strong drive for the city, but they were repulsed before reaching here. There is a feeling of great unrest in the city, and the con suls and naval officers insist on foreigners spending their nights either in boats on the river or in houses on the islands half-way across the river. There are two or three exceptions to this ruling in the case of missionaries whose compounds are situated at points from which the mission aries can reach the river quickly, if alarms are sounded by the gunboats. All day yesterday the airplanes were very busy. As I write, they are flying above us, searching out the encampments of the Communists. “ By God’s blessing and help, Mr. Roberts has done a heroic and successful piece of work in keeping the soldiers out of our buildings, except during the occupation of the first few days of the present outbreak. Less than a quar ter of a mile from here, three fine residences of another mission are occupied by soldiers. Our hearts go out in gratitude and praise to God for what He has done for us. Yet we hesitate to speak of conditions up to date, for long before this letter reaches its destination, conditions may be entirely changed.” A letter written September 25 states that conditions have greatly improved and that the Evangelistic Bands are preparing to resume their work. Dr. Keller may now be addressed at Changsha, Hunan, China.
real prayer. Perhaps this is the reason why there is so little prayer. Men doubt the use of spending time in shooting arrows, a very small percentage of which seem to strike the target. The first condition in true prayer is to be sure that it is according to the will of God. It is not difficult to do this when we base prayer on a promise, and this is what we should do to secure definiteness and assurance. There is nothing that pleases our Father more in His praying children than that they should bring His promises to Him for fulfillment, saying, “ Do as Thou hast said.” But in cases where there is no promise to guide us, we shall discover His will as we pray. The next condition is to believe that God is listening to us. We need not pray long to know this. Only be quiet and silent before Him and a blessed realization, in duced by the Holy Spirit, will pervade your heart and mind that you are literally speaking into the ear and heart of your heavenly Father who is listening as intently as if He had nothing else to attend to in all the universe. The third condition is to be sure that the thing we ask is granted. It may not have come to hand, and it may not come in the precise package in which we wanted it, but it is ours. We must dare to believe that we have that petition, labeled with our name, consigned to us, OLLOW ING are excerpts from a letter from Dr. Frank A. Keller, superintendent of the Hunan Bible Institute, written from Changsha, Hunan, China, September 12, 1930. “ On Tuesday, September 9, 1930, I left Han kow by train for Changsha, arriving Wednesday morning. Mr. Charles A. Roberts, treasurer of the Hunan Bible Institute, and a number of our faithful Chinese col leagues were at the station, and they gave me a hearty welcome. “ It was indeed an ideal time for me to reach Changsha. I arrived on the day appointed for the monthly union prayer meeting, and the service was to be held in the as sembly hall of the Hunan Bible Institute. About our beau tiful compound was an atmosphere of peace and quietness. The lawn was green, flowers were blooming, and the build ings (on the outside, at least) showed no traces of violent treatment. As I entered the compound, I could not help but wish that our friends in America could have entered with me, and could have seen how miraculously this plant has been preserved by God’s gracious care. Later, I earn estly wished that all our prayer helpers could have been present at the prayer meeting, for although they would not have been able to understand the language, they could not have failed to appreciate the remarkable spirit that was manifested. It was truly wonderful! About 150 earnest Christians attended, at least one-third of them being women. Nine missionaries were present. In the audience, several countries and denominations were represented. The meeting was conducted by Mr. T ’ieii, leader of Biola Evangelistic Band No. 7, a man who has been with us for many years, and whose ministry has been marked by God’s blessing wherever he has gone. “ After the meeting, we went down to the river to spend the night in a large houseboat which Dr. Wang had re cently purchased for himself and other members o f his R
•awe. M Èè M Biola in China
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