November 1924
T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
737
THE REVIVAL OF THE PRAYER SPIRIT (Continued from page 689)
'Christmas W ill Soon Be Here- Books—Biola “ Best” Books Make the Best Gifts Exceptionally Helpful Books This missionary story is especially interesting and valu able just now when there is such a decided revival of interest in missionary work in Latin America. Mrs. Westervelt has given us in this book an exceed ingly entertaining story first of all, and along with the telling of the story there is a vivid portrayal of missionary life and labor in the Rome controlled priest ridden sec tions of South America. - You will like the book for the story itself but you will like it all the better because it gives you a true vision of modern missionary work in that great land of opportunity. Cloth, $1.50 Fine Gold A Missionary Romance of South America By Josephine Hope Westervelt
level. Prayer is the secret of imparted power from God, and nothing else can take its place. Absolute weakness follows the neglect of secret communion with God— and the weakness is the more deplorable, because it is often unsuspected, especially when one has never yet known what true power is. We see men of prayer quietly achiev ing results of the most surprising character. They have the calm of God, no hurry, or worry, or flurry; no anxiety or care, no excitement or bustle—they do great things for God, yet they are little in their own eyes; they carry great loads, and yet are not weary nor faint; they face great crises, and yet are not troubled. And those who know not what treasures of wisdom and strength and courage and power are hidden in God’s pavilion, wonder how it is. They try to account for all this by something in the man, or his talent, or tact, or favoring circumstances. Perhaps they try to imitate such a career by securing the patronage of the rich and mighty, or by dependence on organization, or fleshly energy— or what men call “ determination to succeed”— they bustle about, labor incessantly, appeal for money and co-opera tion, and work out an apparent success, but there is none of that Power of God in.it which can not be imitated. They compass themselves about with sparks, but there is no fire of God; they build up a great structure, but it is wood, hay, stubble; they make a great noise, but God is not in the clamor. Like a certain preacher who confessed that, when he felt no kindling of inspired thought and feeling, he walked up and down the pulpit, and shouted with all his might— they make up for the lack of divine unction and spiritual action by carnal confidence and vehemence. There is a show of energy, resolution, endeavor, and often of results, but behind all this a lamentable and nameless deficiency. The Perfect Instrument , Nothing is at once so indisputable and so overawing as the way in which a few men of God live in Him and He in them. The fact is, that, in the disciple’s life, the funda mental law is “ not I, but Christ in me.” In a grandly true sense there is but one Worker, one Agent, and He divine; and all other so-called “ workers” are instruments, and instruments only, in His hands. . The first quality of a true instrument is passivity. An active instrument would ■defeat its own purpose; all its activity must be dependent ■upon the man who uses it. Sometimes a machine becomes uncontrollable, and then it not only becomes useless, but it works damage and ■disaster. What would a man do with a plane, a knife, an -axe, a bow, that had any will of its own and moved of itself? Does it mean nothing when, in the Word of God, we meet so frequently the symbols of passive service— the rod, the staff, the saw, the hammer, the sword, the spear, the threshing instrument, the flail, and, in the New Testa ment, the vessel? Does it not mean that a wilful man God can not use; that the first condition of service is that the will is to be so lost in God’s as that it presents no resistance to His, no persistence beyond or apart from His, and no assistance to His? George Müller well taught that we are to wait to know whether a certain work is God’s; then whether it is ours, as being committed to us; but even then we need to wait for God’s way and God’s time to do His own work, other wise we rush precipitately into that which He means us to do, but only at His signal; or we go on doing when He
Scientific Christian Thinking for Young People By H oward Agnew Johnston A book that adequately and sym pathetically m e e t s the growing demand am ong young people for intellectual sanc tion for Christian life, and service. “ New light on several sci entific questions has been dis covered in these first years of the twentieth century. In this new light som e o f the theories which dominated the thinking w orld for the last third of the last century are proved no longer tenable. This new light points in the direction of God’s relation t.p men and the world as being m ore direct and im mediate than was inferred when the evolution theories were supposed to be correct.’’ Just the book you need to meet the needs o f your young people. Cloth, $1.25 Revival Lectures By Charles G. Finney These lectures are the result o f Finney’s many years o f suc cessful Evangelistic labors. They are full o f real revival fire and are exceedingly inter esting reading. Not only that A^-they are full o f soul food that will do your heart good and give you something to think about; If you wish to know the true secret of a su c cessful revival don’t fail to read, and then re-read this book. Cloth, $1.50
Womanhood in the Making
By Margaret W . Eggleston Mrs. Eggleston’s years of successful work with girls, and her experience as a mother, find very natural and helpful expression in this admirable volume on the training o f girls. The thousands o f teachers and mothers who have found her stories so wise and usable will turn to this book with the as surance of discovering the ad vice and suggestion they so much need in the difficult task o f training young womanhood. Every phase of the subject is thoroughly treated. Cloth, $1.50 Prepare to Meet God By Rev. L. R. Scarborough, B. A ., D. D. Sermons Making the W ay to Christ Plain. The author, who is president of what is perhaps the largest theological sem i nary in the country, is an evangelistic preacher o f great power. This is a collection of his revival sermons on “ The Central Passion o f the Gospel.*’ Cloth, $1.25
The Revival, at Broad Lane By Kate Drew
Miss Drew has provided a really charming book for home reading. It is a story of a series of wonderful revival services. When the Spirit of God lays hold of an individual or community, miracles are wrought, and this story is a recital of miracles. If you wish to B I O L A B O O K R O O M Bible Institute, Los Angeles, Cal.
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