prayer
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW CHILDREN TO SUFFER?
by Martha Snell Nicholson
That is a question which no theo logian can answer. Even the Bible remains silent on the subject. There is one thing, however, that I believe God will not tolerate, and that is for us, His children, to allow little ones to suffer when it is within our power to help them. The land of Greece probably has more orphans in proportion to its'pop ulation than any other country in the world. Almost 400,000 orphans out of a population of seven million! And in Greece the American Mission to Greeks has built and maintains the only Prot estant orphanage for Greek children. “ I have a little boy of ten who never felt a mother’s love,” writes Michael Belos, a blind Protestant believer in Greece. “ Being extremely poor I had to place him in a state institution where he stayed for two years. Then they dis charged him because I would not have him baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church. When I learned of your Prot estant Orphanage, I immediately took him there and was allowed to stay with him for a few days. Words fail me to express how I feel about it. Such an institution never existed in Greece be fore. If ever a new Book of the Acts of the Apostles were written, much could be said about this Orphanage and the work of the American Mission to Greeks. Of course, I know that if my son is to stay in this wonderful Or phanage, it will be necessary for you to find a foster parent for him in America. That is why I am writing this letter. Just think of my plight — a blind, for saken father, unable to offer his son anything. And yet, in spite of my blind ness, I am able to distribute a great many Scriptures and other Gospel literature.” Would you not like to be a foster parent to this ten-year-old boy? His support is only $15 a month. You will receive his picture and have the priv ilege of corresponding with him. There are other children also waiting to be cared for in the Orphanage and to attend the Christian Day School oper ated by the same Mission. It is one of the most worth-while missionary enter prises you could undertake. Or you may be interested in providing the Scrip tures this blind brother is anxious to distribute. Ten dollars will provide him with fifty Modern Greek New Testa ments. The people of Greece are eager to read the Word. They gave it to us and now it is our privilege to give it to them. Please send your contributions to American Mission to Greeks, Inc., Rev. Spiros Zodhiates, General Secre tary, P.O. Box 423, Dept. K, New York 36, N.Y. (In Canada write to 90 Duplex Ave., Toronto 12, Ontario.)
Prayer is a miracle. I, lying here upon my bed, am bound Not only by my pain but by (he laws Of time, and space, and gravity. My hand Can reach no further than the length of my Thin arm. My voice cannot be heard beyond The busy city street. Not only is My body held a prisoner here — my thoughts Are locked within my mind, and they cannot Be shared unless I put them into words. Yet I can start a prayer of faith upon A magic way which leads straight to the heart Of God Himself! What great and strange strong wings Our God has given unto prayer! If we Could see them we should shield our dazzled eyes To watch them, breathless, as they poise there for An instant in the hushed and waiting air. Wings quivering and radiantly vibrant, Trridescent, shimmering with light. Then cleaving Heaven’s deepening blue, they range Unerringly thru space, past all The planets and the host of suns, Along the softly curving Milky Way To those strange empty places in the north. No foul prince of the upper air can snatch At them with dark intent nor swerve the prayer Of simple faith one fraction of an inch From its sure course from soul of man to God. And all this in the twinkling of an eye In one beat .of my wistful heart which fain Would follow after these the prayers my soul Has breathed, and fain would sweep with them through gates Of gold, and there beyond the rent veil find At journey’s end, a tender Father’s heart!
SANDY'S MOTHER WAS DEAD. HIS FATHER WAS A DRUNKARD. His stepmother was too busy with younger children to worry about Sandy. When the American Sunday-School Union missionary first saw him, Sandy was sullen and unhappy. The missionary invited him to Sunday school, but Sandy had no shoes and his clothes were in tatters. He didn’t want to go. ' The missionary prayed about Sandy, and then the inspiration came! Maybe he could get Sandy to go to summer camp! A Christian friend, hearing about Sandy, volunteered to provide clothes and money. At first Sandy was dubious. But when he saw pictures of the camp, tried on the new clothes and got letters from regular campers, he couldn’t wait for camp to start. That week at camp was the happiest Sandy had ever known. He made new friends, played games in the sunshine with other boys and every night he lis tened to stories about Jesus. The climax of the whole week came when, at the last service, Sandy went forward to accept the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. Sandy's is a true story. And there are many other boys and girls in rural America like Sandy — boys and girls waiting for a chance to hear about Jesus and His love. Your prayerful fellowship enables us to maintain Sunday schools and Bible Con ferences, and to send missionaries to these neglected children. Will you help? Write for a copy of our magazine, THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY. S Our missionaries are available for speaking engagements with thrilling pictures of their work. Write to Dept# K partment of Missions AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION 1816 Chestnut St., Philadelphia 3, Pa. "THE PIONEER SUNDAYSCHOOL ORGANIZATIONOFTHE U.S.A."
Prayer is a miracle. Beloved, let us pray.
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