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outside his te n t and no one dared pass th e th reshold till it was removed. This little signal was respected by all his men. They knew th a t Gordon was hold ing communion w ith God; m a tte rs even handkerchief was removed. W hat streng th , w hat holy enthusiasm , w hat calm, sweet assurance fills th e soul of life and death m ust w ait till the going ou t into life’s b attle afte r such an interview w ith th e Lord. P ra y e r W orks W here W ork F ails. “W h ither a r t thou going,” asked the Roman Em peror Valens of a tru sted Christian nobleman who h ad worked long and hard, b u t in vain, to save the state for him. “Out to th e desert, sire,” he answered, “ to pray for your em pire.”— Bishop Huntington. Dr. Torrey tells of a woman who came to him bewailing a perfectly incor- igible boy of hers. “Have you ever tried prayer?” asked the doctor. She said she had prayed for him , she thought. He th en asked her to make his conver sion a m a tte r of definite, expectant prayer. She began th a t day, and at once th e re was a m arked change in th e child and he grew up into Christian manhood. v. 1. Make u s gods. Can all th e sub lime and stirrin g events of th e months since they departed from Egypt be obliterated from th e ir memory? If we cannot explain COMMENT FROM it, let us ask our MANY SOURCES own h ea rts if we K. L. B rooks know anything like i t.—-G r a y . T.h e blood of the covenant sprinkled on them was scarcely dry when they flung off allegiance to Jehovah.— Maclaren. The hum an h e a rt loves something th a t can be seen. The counterfeits of cor ru p t religion are still being m ultiplied before our eyes.— McIntosh. We wot n o t w h at is become of him . Im pati ence is a quality th a t scorns to w ait God’s leisure and atten d humbly and
(5) By his intense intercession, Moses tu rn ed th e tide of God’s w rath. (G) Israel paid th e penalty of th e ir sin by drinking th e dregs. (7 ) “ P ray, for God in Heaven hears; pray, for praying moves the spheres.” ( 8 ) Pleading th e prom ises of God, produces results. P ra y er th e M ightiest Force Known. A godly old deacon stood up in prayer meeting, one evening, and said, “Give me the grace of God for the chario t and faith for th e horses and I w i l l s w e e p the LESSON th ro n e of God.” ILLUSTRATIONS What a m ighty force W. H. P ik eprayer is when faith lays hold on God’s favor. Moses threw him self on the mercy of God and sinning Israel was saved. As Joanna Baillie said, “A good m an’s prayers will from th e deepest dungeon climb heaven’s heigh t and b ring a blessing down.” A Chinese convert when asked by a m issionary w hat remedy he found most effective in curing his fellow country men of th e opium habit, idolatry, fear of persecuton and o th er sins, replied laconically “Knee medicine.” | “Men ough t always to pray. P ra y e r Changes Things. Kapaio, the New Hebrides manslayer, who w aited to bring his club upon the head of Dr. Geddie, said, “When, I got n ear him I felt a power which w ithheld me from slaying th a t man of God.” “W hy?” Someone was on his knees for him.” At the doctor’s death these words were w ritten on his tombstone. “When he came h ere in 1848 th ere were no C hristians; When he le ft in 1872, th e re was no h eath en .” “ P rayer availeth much.” Jas. 5:16. A Man of P rayer. It is told of General Gordon th a t every morning a white handkerchief lay
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