The Wonders of Prayer Part 39

Wednesday's sales gave him five hundred more thalers, which he was obliged to have ready to pay on Thursday morning into the court of trustees.

Thursday's sales brought him four hundred thalers, just the amount he had given promise to pay the next day for goods delivered.

And Friday's sales gave him just three hundred thalers with which to honor the widow's demand on Sat.u.r.day, to pay funeral and contingent expenses.

During these days of wonderful business and deliverances, after each indebtedness was discharged, there still was not left cash in hand a sum exceeding three to five dollars.

On Sat.u.r.day morning, after he had sent the three hundred thalers to the widow, he had left precisely two thalers and twenty silver groschen (six s.h.i.+llings eight pence sterling), the smallest balance he had yet had; and what seemed most alarming, the rush to the shop seemed to be entirely over; for while during the five days past, he had had scarcely time to draw his breath from hurry and bustle, he was now left in undisturbed possession of his place. Not a single customer appeared. The wants of the vicinity seemed to have come to an end, for not a child even entered to fetch a pennyworth of thread, or a few ells of tape.

This utter cessation of trade was as unusual and out of the accustomed shop business, as the extra rush had been.

At five o'clock on Sat.u.r.day, was due the debt of three hundred thalers to his scoffing and tantalizing money lender. Three o'clock came, and still there was but six s.h.i.+llings eight pence in the till. Where was his money to come from? But Loest sat still, and "_possessed his soul in patience_" for he knew the Lord would choose the best time, and he desired to be found waiting and watching for the Lord's coming. The trial was severe. It seemed hopeless, and if it should happen that, the creditor came and went away unsatisfied, his commercial character would be injured, his credit shaken, and his reputation severely suffer. That last hour ran slowly on. At a _quarter to four_, almost the last few moments of painful suspense, a little old woman came in, and asking for Mr. Loest, said to him half in a whisper, "I live here close by, quite alone, in a cellar, and I have had a few thalers paid me, and now I want to beg of you to be so good as to keep them for me. I have not slept over night since I had them; it is a great charge for a lone woman like me."

Loest was only too glad to accept the money, and offered interest, which she declined. She hurried back, brought in her money, counted it out on his table, and there _were just three hundred thalers_, six rouleaux of fifty thalers each.

_She had scarcely left the house, with her receipt in her pocket, ere the clerk of the creditor with his demand in his hand, rushed into Loest's presence. He received his three hundred thalers, and both parted speechless with amazement_.

Loest was lost in wonder at the marvelous way and exactness of time in which the Lord delivered him, while the creditor was astonished thus to find Loest's Mighty Friend had not failed him in his hour of need.

Thus in one short week, from a beginning of less than five thalers, G.o.d had so exactly supplied his business needs that he had paid all his obligations of two thousand six hundred thalers, saved him from failure, saved his honor and good name, and now all was peace.

The history of Loest and other providences which helped him in his business, are still further given more at length in a little book, "_The Believing Tradesman_," from the records of the Religious Tract Society of Berlin.

This sketch ill.u.s.trates the necessity of looking to G.o.d daily for help, and strength, and success, and deliverance in our business occupations as well as the concerns of our soul, and must effectively prove that those who use their business and the means from it to honor the good works of the Lord on earth, will be blessed on earth with the favor of the Lord. It teaches the sublime lesson that _money and prosperity are gifts from the Lord_, and must be considered as such, acknowledged with thankfulness, and used to please the Giver.

Whenever the Christian learns to love the gift more than the Giver, the Lord takes it often away to remind him of his need of dependence upon _Him_. But whenever the Christian loves the _Giver_ because of His gifts, and spends his means again to please his Heavenly Father, he becomes the Father's steward, and his lap is filled with bountiful blessings, such as one finds by true experience, "_The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want_."

SPURGEON'S PRAYER FOR MONEY.

Charles Spurgeon relates this incident connected with his ministry: "When the college, of which I am President, had been commenced, for a year or so all my means stayed; my purse was dried up, and I had no other means of carrying it on. In this very house, one Sunday evening, I had paid away all I had for the support of my young men for the ministry. There is a dear friend now sitting behind me who knows the truth of what I am saying. I said to him, '_There is nothing left, whatever_.' He said, 'You _have a good banker, sir_.' 'Yes,' I said, 'and I should like to draw upon him now, for I have nothing.' 'Well,'

said he, 'how do you know, have you prayed about it?' 'Yes, I have.'

'Well, then leave it with Him; have you opened your letters?' 'No, I do not open my letters on Sundays.' 'Well,' said he, 'open them for once.'

I did so, and in the first one I opened there was a banker's letter to this effect: 'Dear Sir, we beg to inform you that a lady, totally unknown to us, has left with us two hundred pounds for you to use in the education of young men.' Such a sum has never come since, and it never came before; and I have no more idea than the dead in their graves how it came then, nor from whom it came, but to me it seemed that it came directly from G.o.d."

THE PRAYER OF LATIMER.

The prayers of the martyr, Latimer, were very remarkable for their faith. There were three princ.i.p.al matters for which he prayed:

1. That G.o.d would give him grace to stand to his doctrine until death.

2. That G.o.d would of His mercy restore His gospel to England once again, repeating and insisting on these words "once again," as though he had seen G.o.d before him, and spoken to Him face to face.

3. That G.o.d would preserve Elizabeth; with many tears, desiring G.o.d to make her a comfort to this comfortless realm of England. All these requests were most fully and graciously answered.

A MOTHER'S PRAYERS ANSWERED.

A Christian evangelist, whose work has been most singularly blessed, related this incident, how once in the days of his folly and sin, while as yet his course of life ran counter to the fondest wishes and prayers of his mother's heart, he one day asked her the strange question, whether she really believed that he ever would be converted to G.o.d. And her answer, inexpressibly touching and instructive, as being the answer of _a.s.sured faith_, which could see as yet no signs of the coming of what it so anxiously sought, was,

"Yes, I believe that you will one day be as eminent as a Christian, and an instrument for good, as you have been eminent in sin, and an instrument for evil."

In later years the evangelist looked back with admiration to the faith of his mother, and thanked the Lord for His gracious answer to her prayers.

HOW THE LORD RESCUED HIM.

A wonderful incident is told by Dr. S.I. Prime among his many facts relating to prayer, as published in _The Observer_ and "_The Power of Prayer_."

"A young man held a good position in a large publis.h.i.+ng house in this city. He was about thirty years old, a married man, and happy in all the relations of life. The missionary of the church knew him through years of comfort and prosperity. Years pa.s.sed away, and there came a dark place in his life. Intemperance, of the most depraved kind, made his career most dreadful. He disappeared, and was not heard from for some time. He separated himself from his family, and from all good.

"He was met in Boston one day by an old friend, after long years, who noticed a marked difference in his appearance. He approached him, grasped him by the hand and said:

"'I am a changed man. I one day got up in the morning, after a night of wakefulness, and thinking over what a wretch I had become, and how wretched I had made my poor wife and children, I resolved to go to the barn, and there all alone, to pray that G.o.d would take away utterly forever my accursed thirst for rum, and to pray till I felt answered that my prayer was heard. I went down on my knees, and on them I stayed until I had asked G.o.d many times to take away all my appet.i.te for rum and tobacco, and everything else which was displeasing to Him, and make me a new creature in Christ Jesus--a holy, devoted Christian man, for the sake of Him who died for sinners. I told G.o.d that I could not be denied; I could not get up from my knees till I was forgiven and the curse was forever removed. I was in earnest in my prayer.

"'I was on my knees two hours, short hours, as they seemed to me; two blessed hours, for I arose from my knees a.s.sured that all of the dreadful past was forgiven, and my sins blotted out forever. Oh! I tell you, G.o.d hears prayer. G.o.d has made me a happy man. I left all my appet.i.te in the old barn. In that old barn, I was born again. Not one twinge of the old appet.i.te has ever been felt since then.'"

JESUS KEEPS ME FROM DRINKING.

A young man arose in the Fulton Street prayer-meeting one day, and detailed his struggles and triumphs with his appet.i.tes. He was a perfect drunkard, helpless, poor; his friends' best efforts to reclaim' him were of no avail. The most solemn vows that he had ever taken, still were unable to hold him up. At last he gave himself up for lost. There seemed no hope for him, and in his despair he wandered away to the ocean sh.o.r.e.

He met a young man who showed him a good many favors, and to whom he offered a drink from his flask of liquor.

"'No,' said he, 'I never drink intoxicating drink, and I ask the Lord Jesus to help me never to touch it.'

"I looked at him with surprise, and inquired, 'Are you a Christian?'

"'Yes, I trust I am,' he answered.

"'_And does Jesus keep you from drinking intoxicating liquor?'_

"'_He does, and I never wish to touch it_.'

"That short answer set me to thinking. In it was revealed a new power. I went home that night and said to myself, as I went, '_How do I know but Christ would keep one from drinking if I would ask him_?'

"When I got to my room, I thought over my whole case, and then I knelt down and told Jesus what a poor, miserable wretch I was; how I had struggled against my appet.i.te, and had always been overcome by it. I told Him if he would take the appet.i.te away I would give myself up to Him to be his forever, and I would forever love and serve Him. I told Him that I felt a.s.sured that He could help me, and that He would.

"Now I stand here, and I tell you all most solemnly, _that Jesus took me at my word_. He did take away my appet.i.te then and there, so that, from that sacred moment of casting myself on his help, I have not tasted a drop of liquor, nor _desired_ to taste it. _The old appet.i.te is gone_.

"The last two weeks have been rich experience of Divine goodness and grace."

MR. MOODY'S FAITH, IN PRAYER. A REMARKABLE ANSWER.