Project Gutenberg's Health, Healing, and Faith, by Russell H.

Conwell

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at [Link]

Title: Health, Healing, and Faith

Author: Russell H. Conwell

Release Date: July 29, 2011 [EBook #36891]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEALTH, HEALING, AND FAITH ***

Produced by Karina Aleksandrova, Juliet Sutherland and the

Online Distributed Proofreading Team at [Link]
 Health,
Healing, and Faith
Effect of Environment
How a Church Was Built by Prayer
Healing the Sick
Prayer for the Home
Prayer and the Bible
By
RUSSELL H. CONWELL

VOLUME 8

NATIONAL
EXTENSION UNIVERSITY
597 Fifth Avenue, New York

EFFECTIVE PRAYER
——
Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers
Printed in the United States of America
 FOREWORD
That prayers are answered nearly all the human race believe. But the subject
has been beclouded and often made ridiculous by inconsistent superstitions.
This book is a modest attempt to clear up some of the errors. Its record is as
accurate as impartial observation can make it. God is not bribed. Laziness cannot
bargain with him. But the prayers of the righteous and of repentant sinners
availeth much.
Desired ends are gained by prayer which cannot be gained by any other
method. The daily experiences of devout persons establish that fact conclusively.
The reasons and the methods which produce the results seem hidden, and they
often bewilder the investigator. God's thoughts are far above our thoughts. But
we can trust our daily experience far enough to retain our confidence in the
potency of prayer. It is, therefore, a profitable and comforting study.
RUSSELL H. CONWELL.
EFFECTIVE PRAYER
 Chapter I
Effect of Environment

T HE fascinating history of events connected with the Baptist Temple,

Philadelphia, through thirty-nine years must be recorded carefully to obtain the
credence of those readers who live out of the locality. It may or may not be that
the unusual demonstrations of power, seemingly divine, were not incited or
influenced by the special environment. Yet the critical reader may reasonably
inquire where these things occurred in order to determine the power of
association on the form and effect of prayer.
The Baptist Temple is a somewhat imposing building on the corner of North
Broad and Berks streets in Philadelphia. It is located almost at the geographical
center of Philadelphia, and eighteen squares north of the City Hall. The Temple
is architecturally very plain, and the beautiful stained-glass windows are about
the only ornaments in the great hall save, of course, the pipes of the great organ.
The church is one hundred and seven feet front, and is one hundred and fifty feet
in length. There is a deep gallery occupying three sides, with a chorus gallery,
back of the pulpit, seating one hundred and fifty singers. There are three
thousand and thirty-four opera chairs arranged in a semicircle, and every person
in the congregation can see clearly the platform and chorus, and each normal
worshiper can be heard from the pulpit.
The building itself is a testimonial to the effectiveness of sincere prayer. The
Temple and the halls in the lower story, as it now stands, are far beyond the
dreams of that little company of earnest worshipers who, in 1880, hesitatingly
and embarrassed, began to build the small church at the corner of Berks and
Mervine streets. They had no wealthy or influential friends. They had but little
money or property; they could pray, and that they did do unceasingly. Any man
who tries to describe or explain fully how it came about that the Temple was
built becomes bewildered in the complications, unless he covers the whole
question by saying, "The Lord did it." In six years after the small church was
completed the Temple was begun on Broad Street.
For seven or eight years after its construction the Temple was a Christian
Mecca to which pilgrims seemed to come from all parts of the earth to kneel
there in prayer. One Good Friday night, which was observed quite generally as a
season of fasting and prayer, the writer entered by the side door the Temple at
two o'clock in the morning, and in the dim light of two small gas jets, always left
burning, he saw scores of people scattered through the church. Why that church
had such a fascination for or preference with earnest seekers for the prayer-
answering God none may explain. All were kneeling separately in silent prayer.
As they passed in and out there were in the line, going and coming, Chinamen,
Europeans, Orientals, and Americans from distant states. Different
denominations, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, colored and white, were often
represented among the individual worshipers. They also came any night in the
week at any hour and prayed silently for a while and then went silently out. The
church was not locked, night or day, for fifteen years. People sought the place
when they sought to find a locality which was especially near to the Lord. It may
be that any place is as near to God as any other; and many think it only a
sentiment, superstitious and foolish, to esteem one place above another in
matters of effective prayer. But there does stand out the fact that, for some good
reason, our Saviour did choose to pray in special localities, and his devout
followers do now feel more deeply the soul's communion with God in certain
favorable places. Why the Baptist Temple had such worship as a sentimental
matter brings forward the facts that the graves of the loved, the home of
childhood, the trysting places, the old fireplace, or the churches where sainted
parents worshiped are influential because of the suggestions which come with
sacred memories. That fact is a strong agency in the awakening of tender and
sacred emotions. But the Baptist Temple was new and could lay claim to none of
those associations. Men and women with no religious habits, and some
seemingly without devout inclinations, testified decidedly that whenever they
visited the building they felt that they had entered into an atmosphere of special
spiritual and sacred power. One soldier of the English army wrote an interesting
letter in 1897, saying: "I do not recall any such impression before. I went into the
church alone out of curiosity to look at its architectural design. But the moment I
entered the side aisle I felt an indescribable pressure which made me desire to
pray. I hurried out to the street to escape the solemn impression. But twice since
then I have been in the auditorium and each time some power seemed pressing
me down to my knees." Whether that influence was the act of the Holy Ghost or
not cannot be proven by any known formula of human reasoning, and hence it
remains, as most of such questions do, a matter of faith. Some believe it was a
divine presence which made itself felt there, and other good men do not believe
the conditions were in any way unusual or unnatural. So many persons with
uncontrolled imaginations, and others with their mental faculties weakened or
distorted, often reported the most improbable visions and absurd revelations.
Such characters, half insane or wholly deranged, testified in favor of Jesus to his
face, and such have ever been present since in every genuinely spiritual
movement. They would do less harm, of course, if they should declaim against
him. So it was, and is, at the Baptist Temple. Those inconsistent, deranged
advocates of religion did often drive away permanently into the ranks of
unbelievers the most sincere investigators. But a calm review of the testimonies
concerning the occurrences which followed so clearly the petitions they offered
in the Temple seems overwhelmingly to establish the claim, now held by so
many thousand people, that the results of the prayers were but a cause and
natural effect, as the prayers and results were infallibly related.
It is not claimed here, however, that the place had more influence with man or
Christ than other places have had, or that any church or cathedral may be as
sacred as Gethsemane or as the Mount of Transfiguration. The plain facts are
recorded here with great caution and with a determination to keep conservatively
within the truth and draw no unreasonable conclusions. It is a true statement,
known to all the community, that many thousands of people have sought to pray
in the Temple, believing that the boon their hearts desired would be more sure to
be sent if they asked for it within the Temple walls. Many persons have attended
the church services on the Sabbath who have been so deep in prayer that they
were unconscious of the music or the preaching. We must reassert that this fact is
not recorded here to sustain any idea that the Temple is a sacred place above
many other churches, cathedrals, and holy places, but to sustain the opinion that
there are places more sacred than others to certain people, and that burdened
hearts and minds would act wisely if they sought some such place when the
answer to their prayer seems especially vital.
 Chapter II
How a Church Was Built by Prayer

I N 1886 the small church at Mervine and Berks streets in the northern section
of Philadelphia was crowded at every service. Children were turned away from
every session of the Bible school, and tickets were issued a week in advance for
the preaching services. The idea of moving to some larger place was discussed,
as it was impossible to enlarge the building where it stood, because of the streets
on three sides. Under those circumstances the people began to pray. A voluntary
committee canvassed the small band of church members, asking each to pray for
an opening to a larger work. It is often thought to be an easy thing to promise to
pray for a person or for a cause. The promise to pray is too often made
carelessly, and disinterested auditors often feel relieved of all responsibility
when, instead of a collection, they are let off with a request to pray for the
advocated cause. But a sincere promise to pray for a cause carries with it the
sincere purpose to work and to give self-sacrificingly. To say, "We do not ask for
your money, but only that you pray for us," is a half-hypocritical request,
because a real prayer can ascend only from a soul intent on doing. To agree to
pray is a hearty promise also to do all in one's power to work with the Lord.
Only the hearty worker can really pray. "The people had a mind to work," said
Nehemiah, and God, seeing their zeal, responded to their appeal. The Lord
answered in a way absolutely unforeseen. The salvation of the world cost a great
sacrifice, and everywhere we see the results of a mysterious law that some must
die that others may live, and that real happiness is ever gained at the cost of
suffering.
A little child in Philadelphia opened the gates of the Temple by going down
through death. She had been unable to get into the overcrowded Bible school one
Sunday, and she began to save her pennies to help secure some larger place.
Little Hattie May Wyatt, living in a home near the church, was chosen of God to
convey his answer to the pleadings of that church. How little could the afflicted
parents realize what a great work their sweet, prattling Hattie was to do in her
short life. When the sweet, pale face lay in the coffin amid the flowers and tears,
her pocketbook, containing fifty-seven cents which she had saved, was handed
to the minister. She was the messenger of Christ on earth before she became one
in heaven! That fifty-seven cents was a sacred treasure, and at the next church
meeting prayers went up to God, asking direction how to invest the first gift
toward the larger accommodations. Providentially, the subject of the Scripture
text was the narrative of the little child with his five barley loaves and two little
fishes (John vi). What can Christ do with the gift of a little child? What can the
spirit of God do with the seed of an oak? One patriarch led in prayer and
earnestly asked the Lord to "take these few pennies and build for us a temple."
There were some in the assembly who, like the disciples at Galilee, said, "What
can this little supply do among so many?" But the most part seemed inspired by
the Holy Spirit with a faith that was immovable. The Lord then put a thought
into the mind of Mr. John Baer, who owned a lot of land on the corner of Broad
and Berks streets, to suggest to a member of the church that, as the people
needed larger quarters, they ought to buy his lot and erect there a larger church.
Mr. Baer did not know then that the church had only fifty-seven cents and that
the church building they then occupied was still heavily mortgaged. Another
church member heard of Mr. Baer's remark and, with the assurance of a faith
unshakable, told Mr. Baer that if he would take fifty-seven cents as the first
payment he felt sure the church would purchase it. Mr. Baer (a devout man) said
that he would cheerfully accept the terms and that he would also not only give
back the fifty-seven cents, but would contribute one thousand dollars toward the
first payment on the lot.
The church then purchased the lot and held another prayer meeting to
determine the second time what to do with the Wyatt fifty-seven cents. It was
unanimously decided to organize a "Wyatt Mite Society" to invest the money.
There were to be fifty-seven children in the society, and each was to invest one
of the pennies so as to secure the largest possible amount for the new church. It
seems almost miraculous that wherever a child tried to sell the penny not one
would buy it after hearing the story, but nearly all did give a liberal donation.
One lady gave fifteen hundred dollars. Finally, the pennies all came back, were
put in a coin frame, and kept as a sacred souvenir. Then joyful enthusiasm seized
upon the people and hurried them along in many different enterprises for raising
money. One Sabbath the pastor was overpersuaded to exchange with Doctor
Pierce of Mount Holly, and the joyful people presented the pastor, on his return,
with a subscription list of ten thousand dollars. But to that account the practical
and critical business man can answer that in any enterprise enthusiasm, hard
work, and economy secure success almost invariably. So that even the matter of
raising one hundred and nine thousand dollars by a people, all poor, industrious
persons, may not be absolutely convincing to the skeptic who questions the
personal interference of God in answer to the call of his children. But there was
another phase of the history of that campaign which seems to be absolutely
unaccountable on any other hypothesis but the direct and special interference of
superhuman intelligence.
The number seven! It is called "a sacred number"; but why it has been
credited with its peculiar significance is, perhaps, the effect of its mention so
often in the Bible. The various theories, reasonable and fanciful, for the
sacredness of the number seven need not be rehearsed in a record of simple facts
like these which this account preserves. But the daily appearance of the number
seven in the evangelistic history of the Grace Church through the five years and
two months before the large Temple was completed has never been explained by
any solution other than by accrediting it to some power or law above the normal.
The "five years' meetings" were only the usual meetings of the small church and
no evangelistic or unusual endeavors were used, nor were any special methods
tried. Evangelists of noted power sometimes addressed the church or gave
sermons at the church in connection with some convention or association, but
none of those instrumentalities seemed to affect the answers to the prayers of the
people. The church sessions were simple, practical, social, and fully democratic.
But the prayers were full of faith and feeling and were brief and direct. One
evening, in a meeting held in a small basement room, there were seven young
people, strangers to one another, who stood up at the invitation to confess Christ.
Each one stated that he had come under a strange and irresistible impulse
unaccountable to him. Each asked the people to pray for his soul. That was the
opening of the continuous stream of seven new converts each week for five
years. That repetition of the number seven was not especially noticed until it had
been repeated through several weeks. Then the people began to expect it, and
during the active enterprises connected with the building of the new Temple it
had a powerful effect on the courage and faith of that small company. As the
years came and went with no change in that weekly number of fresh seekers
after God, a feeling of awe held the worshipers to such an extent that when the
seventh man or woman arose to come forward a deep sigh passed through the
congregation. Sometimes the leader of the meeting paused or asked for "the
hesitating one" if the full number did not at first appear. But there was no
prearrangement and no attempt or purpose to cease giving the invitation to
confess Christ after the number seven had been reached. The church was too
deeply impressed with the seeming miracle to undertake any experiments with it.
Continual prayer was all that was attempted. People ceased to ask their
acquaintances to come to the meetings, and the usual revival methods were
omitted. Real prayer, sincere singing, and a short comment on some verse of
Scripture made up the usual order of services, aside from the regular preaching
on Sunday.
Various explanations of this mysterious and systematic manifestation of some
hidden spiritual force have been advanced by students of the unusual occurrence.
Some undevout friends have rested satisfied with the belief that it was only a
coincidence or an accidental repetition of a natural phenomenon. The skeptic
said that there was no mystery about it, as it merely "happened so." Others, more
devout, declared that the people must have habitually "let go of their faith" when
seven appeared, and that according to their faith "was the limitation of the
numbers." Others believed that it must have been, consciously or unconsciously,
arranged by persons managing the meeting, and not a few outsiders regarded the
statement of the facts as a clear falsehood. They said it could not have been
possible, and that there was surely some deception in the arrangements or
reports. But the hundreds of intelligent and conscientious people who were
present week after week became fully satisfied that it was the work of the Divine
Spirit sent in answer to their prayers. Some of the circumstances connected with
that large accession to the church will be of interest to the student.
During the years when the building was being constructed many simple
schemes were devised by the people to raise money for the work. But prayer was
a part of every endeavor. Fairs, suppers, and concerts were often used to raise
funds, and, although a worldly spirit often creeps into church entertainments,
there came there a devotional spirit which seemed to transfigure every work. The
devotional meetings held in a side hall when the church fairs were going on at
the Academy of Music in Philadelphia ever had the same startling result—the
unchangeable number, seven, came out for Christ. One evening a specially large
number of citizens were at a dinner given to arrange plans for securing the
money for the first payment to the contractor who was laying the foundation for
the Temple. A visitor, in his speech, said that he had been more interested in the
"steady revival," of which he had heard, than in the feast, and that he was quite
disappointed to learn that for the first time in three years the church had omitted
its weekly prayer meeting to give place to a dinner. Thereupon, Deacon
Stoddard, a devout man and full of the Holy Ghost, arose and suggested that
before the guests left the table the presiding officer should give the usual
invitation for anyone to arise and declare his decision to follow Christ. After
several eloquent and entertaining speeches on general topics the invitation was
given for the religious confession, and, to the amazement of many, just seven
young men arose. A deep, spiritual emotion filled the hearts of all present. In two
or three instances the number was less than seven who responded before the
benediction was pronounced, and some said, "The spell is broken." But in all
cases another seeker after God appeared before the people left the room. Men, in
those cases, rushed to the platform and called for the attention of the company to
say that they dared not go home without openly confessing before the people
their need of the Saviour. In several instances persons were too much overcome
or too timid to stand out before a public meeting, and they persuaded some one
sitting near them to get up and ask prayers for them. But there was no
prolongation of any service and no outlay of money for exhorters or singers.
Naturally that remarkable condition attracted a throng of people, and before the
Temple was opened the church and Sunday-school rooms at Mervine and Berks
streets were crowded beyond endurance.
At the first great prayer meeting held in the Temple when the call was made
for converts the number who came forward was seventy-seven. From that time
(1892) there has been no resumption of a regular number of seekers. Often the
number seven, seventy-seven, forty-nine, and seventy appear in the number of
those who arose for prayer or in the list of those who were received at the same
time into the church. At one Easter service two hundred and seventy-seven were
baptized. But those "five years' revivals" stand out as five most beautiful years in
the memory of the thousands still living who recall them. All of that company of
believers prayed, and on those stormy days when the curious crowd were kept
away the people drew together in sincere devotion, and the most dreary days
without were the most happy within. God seemed more reachable and the
domestic sweetness of the church home was much more fully appreciated when
the snow shadowed the panes, when the wild storms beat on the doors, and when
only earnest worshipers ventured out to church. For more than fifteen years three
thousand tickets of admission to the regular church services were taken up
several days in advance, and when a very stormy day kept many ticket holders
away special and repeated prayer was made especially for them. The effect of
those stormy days of special prayer was one of the most remarkable experiences
of the church life. Letters came in great numbers from different parts of the
world, saying that they missed the services, but felt decidedly impressed to send
for some needed information or for special religious advice.
Many cathedrals, churches, homes, and charity halls have been built on prayer
and faith, so that the construction of the Baptist Temple, on a prominent corner
of Philadelphia's widest street, in the heart of the city, by a few poor people, may
not seem strange. Yet the fact that God has prospered other enterprises is only a
confirmation of the theory that God answered the prayers of Grace Church in
giving providential assistance in the construction of the Temple. When the
church voted to go on and pay for the lot and build a church to seat over three
thousand in the upper auditorium and two thousand in the lower hall, there was
no money in hand or pledged. Yet there was no recklessness, no tempting God in
their faith. When the contracts were entered into with the builder, or the furniture
manufacturer, provision was made carefully for any contingency. If for any
unforeseen reason the great building had been unfinished at any stage of
construction all bills would have been paid. But each advance in the work was
made after special prayer over each division of the building enterprise. The
foundation was constructed after special prayer, then came the walls, the roof,
the carpenter's inside work, the painting, the furniture, and the organ—each
being the object of prayerful consideration. There were a few instances,
however, which are worthy of special mention. There was a point when the
contract for the stone for the walls was held up by the quarry proprietors, as they
feared to venture on so large a job with no guaranty but a mechanic's right of
lien. At that time a new savings bank was opened at Columbia Avenue, two
squares from the Temple, and President Cummings, head of the bank, offered to
assist the church in any safe way. How he came to know of the proposed work,
or what special reason he had for helping a people with whom he was not
personally acquainted, was never explained. But he was a noble citizen. His
influence was itself a powerful aid in all the business of the church. One day a
stranger (General Wagner, president of the Third National Bank) was driving by
the half-constructed church when an "impulse" seized him to go into the building
under construction. He was a Presbyterian elder and a stranger to all the
members of Grace Church. He was a great man of business, a person of
unflinching integrity whose coolness in emergencies and whose conservative
management of financial institutions made him a trusted authority for private, for
city, or for national finances. In a few words of conversation with the contractor
in the building General Wagner was told that the church was being built "by faith
in prayer." He told General Wagner that thus far "every payment had been made
promptly, with nothing left over." From that hour the general was a strong,
unmovable friend and backer of the Temple enterprise. The Tenth National Bank
and its offspring, the Columbia Trust Company, and the Third National Bank, of
which General Wagner was president, were ever safely used as a reference, and
often tens of thousands of dollars were loaned by them to the church for short
periods. The trustees and the deacons of the church were prayerful men of stable
common sense and successful in their own labor or business. There was no
foolish overpiousness, no loud professions of religious fervor, but a determined
trust in God's promise to heed the call of those who loved him.
Mr. John Little, a Quaker by inheritance and training, was a leading mind in
the affairs of the church and was for many years the treasurer of the Temple
University. He was a quiet, keenly modest man, but living a transparent
truthfulness and honesty which commanded the confidence of all who knew him
and secured for him a love that can never die. He said that he had two special
places for prayer, one being in the Temple and the other on the street. Mr.
Charles F. Stone (whose wife, Mrs. Maria L. Stone, continued his work after he
died) was the treasurer of the church at the critical period and was a man
endowed with excellent business ability and a devout man full of good works.
He, too, had a "good name" which was rather to be chosen as a financial
recommendation than great riches. These men are not mentioned because of their
special claim to attention above the others associated with them, but simply as
two specimens of the prayer-making company who moved on unhesitatingly, yet
carefully, in doing the thing which many declared could not be done. The weekly
reports from the committees and individuals showing how God had raised up,
unexpectedly or strangely, friends of the undertaking, often caused a deep feeling
of awe and sent the people out with fresh determination to work cheerfully on.
A single instance of the many hundreds reported will probably answer the
inquiries of others now engaged in some like work. Looking back upon the
incident after thirty years the plan or the purpose of the divine leadership, so
hidden then, becomes reasonable and clear. Why the Lord wished to use only
three hundred men out of Gideon's great army was not understood at the time,
but all can see now that the purpose was to bring the Lord's hand into vision and
win for him the recognition which would have gone to the human army.
Only once did the people of the Temple falter and their prayers seem
ineffective. Only once did those Philadelphia worshipers limit their faith. But
that one period of doubt came when the question was suddenly thrust before the
church whether they would try to put in a suitable church organ. Many claimed
that they had reached the utmost limit of sacrifice. Some said that the church
ought to be fully satisfied if they could buy seats for the first services. Others
strongly declared that after all the asking of God and man for aid to build the
Temple they could not expect either God or man to help them to buy an
unnecessary organ. Through thirty-eight years the church has never had any
quarrel to settle in all its history, and that division of opinion did not assume an
angry or excited phase. It was simply a feeling in some of the people that the
Lord had done wonders and that, now that the church was out of the wilderness,
it was full time to let the people and God's providence rest. When the question
arose whether the church should venture to purchase a suitable church organ it
was decided by a large majority that it could not be undertaken. The small
minority were Gideon's three hundred. One member of that small body asked the
church for the privilege of putting in the organ, "if he could raise all of the ten
thousand dollars needed without asking a contribution from anyone who had
already given or subscribed toward the building." Even that conservative offer
was accepted by a reluctant and small majority.
Then that member began a downright, heart-stretching wrestle with the Angel
of God. He spent two successive nights in the Temple in hard and tearful prayer.
He had nothing to give. He must secure the whole from others. He pleaded with
God to let him work with Him in awakening the hearts of possible givers. But
the Lord was not willing to give to man the major part of the glory of success.
The murmuring people must be made ashamed of their lack of faith in the Lord
who had safely led them thus far. The contract for the organ was made with a
company whose agent said they usually sold their organs on faith, but that
churches always paid the cost and often paid in advance of the date when the
notes matured. The purchaser of the Temple organ did not feel authorized to put
in the organ with no money in hand, at least for the first installment on the price
to be paid. But all the men he approached refused to give because it was
"overdoing it," and was "too improbable" for credence or assistance. But the
purchaser did not waver. The time set for the payment of the first fifteen hundred
dollars came. The note the purchaser gave was due on Monday. The debtor had
asked the Sunday-morning prayer meeting to remember him especially "on the
morrow." He had until three o'clock Monday to raise the money to save his note
from protest. He had written to a relative to ask for a loan of fifteen hundred
dollars, but the letter had not been sent to the mail box. When he entered his
room just before church services a working girl who was a member of the church
came quietly to his door and handed him a letter in which, when he opened it, he
found a check for fifteen hundred dollars. The letter and check were signed by a
laboring man in Massilon, Ohio, who wrote that he had not been asked to give
anything, but he had heard that the church "hoped soon to get an organ." He felt
impressed to send this check and to ask the church to accept it on the condition
that, should he ever be reduced to actual need, the church should endeavor to aid
him in some way. The second payment due came as an unexpected draft from
Boston for five hundred dollars, which must be honored or refused within three
days. But in the same mail with the notice of the draft came two money orders
from the executor of an estate in California, saying that the deceased testator had
left the distribution of certain sums to the discretion of the executor and he had
decided to send five hundred dollars toward "the music in the new Temple."
The third payment was met by funds raised by solicitation, about which there
seemed to be nothing remarkable. Other payments were made by gifts clearly
sent in connection with the appeal of the believer, but the last payment was the
most unaccountable of all. Three one-hundred-dollar bills were pushed under the
door of the church study by some one never discovered, and a certificate of
mining stock worth seven hundred dollars was sent from Butte, Montana,
without other signature except that on the face of the certificate. The blank for
the purchaser of the stock was blank. Public efforts were made to find the givers,
but without success. Well might the people feel that the voice of the organ was
the voice of the Saviour.
When the organ was dedicated and Dr. D. D. Wood led the devotion with
inspired fingers and sightless eyes the church's congregation was a beautiful
sight—like a sea sparkling with tears. When the great chorus was singing the
hymn, "God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform," a large number
of the singers were so choked with emotion that they ceased to sing and Doctor
Wood said the event was one of the most thrilling in all his experiences with
choirs.
These are "the simple annals of the poor," but they illustrate and inculcate
great principles which are applicable to any work for the Lord.
 Chapter III
Healing the Sick

T HE health and happiness of mankind depend in a great degree on faith.

Every emotion of the body and every action of the mind is an exhibition of faith.
Persons who believe they are well, even if they are ill, will soon recover, and
persons who believe that they will not be sick are seldom ill. There is no
department of human life so dependent on belief as that connected with health.
Millions would arise, take up their couches and walk, if they could be made to
believe that they could do so. To believe a falsehood has cured many people, and
consciences waver between the duty to tell a patient the clear truth when he is
very ill and to make him believe a lie in order that he may get well.
It must also be stated, in fidelity to the truth, that the subject of healing by
faith has called out a host of the half-insane classes who proclaim with trumpet
tones some cases of divine healing which are unworthy of a moment's
consideration. Hence, out of a collection of possibly sincere letters, many have
been rejected altogether as foolish or misleading. Eleven hundred written
testimonies to cases of healing in direct answer to prayer at the Baptist Temple
have been carefully examined and the trustworthy testimonies tabulated. Those
"years of healing" to which reference is so often made were years of prayer and
years of faith. After deducting all the questionable cases, and after a wide
allowance for the naturally health-giving and health-preserving power, the
normal human belief is that there remains an overwhelmingly convincing
amount of evidence that healing is directly brought about by sincere prayer.
Through several years cases were reported to the church or pastors which
convinced all who knew the people and the circumstances that some intelligent
power, higher than human knowledge, had interfered to heal the sick. But when
the knowledge of those trustworthy cases came to be known, and especially
when they had awakened much excited comment, then the "cranks" and
monomaniacs crowded to the front and vociferously proclaimed the most absurd
miracles, to the disgust of reasonable men and women and greatly to the damage
of the beneficent work.
 Sometimes all references to healing were omitted in the pulpit and shut out
from the meetings for prayer until the wild advocates of divine healing settled
down and dispassionate views could be taken. Many intelligent devout men
repudiated the whole experiment, believing that the excitement over it was doing
much more harm than good. But the larger part who saw the people who had
been cured by the unexplainable means were steadfast and went on sincerely
thanking God for his wonderful works among the children of men.
A digest of the written testimonies showed that cataracts had unrolled without
the touch of a surgeon's knife, although the greatest number of the restoration of
sight to the blind were with the aid of apparent means. The methods by which
the Lord restored their sight did not make their gratitude to him for restoration
any the less commendable. Mysterious and evidently dangerous internal tumors
disappeared slowly or suddenly in a manner unexplainable by the most learned
physicians.
By far the greatest number of the eleven hundred cases selected for
consideration out of the multitude of testimonies were cases in some way
directly connected with the nervous system. Patients long confined in an insane
asylum were brought home and cured of what had been considered hopeless
insanity. There were many cases of various forms of brain diseases, while in all
these cases a specially conservative examiner could declare that they might have
been cured by the special or wise treatment.
Yet, even if such were the case, the devout man who prayed may claim that
the treatment was only a part of God's healing plan. It was often declared
publicly and without any contradiction that for long seasons there was not one
person ill in bed in the more than one thousand homes represented in the
membership of the church worshiping in the Temple. Usually health reigned in
the entire church, and it was reasonably claimed that in five years more than six
hundred cases of lung and throat trouble were permanently healed. Epidemics
afflicted the city, and, quoting Doctor Haehnlen, it was declared that "the Angel
of Death had passed over the congregation, taking none." Of course the people
believed that if they went to the Temple to pray for the recovery of their friends
they would surely be favorably answered. Many have, however, written that if
that condition of faith could be secured in the doctor, nurse, and family, that
spirit of hope would be naturally aroused in the patient and aid greatly in the
recovery. But the men who pray can say with greater confidence that in every
case it was, at least, God working with man. At all events, the general health of
the congregation must be far better than would have been the case with the same
people if they had not gone to church and prayed.
Hundreds of men and women live on in health and vigor who were in that
congregation at middle age thirty-five years ago. Their strength "is not abated,"
although some of them were invalids thirty years ago. The healing force of a
cheerful faith is everywhere acknowledged to be a health-preserving agency of
vital importance in the establishment of public health. It is a vital necessity in
thousands of individual cases. Such a condition is probably often a gift of God—
through the influence of his suggesting and soothing spirit. Jesus healed many
without resorting to miracles and seems to have resorted to the miraculous only
to convince his hearers of his authority in divine matters. In some cases, as the
woman who touched his garment, he claimed nothing for himself, but told her
that her own faith had served her.
Even the most ultra-conservative critic at the Temple who tried hard to see in
these many cases of restoration only the "working out of some natural law"
confessed that if his child was sick he "would not dare to omit praying" for its
recovery. The conclusion of the whole matter is in the settled conviction in the
minds of nearly all the worshipers at the Temple that God does answer prayer for
the sick.
 Chapter IV
Prayer for the Home

O NE Sunday evening at the usual services the invitation was given, as is

customary, for such persons who especially desired to be mentioned in the daily
prayers of the people to rise for a moment before the singing of the last hymn.
The sermon had not mentioned the need of prayer and contained no special
evangelistic appeal. The invitation was the customary proceeding throughout the
year. The three thousand seats were all filled. The audience was composed, as
usual, largely of men, and they were men of middle age. There were young
people, representing both sexes, scattered through the audience, and lines of
them along the back rows of seats in the distant gallery. No attempt was made to
emphasize the ordinary invitation in any special manner. But when the solemn
moment came for the prayer-seekers to rise the response was so general that the
preacher asked those who had risen to remain standing until the pastors could
see them and count them. There were over five hundred, and for a few weeks
that was about the usual number of those who arose.
But the preacher was especially startled by the fact which he had not
especially noted on previous occasions, that the majority of those who asked for
prayer were young people. The scene, when those youthful faces appeared on
every side and in so large a congregation, filled the soul of the beholder with
almost painful awe. It led the preacher to meditate a moment to ask Christ and
himself why so many young people took such a solemn, sincere interest in
prayer at that time. The thought led him, before the benediction, to request all
who had stood forth for prayer to write to him a personal and confidential letter
explaining why they desired to be mentioned in the prayers of the Christian
people. The letters came the next week by the hundred. It was an astonishing
revelation. The letters from unmarried people were culled out of the collection
and reread at leisure. Some of them were in need of higher wages; some were
seeking for a personal religious awakening; some asked prayers for friends, for
business, for safe journey, for health, or for other protection and relief. But out of
two hundred and eighty-seven letters from those young people over two hundred
mentioned, directly or indirectly, their strong desire for a husband, a wife, or a
home. The details of lovers' quarrels were opened up, the anguish of broken
engagements expressed on tear-stained sheets of note paper, and many doubtful
lovers wished the Lord would reveal to them whether their choice had been a
wise one or whether their love was deep enough for such an extremely important
matter as marriage. The letters revealed such a general longing for a home that
one seldom realizes is really existent. There were a few letters from young
college women and university men. But the greater portion were from working
girls. They were the most touchingly sacred records of the everyday thoughts of
young women, all sincerely and modestly expressed. When those young women
saw some handsomely gowned wife pass her desk, her counter, her bench, or
loom, leading a bright-faced little son, the working girl's soul uttered an
unvoiced shriek for a home, for a noble husband's protection, and for children of
her own. Women waiters who daily fed the wives of wealthy merchants or of
prosperous manufacturers wrote how terrible was the thought that they were
going to be homeless and penniless in their old age—one great prayer going up
to high heaven for holy domestic love and a place they could call "home."
After that evening's call upon the seekers after God to rise the request for
letters was repeated. The answers which came even into thousands revealed the
general request for the leadership of the Spirit of the all-wise God in directing
the all-important affairs of the heart. Some letters detailed the horrors of broken
hearts; some revealed dark sins; and some told of betrayal or of base and
traitorous ingratitude. But the majority were letters from lonely but upright
women of high ideals and of noble, Christian life. Some of the communications
were from conscientious young men asking God's help in deciding their choice
or for the influence of God in their favor when their chosen one should make up
her hesitating mind. Some were calls for Christ's forgiveness and for human
advice in most complicated cases where the writer had been misunderstood or
where he had thoughtlessly made a promise he must recall. All wanted a home.
The honest souls standing out in the open before God, where the restraints of
human custom and the reluctance of a pure modesty were, for the moment,
overcome, wrote out the sincerest prayer of all. Their soul's need was a home.
Of all the holy ambitions of a normal man or woman the purpose to have a
home is the highest. A home on earth and a home in heaven constitute the soul's
chiefest need. Around that transfigured word gather all that is highest and purest
in human thinking and all that is most sacred and heavenly in human feeling. In
the beginning the Almighty created man—"Male and female created he them."
The first home was in Paradise. The last home will be there. He who has an
income to maintain a house, who has an intelligent, unselfish wife, who can look
about his table and see children with clear intellects and loving hearts, is
conspicuously foolish if he does not see that he already has the best the world
can give. She who can cast off all anxiety for maintenance and can devote
herself to the care and training of her own little ones, and who can respect and
deeply love her chosen mate, has God's best gifts already in her possession.
Gratitude to the heavenly Father will lead such recipients of his richest bounty to
forget not to aid those who have less. Nothing on earth of wealth, applause, or
mundane wisdom can equal, in the least measure, the temporal and eternal
values of a real home. Therefore it is wise and the mark of a godly character to
pray heartily for a husband, or for a wife, or for children.
A reasonable valuation of such domestic treasures makes a hideous crime of
every violation of the laws and customs which make a loving home possible.
Profanity of speech, theft of money, or traitorous breaking of any other contract
is a light sin compared with the brutal sins of the libertine or the unchastity of
the woman who sells herself, or who, with evil intent, entices a man to home-
breaking crime. So important is this matter that it is the fit subject for constant
prayer for those who have not chosen to be a martyr or decided to give up all on
earth for a home in heaven. And, even in the latter case, the call to take up any
work inconsistent with the maintenance of a home should be overwhelmingly
emphatic to command obedience.
Hence, those appeals to Heaven for domestic rest of soul were all normal and
all of supreme importance. When that great collection of letters were each
answered the reply contained a counter-request for a report in due season which
should state when and how the prayer for a home had been answered. Those
reports have also been carefully tabulated. But here again the critical adherent to
the theory concerning the unchangeable laws of nature tries to escape any
committal to religious dogmas by claiming that the mating instinct is an inborn
sentiment common to fishes, beasts, and birds, and that mankind mates by
accidental acquaintanceship or by the pressure of necessity or ungoverned
passion. Such arguments convince many people who deride the claim that
"marriages are made in heaven." But after every such theory is suggested and
analyzed, after every allowance for the outworking of "natural selection," there
is left an important place for the intrusion or domination of a superhuman power.
To that fact, the simple, unvarnished tale of the experience of the years at the
Temple bear eloquent testimony. A book of this character requires that out of the
many reports only the most representative cases should be selected, and that the
mention should be as brief as is consistent with clearness. The number of
marriages which every church, small or great, brings about is ever the
astonishment of any preacher who goes back over the history of forty years of
church life. The church in any community is a center of more or less of social
life and furnishes an opportunity for the best young people to meet on a plane of
safe association. The married Christian people, and especially the owners of
homes, are the very best people in any town or city. As a rule, all people
possessed of Christian character marry. The unmarried masses of the people, or
those who are most often unhappily mated, are often the unstable classes who
are not closely bound to moral principles. Religious life and home life are twin
sisters. They belong to the same family and have the same likes, dislikes, and
motives. They are congenial and necessary companions almost everywhere.
Let us examine the leading events wherein we seem to recognize the divine
hand and which led directly to the setting up of Christian homes. One lady clerk
in a department store, in her first letter asking for prayer, said that she was forty-
one years of age and that she had been twenty years in the store. She said that
she had hoped for a home all her adult life, but had abandoned the hope and
wished only to die soon. She asked if suicide would be wrong under such sad
circumstances. The following Sabbath morning, after the service, the pastor of
her church incidentally introduced her to a widower of her age who had a
comfortable house, but who had rented it because he had no children. The
widower asked the pastor a few days later to pray for him as he had a "very
important matter" on his mind. Several days later he came to the minister and
said that he had dreamed three times and in each dream he had precisely the
same experience. He dreamed that he was climbing a steep hill in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and he had called for help to a lady standing above him near the
path, and when he took her hand he recognized her as the lady to whom the
minister had introduced him. He declared that he really wished to set up a home
again, but his first impression of that lady was decidedly unfavorable. The
minister unreservedly advised the widower never to let a mere dream influence
him to overcome his calm judgment. The minister said that dreams were often
contrary to fair reasoning and should not be consulted in such important matters.
A few days later the lady called on the minister to ask him if there was "any truth
in dreams." Then she greatly surprised the minister by saying that she dreamed
several times that she was on a steep bank near a cousin's home in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and as the earth began dangerously to break beneath her feet a
man caught her and supported her to the safe path. The mysterious thing in her
story was that she recognized the man as the gentleman to whom she had been
introduced that Sunday morning, but whose name she had forgotten. She said
that the repetition of the dream "set her to thinking," and she had called to
inquire who the gentleman was and what trust could be placed in dreams. The
minister was too surprised to declare again that no faith could be put in any
dreams. The minister said nothing to her about his previous interview with the
widower and let her depart with the remark that if the Lord intended she should
marry that man the Lord would also speak to the man about it in some clear
manner. The Lord never advises one party to enter into such a contract when he
knows the other party is unwilling. In every holy marriage both parties are
equally inspired with the spirit of God and are both absolutely convinced that the
Lord had brought them together. The minister soon wrote to the widower,
advising him to call on the lady and tell her frankly that he desired to make her
acquaintance with a view to a marriage, if both should be satisfied that it would
be right. Every reader of this incident recognizes or feels the impression of the
universal law of nature and can prophesy safely that they would marry. The
minister was not present at the wedding, but he was informed by those who did
attend the ceremony that the bridegroom told the guests the history of their
dreams and claimed that they were "obeying the voice of God" when they
arranged for that marriage.
The doubting persons who claim that the repetition of the dreams and the
accidental meetings were singular coincidences that were in no way influenced
by angel spirits, do have enough support to make the angel theory one of faith
and remove the claim from the class of "scientific demonstrations." The facts
related cannot be questioned. But the conclusions from those facts may differ
widely and still be more or less reasonable.
The mysterious attraction which leads the bird and the beast to choose their
mates is of the same nature as that mating instinct which prevails universally
among mankind. But man's reasoning power and his self-control make his choice
of a wife a far more complicated matter. The healthiest, strongest, and most
intellectual races are ever those whose laws and customs allow the greatest
opportunity for unprejudiced choice in the selection of life mates. Intermarriage
of family relations, or the marriages within a narrow circle of the same race, ever
produce weaklings and often idiots. In the lands where the parents arrange all the
marriages there is but little progress and but few real homes. Wherever the
parties refuse to be guided by the higher law of affinity, or by a recognition of
Divine Providence, there will seldom be found a real home. "Affinity" is an
abused word, and is often used to bolster up a bad cause or to excuse a cruel
crime. But the close student of anthropology ever finds that the known natural
laws do not account for every case, nor can a satisfactory solution of sex
attraction in human affairs be found without admitting the mysterious and potent
force that is only spiritual.
Looking back over the marriage records of the Baptist Temple for thirty years,
there appear some significant facts concerning home-making by prayer. Through
those thirty years of the record-keeping there was an average of sixteen
marriages a month, or five thousand and one hundred in thirty years. The same
pastor who officiated at the marriage of the parents also, in many cases,
officiated at the weddings of the children. Not one case of divorce can be
discovered and only two cases of estrangement. The records of many praying
churches probably show the same conditions.
But it is a sublime, soul-satisfying thing to meditate on such a great list of
happy Christian homes. The searcher, when he notes the birthplaces of bride and
groom, finds that they often come from the most distant places and represent
nearly all the races of the world. Calcutta united with New York, Iceland with
New Orleans, Philadelphia with Chicago, Quebec with Quakertown, Worcester
(Massachusetts) with Camden (New Jersey), Japan with Chester (Pennsylvania),
Alaska with Columbia (South Carolina), country villages with cities, obscure
daughters of prairie farmers with sailors on the Atlantic, millionaires' sons with
working girls, and thousands of members of the church of all adult ages uniting
with other members of whom they knew nothing in childhood.
From the atheist's point of view he can see nothing in that history but a jumble
of accidents or a snarl of events which cannot be untangled. But to the devout
believer in the theory that God sends his angels to arrange the home-making as
he did in the case of Rebecca and Isaac, that list of homes presents a sublime
view of a system for the kind distribution of Heaven's chiefest blessings. Out of
the seventy-two hundred who united with Grace Church and its missions in the
thirty years mentioned above all but twenty-nine have been married. As a home-
making agency in the history of our nation the churches must hold the leading
place.
When the remarkable series of reported dreams became known and was being
discussed by the people, there arose many men and women with unbalanced
minds who testified to the most inconsistent miracles in connection with their
dreams. Among the letters which they sent in when testimonials were called for
there were nearly one hundred which related foolish and impossible experiences
and which made the whole debate ridiculous. But that uprising of those who
were "possessed of evil spirits" did not prove that the one case so well
established was not the work of an angel of God.
There may be ten thousand dreams which are of no special value and which
are caused by natural law. But God seems to use only one here and there for his
special purposes. Thousands of seeds fall on the earth, but only one may be
selected to grow. There were cases related where dreams were specially potent to
the dreamers because of the suggestions made by the dreams to the waking
minds. A dream is often very potent as a reminder, or as a caution, and is often a
providential event used in God's plan, although the dreams in themselves may
have nothing unusual about them. There could be no clearly remembered dream
which did not have some effect on the thought and later actions of the dreamer.
With that view many dreams need not have their origin in a special visit of an
angel of God. But again we must believe that there are dreams in which the
angel of God appears to man directly, and that such dreams are possible in any
age of the human world. Each claim, therefore, to a revelation of God in a dream
should stand alone and be accepted or rejected after a careful study of all the
causes and effects.
The experiences with the Holy Spirit during those years of constant prayer
should find a special place in this record. For there were devout souls who
seemed to be constantly filled with the divine afflatus, and they surely enjoyed
the peace of God which passeth all understanding. Here, again, we walk near a
line that cannot exactly be located and enjoy emotions or inspirations which
cannot be described. An all-pervading joy illumined every part of the human
soul. "Where are you going so early this Sunday morning?" was often asked of
the hastening pedestrian, and it was a common experience to hear him reply, "I
am going to the morning prayer meeting in the Temple to meet the Holy Spirit."
The Holy Spirit was there awaiting him. There were Pentecostal days—supreme
hours of strange elation, seasons of heavenly bliss which cannot be accounted
for on any psychological basis. A holy brooding of a sin-expelling spiritual
atmosphere permeated by a power like a perfume. It was an indwelling of the
Spirit which carried a purifying fumigation wherein the worshiper simply let go
of himself and rested in the arms of his heavenly Father. Many felt that sacred
presence and could only express themselves in tears. Such Pentecostal visitations
of the Spirit have doubtless come to thousands of churches and to millions of
worshipers in other places, and this experience at the Temple is not mentioned as
if it were an unusual thing where prayer is the habit of all the people. But it
confirms the history of the visits of the Holy Spirit related in the Bible, and must
be accepted as a proof of the fact that there is communication between the spirit
world and the world in which we live in the flesh. But these spiritual conditions
are so subtle, so elusive, so delicate, that it is easy to imagine that one is in that
condition when perhaps he is not. It was so disappointing and perplexing to the
sincere and reasonable Christian to have his communication with the Holy Spirit
disturbed by a wild-eyed and loud-mouthed "Holy Roller" or an advocate of
"The Holy Ghost and Us Society" proclaim his wild theories and tell of the silly
revelations which he claimed the Spirit had made to him. Some of those
disturbers are now in the insane asylum, where they should have been before.
 Wherever God erects a house of prayer
The devil builds a chapel there.
And 'twill be found on examination
The latter has the largest congregation.

It is a marvel that the gospel of Christ has outlived its own advocates. The
"cranks" who testified for Christ in his day were more harmful than were the
same number of his open enemies. Because of them the people believed that
Christ himself was a wild fanatic. The believer in Christ must try prayerfully and
carefully to distinguish between the devils and the angels of light, and determine
by their fruits which claimant is possessed by the Spirit of God and which is
controlled by the spirit of evil.
 Chapter V
Prayer and the Bible

T HERE are three methods used distinctively in the study of the Bible and
upon each of them prayer has a clear effect. This fact comes out fully in the
written testimonials received from the members of the church worshiping in the
Baptist Temple. One individual may read the Bible as he would read any other
book, and, consequently, finds it dull reading. Another studies the historical
references as an archæologist or as the scientific specialists examine a rare
specimen. To them it is a curious and strange collection of ancient manuscripts,
and such a student finds amusement in the research. Another regards the Book as
a miraculous revelation from God, and he handles the volume with reverent care
and reads the statements it contains as he would a letter sent from heaven direct
to him. Those three classes are found in almost every religious gathering, and it
is an intensely interesting thing to observe at close range the various effects of
prayer on such a congregation. When the leader of the prayer service approaches
the Bible with the manner of a delighted seeker after truth, and, before opening
the Book, leads the people in a direct appeal to the Divine Spirit for instruction
and inspiration, the interest of the worshipers in the Book is especially
awakened. When the leader prays fervently and with frank sincerity that the
passages of the Bible to be read shall be illumined or be made alive with special
meaning and new emphasis, then the Book will be an interesting volume to
nearly all of the gathering. And when the leader is himself expecting a special
revelation from that Book at that time his personal magnetism combines with his
manner to help the worshiper into a receptive, expectant state of mind. The
people then expect to hear "an important message from a most important
person." The helpfulness of those conditions anyone would understand, as they
are in accord with human experience in other gatherings. But the effect of the
prayer in bringing to each person present a different message from the same
verse puts the matter over into the realm of the supernatural.
At one prayer meeting at the Temple, when a severe storm had cut down the
attendance to a number under twenty, the prayerful attitude of all present made
the session one of special spiritual illumination. The Scriptures were read with
accuracy and natural emphasis, and then each listener was requested to state
informally what was the chief lesson which the reading brought to him. Each
person present received a distinct and helpful suggestion differing from the
suggestions made to any of the others. It is that well-established fact, so often
experienced, that makes the Bible a book unlike any other. In this, too, is shown
the importance of persuading everyone to read the Bible for and by himself. It
seems, however, to be universally true that when the Bible is prayerfully,
intelligently read aloud each praying listener receives some message of special
importance to himself. While all that evening heard the same words from the
same mouth, yet the circumstances of each life were different from every other;
the experiences had been unlike, the inherited dispositions were different, the
meaning of the words was shaded by the variation in their home use, and a full
allowance was freely made for those differing effects. But those considerations
cannot, to the calm, critical student of the inspiration of the Bible, account for
the special and mysterious messages which come to each participant in the
meeting. The suggestions are often beyond the application of the law of "the
association of ideas." They cannot be explained by any of the known
psychological laws which seem generally to govern the human mind. This
experience with the Bible is the best evidence of its divine inspiration.
Archæological, psychological, etymological, or historical analysis cannot
establish the accuracy of the Bible so surely as that actual experience. The best
proof is subjective. The secular argument that the Bible carries on its face the
evidence that the writers were all inspired by a "good motive" is surely an
excellent reason for believing the Bible to be "inspired." A holy motive, apparent
in its wise communications, is clearly shown in the Bible. The etymologist who
rests his case on the conclusion that the words "inspired by God" were formerly
written "inspired by the Good," and that the "All Good" being is the ideal God, is
not far from the safe definition. That does not in any way conflict with the theory
that "all Scripture, inspired by the 'All Good,' is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." The complications into
which the narrow theologian or technical philosopher falls when attempting to
reason about the Almighty often makes the study bewildering and unprofitable.
The testimony of the good and great through all the ages that every line of the
Book is written with the unselfish purpose to do good is sufficient warrant for
the common reader in concluding that it has some unusual inspiration.
The question was often discussed at the Temple whether it was safe after
prayer to open the Bible at random and be guided by the first verse on which the
eye rested. Some claimed that it was always safe to trust it. Others said that it
was only occasionally that they found it to be reasonably instructive. Still others
believed that the ascribing of such magic, or miraculous, power to the Book was
clearly a form of forbidden idolatry. But the majority of the praying Bible
readers felt convinced that the selection of texts at random could not be trusted.
Yet here again we find strong evidence that sometimes the worshiper is directed
to a particular record which seems to be selected by a divine mind. Again, it is
wholly a matter of faith. The boy who asked his father for a silver dollar and
found one in the road which some traveler had accidentally dropped, concluded
that there was no design on the part of his father to give him the dollar. But when
he found a dollar there the third time his conclusion that his father had placed all
three of the dollars there for him was not unreasonable, but, nevertheless,
erroneous. So while the Lord surely has established certain laws or customs
which seem permanent, yet he has the power and may change the laws or allow
exceptions, and one cannot believe in prayer without believing that such changes
are sometimes made. It is a far greater strain upon human credulity not to believe
it than it is to believe it. The careful use of common sense in the interpretation of
Biblical or unusual events, examples, and records of wisdom is ever the safe and
sane proceeding. If one should pray for divine direction and opened the Bible at
random to find the Lord's advice he should always examine the verse to see if its
teaching or direction accorded with his petition. In a "call" to the ministry there
must be a conviction of duty in the soul and also a road providentially opened to
the would-be laborer. So in all the thousands of answers to prayer at the Temple
there was found a conjunction of circumstances which showed that the worker
was called by the same Lord who had a work to be done.
The will of man is a strong force and is in itself an effectual, fervent prayer.
The Lord prospers the person whose righteous will is decided, persistent, and
uncompromising. The too-frequent consultation of Bible texts for hints or for
direction shows a habit of doubt which is often a clear evidence of weakness.
But in this, as in almost every other experiment, it is the consensus of opinion
that the Lord does often inspire the Bible, especially for certain devout seekers,
and that he inspires the soul with a keen, sensitive apprehension and appreciation
of the special revelation. The spiritually minded man or woman is the only one
who can interpret a spiritual book. The chief value of the Bible is as a spiritual
guide. It is the only book which explains the Creator's revelation to this world,
and is the only one which gives a trustworthy description of the spiritual world.
What a shadow would pass over the earth, and what destruction, devastation, and
misery would be experienced, if, in one moment, all knowledge of the Bible
were crossed out! Sane men who reverently pray for the inspiration when they
read the Scriptures are the only safe guides to its sacred meaning. All who came
to the Temple to pray seem to have been lead to the Bible at once, and thousands
have learned to love it. To those who have prayed long over it it has become a
continual feast.

Endpaper linked to a larger version. A picture of a man walking into a wooded

glade with one hand brushing away a tree branch and another hand holding a
small plant he just uprooted from underfoot. He has a suprised look on his
bearded face. To the left of the man and behind him is a lake with three swans,
and a castle is visible on the other shore of the lake.

End of Project Gutenberg's Health, Healing, and Faith, by Russell H. Conwell

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEALTH, HEALING, AND FAITH ***

***** This file should be named [Link] or [Link] *****

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
[Link]

Produced by Karina Aleksandrova, Juliet Sutherland and the

Online Distributed Proofreading Team at [Link]

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions

will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.

*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
[Link]

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm

electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm

electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be

used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"

or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at [Link]

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived

from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted

with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm

License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site ([Link]),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
 prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any

money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm

electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable

effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right

of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a

defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of

electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at [Link]

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive

Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit

501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
[Link] Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.

Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@[Link]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at [Link]

For additional contact information:

Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
gbnewby@[Link]

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg

Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide

spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating

charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit [Link]

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we

have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make

any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: [Link]

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

works.

Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm

concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed

editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

[Link]
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
linked image
back