But there is left a good foundation for a consistent belief in the power of consistent prayer in producing objective results. While it may be difficult for a human father to discern between the motives of his child who brings him a gift so as to be sure that the gift is the exhibition of a pure affection, yet the Lord has no such limitation. He knows whether the offering is a gambling venture or a lovely deed inspired by a pure, unselfish love. G.o.d does love and does answer a cheerful giver.
The loving son remembers the unselfish devotion of his mother and the offerings she gave him without thought of any return or reward and his delight to have her ask him to do for her. G.o.d is love, and he loves the lover. His intrinsic nature compels him to answer the call of his beloved. But he cannot be driven or tricked into granting the prayer of a greedy deceiver whose whole motive is selfish. The idea is foolishly unrighteous which looks upon the arrangement of Providence as a slot machine into which the pretended worshiper may put a copper penny and draw out a gold dollar. As gold must be given for gold, so love must be given for love.
Chapter V
Unanswered Prayers
The many letters which report that prayers have not been answered made the examination into that department of the investigation to be most discouraging until the testimonies were read the second or third time.
Slowly it dawned on the reader that the writers did not know, after all, whether their prayers were answered or not. A bright light was let in on the subject by the expression of one who stated that he had prayed for the means to pay off a mortgage on his home until he had abandoned all hope and had decided to sell his house to the railroad company for a siding. In answer to a later inquiry the discouraged pet.i.tioner stated that the jury, to which by contract both parties agreed to leave the a.s.sessment of the "land damages," had given him money enough to buy a much finer home away from the continual annoyance of pa.s.sing trains.
Many of the wholly disappointed pet.i.tioners closed their complaints or doleful faultfinding outbursts with the stereotyped quotation, "nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done!" To some "the heavens are as bra.s.s"; to others, their prayers did not go "higher than their heads," and to still others their prayers became meaningless and like "words called into the thin air." This phase of our topic could not be followed up as far as a careful investigator could wish, because it involved so much correspondence and so much delay. But a general statement of the conclusions reached by those whose prayers had, seemingly, not been answered can be safely made. They all naturally and necessarily formed a concept of G.o.d by imagining him to be an all-mighty and all-good man. The human mind seems incapable of forming any other idea of G.o.d than can be obtained from a human model, greatly enlarged.
Jesus knew what was in man when he taught his disciples to say, "Our Father." Human kings, human fathers, human saints human sinners are really pictured in the minds of all who strive to visualize the Almighty, or his Son, or the angels. No Hindu can even think Nirvana. No mind can meditate on nothing. Everything conceived in the mind must be like something else. Reasoning from "the known to the unknown," or "the lesser to the greater," is the only possible process by which man can know G.o.d. So all those seemingly defeated ones had looked up to G.o.d as to a great man, and when he seemed to do nothing in answer to their requests they concluded that he either did not hear or that he would not even reply. They did not think, however, of their heavenly Father as they would of an earthly father who was perfectly good. A good and wise father must often deny his child the article for which he asks, but he will not dismiss the matter with a curt denial. He will try to find something else for his child, as has been already stated in a previous chapter. The testimonies which a.s.serted that the all-good G.o.d had denied or ignored the requests of his followers were the strongest proofs of the fact that G.o.d had granted their requests. The father who would not give a stone to his child who asked for bread would not give a stone to his starving child who asked for a stone. In those seasons when the attention of the people was centered specially on the results of prayer there was often heard the expression, "Perhaps He sees that it is best for me that I should not get the blessing for which I asked." But a consensus of opinion taken from the ma.s.s of correspondence showed a general belief that there are no unanswered prayers. They believed that in some other way which was better and wiser G.o.d sent his child a more valuable token of his love.
Those reports gave the student an insight into the popular religious beliefs of the common people. The theological creeds and formulas which are found in the libraries are written by talented, studious scholars who put their own conclusion into print and do not attempt to set out the opinions retained by the ma.s.ses. Often a silent congregation retains a strong belief in some theological idea which the preacher does not recognize. Often the minister of a church, having the reputation of being firmly orthodox, teaches theories which are not accepted by his hearers. Hence, the scrutiny of all that correspondence covering so many years gave an insight into the faith of the everyday Christian which was enlightening and helpful.
The testimony came from a much wider circle than the actual membership of that church, as visitors at the Temple from other quarters of the earth sent in their accounts of the way the Lord had answered their prayers. In those letters some remark or some statement often unconsciously disclosed this belief relating to prayer. Their beliefs concerning death, the Judgment, the future life, the methods used by the Lord in his administration, and the occupations of the saints in heaven most strangely harmonized when a careful digest was made. The divine plan of salvation and the Creator"s purpose revealed in natural law were sometimes quite at variance with the dogmas of the pulpit. But the common theories came out so distinctly that a statement of them is a matter of no difficulty.
The common people connected directly or indirectly with the Christian churches believe:
That every person lives on as an individual after the body dies.
That the life on earth determines the state of happiness or misery in the spiritual existence.
That the soul is of the same substance as that of the angels.
That the occupation of the redeemed in the spirit world is the same as that of the angels.
That the departed persons know one another and keep company with those they have loved and known on earth.
That they serve G.o.d as his messengers to the inhabitants of the earth.
That they cannot be called nor can they visit the earth unless especially sent by the Almighty.
That the condition of the wicked or of those unfit for G.o.d"s service in heaven is unknown.
That after the Judgment there may come the annihilation of the wicked.
That heaven is a condition of everlasting progress in knowledge.
That salvation depends on the intrinsic character, and that a conversion to Christ is a conversion to a G.o.dly character.
That many of the ceremonies of the churches are useless, and that the various denominations should endeavor to unite in some one federation.
That G.o.d is gradually building up a perfect human race on earth.
That he commands his servants to come to his aid in securing that end.
That the best or only way to fit ourselves for heaven is in the practice and discipline of helping humanity in the development of a higher race.
That Christ is a divine Spirit, existing from everlasting to everlasting, and that his atonement for sinners is a part of G.o.d"s great purpose to people earth and heaven with perfect beings.
But the consensus of the opinion which related to prayer and the methods the Lord adopts to convey his answers should have special notice here.
There was a decided agreement in their imaginative conception of the way the Lord arranged for the conveyance of his decisions to those who call upon him.
They hold in common that G.o.d is "immanent" in nature, and his replies to our requests may come as quietly and mysteriously as G.o.d"s answer to the farmer who, in an act which is a prayer, places a seed in the ground.
Many testified to their belief that "all things work together" in producing the effects of prayer on those who love G.o.d. Nearly all, also, believed that G.o.d often called an angel to him when the prayer of faith came to him from the earth, and that he gave the angel personal instructions to visit the pet.i.tioner and aid him or her. The views of the Bible and its doctrines, according to the general opinion, appear to be that it is the best book ever written, and that it was inspired by a purpose so pure and unselfish as to be divine. One old lady expressed the general sentiment of the entire body when she wrote that, "the Bible is the best book I know of, and it is the only one which tells me about heaven, and I don"t let any fool of a scholar argue it out of my life."
The feeling of the average reader of the Bible is decidedly in favor of the King James translation of the Bible, with the introductive address to the king omitted. The division of that old translation into short verses was of great a.s.sistance to the memory, and was generally quoted by all cla.s.ses. But when the new translation was set solidly in type it decidedly changed the appearance of the book and added emphasis to an impression that a new and different book had taken the place of the Bible. The Bible was largely discarded by the common people wherever the new version was forcibly introduced. The old translation, with explanatory notes in the margin, was the ideal Bible for the ma.s.ses, and had it been retained the general disappearance of the Bible from the homes and libraries would have been avoided. The so-called authorized version was followed by many versions privately translated to emphasize some creed or belief and added much to the confusion of the common people. The changes in the wording of the new translation were sufficient also to make those who had quoted the old version with confidence doubt the correctness of their previous knowledge, and led, naturally, to the discontinuance of Bible quotations by those who knew the Bible best. The popular opinion appears to be that the new translation was a great hindrance to the use of the English Bible.
The number of readers of the Bible, however, is much larger than the estimate which many modern writers give. The Sabbath school and haphazard pulpit essays have not so completely supplanted the home study of the Scriptures, as has been so often stated. The use of the Bible as the standard of moral character continues to be the practice of millions who may not study it closely or may not read it at all. That miracle-working Book is still a most powerful moral force in all departments of our civilized life. No patriot or respectable scholar can ignore the value of the Bible as the highest literature or as the foundation for all just human laws. The people do believe in it.
Chapter VI
Prayer for Others
Although it is difficult to divide the subject of prayer into clearly separate departments, yet, for the purpose of concentrating the thought of the reader, and with the idea of emphasizing the importance of the events selected, this chapter has been set apart for special discussion.
The possible relation of the law of mental telepathy to this experience has already been suggested and need not be repeated here. But the recent general sympathy with the parents of a child which was stolen led many Christians to pray for the recovery of the precious little one. At the Temple in 1889 such a case was presented at the church services and an appeal made to the people to ask the Lord to influence the kidnapers to bring back the child. That led to the discussion of many previous cases where the parents believed that their lost child was returned to them in answer to prayer. In two cases each child was carefully deposited at the door of its parents. In both cases they had held special meetings of their neighbors to pray for the return of their child, and in one case they had appealed to the priest for his intercession. If the Lord used his direct power to bring the child home it must have been used through some event or some direct suggestion having an influence on the minds of the captors, because in the cases here mentioned there was no clew revealed which could lead to the abductors.
But an older case may ill.u.s.trate what most probably did occur in other instances. In 1889 a child two years of age was stolen from the front yard of a home in Charlestown, Ma.s.sachusetts (now a part of Boston). A large ransom was demanded which was far beyond the reach of the parents.
After several weeks of excited search by all the police organizations of the nation the child was secretly returned, without ransom, and left cheerfully rapping on its parents" door. One of the robber gang who had conspired to steal children for ransoms, and who had laid the successful plan to capture that child, was arrested several days after the return of the child and confessed his share in the crime. His account of the influences and events which led to the restoration of the child was a most impressive and convincing ill.u.s.tration of the spiritual forces G.o.d may use in such cases.
The band of four robbers could not quiet the child when they carried him away, and they resorted to a gag which nearly killed the child. But the frightened little fellow screamed whenever the gag was taken from his mouth and would not eat or drink. The child was evidently near to death.
Then one of the robbers carried the child to a woman who occupied a room over a saloon in Brooklyn, New York. The woman was able to pacify the child, and explained to acquaintances that the child was an orphan whose mother, a near relation, had just died. The woman knew that the child was being held for a ransom, of which she was promised a large share. But she did not know from what part of the country the child came. She was an irreligious, coa.r.s.e, profane woman, and cared only for money and drink. But one day she sent a letter to the resort of the gang and told them that she had a clear presentiment that something dreadful would happen to them if they did not hurry up the business of returning the child. As they paid no attention to her warnings she wrote again, saying that she would keep the child but ten days longer. They then visited her or wrote to her to care for the child three weeks longer, as they were sure of the "swag" by that time.
In the following week one of the gang was caught by the foot in a falling window sash as he tried to leap to a fire escape and he was burned to death while he hung there. The hotel was in full blaze when he awoke and his only possible escape was by that window. Another one of the gang swallowed a broken gla.s.s b.u.t.ton when hastily eating a piece of biscuit at a railroad restaurant. He was taken to a hospital or sanitarium in Montreal, where after long agony he died, and his body was buried in the public ground.
When the woman who held the child heard of that she took the child boldly to the house where the other three or four abductors met and flatly told them that all of them would come under a curse if they did not return that child to his parents. But they made a joke of their comrades" death, and gave her brandy until she wandered home drunk. The child was then placed in charge of a poor widow in Hoboken, who was told that the mother was dead and the father was at sea, but would soon return. They paid liberally in advance for the child"s board, and none of the circ.u.mstances awakened the least suspicion in the widow"s mind.
One night she slept with the child"s arm across her neck. She awoke with a dreadful feeling of being choked to death by a strong man who exclaimed, "That child is stolen, and you must appear before G.o.d at once to give an account." The details of her experiences are here quoted from the New York _Herald_.
The widow called it "a waking dream." She was so shocked by the experience that she would not keep the child and sent for the man who had brought the child and demanded that the child be at once taken away. She did not believe that her warning was a premonition of any crime nor that the child had been stolen, but she was in a state of strange terror and told the man who came for the child that she was too nervous to board so young a child.
It appears that when the robber returned to the usual rendezvous, after leaving the child at an orphan asylum and agreeing to pay for the board of "his child," he found another member of the party down with a sudden and dangerous fever. Then he, too, was struck with an impression of coming doom. It remained upon him night and day. He became so intoxicated that he was locked in the jail. In the depression of his recovery from the drink he determined to kill himself. Then the idea that he might escape from his horror by taking the child back to its home became so insistent that as soon as he was released he went after the child and took it back on the night train. He told the lisping child to rap on his father"s door and "call for papa." Then he hastened away and did not return to his former gang.
This authentic incident may or may not prove that prayer was answered, as it is not known what prayers were offered for that child"s recovery.
But it does show how the Lord may work in other cases where prayers are openly made. The angels of G.o.d are sent to p.r.o.nounce curses on the disobedient sometimes, and terrible plagues are sent on men by them.
Hence, the Lord does use various curses to work out his will and it seems reasonable to believe that he does warn men and women by terrible mental impressions.
This theory is strongly confirmed by the testimonies found in this large correspondence. Lost children were restored after prayers were made for them in startlingly impressive manners. At Cape May a fisherman obeyed a wholly unexplainable impulse and put back to the marshes, feeling that he had "left something," but unable to remember what it was. There he heard the cry of the lost child, wading waist deep in the incoming tide.
A merchant of Wilmington, Delaware, wrote that his child was taken by the grandparents when his wife died, and after the grandparents died the child was hidden by the relatives. The reason for the action was because of a difference of religious faith. He began one day a regular system of prayer for the recovery of his child. He went to a fishing camp in the woods of Maine in August and his child came into his log hut for a drink of water. She was with a party who camped near by in tents. Another stolen child was the little son of a doctor who prayed long and hard for the return of his little son. The sudden attack of chills felt by a pa.s.senger on a Hudson River boat at the pier caused the officers to call him on board from the wharf. The afflicted matron and his own child were in the same stateroom together.