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Show "DOES IT PAY lo PRAYP" Question For Discussion at Y. M. C. A. Meeting-. At a meeting of the Y. M. C. A. In an Eastern city last week the epiestion for discussion was: "Does it Pay to Pray?" The managers of the night's entertainment entertain-ment were afraid that they could not obtain any friends for the negative of the proposition; but to their amazement amaze-ment they discovered that a very great many present were strongly and honestly hon-estly of the opinion that prayer was useless, and more than useless, because irrational and absurd. Professor Pearson of the Northwestern university of 'Chicago (Methodist) in his book, "The Shepherd Prophet," declared that prayer may be good as a tonic or emubdent to a conscience run down or a spirit seeking consolation: it is barren of results outside the sphere of its direct action: can neither change the order of grace nor affect the course of natural events: and is, consequently, limited to immediate physical effect. Protestants worship God. They proclaim pro-claim their obligations to him. and they thank him. But they never ask him for anything. They do not think he is in a position to grant them any favors, and they consequently eio not think it is right for them to ask him for any. They do not see how God could answer their prayers without a miracle: and they do not believe in miracles. The laws of nature are fixed and immutable, and no interference with them is possible without a smash-up smash-up of all nature. God i-s worshipful because he is good: but he is good, and no tnanks to him. He could not be otherwise than good. Then why thank Him? As well thank the spring' for its brightness. As well thank the winter for being cwJd and the summer for being warm. As well thank the trees and grasR for being green and the sky for being blue. As well thank the water for running down hill and the mists for lifting in the morning, as thank God for doing what he cannot help doing, and for what he will do whether we like it or not. Protestants will not ask God for any-I any-I thing because the granting of their j prayer would interfere with the laws I of nature. They believe in a future life, and they do not hesitate to ask for favors in the world to come. But are there no laws governing life in that world to come? Is it all chaos and confusion con-fusion there? If the future world is better than this, more peaceful and more orderly for order is heaven's first law we must conclude that it is above all things a world of law. If God cannot can-not interfere with the laws here, how can he interfere with the laws there? If it is irrational to ask for favors in tyne, is it not equally irrational to ask for favors in eternity? Then why pray for spiritual benefits any more than for temporal favors? Supplication is the soul of worship. God wants us to ask for everything we need- in this life and in the next. "Whatsoever you ask in my name he will give you." He wants us to pray always. It is the one great end of this life of trial. God has placed us under a dispensation of want. Because we want always we would have to pray always. When our first parents sinned they made the mistake of supposing that they coulel get along without God. To demonstrate the blunder and to make the demonstration everlasting he caused them to want, and their want was to pursue them to the end of time. !"Thou shalt earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow." "Thorns and thistles this-tles shall spring up in thy path." "Dust thou art. and unto dust thou shalt return." God in his infinite mercy made us poor and weak and needy. If we did not need him we would not think of him nor pt'ay to him nor love him. Professor Pearson does not disapprove disap-prove of prayer. It is good ,for the molly grubs. It distracts us from our present ills. It is se.othing to think of a joy, even though we know it is beyond be-yond our reach. But as for any actual effect, the prayer might just as well be addressed to a stone. The prophets of old told the Pagans of their day that their gods had ears, but could not hear; that they had eyes, but could not see; that they had feet, but could not walk implying that the God of Israel, being a living fJod. had eyes and could see; had ears, and could hear; had 'feet, and eould walk. But what good for the worshiper of the God o Israel was it that his God could hear, see and walk, if he was in nothing influenced by what he saw or heard? The god of the Protestants Pro-testants is a god blind-folded, bound hand and foot by the inexorable law of necessity. He would be a good God I if he could; but He cannot. Catholics pray to God knowing that their prayer is addressed to the King of Ages, and that it reaches His ear before anything is made, for he is yesterday, yes-terday, today and forever. He is an eternal "is." A Catholic who is interested inter-ested in an event will pray for it to fall out as he desires after the event has occurred, if he is still Ignorant of it, just as fervently as he did before, knowing that his prayer precedes everything in the purpose of God. All that has happened, or will happen is the result of the one original act of God's omnipotent will: but in that one will were included all the good wills of all the people who have ever addressed, or who may yet address to Him a prayer, a sigh, a groan. Catholics know the laws of nature and their unchange-ableness: unchange-ableness: but they believe that not a hair of their head falls without God's permission. Catholics have faith. Pray-erless Pray-erless Protestants are spiritualized Pagans. Western Watchman. |