Port Townsend, Wash by Daniel Nettleton

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 4, 1912

Port Townsend, Wash.

By Daniel Nettleton

“As the cloud foreshadoweth the rain, so prayer foreshadoweth the blessing.”

This was one of our mottoes on the blackboard in our sanitarium church and training-school at this place during the week of prayer. As we gave ourselves to prayer and the study of His messages and Word, the promised blessing of Zech. 10:1 came upon us. Yes, there were bright clouds and showers of the latter rain,—the quiet, gentle showers. There was no wind nor wild rush of waters, but the Spirit came like the dew on Hermon, “for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.” God says that his doctrine shall drop as the rain, as the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grass. It came in the way the Lord said he would visit his people. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. My people, says the Lord, shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwelling-places and in quiet resting-places, and the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. While the wicked world is in a mad whirl, rushing on in sin and folly, while men's hearts are failing them for fear, and many are disappointed, sad, and weary, God's people are singing: “He gives me joy in place of sorrow; he gives me love that casts out fear; he gives me sunshine for my shadow, and ‘beauty for ashes’ here.”

We are having a good and happy time in our work at this place. Three were baptized and four united with our church not long ago. God is blessing our efforts to let his truth be known and his “saving health among all nations.”

The week of prayer brought a great blessing to our church and people here. We proved his good promise, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Including our two regular services of prayer with helpers and patients, we had four meetings each day. At our morning helpers' worship, an appointed reader selected and read one or more prayers of the Bible. As we read morning by morning how earnestly these men and women of the Bible sought the Lord and confessed their sins and pleaded for God's help and blessing in times of distress and great need, a spirit of prayer came upon us. At 3 P. M. a general prayer-meeting for all the church was held in the sanitarium parlor. The special messages in the Week of Prayer Readings were read in the evening. All these meetings were well attended. There was no special manifestation or excitement, but a quiet, settled resolve

to seek God for more of his Spirit for victory in our own lives and for better service and more earnest efforts to seek and save the lost. After the reading, opportunity for comment and testimony was given. As we came to the day prayer-meetings with a Bible promise, we all were encouraged to pray not alone for ourselves, but for our unsaved relatives and friends and for our missionaries who have gone to the great heathen world. The last day of this special week of prayer was the “great day of the feast.” Our elder, Brother Wakeham, read the lesson by Elder Daniells, and after a few words of exhortation, there followed a praise service. The Spirit that came upon Mary and Zacharias, rested upon us. In a short time more than thirty-five testimonies of praise and thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year, and the benefits and helps of this week of special prayer, were given. Then with glad and willing hearts, the people brought their offerings for missions. Nearly all had a part in the giving for missions. I am so glad we have a mission in the world, that we have a message for this time, and that we all can have a part in it. The people never were so happy as when they were building the sanctuary, for each one had an opportunity to help in its construction. I have had a part in every one of these annual weeks of prayer since they were commenced, and I am happy to say this one has been the best of all. With renewed hope and courage, I go on to help finish the work.

DANIEL NETTLETON.