EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE
My father used to be a heavy drinker, but has almost entirely given up drinking since signing one of the cards for prayers, and that is the reason I like to work with the cards, and try to do all I can to get others to serve the Lord. Last Monday night I was reading to father about the injurious effects of tobacco-using; and after I had finished reading, he said that he would stop using it altogether, and has not taken any since, to my knowledge. Sisters, please pray for him, that he may become a true servant of the Lord. There is a man living near us who once was an earnest worker in the cause of the Master, but has now backslidden, and is drinking liquor. His wife requests prayer in his behalf. The great trouble with us is that when we get into difficulty, we fear that the Lord can not help us out, and so we try to help ourselves out. Sometimes we shrink from crucifixion, and forget that the Lord knows just how to deal with us to make us perfect. We must go down into the garden often, if need be, until we can say, “Thy will be done.” The Lord is saying to every Spirit-filled woman, What is that in thine hand? If she is a child of heaven, she will say, A Bible,—the sword of the Spirit,—Lord. Then, my sister, there is a power with you to stay sin in every form. Do you say you are trying to use the sword? Say this no longer. When you cut bread for our family, you do not say you are trying to cut the bread, but that you are cutting it. Now God will have workers, not tryers. He says, Take this two-edged sword and wield it successfully, and it will divide even soul and spirit, joints and marrow.