Her Prayer Has Not Been Answered.
A LADY parishioner came to me one day and asked, "Do you believe in prayer?" Surprised at the question, I replied, "Certainly I do, or I would not pray either publicly or privately." "No, not that," said she. "Of course you believe in prayer generally; but do you really believe in special answers to special prayer?" "Most assuredly I do," was my reply. "We are warranted in that belief by Scripture teaching and by the practical experience of Christians in all ages of the church." "Well, it may be so," she replied. "But I am ready to doubt it. For five years I have been praying that my husband might be converted, and my prayers seem no nearer an answer than when I first began to offer them. Indeed, I think he cares less and less about the salvation of his soul every year. Now do you really think that God hears and answers prayers for the conversion of friends?" "I do. During my ministerial experience I have known many marked instances of such answers." And then I related to her a remarkable case that had lately come under my observation, where the prayers of a wife had been answered in the conversion of her husband. "Well, then, what is the difficulty in my case?" she inquired in a voice full of emotion. "Is the fault in me?" "Perhaps so," I replied. "The Bible tells us that it is the prayer of faith that prevails and brings the blessing. You may be lacking in faith, and therefore deficient in this essential element of success. Do you feel that God is able and willing to answer your prayer, and that he will do it?" "Sometimes I think I do, and then I am sure I do not," she replied. "Does the conversion of your husband lie as a burden upon your soul? Do you desire it above all else earthly?" I further inquired. "Oh! I would give anything if he would become a Christian! At times it seems as though he must come to Christ, and then at other times this feeling is less intense, and sometimes almost dies away in doubt," she said, as the tears flowed down her cheeks. On further conversation I plainly discovered that while she had a general desire for the conversion of her husband, she was lacking in that abiding burden on the heart which precedes and accompanies the prayer of faith for the conversion of friends, and which insures the answer. I endeavored to point out and make clear this fact, and said to her, "Do not lose heart in your effort for the conversion of your husband. Pray for it, work for it, live for it, and may God bless you and bring him to Christ!" I had lately come into the parish, and had no personal knowledge of this lady's manner of life nor of wherein the strength or weakness of her Christian character lay. However, I felt that there was a defect somewhere, and could only wait for further acquaintance to reveal it. Two weeks after, I missed her from the usual weekly prayer-meeting, and as I chanced to meet her the next morning, I said, "You were not at the prayer-meeting last evening?" "No, I was not," she replied, as a flush rose to her face. "My husband thought I had better take the children to hear the minstrel troupe last evening, and I did so to please him." Surprised at her statement, I made a few commonplace remarks and passed on, with one ray of light cast upon the prayers she was offering for the conversion of her husband. After that I missed her frequently from the prayer-meeting, until one morning, as I met her, I took occasion to remark, "I did not see you at the prayer-meeting on Thursday evening." "Oh, no!" she replied, with a sparkle in her eyes; "I was not there. Professor Stone has organized a dancing-class in our village and holds it on Thursday evenings. He is such a fine teacher that husband asked me to take the children to join it, and I did it to please him. I presume I shall be absent from prayer-meeting a good deal while the class lasts; for husband don't want the children to go unless I go with them, and you know I want to please him." Astonishment was so clearly depicted on my face that she instantly saw it, and asked, "Why, you don't think dancing wrong, do you?" Without stopping to measure my words I bluntly replied, "I hardly think attending dancing-school with your children on prayer-meeting evening, to say the least, will tend to impress your husband with the supreme importance of religion or greatly hasten his coming to Christ." At first she seemed almost stunned by my unexpected reply, but soon rallied with a series of questions which led to quite a thorough discussion of the whole subject. Suffice it to say that we did not see alike at all points, nor could she be convinced that the course she was pursuing, in the least stood in the way of an answer to her prayers in the conversion of her husband. We parted as friendly as we met, though with a far clearer understanding of the views and feelings of each other. She is still pursuing her former method of living, forsaking the prayer-meeting for worldly amusements whenever her husband requests it, yet still praying for his conversion, and wondering why her prayers are not answered. Is hers an exceptional case, or is she a type of a far too numerous class?—Illustrated Christian Weekly.