Power of Prayer by James Hamilton, D. D.

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 11, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 47.

Power of Prayer.

By James Hamilton, D. D.

WHEN Jacob and Esau met—on the one side the shaggy chieftain with his four hundred swordsmen, and on the other side the limping shepherd with his caravan of children and cattle—a flock of sheep approaching a band of wolves; when the patriarch took his staff in his hand and stepped forward to meet the embattled company, and the anxious retinue awaited the issue, they saw the tear start into the rough huntsman's eye, they saw the sword drop from Esau's hand, they saw his brawny arms around Jacob's neck, they saw in the red savage a sudden and unlooked-for brother. They saw the result, but they had not seen the prelude which led to it. They had not been with Jacob at the ford of Jabbok the night before. They had not viewed his agony and heard his prayer; and though they noticed the halting limb, they did not know the victory whose token it was. They saw the patriarch, the husband, and the father; but they knew not that he was a prince with God, and had gained Esau's heart from him who has all hearts in his hand. The halting thigh and the pacified foe were obvious, but the wrestling over-night was unknown. The reward was open, but the prayer was secret.—James Hamilton, D. D.