Is God ever Blasphemed by our Prayers?
By M. W. Howard
OFTEN while listening to prayers offered in the worship of God, does the little line in an old spelling-book, "Blasphemy is the contemptuous treatment of God"—stand clearly out before my mental vision, while creeping over me is a shudder at the audacity of him who is ostensibly leading the devotions of others. What is prayer? Is it the breathing forth of the heart's desire to God; accompanied with confessions of our guilt, and with ascriptions of praise to his holy name? or, is it a convenient manner of communicating information to the Omnipresent, and thus incidentally to the audience? I remember once kneeling around a family altar, when I would fain have joined with devotional feelings, but he who led our devotions went off in a long list of doctrines, forgetful that God's word should ever be the teacher not the taught. As the oft-repeated phrase, "We know," fell from his lips, I could but query mentally, How? The Bible does not so inform us! Not long ago I was reminded of this forgotten scene, by a pulpit prayer. Yet the minister's prayer had this redeeming feature, though he advanced equally unscriptural views, instead of blasphemously asserting "We know," he more prudently said, "We understand," so and so. The spirit that prompted each, might have been the same; yet I honored the seeming modesty, that only offended God, with the assertion that his purposes, were thus and thus understood. In each case, I was pained at such audacity, yet my heart whispered, "Wait!" There is great power in patience. The Lord himself with all power in his hands is yet "long-suffering." But be it remembered, that God's forbearance ere long reaches its appointed bounds. And the point may come when our forbearance will cease to be a virtue, when we should, Stand up! stand up for Jesus,
And strength to strength oppose.
It is my misfortune, if in my remarks, I give offense to any. And though I may bring down denunciation upon myself, if I arouse one to require proof for what they believe, I shall not have written in vain. For every-body should be acquainted with the great religious veins of thought, and it is dangerous in such times as the present, to suppress inquiry and stifle discussion. It is dangerous, to create the impression on the public mind, that religious theories are afraid or unwilling to be subjected to the severest scrutiny. The practical, matter-of-fact element of the nineteenth century demands this scrutiny, nor will it much longer brook theoretical concealments and incongruities, as the fast-increasing infidelity of the age clearly indicates. Malone, N. Y., Sept., 1863.