the sun falls upon the face of an uplifted flower. The blessing received to-day in answer to prayer might have been received long ago if only we had opened our hearts as freely to God then as now. He ever waits upon us that he may be gracious; stilling the hearts of the angel bands to hear our faintest cry; and when he catches the first far-away note of penitential confession he rejoices as one who has found his own.

IO. The Smallest Social Denominator.

"If two of you should agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18. 19, 20). Two is the smallest social denominator. It stands for the first step out of individualism into collectivism. It is the beginning, the germ, of the social life. When two people unite in prayer, the social life which inheres in Christianity has begun to function, and the nucleus of a church has been already formed.

If two shall agree, or symphonize; if they come into secret accord; if their spirits are harmonized so that they strike the same note, anything that they shall ask of heaven is theirs. The joint supplication of two who are in agreement has a special promise annexed to it and secures a special blessing. But in this symphony of united prayer is included more than two according human wills. It includes

also the blending of these according human wills with the will of God, for it is the Holy Spirit that has brought them into accord, and their union being in the Spirit brings them into attunement with the Infinite.

The tendency to-day is toward cooperation. To accomplish any great undertaking it is necessary to federate all the forces at command. The growth of the social spirit is surely preparing the way for the recognition of prayer as a working force in social life, but thus far the social value of prayer has been but faintly appreciated. It is safe to say that the great religious movements of the future will put a higher estimate upon prayer as a social force, and will endeavor to match united effort with united prayer. They will function toward union in prayer in new ways and under new forms. Meanwhile let not the day of small things be despised; for if but two shall agree at the throne of grace touching things of common interest, a beginning is made toward the larger union which is

sure to come.

The absoluteness of the word "anything" must, of course, be qualified by the proviso-anything in accordance with his name and will. Whatever two believers, who are in accord with one another, and with the divine will, ask, it shall be done, for what they ask can only be for their own highest good, for the highest good of others, and for the glory of God.

The reason given why such prayer will find com

plete fulfillment is suggestive: "For where two or three meet together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Observe, it is not said, "There I shall be," but, "There I am." Jesus does not merely join himself to those who come together in his name; he arrives first at the place of tryst, and is there to welcome them. How wrong is it then to pray for him to come! His presence is always to be counted upon as one of every praying band. Strictly speaking, his words are not a promise at all, but the declaration of a fact. And since, whenever and wherever his people meet he is in the midst, it behooves them not to pray for his presence, but to acknowledge it and rejoice in it.

The presence of Christ in the midst of his people is in itself the pledge of the fulfillment of every hope. To the eye of men they may seem to be a feeble folk, but with their mighty unseen Lord and Leader among them, and for them, they are invincible. Praying in his name, in which they have come together, praying to him as present, praying to him as their risen, living, triumphant Lord, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, and through whom divine power is mediated, they find themselves in the presence of one who can fill their minds with wisdom, and their hearts with comfort and strength, because to him omnipotence belongs.

II. A Missionary Prayer.

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest"

(Luke 10. 2; Matt. 9. 38). "Pray ye therefore,” namely, "because the harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few." Look around upon the whitening fields, then look up to the Lord of the harvest, who sent the Sower, and beseech him to send forth laborers to gather in the ripening grain. Do not ask him to send for laborers, but to send them forth from those already here. The opportunities of the hour call to prayer. They cannot be met without it. Opportunity involves responsibility. If there is a chance to reap, it is our duty to reap. Those who are themselves busy in the harvest field are the first to recognize the utter inadequacy of available resources. They see the greatness of the work; they feel its urgency, and so they pause in the midst of their toil to pray for reenforcements.

The need for workers was never greater than it is to-day. If the number of workers has multiplied since Christ's time, the field has also widened, and the disproportion is still very great. In the home field there are many waste places unreclaimed. The cities grow with great rapidity, and as they grow the problem of the "submerged tenth" becomes more acute. Despite our wonderful achievements in the foreign field, there is still only one missionary to about every 100,000 of the population. At the same time by an unwise overlapping of agencies, and multiplication of churches, we have too many workers in some places, while there are too few in others. An intelligent participation in this prayer

would bring to an end all that wicked waste of power.

Does some one plead for delay because it is now the seed time? To the eye of faith seed time and harvest blend into one. It is always the spiritual harvest time. Results are to be expected from the time the seed is dropped into the ground. In the Lord's harvest field the plowman overtakes the reaper. Hence the need of urgency. There is grain to be reaped to-day, which, if neglected, will rot in the field. Therefore, let every one lift up his eyes and see the work that awaits him. Harvest fields are within his reach ready for the sickle. And while he is doing his own bit of reaping, realizing how pitifully inadequate is the supply of workers, he will be led to pray that the One in whose hands are the hearts of self-surrendered souls may send forth a sufficiency of helpers to compass the work.

The expression "send forth" may be more forcefully rendered "thrust forth," the meaning of the request being that they be thrust forth from their places of ease. They are not, however, to be thrust forth by the compelling power of an irresistible hand, but by the impelling power of a newly awakened conviction of urgency. The rendering of Meyer, "force them out," is too strong. God does not force anyone into his service. Every recruit is a volunteer. The most that we are to pray for is that men may be pushed out into the harvest field by the urge of a heaven-born passion.