moment be holding up his hands. Results often come to our labors in the Master's vineyard, filling us with a glad surprise, which, if we could only trace to their source, would lead us to the sick chamber of some obscure praying saint.

The weary one had rest, the sad had joy that day,

And wondered how;

A plowman singing at his work had prayed,
"Lord, keep them now."

Away in foreign lands they wonder how

The feeble word had power;

At home the Christians, two or three, had met
To pray an hour.

Yes, we are always wondering, wondering how;
Because we do not see

Some one unknown perhaps, and far away

On bended knee.

What a wonderful provision this is for the widening of the scope of our influence! What a wonderful escape it provides from our limitations! We can help those who are at a distance; those who otherwise are inaccessible to us. Our prayers can enter through closed doors; they can go wherever God himself can go.

Prayer does not differ from any other form of social influence. It is in harmony with the principle of mutuality of dependence upon which society is structured. In order to the accomplishment of certain results in the establishment of his kingdom God needs the cooperation of our prayers just as much as he needs our cooperation in other ways. Having conditioned his action upon ours he cannot move

until we move.

There are mighty works which he cannot do if the agents upon whom he depends are unready.

God gives us skill,

But not without men's hands. He can not make
Antonio Stradivarius' violins without Antonio.

And he cannot do certain things in the spiritual realm without the assistance of those who labor with him and for him through prayer, as well as through more outward and obvious forms of service.

In the redemption of the world the man who prays becomes the minister of God's grace to men. He virtually puts his life at God's disposal, that he may use it on behalf of others. Therefore he is careful to make his conduct tally with his prayers, and to put out of his life everything that would hinder the blessing he asks for others coming to them. Unless prayer be real it is impotent; unless consistent with what is professed it is useless.

Prayer for others eliminates selfishness and brings us into sympathy with God in his world-embracing purpose of redemption. It draws out our love to those for whom we pray, until our praying becomes as altruistic as other forms of social ministry. Tennyson, seeing in the spirit of altruism in prayer the glory of our higher nature, asks,

"What are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If knowing God, they lift not hands in prayer,
Both for themselves, and those who call them friends?”

To answer the inarticulate desire, or spoken entreaty of other hearts for help, by praying for them, is to fulfill one of life's most blessed ministries.

6. The Sacrifice of the Lower for the Higher.

"Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer" (1 Cor. 7. 5). The substance of these words is that "prayer should make room for itself"; that it should not be hindered by the enjoyment of the things that are lawful and right; and that, on the other hand, it should not override the interests and claims of others. The apostle's argument runneth thus, "Within the charmed circle of the home do not deprive anyone of the interest and attention which is due. Remember that natural obligations come before religious privileges. Only with the consent of those concerned, or with the certainty that you are not defrauding them, may you forego pleasures which are allowable, that you may give yourselves wholly up unto prayer for a season."

The verb scholazo, which is here rendered "give yourselves up," literally means "empty yourselves.' It is applied to the vacating of a house. The obvious meaning is, "Empty the heart of all domestic cares; cut loose from all conjugal delights, that you may devote yourselves to special prayer.” This is not to be done habitually, but only for a

season.

Just as we need an occasional holiday to rest the body, so we need an occasional holy-day to refresh the spirit—a time deliberately set apart for prayer; a time of unhurried communion, when the soul is at leisure with itself, when a veil is drawn between ourselves and created things, and when we have ample time to pray ourselves out. From such a retreat we come forth clothed with new power.

To get time for such a protracted season of prayer we must be willing to pay the price; and the price demanded is a high one, being the sacrifice of the lower for the higher, the earthly for the heavenly. But it is worth it; no price being too high for a boon so great, and a blessing so precious.

7. Applied Prayer.

"Praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance” (Eph. 6. 18). Prayer has all seasons for its own. It is never out of date if it be "in the Spirit." Its fruits are always to be expected. For its answers we are to watch "in all perseverance"; or, as Meyer puts it, "in every kind of perseverance." Meyer's rendering is a happy one, because, while keeping in the forefront perseverance in prayer, it leaves room for the perseverance in the works which should accompany prayer. And certainly prayer and works ought to go together, for they hold the same relation to one another as faith and works. Prayer without works is dead, being alone. When alive it is never alone.

A great deal has been said and written about applied Christianity. An important part of applied Christianity is applied prayer, that is, prayer carried into practical effect. Praying should be followed by doing. "Pray to God," says Spurgeon, "but keep the hammer going.”

Prayer and pains

Bring best of gains.

To do nothing but pray is to come short of duty. Prayer may be a subtle way of evading responsibility, after the manner of the Christian Scientists, who give absent treatment instead of service, and whe excuse themselves from going into the slums by saying that they can help from a distance. Prayer is no substitute for work. The Master does not say, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye pray about them," but "happy are ye if ye do them." Prayer is a hollow thing if it ends with itself; it is genuine only when it leads to practical service. "Praying without doing, is a bow without a string." "Let no one pray for victory," says Lyman Abbott, "unless he is willing that God should answer by giving him a battle to fight"; and let no one pray for others unless he is willing to become a laborer together with God for the fulfillment of his purpose of grace concerning them.

All prayer is preliminary to duty. It is also a stimulus to effort. It produces an impulse to work. God gives the things asked for in answer to prayer because he knows there will be more than prayer;