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191 stories
A clergyman of distinction gives this instance of the worthlessness of all attempts to flee from the Power of the Spirit. "I looked out of my window one morning, while it was yet dark, and saw a lady standing at my gate, leaning against a post, and evidently weeping bitterly. I…
The following instance, when _death itself was made to give back the life it claimed_, is personally known to us to be true: A mother, in this city, sent a request for prayer to the Fulton street prayer-meeting, asking the Lord for the recovery of her daughter, who was sinking…
The following circumstance is communicated to us by a United States Surgeon: "After the close of the Mexican war, and in the year 1849, a train was sent out from San Antonio to establish military posts on the upper Rio Grande, particularly at El Paso. I was surgeon of the…
"In the Spring of 1872, I was, with my wife and child, in the city of Cadereita, Mexico, where we had been laboring as missionaries, but felt it was our duty to return to the States for a little season, and had been asking God to open up the way for us. At length, about the…
A clergyman writes us these incidents: "I knew a poor family whose son George, four or five years old, was accustomed to pray. They lived five or six miles from neighbors, and, at times, were quite destitute. One day, as little George observed his mother weeping over their…
"Some time after, we failed to find anything like suitable help in the house, which we greatly needed. Before starting out one morning, in secret I prayed to God to direct me as I went on my uncertain business, and prayed as I called at different places, and soon found a colored…
In about the year 1830, in Central New York, there was a time of great scarcity of provisions. Grain was very high, and difficult to be obtained at any price; and, of course, families of limited means were very much straitened. In one family, the wife and mother of six children,…
An educated, accomplished lady, reduced to the very lowest round of poverty's ladder, whom we shall call Mrs. X——, bears unfailing testimony to God's hearing and answering the prayer of faith. The daughter came up-stairs one day to announce the utter emptiness of the larder.…
"At the time of her husband's death, there were _two hundred dollars_ due an institute, for board and tuition of their two little boys. His death was the flood-gate opened, which let in a successive torrent of perplexities, losses, dilemmas, delays, law-suits, etc. She had not…
"A gentleman, not marching in the ranks of 'cheerful givers,' was urged to bestow five dollars toward the 'Fresh Air Fund.' 'He could not; business wretched; poor enough himself,' and all the well known line of excuses. The friend assured him, if the Lord did not more than make…
In the very top of a four-story building, used only for various manufacturing purposes, lived an old man and daughter. They lived literally _by faith in Christ_, from _day_ to _day_; one hour at a time. At his voice, followed Him, whether into darkness or light. Neither took a…
A piteous wail was heard on the street one day, and a poor Scotchman crossed over to see the trouble. A widow and three children sat on their few articles of household furniture. Put in the street, when they could no longer find five dollars for the rent of the kennel in which,…
A most devout, hard-working and poorly paid man, was the object of constant persecution by a cross-grained, ugly, infidel neighbor. For three years the thing went on, till the Christian thought he must remove from the place. He could not do it without breaking up his humble…
A lady of superior culture and refinement, fell from opulence to extreme poverty, within four years. No less ready when at the bottom of fortune's ladder, than at the top, to do good as she had opportunity, she paid another poor woman's way to a neighboring State, where…
A clergyman writes _The Christian_ as follows: "The Winter of 1872 I spent in missionary work, carrying the glad tidings of the kingdom of God into new fields in the 'regions beyond.' With my devoted wife, I labored ardently for the salvation of men 'from the wrath to come.' We…
A clergyman says, "I was very anxious for the building of a mission chapel to accommodate a flourishing mission-school that had been organized under my pastorate. Knowing that a certain physician of the city was possessed of abundant means and had a praying Christian mother,…
"I was brought up religiously as a servant in a family in Connecticut, and from twelve years of age until twenty-three, knew no other home. The old couple died, and I lived with their children, but they were so different that I became very unhappy and hardly knew what to do or…
"The writer was once in great trouble to know what was duty. Urged by ministers and laymen in high standing to undertake a work not exactly in the line of the ministry, he hesitated. God's displeasure was feared, lest in doing what was desired 'sin might lie at his door.' To…
"About three years since my family comfort was very much disturbed by failure to obtain a good housemaid. And, having been accustomed to wait upon God for right direction in my _temporal_ as well as spiritual affairs, in simple faith I asked Him to direct me on reaching New York…
"Some forty years ago, in a rural parish in New England, a young man lay apparently on his death-bed with a putrid fever. His aunt, in whose family he was staying, was a woman who had long lived in habitual intercourse with the unseen world through prayer. One afternoon, when it…
"I was a poor student in a Manual Labor Institute at the West. The month of February was our regular Winter vacation. We were privileged to keep our rooms and have board at one dollar a week. But I had absolutely no money. I was six hundred miles from my friends, and they were…
A clergyman writes that during the ministration of his labors at Battle Greek, Mich., there were several remarkable manifestations of divine power—especially in the case of a little girl, the daughter of a Mr. Smith, a child of about six years. "In September last, she was taken…
A poor Christian family were in distress. The husband, during a long and painful sickness, had borne his trials for months with cheerful Christian resignation; "but, on this day," said a City Missionary, "I found them, for the first time, in tears. The cause I soon learned was…
A City home missionary has told us of the case of a poor colored family, the husband nearly one hundred years old, totally incapacitated for work, and confined to his room by sickness nearly twelve years. Although very often in straitened circumstances, the Lord has never left…
"Once, on a visit, I left the company below, and went up stairs for an hour's quiet and prayer. I was to return the coming week and I had only just enough to pay my fare. For several days I had been anxious how I was to get some money. This afternoon I had to pray very…
"A year ago this Summer, my sister's little baby, only five months old, was taken very ill with that distressing complaint which often proves so fatal, and takes so many sweet little ones out of loving hearts and homes. I loved baby Ernest, but never so well as when he lay so…
"One day I lost my silver thimble, a gift from my mother when I was a young girl. I prized it _very highly_. I looked everywhere, long and faithfully. The tears would come, at the best, it had been so long a constant companion. I gave up the search after a while, thinking some…
"I will hold thee by thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee." "Once I held in my hand an open letter, containing an invitation to visit friends I had never seen. My heart bounded with pleasure at thought of the journey, and the pleasant visit to follow;…
"Whatsoever thing ye ask in _My_ name"— "For a long while I had been without money, and my need was very great. I wanted a new hat so much; and the question arose in my mind, 'What am I going to do about it?' As I had no human arm to depend on for anything, of course there was…
"For a long while it has been my habit to be entirely guided for the day by the first verse in the Bible on which my eyes rested. While dressing for the day, I glance at the open page, or sometimes turning over the leaves. But my old Bible was poor print and small, and it…
The following incident is related by her pastor, at Woburn, Mass., who, for three and a half years, was well acquainted with her physical condition, and who testified, in _The Congregationalist_, that no medicine, or physician's aid or advice, was of any avail: "From the first…
In a rural district, in the North of England, lived a shoe-maker who had signed the temperance pledge often, but never had strength to keep it. After a while, he was able to keep it, and reformed entirely. A friend was curious to learn how he had been able, at last, to win the…
The following incident is related by D.L. Moody, the Evangelist, which contains a warning, how the Holy Spirit avenges itself to those who refuse its admonitions. It is a remarkable instance of the control of an overruling God, who alone knew that man's mind, and which alone…
A correspondent of _The American Messenger_ relates this instance of a poor man in the village where he lived, who, with a family of young children and a wife in very feeble health, found it extremely difficult to obtain a livelihood. He was at length compelled to work by the…
_A Christian minister_, living in Northern Indiana, was in want, and knelt in prayer again and again before his Father in heaven. His quarterly allowance had been withheld, and want stared him in the face. Constrained by urgent need, and shut up to God for help, he pleaded…
"My grandfather was a very poor minister, and kept a cow, which was a very great help in the support of his children—he had ten of them;—and the cow took the "staggers" and died. 'What will you do now?' said my grandmother. 'I cannot tell what we shall do now,' said he, 'but I…
A clergyman somewhat advanced in years recently related to a correspondent of _The Messenger_ an incident in his own life, which well illustrates the provident care of our heavenly Father over his children. "His first church was at V——, and, though he labored diligently, working…
A Home Missionary from Brooklyn called one day upon an editor to gather some tracts for distribution which he had published. The editor became interested in the story of his visits among the poor, and though at first not specially moved to give money at that time, yet toward the…
"'Aunt Sally,' says the _American Messenger_, was a devout, working, trustful Christian. Her husband was a cripple, almost helpless, an unbeliever, and to some extent an opposer of religion. They lived alone. The severity of a northern winter was upon them, and in spite of her…
"Many years ago, a man then recently married, settled in my native town. It was then quite new, destitute of religious privileges, and given to all manner of wickedness. There was no Sabbath, and no sanctuary. The man was pious. The thought of bringing up a family in such a…
"A correspondent of _The Illustrated Christian Weekly_, states that a mother of her acquaintance had a child taken alarmingly ill. She sent for the physician. The child was in convulsions. The doctor began at once vigorously to apply the customary remedies—cold water to the…
On the evening of the fifty-first daily prayer-meeting in Augusta, Ga., a large gathering assembled in the St. John's M.E. Church, at which Dr. Irvine presided, and some very touching communications were read. One was from a widowed mother, asking thanksgiving for the salvation…
"When Samuel Harris, of Virginia, began to preach, his soul was so absorbed in the work, that he neglected to attend to the duties of this life. Finding, upon a time, that it was absolutely necessary that he should provide more grain for his family than he had raised upon his…
"A young minister and his wife were sent on to their first charge in Vermont about the year 1846. On the circuit were few members, and most of these were in poor circumstances. After a few months the minister and his wife found themselves getting short of provisions. Finally…
"A lady who lived on the north side of London, set out one day to see a poor sick friend, living in Drury Lane, and took with her a basket provided with tea, butter, and food. The day was fine and clear when she started; but as she drew near Islington a thick fog came on, and…
"_The Christian Era_ tells of a Dutch preacher who held a meeting one evening in a strange city. While he was preaching, and enforcing upon the hearts of his hearers the doctrine of the Cross, a police officer came into the room and forbade him to go on. He even commanded him to…
"A few years since, a young preacher in the State of Massachusetts, who was laboring in a field which yielded no great pecuniary returns, had laid aside the sum of fifteen dollars from his scanty income, with which to purchase himself a coat, of which he stood in need. Before he…
The late aged and venerable Rev. Dr. Cleaveland, of Boston, relates the following incident: "In a revival of religion in the church of which he was pastor, he was visited one morning by a member of his church, a widow, whose only son was a sailor. With a voice trembling with…
"_Augusta Moore_, writes _The Christian_, of a young lady called home by the illness of her widowed mother, who died before she could reach her. This alone was a terrible shock to the delicate daughter, who, having been reared in luxury, was ill-fitted for firm endurance of…
The following incident is given by "_The Presbyterian_," on the authority of a private letter from Paris: "At a Bible reunion, held at the house of an English Congregationalist minister, where several colporteurs, teachers and others meet for devotional reading and conversation,…
"A correspondent of _Arthur's Magazine_ tells of a poor woman who had been washing for us, who said: 'Seems as if the Lord took very direct ways to reach people's feelings sometimes. Now, I was astonished once in my life. I lived away out West, on the prairie, I and my four…
A friend relates the following incident, as received from the lips of a poor afflicted, crippled orphan boy, whose own experience is a practical illustration of the words: "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." Ps. xxvii 10. "Out of many…
"God was pleased to deprive me totally of my hearing in early boyhood. By the late war I lost all of my earthly possessions. I have a wife and family totally dependent on me for a support. A man employed to attend to my little manufacturing business as manager, by imprudent…
"The writer was preaching Sundays at a little country church, about 70 miles by rail from the institution where he attended. He went Saturday, returning on Monday. One Saturday the train ran off the track. All day long they worked at the wreck. At last, finding it too late to…
"Washington Allston, who stood at the head of American artists a half century ago, was, at one time, so reduced by poverty, that he locked his studio, in London, one day, threw himself on his knees and prayed for a loaf of bread for himself and wife. While thus engaged, a knock…
The late Doctor Krummacher, chaplain to the king of Prussia, in referring to faith and prayer, writes as follows: "A little incident occurs to me which I can hardly withhold, on account of its simplicity and beauty. The mother of a little girl, only four years of age, had been,…
Here is an illustration of the way in which God sends relief in trouble. The story is told by the Christian woman to whom it happened, in her own language: "About the month of January, 1863, I was living in Connecticut, alone with two little boys, one of them four years old, and…
"Miss M—— is the daughter of a respectable farmer, an elder in a Presbyterian church in Western Pennsylvania. When a young girl her spine was injured while nursing her aged and helpless grandmother, and she has been a great sufferer for many years. For eleven years she has not…
Among the students in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N.J., in 1860, was my intimate friend L——. He was at the time poorly clad, but was a devoted Christian, and is at present a successful foreign missionary. One day when on the Seminary campus, I heard two of the…
Henry Badgerow was a man about seventy years of age at the time of the incident, and a resident of Steuben county, State of New York. This was in the year about A.D. 1830-31. He had been for many years an invalid— so much so that he couldn't walk—the result of a horse running…
A lady and gentleman were walking up Madison avenue, New York City, from church, when incidentally the lady said, "We are trying to get up Christmas decorations and entertainment for our Mission School." "_Well, put my name down for anything you like_," and then came into his…
The following incident occurred in Connecticut: In an humble cottage two sisters were watching over and caring for a much-loved brother, who, for many long months had been upon a bed of sickness. At length, the younger of them began to be discouraged. She was dependent, for her…
"On a recent evangelizing visit to Newport, one of its citizens said to me, 'In yonder house dwell a man and wife, who recently needed a sum of £30 to meet some payment the next morning. Having failed in their efforts to collect it, they earnestly prayed God to provide it. The…
Dr. Newman Hall was once visiting, on his dying bed, John Cranfield, son of the great originator of ragged schools, under the ministry of Rowland Hill. "We were conversing on prayer. He said, 'A remarkable instance occurred in connection with my father. The former organist of…
"My brother," says Dr. Hall, "told me that when superintendent of a Sunday school he felt a strong impulse, one Saturday evening, to call at the home of one of his teachers whom he had never visited before. He found his mother and sisters in such evident distress that he…
"A clergyman, of great scholarship and genius, has told me of a remarkable answer to prayer, authenticated by three missionaries known to himself, who are personally acquainted with the facts. "A Prussian, the master of a hotel in India, was anxious to relinquish his large…
"My father, the author of the _Sinner's Friend_, narrates in his autobiography a circumstance which he often used to speak of with great emotion. "My mother was very ill, and apparently dying. The Doctor said that now, if at all, the children might be brought for her to look at…
In a letter to Dr. W.W. Patton, by Mr. T.I. Goodwin, M.D., of Staten Island, he describes a little incident which happened to him when only thirteen years old. "He lost a choice penknife while collecting and driving several cows from a pasture covered with grass two inches high.…
Not many years ago a violent storm, with wind and thunder, spread devastation all through the valley of Yellow Creek, Georgia. For a mile in width, trees were uprooted, barns and fences were prostrated, and all the lands were desolated. Right in the center of the tornado stood a…
A clergyman in the State of New York, through the influence of a disaffected member, was unfairly and precipitately deprived of his pulpit, which involved a large family in necessity. At supper the good man had the pain of beholding the last morsel of bread placed upon the table…
"There was a little girl in this place that had the cerebro-spinal-meningitis; several had died with this disease, and the physician had given her up to die. The weekly prayer-meeting met in town that night, and her parents wrote a note and sent it by their little son,…
"I feel also like mentioning another instance. I knew an old father in Israel, a minister of the gospel, who once in speaking with a brother minister, after a revival of religion in which five of his grandchildren had professed their faith in Christ, among others with whom he…
"While laboring with my wife as a missionary in Northern Mexico, we supported ourselves for nearly four years by teaching and such other ways as the Lord opened up to us. "But our schools being decidedly Protestant, and I preaching regularly, the opposition from Romanists was…
Mr. H., missionary, was appealed to by a poor man who seemed almost distracted. He had a wife and five children; one of them ill; had been sick himself for three months, and owed rent for the whole of that time. The landlord had served him with a writ of ejectment, and he could…
A lady, Miss E., residing in New Bedford, received a letter telling of the serious illness of her mother, in New York. Sick herself, from unremitted care of an invalid during eight years, poor as Elijah when his only grocers were the ravens, too old for new ambitions, too well…
A man and wife were out of employment, and in very great trouble. Mr. H. (missionary) had added his efforts to theirs, and sedulously sought among the families he knew, for positions for them. After two weeks' fruitless endeavor, he said to the man, "Well, John, let us go into…
A frame dwelling in an alley, two rooms on the first floor, in the smaller one a bed-ridden old colored man, who had fought the battle of life for ninety years, fifteen of them on his bed, with eyes so dimmed by age that he could not even read; and a wife who was eye, ear and…
I was riding on top of the Boulder Pass of the Rocky Mountains, in the summer of 1876, when a sudden storm of rain, wind, and furious tempest came up. There was no shelter from rocks, no trees or buildings to be seen—a lonely, wind-swept summit. I knew that the lightning on…
An aged colored woman, lived that life of faith which shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Born a slave, on Long Island, she was never taught to read, never enjoyed any social privileges; but the God of the widow of Sarepta, who had neither "store-house nor barn,"…
Mr. C——, walking home one Saturday afternoon, fell into a discouraged train of thought because he appeared to have done so little for the Master that whole week. At that moment a young man took him by the hand saying—"You do not know me, but I know you. A few weeks ago I was on…
On the third floor of a tenement house, a missionary, Mr. B., found a comely, intelligent young English woman in great distress. Her heart seemed wrung by grief. A few kind words of sympathy drew from her the story of her woe. She came to this country with her husband and three…
On a top floor in a street of tenements lives a colored woman one hundred and ten years old! Her son, a man over seventy, lost his wife, a neat, active Christian woman, very suddenly, and his aged mother was plunged in despairing grief. "Why, why was I left, old and rheumatic…
A very poor Danish girl, broken down in health, utterly unable longer to labor for her own support, was provided with the means, and urged to go to Denmark, as her friend felt sure there was some good in store for her there, meaning, more definitely, the restoration of her…
A Christian Swedish girl, who had, for three years, done the washing of a certain family, had so interested them by her care of an aged father, and gained their esteem by her humble piety, that, wishing to go to Europe for six months, they offered her two rooms in their house…
A poor German woman rushed frantically through the street and into the house of a countrywoman, very little better off than herself, declaring she would drown herself that very night if _no_ one would give her work. A family on the same floor gave her the use of a very small,…
A home missionary in Brooklyn, who has an enviable reputation for his entire consecration to the work of helping the poor, one day when engaged in his benevolent works, entered a restaurant, kept by a Christian friend, a man of like spirit with himself, who, in the course of…
A young Southern girl, who had lost a position through five months' sickness, and found herself, at last, in the street and penniless, turned her steps to a daily prayer-meeting. She said her earliest impressions from her mother were, that the Lord never failed those who really…
On the second floor of a rear house lived a lady well known once as among the foremost members of a wealthy church. The first blow of adversity opened a wide passage for a succession of disasters. She passed through the whole sliding scale, until the missionary found her in the…
An old woman was taking home' some sewing the night before, and passing through a narrow and dark street, was knocked down by a runaway horse. Taken up senseless and unknown, she was carried into the house of a kind family who sent for a physician. It was not till next morning…
A clergyman, accustomed to preach regularly in his journey through Fleming Circuit, Kentucky, was preparing on one Saturday for the labors of the next day. He was then staying at the residence of a family named Bowers, from which he was to journey the next day five miles to…
The Rev. Frederick G. Clark thus writes of an answer to prayer, from one who wanted to love the Bible more: "Twenty-seven years ago, in the congregation of my first charge, was a lady whose love for the Bible was something remarkable. In the confidence of a pastoral visit, she…
The late Dr. Whitehead was accustomed to repeat with pleasure' the following fact: In the year 1764, he was stationed as an itinerant preacher in Cornwall. He had to preach one evening in a little village where there was a small Methodist Society. "The friend," said he, "at…
A correspondent of the _Guide to Holiness_ says: "We remember a poor woman who had had a life of sore vicissitude which she bore with remarkable Christian cheerfulness; and after a time of the suspension of trial, a bad prospect came in sight. She resorted to a friend to whom…
Mr. D.L. Moody relates the instance of a poor little cripple, whose prayers were answered to the conversion of _fifty-six people._ "I once knew a little cripple who lay upon her death bed. She had given herself to God, and was distressed only because she could not labor for Him…
Mr. Moody tells of a beautiful answer to the faith of a little child. "I remember a child that lived with her parents in a small village. One day the news came that her father had joined the army (it was the beginning of our war), and a few days after, the landlord came to…
Mr. Moody also gives the story of a little child whose father and mother had died, and she was taken into another family. The first night she asked if she could pray, as she used to do. They said, Oh, yes! So she knelt down, and prayed as her mother taught her, and when that was…
The following incidents are specially contributed to these pages by Rev. J.S. Bass, a Home Missionary of Brooklyn, N.Y.: "While living in Canada, my eldest daughter, then a girl of ten years of age, rather delicate and of feeble health, had a severe attack of chorea, "St.…
On the afternoon of Monday, August 20, 1869, I was sent for to visit Mrs. M., who was reported to be very sick. Arriving at the house, I was told that "Mrs. M., after a hard day's work, had retired to rest Saturday night in her usual state of health, that immediately after…
A little German girl, who had never hitherto known the name of the Lord Jesus, was led to attend a Mission school. It was the custom at the school, before the little ones received their dinner, to lift their hands and thank God for their food. When in course of time she spent…
The author of this incident is known to the editor of "Remarkable Providences," and speaking of it says: "_God never gave me exactly what I wanted. He always gave me more."_ "When I married I was a working man; I had not much money to spare. In about three months after my…
A contributor to _The Christian_ writes as follows: "A few months since I lost my pocket-book, containing money and papers of a large amount—more than I felt able to lose—and which I should feel the loss of, as I was owing at that time about the same amount. "On the day of my…
In the United States there is a Parallel Record to George Mailer's Life of Faith and Trust, found in the history of the Consumptive's Home of Boston, Mass. It was established twelve years since by Doctor Cullis, who in the ardor of his faith and trust gave himself to the work of…
At one period in the history of the Consumptive's Home, a sum of three thousand dollars placed in the safe, and reserved to be used for payment on the purchase of a new building was stolen, and there was not left a single dollar; every penny was gone. Nothing daunted, again…
"I visited a family for whom I have felt a deep interest for weeks past. The father had been out of employment some time, and they have lacked food and clothing. Much of their trouble has been caused by the intemperance of the mother. Her husband has borne long and patiently…
Upon the 26th of September the record of the Home was as follows: "There is due on the first of next month, $2,450 interest on our property, and we are now within four days of the time, with not a dollar towards it. For several days I have been asking that amount of the Lord."…
During the year 1872, there was under the professional care of Dr. Cullis, at the Consumptive's Home, a Christian lady with a tumor which confined her almost continuously to her bed in severe suffering. All remedies were unavailing, and the only human hope was the knife; but…
This incident was related by the lady herself in a public meeting in Boston, where it was heard by the sorrowing wife of an afflicted husband, whose statement is as follows: "I was first confined to my house with a violent cold. I lost my voice completely, suffered with pain in…
Dr. Cullis thus speaks of a signal answer to his prayer. "While at the home of L.R. in England, I was asked to pray with his daughter, who had spinal curvature. Subsequently L.R. writes, 'We. are full of thankfulness and praise about E. She is quite well and strong, and does…
"Some months ago a young lady called, requesting to be prayed for. She simply told me that some years ago she was run over and her hip badly injured. I asked her if she could trust the Lord for healing. She replied, 'Yes.' I prayed, with her, and she went home. "I learned after…
"Very early in childhood, I was seized with a nervous trouble, something like St. Vitus' Dance. As I grew older it did not pass off, but settled into a disease of the muscles. It became a terrible affliction. It was usually under my control, but I could not endure protracted…
"I have been afflicted with catarrh for over twenty years. I had consulted many physicians and used many remedies—all failed to help me. In the Spring of 1874, I grew so much worse that life became a burden; I suffered from dizziness and great prostration; I was urged to go to…
Dr. Eugenio Kincaid, the Burman missionary, states, that among the first converts in Ava were two men who had held respectable offices about the palace. Some time after they had been baptized, a neighbor determined to report them to government, and drew up a paper setting forth…
There have been gathered together in her biography, well authenticated cases of answer to prayer, when the patient was considered wholly incapable of help from medical skill. "There was one of a stiff knee, that had been, treated in vain by the best physicians in France, Germany…
"Once again, one of my brothers had a fit brought on through fright. It was a most violent and painful attack, and we were greatly alarmed. This time, also, our father was out; and our mother said to us, I know this fearful illness, my children; it is one of the heaviest trials…
"Our father going away abroad, he sold one of our two cows, and took the proceeds with him. (He, the father, was a reckless spendthrift, idle, and fond of the public inn.) A rich neighbor directly offered to loan us money enough to buy another; this kind proposal we gratefully…
On many occasions she experienced wonderful help from God, who, while performing marvels for the body, which is the least important part, accomplishes what is far greater, even the salvation of souls. "Among others, one named B. T——, went to her, who had been suffering for six…
After the death of Dorothea Trudel, the work at Männedorf, instituted by her, has been furthered and carried on by Mr. Samuel Zeller, who had been her associate. He has published two reports, which contain many instances of answers to prayer, showing that the Lord still gave…
"My eldest daughter now living fell sick at about five or six months old, and was wasted to a skeleton. She had a doctor to attend her, but she got worse and worse. It seemed as if God intended to bereave us of her, for he brought her even to death's door. "My wife and I have…
"When I had been three weeks out of employment, I found a new place, and after pawning all my best clothes to pay expenses, when the cart set us down at the new home on Monday morning, I had the total sum of _ten pence half-penny left,_ to provide for myself, my wife and child,…
One of the most beautiful instances ever known, which almost identically repeats the Bible over again, especially in the instance of Elijah as he was fed in an unseen way by the hand of God, is given in the life of Mr. Huntington. He was wholly unable to provide for his family,…
"As the life of faith consists in bearing the cross of Christ, we must not expect to be long without trials. Providence soon frowned on me again, and I got behindhand, as usual. "This happened at a time when my wife was about delivery of child, and we were destitute of those…
A little boy with his mother was returning from a visit; the night was very dark, and little could be seen ahead. She led her little boy, by the hand, who trustingly walked by her side. He had only just begun to learn and remember the stories of the Bible, and he believed and…
One of the most beautiful incidents ever known relating to the faith of children, and the reward of their trust, is contained in the following circumstance, personally known to the editor of this book, who was a participant in the facts. The only child of a young married couple,…
"It was a fierce, wild night in March, and the blustering wind was blowing, accompanied by the sharp, sleety snow. It was very desolate without, but still more desolate within the home I am going to describe to you. The room was large and almost bare, and the wind whistled…
An incident most beautiful was told in the Fulton Street prayer meeting by a converted Jew. "Journeying in the cars, I was attracted by two little girls, Jewesses. I asked them if they loved Jesus. To my surprise, they said they did. I found that their mother was in a seat near…
A mother, one morning, gave her two little ones books and toys to amuse them while she went up-stairs to attend to something. A half hour passed quietly away, and then one of the little ones went to the foot of the stairs, and in a timid voice called out, "Mamma, are you there?"…
"Mother, I think God always hears when we scrape the bottom of the barrel," said a little boy to his mother one day. His mother was poor. They often used up their last stick of wood and their last bit of bread before they could tell where the next supply was to come from. But…
"I was early taught that God cares for His children, even to regard their _little_ daily wants. An illustration of my implicit confidence, which I do not remember ever to have been betrayed, occurred when I was about ten years of age. I was accustomed to give five cents each…
An unbelieving father came home one evening and asked where his little girl was. "She has gone to bed," said his wife. "I'll just go and give her one kiss," said the father, for he loved his little daughter dearly. As he stood at the door of her bedroom, he heard some one…
A young widow with two children was living in the city of Berlin. She was a Christian woman, and trusted in Jehovah-Jireh to take care of her. One evening she had to be away for a while. During her absence a man entered her house for the purpose of robbing her. But "the Lord who…
One morning a Christian farmer, in Rhode Island, put two bushels of rye in his wagon and started to the mill to get it ground. On his way to the mill he had to drive over a bridge that had no railings to the sides of it. When he reached the middle of this bridge his horse, a…
A little girl only nine years old, named Sutherland, living at Platteville, Col., was recently saved from death by ferocious forest wolves as follows: The child went with her father on a cold afternoon to the woods to find the cattle, and was told to follow the calves home,…
In the family of a missionary pastor in Kansas, was a daughter of twelve years of age, seriously afflicted with chronic rheumatism. For three years she suffered, until the leg was shrunken, stiff at the knee, shorter by some two inches than, the other, and the hip joint was…
A little girl in a wretched attic, whose sick mother had no bread, knelt down by the bedside, and said slowly: "Give us this day our daily bread." Then she went into the street and began to wonder where God kept his bread. She turned around the corner and saw a large,…
A physician, who for many years practiced his profession in the State of California, was called once to see the child of Mr. Doak, of Calveras County, living on the road between San Andreas and Stockton, and not far from the mining town of Campo Seco, or Dry Camp. He says: The…
"A missionary visiting one of the mission schools of Brooklyn, was introduced to a remarkable child. He was brought into the school from the highways and hedges, and young as he was, he had been taught of God. One day he was playing with powder, and putting his mouth to the…
"A little boy was at school, he was diligent, and determined to succeed, but found that parsing was rather hard. "One day he went to his mamma for a little help in analyzing some sentences. She told him the proper manner of doing it, and he followed her directions; but he was…
"The _American Messenger_ tells the story of Johnny Hall, a poor boy. His mother worked hard for their daily bread. 'Please give me something to eat; I am very hungry,' he said one evening. His mother let the work upon which she was sewing fall from her knee, and drew Johnny…
"When the yellow fever raged in New Orleans, the pestilence visited a Christian household, and the father died. Then the mother was suddenly seized, and knowing that she must die, she gathered the four children around her bed, the oldest being only about ten years of age, and…
"A Christian teacher, connected with a Southern Orphan Asylum, writes _The Christian_, that often when the children were sick, and most of them came to me more or less diseased, I cried to the Lord for help, and He who 'bore our infirmities, and carried our sicknesses,' healed…
A missionary in India, passing one day through the school room, observed a little boy engaged in prayer, and overheard him say, "O, Lord Jesus, I thank thee for sending big ship into my country and wicked men to steal me and bring me here, that I might hear about Thee and love…
A disciple of the Lord Jesus, poor in this world's goods, but rich in faith, became greatly perplexed in regard to the meaning of the forty-second verse of the fifth chapter of Matthew. The words are: "Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not…
A merchant, in answer to inquiries, refers back to a period when, he says, "In consecrating my life anew to God, aware of the ensnaring influences of riches, and the necessity of deciding on a plan of charity before wealth should bias my judgment, I adopted the following system:…
"I am going out to see if I can start a singing school," said a good man, as he stood buttoning up his overcoat, and muffling up his ears, one bitterly cold Winter night. "A singing school," said his wife, "how will you do that?" "I have heard of a widow around the corner a…
"A poor man, some of whose family were sick, lived near Deacon Murray, (referred to in the tract, 'Worth of a Dollar,') and occasionally called at his house for a supply of milk. One morning he came while the family were at breakfast. Mrs. Murray rose to wait upon him, but the…
"'A friend,' says a venerable clergyman, Rev. Mr. H——, 'at a time when gold was scarce, made me a present of a five-dollar gold piece. I resolved not to spend it, and for a long time carried it in my pocket as a token of friendship. In riding about the country, I one day fell in…
"One New Year's day I was going out to visit some of my poorer neighbors, and thought I would take a sovereign to a certain widow who had seen days of competence and comfort. I went to look in my drawer, and was so sorry to find I had but one sovereign left in my bank for the…
"A poor man with an empty purse came one day to Michael Feneberg, the godly pastor of Seeg, in Bavaria, and begged three crowns, that he might finish his journey. It was all the money Feneberg had, but as he besought him so earnestly in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus he…
_The Christian_ tells of a minister in Ohio, who in 1860 was engaged to statedly supply a congregation who were in arrears for a whole year's salary to their former pastor, and were only able to promise their 'supply' five dollars a Sunday till the old debt should be paid. At…
The editor of _The Christian Woman_ tells the story of a poor woman who, in her anxiety to give to the Lord, could find nothing but a poor brown towel. "They must be very poor who have _nothing_ to give," said Mrs. Jarvis, as she deposited a pair of beautiful English blankets in…
A farmer in one of the retired mountain towns of Massachusetts, began business in 1818, with six hundred dollars in debt. He began with the determination to pay the debt in six years, in equal installments, and to give all his net income if any remained above those installments.…
"'Cheerful giving,' writes an aged minister, 'is what enriches the giver and brings down a blessing from above. A poor clergyman attended one of Zion's festivals in a distant city. The railroad company supplied him with a return ticket, and though many of his brethren would…
"A physician who is not a professor of religion, in a neighboring city, has for many years exhibited an unshaken faith in that declaration. He told me that he has made many experiments on it, and the Lord has fulfilled his words, 'That which he hath given will He pay him again,'…
A shoe-maker being asked how he contrived to give so much, replied that it was easily done by obeying St. Paul's precept in I Cor. 16: 2: "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him." "I earn," said he, "one day with…
A missionary agent thus relates this incident in the life of a poor physician: "I preached a missionary sermon in the town of ——-, and a physician subscribed and paid five dollars. A gentleman standing by told me that the five dollars was all he had, or was worth; that he had…
A lady, who had led for many years a life of faith, caring for orphans and invalids, was led one day in thought to wish that she might devote all her money to the work of the Lord, and use it specially for one branch of his service which few had ever entered. She possessed only…
A most remarkable case of recovery from insanity is given by President William M. Brooks, of Tabor College, Iowa. "A young lady of my acquaintance, of a finished education, lost her reason in the Winter of 1871-2, and in August, 1872, was placed in the institution for the…
A school teacher, without family or a special home, in New York City, asked the Lord for direction in finding a home, and prayed often that the way might be made so plain, she might acknowledge His hand, and understand His direction. Soon it transpired, in taking lunch at a…
The Rev. J.B. Waterbury relates several incidents which prove the power of Prayer. "In the year 1832 he was compelled by pulmonary symptoms, to leave his field of ministerial labor in one of the eastern cities, and travel south, hoping that a milder climate might be favorable.…
A wonderful incident is told by Dr. S.I. Prime among his many facts relating to prayer, as published in _The Observer_ and "_The Power of Prayer_." "A young man held a good position in a large publishing house in this city. He was about thirty years old, a married man, and happy…
The Rev. Dr. Edwin F. Hatfield, of New York City, well known and eminent among the clergymen of the Presbyterian church, is personally acquainted with the following instance of a remarkable case in answer to prayer. From the mother of the daughter he obtained this statement,…
The Rev. W.H. Boole, a city missionary in New York City, has been witness in his ministries, of many cases of complete deliverance from bad habits, and appetites, solely by believing prayer. Many are contained in a little tract written by him, "The Wonder of Grace." He gives a…
Mrs. C.S. Whitney of Hartford, Conn., a lady well known for her Christian work among the poor, thus gives in a letter to Dr. Patton, her personal testimony of the efficacy of prayer: "Three years ago, I was healed of a bodily disease. I had been troubled from my birth with…
The following incident of the prayer of President Finney for rain, and its immediate answer, is furnished by Professor Cowles, the intimate friend of President Finney: "Somewhat more than twenty years ago, the village of Oberlin and its adjacent country along the lake shore,…
At one time in the life of Luther, there was a critical moment in the affairs of the Reformation. Bitter persecution prevailed with extraordinary power, and threatened every one. They were the dark days when faith could only cling. There were but few friends to the reformers,…
The most powerful tribute to the efficacy of prayer, was the answer to Luther's prayer which the Lord sent. A messenger was sent to Luther that Melancthon was dying. He found him presenting the usual premonitory symptoms of death. Melancthon roused, looked in the face of Luther,…
The _New York Observer_ relates a remarkable instance of the return of stolen property, which in its extraordinary way can be accounted for only by the control of a Supreme Will, and all in answer to prayer. "On February 16, 1877, United States and railroad bonds and mortgages…
Mr. D.L. Moody, the Evangelist, when a boy, was possessed of an unusual amount of muscular strength and animal spirits, and a strong will that knew little of impossibility or submission. When only six years old, being wistful to do something to help his mother, he was set to…
Mr. Moody's domestic life has always been a happy one, but in the early days of his marriage, he was very poor, and his faith was often put to the severest tests. One day, on leaving home in his missionary work and labors of love, he remarked to his wife, "I have no money, and…
The life of faith and the necessity of uncompromising hold on the promise's, expecting their fulfillment, is admirably explained in the illustration of Noah's prayer. One day Mr. Moody was much discouraged, and it was as dark a Sabbath as ever he had, and a friend suggested to…
Samuel Hick was one of the men of "_mighty faith_" in the Lord, and as a preacher among the Methodists of England. He was of great eminence for his happy spirit, remarkable trust, powerful and practical preaching, and unbounded liberality. Among the many incidents connected with…
At one time he attended a missionary meeting near Harrowgate. "We had a blessed meeting," said Samuel, "I was very happy and gave all the money I had in my pocket." After the meeting was concluded, he mounted his horse to return home. No one had offered to pay his expenses—he…
When President Lincoln left his home in Springfield, Ill., February 11, 1861, on his way to Washington, he made the following farewell address to his friends and neighbors: "My friends, no one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I…
"The scenes of the riots in New York, at the time of our civil war, are of national celebrity; but few, however, know that one of the most atrocious acts of cruelty attempted to be perpetrated by the malefactors, and which utterly failed of its purpose, _came solely in answer to…
"In one of our northern cities, a trial at law took place between a Christian and an infidel. The latter had sued the former for a heavy sum, falsely alleging his promise to pay it for some stocks which he claimed to have sold him. The Christian admitted AN OFFER of the stock,…
The following incident is marvelous, as at the time of its occurrence neither party had ever been known to each other: In _New Haven, Conn._, lives a little invalid widow, almost helpless, with no one upon whom to rely for support, and only indebted to friendly acquaintances for…
The following circumstance is communicated to _The Christian_ by a minister of the editor's acquaintance, as a memorial of God's care for the poor and needy who trust in him: It was about the year 1853, and near the middle of a Canadian Winter, we had a succession of snowfalls,…
The ways in which God saves those whom he wishes to deliver from death, are sometimes too wonderful for our understanding. A certain ship was overtaken in a severe and prolonged storm at sea. She had a noble Christian man for a captain, and as good a sailor as ever trod the…
A remarkable illustration of God's mysterious way is found in connection with the rescue of some of the passengers of the ill-fated French steamship, Ville du Havre, which was sunk by a collision with the Loch Earn, November 22, 1873, on her voyage from New York to France. After…
At a Sunday morning meeting at Repository Hall, January 25, 1874, a Christian brother, in illustration of the power and faithfulness of God, and his willingness to hear and answer prayer, related these facts in his own experience. An account of them was subsequently published in…
Some years ago a camp-meeting was held in Southern Indiana. It rained nearly all the time of the meeting. Father Haven, a man mighty in prayer, rose to preach. Just as he announced his text it thundered, and the congregation seemed to be restless and alarmed. The old hero…
Walking across Palace Square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an American ship-master, (says a correspondent of the _Watchman_) he invited me to accompany him to his hotel. While there he showed me a very large gold medal he had received from the British government for saving a…
"I pray you give God praise and thanks for His merciful deliverance of my dear daughter from the _evil influence_ of the man to whom she had given her love and promise of marriage. THE LORD gave her strength and courage to break her engagement, in answer to our earnest prayers.…
"I have reason to rejoice that I have been greatly blessed in answer to your prayers. Two young lady friends of mine have been enabled to claim the blessed promise of full salvation, not only to the healing of the soul, _but the body also_. My own experience helped them: On the…
"In the last fourteen years I have stood beside the deathbeds of eight who were near and dear to me, and the last words that each spoke to me as they were leaving the world were, "_Will you not meet me in Heaven_?" I have been a wayward child. Eight years ago I became addicted…
An incident was related at one of the meetings by a clergyman who had written a telegram asking for prayers. God heard it before it was sent. "When we were in Switzerland, my daughter was taken very ill, so that the doctor despaired of her life. I felt the need of sympathy and…
A remarkable instance of how God keeps his promises and is faithful, and how man often forgets to keep his, and at last receives deserved punishment for his thanklessness to God, was recently related in the Fulton Street prayer-meeting. A very urgent case was presented by a…
At the Fulton Street prayer-meeting a number of remarkable cases were related of real answers to prayer for recovery to health, and obtaining of positions. "I must tell you how God has been answering prayer, for his glory and for your encouragement. Your prayers were asked for a…
"I had another acquaintance who was also greatly distressed. With a wife and family to care for, and all his means gone, and no prospect of employment, he was in trouble indeed. We induced him to present his case for prayer here, as it would encourage him to have others pray for…
A brother says, "Jesus says this, and I rest just there." "A year ago I was in Philadelphia. I had resolved not to drink any liquor that day, but my resolution was soon broken. In the evening as I wandered the streets, that voice of God, '_Turn ye, turn ye_,' gave me great…
A touching little story, with eternal results in it, was told at one of the meetings, illustrating that word of God's book, "A little child shall lead them." "A dress-maker called on a very wealthy lady in a city not far from New York, and took with her her little girl, five…
