29 stories
"A few weeks ago, a man who had once been a member of my church, but had fallen from his steadfastness through strong drink, fell from a ladder, striking his head on the corner of a stone, which made a dent in the skull of over two and one-half inches in length, and…
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,…
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…
"God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform." "I had a present of twenty-five dollars once, which was a direct answer to earnest, pleading prayer. I was entirely out of money for months—I could not earn a dollar. I had those who might have assisted me, but they did…
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…
"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…
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…
In the Fall of 1858, H——, a student in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N.J., was in great need of a new pair of boots. His toes were sticking out of his old ones, and he had no money to purchase new ones. All the money he could command was barely enough to pay his fare to…
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…
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 vessel was six months making the passage from Liverpool to Bermuda Island. Fogs enveloped it; winds sent it hither and thither; captain and mate lost their reckoning, lost their senses; and when, added to the rest, the vessel sprung a leak, gave up in despair. Crew and…
A godly man, the master of an American ship, during one voyage found his ship bemisted for days, and he became rather anxious respecting her safety. He went down to his cabin and prayed. The thought struck him, if he had with confidence committed his soul to God, he might…
Perhaps the providence of God in supplying the wants of the poor never was more closely watched and better described than has been done by the late William Huntington, formerly a minister in London, England, who, in a book with the quaint title of the "Bank of Faith," tells how,…
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…
As a series of religious meetings was held in a Baptist church in ——, and the hearts of God's people were greatly encouraged, the church was consumed by fire. It was proposed to continue the meetings in the Congregational church, but the workmen were coming the next morning to…
A business man in New York had several large amounts due for payment. An unprecedented series of calls from tradesmen wishing their bills paid sooner than customary, drained his means, and he was satisfied from the situation that his means would not be sufficient to pay them…
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,…
A remarkable incident, showing how God makes the winds to obey him in obedience to the prayer of his righteous ones, and the expectations of their faith, occurred also in Samuel Hick's life, which is really an astonishing proof of God's supernatural power. A church gathering was…
It is well known that many of the good men who were driven from England to America by persecution in the seventeenth century, had to endure great privations. In the Spring of 1623 they planted more corn than ever before; but by the time they had done planting, their food was…
At a meeting a young man in broken English, said: "If any man ought to believe in prayer, I ought to. My friends turned me out of my home, because I was seeking for Christ. I was too much Christian my landlady said. I told her I wished I was all Christian. It was seven o'clock…
There are some who reject Christianity because it seems to them incredible that God would have taken so much trouble, as the New Testament represents him to have done, for the salvation of creatures so infinitely…
Six years ago Miss Shelly won a gold medal from the Iowa Legislature, "and a wealth of admiration from all who read of her act of heroism." The facts are these In a fearful thunder-storm and a torrent of falling rain,…
In 1868, Mrs. Maggie Newton Van Cott held a revival meeting at Stone Ridge, Ulster Co., N. Y. At the opening of the meeting, she announced, under the influence of the Spirit as she believed, that there would be a…
By our request, Brother L. G. Whitney, a reliable Christian man, of Hemlock, Mich., writes us of a remarkable interposition of Providence in reference to his field of corn. This is his story: "Two years ago, the…
The following pathetic story of our late war is told by a Christian writer: "At the close of the first bloody day of the battle of Fredericksburg, hundreds of the Union wounded were left lying on the ground, and the…
In his "Memorials of Methodism in Virginia," Dr. W. W. Bennett relates the following incidents in the life of John Easter, one of the pioneer ministers who labored there nearly one hundred years ago. He is represented…
An illustrious example of constancy and power in prayer, we find in John Wesley: "It is said that as a matter of habit and rule, John Wesley's ordinary private praying consumed two hours a day.' At times he would gather…
The following very interesting account was written by request, expressly for this book. The author was a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India for a number of years. He is, at the date of our…
Within two blocks of the Pacific Mission, in Chicago, is one of our large depots, the Rock Island and Lake Shore. Here is a good field for labor. One night, when inviting one and another to the mission, a. lady…
