BEIEF ESSAYS 233 



thoughts and sentiments." "To ask is to receive, 

 when we ask for a genuine good," because the gen- 

 uine good is in the devout and sincere asking; but 

 convince your orthodox neighbor of this, and he 

 will probably cease to pray. Prayer with him is 

 a petition to some power external to himself for 

 some definite, tangible, measurable good. He will 

 pray for rain or for sun; and the faith which 

 prompts him is a stay to him, whether the rain 

 comes or not. The wisest man cannot pray, has 

 no need of prayer, because his whole life is an aspi- 

 ration toward, and a desire for, the supreme good 

 of the world. 



In every emergency that requires courage and 

 presence of mind, the great danger is in the fear of 

 danger. The man who, lost in the woods or on the 

 plains, or going into battle, prays earnestly to God 

 for help and guidance, has his wits and senses sharp- 

 ened and his courage strengthened by that act of 

 faith. Because this is so, because mankind have 

 in all ages, the pagan as well as the Christian, been 

 blessed by sincere prayer to their gods, they have 

 come finally to pervert and vulgarize prayer by ask- 

 ing for outward material good. To pray for rain 

 is like praying for a change in the moon or in the 

 tides and seasons. All Christendom prayed for 

 President Garfield, but without avail, because the 

 wound was mortal. Did prayer ever stop the yel- 

 low fever before frost came ? Is it ever safe to let 

 your piety offset sanitary observances? If sewer 

 gas gets into your house, will holiness keep the dis- 



