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98 stories
Two sisters, one about five years of age, the other next older, were accustomed to go each Saturday morning, some distance from home, to get chips and shavings from a cooper shop. One morning, with basket well filled,…
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…
"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…
"During the Summer of 1862, I became acquainted with a Mr. A——, who professed infidelity, and who was, I think, as near an atheist as any I ever met. I held several conversations with him on the subject of religion, but could not seem to make any impression on his mind, and,…
"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…
A man who had led a very wicked life, was converted and hopefully saved. Previous to this time, a debt of $18.75 had not given him the slightest thought. After receiving a new heart, he distinctly heard God's command, "Pay what thou owest;" so called on his creditor, and urged…
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 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…
"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 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…
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…
A Sea Captain relates to the editor of the _Christian_, a remarkable incident, whereby in one of his voyages his ship was unaccountably held still, and thereby saved from sailing directly into the midst of a terrible hurricane: —"We sailed from the Kennebec on the first 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…
"With my brother I was once climbing the _Cirrha di Jazze_, one of the mountains in the chain of _Mount Rosa_. When nearly at the top, we entered a dense fog. Presently our guides faced right about and grounded their axes on the frozen snowed slope. My brother, seeing the slope…
A most curious answer to prayer occurred in the experience of a home missionary in Brooklyn. It illustrates how God, in his trials of faith to see if His people do really cling to the promises, compels them to march right into the scene of danger, and into the mouth of the…
Should these words meet the eye of any one so troubled over any evil way or bad habit from whose bondage he would gladly escape, let me say to you these words of good cheer: "_The Lord can save you, the Lord can deliver you, the Lord can wholly heal you. He can take away your…
"On the 8th of January, last, I was called upon to visit a dying man in Jersey City, whom the doctors had said could not live but a few hours. I found him in severe bodily sufferings and a terrible agony of mind. He had lived a moral and upright life in the eyes of the world,…
Another consumptive in the neighborhood, was thoroughly an infidel. Mr. A. visited the house three times a week, and, at last, succeeded in overcoming his objections to a weekly prayer-meeting in his house. In his hearing, earnest supplication was always made for him, and, at…
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…
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…
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 remarkable instance of deep impression occasionally made by the Holy Spirit on the mind of the Rev. William Bramwell during prayer, occurred in Liverpool. A pious young woman, a member of Society, wished to go to her friends, then living in Jamaica. She took her passage, had…
"Some nine months since a lady showed signs of indisposition, and soon was attacked by a cough. Change of air was prescribed, but after a lapse of some weeks she returned to her home, in no way improved. Physicians were consulted, her lungs found to be much irritated and pulse…
"It was the time of my returning from the north country. I observed that there were some small debts to be discharged. But the hand of God was fast closed; this continued for some time: and for all that time, I watched and observed narrowly. "At this time there was a special…
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…
Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, of London, tells of the excellent faith of a little boy in one of the schools of Edinburgh, who had attended a prayer-meeting, and at the last said to his teacher who conducted it: "Teacher, I wish my sister could be got to read the Bible; she never reads it."…
A merchant of St. Petersburg, at his own cost, supported several native missionaries in India, and gave liberally to the cause of Christ at home. On being asked how he could afford to do it, he replied: "Before my conversion, when I served the world and self, I did it on a grand…
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 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…
Mr. Moody, on his return from England, while conducting a prayer-meeting in Northfield, Mass., gave this illustration of the power of prayer to subdue the most unlikely cases of sin and unbelief: "There is not a heart so hard that God cannot touch it. While in Edinburgh, a man…
Rev. Charles G. Finney relates, in his "Spirit of Prayer," of an acquaintance of his whose faith and importunity in prayer and the answer were very remarkable: "In a town in the northern part of the State of New York, where there was a revival, there was a certain individual,…
A victim of licentiousness and sensuousness, who often, amid his sinful pleasures, had the memory of Christian parents before him, felt his was indeed a life of shame. But the downward steps had destroyed his will, his self-control, his manliness, his virtue. He had no power to…
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…
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…
"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 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…
"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.…
"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…
Said another, "I came here yesterday to ask you to pray for my sister. She has been sick some time, and then she lost her _sight_. I did not get an opportunity to present my request because so many took part; but I thought I would just take my sister's case to Jesus, remembering…
We have read a touching incident about three little children, who, last autumn, late in the season, wandered alone in a dreary region of New Brunswick. The sun had already sunk in the west, and the gloom of evening was…
More than thirty years ago, one lovely Sabbath morning, about eight young men, students in a law school, were walking along the banks of a stream that flows into the Potomac river, not far from the city of Washington.…
Mrs. Mattie Campbell relates the happy death of her sister, a soul-sleeper, which occurred last May. It seems that her views were changed just before she entered heaven. In Sabbath school this afternoon a message came:…
We knew a preacher, still living, who was appointed to the charge of a church in Springfield, Ill. The church seemed very much depressed. It's life was at a low ebb. It was in the midst of the harvest, in the hot…
Wending her way every Sabbath to a school in the west end of London, might have been seen a young girl, named Mary Jane Howes. Attached in no common degree to both her teachers and fellow scholars, nothing but sickness…
A friend of mine, seeking for objects of charity, got into the room of a tenement house. It was vacant. He saw a ladder pushed through the coiling. Thinking that perhaps some poor creature had crept up there, he climbed…
Two or three times in my life God in His mercy touched my heart, and twice before my conversion I was under deep conviction. During the American war, I was surgeon in the United States army, and after the battle of…
At one of our children's meetings last summer, I invited the conductor of the train running to Cincinnati (who was a Christian man) to talk to the children. After speaking of his work among the prisoners of the…
Bishop Bowman, of the M. E. Church, gives the following instance from his own experience: "In the fall of 1858, whilst visiting Indiana, I was at an annual conference where Bishop Janes presided. We received a telegram…
In the fall of 1885, our oldest boy, then two and one-half years old, was taken very ill. Diphtheria had for some time been raging to a considerable extent in the city of Grand Rapids, where we then resided. But a short…
The following are selected from a list of incidents recorded by Thomas Graham, the noted revivalist preacher, of the Erie Conference of the M. B. church. After his death they were found entered, under the above heading,…
On the afternoon of August 9, 1853, a little Norwegian boy, named Kund Iverson, who lived in the city of Chicago, Ill., was going to the pastures for his cow, as light-hearted, I suppose, as boys usually are when going…
The Methodist Preachers' Meeting of Boston was well attended last Monday, and Rev. W. N. Brodbeck, D. D., the pastor of the Tremont-street Church of this city thrilled the brethren with an address on "The relation of…
We clip the following from an epistle of the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who was born in the year 121, and died in the year 180, as found in Vol. 2, of the "Anti-Nicene Christian Library." — Editor. The Emperor…
On the summit of Washington mountain, overlooking the Housatonic valley, stood a hut, the home of John Barry, a poor charcoal-burner, whose family consisted of his wife and himself. His occupation brought him in but a…
On Saturday morning, January 3, 1880, in MaIden, Massachusetts, Bishop Gilbert Haven's physician said that his last day had come, and that it would do him no harm to see his friends. Many were near at hand. Others were…
A little girl in a wretched tenement in New York stood by her mother's death-bed, and heard her last words: "Jessie, find Jesus." When her mother was buried, her father took to drink, and Jessie was left to such care as…
A day or two after our conversion, we called at a neighbor's, and while there heard the lady of the house say some very hard things against the work of God, which was shaking that whole section of country like an…
On Thanksgiving morning, six young men stood in quiet conversation, on the corner of Clark and Washington streets, in the great and busy city of Chicago. "I propose a walk out to Graceland, the beautiful city of the…
A local option contest was going on in W —, and Mrs. Kent was trying to influence her husband to vote "No License." Willie Kent, six years old, was, of course, on his mamma's side. The night before election, Mr. Kent…
A mother, living not very far from the post-office in this city, tired with watching over a sick baby, came down stairs for a moment the other day for a few second's rest. She heard the voice of her little four-year old…
The following certified incident from real life we select from correspondence of the Canada Christian Advocate: A man who had indulged the hope of final salvation, regardless of character, was on his death bed. In the…
Rev. Charles G. Finney, during his life-time, was familiar with the circumstances connected with the remarkable healing of a sick lady in Oberlin, O., the wife of Rev. R. D. Miller, and these facts were vouched for as…
John Livingston, of Scotland, once spent a whole night in prayer with a company of his brethren, for God's blessing, all of them besieging the throne; and the next day, under his sermon, five hundred souls were saved.…
"After being sufficiently recovering to leave the house, she paid us a visit, and Mrs. Young, as well as myself, heard from her own lips the following account of what she had passed through. She informed us that at the…
"Pledge with wine! Pledge with wine!" cried the young and thoughtless Harry. "Pledge with wine!" ran through the bridal party. The beautiful bride grew pale. She pressed her hands together, and the leaves of her bridal…
At a convention of Christian workers, held in April, 1882, we witnessed a spiritual cyclone. Forty or fifty ministers and laymen of different denominations had come together, for prayer and counsel, concerning the most…
The following was related in an evangelistic meeting: A woman who had been bedridden for years, lived near the railroad track, a long way from any other house. Near by was a deep gully over which the railroad passed on…
Many years ago, when in my country charge, I returned one afternoon from a funeral, fatigued with the day's work. After a long ride, I had accompanied the mourners to the churchyard. As I neared my stable door, I felt a…
A little girl once said, "Mother, does God ever scold?" She had seen her mother, under circumstances of strong provocation, lose her temper, and give way to the impulse of passion; and pondering thoughtfully for a…
I believe it to be a great characteristic of the American heart, that it clings to home and mother. I remember passing over a battlefield, and seeing a man just dying. His mind was wandering. His spirit was no longer on…
Trained religiously, I had reached a young man's years before making a public profession of religion. Prior to my conversion, thoughts of the ministry sometimes flashed across my mind; but it was only a flash. After my…
The Rev. Theodore Clapp, for many years a minister of religion in the city of New Orleans, narrates the following incident, which occurred within his experience: Several years ago there was a lady — a mother — residing…
During the winter of t885-86 we were called to hold a revival meeting in New Haven, Shiawassee county, Michigan. During the first few days of the meeting we found many difficulties, and the powers.of darkness arrayed…
I had a singular experience, which is very vivid to my mind. The precise year I cannot say, and I may be mistaken in the name of the vessel. But somewhere about the year 1860, the bark Benjamin Burgess sailed from…
"I came home one night very late," says the Rev. Matthew Hale Smith, in his Marvels of Prayer, "and had gone to bed to seek needed rest. The friend with whom I boarded awoke me out of my first refreshing sleep, and…
A child from a poor family had an intemperate father, who often used to abuse his wife and children. This child had been to the Sunday-school — had become pious. The physician told the father that his little girl would…
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…
One of the most remarkable experiences we have had in seventeen years of evangelistic work, occurred in the spring of 1890. It will be remembered that at this time the United Brethren Church was sadly divided on the…
Carvosso, noted for the earnestness and faith of his prayers, tells as follows of the conversion of his children: "I had always prayed for my children, but now I grasped the promise, with the hand of faith, and retired…
The following is stated by Rev. B. Fay Mills: "Some of you have seen the great picture that was painted by Muncakszy, of the Christ. That picture was being exhibited in Canada, at Toronto, I think, and there came a…
During the spring of 1892, we held a five-weeks revival meeting in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Harvey, the new temperance town near Chicago, Ill. A series of meetings had closed but a few weeks before, and the…
But I have another anecdote to tell. It was Ralph Wallace who told me of this one. A certain gentleman was a member of the Presbyterian Church. His little boy was sick. When he went home his wife was weeping, and she…
All dreams that make you better are from God. How do I know it? Is not God the source of all good? It does not take a very logical mind to argue that out. Tertullian and Martin Luther believed in dreams. The dreams of…
A touching story came to us from Minnesota. A farmer, living on the edge of one of the many lakes of that state, started to cross it in a small sail-boat one evening after dark. The wind changed, and a gust overturned…
The following is from the Autobiography of that wonderful revivalist, Charles G. Finney. The circumstances as related occurred early in his ministry, at Gouverneur, N. Y. I have said that there was a Baptist church, and…
How continually, as we follow the Lord closely, do His own blessed teachings, His own words, come with full force to our memory, clothed with life and power! One such experience I shall never forget. We were holding…
During the great revival of religion in America, which took place under Mr. Whitefield, and others distinguished for their piety and zeal at that period, Mr. Tennent was laboriously active, and much engaged to help…
He had been given up by some as a hopeless case. One man, however, prayed for him until he prevailed, and the infidel was saved. A revival was in progress, and in the midst of a melting meet mg he arose and to the…
A great many years ago I knew a lady who had been sick for two years, as you have seen many a one, all the while slowly dying with consumption. She had one child-a little boy named Henry. One afternoon I was sitting by…
A story related by Mr. Finney, will illustrate the power of the mighty prayer of faith, even when every human aid seems withheld, and nothing remains but the burning, throbbing heart, breathing out its longings, and…
From the life of that devoted and noted evangelist, Rev. J. S. Inskip, we quote the following incident, which occurred while he was pastor at Springfield, Ohio, January, 1851. A few days before its occurrence, he…
William Taylor, now M. E. Bishop to Africa, and one of the greatest of living men, was converted in 1841, when about twenty years old. He soon entered the ministry and spent seven years in the Baltimore Conference, and…
A good clergyman was once sent to a wild and dangerous part of Australia on some errand of duty and mercy traveled up to the place too poor to be in any great from bush-rangers or robbers, but as he came back he had to…
Dr. Lyman Beecher said of the great revival in Rochester, N. Y., conducted by Mr. Finney, that it was the greatest revival in the Christian era. During Mr. Finney's evangelistic ministry, hundreds of thousands were…
Away on the western coast of England there stands a steep rock that is known to everybody as' the "Lady's Rock." At high water it is surrounded by the sea; but at low water it stands upon a sandy beach, and is easily…
