Читать книгу The Magic Word - Robert Collier - Страница 6

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“From one to two inches, and free from hail if possible. Is badly needed to save remaining crops and fill the reservoirs. Must be delivered soon to do any good. Will pay highest market price.

“Can be delivered any place; prefer general rain. Showers gratefully accepted, but prefer real, honest-to-goodness downpour.

“This offer made by the following firms for the general good of the community, and in the general belief that anything worth having, is worth asking for.”

Belle Fourche, South Dakota needed one thing— RAIN—to save remaining crops and fill the reservoirs. Why not advertise for it, thought L. A. Gleyre, publisher of THE NORTHWEST POST. A novel idea—advertising to the Lord—never been tried in just that way before, but at least there was no harm in trying. The prayerful advertisement reprinted above was the result.

“We proposed to each merchant in town,” says Mr. Gleyre, “that he pay $2.50 for his name at the bottom of the page ad, with the provision that if no material rain fell between the date of the advertisement and the following Tuesday midnight, the ad was entirely at our expense.

“The idea took immediately ... we could probably have filled a double truck. While the week was rolling by, our people had a new one to think about—their minds were actually taken off the scarcity of rain and made to function along the line of whether THE NORTHWEST POST was going to make good with their ad. The majority of our merchants were pleased with the idea. Some actually believed we had some inside information from the weather bureau which prompted our offer. A few, including one or two preachers, while not saying so to us, took occasion to say it was sacrilegious, etc.

“During the specified week, light rains fell in some parts of our territory. Belle Fourche had three very light sprinkles—not enough to count, for we agreed that the rain should be a downpour. Toward the end of the week excitement ran rife and interest continued to grow. Some of our warm friends made bets we would win. Others openly hoped we would, while everyone agreed that it would be tremendously helpful if we did win.

“We won—but lost. Just six hours after midnight, Wednesday morning, it rained pitch-forks-and-saw-logs-for-handles. It was exactly what we advertised for—a swash-buckling, rip-snortin’ downpour of rain. It measured from one-half to two inches, and one remote point reported seven inches of rainfall!

“But we didn’t charge any merchant a cent. We lost by six hours.

“I think it attracted more attention than anything we have done in years. To this day we are asked to advertise for something needed.”

Where did that rain come from? Did the advertisement bring it? Does the Rain Dance of the Hopi Indians bring it? Did the prayer of Elijah bring it, as told in the Bible?

Yes! At least, so we believe, and we think we can show you good reason for that belief. Not only that, but we believe that back of these answers to prayer is the fundamental law of life and supply!

For of all the promises of Jesus, there is but one that promises us WHATEVER WE ASK shall be done for us! That one positive assurance is based on this condition—“If two of you agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven."'

And again He said—“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Why is this? Why the necessity for several to unite in asking for a thing in order to be sure of getting it?

A good many years ago, Professor Henry of Princeton made an experiment with a charged magnet. First he took an ordinary magnet of large size, suspended it from a rafter and with it lifted a few pounds of iron.

Then he wrapped the magnet with wire and charged it with the current from a small battery. Instead of only a few pounds, the now highly charged magnet lifted 3,000 pounds!

That is what happens when one person prays, believing, and another adds his prayers and his faith. In effect, the second person is charging the magnet of the first one with his current, MULTIPLYING the power of the other’s prayer a dozen times over.

In Nautilus Magazine some months ago, Elizabeth Gregg told how five people prayed—agreeing—and the most pressing personal problem of each was soon solved. It seems that the husband of a Mrs. A. had been sick with ulcerated stomach for months. She had prayed repeatedly, without result, so one day she picked four of her friends whom she knew to be badly in need of help in different ways, and got them to agree to meet together on a certain day each week and see if, by uniting their prayers in perfect agreement, they might not improve their condition.

At the first meeting, it was decided to pray for the recovery of Mrs. A.’s husband, so these five women, sitting in silence, mentally pictured the husband strong and well, going about his work in a happy way. Then they gave thanks that their prayer had been answered.

“It was agreed,” the article goes on to say, “that promptly at twelve o’clock noon each day until the next meeting, each of the five women would stop whatever she was doing and spend five minutes in silent prayer, agreeing with each other, that the husband be freed from sickness.

“Three days after that first meeting, the husband was entirely free from pain. By the end of the week, he was on his way to complete recovery.

“Next came the problem of Mrs. B., a widow whose home was to be sold in six weeks for failure to meet her payments. With earnestness and faith the women concentrated at the stated time each day upon the desire that the way would open for her supply. And true to the law, the way did open. Just a day before the week was up a well-to-do lady in the town called and asked Mrs. B. if she would take care of her children, eight and ten, for a few weeks while she, the mother, was away. The sum she offered would take care of the back payments on the home and provide living expenses. Shortly after the lady returned she made arrangements for Mrs. B. to take care of an invalid aunt, which gave the widow a steady and lucrative income.

“Next was the problem of Mrs. C., whose husband had been out of work for several months. A few days after the week of agreement was up the husband received a letter from a cousin living at a short distance offering him work in his lumber mill. So, again the law was fulfilled.

“Then the case of little Miss D., who for years had been estranged from her family, came under the law for solution. But in this case it was several weeks before any outward sign of fulfillment appeared. However, love had entered the heart of Miss D. during this time and for the first time since the estrangement she gave way to her new feeling and wrote to each of the family asking forgiveness for what she now acknowledged had been intolerance on her part. By return mail came letters from her family, letters also filled with the spirit of love. Thus, for the fourth time in the work of these women did the law work unfailingly.

“The last problem was that of Mrs. E., who owned a little dress shop but whose business had been almost ruined since the larger and newer shop just across the street had opened. Envy and hate had filled the heart of Mrs. E. so that she resisted all overtures at friendship which the owner of the new shop had made. Then, from her study of Truth she learned that no one need compete with anyone; that there is full abundance for all when we learn how to claim it. So, instead of envying, she now joined with the others in sending out love and good will to her competitor, as she had called her.

“A few weeks later the owner of the new store called and asked if Mrs. E. would take over the management of her store for six months while she was in the East on business. She explained that when she returned it might be advantageous to both of them to form a partnership. This was later done and today Mrs. E. is half owner of a thriving dress and millinery shop and there is perfect harmony between her and the woman she once hated.”

Russell Conwell, author of “Acres of Diamonds,” tells of dozens of such cases. He tells of a kidnapped child returned unharmed through the power of united prayer; of a lost child found in the same way; of men and women cured of apparently incurable diseases; of businesses saved, of positions won, of love renewed and families reunited. There is no good thing you can ask, believing, that shall not be given you.

“What will you have?” quoth God. “Pay for it and take it.” And the paying consists of complying with the law of agreement, by praying—if you pray alone—that the good you are asking for yourself shall be given to all others as well, by “agreeing as to what ye shall ask” if you are praying in a group.

Did you ever read the diary of George Mueller covering the early days of his great work? George Mueller, you know, was the man who started an orphanage with no money in hand, no rich patrons, no prospects—just absolute trust in God. Read the following extracts from his diary and see how that trust was justified:

"Nov. 18, 1830. Our money was reduced to about eight shillings. When I was praying with my wife in the morning, the Lord brought to my mind the state of our purse, and I was led to ask Him for some money. About four hours after, a sister said to me, ‘Do you want any money?’ ‘I told the brethren,’ said I, ‘dear sister, when I gave up my salary, that I would for the future tell the Lord only about my wants.’ She replied, ‘But He has told me to give you some money.’ My heart rejoiced, seeing the Lord’s faithfulness, but I thought it better not to tell her about our circumstances, lest she should be influenced to give accordingly; and I also was assured that, if it were of the Lord, she could not but give, I therefore turned the conversation to other subjects, but when I left she gave me two guineas.

“On March 7. I was again tempted to disbelieve the faithfulness of the Lord, and though I was not miserable, still, I was not so fully resting upon the Lord that I could triumph with joy. It was but one hour after, when the Lord gave me another proof of His faithful love. A Christian lady brought five sovereigns for us.

“April 16. This morning I found that our money was reduced to three shillings; and I said to myself, I must now go and ask the Lord earnestly for fresh supplies. But before I had prayed, there was sent from Exeter two pounds, as a proof that the Lord hears before we call.

“October 2. Tuesday evening. The Lord’s holy name be praised! He hath dealt most bountifully with us during the last three days! The day before yesterday five pounds came in for the orphans. O how kind is the Lord! Always before there has been actual want he has sent help. Yesterday came in one pound ten shillings more. Thus the expenses of yesterday for housekeeping were defrayed. The Lord helped me also to pay yesterday the nineteen pounds ten shillings for the rent.

“I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.

“Review of the Year 1838

“As to my temporal supplies. The Lord has been pleased to give me during the past year 350 pounds, 4 shillings, 8 pence. During no period of my life has the Lord so richly supplied me. Truly, it must be manifest that, even for this life, it is by far the best thing to seek to act according to the mind of the Lord as to temporal things. We have to make known our need to God in prayer, ask His help, and then we have to believe He will give us what we need. Prayer alone is not enough. We may pray never so much, yet, if we do not believe that God will give us what we need, we have no reason to expect that we shall receive what we have asked for.”

“In the heart of man a cry, in the heart of God supply.” But as Mueller said, prayer alone is not enough. If we do not BELIEVE that God will give us what we ask for, we have no reason to expect that we shall receive it.

How can we cultivate such belief? Jesus gave us the cue. “Unless ye be converted (turned about) and become as a little child, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” And again—“Unless a man be born again, he shall not enter the Kingdom.”

How can we become as a little child? How can we be born again? The first essential would seem to be to determine what there is about a child that we must imitate. What one thing is universal with all little children? DEPENDENCE, is it not? Utter dependence upon those around them, utter faith in them to provide their needs. And the greater the dependence, the better those needs seem to be supplied.

Take the embryonic child in its mother’s womb, for instance. At inception, it measures only .004 centimeters. In nine months, it multiplies in size a billion times. That is what happens to it during its state of most utter dependence. In the next eighteen to twenty-one years, when it comes to depend more and more upon itself, it increases only sixteen times.

Does that mean we should make no effort ourselves? By no means I The admonition given us was—“Work and pray!” And the “work” is emphasized first. But it does mean that when we have done all that is in our power, we can confidently and serenely leave to the Lord whatever else is necessary to the accomplishment of our desire.

Three thousand years ago, there was a poor woman whose husband had just died and left her with two small sons and a heavy burden of debt.

The amount was not much, as debts go today, but when you have not a cent, even a small debt looks big as a mountain. And the widow had nothing at all.

So in the fashion of those days, her creditor purposed to sell her sons into bondage. For even in those semi-barbaric times, property was more valuable than life. The right of human beings to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness had never even been heard of—in fact, any man would have been considered a Bolshevik and a menace to the community who suggested so heretical a doctrine.

In our enlightened times, of course, they would do the things differently. The widow would only have to move to the slums, take her boys out of school and set them to selling papers, while she took in washing or some similar uplifting and exhilarating work.

But in those bad old days, there were no tabloids for them to sell, so they just made slaves of them. This widow’s creditor was about to sell her boys into slavery. So she, having nowhere else to turn, went to the Prophet Elisha, and begged him to help her in her need.

And what do you suppose Elisha did? Took up a collection? Or appealed to the fund for widows and orphans? Not he! “What have you in the house?” he asked.

Just that. “What have you in the house?” He did not suggest that she go to the Chamber of Commerce or some philanthropical society, or stage a demonstration at the White House, or ask Congress to adopt the “dole.” Not he! He believed in using the means at hand, believing that God always provides unlimited supply if we but have the courage and faith to use what we have.

So he merely asked what the widow had to start with, and when told—“Naught save a pot of oil,” he bade her borrow vessels from the neighbors and pour out into them the oil that she had. In other words, she was to start the flow. And it is written that so long as she had vessels to receive it, the oil kept flowing.

When the vessels were all filled, Elisha bade her sell the oil and pay her debt, and then start afresh with her sons beside her.

What have YOU in the house? When troubles assail you, do you sit back and bemoan your fate, waiting for some friend to help, or do you take stock of what you have, and set to work using it?

You remember the story of the man who came from the hospital after an accident, completely paralyzed. Of all his body, he could move only one finger. In those circumstances, wouldn’t you have given up? But he didn’t. “If I can move but one finger,” he decided, “I’ll use it to do more than one finger ever accomplished before!” He did—and lo and behold! In a little while, the fingers next that one began to show life, too. Before many months had passed, he was using every muscle in his body.

I know of a man who lost everything he had in the clothing business. From an expensive apartment, he had to move his family into the poorest rooms in town, where they and their neighbors did not know from one day to another, where the next meal was coming from. They were downcast—yes. But discouraged? No!

He went around to some of his old creditors—got them to trust him for a few knit neckties that they could not sell anywhere else—found a printer who would give him credit for a few hundred envelopes, letterheads and postage—and sent those ties to lists of men culled from the occupational directory of the telephone book. As fast as the money for them came back, he bought more ties and mailed them out, he and his family doing the work of enclosing, addressing and stamping in their cramped little apartment. Before that type of selling became passe, he had made two hundred thousand dollars out of it. Yet most men in the same circumstances give up and quit. Life’s biggest mistake, according to Harrington Emerson, is to under-estimate your power to develop and to accom plish. Ella Wheeler Wilcox says:

“Ships sail east, and ships sail west,

By the very same breezes that blow;

It’s the set of the sails, and not the gales,

That determine where they go.”

Success is not a thing—not a guerdon that awaits you at some far-off shrine. Success lies in doing well whatever thing you are doing now. It is more a matter of mental attitude than of mental or physical capacity. You have all the fundamentals of it right now. But it is only the USE of them that can make you successful.

“All very well,” perhaps you say, “but look at the handicaps I am under. There is Jim Jones, whose father left him a million—and all mine left was some debts to add to my own.”

Have you ever read Emerson’s comparison of Alaska and Switzerland? Alaska, according to him, is in six respects much better off than Switzerland. It has tremendous resources of virgin forests; Switzerland has practically none. It has great stores of gold and silver and copper and lead and tin and coal; Switzerland has practically none. It has fisheries—the greatest in the world; Switzerland has none.

It has in proportion to its area, greater agricultural possibilities than Switzerland—over a hundred thousand square miles suitable for agriculture. It has a tremendous seacoast; Switzerland none. And yet if Alaska were supporting the same number of people to the square mile as Switzerland, it would have 120,000,000 inhabitants.

Now the Swiss have marketed what? Natural resources? No I The Swiss are a people who take a block of wood that was worth ten cents and convert it into a carving worth a hundred dollars.

They will take a ton of metal, steel, brass, and so on, and put it together in such form as to make it worth several million dollars.

They take cotton thread that they buy from this country at twenty cents a pound, and they convert it into lace worth a couple of thousand dollars a pound.

And because as a nation they have learned the art of utilizing their latent capacities, they have prospered abundantly.

What is the moral? Simply this: It is not money that counts. It it not natural resources. It is the way you use what you have! You can succeed with what you have at this moment, if only you learn to use it rightly.

“Ask not for some power that has been denied you. Ask what ability you have which can be made to develop into something worth while. What is in your hand?”

“We are too apt to think,” says Bruce Barton, “that if we had some other man’s equipment or opportunity, we could do great things. Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand.”

Great successes are simply a group of little successes built one upon another, in much the same way that John MacDonald’s first great subway was merely a long line of little cellars—strung together! As Professor James put it—

“As we become permanent drunkards by so many separate drinks, so we become saints in the moral, and authorities and experts in the practical and scientific spheres, by so many separate acts and hours of working. Let no one have any anxiety about the upshot of his work or education, whatever the line of it may be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour of the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can with perfect certainty count on waking some fine morning, to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out.”

What makes a great musician? Practice—keeping everlastingly at it until playing becomes second nature. What makes a great artist, a great lawyer, a great engineer, a great mechanic or carpenter? Persevering study and practice. You may have a natural liking for a subject, so the study of it is easier to you than to others, but the big successes in life have seldom been the brilliant men, the natural wonders, the “born orators” or the talented artists. The great successes have been the “grinds.”

“A few years ago,” said Dr. John M. Thomas, President of Rutgers University, “Rutgers had a student called a ‘greasy grind’ by some of his classmates. This was S. Parker Gilbert, Agent-General for Reparations under the Dawes plan. He may have been a ‘greasy grind,’ but at thirty-two he was earning $45,000 a year. And, according to Owen D. Young, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Electric Company, Gilbert held for several years the most important political position in the world.”

A good many men in and out of college have an idea that to study is foolish. “No one ever gets anywhere from studying,” they say. S. Parker Gilbert is only one of thousands of cases that prove to the contrary.

The most important job in the world for you is the one above yours. And the way to get it is to study—to “grind”—until you can put more of knowledge, more of skill, more of initiative into it than any man around you. Only thus can you win success.

Why do so many fail? Because they do not try hard enough, work persistently enough. The doors of opportunity are always closed. They have been since the world began. History tells us of no time when you could walk down a street and find any doors of opportunity standing open and inviting you to come in. Doors that are worth entering are usually closed, but the resolute and courageous knock at those doors, and keep knocking persistently until they are opened.

You remember the parable of the importunate friend:

“And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

“And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

“I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.”

Why do so many fail to receive that for which they ask? Because they are not importunate enough. They do not convince the God in them that their prayer is something they MUST have. They ask and knock once or twice, and because the door is not immediately opened, they give up in despair. Remember—“He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.”

“If you have faith in God or man or self,

Say so; if not, push back upon the shelf

Of silence all your thoughts till faith shall come.

No one will grieve because your lips are dumb.”

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox