Conversation 17

(After prayer meeting Wednesday night)

Mr. Truman—My dear wife, I wish you could have been at prayer meeting tonight. That was the most glorious meeting I have ever attended in all my life.

Mrs. Truman—Yes; all evening I wished that I had gone. I almost felt miserable because I let that little work keep me away.

Mr. Truman—Well, you surely missed a good meeting.

Mrs. Truman—Next time, I’ll know better. I promised the Lord on my knees that I would not let such a thing happen again—and I felt better after I had made that decision. Was Mrs. Wright there?

Mr. Truman—Yes; and how happy she was! Such a prayer as she prayed! It seemed to melt the whole audience.

Mrs. Truman—Who preached?

Mr. Truman—Well, no one really preached; Mr. Wright read the 107th Psalm and commented on some of the verses. You just ought to have heard him!

Mrs. Truman—What did he say?

Mr. Truman—Some of the verses he especially commented on read something like this: “They wandered in the wilderness…. Hungry and thirsty…. They cried unto the LORD in their trouble…. And he led them forth by the right way.”* (Psalm 107:4-7)

Mrs. Truman—And how did he apply that text?

Mr. Truman—Apply it? He did not need to apply it. Whatever the Psalmist may have had in mind when he wrote, we all knew how it fitted us exactly. There was Mr. Waters and Mr. Works and the rest of us—we knew what we had suffered in our spiritual wilderness; and then to think that we had at last found deliverance “by the right way”! Mrs. Wright’s face shone like an angel’s. You could not help feeling that she was filled with the Spirit of God. Then, when Brother Wright read that verse where it says, “He satisfieth the longing soul,”* () putting the emphasis on the word satisfieth, Mr. Sumday broke down and wept.

Mrs. Truman—Did he get the victory?

Mr. Truman—Yes; after the reading of the Psalm, we had prayer (two prayed); then they sung that hymn, “Light is Breaking in upon My Soul.” After that hymn, Mr. Sumday asked permission to speak, which Mr. Wright eagerly granted. He told the people how he had always opposed the idea of having a present experience of salvation, believing that someday he would find “sweet peace on the sunny banks of the river in the world to come.” But during the last few days, he said he had changed his mind completely. He has been so deeply convicted of his lost condition that he was glad to yield. He said, too, that that meeting Sunday was enough to convince anyone of a present salvation. He asked us all to pray for him. Before we could get on our knees, several others were on their feet also asking prayer—two of them were young people whom I do not know.

You didn’t have to coax Mr. Sumday to pray. He prayed so earnestly that it made people feel the need of salvation, and he soon got the victory.

Mrs. Truman—Who was the other person that prayed before Mr. Sumday spoke?

Mr. Truman—Why… your husband.

Mrs. Truman—You? You?

Mr. Truman—Yes, I used to think I never could do it; but I found that when I became real deeply interested in souls, it was not so hard to pray in public after all. All I had to do was to start, and then my soul unburdened itself. I don’t expect it will always be so easy to pray; but I made up my mind that I will always do my duty, no matter how hard it may seem.

Mrs. Truman—God help you in your decision. That is one reason why you feel so happy, and why Brother Wright’s talk seemed so good to you.

Mr. Truman—Well, I hadn’t thought of it in just that way; but since I come to think of it, it must be true. So that is the secret of always being able to enjoy a meeting—I’ve learned that much since coming home.

Mrs. Truman—Is the evangelist coming next Sunday?

Mr. Truman—Yes; so Mr. Wright announced. And that series of meetings is surely going to be a success. The way this neighborhood is stirred up, even to Mr. Cicure, and the way the Lord is working through His people, as in the prayer meeting tonight, convinces me that there is no question about its success. Mr. Wright urged us all to pray earnestly for the revival and to invite all our neighbors.

Mrs. Truman—It will not be difficult to get our neighbors to go. Brother and Sister Wright have always made everyone feel welcome; you simply enjoy being near them.

Mr. Truman—Yes, I believe there is a drawing-power about all devoted Christians. Somehow one feels a satisfaction in associating with them that he can’t feel among worldly people, especially if his soul is yearning for salvation. And the closer we live to God, the more we feel at home when we meet with the people of God.