THE CHINESE.

Rev. W. C. Pond, Superintendent.

MISSION WORK—GOOD RESULTS.

Sacramento Mission.—Mrs. Rilla Carrington, who for the last three years has most faithfully and successfully conducted the Sacramento Mission, is required by the state of her health to take a vacation. It will be only a vacation, and I hope and expect that two or three months of recuperation will bring her back fresh and strong, and good for another three years of steady and faithful service. During her absence, her sister will take her place, and will fill it well. In communicating her desire for this respite, she indulges in some reminiscences which, I am sure, will interest our readers. “During the past three years and a quarter, more than 450 have, for a longer or shorter period, been members of our Sacramento school. I would that all who come with us in the school could remain until they are converted and ready to work for the salvation of their people. We know of the good service of many who have gone out from us to visit their homes. For instance, Fong Get Roy, who wrote you something of his work while in China: he has not ceased to labor for Christ since his return; Fong Gee, whose father, now dead, was a heathen priest, was always zealous while here with us; sometimes speaking to his country-men for an hour or more at a time, showing them, in the most ridiculous light, the folly of idol and ancestral worship, and holding up Christ as the only hope of salvation. His health gave out, and he was compelled to return to China—being helped by the brethren of San Francisco and Sacramento to do so. There he is working at his trade for a mere pittance, and giving what time he can for the conversion of his country-men. Wong Loung visited his home a year ago, and was married, in accordance with Chinese customs, to one to whom he had been betrothed in childhood by his parents. Because he had renounced the religion of his fathers, he suffered much indignity from members of his family—the persecutions becoming so great he was obliged to leave home. But the result was that he returned to America more determined than ever to hold fast to Christ. Louis Sing, too, was under great pressure while in China to take part in worship with his relations, but could not, he said, because he knew the uselessness of such worship. We hear of Gwan Lee, our organist, as standing firm amidst the powers of darkness—holding fast to the living faith. He is one of those whom the present law prohibits from returning to this country. We all feel as though we could not give him up, and that some way must be found by which he may come back.

“We are not only made glad by work done far away, but workers are here with us—true hearts that love to do something for Jesus every day. Several have joined the Association this year; among them, Fong Bow, who is one of the class for whom I requested your prayers several months ago. He seemed to have much to hold him back; outside influence made it hard for him to decide. He has been a member of the school so long that we feel more than usually happy in his coming. May we not hope and still pray, in faith, for the other members of the class? This mission work is ever a source of comfort and pleasure to me, and I know I cannot remain away from it if blessed with health.”

LOU QUONG, ON HEATHEN PRAYERS AND REAL PRAYER.

Each Wednesday afternoon I meet the Chinese helpers in the schools of this city for a drill in Bible study, and to receive and remark upon the sketches of sermons, which they have prepared during the week. Here is one which Lou Quong brought in yesterday. James 5:16.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

My subject is all on prayer to-day, and it is very needful to all Christians, especially to those who really mean to be the followers of the Lord Jesus, and to be workers in the Master’s field. I will mention a few things of the heathen prayers, which were occasionally offered to the heathen gods in China as well as in this city. So far as I can judge there is no true prayer which was ever offered to their gods, and I, having been born in a heathen nation, therefore know them well. Each certain prayer belongs to a certain god. You cannot take one god’s prayer to pray to others; if you do, you will get no blessing, because you got the wrong prayer, their prayers not having to come from the heart, but being learned only from the history of a certain god, so they mostly repeat the words as near as they can remember. There is not a single prayer that really comes from the heart. They come only from the lips; and besides this, when they pray, they do not, like our Christian people, pray for bad and good, and even for our enemies, and for all nations; their prayers are only for a certain thing, a certain matter, for riches, for honors, and for glory, and to have more sons born than girls; for their father and mother, brothers and sisters, that they might have a long life. If they have any one which they do not like, they would pray their God to destroy his whole family. By this we know that such a prayer our true God will not hear, but rather punish them. I have a great deal more to say about the heathen prayer, but I have no time for it just now. So I must go on to the true prayer, which our Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples to say. Yet even such a true and short prayer as that, which we have repeated every evening in our schools, many of us would forget before we go to bed at night. This won’t do, my Christian brethren. We must give all our hearts to God before we shut our eyes. We cannot pray to God for a certain thing that must be done while our hearts are on something else, or are doubting whether God could hear us or not. Suppose to-morrow you intend to go out and look for a place, so you would pray to God to help you and to give you one, and you believe he will do it, and then when to-morrow comes you would lie in bed until afternoon. Then you got up, thinking that was too late, and would not go. This, indeed, would make you think that God did not hear your prayer last night. This is the whole trouble that sometimes God don’t answer our prayer; but I am very sure that God has heard all my prayers and has answered all which are for good. When we have a certain matter that we cannot manage at all, and when we would bring it to God, we must first make our hearts ready to pray and then without doubting draw out the true thoughts of our hearts and feel that God is above us and Jesus is on one side. Then comes the Holy Spirit into our hearts to teach us how to pray. After we got up from prayer I am sure we can feel that we were heard, and if we are not answered on a certain hour we must wait and pray without ceasing until it comes, for God not, like man, would fail you sometime. This is the kind of prayer that God does hear. So James says, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much;” that is, God does always hear and answer the true prayer.