prayer, the Holy Spirit will do his office, and produce such pungent
conviction of sin that men will carry out, as on the day of Pentecost,
"Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

In the Life of Mr. Finney it is related that, during a revival at Rome,
New York, the air seemed surcharged with Divine power. A sheriff, who
had laughed about the meetings, came over from Utica. He felt this
strange influence when he crossed the old canal, a mile west of town.
When he sat in the hotel dining-room, he had to get up and go to the
window two or three times to divert his attention and keep from weeping.
After dinner he hurried away, but was afterwards converted.

See what spiritual triumphs and great revivals the early Church
witnessed; but the secret of it all was that "they continued steadfastly
in prayers." Why is it that to-day many have so little courage and so
little power to win others to Christ? They neglect prayer. "They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and
not faint." How little time we spend daily in prayer! Study the life of
Paul, and Savonarola, and Catherine of Siena, and Martin Luther, and
John Knox, and see how they all gave themselves continually to prayer,
and so prevailed. All they who have become illustrious as great
soul-winners have been, without exception, men and women mighty in
prayer. They came to understand that God's storehouses of wisdom,
prayer, and grace are inexhaustible, and with the key of prayer they
unlocked every door.

Prayer avails for the salvation of others when every other means seems
to fail. The disciples spent ten days in prayer. Then came Pentecost and
a revival that brought thousands into the kingdom. John Livingstone,