To Ming Tse Hao On The Christian Rite Of Prayer

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 114, 16 May 1942, Page 6

To Ming Tse Hao On The Christian Rite Of Prayer

COR my unknown Chinese friend I have chosen a pseudonym. I am sure he will not mind. I have had two further letters from him and in this small space I feel I can hardly do justice to the questions he has raised. Particularly is he in doubt about the Christian rite of prayer, concerning which many volumes have been written—all unconvincing to the man who has not experienced its power.

By Rev. C. W. Chandler

"A great man Is he who has not lost the heart of a child," said Mencius, the eloquent follower of Confucius. Jesus said, "except ye become as little children, ye cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

All truth is one, whether uttered by Confucius, Jesus, Buddha, or the man who delivers our groceries Pride makes us all believe that this or that person or prophet whom we follow has the monopoly of it.

God alone is infallible, and He speaks through anyone who cares to tsten to Him. Prayer is the act of listening. It can be. and is, an attunement. to God (or the highest we can conceive), as the source of all life and power. It's the flower of the soul turned sunwards.

The Test of Prnypr

The final test of the actual efficacy of prayer, my dear friend, is experience. It does not consist so much in asking for this or that, as in thanking the Source of All Good for the powers of mind and body which he has given us, bv which we may appropriate the blessings which we need. It is either a force or a farce.

Jesus prayed, and so did Abraham, Solomon and David—and so have some of the most illustrious souls in all ages. It cannot be a farce. I believe there is a psychological as well as a spiritual explanation. As a pragmatist I would testify that it works like a bell-push, or an electric switch, at the touch of a child.

I do not need to be an electrician in order to turn on my light, neither do I need to be a theologian in order to pray. Newton felt the apple on his head before he named the law of gravitation (to borrow the apt illustration of Ming Tse in his third letter). No one ever fell upon his knees without rising a stronger man as the result of it.

„ Prayer is the very essence of religion. It is what makes Christianity a religion as opposed to Confucianism as a philosophy. They are both ways of life—and very Rood wavs at that, but whereas Confucius tells the inquirer the road to take, we believe that Jesus died and rose again in order to lead us in the way that leadeth to everlasting life.

Every statement I make I know is open to question on the part of my good Ming Tse but, as I would need to have a thorough knowledge of the teachings of Confucius before I could attempt to refute them, so my Chinese friend would need a thorough knowledge of the scriptures which Christians use before he could deny any of the truths which I assert.

Highest Form is Praise

Epictetus, the Grecian philosopher, said, "were I a nightingale I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan the part of a swan. But since I am a reasonable creature, it is my duty to praise God." The highest form of prayer is praise and aid one pray in no other way than that, one would be richly blessed. When, on a bright, sunny morning, the birds have been singing in your tall bamboos, and lotus flowers have cast their sleepy fragrance in the air and you have said "how good to be alive" and have thanked whatever gods there be for the health and strength to enjoy it —you have prayed.

The subject is immense. Your difficulties, Ming Tse, have been, and still are, mine to some extent, but whereas you seek to know before you try the experiment of prayer, I nave tried the experiment of prayer, and now, by experience, I know that God is rich toward all those who call upon him.

You mention the initial successes of Hitler and the fall of France, in spite of the apparent godlessness of tne one and the apparent prayerfulness of the other. It is too soon to judge, my friend.

Believers Are His Care

Time is always on the side of right. All the same, I don't think God is interested in the victory of this nation or that. Believers in all nations constitute His particular care, and the victory of righteousness in all the world must he the ultimate goal of all our striving.

In conclusion, let me say that I like your "Sino-New Zealand" idea. I would love to help in the formation of such a society. I believe with you, that the welfare of all nations bordering on the Pacific, in the postwar world, hinges very largely upon what we are prepared to do now, to broaden and deepen our understanding of one another.

Let us meet with an interpreter in order that these weighty matters may more freely be discussed. In the meantime, ponder with me the Psalmist's words, "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers."