Prisons and Prayer Part 56

New York, November 10, 1885.

Dear Sister Wheaton: Many thanks for your kind visit today and for the memorandum book and envelopes you brought me.

I herewith reiterate every word and the combined meaning contained in my letter to you of last Sabbath. You were a G.o.dsend to me from heaven. Formerly it was a hard task for me to stop to think as I do now. Now I can pray so easy, and it seems to do me so much good. Such a blessing I have never experienced heretofore. With pleasure I give this evidence of the goodness of our beloved and only Jesus. Him I shall wors.h.i.+p daily, aye, at all times and in all places. I think of nothing more grand and n.o.ble than to believe in our Redeemer who offers His salvation for our souls. He is my G.o.d and no other will I have but Him. I love Him truly. In my prayers I have vowed to devote the rest of my life for His good cause. I sincerely hope that many, through you, may come out of darkness into light. G.o.d grant you good health to do His good work here. I will pray for you and ask you to do likewise for me, and others.

I pray to G.o.d daily that He may give me renewed strength to keep on in the good path which I have chosen, and may His spirit and love be alike with you and me, is the wish of Your brother in Christ Jesus.

J. M. S., Cell 35, Tombs, New York City.

Charleston, January 4, 1886.

My Dear and Much Esteemed Friend: As I sit here in the prison tonight I ponder upon the kind and good advice you gave me, and my heart of hearts goes out to you in grat.i.tude.

My past life has been a blank, in fact, an utter failure. But since I saw you I have come to G.o.d in all simplicity and have asked Him to give me a new spirit and pardon my past sins; and since I have offered up this pet.i.tion my heart seems lighter. How often have I cried out in my despair, O I am weary of the conflicts and strife of this life! weary with the constant struggle for a higher and better life! And when I see the lives of yourself and others--so Christlike, and hear you say mid darkest shadows: "Not my will, but thine be done," then I think of the rebellion in my heart and so oft find when I feel the path I am treading leaves the suns.h.i.+ne all behind.

As the way looks dark before me and the end I cannot see, Oft I long to drop the burdens and from sorrow be set free, But I know such thoughts are sinful; G.o.d knows best the way That will lead from earth's dark shadows to the brighter realms of day.

Words cannot express the comfort I have received since I saw you.

I have prayed to G.o.d to help me every night and morning since and as I sit and ponder upon the past and think of the wasted hours that have drifted by, it puts me in mind of a song I learned when I was a child. I will only write you a couple of verses to let you see how true they are.

"Oh, the wasted hours of life that have drifted by; Oh, the good we might have done, lost without a sigh; Love that we might have sowed by a single word, Thoughts conceived but never penned, perished all unheard.

Take the proverb to thy heart, take and hold it fast-- The mill will never grind with the water that is past.

"Oh, love thy G.o.d and fellow men, thyself consider last, For come it will when thou must count dark errors of the past, And when the fight of life is o'er, and life recedes from view, And heaven in all its glory s.h.i.+nes midst the pure and good and true, Then you will see more clearly the proverb deep and vast-- The mill will never grind with water that is past."

May G.o.d bless you for what you have done for me. You have saved me from that downward road to ruin. May G.o.d bless you and permit you to return to us once more.

W., Charleston State Prison.

n.o.besville, Neb., April 17, 1886.

Mrs. E. R. Wheaton,

Kind Lady: I will, according to promise, drop you a few lines. I am some better now than when you were here to see me. How glad I am that I met you last Sunday! I have felt better ever since, and I do believe that the good Father will answer your prayers. Don't fail to pray for me, that, if it is G.o.d's will, He will heal me, for G.o.d has got the same power that He had when He raised Christ from the tomb. And pray that He will give me the guidance of His loving Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth and at the last take me to Heaven.

There has not a day pa.s.sed since you were here that I have not thought of you and prayed for you. You did more good here than you know.

My candle is going out.

Direct to JOHN W. C., n.o.besville, Nebraska.

Charlestown, Ma.s.s., Jan. 10, 1886.

Mrs. E. R. Wheaton,

To My Dear Sister in Christ: "Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." I believe and trust in G.o.d. My faith and my belief grow stronger every day of my life. I pray to G.o.d to keep me from evil, and to make me worthy of His kingdom, that I may meet you there, for I am a better man for knowing you. G.o.d bless you, my dear sister! My heart is full of love for my G.o.d, and for my fellowman. I cannot find words to express my feelings or to tell you how happy I am, and how precious Christ is to my soul. It pa.s.ses my understanding. But I am satisfied, for I know that Christ has come into my heart to dwell. There are no doubts, no fears, everything is well with me.

I thank G.o.d for it, and I want to see every one around me enjoying this great gift which comes from G.o.d. O how it would have rejoiced your soul to have been with us the last evening of the old year. We had a prayer meeting. I am told that there were one hundred and forty men in the chapel. Our warden was the first to testify. Many acknowledged Christ to be precious to their souls. There are many here that are feeling uncomfortable. They will be at the feet of Jesus yet, crying for mercy. Pray for them.

Pray for us all. Only think of it, one hundred and forty prisoners on their knees and their warden kneeling with them! O it was a blessed sight! I never heard Chaplain Barnes pray as he did that night. His whole soul went out to G.o.d. How he did plead with G.o.d for the salvation of our souls. G.o.d bless the chaplain. G.o.d bless everyone on the face of the earth, and may every one see as I see, and enjoy what I am enjoying. In His paths there is peace, and that in keeping of His commandments there is great reward.

There is a young man here by the name of Charles B. He has formed good resolutions with beginning of the new year. I tell him that he cannot keep them without he gets divine help. I am praying for him. Please make mention of him in your prayers, and with the help of G.o.d we will have him at the feet of Jesus crying for mercy. We had a prayer meeting last week and I am informed that we are to have them often. How good it is of the warden! G.o.d bless him. He is always looking for some way to benefit us. I praise the Lord for it.

I leave the prison this year. I hope that I may meet you again on earth. If not permitted, I will live a life that shall make me worthy of the kingdom and meet you there. I thank you for the letter read this day to us by the chaplain.

Your brother in Christ Jesus, J. L. W.

Jeffersonville, Ind., May 22, 1887.

Mrs. E. R. Wheaton,

My Dear Kind Lady: In answer to your request I address this note to you trusting that this may be the commencement of life in a different sphere to that which I have heretofore moved in, so do not think that I am flattering if I tell you the truth. I have traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the British Possessions to the Gulf of Mexico. I have moved in all cla.s.ses of society and have been a close observer. I have made myself acquainted with all kinds of religious sects from the Jewish synagogues to Mormonism, Protestantism in all its various forms, Catholicism, as well as Spiritualism, and I found so much hypocrisy and inconsistency existing that I felt inclined to believe Christianity a fraud, but I could see plainly that there were in every church some few that I could feel were true Christians. I could feel a secret convincing power almost irresistible when in their society, but it always seemed strange to me why more true converts were not made in proportion to the great work done.

It seems to me that the handling of G.o.d's cause should only be entrusted to those that are G.o.dly--then the fruit will bear witness to the quality and health of the tree. G.o.d will prosper His own, but it is not natural that the Lord can or will prosper one who is half G.o.d's and half Satan's. That is why I have remained in the world. I am earnest in everything I do. It is my nature, I cannot help it. Therefore, if I ever become a Christian, bold and true and faithful, too, I'll be.

I must refer to that now which I spoke of in the first of this note. All the convicts in this prison have been moved by your G.o.dly advice and teaching as this prison has never been moved before, either by man or woman. You won the hearts of the hardest criminals and a noticeable change for the better has taken place.

We all pray G.o.d to bless and protect you wherever His wisdom may lead you, and even though this prayer comes from convicts, perhaps G.o.d will hear us. Some of us have been convicted by man, while G.o.d, being just, and our own consciences declare us innocent. Those of us who are innocent and can suffer with patience, what a virtue we possess. Such strength comes only of G.o.d.

I must close for want of room. Please answer if you have time. We hope to see you soon again.

Your humble servant, H. McL., Box 340.

Tracy City, Tenn., Dec. 3, 1887.

Mrs. Elizabeth Wheaton,

Dear Friend: Your visit to this place was a great blessing. A great many of the men often speak of you and say that by the help of G.o.d they are going to live better the rest of their days.

I will thank you for every paper or good book you may send to us.

The way that we do about papers and books is to place them among our fellow prisoners.

You have our prayers and best wishes and we hope you will come to our prison again, as your work will be remembered here for years to come. May G.o.d bless you all the way along.

There have been deaths here since you were here. Neither of those parties belonged to the church. Lots of the men spoke of the great warning you gave before you left, what you said about the last warning some of them would ever get, and sure enough it was true.

Yours in Christ, W. A. M.

Carson City, Nev., Sept. 23, 1888.