God had Moved Him
IllustrationStoryThere was an ex-judge in Chicago who thought that requests for prayer were too sacred to be made public, and he disliked my way of asking God’s aid for those in need. He had a son who was with Grant at the siege of Richmond. One morning he became particularly depressed in spirit as his thoughts went out to the boy. He could not shake off the feeling that something was going to happen to his son, and he went to the meeting, and, after much hesitation, asked me to pray for him. As he left the hall a telegram was handed to him. His son had been mortally wounded in battle that day. He said to me afterward that he firmly believed God put it into his head to come and ask for prayer.
The point
A skeptical judge who distrusted public prayer requests finally, uncharacteristically, asks for prayer for his soldier son one troubled morning - only to receive, minutes later, a telegram reporting the boy mortally wounded that very day, convincing the judge that God himself had prompted his unusual request.