An Army Prayer Meeting

A Sibley tent, warmed by an army cooking stove, lighted by three candles and furnished with a long mess table, was the "upper room." One real chair and several real boxes, chests, etc. furnished seats for twenty or more of the soldiers.

A stranger minister, fresh from home, had the meeting in charge. When a hymn was called for, some one began the service with no ado about agreeing on the tune and "pitching" it, by striking up the words --

Then the minister prayed, and before he could turn to his Scripture lesson for the morning, they started off with--

singing two stanzas. Then was read the account of the blind beggar Bartimeus, and how Jesus healed him, and how he followed the Master afterwards. A few words were spoken, showing how poor our estate is by nature, sitting by the wayside of life, and how blind we are to our own good and God's glory, till we call on Jesus. Then somebody began to sing --

and almost all joined, singing but one verse. This was followed by a prayer, short and fervent. Then came an exhortation from a weather'worn soldier of the cross and the government.

next filled the tent and died away on the hillside and among the pines in which the regiment has so charming a location.

Here one rose simply to testify, as he said, that he loved Jesus. He did not use five sentences; but it was all testimony. Then came a prayer for loved ones at home, the family, the church, the Sabbath school, and prayer meeting; and so still were all, that you would have supposed the praying man to have been alone in the tent. His voice trembled somewhat, and if we wiped away a tear or two when he said amen, we were not ashamed to be seen doing it, for some others did so. Our thoughts went home also; how could we help the tear?

And then, as if some of them in the chances of battle might miss the earthly home, a verse was sung, beginning --

Next came a practical talk about following Christ in the army. The good ideas were briefly, bluntly put, and full of the love of the Lord Jesus. Then a single stanza went swelling out among the pines again -

An exhortation was now addressed to any who had not enlisted under the Captain of our salvation, and it was pressed home by the sweet words and familiar air --

Now one kneels down on the clay floor and prays in the first person singular. It was a short, broken prayer, probably by the brother who, they said, had lately learned to pray, and in that tent. We have all heard such prayers, and none ever affect us so much. An exhortation followed, by a sailor on the difficulties of being a Christian in the army. He showed how they tried to do that at sea, and illustrated it by an incident.

Then came the hymn

The minister here remarked that if we would follow Christ successfully, we must keep in the ranks, and own to everybody at proper times that Christ is our Captain. Following Him by side marches and obscure paths exposes us to the lurking enemy.

Now the hour was almost gone, and so followed the doxology

and the benediction.

We thought it worth a trip to the Army of the Potomac to learn from the soldiers how to have a good prayer meeting. No one was called on to pray or speak and no hymn was given out; no one said he had nothing to say, and then talked long enough to prove it; not one excused his inability to "edify."