f his thought, of the living creature he has
sent out to do his bidding. He acts as unconsciously as the child, and
like the child grasps what he wants. In both cases God is equally the
primal Agent, all power being from Him; in both cases the actual work is
done by the apparatus provided by His laws.

But this is not the only way in which prayers of this class are
answered. Some one temporarily out of the physical body and at work in
the invisible worlds, or a passing Angel, may hear the cry for help, and
may then put the thought of sending the required aid into the brain of
some charitable person. "The thought of so-and-so came into my head this
morning," such a person will say. "I daresay a cheque would be useful to
him." Very many prayers are answered in this way, the link between the
need and the supply being some invisible Intelligence. Herein is part of
the ministry of the lower Angels, and they will thus supply personal
necessities, as well as bring aid to charitable undertakings.

The failure of prayers of this class is due to another hidden cause.
Every man has contracted debts which have to be paid; his wrong
thoughts, wrong desires, and wrong actions have built up obstacles in
his way, and sometimes even hem him in as the walls of a prison-house. A
debt of wrong is discharged by a payment of suffering; a man must bear
the consequences of the wrongs he has wrought. A man condemned to die of
starvation by his own wrong-doing in the past, may hurl his prayers
against that destiny in vain. The desire-form he creates will seek but
will not find; it will be met and thrown back by the current of past
wrong. Here, as everywhere, we are living in a realm of law, and forces
may be modified or entirely frustrated by the play of other forces with
which they come into contact. Two exactly similar forces might be
applied to two exactly similar balls; in one case, no other force might
be applied to the ball, and it might strike the mark aimed at; in the
other, a second force might strike the ball and send it entirely out of
its course. And so with two similar prayers; one may go on its way
unopposed and effect its object; the other may be flung aside by the
far stronger force of a past wrong. One prayer is answered, the other
unanswered; but in both cases the result is by law.

Let us consider Class B. Prayers for help in moral and intellectual
difficulties have a double result; they act directly to attract help,
and the