should know the reasons which contribute to the strength or
weakness of a prayer. On such points we shall find the Apostle James
to be an authority; for he was the great intercessor of the early
Church, the man of whom they said that his knees were worn hard like
the knees of a camel. And being in addition the most practical of all
the teachers, we shall find in his writing (in spite of the fact that
Luther called it an "epistle of straw") something far more valuable
than a merely speculative theology. For instance, more than any one
else, he supplies us with conditions for the success of that great
experiment which we call prayer. Prayer of the powerful, operative
sort, has its conditions. We cannot disregard them. I have seen a man
in the Cavendish laboratory attempt to make a magnetic measurement in
the immediate vicinity of some large iron pipes, and neither of us
could tell the cause which made the apparatus behave so unreasonably.
And prayers are often hindered in a similar way by unobserved
disturbing causes. St. James supplies us with several hints:--

(i.) That a double-minded man need not expect to receive anything from
the Lord; a waverer, driven with the wind and tossed.

(ii.) That ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts.

(iii.) That it must be believing prayer, if it is to be effectual; let
him ask in faith; the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

(iv.) It is the prayer that springs from a rectified heart and life;
the prayer of a righteous man is of great force.

Hermas, too, a Christian father of the second century, whom we quoted
before, supplies us with some suggestions. One would almost think, for
some reasons, that he had been one of St. James's immediate disciples,
for he is fond of using that same word double-minded (more exactly
double-souled), speaks of visiting the orphans and widows, etc. Thus
we find in the ninth chapter of the book of Commands as follows (the
book being of a date immediately subsequent to the apostles): "He said
unto me, put away from thee all double-mindedness, and have no more
division of heart concerning petitions from God, saying in thyself, How
shall I be able to ask and receive anything from the Lord, having
sinned so greatly against Him? Reason not on this wise, but turn to
the Lord with all thy heart, and ask from Him without hesitation, and
thou shalt know His large-heartedness, that He will certainly neve