A backslidden member of Dr. Philips Brooks' parish called at the study to request that his name be dropped from the roll. Dr. Brooks reminded him that the step he proposed was a serious one and appealed to him to reconsider. However, the man was insistent.
Just then a poorly dressed boy entered the study with a note scribbled in pencil on crumpled paper. After Dr. Brooks read it, he challenged his visitor: "My friend, this note is from a poor, sick woman who is requesting that I visit her. I must go to preach a funeral message in a few minutes. Would you be good enough to go along with this lad to his home and supply whatever his mother needs?"
"Certainly, Dr. Brooks, I shall gladly do that for you and for her," was the answer.
He followed the lad down the wide street into narrower streets and finally, into an alley. The boy stopped at a shanty whose half-open door, held by one hinge, led into an unlighted room. When the stranger stepped in, the half-blinded woman welcomed him, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I knew you would come! You are God's man. You always come to the call of trouble. I am sick and hungry, but first I want you to pray for me. Please pray."
The backslider had not prayed in years. Should he tell her that he was not Dr. Brooks? While he was hesitating, she pleaded, "Oh, pray for me." His heart would not let him refuse the request. He dropped on his knees. Following his first sentence which was a petition for himself in his own backslidden condition, he prayed for her and closed the prayer. Then he explained, "My dear woman you have discovered by this time I am not Dr. Brooks. He is conducting a funeral and he sent me to help you. Oh, how you have helped me! What do you need?"
She told him anything would be appreciated. There was no food, fuel, or medicine. Accompanied by the son, they went to a store, filled a basket with fruit and goodies which the lad carried home. He then ordered and charged to himself, groceries, medicine, and coal to be delivered.
Hurrying back to the pastor's study, the man, no longer a backslider, found Dr. Brooks in his study. Renewed in spirit, the man extended his hand and said softy, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I do not want to be dropped from the roll: I am all right now sir, I am all right."
If you are having a difficult time in some area of your life and aren't really feeling the Holy Spirit's touch for some reason, one of the best ways to rectify that is to reach out and touch the life of someone in your community. You will be surprised of just how quickly that feeling will change when you start doing what our Lord has commanded us to do.
Just then a poorly dressed boy entered the study with a note scribbled in pencil on crumpled paper. After Dr. Brooks read it, he challenged his visitor: "My friend, this note is from a poor, sick woman who is requesting that I visit her. I must go to preach a funeral message in a few minutes. Would you be good enough to go along with this lad to his home and supply whatever his mother needs?"
"Certainly, Dr. Brooks, I shall gladly do that for you and for her," was the answer.
He followed the lad down the wide street into narrower streets and finally, into an alley. The boy stopped at a shanty whose half-open door, held by one hinge, led into an unlighted room. When the stranger stepped in, the half-blinded woman welcomed him, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I knew you would come! You are God's man. You always come to the call of trouble. I am sick and hungry, but first I want you to pray for me. Please pray."
The backslider had not prayed in years. Should he tell her that he was not Dr. Brooks? While he was hesitating, she pleaded, "Oh, pray for me." His heart would not let him refuse the request. He dropped on his knees. Following his first sentence which was a petition for himself in his own backslidden condition, he prayed for her and closed the prayer. Then he explained, "My dear woman you have discovered by this time I am not Dr. Brooks. He is conducting a funeral and he sent me to help you. Oh, how you have helped me! What do you need?"
She told him anything would be appreciated. There was no food, fuel, or medicine. Accompanied by the son, they went to a store, filled a basket with fruit and goodies which the lad carried home. He then ordered and charged to himself, groceries, medicine, and coal to be delivered.
Hurrying back to the pastor's study, the man, no longer a backslider, found Dr. Brooks in his study. Renewed in spirit, the man extended his hand and said softy, "Oh, Dr. Brooks, I do not want to be dropped from the roll: I am all right now sir, I am all right."
If you are having a difficult time in some area of your life and aren't really feeling the Holy Spirit's touch for some reason, one of the best ways to rectify that is to reach out and touch the life of someone in your community. You will be surprised of just how quickly that feeling will change when you start doing what our Lord has commanded us to do.
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