CHAPTEE X.
 

l^ttstoOT t0 l-ragir.
 

It was to be expected that when earnest and re¬
peated prayers were so perseveringly offered for sjie-
ciflc objects, all this exercise of faith and zeal should
not prove vain. Many of the habitual attendants of
the Meetings were men given to devotion, abundant
in prayers. They prayed in faith. They believed
the promises. They expected their fulfilment. They
took the fact that God had put it into the hearts of so
many of his people to come together day after day to
unite in supplication for their common wants, as evi¬
dence that there were blessings in store for the be¬
lieving. This produced an unusual fervour and di¬
rectness in the devotional exercises. Men pleaded,
importuned, wrestled, and, as we shall see, prevailed.
This prevalence reacted on the minds and hearts of
the petitioners and gave new energy to their su.bse-
quent supplications. He who heard them once might
well be expected to hear them again.    He who was

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