Prayer moves the hand of Almighty God.

William Booth

ONE OF THE MOST effective weapons in General
Booth's arsenal was fervent prayer. It was not unusual
for Booth to hold "an all night of prayer" when
he came to preach the Word of God. People would
flood the altars every where he went. "The power of
God was wonderfully manifest in the meetings . . .
people were frequently, struck down, overwhelmed
with a sense of the presence and power of God."

The Salvation Army's success at freeing the captives
was uncanny, especially when one considers those
who it strived to reach. General Booth's battle cry
was "Go for souls and go for the worst." The worst
of sinners were saved, saloons were closed and
entire cities were shaken. Booth's success attracted
not only supporters but also enemies. Those who
served in the Army were pelted with hot coals,
sprayed with tar and burning sulphur, beat, stoned
and even kicked to death in the streets. The Salvation
Army resisted their enemies with a cheerful
"God bless you", and a prayer. General Booth, himself
was often in the thick of it. When spit on during
the Midlands tour, Booth encouraged his fellow
soldiers, "Don't rub it off - it's a medal!"

At another time, two Salvation Army officers set out
to found a new work, only to meet with failure and
opposition. Frustrated and tired they appealed to
the General to close the rescue mission. General
Booth sent back a telegram with two words on it,
"TRY TEARS." They followed his advice and they
witnessed a mighty revival.

During the course of William Booths ministry he
traveled 5,000,000 miles and preached 60,000 sermons.
God help us in this desperate and distracted
day in which we live to heed the General's advice.
"Work as if everything depended upon your work,
and pray as if everything depended upon your
prayer."


- Aaron -