#306 - The Infidel Prayed

The Infidel Prayed

  I remember, says the bishop of Saskatchewan, many years ago listening with great delight to a story I heard from a missionary in North Canada. He said that some years before then a humble missionary was travelling through the Canadian backwoods. He lost his way, but presently was rejoiced at the sight of a glimmering light. Soon reaching it, to his surprise he found a large congregation of settlers gathered around a fire listening to an able discourse. To the horror of the missionary he found the man was trying to prove that there was no God, no heaven, no hell, no eternity. A murmur of applause went through the audience as the orator ceased.
  The missionary stood up and said: “My friends, I am not going to make a long speech to you, for I am tired and weary, but I will tell you a little story. A few weeks ago I was walking on the banks of the river not far from here. I heard a cry of distress, and to my horror I saw a canoe drifting down the stream and nearing the rapids. There was a single man in the boat.
  “In a short time he would near the waterfall and be gone. He saw his danger and I heard him scream, 'O God, if I must lose my life, have mercy on my soul!' I plunged into the water and reached the canoe. I dragged it to land and saved him. The man whom I heard when he thought no one was near, praying to God to have mercy on his soul, is the man who has just addressed you, and has told you he believes there is neither God, nor heaven, nor hell.”--Selected.

Illustrative Anecdotes for Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry M. Tyndall. 1925. #306 (Page 166).