HUDSON TAYLOR The man who believed God by Marshall Broomhall

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THE MAN WHO BELIEVED GOD
sagacity and foresight. He had a keen sense of the perils
of emotionalism, and on one occasion said in public:
"We do so much want your prayers, beloved friends, that
the Lord will keep us from unwisdom, and from doing anything
that might be a cause for subsequent regret and difficulty.
If the Spirit of the Lord does indeed guide us, surely
He will make us prudent. David was prudent, because the
Spirit of the Lord guided him in his movements. So we do
ask your prayers that in all that is done in connection with
the Mission a spirit of prudence may prevail."
The casual observer is naturally more impressed by
the sensational elements in the Mission's history--such,
for instance, as the going forth of one hundred new
workers in one year-but those who know the inner
history know something of the prayer, the deliberations,
the careful preparations which preceded and accompanied
such developments. The following extract from
an address given at the New York Ecumenical Missionary
Conference in Igoo-one of his last public
utterances-will give one a glimpse into the less public
~ide of his life:
"It is not lost time to wait upon God", he said. "May I
refer to a small gathering of about a dozen men in which I
was permitted to take part, some years ago, in November
1886? We, in the China Inland Mission, were feeling greatly
the need of Divine guidance in the matter of organization in
the field, and in the matter of reinforcements, and we came
together before our conference to spend eight days in united
waiting upon God-four alternate days being days of fasting
as well as prayer."
There is no need to prolong the quotation. It must
suffice to say that this Conference saw both the birth
and formation of the China Council of the Mission for
better organization on the field, and, at the same time,