Moody in a Billiard Hall.—A Remarkable Story. – Dwight Lyman Moody

In a meeting recently a man got up. I didn’t know him at first. When I was here he was a rumseller, and broke up his business and went to the mountains. This is how it happened. When I was here before, he opened a saloon and a grand billiard hall. It was one of the most magnificent billiard halls in Chicago, all elegantly gilded and frescoed. For the opening he sent me an invitation to be present, which I accepted, and went around before he opened it. I saw the partners and asked them if they would allow me to bring a friend. They said certainly, but asked me who it was. Well, I said it wasn’t necessary to tell who it was, but said I, “I never go without him.” They began to mistrust me. “Who is it?” they again inquired. “Well, I’ll come with him and if I see anything wrong I’ll ask him to forgive you.” “Come,” said they, “we don’t want any praying.” “You’ve given me an invitation, and I am going to come.” “But if you do come you needn’t pray.'” “Well,” said I, I’ll tell you what we’ll do, we’ll compromise the matter, and if you don’t want me to come and pray for you when you open, let me pray for both of you now,” which they agreed to. It turned out that one of them had a praying mother, and the prayer touched his heart, and the other had a sister in heaven. I asked God to bless their souls, and just to break their business to pieces. In a few months their business did go all to pieces. The man who got up in the prayer meeting told me a story that touched my soul. He said with his business he hadn’t prospered—he failed, and went away to the Rocky Mountains. Life became a burden to him and he made up his mind that he would go to some part of the mountains and put an end to his days. He took a sharp knife with him which he proposed driving into his heart. He sought a part of the mountains to kill himself. He had the knife ready to plunge into his heart, when he heard a voice—it was the voice of his mother. He remembered her words when she was dying, even though he was a boy. He heard her say, “Johnny, if you get into trouble, pray.” That knife dropped from his hand, and he asked God to be merciful to him. He was accepted, and he came back to Chicago and lifted up his voice for Him. He may be in this Tabernacle to-night. Just the moment he cried for mercy he got it. If you only cry, “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” He will hear you.