Locust plagues were well known to Minnesota farmers. Their crops had been destroyed by the voraciously hungry insects in the summer of 1876. Now in the spring of 1877 they waited and watched to see whether such pestilence would strike yet again. If it did the farming future of thousands of families would be wiped out --- permanently.
Acutely aware of the impending disaster Governor J.S. Pillsbury proclaimed that April 26 would be a day of prayer and fasting to plead with God to save them from calamity. The Governor urged that every single person should unite and participate toward this end. Across the state people responded to their Governor’s call. In gatherings large and small Minnesotans assembled to fast and pray.
The very next day as the sun soared in a cloudless sky, with temperature also rising, the people noticed to their dismay that the dreaded insects started to sir in the warmed soil.
For three more days the uninterrupted unseasonable heat caused a vast army of locust to hatch. It was of such plague proportions as to threaten the entire North-West farm sector. Then as the sun departed at the end of that fourth day, with the locusts all hatched and ready to move, a sudden climatic change flicked a blanket of frost across the entire area where the locusts waited for dawn and take-off. Most were killed right where they crouched. Come summer, instead of scorched dirt, as far as the eye could see, the wheat crop waved in golden glory. In the history of Minnesota, April 26, 1877 is recorded as the day when God wonderfully responded to the prayers and fasting of His people.
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Matthew 6:5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get.
Matthew 6:7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.
Matthew 11:25 Then Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.
Matthew 21:13 He said, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!"
Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Matthew 23:5 "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes.
Mark 9:29 Jesus replied, "This kind can be cast out only by prayer. "
Mark 11:17 He taught them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a place of prayer for all nations,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves."
Mark 12:40 But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater."
Luke 1:13 But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John.
Luke 2:37 She was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 11:5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him,
Luke 18:1 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.
Luke 18:11 The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery,
Luke 19:46 He told them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves."
Luke 20:47 But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater."
Luke 22:32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers."
John 17:9 "My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.
John 17:21 My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.