Whatever was the meaning of such a declaration as that? A Day of Prayer because of some grasshoppers! You wouldn't expect Americans to be beaten by grasshoppers! But then, of course, it depends on how many grasshoppers there are. When there are so many that farms are ruined by them, the situation is serious.
In 1873 in Minnesota many farms were ruined by grasshoppers.
In 1874 there were a thousand times as many grasshoppers—and, as they passed on, they left in their wake a desolate trail of trees, gardens, and fields which had been stripped bare of everything edible.
In 1875 the grasshoppers laid waste thirty-two counties.
And in 1876 the state government of Minnesota had to feed and clothe six thousand people who had been ruined by the plague of grasshoppers.
So, you see, the grasshoppers were more than a match for the people. Of course, conferences were called, consultations were held, speeches were made, and armies of experts scratched their heads, but no one could discover how to get rid of the grasshoppers. Strangely enough, for a long time no one seemed to think of the most obvious way: they all forgot about those plagues in Egypt so long ago, and about the God who sent them and was able to take them away. So many of these people didn't believe in miracles.
Now look at the timetable.
April 26th. Day of Prayer.
April 27th. The next day was a very hot day, in fact so hot that young grasshoppers hatched out in millions. There were enough of the insects to destroy the crops of half-a-dozen states. To natural eyes there was not much sign of a miracle yet.
Then came a day or two more of warm weather. Was prayer of any use?
Then, when the grasshoppers were really flourishing, came a sharp frost which killed the lot!
And that was a miracle! If the frost had come earlier, the grasshoppers would have been unaffected. And, if it had been much later, it would not have hurt them. What the experts could not do in four years, God did within a week in answer to the people's prayers. An area as big as England was cleared of the plague in one master stroke.
Dear ones, He is able in one moment to save you, too, from the load of your sins. The sins which have ruined your life will condemn you to a lost eternity, unless you call upon the Savior who died to put your sins away.