A Godly and Learned Treatise of Prayer, Chapter 27
CHAP. XXVII. Of the time of prayer.
NOw we are to enquire of the time of invocation, when we are to call upon God. The holy Ghost telleth 1. Thess. 5. 17, 18. that we must pray foreign, that is, continually, and foreign, in all things to give thanks: and not in that place alone, but also in divers others; as Luke 18. 1. that we must pray foreign, alwayes; and 21. 36. as also Ephes. 6. 18. foreign, in all seasons.
What then, will you say, must we do nothing elsObject. in the whole course of our life but pray?
I say not so. This was the phan…asticall opinionAnsw. of the fanaticall hereticks the Euchetae, which thought they might do nothing else but pray, and grounded their heresies upon these places of Scripture. But for the answering of them and informingThe Euchetae confuted. our selves in the truth, first we are to search out the true meaning of those places of Scripture: First, therefore where it is said 1. Thess. 5. 17. that1. Thess. 5. 17. expounded. we must pray continually, it may be fitly expounded by that in the 18. verse, foreign, in all things; for the sense would be the same if we should say, foreign, in all things pray, and continually give thanks, that is, upon every just occasion pray and give thanks. Now that these cannot be understood of perpetuall continuance in prayer, excluding all other actions and duties, it is plain by this; Paul in divers places of his epistles doth professe of himself that he did pray and give thanks alwayes, continually, without ceasing; Rom. 1. 9. Col. 1. 3. 1. Cor. 1. 4. Ephes. 1. 16. Col. 1. 9. 1. Thess. 1. 2. 2. Thess. 1. 3. and yet notwithstanding he neither denied to obey the necessities of nature, neither omitted the duties either of his calling or of a godly life: Nay, he laboured in his calling more then all the rest of the Apostles. The like may be said of Cornelius, of whom the Scripture doth testifie Acts 10. that he prayed alwayes, which is all one with in all things; and yet by his calling a Centurion, and therefore sometimes in fight: and for the duties of a godly life, it is said that he was a just man, v. 22. and therefore exercised the duties of the second table, and gave alms.
Secondly, as touching the place in Luke 18. 1.Luke 18. 1. expounded. where it is said that Christ spake a parable to this end that we ought alwayes to pray, the holy Ghost expoundeth his meaning in the next words by removing the contrary, that we should pray alwayes and not faint: So that to pray alwayes in this place, is not to faint in prayer: Which in other places is foreign, to per severe in prayer: as Rom. 12. 12. that is, with some pertinacie (if I may use this word in the good sense) to persevere in prayer. And that this is the meaning of the words it appeareth by the scope of the parable it self, which is nothing else but this, That when we have prayed unto God and he seemeth not to heare us, we must not faint and give over, but stedfastly persevere untill we have an answer.
Thirdly, for the other places: Luke 21. 36. andLuke 21. 36. and Ephes. 6. 18. cleared Ephes. 6. 18. it is not said, foreign, in every time, but, foreign, in every season; that is, upon every just occasion, whensoever opportunity is offered. To confirm this exposition this reason may be used; The Lord in his word inioyneth us a great fort of duties besides Invocation; which if we do omit, for the omission of them, although we should do no hurt, we shall be condemned: Matth. 25. 42. the sentence of condemnation is pronounced against the wicked for the omission of certain duties, which necessarily must be omitted if we should do nothing else but pray. Again, it is a received distinction, That the negative commandments of God do bind both semper & adsemper to the absteining frō those things which are forbidden; but the affirmative commandments, howsoever they do bind us semper, yet for the most part they do not bind us adsemper. And therefore although we be alwayes bound to the performance of this duty, and never exempted from it, yet we are not bound to do it alwayes. So that these commandments of continuing in prayer are to be understood of the whole life and not of every moment of time.
Now that we are alwayes bound to this duty appearethThat we are alwayes bound to the duty of prayer. both by our continuall necessitie to pray, in regard first of our necessities and wants both spirituall and temporall; secondly, of the continuall rage of our spirituall enemies, who are never at truce with us except we be at league with them; thirdly, of innumerable dangers which are alwayes imminent, from which by Gods continuall mercy and goodnesse towards us we are delivered, for which we must return thanks unto him. For if there were no other cause of thanksgiving (as there are many) but onelyonly this, that he hath …pared us, and not confounded us for our sinnes, this were matter sufficient: Lam. 3. 22. It is the mercy of the Lord that we are not confounded.
Now that we may perform these commandments of continuance in prayer, it is requifite that we call upon God both ordinarily at set times, and extraordinarily as occasion and opportunity is offered. And therefore in respect of time prayer is thus distinguished; Pr…es sunt statae vel vagae: which distinctionOf stinted prayers at set times, & unstinted upon occasions offered. belongeth both to publick and priv…te prayer.
For publick prayer; What set houres in the daytime are to be appointed for Divine service, it is to be left to the discretion of every Church. OnelyOnly in the night-time it seemeth inconvenient in the flourishing and quiet estate of the Church, that publick assemblies should be held: but in time of persecution it is otherwise. For vag…: They are so often to be used publickly as occasion is offered either by any publick danger and calamity to pray, or by some publick blessing of God to give thanks.
But concerning private prayer, there is no timeNo time exempted from private prayer. of day naturall which may not be imployed thereunto. It hath been the practice of the godly to call upon God both night and day. So did David, Psal. 22. 2. Annah, Luke 2. 37. and not onelyonly she, but all right widows, of whom Paul speaketh 1. Tim. 5. 5. So did Paul himself, 2. Tim. 1. 3. 1. Thess. 3. 10. But more specially for the day; David saith that he would call upon God seven times a day; that is, many times, Psal. 119. 164. In another place he saith that he would pray in the morning, in the evening, and at noon. And again, for the morning; Psal. 5. 3. and in another place, that he would prevent the morning watch. For the noon, Acts 10. 9. For the night our Saviour gave us a precedent Luke 6. 12. where it is said that he spent the whole night in prayer unto God. And to omit other speciall times; There is none so unseasonable as midnight; yet often in this time have the godly given themselves unto prayer: Psal. 119. 62. At midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee. And so did Paul and Silas, Acts 16. 25. So that we see no time excluded from private prayer.
But to apply the former distinction to private prayer also: and first for statae: That our infirmity may be helped, and our backwardnesse in this duty relieved, we are to appoint to our selves some certain houres in the day which we will not let passe without invocation on the name of God: but yet so as we place no religion in one time more then in another, as the Papists do in their canonicall houres, as though God were more ready to heare one time of the day then another. This practice which I have named the most holy men of God have used: As David, Psal. 55. 17. In the morning, at noon, and in the evening will I pray: And Daniel, chap. 6. 10. used to pray three times in the day. Which practice of theirs we are thus to imitate: 1. to pray in the morning, before we go about the works of our calling; 2. in the mid-day, in the time of intermission of our works; and thirdly, at evening, before we take our rest: and besides, whensoever we take meat we are to use both prayer and thanksgiving, 1. Tim. 4. 4, 5.
2. Concerning vagae: We are to follow the advice of the Apostle Col. 3. 17. In every thing which we do, in word or deed, both to take it in hand by calling upon the name of the Lord, and to end it with thanksgiving. Not that we are alwayes to use the voice and gesture of the body; for sometime it is sufficient to lift up the soul unto the Lord: Which kind of short prayers among the ancient Fathers were called ejaculations. And thus if we shall use statae & vagae orationes, stinted and unstinted prayers, omitting no just occasions, we shall perform the commandment 1. Thess. 5. 17. but otherwise we shall break the same, and in so doing we shall incurre the wrath of God.