Advice to an Only Child, Chapter 25
CHAP. XXV. Of Prayer.
1. DO not ruſh on Prayer preſently, without ſome ſerious conſideration before. Read therefore ſome portion of Scripture before you pray. This will afford you matter of meditation, which will furniſh you with matter for Prayer; for ſo you may turn what you have read into Prayer. A good Heart is by one Duty quickned, and prepared for another, as the Wild Bores, by whetting their Tusks with their other Teeth, make them ſharp, and ſo every Tooth mutually ſets an edge on another. If therefore you be to read, Pray before by ſome ſhort Addreſs to God, if to Pray, read before; Yea, Pray alſo before Prayer, that God would Aſſiſt you in Prayer, and deliver you from the Evil Infirmities of your Prayer. Holy David Prays for his own Prayers, Pſal 141.1, 2.
2. Look not upon Prayer as a task, but as a priviledge: O! what a great and glorious priviledge is it, that the pooreſt Saint may with boldneſs have acceſs to God! Eph. 3.18 Rom. 5.1, 2. Is it not a Royal Priviledge to have a Key in our keeping, that opens Heaven Gates, and lets into the Preſence Chamber of the King of Glory? To ſpeak with him at any time? If you would thus look upon it, I ſhould not need to perſwade you to go to Prayer conſtantly, Morning and Evening This would be in ſtead of a hundred Arguments, that Prayer is ſo High and ſo Royal a Priviledge, that you may thereby go boldly to the Throne of Grace, draw near to God himſelf, and lay your Petition in his Boſom, and plead your Cauſe before him, and fill your Mouth with Arguments, and Reaſon out your great Concernments with him, and receive his Anſwers.
3. Pray Earneſtly. Lazy Devotion and Key-cold Prayers will never prevail. You muſt wreſtle with God in Prayer, like Holy Jacob, that you may prevail. In wreſtling one ſingle Perſon ſtrives with another, ſo the Devout Soul with God; they go to it ſingly, as it were Hand to Hand, and have as it were a ſingle Combat in private. The Devout Saint loves to wreſtle with God in the Cloſet, when no Body is preſent, the Door being ſhut, he loves not to have Spectators of it, he then comes up cloſe to God, and gets within him, takes hold of his Everlaſting Arms. Thus the Woman of Canaan Wreſtled with Chriſt, ſhe ſtands to it, though ſhe had many Repulſes from him. The Soul thus Wreſtles with God, as a Child with the Father, who is much delighted and pleaſed, to let it get the better on him, to encourage it, and after takes it up from its Knees into his Arms, when you go to Prayer, you muſt ſet all your faculties on work, you muſt open and ſpread the Sails, open and ſpread forth your Affections, as wide as you can, that they may gather wind enough, to waft you over to the Land of Promiſe.
4. See that your Prayers be followed with Diligent and Serious Endeavours, for effecting of that which you have Prayed for, otherwiſe they will be Fruitleſs. If you pray for Knowledge, and never take pains by Reading and Study to get it, or for the Mortification of Sin, and never Labour to Subdue and Kill it, or for Reformation of your Life, and never ſet about the Reforming of it, your Prayers will be to little purpoſe. It's as if a Man ſhould pray to be Cured of a Diſeaſe, and yet never uſe Phyſick, nor Dyet or Exerciſe to Cure it: Or like ſuch, as the Greek Heathen Orator ſpeaks of, who ſeeing great Hailſtones falling down on their Heads, Prayed to be ſecured from them, but would not ſtir a foot. Gods uſual way is, to give in Bleſſings to us concurring with him in the uſe of means, and he will not vary from his Ordinary Method, unleſs upon moſt ſpecial Occaſions.
5. Look after your Prayers, to ſee what becomes of them, and what returns, what Anſwer you have of them. Thus did David, Pſ. 5.3. and 58.8. Habackuck having Prayed, ſtands upon his watch, ſets himſelf on his Tower, to ſee what God would ſay to him. There are many times ſuch Diſpenſations of God towards us, which we might ſee, did Ecchoe to our Prayers, if we did well obſerve them. Do not then ſhoot out your Prayers, as Children do their Arrows, who ſhoot them away, and never look after them more: But rather as Archers that ſhoot them up into the Air, and ſtand ſtill waiting for their coming down again.
6. In all your Prayers, let Prayers be mixt, and have a good ſhare, and due proportion in them. Do not ſhuffle up Praeiſs into a Corner of your Prayers, do not croud nor huddle them up into a ſcant and narrow Compaſs, as moſt do, or thruſt them into the very End and Concluſion of your Prayers: But let them bear a part throughout the whole Duty.