prefented to God: Let us principally ask of God, Power and Affiftance to do our Duty, to glorify him, to do good Works, to live a good Life, to die in his Fear and Favour, and after Death to enjoy Life Eternal. These things God delights to give, and commands that we shou'd ask; wherefore we may with Confidence expect to be graciously anfwer'd. For these things are procur'd without any refervation of a fecret Condition: If we ask them, and do our Duty towards the obtaining of them, we are fure never to miss them. We may lawfully pray to God for the Gifts of the Spirit that minister to holy Ends, fuch as are the Gift of Prayer, good Understanding, Learning, Opportuni ties to publish them, and the like; with these only Reftraints, That we cannot be fo confident of the event of those Prayers as of the former; that we must be curious to fecure our Intentions in these Defires; that we may not ask them to ferve our own Ends, but only for God's Glory; and then we shall have them, or a Bleffing for defiring them. In order to fuch Purposes, our Intention in the first Defires cannot be amifs, becaufe they are able to fanctify other things, and therefore cannot be unhallow'd themselves. We must submit to God's Will, defiring him to choofe our Employment, and to provide for our Bodies as he shall fee expedient. Whatever we may lawfully defire of temporal things, we may lawfully ask of God in Prayer, and we may expect them as they are promis'd. Whatever is neceffary to our Life and Being, is promis'd to us, and therefore we may with Certainty expect Food and Raiment. We may be fure of Maintenance, but not of our Life; for that is promis'd, not this. Only concerning Food and Raiment we are not to make Accounts by the meafure of our Defires, but by the measure of our Needs. Whatever is convenient for us, pleasant and modeftly delightful, we may pray for it, provided we do it with Submiffion to God's Will, without impatient Defires, if it be not a Trifle and inconfiderable, but a Matter fo 1 grave, as to be fit to be treated on between God and He who would pray with Effect, muft live with Care and Piety: For tho' God gives to Sinners the common bleffings of Life and Chance, yet either they want the comfort of those Bleffings, or they become occafions of fadder Accidents to them, or ferve to upbraid them with their Ingratitude and Irreligion; and in all Cafes they are not the Effects of Prayer, or the Fruits of Premife, or Inftances of a Father's Love, for they cannot be expected with Confidence, or receiv'd without Danger, or us'd without a Curfe and Mischief in their Company. But as all Sin is an impediment to Prayer, fo fome are a fpecial Obstacle to Acceptance; fuch are Urcharitableness and Wrath, Hypocrify in the prefent Action, Pride and Luft, because these by defiling the Body or the Spirit, or by contradicting fome neceffary ingredient in Religion, such as are Mercy, Humility, Purity and Sincerity. do defile the Prayer, and make it a direct Sin in the circumftances or formality of the Action. All Prayer must be made with Faith and Hope. We muft certainly believe we shall receive the Grace which God has commanded us to ask; and we must hope for fuch things as he has permitted us to ask: Our Hope fhall then not be in vain, tho' we miss what is not abfolutely promis'd; because we fhall at least have an equal Bleffing in the Demand as in the Grant. Therefore former Conditions must first be fecur'd: Whatever we ask for muft be neceffary, or at leaft good, innocent, and profitable. Our Perfon must be render'd gracious in God's Sight, or else what he has promis'd to our natural Needs, he may, in many Degrees, deny to our perfonal Incapacity. After our good Intentions are fecur'd, we are fure of a Bleffing, but in what Inflance we are not yet affur'd. Our Our Prayers must be fervent, intenfe, earnest and importunate, when we pray for things of high Concernment and Neceffity. Continuing in Prayer, ftriving in Prayer, labouring fervently in Prayer, Night and Day praying exceedingly, praying always with all Prayer. And this is not at all to be abated in Matters fpiritual, and of Duty; for according as our Defires are, fo are our Prayers; and as our Prayers are, fo fhall be the Grace ; and as that is, fo fhall be the measures of Glory. But this admits of Degrees, according to the Perfection or Imperfection of our State of Life. It has no other Meafures, but ought to be as great as it can. The bigger the better; we must make no pofitive Restraints upon ourselves. In other things we are to use a Bridle; and as we must limit our Defires with Submiffion to God's Will, fo alfo we must limit the Importunity of our Prayers, by the Moderation and Term of our Defires. Our Defires must be lafting, and our Prayers frequent, affiduous, and continual; not asking for a Bleffing once and then leaving it, but daily renewing our Suits, and exercifing our Hope, Faith, Patience, Long-fuffering, Religion, Refignation, and Self-denial, in all the Degrees we shall be put to. This circumftance of Duty is taught us by our blessed Saviour himself; Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. But because we cannot always ask feveral things, and we have alfo frequent need of the fame things, and thofe fuch as concern our great Intereft, the Precept comes home to this very Circumftarice, and St. Paul calls it, Praying without ceafing himself in his own Cafe giving us a Precedent. For this caufe 1 befought the Lord thrice. And fo did our bleffed Redeemer, he went thrice to God on the fame Errand, with the fame Words, in a fhort Space, about half a Night, for his time to folicit his Suit was but fhort. The Philippians were remember'd by the Apostle, always in every Prayer of his. And thus we must always pray for the pardon of our Sins, for the Affiftance of God's Grace, for Charity, for Life-eternal, never giving over till we die: And thus alfo we pray for fupply of great temporal Needs in their feveral Proportions; in all Cafes being curious, we do not give over out of Weariness or Impatience. For God often defers to grant our Suit, because he loves to hear us beg it, and has a defign to give us more than we ask, even a fatisfaction of our Defires, and a bleffing for the very Importunity. The Words of our Prayers fhou'd be pertinent and grave; material, not ftudiously many, but according to our Need, fufficient to exprefs our Wants, and to fignalize our Importunity. God hears us not the fooner for our many Words, but much the fooner for our earnest Defire. A long Prayer and a fhort, differ not in their Capacities of being accepted, for both of them take their Value, according to the fervency of Spirit, and the charity of the Prayer. That Prayer which is fhort, by reafon of an impatient Spirit, or Dulnefs, or Slight of holy Things, or Indifferency of Defires, is very often criminal, always imperfect; and that Prayer which is long out of Oftentation, or Superftition, or a trifling Spirit, is as criminal and imperfect as the other in their feveral Inftances. This Rule relates to private Prayer; in publick our Devotion is to be meafur'd by the appointed Office, and we are to fupport our Spirit with fpiritual Acts, that our private Spirit may be a part of the publick Spirit, and accepted into the Society and Bleffings of the Communion of Saints. In all Forms of Prayer, mingle Petition with Thankf giving, that you may endear the prefent Prayer and the future Bleffing, by returning Praife and Thanks for what you have already receiv'd. This is St. Paul's Advice, Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by Prayer and Supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your Requests be 'made known unto God. Whatever we beg of God, let us alfo work for it, if the thing be matter of Duty, or a confequent to Industry. For For God loves to blefs Labour and to reward it: Therefore our blessed Saviour in his Sermons, joins Watchfulnefs with Prayer; for God's Graces are but Affistances, not new Creations of the whole Habit, in every Instant or Period of our Life. Read the Scriptures, and then pray to God for Understanding. Pray against Temptation, but you must also refift the Devil, and then he will flee from you. Ask of God competency of Living; but you must also work with your Hands the things that are honeft, that you may have to supply in time of Need. We can but do our Endeavour, and pray for a Blessing; the Success we must leave to God. We must be careful in all our Prayers to attend our present Work, having a prefent Mind, not wandring upon impertinent Things, not diftant from our Words, much less contrary to them. If our Thoughts do at any time wander, and divert upon other Objects, we muft bring them back again with prudent and fevere Arts, by all means striving to obtain a diligent, fober, and compos'd Spirit. The Pofture and Gesture of our Body in Prayer ought to be reverend, grave, and humble, both in publick and private, either ftanding or kneeling, in your ordinary or more folemn Prayers; but in your extraordinary, cafual, and ejaculatory Prayers, the Reverence and Devotion of your Soul, and the lifting up the Eyes and Hands to God, with any other Pofture not indecent, is ufual and commendable. For we may pray in Bed, on Horfeback, every where, and at all times, and in all Circumstances. Some Servants have not Opportunity to pray fo often as they wou'd, unless they fupply the appetites of Religion with fuch accidental Devotions. The Apostle St. Paul directs, That Prayers and Supplications, and giving of Thanks, be made for all Men, for Kings, and all that are in Authority; for this is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour. We who mult love our Neighbours as ourselves, must also pray them as for ourfelves, with this only Difference, that for we |