Exercise of our Life; for it is to our Souls what Meat and Drink are to our Bodies, their Repast, their Support, their Nourishment. Prayer is the great univerfal Inftrument, by which we fetch down Bleffings from above, and get ourselves poffeffed of whatever we want. Prayer is our Defence and Prefervative against Sin, and against Temptation; it is the Security of our Virtue, and the especial Means to advance it.

Prayer is the Wing of our Souls, whereby we raise up ourselves above this lower World to the GOD above, and with whcm while we therein converse, we become more and more transformed into his Nature.

Lastly, Whatever Anticipations of Heaven there be here upon Earth, whatever Foretaftes we Chriftians have, in these Bodies, of the Happiness of Eternity, they are all brought about by the Means of Prayer.

Fit therefore and juft it is, that what is fo great a Duty, and fo great a Privilege, should be much in our Mouths, that it may be more in our Hearts, that we should be often called upon and stirr'd up to the Practice of it, and inftructed how fo to practise it, as to obtain effectually all the great and glorious Benefits, which it is defigned by GOD to derive upon us.

I do not think there is need of spending Time in giving an Account of the Terms of my Text; for they are all plain enough. As for the Phrafe here used, Let your Requests be

made

made known unto God; the Word is, in the Original, airhuala, that is, all those Things that you have need to afk of GOD, or to address yourselves to him about; it is the general Word to comprehend all Kind of Things to be pray'd for or against.

Well, but are not all thefe Things known to God already? How then should we make them known to him? I anfwer, Yes certainly; our Heavenly Father knoweth what Things we have need of before we ask him, as our Saviour hath told us: All therefore that is meant by that Expreffion is, that we are to utter these Things; we are to express them, or present them to GOD, by the way of Prayer and Supplication. Well, but what is the Senfe of these Terms, Prayer and Supplication, here used? Are they the fame, or do they mean different Things? I anfwer, In our Language we commonly put them for the fame thing. In the Greek they are often diftinguish'd, especially when they are join'd together: But then the Difference is no more than this, that the Word @peux, which we render Prayer, doth ufually fignify fuch a Kind of Prayer as is put up for the good Things we need; but the Word denoes, which we render Supplication, fignifies fuch a Prayer as is put up against the evil Things we fear. They both of them come under the Name and Notion of Prayer; but they have their different Objects: The one we properly call Petition,

the

the other Deprecation: But thus much for the Critique on the Text.

I now come to my Bufinefs: In every thing, faith the Apostle, by Prayer and Supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your Requests be made known unto God.

Thefe Words may be taken two Ways, either as commanding a Duty, or as propofing an Inftrument or Means for the obtaining what we defire or ftand in need of.

Prayer certainly falls under these two Confiderations: And we cannot have a true Notion of it, without taking in both of them; that is to say, without confidering it both as it relates to GOD, as due to him; and as it relates to us, as ufeful for the procuring of what we want. Under both these Notions therefore I fhall now difcourfe of Prayer: And accordingly thefe Three Things I propofe to do.

First, I fhall difcourfe of the Nature and Obligation of Prayer, confider'd as a Religious Duty we owe to Go D.

Secondly, I fhall difcourfe of the Efficacy and Successfulness of Prayer, confider'd as an Inftrument for the procuring Bleflings to ourfelves: And,

Thirdly, I fhall difcourfe of the Requifites or Conditions of Prayer, which we must take care to obferve, if we would have our Prayers either acceptable to GOD, or beneficial to ourselves.

The two Firft of thefe Heads, I fhall dispatch at this Time.

First,

First, I fhall begin with Prayer, confider'd as a religious Duty.

It may perhaps, at the firft Hearing, appear ftrange to fome, that Prayer fhould at all be accounted a Duty of Religion, that is to say, any Act of Piety towards GoD, to which Mankind fhould in Duty be obliged: For (fay they) all Acts of Religion, in the very Nature of them, ought to respect the Honour of GOD; whereas Prayer feems only to respect our own Benefit, and little, if at all, GOD's Honour: When a Beggar asketh an Alms at your Door, doth he thereby mean to do you any Worship or Refpect, or rather purely to ferve his own Needs? Certainly the latter. It is true, to give Thanks for Benefits received (which is one Part of Prayer, in the large Sense of the Word), is an Inftance of Respect and Honour done to GOD; but Prayer ftrictly fo called, that is, the putting up Requests to God for Mercies which we want, feems not to be fo, but only to refpect ourselves. Thus perhaps it may be faid; but those that reafon at this rate feem not to have fufficiently confidered this Matter. Though Prayer be put up for the obtaining Benefits for ourfelves, yet that doth not hinder but that it may be an Act of Religion properly fo called, and an Inftance of that Honour which we are bound to perform to God. And certainly we must think fo, if we will ever believe GOD's own Declarations in this VOL. IV. Matter,

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Matter, or reflect on the Nature of Prayer itself.

First, As for the Holy Scriptures, Prayer is always therein accounted an Act of God's Worship, and ftrictly enjoined as fuch to all Mankind. In the 15th Pfalm, 13 ver. where GOD is declaring to his People how he will be ferved; Thinkeft thou (fays he) that I will eat Bulls Flesh, or drink the Blood of Goats? Offer unto God Thanksgivings, and pay thy Vows unto the most High, and call upon me in the Day of Trouble. As therefore he that offereth unto God Thanksgivings is in the fame Pfalm faid to honour GOD (he that offereth me Thanks he honoureth me); fo he that calleth upon GOD honoureth him alfo. Nay, fo great a Part doth Prayer make of Religion, that the Whole of it is fometimes expreffed thereby, and to call upon GOD, to pray to GOD, and to feek GOD, is in the Scripture Language the fame thing as to walk religiously before GOD; nay, it is fometimes put to exprefs and fignify the whole Condition that is required of us in order to Salvation. Thus Romans xii. 17. The fame Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, for whofoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord fhall be faved. And on the other Side the Character by which wicked Men, fuch as have no Senfe of Piety and Religion, are defcribed in Scripture, is, That they do not practise this Duty of Prayer, they do not call upon GOD, as you may fee, Pfalm liii. 4.

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