170 A GUIDE TO PRAYER. I Cor. xii. from ver. 4. to ver. 11. All secondary helps and means when well attended to, and well applied, are made suc- cessful by his powerful benediction. And we may say to those christians who have the greatest gifts in prayer, whomade thee to differ from another ? and what bast thou, that thou hast not received ? 1 Cor. iv. 7. For if we live not by bread alone, but by every word of power and blessing that proceeds from themouth of God ; Mat. iv. 4. much more may we say concerning the spi- ritual improvements of the mind, that they are not attained by our labour alone, but by the good Spirit of God making our labours prosperous. III. He inclines our hearts to pray, and keeps them intent upon thework. By nature there is in all men an estrangedness from God, and there is too much of it remaining in the best. There is a natural reluctance to the duties of immediate commu- nionwith God, and a weariness in them. It is only the Spirit' Of God that works a heavenly frame in us, that makes us ready to pray always, and excites us to take occasion from the several concerns of our souls, or from the alläirs of life, to go to the mercy -seat, and to abide there. It is he that kindly and secretly suggests, Now is the accepted time. The Spirit says to the soul secretly, Seek my face, and the soul replies, thy face, O God, will I seek; Psal. xxvii. 8. The Spirit saitls, come to God by prayer, as well as to Christ by faith; Rev. xxii. 19. It is he that enlarges the desires towards God, and gives silent intima- tions of audience and acceptance. By his goodmotions he over- comes our delay, and answers the carnal objections of our sinful and slothful hearts. Ile gives our spirits liberty for the work, aswell as in it, and recals our thoughts when wandering from God in worship, whether they be drawn away by our eyes, or our ears, or our busy fancies, or the suggestions of the evil one. It is the holy Spirit that holds us to the duty, in opposition to all discouragements, and makes us wrestle and strive with God in prayer, pour out our hearts before him, and stir up our- selves to take hold of him, agreeable to the language of those scriptures, Gen. xxxii. 24. Rom. xv. 30. Psal. lxii. 8. Ise. lxiv. 7. Now the means which the Spirit of God generally uses to bring us to prayer, and keep us to the duty, is by working in our souls a lively sense of the necessity and advantage of it, or giving us some refreshment or delight, in and by it. And if, when we are engaged. in our wordly affairs, or in divine worship, the devil is permitted by sudden violent impressions on the fancy; to draw our hearts away to sinful objects, why should it be counted a strange thing, that the blessed Spirit should cast in holy motions and encouragements to the duty ? 1V. He oftentimes, by his secret teachings, supplieaus.s ith the matter of prayer. This is the express language of holy scrip-
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