CHAPTER II.. 123 whereas when the Spirit of God, by his own immediate and un- common influences draws out thehearttocontinue in prayer, these inconveniences will not follow. Therefore whileI am discourage ing young Christians from that affectation of long prayers, which arises from an ostentation of their parts, from a superstitious hope of pleasing God better by saying many words, or from a trifling frame of spirit; I would not have my readers imagine that the shortest prayers are always the best. Our sinful natures are too ready to put off God in secret or in the family, with a few minutes of worship; from mere slothand weariness of holy things ; which is equally to be blamed ; for hereby we omit a great part of the necessary work of prayer in confessions, peti- tions, pleadings for mercy, or thanksgivings. Nor do I think that prayer in public assemblies should be so short, as though the only design of it were a mere preface before the sermon, or abenedictionafter it. Whereas social prayer is one considerable part, if not the chief duty, of public worship ; and we ought generally to 'continueso long in it, as to run through themost ne- cessary and important purposesof a social address to thethrone of grace. Christian prudence will teach us to determine the length of our prayers agreeably to the occasion and present cir- cumstances, andaccording to the measure of our own ability for this work. . SECT. IV. Of the Method of Prayer. I now proceed to the second thing to be considered in the gift of prayer, and that is method. Method is necessary to guide our' thoughts, to regulate our expressions, and dispose of the several parts of prayer in such an order as is most easy to be understood by those that join with us, and most proper to excite and maintain our "own devotion and theirs. Though there is not á necessity of the same just and exact regularity hère, as in preaching the word, yet a well regulated prayer is most agree- able to men; honourable in the sight of the world, and not at all the less pleasing to God. -1,.4e Spirit of God, when he is poured out as a spirit of prayer in the most glorious measures, doth not contradict the rules of anatural and reasonable method, although his methods may have infinite variety in them. Some methodmust be used in order to secure us from con- fusion, that our thoughts may not be ill sorted, or mingled and huddled together in a tumultuary and unseemly manner. This will be of use also to prevent tautologies or repetitions of theSame thing, when each part of prayer is disposedinto its proper place; this will guard us against roving digressions, when we have ran- ged our thoughts into orderthroughout every step of our prayer ; our judgment infers what sort of matter properly and naturally follows that which we are at present speaking ; so that there is no need to fill up any empty spaces with matter that is not proper,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=