158 A GUIDE TO P15AÌElt. hoping for the audience of our prayers, and acceptance of our persons, from whence we should take encouragement to rise from this duty with a sweet serenity and composure of mind, and maintain a joyful and heavenly frame, as-those that have been with God. But lest some pious and humble souls shouldhediscouraged, when they find not these lively exercises of faith, hope, love, fervency of desire, and divine delight in worship, and thence conclude that they have not the grace of prayer; I would add this caution, viz. That all the graces of prayer are seldom at work in the soul at once, in an eminent and sensible degree;' sometimes one prevails more, and sometimes another, in this feeble and imperfect. state : and when a christian comes before God with much deadness of heart, much overcome with carnal thoughts, and feels great reluctancy even to the duty of prayer, and falls down before -God, mourning, complaining, self-con- demning, and with sighs and deep groans in secret, makes known his burthen and his sins to God ; though he can speak but few words before him, such a frame and temper of mind will be ap- proved of by that God who judges the secrets of the heart, and makes most compassionate allowances for the infirmity of our flesh, and will acknowledge his own grace working in that soul, though it be but just breathing and struggling upward through loads of sin and sorrow. SECT. IV.Directions to attain the Grace of Prayer. In order to direct us in the spiritual performance of this duty, we must consider it as a holy converse maintained be- tween earth and heaven, betwixt the great and holy God, and mean and sinful creatures. Now the most natural rules that I can think of to carry on this converse, are such as these : I. Direction. Possess your hearts with' a most affecting 'sense of the character of the two parties that are to maintain this correspondence; that is, God and yourselves. This indeed is one direction for the gift of prayer, but it is also most necessary to attain the grace. Let us consider who this glorious Being is, that invites us to this fellowship with himself ; how awful in ma- jesty ! how terrible in righteousness! how irresistible in power! how unsearchable in wisdom ! how all-sufficient in blessedness ! how condescending in mercy ! Let us again consider, who are we that are invited to this correspondence: how vile in our ori- ginal! how guilty in our hearts and lives! how needyof every blessing ! how utterly incapable to help ourselves ! and how mi- serable for ever, ifwe are without God! And if we have sincerely obeyed the call of his gospel, and have attained to some com- fortable hope of. his love ; let us consider, how infinite are our
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