you, Seek, and ye shall find, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. It is true, we cannot from this Parable draw this Conclufion, that God is like the Man here spoken of, that he wants Kindness to his Friends, and that if he doth grant their Requests, it is not so much out of Love, as that he may be freed from the Trouble of their Importunities; this is decent enough to be said of a Man, and therefore our Saviour so puts the Parable: but it cannot be applyed to an infinitely wife and good God, who never can be disturbed by others, nor is he put to any Disturbance or Trouble, in order to the conferring his Benefits. But thus much certainly the very Frame of the Parable leads us to conclude; that many things that God will not give us without our Prayers, he will give us if we pray to him for them. And those things that God will not grant upon our flight and lazy Prayers, he will grant if we be earnest and importunate and constant in them: so that it concerns every Person, if he would obtain what he prays for, to take this Course, both to pray fer vently, and to continue in so doing. For Instance, do you find that you do not make fuch Advances in Virtue and Goodness as you defire; but, notwithstanding your good Resolutions, you are under the Power of many Corruptions, which your Nature, or your former Customs, do strongly incline you to? You think now that Prayer to God for his Grace to assist and strengthen you is a good Remedy in this Cafe; and so certainly it is; but you are mistaken, if you think that Praying once or twice, tho' it be very heartily, will do the Business. Nor are you to conclude, that because you do not on a fudden find that Strength or Assistance which you expected when you prayed for it, that therefore God hath no Kindness for you, or that he will not answer your Prayers. Much less are you to reason thus with your self: God knows that I want the Afsistance of his Spirit to overcome my vicious Affections, and he knows that I heartily defire it, and he knows that I have more than once prayed for it, and therefore to what purpose should I be farther troublesome to him with my Prayers ? No, this is never the Way to obtain what we defire; let us rather redouble our Devotions; let us rather continue to knock more earnestly and more importunately at the Gate of Mercy for the Supply of our Wants. If we use this Method, if we thus with Zeal and Diligence and Patience keep waiting upon God, there is no manner of doubt but that he will at last fulfil the Defires of our Souls, and give us such a Measure of his Grace and Spirit, as shall enable us to conquer all Difficulties, to overcome all Temptations, and to vanquish every Luft, every Corruption that can make Head against us. Some perhaps may be apt to wonder why God should require this Importunity we speak of as a Condition of his answering our Prayers; why he should not as well grant our Request at the first time of our putting them up, if we put them up serioufly and heartily, as after many Repetitions of them. But the Answer is easy: for the fame Reafon that God requires us to pray at all, in order to the obtaining his Benefits, for the fame Reason it is necessary we should pray with Fervency and Constancy; his Goodness is fuch that he would fupply us with every thing we stand in need of without Praying, were it not that Praying is good for us; that he sees we receive many Advantages thereby, besides the obtaining the direct Blefssing we pray for; and therefore it is that he hath so indispensably ordered it. We do not pray to inform God of our Wants, or to perfuade him by our Arguments to fupply them: But God hath therefore obliged us to pray, because it is eternally reasonable, and makes much to the improving in us all those Qualities, in which the Perfection of our Natures doth confift, that we should continually depend upon him for every good Thing we need; of which Dependance Prayer is the proper Expreffion. : Indeed, if we confidered well, we should find the Benefits that come to us by Prayer (without taking the granting or answering of our Prayers into the Confideration) are inestimable. Prayer raiseth up our Souls above this World, and makes them capable of the Communications and Impressions of the Divine Nature. It is the most natural Means in the World to allay all troublesome Paffions, to revive and strengthen all good Purposes and Resolutions, to fill the Mind with Joy, and Peace, and Confolation, in all Circumstances and Conditions of Life. Lastly, it is the best Exercise of all those Virtues and Graces that we have, as well as it is the proper Means and Instrument for the getting those we have not. Since now all these good Ends are served by Prayer, all these Benefits are attained by it, it cannot be thought unreasonable that God should require that this Prayer should be fervent and conftant. Nay, if God had not required it, Reason must tell us that it ought to be so, since all the aforesaid Ends will thereby be the better served; all the aforesaid Benefits will be thereby obtained in a greater Degree and Proportion. But I proceed to the Second Condition which God requires in our Prayers, in order to their being effectual, and that is, that we ask in Faith. This is a Condition ordered by our Saviour to his Apostles, in St. Matthew xxi. 22. All things (faith he) whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer, believing, ye shall receive. And thus also St. James speaks to all Christians, in the ist Chapter of his Epistle, and the 5th and 6th Verses: If any of you lack Wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all Men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in Faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a Wave of the Sea driven with the Wind, and toffed; for let not that Man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. The Question here is, what it is to ask believing or to ask in Faith. Is it to ask with a full Perfuafion and Afsurance, that that which I pray for shall certainly be granted me? No, certainly, a great many may ask in Faith, that have not this full Afsurance or Perfuafion. I must own indeed that to pray in Faith doth fometimes in the new Testament, signify to pray with a Confidence that what is prayed for will be granted; and I cannot deny, but that the Words of our Saviour I now quoted in their primary Senfe, and as they were spoken to the Apostles, had a respect to such a Faith as this; for he spoke them upon Occasion of the fudden withering away of the Fig-tree, which he had cursed the Day before: at which when the Apostles much marvelled, our Saviour faith to them, If ye have Faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the Fig-tree, but also, if ye shall say to this Mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou caft into the Sea, it shall be done ; and all Things whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer, believing, ye shall receive. No doubt G4 |