Page:A Beacon to the Society of Friends.djvu/105

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SER. V.
PRAYER.
101

any attempt arising from the contrivance of the creature,[1] whether to promote religion, or any thing else, till we are convinced that it is from the will of our heavenly Father. We must feel his power; we must have an evidence of his light to shew us the way." pp. 114, 115.


The Bible teaches us that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit, that man is made willing and enabled to perform his duty to God and to himself; but if the reader will give his attention to the doctrine of our Lord and his Apostles, upon the all important subject of prayer, he will see how evidently the foregoing sentiments are in opposition to them. In the simple command of our Lord, we have not only a warrant for private prayer, but an imperative obligation to that duty; no preparation is enjoined, nor is any implied, but a sense of need and absolute impotence, on the one hand; and on the other, faith that God is able and willing to supply our wants, when we ask in the name of Christ. This sense of destitution, and every degree of living faith, are from the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. And where are we told to wait for a further preparation?

Observe how the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, exhorts his fellow believers to pray for him and his co-workers, and for the success of their labours. It would be well for us to consider, how far we feel the obligation, to help true ministers of the Gospel with our prayers.

  1. Contrivance of the creature—see under Ser. VI. Ex. 1.