PRIVATE PRAYER.
I suppose, if my readers are the children of pious parents, they have
been taught from their earliest recollection, to retire, morning and
evening, to some secret place, to read their Bible alone, and engage in
private prayer. This, in very early childhood, is often an interesting
and affecting service. But when young people come to a certain age,
if their hearts are not renewed, they are disposed to regard this as
an irksome duty, and gradually to leave it off. They find the old
adage, in the primer, true,--“Praying will make thee leave sinning, and
sinning will make thee leave praying.”
It is a sad period, in the history of a young person, when the early
habit of prayer is given up. Then the heart becomes like the garden of
the slothful, described by Solomon:--
“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man
void of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and
nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was
broken down.”
There are no good plants thriving in the prayerless soul; but weeds,
and briars, and thorns, grow thick and rank, occupying every vacant
spot. The stone wall is broken down: there is no defence against the
beasts of the field. Every vagrant thought, every vicious passion, find
free admittance. The heart grows hard, and the spirit careless. Sin is
not dreaded as it once was. The fear of God and the desire of his favor
are gone. “God is not in all his thoughts.” That youth stands on the
very edge of a frightful precipice.
I would not have you think, however, that there is any _merit_ in
prayer; or that the prayers of one whose “heart is not right with God”
are acceptable to him. But, what I say is, that every one ought to pray
to God with a right heart. If your heart is not right with God, then
it is wrong; and you are to blame for having it wrong. I will suppose
a case, to illustrate what I mean. You see a child rise up in the
morning, and go about the house; and though its mother is with it all
the time, yet the child neither speaks to her nor seems to notice her
at all. After a while, the mother asks what is the matter, and why her
dear child does not speak to her? The child says, “I have _no heart_ to
speak to you, mother. I do not _love_ you; and so I think it would be
wrong for me to speak to you.” What would you think of such conduct?
You would say, “The child _ought_ to love its mother; and it is only
an aggravation of its offence, to carry out the feelings of its heart
in its conduct?” “Would you then have it act the hypocrite, and speak
with its lips what it does not feel in its heart?” No; but I would
have it love its mother, as every dutiful child ought to do, and then
act out, in its speech and behavior, what it feels in its heart. But I
would never have it excuse itself from right actions because its heart
is wrong. Now, apply this to the subject of prayer, and you will see
the character of all impenitent excuses for neglecting this duty. And
those who go on and continue to neglect it, certainly have no reason to
expect that their hearts will grow any better by it, but only worse.
But in attempting to perform a sacred duty, the Lord may give you grace
to perform it aright, and then you will have a new heart.
If possible, have a particular place of prayer, where you can be
secure from all interruption, and particular times for it. At the
appointed hours, retire alone, and put away all thoughts about your
studies, your work, your amusements, or any thing of a worldly nature,
and try to realize that God is as truly present as if you saw him
with your bodily eyes. Then read his word, as though you heard him
speaking to you in the sacred page; and when your mind has become
serious and collected, kneel down and acknowledge God as your Creator
and Preserver, your God and Redeemer; thank him for the mercies you
have received, mentioning particularly every good thing you can think
of, that you have received from him; confess your sins; plead for
pardon, through the blood of Jesus Christ; and ask him to give you
such blessings as you see and feel that you need. Pray also for your
friends, (and for your enemies, if you have any;) and conclude with a
prayer for the coming of Christ’s kingdom every where throughout the
world.
Some young people neglect to pray, because they think they are not
able to form their words into prayer. But you need not be afraid to
speak to God. If you can find language to ask your parents for what you
desire, you can find words to express your desires to God; and he will
not upbraid you for the imperfection of your language. He looks at the
heart. If that is right, your prayer will be accepted.
Let me earnestly entreat you to have your set times for prayer, at
least as often as morning and evening; and never suffer yourself to
neglect them. And, especially, do not adopt the unseemly practice of
saying your prayers in bed, but give to God the brightest and best
hours of the day, and not offer to him the blind and the lame for
sacrifice. You will find the regular and stated habit of prayer, thus
formed in early life, of great value to you, as long as you live.
But let me once more caution you not to trust in your prayers, for they
cannot save you; and do not think, because you are regular and habitual
in attending to the outward forms of duty, that you must be a Christian.
Prayer, if sincere and true, will prepare you for engaging in the
duties of the day, or for enjoying calm repose at night. If, for any
cause, you neglect prayer in the morning, you may expect things will
go ill with you all the day. You can do nothing well without God’s
blessing; and you cannot expect his blessing without asking for it. You
need, also, that calm, tranquil, humble spirit which prayer promotes,
to prepare you to encounter those things which are constantly occurring
to try the feelings, and to enable you to do any thing well. Therefore,
never engage in any thing of importance without first seeking direction
of God; and never do any thing on which you would be unwilling to ask
His blessing.