eludes all converse with God either in the form of praise, thanks- giving, confession, or petition ; all the ascriptions of glory to Him, as well as all direct supplications addressed to Him, come under this head. The Apostles prayed to Him while He was yet with them on earth, asking of Him blessings which God only could bestow, as when they said, " Lord, increase our faith." The dying thief, taught by the Spirit of God, said, " Lord, remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom." The last words of the first martyr, Stephen, were, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Paul besought the Lord thrice that the thorn in his flesh might de- part from him. So in 1 Timothy i. 12, he says, " I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." In Revelation i. 5, 6, it is said, " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Revelation v. 13, " Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 4 Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.' " As the Bible so clearly teaches that Christ is God manifest in the flesh ; that all power in heaven and earth is committed to his hands ; that He is ex- alted to give repentance and the remission of sins ; as He gives the Holy Ghost ; and as He is said to dwell in us, and to be our life ; it does thereby teach us that He is the proper object of prayer. Accordingly, as all Christians are the worshippers of Christ, so He has ever been the object of their adoration, thanks- givings, praises, confessions, and supplications.
Requisites of Acceptable Prayer,
1. The first and most obviously necessary requisite of accepta- ble prayer, is sincerity. God is a Spirit. He searches the heart. He is not satisfied with words, or with external homage. He cannot be deceived and will not be mocked. It is a great offence, therefore, in his sight, when we utter words before Him in which our hearts do not join. We sin against Him when we use terms, in the utterance of which the angels veil their faces, with no cor- responding feelings of reverence ; or use the formulas of thanks- giving without gratitude ; or those of humility and confession without any due sense of our unworthiness ; or those of petition without desire for the blessings we ask. Every one must ac-
702 PART m. Ch. <XX. — THE MEANS OF GRACE.
knowledge that this is an evil often attending the prayers of sin- cere Christians ; and with regard to the multitudes who, in places of public worship, repeat the solemn forms of devotion or profess to unite with those who utter them, without any corresponding emotions, the service is little more than mockery.
2. Reverence. God is an infinitely exalted Being ; infinite in his holiness as well as in knowledge and power. He is to be had in reverence by all who are round about Him. This holy fear is declared to be the first element of all true religion. His people are designated as those who fear his name. We are required to serve Him with reverence and godly fear. And whenever heaven is opened to our view, its inhabitants are seen prostrate before the throne. We offend God, therefore, when we address Him as we would a fellow creature, or use forms of expression of undue familiarity. Nothing is more characteristic of the prayers recorded in the Bible, than the spirit of reverence by which they are pervaded. The Psalms especially may be re- garded as a prayer-book. Every Psalm is a prayer, whether of worship, of thanksgiving, of confession, or of supplication. In many cases all these elements are intermingled. They relate to all circumstances in the inward and outward life of those by whom they were indited. They recognize the control of God over all events, and over the hearts of men. They assume that He is ever near and ever watchful, sustaining to his people the relation of a loving Father. But with all this, there is never any forgetfulness of his infinite majesty. There is a tendency some- times in the best of men, to address God as though He were one of ourselves. Luther's familiar formula was, Lieber Herr, or Lieber Herr Gott (dear Lord, dear Lord God). As Lieber Herr is the usual mode of address among friends (equivalent to our Dear Sir), it sounds strangely when God is thus addressed. In Luther it was the expression of faith and love ; in many who imitate him it is the manifestation of an irreverent spirit.
3. Humility. This includes, first, a due sense of our insignifi- cance as creatures ; and secondly, a proper apprehension of our ill-desert and uncleanness in the sight of God as sinners. It is the opposite of self-righteousness, of self-complacency and self- confidence. It is the spirit manifested by Job, when he placed his hand upon his mouth, and his mouth in the dust, and said, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes ; by Isaiah when he said, Woe is me ! because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; and by the publican, who