Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	form_n	public_a	set_a	3,224	5	10.4233	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17412	Sermons upon the ten first verses of the third chapter of the first Epistle of S. Peter Being the last that were preached by the late faithfull and painfull minister of Gods word, Nicolas Byfield. Wherein method, sense, doctrine, and vse, is, with great varietie of matter, profitably handled; and sundry heads of divinitie largely discussed. Published since the authors death by William Gouge.	Byfield, Nicholas, 1579-1622.; Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1626 (1626)	STC 4235; ESTC S107153	186,240	252

to God Which serves notably to confute the vaine trust in civill honesty and the fairenesse of domesticall conversation which bewitcheth many persons in the world Doct. 7. When the heart is not right towards man it is not right towards God as here domesticall disorders hinders the exercises of Religion towards God That husband that loves not his wife hath no great minde to pray Wives that make no conscience to live quietly and obediently with their husbands suffer a like alienation from God both in their ability to serve him and in his acceptance of it Doct. 8. In that he saith your Prayers it shewes That everie Christian must make prayers of his owne As the just man lives by his owne faith so must the true Christian thinke of getting his living under God by his owne prayers 'T is not enough that he partake of other mens prayers in publicke or that he can get others to pray for him in private God lookes for prayers from himselfe Doct. 9. In that he saith prayers it imports That there bee diverse kindes of prayer and that private Christians must make not only a prayer but prayers to God Ephes. 6.18 Phil. 4. 6. Col. 4.2 The sorts of prayer and differences arise 1 From the instrument by which it is formed for there is the prayer of the heart only such was Hannah her prayer 1 Sam. 1. There is a prayer of the mouth only such is the prayer of Hypocrites Esa. 29.13 There is the prayer both of heart and mouth and such is the prayer ordinarily of all the godly 2 From the place of prayer some prayers are publicke some private and a Christian must use both Some are alone some with others 3 From the forme and so we have the prayer of Christ as the pattern and rule for all prayers and the prayers of Christians agreeable to that patterne We must not rest upon saying over the words of the Lords prayer and neglect all other prayers Againe some prayer is conceived some is in a set forme used A set forme is fittest for the publicke and for such weake Christians as are not yet able to expresse their owne desire to God in their owne words nor are conceived formes unfit or unlawfull for such as are able and desirous to performe prayer according to the rules of prayer as is apparant by the examples of all sorts of prayers in both Testaments 4 From the object of prayer and so some prayers are made daily at set times and thence it was that the Church of the Iewes had their houres of prayer Act. 3.1 and some are uttered suddenly according to some speciall occasion And of this sort are ejaculations short petitions put up to God expressing the present motion in the heart Doct. 10. It is a great losse or inconvenience to have our prayers interrupted This is plaine from the Text. And there may be many reasons assigned of it I will instance but one or two first because for that time a man is thrust out of the presence of the King of heaven To pray is to stand before his face Secondly because while prayer stands still our spirituall trade stands still while we pray not we thrive not Thirdly if it were nothing else but the respect of others it must needs be a great inconvenience to omit prayer because thereby we withdraw our aydes from the Church and that is as bad as in evill times of warre to withdraw our succours from the house of Israel Quest. But how manie wayes can prayer be interrupted Answ. Prayer may be interrupted eyther in heaven or in earth eyther in the hearing of it or in the making of it Prayer is interrupted in the hearing of it or God will not heare prayer 1 If the person making it lye in any sinne without repentance Prov 15.8 Isa. 59.2 Lam. 3.44 Psal. 66.18 2. Tim. 2.19 1. Iohn 3.22 2 If it be not made in faith that is if we beleeve not that we shall have what we aske Matth. 11.24 Iam. 1.6 3 If not made in the name of Christ. Iohn 16.23 4 If it be made carelesly and coldly if a mans head be full of distractions so as he regards uot what he prayes hee is not likely to be heard for how shall God heare him when he heares not himselfe and how shall God heed what he sayes when he heeds not what he sayes himselfe 5 If a man aske amisse that is aske for carnall and corrupt ends Iam. 4.3 6 If a man be not in charitie with his neighbour and will not forgive him his trespasse Matt. 6 14. 7 If a man be unmercifull and will not heare the cryes of the poore Esa. 58.7 Prov. 21.13 Thus prayer is interrupted in the hearing of it Prayer is interrupted in the making of it when men are indisposed to prayer and so omit the performance and thus prayer is interrupted Sometimes by the violence of worldly cares and businesse the heart of man being overcharged with these cares of life Sometimes by domesticall discords and private passions which it seemes the Apostle especially meanes in this place Sometimes by the love and lust after some particular sinne for while mens hearts runne after sinne they have no minde to pray The use may be to reprove two sorts of men in speciall besides those mentioned before 1 Such as pray not at all Is it such an evill to omit prayer for a time what is it then not to pray at all 2 Diverse weake Christians are to be warned about fainting or discouragement in praying they interrupt themselves with their owne feares and objections as for instance Ob. I finde so much hardnesse of heart and insensiblenesse and therefore I dare not pray Sol. David himselfe in the beginning of many of his Psalmes expresseth a kind of want of feeling and yet before he hath done he is full of life Besides hardnesse of heart felt and mourned for is no hinderance to the successe of prayer And further for this reason thou hast more need to pray for prayer is like a fire to melt the leaden heart of man Ob. I want words I know not what to say when I come to pray Sol. Pray for that very thing that God that commands thee to take unto thee words Hos. 14.2 would himselfe give them to thee Secondly the Spirit helpes our infirmities when we know not what to pray as we ought Rom. 8.16 Thirdly we serve such a God as will heare us if like little children we can but name the name of our heavenly Father Rom. 8.15 2. Tim. 2.19 Ob. But I am affraid God will not regard what I say to him Ans. Consider first the nature of God hee loves to heare praier Psal. 95.1 then thinke of the commandment of God who in so many Scriptures doth so peremptorily enjoyne us to pray to him and thirdly thinke of the many promises he hath made unto such as doe call upon his name and then thou hast no reason to

of God are capable of this Grace Heb. 9.16 Ioh. 1.13 And in particular wee must have a true justifying faith Ioh. 1.12 For as was shewed before we come to the right of Sonnes onely as wee are ingrafted into Christ upon whom all the inheritance is originally and fundamentally conferred and into Christ wee cannot get but by faith And further wee must looke to the sound mortification of the deedes of the flesh Rom. 8.13 and know that none can inherit but such as ouercome the power of their corruptions and are not in bondage to any sinne Rev. 21.7 And more specially God requires in all such as will be his sonnes that they bee such as are not in bondage to the passions and perturbations of the heart 〈◊〉 for hee hath promised that the meeke shall inherit Mat. 5.5 Thirdly we must forsake all needlesse society familiarity with the wicked of the world if wee will be Gods sonnes and daughters and resolutely refuse to be corrupted with the sinnes of the times as the Apostle shewes at large 2. Cor. 6.17 18. Fourthly wee must be such as are described Esay 56.4 5 6. Wee must make conscience to keepe Gods Sabbaths and chuse the thing will please God being more desirous to please God in all things than naturall children are to please their earthly parents and take hold of Gods Covenant as resting upon this preferment and the promises of it as our sufficient happinesse And that we may be the more established in the knowledge of our Adoption it will bee good for us to try our selves by the signes of such as are Gods adopted children 1 Such as are Gods children by Adoption haue this marke They are made like unto God their Father in holiness in some truth of resemblance 1. Pet. 1.25 And this they shew two waies first by purifying themselves and sound humbling of their soules for their sinnes that deface the Image of God in them as Saint Iohn saith Every one that hath this hope purifyeth himselfe as he is pure 1. Ioh. 3.2 3. Secondly by imploying himselfe constantly in doing righteousnesse for hereby the children of God are knowne from the children of the Divell 1. Ioh. 3.10 2 In the last recited place you may discerne another signe of a sonne and heire to God and that is the love of the godly as his brethren and fellow heires Hee that loveth not the brethren is of the Divell not of God 1. Ioh 3.10 3 The gift of prayer is a signe of Adoption and that we have received the spirit of Adoption Rom. 8.15 16. By the gift of prayer I meane not the skill to utter words to God in a good form of words and variously but the gift to speake to God in prayer both with confidence in God as in a father and with the affections of praier which the phrase of crying Abba Father imports 4 A Child of God discovers his Adoption by the manner of doing good dueties hee doth serve God not with servile respect but with filiall affection hee loves to be Gods servant as may be gathered Esay 56.6 5 To love them that hate us and blesse them that curse us and doe good to them that persecute us is a signe that wee are children to God as our heavenly father Luk. 6.35 Mat. 5. The second impression that this glory of Adoption should make upon our hearts should be to stir up us to cary our selves in this world as becomes the children heirs to such a father as God is And so in generall it should wonderfully fire us to all possible care to be holy as he is holy and to expresse more to the life the Image of Gods grace and holinesse 1. Pet. 1. 14 15. And that in all manner of conversation striving to carry our selves as the sonnes of God without rebuke in the middest of this froward and wicked world all sorts of the men of the world being so ready to reproach such as are Gods people that if they will speake evill it may be onely for our good conversation in Christ Phil. 2.15 16. And in particular wee are charged in Scripture with certaine speciall and choise things that doe greatly adorne and grace the life of a child of God that is an heire of heaven if we be Gods heirs and he be our father 1 Wee should be Peace-makers for our father is the God of peace and this will force men to call us the sonnes of God Mat. 5.10 2 Wee must not render reviling for reviling but rather blesse seeing wee are heires of blessing as the Apostle urgeth it ver 9. 3 Wee should live without care as knowing that wee have a heavenly father that careth for us Mat. 6.32 And seeing wee are heires of a better world wee should not love this world nor set our hearts upon such mean things as this world can afford 1. Ioh. 2.15 4 If wee be Gods sonnes wee should be willing to submit our selves to his correction If wee yeeld that power to the fathers of our bodies how much more to the Father of our spirits Heb. 12.9 But especially take heed that we provoke not God by carelesnesse and boldnesse in favouring any corruption Deut. 32.18 19. Thirdly our Adoption should be a singular consolation to us against all the miseries of this life It matters not though our life bee hid and though it doe not appeare to the world what wee are and though wee have many crosses and losses and persecutions yet the thought of our inheritance with God should swallow up all Whatsoever wee are now yet when Christ appeares wee shall appeare in glory and there can be no comparison betweene the suffering of this life and the glory to be revealed upon us Rom. 8.17 Mat. 19.29 Col. 3.2 4. 1 Ioh. 3.2 And that wee may be the more comforted wee should often pray to God to shew us by degrees and to make us know the riches of our inheritance both in what we possesse in this world and what wee looke for in heaven And thus of the title of our dignities We are heires Of life Now follows to consider what we inherit and that is Life We are heires of life It is somewhat a strange speech but yet if wee consider of it Life is a most sweet thing there can be no happinesse without it A living Dog is better than a dead Lyon But as life is to be taken here it is a Treasure above all treasures in the world But the enquirie into it is very difficult it is wonderfull hard to find out what life is especially to describe or define the life here mentioned as the glory of Gods adopted ones Life in Scripture is either naturall or spirituall as for naturall life especially since the fall that is so poore a thing as to be an heire to it is no great preferment By naturall life I meane that life that men live while they are unregenerate I say that life is a very poore thing