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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	accompany_v	according_a	act_n	33	3	5.8882	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77764	A discourse concerning the qualifications of prayer By J. Buerdsell, M.A. late fellow of Brase-nose College. Oxon.	Buerdsell, James, 1669 or 70-1700.	1700 (1700)	Wing B5362C; ESTC R229486	12,922	19

who are perhaps contriving to lay our Honours and Bodies in the Dust while we are mounting their Souls in our Devotions up to the Heavens For we are oblig'd by our Holy Religion to bless them which curse us and to pray for them which despitefully use us And in persuit of this universal Charity our Saviour according to St. Cyprian's pious Observation has taught us to say Our and not My Father only which art in Heaven that mindful of our divine and common Original and of that glorious dependance on which we stand related to God we might unite our Prayers for all those who bear the same illustrious Character of the Sons of God The Fifth Qualification of Prayer is that our Prayers ought to be short not abounding with an excess of Words For Prayer is the Language of the Heart rather than of the Tongue of the affections more than of the lips and great and rais'd Passions such as make up the most perfect Devotion are seldom attended with a copious fluency of Words For the Soul is too much employ'd within to have leisure to exercise it self about Flourish or tedious Harangue Of this concise Nature are most of the sacred Hymns and Prayers which are extant suitable to the Majesty of God for the most short is also the most solemn and stately method of address and agreeable to Mankind's Infirmities which hinders us from enlivening with a due Spirit a long and tedious Prayer Of this Nature are our Saviour's own Prayers one of the last of which in his Agony is so short and yet so pathetical that it seems according to the History to be accompany'd with more drops of Blood than Words The Last Qualification in the act of praying is perseverance not as the Messallians from the Apostle's Command in the Words of Praying always thought by an unbroken continuation of the acts of Prayer but by a constant Preparation for and exercise of them as opportunities and freedom from other Duties demand For this is the perfection not only of Prayer but of all Virtues Without this they are only faint efforts and attempts to please God which shall never be accepted of nor rewarded by Him But it has a most especial force in Prayer for if the unjust Judge in the Gospel who neither fear'd God nor regarded Man yet granted the Widow's Petition mov'd purely by her resolute Perseverance how much more shall God who is the just Judge of all Mankind and whose Goodness inclines him to be kind and beneficent to his Creatures grant our Requests if we cry day and night to Him I tell you as the Gospel has it He will grant them speedily Humillity therefore Attention Fervour Charity and Perseverance are Qualifications necessary in the time of Prayer But there are Thirdly Qualifications necessary after we have pray'd to make our antecedent Prayers duly effectual As First an observation of God's returns to our Prayers and eyeing the tendency of his Providence whether he does grant our Petitions or not especially as to spiritual concerns And there is an infallible Mark to measure our success by for we may assuredly conclude That God has heard our Prayers as to pardon of sins for instance if we find our selves free from voluntary Transgressions But if after our prayers we are as much sinners as ever this is a sign that God has not heard our Petitions and that our sins are not pardon'd and the fault must be our own because we did not truly repent of them before we pray'd for their Remission So that we must renew our Repentance as well as our prayers and if the former is sincere and the latter duly qualify'd we shall certainly be successful Thus we may know that God has granted our prayers as to spiritual Graces if we find our selves improv'd in Virtue after our prayers otherwise the fault is our own we have not endeavour'd vigorously after Grace So that we must reinforce our Endeavours as well as our prayers and if there is no deficiency on our part it is certain there will be none on God's for He is always more ready to give then we to pray He is prepar'd to prevent with his Blessings even our first Wishes for them and to reward our pious desires even before they have time to cloath themselves with words The second Qualification after prayer is a returning God thanks for his grants and denials that is His denials of temporal Advantages For this is often as great a proof of his Fatherly Goodness and Concern for us as any of His most merciful Indulgences 'T is a Mysterious Method of Kindness which obliges us against our Wills and makes us happy in contradiction to our most passionate desires depriving us of what would prove to us only a more agreeable Ruine a more pleasant and beautiful destruction And how severe so ever disappointments may appear to us at first yet the event and close of Things will shew that we had good reason to be thankful to God for His crossing us in our Wishes and for visibly frustrating us in the success of our prayers and we shall at last find the satisfaction of consigning our choice over to Omniscience and that God to use our Saviour's familiar but expressive Words with some alteration when we pray'd for a Serpent has given us a Fish and when we petition'd for a Stone has blest us with Bread The Third Qualification after prayer is a due value of our great Privilege that we may pray to God For how great is the Perogative of a Christian that he may discourse and converse and prevail with God That there is no difficulty of Access no doubt of Acceptation that thers is no hinderance of his Entercourse with the Almighty but his own Sins which are no longer impediments but as far as they are persisted in and not broken off by true Repentance The Fourth Qualification is a learning by God's denials to make fitter Addresses for the future for if my prayers are not granted there must be some fault in me Till that is amended Heaven will be deaf to my Petitions and neglect my most solemn Address Either I do not pray for what I ought or not after that manner which I ought therefore in the Language of the Psalmist my Words are only like the Chaff before the Wind and the Angel of the Lord will certainly scatter them The Fifth Qualification is Alms-giving For it is meet that we should express our gratitude for God's Mercies by bounty to our Brethren which ask of us and need our relief This is all the return we can make to providence for the innumerable Bounties which it scatters upon us with open hands This is a kind of relieving our Saviour in his suffering Members and he tells us that he will look on it as if done to himself And there can be no greater inducement for God to bestow temporal good things on us than if we consecrate a part of them to him by

A DISCOURSE Concerning the Qualifications OF PRAYER By J. BVERDSELL M. A. late Fellow of Brase-nose College Oxon. The Third Edition London Printed for J. Smith on London-Bridge A Discourse concerning the Qualifications of Prayer Ephes Chap. VI. ver 18. Praying always with all Prayer and Suplication in the Spirit AS Religion is the Life of the Soul so is Prayer the vital Spirit of Religion without which it can neither live nor move nor have its Being This is the chief Branch of the worship of God requir'd of all who acknowledge Him to be and most reasonable for all who own the World to be govern'd by his Providence and themselves to stand in need either of his Grace or his Pardon or who hope for his Rewards or fear his Punishments in a future State And as it is thus a very necessary Duty so if exactly practic'd is it a difficult one too For it is a Discoursing with God and for Man who is but of yesterday to correspond with the Almighty who inhabits Eternity must emply the utmost force of all his powers and Faculties For if the Cherubim and Seraphim who were always without Spot or Blemish and in whom was never found any Guile cover their Faces while they are Praising and Adoring the infinite Perfections of God what Gesture can be humble enough for Man who composes himself to Pray to him laden with his Sins and whose Iniquities have gone over his Head If those glorious Spirits are describ'd in Scripture as shifting from place to place while they are worshiping their Creator as conquer'd and over-power'd by the Purity of his Nature with what Confusion must Man appear before Him who was conceiv'd in Sin and born in Iniquity What attention and application of Thought What modesty of Expression What submissiveness of Behaviour What Love and Admiration What warmth of Affection must be us'd to make our Sacrifices acceptable to our Maker And certainly as it had been the highest Presumption to have offer'd to have entertain'd any entercourse with the Almighty had not He Himself encourag'd it so since he has vouchsafed to do it it is our most excellent Glory that we can address our supplications to Him But still the Obligation abides to put them up with all the Devotion and Fervency of Spirit which our Imperfections are capable of to prepare our selves with the nicest diligence that we may Pray always with all Prayer and Suplication in the Spirit By Praying always is not meant a constant or continued exercise of the Act of Prayer so as to be alwas invoking the Name of God For this would be inconsistent with our other relative Duties For there are Virtues to be practic'd which more immediately regard our Neighbour and our selves as well as those which solely respect God and we are oblieg'd to Justice Charity and Humanity as well as to Pray Praise and Adore But by Praying always is to be understood such a Godlike Frame and Temper of Spirit accompany'd with such an Innocence of Life and relish of Heavenly Things that we may be ever dispos'd for this Duty when fit Opportunities shall call for it By Praying in the Spirit whatsoever the Enthusiasts pretend seems to be only imply'd that our Prayers ought to have the Qualifications before-mention'd so that they ought to be put up rather for things Spiritual than Temporal for God's Assistance to enable us to persevere in Goodness for the removal or averting of Temptations for all Graces needful for us and Means for the securing or encreasing of them which are styl'd the Gifts or Privileges of the Holy Spirit And this too falls under the former Head and is a Qualification necessary to make us Pray aright since there can be no better Argument that we are well qualified for Prayer than that we pray for Blessings of the most noble Importance the most momentous Concern So that in the Text are couch'd the Qualifications requir'd to make us successful Petitioners at the Throne of Grace For the reason why so many Prayers are not heard by Heaven after those Promises which are annex'd to the Performance of this Duty is because we are not duly accomplish'd to be Candidates for its Mercies And it is easy for us in this Case to vindicate the Faithfulness of God and to make an Apology for our Maker in our Maker's own Words which are that We ask and receive not because we ask amiss In order therefore to make us fit Supplicants to the God of Glory and to put our Souls into such a Temper that they may be constantly and habitually fitted for the Discharge of this Duty there are several Qualifications needful I shall therefore consider First What Qualifications are necessary to prepare us for Prayer or before we pray and in order to it Secondly What is requir'd in the very time or act of our Praying when our Devotions are on the Wing and our Lips are touch'd with a Coal from the Alter Thirdly What must be done after we have Pray'd to make our attecedent Prayers duly effectual Fourthly What Acts are to be continued and extended through each of these both before in and after our Prayers First therefore what Qualifications are necessary to prepare us for Prayer or before we Pray and in order to it Now the First Qualification necessary to prepare us for Prayer is the Purity of our Hearts or the direction of our Lives by the Commandments of God For if our Affections are impure or our ways unrighteous it is invain to make our Applications to God For we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any Man is a worshiper of God and doth his Will him he heareth For the Eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous and his Ears are open to their Prayers alone For without Godliness what soever Antinomian Schemes some Persons may draw whether it consists in Innocence or sincere Repentance our Prayers can never mount up to the presence of God because the Burden of our Sins will certainly keep them from ascending to that Holy Place where nothing but what is compleatly so can appear And it would be Presumption to hope that our spotless Saviour should present so unacceptable a Sacrifice to his Father as the Petitions of a Supplicant who declares himself to be in a state of Hostility against both of them by an avow'd complying with what they most abhor Nay it is the most unwarrantable Insolence for him who still retains a Love for his Sins and yields to them upon the general returns of Temptation to approach his Maker in any Holy Office For it is only an honouring Him with his Lips while his Heart is far from Him and seems to be what the Apostle calls a Lying to God a professing himself his most devoted most obedient Servant while his own Conscience by a reflection on his Actions will tell him that he is his open and inveterate Enemy 'T is a colluding with him who tries the Heart and the