006. SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE MODE OF SPENDING ONE QUARTER OF AN HOUR DAILY...
CHAPTER V.
SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE MODE OF SPENDING ONE QUARTER OF AN HOUR DAILY IN PRAYER FOR THE UNCONVERTED.
1. THE first thing will be in this, as in all prayer, to place yourself in the presence of God in deep humility, and self-abasement, in the knowledge of your own sinfulnes. The fruit of prayer is often lost, and times intended for prayer pass away in mere meditation, because we omit to gather up our thoughts in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Remember that you are speaking to God, and that God is listening and looking, waiting to answer you. This will make you feel yourself a sinner, if you do it rightly, and the involuntary ejaculation of your heart will be, Lord, when shall I be fully converted to thee? God be merciful to me a sinner/ It is very necessary that you should begin thus humbly if you would intercede for the benefit of others, and not to your own condemnation.
2. The second thing will be to consider the mediation of Christ, as your only claim for a hearing from God. This act of the mind may be combined ordinarily with the recitation of the name of the Holy Trinity, for the knowledge of the Trinity is only through the mediation of Christ. But it may also be expressed as a sepa rate act of devotion. It is especially fitting we should thus begin our intercessions for others; we need not only the intercession of Christ for ourselves, but also His mediation to make an intercession for others acceptable. We do not dare to pray for others as if we were better than they; but we come to use that mediation which all may use if they will come in faith.
You may say somewhat after this sort: “Lord Jesus, I come near in the confidence of thine own promise. — ’WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK THE FATHER IN MY NAME HE WILL GIVE IT YOU.’
Thou hast received gifts for men. Make Thou my prayer to be acceptable on behalf of all who need.”
3. You will then probably say, as an intro duction to prayer for yourself and others, —
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father, &c.
4. Consider the various persons in whose welfare you are most interested, and make a general intercession on their behalf, after this sort: Lord have mercy on all whom I specially love, and draw their hearts unto Thyself.
Let this be said solemnly, and with deliberation, so as to give the mind time to recall the various objects which are of interest to you, whether classes or individuals.
You will, of course, have prepared your mind before coming to prayer with a general know ledge of what you are going to pray for. Endeavour beforehand to classify in your own mind, as far you can, the particular portion of society in which your own lot is cast, and for which you will generally try to pray.
5. You will now advance to more special intercessions, getting up one by one those classes, and in certain cases naming those persons, for whom you have made this general intercession.
Bishop Andrewes’s Devotions will supply you with a model of specification.
We are each of us thrown into connection with particular portions of society. Our own lot varies oftentimes very greatly from one period to another. Sometimes each day brings us into connection with a new phase of society. Do not let your prayers be too much stereotyped. Alter the details of your prayer in some respects according to the daily changes of your life. Have a certain portion of regular objects of intercession, whether written down on paper or retained in the memory. Then let these objects be individualised further or multiplied, according to the special relationships in which from day to day you find yourself.
6. Feel yourself to be now engaged in the work of bringing up before God, through the mediation of Christ, various classes of society, various individuals — relations, iriends, acquaintances, superiors, dependants, servants, public characters unknown to yourself except by name, strangers with whom those you love are for the time associated, This will make you too sensible of the reality of the work you are engaged in to allow of your needing many words. The mere enumeration of titles and names will be qnite enough, if you are careful, as you mention the name of each, to lift up your heart to God with an echo of the “Have mercy “ said at the beginning.
It will probably, however, be advisable to break up the intercession into sections. For instance, in praying for a family you may say, “ O Lord, have mercy upon [this] family;” and then simply enumerate before God the individuals by name. Or in praying for a district you may say, “ Lord, shed forth Thy Holy Spirit upon this parish [or street or city]; “ and then simply enumerate before God the families whose names you know.
All this comes within the scope of intercession for the unconverted, for it will be seen at once, that even those who are striving to serve God should not be passed over, for they need to be drawn more and more to God; and secondly, it is to be feared that whatever household or district we may take in review, the number of those who are earnestly seeking God is insignificant compared with the number of those who are wanting in all conversion of heart to God; and thirdly, when we do know of any who are striving to serve God, we should pray for them with a view to the conversion of those round about them: in which case our words “ Have mercy “will mean, “ Enable them to carry out Thy work in their own hearts, and in winning others to love Thee aZso.”
Pass not judgment on the individuals for whom you pray. Your prayer for those who need conversion altogether will not be hindered by your asking God to have mercy on those who need conversion in its higher stage, that they may be enabled by Divine grace to persevere and to attain perfection.
You need not then be solicitous about words. A simple “ Have mercy “ is enough to bring down from God upon every soul the particular graces most necessary for the perfection of that soul.
7. And yet there are doubtless some souls about whom, for many reasons, you will feel especially anxious, and classes of society be set with difficulties which you are specially familiar with. In prayer for these it will be well to pause, and enumerate some of the circumstqnces which cause them danger. “When you resolve to pray more at length for any object, you may begin by a special invitation of each Person of the Blessed Trinity, — Lord, have mercy upon [him or them], Christ, have mercy upon [him or them], Lord, have mercy upon [him or them]. And having done this, you may, if you are praying for a parish, or a school, or a household, enumerate the various elements of difficulty which stand in the way of its well-being, saying, “Lord, quell the unruly,” or “reconcile the quarrelsome,” or “ check the dishonest,” or “ enable the church to be built;” or, if you are praying for an individual, you may enumerate any besetting sins that you are aware of in connection with that individual, or any temptations to which the individual is exposed, saying, “Lord, deliver him from the habit of [swearing, obstinacy, covetousness, self-conceit, <#c. ];” or “Lord, deliver him from the temptations to [unbelief, impurity, gambling, dissipation, &c.~\, to which he i» exposed.”
8. This increased degree of specification will, from time to time, vary your litany, so that the mere enumeration of objects of intercession will be no tedious work to you. You will, however, find that your intercession gains much in reality and earnestness if you pause at certain stages, and say the Lord’s Prayer on behalf of all whom you have mentioned. For instance, if you are praying for a scattered parish, you may have enumerated the families living in one hamlet. This enumeration has been diversified by a special mention of individuals in certain families, and also by a special mention of certain temptations besetting the whole clump of houses perhaps, or some particular family, or some one soul. The mind need not weary, and yet it will find a great solace in gathering up all the wants it has considered in the words of Christ Himself.
Therefore, before passing to another hamlet of the parish, it will be well to rest, as it were, in the mediation of Christ, the Good Shepherd of all, and say the Lord’s Prayer. For this purpose it is desirable to familiarise the mind with the exhaustless meanings of the Lord’s Prayer.
We sometimes hear persons complain of the number of times that the Lord’s Prayer occurs in the public service.
It may b« doubted if persons oan at all know its meaning, who are content to think it enough that they 7 have said it once. The oftener we say it, if we say it devoutly, the oftener we shall wish to say it.
Alas! how often it is said thoughtlessly and profanely!
If we try to say it with any thought of its deep spiritual meaning, we shall feel that there is no mode in which the soul can rise up to God, and lose the thought of self in Divine Intercession so sweetly and so powerfully, as in yielding itself up to the impulse of the words of Christ.
9. Having uttered the Lord’s Prayer as an expression of conscious unity with Christ, the Mediator, you cannot but offer some thanks giving. Faith is not only a source of power, but also of joy. “ The fruit of the Spirit,” of Christ within us, “ is joy.” (Galatians 5:22.) At no time can we feel this more than when we are conscious that God has accepted us, unworthy as we are in ourselves, nevertheless in Christ, to be channels by which the stream of Divine sanctifying power should issue forth for the refreshment of a world wearied by sin. To express this thankfulness at certain intervals will give you refreshment, so that you will return to the work of intercession with the greater energy. Prayer and thanks giving cannot be dissociated, if we know what it is to speak to God in the name of Christ, in the unity of the Body of Christ, in the power of the Spirit of Christ. “ Pray without ceasing,” says the Apostle, and “ in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17.) You may say, “ Praised God, who hath not cast out my prayer, nor Mrned His mercy from me.” (Psalms 66:18.) 10. You will probably draw to a conclusion by Baying the Belief or the Gloria Patri. In saying the Belief, you should especially remember that you are glorifying God for desiring that sinners should be converted to Himself. For instance, when you say “Maker of Heaven” you will remember that God has caused a place to be prepared in Heaven for those for whom you are praying, and that it will be their own fault if they forfeit it. When you say, “ Maker of Earth,” you will remember that God created, as means of blessing all those things, gifts of mind, body, and estate, which the unconverted abuse to their own hindrance. Dost not thou often do the like? When you say, “ Jesus Christ our Lord was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, you will remember He came down to sanctify all mankind, for a small part of which you have been praying. When you say, “ He was Crucified,” you will remember that, but for His Cross and Passion, neither you nor any of those you have been praying for could have attained to heaven. When you say, “ He sitteth on the right hand,” you will remember that He ever liveth there to make intercession for you and all His people, and that you for one short quarter of an hour have been watching with Him.
Oh! unspeakable privilege! If we weary to be doing on earth what Christ is always doing in heaven — if we are ever tempted to think we might be better employed (unless we have some specific duty to fulfil) —it must be because we do not realize what we are about. At the very best it is to be feared we rise little above the form of prayer. We know little of the power. If we knew the power of prayer to the full we never should weary, for it would sustain us while it refreshed the world. When we shall know it to the full, we shall do nothing else; for we shall be with Christ, and be identified with His intercession. His intercession will be the strength of our life and the law of our lif e, until the praise of prayer in the mediatorial kingdom is exchanged for the praise of unbroken thanksgiving in the beatific vision. When you say, “I believe in the Holy Ghost" you will remember that it is the work of the Holy Ghost to convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. When you say, “ I believe in the forgiveness of sins,” you will remember that no sins are so great that God cannot forgive them, if sinners are brought under the influence of the Holy Ghost; and you will remember how greatly your sins need to be forgiven, day by day, when you turn aside for a moment to walk in your own strength, and weaken by so doing the habitual sanctification of the Holy Ghost. When you say, “ I believe in the life everlasting,” you will remember that you have been praying for others — not with a view to their success in worldly objects, but in order that they may attain everlasting life.
Yon will thus say the Creed as an act of faith giving power to your prayer. Or if you say the “Gloria,” you will say it with a like application.
Glory be to God in the conversion of sinners.
11. You may then conclude by saying some versicles out of the Prayer Book or Psalter; e. g.:
“ Lord, deal not with us after our sins.
“ Neither reward us according to our iniquities.”
12. You will do well to end as the Publican prayed. Who are you that you should intercede for others? Follow his example, therefore, who ’« smote upon his breast, saying, “ God be merciful to me a sinner/”