:

A CAREFUL study of the Sacred Scriptures will show, that, from the first, a primary place was accorded to the exercise of prayer. Both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures are full of it. The life of the Saviour himself was a life of prayer; and in this he was imitated by his disciples. The words of the Apostle, when proposing to set apart a body of deacons, to attend to the poor in the church at Jerusalem, are remarkable :"It is not reason, that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." In the first church, the most noticeable thing in their history was prayer. After enumerating the names of the parties who returned from the Mount of Ascension, it is written :-"These all continued with one accord, in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Again, after the rod of persecution was lifted up against Peter, we read, that "prayer was made without ceasing, of the church, unto God for him." In this case they did not merely meet, as we moderns meet, for a little hour or a limited and brief space, but from hour to hour, the night throughout. According to the fair interpretation of the

VOL. X.

history, they would have so continued till the fate of Peter had been determined, had not his rescue released them; the sun, which went down upon them, would have risen upon them, in the same place, and in the same employment. The Apostle Paul, in his letters to the Gentile Churches, gives the utmost prominence to the work of prayer. Addressing himself to the Thessalonians, he exhorts them to "pray without ceasing, and in everything to give thanks." The Romans are exhorted to rejoice in hope, to be patient in tribulation, and to " continue instant in prayer." The Colossians are similarly counselled: "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same, with thanksgiving." The Apostle's intercourse with the churches was everywhere signalized by prayer. Some of the cases supplied, in illustration, are exceedingly noticeable. On sending to Ephesus for the elders of the church, he addressed them, obviously in a large assembly of other Christians, and at the close of his memorable speech it is added, "when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.” We are inclined to believe, that this striking scene occurred in the open air, probably at the side of the sea; for at the close, and amidst their sorrow and tears, "they accompanied him unto the ship." The historian tells us, referring to the same journey, that finding disciples at Tyre, they

B

were assembled; and he goes on to record the mode of their separation :— They brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city and we kneeled down on the shore and prayed." In referring to the great spiritual conflict, which all believers are required to sustain, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to "take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Addressing the Colossians, he says, "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." Epaphras was far from his people, but he was near to his God; and if he could not address them, he could yet supplicate good on their behalf, from their common Father. Paul's own habits come out incidentally, with great effect, in his address to the Thessalonians:-"What thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your success before our God night and day; praying exceedingly, that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith."

Now, all these Scriptures unite to supply a principle, and that principle may be viewed in a variety of aspects. Whereever the Spirit of God is present, in great power, in an individual, the result will be, prayer-prayer at all times, and in all places. Prayer to such a man will be as natural as breath. It is obedience to an irresistible law in his soul. In yielding to it, he finds pleasure. The act is the gratifying of an appetite of his Spiritual nature. He must pray, he will pray, and none can hinder him! At home and abroad, busy or at leisure, among friends or foes, in sickness or in health, in prosperity or in adversity, he prays on. His heart is a fountain that ever flows; the more that gushes forth, the more is behind. Just such a life was

The

that of the Apostle of the Gentiles. But even Paul himself was only an imitator of the Master, although to the Churches he is a model believer; as such the men of his own time viewed him, and followed him according to the Commandment, 66 as he followed Christ." Now, we have only to conceive of bodies of such Christians joining together with Pastors and Deacons, in order to conceive of a primitive Church, like that at Jerusalem-an assembly of one heart and one soul, where, as stubble in a furnace, selfishness was consumed, and individual interests, for the time, annihilated. What a spectacle that Church presented! full of the Holy Ghost, and full of love, continuing' in prayer, and in breaking of bread from house to house, and eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart! A great and primary characteristic was prayer. preaching of the word was a very simple exercise, consisting largely in a declaration of facts, and a loving exhortation to believe them. The calamity of a heathen rhetoric had not yet broken in upon the Church; vain displays of eloquence were unknown; everything was stamped with a deep and awful reality! God dwelt among the people, and they were filled with his fulness! The rod of their power was prayer; having faith, they asked and they received, and their joy was full. They literally walked with God; his ear was ever open to their cry. To be great in prayer, was to be great in everything! Prayer was power, the power the living God! The age of "great preachers" was still to come, when devotion was to give place to exhibition, and the true Gospel to the speculations of "philosophy, falsely so called."

of

Now, that was the Model Age of the Church, and, consequently, all that followed should have copied it. To that age the Church must be conducted back; and she will be so when the Lord shall be pleased, in his mercy, to put his hand to the work a second time. She has still far to go, and at the present rate of her progress, many ages will revolve before

she reach the goal of her destination. Far be it from us to represent things as worse than they really are; but truth compels the declaration, that the present is not an age distinguished for the spirit of devotion. The improvement, doubtlessly, is prodigious, both as to preaching, and to prayer, compared with the dreary night of the Middle Ages; but the Church is still cleaving to the dust; devotion, at this day, is not a primary characteristic of any branch of the Protestant community. The Sanctuary is less a place of spiritual business than of frivolous amusement; to be entertained by displays of intellect, or excited by exhibitions of eloquence, is, with too many, the great concern of the Lord's Day, from the rising to the going down of the year! Thus devotion is confounded with pastime. The edifices are denominated "the houses of God;" but a large portion of the people go not there to meet Him!

The rage of our day is for what is called "Great Preachers;" a term which, in the popular definition of it, has but little to do with either sound doctrine, deep spirituality, or superior adaptation to usefulness. Preaching, by the many, is often deemed "great" when it has but little of these attributes, and, we fear, in proportion as it has little. Far be it from us to set light by preaching; and in the Scriptural acceptation of the term, "great preachers," our fervent prayer is, that the Head of the Church may fill the world with them. But prayer has by far the primary place in our esteem, both on its own account, and as it stands related to preaching. It is that on which the success and character of preaching must everywhere and always turn. Let the spirit of true prayer prevail in the Church of God, and no fear for the preaching. The same element will pervade both, enlivening both, and stamping both with that indescribable something, which is the index of the Divine presence and power. We shall here cite an illustration of our meaning. Whatever infirmities may have been mixed up with the early

days of Methodism, none can doubt that it was largely characterised by marks of the presence of the Spirit of God, and that such marks were alike manifested in the praying and in the proclamation of the Word. Many of our readers, through his own invaluable “Diary,” and the important publication of Sir John Bickerton Williams, will be prepared to accept Mr. Joseph Williams, of Kidderminster, as beyond most, a credible witness. Few men have ever had a stronger sense of propriety-few a stronger abhorrence of unbridled enthusiasm and fanatical folly. Now that wise and holy man has thus expressed himself concerning the Wesleys and their work. Speaking of Charles Wesley, he says:

"I found him standing on a tableboard, in an erect posture, with his hands and eyes lifted up to heaven in prayer. He prayed with uncommon fervour, fluency, and variety of proper expressions. He then preached about an hour in such a manner as I scarce ever heard any man preach: though I have heard many a finer sermon, according to the common taste or acceptation of sermons, I never heard any man discover such evident signs of a vehement desire, or labour so earnestly to convince his hearers that they were all by nature in a sinful, lost, undone state. He showed how great a change a faith in Christ would produce in the whole man, and that every man who is in Christ, that is, who believes in him unto salvation, is a new creature. Nor did he fail to press how ineffectual their faith would be to justify them unless it wrought by love, purified their hearts, and was productive of good works. With uncommon fervour he acquitted himself as an ambassador of Christ, beseeching them in his name, and praying them in his stead to be reconciled to God. And although he used no notes nor had anything in his hands but a Bible, yet he delivered his thoughts in a rich, copious variety of expression, and with so much propriety, that I could not observe anything incoherent or inanimate through the whole performance."

Referring to the evening of the same day, and we presume to the elder Wesley, Mr. Williams describes what took place, and, as will be seen, gives special pro