LET me say, dear brethren and sisters, that our entire dependence upon God for wisdom and strength, to stand amidst the increasing perils of the last days, and the responsible work in which we are engaged, should lead us to the closet often, to commune with, and seek instruction from, the Lord. By the devout child of God the place of secret prayer is much beloved. The spot where he has so often been refreshed by the presence of the blessed Saviour, lives in lively remembrance in his heart; and with the writer of the following lines he can say,69
"I love to steal awhile away,
From every cumbering care,
And spend the hours of setting day
In humble, grateful prayer.
"I love in solitude to shed
The penitential tear,
And all his promises to plead,
Where none but God can hear."
But it is not in the hours of setting day alone that the humble, faithful follower of the great Head of the Church finds sweet pleasure in spending in secret devotion; but he delights to visit some spot of retirement several times a day, to enter into audience with the Giver of every good and perfect gift; for he forgets not the soul-inspiring promise, "And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
On the frequency of private prayer, we give the following excellent remarks from the pen of another:
"The Scriptures do not give express directions how often we ought to pray, farther than by general intimations and the examples of others. We ought always to be in the spirit of prayer. But we are speaking now of stated seasons for retired prayer: and of this we say, that at the least you ought regularly to pray twice every day. David says, It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High; to show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Ps. xcii, 1, 2. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Ps. v, 3. And again, Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Ps. cxli, 2. Morning and evening devotions, then, every day, should never be omitted; and, speaking generally, unless you are prevented by circumstances out of your control, they cannot be neglected without much damage to your soul. Prayer has been compared to a key, that in the morning opens the treasury of God's mercies, and in the evening shuts us up under his protection and safeguard.
"Our first waking thoughts should be directed towards God: copying David's example, who says, When I awake I am still with thee. Ps. cxxxix, 15. I would advise you to be longest in your morning devotions, when your spirits are lively and vigorous, and undisturbed by the events of the day: in the evening, when you are tired and spent with its labors, be shorter, and endeavor to attend to this duty some time before you retire to rest. If your evening devotions are deferred till every thing else is done, there is great danger of their being often imperfectly performed, if not altogether omitted.
"It is too generally found that many, instead of transacting their business with God while their faculties are alive, stay till exhausted nature is become incapable of any energetic exertion, and then hurry over some form of prayer, as the school-boy does his task, without feeling one word they utter. Even this is too favorable a representation of the prayers of some others, who stay till they have lien down upon their bed, and then fall asleep in the midst of their devotion. As for praying in the morning they have no time for that: the concerns of the past or of the present day, have pre-occupied their minds; and if they offer two or three cold petitions while they are dressing, or before they leave their room, they think this quite sufficient.
"The habit of early rising is of great importance to the due discharge of morning prayer. O how many precious hours do indolent Christians lose; while those who are more self-denying and diligent, are gaining the favor of God and enjoying communion with him!
"Regular devotional exercises, twice every day, in secret, are insisted on as a plain duty. More than this is strongly recommended. Christians in general would find, what many do find in their own practice, a great advantage in obtaining a few leisure moments for retired and stated prayer in the middle of the day. The word of God gives us encouraging examples of those who have done so. Evening, morning, and at noon-day will I pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. Ps. lv, 17. Daniel, in a time of great danger, his windows being opened in his chamber, kneeled upon his knees, three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he aforetime did. Dan. vi, 10. Here was the secret spring of the eminency of these holy men. They were much in prayer. Besides, men's thoughts and affections will necessarily be most vigorous and lively about those things in which they are incessantly employed, and they are able to do that best which they do most frequently. This is very evident in the common affairs of life. Indeed, we see this to be the case, as in prayer itself our thoughts so continually run out after our daily and more constant occupations.
"The devout Christian, praying in secret, makes rapid advances in the divine life. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Sins, with which the indolent and careless Christian is contending to life's end, soon yield to continued, fervent prayer. Prayer gains for us that strength which enables us to surmount every difficulty, and removes every obstacle in our way to Sion. Are our affections towards God and Christ becoming cold? Prayer is a fire to which we must approach, and in doing so, we shall perceive a gentle warmth insensibly overspread us, and our benumbed powers will acquire fresh energy and vigor.
"Thus the Christian often comes from his closet with some of the beams of heavenly light and glory, shining as it were in his countenance. Coming into the world is sometimes to him like coming back again into a lower sphere, into a new society. He has been holding converse with the unseen world, and he returns invigorated and refreshed for every duty. Our graces will languish and die, our spirits grow heavy and dull, unless we are refreshed and revived by constant communion with God."
Says Kempis, "The more thou frequentest thy closet, the more thou wilt like it; the less thou comest thereunto, the more thou wilt loathe it. If, in the beginning of thy conversion, thou passeth much time in it, it will afterwards be to thee a dear friend, and pleasant comfort."
All may find some place and time of retirement. "Poor persons, who have but one apartment, may enter into the spirit of this direction by praying wherever they can be retired. Isaac's closet was the field. He went out to meditate in the field at even-tide. Gen. xxiv, 63. David's closet was his bed-chamber. Commune with your own heart, upon your bed, and be still. Ps. iv, 4. Our Lord's closet was a mountain. When he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray, and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matt. xiv, 23. Peter's closet was the house-top. Peter went up upon the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour. Acts x, 9. Hezekiah's closet was turning his face towards the wall and praying unto the Lord. Isa. xxxviii, 2."
The author of the above extracts in his conclusion on secret prayer, says of the Saviour, "He devoutly referred every act of his life and ministry, his mission, his doctrine, his miracles, his sufferings, his resurrection, to the will and appointment of his Father. He encouraged a spirit of prayer in his disciples, by commanding them to pray, and by supplying them with a model of prayer. He sanctioned these encouragements to prayer by his own example; by going out into a desert to pray; by rising up early, and by continuing all night in prayer to God; by pouring out earnest and frequent addresses to his heavenly Father, as new exigencies arose; by his solemn intercessory supplication previous to his last sufferings; by his strong crying and tears during his agony; and by commending his soul to his Father as he expired on the cross. If the Saviour of the world thus prayed, and was heard, and carried through his stupendous work, can we have a stronger motive to abound in prayer?"
The following lines beautifully express his practice:
"Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witness'd the fervor of thy prayer,
The desert thy temptations knew,
Thy conflict, and thy victory too."
To those to whom God has committed the solemn and important work of bearing the shining light of the last message of mercy to this world, how proper and needful the exhortation of the Apostle, "But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."
He who gains access to the throne of grace, whose secret cries and supplications the Lord hears and answers, will also prevail with God, and move his strong arm while he mingles his voice with others in prayer and praise.