R. M. (Robert Milligan) writes on prayer, 1857, page 551:

      Prayer is the spontaneous utterance of every grateful and pious heart. It flows from a sense of our dependence on God for blessings internal, as well as for things eternal. Any man who looks into the deep recesses of his own nature, will see and feel that there are there wants which he has no power to supply. He may not fully comprehend what these wants are; whence they are; and what will satisfy them. But this very uncertainty, if he knows the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, will only prompt him to exclaim with a more profound and realizing sense of his own dependence, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me."

      This feeling of dependence is very greatly strengthened by a survey of our relations to the universe. Not only our happiness, but our very existence is suspended on a thousand objective realities, over which we have no control. Without the heat, the light, and other genial influences of the Sun, we would all very soon perish. But what mortal can guide the chariot of the king of Day? What sage or potentate can hasten the rising splendors of his coming, or stay for a moment the waning glories of his departure? Job once exulted in his own greatness and wisdom; but when interrogated on the laws, the operations, the ordinances, and the dependencies of nature, he was dumb. When asked, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season, or Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinance's of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds that abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?"--to all such questions he could only say, "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no farther." [65]

      The study of nature, therefore, as well as the study of Divine Revelation, causes us to feel our dependence on something beyond ourselves for life and happiness. And hence it is just as natural to pray as it is to sigh, or as it is to moan. The very atheist is often heard to utter exclamations which indicate the wants of his soul; the weakness of his nature; his longing after something which he has never been able to realize; and his dependence on that God whom he has proudly and theoretically discarded.

      But to whom shall we pray? for what shall we pray? and how shall we pray? These are questions of paramount interest to every humble penitent who feels his need of help from some superior power; but they are questions to which the book of nature gives no satisfactory answer. "The world by wisdom knew not God," said the greatest of all the apostles. And a greater than he has said, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

      To look up through nature to nature's God; to prove that the visible creation is but an index of the infinite power, and wisdom, and goodness of Jehovah; that it is, in fact, but the medium through which God pours out on all mankind, the oceans of his love, and the rich streams of his benevolence, seems to have been a problem entirely too profound for the unassisted powers of man's erring reason. The proximate causes of life and happiness were more easily seen and comprehended. The Sun diffused its light and heat upon the world., and therefore it was deified. The Nile poured its flood of annual blessings upon Egypt, and hence it, too, became an object of worship. This principle of deification was extended until, in some countries, the gods became almost as numerous as the objects of nature. At one time the Greeks worshipped thirty thousand legalized divinities; and the Hindoos adored three hundred and thirty-three millions.

      It is true, that the idea of Jehovah's existence, first communicated to Adam in Paradise, and afterwards transmitted, by tradition, to his posterity, was never wholly forgotten. The ancient philosophers often spoke familiarly of the Supreme God. But they did not generally regard him as a proper object of worship. They supposed that he was too far above them to feel any concern for their welfare.

      How strongly does this contrast with the doctrine of Divine Revelation! We are there taught that God sits upon a throne of mercy. That he has opened up a new and living way through which all men may come to him, and find grace to help in every time of need. Nay, more, we there learn not only that this is our privilege, but that Jehovah, the Almighty Maker, Preserver, and Upholder of this vast universe, condescends even to entreat us to come to him; and in the name of his own dear Son, whom he has set forth as a propitiation [66] for our sins, to ask any and every thing that can, in any way, contribute to our real enjoyment, with the assurance that whatever we ask in faith, will be certainly granted. "Ask," says he, "and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. For what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him." "Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." "If," says John, "we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

      Is it not strange then--passing strange, that all men do not pray? that they do not pray always? that they do not pray without ceasing? that they do not in every thing give thanks, knowing that this is good and acceptable unto God? If an audience even infinitely less gracious than this were offered to the whole world by the Autocrat of all the Russias, how soon would the Court of St. Petersburgh be thronged with humble suppliants from the remotest parts of the earth! Why, then, do not all men press to the mercy seat of the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Why do they not participate in an honor, than which there is none greater enjoyed even by Gabriel who stands in the presence of God? Surely there is nothing more reasonable than that fallen, sinful, perishing mortals should worship, serve, and adore their Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer.

[ROBERT MILLIGAN.]      

      "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

      Our present subject is the utility of secret prayer. We shall not attempt to exhaust it; we shall only briefly notice and illustrate some of the most obvious benefits which result from this part of Christian devotion.

      1. The first of these is the cultivation of our own spiritual nature. If it is a law of the human constitution, that all its powers and susceptibilities are developed and strengthened by exercise, then what can be more beneficial than the devotions of the closet? There is no other place beneath the heavens, that is so favorable for the legitimate [67] exercise of our moral faculties. Even in the religious assembly, the attention is often arrested, and the heart made to wander, by some improper display of the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life. But from the closet, all such evil influences are excluded. There is no motive to deceive, or to make a vain display of our persons, our dress, and our good works. But there the mind turns in upon itself. There the conscience is awakened. There we see ourselves in the light of Heaven. And there, under the deep, solemn conviction, that we are on holy ground, and that the eye of God is upon us, we are almost compelled to be humble; to repent of our sins; to forgive our enemies; to sympathize with the afflicted; to adore our Creator; to love our Redeemer; and to exercise all the powers of our souls in harmony with the will of God.

      An hour in the closet may, therefore, do more to rectify and strengthen our religious impressions and moral faculties, than many days of ordinary service in the public congregation. And hence all the great moral heroes of the world have been distinguished for their devotion to the closet, and for the consecration of much of their time to the duties and privileges of secret prayer.

      2. It forms a habit of close union, communion, and fellowship with God. The law of habit is well understood. All men live and act under its influence. The man who frequents the theatre, the bar-room, the drinking or the gambling saloon, soon feels that he is by an invisible and almost irresistible influence drawn to these haunts of idleness, vice, and dissipation. He may see poverty, disgrace, misery, and wretchedness before him; and he may feel the awful forebodings of an awakened conscience within him; but the force of habit overcomes all his fears and feeble resolutions. Under its still increasing power, he visits and revisits these charnel-houses of iniquity, till a dart strike's through his liver, and by his own folly he seals forever the doom of his eternal infamy.

      But the man who begins his course of life on the ascending scale; who forms habits of industry, frugality, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and philanthropy, will soon find no difficulty in ascending to the mount of God. These habits become to him the secondary laws of his nature; and he hungers and thirsts after righteousness as the weary hart pants after the brooks of water.

      The habit of secret prayer is no exception to this general law. In no other religious exercise are we brought so near to God; in no other can we be so familiar with the Creator of our bodies and the Father and Preserver of our spirits. And, as it is a law of our nature, that we form attachments to those with whom we associate; and even become assimilated to them in the elements of our character; it follows that no other acts of devotion are so favorable for the cultivation [68] of godliness, and for the formation of those other virtues, the tendency of which is to draw us nearer and nearer to God, as the only immutable, eternal, and unwasting fountain of life and happiness. And hence those who have been most devoted to the closet, and who in this way have formed habits of intimacy, communion, and fellowship with God, have always been the happiest of men.

      This is no merely theoretical or speculative conclusion. It is sustained by the history of all past ages. The prophets, the apostle's, and the martyrs were all remarkable examples of the truth of this hypothesis, and so are the spirits of the just in Heaven who cease not day nor night to "worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and to cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

      3. It preserves us from many evils. Our worst enemies are our own lusts and passions. But these may all be subdued by and through the influence of secret prayer. How, for example, can any man cherish a feeling of pride in his heart, when, concealed from the world, he pours out the desires of his soul in humble supplication, to the God who rules in Heaven and who does what he pleases among the inhabitants of the earth! How can he cultivate a spirit of revenge, while imploring the forgiveness from that Being who has said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord!" How can he indulge in anger, wrath, malice, or any of the other works of the flesh, while seeking the aid of that Spirit, whose fruits are always "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, and temperance!" Prayer, when properly offered, must always have a soothing influence on the affections. Its tendency is to allay the passions, to promote the virtues, and to harmonize all the powers and faculties of the soul. It subdues the will of man, and makes the will of God the supreme law of the universe.

      4. It also secures to us much positive good, by fulfilling a condition on which God can and does bestow his blessing on fallen man. It is a great mistake to suppose that the influence of prayer is altogether subjective; or at any rate, that it never extends beyond the 'narrow limits of our own earthly associations. It reaches God himself: it moves the very throne of the universe.

      I know some have ridiculed the idea that the prayers and entreaties of fallen, sinful, rebel worms of the dust should in any way affect the Divine administration. But this is only to express our own ignorance oaf the moral government of God. If a father finds it consistent with his dignity; with the regulations of his government; and with the best interests of his children, to bestow favors in answer to their petitions, why may not the Almighty Father of the universe act on [69] the same principle? If this is a wise and prudent regulation in the government of a family, why may, it not be so in the economy and administration of the universe?

      Surely this is not a proper subject for ridicule. If we can not understand it, let us humbly confess our ignorance, and seek for more enlarged and comprehensive views of the Divine government. To many persons, it would appear just as absurd that the pen in my hand should have an influence on the most remote of the fixed stars, as that the prayers of a poor, penniless, and despised follower of Jesus Christ should excite the sympathies of Heaven, and affect the purposes of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

      But these two problems have both been solved. Newton obtained an answer to the one, and the Holy Spirit is the great demonstrator of the other. The question, then, is forever settled with those who regard the Bible as of paramount authority.

      The following illustrations from the Holy Oracles may serve to stir up the minds of many by way of remembrance on this important subject. We quote first from Moses, Num. xiv. 11-20, "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be before they believe me for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and I will make of thee a greater nation and a mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have beard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if thou wilt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word."

      The testimony of the apostle James on this subject is altogether conclusive. "Confess your faults," says he, "one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like [70] passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."

      Our space will not permit us to make any additional quotations; but, as an antidote to the scepticism that now exists on this subject, we commend to our readers, and especially to the young, the study and careful examination of such passages as Gen. xix. 17-21; Num. xi. 1, 2; Deut. ix. 12-20; I. Sam. xii. 16-19; II. Kings xx. 1-6; Job xlii. 7, 8; Psa. xviii. 6-15; Dan. ii. 18, 19; Jonah iii. 1-10; Luke xviii. 1-8; 1. John iii. 22; all of which illustrate the great efficacy of prayer and its influence even on the will and purposes of Jehovah. As long, then, as it is written, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," it will be in vain to speculate and philosophize against the utility and propriety of secret prayer. The rational and well-grounded conviction that, by a solemn appeal to our Heavenly Father, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we may obtain the free and full pardon of all our sins, gives more peace, joy, comfort and consolation to the soul than all the honors and wealth of this time-perishing world.

      5. It enables us to promote the good and happiness of others. This it does in several ways. In the first place, it is, as we have seen, the means of securing the favor of God in their behalf. The prayers or Abraham were worth more to Lot than all the riches of the plain; the entreaties of Job were full of blessings to Eliphaz, and Bildad, and Zophar; and the intercession of Moses saved the nation of Israel. Who, then, can estimate the amount of good that has been secured to mankind through the humble, earnest, and penitential supplications of the closet? Who can recount the various individual, social, ecclesiastical, and national blessings that have been poured out of the windows of Heaven in answer to secret prayer? Who can tell how many poor, wandering prodigals have been brought back to their Father's house, and made heirs of immortality and eternal life, through the earnest and repeated prayers of a pious brother, or sister, or mother?

      Why, then, do we not all thus pray? Why do we not more frequently retire to our closets, and pray more earnestly for the salvation of immortal souls? How much more parents might do in this way to promote the present and eternal well-being of their children, than they can by constantly laboring to secure for them a large supply of the riches, and the honors, and the pleasures of this vain world' Let us, then, endeavor to appreciate more highly the great value and efficacy of secret prayer, as a means of securing to others the rich blessings of the life that now is and of that which is to come. [71]

      Another way in which our private devotion may have an influence on the life and destiny of others, is through the effects on our own character, temper and disposition. There is a fitness in all the arrangements of creation, providence and redemption. The iceberg never promotes the growth of vegetation. The frosts of winter do not cause the bud and the tender flowers to spring forth. And the heart that is filled with envy, jealousy, and revenge, has no power to win souls to Christ. But the man whose evil passions have been subdued; and whose love, mercy, and benevolence have been excited and strengthened by the devotions of the closet, is a savor of life unto life, wherever he goes. He is a living illustration of the power of the Gospel on the soul; and must always have an attractive, as well as a transforming, influence on the minds and hearts of others.

      If, then, we would be good, and do good, and glorify our Father who is in Heaven, let us not forget the duties and privileges of secret prayer; let us often retire to our closets, and when we have shut the door, let us pray to our Father who is in secret, and our Father who seeth in secret will surely reward us openly.

R. M.      

[MHA2 65-72]