Prayer

“Do we think walking with God can do us any hurt? Did we ever hear any cry out on their deathbed that they have been too holy, that they have prayed too much, or walked with God too much? No, that which has cut them to the heart has been this, that they have not walked more closely with God; they have wrung their hand and torn their hair to think that they have been so bewitched with the pleasures of the world. Close walking with God will make our enemy (death) be at peace with us. “ The Godly Man’s Picture ” pg. 181”

“It is a shame for a man to behave himself irreverently before a king, but a sin to do so before God. And as a king, if wise, is not pleased with an oration made up with unseemly words and gestures, so God takes no pleasure in the sacrifice of fools (Eccl 5:1, 4). It is not long discourses, nor eloquent tongues, that are the things which are pleasing in the ears of the Lord; but a humble, broken, and contrite heart, that is sweet in the nostrils of the heavenly Majesty (Psa 51:17; Isa 57:15). ~ Prayer by John Bunyan”

“There is a generation of men in the world that have the law of God in their hearts, though they cannot act and work towards God as they would. These sometimes are in a dry and barren condition, where no water or comfort is; yet if in this condition they dig pits, go to prayer, wait upon God in duty, though they find no comfort springing up in their duty for the present, yet in due time the rain of God’s blessing will fill those dry pits and empty duties , whereby their life shall be like unto a pool of water, and they shall go from strength of grace to strength of grace, until they see the Lord. Know ye, therefore, any man that is in this valley of Baca, where no water is, yet if he can find in his heart to dig pits, to pray, read, hear, meditate, confer, and perform duties; though those duties be empty of comfort for the present, yet the rain of grace and mercy shall fall upon those pits, and he shall go from strength to strength until he appear before the Lord in Glory. ~ A Lifting up for the Downcast by William Bridge”

“See the gracious way he executes his offices. As a prophet, he came with blessing in his mouth, `Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matt. 5:3), and invited those to come to him whose hearts suggested most exceptions against themselves, `Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden' (Matt. 11:28). How did his heart yearn when he saw the people `as sheep having no shepherd' (Matt. 9:36)! He never turned any back again that came to him, though some went away of themselves. He came to die as a priest for his enemies. In the days of his flesh he dictated a form of prayer unto his disciples, and put petitions unto God into their mouths, and his Spirit to intercede in their hearts. He shed tears for those that shed his blood, and now he makes intercession in heaven for weak Christians, standing between them and God's anger. He is a meek king; he will admit mourners into his presence, a king of poor and afflicted persons. As he has beams of majesty, so he has a heart of mercy and compassion. He is the prince of peace (Isa. 9:6). Why was he tempted, but that he might `succor them that are tempted' (Heb. 2:18)? What mercy may we not expect from so gracious a Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) who took our nature upon him that he might be gracious? He is a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken heart. He died that he might heal our souls with a plaster of his own blood, and by that death save us, which we were the procurers of ourselves, by our own sins. And has he not the same heart in heaven? 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' cried the Head in heaven, when the foot on earth was trodden on (Acts 9:4). His advancement has not made him forget his own flesh. Though it has freed him from passion, yet not from compassion towards us. The lion of the tribe of Judah will only tear in pieces those that `will not have him rule over them' (Luke 19:14). He will not show his strength against those who prostrate themselves before him. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“Shall our sins discourage us, when he appears there only for sinners? Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, he calls you. Conceal not your wounds, open all before him and take not Satan's counsel. Go to Christ, although trembling, as the poor woman who said, 'If I may but touch his garment' (Matt. 9:21). We shall be healed and have a gracious answer. Go boldly to God in our flesh; he is flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone for this reason, that we might go boldly to him. Never fear to go to God, since we have such a Mediator with him, who is not only our friend but our brother and husband. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“The purest actions of the purest men need Christ to perfume them; and this is his office. When we pray, we need to pray again for Christ to pardon the defects of our prayers. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation.”

“He who prays as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays.”

“Prayer delights God's ear. It melts His heart and opens His hand.”

“The door of Heaven is always open for the prayers of God's people.”

“Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the throne of grace.”

“That which begins not with prayer, seldom winds up with comfort.”

“You shall find this to be God's usual course; not to give His children the taste of His delights till they begin to perspire in seeking after them.”

“When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words be without heart.”

“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised.”

“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.”

“You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”

“Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks.”

“Set no time to the Lord the creator of time, for His time is always best.”

“Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God's Word formed into an argument, and retorted by faith upon God again.”

“Go to God by prayer for a key to unlock the mysteries of His Word. It is not the plodding but the praying soul.”

“Pray often rather than very long at a time. It is hard to be very long in prayer, and not slacken in our affections.”

“Satan cannot deny but that great wonders have been wrought by prayer. As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down.”

“In heaven we shall appear, not in armour, but in robes of glory. But here these are to be worn night and day; we must walk, work, and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.”

“We must not confide in the armour of God, but in the God of this armour, because all our weapons are only mighty through God.”

“Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God's Word formed into an argument.”

“We may be tempted, yet not enter into temptation.”

“He that would be little in temptation, let him be much in prayer.”

“God can make a way for a man to escape; when he is in, he can break the snare, tread down Satan, and make the soul more than a conqueror, though it have entered into temptation.”

“It is the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us to believe the Scripture to be the word of God, and infallibly to evidence it unto our minds.”

“His work it is to support, cherish, relieve, and comfort the church, in all trials and distresses.”

“Learn, ye that would have death pleasant, so to rule and square this life, that it may agree in some measure with the life to come.”

“Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God hath promised.”

“There is in prayer an unbosoming of a man's self, an opening of the heart to God, an affectionate pouring out of the soul in requests, sighs, and groans.”