Lemuel. And when we pray and pray sincerely.
Mr. Alcott. What is praying sincerely?
Lemuel. Praying the truth.
Mr. Alcott. What is to be done in praying the truth? When you think of prayer, do you think of a position of the body—of words?
Lemuel (earnestly). I think of something else, but I cannot express it.
Mr. Alcott. Josiah is holding up his hand; can he express it?
Josiah (burst out). To pray, Mr. Alcott, is to be good, really; you know it is better to be bad before people and to be good to God alone, because then we are good for goodness sake, and not to be seen, and not for people's sake. Well, so it is about prayer. There must be nothing outward with prayer; but we must have some words, sometimes; sometimes we need not. If we don't feel the prayer, it is worse than never to say a word of prayer. It is wrong not to pray, but it is more wrong to speak prayer and not pray. We had better do nothing about it, Mr. Alcott! we must say words in a prayer, and we must feel the words we say, and we must do what belongs to the words.
Mr. Alcott. Oh! there must be doing, must there?
Josiah. Oh! yes, Mr. Alcott! doing is the most important part. We must ask God for help, and at the same time try to do the thing we are to be helped about. If a boy should be good all day, and have no temptation, it would not be very much; there would be no improvement; but if he had temptation, he could pray and feel the prayer, and try to overcome it, and would overcome it; and then there would be a real prayer and a real improvement. That would be something. Temptation is always necessary to a real prayer, I think. I don't believe there is ever any real prayer before there is a temptation; because we may think and feel and say our prayer; but there cannot be any doing, without there is something to be done.
Mr. Alcott. Well, Josiah, that will do now. Shall some one else speak?