4. By prayer, we receive the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13; Zech. 12:10. By prayer, we make room for the Holy Spirit to work and exert his power in us, and by this means to come and make his abode with us. John 14:23. By prayer, we obtain the true light and knowledge of God, so as perfectly to understand his will; and, by prayer, we abide in his kingdom, and are partakers of the blessings of heaven.
5. By prayer, we shake off carnal security, resist sin, and, by vanquishing flesh and blood, “fight the good fight, and hold faith and a good conscience.” 1 Tim. 1:19; 6:12.
6. By prayer, we oppose temptations, dangers, afflictions, the devil, and wicked men. For prayer is a strong tower of defence against our enemies, and the holy fortress to which we must have recourse (Eph. 6:18; Prov. 18:10; Ps. 31:3); and though the devil and wicked men raise the greatest opposition, yet “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Rom. 8:28.
7. Lastly, he that continually watches unto prayer may always thankfully rejoice in the Holy Ghost; according to the doctrine of St. Paul, “Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks.” 1 Thess. 5:16-18. For the comfortable addresses made to God, the eternal King, by prayer, are an effectual remedy against sorrow, trouble, misery, and affliction; and produce joy, peace, and tranquillity in the hearts of the faithful; and when our prayers are right, we are assured that all our righteous designs shall prosper in our hands “whilst we cast our care upon God.” 1 Pet. 5:7. “The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing.” Phil. 4:5, 6. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.” Ps. 37:5. For all solicitude arises from a distrust of God, which naturally proceeds from the neglect of prayer. On the contrary, faith and prayer give us confidence towards God, and are the proper antidote against all anxiety and trouble of mind.
A PRAYER.
Help me, O Lord my God, that I may continually call to mind, that it is for my own sake that thou invitest and urgest me to the exercise of prayer. [pg 273] Do thou rouse me, and I shall arise; awaken thou me, and I shall awake, and follow Christ alone. Amen.
Section IV.
The True Christian Chooses The Narrow Way In Christ, Rather Than The Broad Way In Adam.
We glory in tribulations.—Rom. 5:3.
1. The Scripture teaches us that when Adam was placed in Paradise, God showed him the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and forbade him to eat of it (Gen. 2:9, 17); so that Adam was thus placed between time and eternity. Life and death, light and darkness (Deut. 30:15), were set before him, that he might qualify himself for eternal glory in the narrow way. Our case is just the same. For since the fall of Adam, Christ comes to us, and endeavors to draw us from the broad way in Adam, to the narrow way, which is himself; and this he does gently and without violence, resolving to force no man either to his salvation or his condemnation. He shows us the way by his prevenient grace, which is bestowed on all men without exception. Christ now says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction; and many there be that go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt. 7:13, 14.