(1.) Repentance: This is necessary, because we are sinners; and as such, are to come into the presence of God with confession, joined with supplication which must be made with a penitent frame of spirit; the contrary to which, is a tacit approbation of sin, and a kind of resolution to adhere to it, which is very unbecoming those who are pleading for forgiveness: Accordingly, when God promised that he would pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, he adds, that they shall look upon him, whom they have pierced, and mourn for him, or for it, as one mourneth for his only son; and shall be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born: And that this shall be done by every family apart, and their wives apart, Zech. xii. 10. & seq. So when the priests, the ministers of the Lord, are commanded to pray, that he would spare his people; they, are, at the same time, to weep between the porch and the altar, to rent their hearts, and turn unto the Lord their God, Joel ii. 13. 17. And when Israel is advised to take with them words, and instructed how they should pray, they are exhorted to turn unto the Lord; to repent of their seeking help from Assyria and Egypt, and of that abominable idolatry which they had been guilty of, Hos. xiv. 1, 2, 3, 8.

Now there are several subjects very proper for our meditation; which may, through the divine blessing accompanying it, excite this grace, when we are engaged in the duty of prayer; particularly the multitude of transgressions which are charged on the consciences of men by the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God, Rom. iii. 19. and especially the ingratitude which we have reason to accuse ourselves of, and our contempt of Christ, and the way of salvation by him, which is discovered in the gospel; and our having done many things in the course of our lives, which fill us with shame and sorrow, whenever we come into the presence of God, to pour out our hearts before him in this duty.

(2.) The next grace to be exercised in prayer is, thankfulness, in which respect prayer and praise ought to be joined together: Thus the Psalmist says, Praise waiteth for thee O God, in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed, O thou that hearest prayer, Psal. lxv. 1, 2. That this is a part of prayer has been observed under a foregoing answer; in which we considered the many blessings that we have reason to be thankful for. I shall only add, at present, that it is matter of thankfulness, that we have liberty of access to God, in hope of obtaining mercy from him, as sitting on a throne of grace, who might have been forever banished from his presence, or have been brought before his judgment-seat as criminals, doomed to everlasting destruction.

Moreover, we are to bless him, not only that we have leave to come before him, but have often experienced that he has heard, and answered our prayers, and therein has fulfilled that promise, I said not to the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain, Isa. xlv. 19. And that we may be brought into a thankful frame, we ought to consider,

[1.] The worth of every mercy; especially those that are spiritual, or accompany salvation; and this we may judge of by the price that was paid for it, which is no less than the blood of Jesus; which the apostle not only styles precious, but speaks of it as infinitely preferable to every thing that is corruptible, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. And we may, in some measure, take an estimate thereof by the worth and excellency of the soul, and as it is conducive to promote its eternal welfare.

[2.] We are also to consider every saving blessing, as the fruit and result of everlasting love, and as the consequence of God’s eternal design, in having chosen those, who are the objects thereof, to salvation in Christ, Jer. xxxi. 3. Eph. i. 3, 4. We must also consider these mercies as discriminating, whereby God distinguishes his people from the world, and herein glorifies the riches of his grace, in those who deserve to have been, for ever, the monuments of his wrath: We might here consider, as an inducement to this grace of thankfulness, the aggravations of the sin of ingratitude.

1st, It is a virtual disowning our obligation to, or dependence on God, from whom we receive all mercies, and a behaving ourselves in such a manner as though we were not beholden to him for them, or could be happy without him; as though we were self-sufficient, and did not look upon him as the fountain of blessedness.

2dly, It is a refusing to give him the glory of his wisdom, power, goodness, and faithfulness, which are eminently displayed in the blessings that he bestows.

3dly, It is disagreeable to the large expectations we have of those blessings he has reserved for his people, or promised to them, or that hope which he has laid up for them in heaven. Therefore we cannot but conclude that ingratitude argues a person destitute of that holiness which eminently discovers itself in the exercise of the contrary grace: Accordingly the apostle joins these two characters together, when speaking of the vilest of men, whom he styles, unthankful, unholy, 2 Tim. iii. 2.

(3.) Another grace, to be exercised in prayer, is faith. This implies an habitual disposition of soul, proceeding from a principle of regenerating grace, whereby we are led to commit ourselves, and all our concerns, into Christ’s hand, depending on his merits and mediation for the supply of all our wants, considering him as having purchased, and as being authorized to apply, all the benefits of the covenant of grace, which are the subject-matter of our supplications to him. More particularly, faith exerts and discovers itself in prayer,