[1.] By encouraging the soul, and giving it an holy boldness to draw nigh to God, notwithstanding our great unworthiness. If we are afraid to come into the presence of an holy God, and, destruction from him is a terror to us, if the threatnings he has denounced against sinners, such as we know ourselves to be, discourage us from drawing nigh to him, so that we are ready to say with Job, ‘Therefore am I troubled at his presence; when I consider, I am afraid of him,’ Job xxiii. 15. If his almighty power, that can easily sink us into perdition, overwhelms our spirits, and fills us with the utmost distress and confusion, so that we cannot draw nigh to him in prayer, considering him as an absolute God; we are encouraged by faith, to look upon him as our covenant God, and Father in Christ; and then all his divine perfections will afford relief to us. His sin-revenging justice is regarded by faith, as that which is fully satisfied by Christ’s obedience and sufferings; and therefore will not demand that satisfaction at our hands, which it has already received from our surety, who was ‘made sin for us’ though he ‘knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,’ 2 Cor. v. 21. His infinite power is no longer looked upon, as engaged to destroy us, but rather to succour us under all our weakness; and therefore, as Job says, ‘He will not plead against us with his great power; no, but he will put strength in us,’ Job xxiii. 6. We consider it as ready to support us under the heaviest pressures, and so enable us to perform the most difficult duties, and to overcome all our spiritual enemies, who would be otherwise too strong for us: So that this attribute is so far from discouraging us from drawing nigh to God in prayer, that, by faith, we behold it as delighting to exert and glorify itself, in doing those great things for us which we have in view, when we engage in this duty.
[2.] Faith discovers itself in prayer, by enabling us to plead, and apply to ourselves, the great and precious promises which God has given to his people in the gospel. As prayer cannot subsist without a promise, so we are enabled, by faith, to apprehend and plead the promises, and to say, ‘Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope,’ Psal. cxix. 49. And hereby we look upon God as ready to bestow the blessings which he has promised, and his faithfulness as engaged to make them good. Accordingly the Psalmist says, ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications; in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness,’ Psal. cxliii. 1. There is nothing that we want, or ought to pray for, but there are some promises, contained in the word of God, which faith improves and takes encouragement from in this duty: And since what we pray for, respects either temporal, or spiritual, and eternal blessings, these are looked upon by faith as promised; as the apostle says, godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, 1 Tim. iv. 18. This might be very largely insisted on, and many instances given hereof, which are contained in scripture; but I shall more especially consider those promises which respect God’s enabling us to pray, and his hearing and answering our prayers, which faith lays hold on, and improves, in order to our performing this duty in a right manner.
1st, There are promises of the Spirit’s assistance to enable us to pray. This the apostle calls his making intercession for us, according to the will of God, in Rom. viii. 27. And our Saviour says, in Luke xii. 13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
2dly, There are other promises that respect God’s hearing and answering prayer. Thus it is said, in Psal. lxxxvi. 7. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me: And elsewhere in Psal. cii. 17. God will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer. This is considered as being of a very large extent: Thus our Saviour says, in John xvi. 23. Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it you: And in chap. xv. 7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you: Which universal expressions of God’s giving believers what they will, are to be understood of his granting their lawful and regular desires; and, indeed, faith will never ask any thing but what tends to the glory of God, and that with an entire submission to his will; though it is far otherwise with respect to those prayers that are not put up in faith.
Moreover God has promised to hear and answer all kinds of prayer, provided they proceed from this grace; particularly, united prayers in the assemblies of his saints, as he says to Solomon, after the dedication of the temple, in 2 Chron. vii. 15. Mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place; and those prayers that are put up to God in families, where a small number are joined together; though it be but two or three, Christ has promised to be in the midst of them, xviii. 20. not only to assist them in this duty, but to give them what they ask for. There are also promises made to secret prayer: Thus when our Saviour encourages his people to pray to their Father, which is in secret, he tells them, My Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly, chap. vi. 6.
Here it will be enquired, whether it be necessary in order to our praying by faith, that we be assured, at all times, that our prayer shall be heard.
To this it may be answered,
1st, That it is not our duty to believe that every prayer shall be heard; for God heareth not sinners, that is, those who are under the reigning power of sin, and consequently are destitute of the grace of faith; nor will he hear those prayers that proceed from feigned lips: Thus it is said, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me, Psal. lxvi. 18.
2dly, It is not the duty of those who have the truth of grace, to believe that their prayer shall be heard, when, by reason of their infirmity, or the weakness of their faith, they ask for that which is unlawful, and not redounding to the glory of God and their real good.
3dly, If what we pray for may be for the glory of God, and redound to our advantage; yet it is not our duty to determine, with too great peremptoriness, that he will certainly grant what we ask for, immediately, or in that particular way which we desire; since he may answer prayer, and yet do it in his own time and way.