Questions on Chapter 4.

duty of prayer is enjoined, and these frivolous objections are at once scattered to the winds. It is enough that an almighty and all-sufficient, all-merciful and righteous Creator, has commanded his poor, dependent, and helpless creatures, saying, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” That God has commanded the duty, and promised the blessing, is an answer which, with every sincere believer, shall silence every cavil and remove every doubt; and, with the most unshaken confidence, relying on the truth of God’s word, his language will be: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice; have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

All difficulty which may arise in the mind in relation to the propriety of prayer, should at once give way when it is remembered that this duty originates in the appointment of God. It will be admitted that the grace or favor of God, whether it relates to the spiritual blessings of salvation or the temporal mercies of this life, is all free and unmerited. It is not conferred upon us on account of our own deservings, but on the ground of Christ’s atoning merits; hence, as God is free to “have mercy on whom he will have mercy,” it is also his prerogative to suspend the conferring of that mercy on any condition his own wisdom may select. And as he has appointed the duty of prayer as one of those conditions, this fact alone should not only suppress every murmuring thought against the plans of God, but it should stir every heart with gratitude that the conditions of mercy are rendered so easy, and the burden of Christ so light. What is more natural, than for the heart, when burdened with a sense of want, of danger, or of affliction, to cry for help? And how grateful should we be for the assurance that the Lord “heareth the prayer of the righteous”!

QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 4.

QUESTION 1. What general definition of prayer is given?

2. On what is this duty primarily founded?

3. Does the light of nature intimate the propriety of prayer?

4. What beneficial tendencies of prayer does reason indicate?

5. Does prayer, by its direct efficacy, produce the blessings for which we pray?

6. In what manner does prayer secure the divine blessing?

7. What objections have been offered to prayer?

8. How may they be answered?

9. What is the best answer to all objections on the subject?