on. mere casual petition, however passionate, but by habitual application, that devout affections are excited and maintained, that our converse with Heaven is carried It is by no other means that we can be assured, with St. Paul, that "we are risen with Christ," but this obvious onethat we thus seek the things which are above; that the heart is renovated that the mind is lifted above this low scene of things; that the spirit breathes in a purer atmosphere: that the whole man is enlightened, and strengthened, and purified; and that the more frequently, so the more nearly, we approach to the throne of God. We shall find, also, that prayer not only expresses but elicits the Divine grace. Prayer draws all the Christian graces into its focus. It draws Charity, followed by her lovely train, her forbearance with faults, her forgiveness of injuries, her pity for errors, her compassion for want. It draws Repentance, with her holy sorrows, her pious resolutions, her self-distrust. It attracts Faith, with her elevated eye-Hope with her grasped anchor |