¶Of prayer that is spedeful to gete clennes of herte and vertues / Caplm xxiiii. (Book 24)
PRayer is profyte & spedfull to vse for to gete clen̄es of herte by destroyeng of syn̄e and receyuyng of vertues / Not that thou sholdest by thy prayer make our lorde knowe what thou desyrest For he knoweth wel ynough what the ne¦deth / but for to make the able & redy by thy prayer that thou myght receyue as a clene vessell. the grace yt our lord wyll fre¦ely yeue to the / whiche grace may not be felte tyll thou be as said & purifyed by the fyre of desire in deuoute prayer. For tho¦ugh it be soo that prayer is not the cause for whiche our lord yeueth grace / neuertheles it is a waye by the whiche grace fre¦ly yeuen comyth to a soule /