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AS prayer to God, and loue to our neighbour go necessarily together, how can a Christian man then pray to God for himselfe, & therein forget h••s brother whom God commandeth him to loue as himselfe? wherein is included not on∣ly
his naturall brother, and priuate friend; but all men in general, but especially the Church of Christ and the members of the same. And therefore it is to be conside∣red that the vse and exercise of praier is two-fold, priuate and publique. The priuate prayer* 1.1 is the exercise of a faithfull man, sequestred frō the societie of men, pouring forth his faithfull ••upplicati∣ons vnto God in secret: and that not of set custome, but in affections sanctified vnto the Lord onely; and that e∣specially in such times as when he feeleth the spirit of God, enkindling in him a kind of inward and spirituall desire thereunto, which to a man exercised in this diuine worke, is as sensibly felt and
perceiued as the beating of his pulse. When hee feeleth this heauenly fire begin to waxe hote within him, let him not delay to feed it with its proper fuell,* 1.2 Meditation and Prayer: for by experi∣ence the godly man cannot but find, that Meditation is as the spiritual bellowes that increaseth the feruencie of prayer. Euen as one sparke of fire beeing connexed to the fuell capable or combu∣stible, with gentle blowing makes a flame; so the least portion of spirituall zeale, beginning but to moue in the heart of the beleeuer, be∣ing by little & little cherish∣ed by silent (but heauenly) e∣leuatiō of the mind to God, breedeth in the end such a powerfull operation, as the
tongue that was before dumbe, and could not moue zealously to vtter; and the heart that was before dull & could not conceiue what to speake, shall so sweetly concurre, that without all difficultie and harshnes such a sweet sacrifice shall ascend from the hart to the lips, and from the heart and lippes to the heauens, as the tongue it selfe cannot expresse the sweetnesse it bringeth vnto the soule. For that spirit that first kindled the desire admi∣nistreth the matter for the heart to conceiue, and fra∣meth the wordes that the lips doe vtter, in farre more diuine manner then the wi∣sest carnall man could euer deuise or speak: and it brin∣geth with it more ioy & true
consolation then gold, or the most precious earthly thing: And more solide, and sound peace to the conscience, then the tongue of man is a∣ble to vtter. It is the most truely approoued remedy a∣gainst all the griefes, and troubles of the minde: It easeth the afflictions, crosses, torments, and persecutions of the bodie. And were it possible, that this sacred gift could be obtained by carnal meanes: and the carnall man knew the vertue & sweet∣nesse of it, he would sel all his earthly pos∣sessions to buy it.
Priuate praier.
Meditation the bellowes to enkindle prayer.