CHAP. XXII. Of the Voyce to be used in prayer. (Book 22)
COncerning the voice it may be demanded whe∣ther* 1.1 it be needfull in prayer, seeing the Lord heareth as well and regardeth more the prayer of the heart then the voyce of the mouth. And this doth Elias signifie 1. Kings 18. 27. when he mock∣eth Baals priests, saying, Cry aloud: he is a god, insinu∣ating that if he were a god he could heare them though they did not cry aloud. I answer, That the* 1.2 voyce is needfull not in respect of the Lord, who heareth and respecteth especially the cry of the heart, but in respect of us and others with whom we pray, & therefore is to be used when it may conveni∣ently, for the reasons before alledged. Indeed some∣times in the private prayer of one alone it is more convenient to use the inward speech of the heart