The spiritual bee, or, A miscellany of scriptural, historical, natural observations and occasional occurencyes applyed in divine meditations by an university pen

XV.

SOme are so Curious as to conjecture that Christ's Prayer which he made after his withdrawment from his Disciples, was not meerly Mentall but vocall, inferring it from the manner in which the Evangelists relate it, he prayed Saying; which they will have to imply an audible speech and voice.

However, whether we have so great a Pattern for it or no, I think there is some advan∣tage to be observed that se∣cret Prayer hath which is vo∣call above what is Mentall only, (although it be all one to God who hath an ear to hear

what the heart prayeth as well as what the Mouth.)

1. In that by joyning a voice to our Mentall prayer, our Affections are more a∣wakened and quickned; as we find by experience, that the Sense of a Misery when coop∣ed up in our own thoughts may not expresse it self in teares▪ (which are the Lan∣guage of grief) but yet when we vent it to others, in our recounting it, we cant't re∣fraine from weeping.

2. It limits the mind more and keeps it more fixed and intent upon what is spoken.

3. We find somtimes that vehemency of affection doth force us to it, for when our passion & devotion is ardent,

and the fire is kindled within us, it breaketh forth into out∣ward expressions, complaints or tears. I may adde lastly, that we can sometimes better form, or at least draw out in better order our conceptions of what we pray for in an au∣dible voice.