A Discourse on Prayer Author:John Thornton General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1824 Original Publisher: Edinburgh Subjects: Prayer Religion / Christian Life / Prayer Religion / Prayer Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of... more » this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: SECTION V. THE CHIEF ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED FROM PRAYER. If the cause of piety and devotion necessarily deprived us of many emoluments and pleasures, arid subjected us to heavy losses and painful trials, we ought still to pursue it. Conscience sitting at the helm, and steering by the bright pole-star of hope, or rather, by the unvarying compass of the Divine Word, we should bear up against the billows and tempests, always advancing toward the destined shore for which we are bound -- the desired haven of eternal rest. But the man of piety has generally a decided advantage over the mere man of the world even in this life. He who puts present interest in the place of conscience, shifting his sails to every wind, and gliding on the surface of every current, has not learned to estimate consequences. True religion has been caricatured and grossly calumniated ; but those who know any thing of her, will own that she has a mild majesty in heraspect, and a rich dowry in her hand; and aa her commands are all just, so her daily communications are all generous. The wicked are represented as saying, " What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?" But those who ridicule prayer are strangers to it; some having only heard of it, while others have just seen its sober mien, or worn its empty form, or muttered its language without meaning. A carnal mind can neither understand nor relish spiritual things. Men who are engrossed and stupined by the low and despicabl...« less