works by the instrumentality of His people than ever He wrought in the
course of His earthly ministry.

VIII

How to Secure More and Better Prayer

"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter,
that He may abide with you forever."--JOHN xiv. 16.

The great lack of our life is that we do not pray more. And there is
no failure so disastrous or criminal as this. It is very difficult to
account for it. If in all times of discouragement and vicissitude we
could have access to one of the wisest and noblest of our fellow
creatures, or to some venerated departed saint, or to the guardian
angel deputed to attend our steps, or to the archangel that presides as
vicegerent over this system of worlds, how strong and brave we should
become! Whatever our need, we would at once seek His august presence,
and obtain His counsel and assistance. How extraordinary is our
behavior then with respect to prayer, and that we make so little of our
opportunities of access into the presence of our Father, in whom
wisdom, power, and love blend perfectly, and who is always willing to
hear us--nay, is perpetually urging us to come!

The reason may lie in the very commonness of our opportunities. The
swing-door of prayer stands always waiting for the least touch of faith
to press it back. If our Father's presence-chamber were opened to us
only once a year, with how much greater reverence would we enter it,
how much more store would we set on it! We should anticipate the honor
and privilege of that interview for the whole year, and eagerly avail
ourselves of it. Alas, that familiarity with prayer does not always
increase our appreciation of its magnificence!

The cause of our apathy is probably also to be sought in the effort
which is required to bring our sensuous and earth-bound natures into
true union with the Spirit of God. True prayer is labor. Epaphras
labored in his intercessions. Our feet shrink from the steep pathway
that climbs those heights; our lungs do not readily accustom themselves
to the rare air that breathes around the summit of the Mount of
Communion.

But there is a deeper reason yet: we have not fully learned or obeyed
the laws and conditions of prayer. Until they are apprehended and
complied with, it is not possible for us to pray as we might. They are
not, however, very recondite. The least advanced in the Divine school
may read them on this page, where Christ unbares the deep