f God, so that it only passes through our minds,
just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read,
pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. When we pray, we
speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of
time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking,
a measure of strength or godly desire, and the season, therefore,
when this exercise of the soul can be most effectually performed, is,
after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the word of
God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to
comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us. We may
therefore profitably meditate, with God's blessing, though we are
ever so weak spiritually; nay, the weaker we are, the more we need
meditation for the strengthening of our inner man. There is thus far
less to be feared from wandering of mind, than if we give ourselves
to prayer without having had previously time for meditation.--I dwell
so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit
and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and
I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to
ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the
help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through
deeper trials in various ways, than I had ever had before; and after
having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the
fear of God, commend it. In addition to this, I generally read after
family prayer larger portions of the word of God, when I still pursue
my practice of reading regularly onward in the Holy Scriptures,
sometimes in the New Testament and sometimes in the Old, and for more
than fifty-two years I have proved the blessedness of it. I take also
either then or at other parts of the day, time more especially for
prayer.

How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the
morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the
service, the trials, arid the temptations of the day come upon one!

May 29. Today I received from the East Indies 100l.--Notice here, that
without any solicitation, simply in answer to prayer, the Lord is
pleased to send us from time to time even large sums, and that from
such a distance as the East Indies.

June 4. Two or three weeks since, a brother at a distance requested
me to let him know the names of my bankers, and t