John Bunyan

Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised or according to His Word, for the good of the Church, with submission in faith to the will of God.

In this description, there are these seven things. Prayer is (1) a sincere; (2) a sensible; (3) an affectionate pouring out of the soul to God through Christ; (4) by the strength or assistance of the Spirit; (5) for such things as God has promised or according to His Word; (6) for the good of the Church; (7) with submission in faith to the will of God.

1. For the first of these, it is a sincere pouring out of the soul to God. Sincerity is such a grace as runs through all the graces of God in us, and through all the actings of a Christian, and has the sway in them too, or else their actings are not regarded of God. David speaks particularly of sincerity when he mentions prayer: “I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled¹ with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa 66:17-18). Part of the exercise of prayer is sincerity, without which God does not accept it as prayer (Psa 16:14). “Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer 29:12-13). The [lack] of this made the Lord reject the prayers of those mentioned in Hosea 7:14, where He says, “They have not cried unto me with their heart,” that is, in sincerity, “when they howled upon their beds.” It is rather for a pretense, for a show in hypocrisy, to be seen of men and applauded for the same that they pray. Sincerity was that which Christ commended in Nathaniel when he was under the fig tree. “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile²” (Joh 1:47). Probably this good man was pouring out his soul to God in prayer under the fig tree, and that in a sincere and unfeigned³ spirit before the Lord. The prayer that has this in it as one of the principal ingredients is the prayer that God regards. Thus, “The prayer of the upright is his delight” (Pro 15:8).

And why must sincerity be one of the essentials of prayer that is accepted of God? Because sincerity carries the soul in all simplicity to open its heart to God, and to tell Him the case plainly, without equivocation;⁴ to condemn itself plainly, without dissembling;⁵ to cry to God heartily, without complimenting. “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning⁶ himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke” (Jer 31:18). Sincerity is the same in a corner alone as it is before the face of all the world. It knows not how to wear two masks, one for an appearance before men and another for private use. It must have God and be with Him in the duty of prayer. It is not a lip-labor⁷ that it regards; for sincerity, like God, looks at the heart. That is where prayer comes from—if it is true prayer.

2. It is a sincere and sensible pouring out of the heart or soul.

It is not, as many take it to be, a few babbling, prating,⁸ complimentary expressions, but a sensible feeling in the heart. Prayer has in it a sensibleness of diverse things—sometimes sense of sin, sometimes of mercy received, sometimes of the readiness of God to give mercy.

(1) A sense of the [lack] of mercy, by reason of the danger of sin.

The soul, I say, feels, and from feeling sighs, groans, and breaks at the heart. For right prayer bubbles out of the heart when it is overcome with grief and bitterness, as blood is forced out of the flesh by reason of some heavy burden that lies upon it (1Sa 1:10; Psa 69:3). David roars, cries, weeps, faints at heart, fails at the eyes, loses his moisture⁹ (Psa 38:8-10). Hezekiah mourns like a dove (Isa 38:14). Ephraim bemoans himself (Jer 31:18). Peter weeps bitterly (Mat 26:75). Christ has strong cryings and tears (Heb 5:7.) And all this from a sense of the justice of God, the guilt of sin, the pains of hell and destruction. “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD” (Psa 116:3-4). And in another place, “My sore ran in the night” (Psa 77:2). Again, “I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long” (Psa 38:6). In all these instances, you may see that prayer carries in it a sensible feeling, and that first from a sense of sin.

(2) Sometimes there is a sweet sense of mercy received—encouraging, comforting, strengthening, enlivening, enlighting, mercy.

Thus, David pours out his soul to bless, praise, and admire the great God for His lovingkindness to such poor, vile wretches. “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psa 103:1-4). Thus is the prayer of saints sometimes turned into praise and thanksgiving and yet is still prayer. This is a mystery: God’s people pray with their praises, as it is written, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phi 4:6). A sensible thanksgiving for mercies received is a mighty prayer in the sight of God; it prevails with Him unspeakably.

(3) In prayer,there is sometimes in the soul a sense of mercy to be received.

This again sets the soul aflame. “Thou, O received. LORD of hosts,” says David, “hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee” (2Sa 7:27). This provoked Jacob, David, Daniel, with others, not by fits and starts¹⁰ nor yet in a foolish, frothy¹¹ way, but mightily, fervently, and continually, to groan out their conditions before the Lord, as being sensible of their [need], their misery, and the willingness of God to show mercy (Gen 32:10-11; Dan 9:3-4).

____

From Prayer, The Banner of Truth Trust

John Bunyan (1628-1688): English Baptist preacher and influential author of The Pilgrim’s Progress and numerous other titles; born at Elstow near Bedford, England. (Bunyan’s complete works are available at www.chapellibrary.org.)

1. extolled extolled extolled – exalted by praise.
2. guile – deceit; treachery.
3. unfeigned unfeigned unfeigned – sincere.
4. equivocation equivocation equivocation – a statement that is vague and often deliberately misleading.
5. dissembling dissembling dissembling – disguising one’s true character or feelings.
6. bemoaning bemoaning bemoaning – expressing sorrow.
7. lip-labor – empty talk, especially vain repetition of words in prayer.
8. prating prating prating – to talk in a silly way and at length about nothing important.
9. moisture moisture moisture – vitality and strength.
10. fits and starts fits and starts fits and starts – stopping and starting.
11. frothy – empty; vain.

Courtesy of Chapel Library