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Chapter 70

That the exercise of prayer, is most important; and of the great fruit which is reaped thereby.

SINCE thou hast already heard, that the light which thy eyes are to look upon, is God humaned, and crucified; it remaineth for me to tell thee, what means thou art to use in looking on him. Since the thing must be done, by way of devout considerations, and by that inward speech, which is used in prayer. But before I tell thee, of the course that thou art to hold in thy prayer, it willbe fit, that I let thee know, how profitable this exercise is, and especially for1 thee; who having renounced the world, hast offered thyself wholly to our Lord, with whom it willbe fit for thee, to have familiar and straight communication, if thou desire to enjoy the delicious fruit, of thy holy state.

By prayer, we do here understand, A secret, and interior speech, whereby the soul doth impart itself to God; whether it be, by way of thinking, or by craving, or by thanking, or contemplating; and, in a word, all that, which doth pass between the soul, and God, in that private kind of speech. For although to every one of these particulars, there do belong a several reason; yet my intent, in this place, is but only to deliver in general, how important a thing it is, that the soul do entertain this choice kind of speech, and communication, with her God. For2 proof whereof, it would suffice, (if men were not wholly blind) to tell them, that God giveth liberty, that all men who will, may enter, into speech with him, once in a month, or in a week; and that, most willingly he would give them audience; and redress their miseries, and enrich them with favours; and that there should be between him, and them, a friendly kind of conversation, as between a Father and a son. And if he would permit, that they might speak to him every day; and if yet further, he would suffer that every day, they might do it often; and lastly if they might have leave to be in conversation with our Lord the whole day, and night; or as much of this time, as they could, and would; and if he would be well content therewith; what may that man be, unless he were a man of stone, who would not be highly thankful for such a liberal, and profitable licence as this? And who would not procure to serve himself thereof, as much as it were possible for him; as of a thing most convenient, for the gaining of honour, by being to treat with his Lord; and of delight, by the enjoying of his conversation; and of profit also, for as much, as they can never come empty handed from him.

And how shall not this be much esteemed, which the most high doth offer us, since it would be set at so high a rate, if it were offered by some temporal king; who in comparison of this most High and of that which may be obtained by conversation with him, the king is a worm; and that which any of them, or all of them, is able to give, is a handful of dust. Why do not men joy to be with God,3 since the delight of God, is to be with the sons of men? His conversation hath no bitterness belonging to it, but alacrity, and joy; nor is there incident to his condition, any petty, or paltry miserableness, to deny the thing that is asked of him; and in fine, our Father he is, in whose conversation we were to joy, though no other advantage did accrue thereby. But4 if thou wilt accompany, all the other considerations with this, that he doth not only give us leave to speak with him, but that he begs it at out hands; and counsels, and sometimes commands it of us, thou wilt see, both how great his goodness and thirst is, that we would converse with him; and what wicked things, we be, who will not go, being desired, and hired, to that, which we ought to go, beseeching that we might have leave; and offering to pay, whatsoever were demanded for it.

Hereby thou mayst discern, how little feeling men have, of their spiritual necessities, which are the true ones; for as much as he, who truly feeleth them, will truly pray, and desire remedy thereof, with great instance. There is a Proverb, which saith, If thou canst not pray, get thee to sea, because the many dangers wherein they are that sail, make them cry out, to our Lord. But for my part I see no reason; why all of us should not use this exercise, and that with diligence; since, whether we go by sea, or by land, I am sure we we are in danger of death, either of the soul, if we fall into mortal sin, or of soul and body if we do not rise by penance, from that into which we may fall. And5 if the care of transitory things, and the dust which we bear about in our eyes, did give us leave but to consider; & to reflect upon the necessities of our souls, without fail we should go crying out to God, & saying with our whole hearts, Suffer us not to fall into tentation, O Lord6 depart not from me; & such other words we would use as these, agreeable to the present necessity. But all our praying, dependeth upon that which passeth in our minds, which useth to be some temporal good, or evil; and yet, even upon those occasions, we resort not7 speedily to prayer, but are like people, whose last confidence is placed in our Lord; and the first and chiefest in themselves, or others. Whereat our Lord is wont to be much offended; and he saith, Where8 are thy Gods, in whom thy trust is put; let thy friends deliver thee whom a blast of wind will carry away.

See therefore, O Virgin, that these things may not besaid of thee; but keep thou quick, that feeling in thy soul, whereby thou mayst taste this truth, That thy true misery, consists in thy not serving; and thy true felicity, in serving God. When9 thou askest any temporal thing, let it not be with that kind of anguish, and affliction, which useth to proceed from inordinate love. And whether the question be, of much, or little, let thy first confidence be in our Lord; & the last in those means, which he shall address thee to. And be thou greatly thankful, for this benefit; that he hath given thee leave, to speak, and converse with him; and do thou serve thyself of it, both in thy prosperityes, and afflictions, with much frequency, and care; since by means of this speech, and conversation with the most high, the servants of God, have been enriched, and relieved in all their necessities. For they understood, that the dangers wherein God left them, was to the intent, that being straitely assaulted thereby, they might have recourse to him; and so the blessings which he afforded them, did make them go to give him thankes.

We10 read of the Gabaonits', that they being in great danger (when they were besieged by their enemies) sent a messenger to joshua, to whose friendship they had recommended themselves; & by occasion whereof, they were grown into that danger; but they found favour, and assistance by demanding it. And although those five Kings, of whom the Scripture speaketh, were overcome in the valley called Silvester, and their Cities were sacked; yet because a young man who had escaped out of the battle, went to carry the news of this defeat, to the patriarch Abraham, those Kings, and their five Cities obtained remedy, by the hand of Abraham, who succoured them. So that by means, of one only messenger, who goeth to ask favour of him, that hath a power & will to give it, there is more to be obtained, then by a multitude of fight men, which are either in the City, or in the Campe. And without doubt so it is, that whosoever shall send the messenger of an humble and faithful prayer to God, howsoever he may be besieged, and defeated, and thrust even into the very belly of the Whale, shall find our Lord to be11 present; who is near to all such persons, as do with sincerity call upon him. And if they know not yet what they are to do; by means of prayer, they find light. For with this confidence it was, that King josaphat said, When12 we know not what to do, one remedy we have, which is to lift up our eyes to thee. And S. james13 saith, That whosoever hath need of wisdom, is to ask it of God. And by this means, were Moses and Aaron taught by God, in those things which they were to negotiate, with the people. For as they who govern others, have need of double light, and to have it very near at hand; and that at all times; so have they also need to make double prayer, and to be perfect in it, that they may perform it without difficulty; and that so they may come to know the will of our Lord, concerning that which particularly they are to do; & that they may obtain strength to perform it. And the knowledge, which is so obtained, doth as far exceed all that which we compass by our own discourse, and conjectures, as he goeth more certainly, who seethe his way, than another who goeth groping in the dark. And the good purposes also and strength which is gotten in prayer use to be incomparably more efficacious, and to prove more solidly true, than they which are obtained out of prayer.

S. Augustine (as one who was able to speak by experience) said that doubts were better dissolved by prayer, then by any other study. And for fear of wearying thee, and because it would be impossible to reckon up all the particular fruits of prayer, I say no more, than that which the supreme Truth said, That14 the celestial Father would give a good spirit to them that ask it. And it ought to suffice thee, that all the Saints did frequent this exercise of prayer. For as S. chrysostom saith, Which of the Saints did not overcome by praying? And he saith again, That there is not a more puissant thing, than the man that prays. And15 it should be enough, and more then enough, for us to know, that Christ Jesus, the Lord of us all, did pray in that night of his tribulation, so hard, as that it cost him a sweat of blood; and he prayed in the16 mount Thabor, before his body was transfignred; he prayed before he raised Lazarus17 from the dead; and sometimes he prayed so at large, that the whole night did pass away with him, in prayer. And after such a long prayer as this, S. Luke18 relates, that from out of his Disciples, he chose his twelve Apostles. Whereby he taught us (as S. Ambrose saith) what we are to do, when we begin to treat any business, since he, in that first business of his, did pray, and that in so great length. From hence it is, that S. Denis saith, that at the entrance into any work●, we must begin by prayer. S. Paul exhorteth us, to be instant, and earnest in prayer; and our Lord saith,19 That we must ever pray, and not give over; which signifieth, that this work must be performed with frequent diligence, and care For they who think it will serve their turns, to take heed to themselves, in doing works pleasing unto God; & yet make no account of using prayer, do swim, and fight, with one only hand, and do walk with one only foot. For our Lord did teach us, that two things are necessary when he said,20 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. And the same did he advice, when he said,21 Watch in prayer at all times, that you may escape from these things, which are to come; and that you may be able to appear before the son of the Virgin. And S. Paul22 doth couple these two things, when hearmeth the Cavalier of Christ towards the spiritual war which he is to make, against the Devil. For, as a man, how well soever he far, yet unless he rest, and sleep, he willbe weak, & run hazard of going out of his wits; so will it happen to one that worketh, & prayeth not; for23 prayer is that to the soul, which repose is to the body. There is not any estate so great, which will not be brought to an end, if there be ever spending, and no getting; nor are there any good works which will last, without praying. For thereby that light, and spirit, is gotten for the recovery of that fervour of charity, & interior devotion which is diminished by business, though it be good.

How necessary it is to pray, seemeth plain, by the instance, and fasts wherewith the prophet24 Samuel prayed our Lord, That25 he would deliver the people out of the captivity of Babylon, although the seaventy years which our Lord had appointed, for the term upon which he would deliver them, were accomplished. And if in that which God hath promised that he will do, or give, there be yet, need to beg it by earnest prayer; how much more will it be needful to do it, in such case, as wherein we have no particular promise from him? S. Paul, desireth the Romans to pray for him, that all impediments being removed, he might be able to visit them. whereupon Origen saith, that although the Apostle had said, a little afore, I know, that when 〈◊〉 shall go to you, my going willbe in the abundance, of the benediction of Christ; yet notwithstanding all this, he knew that prayer was necessary, even for the things which we expressly know, shall happens and26 if there were no prayer, without doubt there would be no accomplishment of that which is foretold.

Doth it not seem to thee, that he had reason, who27 said, that prayer was the means, to obtain, what the omnipotent God, had ordained in eternity, to bestow afterward in time? And again, That as ploughing, and sowing, is the means for the getting of corn; so is prayer for the obtaining of the fruits of spirit; and therefore we are not to marvel, if we gather so few, since we pray so little?

A28 most certain thing it is, that by conversation with a good man, it doth follow that one will love him, and he will conceive desires of being virtuous. And so, if we did converse with God, with more reason, we might hope for these, and other advantages, by his conversation. As Moses did, who after he had treated in the Mount with God; he came down from thence, full of splendour. And from no other root it grows, that we are so wanting to show pity to our neighbours; but because we frequent not this conversation with our Lord. For the man, who by night, lay prostrate in the sight of God, demanding pardon for his sins, and mercy for his miseries; if upon the day following, himself sinned another, who asketh that of him which he begged of God, he will not be able to choose, but know those very words which himself used; and he will remember the great affliction, wherewith he spoke them to our Lord; and with how great desire to be heard; and he will do by his neighbour, as he desired that God should do with him.

And to deliver to thee what I conceive of this, in a word; I represent to thy memory, that which David29 said. Blessed be our Lord, who to the not my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Whereupon S. Augustine30 saith; Thou mayest well be secure, that if God do not take thy prayer from thee, neither will he take his mercy. And remember yet again, what our Lord said,31 That the heavenly Father, will give a good spirit, to them that ask it. And with this spirit we fulfil the law of God, as S. Paul saith. So that the mercy of God is near us, and we fulfil his law, by means of prayer. Think32 then, what kind of Creature that will be, to whom by the want of prayer, these two things shallbe wanting. And I will advertise thee of an error of some men, who think, that because33 S. Paul said, I would have men pray in all places, it should therefore not be necessary, to pray long, at once, not in any particular place; but that it would suffice to interlace, our prayers with the rest of our works. A34 good thing it is to pray in all places; but that will not serve our turn, if we mean to imitate Jesus Christ our Lord, and to practise that, which his Saints have said and done, in matter of prayer. And be thou well assured, that no man willbe able to pray with profit, in every place, unless first he have learned to do this duty, in a particular place; and to employ some space of time, upon it.

Footnotes

  1. The Lady to whom he wrote this book, was not a religious woman, in clausure, but she lived devoutly in her own house; yet in state of Virginity, and great penance: she was Donna Sancha, daughter to the Lord of Guadalcaçar. ↩

  2. Ponder this well; & believe the truth thereof; and put thyself upon the practice. ↩

  3. Prou. ●. ↩

  4. A strange progress of God's love, to wicked stupid man. ↩

  5. The miserable blindness of man. ↩

  6. Psalm. 34. ↩

  7. It draweth a mighty disadvantage upon us, that although we go to God by Prayer, yet for the most part we do it late. ↩

  8. Deut. 3●. ↩

  9. How we are to carry our s●lues in the desire of any temporal good, at the hands of God. ↩

  10. Of the great power devout prayer. ↩

  11. Psalm. 144. ↩

  12. Paral. 20. ↩

  13. jac. 1. ↩

  14. Luc. 11. ↩

  15. The excellency & necessity of prayer, showed by the examples of Christ our Lord. ↩

  16. Luc. 21. ↩

  17. joan. 11. ↩

  18. Luc. 10. ↩

  19. Luc. 1●. ↩

  20. Matt. 26. ↩

  21. Luc. 21. ↩

  22. Ephes. ●. ↩

  23. Prayer is that to the soul, which rest is to the ●ody. ↩

    1. Reg. 2.
    ↩

  25. Mark this well. ↩

  26. Because our Lord ordaineth the giving of his graces, by means of Prayer. ↩

  27. S. Gregory. ↩

  28. Note this sound & certain reason. ↩

  29. Psal 65. ↩

  30. Note. ↩

  31. Luc. 11. ↩

  32. Note. ↩

  33. Rom. ●. ↩

  34. The answer to an objection. ↩

Chapter 72 of 115