Whether the prayer of the hart onlye be more fruitefull than that wherin the mouth & hart also is occupied

IT resteth nowe to be discussed, whether that prayer be more beneficiall to man, whiche hee maketh with his hart onlye, or that which is both vttered from his harte, and with his mouth. And here I make this protestation, that I do in no wyse purpose or intende any thyng to saye in the disprayse or otherwyse, to the derogation of open prayer by wordes, whiche is eyther admitted by custome and the vse therof, or appoynted by the ordinaunce of the Church, or enioyned vnto any man by penaunce, or by any meanes vowed, or in hart by promise taken in hand, wherby any man standeth bounde to resite & saye his prayers. But yet I do thynke that a man which is free from any such bonde, and enioyeth full and perfecte libertie in Christe, and is studious of the most pure & healthfull maner of prayer, shalbe oftentimes more hyndered by the continual vse of praying inwordes, than by the exercyse of his hart alone, in makyng of his prayer vnto God. For as Saint Augustine in an Epistle vnto Proba wryteth of the fruite of prayer:¹ This worke is many tymes more perfectelye wrought by the syghyng of the hart than by pronouncing of the mouth, more effectuallye done by the inwarde workyng, than by outwarde speakyng. But if the worke of prayer be more perfectly perfourmed by the syghyng of the harte, than with the vtteraunce of the mouth, than must it needes folow, that the prayer of the harte, from the whiche those syghynges breake foorth, be more profitable than the praying with the mouth, wherby wordes only be vttered. And that may of ryght be iudged,² for as S. Ciprian doth witnesse, God geueth eare, not to the voyce of mans mouth, but to the crye of his hart, nether is he to be moued with wordes, which seeth all thoughtes. And therefore any simple poore man, which beyng with great humilitie pr[…]strate to the grounde, lying lyke a moste vyle abiect, confessyng hym selfe a synner, openyng his owne miseries, and shewyng forth the most secrete griefes of his hart before the sight of god vtteryng no wordes at all, but onlye powryng foorth aboundaunce of teares and syghes of his harte, that man (no doubt) shall moste spedyly obteyne his request of God: which thyng dyd moste manyfestly appeare in Anna the mother of Samuell.³ For this Anna (as it is written in the first boke of the kinges) dyd moste earnestlye require of GOD, beyng barreyne, to haue a chylde, for the obteynyng wherof, she dyd frequent the Temple, and there by dayly prayer she continually craued the goodnesse of God, that in her requeste he woulde be gracious vnto her: And yet dyd she not frame her prayer in wordes, but onlye in her hart. For the Scripture testifieth, that she spake to God with her hart, and that no worde was harde that came from her, onlye her lippes moued. To conclude, by this her prayer (of hart I say, without speache outwardlye pronounced) she obtayned the thyng she required of God, and had a sonne, whiche she so greatly desyred, and had begged of GOD, with many sighes and aboundaunce of wepyng teares, and yet no wordes by her mouth vttered. Sainct Ierome agreeth with this, expoundyng this place of Sainct Mathewe.

Tu cum oraueris intra in cubiculum tuum, ⁴ & clauso ostio ora patrum tuum. Whan thou doest pray, enter into thy chaumber, and shuttyng faste thy dore, pray vnto thy heauenly father. It seemeth vnto me (sayeth S. Ierome) that this is rather a precept, that we kepyng secretly in the thought of our hartes, and hauyng our voyce suppressed with silence, shoulde so make our prayers vnto God, which we also reade in the booke of the kynges, that Anna dyd, where it is written that her lippes only moued, but no voyce was harde. This much Saint Ierome wryteth. And surely this maner of prayer, doth vehementlye moue the eares of the mercy of GOD, and doth mightyly bowe them spedyly to heare vs: Yea, and as Saint Paul witnesseth, the holy spirite of God, is the guide & the derectour of this maner of prayer, saying:⁵ Quid oremus sicut oportet nescimus: sed ipse spiritus postulat pronobis gemitibus in enarrabilibus. What we shoulde pray, as we ought to pray, we knowe not: but the spirite hymselfe maketh request for vs, with vnspeakeable mourninges and sighinges. The meanyng whereof is, that we do not sufficiently know in what maner we ought to demaunde any thyng of God, but the verye spirite of God inwardly raysyng vp our hartes, maketh vs with vnspeakeable mone and intercession to require of God, that thing whiche is moste profitable for vs. And yet do I not deny, but that any deuoute man may ryght well begin his prayer as he lyst, with wordes pronounced by his mouth, but so soone as he shall perceyue his hart to be any thing kindled and inspired with a sweete delectation comming from the spirite of God, than shall it be moste commodious to him, leauyng his prayer in wordes, to folowe and geue heede to the leadyng of the spirite of God, and with silence to yelde hymselfe wholly to his direction and order. For as I haue said a little before, thende which we ought to appoint vpon in prayer, is specially the feruentnes of charitie, by the whiche at the laste our mindes be kyndled, whan with most diligent prayer, our hartes be strongly raysed, and our myndes be highly lyfted vp vnto the beholding of god. And therfore whensoeuer we maye perceyue our selues to haue atteyned vnto this ende, than must we apply al our endeuour and diligence, that as muche as may be, the same be continued in vs, whiche thyng shal doubtlesse much better proceede, by the guiding & operatiō of the holy spirit, than by any words vttered by our neuer so great industry & diligence. And therefore we must now with al our power folowe the motion & driuing of the spirite of God, whyther soeuer it wyll leade vs, and so nede not to vtter any mo wordes. In lyke maner as yf a man,⁶ whan after muche trauaile, he hath passed the Seas, and hath obtayned harborowe and his desired Hauen, leauyng his shyppe whiche brought him to the hauen, intendeth nowe to thende and purpose for the which he arriued, and thinketh nowe no more of his ship. Euen so veryly, he that by the vse of pronounced prayer, as by a meane, is caryed into the inwarde consolation of the minde, and commeth to the spirituall feruencie in God, ought nowe to haue his principall care and study bent on this, that this heate in no wyse waxe colde, and leauyng nowe the prayer of the mouth, he must folowe the spirite of God, the minister of this feruent deuotion, whyther soeuer it doth dryue hym. And nowe let hym not vse any more his owne wordes, but onlye those whiche be suggested inwardly in the hart by that holy spirite of God, and let him aske that of God with vehement and feruent deuotion of mynde, without any pronuntiation or sounde of wordes. But to the ende thou mayest more playnely & assuredly perceyue, that this maner of prayer, whiche is done by the spirite and minde, is much more excellent, than that whiche is vttered in wordes, heare what our Sauiour Christ sayeth in ye Gospell: Spiritus est deus, ⁷ & qui adorant eum in spiritu & veritate oportet adorare. God is a spirite, and they that adore him, must adore him in spirite and trueth. Lo, as God is a moste spirituall thyng, euen so requireth he a moste spirituall sacrifice. And therefore that prayer is more gratefull vnto hym, whiche is offered by the spirit and the minde, than the only grosse vtteraunce of the voyce, whiche can not be framed without the bodyly breath. And let not this moue the, that Adorare, is named in that place, and not Orare, for the one of them shall neuer well be without the other, but whan God is prayed vnto, than is he also adored, and whan he is adored, he is also prayed vnto. And therefore God wylbe intreated with spirite and mynde of the moste chosen and excellent myndes, whiche he moste spirituall, and desireth, such as in his Gospell he noteth, to honour and adore hym in spirite and trueth. Wherfore I nothing doubt, but many godlye and spirituall men (whiche haue diligentlye exercised them selues in prayer, and haue accustomed dayly to eleuate theyr hartes vnto GOD, and haue at some tymes tasted and conceiued the sweetenes of that feruent affection) haue much more profited by that prayer of their hart, than yf they had sayd an endlesse numbre of prayers and Psalmes with theyr mouth, whiche thyng some do, ouerchargyng theyr mindes, yea, and rather excluding them selues from the very ende of prayer, for that in that case, they can neuer be able to tast the spirituall sweetenes of perfect praier. And out of doubt, that desyre and trauayle to perfourme the saying of so great a number of Psalmes, doth many tymes hynder and turne away the gratious visitation of God from the hartes of them that labour in them, whiche otherwyse he would willingly and redylye exhibite vnto them.⁸ For lyke as the sonne doth euery way disperse and sprede abrode the beames of his lyght, euen so is God redye on euery syde, to powre forth vpon vs the sweetenes of his grace and goodnes, except by suche lettes and hinderaunces, all excesse and entry to our myndes be stopped, and the way hidden from vs, as it were with a thicke & darke miste. For he that desireth to be partaker of that sweetenes, maye in no wyse geue heede to any other thyng whatsoeuer it be, but attende only and wholly to God hymselfe, yea, and that withall his harte. But those other attende neuer a whit to God, but onlye regarde howe to vtter out those numbre of wordes, which they minde to say: Neither do thei cōsider the present Maiestie of god, but only how they may most speedyly runne ouer their number of psalmes, with the care whereof, they do so occupie and ouercome theyr mindes, that no drop of heauenly sweetenes, can in any wise enter into them. And yet do thei thinke & perswade themselues, that by so doing they shall specially please God, and can not be quiet or satisfied in conscience, vntill they haue by one way or other, ouerrunne and finished that huge number of Psalmes. Yea, and yf they chaunce by forgetfulnes to pretermit any part vnsayde of that (I meane not which the Churche appoynteth to be sayde) but whiche they of theyr owne wyll haue taken in hande to say, they fynde theyr conscience greeuouslye therewith offended, wherewith they be miserably tormented, and theyr hartes torne and rent. Those men truely do not sufficiently waygh the saying of S. Ierome, whiche is this, that the saying or singing of fiue Psalmes with a pure and sincere hart and spirituall ioy and gladnes, is more worth than the whole Psalter, ouerrun with an vnquiet and troubled mynde. And yet is it more meruayle that they heare not, or at the least marke not Christ himselfe in the Gospell, geuyng admonition and instructing suche as pray, not to bende theyr labour to speake much, saying in this wyse: Orantis, nolite multum loqui. Whan ye pray,⁹ do ye not speake muche, not to this ende, that by those wordes it were to be vnderstanded or thought that Christ misliked a long continued prayer, whereas we reade that he himselfe continued very long in prayer: But he would not in any wyse, that we shoulde put a vayne trust in a number of wordes, by one waye or other made vp and multiplyed, speciallye whan they vtterly wanted all deuoute affection of the minde, and that we should not hope that he would sooner be moued, with a multitude of wordes, than with a well affected mynde. For God is muche more inclyned to heare our petitions by the onlye feruent affection of the harte, than by neuer so great a number of wordes pronounced without suche affection. For the whiche cause Sainct Augustine sayeth thus. It is one thyng to speake much, and farre an other to be much and well affected. It is one thing (sayeth he) to continue speach long, and much another to continue deuotion long. That man speaketh much to God, that thinketh his mercy is to be wonne with a numbre of wordes onlye. But truely he vseth not to be moued with the multitude of speach, but with the quantitie and aboundaunce of deuotion and godly affection. And the bare sounde of wordes pronounced by the lippes only, maketh a very dull sounde in his eares. But the feruent and vehement affection of the mynde, doth quickely and speedyly penetrate them, and that because God is muche more delyghted with our godly affection, then with our bare praier, and specially whan that affectiō being accompanyed with feruent sighes & aboundaūt teares, do pearse the heauens. Truelye that maner of prayer, if God were (in a maner) vnexorable, woulde ouercome him to mercy, and be he neuer so omnipotent, wyll binde him to graunt our lawefull desires. And surely the same prayer, is muche rather framed and perfected in the spirite & mynde of man, and so sooner presented vnto God, than by any wordes that mans mouth is able to perfourme or expresse. For the spirite and soule of man, beyng once quickened and kindeled with the feruent fyre of deuotion, much sooner dispatcheth his intent and purpose, than any motion of the lippes, or framed prayer of the mouth were able to do, whiche thing (yf none other) maketh apparaunt the thing wherof we haue so long intreated, that is to say, the prayer of the minde and soule onlye, to be more excellent and better, than the praier of the mouth: forasmuche as both the motion of the lippes is very slowe, and the corporall weyght of the tongue, vttering forth his wordes, not so apt to folowe the quickenes of the spirite, and also muche hynderaunce foloweth by openyng and shuttyng the mouth, so that they can not in any wyse, serue the swift motion of the soule and mynde, and speciallye at suche tyme, as the mynde is inflamed, and deuotion feruentlye kynde[…]ed therein. For in that case, it is caryed with suche a swyftnes, that the fleshelynes of the mouth, tongue, and lyppes, can in no wyse folowe it: And yf they shoulde, yet do they bryng no benefite to the spirite, but onlye a wayght and heauye burthen. And therefore I woulde admonyshe all suche as delight in prayer, and willingly studye to serue God therewith, and specially suche as haue leysure to attende the same, and to bestowe very much of theyr tyme therin, that they do not vnprofitably ouerlode themselues with to many words in prayer, but that they woulde from henceforth dayly bestowe so muche tyme in kyndlyng theyr myndes, in castynge theyr thoughtes and affections vpon God, and in the receyuing his mercyfull visitation, into the bowels of theyr hartes, as they haue spent lesse fruitfully heretofore, in ouerrunnyng a multitude of wordes with small consideration or weyghing of them, to the ende that by this meane, they may at the laste obteyne and come vnto the tast and feeling of that vnspeakable sweetenes, whiche thing surely they shall attayne vnto, yf they first do worthyly prepare them selues in suche sort, as we haue shewed before, and than do humblye offer theyr myndes in the syght of God, and finally apply theyr carefull studye and intent, to perfourme and finishe theyr prayer, with all attention and diligence of theyr hartes▪ And yet they shall do well to begin with vocall prayer, and specially with suche, whereby they haue founde them selues before moste easyly kyndled and inflamed to deuotion, and the other contemplation of theyr soules. But whan after theyr begynnyng a whyle, they shall perceyue them selues inflamed and sweetely affected with the inspiration and mercyfull visitation of the spirite of God, and pleasauntly drawen towardes his heauenly presence, than leauing to vtter or pronounce their prayer, let them folowe the leadyng of the holy spirit of God in them, and than let them labour in the silent prayer of theyr mynde, with compunction of hart, sighing, and teares, crauyng onlye those thinges of God, whiche his spirite shall put them in mynde of: And chiefely to begge of God the continuall presence of his grace, so that he forsake them not, but that it maye please hym to graunt those thynges vnto them, whiche his wisedome knoweth and seeth to be most expedient and profitable for them. And surely yf they do persist and continue in this trade and fourme aforesayde, they shall not only be vnto God, dayly more and more gratefull and acceptable, but they shall also proceede dayly more and more, in the increase of feruent charitie, and shalbe made lyke vnto the heauenly and Angelicall mindes, which dayly beholde the presence of God. For what cause is there (although they remayne here in earth, and be couered with the vessell of mortall and corruptible fleshe) why they shoulde not be called moste lyke vnto the Angelles, whan theyr prayer is lyke vnto the prayer of the Angelles? That is to say, they pray in soule and mynde, and taste in theyr soules the lyke sweetenes as the Angelles do, yea, and do perceyue and feele within them selues the pledge and assuraunce of the felicitie to come, whiche the Angelles nowe alredy do enioye: So as they do nowe want nothyng of the absolute resemblaunce vnto the Angelles, but only the fruition of the ioyes and glory to come, whiche so soone as they be rid out of the wandering pylgrymage and mistie darkenes of this worlde, they shall enioy in heauen, with an assured certaine fruition and vnaduoydable possession whiche after shall neuer fayle them.