nate in his addresses to the Deity, that he apologized for his importunity. "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak." And he continued to apologize, until he made his last and smallest request. "Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once." Such great importunity in prayer plainly supposes, that Abraham meant to move the Supreme Being to spare those guilty creatures, for whom he intreated. Jacob wrestled all night with God in prayer, and humbly, though confidently, said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." We must conclude from this, that he meant to move God to grant him a blessing. Job had the same design in praying to God.. 'Oh! said he, that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my speech before him, and fill my mouth with arguments."? And what a variety of arguments did Daniel use, to prevail upon God to grant pardon and deliverance to his covenant people? He prayed in this fervent and importunate strain: "Now, therefore, O my God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake: O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken, and do; defer not, for thy name sake, O my God; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name." Why should Daniel use so many arguments with God; and plead with so much fervor and importunity, unless he desired and intended to move his compassion towards his people, and incline him to work their deliverance? No men ever understood the nature and design of prayer,

better than Abraham, Job, and Daniel. And since these eminent saints evidently meant, by their fervent and importunate supplications, to move God to shew mercy, we may justly conclude this to be a proper end to be proposed in praying. Indeed, it is much to be doubted, whether any good men ever did call upon God with freedom and fervency, without an ardent desire of moving God to grant their requests. This is so essential to prayer, that no pious person, perhaps, would know how to order his speech before God, if this were to be excluded from his petitions. And though some good men may think, that they ought not to indulge a desire of moving God to shew mercy; yet, we believe, if they would examine their own feelings, they would find, that they never have been able to pray in sincerity, without indulging and expressing such a reasonable desire.

3. The friends of God are urged to pray, with fervency and importunity, in order to move the divine compassion. This seems to be the spirit of the Prophet's exhortation to the saints in his day. "Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence: and give him no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." God is pleased to represent himself as greatly influenced, by the prayers of good men. To them he says, "Concerning my sons, and concerning my daughters, command ye me." Again he says, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be towards this people." And he conveys the same idea in stronger terms still. "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only themselves." These modes of expression clearly and forci bly express the prevailing influence of prayer upon the heart of the Deity. Christ likewise illustrates and in

culcates the energy of prayer, by the parable of the unjust judge and importunate widow. "And he spake a parable unto this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a certain widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you he will avenge them speedily." The plain and obvious design of this parable is, to represent the powerful influence of pious and persevering prayer, to move God to pity and relieve his friends in distress. And agreeably to this, the Apostle James expressly declares, that, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Indeed, the whole tenor of Scripture encourages saints to call upon God, with desires and hopes of moving his compassion. It is still further to be observed,

4. That the prayers of good men have actually prevailed upon God to grant great and signal favors. When the children of Israel had made a molten image, God was highly displeased, and felt disposed to destroy them. But Moses prayed and his prayers prevailed upon God to spare the idolaters. This appears from the account, which Moses gives of that memorable event. "And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence: for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves: they are quickly turned aside out

of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. Furthermore the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Let me alone, that I may destroy them from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down from the mount-And I fell down before the Lord: as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me ut that time also." It is here plainly intimated, that the prayers of Moses once and again moved God to bestow great and undeserved favors. The prayer of Joshua moved God, to stop the course of nature and cause the sun and moon to stand still, while he completed his victory over the enemies of Israel. The prayers of Job moved God to forgive the folly and presumption of his three friends, who had reproached both him and his Maker. David prevailed upon God, by his humble and fervent prayer, to countermand the angel, who stood with a drawn sword over Jerusalem, to destroy it. Samuel often interceded and prevailed with God, to spare and bless his rebellious people. Though Elijah was an imperfectly righteous man, yet his effectual fervent prayers availed much, to bring and to remove, divine judgments. The Apostle gives this account of the man, and of his prayers. "Elias was a man of like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth

brought forth her fruit." It was the well known influence of Elijah's prayers, in moving God to smile or frown upon his people, that extorted the significant and pathetic exclamation of Elisha, when he saw him gloriously ascending to heaven. "My Father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." We have another instance of the prevailing influencé of prayer, in the conduct of the primitive christians. While Peter was in prison, the church prayed incessantly for him, and at length prevailed. For in answer to their prayers, God miraculously loosed his bands, and set him at liberty. These effects of prayer, in connexion with the other considerations, which have been suggested, afford sufficient evidence, that it is the design of prayer to move God to bestow favors.

But now some may be ready to ask, how can this be? how can prayer have the least influence to move the heart of God, who is of one mind, and with whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning?

Here we ought to consider, in the first place, that the prayers of good men are proper reasons, why an infinitely wise and good Being should grant their requests. The entreaties and tears of Joseph were proper reasons, why his brethren should have spared him from the pit; and they were finally constrained to acknowledge the force of those reasons. "They said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us; and we would not hear." The cries of the poor and needy are proper reasons, why we should grant them relief. And the ardent desires of a dutiful child are proper reasons, why the parent should gratify his feelings. So, the sincere and humble prayers of the upright are proper reasons why the great Parent of all should shew them favor,