could not ask him in a plainer way than by saying, Give me some bread. Now this is the very way in which we are taught by our Lord and Saviour to ask bread of our heavenly Father-"Give us this day our daily bread." What words can be simpler than those? Our Saviour sets us an example of great simplicity in prayer. Indeed you can pray without using any words aloud. The beauty and reality of prayer is in the feeling rather than in the words. If you have a feeling in your heart, which rises up to God, and thanks him, or asks any thing of him, that feeling is a prayer. If in the morning you say in your heart, « Father, I thank thee that I live to see this morning," that is a morning prayer. If in the evening you say in your heart, "Father, keep me this night," that is an evening prayer. If, when you are sick, you say in your heart, "Father, make me well;" or when you have done wrong, you say, "Father, forgive me ;"—you have prayed aright, and God hears those silent prayers. And if you continue the habit of praying in your heart to God, you will have more and more thoughts there as you grow older, which will love to seek God. They will spring up fast in your hearts, like sweet flowers in June, and they will fly up to heaven like birds of paradise.

But though silent thoughts of God are real prayers, which God hears as distinctly as if they were uttered aloud in words, yet it is proper that you should utter words, and pray with your lips as well as with your heart. Should you not be very sorry if you could not speak, and could not hear others speak? Is it not a great pleasure to talk with your friends? Certainly. Speech is a noble gift. But who gave it to you?

God. How then speaking to God?

can you use it better than in Speak to him then. Pray to your Father in words. Do not speak of every thing but of Him who gave you power to speak. You cannot speak of any thing so great, so glorious as he is. You cannot speak to any being so good, so kind, so ready to hear you, as he is. Speak to him, and pray to him, with the words of your mouth, and also with the feelings and meditations of your heart. And the words which you use, may either be your own words, or words which are written for you in books of prayer. If the words which are written for you are good, and your mind understands them, and your heart feels them, then you really pray with them, and you make them your own prayer. And if they are words which your beloved parents, and many other excellent people used in praying long ago, they may

very

well be dear words to you, and you may very well like to use them.

You must not think that you need not pray to God, because God gives you a great many things without your praying for them. It is true that God will give you food, and clothing, and health, whether you pray for them or not. But this only shows that God is good to you, though you may not do your duty to him. Your earthly parents would not let you starve, or go without clothes, even though you should never ask them to give you food and clothing, and never thank them for the gifts. But still they are pleased to have you ask them for what you want, and to have you thank them for what they give you; and it is right for you to do both. You neglect them, and are rude to them, if you do not do both. And so if there are those who do not pray to their heavenly Father for many things which he yet gives them, they are neglectful of their best friend; and if they do not thank him for those things, they are very ungrateful to their kindest benefactor.

Then again, you may pray for things which God may not grant to you. But this is not because he does not hear you, or does not love you, but because he is much wiser than you are, and knows that it

will be better for you not to have what you ask for. If any dear friend, for instance, should be extremely ill; if your father, or mother, or brother, or sister, should be lying on the bed of sickness, and seem to be near death, you could hardly help asking God, with the words of your mouth or the words of your heart, and most earnestly, too, that your friend might live. This would be right. But God might not see fit to grant your prayer. He would hear you, and love you; but in his great wisdom he might know it to be best that your friend should die.

Now, children, listen to what I am going to say to you at the end of this sermon on prayer. The most important things for which you can ask your heavenly Father, are not bread, or clothing, or health, or even life in this world. Goodness is more important; religion is more important. Innocence, justice, kindness, truth, and honesty-these are the most important things; and not only are they the most important, but God will surely give them to you, if you sincerely ask him for them. One reason why so many people are not good, is, that they do not ask for goodness of God; or, if they ask for it with their lips, do not ask for it with the strong feelings of their hearts. Pray to God for

goodness, and he will give it to you, if you pray heartily and sincerely. When you are about to do wrong, pray to God to keep you from doing wrong— say in your heart, "Father, keep me from doing this wrong," and you will be kept from doing it. When you are going to be violently angry, say in your heart, "Father, save me from being angry," and the peace of God will come down into your bosom like a dove, and the bad fire in your eyes will be quenched, and the hot color in your cheeks will cool away. When you feel that there is any danger that a good feeling or a virtuous resolution is going to be taken out of your heart, say to your heavenly Father, "Father, let not my virtue be taken out of my heart," and I firmly believe it will not be taken, but will remain. And why? Because God is ready to help his children; and because the thought of God, which you place in your heart by speaking to him, is holy and strong, and will stand in your heart, and guard your virtues, which are your heart's best treasures, and will keep them from being stolen away: The thought of God is the best thought, and the strongest thought that you can have; and when it really comes into your heart, all other good thoughts will stay