A Victorian’s Religious Beliefs

PRAYER TO GOD

The Spirit of Praise, and prayer, Lights up a large Portion of the Scriptures, and especially the Psalms. And hosts of learned men believe that some of the foregoing passages refer to distinct answers to prayer.

And hosts of learned men believe that some, of the foregoing passages refer to distinct answers, to prayer.

The prayers of the Old Bible appear to refer only to the affairs of Earth. While the prayers of the New Testament have references to this World, and the World to come.

“Our Father”, the example prayer of Jesus, his payer for his disciples and followers, and his prayer at Gethsemane are his few recorded prayers. But he “watched, and prayed”, ever.

“John the Baptist” does not appear to have a prayer recorded, but he was a man of prayer, and “taught his disciples to pray”.

The disciples, and followers of Jesus have but very few recorded prayers. Yet they were continuous in prayer, and may be said to “pray without ceasing”.

And Peter, in a dream, or trance, while on the housetop for payer, had one of the finest, and most divine, and most human of all instructive visions, which taught him “God is no respecter of persons”.

The preachers, and orators of scripture do not appear to have made it a Rule to offer up a public formal prayer: Before speaking, powerful preaching was their mightiest teaching.

George Burgess, August 1899