The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole duty of prayer. Delivered in…The saints daily exercise A treatise concerning the whole dutie of prayer. Delivered in…

But there is one great impediment, among the rest, and most common, which is worldly cares, ¹and worldly-mindedness; worldly cares hinder spiritual prayer, and spiritual conference, and the holy performance, almost, of every duty, and therefore, if you find a difficulty in it, look narrowly, if that be not the cause.

But there is one great impediment, among the rest, and most common, which is worldly cares, ¹and worldly-mindednes; worldly cares hinder spirituall prayer, and spirituall conference, and the holy performance, almost, of euery duty, and therefore, if you finde a difficultie in it, looke narrowly, if that be not the cause.

1. 14

Again, another great cause of this difficulty in prayer, of such backwardness to it, of such indisposition ¹to it, is, because we do not well consider the nature of God, we want faith in his power, and in his providence we do not consider, that he hath that disposing hand, which he hath in every thing, that belongs to us, in health, in sickness, in poverty, in riches, in good success, and ill success: for, if we did see the providence of God, and acknowledge it more; we should be ready to call upon him, but this want of faith in his providence, that the Lord is not seen in his greatness, and in his mighty power, this causeth men to be backward to seek him, but very forward to seek to the creatures. When we have any thing to do, of any consequence, we are ready to post from this man to that man, and from this means to that means, but very backward, and negligent to go to God, in prayer, to have the thing brought to pass, that we desire, and this ariseth from want of faith, and from ignorance ⟨p. 39⟩