Begin to be a man of prayer, in this easy, simple, and natural manner, that has been set before you; and when you are faithful to this method, you will then need no other instructor in the art of prayer. Your own heart thus turned to God will want no one to tell it, when it should be simple in its petitions, or _various_ in its expressions: or prostrate itself in silence before God. But this hastiness of knowing things, before they belong to us, is very common. Thus a man that has but just entered upon the reformation of his life, shall want to read or hear a discourse upon _perfection_, whether it be attainable or not; and shall be more eager after what he can hear of this, though at such a distance, than of such things as concern the next step he is to take. You, my friend, have taken the _first step_¹ in the spiritual life; you have devoted yourself absolutely to God, to live wholly to his will, under the light and guidance of his holy Spirit, intending, seeking nothing in this world, but such a passage thro’ it as may tend to the glory of God, and the recovery of your own fallen soul. Your _next step_ is, looking to the continuance of this resolution, and donation of yourself to God, to see that it be kept alive, that every thing you do may be animated and directed by it, and all the occurrences of every day, from morning to night, be received by you, as becomes a spirit that is devoted to God. Now this _second step_ cannot be taken but purely by prayer; nothing else has the least power here but prayer; I do not mean you must frequently read or say a number of prayers, (tho’ this in its turn may be good and useful to you) but the prayer I mean, and which you must practise, if you would take this _second step_ in the spiritual life, is _prayer of the heart_, or a prayer of your own, proceeding from the state of your heart, and its own tendency to God. Of all things therefore look to this prayer of the heart; consider it as your infallible guide to heaven; turn from every thing that is an hindrance of it, that quenches or abates its fervour; love and like nothing but that which is suitable to it; and let every day begin, go on, and end in the spirit of it. Consider yourself, as having gone aside and lost your right path, when any _delight_, _desire_, or _trouble_ is suffered to live in you, that cannot be made a part of this prayer of the heart to God. For nothing so infallibly shews us the true state of our heart, as that which gives us either delight or trouble; for as our delight and trouble is, so is the state of our heart: if therefore you are carried away with any trouble or delight, that has not relation to your progress in the divine ♦life, you may be assured your heart is not in its right state of prayer to God. Look at a man who is devoted to some _one thing_, or has some one great worldly matter at heart; he stands turned from every thing that has not some relation to it; he has no joy or trouble but what ariseth from it; he