can never err. Therefore the Will of God ought to be the rule and ruler of all other wills; and deserves and desires to be followed and obeyed by all.
Ask, therefore, such things as you know are conformable to the Divine Will, and if you stand in doubt whether any thing you desire is so or not, ask to obtain it only on the condition of its accordance with the Will of God.
And if we are sure that the things we ask are agreeable to Him, such as virtues, ask for them rather in order to serve and please Him, than for any other motive or end, however spiritual.
Fourthly, if we desire that our prayers should be answered, we must previously adorn ourselves with actions corresponding to our petitions, and, after we have prayed, labour more earnestly to render ourselves fit to receive the grace and virtue we have sought.
For prayer and self-discipline must always go together, and the one revolves round the other; since he who prays for a virtue and makes no effort to practise it, would be rather a tempter of God than any thing else.
Fifthly, before you pray for any thing, make an act of thanksgiving for previous mercies, in this or some similar form of words:—
"O Lord, Who of Thy Goodness hast created and redeemed me, and Who, times without
