thou art, and who I am. Shall the vile worm, or the slimy frog from its pool, creep up to the glorious throne of the most high God, and enter the heavenly court where the King of kings sits on his starry seat, surrounded with the innumerable spirits of the blessed? Shall I sing to thee in the sight of the angels, worship towards thy holy temple, and confess thy name? This is what holy men, beloved of thee, pondered seriously with a living faith, and hence they prayed with reverence and devotion. But, alas! my zeal is far removed from theirs, and hence it is that I am so absent from thee, that I am nowhere less than where I seem to be when I pray. Thus while I wish to plead my cause in prayer, I make it worse; and while I desire to propitiate thee, I only offend thee the more.
§ 5. Frequency and constancy in prayer.
Christ. What wonder is it, my son, if where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also? Hardly can the understanding be withdrawn from where the affections are fixed. Thou art of the earth, and art not careful enough to have thy conversation in heaven, but art too much busied with the love of earthly things. Hence spring up those thorns which so deeply wound thy heart, and choke the good seed, so that it cannot bring forth fruit. Think how much it must displease me to see the sons of men so wholly and earnestly occupied with the concerns of the flesh and of the world, and this life’s goods, and so regardless of prayer, on which depends their eternal salvation, and the glory of my name. Look at the children of this world: they eat, drink, play, pass their days in pleasure, and no one feels the length of time thus spent a burden; they are engaged with their farms and their cattle, wrapt up in cares and business, and occupied in an infinity of questions. Though never idle, they are always ill employed, because they are never at leisure to see that I am God. Or if at any time they are pleased to pray, it is either deferred to the last hour, or to the most improper time, or else it is thoughtlessly and carelessly done. Would any earthly prince endure to be admitted to speak to thyself, only when all the lowest of the people have been received before him?
Not so David my chosen servant, the man according to my own heart. He was a king, and entangled in the cares of a very great kingdom, yet his eyes prevented the morning, that he might meditate on my words, and he gave praise to me seven times a day; nay, rose at midnight to praise me.
