Part 2 of Chapter 4 of J.C. Ryle's book, "Practical Religion"

1. Practical Religion
Prayer (Part 2)
J.C. Ryle

2. Prayer
Prayer is the most important subject in
practical religion. All other subjects are
second to it.

3. Prayer - Review
1. Prayer is absolutely needful to salvation
2. A habit of prayer is a sure mark of a true
Christian
3. Private prayer is the most neglected duty in
religion
4. Prayer is the most greatly encouraged act in
religion

4. Prayer - Review
5. Diligent prayer is the secret of eminent
holiness
6. Neglect of praying is a great cause of
backsliding
7. Prayer is one of the best recipes for happiness
and contentment

5. Prayer - Application
For those who do not pray
Be warned that your eternal state is in question
It is useless to say you do not know how to pray
It is useless to say you have no time to pray
It is useless to say you must wait until you are
converted

6. Prayer - Application
For those who desire salvation
In every journey there must be a first step
The Spirit begins to work in your heart when
you first pray with your heart
Go in private and entreat Jesus to save you
Just as you would tell a doctor where you feel
pain in your body, tell Christ where you feel
pain in your soul

7. Prayer - Application
The Spirit begins to work in your heart when you
first pray with your heart
Do not doubt his willingness to save sinners – it is
the reason he came
Do not wait because you feel unworthy – none are
worthy, yet he calls you to himself
Do not fear because your prayer is uncertain or
uncomfortable
Do not despair if the answer doesn't come quickly

8. Prayer - Application
For those who pray
There are wrong ways to pray
There are challenges and interference with
prayer

9. For Those Who Pray
Maintain reverence and humility in prayer
You are on holy ground
Labor to have the help of the Spirit in your
prayer
Although you may pray over the same areas,
strive to make the content different
Do not use a crutch (such as a prepared
prayer) if you can walk

10. For Those Who Pray
Make prayer a regular business of life
There is value in having regular prayer times
At the very least, speak with God in the
morning
Persevere in prayer
Do not allow excuses to keep you from prayer
Never think time is wasted in prayer

11. For Those Who Pray
Be earnest in prayer
Let us knock loudly at the door of grace, like
Mercy in ‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ as if we must
perish unless heard.
Cold prayers are a sacrifice without fire.
It is not necessary that a man should
shout, or scream, or be very loud, in
order to prove he is in earnest. But it
is desirable that we should be
hearty, and fervent, and warm, and
ask as if we
were really
interested in
what we are
doing.

12. For Those Who Pray
Pray with faith
We should endeavor to believe that our prayers are
always heard, and that if we ask things according
to God’s will, we shall always be answered.
We should cultivate the habit of pleading promises
in our prayers.
Above all, we should cultivate the habit of
expecting answers to our prayers. We should do
like the merchant who sends his ships to sea. We
should not be satisfied unless we see some return.
We should cultivate the habit of
pleading promises in our prayers. We
should take with us some promise,
and say, ‘Lord,
here is thine
own word
pledged. Do for
us as thou hast
said’

13. For Those Who Pray
Cultivate boldness in prayer
Boldness is not familiarity
Ask God to fulfill his promises
We do not plead as often as we might,
‘Lord, are we not thine own people? Is
it not for thy glory that we should be
sanctified? Is it
not for thine
honour that thy
gospel should
increase?’

14. For Those Who Pray
Consider the importance of fulness in prayer
Few believers pray too much
The Lord says, ‘Open thy mouth wide, and I
will fill it.’ (Ps. 81:10) But we are like the king
of Israel who smote on the ground thrice and
stayed, when he ought to have smitten five or
six times (2 Kings 13:18-19)
Nothing is more common that to hear
believers complaining that they do not
grow in grace, as they could desire.
Is it not rather to
be suspected
that many have
quite as much
grace as they
ask for? Is it not
the true account
of many that
they have little
because they
ask little?

15. For Those Who Pray
Ask with particularity in prayer
We ought not to be content with great general
petitions. We ought to specify our wants
before the throne of grace.
It should not be enough to confess we are
sinners. We should name the sins of which
our conscience tells us we are most guilty.
What should we think of the patient
who told his doctor he was ill, but
never went into particulars? What
should we think of the wife who told
her husband
she was
unhappy, but
did not specify
the cause?

16. For Those Who Pray
Intercede for others in your prayers
We often think only of our own souls, our
own progress in faith, and to forget others.
We should stir ourselves up to name other
names beside our own before the throne of
grace.

17. For Those Who Pray
Be thankful in prayer
I know well that asking God is one thing, and praising God
is another. But I see so close a connection between prayer
and praise in the Bible, that I dare not call that true prayer in
which thankfulness has no part.
Surely, we should never open our lips in prayer without
blessing God for that free grace by which we live, and for
that loving kindness which endures for ever.

18. For Those Who Pray
Be watchful over your prayers
Prayer is the spiritual weather glass: by this we may always
know whether it is fair or foul with our hearts.
Notice the people and activities that keep your mind from
God and make your prayers heavy. Be on guard against them.
Notice the friends and activities that leave you in a spiritual
frame, and most ready to speak with God. Cleave and stick
fast to them.

19. For next week:
Chapter 5: Bible Reading (Part 1)
Please read:
The first portion of Chapter 5, up to the
paragraph beginning, “I have now given the
reasons why I press on every reader the duty
and importance of reading the Bible.”
Prov 2:1-5
Psalm 119: 9; John 17: 17