of our failure. We thought we could do it of ourselves, we anticipated rich heart communion; but we were miserably mistaken, because we did not realize that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but that our whole sufficiency is of God. We forgot that it is ever true, and must continue to be the heart experience of all the sons of God till the end of time, that we know not what we should pray for as we ought. We forgot that, for real successful prayer, a Divine energy of prayer must quicken our hearts; that the Holy Spirit of God must help our infirmities, making intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

This is one cause-a very chief cause, as I venture to believe-of barrenness in prayer. For though over and over again we acknowledge this truth; though we confess that we "have no power of ourselves to help ourselves;" that God's Holy Spirit must in all things direct and rule our hearts; yet the

old spirit of self-conceit weaves her swift-spun web across our hearts, and beguiles us into the snare.

But this very discovery at once presents us with a remedy for barrenness in prayer; for, if we are disappointed that subjects of prayer have vexatiously failed us, here is the one grand thing for which we should praythe gift of the Holy Spirit. Here is the very lintel (stone) at the gate of all prayer; and we shall not stand long, knocking and pleading for that; since the clearest, brightest promise in all God's Book is this: "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall not My Father which is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."

II. Self-ignorance.-There is a self-ignorance which causes barrenness and disappointment in prayer. There is, of course, a selfignorance, and by consequence an ignorance of God (for he that knows not himself, how

shall he know God) which begets fluency. Indeed, it is easy for ignorance to be fluent. Small and shallow minds fume much and flow fast; and there is a class of self-ignorants whose prayers run as rapidly from their supple lips as they rise easily from their shallow hearts. There are self-deceivers, who think that they shall be heard for their much speaking—who think that God's blessing is the reward of fine prayers. They do not realize prayer as a privilege too vast to be trifled with, and a pleasure too intense to be thrown away in empty words; but they link their salvation to their prayers, and depend on their many petitions for heaven.. But these are not the class I speak of; for such are not aware of any barrenness in prayer. They live in a dream of self-delusion, and think they are eating and drinking; but a terrible awakening of heart hunger will be theirs sooner or later.

The class I speak of are those who are fully and bitterly aware of this barrenness

in prayer, but who cannot quite trace the cause to their ignorance of themselves. But that they are very ignorant of themselves is, or ought to be, very plain. The very meagreness that they lament in their prayers might show it to them. For what are their prayers? They tell God that they have. sinned, that they have grievously broken His commandments: they ask God to give them true repentance, and to forgive them for Jesus Christ's sake. Such, with very slight variations, might be taken as a typeprayer of the class of which I speak. But is it not a very good prayer? Yes, doubtless, good as far as it goes; but if that is all, it exhibits a very grievous amount of self-ignorance. The prayer might be from a certain heart a true and noble expression of spiritual longing; but with the persons to whom we allude this prayer is the stereotyped plate from which all their prayers for themselves, morning and evening, are struck off. With very little variation, and in the most conven

tional way-though, perhaps, with very real desire-they confess that they are sinners, unworthy and polluted; but there is not the confession of a single definite sin, or if there is, it is perhaps the result of some very rare circumstance which has impressed some special transgression more vividly upon their minds.

This habit of general confession is a fertile source of self-ignorance, besides being a fatal nurse of pride. It is an easy thing to confess that we are sinners, or that we are sinful; because it is only an inclusive confession in which our own individual guilt is lost sight of in the universal sinfulness of the race. Or even when we make our confession individual, and say, "Lord, I confess that I am sinful," yet in this kind of loose, general acknowledgment, the full force of the sinfulness of our many sins is not felt. To realize this, we must adopt a more particular mode of dealing with our own hearts, taking them to task; and recalling each special sin, and