God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers,
And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face,
read more

God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers,
And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face,
A gauntlet with a gift in 't.

And from the prayer of Want, and plaint of Woe,
O never, never turn away their ear!
read more

And from the prayer of Want, and plaint of Woe,
O never, never turn away their ear!
Forlorn, in this bleak wilderness below,
Ah! what were man, should Heaven refuse to hear!

Father! no prophet's laws I seek,--
Thy laws in Nature's works appear;--
I own myself corrupt and read more

Father! no prophet's laws I seek,--
Thy laws in Nature's works appear;--
I own myself corrupt and weak,
Yet will I pray, for thou wilt hear.

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is read more

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

Doubt not but God who sits on high,
Thy secret prayers can hear;
When a dead wall read more

Doubt not but God who sits on high,
Thy secret prayers can hear;
When a dead wall thus cunningly
Conveys soft whispers to the ear.

Father of Light! great God of Heaven!
Hear'st thou the accents of despair?
Can guilt like man's read more

Father of Light! great God of Heaven!
Hear'st thou the accents of despair?
Can guilt like man's be e'er forgiven?
Can vice atone for crimes by prayer?

Pray to be perfect, though material leaven
Forbid the spirit so on earth to be;
But if read more

Pray to be perfect, though material leaven
Forbid the spirit so on earth to be;
But if for any wish thou darest not pray,
Then pray to God to cast that wish away.

Hope, he called, belief
In God,--work, worship . . . therefore let us pray!

Hope, he called, belief
In God,--work, worship . . . therefore let us pray!

Prayer is the spirit speaking truth to Truth.

Prayer is the spirit speaking truth to Truth.