Praying Rightly

Only in thy prayer away with the purpose of sinning, for he that prayeth with a purpose to continue in any sin cannot be heard; his own conscience presently condemneth him; he can have no true testimony or assurance of God hearing Him.  For even as in vain he that hath a wound desireth the healing of the same, so long as in the wound there remaineth the thing that is the cause of the wound, as a knife, a pellet, a dart or a shaft-head, etc: even so in vain is the prayer of him that retaineth still the purpose to continue in sin; for by it the soul is no less wounded then the body with a sword or any such instrument.  As therefore to the healing of the wound in a man’s body it is first gone about, that the knife or iron which is in it be first pulled out, so do thou in prayer away with purposing to continue in sin.  God condemned in the old law all spotted sacrifices:  away therefore with the spots of purposing to continue in sin.  Bid adieu, when thou goest to prayer to thy covetousness, to thy uncleanness, swearing, lying, malice, drunkenness, gluttony, idleness, pride, envy, garrulity [idle gossip], slothfulness, negligence, etc.  If thou feelist thy willful and perverse will unwilling thereunto, out of hand complain it to the Lord, and for his Christ’s sake pray him to reform thy wicked will.  ~Writings of John Bradford; Sermons