Prayer is a Letter

"We must direct our prayer, as we direct our speech to the person we have business with. The Bible is a letter God hath sent to us; prayer is a letter we send to him" (Matthew Henry, Directions for Daily Communion with God).

Guide and Tone for Prayer

"God must be the guide of your desires, and the ground of your expectations in prayer. . . . Keep your voice in tune for prayer, and let all your language be a pure language, that you may be fit to call on the name of the Lord, Zeph. iii. 9 (From Directions for Daily Communion with God by Matthew Henry).

Prayer: Effectual Fervent Prayer That Avails Much

"But, after all, the intention and close application of the mind, the lively exercises of Faith and Love, and the outgoings of holy desire towards God, are so essentially necessary to Prayer, that without these in sincerity, the best and most proper language is but a lifeless image. If we had the tongue of men and angels, and have not the heart of humble serious Christians in Prayer, we are but as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. It is only the effectual fervent prayer, the inwrought inlaid prayer that avails much. Thus therefore we ought to approve ourselves to God, in the integrity of our hearts, whether we pray by, or without a pre-composed Form" (Matthew Henry, A Method for Prayer, vii).

Prayer: Drawing Near to God, Everywhere and Always

"The scripture describes prayer to be our drawing near to God, lifting up our souls to him, pouring out our hearts before him....A golden thread of heart prayer must run through the web of the whole Christian life; we must be frequently addressing ourselves to God in short and sudden ejaculations, by which we must keep up our communion with him in providences and common actions, as well as in ordinances and religious services" (Matthew Henry, A Method for Prayer, iv).