Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
~ Psalm 90:16-17
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
~ Daniel 9:18-19
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
~ John 17:24-26
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
~ Act 7:59-60
A Method for Prayer, by Matthew Henry. 1710. The following is and excerpt from Chapter Seven of his work.
The Conclusion of Prayer of the Conclusion of Our Prayers.
We are commanded to pray always, to pray without ceasing, to continue in prayer, because we must always have in us a disposition to this duty, must be constant to it, and never grow weary of it, or throw it up; and yet we cannot be always praying, we must come down from this mount; nor may we be over-long, so as to make the duty a task or a toil to ourselves, or those that join with us. We have other work that calls for our attendance. Jacob wrestles with the angel; but he must go, for the day breaks: We must therefore think of concluding. The prayers of David the son of Jesse must be ended. But how shall we conclude, so as to have the impressions of the duty kept always in the imagination of the thought of our heart.
We may then sum up our requests in some comprehensive petitions, as the conclusion of the whole matter.
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Christ Jesus. Hebrews 13:20, 21.
Now the Lord direct our hearts into the love of God, and into a patient waiting for Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5.
And the God of all grace, who hath called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that we have suffered a while, make us perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle us. 1 Peter 5:10.
And now, Lord, what wait we for? Truly our hope is even in thee, and on thee do we depend to be to us a God all-sufficient. Psalm 39:7. Genesis 17:1.
Do for us exceeding abundantly above what we are able to ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us: And supply all our needs according to thy riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:20. Philippians 4:19.
We may then beg for the audience and acceptance of our poor weak prayers, for Christ’s sake.
Now the God of Israel grant us the things we have requested of him. 1 Samuel 1:17.
Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Psalm 19:14.
Let thine eyes be open unto the supplication of thy servants, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call unto thee for; for they be thy people and thine inheritance. 1 Kings 8:52, 51.
O our God, let thine ears be attent unto the prayers that we have made: O turn not away the face of thine anointed; remember the mer- cies of David thy servant; even Jesus, who is at thy right hand making intercession for us. 2 Chronicles 6:40, 42. Romans 8:34.
Lord, thou hast assured us that whatever we ask the Father in Christ’s name, he will give it us: We ask all these things in that name, that powerful name which is above every name, that precious name which is as ointment poured forth. O make thy face to shine upon us for the Lord’s sake, who is the Son of thy love, and whom thou hearest always: Good Lord, give to us to hear him, and be well pleased with us in him. John 16:23. Philippians 2:9. Canticle (Song of Solomon) 1:3. Daniel 9:17. Colossians 1:13. John 11:42. Matthew 17:5.
We may then beg for the forgiveness of what has been amiss in our prayers.
Lord, we have not prayed as we ought; who is there that doth good, and sins not? Even when we would do good evil is present with us; and if to will be present, yet how to perform that which is good we know not, for the good that we would we do not; so that thou mightest justly refuse to hear even when we make many prayers. But we have a great high priest, who bears the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; for his sake take away all that iniquity from us, even all the iniquity of our holy things, and receive us graciously, and love us freely; And deal not with us after our folly. Romans 8:26. Ecclesiastes 7:20. Romans 7:21, 18, 19. Isaiah 1:15. Exodus 28:38. Hosea 14:2, 4. Job 42:8.
We may then recommend ourselves to the conduct, protection and government of the divine grace, in the further services that lie before us, and in the whole course of our conversation.
And now let us be enabled to go from strength to strength, until we appear before God in Zion, and while we pass through this valley of Baca, let it be made a well, and let the rain of the divine grace and blessing fill the pools Psalm 84:7, 6. Now, speak, Lord, for thy servants hear. What saith our Lord unto his servants? Grant that we may not turn away our ear from hearing the law; for then our prayers will be an abomination; but may hearken unto God, that he may hearken unto us. 1 Samuel 3:9. Joshua 5:14. Proverbs 28:9. Judges 9:7.
And now the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not leave us nor forsake us; That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments; And let our hearts be perfect with the Lord our God all our days, and continue so till the end be, that then we may rest, and may stand in our lot, and let it be a blessed lot in the end of the days. 1 Kings 8:57, 58, 61. Daniel 12:13.
We may conclude all doxologies, or solemn praises of God, ascribing honour and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and sealing up all our praises and prayers with an affectionate Amen.
Now blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, Amen and Amen. Psalm 41:13.
For ever blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doth wondrous things, and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory, Amen and Amen. Yea, let all the people say, Amen, Hallelujah. Psalm 72:18, 19. Psalm 106:48.
To God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ for ever, Amen. Romans 16:27.
Now to God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, be glory for ever and ever, Amen. Galatians 1:3, 4, 5.
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