In prayer there should be a celebration of the divine perfections

In prayer there should be a celebration of the divine perfections; and it is proper to begin with this; we should declare the name of the Lord to whom we pray, and ascribe greatness to our God; we should begin with some one or other of his names and titles, expressive of his nature, and of the relation he stands in to us as creatures, and new creatures; and make mention of some one or more of his perfections, which may serve to command an awe and reverence of him; to engage our affections to him; to strengthen our faith and confidence in him, and raise our expectations of being heard and answered by him, as before observed; as of his purity, holiness, and righteousness; of his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; and of his immutability and faithfulness, love, grace, and mercy.

There should be an acknowledgment of our vileness and sinfulness, of our meanness and unworthiness in ourselves; we should come before a pure and holy God under a sense of the depravity and pollution of our nature, and of our unworthiness to be admitted into his presence, and to worship at his footstool; when we take upon us to speak unto the Lord, we should own, with Abraham, that we are but "dust and ashes"; not only frail and mortal creatures, but sinful and impure; and with Jacob, that we are not "worthy of the least of all the mercies" showed us, nor of receiving any favour from God; and therefore do not present our supplications to him "for our righteousnesses, but for his great mercies".

. There should be a confession of sin; of the sin of our nature, of original sin, of indwelling sin; of the sins of our lives and actions; of our daily transgressions of the law of God in thought, word, and deed: this has been the practice of saints in all ages; of David, Daniel, and others, #Ps 32:5 51:3-5 and which is encouraged, #1Jo 1:9.

3d. There should be a deprecation of all evil things, which our sins deserve; so our Lord taught his disciples to pray; "Deliver us from all evil"; and this seems to be the meaning of the saints oftentimes when they pray for the forgiveness of their own sins and those of others {16}, that God would deliver them out of present distress, of what kind soever, remove his afflicting hand, which lies heavy upon them, and avert those evils which seem to threaten them, and prevent their coming upon them; in which sense we are to understand many of the petitions of Moses, Job, Solomon, and others, #Ex 32:32 Nu 14:19,20 Job 7:21 1Ki 8:30,34,36,39,50.

Another part or branch of prayer is, a petition for good things, which are needed; for temporal mercies, such as regard the sustenance of our bodies, the comfort, support, and preservation of life; so our Lord has taught us to pray; "Give us this day our daily bread"; which includes all the necessaries of life. Agur's prayer with respect to this is a very wise one, and to be copied after, #Pr 30:7-9. Spiritual blessings are to be prayed for; which, though laid up in covenant, and are sure to all the covenant ones, what God has promised, and will be performed; and we may have this confidence in him, that whatsoever we ask, according to his will, we shall have; but then they must be asked for; seeing, for what he has promised, and will do, he will "yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them", #Eze 36:37.

. Prayer should always be accompanied with thanksgiving; this should always be a part of it; since, as we have always mercies to pray for, we have always mercies to be thankful for, #Eph 6:18 Php 4:6.