ALTHO' Prayer in Our Families is a Duty that we owe to Almighty God, and is both reasonable in it self, and highly advantagious to us, yet 'tis to be feared that there are too many Families amongst us, who are fallen into such a thoughtless State, as to go on in a daily Neglect of it. That you may not per­severe in this Sin (which is the Occasion of many other) for want of Arguments to di­swade you from it, or for want of Helps to enable you to Discharge it as you ought, I have put this small Book into your Hand; and that God may make it Effectual to perswade and assist you to Discharge this Duty which is so Advantagious to your Souls, is the Prayer of him who sincerely and heartily wisheth their Salvation.

To make you sensible of the Benefit of Pray­ing to God in your Family, I desire you to consider,

First, The many Dangers to which we are Exposed, and that we cannot by our own Skill or Strength avoid them. The Body is liable to a hundred Diseases, and many Accidents as Fa­tal; and the Soul to infinite Temptations from the World, the Flesh, and the Devil; and the only Security we have against Dangers, is God's Providence, and against Temptation, the Assistance of his Grace; which, because we daily want, we must daily pray for, and [Page 3] 'tis great Encouragement for us to do so. 2dly Because Christ hath promised his Presence with us, Mat 18. 19, 20. Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them. He will be always ready to hear and assist the Prayers of good Men, in what Place, or at what time soever they are made, more especially when they are sent up with united Hearts and Souls.

A Third Encouragement to Family Prayers is, that it promotes Religion in them; for no Member thereof can wholly forget God, and another World, while they are every Day re­minded of both in Prayer. Children are here­by trained up from their Infancy in a Habit of Devotion; and Servants have an Opportunity of serving God their great Master every Day, and by this means Parents and Masters Dis­charge God's strict Command, of bringing up their Children and Servants in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord; hereby they Plant in their Hearts, a true sense of Piety and Devotion; and they, when they come to be Parents and Masters, will teach their Children and Servants the same.

There is a general Complaint (and I would to God there were no reason for it) that the Age we now live in, is most abominably Wicked; that there is not only a Decay of Christian Piety, but Mens Hearts are set upon Wickedness; and though we may wish and Pray for a Reformation of Manners, yet it cannot be expected till we and our Families keep the [Page 2] [...] [Page 3] [...] [Page 4] Lord's-Day more Holy, and till we set up in our Families, constant Morning and Evening Prayer, for by this means the Spirit of Religi­on will be transmitted at least to the Generati­ons to come. 4thly, Family-Prayers are a great Check to all the vicious Members in them, for they will put them in mind, that there is a God and another World; and that those who Ex­pect to be happy hereafter, must daily beg of God that they may live Holy Lives whilst they are here. This is the great End and Design of all our Prayers.

And although Persons who have long conti­nued in a Habit of Sin, may not heartily join with their more pious Brethren, yet they will be thereby put in mind, that where daily Prayers are continued in a Family, it is in order to pre­serve them from Dangers and Temptations, and to secure their everlasting Happiness, af­ter the Troubles and Miseries of this Life are ended; and they may be brought sometime or other to believe, that 'tis not safe for them to continue in those Sins which they hear their Fellow Christians Pray so heartily against eve­ry Day, that God would deliver them from. The Sermons of Ministers are through Preju­dice, Carelessness, and Hardness of Heart, soon forgotten: But when the Thoughts of God and another World are thus daily re­new'd in their daily Prayers, they will be some Check to the wicked Inclinations, and wicked Courses of desperate Sinners; and I question not but many of them have been restrain'd, [Page 5] and some reform'd from their Wickedness, by living in such Families where daily Prayers have been kept up.

Fifthly, As Family-Prayers are thus useful to reform the bad Members of it, so are they an Excellent Means of Confirming those that are good, and to cause them to persevere and grow in Grace, and so to fit them more and more for Glory.

The Hearts of Men are generally inclin'd to what is Evil, and averse to what is Good; they are daily exposed to the Temptations of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, and too apt to be Overcome by them; and therefore God hath made it our constant Work to watch and strive against them. For the doing of this Effectually, he hath enjoyn'd Reading and Me­ditating on his Holy Word, and more especi­ally daily Prayer; for this Duty will be of the greatest Advantage to us, as it tends to awa­ken our Care and Diligence in the Business of Religion; and as it does (if 'tis sincerely Per­form'd) effectually engage the Divine Assistance to second our Care and Endeavours, and se­cure them from Miscarriage, and without the aid of God's Spirit, and his Blessing upon our Endeavours, they will be ineffectual, and sig­nify nothing; and this aid is not to be obtain'd without Prayer. 'Tis this which invites this blessed Guest into our Souls, and causeth him to enter in and dwell there, and to make us more hearty and successful in our Endeavours after that Holiness, without which we cannot see God.

And since our daily Prayers contain in them Confession of our Sins, if we pray with Un­derstanding, and so as to mind what we are doing, they will put us under a Necessity of daily Examination, by which our Repentance will keep P [...]ace with our Transgression, we shall have a better Knowledge of our Spiritual State, and we shall be better prepar'd to ren­der up our Accounts when God doth call for them.

Sixthly, By keeping up daily Prayers in our Families, we shall more readily, and more de­voutly attend upon the Publick Service in the Church, where all good Christians are oblig'd to meet on the Lord's day, with united Hearts, to render thanks for those Benefits which we have received at his Hands, to set forth his most wor­thy Praise, to hear his most holy Word, and to ask those things that are requisite and necessary, as well for the Body as the Soul. For 'tis the same Spi­rit of Devotion that doth make us fit both for Publick and Private Prayer, and happy is that Soul who takes care to keep it up, and will not suffer it to fall and languish as most cer­tainly it will do for want of daily Exercise; This is too evident amongst the poorer sort of People, who having stupidly omitted the Du­ty of Prayer in their own House, proceed at last to a total Neglect of it in God's.

Nor hath this Neglect of Family-Prayer, only had this unlucky Influence on the Poor, as to make them neglect Publick Prayer; but it hath had almost as bad a one upon those who [Page 7] are of better understanding, and better ability, for some of them being strangers to the devout Performance of Prayers in their Families upon week days, they do not perform it with that Spirit which they ought upon Sundays, for their Hearts are cold, and their thoughts, as well as their Eyes, are wandering.

Seventh [...]y. In order to promote Prayers in your Families, let me desire you to consider that dreadful imprecation upon those Families which are Prayerless Jer. 10 25. Pour out thy fury upon the Heathen that know thee not, and upon the Fami­lies that have not called upon thy Name. This Curse hath en­tred in a visible manner upon many Prayerless Families, whom God in his Judgment hath given up to a reprobate Sense, and vile Affections, to commit all Uncleanness with greediness, and fall from one Wickedness to another, with­out any stop or restraint: O let the dread of this Judgment prevail with you to set up Prayers in your Families, that so you may prevent its falling on them.

Lastly, Let us consider that there are terrible Days which will come, and altho' our Prayers cannot prevent them, yet by the constant and devout Exercise of Prayer, we shall be better prepar'd for them; and therefore our blessed Savi­our doth most earnestly exhort his Disciples to this holy Ex­ercise, Luke 21. 34, 35, 36. Take heed to your selves least at any time your hearts be overcharged with Surfeitings and Drun­kenness, and the cares of this Life, and so that Day come upon you unawares, for as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the Earth; watch ye therefore and Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. So that watching and praying are the best Prepara­tion against all evil Days that may come, but more especi­ally our greatest Support, at those most terrible Days of Death and Judgment which certainly will come.

There are two Excuses which Men generally make, for their omitting this Duty, which I shall shew the Weakness and Insufficiency of.

First. The want of Time.

Secondly. The want of Ability to perform it.

First. As for the want of time to perform it, I beg you to consider, whether 'tis not very unmannerly, as well as [Page 8] very sinful, to answer God when he calls you to Prayers, I will come when I have nothing else to do. And how would you take such an Answer from your Child or your Servant [...] Besides, you cannot spend any part of your Time better than in Prayer, because that time which is thus spent, will turn to your greatest Advantage, both in respect of this Life and another. For, as it procures Gods Blessing upon you, it will be a means of making you prosper in the World more than all your other Labours can, without it; and as it will pro­mote the good of your Souls in the several respects before­mention'd, 'twill turn to your highest and most unspeakable benefit hereafter Besides, the Prayers that are here recom­mended to you, will take up so very little time, that it can­not be any considerable hind rance to those that work hardest, and have most Business to do. And I am sure no Man ought so to imploy his time for the Service of his Body, as utterly to neglect his Soul. And I am afraid there are many who eve­ry day spend more time than this Duty does require, much worse. And I earnestly beg you to consider, how little this Excuse can avail with God Almighty, when at the same time you make it, your own Consciences must tell you that 'tis not true. As for the

Second hind rance of this Duty of Prayer, that you want Ability to perform it as you ought, I have for your assistance collected the following Prayers out of the Common-Prayer Book, and the Prayer for Grace, out of the whole Duty of Man, and if you offer them up to God, as our Church di­rects, with an humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart, they will be an acceptable Morning and Evening Sacrifice to Him.

May all those for whose use this short Exhortation to Fa­mily-Prayer is Printed, read it often and consider it seriously as a matter that Concerns the Good of their Souls, and may as many as have not set up this Godly Practice in their Families, put on a Resolution to begin it this Day, and not any longer neglect that Duty which conduceth so much to promote the Glory of God, and the Salvation of their Children and Servants Souls, as well as of their own.