The following prayer by St. Augustine is a good example of the influence of the Bible on the trend of his thought:

O, thou full of compassion, I commit and commend myself unto thee, in whom I am, and live, and know. Be thou the goal of my pilgrimage, and my rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of thy wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in thee, O God. Thou bounteous giver of all good gifts, give to him who is weary refreshing food; gather our distracted thoughts and powers into harmony again; and set the prisoner free. See, he stands at thy door and knocks; be it opened to him, that he may enter with a free step, and be quickened by thee. For thou art the wellspring of life, the light of eternal brightness, wherein the just live who love thee. Be it unto me according to thy word. Amen.

When looking outside of the local list of petitioners to which this volume is so closely confined it can be seen clearly that those whose petitions were the most surely answered were familiar with the Bible. It is also interesting to notice the quotations which were used as mottoes or the favorite extracts from the Bible by the most saintly of the heroes, martyrs, and victors in the Christian Church. Out of many hundreds of Scripture quotations the following are selected with the hope that some one of them may be of especial helpfulness to some one who desires to pray successfully:

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness; thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer (Psalm iv:1).

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up (Psalm v:3).

The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer (Psalm vi:9).

Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication (Psalm lv:1).

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalm cxli:2).

I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men (Tim. ii:1).

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil (I Peter iii:12).

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth (I Sam. i:12).

Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to-day (I Kings viii:28).

And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation (Dan. ix:20-21).

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father, also which is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses (Mark xi:25).

And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense (Luke i:10).

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven opened (Luke iii:21).

And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him (Luke ix:18).

I was in a city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me (Acts xii:5).

I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also (I Cor. xiv:15).

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication (Eph. vi:18).

Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith (I Thes. iii:10).

And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive (I Kings viii:30).

Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them (Neh. iv:9).

Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows (Job xxii:27).

He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer (Psalm cii:17).

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; but the prayer of the upright is his delight (Prov. xv:8).

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes…. (Dan. ix:3).

… and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matt. xvii:21).

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Acts vi:4).

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither (Acts xvi:13).

Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. iv:6-7).

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him (James v:15).

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James v:16).

… be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer (I Peter iv:7).

Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house;

Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men….) (II Chron. vi:29-30).

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them (Acts xvi:25).

And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray (Matt. xiv:23).

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder (Matt. xxvi:36).

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. xxvi:41).

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels (Matt. xxvi:53).

Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark xi:24).

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke xviii:1).

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word…. (St. John xvii:9, 15, 20).

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Rom. viii:26).

Pray without ceasing (I Thess. v:17).

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Thess. v:23).

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power (II Thess. i:11).

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height…. (Eph. iii:17-18).

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight (I John iii:22).

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us;

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (II John v:14-15).

But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee (St. John xi:22).

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (St. John xiv:13).

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it (St. John xiv:14).

If ye love me, keep my commandments (St. John xiv:15).

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (James i:5-6).

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss…. (James iv:3).

There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man: but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (I Cor. x:13).

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy (Jude i:24).

But when ye pray, use not vain repetition, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen (Matt. vi:7-13).

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (Psalm xxxvii:3).

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass (Psalm xxxvii:5).

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…. (Psalm xxxvii:7).

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm xxiii:1).

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm xxiii:4).====