well that those who are asked by the leader to pray should understand clearly the part which their prayers are to play in the service as a whole. Brief prayers dealing with a single petition are oftentimes better than a single prayer covering a great many subjects, but this is a matter of preference for the leader. By the use of the word Amen, "so be it," at the close of every prayer, the worshipers make the prayer their own and ask God to grant it. The word therefore is not a mere sign of conclusion, but is itself an ejaculatory prayer.

Prayer consists of three parts: the ascription, in which some attribute of divine nature or method of grace is mentioned with thankfulness; the petition; and the conclusion, in which the prayer is said to be through Jesus Christ. If the prayer has been directed to Him, acknowledgment is made of His relation to the other persons of the Trinity in such words as "To Thy honor and glory, Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit we worship and glorify as one God, world without end." A similar method of making one's prayer trinitarian is used in concluding an invocation to the Holy Spirit.

It is a cause for concern to note the frequency with which men end their public prayers abruptly, without pleading the merits of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as He Himself told us to do. This is most noticeable in a circle of prayer where each takes up the petition where the one next has left

off. Such an omission in the customary and proper forms of prayer is most disconcerting to other worshipers, suggesting to them a possible disbelief in the deity of our Lord on the part of the one who prays. The customary conclusion is, "through Jesus Christ, our Lord," but it is frequently expanded by reference to the work or "office" of Christ.

Another unfortunate expression of underlying disbelief is the agnostic tone of many prayers. In most cases this is due to lack of fundamental theological education, or to a mind narrowly logical. In prayer God is told that He is far beyond our comprehension and that we cannot understand His purposes, but that nevertheless we trust Him. Such a prayer ignores the revelation of God in the Scriptures, to which we as Christians are committed, whatever our particular theories as to the method of inspiration may be. We do know God, because He was revealed in Jesus Christ, and we do understand in the spiritual realm His purposes for us and the whole world. In expressing trust in the face of lack of knowledge or guidance, it is well to recognize that the basis of our trust lies in what God has revealed to us of Himself and His kingdom.

The frequency with which the same individual begins his prayers with a stereotyped ascription, or falls into a repetition of phrases in the prayer calls for comment. There are some stand-bys in prayer meetings whose prayers can almost be foretold by

those who have heard them week after week traveling the ruts of habit. If any one detects this tendency growing upon himself, the only cure is rigorously to weed out the habitual expressions, and to seek for variety and proper spirit by a faithful study of the great prayers of the past.

He who leads in public prayer must strive to forget that he has hearers. Too often gratuitous information is given God which is really intended for the men in the pews. Such homilies are usually introduced by the apologetic phrase, “Lord, Thou knowest." All the attendant circumstances connected with a request should be rigidly excised, and petitions should be simple and direct.

Certain hymns make admirable prayers and, if sung as such, the worshipers should be in a prayerful attitude, or at least understand that in singing the hymn they are in that way voicing their united petitions. Nearly all such hymns ask for spiritual blessings and endowments, and do not deal with specific temporal needs. They are universal and not individual. In this respect such hymn-prayers are like the ancient petitions which have found their place in the prayer books. They were both forged on the anvil of universal human experience.

Blessing

Just as it is advisable for a service to have an impressive and suggestive beginning, so also is it

well that it come to a fitting close. In church services this is usually accomplished by a blessing. However, the more intimate brief services with which this manual deals are, according to present custom, allowed to end with a hymn or prayer, and the group breaks up with no opportunity for silent devotion. The remedy for this fault would seem to lie in closing with a blessing as in more formal services. Most of the blessings, taken from the closing words of some of the epistles, are so striking in their wording that they give the sense of peace and divine favor.

Blessings are of two kinds, the benediction, pronounced by the minister, and the blessing which is uttered by any leader in a service as one of the worshipers. The difference between them lies in the use of "you" and "us." The former the minister uses as representative of God and ordained by the Church. Any benediction can be turned into a blessing by the change of these words. The most customary blessings are the words of Aaron, "The Lord bless us, etc.," and the "grace" of II Cor. 13:14. A representative collection of Scripture blessings is given in Part III. The well-known words of the Mizpah are often used in Christian Association circles by leader and worshipers together as a mutual blessing, "The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from the other." A very helpful way to conclude a service

is with the Nunc Dimittis, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace" (see Part III). This should be said in unison, not responsively. Another effective conclusion is the singing of “Peace, perfect peace." The blessing is most fruitful when it is pronounced after a few moments of silent prayer.

Hymns

As was suggested above, hymns are the favorite way in which all present can unite in prayer, praise, or confession. They form, therefore, too important a phase of worship to be lightly treated. Hymns should be selected to bear upon the general theme of the service. Practical examples of this are given in Part III. Nearly all hymnals arrange their hymns according to subjects, so there should be no difficulty in choosing appropriate hymns for services of penitence, consecration, meditation, intercession, and the like, or for the observance of the Christian Year. When so chosen, they contribute in a greater degree than any other element to giving a certain tone to the service.

Where time is lacking to permit the singing of the entire hymn, the most suitable verses should be chosen. Often there is a disagreeable interruption while the leader silences the musician and announces "the last verse." There is no special virtue in the last verse because it is last. Again by force of habit some leaders always announce "the first (two)