The Christian’s guard or watch about prayer set for him 2/3

(1.) An unwillingness and backwardness to duty. If thou findest this, it appears thou beginnest to be heavy‑eyed.  When grace is wakeful, the Christian needs not many words to persuade him into God’s presence.  ‘Thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said, Thy face, Lord will I seek.’  therefore, conclude thou mayest that some vapours have fumed up from thy corruptions, to dull and deaden thy heart to the work.  He that would run to the door, when awake, at the first knock of his dear friend to let him in, may, when between sleeping and waking, let him stand too long.  This was the spouse’s case, and it lost her the company of her beloved.  It showed plainly she was in a sleepy distemper, in that she was so backward to duty; for that was the door that Christ would have met her at.

           (2.) Formality in prayer is a certain symptom that a sleepy distemper hangs about thee.  Grace awake is full of life and activity; at least it discovers itself by making the soul deeply sensible of its dead­ness and dulness.  Vigilantis est somnium narrare. saith Seneca—it shows the man awake that tells his dream, what he did in his sleep; and it proves the soul awake that can feelingly and mournfully confess his deadness.

           (3.) Prevalency of wandering thoughts.  In sleep, fancy and imagination rules and ranges without any control.  If thy thoughts range and scatter into imper­tinences in time of prayer, and meet with no check from thee, it shows thy grace, if thou hast any, is not well awake.

4. Particular.  Express a conscientious diligence at thy particular calling in the intervals of prayer. They that sit up to watch had some need of work to keep them awake.  Idleness is but one remove from sleep.  I cannot believe that he who lazeth a day awake in idleness, should find his heart awake to pray at night; for he hath that day lived in the neglect of a duty as necessary as this, and it is bad going to one duty through the neglect of another.  There is a gen­eration of men indeed, that under a pretence of watching and praying always, betake themselves to their cloisters, and renounce all secular employments, as if it were easy to put off the world as to change their clothes, and get on a cowl or a religious habit; but the world hath found those places commonly to have proved, not so much houses to pray in, as dens to draw their prey into.  It is more like that those who are pampered with sloth and fulness of bread should be eaten up with luxury and sensuality than with zeal and devotion.  The air, when still, thickens and cor­rupts; the spirits in our body are choked with rest; and the soul needs motion and exercise as much as either.  In spiritual offices it cannot hold out without intermmittings; therefore, God hath provided our particular callings as a relief to our spiritual devo­tions.  Only, our care must be not to overdo.  The same thing may quicken and weaken, wake us and lay us asleep.  No greater help to our religious offices than a faithful discharge of our particular calling; no greater duller of the Spirit of prayer than the same when inordinately pursued.  The same oil feeds the lamp and drowns it if excessively poured on.  Hold the candle one way, and the wax nourishes the flame; turn the other end up, it puts it out.
5. Particular.  Preserve a sense of thy spiritual wants.  As fulness inclines the body to sleep, so doth a conceit of spiritual fulness the soul.  When the belly is full then the bones would be at rest—the man hath more mind to sleep than work; whereas he that is pinched with hunger, his empty craving stomach keeps him awake.  If once thou beginnest to have a high opinion of thyself, and thy spiritual hunger be a little stayed—from a conceit of thy present store, and sufficiency of thy grace—truly then thou wilt compose thyself to sleep, and sing the rich man's lullaby to thy soul, ‘Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for may years; take thine ease.’  The Corinthians are a sad instance for this purpose.  ‘Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us,’ I Cor. 4:8.  Paul is now nobody with you.  The time hath been you could not be without his pains.  The hungry child did no more cry for the breast than you for the word preached by him.  But now your stomach is stayed, you are full and can live without him. Whereas, God knows, it was a fulness of wind of pride, not of solid grace.  It is the nature of grace to dilate the heart and make room for more, but of pride to cloy and glut the soul.  God hath long kept open house in England; the wine-cellar door of his ordinances hath not been shut upon us; we have had free access to drink, and that abundantly, of their sweet wine.  But, alas! may it not be for a lamentation to see how many are drunk with spiritual pride, rather than filled with grace, after so long an enjoyment of them!—insomuch that some have attempted to stave the very vessels from which they have drawn this wine!  Such are they that decry all ordinances, and would down with ministers and ministry; yea, who can live without public preaching and private praying also.  Others, not so mad drunk as the former, are yet fallen asleep under the tap; they have lost their first life in and love to ordinances; they sit with sleepy eyes and dead hearts under them.  Well, Christian, if thou wouldst keep thy soul awake for this or any other ordinance, take heed thou losest not the sense of thy wants. Begging is the poor man's trade.  When thou beginnest to conceit thyself rich, then thou wilt be in danger to give it over, or be remiss in it.
6. Particular.  Retire often to muse on some soul-awakening meditations.  We seldom sleep when we are thoughtful, especially if the thoughts we muse on be of weight and importance enough to intend and occupy the mind.  Indeed, idle trivial thoughts such as have nothing to invite attention, are given as a ready means to bring a man asleep—I mean bodily sleep. That Christian who neglects frequently to med­itate on spiritual things, and lets his thoughts walk all day in the company of carnal worldly occasions, I should wonder if he finds his heart awake at night to pray in a spiritual manner.  Give me therefore leave to present a few subjects for thy meditations to insist upon, and they will be as the brazen ball which some philosophers used to hold in their hand that they might not sleep too long, or as the alarm which men set overnight to call them up to their business early in the morning.