Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/213



"No prayer, no religion," observed Carlyle. Such is the great importance of prayer or worship to religious life. 'Should I pray ; need I pray ?' is substantially the question asked by every person who professes to be earnest about religion. This question arises in the mind spontaneously and repeatedly ; and it has to be answered by every enquirer after religious truth.

There are certain desires and longings Which arise in the human heart instinctively; they require no conscious effort to be brought into view ; no process of logical reasoning is a prerequisite to their recognition. They spring right from the centre of our nature, and they seem to be based upon instincts or intuitions deeper and firmer than logical processes. Prayer is one involuntary craving of this class. It is induced by a "felt want;" it is an