David Brainerd was pursued by unearthly adversaries who were resolved to rob him of his reward. He knew he must never take off his armor, but lie down to rest with his corselet laced. The stains that marred the perfection of his lustrous dress and the spots of rust on his gleaming shield are imperceptible to us, but they were to him the source of much sorrow and ardency of yearning.
– from The Life of David Brainerd –
The prayers of holy men appease God’s wrath, drive away temptations, resist and overcome the Devil, procure the ministry and service of angels, rescind the decrees of God. Prayer cures sickness and obtains pardon; it arrests the sun in its course and stays the wheels of the chariot of the moon; it rules over all gods and opens and shuts the storehouses of rain; it unlocks the cabinet of the womb and quenches the violence of fire; it stops the mouths of lions and reconciles our suffering and weak faculties with the violence of torment and violence of persecution; it pleases God and supplies all our need.
– Jeremy Taylor –