The fourteenth Revelation is as afornseyd etc. It is impossible we shuld pray for mercy and want it; and how God will we alway pray thow we be drey and barryn, for that prayer is to Him acceptabil and plesante. Forty-first chapter.

After this, our Lord shewid for prayers, in which shewing I se two conditions in our Lordis menyng. On is rytfulnes; another is sekir troste. But yet oftentymes our troste is not full, for we arn not sekir that God herith us, as us thynkith, for our onworthyness and for we felyn ryth nowte, for we arn as barren and dry oftentimes after our prayors as we wer aforn. And this, in our felyng, our foly, is cause of our wekenis. For thus have I felt in myselfe. And al this browte our Lord sodenly to my mend and shewed these words and said: I am ground of thi besekyng. First it is my wille that thou have it, and sythen I make the to willen it, and sithen I make the to besekyn it, and thou besekyst it. How shuld it than be that thou shuld not have thyn besekyng?

And thus in the first reason with the three that followen, our good Lord shewith a mytye comforte as it may be seen in the same words. And in the first reason, thus He seith: And thou besekyst it. There He shewith ful grete plesance and endles mede that He will gevyn us for our besekyng. And in the sixth reason, there He seith: How shuld it than be? etc. , this was seid for an impossible. For it is most impossible that we shuld besekyn mercy and grace and not have it. For of all thyng that our good Lord makyth us to besekyn, Hymselfe hath ordeynid it to us from withoute begynnyng.

Here may we seen that our besekyng is not cause of Godis goodness, and that shewid He sothfastly in al these swete words when He seith: I am grounde. And our good Lord wille that this be knowen of His lovers in erth, and the more that we knowen, the more shuld we besekyn, if it be wisely taken; and so is our Lords menyng. Besekyng is a new, gracious, lestyng will of the soule onyd and festenyd into the will of our Lord be the swete privy werke of the Holy Gost. Our Lord Hymselfe, He is the first receyvor of our prayors, as to my syte, and takyth it ful thankfully and heyly enjoyand; and He sendyth it up aboven, and settith it in tresour wher it shal never perishen. It is ther aforn God with al His holy, continuly receyvyd, ever spedand our nedys. And whan we shal underfongyn our bliss it shal be gevyn us for a degre of joye with endles worshipful thankyng of Hym.

Full glad and mery is our Lord of our prayors, and He lokyth therafter, and He wil have it. For with His grace He makyth us lyke to Hymself in condition as we arn in kynd, and so is His blisful will, for He seith thus: Pray inderly thow the thynkyth it savowr the nott. For it is profitable thow thou fele not, thow thou se nowte, ya, thow thou thynke thou myghte nowte. For in dryhede and in barrenhede, in sekenes and in febelnes, than is thyn prayers wel plesant to me, thow thou thynkyth it savowr the nowte but litil; and so is al thy levyng prayers in my syte. For the mede and the endles thanke that He wil gevyn us, therfore He is covetous to have us pray continuly in His syhte. God acceptith the good will and the travel of His servant, howsoever we felen. Wherfore it plesyth Hym that we werkyn and in our prayors and in good levyng be Hys helpe and His grace resonably with discrecion, kepand our myght to Hym, til whan that we have Hym that we sekyn in fulhede of joy - that is, Jesus. And that shewid He in the fifteenth Revelation aforn this word: Thou shalt have Me to thy mede.

And also to prayors longyth thankyng. Thankyng is a new, inward knowing with gret reverens and lovely drede turnyng ourselfe with all our myghts into the werkyng that our good Lord steryth us to, enjoyng and thankyng inwardly. And sometyme, for plenteoushede, it brekyth out with voyce, and seith, "Good Lord, grante mercy. Blissid mot Thou be." And sumtyme whan the herte is drey and felyth not, or ell be temptation of our enemy, than it is dreven by reason and be grece to cryen upon our Lord with voyce, rehersyng His blissid passion and His gret goodnes. And the vertue of our Lords word turnyth into the soule, and quicknith the herte, and entrith it be His grace into trew werkyng, and makyth it prayen wel blisfully and trewly to enjoyen our Lord; it is a ful blisfull thankyng in His syte.