What prayor doth, ordeynyd to God will; and how the goodnes of God hath gret lekyng in the deds that He doth be us, as He wer beholden to us, werkyng althyng ful swetely. Forty-third chapter.

Prayor onyth the soule to God; for thow the soule be ever lyke to God in kynde and substance restorid be grace, it is often onlyke in condition be synne on manys partye. Than is prayor a wittnes that the soule will as God will, and comfortith the conscience and ablith man to grace. And thus He techith us to prayen, and mytyly to trosten that we shal have it. For He beholdith us in love, and wil makyn us partyner of His gode dede. And therfore He steryth us to prayen that that likyth Hym to don; for which prayors and gode will that He wil have of His gyft, He wil reward us and gevyn us endless mede. And this was shewid in this word, And thou besekyst it. In this word God shewid so gret plesance and so gret lykyng as He were mekyl beholden to us for every god dede that we don, and yet it is He that doth it. And for that we besekyn Hym mytyly to don althyng that Him lekyt, as if He seid, "What myte then plese Me more, than to besekyn mytyly, wisely, and wilfully to do that thyng that I shal don?"

And thus the soule be prayor accordyth to God.

But whan our curtes Lord of His grace shewith Hymselfe to eur soule, we have that we desire, and than we se not for the tyme what we shuld more pray, but al our entent with al our myte is sett holy to the beholdyng of Hym, and this is an hey, unperceyvable prayor as to my syte. For al the cause wherfor we prayen, it is onyd into the syte and beholdyng of Hym to whome we prayen, mervelously enjoyand with reverent drede and so grete sweteness and delite in Hym, that we can pray ryth nowte but as He steryth us for the tyme.

And wel I wote the mor the soule seeth of God, the more it desyrith Hym be His grace. But whan we sen Hym not so, than fele we nede and cause to pray - for faylyng - for ablyng of ourselfe to Jesus. For whan the soule is tempested, troublid, and left to hymself be onreste, than it is tyme to prayen to maken hymselfe supple and buxum to God. But he be no manner of prayor makyth God supple to hym. For He is ever alyke in love. And thus I saw that what tyme we se nedys wherfore we prayen, than our good Lord folowyth us, helpand our desire. And whan we of His special grace planely beholden Hym seying non other nedys, than we folowen Hym, and He drawith us into Hym be love. For I saw and felt that His mervelous and fulsome goodnes fulfillith al our mytys, and then I saw that His continuate werkyng in al manner thing is don so godely, so wysely, and so mytyly that it overpassyt al our imagyning and all that we can wenyn and thynken; and than we can do no more but behold Hym, enjoyeng with an hey, myty desire to be al onyd into Hym, and entred to His wonyng, and enjoy in Hys lovyng, and deliten in His godeness.

And then shal we, with His swete grace, in our owen meke continuat prayors, come into Hym now in thys life be many privy tuchyngs of swete gostly syghts and felyng, mesurid to us as our simplehede may bere it, and this wrowte, and shal be, be the grace of the Holy Gost, so long til we shal dey in longyng for love. And than shal we all come into our Lord, ourselfe clerely knowand and God fulsomely havyng; and we endlesly ben al had in God, Hym verily seand, and fulsomly feland, Hym gostly heryng, and Hym delectably smellyng, and Hym swetely swelowyng; and than shal we sen God face to face, homly and fulsumly. The creature that is made shal sen and endlesly beholden God which is the maker. For thus may no man sen God and leven after, that is to sey, in this dedly life. But whan He of His special grace wil shewn Him here, He strengthyth the creature above the selfe, and He mesurith the shewing after His own wille as it is profitable for the tyme.