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Prayer: and Activity

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Prayer: Believing

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'A scholar at a boarding-school near London was remarked for repeating her lessons well. A school companion, who was idly inclined, said to her one day, 'How is it that you always say your lessons so perfectly?' She replied, 'I always pray that I may say my lessons well.' 'Do you?' replied the other, 'then I'll pray too.' But, alas! next morning she could not repeat one word of her lesson. Very much confounded, she ran to her friend. 'I prayed,' said she, 'but I could not repeat a word of my lesson.' 'Perhaps,' rejoined the other, 'you took no pains to learn it.' 'Learn it! learn it!' answered the first, 'I did not learn it at all. I didn't know I needed to learn it, when I prayed that I might say it.' She loved her idleness, poor girl; and her praying was but a mockery.'