There is a great difference between the skill and the grace of prayer. The skill consists chiefly in a readiness of thought consistent with the various aspects of prayer, and a facility for expressing those thoughts in speaking to God. The grace consists in the inward workings of the heart and conscience toward God and our life of faith. The skill is but the outside, the shape, the carcass of our responsibility. The grace is the soul and spirit that gives it life, vigor, and efficacy, that renders it acceptable to God and of real advantage to ourselves.