Author: Charles Spurgeon

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our Father, our faith is in you; our expectation is from you; our love goes out towards you. We believe you; we accept every word of your sacred revelation as being eternal and immutable truth. Sometimes we are troubled to know whether the promises are for us—whether we really have a share in covenant blessings; but we thank you that you have helped many of us to hold a trial in the court of conscience, and since our heart condemns us not we have confidence towards God (1 John 3:21).

Let this be the portion of all your children. May we come away from doubting and fearing and hesitating, and may we believe. Oh, for the faith which trusts the bare promise of God! Let us not be asking for signs and wonders, and withholding faith because these are not given to us; but whatever we find in your Word, may we believe it to be sure truth, and hang our souls upon it.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:21)

Think of the trial held in the inner court of man’s nature, within his heart. A man may get an acquittal from this court of conscience, for the question laid before the heart can be settled. It can be ascertained whether I sincerely believe in Jesus Christ. The court has before it no difficulty beyond its faculty; it is quite competent to decide the question in the light of Scripture by the help of God.

Note that this verdict has to be given upon gospel principles. The question before the court of conscience is not, “Have I perfectly kept the law?” The answer to that is simple enough: “There is no one righteous on the earth who continually does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The question is, “Am I a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I resting in him for salvation, and do I prove the truth of that faith by loving God and loving others?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Are you really saved? (You CAN know for sure)

Today’s prayer and verse are an invitation to examine yourself to see if we really are saved. Here’s a resource to help you examine yourself: Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley.

This book is a short Bible study on seven ways that the New Testament describes all Christians. If these things are true of you, then praise God, you can have assurance that you are born again. If these things are not true of you, then come to the cross in faith and find life in Jesus’ resurrection.

This book is a great resource for any Christian struggling with assurance. It is also a great book to read with a non-believer who claims to be a Christian — buy two and read it with a nominal Christian you know this year.

I hope you’ll take seriously the call to examine yourself, and I know that this book will be a helpful tool in the process.

Buy Am I Really a Christian?:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback or ebook editions)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Revive the church of God in every place, we ask you. Let the kingdom of Jesus Christ spread in all countries. Let your kingdom come, great God, yes, let it come speedily. It does not trouble us to think that Christ shall come; it is indeed our joy. Make no tarrying, oh our Lord! But, meanwhile make us watchful, earnest, active; and may we be as good servants, who are ready for action with trimmed lamps. May we wait for the Master until he comes.

Now give a blessing this morning: we come back to that prayer of ours—a blessing to each one. Bless me, even me, also, O my Father! The prayer is offered in the name of Jesus Christ the Mediator.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

““Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)

Some would-be prophets have wrested this verse from its evident meaning by saying, “Though we do not know the day and the hour of Christ’s coming, we may know the year, the month, and even the week.” If this method of treating the words of Jesus is not blasphemous, it is certainly foolish, and betrays disloyalty to the King.

We need not therefore be troubled by idle prophecies of hair-brained fanatics, even if they claim to interpret the Scriptures; for what the angels do not know has not been revealed to them. It is enough for us to know that he will surely come; our great concern should be to be ready for his appearing whenever he shall return.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Beautiful books to help you dive into Spurgeon’s earliest sermons*

I absolutely love to find well-designed books that look good on a shelf and feel good in your hands. And The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon is one of my favorite series.

Each volume in this series contains a full-color reproduction of one of Spurgeon’s handwritten journals, including dozens of outlines from his earliest sermons. These books look great in your library, but more importantly, they are just so enjoyable to read — it’s so cool to see Spurgeon’s thinking and preaching develop (in his own handwriting!) Every time I pick these books up, I just find that I can’t put them down.

But these books aren’t just fun to read — they’re incredibly encouraging. Even from the earliest days of his preaching, contained in these books, Spurgeon was consistently pointing his readers to the glory of God and the finished work of Christ. Hundreds of years later, we get to benefit from these sermons.

This month only, Lifeway is offering any volume in the Lost Sermons collection for 50% off, including the just-released volume six! Just use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 when you check out on Lifeway.com. 

Buy the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon on Lifeway.com (Use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Now, your servant, with a full heart, desires to bless you for the continual increase which you make to this church. You have refreshed our soul by the testimonies of many that have lately found the Savior. Blessed be the Lord, the Holy Spirit, who has not suffered the word to fall to the ground; but who has added to the church daily of such as shall be saved.

Lord, continue this great favor. Stir up our dear brethren and sisters to continual prayer for a blessing. May the fire on this altar never go out; but as we have enjoyed, these many years, an unexampled prosperity, oh, that we might continue to enjoy it still, unworthy though we be. Still, Lord, help us in every holy word and work.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.” (Ephesians 3:10)

The wisdom of God is clearly seen by angels in this, that though God was dishonored in this world by sin, that sin has redounded to his greater honor. Satan when he led men astray and tempted them to rebel, thought he had marred the glory of God, but he never did more palpably outwit himself. The serpent was exceeding wise, but God was wiser far. Satan’s craft was dexterous, but God’s wisdom was infinite in its prescience. Wisdom has outmatched craft.

Is it not glorious to think that this world where God was dishonored most is the world where he shall be most revered? There is no such display of the attributes and perfections of Godhead in the whole universe beside as there is here. On our blighted soil God has stood foot to foot with moral evil. God incarnate, the Son of God has sustained the conflict, and won the victory, for while the heel of Christ was bruised, the head of the dragon has been most effectually broken!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A simple read to help you love your church more

Today we prayed, thanking God for our own churches. Whether your church is thriving, as Spurgeon’s was when he prayed this, or if your church has been in a season of difficulty, we all need to grow to love our local church family more.

And a great resource for helping you along the way is Love Your Church by Tony Merida. This is a new book that outlines eight great things about being a church member. I’m so thankful for the book’s faithfulness to Scripture and practical application.

The book is simple and short. I promise you, if you will read this book and apply it’s lessons to your own local church, you will grow in love for your church family and grow in godliness as a result.

Buy Love Your Church:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback edition)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

We do pray for all who are out of the way; for all of those people who know who remain unsaved. Lord, let them not die in their sins. Have mercy upon those who have had a godly training, but remain ungodly. Oh, condemn them not, we pray, with such a mass of guilt upon them; but save them yet.

Lord, have great mercy upon those who are ignorant of Christ, and therefore sin, but know not what they do. Let them become trophies of your wondrous love. Gather them in; oh, gather them in today.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“… because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:9)

If you have believed in Jesus, you have received a present, immediate salvation. There are some who do not understand or realize this; they miss the whole joy of our holy religion. They are always hoping to be saved by-and-by, but those who are in Christ Jesus by a living personal faith receive here and now the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls.

If we have really believed in Jesus, we have, at this moment, the assurance of the perfect pardon of all our sins. And I will venture to put it as strongly as this, and to say that those white-robed spirits before the eternal throne are not more clear of the guilt of sin before the bar of infallible justice than was the dying thief the very moment that he turned his eye in faith to Christ upon the cross of Calvary, or than you are if you are now trusting to the same Savior, or than I am as now depending alone upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. The pardon that God gives to believers in Jesus is not a semi-pardon. It is not a putting away of some of their sins, or a putting them away for a time. It is a perfect putting away of their sins forever, a casting of them, once for all, behind God’s back “into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19), so that they shall never be found again.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

What was Spurgeon like as a teenager?*

It’s always interesting to think about what major leaders and thinkers were like as kids — how their thinking developed and how they rose to prominence. And Spurgeon is no different.

Shortly after his conversion, Spurgeon entered into the ministry and began preaching. And he kept careful, hand-written notes for each of his sermons in notebooks.

Up until a few years ago, these notebooks (and the early sermons they contained) weren’t available to the general public.

Now, you can check them out for yourself in The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon — a beautiful collection of books that will give you a unique look into Spurgeon’s early ministry.

Each volume in the series is a reproduction of Spurgeon’s actual notebooks, complete with full-color scans and stunning covers.

These books won’t just help you love Spurgeon, they will help you love Christ, because the sermons are full of gospel-centered, Christ-exalting content.

This month only, you can get any volume in the Lost Sermons collection for 50% off — just use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 when you check out on Lifeway.com

Buy the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon on Lifeway.com (Use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, that we might have such fellowship with God this morning, that we might defy Satan, defy unbelief, defy the flesh, defy the world, with a holy joy which comes not of the creature, and which the creature cannot mar—an “inexpressible and glorious joy,” a drink out of the eternal fountains, which well up from the deep which lie under, in the immutable and everlasting love and decree of God. Oh, let it be so with every child of yours at this good hour.

Now we do, with all our hearts, ask you to gather in the rest of your family who, as yet, are far off from you. O mighty grace, seek out the prodigal! O mighty love, receive the prodigals when they come back! O mighty grace, change their hearts and make them to love the great Father.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy…” (1 Peter 1:8)

Why does the apostle say that we rejoice with joy inexpressible? Is it not, first, because this joy is too great to be told? He is indeed rich who cannot count his wealth; he has so much that he does not know how much he has. He is indeed full of joy who has so much joy that he cannot tell anyone how much he has.

I think also that Peter calls our joy “inexpressible” because, if we were to try to explain or describe it to carnal men, they could not understand us. You cannot explain to a person who has never tasted honey how sweet it is. Neither can you explain to a man who does not know the joy of the Lord how joyous a thing it is. He could not comprehend what your words meant; you would be talking to him in an altogether unknown tongue.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A devotional to help you run from sin and cling to Christ

Today we prayed that God would help us know the deep joy that we have in him. God loves to answer this prayer, because it gives him an opportunity to show how wonderfully glorious his grace is.

One resource that’s been helpful as I’ve studied God’s Word and his enjoy the wonder of his grace is Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by Paul Tripp. This book features 52 short devotionals (one for every week of the year) on Psalm 51. This is an incredible resource to help you remember the horrors of your sin and the wonders of God’s amazing grace.

You could read the book over the next few months with just five minutes a day, or read one devotional each week for the next year. I can’t think of a better way to spend your time than reflecting on God’s mercy towards broken sinners like us.

I hope you’ll buy a copy and enjoy mediating on God’s unending mercy with me.

Buy Whiter Than Snow:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Paperback or ebook editions)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Dear Savior, you know the peculiar trials and conditions of all your people; and, we do pray, now deal with each child of yours according to his special need. Great Physician, come and look on each special case; and may there be a masterpiece of your heavenly surgery in the case of each one of us.

Many of us need comfort; our heart is cast down within us. There are many of your saints, in whose soul deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls. Command your loving-kindness this morning, and let your song be with us at this moment. Up from the shades may we ascend into the eternal light. Oh, that the sun of your love might shine full on our brows, till our faces shall be bright like the face of Moses!

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.” (Psalm 42:7)

Little sorrows, great sorrows, overwhelming sorrows, come to the Christian, and they all seem to come at once. Nay, not only do they come to us, but they go over us, till we cry, “all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.” Surely, this language is an exaggeration, for it is only Christ who could say that; but, sometimes, when you and I are in a low dark frame of mind, we are apt to think that we have felt all the twigs of the rod, and that we could not be made to smart more. Little do we really know of it; God grant that we may never know more than we do!

Now comes an exercise for faith, to be able, when down at the bottom of the sea, like Jonah, and at the mercy of every wave, to say with the psalmist in the next verse, “The LORD will send his faithful love by day; his song will be with me in the night— a prayer to the God of my life.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Be encouraged by Spurgeon’s earliest sermons*

If this newsletter encourages you every day, I know you’ll find more encouragement in Spurgeon’s other writings.

Recently, I’ve been really blessed by The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, a collection of books featuring Spurgeon’s earliest sermon outlines.

Up until a few years ago, these sermons were locked away in the archives and weren’t available for reading anywhere. Now, they’re available for our benefit in The Lost Sermons series.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Hundreds of outlines and sermons from Spurgeon’s early ministry
• Full-color scans of Spurgeon’s personal notebooks
• Critical footnotes to connect with Spurgeon’s early influences and later ministry
• Introductions by well-known pastors and scholars
• Beautiful books that will look stunning in your library
• Thousands of pages of gospel-saturated teaching

This month only (time is running out!), you can get any volume in the Lost Sermons collection (or all of them!) for 50% off. Just use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 when you check out on Lifeway.com

Buy the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon on Lifeway.com (Use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, will you deal with us according to your wisdom and prudence. Take out of us every evil and false way; any area in which we have deceived ourselves, remove. Anything which looks like growth in grace, which is mere puffing up, take away; anything which we prize, which is but counterfeit, utterly destroy.

And oh, bring us of your great love to know Christ in truth, that what we know we may know, and not think we know. And oh, that there might be a deep reality about our Christian experience, and knowledge; that the truth of God may be incarnate in the truth which lives in us.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:6–7)

O child of suffering, be patient; God has not passed you over in his providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows will also furnish you with what you need. Do not sit down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who cares for you. His eye is fixed on you, his heart beats with pity for your woe, and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Bring your family to know and treasure Christ

Today we prayed that God would remove every false and evil way from our lives and help us to know Christ more truly than ever before. As we pray that God would do this for ourselves, those of us who are parents should also be praying that God will do this for our children as well — to cause them to be amazed at who God is and what he has done.

I’m passionate about helping parents teach their kids the wonder of the true and living Jesus. And that’s why I created GodCenteredFamily.org.

GodCenteredFamily.org offers everything you need to have a daily family Bible reading plan that is both faithful and fun. These reading plans walk through books of the Bible with age-appropriate resources and discussion questions for any age group.

If you are a parent, I hope you’ll check out GodCenteredFamily.org. You can download a full week of daily family Bible guides and learn more about our mission.

Check out GodCenteredFamily.org and download a free sample family Bible guide.

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Now this day, be pleased, in infinite mercy by Christ Jesus, to visit your people. Give us first a sense of perfect pardon. May there be nothing between any of your children and yourself, great Father, that could mar the perfection of communion. May we know that you have forgiven us for Jesus Christ’s sake.

And as for anything in us that would grieve your Spirit, take it away at once, and then let your Spirit bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Oh, now give us the spirit of adoption. If indeed we be yours, by your Fatherly love to us, we do beseech you, breathe into every child of yours a sense of love, a sense of your near presence.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

Although the word “grieve” is a painful one, yet there is honey in the rock; for it is an inexpressibly delightful thought that he who rules heaven and earth and is the Creator of all things and the infinite and ever blessed God condescends to enter into such infinite relationships with his people that his divine mind may be affected by their actions. What a marvel that Deity should be said to grieve over the faults of beings so utterly insignificant as we are.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A Fun Way to Engage Kids with the Stories of the New Testament

Recently, my family has been loving a new resource from the Good Book Company, Seek and Find: New Testament Bible Stories. This new book is a creative way to tell stories from the New Testament to children, ages 2–6.

Every page of these books is beautifully illustrated with a lot of fun things, animals, and characters to find. But the book isn’t just for fun — each page also tells a key story from the New Testament. Taking the time to find all of the hidden objects will give you and your child time to reflect on the stories and what they mean for us.

I was so thankful that the Good Book Company sent me a copy of Seek and Find: New Testament Bible Stories and I know your family will enjoy it as well.

Buy Seek and Find: New Testament Bible Stories:

• Amazon
• ChristianBook.com

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, we bless you for ever teaching us the way of faith; for enabling us to cast our guilty souls upon the Divine propitiation, made in Christ Jesus; for peace, like a river, has streamed into our spirit ever since. We bless you for the power to trust you with everything else; for time, as well as for eternity. We are sure we never live except when we live by faith; that all else is but death, and the counterfeit of life.

Lord God, you have written death before our eyes on all the creature; you have made us see the vanity of the most substantial things on earth. Behold we walk as in a vain show, and we disquiet ourselves in vain. All things are but shadows; but you, you are the eternal All. Casting our anchor upon you, we are steadfast, and fixed, and safe; but all things else are quicksands. We cannot—dare not—find comfort, nor make a hope of them. You, Lord, are all our expectation, all our salvation, and all our delight; and this morning, in the act of public devotion, we would cry, “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5)

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5)

The soul is apt to be dragged away from its anchorage, or is readily tempted to add a second confidence to the one sole and sure ground of reliance; we must, therefore, stir ourselves up to maintain the holy position which we were at first able to assume. Be still silent, O my soul! Submit yourself completely, trust immovably, wait patiently. Let none of your enemies’ imaginings, consultings, flatteries, or maledictions cause you to break the King’s peace.

Unmingled faith is undismayed. Faith with a single eye sees herself secure, but if her eye be darkened by two confidences, she is blind and useless.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Dive in Deep to Spurgeon’s Earliest Writings*

Like many of you, I’ve been a big fan of Spurgeon for years. His preaching ministry, even over 120 years after his death, has been a constant source of hope and encouragement for me.

If you’re a Spurgeon fan like me, you need to check out The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon. These books contain the outlines and manuscripts of Spurgeon’s earliest sermons — sermons that he preached while a teenage pastor at a small Baptist chapel. The content is absolutely incredible.

One really cool feature is that the sermon outlines have been annotated with critical notes featuring references to Spurgeon’s later preaching and writing. You can see how Spurgeon’s faithfulness to Scripture never wavered throughout his ministry.

This series really is a must-have for any student of Spurgeon. You will benefit richly from these sermons.

This month only, “Pray with Spurgeon” subscribers can get any volume in the Lost Sermons collection for 50% off! Just use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 when you check out on Lifeway.com.

You can use this coupon for any of the volumes in the series, including the newly-released volume six!

Buy the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon on Lifeway.com (Use promo code LOSTSERMONS6 to save 50%)

Get a prayer from Spurgeon in your inbox every day. Subscribe to the Pray with Spurgeon newsletter for free.

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

You have brought your light to our blindness and made us to behold you; and now, you are not only the greatest source of joy to our spirit, but you are all our joy—we have none apart from you. Whatever of comfort we find in the creature, we know it is but fickle; and while it is there, it comes from you; for all these things are empty, and vain, and void without you. Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you!

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you.” (Psalm 73:25)

The psalmist turns away from the glitter which fascinated him to the true gold which was his real treasure. He felt that his God was better to him than all the wealth, health, honor, and peace, which he had so much envied in the worldling.

God was not only better than all on earth, but more excellent than all in heaven. He wished all other things go, that he might be filled with his God. “And I desire nothing on earth but you” — No longer should his wishes ramble, no other object should tempt them to stray; henceforth, the Everliving One should be his all in all.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Do you understand how amazing Jesus really is?

Today’s prayer and verse of the day focused on the wonders and the greatness of Jesus — he is ALL our joy. When we see Jesus for who he really is, in all of his beauty as the King of all Ages, we have to fall to our faces in worship. We must lay everything on the table in submission to this great king.

We always need resources that will magnify Christ to us — books that will remind us of how wonderful he is. One of those books is Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christby Stephen Wellum and Trent Hunter. This book walks through the story of Scripture, showing how Christ is the supreme hero and the supreme hope — he is what all of the Bible is pointing to.

This book is a helpful handbook to help you read Scripture in a more faithful, Christ-centered way and a guide to help you see Christ in every page.

This book will help you treasure Christ and the Bible more. I hope you’ll grab a copy for yourself.

Buy Christ from Beginning to End:

• Amazon (Paperback or Kindle edition)
• ChristianBook.com (Hardback or ebook edition)