Category: Pray with Spurgeon

Pray with Spurgeon: I am a child of God, not a slave to sin

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Since the hour when we knew your love and learned to say “Abba, Father,” we do confess we have been unworthy still. We have only felt your goodness a little; we have often acted very ungratefully, very distrustfully. But Lord, you have not changed, but still your faithfulness abounds to your servants; for which again we can only say, Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15)

We did receive the spirit of bondage once. We felt that we were under the law, and that the law cursed us. We felt its rigorous taxation, and that we could not meet it. Now that spirit has gone, and we have the spirit of freedom, the spirit of children, the spirit of adoption.

I suppose that the apostle felt so much of the spirit of adoption in his own bosom that he could not talk of it as belonging to others alone. He was obliged to include it thus, and so he puts it, “you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” He wanted to intimate that he himself also was a partaker of this blessed spirit. And woe to the preacher who can preach an adoption which he never enjoyed. Woe to any of us if we can teach to others concerning the spirit of sonship, but never feel it crying in our own souls.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A booklet to help you be amazed at Jesus*

One of the most impactful practices in my own life has been memorizing extended portions of Scripture. When we memorize Scripture, God faithfully uses it to deepen our love for him and keep us from sin.

There is a mountain of treasure to be found in Scripture memory. Unfortunately, often when I talk to others about Scripture memory, they don’t know where to begin. And that’s why I’m so grateful for Consider Him — a new Scripture memorization booklet focusing on the book of Hebrews.

Consider Him is a great resource to help you study, apply, and (yes!) memorize five key passages from the book of Hebrews. It is a really great tool and I’m excited to use it to deepen my own study of Hebrews.

Buy Consider Him from CementedCo.com.

Pray with Spurgeon: God loves sinners (And we are amazed)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

In the recollection of all that you have done for us, your people, we are filled with amazement, as well as with gratitude, that you should have loved us before the foundation of the world; that sovereign love should have pitched upon us poor unworthy ones, that you should so love us as to redeem us with the blood of Jesus and give the Only Begotten to die for unworthy creatures like to us; that you should love us notwithstanding our sins and transgressions, that you should love us despite the hardness of our hearts and the rebellion of our nature. It is strange, it surpasses belief at times; yet do we know it to be so.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Hallelujah! I will praise the LORD with all my heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” (Psalm 111:1)

“Praise ye the LORD,” or, Hallelujah! All you his saints unite in adoring the Lord, who works so gloriously. Do it now, do it always, do it heartily, do it unanimously, do it eternally. Even if others refuse, take care that you always have a song for your God. Put away all doubt, question, murmuring, and rebellion, and give yourselves up to the praising of the Lord, both with your lips and in your lives.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

You need a dictionary (Seriously, you need a dictionary)

Definitions are important. When reading a book or listening to teaching, we can’t learn or apply anything if we don’t know the words an author or speaker is using.

The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms by Gregg Allison is an invaluable resource for theological studies, offering clear definitions for the most important words for understanding the Bible and theology. This is an incredible resource for looking up new words that you don’t know and for getting a quick refresher on various theological positions.

Buy The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms:

Pray with Spurgeon: God is good (even if life isn’t)

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord, our God, how excellent is your name in all the earth! Some of us have to thank you for many mercies bestowed. We thank you for them; for we feel that we are entirely in your hands in all respects. Others of us have been brought very low, bruised full sore, but having a little strength remaining, we desire to praise and bless the giver of every gift.

You are good when you give, and you are good when you take away. You are good when the night gathers heavy about us. You are good when the sun shines and gladdeneth our pathway. You are always good and always do good, and blessed be the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to the going down of it, and through the night watches let his praise be still celebrated.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

Some of the rarest pearls have been found in the deepest waters, and some of the choicest utterances of believers have come when God’s waves and billows have been made to roll over them. The fire consumes nothing but the dross and leaves the gold all the purer. In Job’s case, with regard to his position before God, he had lost nothing by all his losses, for what could be purer and brighter gold than this that gleams before us from this text, revealing his triumphant patience, his complete resignation, and his cheerful acquiescence in the divine will?

We must learn the wisdom of never ascribing any earthly comfort to any earthly source. We must worship the giver and not the gift. And when we know that the Lord takes away our possessions, the knowledge that they are his effectually prevents us from complaining. From the first moment when the love of God is revealed to us, right on to the hour when we will be in the presence of the Father in glory, we may depend on it that there is infinite love in every act of God in taking from us, just as much as in giving to us.

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A Bedtime Blessing for Children

Whether your children are afraid of the dark or not, we should always encourage our children to trust God at bedtime (and at all times!). Why Do We Say Good Night? by Champ Thornton is a great God-glorifying book for kids.

The book, packed full with simple rhymes, beautiful illustrations, and even more beautiful gospel-centered theology, tells the story of a little girl who is a little scared to be left alone at night. Her mother offers her the good news that our great God, the one who made the night, is near, in control, and good.

This book is one of the favorites of our family. There have been seasons when we’ve read it every night before bedtime, and my wife and I would even get it out again after bedtime to pour over the beautiful illustrations and think more about the incredible message it offers.

Buy Why Do We Say Good Night?:

Pray with Spurgeon: God makes us happy, holy, devout, and strong

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Now this morning be pleased to refresh us. Draw near unto us, gracious God: it is only your presence that can make us happy, holy, devout, or strong. Shadow us now with your wings, cover us with your feathers, and under your wings may we trust. May we follow you very closely, and so feel the quickening warmth, the joy which only your nearness can bring.

The Lord bless us now, and all his chosen people. Our soul cries out for it. Break, O everlasting morning, break over the dark hills! Let our eyes behold you, and till the day break and the shadows flee away, abide with us, O our Beloved, abide with us now

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in you. I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until danger passes.” (Psalm 57:1)

What a mixture of feebleness and strength there is in this verse—the feebleness so beautified by being clothed with the strength of faith! What a turning away from man and what a turning wholly unto the Lord! And, in coming to the Lord, what humility and what pleading for mercy, and for mercy only!

And what joyous confidence and what sweet rest in God! “If I cannot see the brightness of your face, the shadow of your wings will be enough for me. Only let me get near you—only permit me humbly to trust you, and it will be enough for me, ‘until these calamities pass.’”

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Discover how Christianity is more reasonable than atheism

Christianity offers the most logical explanation for the world. The Bible alone can explain our existence, our innate feelings of right-and-wrong, and the pain we feel in our suffering. The Bible doesn’t offer a reasonable explanation of these things — the Bible offers a hopeful, gospel-saturated explanation of our world.

A great book on this topic is Jesus or Nothing by Dan DeWitt. The book presents Christianity as the only reliable and hopeful alternative to atheism. This book will surely deepen your faith and help you defend it against skeptics and atheists.

But, maybe more importantly, the book will fill you up with joy that the real God who really did create the world, really did launch a loving plan to save you. And that’s really good news.

Buy Jesus or Nothing:

Pray with Spurgeon: I want to serve God with my all

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, we have yet another burden—it is that we ourselves do not love you as we should, that often we grow lukewarm and chill, and doubt creeps over us, and unbelief mars our confidence, and we sin and forget our God. O Lord, help us!

Pardon is not enough, we want sanctification. We ask you, let the weeds that grow in the seed plot of our soul be cut up by the roots. We do want to serve you. We long that every thought we think, and word we say or write, should be all for you. We want to lead consecrated lives, for we are persuaded that we only live as we live unto God, that anything else is but trifling. Oh, to be taken up as offerings wholly to be consumed upon the altar of the Lord, joyfully ascending to him in every outgoing of our life.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Sincere belief in the word of Christ leads to emancipation from the tyrannical power of the evil that dwells in our members and from the dominating power of the sin that rules in the customs of the world. We will be free from our own prejudices, prides, and lusts. We will be free from the fear of others.

The truth known within our spirits will make a free man of us. Up to now we may have been the bondsman of self. We have inquired, “What will this thing profit me?” and thus the desire of self-aggrandizement has ruled everything, but when Jesus is our Lord, we will be free from this sordid motive.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

If theology is boring, you aren’t doing it right

Theology is meant to be a life-changing, worship-inducing encounter with the living God. When we ponder who God is, what he is like, and what he has done, we ought to be completely amazed.

One book to help you be amazed at our great God is None Like Him by Jen Wilkin. In each chapter, Jen unpacks one of God’s incommunicable attributes — the attributes that make God unlike us. She also describes the disastrous consequences when we try to take God’s place and live as if we were the supreme eternal ones.

This book is really wonderful (it will leave you amazed at how great our God is!) and really practical (it will help you become more like Christ).

Buy None Like Him:

Pray with Spurgeon: The victory is the Lord’s

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, let the masses of the people yet come to seek after Christ: by some means, by all means, by every means, may the ears of men be reached, and then their hearts be touched. May they hear, that their souls may live; and may the Lord who in everlasting covenant sets forth his Son, glorify him in the midst of the nations.

Let all the nations know the Christ of God. Our Father, we pray, help the few, valiant few, that press forward into the dense area of the enemy. Help them to fight valiantly! May these pioneers of the Christian host in mission lands be increased in number, may they be kept in good heart, may they have confidence in God, and may the Lord send the day of victory much sooner than our feeble faith has dared to hope.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“He told them, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’” (Luke 10:2)

The seventy were very few compared with the many that were needed. There were many loiterers about then as there are now; but the laborers were few. There were preachers of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and they were not worth a penny a hundred; but the true laborers, who watched for souls, and preached Christ with all their hearts, were very few.

It is the same today; and therefore we are to pray for more laborers. A good minister always desires to see more good ministers. In a trade, every tradesman would be glad if those of the same trade as himself would move to another place; but in the profession of a Christian minister, the more the merrier.

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The (not-so-surprising) cure for anxiety

The path to a peaceful life, free of anxiety, starts by laying down your pride, by relying on the Savior instead of yourself. If you want peace in your life, start by growing in humility.

That’s the point of Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson. This book discusses Christ’s call to humility and practical steps to walk in it. It will definitely encourage you, shape you into Christlikeness, and fill you up with peace.

The Kindle edition of Humble Roots in on sale now for just $1.99, so this is a great time to grab a copy!

Buy Humble Roots:

Pray with Spurgeon: Jesus, redeem this cursed world

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

We have to bring before you a great burden, and that is the godlessness of this present age. Wise men and men without knowledge do not seek after God.

O Lord, the multitude delight in sin. Drunkenness defiles our city, and filthy words are heard on every side. Do not show your wrath to this nation, we beseech you. It has been entrusted with wondrous privileges. Forgive it and have mercy upon its aggravated sin. Lay not its heavy responsibilities to its charge, but let this nation be saved. We pray for it, as we are in duty bound to do, and as our love constrains us to do.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“The earth has produced its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.” (Psalm 67:6)

Sin first laid a curse on the soil, and grace alone can remove it. Under tyrannical governments lands become unproductive, but, when the principles of true religion shall have elevated mankind, and the dominion of Jesus shall be universally acknowledged, the science of tillage shall be perfected, men shall be encouraged to labor, industry shall banish penury, and the soil shall be restored to more than its highest condition of fertility. There is certainly an intimate relation between moral and physical evil, and between spiritual and physical good.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Grow in prayer and grow in hope

To be honest, consistency in prayer has always been a challenge for me. It’s easy for the demands of this life to keep me from my most important work — communicating with the Lord in prayer. But I’ve been so refreshed recently to read A Praying Life by Paul Miller.

A Praying Life is a great, encouraging book on Christian prayer. Reading this book has cultivated Scripture-saturated prayers of childlike faith in my life. Miller describes prayer in a way that is thoroughly biblical and incredible desirable.

I hope A Praying Life will help you deepen your prayer life this year.

Buy A Praying Life:

Pray with Spurgeon: Jesus, be glorified this Easter weekend

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Editor’s Note: This prayer for God’s truth to be proclaimed clearly is a great one to pray while leading into Easter weekend, when many non-believers will be present in our churches. Oh, may they hear the good news of Christ and believe!

O Jesus, Son of the Highest, we know that the truth is powerful, because you are the soul of it—the very essence of it. Put your life into it, we pray. May the Eternal Spirit go with every word which God-sent ministers shall proclaim this Easter weekend, and may the Lord grant that as the mists fly before the sun, and the clouds before the wind, so error and superstition may be driven away by the rising of the Sun of Righteousness in all the glory of his brightness.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

This promise has also had a practical fulfillment in the deathbed experiences of God’s people. Tortured with disease, they have been lying in the darkness and gloom of death. But suddenly a wondrous light has surprised them—their dying bed has become a throne of glory. They have found themselves arrayed in royal garments as though it were their coronation rather than their departure out of this world.

Though the body has been bound fast with cords, the soul has mounted up as on the wings of eagles, in sacred rapture and holy bliss. The sun of righteousness has risen upon them. Before their earthly sun went down, the heavenly sun lit up their sky with a sacred high, eternal noon. And unto you who fear the name of the Lord, whatever gloom may surround your departure from the earth, the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings, and one day you will find him rise even upon your mortal bodies.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus?

Christ calls his people to an amazing, grace-fueled life of self-denial. It’s an exciting life, but what does it actually look like to lay down your life and take up your cross?

A great and short book on this topic is A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. It describes, in a beautifully biblical way, Christ’s call to deny yourself. This book is a stunning invitation to lay down your life in order to start really living.

A warning: If you grab a copy of this book today, get ready. This book is not for the faint of heart. It will expose sin and challenge you to live righteously. It is a challenging read (in the best way), but it is full of treasure!

Buy A Little Book on the Christian Life:

Pray with Spurgeon: I am not ashamed of the gospel

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

May we never be ashamed to glory in the good old way, the way the fathers trod, the way which leads to heaven and to God. May we not be ashamed to defend the gospel, and to bear reproach; for your gospel has of old been “a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23); and so we expect it ever to be a stumbling-block to those who go after the way of superstition, and also to be foolishness to the wise men of the world.

O God, again confuse the knowledge of men by what they think to be the foolishness of the gospel. Again let it be seen that the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

Many other people were ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It was too simple; it had not enough of mystery about it; it had not enough of worldly wisdom about it. Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” and then he gives his reason for not being ashamed of it: The gospel tells us about this living by faith, this believing, this receiving righteousness through believing, and not through working. This is the sweet story of the cross, of which Paul was not ashamed.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Christ gives a hope-filled life in the midst of a hate-filled world

In today’s prayer, Spurgeon asked for faithfulness to defend the gospel which is hated by the world. I preached a similar message to my own church this past weekend from John 15:18–16:4. In that passage, Jesus warned his disciples that the world will surely hate them, but that it would unquestionably be worth it.

I hope that this sermon encourages you to preserve in following Christ, knowing that you will be hated, but also knowing that it will be worth it.

You can listen to the full sermon audio here.

Pray with Spurgeon: God, revive our hearts

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

We would ask you to do this, if it please you: revive deep spirituality in our hearts, your own children. Oh, that we might live so near to the great Shepherd as to be familiar with his voice, to know its tones, that so a stranger we may not follow; for we know not the voice of strangers. If it were possible, strangers and false teachers would deceive even the very elect; and how shall your elect be kept from their deceptions but by abiding in the truth, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Oh, revive your church, we pray, in this respect! Give to those who know you a more intense faith in the eternal truths, burning into us by experience the things which we do know; may they be beyond all question to us.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5)

Christ’s sheep will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” They are frightened at the very sight of him. They cannot tell what deadly pasture he is preparing for them, so they “flee from him.” They know the voice of their Shepherd, but they know not the voice of strangers, so they flee from them.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE*

FINAL DAY: Save 50% on the Spurgeon Study Bible

This month, the Spurgeon Study Bible is 50% off. That means today is the final day for this offer.

The Spurgeon Study Bible is an incredible resource for Bible study — I know that you will benefit from using it in your daily reading.

The study Bible contains hundreds of notes taken right from Spurgeon’s sermons, as well as a short biography of Spurgeon, 20 outlines of his earliest sermons (in his own handwriting), an introduction from Spurgeon for each book of the Bible, and more. The Bible is available in the CSB, KJV, and Spanish RVR 1960 translations.

Today is the last day to save, so grab your Spurgeon Study Bible now!
Buy the Spurgeon Study Bible on LifeWay.com (Use promo code SPURGEONBOOKS to save 50%)

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