Category: Pray with Spurgeon

Pray with Spurgeon: Make us like Christ

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Remember any child of yours who may have slipped; Lord restore him. If any of us have wandered and are not aware of it, bring us back at all events; and if grey hairs are upon us here and there, and we know it not, restore to us our youth; bring back to us whatever of energy and holiness we once had, and somewhat more. Oh make us like Christ: we do pray, make us like Christ. We would even accept his cross and sour wine, if we might have his holiness. We make no exception of anything of Christ’s; we would take him as he was, or as he is: only let Christ be formed in us, the hope of glory.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Let Israel say, ‘His faithful love endures forever.’” (Psalm 118:2)

God had made a covenant with their forefathers, a covenant of mercy and love, and to that covenant he was faithful evermore. Israel sinned in Egypt, provoked the Lord in the wilderness, went astray again and again under the judges, and transgressed at all times; and yet the Lord continued to regard them as his people, to favor them with his oracles, and to forgive their sins.

David’s success was mercy to Israel, as well as mercy to himself. If Israel does not sing, who will? If Israel does not sing of mercy, who can? If Israel does not sing when the Son of David ascends the throne, the very stones will cry out.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A New Bible Reading Plan for 2023*

Reading the Bible in a year can be an incredible habit, but it can also be challenging to know how it all fits together.

And that’s why I love the CSB Day-by-Day Chronological Bible — it features a daily reading plan that covers the whole Bible in one year, with readings arranged in chronological order (the order that the events took place, rather than the traditional order of books in our English Bibles).

The CSB Day-by-Day Chronological Bible also features brief daily notes to help you remember your place in the story (and who all of those kings and prophets are, exactly 😅).

The study notes are written by George Guthrie, who is a great New Testament scholar.

Reading the Bible chronologically in 2023 will grow your knowledge of the Bible and your love for God. And I know the Day-by-Day Chronological Bible will be a great resource to help you along the way.

Buy the CSB Day-by-Day Chronological Bible from Lifeway — up to 40% off:

Pray with Spurgeon: God will make us pure in every way

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Take us, Lord, and sanctify us. We are not content with justification; we want sanctification. Make and keep us pure within, clean in motive, clean in imagination. Oh, how difficult! Make us so that our very thoughts shall be a matter of conscience, and every thought shall be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, that we could live as angels do here in this mortal body, living as purely, as joyfully, as obediently, as they do; not bound down by the body nor kept in subjection to any of its appetites but made free to be the servants of God with enhanced delight!

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1)

The endurance of the divine mercy is a special subject for song: notwithstanding our sins, our trials, our fears, his mercy endures forever. The best of earthly joys pass away and even the world itself grows old and hastens to decay, but there is no change in the mercy of God; he was faithful to our fore-fathers, he is merciful to us, and will be gracious to our children and our children’s children.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

How God is at work in your life this year (and right now!)

Making goals for the new year can be an incredible fruitful activity, but we need to remember that all of our efforts to improve ourselves are worthless without God’s help.

Recently, I’ve been really blessed reading How People Change by Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane. I’ve heard about this book for years but only recently read it myself for the first time.

The goal of this book is to solve “the gospel gap.” We believe that Christ’s work has forgiven our past sins and will give us hope in the future, but we’re often confused about how a relationship with Jesus will actually change our life here and now.

This book offers an incredibly hopeful, practical, and biblical guide for growing in godliness and quitting sin. I know it will bless you this year, so I hope you’ll grab a copy and read with me.

Buy How People Change:

Pray with Spurgeon: God, we love the Bible

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our Father, when you have put away everything that comes between us, lead us into your truth. Teach us more of your Word; teach it to us by experience; may we have it burned into our hearts; may we know the truth not only in the letter of it, but in the life and spirit of it.

Teach us to be holy. Oh how we long for this! We would have every passion under subjection; we would have every power and faculty bitted and held in with a bridle. We would have every evil tendency killed, and have every holy tendency imparted.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1)

This is reason enough for giving him thanks; goodness is his essence and nature, and therefore he is always to be praised whether we are receiving anything from him or not. Those who only praise God because he does them good should rise to a higher note and give thanks to him because he is good.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Free: Bible Study Guide and Worksheet

Today we prayed that God would help us to love his Word more. This is such an incredible thing to pray, especially at the beginning of the year.

If you’re looking to deepen your Bible reading in 2023, I’d like to share a free resource that I created for my own Bible reading.

It’s called the S.M.R.T. Bible study method, and it’s a simple strategy for reading, understanding, and applying the Bible. (Disclaimer: It only works for non-narrative passages, like epistles, speeches, discourses, or prophecy)

If this sounds like a useful resource for you, you can download instructions here and a printable worksheet here.

(If this tool is useful, or if you have any suggestions to improve this tool, please let me know!)

Pray with Spurgeon: God has freely forgiven us

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, put away the sin as between a child and his father. You have put away our sin as between a subject and a king. We are pardoned; we are clean; we are washed with the blood of Christ—so many as have believed in his name—there is no sin remaining on us.

But, as children, we come under another discipline, and members of a family that offend our Father. Our Father, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.” We do very freely and very heartily and very truly forgive anybody who may have aggrieved us. Do so with our children, and let us feel of a certainty now that we are perfectly reconciled with God, and that we are one with you, and speak with you as a man speaks with his friend.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1)

The grateful hero feels that he cannot himself alone sufficiently express his thankfulness, and therefore he calls in the aid of others. Grateful hearts are greedy of men’s tongues, and would monopolize them all for God’s glory. The thanks were to be rendered unto the Lord alone, and not to the patience or valor of the hero himself. It is always well to trace our mercies to him who bestows them, and if we cannot give him anything else, let us at any rate give him our thanks.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

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

Today we prayed, celebrating that God has fully forgiven us of our sins by the blood of Christ. But God wants us to have confidence that our sins are forgiven, to help us know that we are forgiven of our sin by the great mercy of Christ.

One resource that’s been helpful as I’ve studied God’s Word and his promise of forgiveness 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. I know this devotional will be a great way for you to start your year, rooted in God’s unchanging grace.

Buy Whiter Than Snow:

Pray with Spurgeon: Seek God and he will be found

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Our Father, we pray that you would forgive your children all the wrong they have done during another week. If there is anything between us and God, take it away.

You have taught us to ask and it shall be given us; you have called us seek if we cannot find you, and seek until we find. But you have also added, “Knock,” as if there might be a door between us and you: “Knock and it shall be opened.” Lord, if there is any door between us, may that door be opened; may we begin knocking at it now, and never cease until it opens. We would not have even the beginning of a cloud between our heart and our Father.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Blow the ram’s horn on the day of our feasts during the new moon and during the full moon. For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 81:3–4)

It was a precept binding upon all the tribes that a sacred season should be set apart to commemorate the Lord’s mercy; and truly it was but the Lord’s due, he had a right and a claim to such special homage.

It is as much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of the Lord. We ask concerning every rite and rubric, “Is this a law of the God of Jacob?” and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who walk in Christian liberty.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

God’s grace sets us free from sin

Today, we prayed asking God to forgive us and remove every sin that separates us from God. No matter how many times we sin, we find his grace to be an inexhaustible ocean.

But God’s grace is NOT about forgiving our sin and leaving us stuck; it’s about empowering you to actually change. The book Unlimited Grace by Bryan Chappell will show you how wonderfully large and never-ending God’s grace is, and how this grace has the power to change your life from the inside out.

I know this book will encourage you and fill your heart with love and gratitude for God’s grace. If you’re feeling discouraged and shameful about your past sin, this book will assure of God’s never-ending kindness towards sinners. If you’re feeling stuck and unmoved in your present sin, this book will help you to lean into the power of God’s grace to change.

Buy Unlimited Grace:

Pray with Spurgeon: Everyone needs to praise God

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

While we praise you this morning, we are longing that others might do the same. The deepest prayer of our own heart is, “your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Lord, bring our friends and kinsfolk to praise you—everyone. Just as all the tribes stood in their representatives around their father’s bed, so may all your children gather to the living God and praise him; let no one be absent.

We pray now, that you would bring in the lost sheep of the House of Israel; the many redeemed by blood, not yet redeemed by power, the many chosen who have never chosen you, the many who will be in the glory but as yet are glorying in their shame and minding earthly things. Bring, we pray, many under the influence of the gospel, myriads to worship Christ and to be saved by him; and may his name be as ointment poured forth in every place today, enchanting many and attracting them to bow at his feet.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Blow the ram’s horn on the day of our feasts during the new moon and during the full moon.” (Psalm 81:3)

Announce the sacred month, the beginning of months, when the Lord brought his people out of the house of bondage. Clear and shrill let the summons be which calls all Israel to adore the Redeeming Lord.

Obedience is to direct our worship, not whim and sentiment. God’s appointment gives a solemnity to rites and times which no ceremonial pomp or hierarchical ordinance could confer. The Jews not only observed the ordained month, but that part of the month which had been divinely set apart. The Lord’s people in the olden time welcomed the times appointed for worship; let us feel the same exultation, and never speak of worship as though it could be other than “a delight” and “honorable.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

How God’s grace helps you grow

As you make New Year’s Resolutions and plan for your growth in the New Year, do not slide into self-reliance.

God saved you by grace, and he is going to help you grow by grace too.

We ask God to help us grow in holiness, because we know that God’s grace doesn’t just save us from sin, it also gives us the power that we need to slay sin. The work of growing in godliness is a work of cooperation between us and God’s grace.

One of my all-time favorite books is The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. This book explains how God’s grace empowers Christians to slay sin and grow in godliness. It is one of the helpful, practical, and encouraging books that I have ever read! If you want to grow in godliness, start with The Discipline of Grace.

Reading The Discipline of Grace will definitely help you grow in holiness in 2023. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy The Discipline of Grace:

This is the final newsletter for the week (we’ll be back on Monday)

I’m challenging parents to read the Bible with their kids every day in 2023. I’ve created some resources to help you, including my family devotions subscription, God Centered Family. I hope you’ll use these resources to make 2023 a #YearInTheWord. Click here to learn more.

Pray with Spurgeon: Whether healthy or sick, we praise God

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Here, in your presence, we would each one render that form of praise which is suitable for the hour. The healthy and the happy praise you with exultant voice. The sick and the sorry praise you with a living hope. Those who are suffering and bowed down, praise you with a willing acquiescence, desiring that even from the loosened string some music may come to the Most High.

Our Father, when we shall get up to see you; when your unveiled face shall appear to your perfected ones, we shall gladly have nothing to do but to praise. There will be no regrets, no remembrances of any hard words from you, or rough stroke from your rod. It will be praise and only praise; as it will be so, as it ought to be so. Let it be so now.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Lift up a song—play the tambourine, the melodious lyre, and the harp.” (Psalm 81:2)

Select a sacred song, and then raise it with your hearty voices. Beat on your tambourines, let the sound be loud and inspiriting.

God is not to be served with misery but with mirthful music. The tambourine for sound, must be joined by the harp for sweetness, and this by other stringed instruments for variety. Let the full compass of music be holiness unto the Lord.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A Resource to Help You Pray in 2022

It seems like every year, I make a new year’s resolution to pray more frequently and more biblically. This is healthy — we should realize our need for prayer more and more every year. This year, my prayer life has been REALLY blessed by a really great resource, Psalms in 30 Days by Trevin Wax.

This book is a collection of thirty days of prayers (morning, midday, and evening) that includes all 150 psalms and prayers from Scripture and church history. With this book, you can pray through all of the psalms every month.

These prayers are so incredibly fresh, deep, and life-giving, and having a book that is set aside just for prayer is a physical reminder (on your table, shelf, desk, or bedside table) to pray (Plus, the book looks great!)

I’ve been using Psalms in 30 Days this year and it’s been such an incredible blessing. I’m excited to continue diving into it in 2023 (it definitely hasn’t gotten old yet!). I hope you’ll grab a copy and join me.

Buy Psalms in 30 Days:

Pray with Spurgeon: We can always trust God (because God is always love)

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O God, our God, we praise you this morning, not only with the voice of song, but with the heart. Sometimes our praise takes the form of thankfulness, and, indeed, we have good reason to thank you for mercies more numerous than the sand. “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

We would learn also to thank you when your hand is heavy and your ways are dark. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” We are persuaded that the sweetest praise that ever comes to you comes from your tried children when, under a smarting rod, they kiss the rod, and him who has appointed it. Help your dear children who are much afflicted, to praise you by a cheerful submission to your will. It must be right, for God has done it; it must be for the best, for God is love. Father, when you stagger us, when we seem at our wits’ end, and know not what to do or what to say, may we still hold to you, and feel it is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 81:1)

The God of the nation, the God of their father Jacob, was extolled in gladsome music by the Israelite people. Let no Christian be silent, or slack in praise, for this God is our God. It is to be regretted that the niceties of modern singing frighten our congregations from joining lustily in the hymns. For our part we delight in full bursts of praise. We would rather discover the ruggedness of a lack of musical training than miss the heartiness of universal congregational song. The social pride which lisps the tune in whispers or leaves the singing altogether to the choir, is very like a mockery of worship. The gods of Greece and Rome may be worshipped well enough with classical music, but the Lord can only be adored with the heart, and that music is the best for his service which gives the heart most play.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

What would happen if your family read the Bible together every day next year?

I really believe that daily family devotions will transform your family for generations to come, so I’m challenging parents to make 2023 a #YearInTheWord.

Will you commit to read the Bible with your kids every day in 2023?

That’s the challenge.

And if you take it seriously, God will definitely prove himself faithful. Your kids will learn the Bible, you will grow your love for the Word, and your whole family will be brought closer together.

And if DAILY family devotions seem impossible for you, I want to help.

Family devotionals from God Centered Family will give you everything you need and it will only take ten minutes each day.

Learn more about how to (actually) make family devotions a daily habit and preview the devotionals from God Centered Family.

Pray with Spurgeon: God, make me holy

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, make us a holy people. May we not only have the name of Christians, but may we have the life of Christians. Lord, forgive the inconsistent ones. Sanctify, we pray, the consecrated ones, and if any are unconsecrated, take them today; make them to feel that they are not their own, but are bought with a price.

Father, bless those new Christians who are newly added to us. May they be good and strong. May the Spirit of God build them up, and make them to be temples for his own indwelling. Bless all the work done by my church, in every department.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 81:1)

 The Lord was the strength of his people in delivering them out of Egypt with a high hand, and also in sustaining them in the wilderness, placing them in Canaan, preserving them from their foes, and giving them victory. To whom do men give honor but to those upon whom they rely, therefore let us sing aloud unto our God, who is our strength and our song.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Spend the New Year with Spurgeon, trusting God’s promises

Spurgeon frequently said that God’s promises are like checks. And because God is never lacking in resources, his account is always full and his checks never bounce.

Spurgeon’s classic devotional, The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith, contains 365 readings (one for each day of the year) to help you trust and treasure God’s promises.

Reading through The Cheque Book in 2023 will definitely encourage you.

Pray with Spurgeon: God, help us know your love today

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, for the inflowing of divine love. May we feel the heart of God beat toward us, this morning. Open our hearts, Lord, to receive your heart, and let your great heart flow into us, until our heart flows back to you with tides of warm emotion and tender love. May the Holy Spirit come, may the floods of God come, and may this be a blessed day to the people of God, a time of great nearness to God, and the light of God shining into every secret part of the soul.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 81:1)

“Sing” in tune and measure, so that the public praise may be in harmony; sing with joyful notes, and sounds melodious. “Shout,” for the heartiest praise is due to our good Lord. His acts of love to us speak more loudly than any or our words of gratitude can do. No dullness should ever stupefy our singing, or half-heartedness cause it to limp along. Sing aloud, you debtors to sovereign grace, your hearts are profoundly grateful. Let your voices express your thankfulness.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Helping families make 2023 a #YearInTheWord

I believe that families reading the Bible together will be one of the most effective ways to change the world.

And that’s why I’m challenging parents to make family devotions a priority in 2023.

Here’s the challenge: Read the Bible with your kids every day in 2023.

I really believe that if you make family devotions a daily habit in 2023, you will see some incredible fruit.

To help you get started, I’ve put together a few resources to help you:

  • — (FREE) 6 practical steps to (actually) make family devotions a daily habit.
  • — (FREE) Printable habit tracker you can use to stay focused and reward success.
  • — (Paid Subscription) Simple family devotionals that give everything you need to teach your kids the Bible in ten minutes each day.

Are you ready to take up the challenge? Will you make 2023 a #YearInTheWord for your family?

Find all the resources you need at GodCenteredFamily.org