Category: Pray with Spurgeon

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord save the world, we pray, with the gospel; let it go forth even to the ends of the earth. Let these lands know the power of Christ, and the great land across the Atlantic. Oh that Christ might be King of kings openly, as we know he is secretly, and let the whole earth bow at his feet, and pay homage unto him who wore the crown of thorns and surrendered hands and feet to the nails.

Oh for his glory! Oh for his glory! Oh for ten thousand thousand hearts for him! Oh for nations to come and pay homage to him who has given his life for men. Our heart and flesh cry out to you on behalf of the Well-beloved.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.” (Psalm 40:2)

David sings of the Lord’s bringing him up from a pit that was horribly deep, dark, and damp, with mud at the bottom that would cause one to sink. What a wonderful bringing up this was, and, as God never does anything by halves, he did not let his servant slip back again, for David added, “And set my feet on a rock.” When God sets someone’s feet, those feet are well set. There is no sliding, no slipping. And more than that, God established his steps—made them firm so that when he stirred he did not stumble.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Christ never changes (He’s still alive today)

Today’s prayer praised Jesus as the King of all nations. It is wonderful to think that, in the midst of so much change, sorrow, and suffering in this world, Christ is the same, ruling over all nations.

Of course, we know in our heads that Christ is alive today… but what is he doing? After Christ rose again, he ascended into heaven. And he is doing some astounding work there right now for your good.

To better understand what Christ has been doing since he rose from the dead, you should check out The Ascension of Christ by Patrick Schreiner. This book is an accessible introduction to an often-neglected doctrine.

I know that reading it will bring you a lot of joy and hope as you reflect on the incredible ways Christ is serving you today. Grab a copy and read it this fall.

Buy The Ascension of Christ:

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

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Lord, fill us full of your truth, with power to speak it. Oh that we might be clear at the last hour, the Lord will look upon the many that there are today who are preaching another gospel, that is not another, and let a blast and confusion from the Eternal go out against those who undermine the essential doctrines of your word.

O God, we grow negligent often in our prayers as we cry out before you against those who would rob your Son of his deity, his precious blood of its value, sinners of their only hope, who even dare to blot out the terrible threatenings of your Word, and make sin to be such a trifle as to be scarcely worth mentioning. Oh raise up a race of true preachers, we ask Thee. O God of Wesley and Whitefield, let not the breed die out. May we have again men that can thunder when God would have them be like a tempest, but can speak with soft and gentle words when God would find a Barnabas to comfort the sons of men. O God of the Eternal Truth, let the old doctrine yet prevail, and may those that hate it be put to the rout.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6–7)

There are not two gospels any more than there are two Gods. There is one only message from God, full of good news to men. If you turn away from that, you turn away to a falsehood, to that which will bring you trouble, to that which will pervert you and lead you astray.

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LAST DAY: Buy Learn the Gospel and get five free books*

There’s a new resource available now from Matthias Media that does a REALLY great job at helping you (and others) grow your understanding of the big story of Scripture, so that you’ll be more equipped to share it with others.

Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne isn’t just a book. It’s a “Learn Together” book — designed from the ground-up to be most useful in a small group setting.

The book walks through the biggest themes and scenes in the Bible’s storyline and gives helpful comments and application along the way.

It’s interactive, with reflection questions and free videos to help you apply and understand the material.

THIS MONTH ONLY, if you buy one or more copies of Learn the Gospel, you’ll also receive FIVE FREE copies of The Essential Jesus to share with others.

(The Essential Jesus helps non-Christians read, understand, and apply the complete text of Luke’s Gospel.)

This is an INCREDIBLE resource for your own discipleship. I really hope you’ll grab a copy of Learn the Gospel today.

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Redeemer of our spirits, visit your people today! You are our next of kin; be not strange to your own flesh. You have laid down your life for us: what value you have set upon us! Let us be precious in your sight and honorable, because you have loved us; and may we know it today.

Take every doubt from the heart of your people; let not a single thought of mistrust abide with any one of us. May we just lean on Christ as hard as we can, with a full weight of weakness and sin and sorrow, and just swoon away into the eternal love, and there lie passive in his hand. To know no will but his, nor active be until he makes us so by his own power.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Who are you now relying on…?” (Isaiah 36:5)

Reader, this is an important question. Listen to the Christian’s answer, and see if it is yours. “On whom do you trust?” “I trust,” says the Christian, the Son—the man Christ Jesus. I trust in him to take away all my sins by his own sacrifice, and to adorn me with his perfect righteousness. I trust him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before his Father’s throne, and I trust him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust him for what he is, for what he has done, and for what he has promised yet to do

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

THREE DAYS LEFT: Buy Learn the Gospel and get five free books for evangelism*

You need to know about Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne, a new book from Matthias Media.

This book unpacks the message of Jesus in a simple, straightforward, interactive way that will boost your confidence in the Christian worldview.

And along the way, the author addresses some common alternatives to Christianity, and shows how the truth of Scripture is better in every way.

Learn the Gospel is a really helpful resource. I hope you’ll check it out and buy a copy today.

If you buy one or more copies of Learn the Gospel in the next three days (before 10/31), you’ll also receive FIVE FREE copies of The Essential Jesus to share with others.

(The Essential Jesus helps non-Christians read, understand, and apply the complete text of Luke’s Gospel.)

Both of these books are INCREDIBLE resources for discipleship. I really hope you’ll grab a copy of Learn the Gospel today.

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord, you are emptying us from vessel to vessel. You are letting us see the dregs of our depravity and the violence of our nature; and we loathe ourselves until we are ready to cry, “Bury my dead out of my sight!” Yet this we do know, that in Christ we are lovely, and comely, and you see no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel. You delight yourself in your people; you have loved them with an everlasting love, therefore you have drawn them; therefore you draw them still; and therefore you will draw them until you have drawn them to perfection in yourself, to dwell with you forever

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

The old life is dead. You are dead to it. You will not be consumed by it, you cannot be controlled by it. You have a newer and higher life. Let it have full scope.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

What does it actually look like to have new life in Jesus?

Today we prayed, acknowledging that our lives are completely empty. We have nothing good to offer God on our own. And in today’s verse of the day, God’s design for our lives is that we would die with Jesus and be raised up with Jesus. This sounds really great… but what does it actually mean?

A really great, practical book to help you understand what it means to die and rise with Jesus is J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life by Paul Miller. This book describes how our suffering and trials in this life are God’s plan to help us grow: We die to ourselves and are risen up to new life.

This book will help you understand your suffering and sin. It will fill you up with hope to know that God hasn’t given up on you (and he never will).

I know this book will encourage you and help you grow, so I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy J-Curve:

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

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

O Lord, we have heard of some that can look back upon their lives with pleasure and satisfaction, but we wish to look nowhere but to you, our Savior. You are our wisdom—not our experience: you are our righteousness—not our good deeds and almsgivings; you are our sanctification—not our prayers and watchings.

You are everything to us, and we are just nothing. We were nothing when you began with us, when we lay wallowing in the blood, cast out in death in the open field to perish. Then you said “Live,” and we lived by virtue of that word, and by that word of God shall men live, and so do we live.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

It is a wonderful thing to be delivered from materialism, to be freed from the notion that things are absolutely essential for the accomplishment of the divine purpose. If God had so willed it, we could have been nourished by air. Although the Lord has chosen to feed us bread, our real life does not live on bread but on the word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

This is one of the passages with which our Lord fought and overcame Satan in the desert. Happy is that servant of God who will arm himself with this same truth and say, “I am not to be provided for merely by money. God will somehow provide for me, and I can leave all care about the means to him.” That which we can see may fail us, for it is, like us, a shadow. But the one we cannot see will never fail us. If we lean on his arm, we will never be ashamed, world without end.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Know the Gospel. Share the Gospel. (A Resource to Help You)*

How can we share the gospel, unless we know it? Sure, we can share our opinions and experiences, but people need much more — they need to hear, understand, and believe the gospel itself.

I’m excited about a new resource from Matthias Media that will help you (and others you know) grow your understanding of the big story of Scripture, so that you’ll be more equipped to share it with others.

Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne walks through the biggest themes and scenes in the Bible’s storyline and gives helpful comments and application along the way.

If you’ve ever seen the “Two Ways to Live” evangelistic booklet, Learn the Gospel is an expansion of this to help Christians strengthen their understanding. It gives you a simple, thorough unpacking of the story of Jesus. It’s interactive, with space to write, reflect, and apply what you’re learning. AND it’s easy to use with a group (PERFECT for a small group or one-on-one discipleship).

THIS MONTH ONLY (Less than one week left!), if you order one or more copies of Learn the Gospel, you’ll also receive FIVE FREE copies of The Essential Jesus to share with others (which helps non-Christians read, understand, and apply the complete text of Luke’s Gospel).

Learn the Gospel really is an invaluable resource. I can’t wait to hear about how God uses it to grow your understanding and love for his Word. I hope you’ll buy it today.

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, deliver your people from attempting to rule the world. Let us not want to drive our Father’s horses, but be satisfied to ride with him. Some of your children may have come here in conscious sin; they know they are yours but they equally know they are not what they ought to be. Your presence can light them up; it can give life, it can purify; and they shall feel in the presence of God that the Lord has sanctified them by his truth and himself.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need.” (Psalm 23:1)

No one can trust providence until he distrusts himself; and no one can say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” until he has given up every idle notion that he can control himself or manage his own interests. Alas, we are, most of us, wise above what is written, and we are too vain to acknowledge the wisdom of God. In our self-esteem we imagine that our reason can rule our purposes, and we never doubt our own power to accomplish our own intentions. And then, by a little maneuvering, we think we can extricate ourselves from our difficulties.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Pastors’ Appreciation Month Gift Idea for Your Pastor’s Wife

As you may know, October is Pastor Appreciation Month — a month for honoring the shepherds God has placed over you. But we must not forget to recognize the unique contribution that our pastors’ wives make.

Being a pastor’s wife is a uniquely challenging work. I’m so thankful for the ways my wife bears my burdens and equips me to serve our church more faithfully.

If you want to bless and encourage the wives of your pastors this Christmas, consider grabbing copies of a new book, Partners in the Gospel: 50 Meditations for Pastors’ and Elders’ Wives by Megan Hill. This book is a collection of 50 short devotionals that will leave readers feeling refreshed and encouraged for the uniquely challenging (and rewarding) work ahead of them.

I hope you’ll consider grabbing a few copies for your pastors’ wives this month.

Buy Partners in the Gospel:

• Amazon (Hardcover, Kindle, or audiobook editions)
• ChristianBook.com (Hardcover edition)

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

If you are near us, we can do or bear, we can suffer or we can sing; all things are possible when the Omnipotent is within. If the all-sufficient God shall but reveal himself to us, we do not care what our circumstances are. We are rich when Christ is near. We are full of joy and strength when he draws near to his servants.

If any of us have come here from a week of great anxiety, help them to be anxious no longer, to cast their care on the Lord. Oh, let not the sheep take to shepherdising, but may they leave the Shepherd to do his own work for them.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

There are many kinds of gifts. All Christians have some gift; some may have but one talent, but all have at least one. Every living saint has his charge to keep, his talent over which he is a steward. A measure of gift is in all of us, needing to be stirred up. These should be used well. That which is expended in the Master’s service is laid up in heaven where neither moth nor rust can corrupt.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

ONE WEEK LEFT: Buy Learn the Gospel and give five free books*

I’ve shared several times already about Learn the Gospel by Tony Payne, a new book to help you (and others!) grow your understanding of the big story of Scripture, so that you’ll be more equipped to share it with others.

This month only, if you buy one or more copies of Learn the Gospel, you’ll also receive five FREE copies of The Essential Jesus, which helps a non-Christian understand, apply, and (Lord willing!!) believe the complete text of Luke’s Gospel.

That means this is the FINAL WEEK to grab this deal.

Learn the Gospel is a “Learn Together” book — It’s designed from the ground-up to be most useful in a small group setting.

The book walks through the biggest themes and scenes in the Bible’s storyline and gives helpful comments and application along the way.

If you’ve ever seen the “Two Ways to Live” evangelistic booklet, Learn the Gospel is an expansion of this to help Christians strengthen their understanding.

(Learn the Gospel even describes alternatives to the Christian worldview and shows how the truth of Scripture offers a much more hopeful perspective.)

This is a REALLY helpful resource, which I know will bless you, others in your church, and countless non-Christians who you will be better equipped to share with.

Buy Learn the Gospel from Matthias Media and receive five free copies of The Essential Jesus.

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh, make our joy today to be like Jabez, of whom we read that he was more honorable than his brethren because his mother bore him with sorrow (1 Chronicles 4:9). Oh, that the sorrow pang might bring forth today in your people some new joys, some blessed novelty of fellowship, that we may enter yet more and more into the secret places and tabernacles of the Most High, and dwell beneath the shadow of the Almighty.

O Lord, your people want this; nothing can so strengthen comfort, lighten, sanctify and perfect us as this. Are we earth bound? Oh, for your presence, and we shall be of a heavenly mind. Are we deeply depressed in spirit? Oh, for the light of your face, for it shall make us gladder than a wedding day. Oh that we might get to you, our God, for then shall the bonds of this world seem like cobwebs and disappear.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

The mere fact of receiving honor, even if that honor is rightly rendered, can make faith in Christ difficult. We can come to feel that we are something when others honor us, and this is dangerous, for we won’t believe in Jesus until we know we are nothing in and of ourselves. If others praise us, if they dwell on our good points, if they pay respect to our position, if they notice our abilities and talents, we are apt to think there should be some special way to heaven for us because we are so respected. And when the gospel says, “You must be saved as a sinner or not at all. You must give up all claims of merit and all reliance on what you can do, or else you never can be saved,” then, in all probability, the mere fact of our having received honor from other people will render it the more difficult for us to believe a doctrine that gives no honor to people but stains the pride of all glory and casts human excellency into the dust.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Dive into the glories of Jesus by studying the Bible

I’m currently preparing to preach through the Letter to the Hebrews next year. I’m REALLY excited to be diving into this book and better understand its message: how rightly seeing Jesus motivates us to persevere in faith.

One resource that I’m thankful for already is Hebrews for You by Michael Kruger. This is a simple commentary that can help readers of any level better understand and apply the book of Hebrews. It’s written for any Christian to use and benefit from, not just pastors or seminary graduates.

A few things I love about this book: really clear explanation of the biblical text (without skipping over the tricky parts!), a glossary with definitions of key words, reflection questions throughout each chapter, and more.

Kruger is a great New Testament scholar and such an incredibly clear writer. This book is such a valuable resource.

If you’re looking for a guide to help you better understand the Bible and love Jesus more, Hebrews for You will be a great resource. I hope you’ll pick up a copy today and study Hebrews with me.

Buy Hebrews for You:

• 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)

Lord, we want this morning to enter into closest possible fellowship with you. In days gone by you have cast your skirt over your servants. In the shadow of your wings we have rejoiced. In the light of your face we have been ready to die of excessive joy. The coming near to us of our God has been heaven, it is indeed all the heaven we expect in the future, as it is all we have known in the past.

Come near, O our God, come nearer, nearer, nearer. Still some secret to our heart reveal, as yet undiscovered. You have led some of us into darkness and not into light, and you have covered us in the night watches and made it darkness round about us, until our spirit sank within us. Now it is your way to bring light out of darkness, and joy out of sorrow.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“… casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

His care, though tender and comprehensive, causes no anxiety to him, for his great mind is more than equal to the task. But our care ferments within us and threatens the destruction of our meager souls. We are to cast our care, which is folly, upon the Lord, for he exercises a care, which is wisdom. Care to us is exhausting, but God is all sufficient. Care to us is sinful, but God’s care of us is holy. Care distracts us from service, but the divine mind does not forget one thing while remembering another.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Real Hope for All Your Fears and Anxiety
Real Help to Trust God More

Today we prayed, acknowledging that God can bring us into darkness — seasons of trials. And we saw in his Word that he is gracious and powerful enough to take care of all of our needs.

Unfortunately, dealing with our anxiety isn’t always so easy, is it? We won’t grow past our worries unless we address them with solid biblical truth.

A great book on growing your faith in God is Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. This book focuses on God’s sovereignty, his good control over all things, and shows that we really can trust God in any circumstance. This book is full of reasons to trust God and applies those reasons to specific trials in our lives that make it particularly hard to trust God.

This book will strengthen your faith and confidence in our great God — I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy Trusting God:

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

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, you are our God, and therefore do we seek unto you. We have a covenant interest in you — you have given yourself to us of old in the person of your dear Son. You are our assurance. You, O Savior, did stand for us in the transactions of eternity. You redeemed us in the fullness of time, laying down your life that we might live, and now you are All-in-All to us. Our life is not in ourselves, but in you. Our truest and best self is Christ, for we live not, save only as our “life is hid with Christ in God.”

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus is the Builder, and he and his apostles make up the first course of stone in the great temple of the church, and this first course is one with the eternal Rock on which it rests. In the first twelve courses or foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). We are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). Apostles are not the foundation of our confidence meritoriously; but they underlie us as to date, and we rest upon their testimony concerning Jesus and his resurrection.

He makes his rock-founded building into a stronghold, against which the powers of evil lay continual siege, but all in vain.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A simple read to help you love your church more

Today’s Verse of the Day highlighted Jesus’ commitment to build his church. Your local church is not an activity or entertainment — it is the family that God has given you to keep you alive.

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)