Category: Pray with Spurgeon

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DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Now this morning be pleased to refresh us. Draw near to 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. If any in your presence this morning are unsaved, oh save them now. Do grant that the service of this morning may bring such glad tidings to their ear, that their heart shall leap at the sound of it, and they shall return unto God, who will abundantly pardon.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“The LORD answered Moses, ‘Is the LORD’s arm weak? Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.’” (Number 11:23)

Does the Creator expect the creature to fulfill his promise? No, his promises do not depend for their fulfillment on the cooperation of puny human strength. God as a sovereign gives an absolute promise; and he can do it without fear of mistake because he has the omnipotence to fulfill his greatest word. Will we look to the top of the Alps for summer heat? Will we journey to the North Pole to gather fruits ripened in the sun? Or will we take our journey toward the equator so that our body may be braced by cool invigorating breezes? We would act no more foolishly if we did this than when we look to the weak for strength, or the creature to do the Creator’s work. The ground of faith is not the sufficiency of the visible means for the performance of the promise but the all-sufficiency of the invisible God most surely to do as he has said.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

FINAL DAY: Bring 2,000 years of wisdom into your Bible study.*

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been sharing a lot about the Ancient Faith Study Bible, because this incredible resource is on sale this month.

Today is the FINAL DAY of that sale — it’s the last day to grab an Ancient Faith Study Bible at a discount.

(AND you can save even more with code ANCIENTFAITH5 — an extra $5 off any purchase above $30)

These Bibles place short commentary from early church leaders right alongside the text of Scripture, so that you can learn from their wisdom and get their help to understand and apply the Bible. 

I hope you’ll grab this Bible today — I know it will bless you as you continue to learn about our gloriously ancient faith.

Choose your Ancient Faith Study Bible at Lifeway.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 have yet another burden—it is that we ourselves do not love you as we should, that oftentimes 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, 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 would 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)

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)

As tepid water makes one’s stomach heave, so lukewarm religious profession is nauseous to the Almighty. Did Jesus Christ think salvation so important that he came from heaven to earth to work it out? Did he think the gospel so worthy that he spent his life proclaiming it? Did he think redemption so valuable that he shed his own precious blood to complete it? Then, if I profess to believe these truths and yet am indifferent to them, do I not insult Christ by insinuating that there was no need for him to be in such dead earnest?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Increase your faith and fight your sin

In today’s prayer, Spurgeon prayed that God would increase our faith and help us to follow him. We prayed for this today, because we can’t do it alone — we need God the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of self-control in our lives (Galatians 5:23).

While our growth in holiness is a miracle that only God can do, we also have a role to play in this work. You will not automatically grow in godliness — you need to pursue godliness with the strength that God the Holy Spirit gives you.

A great, practical book on growing in godliness (self-control, taming the tongue, and more) is The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges. This book won’t just tell you that something is sinful, it will actually equip you practical tools and truths from God’s Word to slay your sin and live in godliness.

Whatever pressing sin you are currently facing and want to grow in, The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges is a great resource to help you take your next steps. I hope you pick up a copy today.

Buy The Practice of Godliness:

• 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)

We have also to bring before you another burden, and that is the godlessness of this present age. It is not alone the wise men but, behold, the men that know not seek not after God. O Lord, the multitude delight in sin. Drunkenness defiles our city, and filthy words are heard on every side. Be not angry with this nation, we ask 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)

“For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.” (John 3:20–21)

You see why men do not come to Christ, they do not want to give up their sin; they do not want to be made uneasy in it; they are afraid of being reproved. You see why saintly men do come to Christ, for they take a delight in beholding him, and in having their faith and their grace made manifest, both to themselves and to onlookers.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

God is real (and that is really, really good news)

Today we prayed that God would be glorified among the sinful, unbelieving world. We long for the world to know the good news that Jesus Christ is LORD of heaven and earth.

A great resource for growing your own faith and ending your unbelief is Jesus or Nothing by Dan DeWitt. This book doesn’t just help us see that God exist, but it shows that God’s existence is really, really good news.

Because God (as he’s revealed himself in the Bible) is real, our life has meaning and joy is possible. If there isn’t a God, nothing has any meaning. 

I know that this book will strengthen your faith and equip you to share your faith with others. Jesus or Nothing is an incredible, faith-strengthening, life-giving, joy-producing, Bible-saturated book. I hope you’ll grab a copy.

Buy Jesus or Nothing:

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

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 vindicate it, and to bear reproach; for your gospel has of old been to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; 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. 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, 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)

“… because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

In the Word we must find wisdom and power “because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” The faintest whisper of the Lord’s voice should fill us with solemn awe and command the deepest obedience of our souls. How careful we should be that we do not set up in God’s temple anything in opposition to his Word, that we do not permit the teachings of a creature to usurp the honor due to the Lord alone. “Thus says antiquity.” “Thus says authority.” “Thus says learning.” “Thus says experience.” These are but idols that defile the temple of God. Be it yours and mine, as bold iconoclasts, to dash them in pieces without mercy, seeing that they usurp the place of the Word of God.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A Book to Help You Approach the Bible with Prayer and Worship

Today we prayed that God’s Word would be made clear and confound the wisdom of the world. We saw in 1 Corinthians that this is what God’s Word does when it is read or heard with authority. The Bible is an incredible book, an unparalleled treasure. It’s important that we approach the Bible with humility and worship.

A great resource to help you is Before You Open Your Bible by Matt Smethurst. This simple book is a guide to what you should do before you start reading the Bible, to set your heart in the right place and approach the Bible with the proper amount of fear and trembling.

This book is available for less than $5 and I know it will help you grow your love for God and his Word. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy Before You Open Your Bible:

• 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)

Revive deep spirituality in the hearts of 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 do not know the voice of strangers. If it were possible, they 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 intenser 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)

“The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3)

Those who are really chosen of God hear and heed the voice of Christ, but those who are not Christ’s chosen ones will not heed his discourse, but will listen to the many voices which attract the ears and the hearts of sinful men. The elect of God are known by this mark, that they hear the voice of Christ. Just as you can find out, in a heap of ashes, whether there are any pieces of steel there by simply thrusting in a magnet, so can you find out God’s chosen people by the mighty magnet of Christ’s voice.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

A Great Collection of Christian Biographies (And Bible Commentary!)*

I love to read Christian biographies — to hear about the bravery, faithfulness, and clear doctrine of the leaders, missionaries, and martyrs who have gone before us.

The biographies are one of my favorite features in the Ancient Faith Study Bible — this awesome resource features 25 short biographies of Christians who lived in the first few hundred years of church history.

I’ve been filled with so much joy to read about God’s faithfulness in the lives of people like Augustine, Origen, Patrick of Ireland, John Chrysostom, and Tertullian.

(And by the way, if you don’t know who these guys are, you need to read about them now! Their lives are all incredible testimonies of God’s grace).

The Ancient Faith Study Bible also places early church Bible commentary right alongside the text of Scripture, so that you can learn about these great leaders and then learn from them as you study Scripture together.

This month only,  the Ancient Faith Study Bible is on sale AND “Pray with Spurgeon” subscribers can save an extra $5 on any purchase above $30 by using the code ANCIENTFAITH5.

The Ancient Faith Study Bible has been a HUGE blessing to me, and I know it will bless you as well. I hope you’ll check it out today.

Shop for Ancient Faith Study Bibles now (Lots of color/cover options available!)

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

And as for our sin, we bless you for a sight of the precious blood of Jesus: when you see it you pass over us. No angel of justice smites where once the blood is sprinkled. Oh, let us have a sight of the blood of Jesus, too and rest because you have forever put away our sin, because we believe in Jesus. 

Thus, Lord, help us to stand before you, entering into your rest as we enter into your presence; and may this be a time of peace, wherein the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep the hearts and minds of his people through Christ Jesus.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

Run not to man. Go only to your God, the Father of Jesus, who loves you in him. This shall bring you God’s own peace. You shall not be able to understand the peace which you shall enjoy. It will enfold you in its infinite embrace. Heart and mind through Christ Jesus shall be steeped in a sea of rest. Come life or death, poverty, pain, slander, you shall dwell in Jesus above every ruffling wind or darkening cloud. Will you not obey this dear command?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Apply the truth of the gospel to every day life

Today’s prayer asked God to fill us up with peace by reminding us that Jesus died in our place. We don’t have to worry, because we know that we will never die.

This prayer reminded me of a great book, The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. In that book, Bridges connects the truth of the gospel to specific situations that we face every day. How should it change our lives this week that Jesus died and rose again for us?

I know that The Gospel for Real Life will help you better understand and enjoy the gospel as it changes every aspect of your life. I hope you’ll buy a copy today.

Buy The Gospel for Real Life:

• 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)

Lord, we have a burden which we must now lay before you, and ask you to help us in it. We mourn over the condition of your church; for on every side as we look around, we see men endeavoring to undermine the doctrines of the everlasting gospel. Time was when a man was famous for lifting up his axe upon the trees of the forest; but now they with axes break down the carved work of your sanctuary—they despoil your truth. There is scarce a single doctrine of your word which the wise men among us do not deny.

Yes, and those that pretend to be the ministers of the gospel are amongst the first to speak against it, and to denounce it, and to sanction license to sin because you will no more punish it, and to declare that Jesus Christ is not your Son. O Lord God, our heart often sinks within us; we are apt to wish to lay our hand upon the ark to steady it, for the oxen shake it; but we know it is in your hand; and having spread the case before you, we leave it there. O Lord our God, rebuke the unbelief, rebuke the skepticism of those who assail both you and your Christ, and the gospel of your truth.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them;” (Matthew 25:3)

There did not seem to be much difference between them. They were all virgins, they all carried lamps, their lamps were all lit. Perhaps the lamps of the foolish were as bright as those of the wise. The difference was unobservable to most onlookers, but it was an essential and fatal difference. The lack of oil is the ruin of many professing Christians’ lamps. People may appear to have life but lack the true life that is the effectual working of the grace of God within their souls. There is a glitter and flash, but there is no permanency unless the Spirit of God is in us. We may make a fair show in the flesh for a while, but what will be the end of it? This is the all-important question—Can we hold on and hold out? Certainly not without that heavenly oil that only the Spirit of God can supply.

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Why one of the best ways to grow your faith is to realize how old it is.*

Earlier in my Christian life, I thought that church history was boring and useless. I didn’t think I could benefit from teachers who lived thousands of years ago, who didn’t know anything about our modern world.

And I was dead wrong.

But the more I learned about church history, the more I realized that it is relevant (Augustine was living for sex and pleasure until God saved him), clarifying (Writings from Leo the Great really brought me to understand the Trinity and worship Christ more truly) and really, really exciting (Ignatius told Christians not to save him from martyrdom, because he trusted God).

Seriously, we have so much to learn from church history. And one great way to benefit from leaders of the early church is the Ancient Faith Study Bible, which places commentary from early church leaders right alongside the text of Scripture.

You can also find biographies of early Christians, explanations of early heresies and major events in church history, and more.

This month only, my friends at Lifeway are offering the Ancient Faith Study Bible at steep discounts. AND “Pray with Spurgeon” subscribers can save an extra $5 on any purchase above $30 by using the code ANCIENTFAITH5.

Whether you are a church history expert or ready to learn more about our Christian ancestors, I know that the Ancient Faith Study Bible will help you better understand the Bible, follow Christ, and love God with all of your heart. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy the Ancient Faith Study Bible now.

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

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Behold, we come to your throne this morning bearing about with us a body of sin and death, and consequently much of sin, and much of care, and it may be much of sorrow; but we would be unburdened at your mercy-seat now. As for our worries, we are ashamed that we have them, seeing that you care for us. We have trusted you now for many years, and your faithfulness has never been under suspicion, nor your love a matter of question. We therefore leave every concern about our families or about ourselves, about our business, or about our souls, entirely with our God.

And as for our sin, we bless you for a sight of the precious blood of Jesus: when you see it you pass over us. No angel of justice smites where once the blood is sprinkled. Oh, let us have a sight of the blood of Jesus too, and rest because you have put away our sin forever, because we believe in Jesus. 

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

Anxiety cannot help you and there is no need for it—therefore do not store up sorrow by being anxious as to the future. Our business is with today: we are only to ask bread day by day, and that only in sufficient abundance for the day’s consumption. To import the possible sorrows of tomorrow into the thoughts of today is an excessive amount of unbelief. When the morning brings sorrow, it will bring strength for that sorrow. Today will require all the vigor we have to deal with its immediate evils; there can be no need to import cares from the future. To load today with trials not yet arrived, would be to overload it. Anxiety is evil, but anxiety about things which have not yet happened is altogether without excuse.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

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

Today we prayed that God would help us to trust EVERYTHING in his hands. He invites us to cast all of our worries and burdens onto him. 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, most high and glorious, the thought of your infinite serenity has often cheered us; for we are toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed here below, beneath the moon; but you sit forever in perfect happiness. Your designs cause you no care or fear; for you will surely carry them out. Your purposes stand fast as the eternal hills: your power knows no bound, your goodness no stint. You bring order out of confusion, and our defeats are but your victories.

We sow in tears, but you see us reap in joy. Our everlasting happiness is present to you, even while groans and mourning are our present lot. Glory be to the Lord most high, who sits on the clouds, who sits as King forever and ever. Our hearts rejoice to hear the gladsome tidings that the Lord reigns. Let his kingdom be established over the sons of men; for his kingdom must come, and of it there will be no end.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.” (Psalm 93:1)

Whatever opposition may arise, his throne is unmoved; he has reigned, does reign, and will reign forever and ever. Whatever turmoil and rebellion there may be beneath the clouds, the eternal King sits above all in supreme serenity; and everywhere he is really Master, let his foes rage as they may. All things are ordered according to his eternal purposes, and his will is done.

What can give greater joy to a loyal subject than a sight of the king in his beauty? Let us repeat the proclamation, “the Lord reigns,” whispering it in the ears of the desponding, and publishing it in the face of the foe.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

The God who never worries (even when we do)

Today’s prayer praised God because (while we are constantly worried and working), he sits enthroned in perfect peace. This prayer reminded me of an incredible book — None Like Him by Jen Wilkin.

In each chapter, Jen unpacks one of God’s incommunicable attributes — the attributes that make God unlike us — and discusses how knowing each of these attributes of God will change our lives. This is biblical, rich, glorious theology.

The book is structured just like this prayer — exposing one of our shortcomings and showing how God is gloriously more powerful than we are (and why that’s really good news).

None Like Him will fill you with love and amazement at God’s greatness. I know that it will grow your faith. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.

Buy None Like Him:

• Amazon (Paperback, Kindle, or audiobook 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)

Lord, convert our friends that still remain unsaved. Oh, mighty power of God, let none come into contact with us, even accidentally and casually, without receiving some devout impression. May the Spirit of God work mightily by our witness. Oh, glorify yourself in us!

Dear Savior, we pray that you would come and mark us all distinctly with the blood mark, as being wholly yours, and henceforth may we say with Paul, “From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). As we have been buried with you by baptism into death, so would we be dead to all the world and only live for Christ. God grant it may be so, and we will glorify you in life, and death, and forever.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

The operations, therefore, of the Spirit of God forbid that a saved man should live in sin. He is dead; he is raised into newness of life: at the very entrance into the church, in the very act of baptism, he declares that he cannot live as he once did, for he is dead: he declares that he must live after another fashion, for has not he been raised again in the type, and raised again in very deed from the dead?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Spurgeon’s word to non-Christians — updated in contemporary English

Today we prayed for God to save people that don’t know him, and we saw a challenge in God’s Word that we, dead to sin and alive to God, can no longer live for the approval of the world. These two truths will work together to spur us on in evangelism.

I want to recommend a resource (from Spurgeon himself) that will help you in your evangelism.

This passion for the lost permeated every aspect of Spurgeon’s ministry, and it led him to write a book — All of Grace. A dear friend of mine has updated this classic book in contemporary English to make it more accessible for modern readers.

Reading this book will help you as an evangelist — it is an incredible explanation of the wonder of God’s grace that will leave you amazed and eager to serve! As you read Spurgeon’s appeal to the lost, you will be equipped to share with the lost people you know.

This book is also a great resource to read with a non-Christian you know. Buy a copy for someone you know and ask to discuss it together. Especially as we approach Easter, the non-believers around you may be more willing than ever to discuss spiritual topics. You’ll be surprised how eager non-Christians will be to read this book!

Reading All of Grace will bless you in so many ways. I hope you’ll grab a copy of this newly updated edition.

Buy All of Grace:

• Amazon (Kindle editions)