DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Oh Savior, make us like yourself; we wish not so much to do, as to be. If you will make us to be right, we shall do right. We have often to put a constraint upon ourselves to be right; but oh, we want to be like you, Jesus, so that we only have to act out ourselves to act out perfect holiness. We shall never rest until this is the case, until you have made us to be inwardly holy; and then words and actions must be holy as a matter of course.
Now, here we are, Lord, and we belong to you. Oh, it is because we are your own, that we have hope. You will make us worthy of you. Your possession of us is our hope of perfection. You wash our feet because we are your own. Oh how sweet is the mercy which first took us to its heart, and made us all its own, and now continues to deal tenderly with us that, being Christ’s own, we may have that of Christ within us which all may see, and which proves us to be the Lord’s.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
The knowledge of God is the most effective influence under heaven. Everything that we learn and know affects our character in some measure, even as the flesh of an animal tastes of its food. Every thought which crosses the mind affects it for the better or the worse, every glance is molding us, every wish fashions the character. A sight of God is the most wonderfully sanctifying influence that can be conceived of. Know God, and you will grow to be like him. Dear hearer, have you beheld this marvelous vision?
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
How God’s grace helps you grow
Today we prayed that God would help us see his face and set us. free from sin. 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. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.