DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Now, Lord, next to this, give each one of your children power to become the sons of God in their actions. May we become more and more like the Firstborn; may we begin to exercise our sonship by conquering ourselves. Help us to put down sin. May every sinful thought be driven out, and every thought be brought into captivity to the Spirit of God. Oh help us to be perfectly consecrated to your service, because we are the children of God. May we not live like children of the devil, neither serve him, nor serve our affections and lusts.
And, oh, grant us also to become sons by reason of the spirit of boldness that we shall feel. Give us not again the spirit of bondage that we may fear; but give us, we pray, more and more of the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age.” (Titus 2:11–12)
Christians are not to run out of the world, as monks and hermits sought to do, but to live “in the present age.” Yet, while in the world, we are to be godly, that is, full of God. That kind of life which is without God is not for Christians. Those worldly desires, the pride and ambition, which are common to worldly men, are not to have power over us; we are to deny them, and to live soberly. This word relates not only to eating and drinking, but to the general sobriety of a man’s mind.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
God’s grace will grow you. Here’s a practical guide.
Today we prayed that God would make us more like himself — that we would live as his children instead of children of the devil. This is our goal, to know our Father and become more like him every day. And the reason we pray for this, is because we can’t grow in godliness without God’s help.
God didn’t just start your salvation, he’s going to complete it as well. And the path to true growth is not just trying harder, but by pressing deeper into the truths of God’s saving, sanctifying grace.
That’s the point of Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane Ortlund. In this book, Dane (author of Gentle and Lowly) offers a beautiful, biblical picture of what it looks like to actually grow in godliness. The teaching is incredibly practical and will leave you amazed at the wonder of God’s grace to change you.
I hope you’ll grab a copy of Deeper and use it to slay sin in your life, by God’s grace.
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