DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
We thank you for ever coming so near us, and our prayer is that we may have the grace today to feel very near to you. You are not strange to your own flesh, and shall we be strange to you? Great Bridegroom, you love us, and you delight in us, and shall we not delight ourselves in you?
Come, take away the hardness of our hearts, and give us now to be quick and tender, sensitive to your love. Melt the wax, and then impress your image on it, and make us bear the faintest touch of your finger throughout the whole of life. Oh for want of sensitiveness, how we miss the highest privileges you give. Make us very tender. Oh that we might yield to your sweet love with all our hearts. May we rejoice in you beyond all things, and find our heaven in the effects of your relationship to us.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.” (Psalm 107:15)
The sight of such goodness makes a right-minded man long to see the Lord duly honored for his amazing mercy. When dungeon doors fly open, and chains are snapped, who can refuse to adore the glorious goodness of the Lord? It makes the heart sick to think of such gracious mercies remaining unsung: we cannot but plead with men to remember their obligations and extol the Lord their God.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Increase your faith and fight your sin
Today we prayed that God would increase our love for himself. 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.