prayer

Pleading the Promises

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, The Father Leave a comment

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. – James 5:16

Take down the Book, your charter and your Father’s will, and see if there be any part of the charter which promises this good thing (that you ask) to you. When you have found the promise lay your finger on it. Better still, with your spirit grasp it in your hand, and go before God with it. If your prayer be as Luther calls it, “bombarda Christianorum,” the Christian’s great gun with which he doth bombard heaven, then surely the promise is the shot which he sends forth. Plead the promise by saying, “Lord, do as Thou hast said. Fulfil this word unto Thy servant upon which Thou hast caused me to hope.” If you do not seem to prevail with one promise seek out another and plead it. This, perhaps will be more to the point: a promise which your very soul seems to suck in as though it were spoken to you newly and freshly, as if never another man had ever received it. Spread this promise before the Lord. Nothing pleases Him more than seeing His own word pleaded by His own children. Try this, and if it is manifest that you have not succeeded turn to yet another promise, and another and another and another, and then plead, “For Thy name’s sake, for Thy truth’s sake, for Thy covenant’s sake”; and then came in with the greatest plea of all, “For Jesus’ sake and in His name, for the blood’s sake, I plead with Thee, my God. O Thou that hearest prayer, wilt Thou not keep touch with Thine own word, and be true to Thine own Son?” You have prevailed there. By that sign you have conquered. Again it shall be seen that the Lord hath hearkened to the voice of a man. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1480.cfm

Heart Work, Soul Work, Spirit Work

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer… – Romans 12:12

To make you instant in prayer endeavour eagerly to desire the good thing. Stand not before God if thou wouldst win at His hands as one who will be content whether or no. Say not “Give it or withhold it, it is all one to me. I knock at Thy door, and if Thou open I will be somewhat pleased, but if Thy door be shut I will be pleased too.” Oh no; such listlessness will never prevail with God. There are times when you must be brought to this condition that you will not be denied. There is a holy “impudency,” as the Puritans were wont to call it, to which we must be brought, in which we shall with holy boldness dare to say like Jacob, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” Such language would be blasphemy if it were not permitted, it would be presumption if it were not encouraged; but there is little fear of our being too bold, for in these times men are more inclined to keep at a distance than to come too near. We are permitted to use the liberty of obedient, loving children. We are allowed in the holy confidence of faith to resolve that we will seek until we find, we will ask until we receive, we will knock until the door is opened unto us. Our case is urgent, and we must needs press it till our suit is gained. Never was a man brought to such a pass by the grace of God but what speedily the Lord was pleased to open the hand of His liberality and give him according to his desire; but this vehemence must be manifested…Prayer must be heart work, soul work, spirit work. Prayer ought to be the sweat of the soul, it should sometimes be even as the bloody sweat of an agonizing heart, crying mightily unto the Lord, as Jesus did in the garden. To such the Lord sendeth down His angel to strengthen them or in some way heareth their pleadings in that concerning which they were filled with anguish. Intensity of desire must be exhibited… ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1480.cfm

Perceive Well Thy Need

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. – Psalm 39:12

When thou art certain that the blessing sought for is a good and necessary thing for thy soul, then in order that thy spirit may be strong in prayer get a deep sense of it’s value, its goodness, and its necessity; examine it as a goldsmith inspects a jewel when he wishes to estimate its worth. A man’s ardour in pursuit will be in proportion to his consciousness of the value of that which he pursues. Get thou to feel what a precious thing grace is, what it cost the Lord to bring it to thee; what blessings it brings with it for time and for eternity, and when thy heart sees that it seeks after an unspeakably precious gift, then will its desire be stirred up to pray with intense longings.

Meditate much upon thy necessities that thou mayest get a sense of thy need of the mercy thou art seeking. See thy soul’s poverty and thine own undeservingness. Look at what will happen to thee unless this blessing come. If it be some absolutely indispensable spiritual blessing, picture to thyself where thou wilt be if God should withhold it, what evils will spring of thy continuing in want of it, and what further wants may yet beset thee. The more thy need smites thee the more eagerly wilt thou cry unto the Lord concerning it. Art thou desirous of bread for thy soul, be hungry, and let thine hunger eat into thy heart. Art thou desirous of the water of life; be thirsty, and let thy thirst burn thee till thou art dried up like a potsherd. Let thy necessities have liberty, by meditation, to seize thee and to distress thee with a sense of thine emptiness and nothingness…Get thou a consciousness of where and what thou art apart from Christ and from the mercy of God, and then, when thou perceivest well thy need, this, with a sense of the greatness of the blessing, will much quicken thee as to instancy in prayer. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1480.cfm

Prayer is the Life-Blood of Duty

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, prayer, promises Leave a comment

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. – Romans 12:12-14

The word “instant,” as used by our translators, meant pressing, urgent, importunate, earnest. The Greek word is said to have the signification of “always applying strength in prayer,” or continuing with all your might in prayer. Our prayer is to be full of strength; “blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee.” Master Brooks saith that the word is a metaphor taken from hunting dogs, which will never give up the game till they have got it. A hunting dog when in pursuit of its victim works itself into full motion, using every limb and muscle to follow as fast as possible. If you catch a glimpse of it you will see that it throws itself forward with intense eagerness, the whole body and soul of the dog is in motion towards one object; no portion of him lingers, not so much as a glance is given to anything else, the whole creature is instant after the game which it pursues, urgently pressing, hot foot, as we say, to overtake the prey. Now, this is the way in which we are to pray.

Prayer is to be exercised in all things, for from its position in the present context we are taught that it is not without prayer that we proceed to “distribute to the necessities of the saints.” Because we have prayed for them we are ready to befriend them by deeds of love. If we have not been accustomed to pray for the brethren, we shall not be “given to hospitality”; much less shall we “bless them which persecute us.” prayer is the life-blood of duty, the secret sap of holiness, the fountain of obedience. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1480.cfm

Joyful and Patient in All Tribulations

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises Leave a comment

“Continuing instant in prayer.”- Romans 12:12

Prayer has a distinct relationship to all Christian duties and graces. It is not possible for us to carry out the holy commands of our Lord Jesus unless we are abundant in supplication. The Romans at the time that Paul wrote to them were subject to persecution, and in this verse he mentions two remedies for impatience under such afflictions, remedies which are equally effectual under all the trials of life…the apostle Paul gives us first the warm antidote-“Rejoicing in hope,” and then he gives us the cool antidote, “Patient in tribulation.” Either of these, or both together, will work wonderfully for the sustaining of the spirit in the hour of affliction; but it is to be observed, that neither of these remedies can be taken into the soul except they be mixed with a draught of prayer. Joy and patience are curative essences, but they must be dropped into a glass full of supplication, and then they will be wonderfully efficient. How can we “rejoice in hope” if we know nothing about prayer to the God of hope. Whenever your hope seems to fail you and your joy begins to sink, the shortest method is to take to your knees. By remembering the promise in prayer hope will be sustained, and then joy is sure to spring from it, for joy is the first-born child of hope. As for “patience,” how can we be patient if we cannot pray? Have not holy men of old always sustained themselves in their worst times of grief and depression by betaking themselves to prayer? Mind that you do the same. Impatience will be sure to follow prayerlessness, but the endurance of the divine will grows out of communion with God in prayer…Oh the power of prayer! If we do but know how to get in contact with the Eternal and and Omnipotent, we shall be joyful and patient in all tribulations, and bravely endure even the keen edge of death. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1480.cfm

An All-Conquering Church

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, prophecy, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. – Isaiah 2:2

Of old, the Church was like Mount Zion, a very little hill. What saw the nations of the earth when they looked upon it?-a humble man with twelve disciples. But that little hill grew, and some thousands were baptized in the name of Christ; it grew again and became mighty. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands began to break in pieces kingdoms, and now at this day the hill of Zion stands a lofty hill. But still, compared with the colossal systems of idolatry, she is but small. The Hindoo and the Chinese turn to our religion, and say, “It is an infant of yesterday; ours is the religion of ages.” The Easterns compare Christianity to some miasma that creeps along the fenny lowlands, but their systems they imagine to be like the Alps, outsoaring the heavens in height. Ah, but we reply to this, “Your mountain crumbles and your hill dissolves, but our hill of Zion has been growing, and strange to say, it has life within its bowels, and grow on it shall, grow on it must, till all the systems of idolatry shall become less than nothing before it, till false gods being cast down, mighty systems of idolatry being overthrown, this mountain shall rise above them all, and on, and on, and on, shall this Christian religion grow, until converting into its mass all the deluded followers of the heresies and idolatries of man, the hill shall reach to heaven, and God in Christ shall be all in all.” Such is the destiny of our Church, she is to be an all-conquering Church, rising above every competitor.

O Lord Jesus! by Thy grace turn every one of us to Thyself! Bring in Thine elect; let Thy redeemed rejoice in Thee; and then let the fullness of the nations flow unto Thee, and Thine shall be the glory, for ever and ever. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0249.cfm

Victory By the Lamb

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

So the Philistines were subdued… – 1 Samuel 7:11, 13

The tribes had assembled unarmed to worship. The Philistines, hearing of their gathering, suspected a revolt. A rising was not at that time contemplated, though no doubt there was lurking in the hearts of the people a hope that they would somehow or other be delivered. Hearing that the people had come together, the Philistines determined to attack them; to attack the company who had come together for worship. The people were alarmed; naturally they might be. Samuel, however, the prophet of God, was equal to the occasion. He bade them bring a lamb. I do not know that the lamb was offered according to the Levitical rites, yet prophets in all ages had a right to dispense with ordinary laws. He takes the lamb, puts it on the altar, offers it, and as it smokes to heaven he offers prayer. The voice of man is answered by the voice of God; a great thunder dismays the Philistines, and they are put to rout.

Brethren, if we have done anything for Christ, if we have achieved any victories, if in this house any souls have been converted, any hearts sanctified, any drooping spirits comforted, bear witness that it has been all through the Lamb. And when we have preached Christ ascending up on high, leading captivity captive, and when we have glorified in the fact that He ever liveth to make intercession for us, and that He shall come to judge the quick and dead, if any good has been accomplished it has been through the Lamb-the Lamb slain, or else the Lamb exalted. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0500.cfm