Good day brothers and sisters. During this season of life, we think it is extremely important that we follow the example of our Lord Jesus by being a people dedicated to prayer. God has made us sons and daughters with open and free access to the eternal throne of the omnipotent God of all creation. As such, he bids us to come and draw near to Him. He uses our prayers as one of the ordinary means of grace to both bring people to himself and to see Christ formed in the lives of believers. We pray that we would all be willing vessels for God to use!

As a help and encouragement over the next 26 days, we will be sharing excerpts from prayers that the late Charles Spurgeon lifted up.

Prayer 1 – Help from On High

O Thou who art King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship Thee.
Before Jehovah’s awful throne, we bow with sacred joy.

We can truly say that we delight in God. There was a time when we feared Thee, O God, with the fear of bondage. Now we reverence, but we love as much as we reverence. The thought of Thine omnipresence was once horrible to us. We said, “Whither shall we flee from His presence?” and it seemed to make hell itself more dreadful, because we heard a voice, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.” But now, O Lord, we desire to find Thee. Our longing is to feel Thy presence and it is the heaven of heavens that Thou art there. The sick bed is soft when Thou art there. The furnace of affliction grows cool when Thou art there and the house of prayer, when Thou art present, is none other than the house of God and it is the very gate of heaven. Come near, our Father, come very near to Thy children. Some of us are very weak in body and faint in heart. Soon, O God, lay Thy right hand upon us and say unto us, “Fear not.” Peradventure, some of us are alike and the world is attracting us. Come near to kill the influence of the world with Thy superior power….

Lord Jesus, take from us now everything that would hinder the closest communion with God. Any wish or desire that might hamper us in prayer remove, we pray Thee. Any memory of either sorrow or care that might hinder the fixing of our affection wholly on our God, take it away now. What have we to do with idols anymore? Thou hast seen and observed us. Thou knowest where the difficulty lies. Help us against it and may we now come boldly, not into the Holy place alone, but into the Holiest of all, where we should not dare to come if our great Lord had not rent the veil, sprinkled the mercy seat with His own blood, and bidden us enter….

May every breath be for Thee, may every minute be spent for Thee. Help us to live while we live, and while we are busy in the world as we must be, for we are called to it, may we sanctify the world for Thy service. May we be lumps of salt in the midst of society. May our spirit and temper as well as our conversation be heavenly. May there be an influence about us that shall make the world the better before we leave it. Lord, hear us in this thing.

And now that we have Thine ear, we would pray for this poor world in which we live. We are often horrified by it. O, Lord, we could wish that we did not know anything about it for our own comfort. We have said, “Oh! for a lodge in some vast wilderness.” We hear of oppression and robbery and murder, and men seem let loose against each other. Lord, have mercy upon this great and wicked city. What is to be done with these millions? What can we do? At least help every child of Thine to do his utmost. May none of us contribute to the evil directly or indirectly, but may we contribute to the good that is in it….

We lift our voice to Thee in prayer, also, for all our dear ones. Lord, bless the sick and make them well as soon as it is right they should be. Sanctify to them all they have to bear. There are also dear friends who are very weak, some that are very trembling. God bless them. While the tent is being taken down, may the inhabitant within look on with calm joy, for we shall by-and-by “be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven.” Lord, help us to sit very loose by all these things here below. May we live here like strangers and make the world not a house but an inn, in which we sup and lodge, expecting to be on our journey tomorrow.

Lord, save the unconverted and bring out, we pray Thee, from among them those who are converted, but who have not confessed Christ. May the Church be built up by many who, having believed, are baptized unto the sacred name. We pray Thee go on and multiply the faithful in the land. Oh! that Thou wouldst turn the hearts of men to the Gospel once more. Thy servant is often very heavy in heart because of the departures from the faith. Oh! bring them back. Let not Satan take away any more of the stars with his tail, but may the lumps of God shine bright. Oh! Thou that walkest amongst the seven golden candlesticks trim the flame, pour forth the oil, and let the light shine brightly and steadily. Now, Lord, we cannot pray any longer, though we have a thousand things to ask for. Thy servant cannot, so he begs to leave a broken prayer at the Mercy Seat with this at the foot of it, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.

Taken From: C.H. Spurgeon’s Prayers, Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, TX 77501, 1990