These words by Spurgeon provoked me to tears…and repentance.
Psalm 109:4
But I give myself unto prayer.
“Lying tongues were busy against the reputation of David, but he did not defend himself; he moved the case into a higher court, and pleaded before the great King Himself. Prayer is the safest method of replying to words of hatred. The Psalmist prayed in no cold-hearted manner, he gave himself to the exercise-threw his whole soul and heart into it-straining every sinew and muscle, as Jacob did when wrestling with the angel. Thus, and thus only, shall any of us speed at the throne of grace. As a shadow has no power because there is no substance in it, even so that supplication, in which a man’s proper self is not thoroughly present in agonizing earnestness and vehement desire, is utterly ineffectual, for it lacks that which would give it force.
Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation. As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. We must be immersed in prayer as in our element, and so pray without ceasing. Lord, teach us so to pray that we may be more and more prevalent in supplication.”
“Fervent prayer,” says an old saint, “like a cannon planted at the gates of heaven, makes them fly open.” The common fault with the most of us is our readiness to yield to distractions. Our thoughts go roving hither and thither, and we make little progress towards our desired end. Like quicksilver our mind will not hold together, but rolls off this way and that. How great an evil this is! It injures us, and what is worse, it insults our God. What should we think of a petitioner, if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing with a feather or catching a fly? Continuance and perseverance are intended in the expression of our text. David did not cry once, and then relapse into silence; his holy clamour was continued till it brought down the blessing.
7 comments
Wow, that is really moving!
“What should we think of a petitioner, if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing with a feather or catching a fly?
ouch. Ouch.
“Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation.”
I am drawn to repentance as well.
” What should we think of a petitioner, if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing with a feather or catching a fly? ”
So many times petty distractions have kept me from communing with my Saviour in a meaningful way. Thanks for posting.
Prayer is the rain that waters our soul garden, like bible is the bread of life… Sometimes I forget to pray in the business of my day, and I feel the drought, the emptiness, the thirst for God. Thank you for sharing. Its a good reminder to go and pray…
Prayer is the rain that waters our soul garden, like bible is the bread of life… Sometimes I forget to pray in the business of my day, and I feel the drought, the emptiness, the thirst for God. Thank you for sharing. Its a good reminder to go and pray…
I have mixed feelings on this. Yes we are to boldly approach the throne of grace knowing who He is and who we are in Him. But this idea that every part of our body must hurt to be expedient at His throne could lead to a religious spirit at the most, and be detrimental to one’s prayer life at the very least. One may be tempted to say “well, I don’t cry when I pray like so-and-so, so I must not really mean it” or “Because I do not spend an hour at a time in prayer, I might as well not pray at all, because it is an insult to God.” Conversely, one might have an accomplished checklist of all those things and wonder why their prayers never get answered with a “yes” because their heart is toward religion and not God. I talk to God and listen to Him all day long. I do, often time, have a time where I am just sitting and praying, but more often than not, I am just listening to Him and asking Him about daily schedules/occurrences/leadings as I move through the day. Very rarely do I cry out (and we have attacks a lot). In fact, I talk to Him a lot while driving, to say I am not giving Him 100% of my attention would be obvious. But He has then, as almost always 100% of my heart. I am not saying this idea of a lifestyle of prayer is bad, as I clearly referenced my daily life. But the idea that it must look like something specific is dangerous. Jesus even gave us a model of how to pray, not a just a list with requirements to be met in order to be heard. I am not saying anyone here is saying anything, just commenting on what I’ve perceived at different points in my life. 🙂