Pray with Spurgeon

WEEKEND EDITION

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PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH (BY SPURGEON)

Prepare your heart to gather with your church on Sunday. Join Spurgeon in prayer for the saints and sinners who will hear God's Word at your church tomorrow.

Bless us, our Father, and let all the churches of Jesus Christ enjoy your care and tenderness. Walking among the golden candlesticks, trim every lamp and make every light, even though it burns only feebly now, to shine out gloriously through your care.

For our brothers here in our own city, many of whom are living in poverty and working for Christ, Lord accept them and help us to help them. Remember every Sunday school teacher and evangelist, all who in any way endeavor to bring Christ under the notice of men. Help them all.

Amen.

SPURGEON’S LETTERS

Spurgeon’s letters are really encouraging devotional readings. Today, we’ll read a letter Spurgeon sent to his aunt as a new Christian.

My Dear Aunt,

The body of Christians, of which for some little while I have been a member, is not distinguished for high standing in the world. I trust I shall never be rich, lest I should by force of additional temptation ever bring dishonor upon the name of him with whom I have entered into solemn league and covenant. Would that, as I have been buried with him in baptism, I might have the inward spiritual grace, and be dead to the world, but alive to the service of the Lord!

There has-been much stir here about the false teaching of the Pope—the pastors seem to be very anxious about it.

I hope Uncle will not write to me until he is well. He is so very kind; but he may tire himself. Tell him I am now studying Paine’s Elements of Mental Science and Porter’s Lectures on Homiletics. I cannot in Greek get further than the New Testament. We have only thirteen boys in my school.

Accept my best love and thanks to yourself and Uncle, and always permit me to describe myself as…

Your most affectionate nephew,

Charles Spurgeon

WISDOM FROM SPURGEON: WHY DO SO MANY CHRISTIANS NOT GROW?

This section of the Weekend Edition will include Spurgeon’s answers to timely questions. Respond to this email with your questions.

The food of the Word of God is necessary to strengthen us when we have grown up. A full grown man, though he is a perfect man, may still be very imperfect in many matters. He is perfectly a man, but still he is weak. How can we wonder that a man is weak if he does not eat? It is no wonder if Christians find themselves weak in prayer, weak in suffering, weak in action, weak in faith, and weak in love, if they neglect to feed upon the Word of God.

Souls, there are many among you who are sick and some that are ready to die, because you have shut your mouths against the bread of heaven, and have gone day by day without sitting down at the banquet table to feed upon the marrow and fatness of the promise. Moreover, we need to have spiritual food also for our joy as well as for our strength. How often do you see a man sad and troubled, who, if he had sufficient sustenance, would soon have sparkling eyes and a shining face! Many Christians, I do not doubt, are very low and miserable because they do not feed upon the Word. If they ate the scroll as Ezekiel did, they would soon find it like honey in their bowels for sweetness. If we only leaned more upon the chest of Christ, and ate more often from his table, and drank from his cup, our peace would flow like a river and our righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Are you starving your souls? If so, there is no wonder that your joys are dead, and hang their heads like wilted and withered things. I trust, my dear hearers, many of us know what it is to feed to the full upon the Word of God. And do you not bear me witness that it is rich food? There is nothing in the whole world that can satisfy the spirit like the Word of God. We have read many books; we have listened to the maxims of philosophers; we have gathered up the lessons of experience, but put them altogether, they are not equal to one text of Scripture.

It is said of one Christian man, who had spent a great part of his life in translating classic works, that when he came to die, he wished he had spent that time in reading the Word of God. Those who translate the Bible into foreign tongues always say it is a great blessing to them, for instead of growing tired through having to stop long over one word to find out its meaning, they find the word more sweet than before. There is rich food both in the printed Word and in the spoken Word.

But also, what plain food it is! There is nothing like plain food. But some people come in to listen to the gospel minister, and they say, “Ah, it is not intellectual enough for me!” Such infants would like to live on sponge-cakes or filthy gingerbread; but we think the plainer the food, the better, we would rather have it just as it is, without any flavoring or seasoning; just as we find it here. But, while it is plain food, yet to those who know it, it is very sweet food, for though some say, “It is light bread,” as they did in the wilderness, you never loathe this bread; it never palls upon your taste; you are satisfied and you are even satiated with fatness; but you are never disgusted through having too much of it. You feel that you would like to swim in a river of such wine as this; you would like to be shut up in a granary of this heavenly corn; you would be but too glad to have nothing else to thi