Speaking to God like a friend

🛐 Daily Prayer: "We draw very near to you now through Jesus Christ the mediator and we are made bold to speak to you as a man speaks with his friend."

Author

SpurgeonBooks
November 13, 2025

Pray with Spurgeon

Daily Newsletter from SpurgeonBooks

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

God, we do not want to speak to you from a distance, nor stand trembling like Israel under the law at a distance from the burning mountain, for we have not come to Mount Sinai, but to Mount Zion, and that is a place for holy joy and thankfulness, not for terror and bondage. Blessed be your name, Lord! We have learned to call you “our Father in heaven,” so there is reverence, for you are in heaven; but there is sweet familiarity, for you are our Father. We draw very near to you now through Jesus Christ the mediator and we are made bold to speak to you as a man speaks with his friend, for you have said by your Spirit, “let us approach the throne of grace with boldness” (Hebrews 4:16).

If we remembered our sinfulness, it would be right to flee from your face. Lord, we do remember it with shame and sorrow; we are grieved to think we have offended you and neglected your sweet love and tender mercy for so long. But we have now returned to the “the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls” (1 Peter 2:25). Led by such grace, we look to him whom we crucified, and we have mourned for him and then have mourned for our sin.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

You cannot be his friends if you are disobedient to his commands. An act of disobedience is unfriendliness and the omission of obedience is also unfriendliness to Christ. I wish we would always remember that every sin, either of omission or of commission, is an unfriendly act towards our best friend.

PRAY FOR THE NATIONS

This week, we’re praying for the Maba of Indonesia.

The Maba do not have the Bible in their language. If they wanted to learn more about Jesus, they have no way of doing so.

Pray that faithful and qualified Bible translators would bring God’s Word into the Maba language for the first time.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

Glorify God this Christmas.

No, it's not too early to start preparing for how we'll focus on Christ this Christmas! Because every year, it seems harder than ever to focus on Christ at Christmas. As the world is screaming about gifts and Santa and holiday travels, it’s easy to lose sight of the meaning behind it all — the baby in the manger who was Savior and Lord.

I put together a book, Spurgeon on Christmas — a collection of Christmas sermons from Charles Spurgeon. These sermons are rich and I know that they will help you focus on Christ this Christmas.
(Plus, buying a copy of this book will help support this ministry, so I can continue sending this daily email!)

I hope you’ll buy a copy of Spurgeon on Christmas and be encouraged throughout the Advent and Christmas season.

LAST WORD FROM SPURGEON

“Better have God and no other friend than all the patrons on the earth and no God.” — Charles Spurgeon