by C. H. Spurgeon
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Content for this eBook excerpted from the following books:C.H. Spurgeon's Prayers, The Pastor in Prayer and Behold the Throne of Grace. Many of these prayers of Spurgeon have been “personalized” by taking the Elizabethan language out and replacing it with contemporary language such as: “Thee” and “thou” replaced with “you”, and “taketh” replaced with take or taken.
References like “London” have been replace with “city”. Sometimes sentences have been omitted because they don't have any meaning for today, this is indicated by showing a series of periods (…..) .
THE day on which a volume of C. H. Spurgeon's Pulpit Prayers appears is a day to be desired. Many will now rejoice to see that day.
Decidedly this selection of the great preacher's prayers supplies a want.
Many of us have long hoped for such a volume; and now we welcome it with warm gratitude.
Lovers of C. H. Spurgeon will delight in this treasury of devotion. They will not open the book without keen anticipation, and assuredly they will not close it with disappointment.
It was memorable to hear this incomparable divine when he preached. It was often even more memorable to hear him pray. Dr. John Cairns, the golden-mouthed preacher and scholar, much as he rejoiced in C. H. Spurgeon's sermons, rejoiced yet more in his prayers. Many can bear a similar witness. Who talked with God as Spurgeon did? His congregational prayers — and I heard many — are always echoing in my grateful heart.
They are sweet and luminous, in the memory, as angel-presences. Never did I hear him pray without adoringly saying, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” How naturally prayer fell from the lips of that great apostle; We felt that he was only doing before the multitude what he was habituated to do in private. Prayer was the instinct of his soul, and the atmosphere of his life. It was his “vital breath” and “native air.” How naturally he inhaled and exhaled it! The greatness of his prayers more and more impresses and delights me. He touched every note. He sped as on eagle's wings, into the Heaven of God.
The things that were given him to utter in prayer were often more profound and beautiful than the sayings that left his lips in preaching. This has often been a feature of the greatest ministries. A noble intellect shines with the glory that excels when it is turned towards God. A man of God is frequently at his intellectual best in prayer. Assuredly it was not seldom so with the beloved Pastor. I once heard him speak thus with God: “O Lord, if some of us began to doubt You we should begin to doubt our senses, for You have done such wonderful things for us. You have done more for us than You DID for Thomas. You DID allow Thomas to thrust his finger into Your wounds; but You have often thrust Your finger into our wounds, and healed them.” Did he not speak by the Spirit when he uttered the pathetic and lovely word? His wonderful knowledge of Scripture made his prayers so fresh and edifying. No man can pray with high effect unless he is steeped in Scripture. Mr. Spurgeon lived and moved and had his being in the Word of God. He knew its remoter reaches, its nooks and crannies. Its spirit had entered into his spirit; and when he prayed, the Spirit of God brought all manner of precious oracles to his mind. Then he lived so entirely in the spiritual world that he was ever ready to pray. He had not to school himself at the moment. His pulpit-prayers were not art, but nature. Every prayer was the effluence of a consecrated personality. No liturgy could have restrained him. One could not imagine him making literary preparation for public prayer. The flower gave out its perfume without effort. The urn was ever being filled where the pure waters rise, and so afforded at any moment abundant refreshment.
The quivering sympathy of Mr. Spurgeon's prayers thrilled all who heard them. You felt the throbbing of that mighty heart. He was royal in his tenderness. Whom did he forget in those powerful pleadings? The faith of this great saint indeed worked by love. His prayers grandly evinced this.
How ardent were those incomparable prayers! No hint was there of the dull, slumberous, tedious quality which too often has vitiated pulpit prayer.
C. H. Spurgeon was a glowing-hearted “Remembrancer” of God. The warmth of the Baptism of Fire diffused itself throughout his supplications.
The prayers at the Tabernacle kindled countless cold hearts.
And the English was so delectable. We hesitate to call attention to the intellectual or literary aspect of prayer. Yet why should we? God's honored servant thought and studied so incessantly for God's glory that we reaped an intellectual harvest as well as a spiritual harvest from his devotions. Mr. Spurgeon loved God with his “mind,” and our minds were stimulated when we heard him pray.
Let the holy urgency of his prayers be noted. He never lost his importunity. He pleaded for the immediate moment. “Now” was his plea; and verily then and there were we all blessed of God.
As a perusal of this volume will reveal, Mr. Spurgeon's prayers were eminently “theological.” It is a warning, well worthy to be heeded, which a devotional master gave, “Beware of an untheological devotion.” The “theological” quality of C, H. Spurgeon's prayers was very notable.
How he knew God — the Holy Trinity; Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of men; the blessed Spirit. These noble prayers will be seen to be full of theology. They were the utterances of one who studied God, delighted in God, and walked with God, especially with the God-man. Precious to him beyond compare was the Divine Redeemer. The blood of our redemption was his glory. The atoning cross was all in all to him. I would specially commend the “theological” contents of these prayers, for they are rich with enduring wealth. The sweet and holy memories of the prayers we heard no man takes from us. Many such memories will be aroused in many of the readers of this book.
To those who never heard C. H. Spurgeon's glorious voice, these printed prayers will be valuable as suggesting his prophetic power at the Mercy Seat. We covet for this volume a great constituency. Of a truth these prayers are ideals of how men ought to pray. They are calculated to be great inspirations to ministers as they contemplate their congregational prayers. To all Christian workers they will afford real enrichment. For quiet home reading they will be invaluable. I am glad that the publishers have associated with these prayers one of C. H. Spurgeon's delightful and pungent sermons on prayer — an art, of all arts the greatest, in which he was a master indeed. Few could use,. “the golden key of prayer” as he so deftly could. May many be enabled, through grace, by the study of these prayers, to pray more abundantly and more effectually!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
C. H. Spurgeon's Prayers. 7
Introduction. 7
CONTENTS. PRAYER.. 9
PRAYER 1. HELP FROM ON HIGH. 10
PRAYER 2. THANKS BE UNTO GOD. 13
PRAYER 3. THE LOVE WITHOUT MEASURE OR END. 16
PRAYER 4. THE ALL-PREVAILING PLEA. 19
PRAYER 5. TO THE KING ETERNAL. 22
PRAYER 6. THE WONDERS of CALVARY. 27
PRAYER 7. “LET ALL THE PEOPLE PRAISE YOU.”. 31
PRAYER 8. A PRAYER FOR HOLINESS. 34
PRAYER 9. GLORIOUS LIBERTY. 37
PRAYER 10. THE MUSIC OF PRAISE. 39
PRAYER 11. UNDER THE BLOOD. 42
PRAYER 12. ON HOLY GROUND. 45
PRAYER 13. THE WINGS OF PRAYER. 48
PRAYER 14. “BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL!”. 51
PRAYER 15. THE PEACE OF GOD. 54
PRAYER 16. HE EVER LIVES. 56
PRAYER 17. TO BE LIKE CHRIST. 58
PRAYER 18. O, FOR MORE GRACE! 61
PRAYER 19. GOD'S UNSPEAKABLE GIFT. 63
PRAYER 20. THE GREAT SACRIFICE. 67
PRAYER 21. BOLDNESS AT THE THRONE OF GRACE.. 70
PRAYER 22. THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 74
PRAYER 23. THE LOOK OF FAITH. 78
PRAYER 24. “DELIVER US FROM EVIL.”. 80
PRAYER 25. THE WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD. Same as XV. 83
PRAYER 26. PRAYER ANSWERED AND UNANSWERED. Compare with xxii 86
THE GOLDEN KEY OF PRAYER. 89
1. THE FIRST HEAD IS PRAYER COMMANDED. 89
2. LET US NOW TAKE THE SECOND HEAD — AN ANSWER PROMISED. 92
3. I come to our third point, which I think is full of encouragement to all those who exercise the hallowed art of prayer: ENCOURAGEMENT TO FAITH, 95
The Pastor in Prayer. 101
Editor’s Preface. 101
I. THE PERSONAL TOUCH. 102
II. JESUS INTERCEDING FOR TRANSGRESSORS. 105
III. GOD’S THOUGHTS AND WAYS FAR ABOVE OURS. 108
IV. EJACULATORY PRAYER. (New Year). 113
In Christ. 116
V. The Day of Salvation. 117
Christ is All 119
VI. SITTING OVER AGAINST THE SEPULCHRE. 120
VII. THE REASON WHY MANY CANNOT FIND REST. 124
VIII. THE CONQUEST OF SIN. 127
IX. TRUE PRAYER — HEART PRAYER. 132
X. DISTINCTION AND DIFFERENCE. 137
XI. TAKE FAST HOLD. 140
The Rock of Our Refuge. 143
XII. TRUST AND PRAY. 145
XIII. KING AND PRIEST. 148
XIV. THE SIN OF MISTRUST OF GOD. 151
XV. THE FOOT-WASHING. Compare with #25. 154
XVI. THE LIFE LOOK! 157
Alone With You. 160
XVII. REFUGES OF LIES. 161
XVIII. “YOUR ADVERSARY.”. 164
XIX. RISEN WITH CHRIST. 167
XX. INTERCESSION FOR THE SAINTS. 170
XXI. THE SENTENCE OF DEATH IN OURSELVES. 173
XXII. INTERCESSION FOR ONE ANOTHER. Compare with #26. 177
XXIII. THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED. 181
XXIV. FREE GRACE AND FREE-GIVING. 184
XXV. AN EVENING PRAYER. 187
XXVI. AN EVENING PRAYER. 190
KEEP IN MERCY’S WAY. 192
Sleep On, Beloved! 193
Behold the Throne of Grace. 194
Foreword. 196
Invocations. 198
The Holy Ghost is Here. 198
God of Our Fathers, and Our God. 198
A Word to the Heart. 199
A Day of Delightful Remembrance. 199
The Saviour in the Midst. 200
The Soul's Yearning for God. 200
Refresh Our Waiting Spirits! 200
Complete Prayers. 202
Jesu's Presence Delightful 202
Sorrowing, yet Always Rejoicing. 202
Mercy's Streams. 205
Such Love as Seraphs Know.. 208
Oh, to be Like Christ! 209
The Saint's Inalienable Portion. 211
Nothing but Jesus! 214
The Blessings of the Justified. 216
Come Nearer, Nearer, Nearer! 217
Accepted in the Beloved. 220
The Gift Unspeakable. 222
A Great God and a Great Company. 224
Praise at All Times. 227
The Blesser and the Blest. 230
Enrich Us All! 232
Always Our Helper. 234
Choice Passages from Prayers. 236
Adoration. 237
Psalm 30.. 237
The Adorable Trinity. 237
Let All the People Praise You! 238
Children of Abraham... 239
The Cross and the Throne. 239
The Love of the Firstborn. 240
Looking unto Him... 240
Anticipation of Glory. 240
Thanksgiving. 242
Christ in His People. 242
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 243
The Blessings of the Covenant. 244
Our Supreme Delight. 244
Goodness and Mercy. 245
"Though He Slay Me, Yet—". 245
The Blood-Besprinkled Mercy Seat. 246
The Lamb Upon the Throne. 246
Washed and Made White. 247
Confession. 249
Ashamed of Jesus! 250
Sin Shall Not Have Dominion. 250
Victory Through the Blood. 251
The Feast of Jehovah. 252
Rest and Refreshing. 252
Supplication. 254
Early Morning Prayer Meeting. 254
Heal Us, Immanuel! 254
Sincere Faith Desired. 255
A Sigh for Holiness. 255
That Christ may be in us! 256
Fragrant Fellowship. 256
With Christ in the Heavenlies. 257
Oh, for Newness of Life! 258
Go on to Fashion us! 258
Conformed to the Image of the Firstborn. 258
Grace for Everything. 259
Through Bondage to Liberty. 259
Being Rather Than Doing. 259
For the Reign of Christ 260
Up to the High Mountain 260
Intercession. 261
Psalm 82 261
Great Designs of Love 261
Comforted and Made Ready 262
The Christless Multitudes 262
Delight in the Lord's Day 262
Save the People! 263
For All Classes and Conditions of Men 263
"Today He Rose and Left the Dead" 264
The Harvest Season 264
End. 264