Charles Spurgeon on Prayer


How I delight to listen to a brother who talks to God simply and from his heart; and I must confess I have no small liking to those rare, old-fashioned prayers, which are now quite out of date. For the most part we are getting too fine and respectable nowadays; too genteel to allow of prayers such as once made the walls to ring and ring again. O for a revival of these glorious, violent prayers, which flew like hot shot against the battlements of heaven! (Matt. 11:12).

O for more moving of the posts of the door in vehemence, more thundering at the gates of mercy! I would sooner attend a prayer meeting where there were groans and cries all over the place, and cries and shouts of "Hallelujah!" than be in our polite assemblies where everything is dull as death and decorous as the whitewashed sepulchre!

O for more of the prayer of God, the body, soul, and spirit working together, the whole man being aroused and startled up to the highest pitch of intensity—to wrestle with the Most High! (Gen. 32:24-28).

Such, I have no doubt, the prayer of Jesus was on the cold mountainside.

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CHRISTIAN

Thank you this delights my soul
In his love
charlene

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charlene

I, for one, sometimes do [i]not[/i] cherish the thought of getting together for group prayer. Mainly because there are always some present who pontificate in the prayers... use large words... begin to pray in King James... go on and on...

... and then it's my turn. "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner."

I'm very plain spoken, and not very articulate verbally. I've been told my southern accent is pretty thick... tho I dont notice it.

I feel inadequate in those situations, ya know? My private prayer life is good because I can just talk with the Lord... but when I get around some of this "super pray-ers" at prayer sessions, it makes me feel small.

And I often wonder if God gets as bored with those long flowery prayers as I do.

Thats what I love about the Lord... I can just be myself with Him in my prayer closet.

Krispy

I agree alone with God is good. I can be scarm weep saying as it comes.
In his love
charlene

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charlene

I'd say I'd prefer praying alone but I think this is the opposite way the Bible teaches. We are to pray together. I've had the same problems like you. Yet is it possible with God to make you so unaware of anything but Him? I believe it is. You pray from your heart alone to God next to other people and a true prayer that reaches heaven will bring heaven down to your midst. It will make sleepers awake and bored to be awe-struck with Christs majesty. I'm not even talking about eloquent praying but a child-like praying, a true heart prayer, a simple prayer, a pleading prayer, a mumbling or stupid prayer, but most of all a real true heartfelt prayer.

I hate it whenever you go to witness and you gather for prayer and certain people just hate being there and then in their prayers they'll start saying, "I thank you for gathering us together, we bless you Lord" If they pray from their heart, itd be more like, "Lord, I hate this. I don't want to be here." There really needs to be a balance between speaking what you FEEL (pouring out your heart to God) and speaking what is TRUE. I think so many in our day should speak ALL that they feel, truly. Do they feel stupid, then pray how stupid they feel. Scared? Pray. Foolish? Pray. Sinful...truely sinful? Then pray you do. Do you feel like you couldn't weep even if you saw Christ crucified...then pray that in such a dry way and trust God to help you.

Not to exalt men, perhaps thats what im doing but I think Paul Washer prays the cloesest to true heartfelt praying. Listen to some of his sermons and you'll hear true prayers. True prayer is very closely alligned with true humility. A worm-like feeling, a poorness of spirit, a brokenness ALWAYS...walking around even in the midest of the joy of the Lord, with a "God I'm wretched and I die if you don't help me."

I don't know...just some thoughts.