…we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials. God’s long-dated bills will be punctually honored…Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers. They are not blown away by the wind – they are treasured in the King’s archives. This is a registry in the court of heaven wherein every prayer is recorded. – Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Category Archives: Prayer
For the Lord’s Day (212)
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4.2)
On Prayer
Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honor of a Christian. – Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
God’s Word must be our guide and plea in every prayer. – Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
Our Standard of Prayer
The question is often asked: ought we to believe, in every case, that what we ask we shall receive? To which, it may be answered: that there was, formerly, a faith of miracles possessed by him who had the gift of miracles, and also by those, in most cases, in whose behalf the miracles were wrought. This was a full persuasion that, by the power of God, the miracle would take place. But, since miracles have ceased in the church, there is no room for faith of this kind. The confidence of faith, which should now accompany prayer, is a full belief that whatever we ask – in accordance with the will of God – will be granted. The divine promises should be our guide in offering up our petitions. But, if we pray for blessings not specifically promised, we have no certain ground of confidence that the blessing shall be given, for we do not know that it is agreeable to the will of God. But, when we pray in humble submission to the will of God – believing that He will grant whatever is best – we may rest assured that our prayers will be answered and that we shall receive the thing asked – or something as good or better. – Archibald Alexander (1772-1851)
Piper on Prayer
Prayer is the very heart of Christian Hedonism. God gets the glory, we get the delight. He gets the glory precisely because He shows Himself full and strong to deliver us into joy. And we attain fullness of joy precisely because He is the all-glorious source and goal of life. Here is a great discovery: we do not glorify God by providing His needs, but by praying that He would provide ours – and trusting Him to answer.
From: Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper; 3rd edition (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2003), p. 163. Originally published in 1986.
John Piper (born in 1946) has been Senior Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1980. He is a prolific author.
Jerome on Praying
Moreover, although the apostle bids us to pray without ceasing, and although, to the saints, their very sleep is an orison, yet we ought to have fixed hours for prayer so that if, perchance, we are occupied with any business, the time, itself, may remind us of our duty. Everyone knows that the set times are the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours, at dawn and at evening. No food should be taken except after prayer and, before leaving the table, thanks should be rendered to our Creator. We should rise from our beds two or three times in the night and go over those passages of Scripture which we know by heart. Let prayer arm us when we leave our lodging. When we return from the streets, let us pray before we sit down nor give our miserable bodies rest until our souls are fed. In everything we do, in every step we take, let our hands trace the sign of the Lord’s cross.
From: “Letter XXII: To Eustochium” in Select Letters of Saint Jerome, translated from the Latin, and with an introduction and notes, by F. A. Wright; The Loeb Classical Library series (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933), pp. 143, 145. The letter quoted from was written in AD 384.
Jerome (345-420) was an older contemporary of Augustine and a prolific author. He is best known today for having made the most-used translation of the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate. He lived in Bethlehem for the final 34 years of his life, where he built a monastery, of which he was the head.
On Prayer
Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. – John Bunyan (1628-1688)
The Importance of Prayer
This was supposed to be the post for November 12th. For reasons only murkily understood by me, the post did not appear on that day. So – you, my readers, get two posts today!
We Reformed folks know that God’s only program for the church is the preaching and teaching of His Word – everything else flows out from this. But I fear that we are easily lulled into the illusion that merely speaking forth the truth – a barren textualism – is enough. However, Paul makes clear, in several places and, especially, in the first chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians, that the words, alone, are not sufficient: “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1.5). And, normally, the Spirit does not anoint a preacher who prays only perfunctorily.
If we would have an impact for Christ and the gospel on our time, we need to get back to the basics: the apostles poured their best energies into “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6.4). And so must we! But this is hard to do. I know how easy it is for a pastor to neglect private prayer.
From: “From Generation to Generation: Growing a Church,” by Lowell B. Sykes, in The Banner of Truth, Issue 563-564 (August-September 2010), p. 52.
The Collect
In its widest sense, the word “Collect” may be used as the name of one of the three primary forms of liturgical prayer, the other two being “litany,” which is prayer in dialogue, and “eucharistic prayer,” which is a solemn act of praise (not necessarily connected with the Holy Eucharist). In its original form, the Collect seems to have been the closing act of a stereotyped devotional form. First, the presiding minister, whether bishop or priest, would suggest a subject for prayer or, at least, call on the people to pray. This was followed by a time of silent individual prayer. If it were a Sunday, all would stand; but, if it were a penitential occasion, the deacon would bid them kneel. If the latter case, he (not the subdeacon, as in later times) would announce the end of the silent period by commanding them to stand. Finally, the officiant recited the Collect, putting into public and corporate form the petitions of the people.
This very primitive form has not survived in any document, but the earliest formularies come very near to it, and can only be explained as survivals. Thus, in the Gallican rites, there are constant examples of the opening call to prayer, followed immediately by the Collect. In the Roman Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, on Good Friday, the same feature occurs in connection with the solemn prayers which are thought to be the one survival of the primitive “Prayer of the Faithful.”…
From: “Collects, Epistles, and Gospels” by K. D. Mackenzie, in Liturgy and Worship: A Companion to the Prayer Books of the Anglican Communion, edited by W. K. Lowther Clarke (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1932), p. 374.
“Of Reverence in Prayer”
When we make application to men in high positions, we do not presume to do so without reverence and humility; how much more, then, are we bound to entreat God, the Lord of all, with all humility and devout purity of heart. And, we must recognize that we are heard not for our much speaking, but for our purity of heart and tears of contrition. Therefore, our prayer must be brief and pure – unless it chance to be prolonged with the inspirations of God’s grace. When we assemble together, let the prayer be quite brief; and let us all rise together, when the Prior gives the signal.
From: “The Rule of Saint Benedict” (early 6th century), section XX, in Documents of the Christian Church, edited by Henry Bettenson; The World’s Classics (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 163. This is the first edition of this much-used collection.
