Magnificent Prayer #313
Magnificent Prayer #313
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Hebrews 5:7
It is delightful to hear a Christian wrestle with God, and say, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me,” but that must be said softly, and not in a hectoring spirit, as though we could command and exact blessings from the Lord of all.
Remember, it is still a human being wrestling, even though permitted to wrestle with the eternal I AM.
We may have a certain familiarity with God, but it is a holy familiarity. There is boldness, but the boldness which springs from grace and is the work of the Spirit; not the boldness of the haughty rebel who struts in the presence of his offended king. It’s the boldness of the child who fears because he loves, and loves because he fears.
Never fall into a prideful style of impertinent address to God, He is not to be assailed as an antagonist, but entreated as our Lord and God. Let us be humble and lowly in spirit, and so let us pray.
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
Pray About It: One of the paradoxes of the Christian life is that we are to be meek and also bold. We beseech God, but we also secure the answers to our prayers, without doubting. The Christian learns through practice how to differentiate between meekness, which has best been defined as “strength under control,” and the ungodly brashness that is an insult to God.
Wrestle as a man or woman who would not be denied. But all the while, bear in mind that we are the clay. He is the potter.
Sons of God cannot live without prayer. They are wrestling Jacobs. They are men in whom the Holy Ghost so works, that they can no more live without prayer than I can live without breathing. They must pray.
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
From the book
