Tag Archives: prayer

On the Choice of a Text

There are over 31,000 verses in the Bible. How do you pick one for your sermon? Where do you start? For Spurgeon, the selection of the passage for the next sermon was a major part of sermon preparation. Indeed, it can be a herculean task – perhaps even more difficult than the actual writing ofContinue reading “On the Choice of a Text”

The Preacher’s Private Prayer

So begins Charles Spurgeon’s very convicting chapter titled “The Preacher’s Private Prayer” in his famous book Lectures to My Students. In this chapter, Spurgeon answers the question “how should a preacher pray in his own private prayer time?” His answer is simple: we should pray as ministers. Here’s what that means (four observations): First, It meansContinue reading “The Preacher’s Private Prayer”

Charles Spurgeon on the Preacher’s Public Prayer

Last year I read Richard Ellsworth Day’s biography about Charles Spurgeon titled The Shadow of the Broad Brim. Day wrote the book in the early 20th century and therefore was able to interview people who had been church members of the Metropolitan Tabernacle under the pulpit ministry of Charles Spurgeon. Day records that those thatContinue reading “Charles Spurgeon on the Preacher’s Public Prayer”

Pride and its Destruction of Fervent Prayer

As a teenager, I developed a sweet affection for God. I remember reading the Bible as a “hart panteth after the water brooks,” drinking in every word, thirsty for the knowledge of God. My times of solitary prayer were rich and meaningful. I especially remember one night when I wept for hours in my bedContinue reading “Pride and its Destruction of Fervent Prayer”

My Biggest Hindrances to Prayer

We preachers know that prayer is the lifeblood of ministry. Without it, we are of all men most miserable. Spurgeon put it this way: Of course the preacher is above all others distinguished as a man of prayer. He prays as an ordinary Christian, else he were a hypocrite. He prays more than ordinary Christians,Continue reading “My Biggest Hindrances to Prayer”

The Preacher and Hustle Culture

There is a notion, entertained by some, that sleep deprivation is a means to holiness. Honestly, I do not get it. I do appreciate a good tired feeling – one that comes from an honest day’s work. Ecc. 5:12 – “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet…” But I hate chronic fatigue. Hate it.Continue reading “The Preacher and Hustle Culture”