Monday, October 6, 2008

Evangelistic Praying

There is a song entitled "Tears of the Saints" that greatly captures what the Christian's response to this broken, dark, and sinful world should be . . .

"There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved
We’re crying for them come back home
And all Your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home"

What is your response to the broken community you live in? May your prayers this week be saturated with heartfelt cries that our Sovereign Lord would be might to save. Charles Spurgeon expressed such motivation in this way:

The Holy Spirit will move them first by first moving you. If you can rest
without their being saved, they will rest, too. But if you are filled with an
agony for them, if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find
that they are uneasy, too. I hope you will get into such a state that you will
dream about your child perishing for lack of Christ, and start up at once and
begin to cry, "O God, give me converts, or I die." Then you will have converts.

Weekly Prayer Calendar - October 6-12

Monday - Leadership - 2 Timothy 2:2

Tuesday - Marriages - 1 Peter 3:1

Wednesday - Family - Psalm 139:23-24

Thursday - The Lost - Matthew 9-12

Friday - God’s impact on the surrounding community through Providence - Romans 12:19-21

Saturday - Sunday Morning Worship - Hebrews 10:19-22

Sunday - The Direction of Providence - Hebrews 13:20-21

Monday, September 29, 2008

Spurgeon On Prayer

Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and experimental religion.

Burn here the fat of your sacrifices. Let your closet seasons be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Effectual prayer availeth much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the Church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relations, your neighbours, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with lukewarmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do the chariot wheels drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decay. Let us go with weeping, and ask for the Spirit of grace and of supplications. Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world.

The text will also apply to the altar of the heart. This is a golden altar indeed. God loves to see the hearts of his people glowing towards himself. Let us give to God our hearts, all blazing with love, and seek his grace, that the fire may never be quenched; for it will not burn if the Lord does not keep it burning. Many foes will attempt to extinguish it; but if the unseen hand behind the wall pour thereon the sacred oil, it will blaze higher and higher. Let us use texts of Scripture as fuel for our heart’s fire, they are live coals; let us attend sermons, but above all, let us be much alone with Jesus.

-- From Spurgeon's Evening and Morning Devotional

Weekly Prayer Calendar - September 29-October 5

Monday - Leadership - Isaiah 52-53

Tuesday - Marriages - Ephesians 5:25-33

Wednesday - Family - 1 Peter 5:8

Thursday - The Lost - Luke 23:34

Friday - God’s impact on the surrounding community through Providence - 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Saturday - Sunday Morning Worship - Psalm 111:1

Sunday - The Direction of Providence - Jeremiah 31:33

Monday, September 15, 2008

Weekly Prayer Calendar - September 15-21

Monday - Leadership - 2 Timothy 2:2

Tuesday - Marriages - 1 Peter 3:1

Wednesday - Family - Psalm 139:23-24

Thursday - The Lost - Matthew 9-12

Friday - God’s impact on the surrounding community through Providence - Romans 12:19-21

Saturday - Sunday Morning Worship - Hebrews 10:19-22

Sunday - The Direction of Providence - Hebrews 13:20-21

Monday, September 8, 2008

Weekly Prayer Calendar - September 8-14

Monday - Leadership - Isaiah 52-53

Tuesday - Marriages - Ephesians 5:25-33

Wednesday - Family - 1 Peter 5:8

Thursday - The Lost - Luke 23:34

Friday - God’s impact on the surrounding community through Providence - 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Saturday - Sunday Morning Worship - Psalm 111:1

Sunday - The Direction of Providence - Jeremiah 31:33

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Convicting Quote

"The early church prayed and fasted, the modern church prays fast." - Anonymous