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Spurgeon's Morning & Evening Devotions
Morning, March 7
"And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed." - Matthew
26:39
There are several instructive features in our Saviour's prayer in his hour of
trial. It was lonely prayer. He withdrew even from his three favoured disciples.
Believer, be much in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family
prayer, social prayer, prayer in the Church, will not suffice, these are very
precious, but the best beaten spice
will smoke in your censer in your private devotions, where no ear hears but
God's.
It was humble prayer. Luke says he knelt, but another evangelist says he "fell
on his face. " Where, then, must be THY place, thou humble servant of the great
Master? What dust and ashes should cover thy head! Humility gives us good
foot-hold in prayer. There is no hope of prevalence with God unless we abase
ourselves that he may exalt us in due time.
It was filial prayer. "Abba, Father." You will find it a stronghold in the day
of trial to plead your adoption. You have no rights as a subject, you have
forfeited them by your treason; but nothing can forfeit a child's right to a
father's protection. Be not afraid to say, "My Father, hear my cry. "
Observe that it was persevering prayer. He prayed three times.
Cease not until you prevail. Be as the importunate widow, whose continual
coming earned what her first supplication could not win. Continue in prayer,
and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
Lastly, it was the prayer of resignation. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as
thou wilt." Yield, and God yields.
Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be thou content to
leave thy prayer in his hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and
what to give, and what to withhold. So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet
with humility and resignation, thou shalt surely prevail.
Evening, March 7
"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."
- John 17:24
O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches
weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in
whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees
which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the
goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it
must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the
most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die.
And why? It is through Jesus' prevailing prayer-"Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."
It is that which bears them on eagle's wings to heaven. Every time a believer
mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ's prayer.
A good old divine remarks, "Many times Jesus and his people pull against one
another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say 'Father, I will that
thy saints be with me where I am'; Christ says, 'Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.'" Thus the disciple is at
cross-purposes with his Lord.
The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and
with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if
the King should step from his throne, and say, "Here are two supplicants
praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?" Oh! I am sure,
though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, "Jesus, not my
will, but thine be done." You would give up your prayer for your loved one's
life, if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite
direction-"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am."
"Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go."
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Daily devotions for 02-17-2005:
Devotion: Morning and Evening
Morning Title: Dwell Near God
Evening Title: The Lord is Here
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Morning: Dwell Near God
"Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi." --Genesis 25:11
Hagar had once found deliverance there and Ishmael had drank from the water so
graciously
revealed by the God who liveth and seeth the sons of men; but this was a merely
casual visit, such as worldlings pay to the Lord in times of need, when it
serves their turn. They cry to Him in trouble, but forsake Him in prosperity.
Isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and
all-seeing God his constant source of supply. The usual tenor of a man's life,
the dwelling of his soul, is the true test of his state. Perhaps the
providential visitation experienced by Hagar struck Isaac's mind, and led him
to revere the place; its mystical name endeared it to him; his
frequent musings by its brim at eventide made him familiar with the well; his
meeting Rebecca there had made his spirit feel at home near the spot; but best
of all, the fact that he there enjoyed fellowship with the living God, had made
him select that hallowed ground for his dwelling.
Let us learn to live in the presence of the living God; let us pray the Holy
Spirit that this
day, and every other day, we may feel, "Thou God seest me." May the Lord
Jehovah be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up
unto eternal life. The bottle of the creature cracks and dries up, but the well
of the Creator never fails; happy is he who dwells at the well, and so has
abundant and constant supplies near at hand. The Lord has been a sure helper to
others:
His name is Shaddai, God All-sufficient; our hearts have often had most
delightful intercourse
with Him; through Him our soul has found her glorious Husband, the Lord Jesus;
and in Him this day we live, and move, and have our being; let us, then, dwell
in closest fellowship with Him. Glorious Lord, constrain us that we may never
leave Thee, but dwell by the well of the living God.
Evening: The Lord is Here
"Whereas the Lord was there." --Ezekiel 35:10
Edom's princes saw the whole country left desolate, and counted upon its easy
conquest; but
there was one great difficulty in their way--quite unknown to them--"The Lord
was there";
and in His presence lay the special security of the chosen land. Whatever may
be the machinations and devices of the enemies of God's people, there is still
the same effectual barrier to thwart their design. The saints are God's
heritage, and He is in the midst of them, and will protect His own. What
comfort this assurance yields us in our troubles and spiritual conflicts! We
are constantly opposed, and yet perpetually preserved! How often Satan shoots
his arrows against our faith, but our faith defies the power of hell's fiery
darts; they are not only turned aside, but they are quenched upon its shield,
for "the Lord is there." Our good works are the subjects of Satan's attacks. A
saint never yet had a virtue or a grace which was not the target for hellish
bullets: whether it was hope bright and sparkling, or love warm and fervent, or
patience all-enduring, or zeal flaming like coals of fire, the old enemy of
everything that is good has tried to destroy it. The only reason why anything
virtuous or lovely survives in us is this, "the Lord is there."
If the Lord be with us through life, we need not fear for our dying confidence;
for when we come to die, we shall find that "the Lord is there"; where the
billows are most tempestuous, and the water is most chill, we shall feel the
bottom, and know that it is good: our feet shall stand upon the Rock of Ages
when time is passing away.
Beloved, from the first of a Christian's life to the last, the only reason why
he does not perish
is because "the Lord is there." When the God of everlasting love shall change
and leave His elect to perish, then may the Church of God be destroyed; but not
till then, because it is
written, JEHOVAH SHAMMAH, "The Lord is there."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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