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Jesus’ Prayer by Charles Spurgeon
“And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”— 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.
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The Power of Prayer…
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The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness… Charles Spureon
“Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.”—Lamentations 3:41
The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are.
If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness.
The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust.
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3 Times Prayer Is Not Pleasing to God by Dalton Blankenship
Prayer is a daily, sometimes minute-by-minute, connection between Jesus and us. Prayer is the way we talk, plead, praise, and give thanks to Jesus.
Like an ongoing conversation between close friends, prayer can be intimate or seemingly superficial — jumping in minutes from a lighthearted account of everyday blessings and frustrations to an in-depth commentary on our deepest fears and needs.
At other times, prayer is silent. When we don’t have the words to explain our emotions, we can trust the Holy Spirit to communicate what words can’t (Romans 8:26). The same way a good friend will hold our hand and embrace the silence, or lend us a shoulder to cry on, we can sit in God’s presence and say all we need to say without speaking a word.
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Lord, Make Us Diligent and Desperate by Scott Hubbard
“Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made.” This prayer, often found on the lips of Robert Murray McCheyne, strikes a chord in every Christian soul. When the Holy Spirit makes his home in us, holiness ceases to be the stuffy obligation we thought it was. All of a sudden, holiness feels like heaven in our hearts, and every earthly longing bows the knee to this burning, bright desire: “Lord, make me holy.”