Spurgeon: January PM
* 01/15/PM
"But I give myself unto prayer."
--Psalm 109:4
Lying tongues were busy against the reputation of David, but
he did not defend himself; he moved the case into a higher
court, and pleaded before the great King Himself. Prayer is the
safest method of replying to words of hatred. The Psalmist
prayed in no cold-hearted manner, he gave himself to the
exercise--threw his whole soul and heart into it--straining
every sinew and muscle, as Jacob did when wrestling with the
angel. Thus, and thus only, shall any of us speed at the throne
of grace. As a shadow has no power because there is no substance
in it, even so that supplication, in which a man's proper self
is not thoroughly present in agonizing earnestness and vehement
desire, is utterly ineffectual, for it lacks that which would
give it force. "Fervent prayer," says an old divine, "like a
cannon planted at the gates of heaven, makes them fly open." The
common fault with the most of us is our readiness to yield to
distractions. Our thoughts go roving hither and thither, and we
make little progress towards our desired end. Like quicksilver
our mind will not hold together, but rolls off this way and
that. How great an evil this is! It injures us, and what is
worse, it insults our God. What should we think of a petitioner,
if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing
with a feather or catching a fly?
Continuance and perseverance are intended in the expression
of our text. David did not cry once, and then relapse into
silence; his holy clamour was continued till it brought down the
blessing. Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily
business, our habit and vocation. As artists give themselves to
their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we
addict ourselves to prayer. We must be immersed in prayer as in
our element, and so pray without ceasing. Lord, teach us so to
pray that we may be more and more prevalent in supplication.