Epaphras Prays Podcast

Hello, thanks for opening this newsletter. Today’s article is from Johnathan Edwards (1703-1758) a prominent Puritan theologian and pastor in the United States, known for his significant contributions to American philosophy and religion.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; [It shall] yet [come to pass], that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

And the inhabitants of one [city] shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.

Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

- Zechariah 8:20-22 KJV

The good which shall be brought by prayer: God Himself

In Zechariah 8:20-22 we have an account of how the future advancement of the Church should occur. It would come to fruition as multitudes from different towns resolve to unite in extraordinary prayer, seeking God until He manifests Himself and grants the fruits of his presence.

Editors Note: This is exactly how we believe a similar revival can happen in our day. That in every town and neighborhood, we are gathered in small groups in prayers for it.

Scripture says, 'They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts.' The good that they seek for is 'The Lord of Hosts,' Himself. If 'seeking God' means no more than seeking the favor or mercy of God then 'praying before the Lord,' and 'seeking the Lord of Hosts' must be looked upon as synonymous.

However, 'seeking the Lord' is commonly used to mean something far more than seeking something from God.

Surely it implies that God Himself is what is desired and sought after!

Thus, the Psalmist desired God, thirsted after Him and sought after Him: 'O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee. My flesh longs for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary ... My soul follows hard after thee ... Whom have I in heaven by thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.'

The Psalmist earnestly pursued after God; his soul thirsted after Him, he stretched forth his hands unto Him. All of God's saints have this in common: they are those that seek God. 'This is the generation of them that seek Him.' 'Your heart shall live that seek God,' etc.

If this be the true sense of this phrase 'seeking the Lord of Hosts,' then we must understand that God who had withdrawn Himself, or, as it were, hid Himself, would return to His Church, granting the fruits of His presence and communion with His people, which He so often promised, and for which His Church had so long waited.

In short, it seems reasonable to understand the phrase, 'seeking the Lord of Hosts' means not merely praying to God, but seeking the promised restoration of the Church of God after the Babylonian captivity and the great apostasy occasioning it is called their 'seeking God, and searching for Him;' and God's granting this promised revival and restoration called His being 'found of them.' (See Jer. 29:10-14)

The prophets occasionally represent God as being withdrawn and hiding Himself: 'Verily thou art a God that hides thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior. I hid me, and was wroth.' The prophets then go on to represent God's people seeking Him, searching and waiting for and calling after Him.

When God answers their prayers and restores and advances His people, according to His promise, then He is said to come and say, 'Here am I' and to show Himself, and they are said to find Him and see Him plainly. 'Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I ...'

'But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation ... I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.' 'The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.' We wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.' (Isa. 58:9; Isa. 45:17,19; Isa. 25:8-9)

Our Intercessors Prayer

O, Lord God, full of mercy and loving-kindness, so patient with us. May we today have an earnestness to seek You, to search out where You are, and wait upon Your holy presence, calling out for You alone. Make the one thing we desire be You, not for what You would give to satisfy our temporal cravings, but just You. That is enough, indeed, more than enough! To have near—in heart, soul, and mind, the peace of the Spirit, the love of Jesus, the sure comfort of the Father. Today, we go and pray before You Lord, seeking the Lord of Hosts.

Amen

On Corporate Prayer For Revival by Johnathan Edwards.

Edwards preached in various places throughout his career, including a small Presbyterian church on William Street in New York City, his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, and in Enfield, Connecticut.

He is well-known for his role in the First Great Awakening, a spiritual revival that swept through the American colonies in the 18th century. His sermons, like "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," were known for their passionate and emotive delivery, which contributed to the religious fervor of the time. His writings also extensively documented the revival.

Until next time, grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…

Thank You for reading Epaphras Prays. When you subscribe, you join a little prayer group. You are daily in our prayers. And it helps more people learn to pray more.

Praying God’s Perfect Will - Now Available - Get Yours

Do you struggle in praying?

You’re not the only one, I have also, and if we’re honest, we all do somehow. Asking for things comes naturally to us—from people, anyway. But asking from God, our King and Father, usually doesn’t.

Even a legendary Christian storyteller did.

We are told by Dr. Art Lindsley, writing in C.S. Lewis on Prayer, that prayer was an important part of Lewis’s life, but that he had problems with praying. Much of his struggle came from his early life, for as a boy his mother died and his father then sent him to boarding school.

He tried to pray every night but developed what he called a “false conscience” about prayer. He had been told that it was not enough to say your prayers; you also had to think about what you were saying. As soon as he finished his prayers each night, he would ask himself, “Are you sure you were thinking about what you were saying?” The answer was inevitably no, writes Lindsley.

It wasn’t always this way.

Gradually his faith was restored and his prayer life became more robust and he was restored to a sense of closeness with God. Still, Lewis felt that prayer was not primarily something to talk about but something to “do.” We agree, it is more important to pray than to just talk about it.

Nothing teaches us more about prayer than actually praying!

To Lewis, prayer changes us from the inside out.

Since I have begun to pray, I find my extreme view of personality changing. My own empirical self is becoming more important, and this is exactly the opposite of self-love. You don’t teach a seed how to die into treehood by throwing it into the fire: and it has to become a good seed before it’s worth burying. - Letters of C. S. Lewis

In Petitionary Prayer: A Problem without an Answer, Lewis notes two patterns in prayer:

* Type “A” is illustrated by Jesus in the Garden. “Thy will be done.”

* Type “B” is the prayer of faith to “move mountains.”

In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that, the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick, is dismissed.”

In other words, we learn from Jesus that praying isn’t a magic formula, but one of faith and trust in the Father’s sovereign will.

Prayer is request. The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant and sometimes refuse them.

C. S. Lewis

No matter why we struggle in praying, if we (a) make the decision to pray like we do any daily activity (exercise, laundry, working) and (b) commit to it, then we go a long way in overcoming the struggle.

When I first started to intercede, the church had three scheduled hours for prayer at the church. I committed to going at 6 a.m. before work. Knowing that a few others were expecting me to be there—and would track me down afterward if I wasn’t there, got me started and kept me going.

Just starting something is often the hard part. Once we get going, the way gets easier.

Let these be encouragements to us as we struggle with our own problems in prayer, and learn that for most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait. - [Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer]

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Leading up the elections in the U.S.A. we are praying 30 days for America.

Thank You for reading Epaphras Prays. When you subscribe, you join a little prayer group. You are daily in our prayers. And it helps more people learn to pray more.

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I have a way to pray to the Lord.

It’s not the only way, but it’s a pretty good way. If you don’t have a way, this will get you started and help you stay focused. As my old pastor used to say, my plan is better than one you don’t have.

Today I introduce to you a way that will take you through 10 prayer prompts in about 10 minutes.

I picked that many because of fingers. After using a sticky note with each section title, I had it memorized. Now I can count through each finger and move from one to the next.

It’s kids stuff, but when starting a new activity it’s best to keep it simple.

And to make it even more fool-proof, all 10 sections start with letter A.

That’s why it’s A Way To Pray.

What’s better still is each section is only a one word title. One finger, one title. What could be simpler?

I said about 10 minutes, right?

* One finger

* One title

* One minute

You could go more or less but that’s up to your praying in each section. But about a minute each is a pretty good start. Sometimes I pray them for 10 straight minutes, while other times I pray one an hour over 10 hours.

But don’t let it become formula prayers you say by rote.

See, the problem with lists is we can fall into a rut of only saying the words. Repeating the lines isn’t praying from the heart. We say words but before long, don’t actually mean them.

And the Lord won’t hear those if we’re slogging through a routine.

This gives you a way to pray, and a kick-start if you’re stuck. Don’t let this be the only way you pray. Be careful to not let it become a crutch or a bad habit.

Grow from this to talking to the Lord, and talk with Him as a friend.

He’s the best friend you’ll ever talk to. He is patient, always listens, doesn’t interrupt or make fun. Remember, even the quiet whisper of a prayer reaches the Lords ears.

A Way To Pray - The List

There are 10 in all, but here’s the first:

* Attention. We pray to focus on holy and heavenly things. (Philippians 4:8)

Almighty God, I intentionally focus my attention on You. I fix my thoughts on things above and not merely things below. I turn away from worthless things, and look to God in heaven. I want to think on what is true, and right. On what is pure, lovely and admirable.

Help me think about what is excellent and praiseworthy. All these things are Jesus. You are holy, pure, and excellent. May I have Him in mind, and have my thoughts focused on Your word. Keep me from distractions that take me way from You. I set my eyes to look to the Lord and to seek Your face always. Lord, you have my attention now, keep it there this day.

What other Scriptures or phrases come to mind to you for praying?

The rest of the list includes: Adoration, Acknowledge, Affection, Appreciation, Apology, Armor, Attributes. Anxiety, and Above.

The full 10 finger A Way To Pray list is on a printable PDF

Current subscribers probably don’t need it, but consider how many around you don’t pray much, if at all. Please share this with them.

I do pray you find it useful. If so, please Subscribe to get more helps like this.

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What prayer prompts so you use to help you or to teach others?

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This edition of the Epaphras Prays PrayerCast includes

* a 2nd Century Prayer of the Early Church, from Polycarp

* a prayer of David in Psalm 28

* an instruction of Jesus from Matthew 26

* an intercession from Paul in 1 Thessalonians

* and from Romans 13

We also ask our Lord and God for more people to pray more, plus

* a Puritan Prayer for Grace in Trials

* a prayer for our land

* a shield of faith

* and finally, a blessing for you.

We appreciate you for listening, sharing, and praying.

Thank You for reading Epaphras Prays. When you subscribe, you join a little prayer group. You are daily in our prayers. And it helps more people learn to pray more.

Prayer Insights from George Whitfield (1714-1770)

In his urgent prayer for revival, Whitfield begged the Lord to raise up another generation of pastors and evangelists who would share his burden for God's glory and the souls of men.

In his prayer, Whitfield envisions the emergence of dedicated men chosen by the Head of the Church to serve in a significant role:

* These men will be deeply knowledgeable in Scripture: profoundly aware of God's greatness and holiness, and passionate about the doctrines of grace.

* They will prioritize spiritual over personal ambitions: being willing to endure hardship and ridicule for their faith, and seek divine approval rather than worldly recognition.

* Their preaching will be heartfelt and emotional: and their ministries will be marked by a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.

* I would also add that these would be praying men and their praying would be frequent: deeply aware of their need and of the power of the Lord in answers to their askings.

His prayer was profound over 250 years ago and resonates today. Where are these to come from if we do not ask of our Savior for them? As He chose the Twelve, pray He choose men such as is needed now.

Whitfield’s Prayer

"Yeah that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more ... raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ.

And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace.

They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be 'fools for Christ's sake', who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth's accolades, but to win the Master's approbation [approval] when they appear before His awesome judgment seat.

They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion [unrestrained expression] of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness 'signs and wonders following' in the transformation of multitudes of human lives."

[Insert] Lord, may these be men of prayer. May they start on their knees and role up their sleeves. May time in the prayer closet be heard in the pulpit. We pray You would raise them up once more.

Amen.

May we echo this prayer in our days.

Our land is in peril. People in it are in mortal danger. We have the answer. We hold the key.

The Church is splintering and drifting before our eyes. Many have fallen and adopted the world’s systems and beliefs. Many more have never truly known the Lord.

What is being asked is that, we who can, should pray as Whitfield, and ask the Lord to raise up a generation of Joshua’s, of Gideon’s, of Daniels, of disciples who love Him more than things. Those who stand and proclaim, preach, and pray. Who ask our Lord for men with courage and conviction, with servants hearts to lead those in darkness to the Light.

Maybe that’s you. Or me.

But certainly, it is you and me who can pray thus! Will you?!

Get off the sideline. Get into the prayer room. Stand in the gap. Cry to the Maker. Plead with Almighty. Be like Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, John. Give Him no rest. Do not grow weary. Strive, struggle, and strain with God; do not let Him go til He release the blessing!

Thank You for reading Epaphras Prays. When you subscribe, you join a little prayer group. You are daily in our prayers. And it helps more people learn to pray more.

What About You? Will You Pray This With Us?

We are asking you to make a small commitment, and pray this short but powerful prayer that the Lord may hear and answer.

Will you pray Whitfield’s Prayer at least once per day for 5 or 10 or 15 days in a row? Starting today through the end of the month of September is 15 days. Let’s join in prayer these two weeks. Can we count on you? Like, or comment, share, repost and let us know you’re in the Prayer Group on this.

Until next time, grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For years I have traveled and spent time in small prayer groups. I am constantly amazed—but not surprised anymore, by the prayers of the elderly. In every groups there seems to be at least one person who doesn’t pray like anyone else in the room.

Listening to them plead with the Lord, you hear their heart, their humility, their intimacy, their dependency. You can tell they have spent hours, years, in the prayer closet, interceding for others.

I am always grateful for these times and these people. They remind me of one such person found in the Scriptures. She’s likely in the hall of fame for intercessors, if there was such a thing.

Prayer Insights … from an old widow

Please Like to encourage me, and please share to encourage others!

I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. - Psalm 119:58 KJV

The psalmist here is asking the Lord to show kindness and favor, according to the Lord’s own words.

I have sought Your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. - Psalm 119:58 BSB

Your promise, or Thy word

Both refer to an utterance, something spoken by Almighty God. That word is His promise, testament, command, pledge. Here, that He would grant mercy and salvation. (see v.41)

The Word is His revealed will to His children. The psalmist knew God promised mercy, but his request for it is based on God promise, not based on him deserving it. God’s dealings with us, in his love and grace, does us a favor—He gives us something we do not deserve.

“But the true ground of our hope is not our most whole-hearted prayers, but God's promise.” Alexander MacClaren

When we come to the Lord in prayer, seeking mercy, grace, favor, blessing—or interceding for another—our appeal to Him may be out of a desire of something. But asking must be based on the promises He has made.

“The principal thing for which we ought to pray is, that God, out of his free grace, may be favorable to us, look on our affection, and grant us relief.” John Calvin

Our Lord will answer only according to His word, for God cannot lie nor contradict himself. (Titus 1:2) He will not break His covenant.

According To is Agreement With

The prayer is “according to” God’s promise. This according is being in line with something, in this case God’s stated will. We are agreed, it is consistent with, in harmony, of one mind—these are all similar sentiments of accord.

These statements all convey the idea of things matching or adhering to a standard, rule, or expectation. God’s promise is that rule. Therefore, when we ask in agreement with it, we are in line with Him.

Mary understood this. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. - Luke 1:38 KJV

This is not a desperate cry of blind faith

He must have had certain hope in God’s word, he had to have known God is a God of grace and blessing. And we know today of the Lord’s great promises, for we have his Testaments, and “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2

So on this basis, we have confidence to come before the throne of God and ask for mercies—according to the Word of God himself. And this is why we pray the Bible, using Scripture as the foundation of our intercession. He has told us what He has for us and wants to give us.

This is why we teach praying from Scripture. It builds trust, increases faith, and provides confidence that our prayers align with God's purpose.

Here’s the deal: our praying like the Psalmist—according to God's promises, is significant because it aligns our requests with His will and divine plan. It's how we base our praying—on His unchanging character and the assurances He's given us in His Word.

When we ask Him--according to His promises, we can pray with confident hope that our prayer is heard and our Lord will send the blessing as He will.

Later today we will send a special edition newsletter

In it is more information about the Book Launch for Praying God’s Perfect Will: Asking Exactly What He Wants With 23 Prayers From Ephesians.

The book will be released September 6th on Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook. We will also make it available on Substack. More details later today, but if you’d like to support the newsletter and the book, head over to pre-order the Kindle version.

We are blessed by your reading this article, would you bless someone else?

And please consider joining our prayer group who all get emails and prayer from us.

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Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly - Acts 6:7

But the word of God grew and multiplied. - Acts 12:24

So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.- Acts 19:20

In the early days of Christianity—wherever the gospel was preached, multitudes heard it and embraced it. New converts were added to the church by it. The Word prevailed over lies, sin, bondage, growing like a wheat field, multiplying the harvest.

How many, once in domain of darkness, were transferred to the kingdom of Christ our Savior? None can tell, but after Peter preached once, 3000 souls were added! Quick multiplication says about 90,000 in a month at that rate.

We pray it will happen also in our day

Lord, today in our place and time, we ask may the Word of the Lord spread rapidly across our land, prevailing against lies and deception, and may the number of new believers increase.

Let the Word – the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ go out from coast to coast and every where in between; may it be proclaimed far and wide and right next door. We ask the for the declaration of the Truth of Jesus be spoken and be heard, and may the result be many conversions from darkness to Christ.

We are praying for the increase of Your Word to sweep across our nation - that is a return to the Lord and Your ways, as more and more hear the words “repent and believe the gospel.”

Amen

Scriptures To Pray For the Church

* grant to Your servants that with all boldness [we] may speak Your word…and [we] may all be filled with the Holy Spirit, and [we] speak the word of God with boldness. - Acts 4:29, 31 

* grant [us] to be like-minded toward one another…that [we] may with one mind and one mouth glorify God - Romans 15:5-7

*  fill [us] with all joy and peace in believing, that [we] may abound in hope - Romans 15:13

* [Pray] that words may be given to [us] in the opening of [our] mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which [we are] ambassadors--so that in [proclaiming] it [we] may speak boldly, as [we] ought to speak. - Ephesians 6:19, 20

* Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. - Matthew 9:38

Will you please join us in the praying of these Scriptures?

More on the Book Launch in Thursdays Newsletter. In the meantime would you like to be in our little prayer group?

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Revive Your Work—Habakkuk knew how the Lord had worked in the past and was aware this seemed lately absent. His simple request is for His work to begin again for His people.

In his classic work Faith Beyond Reason, Tozer made this observation: “Perhaps worst of all is the fact that our failures in prayer leave the enemy in possession of the field.

Until next time, grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…

Image by Nicky from Pixabay

The key to persevering prayer is to keep praying.Persistence in petitions pleases the Lord.

I recently shared this on social media, and someone commented that Jesus said not to use vain repetitions, referring to Matthew 6. This is true. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus told His disciples do not babble like pagans who use many words, thinking they will be heard.

So what does Jesus mean by this babbling on, vain repetitions?

Let's explore.

How The UnGodly Pray

Pagans—those who didn’t follow the God of the Bible, prayed long and loud, believing their gods would hear them because of their many words. An example is the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, who called on their gods loudly and repeatedly, but it was no use.

Pagans often use mantras or repeated phrases like Great is Diana of the Ephesians or I am one with the force and the force is with me. This includes spells used by witches or affirmations like I am powerful, confident, and successful. These are examples of babbling with empty phrases.

Jesus speaks against this kind of mechanical and meaningless repetition. He considers such prayers sinful because they deny God's power, knowledge, and goodness. Instead of relying on an unknown power, we should acknowledge the sovereignty of the one true and living God.

Our Lord isn't condemning long prayers

Instead, He is against prayers that are empty, meaningless, and superstitious.

True prayer should be sincere and heartfelt communication with God, not just repeating phrases like magic spells. The power of prayer comes from God, not a certain number or set words.

Jesus tells His disciples to always pray—asking, seeking, and knocking. We see Him doing this often:

* Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. - Mark 1:35

* But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. - Luke 5:16

* After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. - John 17:1

And in the Garden Jesus prayed the same thing three times. (Matthew 26:44).

We also find Old Testament examples

* Abraham intercedes six times with the Lord to save Sodom.

* Daniel prays three times a day—perhaps at nine, noon, and three.

* Elijah sends his servant seven times to look for the rain God promised.

* Nehemiah and the people pray and praise for three hours.

* And David often repeats himself through his Psalms.

In the New, Jesus teaches His disciples about a man persistently asking his neighbor for bread (Luke 11:8) and about a widow who keeps coming to an unjust judge (Luke 18:2-6). He does this to teach us to always pray and not loose heart.

"Now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? - Luke 18:7 LSB

Paul the Apostle also says to pray without ceasing and mentions always praying for others in his letters. Here are just a few places he mentions this:

* I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:4

* I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that...Ephesians 1:15

* In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy...Philippians 1:3

* Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

* With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, 2 Thessalonians 1:11

There are many more times in his letters Paul writes that he is praying always for them.

And In Revelation 4, the four living creatures circle God's throne day and night, crying out, Holy, holy, holy. This shows that persistence is honoring to the Lord and pleasing to Him. When we ask for what He wants for us, we can keep asking til He gives the blessing.

So remember: the key to persevering in prayer is to keep praying. Asking, seeking, knocking, and never stopping.

We need your help!

Our mission—to teach and encourage more people of God to pray more from the Word of God, is limited in its reach. We do not spend much time posting all over other social media, or have a budget for marketing, preferring instead to find new partners organically.

That means new people find us by our newsletter being sent to them by someone they know, or seeing it posted by someone they know. This personal recommendation is slower growth, but usually means they are more likely to subscribe, and most importantly, more likely to pray or pray more.

Will you consider helping encourage others to pray by sending, sharing or posting a newsletter you have found particularly helpful?

Thank You for reading Epaphras Prays. When you subscribe, you join a little prayer group. You are daily in our prayers. And it helps more people learn to pray more.

Until next time, grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…

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This Edition of the PrayerCast prays a transcribed prayer of C.H. Spurgeon in the volume of Pulpit Prayers.

The key points in Spurgeon's prayer include:

* Confession of sin and seeking forgiveness.

* A plea for the conversion of the unconverted.

* A desire for personal sanctification and growth in Christ-likeness.

* A request for God's guidance and blessings over leaders and nations.

* A prayer for the prosperity of the Church and the spread of the Gospel worldwide.

* A longing for the second coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth.

In summary, Spurgeon's prayer is focused on individual and collective spiritual growth, the conversion of souls, and the ultimate hope for Christ's return and the fulfillment of His promises.

Photo Credit to Spurgeon.org