Prayer By Charles Spurgeon Quotes & Sayings

Revival begins by Christians getting right first and then spills over into the world. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ. — Charles Spurgeon

Make the most of prayer ... Prayer is the master-weapon. We should be wise if we used it more, and did so with a more specific purpose. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer is one of the necessary wheels of the machinery of providence. — Charles Spurgeon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great British pulpiteer, had said in a sermon almost exactly a hundred years before: The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if he be not there, one of the first tokens of his absence will be a slothfulness in prayer.1 — Jim Cymbala

If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. — Charles Spurgeon

If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word - prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell. — Charles Spurgeon

My days of laziness have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous endeavor; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties, and lean experiences, for these will eat up the fat of my comfort and peace. If I neglect prayer for never so short a time, I lose all the spirituality to which I had attained; if I draw no fresh supplies from heaven, the old corn in my granary is soon consumed by the famine that rages in my soul. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul, they flow away, and in their stead streams of sacred delight pour into the heart. — Charles Spurgeon

When joy and prayer are married, their first born child is gratitude. — Charles Spurgeon

In our hours of bodily pain and mental anguish, we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

If in prayer I come before a throne of grace, the faults of my prayer will be overlooked. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarecely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. — Charles Spurgeon

It is always best to get blessings into our house in the legitimate way, by the door of prayer; then they are blessings indeed, and not temptations. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

In His own heart, there were frequently great struggles. And those struggles drove Him to prayer. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

It is a most delightful reflection that if I come to the throne of God in prayer, I may feel a thousand defects, but yet there is hope. I usually feel more dissatisfied with my prayers than with anything else I do. — Charles Spurgeon

Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith; they also give us opportunities to honor God through our steadfast confidence in Him, even when facing the apparent denial of our request. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer is an art which only the Spirit can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. — Charles Spurgeon

The power of prayer can never be overrated. They who cannot serve God by preaching need not regret. If a man can but pray he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has Heaven and earth at his disposal. — Charles Spurgeon

The delightful study of the Psalms has yielded me boundless profit and ever-growing pleasure; common gratitude constrains me to communicate to others a portion of the benefit, with the prayer that it may induce them to search further for themselves. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer can do. — Charles Spurgeon

A church should be a camp of soldiers, not an hospital of invalids. But there is exceedingly much difference between what ought be and what is, and consequently many of God's people are in so sad a state that the very fittest prayer for them is for revival. — Charles Spurgeon

He was very short in prayer when others were present, but every sentence was like a strong bolt shot up to heaven. I have heard him say that he wearied when others were long in prayer; but, being alone, he spent much time in wrestling and prayer. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayer is doubts destroyer, ruin's remedy, the antidote to all anxieties. — Charles Spurgeon

True prayer is measured by weight, not by length — Charles Spurgeon

Have we this day grace enough to make trenches into which the divine blessing may flow? Alas! we too often fail in the exhibition of true and practical faith. Let us this day be on the outlook for answers to prayer. As the child who went to a meeting to pray for rain took an umbrella with her, so let us truly and practically expect the Lord to bless us. Let us make the valley full of ditches and expect to see them all filled. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Our silence might be better than our voices if our solitude was spent with God. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

It would be very difficult to draw a line between holy wonder and real worship; for when the soul is overwhelmed with the majesty of God's glory, though it may not express itself in song, or even utter its voice with bowed head in humble prayer, yet it silently adores. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The answer to the prayer is certain, if it be sincerely offered through Jesus. The Lord's character assures us that He will not leave His people; His relationship as Father and Husband guarantee us His aid; His gift of Jesus is a pledge of every good thing; and His sure promise stands, Fear not, I WILL HELP THEE. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

For a successful season of prayer, the best beginning is confession. — Charles Spurgeon

Reading has a kernel to it, and the mere shed is little worth. In prayer there is such a thing as praying in prayer - a praying that is in the bowels of the prayer. So in praise there is a praising in song, an inward fire of intense devotion which is the life of the hallelujah. It is so in fasting: there is a fasting which is not fasting, and there is an inward fasting, a fasting of the soul, which is the soul of fasting. It is even so with the reading of the Scriptures. There is an interior reading, a kernel reading - a true and living reading of the Word. This is the soul of reading; and, if it be not there, the reading is a mechanical exercise, and profits nothing. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

It is well said that neglected prayer is the birth-place of all evil. — Charles Spurgeon

A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in thy Father's love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Methinks every true Christian should be exceedingly earnest in prayer concerning the souls of the ungodly; and when they are so, how abundantly God blesses them and how the church prospers! — Charles Spurgeon

Do not close a single sermon without addressing the ungodly, but at the same time set yourself seasons for a determined and continuous assault upon them, and proceed with all your soul to the conflict. On such occasions aim distinctly at immediate conversions; labor to remove prejudices, to resolve doubts, to conquer objections, and to drive the sinner out of his hiding-places at once. Summon the church members to special prayer, beseech them to speak personally both with the concerned and the unconcerned, and be yourself doubly upon the watch to address individuals. We have found that our February meetings at the Tabernacle have yielded remarkable results: the whole month being dedicated to special effort. Winter is usually the preacher's harvest, because the people can come together better in the long evenings, and are debarred from out-of-door exercises and amusements. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray, the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. When our hearts are broken and we bow in prayer, we are often only able to employ the language of sighs and tears; still our groaning has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music. That tear has been caught by God and treasured in the receptacle of heaven. "Put my tears in your bottle"1 implies that they are caught as they flow. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A prayerless church member is a hindrance. He is in the body like a rotting bone or a decayed tooth. Before long, since he does not contribute to the benefit of his brethren, he will become a danger and a sorrow to them. Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church. — Charles Spurgeon

I trust there are none here present, who profess to be followers of Christ who do not also practice prayer in their families. We may have no positive commandment for it, but we believe that it is so much in accord with the genius and spirit of the gospel, and that it is so commended by the example of the saints, that the neglect thereof is a strange inconsistency. — Charles Spurgeon

We may not make sure that the Lord will at once remove all disease from those we love, but we may know that believing prayer for the sick is far more likely to be followed by restoration than anything else in the world; and where this avails not, we must meekly bow to His will by whom life and death are determined. The tender heart of Jesus waits to hear our griefs, let us pour them into His patient ear. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God. — Charles Spurgeon

Mighty prayer has often been produced by mighty trial. — Charles Spurgeon

Watch constantly against those things which are thought to be no temptations. The most poisonous serpents are found where the sweetest flowers grow. Cleopatra was poisoned by an asp that was brought to her in a basket of fair flowers. Sharp-edged tools, long handled, wound at last. — Charles Spurgeon

Will you not this day make it your prayer? Lord, help me to glorify Thee; I am poor, help me to glorify Thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give Thee honour by patience; I have talents, help me to extol Thee by spending them for Thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve Thee; I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but Thine, and glow with no flame but affection for Thee; I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of Thee and for Thee; Thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer. — Charles Spurgeon

This is frequently the position of believers now - they are called to perils and temptations altogether untried: at such seasons let them imitate Jacob's example by offering sacrifices of prayer unto God, and seeking His direction; let them not take a step until they have waited upon the Lord for His blessing: then they will have Jacob's companion to be their friend and helper. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to unravel. — Charles Spurgeon

A true prayer is an inventory of needs, a catalog of necessities, an exposure of secret wounds, a revelation of hidden poverty. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayer sweeps the battlefield, slays the enemy, and buries the bones. — Charles Spurgeon

The minister is not always in the act of prayer, but he is always in the spirit of it. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Our prayers are the shadows of mercy. — Charles Spurgeon

We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. — Charles Spurgeon

When you cannot use your sword you may take to the weapon of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bow-string may be relaxed, but the weapon of all-prayer need never be out of order. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

This is a large petition. To intercede for a whole city needs a stretch of faith, and there are times when a prayer for one man is enough to stagger us. But how far-reaching was the psalmist's dying intercession! How comprehensive! How sublime! "Let the whole earth be filled with his glory." It doth not exempt a single country however crushed by the foot of superstition; it doth not exclude a single nation however barbarous. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is. — Charles Spurgeon

There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire off their guns anywhere. Possibly somebody would be killed, but the majority of the enemy would be missed. — Charles Spurgeon

The Christian should work as if all depended upon him, and pray as if it all depended upon God. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

What manner of men should ministers be? They should thunder in preaching, and lighten in conversation; they should be flaming in prayer, shining in life, and burning in spirit. — Charles Spurgeon

All our perils are nothing, so long as we have prayer. — Charles Spurgeon

Nine times out of ten, declension from God begins in the neglect of private prayer. — Charles Spurgeon

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. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience, that we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you. If you do not expect, you will not have. God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you; but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith. — Charles Spurgeon

As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayerless souls are Christless souls, Christless souls are Graceless souls and Graceless souls shall soon be damned souls. See your peril, you that neglect altogether the blessed privilege of prayer! You are in the bonds of iniquity, you are in the gall of bitterness. God deliver you, for Hisname's sake! — Charles Spurgeon

Our prayer which moves the arm of God - is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

There should be a parallel between our supplications and our thanksgivings. We ought not to leap in prayer, and limp in praise. — Charles Spurgeon

Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I always give all the glory to God, but I do not forget that He gave me the privilege of ministering from the first to a praying people. We had prayer meetings that moved our very souls, each one appeared determined to storm the Celestial City by the might of intercession. — Charles Spurgeon

If I can bring Him nothing but my tears, He will put them with His own tears in His own bottle for He once wept; if I can bring Christ nothing but my groans and sighs, He will accept these as an acceptable sacrifice, for He once was broken in heart, and sighed heavily in spirit. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Pray that this year you may be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter more often into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that you may be an example and a blessing to others, and that you may live more to the glory of your Master. The motto for this year must be, Continue ... in prayer. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Prayer is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honor of a Christian. — Charles Spurgeon

If we cannot prevail with men for God, we will at least endeavor to prevail with God for men. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Private prayer is the drill ground for our more public exercises, neither can we long neglect it without being out of order when before the people. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

So the preacher of the gospel asks your prayers: and it is a part of the duties arising out of the relationship between Christian men that those who are taught should pray for those who teach God's Word. — Charles Spurgeon