C. H. Spurgeon was, by God's grace, better than we realize. I am of the opinion that his life of great suffering was a key to his spirituality, being constantly reminded by God of his insufficiency and dependency, and the necessity to pray for blessings and success. And did he pray!
Several decades ago, I set the personal goal of reading all of Spurgeon's sermons available in print, with #700 easily being my favorite. The outline below is Spurgeon's sermon that I reduced to an outline, the skeleton left behind after removing every word in the manuscript to produce what remains. The only changes are the result of Grammarly's insistence on updating two or three words.
His sermon, and perhaps this outline, will change the way you pray.
Enjoy.
JSW
ORDER AND ARGUMENT
IN PRAYER #700
by C. H. SPURGEON
“Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” — Job 23:3, 4
1A. First, IT IS NEEDFUL THAT OUR
SUIT BE ORDERED BEFORE GOD
1B. Gaining From Observation
It is well to approach the seat of the King of kings as much as possible with premeditation and preparation. Our spiritual sacrifices should be offered with holy carefulness. God forbid that our prayer should be a mere leaping out of one’s bed and kneeling down, and saying anything that comes first to hand; on the contrary, may we wait upon the Lord with holy fear and sacred awe. Abraham may serve us as a pattern;
#1 he rose up early — here was his willingness;
#2 he went three days' journey — here was his zeal;
#3 he left his servants at the foot of the hill — here was his privacy;
#4 he carried the wood and the fire with him — here was his preparation;
#5 and lastly, he built the altar and laid the wood in order, and then took the knife — here was the devout carefulness of his worship.
2B. Second, Getting Into Order
I am not about to give you a scheme such as many have drawn out, in which adoration, confession, petition, intercession, and ascription are arranged in succession. I am not persuaded that any such order is of divine authority. It is to no mere mechanical order I have been referring, for our prayers will be equally acceptable, and possibly equally proper, in any form; for there are specimens of prayers, in all shapes, in the Old and New Testament.
1C. The true spiritual order of prayer seems to me to consist in something more than mere arrangement. First, feel that we are now doing something that is real.
2C. We shall be humble yet bold petitioners, humbly importuning mercy through the Savior’s blood. We shall not have the reserve of a slave but the loving reverence of a child, yet not an impudent, impertinent child, but a teachable, obedient child, honoring his Father, and therefore asking earnestly, but with deferential submission to his Father’s will.
3C. When I feel that I am in the presence of God, and take my rightful position in that presence, the next thing I shall want to recognize will be that I have no right to what I am seeking, and cannot expect to obtain it except as a gift of grace, and I must recollect that God limits the channel through which he will give me mercy — he will give it to me through his dear Son. Let me put myself then under the patronage of the great Redeemer. Let me feel that now it is no longer I that speak but Christ that speaketh with me, and that while I plead, I plead his wounds, his life, his death, his blood, himself. This is truly getting into order.
3B. The Next Thing Is To Consider What I Am To Ask For?
1C. It is most proper in prayer to aim at great distinctness of supplication. There is much reason to complain of some public prayers, that those who offer them do not really ask God for anything. It is well not to beat round the bush in prayer, but to come directly to the point.
2C. I like that prayer of Abraham’s, “Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!” Say “Ishmael,” if you mean “Ishmael”; put it in plain words before the Lord.
3C. Why not be distinct, and say what we mean as well as mean what we say? Ask for what you now need, and, as a rule, keep to present need; ask for your daily bread — what you want now — ask for that. Ask for it plainly, as before God, who does not regard your fine expressions, and to whom your eloquence and oratory will be less than nothing and vanity. Thou art before the Lord; let thy words be few, but let thy heart be fervent.
4B. You Have Not Quite Completed The Ordering When You Have Asked For What You Want Through Jesus Christ.
1C. There should be a looking round the blessing which you desire, to see whether it is assuredly a fitting thing to ask; for some prayers would never be offered if men did but think. A little reflection would show to us that some things which we desire were better left alone.
2C. There must be mingled with acceptable prayer the holy salt of submission to the divine will.
3C. Put these three things together,
#1 the deep spirituality which recognizes prayer as being real conversation with God -
#2 much distinctness which is the reality of prayer, asking for what we know we want -
#3 and withal much fervency, believing the thing to be necessary, and therefore resolving to obtain it if it can be had by prayer,
and above all these complete submission, leaving it still with the Master’s will;
4C. Still prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer — pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because thou canst not pray, for it is when thou thinkest thou canst not pray that thou art most praying; and sometimes when thou hast no sort of comfort in thy supplications, it is then that thy heart all broken and cast down is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High.
2A. The second part of prayer is
FILLING THE MOUTH WITH
ARGUMENTS
1B. Why Are Arguments To Be Used At All?
1C. This is the first enquiry; the reply being,
Certainly not because God is slow to give, not because we can change the divine purpose, not because God needs to be informed of any circumstance with regard to ourselves or of anything in connection with the mercy asked: the arguments to be used are for our own benefit, not his.
2C. He requires for us to plead with him because this will show that we feel the value of the mercy. The successful argument is always founded upon grace. Besides, the use of arguments is intended to stir up our fervency.
3C. The very act of prayer is a blessing.
1D. To pray is as it were to bathe oneself in a cool purling stream.
2D. To pray is to mount on eagle’s wings above the clouds and get to where God dwelleth.
3D. To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God.
4D. To pray is to grasp heaven in one’s arms, to embrace the Deity within one’s soul.
5D. To pray, my brethren, is to cast off your burdens; it is to reach the highest point of Christian health.
2B. A Catalog Of A Few Of The Arguments Which Have Been Used With Great Success With God.
1C. #1, It is well in prayer to plead with Jehovah his attributes.
2C. #2, A mighty piece of ordinance in the battle of prayer is God’s promise.
3C. #3, An argument to be used is that employed by Moses: the great name of God.
4C. #4, So also may we plead the sorrows of his people.
5C. #5, Brethren, it is good to plead with God the past.
6C. #6, We may even use our own unworthiness as an argument with God.
7C. #7, There was once an occasion when the very Godhead of Jehovah made a triumphant plea for the prophet Elijah.
8C. #8, The grand Christian argument is the sufferings, the death, the merit, the intercession of Christ Jesus.
CONCLUSION:
If the Holy Ghost shall teach us how to order our cause, and how to fill our mouth with arguments, the result shall be that WE SHALL HAVE OUR MOUTH FILLED WITH PRAISES.
