Spurgeon's Daily Reading for Yesterday

Do any of you read Spurgeon's Morning and Evening? (It's online too.) No matter how many times I read it, I never tire of the wonderful warm and encouraging word this man of God has for my soul. Surely, he is one who, 'being dead, yet speaketh'.


Yesterday (Jan 11th), he was speaking on, "I have prayed for thee" - Jesus' words to the beloved disciple, Peter. How glad I am that Peter was a disciple. How thankful I am that God's Word didn't give us an account of perfect men who never put a food, or word, wrong. And how merciful God was to Peter, in his sin, his pride, his fall. Merciful. And kind. And tender.


Oh the tenderness of our Saviour!


Here is what Spurgeon had to say yesterday:

How encouraging is the thought of the Redeemer's never-ceasing intercession for us. When we pray, He pleads for us; and when we are not praying, He is advocating our cause, and by His supplications shielding us from unseen dangers. Notice the word of comfort addressed to Peter - "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat; but"... but what? ... "But go and pray for yourself" - that would have been good advice but it is not so written. Neither does he say, "But I will keep you watchful, and so you shall be preserved." That were a great blessing. No, it is, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we reach the hill-tops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise Him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mishcief which Satan was doing upon earth. How shall we thank Him because He never held His peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon His hands, and carried our names upon His breastplate! Even before Satan had begun to tempt, Jesus had forestalled him and entered a plea in heaven. Mercy outruns malice. Mark, He does not say, 'Satan has sifted you, and therefore I will pray', but 'Satan hath desired to have you.' He checks Satan even in his very desire, and nips it in the bud. He does not say, "But I have desired to pray for you." No, but "I have prayed for you: I have done it already; I have gone to court and entered a counterplea even before an accusation is made." O Jesus, what a comfort it is that thou hast pleaded our cause against our unseen enemies; countermined their mines, and unmasked their ambushes. Here is a matter for joy, gratitude, hope and confidence.

As Spurgeon says here, how little we know of what we are kept from because of the prayers of our Saviour, our eternal intercessor. 

"Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (Ps 110; Hebrews 5:6)

The last (added, I believe) verse of the hymn Amazing Grace says,

When we've been there ten thousand years,

bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

than when we first begun.

Praise God this is so! For we will never run out of reasons for which to praise our Saviour.