Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
February 19
Morning
"Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by
the house of Israel, to do it for them."—Ezekiel 36:37.
Prayer is the
forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarcely
ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. You have
found this true in your own personal experience. God has given you many an
unsolicited favour, but still great prayer has always
been the prelude of great mercy with you. When you first found peace through
the blood of the cross, you had been praying much, and earnestly interceding
with God that He would remove your doubts, and deliver you from your
distresses. Your assurance was the result of prayer. When at any time you have
had high and rapturous joys, you have been obliged to look upon them as answers
to your prayers. When you have had great deliverances out of sore troubles, and
mighty helps in great dangers, you have been able to say, "I sought the
Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Prayer is
always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessing as the
blessing's shadow. When the sunlight of God's mercies rises upon our
necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. Or, to use
another illustration, when God piles up a hill of mercies, He Himself shines
behind them, and He casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer, so that we may
rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy.
Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it.
If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common
things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we
ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have
sought for them earnestly.
"Prayer
makes the darken'd cloud withdraw;
Prayer climbs
the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives
exercise to faith and love;
Brings every
blessing from above."
Evening
"He
first findeth his own brother Simon."—John 1:41.
This case is an excellent
pattern of all cases where spiritual life is vigorous. As soon as a man has
found Christ, he begins to find others. I will not believe that thou hast
tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou canst eat it all thyself. True grace
puts an end to all spiritual monopoly. Andrew first found his own
brother Simon, and then others. Relationship has a very strong demand upon
our first individual efforts. Andrew, thou didst well to begin with Simon.
I doubt whether there are not some Christians giving away tracts at other
people's houses who would do well to give away a tract at their
own—whether there are not some engaged in works of usefulness abroad who
are neglecting their special sphere of usefulness at home. Thou mayst or thou mayst not be called
to evangelize the people in any particular locality, but certainly thou art
called to see after thine own servants, thine own kinsfolk and acquaintance. Let thy religion begin
at home. Many tradesmen export their best commodities—the Christian
should not. He should have all his conversation everywhere of the best savour; but let him have a care to put forth the sweetest
fruit of spiritual life and testimony in his own family. When Andrew went to
find his brother, he little imagined how eminent Simon would become. Simon
Peter was worth ten Andrews so far as we can gather from sacred history,
and yet Andrew was instrumental in bringing him to Jesus. You may be very
deficient in talent yourself, and yet you may be the means of drawing to Christ
one who shall become eminent in grace and service. Ah! dear
friend, you little know the possibilities which are in you. You may but speak a
word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian church in years to
come. Andrew has only two talents, but he finds Peter. Go thou and do likewise.