We have all likely heard of the public ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. However, his private ministry in his home may be even more compelling as he gives a profound example of what it means to pastor your first church body—your family.

Spurgeon says:

“If we want to bring up a godly family, who shall be a seed to serve God when our heads are under the clods of the valley, let us seek to train them up in the fear of God by meeting together as a family for worship.”

Susannah, his wife, describes the nightly scene at their house:

“After the meal was over, an adjournment was made to the study for family worship, and it was at these seasons that my beloved’s prayers were remarkable for their tender childlikeness, their spiritual pathos and their intense devotion. He seemed to come as near to God as a little child to a loving father, and we were often moved to tears as he talked thus face to face with his Lord.”

A visitor tells of his evening in the Spurgeon home:

One of the most helpful hours of my visits to Westwood was the hour of family prayer. At six o’clock all the household gathered into the study for worship. Usually Mr. Spurgeon would himself lead the devotions. The portion read was invariably accompanied with exposition. How amazingly helpful those homely and gracious comments were. I remember, especially, his reading of the twenty-fourth of Luke: “Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” How sweetly he talked upon having Jesus with us wherever we go. Not only to have Him draw near at special seasons but to go with us whatever labour we undertake...

...Then, how full of tender pleading, of serene confidence in God, of world-embracing sympathy were his prayers... His public prayers were an inspiration and benediction, but his prayers with the family were to me more wonderful still... Mr. Spurgeon, when bowed before God in family prayer, appeared a grander man even than when holding thousands spellbound by his oratory.

Spurgeon, despite a schedule that would crush most and physical ailments that would cause the rest us to tap out, maintained this time with family regardless of his circumstances or company. It was his great joy to do so. May it be the same with us.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home by Donald S. Whitney
• C.H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography by C.H. Spurgeon, Susannah Spurgeon, and J. W. Harrald.
• Spurgeon: A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore

For a great resource to help you lead your family in worship, check out the Rizers—fun, original music that helps kids memorize Scripture. Listen to the Rizers here.

The Rizers

A band that sings Scripture verses in the form of upbeat, kid-friendly music. Check out The Rizers.

The Church We Want

When pastors and church leaders read Acts 2:42-46, they get nostalgic for something they never had. Who can read these words and not wish that their church looked like this?

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Not Just To Be Imitated

But the question that we often incorrectly ask after reading this is, “Why do these early Christians have this quality of church?” We see this quality as merely something to be imitated, but miss the roots of their devotion. We tend to see the first church as prescriptive, but it is actually descriptive of something deeper.

The mistake we make is thinking we can recreate this quality of church by pursuing the things they did. We think, “If we just gave ourselves to the apostle’s teaching, if we ate together, if we sold our possessions and shared, then the kingdom would break in again to our churches.”

A Church That Is Aware

But this is moralistic at best. The real power behind the quality of the early church was the awareness that they had killed Jesus only a few months before. They realized that they had crucified the Son of God and were granted mercy. Their love and devotion flowed from their stark denial of Jesus and his subsequent forgiveness of them.

2 Peter 1:9 says, “If any man lacks these qualities, he is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from past sins.” We lack qualities of love and learning because we first forget that we are sinners for whom Christ died. But when we remember and live off of our justification, we will find ourselves learning from the apostles, fellowshiping with believers, and even being generous with our possessions.

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Sometimes prayer is used as a last resort, as a spare wheel, but it’s meant to be the steering wheel. God’s Word is ours to be wielded in prayer. How do we live a life of prayer, seeking God earnestly, patiently, and faithfully? In this series, Joel Virgo reflects on Nehemiah and the utmost importance of prayer.

Posts in this series:

1. Prevailing Prayer
2. Prayer Is the Priority
3. Prayer Is Rigorous
4. Pray With Knowledge
5. Pray With Perspective
6. Aggressive and Progressive Faith

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Matthew 10:27—"What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops."

We must not run till we are prepared. This verse describes, and by implication promises, the needful preparation of heart. Our Lord will speak in our ear: he will commune with us in solitude.

Prepare to proclaim Jesus' message

What Jesus has told us alone in the dark we are to tell out openly in the light.

Courting publicity, we are to preach "on the housetops."

What is this message which we have heard whispered?

We bear our willing witness that:

1. There is peace in the blood of Jesus.
2. There is sanctifying power in his Holy Spirit.
3. There is rest in faith in our Lord and God.
4. There is safety in conformity to our great Exemplar.
5. There is joy in nearness to Jesus our Lord.

As we hear more we will tell more.

Oh, that men would receive our earnest testimony!

Will not you receive it, who hear us at this present hour?

Adapted from Charles Spurgeon's sermon notes.

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Matthew 10:27—"What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops."

We must not run till we are prepared. This verse describes, and by implication promises, the needful preparation of heart. Our Lord will speak in our ear: he will commune with us in solitude.

Prepare by spending time with Jesus

We do not rightly perceive what we have to make known till Jesus personally imparts his holy teaching to our inmost hearts.

We see by reason of personal contact with our Lord:

1. Truth in its personality; living, acting, feeling; for he is "the way, the truth, and the life." Truth is no theory or phantom in Christ. Substantial truth is spoken by him.
2. Truth in its purity is found in him, in his written teaching, and in that which he speaks to the heart. Truth from man is mixed and adulterated; from Jesus it is unalloyed.
3. Truth in its proportions; he teaches all truth, in its true relations. Christ is no caricaturist, partisan, or politician.
4. Truth in its power. It comes strikingly, persuasively, convincingly, omnipotently from him. It quickens, and sustains.
5. Truth in its spirit. His words are spirit, life, love.
6. Truth in its certainty. "Truly truly," is his motto.
7. Truth in its joyfulness. He speaks delight unto the soul. The truth in Jesus is glad tidings.

See the advantage of studying in Christ's College.

Adapted from Charles Spurgeon's sermon notes.

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Matthew 10:27—"What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops."

Usefulness is the great desire of our souls if we are disciples of Jesus. We believe that it will most surely be attained by our making known the gospel. We have full faith in "the foolishness of preaching."

We feel that we have need to receive that gospel personally from the Lord himself, or we shall not know it so as to use it correctly.

We must not run till we are prepared. This verse describes, and by implication promises, the needful preparation of heart. Our Lord will speak in our ear: he will commune with us in solitude.

Time alone with God is an honor

The disciple is associated very nearly with his Lord, and received into closest fellowship with him.

We see before us three important matters:

1. We are permitted to realize our Lord's presence with us personally.

He is still on speaking terms with us: still is he our Companion in the night, our Friend in solitude.

2. We are enabled to feel his word as spoken to us.

Immediately: "I tell you." Personal contact.
Forcefully: "in the ear." Not as thundered from Sinai, but as whispered by "a still, small voice." Still, very effectually.

3. We are privileged to receive such communications again and again: "I tell you . . . you hear."
• We need precept upon precept, line upon line.
• Our Lord is willing to manifest himself to his own day by day.
• We shall be wise to make occasions for hearing his voice in solitude, meditation, prayer, communion, etc.
• We shall do well to use occasions of the Lord's own making, such as the Sabbath, sickness, the night-watches, etc.
• We need for a thousand reasons this private tuition, this personal communication with our Commander-in-chief.

Adapted from Charles Spurgeon's sermon notes.

Many people ask me, "What do 'family devotions' look like at your house?" or, "How do you pastor your family?" or even more simply, "Do you pray or read the Bible with your wife and children?" Here is one attempt to answer those questions.

1. Routine

Our family works best with a routine. My wife and I, and our children, have a reasonably regular weekly schedule. Our "family devotions" fit into the larger rhythm and routines of our household (e.g. dinner, bedtime, etc.). Additionally, it is important to note that there are explicit and implicit aspects to our daily spiritual devotion. The bulk of the explicit aspects happen at night between when I get home from work and when I go to bed.

2. Intentional Evenings

I get home from work between 5:30PM and 5:45PM each night. But I have to prepare myself before 5:30PM so that I can hit the ground running when I walk in the door. Though I am invariably tired from my day's work, I have to remind myself that the most important part of my vocation happens after 5:30PM, not before. I am tempted to mentally "clock out" on my drive home, which would be easy. Yet I have to consciously prepare myself to give more energy, more attention, and more dedicated focus as soon as I walk through the door and am greeted by my 5 year old son, 3 year old daughter, newborn son, and wife than I have all day. This takes prayer, practice, and intentionality. It's easy to fail.

Husbands/dads, don't clock-out on your way home...

(Click here to keep reading)

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Darrin Patrick is the Vice President of Acts 29 and lead pastor of The Journey. His Re:Lit book, coming in August, is called Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission.

You were made to preach.

But before that, before preparation and delivery, you were made to relate to God.

You don't have to be a monkish mystic and you don't have to be a stodgy scholar. You can be one who experiences God in his heart and loves God with his mind.

Make Your Soul Happy in the Lord

I have always struggled with prayer as a Christian. I was sharing my frustration one day with my seminary professor and spiritual disciplines guru Don Whitney. Dr. Whitney shared with me a quote for George Müller, a godly giant of the faith who also struggled with prayer. This is from an entry in George Müller's diary, dated May 7, 1841.

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord . . . not how much I might serve the Lord, . . . but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers . . . and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit. Before this time my practice had been . . . to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.

Whitney pointed out that Müller excelled in prayer only after he meditated on Scripture, that “getting his soul happy” was accomplished through meditation, which enabled communion with God through prayer. I became utterly convinced of this method and have sought to practice it ever since.

What Does It Mean to Meditate on Scripture?

The Greek word for meditate means “to attend.” To meditate is to read with attention to what the verse is saying and then seeking to understand the verse its context. The Hebrew words for meditate are hagah, which means to ponder or imagine (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2), and siyach, which means to converse with oneself, to pray (Psalm 119:15).

So meditation is when we pay attention to God’s Word, understanding it in relation to its context. It involves pondering God’s Word, asking questions about the application of its truth, speaking that truth to oneself, and using God’s Word in prayer to God himself. Below is a sample meditation following these guidelines.

Sample meditation

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

• What does it mean that God is my Lord? What is he Lord of?
• What does he want to shepherd me through right now?
• What is my want?
• God, in what ways are you providing for me that I am not even aware of?

“It is in meditation that the heart holds and appropriates the Word. . . . The intellect gathers and prepares the food upon which we are to feed. In meditation the heart takes it in and feeds on it” (Andrew Murray).

Meditation is not just praying, nor is it merely reading Scripture. Meditation is prayerfully reading Scripture, taking God’s Word and turning it into a prayer to God.

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Arguing and Inquiring are OK

One of the things we notice in the Bible, perhaps to our surprise, is that God doesn’t mind us arguing with him. In fact, he seems to welcome it if we do it humbly and on the basis of his revelation. God’s Word is ours to be wielded in prayer. This should be a further incentive to read, memorise, meditate upon, and study Scripture. Ransack the Bible for promises and take them to him in prayer. He invites us to do so.

Besides this, there may be things that God has spoken prophetically about your life, the church, your family, and the city. Such things are not simply to occupy journals from yesteryear. Don’t treat them like museum spectacles behind glass. Seek God with them. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” God does not reward passive fatalism, but aggressive faith. If this seems an overstatement, you need to read the Gospels again. Not to mention the prayers of Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and the apostles in Acts.

Strategic Petition

Nehemiah does not waste time being ‘spiritual.’ He expects things to get done. We need to be persuaded of this principle since there is no end of nonsense talked, and written, by people who seem to see prayer as an exercise in piety. This can especially be so when prayer is discussed in a purely devotional context.

“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man” (Neh. 1:11).

There is a scatter-gun approach to praying which betrays a lack of any expectation. We talk but we give the impression that God is probably not listening and definitely not very interested. Such praying is close to what Jesus describes in Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” It’s clear that certain praying gets nowhere near the ears of God since it is a mere religious exercise and is offered up to no one in particular.

Faith Grows With Exercise

Besides mere piety, the other thing Nehemiah avoids in his prayer found in Nehemiah 1 is vain unreality. It seems that true faith grows as it is exercised, like a muscle. We learn to ask for things from God as we learn his ways and get to know him. This is described in John 15, but also illustrated in Genesis 18 when Abraham’s prayers for Sodom and Gomorrah become progressively bolder. Additionally, P. T. Forsyth says, “Lose the importunity of prayer . . . lose the real conflict of will and will, lose the habit of wrestling and the hope of prevailing with God, make it mere walking with God in friendly talk; and precious as that is, yet you tend to lose the reality of prayer at last.”

Modest Prayers

Some will be dissatisfied with modest praying that is based on genuine faith and instead offer grand requests based on phony ‘faith.’ God calls us to consistent partnership with himself, so it is more likely that we will be called upon to pray for incremental, but consistent, growth in kingdom advance rather than the entire salvation of the city by this afternoon. The striking thing here is that Nehemiah does offer up prayer for 5 months, but the only request we know he makes is this one: “Lord give me favour with the King.” Nehemiah, where’s your faith!? Ask God for more! But Nehemiah is wiser. He knows he has a life calling. He is going to have to pray every victory in at a time. Each one is still a miracle.

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“And I said, ‘O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments…’” (Nehemiah 1:5).

Get Your Eyes Off Yourself

Some teaching on prayer suggests that we begin by confession of our sins to get it all out of the way. It is striking that Jesus’ teaching on prayer does the reverse: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matt. 6:9). He gets to confession of sin pretty late in the prayer. He would be frowned upon by some, but Jesus is right (oddly).

Jesus knows our frame. He knows we generally don’t need to see our sin as the first item on the agenda at every meeting with God. Better in fact to get our eyes altogether off of ourselves. That way we gain perspective and hope. D. Kidner says, “There is more than [flowery language] in this… opening. It deliberately postpones the cry for help, which could otherwise be faithless and self-pitying. It mounts immediately to heaven, where the perspective will be right, and it reflects on the character of God—not only for its loyalty and love, but first of all for the majesty which puts man, whether friend or foe, in his place.”

The great prayers of Scripture resound with this heavenly perspective. I love the way Peter and John (with their backs bleeding and the threat of execution over their heads) pray with the others, saying “Sovereign God… Now Lord…” (Acts 4). Start with God and his mission. Look to him. That way you get know him better too, and “the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action” (Dan. 11:32). Practically this means we shouldn’t complain too much if prayer meetings are occasionally overrun with worship! It also means that, like Nehemiah, we should plead our relationship.

Pray According To Scripture

Nehemiah prays, “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there’” (Neh. 1:8-9). Nehemiah knows his God and knows the story his God is telling. He knows the way it should be going and the plan God has in getting it there. He knows about Israel’s heritage, Israel’s astounding calling, and Zion’s destiny as God’s great city—and this makes him persistent.

To be continued.

Rain City Hymnal

The first offering from Re:Sound is the Rain City Hymnal. Listen online and get the record from the Re:Sound website. Find out more.