Today, I am delighted to begin this new weekly series, ‘The Preacher and….”. In the coming weeks we will look at a whole series of issues related to the life and work of the preacher and learn from preachers past and present. We begin over the first few weeks with one of the most important -

The Preacher and…….Prayer

The following excerpt comes from ‘The Power of the Pulpit, by Gardiner Spring who ministered at Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, for 63 years from 1810.

“It is by praying, that we learn to pray. No matter how much we have otherwise learned, if we have not sweet and happy intercourse with God in our closets the lesson is forgotten. But there is a halo of glory around the mercy seat, in the midst of which it is impossible long to remain in secret, without reflecting its radiance when we stand in the presence of the ‘great congregation’…….there is not a devout minister in the world but would bear testimony, that there is no preparative for his mind like that which is made in his closet. Nowhere else will his mind become so imbued with the spirit of his errand; or so deeply impressed with a sense of the Divine presence; or so touched with love to Jesus Christ and the souls of men. Whence too, comes that power of the Holy Ghost, which renders the truth powerful, but from the same exhaustless source? No minister has done his utmost to give power to the pulpit, who has not tried the power of prayer. Shame on us that our preaching is so powerless, when God has said, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive!’ Is it so, that we may always go into the pulpit fully furnished for our work, and have the Spirit of our Master with us, simply for the asking, and shall we ever go alone?

“There are no discouragements in our work when we can go to God’s throne. We need be careful for nothing, if ‘with a true heart and full assurance of faith’, we can come near even to his seat and fill our mouth with arguments. We may, indeed, often go with heaviness, but we shall often come away with tranquility and joy. We may go as slaves, but we shall find our chains knocked off there, and have the liberty of children. We may fear and tremble; we may agonise; but we shall prevail. Jacob, as a prince, wrestled with the Angel of the Covenant, and had power with God. O what an illustration of the power of prayer was that! Let me go! let me go! No, no, I will not let thee go; I will not let thee go unless thou bless me! How little do we know of the power of prayer! a power to which even the power of God condescends to be subjected, and which divides with him the government of the world! Others may think as they will; but for ourselves, we cannot reconcile the form of prayer with the power of prayer. Just think of Jacob reading from a prayer-book, when he wrestled with the Angel of the Covenant; or Elijah when he bowed his knees on the mount! It lessens its power just in the measure in which it depends on form. The atmosphere of prayer is not that factitious atmosphere which is evolved by the screws of a printing press. Where the heart feels deeply, and prays effectively, it throws away its forms; it has desires of its own and must express them.”