Prayer, Zeal in – Charles Spurgeon

THE Christian zealot may be recognized very manifestly by his prayers. Hear his utterance in the prayer-meeting. It is no repetition of a set of sacred phrases, no going over the metaphors which have become time-worn and tedious, but he prays like a man who means it. He comes up to Heaven’s gate, grasps the knocker, and knocks, and knocks, and knocks again, waiting until the door is opened. He gets hold of the gates of Heaven, and labors to shake them to and fro as though he would pull them up, bolts and bars and all, as Samson did the gates of Gaza, rather than not prevail with God. These men, like Elijah, have power to shut up Heaven or to open the gates thereof. O that we had more of such in our own midst! We have a few who, as soon as they stand up to pray, fire our hearts by their earnestness; may they be multiplied. The like is true, of course, of the private prayers of the Christian as well as of his public ones. Oh, brothers and sisters, we want more resolve when we go before God that we will have the blessing, more determination that seeing we are asking what is according to his mind we will take no denial, but will say to the angel, “I will not let you go except you bless me.”