Spurgeon - A Man of Prayer

For the past several weeks, Tim Challies http://challies.com/ has been asking readers of his blog to read along together the book "Spurgeon - A New Biography" by Arnold Dallimore. I wanted to comment about a passage in Chapter 17 entitled "Personal Characteristics." The passage has to do with Spurgeon as a man of prayer. On page 178, there is provided the recollection of a Doctor Wayland Hoyt:

"I was walking with him [Spurgeon] in the woods one day just outside London and as we strolled under the shadow of the summer foliage, we came upon a log lying athwart the path. "Come," he said, as naturally as one would say it if he were hungry and bread was put before him. "Come, let us pray." Kneeling beside the log he lifted his soul to God in the most loving and yet reverent prayer.

Then, rising from his knees he went strolling on, talking about this and that. The prayer was no parenthesis interjected. It was something that belonged as much to the habit of his mind as breathing did to the habit of his body."

In another instance, while enjoying some humorous moments with a friend, Spurgeon said to his friend, Dr. Theodore Cuyler, "Come, Theodore, let us thank God for laughter."

Spurgeon is known as the prince of preachers, and rightly so. However, as I read through this biography, I am impressed that to his contemporaries, Spurgeon was a great preacher but an even greater man of prayer. I was moved by the examples of Spurgeon's prayer. The smallest event could be a catalyst for him (pardon the idiom) to stop, drop and pray.

The book has been a great read and I highly recommend it.