The Christian and Prayer by Charles Spurgeon

If any of you should ask me for the epitome of the Christian life, I would say that it is in one word-prayer. The habit of private prayer is the surest indicator of the work of the Holy Spirit upon the soul. The more a man loves God and becomes more like Jesus, the more delight he takes in heart communion with God.

All of our libraries and our studies are mere emptiness, compared with our prayer closets. We grow in Christlikeness, in private prayer. Our prayers are the true gauge of our spiritual health. I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, that I may die to self and live wholly to Him.

He who has the key of prayer can open heaven. Yes, he has access to the heart of God. Nothing brings such leanness into a Christian soul as lack of prayer. A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. A Christian's vigor, happiness, growth and usefulness all depend upon prayer.

Prayer is the indispensable mark of the true child of God. I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach. Nine times out of ten, spiritual declension from God begins in the neglect of private prayer. We make more real advance in the divine life in an hour of sincere prayer than we do in a month of sermon hearing.

Prayer with the heart is the heart of prayer.