Morning  July 15, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.” — Leviticus 6:13

Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the actual life of all devotion. The church and family prayer altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer of vital and experiential religion.

Burn here the fat of your sacrifices. Let your prayer closet seasons be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Effectual prayer avails much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the Church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relations, your neighbors, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with lukewarmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do our feet drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decay. Let us go with weeping, and ask for the Spirit of grace and of fervent requests. Let us set apart special seasons for extra prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world.

 

The text will also apply to the altar of the heart. This is a golden altar indeed. God loves to see the hearts of his people glowing towards himself. Let us give to God our hearts, all blazing with love, and seek his grace, that the fire may never be quenched; for it will not burn if the Lord does not keep it burning. Many foes will attempt to extinguish it; but if the unseen hand behind the wall pours the anointing oil upon it, it will blaze higher and higher. Let us use texts of Scripture as fuel for our heart’s fire, they are live coals; let us attend church, but above all, let us be often alone with Jesus.