Evening, March 29
Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
Song of Solomon 5:6
"I called him, but he gave me no answer."
Song of Solomon 5:6
Prayer sometimes tarrieth, like a petitioner at the gate, until the
King cometh forth to fill her bosom with the blessings which she
seeketh. The Lord, when he hath given great faith, has been known to
try it by long delayings. He has suffered his servants' voices to echo
in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden
gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it were rusted upon its
hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, "Thou hast covered thyself with
a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." Thus have true
saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because
their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but
because it so pleased him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according
to his own pleasure. If it pleases him to bid our patience exercise
itself, shall he not do as he wills with his own! Beggars must not be
choosers either as to time, place, or form. But we must be careful not
to take delays in prayer for denials: God's long-dated bills will be
punctually honoured; we must not suffer Satan to shake our confidence
in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers. Unanswered
petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers--they are
not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in the King's archives.
This is a registry in the court of heaven wherein every prayer is
recorded. Tried believer, thy Lord hath a tear-bottle in which the
costly drops of sacred grief are put away, and a book in which thy holy
groanings are numbered. By and by, thy suit shall prevail. Canst thou
not be content to wait a little? Will not thy Lord's time be better
than thy time? By and by he will comfortably appear, to thy soul's joy,
and make thee put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting, and put
on the scarlet and fine linen of full fruition.