Slideshow image

I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach

Charles Spurgeon once famously declared, “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Spurgeon seems to be speaking into the common issue of believers prioritizing the visible and impressive over the hidden and quiet parts of our faith. With preaching or teaching, we can hear it, celebrate, critique it, and largely feel its effects. This applies to other areas of ministry, where we can offer classes on leadership, evangelism, counseling, and other important topics. And yet, as important as raising up preachers and teachers, spiritual maturity cannot be reduced to competence.

In 1 Corinthians we see a church planted by the apostle Paul that was extremely spiritually gifted but spiritually very immature. Sadly, a lot of people can learn to communicate Biblical truth and succinctly articulate various doctrines and yet never cultivate a deep life and communion with God. Spurgeon understood that one prayer warrior was more valuable than ten gifted ministry leaders because prayer is not just a skill but an expression of faith and dependence. The Christian life is more than just doing tasks for Jesus; it’s life and communion with our Heavenly Father, mediated through Jesus Christ.

As a church, we gather to pray and sing praises to our God on the first Sunday night of each month. One of the ways we can all grow in our dependence upon God in the act of prayer is by hearing the prayers of other saints. I want to encourage you to make our next monthly prayer meeting a priority. Whether you’ve been attending faithfully or have never come before, your presence matters. I hope to see you there!