Diligence in Prayer - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9:10

Diligence in Prayer
Diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness. Without question there is a vast difference among true Christians. There is an immense gap between the greatest and the weakest in the army of God.

They are all fighting the same good fight, but how much more valiantly some fight than others! They are all doing the Lord's work, but how much more some do than others! They are all light in the Lord, but how much more brightly some shine than others! They are all running the same race, but how much faster some run than others! They all love the same Lord, but how much more some love Him than others! I ask any true Christian whether this is not the case. Are these things not so?

There are some of the Lord's people who seem never able to advance and grow from the time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babies all their lives. They are learners in Christ's school, but they never seem to get beyond ABC. They have gotten inside the fold, but there they lie down and go no further. Year after year you see in them the same old habitual sins.

You note in them the same need of spiritual appetite, the same squeamishness about anything but the milk of the Word, and the same dislike of the strong meat of the Bible, the same childishness, the same feebleness, the same trivialness of mind, the same narrowness of heart. They are indeed pilgrims, but they are like the Gibeonite pilgrims of old, their bread is always dry and moldy, their shoes always old and split, and their garments always torn . I say this with sorrow and grief. But I ask any real Christian, "Is it not true?" Lack of diligence in prayer is the cause.

J. C. Ryle