WE are compassed with infirmities; we know but little of ourselves; we know not what would be best for us; we know not what is coming upon us; we know not Satan's position or design; we know but little of God's provision or intention, we are as weak as we are ignorant, weak to withstand evil, weak to perform good, weak to obtain benefits; our infirmities, many of them are constitutional, arising from our tempers and dispositions, from bodily ailments, and from the smallness of our capacities. But though thus infirm, Jesus is touched with a sympathetic feeling for us, and the Holy Spirit is given to assist us. He teaches us what we want, leads us to the precious promises, furnishes us with the prevailing plea, excites us to pray, and assists us in prayer. He produces the ardent desire, bestows the wrestling power, and warms the affections while pleading; gives us such a keen sense of what we need, and such an ardent desire after it, that unutterable groans are begotten, to which God attends. Let us daily seek the Spirit's power to help.
Spirit of interceding grace, I know not how or what to pray; Relieve my utter helplessness, Thy power into my heart convey; That God, acknowledging my groan, May answer, in my prayers, His own.
Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.
James Smith was a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841-1850. He also ministered with great blessing in Cheltenham. His devotional, The Believer's Daily Remembrancer, subtitled Pastor's Morning and Evening Visit, was very popular in its own day, and has received a new lease of life through recent republication.
WE are compassed with infirmities; we know but little of ourselves; we know not what would be best for us; we know not what is coming upon us; we know not Satan's position or design; we know but little of God's provision or intention, we are as weak as we are ignorant, weak to withstand evil, weak to perform good, weak to obtain benefits; our infirmities, many of them are constitutional, arising from our tempers and dispositions, from bodily ailments, and from the smallness of our capacities. But though thus infirm, Jesus is touched with a sympathetic feeling for us, and the Holy Spirit is given to assist us. He teaches us what we want, leads us to the precious promises, furnishes us with the prevailing plea, excites us to pray, and assists us in prayer. He produces the ardent desire, bestows the wrestling power, and warms the affections while pleading; gives us such a keen sense of what we need, and such an ardent desire after it, that unutterable groans are begotten, to which God attends. Let us daily seek the Spirit's power to help.
Spirit of interceding grace, I know not how or what to pray; Relieve my utter helplessness, Thy power into my heart convey; That God, acknowledging my groan, May answer, in my prayers, His own.