Why should God answer your prayers? In his sermon “Order and Argument in Prayer,” Spurgeon gives four appeals, or “arguments,” that we can bring to God in prayer. As Christians, we certainly don’t believe our arguments can change God’s mind or tell him something he doesn’t know. At the same time, Scripture shows us how God’s people can make their requests by appealing to what we know about God. These four “arguments” exist to instruct us, guide us, and give us confidence in our prayers.
So what are these arguments?
First, we can appeal to God’s attributes, such as his love, mercy, and justice.
Spurgeon writes,
It is well in prayer to plead with Jehovah his attributes. Abraham did so when he laid hold upon God’s justice. Sodom was to be pleaded for, and Abraham begins, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25).[*]
The Bible reveals what God is like in his many attributes. We can bank on his unchanging character in our prayers. In your hour of need, appeal to God’s mercy and kindness. As you confess sin, appeal to the patient and gracious God. In your weakness and helplessness, rest in the power and sovereignty of God. Whatever our need, we rest in a God who is overflowing in his perfections, and we pray for him to provide out of that abundance.
Second, we can appeal to God’s promises.
Spurgeon offers this example of such an appeal:
When Jacob was on the other side of the brook Jabbok, and his brother Esau was coming with armed men, he pleaded with God not to allow Esau to destroy the mother and the children, and as a master reason, he pleaded, “But you said, I will surely do you good” (Genesis 32:12).
Just as Jacob appealed to God’s promise, so we can appeal in our prayers to the numerous promises God has given us in his Word. The Bible is like a checkbook, and each promise is a check that we can cash by faith. As Spurgeon affirms, “God does not give his words merely to quiet our noise, and to keep us hopeful for awhile, with the intention of putting us off at last; but when he speaks, he speaks because he means to act.”
Third, we can appeal to God’s glory.
This is what Moses did when he pleaded with God to spare the people of Israel. As Spurgeon relates,
How mightily did [Moses] argue with God on one occasion upon this ground! “What will you do for your great name? The Egyptians will say, ‘Because the Lord could not bring them into the land, therefore he killed them in the wilderness’” (see Numbers 14:13–16).
Moses did not place Israel’s happiness as the basis of his request, but rather God’s glory among the nations. Today, the church is God’s covenant people, the body of Christ, which means that his reputation, or name, is bound up with us. Like Moses, we can pray for the spiritual health and prosperity of the church by appealing to God’s glory in the world.
Finally, we can appeal to God’s Son.
Spurgeon says, “the grand Christian argument is the sufferings, the death, the merit, the intercession of Christ Jesus.” We do not deserve God’s grace, but we plead for it based on the merits of Christ. This is why Jesus commands his disciples to ask for anything in his name (John 14:14). If the Scriptures are a checkbook, then the only signature that has the authority to cash those checks is Christ’s mighty name. Spurgeon offers this powerful assurance:
When you plead the name of Christ, you plead that which shakes the gates of hell, and which the hosts of heaven obey, and God himself feels the sacred power of that divine plea.
A Case Study
As a church leader, I’ve been anxious about an upcoming congregational meeting. We will be dealing with difficult issues, and I’m concerned for the unity of the church and the pastoral care of the congregation. How can my prayers for this upcoming meeting be shaped by these four arguments?
What difference will knowing God’s attributes make in my prayers? Many of God’s attributes are a great comfort in this trial. And so I can pray, “You are the God of all truth. Guide us in our meeting. Help us to speak honestly and transparently about difficult things, so that we might live in the light of truth. But we also ask that you would be gracious to us, out of your overflowing grace. We don’t deserve your blessing, but please use these difficult things for our good and your glory. And, as the God of wisdom, please give the elders all the wisdom that we need to speak and lead wisely.”
What promises of God can I appeal to? Many come to mind. “Lord Jesus, you promise that you will build your church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Please continue to build up this local church and the work of your kingdom in this city. You promise that you will be with us to the very end (Matthew 28:20), and that you will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Please help us to know your Spirit’s presence in our upcoming meeting. Whatever troubles we face here below, you will still reign from heaven (Philippians 2:10–11), so we rejoice in your triumph.” I can pray for the church’s unity amid uncertainty while resting in these precious promises.
How can remembering God’s passion for his glory help me in my prayers? I must confess that much of my concern has to do with my own distaste for conflict and for the pastoral work that conflict requires. It’s okay to be honest with God about those fears; but I should also appeal for God’s help for the sake of his name and his glory: “Oh Lord, please keep us from dishonoring the name of Christ before the watching world. Guide the elders, help us to lead well, so that your people might be built up in the truth, that we might deal with sin truthfully and graciously, and that your glory would be displayed in this church. Do this not for us, but for your name’s sake, because we are yours!”
And in all this, I will pray remembering that I deserve nothing, but King Jesus has all authority, and he authorizes us to pray in his name. “Father, for the sake of your dear Son and his infinite merits, we come with confidence, asking for your help. We do not deserve this, but Christ deserves everything; he deserves for his church be preserved and protected, so that we might bear witness to his salvation to this lost and dying world. Please thwart Satan’s efforts to divide us; unite us around the reign of your dear Son.”
Whatever you are praying for, allow these four arguments to shape your prayers—appeal to God’s attributes, promises, glory, and Son. Pray with boldness, knowing that your prayers do not stand on your fickle desires, but on the unchanging God.
[*] All quotations are from Charles H. Spurgeon, Breath of the Soul: Devotions for Powerful Prayer, ed. Geoffrey Chang (New Growth Press, 2026), 53–55. To read the complete sermon in its original language, see “Order and Argument in Prayer” (Sermon 700) in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 12, The Spurgeon Library, https://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/order-and-argument-in-prayer.
Breath of the Soul
For those who had the opportunity to encounter nineteenth-century pastor Charles H. Spurgeon personally, what many noticed was that he was a man of prayer. For Spurgeon, prayer was as constant and natural as breathing. Prayer was not only the breath of the soul, but also the breath of the church.
Compiled by Geoffrey Chang, curator of the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
