C. H. Spurgeon pastored roughly 5,500 souls. He was overwhelmed, "I find I have enough upon me to crush me unless heaven sustains me," he said. He loved to preach and to teach, but it was hard.
Very few of us are called to shepherd that many folks. But everyone from the pastor to the Sunday school teacher knows what it is like to stand before a group of people, feed them the Word of God, and feel responsibility for their souls. Whether it is a class of 5 or a church of 500, teachers need the prayers of the people they serve. For those of us who teach, much of our "success" is dependent upon our faithfulness and our preparation. But so much more is dependent upon prayer. Spurgeon felt this acutely:
You must uphold me by your prayers. If I have useful to you in any measure, pray for me; it is the greatest kindness you can do me. If the word as spoken by these lips has been a means of grace to your children, plead for me that others of the young may be brought to Jesus by my teaching. If you would find my ministry more profitable to your souls, pray for me still more; and let it not be said of your minister that you do not profit by his preaching, and that you have not, becasue you ask not. Beloved, let us wrestle in prayer; for untold blessings are to be had for the asking.
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