ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON) The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry.

The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into a pulpit because the piece of bread that belongs to the priest’s office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men and cares not for the praise of God. He will surely become a mere superficial talker, best approved where grace is least valued and a vain show most admired. He cannot be one of those who plow deep and reap abundant harvests. He is a mere loiterer, not a laborer. As a preacher, he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man in the Proverbs, whose legs are not equal, for his praying is shorter than his preaching.