Listening to someone else pray gives you an insight into their mind - their hopes, concerns, and understanding of their relationship with God. Spurgeon thought that prayer was a measure of the vitality of the church - he once ushered some visitors into the prayer meeting at his church with the words 'would you like to see the church's power plant?' These are Spurgeon's prayers taken down as he prayed them. You can learn a lot about how to pray by studying their structure and content. Each short prayer shows you the knowledge of the Bible he had and his understanding of human needs.

Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, was a leading campaigner against Liberal Theology and one of the most influential people of the 2nd half of the 19th Century. He is known as the 'Prince of Preachers'. His sermons drew thousands to his church. Yet, at the heart of his desire to preach was a fierce love of people, a desire that meant that he did not neglect his pastoral ministry.