The greatest antidote against all the troubles of
this life, is fervent prayer.
"Lord, in trouble have they visited You; they
poured out a prayer when Your chastening
was upon them." Isaiah 26:16
"They poured out a prayer." Before, they would
say a prayer—but now, they poured out a prayer.
Saints never visit God more with their prayers
—than when He visits them most with His rod.
Saints never pray with . . .
that seriousness,
that spiritualness,
that heavenliness,
that humbleness,
that brokenness,
that fervency,
that frequency—as they do, when they are
under the mighty chastening hand of God!
A sincere Christian never prays so sweetly—as
when under God's rod. When a Christian is in
trouble—then prayer is his food and drink.
Oh, what a spirit of prayer was . . .
upon Jonah—when he was in the whale's belly; and
upon Daniel—when he was among the lions; and
upon David—when fleeing in the wilderness; and
upon the dying thief—when he was on the cross; and
upon Jacob—when his brother Esau came to meet him
with four hundred bloody cut-throats at his heels!
When a Christian is under great troubles, deep distresses,
and most extreme dangers; he should pray . . .
more for the sanctification of affliction—than its removal;
more to get off his sins—than to get off his chains;
more to get good by the rod—than to get free from the rod;
that his afflictions may be a purifying and refining fire,
that his heart may be low and his graces high,
that he may be more weaned from this world,
that he be more ripe for eternal glory.
Be the first to react on this!
Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.