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I. THE NATURE AND THE EXCELLENCE OF PRAYER.

1. It is a dealing with the Lord. The best prayer is that which comes to closest grips with the God of mercy.

2. Prayer takes various shapes.

(1)  Seeking is prayer (ver. 4).

(2)  Looking unto God is prayer (ver. 5). If you cannot find words, it is often a very blessed thing to sit still, and look towards the hills whence cometh our help.

(3)  Tasting is a high kind of prayer (ver. 8), for it ventures to take what it asks for.

(4)  Frequently, according to our text, prayer is best described as a cry.

3. Prayer is heard in heaven.

4. It wins answers from God. More than forty years I have tried my Master's promise at the mercy-seat, and I have never yet met with a repulse from Him. In the name of Jesus I have asked and received; save only when I have asked amiss. It is true I have had to wait, because my time was ill-judged, and God's time was far better; but delays are not denials. Never has the Lord said to me, or to any of the seed of Jacob, "Seek ye My face" in vain.

II. THE RICHNESS AND FREENESS OF DIVINE GRACE.

1. You will see the richness and the freeness of grace, when you consider the character of the man who prayed: "this poor man cried." Who was he?

(1) He was a poor man; how terribly poor I cannot tell you. There are plenty of poor men about. If you advertised for a poor man in London, you might soon find more than you could count in twelve months: the supply is unlimited, although the distinction is by no means highly coveted. No man chooses to be poor.

(2) He was also a troubled man, for the text speaks of "all his troubles" — a great "all" I warrant you.

(3) He was a mournful man; altogether broken down.

(4) He was a changed man.

(5) He was a hopeful man. Despair is dumb; where there is a cry of prayer, there is a crumb of comfort.

2. If you desire further to see the richness and freeness of grace, I beg you to remember the character of the God to whom this poor man cried. He who prayed was poor, and his prayer was poor; but he did not pray to a poor God. This poor man was powerless; but he did not cry to a feeble God. This poor man was empty; but he went to God's fulness. He was unworthy; but he appealed to God's mercy. Our God delighteth in mercy; He waiteth to be gracious; He takes pleasure in blessing the weary sons of men.

3. While we are thinking of the freeness and richness of this grace in the text, I would have you notice the character of the blessing. "The Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." His sins were his great troubles; the Lord saved him out of them all through the atoning sacrifice. The effects of sin were another set of grievous troubles to him; the Lord saved him out of them all by the renewal of the Holy Ghost. He had troubles without and within, troubles in the family and in the world, and he felt ready to perish because of them; but the Lord delivered him out of them all.

III. THE NEED AND THE USEFULNESS OF PERSONAL TESTIMONY. Testimony is a weighty thing for the persuasion and winning of men; but it must be of the right kind. It should be personal, concerning things which you yourself know: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him." Never mind if you should be charged with being egotistical. That is a blessed egoism which dares to stand out and bear bold witness for God in its own person. "This poor man cried"; not somebody over the water — "and the Lord heard him," not a man down the next street. The more definite and specific your testimony, the better and the more convincing. I do not say that we can all tell the date of our conversion: many of us cannot. But if we can throw in such details, let us do so; for they help to make our testimony striking. Our witness should be an assured one. We must believe, and therefore speak. Do not say, "I hope that I prayed; and I — I — trust that the Lord heard me." Say, "I prayed, and the Lord heard me." Give your testimony cheerfully. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him." Do not say it as if it were a line from "the agony column"; but write it as a verse of a psalm. Your testimony must have for its sole aim the glory of God. Do not wish to show yourself off as an interesting person, a man of vast experience. We cannot allow the grace of God to be buried in ungrateful silence. When He made the world the angels sang for joy, and when He saves a soul we will not be indifferent.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

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KJV: This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

WEB: This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.