Today, I would like to begin by sharing with you a poem titled “Teach Me to Pray” by Albert Simpson Reitz.
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
This is my heart-cry day unto day;
I long to know Thy will and Thy way;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.
Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer!
Here ‘mid earth’s sin and sorrow and care,
Men lost and dying, souls in despair;
O give me power, power in prayer!
My weakened will, Lord, Thou canst renew;
My sinful nature Thou canst subdue;
Fill me just now with power anew;
Power to pray and power to do!
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
Thou art my pattern day unto day;
Thou art my surety, now and for aye;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.
Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me,
Constant abiding, this is my plea;
Grant me Thy power, boundless and free,
Power with men and power with Thee.
The simple purpose of this broadcast is to motivate, encourage, and exhort you to Just Pray. This radio broadcast is not necessarily for people who already know the secret and power of prayer and who actually practice genuine prayer on a regular basis, rather it is for those who may find it difficult to pray or for people who claim they do not have time to pray. I am convinced that most Christian people do not need to learn how to pray; they need to Just Pray! If I can get you to just pray, all sorts of wonderful things will begin to happen for you, your family, and whatever God has called you to do. We do not pray based upon our subjective feelings, we pray based upon objective facts in the Word of God.
Our prayer motivator passage from the Word of God today is II Samuel 7:18-24 which reads:
18 Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?
20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant.
21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
22 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.
Allow me to share with you some important points regarding this verse from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:
Notice, The prayer itself, which is full of the breathings of pious and devout affection towards God. He speaks very humbly of himself and his own merits. So he begins as one astonished: Who am I, O Lord God! and what is my house? 2 Sam. 7:18. God had reminded him of the meanness of his original (2 Sam. 7:8) and he subscribed to it; he had low thoughts,
(1.) Of his personal merits: Who am I? He was upon all accounts a very considerable and valuable man. His endowments both of body and mind were extraordinary. His gifts and graces were eminent. He was a man of honour, success, and usefulness, the darling of his country and the dread of its enemies. Yet, when he comes to speak of himself before God, he says, “Who am I? A man not worth taking notice of.”
(2.) Of the merits of his family: What is my house? His house was of the royal tribe, and descended from the prince of that tribe; he was allied to the best families of the country, and yet, like Gideon, thinks his family poor in Judah and himself the least in his father’s house. David thus humbled himself when Saul’s daughter was proposed to him for a wife, but now with much more reason. Note, It very well becomes the greatest and best of men, even in the midst of the highest advancements, to have low and mean thoughts of themselves; for the greatest of men are worms, the best are sinners, and those that are highest advanced have nothing but what they have received: “What am I, that thou hast brought me hitherto, brought me to the kingdom, and to a settlement in it, and rest from all my enemies?” It intimates that he could not have reached this himself by his own management, if God had not brought him to it. All our attainments must be looked upon as God’s vouchsafements.
Our prayer motivator quote today is from an Unknown Author. He said: “Think about the people in your ward or neighborhood. Think about the problems and trials some of them are facing. Choose 3 people and pray for them, by name. Be specific in your prayers. Then DO something, for them if you can.”
My personal encouragement for you today is this: Here are three benefits that I have personally received from prayer to God, and that I know you can receive as well. (1) Prayer to God will make money come to you when you need it most. (2) Prayer to God will make things happen for you, right in the nick of time. And (3) Prayer to God will give you a great night of sleep.
Our prayer motivator devotional today is titled “PRAY ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE” part 8 from E.M. Bounds.
One man of God said, “I tell the Lord my troubles and difficulties, and wait for Him to give me the answers to them. And it is wonderful how a matter that looked very dark will in prayer become clear as crystal by the help of God’s Spirit. I think Christians fail so often to get answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the small boy ringing his neighbour’s door-bell, and then running away as fast as he can go.”
When we acquire the habit of prayer we enter into a new atmosphere. Someone asked a devout Scotsman, “Do you expect to go to heaven?” “Why, man, I live there,” was the quaint and unexpected reply. It was a pithy statement of a great truth, for all the way to heaven is heaven begun to the Christian who walks near enough to God to hear the secrets He has to impart.
This attitude is beautifully illustrated in a story of Horace Bushnell, told by Dr. Parkes Cadman. Bushnell was found to be suffering from an incurable disease. One evening the Rev. Joseph Twichell visited him, and, as they sat together under the starry sky, Bushnell said: “One of us ought to pray.” Twichell asked Bushnell to do so, and Bushnell began his prayer; burying his face in the earth, he poured out his heart until, said Twichell, in recalling the incident, “I was afraid to stretch out my hand in the darkness lest I should touch God.”
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If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, the first prayer you need to pray is what we call ‘the sinners prayer.’ John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Until next time,
Remember, friend, Pray, Think, Do! God Bless You!
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of thirty-four books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 