PRAYER PRINCIPLES OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
PRAYER PRINCIPLES OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST And Other Devotional Addresses to Encourage and Motivate You to Pray to the God of the Bible
THE PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIES Volume 10
DANIEL WHYTE III
Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ: And Other Devotional Addresses to Encourage and Motivate You to Pray to the God of the Bible (The Praying Through the Bible Series: Volume 10) by Daniel Whyte III Cover Design by Atinad Designs. Š Copyright 2015 TORCH LEGACY PUBLICATIONS First Printing, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except for brief quotations included in a review of the book. ________________________________________________________________________ All Bible quotations in this volume are from the King James Version of the Bible. The name TORCH LEGACY PUBLICATIONS and its logo are registered as a trademark in the U.S. patent office. Printed in the U.S.A.
Acknowledgements For the Glory of God, and to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us how to pray; And to the memory of E.M. Bounds who God used to motivate me to pray. To my favorite prayer partners: my wife, Meriqua, and my children: Danni, Daniel IV, Danita, Danae, Daniqua, Danyel Ezekiel, and Danyelle Elizabeth; And especially to my oldest son, Daniel Whyte IV, whom I have had the privilege of training in the ministry ever since he was a little boy when he said he wanted to be a preacher. He assisted me by doing most of the research for the messages included in this book. And to all people around the world who want to be encouraged to pray more effectively and see God answer their prayers and bless their lives for His glory. —Daniel Whyte III
Contents Introduction 1. Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth's Golden Age, Part 1) 2. Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth's Golden Age, Part 2) 3. Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth's Golden Age, Part 3) 4. Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 1) 5. Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 2) 6. Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 3) 7. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 1) 8. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 2) 9. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 3) 10. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 4) 11. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 5) 12. 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 6)
Introduction “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” —Luke 18:1 “All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.” —Martin Luther I am convinced that most people do not need to learn how to pray; they need to Just Pray! Prayer is like any other important discipline in the Christian life. If you don’t do it, you won’t reap the benefits and blessings that God wants you to have. If you want to reap the benefits and blessings of prayer, then you need to simply Just Pray! This is what The Praying Through the Bible Series of devotional messages is all about: exploring each of the over 500 verses and passages in Scripture concerning prayer, from Genesis to Revelation, so that you can be encouraged and motivated to pray to the God of the Bible.
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The Praying Through the Bible Series began after the Lord led me to put together a little devotional book titled, The Prayer Motivator, which was followed later by the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. The Lord leading me to do The Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible was a complete surprise because I had never dreamed of doing a themed Bible in my life. In this Bible, we highlighted each of the over 500 verses and passages on prayer in the Bible. Following the publication of that project, the Lord led me to begin preaching a series of messages on each of those passages on prayer. To my knowledge, preaching solely on every passage concerning prayer in the Bible had not been done before. By the grace of God, this series of messages— each of which was preached on a Wednesday night to a live audience—has been a blessing to thousands as I have shared brief, devotional principles from God’s Word concerning the matter of prayer. (In most cases, the preached version of each of these messages is quite different from what is given in this series of books — and probably better. If you want to listen to any of the messages in this series, you can do so online at www.prayingthroughthebible.com.) This is a series that every Christian can read and benefit from. This series will inspire, encourage, and motivate you to pray daily and throughout the day so that you can receive the benefits and blessings of a prayerful life. Prayer to God has been the center and highlight of my life ever since God used a series of books by E.M. Bounds to open my eyes to the importance and power of prayer. In spite of myself, God has been very good to me and to my family in many ways, but the
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thing that stands out the most to me are the thousands of answers to prayer over the past thirty years of full-time ministry and twenty-seven years of marriage with a family of nine. I want you to experience the same benefits and blessings of a prayerful life. If you are a pastor, please feel free to use these short, devotional messages in your mid-week prayer services. You do not need to contact us to ask for permission; that is what these messages are for. We know of pastors who have taken these messages and adapted them for their congregation, so please feel free to add to and take away from them as God leads you for the needs of your people, and I am sure that you will do a better job than I have done. These messages are not deep, theological expositions; other men of God who are scholars of the Word have already done that. These are simple, devotional messages that are designed to actually get people to just pray to the God of the Bible in faith believing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord led me to put them together with the assistance of my son who is an undergraduate student and still in training. Most pastors can take the little effort that we have put forth here and make these messages far better. Additionally, if you are a pastor, I want to encourage you to consider the following things: 1. If you have a weekly prayer meeting at your church, actually make it about prayer—pray and preach a short message on prayer to encourage the people to pray for
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you, for the church, for themselves, and for souls to be saved. This series can provide the basis for those short messages. 2. If you do not have a mid-week prayer meeting at your church, I encourage you to start one. In my humble opinion, it is a shame that most churches do not take the mid-week prayer meeting seriously anymore. Some churches have abandoned the prayer meeting altogether. Christianity Today told the story of East Indian evangelist K. P. Yohannan who visited America and attended a well-known megachurch one Sunday morning. Over 3,000 people were at the church services that morning, where it was announced that the mid-week prayer meeting would be held in a chapel on the church campus. Yohannan was fired up by what he had experienced, and determined to attend the prayer meeting as well. However, when he arrived for the prayer meeting a few days later, he was shocked to find that the chapel—which had a capacity of 500—was entirely empty. He sat down and waited for a few minutes and eventually seven people arrived. They sat down and made small talk. About forty-five minutes later, one of the leaders of the church walked in, prayed, and gave a brief Bible study. The article goes on to say: "In all his travels here, Yohannan saw the same pattern repeated over and over again in hundreds of midweek prayer meetings. Almost
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anything happens but prayer. There are announcements, singing, homilies, and a few prayers offered, but usually only by the leader—and that's in the churches that actually have prayer meetings in their schedules. Many more make no pretense even to have a church prayer meeting. There seems to be time for everything else— to study, to fellowship, to preach, but not to pray." It appears that many pastors and churches have forgotten that the church was born at a prayer meeting in an “upper room.” Pastor, make sure that your church makes time to pray. 3. Consider establishing daily prayer meeting times at your church and throughout your congregation around the city. For example, put someone in charge of holding a prayer meeting at five or six in the morning, twelve o' clock noon, and seven in the evening. Encourage your people to come to the church to pray together as much as possible. I know of a church that has a beautiful prayer room where the door faces a side street. The church members have a key so they can go in to pray at any time. You might recall that Jesus Christ said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." 4. Encourage your church members to pray without ceasing whether they feel like it or not. One way they can do this is by whispering a prayer for themselves, praying for someone else, and quoting a verse from Scripture at the top of every hour. If you pray a short prayer (based on the model prayer of our Lord in
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Scripture), this will only take about one minute every hour. Down through the years, as I have preached in prayer meetings and revival meetings across the U.S. and around the world, I have had pastors to admit to me privately that they are not as strong in prayer as they would like to be and as they should be. The truth of the matter is, we all have our different gifts and callings, and just because a pastor does not emphasize prayer does not mean that he is not spiritual. Pastors are the general practitioners of the church. They are multi-gifted individuals and have the ability to manage and oversee many different ministries and outreaches at the same time, whereas an evangelist is focused on two to three things: evangelism, prayer, and revival. His job is to encourage pastors and the saints to do the work of an evangelist and to evangelize, to pray, to confess and repent of sins so that they can be used by God to see souls saved and brought into the Kingdom. The pastor is not more spiritual than the evangelist; the evangelist is not more spiritual than the pastor. We just have different callings, gifts, and purposes as it pertains to the church. The evangelist needs the pastor and the pastor needs the evangelist. Even though my calling is to be an evangelist, the truth of the matter is, without my pastor and my pastor friends counseling, advising, and fellowshipping with me on a regular basis, there is no way I would be where I am in my ministry. I thank God for my pastor friends. When there is a family crisis, nobody can outdo a great pastor as far as ministering to that situation. On the other hand, when it comes to taking more territory for God's kingdom through evangelism, and the spiritual warfare involved in doing that,
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no one can do it better than a godly evangelist. So, we need one another in the body of Christ, and we need to get back to recognizing that. We are not enemies, we are brothers serving the same Lord and King. It is my prayer that this series will inspire all of God's people to pray daily and throughout each day so that you can receive the benefits and blessings of a prayerful life. This series was put together to inspire action on your part. It is designed to motivate you to pray based upon the Word of God by faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I can just encourage you to pray in faith believing, I believe all sorts of wonderful things will begin to happen to you, in you, and for you, your family, and whatever God has called you to do. The simple purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to get off the ball regarding prayer, and take the little faith you may have and Just Pray to the God of the Bible in the name of Jesus Christ! The Praying Through the Bible Series is designed to help you get over spiritual inertia, your sinful flesh, the devil and his demons, doubt and unbelief, your busy life and the world, so that you can hit “pray dirt” and God will do the rest. Just open your mouth and start praying to the God of the Bible. JUST PRAY! and watch God do things beyond your wildest imaginations. —Daniel Whyte III Dallas, Texas
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1 Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth’s Golden Age) TEXT: Zechariah 8:20-22 20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. The three verses above are part of a prophetic passage about the coming reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The Bible tells us that in the future, Jesus Christ will rule the world for a thousand years from the city of Jerusalem. Those will be the best days that human history will ever see. It will truly be a golden age. There will be universal peace, justice, and equity on earth. Zechariah tells us that many people 19
will go up to Jerusalem to seek the Lord and to pray before Him. This passage shows us that those who go to seek the Lord in Jerusalem during this time are eager to do so. They do so gladly and with great anticipation. Although the people spoken of will be living in far better times than we could ever imagine, we ought to emulate their joyous spirit as we go into the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords every day. What can we learn from their example?
We ought to be excited about prayer. Our passage states, “It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities... saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” If we as Christians are truly honest, many Christians will admit that they do not feel like praying oftentimes. That is the reason why most of us don’t pray as we should. Prayer, as simple as it sounds, is hard work that the devil fights against. He does not want us to pray, and he will do everything in his power to stop us from praying. Thus, a little bit of the excitement factor of prayer wears off. However, when we really think about prayer, it ought to make us excited and eager to do it. We, as ordinary human beings, can talk to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe just as simply as a thought crossing our mind. And when we think about the blessings and benefits that we have received through prayer, as well as all of the answers to prayer that we have received, it ought to make 20
us want to pray even more. In the Millennial Kingdom, people will be excited about going to pray at Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that they will say to each other, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” When you really want to do something or go somewhere, there will be urgency, eagerness, and excitement in your attitude toward whatever that thing is. Let us have such a spirit in our prayers. Perhaps one of the things that should make us eager to pray is that God is eager to hear our prayers. Throughout Scripture, He invites us to pray to Him. Someone once said, “God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as he always has. But he can’t if you don’t pray, and he can’t if you don’t dream.” Therefore, let us be eager and excited about prayer.
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2 Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth’s Golden Age, Part 2) TEXT: Zechariah 8:20-22 The second thing we learn is that we ought to encourage others to pray. The people of the Millennial era are not only concerned about their own prayer lives, but they are encouraging others to pray. Notice how they say, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts.” These believers want others to experience the blessings and benefits of a prayerful life. If you are genuinely excited about prayer, it logically follows that you will encourage others to pray. Have you ever read a powerful book, or watched a great movie, or listened to a wonderful song? One of your first impulses would have been to tell somebody else about it. Why? Because you want them to get out of it what you got out of it. You want
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them to have the same experience that you had. In the New Testament, we see this example repeated over and over again. Andrew meets Christ, and then he goes and tells Peter. Philip meets Christ, and then he goes and tells Nathanael. The Samaritan woman meets Christ, and then she goes and tells a whole town. We, too, ought to be about the business of encouraging others to pray. David Bryant said, ‘We must be released from the idea that we must be great prayer warriors before we call others to prayer.’ You may not feel like you are a giant of the faith or a giant in prayer. That should not hinder you from inviting and encouraging others to pray. Whoever you are and whatever situation you are in, you ought to be excited about prayer, and you ought to be encouraging others to pray.
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3 Prayer: Exciting, Encouraging, Engaging (Lessons from Earth’s Golden Age, Part 3) TEXT: Zechariah 8:20-22 Looking at three verses that are part of a prophetic passage about what will happen during the coming reign of Jesus Christ on earth. This passage was of particular encouragement to the Jewish people at the time it was given because their nation had been devastated by war and much of it was in ruins. Jerusalem, at that time, was not a place where many people were eager to go. However, the Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. One day, all of those prayers will be answered when Jesus Christ brings about peace, not only in Jerusalem, but across the entire globe. Then, all people will be eager to go to Jerusalem to pray to Immanuel reigning as “God with us.”
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Let’s look at how we ought to engage in prayer with others. Not only should we encourage others to pray, but we should take the time to pray with them. The Bible tells us in Zechariah 8:21-22 that in the Millennial Kingdom, “And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.” People from all walks of life will gather in Jerusalem to pray before the Lord. Today, we ought to be engaged in communal prayer as well. You ought to pray with your family every day. You ought to make it your business to attend your church’s mid-week prayer meeting so that you can pray with and for others and so others can pray with and for you. Charles Finney said, “Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other’s hearts in prayer.” First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another...” One of the ways we can comfort the hearts of others who are going through difficult times is by praying with them. One of the ways we can strengthen others in the faith and be strengthened ourselves is by praying with them and letting others pray for us. What would the church look like today if we had more people genuinely praying for each other? What would the 26
church look like if people started getting together to do nothing but pray for and with each other? Would we see revival? Would we see more souls saved and more lives changed? I believe so. A.T. Pierson said, “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.” Just imagine what would happen if we all engaged in united prayer with and for one another. In closing, even though we do not live in that golden age when Christ will rule on Earth and when Satan’s influence will be removed for a thousand years, we can still emulate the spirit of those future believers in the spirit of Jesus’ prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.” Right now, we can be excited about prayer, we can encourage others to pray, and we can get engaged in prayer with and for those whom God has placed in our lives.
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4 Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 1) TEXT: Matthew 5:43-47 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. In the year 1818, Tamatoe, the king of a tribe of one of the South Sea Islands, became a Christian. Some other members of his tribe became Christians as well. Soon
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thereafter, he discovered a plot among his fellow natives to capture him and the other converts and burn them to death. In response, he organized a band to attack the plotters. When he captured them, however, he set a feast before them. This unexpected kindness surprised the savages so much that they burned their idols and became Christians. This king’s example is a picture of the kind of response a follower of Jesus Christ ought to have to his or her enemies. And, yes, you will have enemies, you will have haters, you will have people who just don’t like you for various and sundry reasons. But as a Christian, you are commanded to love them, to do good to them, and to pray for them. Why should we pray for our enemies?
We ought to pray for our enemies because, by doing so, we honor God’s will above our desires. Jesus Christ points out the common human perspective when he says to his listeners, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy...” That is the normal human reaction to our enemies: we love those who love us and hate those who hate us. However, Jesus challenges us to live our lives differently. He says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies...” This is completely in opposition to what we are predisposed to do. In fact, a recent LifeWay survey found that only 37% of Americans pray for their enemies.
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When we pray for our enemies, we are honoring God’s will and Jesus’ command. When we pray for our enemies, we are setting aside our fleshly, selfish desires. When we pray for our enemies, we have to set aside what comes naturally to us and, instead, follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance. In the environment of Jesus’ day, there was a lot of hatred going around. Jews hated their Roman oppressors. The Romans hated the Jews who rebelled against their authority. The common people hated the religious leaders who burdened them with stringent rules. The Pharisees hated the Herodians. The Jews hated the Samaritans. And everybody hated the tax collectors. As one commentator said, “In such an atmosphere it was impossible for hatred to starve. It had plenty to feed on.” However, when Jesus Christ comes on the scene, He calls on people to change the way they have always acted. He says, “No, don’t hate your enemies. Love them, bless them, do good to them, pray for them.” When we pray for our enemies, we show ourselves to be the children of our Father in Heaven who showers blessings even on people who don’t deserve it. When we pray for our enemies, we put God’s will above our own.
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5 Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 5:43-48 Allow me to begin by sharing with you a quote by Matthew Henry on this important text: He said, “The Jewish teachers by ‘neighbour’ understood only those who were of their own country, nation, and religion, whom they were pleased to look upon as their friends. The Lord Jesus teaches that we must do all the real kindness we can to all, especially to their souls. We must pray for them. While many will render good for good, we must render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act by. Others salute their brethren, and embrace those of their own party, and way, and opinion, but we must not so confine our respect. It is the duty of Christians to desire, and aim at, and press towards perfection in grace and holiness. And therein we must study to conform ourselves to the example of our heavenly Father. Surely more is to be expected from the followers of Christ than from others; surely more will be found in them than in others. Let us beg of God to enable us to prove ourselves his children.”
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When I was visiting England once, I went into the church where John and Charles Wesley’s father preached. I picked up as a souvenir a bookmarker that contained a quote from John Wesley. It goes like this: Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can. We have already established that the way Jesus Christ commands us to act toward our enemies is radically different from what we are naturally predisposed to doing. Instead of hating our enemies and holding grudges against them, we are commanded to love them, do good to them, and even pray for them.
We ought to pray for our enemies because we have been forewarned about them. In this particular passage, Jesus is not speaking exclusively to people who are committed followers of Him. He is talking to His disciples as well as to the crowds who are following Him because of the miracles that He has worked. However, Jesus Christ did warn us in other passages that we as Christians will have enemies because of our faith. And, here, He tells us how we should respond: “Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
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When we are hated and persecuted by those who oppose us because we are followers of Jesus Christ, we ought not to be surprised. Jesus told us that such things would happen. Because he forewarned us, our response should not be one of haste and impatience. We should not react in a natural, fleshly manner — with angry words, trying to defend ourselves, or trying to harm the person who has harmed us. But, rather, we should respond with the spiritual and seemingly unnatural response of praying for our enemies. Now, some of you might be thinking, ‘Of course, I’ll pray for my enemies. I’ll pray that something bad happens to them. I’ll pray that God would pay them back for what they have done for me.’ A recent LifeWay survey found that 14% of Americans have prayed for God to take revenge on someone who they were hurt by and 9% of people prayed for ‘bad things to happen to a bad person.’ When Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies, He is not talking about that kind of praying. Once again, we must be reminded that we are to be representatives of our Father in Heaven who “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” God bestows blessings even on those who do not acknowledge or obey Him. Our prayers for those who persecute us ought to be patterned after Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” One of the most prominent figures of the Serbian Orthodox Church is a man named Saint Nikolas of Ochrid. He was born in 1881, and as a young man, he nearly died of
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dysentery. During his bout with this illness, he dedicated his life to God, and decided that he would serve Him if he survived. He became an influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator. One of his most famous writings is a prayer known as�Lord, Bless My Enemies.� Listen to his surprising, but biblical, perspective on his enemies: Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into Thy embrace more than friends have. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary beneath Thy tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance‌ Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Thy garment. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Bless them and multiply
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them; and make them even more bitterly against me, so that my fleeing to Thee may have no return. Bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son [saved person] blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, because we have been forewarned about our enemies, we ought to be able to practice self-control in our response to them. Like Saint Nikolas of Ochrid, we ought to see them as a means by which we are drawn closer to God, and we ought to pray for them as Jesus has commanded us to.
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6 Why We Ought to Pray for Our Enemies (Part 3) TEXT: Matthew 5:43-48 Rcently, the world was shocked and appalled by a vicious terror attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem that left five people dead and seven others wounded. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the Jews and Palestinians, we might begin to imagine how centuries of hatred and animosity between the two people groups have built up to the ongoing conflict that we see happening in Israel today. It is in a similar era of conflict and animosity that Jesus Christ gave His command to love and pray for our enemies. According to the Jerusalem Post, one of the men who studied at the Jewish synagogue that was attacked said, “This reality isn’t new, but when such an incident happens so close to you, and to people you know, it creates a different feeling. We are a people of faith here… We are not a vengeful people, we are not a culture of blood for blood, we are faithful Jews. Our answer to such events is to strengthen our faith and our religious practice. We are
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not like our Muslim cousins for whom revenge is something natural and if someone is killed then they need to kill someone else in return. We believe that God guides this world and it is he who will avenge us.” He went on to say, “We believe everything [that] happens is from God. Who can we be angry at?...What happened was not in our control, but we’re continuing to pray, continuing to live, despite the wishes of our enemies.” This Jewish man’s expression of faith in God is at the root of the Christian’s ability to pray for his or her enemies. Many passages of Scripture offer wisdom on dealing with our enemies. Proverbs 25:21-22 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” This verse is echoed in the New Testament as Paul writes in Romans 12:19-20: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Now, putting hot coals of fire on someone’s head does not sound very nice at all. What is the Word of God saying here? According to The Pulpit Commentary, “‘Coals of fire’ is a metaphor for the penetrating pain of remorse and repentance. The unmerited kindness which an enemy receives forces upon him the consciousness of his ill doing, which is accompanied by the sharp pain of regret.” In other words, if you do good to your enemies even after they have done evil to you, your enemies will feel guilt because
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of what they have done and may even come around to repent and ask for forgiveness. Even if he doesn’t these verses assure us that if we do as Christ says, and love our enemies, God will make sure that we are rewarded appropriately. Either way, we must follow the commands of Jesus. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” So, love your enemies, do good to your enemies, and pray for your enemies.
We ought to pray for our enemies because it gives us an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love and care for sinners. Jesus Christ completes His admonishment on this topic by saying, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We, as Christians, are called to imitate God through the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ. According to Leon Morris, Matthew uses the term “heavenly Father” to emphasize God’s nearness and lovingness. He says, “To set this kind of perfection before His followers means that Jesus saw them as always having something for which to strive. No matter how far along the path of Christian service we are, there is still something to aim for.” Our aim, dear friends, ought to be like our Father in heaven — the Father in Heaven who loved the world so much that He sacrificed His only Son to save it. When we pray for our enemies, we are demonstrating God’s love and care for them. Whatever injury we suffer 41
from our enemies is minimized when we take a step back and look at the scope of God’s redemptive plan. We should not see our enemies as just our enemies, but rather as sinners in need of salvation. Perhaps, if you stop trying to get even with your enemy and just pray for their salvation, they will accept Christ, repent of their evil ways, and not only get right with God, but get right with you. You say, ‘Well, what if my enemy is another Christian?’ If someone in the body of Christ has wronged you, pray for them too. Don’t look at them as your enemy; rather, look at them as a child of God who needs just as much grace and mercy as you have received. When we pray for our enemies, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the love of God. The story is told of a pastor by the name of Peter Miller who lived during the Revolutionary War. This pastor was greatly loved by everyone in the community, but there was one man who lived near the church who hated the church and hated this man of God. It turned out that this hateful man was also a traitor to his country, and, in time, he was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to die for treason. When Pastor Miller heard of the trial and the sentence, he set out to Philadelphia to visit General Washington and intercede for the man’s life. After he made his case, Washington told him, “I’m sorry, but I cannot grant your request for your friend.” Pastor Miller cried, “Friend! That man is the worst enemy I have in the world!”
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General Washington was surprised. He said, “Have you walked sixty miles to save the life of an enemy? That, in my judgment, puts the matter in a different light. I will grant him a pardon for your sake.” The pardon was written out and signed by General Washington, and Pastor Miller took it to the place where the execution was about to be held. He arrived just as the man was being carried to the scaffold. When the man saw the pastor hurrying toward the place, he said to himself, “There’s Peter Miller. He has walked all this way to have his revenge gratified by seeing me hung.” Scarcely had he spoken the words when Miller pushed his way through the crowd to the condemned man and handed him the pardon that saved his life. We have to ask ourselves, today, dear friend, how far are we willing to go to demonstrate God’s love to our enemies? Is it too hard a thing to ask to set aside our human, fleshly desires and just pray for them? If we are to be true followers of Jesus Christ, we can do no less.
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7 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 1) TEXT: Matthew 6:5-8 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. In Matthew chapter 6, we find Jesus Christ addressing three practices that were viewed as necessary to Jewish religious life during the first century. These three practices were almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Every good, religious Jew would engage in these activities frequently. Many Jews
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gave money (or tithe) to the Temple, for example the poor widow who put her last two pennies in the money chest in the Temple. Those who could not give money gave animals or produce from their farming activities. Unfortunately, like some preachers today, the temple leaders profited off of the religious generosity of the people. Instead of using the wealth and resources of the Temple to feed the hungry and provide for the poor, they used the gifts that were given to fatten their own pockets and finance their opulent lifestyles. Fasting was done as an act of piety as well. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, observant Jews fasted on two days out of the week. And, Jewish fasting was not just abstaining from food, but from water as well. Jesus Christ addressed both of these issues in this passage, and He also addressed the issue of prayer. In these four verses, He gives His disciples ten principles of a successful prayer life. We are going to look at each of these principles in detail. Jesus Christ teaches that prayer ought to be a regular, everyday activity. Notice that three times in this passage, Jesus uses the phrase, “when thou prayest.” The use of the word “when” lets us know that disciples of Christ are expected to pray. Prayer ought to be a natural part of the Christian’s life, just like eating and sleeping are a part of your physical life. Matthew Henry said, “You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray.” What is your perspective on prayer? Do you view prayer
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as optional? Do you think prayer is something that is good for you to do if you find the time or if you feel like it? That is the problem that many people have today when it comes to prayer. They do not view it as an absolute necessity. They do not see it as something they will do come hell or high water. Because of this, their prayer life is sporadic and inconsistent, and so are their answers to prayer. You must not base your prayer activity upon the amount of time you have in a day. You have twenty-four hours just like everyone else. There are certain things that you find the time to do each day or each week simply because you have determined that they are things that cannot go undone. You must make prayer one of those things. Andrew Bonar said, “O brother, pray. In spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper — and sleep too — than not pray.” Instead of thinking of prayer as something you have to do, determine to make prayer a part of your life; make it something that you cannot do without — like breathing. Listen to what Dr. John MacArthur said about this matter: “I believe that prayer is like breathing. There aren’t certain times [when you breathe]. You don’t say, ‘It’s 12 o’clock; I’m going to breathe now.’ No, you breathe all the time — inhale and exhale. I think prayer is probably illustrated as well in terms of breathing as any illustration I know of. Prayer is the constant inhale, exhale of communion with God that goes on in the life of a believer all the time. Not to pray is to hold your breath.” And I would respectfully add to his quote, and “therefore kill yourself spiritually”
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Ladies and gentlemen, you must also not allow your prayer life to depend on your feelings. It is very rare that you will feel like praying. Because prayer is a spiritual activity that God has commanded you to do, the devil has made it his business to do all he can to discourage you from doing it. The simple trick to overcoming him is to make up your mind that you are going to pray and pray anyhow. There are many things that we do not get a good feeling about having to do. We may not like paying our utility bills, but we do it because we want to live comfortably. Some of us do not like to go shopping, but we do it because we want to be able to sit down and eat a good meal. Many people do not like their jobs or the people on their jobs, but they show up faithfully every day because they want to receive that paycheck. It must be the same with prayer. We must not let our feelings dictate our behavior. We must not let the time we have or the perceived time that we do not have decide whether or not we are going to pray. Jesus did not say, “if you pray,” but “when you pray.” If we are to be true disciples of His, prayer must be a regular, daily activity.
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8 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 6:5-8 The great Bible teacher J. Vernon McGee said, “Prayer is the greatest neglected resource that we have; it’s a power that we simply are not using today.” Part of the reason why we are not using prayer as we should is because some of us are going about the business of prayer the wrong way. Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to pray. Let's look at one of the wrong ways to pray that is rebuked by Jesus Christ, and that is: we are not to pray to be seen. Jesus says, “Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” The Greek word used for hypocrite is defined as “an actor or a stage player.” In the Hellenistic culture of Jesus’ day, when actors put on a play, they would wear masks. These masks were designed to show the audience the face of the person being portrayed as well as their emotions.
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Therefore, a hypocrite is one who wears a mask in order to have some kind of effect on others. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day would make sure that when they gave to the poor, they would do it flamboyantly and in public in order that they might be applauded by men and regarded as holy or good. When they fasted, they would not put oil on their faces and they would go about with a sad countenance so that people would know that they were fasting and think very highly of them. In the same way, with prayer, these religious hypocrites would stand on the street corners when they prayed for the exclusive purpose of having others see and hear them pray. They wanted to be seen as very spiritual in the eyes of the public. Jesus says that these hypocrites “loved” to pray in the streets. It is not that they love prayer, but that they love being seen praying. These people think very highly of themselves, and knowing that others think highly of them only serves to feed their pride and ego.Jesus Christ tells us not to be like them. Unfortunately, we have people like this in the church — folks who are eager to accept the invitation from the pastor to pray before the sermon or to give the benediction. When they get up in front of the church, they pray loud and long, but they never pray at home. They are not really interested in prayer; they are just interested in making people think they are real prayer warriors. The story is told that during one of the political campaigns of Theodore Roosevelt, a delegation came to visit him. The President met them with his coat off and his sleeves rolled up. He greeted the men and said, “Come down to
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the barn and we will talk while I do some work.” At the barn, Roosevelt picked up a pitchfork and looked around for the hay. Then he called out, “John, where’s all the hay?” John, who was in the hayloft, called down and said, “Sorry, sir. I ain’t had time to toss it back down again after you pitched it up while the Iowa folks were here.” The President was not interested in pitching hay; he was interested in impressing people with his work ethic. As you think about that example, think about your own prayer life or any other aspect of your walk with Christ. When you carry out your spiritual duties, what are you really concerned about. Are you concerned about pleasing God or impressing men? Do you care only what God thinks or do you desire to be seen with approval by others in the church or others in your community? Take heed to Jesus’ command, and don’t pray as the hypocrites do. Make sure that you are praying with the right motives.
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9 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 3) TEXT: Matthew 6:1-8 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
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7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Evangelist D.L. Moody once said that he received so many blessings from God that one day he prayed a very short prayer. He simply said, “Stop, God. Amen.” That was it. He felt as though he was drowning in blessings — he had received so much and he was grateful for it. Perhaps the day will come when we might feel the need to tell God to stop blessing us, because He’s done so much for us in answer to prayer. Maybe we will reach that point if we learn and live by the prayer principles of Jesus Christ. Lets look at the reward of hypocritical praying. Yes, Jesus Christ teaches that hypocritical prayers will be rewarded. He says, “when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” Now, the Jews were very ritualistic about their prayers. They were not into spontaneous praying at all. All Jews were required to repeat the Shimah each morning and each night. In the Old Testament, the Shimah was simply a sentence from Deuteronomy that went like this: “Hear, oh, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” However, in the New Testament era, the uber-religious rabbis had gathered together other verses from Deuteronomy and Numbers that Jews were to memorize and recite at least
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twice a day. Many Jews recited this prayer at set times thrice a day. When the time came to pray, you stopped what you were doing and recited this prayer. Now, many of the common Jews were not too excited about this, and they just recited the prayer with no real meaning as a means to get it over with and fulfill their religious duty. The rabbis and Pharisees, on the other hand, were heavily invested in these prayers. By standing on the street corners in order to be seen praying, they maintained their status among the people. So, they prayed long, elaborate prayers. Scholars state that some rabbis even made up prayers for nearly every occasion — for rain, for fire, for holidays, for harvest time — whatever it was, they made up a prayer for it, and then they would teach these prayers to the people. However, they did this not with the intent to teach the people the power of prayer, but to satisfy their own prideful and fleshly egotism. And, Jesus says, they got what they bargained for — they got their “reward.” What kind of reward is Jesus talking about? Well, they wanted men to praise them and look up to them, and that is what they got. The word used for “reward” is a business term meaning “wages.” In other words, the religious hypocrites got what they worked for. The tragedy of this, however, is that God owes them nothing. God is under no obligation to answer their prayers because they were not really praying to Him in the first place. These hypocrites were saying the right words with their mouths, but they were saying them with the intent of impressing others. They were praying in a self-centered manner, and they were rewarded with the human applause
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that they truly sought. We all must consider in our hearts whether we want to be rewarded by God or by men. Are we praying for God to hear or for men to hear us? A man named Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis 14th of France in the 17th century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, “What does this mean? Where is everybody?” The preacher replied, “I announced that you would not be coming to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king.” Are you attending church to be seen by men? Are you giving to others to be rewarded by men? Are you praying to be heard by men? If you are, Jesus lets us know that you will get your reward… but it won’t be from God.
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10 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 4) TEXT: Matthew 6:1-8 Let’s look at the principle of closet prayer. Jesus Christ says in verse 6 of our passage, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Someone once said, “The secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer.” Ladies and gentlemen, our primary place of prayer ought to be a place of privacy and reclusion — a place where we are free from the observation of men and are subject only to the sight and hearing of God. Isaac went out into a field to pray; Jesus went up into a mountain to pray; Peter went onto a housetop to pray. The idea that Jesus Christ expresses is that we ought to be in a place where it is evident that the hypocritical praying of the Pharisees is not being done. We ought to be content and we ought to prefer praying in private without being seen. If the only time you pray is when you are in public, that is a problem. If you examine your
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motives, you will likely find that you are only praying when you feel obligated to do so because of the circumstances, or you are simply following the example of the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked — you are praying to be seen and praised by men. Some people may think they are missing out by carrying their requests to God in secret times of prayer. They are not. Jesus says that we have a Heavenly Father who sees in secret. Nothing escapes the eyes of God. He knows who His faithful servants are, and He knows who is just praying to be seen and praised by men. Jonathan Edwards said, “If you live in the neglect of secret prayer, you show your good will to neglect all the worship of God. He that prays only when he prays with others, would not pray at all, were it not that the eyes of others are upon him. He that will not pray where none but God seeth him, manifestly doth not pray at all out of respect to God, or regard to his all-seeing eye, and therefore doth in effect cast off all prayer. And he that casts off prayer, in effect casts off all the worship of God, of which prayer is the principal duty.” The place of prayer which Jesus speaks of is a closet or “inner chamber.” The inner chamber was for the Jews the most private place in the home. It was the place where the owner of the house retired for the night. Rarely did anyone go into the inner chamber but the one to whom the chamber belonged. You may take the translation of a “closet” literally, and actually make the closet in your bedroom your place of private prayer. But this place can be a bedroom, an office, the den in your home — any
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place where you can get alone with God and be uninterrupted in your communion with Him. You may have to go out in the backyard to be alone. God blessed Iyanla Vanzant with a much better house after she lost her first house to foreclosure, and in her new house she has a prayer room — a room set aside for prayer. Those of you whom God has blessed with a big, fine house, do you have a room set aside for prayer to God? It is said that Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley, would sit on a chair and put an apron over her head as a sign that she did not want to be interrupted while praying. She had nineteen children altogether, and in the midst of all that she had to do to care for them, she still found a way to be alone with God in order to pray. Dear friend, when was the last time you spent time in your prayer closet — when it was just you and God alone? When was the last time you shut out the world and shut yourself in with the Heavenly Father so that you could talk to Him unhindered? David Jeremiah said, “It is impossible for us to do or to be anything that God wants us to do or be, apart from spending time in the prayer closet.” If Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself, had to take time out to pray in private, certainly we ought to follow His example.
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11 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 5) TEXT: Matthew 6:1-8 We to be committed to praying in secret with the intent of being seen and heard by God alone. Jesus Christ tells us why in the latter part of verse 6: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Now, it seems quite obvious to say that God sees what we are doing in secret. Of course He does. The point for us is: do we really believe that God sees us in secret, and that He is listening to our prayers offered in secret? Secret prayer is a matter of faith. If we are to be consistent and faithful in prayer, we must really believe that God sees us and hears us while we pray. Another thing we must remember is that we are praying to God who is invisible. Jesus points this out by saying that the Father not only sees us in secret, but that He is “in secret” as well. The Pulpit Commentary states, “The
thought here may be partly that to be unseen of men is a help to communion with Him who is also unseen by them, but especially that the manner of our actions ought to resemble that of our Father’s, who is himself unseen and works unseen.” Many of us become concerned with who sees us carrying out our Christian service — be it praying, preaching, or ministering in some other way. But, we forget that God Himself does not always allow us to see Him or to know what He is doing. If you have been saved long enough, you have probably had an experience when you were worried or concerned about something, and after a while everything was resolved, and you realized that God had been working behind the scenes and working out your situation even when you could not see or sense that He was doing so. In a way, He was doing as Jesus describes in this verse — He is our Father in secret acting in secret on your behalf. So, when you go into your secret place to pray — when you go into your closet, or your private place — don’t allow yourself to become discouraged by what may seem like the absence of God. Have faith that He is there with you in your private place of prayer. Now, look at the reward of secret prayer. Christ says that our Father who sees us in secret will reward us openly. Many people strive for recognition, applause, and rewards from others, and they completely miss out on the rewards that come from God. You see people reward us for what they can see us do. But, God rewards us for what people cannot see us do. God rewards us for having the right
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heart and spirit toward Him and others. God rewards us for being faithful in private, secret prayer to Him. Not only does God reward us, but He rewards us openly. He rewards us in such a way that others will see and will not be able to deny His blessings in our lives. Mike Yaconelli shared this story in his book, Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith: He said, ‘Those of us who had anything to do with the Billy Graham Crusades know how well organized everything was. In fact, if you were involved in any way, shape, or form, you know that practically every detail is planned. You might even be tempted to think that the well organized effort is what brings people to Christ. But, while that is necessary, it is not the secret of Billy Graham’s incredible success. This story took place during the last Billy Graham crusade in Sacramento, California. The night before the crusade was to begin the crusade choir rehearsal went late. One of the musicians in the choir was a pastor by the name of Ray Johnston. He was driving through downtown when he noticed a homeless man slumped over on the steps of the state capital building. It was cold outside, almost midnight and, at that time of night, definitely not the safest place to be. He decided he couldn’t ignore the plight of this poor homeless man. He was nervous as he approached him, not really sure what he was going to do. The homeless man was crouching almost cocoon like on the steps and the choir member reached out and gently touched his shoulder and asked, “Sir, can I help you? Are you okay?” The man looked up and in that instant, the choir member realized who it was — it was Billy Graham himself praying for the city of Sacramento. It’s was not
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just the incredible preparation and work that brought thousands of people to Christ each time Billy Graham held a crusade, it’s the fact that Billy Graham depended on the Lord’s power through prayer.’ Billy Graham engaged in secret, private prayer, and God rewarded him by blessing his ministry in public. Everybody saw the blessing, everybody saw the reward, but not everybody saw the prayer. Just like with anything else in life, what you do in private behind closed doors will eventually show its effects in public. Let’s not be as the hypocrites are and pray to be seen by men and then receive empty rewards from men. Let’s be faithful in private prayer to God so that God will bless us and use us for his glory!
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12 10 Prayer Principles of the Lord Jesus Christ (Part 6) TEXT: Matthew 6:1-8 The next principle Jesus Christ gives is, “use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” What is “vain repetition”? “Vain repetition” is the continual reciting or repeating of meaningless words under the guise of real prayer. It is the idea that the repetition of our requests somehow makes an answer from God more likely. This type of praying is very prevalent among those who worship false gods or idols. Tibetan Buddhists have what is called a “prayer wheel” — a revolving cylinder inscribed with written prayers that they repeat. Catholics pray the rosary — a set of three prayers one of which is repeated ten times. Hare Krishna devotees have a mantra that they chant; they call it a prayer, but if you have ever actually heard it, it sounds like mindless babbling. So, Jesus Christ is telling us that we should not engage in mindless verbal repetition when we call ourselves praying. Charles Spurgeon said, “The heathen repeat over and 65
over again the same words…This is sheer mockery. God is not deaf or forgetful, neither does he delight in mere sounds. Prayer is the intelligent approach of the mind of man to the mind of God, and in that coming we must not think of adding to the divine knowledge, which is infinite, or dictating to the divine will, which is sovereign.” Jesus never implied that more value is to be put on prayers that are long, wordy, or fancy. One commentary noted that Jewish religious leaders were very fond of lengthening their prayers by the “abundant use of synonyms and synonymous expressions.“ In other words, they said the same thing over and over again using different words. These are the same people Jesus called hypocrites a few verses earlier. Their whole purpose was not to be heard by God, but to be seen by men. And they thought the longer they prayed, the more spiritual they would appear. So, Jesus is dealing with this issue from two perspectives. First, there is the person who thinks that God hears Him by virtue of his long, rambling, repetitive prayer. That person may be sincere in his beliefs, but He is misguided. Second, there is the person who is not really interested in praying to God, but is mostly concerned with impressing other people by the length and wordiness of his prayer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who engage in that kind of prayer in the church. They get up and pray for what seems like an eternity, and yet, God did not hear one word that they said.
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Now, we also must be on guard against carrying this command to an extreme. There is nothing wrong with a long prayer. There are some beautiful long prayers in the Bible. Solomon prayed a long prayer in public at the dedication of the Temple. Nehemiah prayed a long prayer. Daniel prayed a long prayer. And all of their prayers were heard by God. So, if you have a lot to pray about, by all means, pray about those things. Just make sure that you are praying sincerely and in faith believing unto God alone. Another thing Jesus does not intend to discourage with this command is perseverance in prayer. That is, praying repeatedly about the same thing until a prayer is answered. If you are praying for something that is in the will of God, there is nothing wrong with praying about it every day until you receive an answer from God. Jesus Himself gave us two examples of this kind of persistence in prayer — one, with the widow who kept going to the unjust judge until she received justice in her case; and another, with the man who went to his neighbor’s house even though it was midnight to ask for what he needed. Jesus’ aim in telling us not to use “vain repetitions” in our prayers is not prayer length or prayer frequency, but prayer motive. Prayer is not a matter of repetition but relationship. Constant repetition in prayer does not change God’s will one way or the other. We cannot manipulate God like that. When we pray, God looks at our hearts just as much as He listens to our words. Perhaps, even more so. So, when you pray be concerned more about what your heart is saying than you are about the words being said. God understands “groanings which cannot be uttered.”
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When Jesus Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He emphasized something in his prayer that he felt the need to say over — “Lord, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” However, there was more to Jesus’ prayer than just His words. There was the heaviness of His heart and spirit, the mental anguish over what He was about to do, the distress of soul so much so that He sweat great drops of blood. What a powerful example of someone pouring out their heart over an issue that caused them great concern. Jesus’ prayer was short — only two sentences — but it was prayed out of the heart of One who was utterly dependent on the Heavenly Father — not to be seen, not to be praised of men, not to force God’s hand or change God’s will — but to be heard in Heaven. What do you intend for your prayers to accomplish? Do you want to be heard in Heaven? Do you want answers from God? Then pray sincerely without vain repetition so God can hear and answer your prayers.
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The Sinner’s Prayer If you are reading this book and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. Please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws just as I have. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of our sins, we deserve eternal punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death...” This includes both physical death and spiritual death in hell. That is the bad news. The good news is found in John 3:16 which 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.” If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray this simple prayer and mean it from your heart:
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Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen. If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to www.GospelLightSociety.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door.” Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” May God bless you as you begin your new life with Him.
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You can listen to Daniel Whyte III preaching any of the messages in this book online at www.PrayingThroughtheBible.com.
Tune in to The Prayer Motivator Devotional Broadcast/Podcast www.PrayerMotivatorDevotional.com and
The Prayer Motivator Minute www.PrayerMotivatorMinute.com These broadcasts/podcasts will inspire, encourage, and motivate you to pray every day so you can live your best life now. Based on The Prayer Motivator book by Daniel Whyte III. Both of these broadcasts are available on: iTunes Google Play (Android) Stitcher Radio BCNN Radio 7 Live365 Radio Gospel Light World Radio BlogTalkRadio.com Buzzsprout.com FeedBurner BlackBerry Podcasts and many other podcast outlets