FIGHTING SATAN'S STRONGHOLDS THROUGH PRAYER AND FASTING
FIGHTING SATAN'S STRONGHOLDS THROUGH PRAYER AND FASTING And Other Devotional Addresses to Encourage and Motivate You to Pray to the God of the Bible
THE PRAYING THROUGH THE BIBLE SERIES Volume 12
DANIEL WHYTE III
Fighting Satan's Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting: And Other Devotional Addresses to Encourage and Motivate You to Pray to the God of the Bible (The Praying Through the Bible Series: Volume 12) 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. The Power of Praying Alone (Part 2) 2. The Power of Praying Alone (Part 3) 3. Fighting Satan's Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 1) 4. Fighting Satan's Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 2) 5. Fighting Satan's Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 3) 6. Bringing Our Children to Jesus (Part 1) 7. Bringing Our Children to Jesus (Part 2) 8. The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 1) 9. The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 2) 10. The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 3) 11. Fake Christians and Fruitful Christians 12. Moving Mountains Through Prayer and Faith
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 The Power of Praying Alone (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 14:22-27 22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. If we are serious about getting alone with God, we will have to purposefully clear our schedule in order to keep an appointment with Him. This may involve putting some other things in our lives on hold for a while so that we can
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meet with God alone. Jesus Christ separated Himself from the multitude and from His disciples in order to go “up into a mountain apart to pray.” Notice from this passage that praying alone puts you in a place of calm when there is chaos all around you. Prayer to God can take you to a place of peace and serenity when there is turmoil and upheaval in your family, in your community, in our nation, or in your church. Notice, several things that were going on as Jesus was up in a mountain in prayer. First, there were distressed disciples. As you will recall from last week, John the Baptist had just been beheaded, and his disciples had come to Jesus. Without their leader, they probably felt lost and were wondering what they should do next and what was going to happen next. Maybe they feared that Herod would come after them. They needed some advice, encouragement, and direction. Second, there was the needy multitude. The people from the surrounding villages and towns came looking for Jesus when He tried to get away into a desert place. They wanted the sick among them to be healed. And after spending all day listening to Jesus teach, they were hungry. The Bible tells us that Jesus performed a miracle, feeding 5,000 men, not counting women and children. After this enormous demonstration of His power, John tells us that the people wanted to make Him their king. Of course, that was not God’s plan at the time, but that was what the people wanted.
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Third, we see that after Jesus finally got away from all of the people and was alone in the mountain in prayer, a storm arose on the sea. The Bible says the boat that the disciples were in was ‘tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.’ With all that was happening around Him, Jesus Christ found refuge in prayer. Most of us would have been trying to deal with the situations that were happening. We would have been trying to comfort John’s disciples, continue taking care of the needy people, calm the storm for the apostles. There is a never ending list of things to do in the ministry , but what most of us don’t realize is that in the midst of all of our doing, we fail to invite God to do what we cannot do and to do even better what we try to do on our own. Constantly being in the mode of doing things and trying to address the concerns and worries of those around us will cause us to become anxious, worried, fretful, and fearful. That type of lifestyle will often cause us to neglect our prayer life as we attend to what appears to be important and urgent things. However, this was not the case with Jesus Christ. Jesus knew how to get away and pray when a lot was happening around Him. Leon Morris shares: “After the big day with the crowds Jesus turned to his Father in prayer; the infinitive will indicate purpose. This was done privately; Matthew has two expressions — ‘by himself’ and ‘alone’ — so that he is emphasizing that what took place was between Jesus and his Father only. Matthew is not referring to any public expression of devotion. The day
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had been tiresome, and Jesus found solace in quietness with the Father.” When the noise of life surrounds you, do you know how to find solace alone in quietness with the your Heavenly Father. What kind of turmoil is going on in your life? Are you worried about your finances, about your marriage, about your children, about your future? Is your life being affected by the problems and troubles of those around you — your co-workers, your friends, your extended family members? Do you feel like your life is full of drama, confusion, and chaos? Do you feel like you cannot get a grip on your circumstances? Perhaps, you need to experience the power of praying alone. Someone once said, “A life bathed in prayer is the best antidote to worry.” Notice what the Bible says in Philippians 4: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.“ This verse is simply telling us not to worry about anything, but to take everything to God in prayer. This verse contains a promise: if we do that — if we don’t worry and just pray — God will give us peace that is beyond our understanding. When Jesus was praying alone on that mountain, He was at peace despite all of the negative things that were happening around him. Listen to how author Sam Storms describes this peace which God gives through prayer: “This peace isn’t some cheap psychological trick to get you past a few problems in life. No diagnostic manual or self-help book can
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reproduce it. It is God-shaped and God-given. God’s peace, like a garrison of soldiers, will stand guard over your hearts and minds. In the midst of God’s peace you are as secure from worry and fear as any well-armed fortress.” The peace that we gain through prayer guards our minds. Not necessarily our bodies — we can still get sick. Not necessarily our possessions — we can still lose the material things we own. Not necessarily our finances — we still may not have all the money we need or desire. Not necessarily our relationships — we may still experience negativity with family, friends, and acquaintances. But this peace protects our minds and hearts. That is where worry and anxiety really takes its toll. When we are filled with the peace of God through prayer, we do not worry and fret about what is happening around us because we know that it is all in God’s hands. Jesus Christ got alone with God and He had peace despite the turmoil around Him. You can have peace as well if you make it your business to get alone with God.
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2 The Power of Praying Alone (Part 3) TEXT: Matthew 14:22-27 The story is told of how new believers in an African tribe were very earnest and consistent in carrying out their private devotions. Each one had a separate spot in the thickets surrounding their village where they would go to pour out their heart to God. Over time, the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others because the path would once again become overgrown. These observant believers would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.� Perhaps, you need to ask yourself today if the grass has grown on your path. In other words, have you been spending time alone with God as you should? In this miniseries, we have been looking at Jesus’ example of getting alone to talk with the Heavenly Father. So far, we have learned the necessity of being determined to get alone with God. This may involve clearing your schedule of other things that are also important with the understanding that 25
nothing is as important as communicating with the Creator of the Universe. Second, we have learned that praying alone puts us in a place of peace even when there is trouble and chaos around us. Now, let’s look at one of the key results of praying alone and the peace that comes with it as shown through Jesus’ actions. Before Jesus went up into the mountain to pray, He dismissed His disciples and sent them ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The Bible tells us that as Jesus was in prayer, “The ship was in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” The Sea of Galilee was well-known for its sudden storms. As you will recall, there was another instance in Scripture in which the disciples encountered a storm at sea. However, in that situation, Jesus was in the boat with them and He calmed the storm with just His words. This time, however, Jesus is not with the disciples. They are facing this storm alone. Where was Jesus? The English Bible commentator John Trapp said, “Whilst the disciples were periling, and wellnigh perishing, Christ was praying for them: so he still is for us, at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This reemphasizes the main point of our last message — getting alone with God in prayer will allow you to find peace when there is trouble and turmoil in the lives of others around you. 26
One of the benefits of praying alone, however, is not what happens during prayer, but what happens after prayer. Notice what we see in Jesus’ actions: He walks on the boisterous waves toward His disciples who are frightened. They have never seen anyone walk on water before, and they think it is a ghost or a spirit. Now, they are not only afraid of the wind and waves, but they are afraid of the one walking on the wind and waves. The Bible says they “cried out for fear.” As Jesus comes toward them, He calmly says, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Compare the reactions of Jesus and the disciples to the predicament of the storm. The disciples are scared and fearful. Jesus is calm and cheerful. Jesus and the disciples were coming from two different places spiritually speaking. Jesus was coming out of communion with God while all the disciples could see around them were the tumultuous wind and waves. The lesson we can learn from Jesus’ example is that praying alone has practical application. It is not just an activity that begins and ends in private. The results of our private prayers ought to show up in our public lives. When others around you are fearful about life, you can be fearless because you have been talking to the God who has not given us a spirit of fear. When others around you are worried, you can be free from worry because you have been talking to the God who says to cast all your cares upon Him. When others around you are anxious about the future, you can be free from anxiety because you have been talking to the God who says, ‘take no thought for the morrow.’ When you meet people who do not know where they will get their next meal from or how they will pay their
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utility bills, you can comfort them because you have been talking to the God who already knows our needs before we ask Him, and He says that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You see, real prayer will make a difference in your life. If you want to be a better husband or wife, I encourage you to pray. If you want to be a better son or daughter, I encourage you to pray. If you want to be a better co-worker or boss, I encourage you to pray. If you want to be a better follower of Christ, I encourage you to pray. Private prayer will often change your perspective on the terrible events that are happening in the world. Soren Kierkegaard said, “Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” Once you have adopted God’s perspective through prayer, you will be able to rise above the negativity around you and reach out and encourage others. Jesus Christ was the all-powerful Son of God. He was not afraid of the storm on the sea. In the midst of the storm, He was able to comfort and encourage the disciples. Notice: the Bible does not say that Jesus calmed this storm. This storm kept on raging. Perhaps Jesus wanted the disciples to realize that as long as they had Him — no matter what was going on around them — they did not have to be afraid. Anne Herring, a singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of the contemporary Christian music movement, was speaking at a music seminar in Hawaii. She said the question that she is asked the most by aspiring songwriters is how is she able to write such powerfully anointed music? She said her answer is simply this: “I
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spend time alone with the Lord.” One attendee at the seminar felt the Lord was clearly telling him the formula for writing anointed music. He said, “If I wanted to be used in music, I had to make it a priority to spend time with the Music-maker — the Lord — who is the Source of all creativity.” Whatever field you are in, you can benefit greatly from spending time alone with the Lord. If you want God to use you to rise above your circumstances and the negativity in your environment, spend time alone with the Lord in prayer. If you want to be an encouragement, blessing, and help to both sinners and saints, then spend time alone with God in prayer. Through spending time alone in prayer to God like Jesus did, you can become a powerful servant of the Lord and a great blessing to the body of Christ.
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3 Fighting Satan’s Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 1) TEXT: Matthew 17:14-21 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; 31
and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Have you ever faced a problem so difficult that, no matter what you did on your own, you could not resolve it? Have you ever been in a situation which made you feel as though you were helpless to do anything to fix it? If so, then you know something of what the father and the disciples felt in this passage. As we look at the context, we see that Jesus had just come down from a high mountain with his inner circle of disciples — Peter, James, and John. Up in the mountain, these three disciples experienced the transfiguration — they saw Jesus Christ in His glorified form along with Moses and Elijah. Coming off of this mountain-top experience, Jesus and the three disciples are confronted with a man who is facing a Satanic stronghold — he has a demon-possessed epileptic son, and Jesus’ disciples could neither cast out the demon nor cure the epilepsy. Matthew Henry describes the condition of the child this way: “The nature of this child’s disease was very sad; He was lunatic and sore vexed. A lunatic is properly one whose distemper lies in the brain. The devil, by the divine permission, either caused this distemper, or at least concurred with it, to heighten and aggravate it. The child had the falling-sickness, and the hand of Satan was in it; by it he tormented then, and made it much more grievous than ordinarily it is. Those whom Satan got possession of, he afflicted by those diseases of the body which do most affect the mind; for it is the soul that he aims to do mischief to… The effects of the disease were very
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deplorable; He oft falls into the fire, and into the water. If the force of the disease made him to fall, the malice of the devil made him to fall into the fire or water; so mischievous is he where he gains possession and power in any soul. He seeks to devour.” Luke chapter 10 lets us know that the disciples had cast out demons before, but this one, they could not cast out. They were helpless to do anything against the demonic stronghold in the boy’s life. G. Campbell Morgan states that, coming off of the mountain, Jesus “found Himself confronted by that helpless boy, by that helpless father, by that helpless age, by those helpless disciples. There the mountain; now the valley. There glorified saints; here the lunatic. There the King in His heavenly glory; here the representatives of baffled and beaten faith.” Today, we are going to look at what we can learn from the perspective of the father in this passage on how to overcome Satanic strongholds through prayer. What is a stronghold? The Greek word for stronghold means fortress or strong defense. In days gone by, kings would establish strongholds throughout their territory. These strongholds would be stocked with soldiers and weapons. The purpose of a stronghold was to prevent an enemy from taking over the land. Speaking about spiritual strongholds, evangelist Ed Silvoso said, “A spiritual stronghold is a mind-set impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable, situations that we know are contrary to the will of God.” When Satan establishes a stronghold in someone’s life, his purpose is to prevent the life of God from being manifested in that
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person. Strongholds can exist in both believers and nonbelievers. Have you ever faced a stronghold in your life or in the life of someone close to you? Maybe it was a sin habit that you seemed unable to stop. Maybe it was demonic possession. Maybe it was a good spiritual act — such as soulwinning, praying, or serving in the church — which you refused to do. Whatever it was, you simply could not overcome that stronghold in your life. How do you deal with such a stronghold? How do you overcome? The first thing we learn from the interaction of the father with Jesus Christ in this passage is that you must have a desire to overcome the stronghold. The father of the boy made a decision to come to Jesus’ disciples. He was looking for a cure. And when the disciples couldn’t help him, he waited around for Jesus to show up so he could get the help that he needed. Notice how this man approached Jesus. Verse 14 says, “there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him.” By bowing down, this man recognized Jesus’ power and authority. Not only did he know that Jesus had authority over him, but he knew that Jesus had authority over the demonic forces that had taken root in his son’s life. The disciples’ inability to cast the demon out of his son did not cause his faith in Jesus Christ to falter. If we want to be delivered from demonic strongholds in our lives, we must realize that Jesus alone has authority over them. Jesus is stronger than sin and the devil. We cannot overcome these things ourselves, but we can
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overcome them through the power of Jesus Christ. Our words are ineffective against Satan, but God’s words are, as the Bible says, “mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.” If you try to overcome strongholds yourself, you will not succeed. You need God’s help. Now, notice this man’s words to Jesus. He says, “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.” This man realizes and admits the bad situation that he is facing. He tells Jesus what is happening to his son. Oftentimes, the reason why we do not get help is because we are unwilling to admit that we have a problem. Some are so proud that they will not even admit to God that they are in trouble. They try to handle it themselves. They even deceive others and act as though they have it all together — as though everything is going fine in their life. But any good psychologist will tell you that the first step to getting help is to admit that you are in trouble. If you call the police, you must tell them where you are and what your emergency is in order to get help. When you go to the doctor, you must tell him where you are hurting if you want to get well. It is the same with demonic strongholds or strongholds of sin in our lives: if you want Jesus to help you, you must admit to Him that you have a problem. When was the last time you confessed to God that you are struggling with a sinful habit? When was the last time you admitted in prayer that something happening in your life is beyond your control? The final aspect of this passage that we are going to look at today is verse 16 where this desperate father says, “I
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brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.” Not only does this man admit his need, but he admits that what he has tried has not worked. Perhaps, like the woman with the issue of blood, this man had taken his son to physicians and the Jewish religious leaders in an attempt to see him healed. No doubt, he and the boy’s mother tried everything they could think of to heal this demon-possessed boy who was being driven to his own injury by throwing himself into fire and water. But nothing worked. Then they brought him to Jesus’ disciples, and that didn’t work. Finally, they came to Jesus Himself, saying, ‘Nothing we have tried has worked. So we are coming to You.’ Right now, consider what kind of stronghold may be in your life. Do you have the desire to overcome that stronghold like the father in Matthew 17? Do you realize that Jesus alone has the power to deliver you from your strongholds? Have you admitted that you actually need help? Have you realized that what you are doing — if anything — is not working? And, most importantly, have you come to Jesus for deliverance? The devil will have us to believe that we cannot be set free from the strongholds of sin and demonic possession in our lives. The devil will have us to lose hope that the strongholds and shackles in the lives of others cannot be torn down and broken. However, we see that through Jesus Christ we can overcome all strongholds in our lives. It is not by our might, but through His power, that we can be successful and set free. And, as we will see in this passage, we can gain access to that power through prayer.
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4 Fighting Satan’s Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 17:14-21 On last week, we focused on what we can learn from the father in this passage on how to overcome strongholds in our lives through prayer and fasting. A stronghold is a mindset or a sin habit that the devil uses to keep us from being all that we can be for God’s glory. We see from the father’s example in this passage that: (1) We must have a desire to overcome our strongholds; (2) We must recognize that Jesus alone has power and authority over our strongholds; (3) We must admit to God that we are in trouble; and (4) We must admit to God that what we have tried to do is not working, and we must bring our strongholds to Him if we want to see them removed. The primary way to do all of this is through prayer to God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Back in this passage, we find a father in desperate need of healing and deliverance for his son who has epilepsy and is influenced by demons. After he explains his situation 37
to Jesus and tells of how the disciples could not cure him nor cast out the demon, Jesus says, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.” As usual, there is a crowd standing around expecting to see Jesus work a miracle. Imagine their surprise when Jesus instead refers to all of them — the disciples and the father included — as part of a “faithless and perverse generation.” One commentator states that Jesus “castigates” the crowd. Jesus has two problems with the people of His day — and, in some cases, they are the same problems that He has with people today. First, the people are “faithless.” From the Old Testament to the New Testament, people are urged to ‘just trust God, have faith in God, believe in God, and don’t doubt God.’ The people alive in Jesus’ day have the wrong attitude toward God — they don’t have faith in Him. The lack of faith among the people and the disciples is shown through the fact that they were unable to heal the sick boy. In Matthew 10, Jesus had given the disciples power to cast out devils, and Luke 10 informs us that they had been successful in doing so before. Perhaps, they had never seen a case as bad as this boy’s and so their faith faltered. Maybe they weren’t sure that even God could heal this boy. There is a sense here that Jesus is uncomfortable, to put it charitably, with the disciples and with the people because of their lack of faith. Matthew 13:58 informs us that in one place, Christ “did not [do] many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Evidently, the measure of our
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blessings, the measure of our answers to prayer, the measure of our deliverance is in proportion to the measure of our faith. In fact, when Jesus was healing some blind man, He touched his eyes and said, “According to your faith be it unto you.” In other words, He tells him, ‘You will be healed because you believe that I can heal you.’ Second, Jesus rebukes the people as “perverse.” The word “perverse” means twisted or distorted. Again, Jesus is pointing out that there is something wrong with the thinking and spiritual attitude of the people. Adam Clarke said, “They were confounded at their lack of success — but not at their lack of faith.” The church today is like that. We worry and fret over declining baptisms, declining church membership, lack of racial reconciliation, decline of interest in world missions, people not tithing and giving as they should, among many other things. Maybe our real problem is that we are perverse in our thinking. We don’t have the right mindset. We’re focusing on the results, or lack thereof, when we really should be focusing on whether or not we have faith in God to do the things He says He will do. Jesus continues by saying, “How long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” It seems as though Jesus is saying, ‘Will I always have to be physically present for anything to be done? What are you going to do when I go back to the Father?’ We have to understand that Jesus was rapidly moving down the road that would lead to the cross. Shortly thereafter, He would ascend to Heaven and turn over the day-to-day operations of the Kingdom, if you will, to the disciples. He is concerned, and perhaps distressed, that they are not further along in their spiritual walk. 39
Finally, after this rebuke, Jesus says, “bring the child to me.” The Bible says, “And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.” Jesus’ action is swift and certain. He rebukes the devil, the devil leaves, and the child is cured of his epilepsy. After His somewhat shocking rebuke, it appears as though Jesus is trying to show them that the boy being delivered from the stronghold in his life was not hard. The problem was that the people and the disciples thought it was hard. They didn’t believe that they could effect this deliverance through the power of God. The whole point here is that God is the One who does the deliverance — not us. We must have faith in Him to be delivered from our strongholds. One commentator states that Jesus taught His disciples four things through their failure in faith: (1) It taught them not to get into a rut of mechanical ministry. (2) It taught them that Jesus was superior to any spiritual or physical enemy. (3) It taught them to desire the presence and power of Jesus. (4) It taught them to bring their problems to Jesus. Everything in these four lessons draws our attention to Jesus Christ. When we are faced with a problem, we ought to immediately look to Jesus. Often, we stay focused on the problem and not the Problem-solver. We stay focused on the stronghold and not the Savior. We ought to desire Jesus in every part of our lives and realize that we need Him to deliver us from the influence and power of the devil. When we take our problems to Him, we can be sure that He has the ability to make things right.
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Buck Owens sang a song titled “Bring it to Jesus”: When the road is rocky and heavy is your load When the sky is cloudy and the sunshine’s gone When your life is troubled and nothing’s going right Bring it to Jesus, he’ll show you the light Bring it to Jesus and he’ll show you the way Bring it to Jesus and he’ll brighten your day When your life is troubled and you can’t sleep at night Bring it to Jesus and he’ll show you the light Jesus the Saviour is the light of the world He’s the only way to heaven so we read in his word Tell him all your troubles and let him make ’em right Bring it to Jesus and he’ll show you the light Whatever your stronghold is, whatever your problem is, whatever your difficulty is: bring it to Jesus through prayer and have faith that He can resolve it.
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5 Fighting Satan’s Strongholds Through Prayer and Fasting (Part 3) TEXT: Matthew 17:14-21 As we have progressed through this story of a father who comes to Jesus for the deliverance of his son from a Satanic stronghold in his life, we have learned four things we must do which lay the groundwork for such deliverance. Those things are: (1) We must have a desire to overcome our strongholds; (2) We must recognize that Jesus alone has power and authority over our strongholds; (3) We must admit to God that we are in trouble; and (4) We must admit to God that what we have tried to do is not working, and we must bring our strongholds to Him if we want to see them removed. On last week, we saw that Jesus rebuked His disciples and the people for their lack of faith and their wrong mindset about deliverance from strongholds. Of course, Jesus easily healed the epileptic boy and cast the evil spirit out of him. The thing He did not like about the situation was that evidently the people doubted that it could be done. 43
He said that they were faithless and perverse. Now, when the healed boy had been given to his father, the disciples came to Jesus alone and asked Him, “Why could not we cast him out?” Obviously, this was very troubling to them. Jesus answers them by saying, “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Learning the value of having faith in God was crucially important for the disciples and it is crucially important for us today. Often, we will face seemingly hopeless situations. We will face strongholds that appear too strong to be torn down. However, if we have faith in God, and if what we desire to accomplish is in God’s will, then even a small faith the size of a mustard seed can produce big results. So, what happened to the disciples’ faith? Remember that at the beginning of this passage, Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain where they witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ and the appearance of Moses and Elijah. Warren Wiersbe writes that “the nine were perhaps jealous because they had not been called to go to the mountaintop with Jesus. During the Lord’s absence, they began to grow self-indulgent. They neglected prayer; their faith weakened. Then, when the crisis came, they were unprepared. Like Samson, they went out to battle without realizing that their power was gone. From their example, we see the importance of staying spiritually healthy… Had the nine disciples been praying, disciplining themselves, and meditating on the Word, they would have been able to cast out the demon
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and rescue the boy.” Not only did the disciples neglect the cultivation of their faith, but they did not rely on the power of prayer in this situation. Jesus says, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Evidently, there are some demonic strongholds (and other difficult situations, for that matter) that require us to have faith in God along with prayer and fasting. Obviously, this kind of prayer and fasting takes time, and that is something most of us do not want to invest. We want to be able to pray once or twice and expect God to answer immediately. But the longer God takes to answer our prayer, the more our faith is tested. Will we continue to believe? Will we continue to pray? Will we continue to fast? One commentary states regarding this verse that “continued effectiveness demands ongoing dependence on God.” The disciples could not just depend on God as soon as the boy was brought to them. They had to be depending on God before then, and they had to keep depending on God. By stating that some situations require prayer and fasting, Jesus lets us know that the answers to our prayer will not always come immediately. Some strongholds will take time to be torn down. Other strongholds will indeed be torn down all at once, but that will take place at a future date in God’s plan. Our task is to keep on praying and fasting as the Holy Spirit leads us. We can do that if we believe that God is in control and that He has complete
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power over the situation. Dutch Sheets tells the story of a mother who travailed in prayer for some time about her drug-addicted daughter. One evening while lying on her face in prayer, she heard the Lord’s quiet voice promising that her daughter would soon be free. Wiping her tears, that mother got up and began praising God. She continued praising God even though there was no outward change in her daughter. Five long months passed. The daughter continued taking drugs until one day she overdosed. After that experience, she was ready for help. Following a period of Christian counseling, she was set free. Did those five long months negate God’s promise to deliver the daughter from the stronghold of drug addiction? No, they did not. God was working in the daughter’s life to bring her to a point where she realized that she needed help. Not all cases are the same. As Jesus stated, some require prayer and fasting. The question that remains is: Are you willing to spend more time than usual in prayer — are you willing to fast — to see the strongholds broken in your life or in the lives of others? Those times you spend in prayer and fasting are not wasted. They are recognized by God and they play a major factor in your deliverance. As Dr. Louis Barbieri wrote, in this passage “Jesus was instructing the disciples about their future ministries. Their problem often would be lack of faith and failure to seek their Lord’s direction. His Word would be sufficient to produce the desired healing, but their actions would necessitate great faith and constant contact with Him through prayer. When these
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elements are combined, there is no limit to the works the disciples could accomplish, following His will.�
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6 Bringing Our Children to Jesus (Part 1) TEXT: Matthew 19:13-15 13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. Perhaps one of the most pressing questions of our day is, What do we do about our children? Parents want their children to be obedient. Teachers want children to be attentive to their studies. The government wants children to grow up to be productive and successful citizens. Whitney Houston sang, “Children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.� Unfortunately, it seems as though children are not being taught that well today. Just recently, this was brought to national attention due to the rioting in Baltimore. Many of the rioters were students from a nearby high school. One mother, who 49
pulled her son out of the rioting, has been praised as “mom of the year” and other parents have been encouraged to follow her example. The question remains: What do we do about our children? In Matthew 19, we find that Jesus is dealing with some domestic issues; He was not just concerned about spiritual matters, but about people’s families and their lives in general. Prompted by a question from the Pharisees, Jesus addresses the topics of marriage, divorce, and adultery. After this discussion, or perhaps as this discussion was going on, the Bible tells us that people begin bringing their children to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray for them. From this simple story, we see three things: (1) An example for parents in particular, (2) A rebuke for Christians in general, and (3) A mission for the church today. Right now, let’s look at the example of the parents who brought their children to Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry notes that, by the parents bringing their children to Jesus Christ, they showed that they had great regard for Him and love for their children. Even if they did not know for sure that He was the Messiah, they at least believed that He was a righteous teacher sent by God, and they wanted Him to pray for and bless their children. As the Bible says, ‘the prayer of a righteous man availeth much [or accomplishes much].’ These parents had the mind to bring their children to Christ. Can that be said of parents today? Have we taken our children before the Lord in prayer and asked Him to bless them and use them. I have always seen my children as
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belonging to the Lord; He has just given them to me for a time to train and raise for His glory. By the grace of God, I have prayed for my children every day since they were born. While we cannot physically bring our children to Jesus today, we can bring them before the throne of God each and every day in prayer. In her book, “The Power of a Praying Parent,” Stormie Omartian talked about her concerns after the birth of her son. She said, “I didn’t have peace when my first child was born because I was concerned about everything. I was afraid that someone might drop him, that he might drown in the bathtub, that he might get deathly ill, that I would forget to feed him, that he would be bitten by a dog, injured in a car accident, kidnapped, or lost. In an act more of desperation than obedience, I cried out to God concerning this. He immediately reminded me that my son was a gift to us from Him and that He cared even more about our son than we did. I was reminded of the biblical instruction to cast ‘all your care upon Him’, and so I did. I prayed, ‘Lord, my son is the biggest ‘care’ I have, and I release him into Your hands. Only You can raise him right and truly keep him safe. I will no longer strive to do it all by myself but will enter into full partnership with You.’ From that point on, whenever I had fear about anything, I immediately took it as a sign to pray until I felt peace. Daily I released my son to God and asked Him to be in charge of his life. This took the pressure off me and parenting became much more enjoyable.” Have you taken the step of putting your children in God’s hands through prayer?
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Like the parents in our passage, we show respect for Christ by asking His guidance in the lives of our children. Today, there are numerous sources — books, magazines, psychologists, and television shows — that attempt to tell us the best way to raise children. However, if we look at how children are turning out today, we will quickly realize that much of what the world says to do does not work. But, the Bible — God’s book — contains eternal principles that always work. Instead of getting caught up in the worldly way of raising children, we must act on the way that God has provided in His word. The Bible points out that these parents brought “little children” to Jesus. The parallel passage in Luke reveals that many brought “infants” to Him. We ought to ensure that our children are introduced to God at a young age. A child is never too young to begin learning of the things and ways of God. In fact, Jesus tells His disciples that those who are truly a part of the kingdom of God are those who are as little children — trusting, believing, and sincere. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your children are too young to understand spiritual things. Because their hearts and minds have not been tainted by worldly philosophy, you might find that they grasp and accept the things of God better than you would expect. Finally, we see in this story that the parents brought their children to Jesus of their own will. Normally, in the Gospels, we see parents bringing their children to Jesus because they are sick, or because they are demon-possessed, or because they are dead or about to die. However, here, these children are brought to Jesus without any precipitating cause. The parents just want the hands of
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Jesus on their children. Somehow, they perceive that such a touch will be a blessing for their children. As parents today, we must not wait until some tragedy occurs and forces us to present our children to the Savior and ask Him to do what only He can do. Matthew Henry said, � It is a good thing when we come to Christ ourselves, and bring our children to Him, before we are driven to Him by woe or need; not only to visit Him when we are in trouble, but to address ourselves to Him in a sense of our general dependence on Him, and of the benefit we expect by Him, this is pleasing to Him.� Bringing our children to God through prayer and inviting Him to take control of their lives is a responsibility that every Christian parent should take seriously.
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7 Bringing Our Children to Jesus (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 19:13-15 13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. We began looking at this passage on last week by focusing on the action of the parents in these verses. The parents showed their immense respect for Jesus by bringing their children to Him. They brought their young children to Him desiring that He would pray for them and bless them. Through their example, parents are encouraged to not only pray for their children, but to introduce them to the things of God at a young age. Not only does this passage serve as an encouragement for parents, but we also see a rebuke for Christians in 55
general and an example for the church. While the parents are bringing their children to Jesus, we are told that “the disciples rebuked them.” “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” The parallel passage in Mark tells us that Jesus “was much displeased” when he saw what was happening. And Luke adds that after the disciples sent some of the children away, Jesus “called them” back. Why is it that the disciples thought Jesus should not be bothered with little children? Some have speculated that the disciples thought Jesus needed to rest after a long day of ministry. Others have said they simply thought Jesus did not have time to be bothered with little children. They thought they knew better what Jesus needed to spend His time doing. Whatever their intentions, their actions were wrong; Jesus was “displeased” and He rebuked them and said, “let the children come to me.” Some in the church are guilty of preventing others from coming to Christ. Sometimes we write people off because we think that due to their lifestyle, they are too far gone to be reached by Christ’s life-transforming power. We fail to embrace and believe Jesus’ words that “with God all things are possible.” Some Christians have been guilty of placing stumbling blocks before those who would believe. We give them a list of rules that they must adhere to instead of introducing them to the power of God unleashed in their life. Instead of paving the way to salvation, we raise obstacles in the path. Perhaps, one of the greatest obstacles raised by the modern church has been the implementation of the idea
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that children and young people ought to be separated from the main service on Sunday. Each week, thousands of families go to church to split up — sending the children off to Sunday School or to youth group as the parents attend the main service — as if the (hopefully) Biblical message preached during the main service is too difficult for children to understand. That shouldn’t be the case. We see in the Gospels that when Jesus taught, men, women, and children were in the audience. Probably stemming from the tide of young people who are drifting away from the institutional church, there has been a backlash against how the modern church has done “youth ministry.” Many have been forced to ask if “youth ministry” is part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Andrew Root, a professor at Luther Seminary, said that this division produces “young people [who] are no longer disciples, and full participants in the church community. Rather, they become a distinct species called ‘Christian youth.’ And when the ‘youthful’ part of the label no longer fits, then neither might the ‘Christian.'” We have to consider today if “youth ministry”, while wellintentioned, is just getting in the way of children coming to Christ. Jesus gladly made time to answer the questions of religious leaders — the theologians and scholars of His day. He spoke to people from all walks of life — rich and poor, Jew and Gentile. He healed the sick, fed thousands of hungry people, and taught multitudes throughout the course of His ministry. But, we see in this passage that He not only made time for children, but He desired for
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children to come to Him. He relished having children around Him. Children were not a burden to Him, but a blessing, and He wanted the disciples and others to know that. He talked to them, held them, prayed for them, and blessed them. To Him, they are just as important to the Kingdom of God as adults are. In fact, Jesus often told adults that they must become as children — filled with simple belief and trust — in order to be saved. Our passage states that Jesus “laid his hands on the [children], and departed thence.” In other words, Jesus did not leave that place until He had laid hands on all the children who were brought to Him. Jesus did not regard ministering to children as a part of His outreach that was less important. To the contrary, Jesus knew that, one day, these children could very well grow up to be the ones who carried forward the work of the Kingdom of God, so He attended to the task of praying for them and laying hands on them with sincerity and gravity. Adam Clarke notes that, among the Jews, the laying on of hands was a symbol of showing something to be consecrated to God. He said, “The person [was] considered as the sacred property of God after [having hands laid on them]. Often God added a testimony of his approbation, by communicating some extraordinary influence of the Holy Spirit. This rite has been long practised among Christians, when persons are appointed to any sacred office. But this consecration of children to God seems to have grown out of use. It is no wonder that the great mass of children are so wicked, when so few are put under the care of Christ by humble, praying,
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believing parents. Let every parent that fears God bring up his children in that fear. Whatever is solemnly consecrated to God abides under his protection and blessing.� In a day and time when children are not as valued as they used to be, Christians are called to imitate Christ. The church is called to adopt the spirit of Christ. As I mentioned last week, children are indeed our future. They are the future of the church and the future of society. How they are molded and shaped today will impact how they live their lives and lead others tomorrow. Let’s not make the mistake that the disciples made by hindering children from coming to Jesus Christ. Let’s pray for and with our children and make it our business to present them to Christ.
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8 The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 1) TEXT: Matthew 21:10-14 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. We are all familiar with the story of Jesus Christ going into the Temple and finding that the religious leaders have turned it into a marketplace. There is all manner of buying and selling going on. Jesus makes a whip and begins driving the merchants out of the temple — overturning the tables where they are carrying out their business. He
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famously says, “It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.” The Gospel of John 2:17 says, ‘And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.’ And, in the passage we just read, Jesus Christ is quoting God’s message to Isaiah, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer.’ It is a tragedy today that many Christians — just like the Jewish religious leaders — have abandoned one of the main purposes of the church, and that is to be a ‘house of prayer.’ According to the book, Evangelism: Christ’s Imperative Commission, by Roland Leavell, statistics show that while 30% of people who claim to be Christians never attend a Sunday church service, 80% of people who claim to be Christians never attend a prayer meeting. What is perhaps even sadder is that 20% never even pray. In fact, many church buildings are used for everything but the serious work of prayer. This passage reveals some of the purposes for which the House of Prayer should be used, and today, we see that the House of Prayer is a place for those who are separated from God. Historians tell us that the part of the Temple where Jesus cleaned house was the outer court known as the Court of the Gentiles. During the Exile, the Jews had been scattered all across the Middle East and the Mediterranean region — from ancient Persia to Rome, and from Egypt to what is today modern Turkey. Many of the heathen people whom the Jews came in contact with began to adopt Jewish practices and customs. They began to believe in and
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worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As part of their religious practice, they would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, especially around the time of Passover. Because Old Testament laws prohibited Gentiles from entering the inner court of the Temple complex, an outer structure, the Court of the Gentiles, had been built to make those who were not Jews feel welcome. It was in this outer court that we find ‘all them that sold and bought in the temple, including the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.’ The Bible Exposition Commentary tells us that the religious leaders “had turned the court of the Gentiles into a place where foreign Jews could exchange money and purchase sacrifices. What had begun as a service and convenience for visitors from other lands soon turned into a lucrative business. The dealers charged exorbitant prices and no one could compete with them or oppose them. Historians tell us that Annas, the former high priest, was the manager of this enterprise, assisted by his sons.” In this court, ‘shops were everywhere, selling oxen and sheep as well as oil, salt, and wine, and other requisites to sacrifices.’ Basically, the religious leaders of that day had taken something that was supposed to be sacred — a holy meeting place for those who sought after the one, true God — and turned it into something profane — a place where merchandise and money was put over ministry. The presence of this religious mall in the middle of a place meant to be for the worship of God was undoubtedly a turn-off to many spiritually sensitive foreigners. How many came to that place ready to demonstrate their heart’s desire to follow and serve the one, true God, but were
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turned away because they didn’t have the money to pay for animals or other materials? Perhaps there were even some who turned away because they knew that what was going on at the Temple was not right. What about the churches of today? Unfortunately, many are in the unenviable position of being like the Temple of Jesus’ day — a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer; a place to make money rather than minister to those who are coming to the faith. We have allowed other, often frivolous and vain pursuits to get in the way of the true mission of the church, and that is to get people in touch with God through prayer and evangelism. Unfortunately, many churches do not see prayer as a central part of the church’s work. Instead, it is seen as a part of a long list of other non-essentials. Luke tells us in Acts that the early believers “all joined together continually [or constantly] in prayer.” Today, unfortunately, it would be hard to find a church that accurately meets that description — a place where people constantly come together to meet God in prayer. Adam Stadtmiller said, “Today we can find churches known for strong teaching or dynamic worship or social justice or evangelism. With a few exceptions, church leaders do not define themselves by the apostolic standard of the primacy of prayer and the Word.” We must examine ourselves and see if we are guilty of letting other things get in the way of one of the major components of the Christian life. Many churches today must face the fact that they have allowed money, materialism, prestige, and power get in the way of prayer and evangelism. Perhaps that is why our churches are
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suffering, why fewer people are being saved, and why membership is declining. Let us no longer shut out those who are seeking to come to God by making His house a house of merchandise rather than a house of prayer. Jonathan Edwards said it well, “There is no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the kingdom of Christ as by prayer.�
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9 The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 2) TEXT: Matthew 21:10-14 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. What do people think of when they think of the church? Some people think of the church as merely a cultural institution that has no real consequence in everyday life. Some people think of the church as a community outreach center — it only exists to be of assistance to the community, especially when disaster strikes. Others think of the church
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as the place you go for funerals, weddings, and baby dedications. But what should people think of when they think of the church? In our passage, Jesus Christ says that His house should be called “a house of prayer.” Last week, we saw that this entails being a place where people who do not have a relationship with God can draw near to Him. Unfortunately, the Temple — the place which symbolized the presence of God on earth during Jesus’ day — was being defiled by those who were using it as a place of merchandise — a source of income to fill their coffers. Jesus rebukes these people and clears the Temple of the merchants and their wares for the second time in His ministry career. The constant buying and selling going on in the Temple was a hindrance to those who were trying to get to God. Today, we see that the house of prayer is not only a place for those who are separated from God, but it is also a place for the supremacy of God. “Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” No doubt, the Jewish leaders were surprised and shocked that Jesus, who in their minds was just a traveling preacher and miracle-worker, had the boldness to turn things upside down in the Temple. They likely thought to themselves, “Who does this man think He is?” They had turned the Temple into the capital of their little religious empire. They enforced strict traditions not found in the Mosaic law which
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oppressed the people rather than liberated them. Besides providing money for their families, the buying, selling, and money changing in the Temple was devised to keep the masses of people who were sincerely trying to do the right thing beholden to the Jewish leaders. Despite the corruption going on in the Temple, God still considered it His house. The Gospels read that “Jesus went into the temple of God.” Because of our sinful, human nature, people often corrupt what God has set up. But God does not abandon His original purposes. The Temple was still the house of God; it was a place where the supremacy of God was supposed to be evident. Warren Wiersbe said, “When Jesus called the temple ‘My house,’ He was affirming that He is God. When He called it “My house of prayer,” He was quoting Isaiah 56:7. The entire 56th chapter of Isaiah denounces the unfaithful leaders of Israel. The phrase “den of robbers” comes from Jeremiah 7:11 and is part of a long sermon that Jeremiah delivered in the gate of the temple, rebuking the people for the same sins that Jesus saw and judged in His day. What does God want in His house? God wants prayer among His people, for true prayer is an evidence of our dependence on God and our faith in His Word. He also wants people being helped. The needy should feel welcome and should find the kind of help they need. There should be power in God’s house, the power of God working to change people.” Churches today can learn from Jesus’ response to what was going on in the Temple. Even though some pastors and ministry leaders have unfortunately turned their focus from the main purpose of the church, the church still belongs
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to God. Such things as the prosperity gospel, preachers who attempt to please the people with their messages, and teachers who stray from Biblical doctrine have sidetracked, and in some cases, hijacked local congregations. Churches have abandoned their purpose and are not fulfilling the Great Commission. And we wonder why young people are leaving the church, why baptisms are declining, and why active church members are few and far between. The reason is simple: many local churches have become houses of everything else but prayer. If you go to McDonald’s expecting hamburgers and french fries and McDonald’s is serving dog food, you will eventually stop going to McDonald’s. The same is true for the church. People come to the church expecting to meet with God and to be in a place where the supremacy of God is evident. They come expecting life transformation and Biblical teaching that addresses the problems they face in life. If that is not what they find, they will leave. The only way for the church to get back to what it should be is the way Jesus proposed at the Temple: “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.” Jesus told those in the Temple, ‘Stop all this selling and buying and get back to the main thing. Get back to prayer. Get back to communication with God. That should be the focus of gathering here. God should be supreme.’ That is the only way the church can and will rise again in our postmodern world. In 1986, churches in Bemidji, Minnesota, were dying. Spirituality was perfunctory. New souls were not being
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saved. And church attendance was dwindling. The pastors of the city got together and began a crusade for spiritual awakening. For four years, a small group met in united prayer and asked God for a spiritual breakthrough. During this campaign, one of the pastors realized that the midweek prayer meeting had actually become a Bible study. He decided to give the whole service over to prayer, and almost immediately, attendance at the prayer meeting — now that it was not just a prayer meeting in name only — shot up. This pastor’s wife said, “We have seen marriages restored, restitution made, and people walking in victory. We have had a church revival you would dream about.” The pastors agreed that the secret of their success was “the Holy Spirit working in answer to prayer.” What Jesus Christ did in the Temple is probably what He would do in many churches today if He decided to pay us a visit. It is most certainly what He would have us to do ourselves — to get back to prayer, the true purpose of the house of God, so that the power and supremacy of God will once again be manifest in the lives of His people.
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10 The Purpose of the House of Prayer (Part 3) TEXT: Matthew 21:10-14 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Jesus’ actions at the Temple came at a time in history when God was beginning to move the Temple aside as the primary representation of God’s presence on earth and set up the church as that representation. Jesus had predicted the destruction of Temple which occurred about 40 years later when the Romans destroyed the city in 70
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AD. Jesus had also declared Peter as the “rock” upon which He would build His church. So, as we look at Jesus’ admonishments to those leading the services and rituals at the Temple, we can look at our place in the church and apply many of the same principles today. Already we have seen that the house of prayer is a place for those who are separated from God to draw near to Him. Although the Temple was built for the Jews, it became a destination for those Gentiles who wanted to worship and serve the one, true God. The house of prayer is also a place where the supremacy of God should be evident. God declared that the Temple was His house, and as such, His will was to be carried out in it. The church is also God’s house, and we must ask ourselves if the will of God is being done in our churches today. As we close out our look at this event from Jesus’ ministry, please notice that the “house of prayer” is also a place for people to receive spiritual and physical blessings from God. After Jesus cleans out the Temple and rebukes the religious leaders for making it a house of merchandise and a den of thieves, the Bible tells us that “the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.” The fact that “the blind and the lame” are mentioned specifically is important because many Jews did not believe that anyone who had a physical defect should be allowed on the Temple property. Dr. John Nolland states, “Matthew makes a point of noting that this event also takes place in the temple. As with the disruption of the market, the location is the most public part of the temple, where even Gentiles were permitted.” The people who were traditionally cut off from the assembly of Israel were
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brought in by Jesus in a very public fashion. They were touched by God and were made whole. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the church today is that many people come to church but don’t come to meet God. People come to see and be seen, to keep the tradition of church attendance, to attract a potential spouse, to do a job as a church employee, to meet up with someone regarding a business deal, and a host of other reasons. Unfortunately, in many ways, the church has become more of a community get-together than a place where people gather to meet with God. A recent survey discovered that the number one reason new visitors decide to cease attending a church is due to the church’s “stand up and greet one another time during the worship service.” While that is a slightly humorous point, and it may not seem like a bad thing to do, it underlines the fact that the church ought to be a place where people go, not to meet other people, but to meet God, to receive new life from Him through the preaching of His Word, and to see positive changes come about in their lives for His glory. Just like the lives of the blind and lame were forever changed by their encounter with Jesus in the Temple, the church today must also be a place where people can meet God and be forever changed. The Gospel of Luke provides us with further details of Jesus’ activity in the Temple after He cleaned it out. Luke 19:47-48 says, “And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.”
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Apparently, the Jewish religious leaders were more concerned about making money than about ministering to the spiritual needs of the people from the Word of God. So we see that when Jesus began to teach in the Temple, the people were “very attentive to hear him.” One way in which people meet with God is through the Holy Spiritinspired teaching of His Word. Jesus’ teaching went on for several days. During this time, the chief priests and scribes, who were already upset over the loss of income during this critical time just before the Passover, began looking for a way in which they could destroy Jesus. However, they were afraid of how the people would react. It seemed as though with every hour Jesus spent teaching, the people loved Him even more. The plain teaching of the Word will always make those who are determined to persist in sin angry. They do not want to hear what God has to say because they want to do what they want to do. We see this in the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders. However, the people who had been long deprived of true Biblical teaching were hungry for the Word of God and they gladly heard it from Jesus Christ. As has been highlighted more and more in recent weeks, it appears as though the church in our society is experiencing a major decline: people are turning away from the faith and church membership is diminishing. Some would have us to believe that this is because of the church’s “outdated” teaching on certain issues. However, the opposite is actually true: Churches today are seeing decline because the church has tried to adapt its teaching to the world. According to a Charisma News article, a close
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look at the data reveals that “it is the liberal churches, those which embrace abortion and homosexual practice and which compromise biblical truth and biblical standards, which have experienced the steepest decline in membership.” Forty years ago, a German theologian, Gerhard Meier, wrote a controversial book criticizing much of the teaching that was going on in Christian seminaries, especially those in Europe. In his day, young preachers were being taught the “historical critical” method of interpretation — being told that Moses didn’t write Genesis thru Deuteronomy, that the prophets couldn’t have predicted the coming of Jesus Christ, that Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, and that the Bible was not infallible, among other things. These preachers would then go out and preach to their congregations based on what they had learned. The congregants came to church to find strength and guidance from God’s Word, to grow in faith and hope, and to learn how to deal with difficulties in their lives, but the pastors themselves were full of unbelief. And so, like we see today all across Europe, cathedrals that could seat 1,000 people now have less than 100 in attendance on Sunday morning. (The lack of clear Bible teaching has gotten so bad that, after Ireland voted to legalize homosexual marriage, a homosexual atheist wrote an article criticizing the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church for not standing up against the so-called “social revolution.”) Could it be that what has happened in Europe is happening in America today? People have stopped coming to church because many churches have stopped preaching uncompromised Biblical truth that is relevant
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to everyday life. What Jesus does in the Temple in Jerusalem gives us an early glimpse of what should be the purpose of the church — the house of prayer. This passage is a reminder that God is calling us, as His people, to return to the original purpose of His house. The house of prayer is to be a place where people who are far from God can draw close to God through His Son Jesus Christ. The house of prayer is to be a place where God’s supremacy is on display; He is to be first and foremost in our worship. And the house of prayer is to be a place where people get in touch with God and hear from God through the preaching of His Holy Word. I believe that we can see the church become more effective in its mission to reach the world and win souls to Christ. But it starts with returning to the original purpose of the church through prayer, and a commitment to doing God’s will no matter the cost.
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11 Fake Christians and Fruitful Christians TEXT: Matthew 21:18-22 18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew Henry said, “Faith is the soul, prayer is the body; both together make a complete man for any service. Faith, if it be right, will excite prayer; and prayer is not right, if it do not spring from faith. This is the condition of our
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receiving—we must ask in prayer, believing.” Matthew Poole said, “Nothing is too big for true faith to obtain, but that faith must have a promise to lean upon.” F.B. Meyer said, “We can only believe for a thing when we are in such union with God that his thought and purpose can freely flow into us, suggesting what we should pray for, and leading us to that point in which there is a perfect sympathy and understanding between us and the divine mind. Faith is always the product of such a frame as this.” We are in a series of messages titled “Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible.” The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have completed 143 messages in this series. This is message #144 titled, Fake Christians and Fruitful Christians Our passage today is one with which many of us are familiar. However, while we often focus on the latter part in which Jesus exhorts His disciples to pray in faith so that they can move mountains, we miss the true message Jesus intended to communicate by making an object lesson of the fig tree, and that is what we will look at today. The Bible reads, “Now in the morning as [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but
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leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” Jesus was on His way back into Jerusalem. A previous verse in this chapter tells us that although Jesus visited Jerusalem during the day, He lodged in Bethany at night. So, as He was going back into the city, He was hungry and went over to a fig tree that grew by the road expecting to find fruit, but there was no fruit growing on it. So Jesus curses the fig tree and condemns it to never bear fruit again. We are told that the tree withers away quickly and the disciples are amazed by this event. It seems absurd that Jesus would curse a fig tree for not bearing any fruit. After all, it isn’t the tree’s fault. The Gospel of Mark informs us that it was not even the time of year for figs to be growing. Perhaps the figs that had been on the tree had been picked by others already. Cursing a fig tree for not having any fruit is like kicking a chicken for not producing any eggs. It’s pointless. But in Jesus’ case, there really is a lesson He wants us to learn. To understand the lesson Jesus is teaching, we must understand the significance of a fig tree in first century Palestine. Fig trees were long seen as symbols of prosperity, pleasure, and security. A flourishing fig tree was a good sign. Old Testament prophets such as Hosea and Jeremiah often used the fig tree as a symbol of Israel. For example, Jeremiah 8:13 states, “I will surely consume [Israel], says the LORD. No grapes shall be on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things I have given them shall pass away from them.”
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The second thing we must understand is the context of Jesus’ action. We recall from this very same passage that Jesus had the previous day gone into the Temple, cleansed it, and rebuked the religious leaders for making the house of prayer a den of thieves. We are also told that Jesus preached in the Temple for several days after that, so Jesus is on His way to continue His teaching when this event with the fig tree takes place. Jesus uses the image of the fig tree to illustrate the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel at that time: seemingly flourishing, but actually fruitless. There was a lot of religiosity going on in Israel, but there was little to no real spiritual fruit. This spiritual deadness was evident in the majority of Jews rejecting Jesus as the Messiah — which was shown vividly just a few days later when many cried out for Him to be crucified. At one point, Jesus even told the Jews, “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God.” He went on to say, “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” The fig tree is described as “having leaves only.” The leaves made it look like the tree was bearing fruit, but upon closer examination, there was no fruit. Listen to what Richard Lenski states in his commentary: “Jesus was thoroughly disappointed when he found nothing on it save leaves only; not even green, unripe fruit, for this is what ‘leaves only’ means. Jesus would not have blasted this tree if it had had even a little immature fruit. But here this tree with its grand foliage was nothing but empty pretense, and whereas it led one to expect that it might have at least
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a few figs that were fit to eat, it had absolutely nothing ‘save leaves only!'” When Jesus said, “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever,” He was stating a verdict not just on the tree but also symbolically on the nation of Israel. The Israel that had shown itself to be spiritually deficient would wither away just as the tree did. C.H. Spurgeon said, “The first Adam came to the fig tree for leaves, but the Second Adam looks for figs.” R.T. France said, “In this acted-out-parable, Jesus warned of coming judgment upon an unfruitful Israel. It was a way to show God’s disapproval of people who are all leaves and no fruit. ‘The story is clear and simple, and its point obvious, that what counts is not promise but performance.’” What is the application for us today as twenty-first century believers? The application is this: We ought to not just look spiritually fruitful, but to actually be spiritually fruitful. Appearances can be deceiving. The hustle and bustle of the Temple and all of the people converging on Jerusalem for the Passover made it look like the nation of Israel was truly in line with God’s will. However, throughout His ministry, Jesus repeatedly pulled back the covers on the religious hypocrisy of the Jews — especially the religious leaders. He called them ‘white-washed tombs': they looked pretty on the outside but on the inside were full of dead men’s bones. Like the fig tree, they had a lot of leaves, but no actual fruit. We must consider if our churches today are more like the
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Temple of the first century instead of what Jesus intended us to be. In the Temple, there was a lot of money being given, a lot of Scripture being read, a lot of sacrifices being made, but none of that was being borne out in the hearts and lives of the people. Do we have a heart that is full of unbelief toward God? Are we just going through the religious motions — looking like we are bearing spiritual fruit, but not actually bearing any? As we see in this passage, Jesus is highly displeased with mere religiosity. He does not want followers who “act” saved, but followers who are saved. Without genuine faith in Jesus Christ, we may look good before men, but when Jesus looks closely at our lives, He will see that we are spiritually deficient. Today, we must make the true spiritual condition of our lives a matter of prayer. We must make the true spiritual condition of the church a matter of prayer. Let us repent of being “leafy” Christians. Let us pray for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we may indeed bear the fruit of the Spirit. Let us pray that when Jesus looks at our lives, He sees real fruit and is pleased with us as His servants.
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12 Moving Mountains Through Prayer and Faith TEXT: Matthew 21:18-22 18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. The disciples who were with Jesus as he traveled back and forth to Jerusalem seemed to have missed the meaning of this event immediately after it happened. They did not see that in just a few more years, Israel, in all its
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religious glory, would “wither away” as a result of God’s judgment. It is likely that, as we are shown numerous times in the Gospels, Jesus took the disciples aside and explained the meaning of His actions to them later. But right now, Matthew tells us that the disciples “marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away.” They were amazed at the suddenness at which Jesus’ pronouncement had come to pass. Jesus took the opportunity provided by their amazement to tell them: “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Dr. Louis Barbieri said, “Jesus used this event to teach a lesson in faith, for if they had genuine faith in God they not only would be able to do miracles such as seeing a fig tree wither away, but they would be able to move mountains. If they truly believed, they would receive whatever they prayed for. The Lord was teaching the importance of faith rather than doubting or simply marveling. By contrast the nation of Israel had failed to exercise faith in Him.” Now, Jesus was not teaching the disciples to go around cursing fig trees or commanding mountains to move at will and expecting it to happen. The fig tree withered away because Jesus, in accordance with God’s will, commanded it to die. Jesus’ teaching is that those with true faith can do great things for God when their faith moves them to seek His will in believing prayer and then obediently do it. In other words, this teaching is not a blank
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check allowing you to “command” or “receive in faith” anything you want and expect it to happen for you. Some Christians have taken license with this verse and have twisted it to mean that God is somehow obligated to do anything and everything we ask of Him as long as we have enough faith. Our faith does not obligate God to do whatever we ask, but it does unleash His power in accordance with His will. The question we must ask when we look at this passage is: What is the will of God? In the immediate context, the will of God was for the hypocritical religious system of first century Israel to be torn down and for a new religious system — the New Testament church, the Kingdom of God on Earth — to be built up. Thus, for the disciples, this teaching was extremely important. They would face great opposition in their mission to build up the kingdom of God after Jesus Christ went back to Heaven. It is at those times, they would have to have faith, express that faith through prayer, and trust God to “move mountains” on their behalf — not simply because they asked for it, but because it was in accordance with His will. Emil Brunner states, “Through God’s self-communication [prayer], man becomes a ‘labourer together with God’ – a thought of such audacity that a man whose heart is rooted and grounded in the sovereignty of God as the foundation of all his faith scarcely dares to give it expression.” After Jesus went back to Heaven, the apostles and first century believers triumphed against tremendous opposition from religious Jews, secular Gentiles, and the Roman government. They were ‘laboring with God’, carrying out
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His will, on earth. They not only had faith in Jesus Christ, but in the Kingdom of God that they were helping to build up on earth. Because they were doing God’s will, they knew that God would move any mountain that stood in their way. Jesus tells us that we should “have faith” and “doubt not.” Matthew Henry states that this means we should “dispute not with the promise of God.” If something is God’s will, if God has promised something, then we should have faith that He can and will do it. And we should express that faith in prayer. Tim Chester states, “God acts in response to our prayers. James suggests there are things God does not do because we do not pray: ‘You do not have, because you do not ask God.'” If we know that something is God’s will, why don’t we pray for it? It is because of a lack of faith. Prayer and faith go hand-in-hand. Our faith in God’s ability will lead us to prayer. Our prayers then are a demonstration of our faith. Our faith is like the engine and prayer is the vehicle that demonstrates our belief. Jesus Christ said, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Right now, dear friend, there might be things that God has in store for you (that are His will for you) that have not come to pass simply because you do not have faith and you have not shown that faith through prayer. Perhaps right now there are storehouses of blessing that God wants to shower on you. perhaps right now there are mountains in your life that are in the way of God’s will for you. It might be restoration for your marriage and family. It might be healing from some physical ailment. It might be a resolution of
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financial difficulties. It might be someone you know who needs salvation. Whatever it is, if it is God’s will, then trust in God, have faith in God, doubt not, and pray! Pray in faith believing and you will receive!
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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