Today, I would like to begin by sharing with you a poem titled “God’s Answers to Prayers” by Beth Fisher.

Dear Lord, help me understand, as I kneel to pray,
That You, indeed, will answer it, though there are several ways.
The first, of course, is obvious, the one we most like to receive.
If everyone got a “yes” to their prayers, it would be easy to believe.

But, Father, there are two more ways You may handle my appeal.
So, please don’t let Your denial dampen my spiritual zeal.
For You alone can see beyond the benefits I ask for,
So help me take “no” for an answer, when You decide to close the door.

And don’t let me forget the third way You may answer my request,
Because You know exactly the time that it would benefit me best.
You see, the hardest answer of them all, develops true virtue –
For we develop patience, Lord, when we learn to wait on You.

The simple purpose of this broadcast is to motivate, encourage, and exhort you to Just Pray. This radio broadcast is not necessarily for people who already know the secret and power of prayer and who actually practice genuine prayer on a regular basis, rather it is for those who may find it difficult to pray or for people who claim they do not have time to pray. I am convinced that most Christian people do not need to learn how to pray; they need to Just Pray! If I can get you to just pray, all sorts of wonderful things will begin to happen for you, your family, and whatever God has called you to do. We do not pray based upon our subjective feelings, we pray based upon objective facts in the Word of God.

Our prayer motivator passage from the Word of God today is Matthew 6:5 which reads:

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

Allow me to share with you some important points regarding this verse from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

The encouragements here given to us are:

Thy Father seeth in secret; his eye is upon thee to accept thee, when the eye of no man is upon thee to applaud thee; under the fig-tree, I saw thee, said Christ to Nathaniel. He saw Paul at prayer in such a street, at such a house. There is not a secret, sudden breathing after God, but he observes it.

He will reward thee openly; they have their reward that do it openly, and thou shalt not lose thine for thy doing it in secret. It is called a reward, but it is of grace, not of debt; what merit can there be in begging? The reward will be open; they shall not only have it, but have it honourably: the open reward is that which hypocrites are fond of, but they have not patience to stay for it; it is that which the sincere are dead to, and they shall have it over and above. Sometimes secret prayers are rewarded openly in this world by signal answers to them, which manifests God’s praying people in the consciences of their adversaries; however, at the great day there will be an open reward, when all praying people shall appear in glory with the great Intercessor. The Pharisees ha their reward before all the town, and it was a mere flash and shadow; true Christians shall have theirs before all the world, angels and men, and it shall be a weight of glory.

We must not use vain repetitions in prayer. Though the life of prayer lies in lifting up the soul and pouring out the heart, yet there is some interest which words have in prayer, especially in joint prayer; for in that, words are necessary, and it should seem that our Saviour speaks here especially of that; for before He said, when thou prayest, He here, when ye pray; and the Lord’s prayer which follows is a joint prayer, and in that, He that is the mouth of others is most tempted to an ostentation of language and expression, against which we are here warned; use not vain repetitions, either alone or with others: the Pharisees affected this, they made long prayers, all their care was to make them long.

Our featured prayer motivator quote is from E.M. Bounds. He said: “Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer.”

My personal encouragement for you today is this: Many people do not like to pray because prayer to God will convict you to get sin out of your life. In order to effectively get through to God in prayer, we must be willing to confess and repent of our sins and allow God to create within us a clean heart so that He will not only hear us but answer us.

Our prayer motivator devotional today is titled “PRAYER AND THE HOUSE OF GOD” part 1 from the book, “Necessity of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds. And, I want to remind you to take advantage of our special offer. If you enjoy this podcast, please feel free to purchase a copy of the book that we are using in this podcast — “Necessity of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds. The Lord used the writings of E.M. Bounds to teach me the power of prayer when I was a young Christian, and I assure you that his writings will be a blessing to your life as well. The book is available on our website for just $15. You can make your purchase today at PrayerMD.com or PrayerMotivatorDevotional.com.

E.M. Bounds goes on to say:

Prayer stands related to places, times, occasions and circumstances. It has to do with God and with everything which is related to God, and it has an intimate and special relationship to His house. A church is a sacred place, set apart from all unhallowed and secular uses, for the worship of God. As worship is prayer, the house of God is a place set apart for worship. It is no common place; it is where God dwells, where He meets with His people, and He delights in the worship of His saints.

Prayer is always in place in the house of God. When prayer is a stranger there, then it ceases to be God’s house at all. Our Lord put peculiar emphasis upon what the Church was when He cast out the buyers and sellers in the Temple, repeating the words from Isaiah, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer.” He makes prayer preeminent, that which stands out above all else in the house of God. They, who sidetrack prayer or seek to minify it, and give it a secondary place, pervert the Church of God, and make it something less and other than it is ordained to be.

Prayer is perfectly at home in the house of God. It is no stranger, no mere guest; it belongs there. It has a peculiar affinity for the place, and has, moreover, a Divine right there, being set, therein, by Divine appointment and approval.

The inner chamber is a sacred place for personal worship. The house of God is a holy place for united worship. The prayer-closet is for individual prayer. The house of God is for mutual prayer, concerted prayer, united prayer. Yet even in the house of God, there is the element of private worship, since God’s people are to worship Him and pray to Him, personally, even in public worship. The Church is for the united prayer of kindred, yet individual believers.

Now, friend, it is time for us to pray…

Remember, the announcer will provide the information for you to send in your prayer request at the end of this broadcast.

Please join me in prayer……..

We pray collectively and individually for the following:
> 3 million people to come to know You as Saviour
> the revival of the church
> the healing of families
> the healing of this nation
> blessings and guidance for all pastors, church leaders, and missionaries
> salvation, leadership, and wisdom for the president and for all governmental officials who run this country and all other countries.

Now, Lord, we pray for three people who have sent in prayer requests:

– Ina in Albania
please give her faith, confidence, peace, and joy in you; deliver her from depression and being bullied because of her freckles, help her not to hate herself

– Paule
please fill her and anoint her to do everything by Your Holy Spirit and use her to do Your work

– Karen
please reunite and save her family

Holy Father God, we pray for the following people who have accepted You into their hearts. We pray, Lord, that you would confirm them in the faith and have them to grow in the faith to become the Holy Spirit-filled Christians that You want them to be. We pray specifically for —-

Estelle in Mumbai, India
Janine in Mauritius, McCann
Vitallis in Zimbabwe

Now, Lord we pray for the following people who have been saved for a while but who have recommitted their lives to You. We rejoice with them in this decision and pray that they will keep their commitments to You and be strengthened in the faith. We pray specifically for —-

Margaret in Mombasa, Kenya
Josephine in Solomon Island
Mabina in Limpopo

Amen.

Now, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time,

Remember, friend, Pray, Think, Do! God Bless You!

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.