Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is John 15:7 which reads: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

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

Our union with Christ is maintained by the word. It is in the word that Christ is set before us, and offered to us. It is in the word that we receive and embrace him; and so where the word of Christ dwells richly there Christ dwells. If the word be our constant guide and monitor, if it be in us as at home, then we abide in Christ, and he in us. How our communion with Christ is maintained—by prayer: You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. And what can we desire more than to have what we will for the asking? Note, Those that abide in Christ as their heart’s delight shall have, through Christ, their heart’s desire. If we have Christ, we shall want nothing that is good for us. Two things are implied in this promise:—First, That if we abide in Christ, and his word in us, we shall not ask any thing but what is proper to be done for us. The promises abiding in us lie ready to be turned into prayers; and the prayers so regulated cannot but speed. Secondly, That if we abide in Christ and his word we shall have such an interest in God’s favour and Christ’s mediation that we shall have an answer of peace to all our prayers.

Our prayer motivator quote today is from Jonathan Edwards. He said: “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.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 3 of our series titled “WHY PRAYER SHOULD BE DEFINITE” from Dr. John R. Rice.

How refreshing is the beautiful story told in Genesis, chapter 24, of the old servant of Abraham who was sent back to the Land of Ur to get a bride for Isaac. Verses 12 to 14 give us his prayer as follows:

“And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Issac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.”

Isn’t that a definite prayer? He asked that God would send to him the very girl He wanted to be a bride for Isaac He even gives the very sentence she is to say, “Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.” And while he was yet praying, we are told Rebekah came out, gave him water and offered to water all his camels; and succeeding events proved she was God’s answer to his and Abraham’s prayer. And if men and women should pray as definitely about mates today, in the same spirit, no doubt God would guide them just as clearly to happy marriage, under His clear guiding.

How definite was the request of Moses when he asked that the ground open and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families in Numbers 16. And so Elijah prayed for drought and got drought, prayed for rain and got rain, prayed for fire from Heaven and got fire from Heaven! And when Joshua asked for the sun to stand still, he told the sun exactly where to stop in the heavens and then turned and ordered the moon, giving explicit directions where it should stay in its relation to the earth. In Joshua 10:12 we read, “And he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon”.

How blessedly definite were the prayers of the Bible characters who got things from God!

+ Plus, listen to The Katinas singing “Praying for You”

Why Prayer Should be Definite and Explicit, Part 1 (The Prayer Motivator Devotional #215)

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is 1 Peter 3:12 which reads: “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

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

Peter shows that Christians need not fear that such patient inoffensive behaviour as is prescribed will invite and encourage the cruelty of their enemies, for God will thereby be engaged on their side:

“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous” — he takes special notice of them, exercises a providential constant government over them, and bears a special respect and affection to them.

“His ears are open to their prayers” — so that if any injuries be offered to them they have this remedy, they may complain of it to their heavenly Father, whose ears are always attentive to the prayers of his servants in their distresses, and who will certainly aid them against their unrighteous enemies.

“But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil” — his anger, and displeasure, and revenge, will pursue them; for he is more an enemy to wicked persecutors than men are.

Observe,

(1.) We must not in all cases adhere to the express words of scripture, but study the sense and meaning of them, otherwise we shall be led into blasphemous errors and absurdities: we must not imagine that God hath eyes, and ears, and face, though these are the express words of the scripture.

(2.) God hath a special care and paternal affection towards all his righteous people.

(3.) God doth always hear the prayers of the faithful, Jn. 4:31 ; 1 Jn. 5:14 ; Heb. 4:16 .

(4.) Though God is infinitely good, he abhors impenitent sinners, and will pour out his wrath upon those that do evil. He will do himself right, and do all the world justice; and his goodness is no obstruction to his doing so.

Our prayer motivator quote today is from Charles Finney. He said: “Effective prayer is prayer that attains what it seeks. It is prayer that moves God, effecting its end.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 1 of a new series titled “WHY PRAYER SHOULD BE DEFINITE AND EXPLICIT” from Dr. John R. Rice.

The model prayer the Saviour taught us all to pray is certainly explicit. A Christian is taught to pray about his food, “Give us this day…”

In other words, instead of praying in lump sums and indefinite terms, God wants the Christian to ask for exactly what he wants that day. This means that the Christian who is in the will of God should be expected often to have his prayers answered the same day he prays! Happy is the Christian who can confidently ask his Heavenly Father, “Give me my food this very day.”

The disciples heard Jesus praying and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So Jesus taught them to pray by the example of a man who goes to his friend at midnight and says, “Friend, lend me three loaves.”

Not just, “Lend me some bread,” nor “Have you got anything to eat in the house?” but rather, exactly and definitely, “Lend me three loaves”. What a thrilling example of definite praying Jesus gave us!

But this idea is inherent in all the promises throughout the Bible about prayer. For example, in Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

There are many marvelous truths in this promise, but note that Jesus certainly meant that a Christian ought to have certain definite desires in his mind when he prays and then ought to be able to trust God and get exactly those things from God which he requests. Prayer, in the Bible sense, is getting down to brass tacks and asking God for exactly what you want. Prayer is not only asking, but it is asking something. It is hardly prayer if it is not definite.

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Psalm 4:1 which reads: “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.”

Our prayer motivator quote today is from J. Hudson Taylor. He said: “The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 2 of our series titled “THE POWER OF PRAYING DEFINITELY” from Dr. John R. Rice.

In any matter of daily living, we make our requests definite. We never go into a restaurant and say, “Bring me some food.” We carefully select from the menu just what we want and think we can pay for. Perhaps we say, “I want the small steak, cooked medium; some French fried potatoes, and a salad. I want black tea, hot, with cream; and orange Jello for dessert.” When you buy a meal, you are definite in what you want.

No woman ever goes into a grocery store and says, “Please give me a basket of groceries.” Rather, she selects a certain brand of whole wheat bread, the best-looking head of lettuce, three grapefruit, and asks at the meat counter for two pounds of her favorite bacon. We are very definite in making our requests known about other matters. Then why do we not pray definitely also?

No man whose house is on fire calls the fire department and says, “It may be my house is on fire. I saw some smoke coming out the roof a bit ago, but I have not investigated. Could you come out some day, if it pleases you, and put it out?” Yet many a Christian will pray about an unsaved loved one who is lost and may die any moment and go into eternal torment, and will say, “Lord, if it be Thy will, some day before it is too late, save my brother.”

The modern idea and the modern practice about prayer is so indefinite that it is silly and wicked. Prayer is very definitely asking God for something. It ought to be as specific as a sick man’s calling a doctor, as a housewife’s giving an order to the grocery man, as an unemployed man’s asking for a job, as a child’s asking for an ice-cream cone.

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Psalm 118:5 which reads: “I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.”

Our prayer motivator quote today is from Jonathan Edwards. He said: “The true spirit of prayer is no other than God’s own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints. And as this spirit comes from God, so doth it naturally tend to God in holy breathings and pantings. It naturally leads to God, to converse with him by prayer.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 1 of a new series titled “THE POWER OF PRAYING DEFINITELY” from Dr. John R. Rice.

Mark 11:24 reads, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Matthew 6:11 states, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Luke 11:5 says, “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;”

John R. Rice tells this story: I was only a young Christian, about 18, in the cattle country of West Texas, when a dear country preacher, R.H. Gibson, took me with him to a rural community for revival services at the Black Flat schoolhouse. The first Monday morning, after one day’s services, he and I went out early to pray. He read some verses from his little Testament, then said, “Can we agree on something definite to ask God to give us in the service tonight?”

We talked it over prayerfully and finally agreed that it seemed God was laying on our hearts to pray for 5 souls to be saved that night. We prayed, he first and then I, asking God to give us 5 souls in the evening service. That night 5 souls were saved and came out so publicly, so openly for Christ that no one doubted their salvation.

The next morning we rejoiced together in our place of quiet prayer out among the rocks and waited on the Lord to see if He would lead us again to know just how many we should ask. After a quiet time of discussion we each felt led to ask for 3 souls to be saved that night. We prayed, each of us, for 3 souls. That night 3 people were happily converted and came out in open profession of faith in Christ. Later we named particular people in our prayers and felt clearly led to ask for their conversions in the services that evening. That very evening we prayed for Bill Palm to be saved and he trusted Christ as his Saviour. (Later he was my roommate in college.)

In those few days it dawned upon me that God wanted Christians to pray for definite objects, to be explicit in their requests.