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:

This verse shows that Christians need not fear that 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. We observe here that God hath a special care and paternal affection towards all his righteous people and He doth always hear the prayers of the faithful. Though God is infinitely good, yet 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 an Jerry Bridges. He said: “Prayer assumes the sovereignty of God. If God is not sovereign, we have no assurance that He is able to answer our prayers. Our prayers would become nothing more than wishes. But while God’s sovereignty, along with his wisdom and love, is the foundation of our trust in Him, prayer is the expression of that trust.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 7 of our series titled “PRAYING THROUGH” from Dr. John R. Rice.

BIBLE PROOF TEXTS THAT A SINNER NEED NEVER PRAY THROUGH TO BE SAVED

There are two kinds of proof in the Bible that a sinner need never pray through in order to be saved.

First, the plain precepts showing the plan of salvation. Again the Scriptures make it clear that instant salvation is available to those who believe. Consider the following:

John 1:12 states, ” But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

John 3:16 states, “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.”

John 3:18 states, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36 states, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

John 5:24 states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

John 6:40 states, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:47 states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

Acts 10:43 states, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

Acts 13:39 states, “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

Acts 16:31 states, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

No honest reader of these verses can say they involve a praying-through process in order to be saved. No, they teach instant faith in Christ. The instant one trusts in Christ, he already has everlasting life.

+ Plus, listen to Tobymac singing “City On Our Knees”

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Psalm 27:8 which reads: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.”

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

We notice from this verse the kind of invitation of a gracious God to this duty: “Thou saidst, Seek you my face;” it is not only permission, but a precept; and his commanding us to seek implies a promise of finding; for he is too kind to say, “Seek you me in vain.” God calls us to seek his face in our conversion to him and in our converse with him. He calls us, by the whispers of his Spirit to and with our spirits, to seek his face; he calls us by his word, by the stated returns of opportunities for his worship, and by special providences, merciful and afflictive. When we are foolishly making our court to lying vanities God is, in love to us, calling us in him to seek our own mercies. We notice the ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation. The call is immediately returned: “My heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” The call was general; “Seek you my face;’’ but, like David, we must apply it to ourselves, “I will seek it.’’ The word does us no good when we transfer it to others, and do not ourselves accept the exhortation. The call was, “Seek you my face;” the answer is express, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Behold, Lord, we come unto thee.

Our prayer motivator quote today is from an Unknown Author. He said: “The simple fact is, we are too vague and, as a consequence, too indifferent in our prayers and prayer meetings. We do not seem like people asking for what they want, and waiting for what they ask. This is what destroys our prayer meetings, rendering them pithless, pointless, powerless; turning them into teaching or talking meetings, rather than deep-toned, earnest prayer meetings.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 6 of our series titled “PRAYING THROUGH” from Dr. John R. Rice.

The truth is that no sinner ever sought God but that God had been seeking him long before. No sinner ever became willing to be saved but that God was willing all the time, even while the sinner was yet a rebel. If God has already provided for the salvation of every sinner who will trust Christ, and if He has freely offered salvation and promised it instantly to those who trust Christ, then a sinner can be instantly saved; and there is never any reason for a sinner to delay salvation a moment.

In fact, persistent praying and mourning and pleading on the part of a sinner are sometimes outright sin. It is a human substitution for the one thing God commanded him to do. God commands that the sinner repent. And that means, not a long period of penance, as Roman Catholics translate the word in their Bible, but an instant turning of heart from sin to Christ. God commands that every sinner everywhere look to Jesus and be saved. And if you spend your time pleading instead of accepting freely what God has already offered, you not only disobey God, but you make Him a liar, indicating He is unwilling to give what He has plainly promised. The only way a lost sinner can obey the Lord in this matter is to trust Christ instantly and depend on Him for salvation, believing that He does, yea, has already done, what He promised to do, as soon as the sinner trusts in Him.

In Dallas, Texas, in an open air revival one night a number of people came to trust in Christ. They came to the front to take my hand, after a clear Bible message, and after the invitation had made it insistently plain that they were simply to turn their hearts from sin and trust in Christ for salvation and a new heart and everlasting life. Those who came forward were dealt with by me personally. In a few words I probed into their hearts the best I could to see that they came admitting they were wicked sinners who needed forgiveness, and if they now at once, wholeheartedly, were putting their trust in Christ. They were a happy bench-full of people when we had the benediction. Then a woman came forward and said to me, “Brother Rice, don’t you think we had better get these people on their knees?”

“Well, praying is always all right,” I said, “but what for?”

“To get them to pray through,” she answered.

“But Christ has already PAID through,” I said, “and so a sinner never has to pray through.”

Christ has done so much for man’s salvation that man does not have to do anything — work, keep commandments, weep, pray, mourn. Simply he has to accept what Christ has done for him. The instant there is a living faith in the heart, a surrendering to and trusting Jesus, the sinner is saved.

+ Plus, listen to Andrae Crouch singing “Pray”

pray, prayer, praying, john r rice, daniel whyte iii, christian, faith, God

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Psalm 27:8 which reads: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.”

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

David expresses his desire towards God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry, not only with my heart, but, as one in earnest, with my voice too.’’ He bespeaks also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but God’s goodness: “Have mercy upon me, and answer me.” If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty. It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance unless he hold forth to us the golden sceptre. David therefore going to pray fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden sceptre which was thereby held out to him.

We will discuss this verse further in the next broadcast.

Our prayer motivator quote today is from J.B. Johnson. He said: “The prayer meeting answers to this demand of the spiritual brotherhood, with more exclusiveness and direct fitness than any other ordinance of religious worship… There is a power in conferring and covenanting, on the part of kindred spirits, to come before God, and plead together some special promise… The prayer meeting is a divine ordinance, founded in man’s social nature… The prayer meeting is a special means of developing and cultivating Christian graces, and of promoting individual and social edification.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 4 of our series titled “PRAYING THROUGH” from Dr. John R. Rice.

There is no special way a person has to feel in order to be saved. There is no special experience one has to go through emotionally in order to be saved. One who believes in Christ, in the sense of committal, dependence, trust, is already born again. Thus some people are saved who do not remember any emotional crisis and cannot prove by their experience emotionally that they are saved.

People often say, “I know I am saved because I was there when it happened.” That sounds good, but that is not the Bible way to tell that you are saved. I was there when I was born the first time, too, but I do not remember anything about it. I would not know the day I was born, nor who my father was, nor who my mother was, nor who the doctor was, nor how much I weighed, from the simple fact that I was there when it happened. No, the truth of the matter is that I took Mother’s word for it. She cherished the day carefully, and it was she who taught me to call her “Mama,” and to call my daddy “Papa,” and to remember December 11th as my birthday. So I take my first birth and the details about it on the authority of one who knows. And that is the only sure way to know about the second birth, too. God’s Word tells me that if I trusted Him, I am saved, forgiven. And that is the sure evidence.

To be sure, I later found that there were certain physical similarities and mental and spiritual similarities between my mother and my father and me. I have evidence within me that I am their child.

And so a Christian may have evidence in his own heart that there has been a change, that he is born again. But he must not depend upon his own observation nor opinions in such matters. Let him have the twofold witness: first, from the Word of God that when he trusts Christ he is saved; and second, of this Holy Spirit within him that tells him his sin is forgiven, and then he may know he is saved.

+ Plus, listen to Daniel White Jr. singing “Prayer”

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Psalm 27:8 which reads: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.”

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

David expresses his desire towards God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry, not only with my heart, but, as one in earnest, with my voice too.’’ He bespeaks also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but God’s goodness: “Have mercy upon me, and answer me.” If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty. It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance unless he hold forth to us the golden sceptre. David therefore going to pray fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden sceptre which was thereby held out to him.

We will discuss this verse further in the next broadcast.

Our prayer motivator quote today is from J.B. Johnson. He said: “The prayer meeting answers to this demand of the spiritual brotherhood, with more exclusiveness and direct fitness than any other ordinance of religious worship… There is a power in conferring and covenanting, on the part of kindred spirits, to come before God, and plead together some special promise… The prayer meeting is a divine ordinance, founded in man’s social nature… The prayer meeting is a special means of developing and cultivating Christian graces, and of promoting individual and social edification.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 4 of our series titled “PRAYING THROUGH” from Dr. John R. Rice.

There is no special way a person has to feel in order to be saved. There is no special experience one has to go through emotionally in order to be saved. One who believes in Christ, in the sense of committal, dependence, trust, is already born again. Thus some people are saved who do not remember any emotional crisis and cannot prove by their experience emotionally that they are saved.

People often say, “I know I am saved because I was there when it happened.” That sounds good, but that is not the Bible way to tell that you are saved. I was there when I was born the first time, too, but I do not remember anything about it. I would not know the day I was born, nor who my father was, nor who my mother was, nor who the doctor was, nor how much I weighed, from the simple fact that I was there when it happened. No, the truth of the matter is that I took Mother’s word for it. She cherished the day carefully, and it was she who taught me to call her “Mama,” and to call my daddy “Papa,” and to remember December 11th as my birthday. So I take my first birth and the details about it on the authority of one who knows. And that is the only sure way to know about the second birth, too. God’s Word tells me that if I trusted Him, I am saved, forgiven. And that is the sure evidence.

To be sure, I later found that there were certain physical similarities and mental and spiritual similarities between my mother and my father and me. I have evidence within me that I am their child.

And so a Christian may have evidence in his own heart that there has been a change, that he is born again. But he must not depend upon his own observation nor opinions in such matters. Let him have the twofold witness: first, from the Word of God that when he trusts Christ he is saved; and second, of this Holy Spirit within him that tells him his sin is forgiven, and then he may know he is saved.

+ Plus, listen to Daniel White Jr. singing “Prayer”

Our prayer motivator verse for today is Zechariah 13:9 which reads: “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”

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

When Jerusalem and Judea were destroyed, all the Christians in that country, having among them the warning Christ gave them to flee to the mountains, shifted for their own safety, and were sheltered in a city called Pella, on the other side Jordan. We have here first the trials and then the triumphs of the Christian church, and of all the faithful members of it. Their trials: “I will bring that third part through the fire of affliction. and will refine and try them as silver and gold are refined and tried.” This was fulfilled in the persecutions of the primitive church, the fiery trial which tried the people of God then. Those whom God sets apart for himself must pass through a probation and purification in this world; they must be tried that their faith may be found to praise and honour, as Abraham’s faith was when it was tried by the command given him to offer up Isaac – God said to him, “Now know I that thou fearest me.” They must be tried, that both those that are perfect and those that are not may be made manifest. They must be refined from their dross; their corruption must be purged out; they must be brightened and bettered. We notice also their triumphs. Their communion with God is their triumph: “They shall call on my name, and I will hear them.” They write to God by prayer, and receive from him answers of peace, and thus keep up a comfortable communion with him. This honour have all his saints. Their covenant with God is their triumph: “I will say, It is my people, whom I have chosen and loved, and will own; and they shall say, the Lord is my God, and a God all-sufficient to me; and in me they shall boast every day and all the day long. This God is our God for ever and ever.’’

Our prayer motivator quote today is from A.W. Tozer. He said: “The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos; the church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.”

Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 3 of our series titled “PRAYING THROUGH” from Dr. John R. Rice.

I believe the invitation we ought to give sinners is that they should trust Christ with their whole heart, turning from sin honestly, then claiming Christ openly as Saviour. And we ought to make it clear, as the Bible does from one end to the other, that the very instant a sinner turns from his rebellion and trusts in Christ, he is saved already and has everlasting life. I think that inquiry rooms are sometimes useful. It is good for a Christian worker to take the Bible and after a sinner trusts Christ to show him the sweet assurances of God’s Word that he is saved when he trusts Christ. Certainly it is wise to use the Word of God with unconverted sinners and show them that if they will penitently and honestly trust Christ, He will instantly save them. But the whole idea of mourning in order to be saved, of long seeking after God before He will hear and forgive, is utterly unscriptural. It dishonors God. It beclouds the plan of salvation. It exalts man, man’s feelings, man’s experience, and man’s profession, instead of exalting God’s marvelous grace to save any sinner instantly on the first turning in childlike faith.

I find often that if churches have an altar where lost sinners are expected to kneel to plead and mourn for salvation, it is unwise to use it. It is best that every one understand that salvation is not gotten by knee-action nor public mourning nor by a process of saying certain words nor by working up certain feelings.

Carnal man has an insatiable desire to be saved by his own works, or by his feelings or emotions or experiences, instead of by simple faith. The idea of God’s unmerited grace is alien, foreign and distasteful to the carnal mind. Most of the world wants to be saved by its good works. And if good Christians are forced by the Bible to abandon the idea of salvation by works, then they like to substitute salvation by feeling, by earnestness, by certain experiences and emotions.

+ Plus, listen to Avalon singing “If My People”