Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Judges 16:28 which reads: “And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Allow me to share with you some important points regarding this verse from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:
That strength which he had lost by sin he, like a true penitent, recovers by prayer; as David, who, when he had provoked the Spirit of grace to withdraw, prayed, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. We may suppose that this was only a mental prayer, and that his voice was not heard (for it was made in a noisy clamorous crowd of Philistines); but, though his voice was not heard of men, yet his prayer was heard of God and graciously answered, and though he lived not to give an account himself of this his prayer, as Nehemiah did of his, yet God not only accepted it in heaven, but, by revealing it to the inspired penmen, provided for the registering of it in his church. He prayed to God to remember him and strengthen him this once, thereby owning that his strength for what he had already done he had from God, and begged it might be afforded to him once more, to give them a parting blow. That it was not from a principle of passion or personal revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God and Israel, that he desired to do this, appears from God’s accepting and answering the prayer. Samson died praying, so did our blessed Saviour; but Samson prayed for vengeance, Christ for forgiveness.
My personal encouragement today is this: Have you ever had the thought to come to your mind to pray? You were not thinking about prayer, you were not talking with anyone about prayer, and you were not reading anything on prayer, but the thought came seemingly out of nowhere: why don’t you go ahead and pray now. I have had many of those experiences. And the only answer I can give for that prompting to pray is that the Holy Spirit of God prompts us to pray at different times. It is definitely not from the devil because the devil does not want us to pray. In fact, the last thing the devil wants you to do is pray. So when the thought comes across your mind to pray, no matter where you are or what you are doing, make sure you take note of that thought and pray.”
Our prayer motivator quote today is from Robert Murray McCheyne. He said: “Give yourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. If you do not pray, God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, as He did me, to teach you to pray.”
Our prayer motivator devotional today is part 5 of our series titled “WHY FASTING AND PRAYER IS IMPORTANT” from Dr. John R. Rice.
There are many other occasions in life when men do without food. At a football training table, men gladly deprive themselves of sweets and certain foods likely to hinder mental alertness and physical fitness and endurance. Should we do less for Jesus Christ? One can run a race better if he has not eaten just beforehand. Swimmers well know that it is dangerous to eat much before swimmng lest they suffer from cramps. Public speakers and singers customarily do not eat in the evening until after the important period of concentration and perfect control necessary for their public appearance.
If I can preach better without eating, then why cannot I pray better without eating? If a businessman can concentrate better on his figures in some emergency without having his stomach loaded with food, then why cannot a Christian pray better when all his energies are given to that one thing? When men are wholly absorbed in grief for a loved one, they are not hungry. Then when one is wholly absorbed in passionate and most earnest prayer, why should he not be glad to do without food?
In truth, when Christians fast, it is often true that they simply do not want to eat. Many, many times I have been so busy about the Lord’s work and so absorbed in it that I had no taste for food. Fasting simply means putting God first in a very intense way for a period of time and for very definite purposes.
+ Plus, listen to CeCe Winans singing “Anybody Wanna Pray?”
The Prayer Motivator Devotional 