Daniel Whyte III
TEXT: Ephesians 6:18-20
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
— PRAYER —
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 288 messages in this series.
This is message #289 titled, Prayer:How to Win at Spiritual Warfare Through Prayer, Part 13.
Billy Graham said “The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.”
F.B. Meyer said “Consecration is not the act of our feelings but of our will.”
Alexander MacLaren said “The root of all steadfastness is in consecration to God.”
As we have considered the types of prayer that we should avail ourselves of in spiritual warfare, we have discussed: the prayer of faith, the prayer of agreement, the prayer of request or supplication, the prayer of intercession, the prayer of thanksgiving, and the prayer of worship. Today, we will look at another type of prayer — the prayer of consecration.
According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, “Consecration is the separation of persons, utensils, buildings, or places from everyday secular uses for exclusive dedication to holy or sacred use. In the Bible consecration was effected through an appropriate rite or vow. Hebrew expressions imply “separation”, “dedication”, or “ordination”. NT references are fewer, but they frequently connote the idea of holiness.In church usage, especially among hierarchical denominations, the term describes solemn rites that establish a bishop or other official in his office. It is also used to describe dedication of shrines, reliquaries, cathedrals, elements of the Mass, and lesser objects or buildings set aside for ecclesiastical functions.”
E.M. Bounds said, “Consecration is the voluntary set dedication of one’s self to God, an offering definitely made, and made without any reservation whatsoever. It is the setting apart of all we are, all we have, and all we expect to have or be, to God first of all. Almighty God is in view and He is the end of all consecration. It is a separation of one’s self to God, a devotement of all that one is and has to a sacred use. It is the voluntary putting of one’s self in God’s Hands to be used sacredly, holily, with sanctifying ends in view.”
We have an example of the prayer of consecration in our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Jesus was surrendering Himself to the will of the Father. He was consecrating Himself — declaring Himself a vessel at God’s disposal. He became a vessel for God’s use, and God our sin and His wrath to be placed on the Lamb of God that we might be saved.
As believers who have been bought with the price that Jesus paid, we ought to consecrate ourselves to Him and to God’s service freely, willingly — out of a sense of both love and duty. One of the ways we demonstrate our willingness to be consecrated is through prayer. Because praying is, in the words of John R. Rice, simply “asking and receiving,” it is easy to get caught up with what we want and what we think should be done. When we pray, we ought to show a spirit of consecration by following Jesus’ example, saying, “Father, if thou be willing… Not my will, but thine, be done.” It is okay to express our desires to God, but we always ought to open ourselves up to being used as vessels however He sees fit. And that is what the prayer of consecration is all about.
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Now, if you are with us today, 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. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. 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 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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 with me this simple prayer: 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, I declare to you that 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 trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.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.”
God loves you. We love you. And may 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.
Gospel Light House of Prayer International 