Daniel Whyte III
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Praying Through the Bible #110
TEXT: Zechariah 8:20-22
20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
The three verses that we are looking at today are part of a prophetic passage about the coming reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The Bible tells us that in the future, Jesus Christ will rule the world for a thousand years from the city of Jerusalem. Those will be the best days that human history will ever see. It will truly be a golden age. There will be universal peace, justice, and equity on earth. Zechariah tells us that many people will go up to Jerusalem to seek the Lord and to pray before Him.
This passage shows us that those who go to seek the Lord in Jerusalem during this time are eager to do so. They do so gladly and with great anticipation. Although the people spoken of will be living in far better times than we could ever imagine, we ought to emulate their joyous spirit as we go into the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords every day.
What can we learn from their example?
We ought to be excited about prayer. Our passage states, “It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities… saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” If we as Christians are truly honest, many Christians will admit that they do not feel like praying oftentimes. That is the reason why most of us don’t pray as we should. Prayer, as simple as it sounds, is hard work that the devil fights against. He does not want us to pray, and he will do everything in his power to stop us from praying. Thus, a little bit of the excitement factor of prayer wears off.
However, when we really think about prayer, it ought to make us excited and eager to do it. We, as ordinary human beings, can talk to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe just as simply as a thought crossing our mind. And when we think about the blessings and benefits that we have received through prayer, as well as all of the answers to prayer that we have received, it ought to make us want to pray even more.
In the Millennial Kingdom, people will be excited about going to pray at Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that they will say to each other, “Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord.” When you really want to do something or go somewhere, there will be urgency, eagerness, and excitement in your attitude toward whatever that thing is. Let us have such a spirit in our prayers.
Perhaps one of the things that should make us eager to pray is that God is eager to hear our prayers. Throughout Scripture, He invites us to pray to Him. Someone once said, “God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as he always has. But he can’t if you don’t pray, and he can’t if you don’t dream.” Therefore, let us be eager and excited about prayer.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of thirty-four books. 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 which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and 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 and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
