Daily Devotional for Thursday August 26, 2010
Because of My Commitment to Liveprayer I Have to Turn Down Hundreds of Invitations to Preach
(Matthew 9:36)
Because of my commitment to Liveprayer (both the Internet and TV program), sadly I have to turn down hundreds of invitations a year to preach in churches all over the country. I do prayerfully accept about 6-8 dates a year and one Sunday last June it was my privilege to minister at a church in Venice, Florida. It is always a thrill for me to be with people. God has blessed me with a heart and love for people. As hard as I have worked to make Liveprayer.com and the Liveprayer TV program as personal an experience as possible, there is simply no substitute for being able to shake someone's hand, give them a big hug, and pray for them one on one.
As I do at the close of every message I preach, I share an invitation to accept Christ and then open the altar for people to come forward for prayer. That walk to the altar is an act of surrender, saying to God that, " I need you." That altar becomes a point of contact for our faith just like the hem of Christ's garment was a point of contact for the faith of the woman with the issue of blood. That Sunday as I invited the people to the altar for prayer and watched them come, my heart was filled with compassion for each one. They came with their hurts and pains, they came with their needs, looking for the Lord to touch them.
It was in the midst of that time I was ministering to the needs of others, that the Holy Spirit began to minister to me. God was showing me that we have a virtual altar here at Liveprayer.com where every day over 40,000 people come via their email prayer requests with their hurts and pains, with their needs great and small, looking for the Lord to touch them. At the end of every Devotional, right below my signature line is: "If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com ." That is the invitation for people who are in need to "come to the altar" and bring their needs to the Lord.
Likewise, each night on the TV program, the bulk of the program is allowing people to call in with their prayer requests, making that program literally an electronic altar for people to come and find answers, hope, and encouragement in their time of need. Those who can't get through are given the opportunity to email their prayer requests so that everyone who watches is able to take that step of faith and seek the Lord's help in their life.
I love you and care about you so much. I want to encourage you today to never hesitate to come to this virtual altar that is literally open 24/7/365. God has raised up Liveprayer not just to bring the Truth of His Word and the hope and love of Christ into people's lives each day through the Internet and on secular television, but so that you have a place to come in your time of need. It is not a matter of can God meet your needs, can God bless you. It is a matter of do you have the faith to believe God will meet your needs, the faith to believe God will bless you.
GOD IS READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO HELP YOU AND BLESS YOU. ARE YOU READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO TRUST HIM?
As I do at the end of each service I preach, as I do at the end of every Daily Devotional, as I do on my TV program each night, I want to invite you to come to the altar today. This virtual altar is your point of contact for your faith to connect with God. I am here to pray with you, pray for you, and stand in agreement with you for your needs today. If you are hurting, looking for answers, need the Lord's strength, Jesus is waiting for you today. Waiting for you to take that step of faith and call out to Him. He loves you, cares about you, and wants to put His arms of love around you today. Come and bring your burdens to Jesus today at this virtual altar
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller