0:05 Ephesians six eighteen, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. And also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare boldly as I ought to speak. Father, we come before you this morning. We are so grateful that we are amongst a company that longs for the truths of your word, and we pray, oh, Lord, that as we hunger and thirst for righteousness that you would fill us.
0:41 Lord, we pray in light of this text on prayer that you would bring us into an understanding of this practice in such a manner that it would cause us to never neglect it. Bring this church into greater dimensions of prayer. Bring us as individuals into greater places in prayer. Lord, we need the Holy Spirit even now, and we ask that you would take over this meeting. This is your church.
1:04 This is your service. Would you do what you are called to do, oh God, exalting the name of Jesus guys Christ by the spirit. In your name we pray. Amen. You may be seated.
1:16 The apostle Paul has now come to the conclusion regarding spiritual warfare in light of the Christian taking upon himself something called the armor of God. But instead of ending, and it is debated whether people include prayer as a piece of armor or ended at the word of God, regardless of that, instead of ending at the believer taking up the sword of the spirit, the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, found it necessary to command all Christians in light of spiritual warfare to be a people of prayer, to be a people who know how to seek God on their knees. And he has come to this place in which, interestingly enough, compared to all the other pieces of armor, he spends the most time on this practice. And this is the question that we've been asking concerning spiritual warfare and what these pieces contribute to it. We've been asking this question, what does this piece have to do with spiritual warfare?
2:24 What does the breastplate of righteousness have to do with warfare? What does the helmet of salvation have to do with warfare? And we can ask that same question in light of prayer. What does praying at all times in the spirit have to do with me standing in victory concerning Satan and his onslaughts against me on a daily basis? And that is a question that we will answer by the end of this message, but there is something that we can note immediately relating to prayer.
2:49 It's that the same rules that apply to every piece of armor is the same rule that applies to the Christian and his prayer life. That it is a non negotiable component to you and I remaining in that posture of victory. We can't negotiate. It's not an option. It might be an option in the way you and I treat on a daily basis, but according to the Word of God, the moment we compromise in prayer is the moment we compromise for how long we can stay on our feet.
3:20 What is prayer? It is not to be confused with meditation. It is purely communication. It is not thinking and contemplating great things about God. It is you and I speaking directly to God.
3:38 Prayer is the Christian's privilege to connect and contact his heavenly father. It is a purchased right to come before him at any time and at any place. It is not limited to a specific location nor is it limited to a time frame of the day. It is something that can manifest in a soul wrenching cry, and at the same time, it is something that can be received in a gentle whisper where no man can hear it himself. Prayer is the practice of those who are poor in spirit, those who realize that they are bankrupt and desperately lost, lest the guiding and leading hand of the Lord is upon their lives.
4:29 Prayer is the unquestionable element that makes the impossible possible, that makes the powerless powerful. Prayer is the Christian's altar of incense in which he can come before God and bring before him a sweet smelling fragrance as he utters his need or even expresses his adoration before the savior. And this is something that is absolutely necessary, absolutely necessary in the Christian's life. Why? Because prayer brings God on the scene.
5:05 Prayer creates the pathways for God's intervention in our lives. Apart from prayer, we will not see God do what only God can do. And so this is something that we cannot compromise on, and much more can be said on what prayer is, but really it is simply this, a way we express our need and our adoration before the God that we serve. Why don't Christians pray? Why is it that so many believers understand that it is a duty but do not see it necessary to practice?
5:47 And it's different for every person. But for many, the reason why Christians do not pray is because of ignorance. It's because of ignorance. Many believers, unfortunately, who have been in the faith for so many years still to this day do not realize the value of prayer. They do not realize the necessity of it to remain in victory.
6:07 They do not know how to pray. They do not know what to pray for, and therefore they have no motivation to do so. Ignorance. Not just ignorance. Many Christians do not pray because of slothfulness.
6:22 Slothfulness. These believers understand the importance of prayer. These believers even read about the importance of prayer. They will agree with even a message such as this that, yes, prayer is vital, but they simply do not have the motivation to carve out that time. These same people might have that mentality of the person who understands the importance of exercise and right diet, but just feel like, you know, I have to wait for that surge of a motivation to be able to come to a place where I can now finally see God, and they're waiting for something to just be deposited from heaven.
6:55 Slothfulness, laziness. Many Christians do not pray because of discouragement. They were a people of prayer at one point. They they sought God consistently. And because of the lack of results or maybe even worse, the reverse of such requests being made, they finally think to themselves, you know, maybe this thing doesn't really work.
7:18 I'm just gonna pull away from it. And there are a lot of Christians who are convinced that they can do more with their day with that hour of prayer than with it. It I don't think this really works. I'll just I'll just preserve that for emergency times. When crisis hits, I'll go to it.
7:35 But daily? Do you know how busy I am? Discouragement. And the list can go on and on and on. But the Apostle Paul, by the spirit, has a different understanding of the value and importance of prayer in the Christian's life because he says, praying, verse 18, at all times.
7:59 At all times. That sounds like a tall order. You read something like that and you evaluate your schedule saying, are you kidding me? What is God asking of me to pray at all times? That's even something that's beyond the full time minister's possibility.
8:15 At all times? What does that even really mean when you read something? See, sometimes we read past these things and we go so fast we don't even realize the weight of it. Praying at all times. Now for the Apostle Paul to mean that the Christian must invest as many hours of his day in solitude before God, pleading and petitioning for different matters, would be inconsistent with other commands in scripture concerning practical Christian living.
8:47 So to pray at all times cannot mean that the believer locks himself in his room as long as possible, dismissing other responsibilities because this is the greatest responsibility of responsibilities. So what does it mean then to pray at all times? Well, I believe it means this. It doesn't mean do nothing else but pray, but rather do everything in the spirit of prayer. Big difference.
9:13 So let me repeat it. It does not mean do nothing else but pray. It means do everything in the spirit of prayer. Yes. Blocked out time on a daily basis is absolutely necessary.
9:28 Jesus taught on that kind of praying in Matthew six that you should close a door, you should shut yourself off from the world, and seek your Father who is in heaven. But God does not want you or I to cut off communication when we get up from that place. To pray at all times is to include God in all matters. It is the person who goes into their car and knows how to whisper a prayer of protection on his way to work. It is that individual who instead of complaining and fussing in traffic takes that time to intercede for a brother he knows is struggling.
10:04 It is that individual that can walk from a class to another and realizing that he just finished a lunch, gives thanks to God in his heart that he has a full stomach that afternoon. It is that person who knows how to worship in his own words As he is standing before creation in that moment, whether it's a park or you're standing in some place on vacation, you realize in that moment that God is the author of all these things. Worthy is your name. This is what it means to pray at all times, to remain in a posture and attitude of the awareness of God. And when you choose to do so, when you choose to implement that in your daily affairs, what will happen is that you will create a conscious awareness of the presence of God throughout your day.
10:53 And what does that do? It keeps your mind on the things above. What does it do? It keeps your affections fresh for Christ. And these things are a powerful contribution to spiritual warfare because what spiritual warfare really is is to take your mind away from Christ.
11:10 But when you remain in that place of praying at all times, you are continually realigning your perspective and your heart posture towards the lover of your soul. Pray at all times. And even when we hear that explanation, some of us in here says that that's still too much of me. Isn't my time alone with God enough? Can I go on and just meet him later at night?
11:38 But don't you realize that some of us, if not all of us, do this idea of communication at all times, especially in this day of age? Think with me of a young man who just got married, moving into his new house with his new bride, and they've made it a practice to be able to sit down together and have breakfast before he goes to work, and they have that face to face communion. They express each other's hearts. They express each other's love for one another. And because of his duties, she has to get up and leave.
12:08 He has to go to work for the day. Do you think that young lover is gonna walk out of that door and as soon as he shuts the door cuts off all communication or all pondering or all desire to stay in communication with that wife of his? Does that person not, in the midst of his responsibilities, longingly find the time to text his wife or text his new bride? How are you doing? Does Does he not find it within himself to call on break to make sure that she's doing well?
12:37 Does he not even, after a frustrating moment, text her or email whatever and saying, you know, something just really happened. I'll tell you later on when we have dinner. Does he not remain in communication? Is it a forceful thing or is it something that's done out of adoration and love? How many of us in here today, even on a friendship level or sibling level, you saw them that morning, but you find it within yourself to text them throughout the day?
13:01 It's not that hard of a concept. It's a matter of love though. And this is what the Lord wants from you and me. Stay in communication with me. Bring whatever you want to bring before me.
13:12 I'm all ears. I'm all ears. And And now when we look at it on the human level, we have to understand this, that those textings and those short phone calls, they do not substitute that time alone with God, do they? And in the same way, there are some believers who have convinced themselves that a prayer life is just doing that, talking to God here and there throughout the day when that is a supplementation, that is something added to what you already do with God as a priority of seeking him in solitude. Praying at all times is not just cutting it off when you have your daily devotion with the Lord.
13:48 It is bringing him with you and walking with him throughout that day. And all the protection that comes from a person that knows how to do so. And you will come to a place, believe me, that at first it might seem forceful, but if you just fall in love with him, it is not. And it is something that ends up becoming a habit. It is something that you can't imagine doing your day without.
14:09 It is almost a reflex that whatever blessing comes your way in that day, you know how to give thanks to him. Whatever frustration comes to you in that moment, you know how to intercede. Even if it's a moment, this is what God asks of us. Pray at all times. But he doesn't want us to just pray at all times.
14:28 The Apostle Paul is so specific in his request here, inspired by God. I want you to pray at all times, but in the spirit. In the spirit. What does that mean? I don't want you to just say anything.
14:46 I want you to say it in the spirit. That's a controversial text. Cause many people would attribute this text to the believer speaking in an unknown tongue, speaking with the gift of tongues. And I do not believe that this is the case for two reasons. Number one, for the simple reason that the gift of tongues is not given to all men.
15:13 First Corinthians twelve twenty nine and thirty says, are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing?
15:27 Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? To say that a believer and all believers have to speak in tongues, with that same logic, you would have to say that all believers have to be apostles, and all believers have to be teachers, and all believers have to have the gifts of healing. That is not the case. That is not the case.
15:47 And here's the issue. If the gift of tongues is for some believers, how does that reconcile with the truth of Ephesians six eighteen that says that all believers should pray at all times in the spirit? Doesn't work. Secondly, when you look at Ephesians six nineteen, look in your Bibles. What does Paul ask of?
16:05 He asks of a personal prayer request that he would be given words to speak boldly concerning the gospel that he was entrusted to preach. And this is a specific prayer request that requires one to understand what he is praying in order for it to be made known to God. Therefore, if praying in the spirit is to pray in tongues, how would that make sense in light of fulfilling this request made by Paul? If praying in tongues is to pray an unknown, unintelligible language, how can that happen? How can Paul's request be fulfilled unless praying in the spirit is one who is praying with understanding?
16:46 Does that make sense this morning? Therefore, we are one step closer to understanding what it means to pray in the spirit. And I believe one way for us to understand is that the opposite of praying in the spirit is what? Praying in the flesh. Praying in the flesh.
17:02 For one to pray in the flesh is summarized in this, he prays according to his will. He prays with his own ambition. He prays by his own guidance and in his own leadership. He's in full control of what he's praying for. He's not motivated by the things of God.
17:19 He's not motivated by the things of the written word. It's about me. And even in his prayer, the way he is praying or how he is praying is for a different motive than than even the prayer being answered. It's for people to hear. It's all about self when you pray in the flesh.
17:36 To pray in the spirit is to rely on his assistance, his guidance, and his empowerment in the place of prayer. Because there are many places in Scripture that speak of activities done in the flesh and activities done in the spirit. For example, Paul says in first Thessalonians one:five that our gospel came to you not only in word, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. What was he saying there? That when we preach this gospel to you, it was done in the Holy Spirit.
18:18 And so things can be done in the flesh and things can be done in the spirit. To pray in the flesh, it can be categorized by a person who is completely again motivated by selfish ambition. Their prayers are mechanical. Their prayers are heartless. Their prayers are scripture less.
18:37 Their prayers, whether they realize or not, are hindered because of different reasons concerning how and why they are praying. In the spirit though, to pray in the spirit is categorized by a person who is focused and fervent and has saturated that prayer, and it is structured by the Word of God. There is faith in that prayer. There is a deep awareness of who you are praying to. That is what it means to be in the spirit in prayer.
19:09 It is when a heart is structured by the word of God. It is when a heart trust that God is helping him and leading him in prayer. And I believe for a person to go from the flesh in prayer to the place of being in the spirit is the same way that a person go from flesh in preaching to preaching in the spirit, declaring your inability and your need for his help. A deep awareness that, lord, even as I pray, I don't know what I'm praying for or how I ought to pray. Aren't you thankful for the holy spirit according to Romans eight?
19:45 That not only can we pray in the spirit, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for all saints. You know what that means? Is that when you can't find the right words, though your heart is in the right place, the Holy Spirit comes, he takes that prayer, and he brings it before the father says, this is what he really means, father. This is what she's really asking for, Lord. That's what the Holy Spirit does.
20:06 Now that's what he does, but we need to be in the spirit. Oh, God. Help me pray right now. I don't know what I ought to pray for. And this is what will happen when you begin to be dependent upon him in that place, when you have an inward awareness and even when you with your own lips at times say, God, help me do this.
20:24 Do not be shocked that when you come to this place of crying out to God in the spirit that he will illumine scriptures in your heart and you pray those scriptures. Do not be alarmed that when you pray in the spirit that he will scan your heart and show things that need to be repented of before you can even move on with another request before the lord. Do not be shocked again that by praying in the spirit where moments ago you were so weary in the flesh, you now found this grace and this energy to tarry with the lord. Do not be scared even or bewildered that if you pray in the spirit that the holy Spirit will come and whisper a name and place a burden on your heart for another individual that cannot be lifted until you have come to the place where you've interceded for that person and you sense that burden lift off of you. Praying in the spirit.
21:16 This is how the Lord wants us to pray. In tune, led, dependent, completely reliant on the third person of the triune Godhead. Now we come to the second part of verse 18. Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. What is he saying there?
21:38 Explore and exercise all types of praying. Prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of intercession, prayers of supplication, prayers of adoration. Pray in all these ways. Pray in all these matters as much as you can. Notice how all is mentioned a lot in eighteen and nineteen.
22:01 And it's not just praying individually. I believe as he's saying with all prayer and supplication, he is in this moment also speaking of the importance of corporate prayer. Corporate prayer. Remember, he's speaking to a church here, and yes, it's true to apply these things as a believer individually. But there is something that needs to be understood.
22:22 I believe in the church of Jesus Christ again today of the power of praying as a church. Turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 12 as we explore this. And as you're turning there, I wanna ask you a question that you would perhaps truly take to heart. Acts chapter 12 beginning in verse one. If you were given the opportunity to plant a church, yes, you, and you had all the resources possible, you had the a list team to help lead that church, what would be your first instruction to lay out before your people as you've been given that charge to plant a local body?
23:16 Now think about that seriously. What would be the first thing that you would want to establish to make sure is concrete before anything else moves forward or anything else is built? You know what it was to the Apostle Paul? Because he had that opportunity with a young pastor named Timothy who was left in Ephesus to take charge of that church. And what he says in first Timothy two one, first of all, Timothy pastor Tim, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, and intercessions be made for all people.
23:49 First of all. It's amazing that Paul says first of all, and many of us treat it as last of all, or fifth on the list, or eight no. No. No. He says, before anything else, as important as those other elements are to making up a local body, take the people that have been entrusted to you and learn as a community how to commune and cry out to God.
24:15 Because apart from that, there is no true victory. Apart from that, there is no true effectiveness in ministry. Apart from that, your church, no matter how big, no matter how much money you got, will not know anything of the power and intervention of God. And this is why Satan will fight this more than anything. He'll fight it in your life.
24:40 I can tell you this, that Satan and his demons concerning your life have it on their priority. If this is priority to God, what do you think it's priority on his hit list? If this is priority to God, first of all, that you learn how to pray prayers as a church, as a believer. If it was first for the church, do you not think it's first for us? What do you think is first for Satan when he comes to attack your life?
25:02 Demons, make sure he can be as busy as he wants. Don't let him get on his knees. Devils, as talented as she is, as sociable as she is, as likable as she is, make sure that she doesn't make it a habit to get before God. If all of us can make sure that these believers in North America do not find it as a necessity to come together and to plead with God, we're fine. The devil is not afraid of you or me.
25:37 The devil is afraid of God. And when we cry out to God, again, it brings God on the scene. This is what Satan is afraid of. And that channel is prayer, and he will do everything in his power to sever it even if he gets as busy with ministry. First of all, I said, first of all, get the people praying.
26:01 Acts chapter 12 beginning in verse one to five. Realize that the church was birthed in prayer. You know how the church started in a prayer meeting. You know how the church is sustained in prayer meetings. Verse one.
26:15 About that time, Herod, the king, laid violent hands on some who belong to the church. He killed James, the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
26:40 Verse five is crucial. This entire chapter is really hinged on this verse. In fact, I believe that Luke wrote this story to show us. He structured this entire incident to show us that the events that would follow after this verse is because of what happened in this verse. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
27:08 So they lost James, and I guess the devil felt like going on a rampage. And so they grabbed Peter. And as they grabbed Peter, notice the instinct of the church. Notice the reflex. Peter was arrested.
27:22 You know what they didn't do? Protest. You know what they didn't do? Appeal to Caesar. This is unfair.
27:31 He's so good for the community. Why would they arrest him and kill him? You know what they didn't do? They didn't panic. They didn't sit together and come up with a plan to to break into the prison and get him out of there.
27:43 They prayed. Peter was gone. They heard about it. And what did they say? Rally up the troops.
27:50 Let's go to this house and seek God. And I will argue today that though this is a story, there is something here to show us of what will come about when a church chooses to be a people of prayer. Look at here in verse six and seven. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and centuries before the door were guarding the prison. Okay.
28:23 Peter's situation shows us something, that he is in an impossible circumstance. His prison was impenetrable. His situation show that to be free and the chances of it is close to zero more than anything. Chains and soldiers and walls and iron bars. But when the church prays, as said before, it brings God on the scene.
28:49 The church can expect supernatural intervention from heaven when they choose to include God in all matters. What happens in verse seven? And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him saying, get up quickly. Get up quickly.
29:09 What happens here? When the church gets on her knees, God's hand begins to move. And here, you can just imagine here these people crying up to God, seeking God. Do you know why we know they were doing that? Do you know how it was not?
29:24 It wasn't God, if, you know, if it's your desire, just set Peter free. When's lunch? I'm just gonna go out for a bit. Just call me when the prayer meeting's done. Wasn't that why?
29:38 Because verse five tells us earnest prayer. Fervent prayer, desperate prayer, yearning prayer. When that kind of prayer becomes the habit of a church, becomes the reflex of the church, God begins to move into impossible situations. And my question to us as a church is this, how do we handle our impossible situations? I'm sure in your life you are facing situations that are impossible to deal with.
30:08 I'm talking about that drug addicted son of yours. I'm talking about your lost parents. God, I pray that we would come to the place where the Lord will allow missionaries to be birthed out of this place, and there are countries that we can't get into, impossible situations. Is there anything within us to say, what prayer meetings do we have this week? I need to come together with my brothers and sisters and bring this impossible situation with them before God Almighty.
30:39 How are we dealing with these situations in our lives? What is our response? What is our reflex? Where is the desperation? I don't believe Luke here is giving permission for us to rest too much on the providence of God.
30:56 Oh, we can rest. We can rest like Peter. He was sleeping here, and this was the right kind of sleeping. When he was in the garden, that was the wrong kind of sleeping, sleeping at the wrong time. Here he's sleeping because he trusts in God.
31:08 That's fine. But again, this this story is structured around a people who say, God almighty, we need you. We can't do this without you. And we should be a people that when we come about in situations in life that seem totally impossible to deal with to get excited. Saying, what?
31:29 Yes. Because all of that is just a stage for God to show up and show off if we pray, if we seek God. One pastor said it this way. He had a mother come up to him and say, would you pray for my son? He's this and he's that.
31:46 He's lost. And with holy spirit wisdom, he looked back and says, how much are you praying for him? Oh, I don't have time. That's how she answered. I don't have time.
31:57 I'm too busy. So can you pray for him? I said, listen. We can't agree on anything if you're not gonna seek God with me on this. Praying will bring about supernatural intervention, But not just that.
32:10 Look at verse 12. This is after Peter escaped. The angel led him out of the prison. When he realized this being Peter, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. Notice many and notice praying.
32:27 How is it that so few in a local church are found praying? How is it that it's only left to just a handful of people when it should be the majority? Many were praying, showing what? That throughout this whole ordeal of this angel kicking Peter and saying get up and these doors opening, these chains falling, the people in the background say, god almighty, save our brother Peter. God almighty, we don't know what to do.
32:56 Come. They were praying. Now notice verse 16. But Peter continued knocking. And when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
33:08 The second point here I wanna make concerning when a church prays. Number one, they can expect supernatural intervention. Number two, they can expect to experience special corporate testimonies. Special corporate testimonies. No matter how small or how big a church is, there is something of a knittedness in the hearts of people who pray together.
33:36 Many people say, I don't feel close to so and so, or I don't feel close in general to the people that I'm going to church with show up at the prayer meeting. There's something that melts amongst the people of God when they find it within themselves to cry out to the same God that they worship. And what's amazing here is that these people who came together to pray stood in awe when God answered together. In other words, only in prayer and those who share in that discipline will be able to have access to a knowledge of the God that they serve and the nearness of His presence and power that others will be left out on. What do you think it was like for these believers when finally Peter knocked on the door and they're praying and this servant girl comes?
34:28 It says, Peter's at the door and like, she lost her mind. God save Peter. And Peter comes in and they all stood in awe. And in that moment, they shared something. Even though it was told to other believers, as the end of the story says, there was something about being in that place together and seeing it with their own eyes that I'm sure for the rest of their days they would never forget.
34:54 I remember in this church sometime last year when we were at a Wednesday night prayer meeting, and we were sharing and meditating upon a specific illustration as we were seeking God to take us higher and higher. And we were speaking about a mountain, and it was a very detailed way of describing what we desired God for us to do, to take us up higher and not to be satisfied on that level, but to go higher and to see greater things in God and to go higher, to go higher, to go higher. And within a matter of two or three weeks, I believe, we came here and we had bible study on Friday, but there was a guest pastor that that wasn't necessarily speaking. He was just visiting from Jordan, pastor Mazin, as some of you guys remember. And he came just to share a few minutes or something that was on his heart.
35:34 And as he came up here, the first thing he says, I believe I have something that God placed on my heart for this place. And he begins to share, and as he's sharing, he says, I've been praying and I feel like this church is gonna go up on a mountain, and it's gonna go higher. And he began to explain in detail what we were discussing and praying about two, three works before that. And you know what was happening in that room on that Friday night bible study? All the people who were at that prayer night, all their heads began to turn and look at one another.
36:10 Other people were oblivious to it. They didn't understand. They just that's a nice illustration. Everybody that was at that prayer meeting, looking at each other with their hearts pounding. Because we knew in that moment that though there was just a handful of us on that night, God heard us.
36:25 And as exciting and as thrilling as it was for me, some of you guys can testify to that. Because that same night we had an all night prayer meeting after the bible study. My heart broke at the same time. Because there are some people who could not share in that experience. There are some people who are left out on that, and they can only hear it secondhand.
36:45 I do not believe in guilt tripping people to do any type of ministry. I really don't believe that. I don't believe in any leader chasing people around and saying, oh, you gotta come to prayer meeting. You gotta come to this. You gotta come to I don't believe in that one bit because God does not want anybody to give anything that's not from a cheerful and grateful heart.
37:01 I don't believe in twisting people's arms. I don't. Everybody in here is a grown adult. But when it comes from the pulpit, there has to be exhortation. And my exhortation here is not to guilt trip you into any kind of ministry including prayer, but here is my heart.
37:14 Don't miss out. Don't miss out. There's something to be known in that place of prayer that cannot be known outside of it. And to see God answer prayers specifically, to see God intervene in somebody's life when we know that we were praying about for weeks or even just once, and we look at each other and we text each other and we we talk about what God has done. Even if you hear it on testimony night, it's not the same as when you labored for it and sought God with everything, clinging to God with your brother in your hand or your sister.
37:52 Special corporate experiences. Lastly, in verse 18. Now when the day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. Know this, that when a church prays, not only will they know supernatural intervention, not only will they experience special corporate testimonies, they will also, by the grace of God, make statements to the world. Make statements to the world.
38:22 The soldiers who were in charge of taking care of Peter were stunned by the miraculous escape that was made about it. And when the church prays really and partners with God in his will, what that does is create opportunities for the world to realize the reality of God, though they may not even believe in him. In this situation, they were staggered and ultimately they were put to death. Now that is not our goal, that God would answer our prayers and people would be slain to death. But it is our goal for people to know that as a praying people, God hears us.
39:02 God answers us. God moves. And if there's any example that we want, it's another jail scene in Acts chapter six. Not when many were praying, but when two were praying, Peter and Silas, rather Paul and Silas. And as they were chained there singing hymns and praying, what happens?
39:20 Literally, God comes on the scene. He comes into that prison cell, and things begin to shake and things begin to crumble. And here's this jailer that is so terrified that he's ready to kill himself knowing that all these prisoners are let loose. And then finally, Paul intervenes and says, don't do this. We're here.
39:35 And what does he say? Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And then the gospel came. So their prayers and their faithfulness in that moment created an opportunity for an unbelieving man to behold the power in and the intervention of the manifestation of the reality of God causing him to tremble and say, give me this God that you just prayed to. When we refuse to pray, we hold ourselves back from seeing the world, seeing God.
40:12 Not too long ago, I was at a retreat, and I was told by many at that retreat that there is a Muslim family. And I gotta gotta be careful here with details, so bear with me being general. A Muslim family that came to Christ. And when I asked how they came to Christ, because they were coming to that retreat to get baptized in a lake, it said that the 12 year old boy had cancer and was healed, and they knew that Jesus healed. Now when that family came, that 12 year old boy was smart.
40:48 And as that 12 year I I just put him aside and said, tell me about your testimony. And he had an older brother there too to kind of fill in the details, and they told me that they were from the Middle East, and I can't be specific here. And they had left because of the war, and they had gone to another country in the Middle East, and a church took him in as refugees. And they supplied their needs, and they did all the things that Christians ought to do concerning the the just the basics in life. And they were praying.
41:14 This church was praying for this family's salvation as they came to America and they moved here. And when they came here, they plugged into another Middle Eastern church, and they were doing the same, supplying their needs, but they were also praying in the background for this family's salvation. And after many years, this young boy who was 12 years old was diagnosed with cancer. High rate of cancer. And that same night, he went to bed.
41:42 And when he went to bed, he had a dream and Jesus comes into his dream. And he appears to this young boy and this as this boy describes, he had a golden apple in his hand. And he reached down to this young boy and he says, eat it. And the young boy in his innocence said, I don't like apples. And he says, trust me.
42:03 Eat it. This young boy in that dream took that apple and he took a bite. He told me that it was sweeter than anything else he's ever tasted. Now he woke up. He told his family.
42:12 They go to the doctor. No cancer. Completely healed. And I thought to myself, surely, surely God heard some prayers. And in his wisdom and in his sovereignty and in his timing, he took those prayers, he took that situation, and he timed it to a place where it would be undeniable that this was an intervention from God.
42:35 You might be here and asking, how does this prayer thing work? I don't understand why James was killed and Peter wasn't. I'm not here to argue and figure out the sovereignty of God in our affairs. I'm not here to do that. But there are many things in this life I don't understand.
42:50 All I know that it works. I don't understand how electricity works, but all I know is that I flip that switch on, it turns on to my benefit. So I'm gonna turn the light on. You might not be able to explain all these things, but you do things as a reflex, as a habit because you just know it works. Do it with prayer.
43:06 Too many people are trying to figure out God, and God's just saying cry out to me and let me figure out what your mind can't even contain. Statements to a world that would stagger and even save. And it's no wonder when we come back to Ephesians chapter six, at the last part of verse 18, making supplication for all the saints. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. This thing called prayer is so powerful, Paul is saying, not only for you, I want you to make it a habit that you are to be a person who prays for all other believers, and this is where it ties into how it affects and benefits us in spiritual warfare.
43:57 This is how it works. When it comes to the armor of God and us placing it on ourselves, do you realize that I cannot place that armor for you nor can you for me? As important as righteousness is and the helmet of salvation and the shield of faith, I can't come up to you and put on you the breastplate of righteousness. I can't come up to you and say, here's the helmet of salvation. I can't come to you and put the sword of the spirit in your hand.
44:22 You and I have to make a conscious effort to apply these things daily. You're saying why? Because God himself doesn't put it on us. He gives the instruction. He says, you put it on.
44:32 I made it possible. Now put it on. So how do you think that I can do it for you? How can we come to that place where I can apply it? We are all responsible for our well-being concerning spiritual warfare.
44:44 But there is something that you and I can do for one another. That's pray. Pray. I can't make you know scripture, but I can pray for you to be motivated. I can't make you live a holy life, but I can pray for conviction in your life.
45:04 I can't protect you to a degree, but I can pray for a God and to a God who can protect you when you go out and do what God's called you to do. And all I can tell you personally, more than anything, when there are any opportunities to go out of state to do evangelistic meetings, I can personally testify that in moments of great warfare, even in some cases, not many, but some cases where it is so intense where I feel like my heart is gonna beat right out of my chest at two, three in the morning. That in that dark room, that room lights up. Not because an angel showed up, but because my cell phone lit up. In the middle of the night, I would look at that text from a person that I know walks in the spirit.
45:50 And when you walk in the spirit, when you walk by the spirit, you can be assured that you'll be praying in the spirit. Saying, are you okay? And me with a little strength I have might say, no. And that person's saying, the Lord put you on my heart. The Lord put you on my heart to pray for you in this moment.
46:07 Oh, the comfort that blankets my soul, though sleepless sometimes, say God you see me in this moment. This is real. This is real. And you and I have an opportunity to be in tune with the spirit and to partner with God for the advancement of his purposes. That's why Paul says in verse 19, also for me.
46:34 I I need you to pray for me. Look at this apostle. Look at this man. So many attribute man Paul to be a man of great theology and great doctrine, rightfully so. But realize as we close the book of Ephesians, we've been in this for many many weeks and months, that Paul began the book of Ephesians by praying for the people and now he ends up by asking for prayer.
46:55 From cover to cover, this man understands the power of this. And he says I need you to pray for me, and I'm convicted by two truths as we close this sermon in a moment. The number one truth here that I'm convicted by, and I hope you are as well, is that this man believed in the power of prayer, not just in his own prayers for himself. This man also believed in the power of prayer from others for himself. He says, I need you to pray for me that I may have words, look how specific, and I may have the boldness to do what God's called me to do.
47:27 And now you and I might believe in the power of prayer for ourselves, but do you believe in the power of prayer when others pray for you? And I know, I understand that sometimes people seeking attention just wanna ask, tell people to pray for them for everything. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a person that really believes that when the saints pray, there is assistance in my life. Do we believe that?
47:53 I want to believe that more. I truly wanna believe that when I know people who walk in the fear of God and I ask them to pray, and they don't just say praying for you and they don't pray, you know, those that I don't want to go there. To say, pray for me as I do what God's asking me to do, that there will be something different in that meeting. There will be something different in that ministry moment. There will be something different in my day.
48:21 Paul believed it. You and I must believe it. Pray for me believers. Secondly, look what he's asking prayer for, and this is convicting just as much. Verse 20.
48:35 For which I am an ambassador in chains that I may declare boldly as I ought to speak. Notice what he didn't pray for. He said, pray for me believers that I might be free from this prison and that these chains would be let loose. Didn't even ask for that. Completely dismissed it.
48:52 He says pray for boldness. Pray that I can preach better. Pray that I would be clear in the way I display and proclaim this gospel. What does that mean? That when Paul prayed and asked for prayer, it was beyond his own comfort.
49:10 It was beyond his own desires. His prayers were completely centered upon the will of God being advanced, upon the purposes of God propelling forward and him being a vessel for that. Surely, this man knew what it means to pray in the spirit. Pray that I may speak the things of God with great power and boldness and clarity. Even in our request of prayer, what do we ask God for?
49:41 Are they eternal things? Are they spiritual things? Are they for his glory? Are they for his intervention? Are they for trivial things?
49:50 Yes, God cares about the little things. I am a firm believer in that. You probably heard this quote, but I'll say it anyway. If in the last twenty four hours God were to answer your prayers, would it change the world or would it only change your world? Would it change their world or would it only change your world?
50:16 I pray that we would be a people who pray beyond ourselves, beyond our comfort, beyond our own desires. God knows it. God hears it. God longs to fulfill it. But that we would say, oh, God.
50:27 I wanna pray prayers that would contribute to eternal matters. And not only that, in light of acts chapter 12, God, make us a people who know how to pray prayers that apart from your intervention would not be possible. And if they were to be answered, surely you would get all the glory. Sometimes we limit our prayers and they are so small. If we really wanted to, we could figure them out ourselves.
50:50 And we we we pull back from asking God to do the impossible. And God says pray the big prayers. Pray the big prayers. Yes. Pray the small prayers.
51:01 Include me in all matters. Pray at all times. But as the people of God, let us take things that seem cannot be done in our day, cannot be done in your family, cannot be done on your campus, cannot be done through your life. Bring it before the Lord. Partner with people that are not motivated by selfish ambition or intimate intimidated by your ministry, and seek the Lord and see what will happen.
51:27 Adrian Rogers, pastor, said something about prayer that I think is quite convicting. Three things. Number one, prayer is the greatest Christian privilege. Number two, prayer is the greatest Christian service. And number three, prayer is the greatest Christian failure.
51:57 Failure. As much as it is a privilege and as much as it is a major contribution to so much, why do we fail in it so easily? And as we close, would it not be fitting to seek the Lord in prayer together? And as a church entering into a new season, yes, physically and with the weather and everything else, but I believe even as a church who has been praying, and I'm so glad that we are a people of prayer and see the importance of it, would not grow weary in this. And I would ask you not just in your own life how you prioritize prayer, but even corporately.
52:41 Again, I don't like twisting arms. And I understand that people have different schedules and you work tirelessly and you serve. But you know this is between you and God. This isn't between me and you. This is between you and the Lord.
52:57 If there isn't a val a valuable and a a true and sincere reason, why is it that you've lost that passion and desire to pray with your brothers and sisters? I'm not talking about the nonnegotiables in life. I'm not talking about the schedule of your work and the schedule of school. I'm not talking about the fact that you have a new child in their life and you have to I'm not talking about those things. I'm talking about the heart posture.
53:17 Have you failed to believe that God is about and wants to bring supernatural intervention? Are you gonna rob yourself from special corporate testimonies? Do you not want to, with others, make intercessions that would create statements to a world that needs to see that our God is alive? This is our opportunity. I pray that you would be stirred.
53:39 What use is talking about prayer if our hearts are not stirred to do it? All may not be said of this place that though we know that this is a great Christian privilege and it is a great Christian service may not be set of anybody in here that it is a great Christian failure. Pray with me, would you? In this place right now, let us take heed and obey what the Lord instructed of us of in first Timothy two. First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, and intercessions be made for all people.
54:15 In your own heart, in your own life, concerning yourself, would you ask the lord, help me to know how to pray at all times. Help me to know how to include you in all matters. Let it be something that flows like breathing. Let it be something so effortless. Let it be something that I do with delight, not out of mere duty.
54:42 When you pray for that now, would you pray for this church? God almighty, make us a praying church. God almighty, may I have it within myself sincerely to to know that whenever I'm facing an impossible situation, somebody that I know that is bound in chains, somebody that I know that apart from a touch from heaven, they cannot escape. God, help me to know how to come to that place and so much faith to pray with my brothers and sisters and say, we need God in my family. We need God in my son's life.
55:12 We need God in my campus. We need God in my workplace. I say this and I say it with the desire for you to be stirred up. Some of you in here knew what it was like to pray for your campus at one point, but you've lost all faith. Some of you in here, you had a burning desire to see your coworker saved.
55:32 Now you're just going with emotions and that stopped. And this is God's call to you this morning. Pray and watch what I can do. Before we get up and pray together, I wanna share a testimony that I even have somebody here, my own brother, to testify to this. We were back in Canada and we were freshly saved.
55:50 Some of you already know this, but just for the sake of remembrance. There was a time in Canada when a abandoned brothers were together, and we were just asking God for salvation and opportunities. And for some reason, somehow God opened doors that are beyond me even to this day. I don't understand how it happened. That one of the guys from this group was a former drug dealer in his high school.
56:17 And when another former classmate, after he had graduated and everything, he had died. The whole you know how it is when a young person dies? Thousands can come at times. And he went to attend this young man's funeral, and he saw his principal from the high school days there, and they caught up. And he had shared his testimony with her, and she had seen instantly that there was a remarkable change in this person, that truly God had changed this person.
56:39 And I and Peter and I were there to see that the just the end of his transformation from drugs to being free from it. Severe drugs. He was a drug dealer after high school. And because the principal and I believe this with all my heart. This is because of prayers.
56:53 Because we we prayed. Because of this young man, because of that divine appointment, that teacher, that principal opened the door for for this random group of young men to go into eight to nine different schools. Now not all directly connected. It was one thing after the other. But we had the opportunity because of that one moment to go into high schools, Catholic high schools.
57:19 And I remember there was one moment even in Cambridge where we I don't know if you were there. Were you there in Cambridge that one day? We were in Cambridge, a specific city. And they played planted us in one of the rooms there, the the chapel area where they would do their thing. And they would bring class after class throughout the whole day, and all we did was preach pure gospel.
57:37 Pure gospel. Pure gospel. Pure gospel. Why do I share that? To boast?
57:42 Far be it for me to boast in anything except in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I'm saying that to say that even the things that seem impossible, like going into a high school to share, going into a campus to share, seeing things that by law you can't even do when you get on your knees. God, under holy obligation will do something. Yes. In his sovereignty, sometimes he says yes and sometimes he says no.
58:12 But I will not pray that way. I will believe him. We must believe him and trust that he's able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. I want you to be stirred. I want you to believe again.
58:28 Maybe you're in a rut right now. Maybe it's just mechanical. Maybe even in your intercession, it's just there's no life in it. It's just naming lists. That's it.
58:36 Come back to the place of desperation. And if there's any way for you to get stirred in the personal place, they they play into one another. Come to the corporate place. If you want vice versa, if you want to contribute to the corporate place, pray in the the secret place. And I just want to believe God for greater things again.
58:57 I want to believe God for the impossible again. I wanna look at that city map and believe that God can open doors that would even stagger people that don't believe. Would you stand with me And pray with me now as we sing in a moment. Father in heaven, God almighty, we believe that as we pray right now, you hear from heaven, and that causes us to tremble. And Lord, we just ask right now for every person in this place, as we conclude in the book of Ephesians, that you would cause each person to be stirred in the place of prayer again.
59:40 Lord, if there's anybody in here that might seem intimidated by what it means to pray, help us believe that you are so patient and you are so long suffering that all you require from us is even baby steps to start small as long as we are sincere, to start small as long as we are persistent, and to let that muscle grow in due time. Father in heaven, we pray for this church. We ask, oh god, that no matter what happens, whether it's growth or lack of, whether it's resourceful or lack of, whether we have opportunities to minister or not, that there would be one thing that would be unchanging and that is the prayer meeting. Protect the prayer meeting, God almighty. And Lord, may it not be done under compulsion where anybody, even after hearing this message, would say, you know, I better do this or else the leadership is gonna look at me differently, or I better do this so people know that this is just the right thing to do and I'm doing it.
1:00:38 God, please, may it be replaced with a sincere and pure devotion. May it be motivated by a fiery desire and faith to believe that I can see God do something in my life, in the life of my church. Lord, we pray that in this next season, as we go into another book and as things are changing even for so many in life, that you would take us to a new height in prayer, oh god. And in doing so, we would see greater things in God, greater revelation, greater manifestation of the presence and power of God in our meetings, lord. We want you to be in the midst.
1:01:11 And may it be said of you, may it be said even of those who look in that this is a house of prayer, that this is a place that knows how to cling to God and knows how to sit at his feet. Lord, we need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. So Lord bless this place God. Bless this place Lord.
1:01:36 Reignite the urgency. Reignite the passion. Let the incense of this altar on this church never go out, we pray. In Jesus' name.
