The Power Of Prayer 4

Lift our Bibles up.

If you are watching, get your Bible out because you're gonna need it.

We teach right out of the Word of God.

Let's just wave our Bibles around, make Jesus glad, the devil mad, and say this together say heavenly father, I'm so glad to be here today.

I'm renewing my mind to what the Bible says about the power of prayer.

I'm determined not to have a power vacuum in my life.

I have a prayer life and I'm moving things through prayer, giving God all the glory for the results.

In Jesus name, amen, you can be seated, and you know.

Let's turn first to our cornerstone scripture, james, chapter 5, and as we've said over and over that, james is one of those end time books.

James 5 · chapter mention

It's got an end time Emphasis, and so us, we living in the end times, we should pay particular attention.

In verse 16, second part of the verse in the King James, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man or righteous person of Vaeloth Much, and of course then the amplified, says it this way the earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.

So I won't go back over what we've Talked for three weeks.

I've got another part of prayer I want to talk about today and I want to give myself enough time to get these truths in you.

So let's turn in our bibles today, to Luke 24.

Luke 24 and I'm going to this part of the message is developing your prayer life.

Developing your prayer life, you know, most Christians do pray occasionally.

They usually pray when things are falling apart, they pray when the devil's already attacked.

But you know, really you must develop a prayer life if you're going to be effective and if you're going to see results.

And so that's what this part of the message, our last message on this subject for a while.

Luke 24, and We'll start reading with verse 13.

Now, you know, just to set this up, these are two disciples headed to the road, on the road of Emmaus.

Now, they're not the 12th, of course, now by this time it's 11, because Judas is no longer with them and but these are two that are highly associated with the 12 and with Jesus, and they're headed down the road, and this is after the Resurrection.

So they're headed down the road to Emmaus, verse 13 and behold, two of them went that same day, the day of resurrection, to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about three score furloughs, that's about seven and a half miles.

And they talked together of all these things which had happened and it came to pass it.

While they commune together and reasoned, jesus himself drew near and Went with them, but their eyes were holding, or their eyes were restrained that they should know him.

And he said unto them what manner of communications of these that you have one to another and as you walk and are sad?

And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas Answering, said unto him aren't thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and has not known the things which are come to pass here in these days?

And he said unto them well, what things don't you love the Lord?

He's the subject of all.

You know what things.

What are you talking about?

And they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which is a prophet mighty, indeed in word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned To death and have crucified him.

But we trusted it had been he which should have redeemed his room.

Beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done and they're just back.

I can't wait to.

You know, get the picture, read your Bible like that, put yourself there on the scene.

I mean there, just can't wait to tell it this stranger, everything that they're sad about.

Yeah, and certain women, also of our company, made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre, and when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive, and and certain of them which were with us, went to the sepulchre and found it even so, as the women had said, but him they saw not.

And then he said unto them all Little darlings, it's gonna be all right, pat him on the head.

Oh, fools and slow of heart to believe All that the prophets have spoken.

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?

And, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expanded unto them and all the scriptures, the things concerning himself, and they drew now into the village where they went, and he made as though he would have gone further.

Now, you know, let's think about this.

How long is this all going on?

See, seven and a half miles, let's just say they were Putting one foot in front of another and they were walking pretty fast.

I mean, four miles an hour walk is pretty fast pace.

That'd be two hours, so it's not just ten minutes.

Okay, I mean, they've been walking together.

They don't know who they're talking to, but he starts expounding out of the, the law and the prophets or the things concerning himself.

So they draw night of the village, whether they went, and he made as though he would keep on going.

He didn't turn in with them, but they what constrained him, saying abide with us, for it is toward evening in the day, as far as spent.

And he went in to tarry with them and it came to pass as he sat at meat with them.

He took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished out of their sight, man, that had to be unnerving, to say the least.

And they said one to another did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us, by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

So I wanted to speak today about developing your prayer life, or you could say it this way, I've preached it this way praying to know things.

Praying to know things, I mean some things you're never gonna know if you don't have a prayer life.

It's not that God is holding them back, it's not that God is is reserved them and he not showing you is that you don't have a prayer life and you're not approaching him and he's not just gonna chase you down the road and Necessarily reveal just everything to you.

I mean, you know we have to have a prayer life.

So after the resurrection, the disciples were all doubting and wondering.

I mean, they're still locked up behind closed doors, they're not real sure they're gonna survive there.

Jesus has been crucified and they're afraid Peter's ashamed because he denied the Lord.

And you know Judas is dead.

I mean, you know there's a lot of stuff going on and they're not exactly in a great mood and so, and then all this happens as they go to the tomb and his body's gone and they can't explain it.

Well, they forgot.

They forgot.

He said I'm gonna write, I'm gonna, you know, come back, wait for me.

In Galilee they just, you know he said things, but they just didn't, it didn't sink in.

But these two, their eyes were restrained and and you know, if you go to the tomb and you're going to see the body restrained and and you know, if you keep reading in the book of John.

Remember when they went fishing?

Peter said I go a fishing, I'm tired of hanging around being sad and not having any money.

There's no cash flow coming into my house because there's no ministry, nobody's here giving us money to sit at home.

I've got to go fishing.

And they go out there.

Seven of them go out fishing and then the Lord is on the shore fixing fish.

Tacos is what I like to say.

Hey boys, you caught anything.

They didn't see.

If they didn't understand who he was, they they couldn't see.

They couldn't see Jesus had risen from the dead.

He looked different and and so the same thing, the same pattern, and.

But yet Preaching to these two made their heart burn.

See, they got excited, they knew they were hearing truth, but they didn't connect the truth giver with you.

Know who he was preaching about?

I mean, here's this guy preaching and they hadn't got that.

He's talking about himself.

He didn't get that until later, until what?

When he broke bread.

So what was it that opened their eyes?

Constrained, they constrained.

They opened their eyes after they constrained him.

Intimacy, everybody say they constrained him.

See, notice, he acted like he was gonna keep on walking.

Remember the storm out on the Sea of Galilee and Jesus out there walking on the water, and they're all afraid.

They're out there laboring, and he just acted like he was gonna keep on.

He's gonna just be bop right past them Hi boys, I'm gonna keep going, you know.

And so they constrained him.

The word constrained means to urge and assist, compel him.

And then, once constrained, jesus, you know, broke bread.

See, in the Jewish tradition, the highest form of fellowship, the highest form of intimacy, is to share a meal.

That's why Shabbat is such a big deal.

I mean, you know, in the Jewish culture, they celebrate Passover, they celebrate Shabbat, which is, you know, every Sabbath, and then the Passover is real special.

This is, you know, all of these things.

All the feast days are really centered around eating and fellowship and that's intimacy.

And the Shabbat meal.

I was reading Billy Brim talking.

She was invited to a Shabbat meal when she was in Israel last in December, and so what struck her was the amount of just laughing and fellowship and visiting a family time at Shabbat, which is every week.

You know, saturday night is Shabbat and they have their meal and they sit around and they eat and they visit, and that's how these families stay together, that's how these families are bonded together in their own customs, as the fellowship, or what I call intimacy into me.

See, you know you gotta constrain God's presence.

You know he's not just gonna just come and visit you.

He might visit you, but I mean it's not often enough.

We have to turn it around and we have to constrain his presence.

I'm talking about developing a prayer life.

So when they constrain him, you know he does this familiar thing he broke the bread and gave it to him.

It doesn't say that he ate any of it, but when he broke the bread and started the process of the meal, that's when he was revealed to them and they saw him.

And as soon as they saw him he's gone.

That was the whole point of him visiting with them.

So then they went back and told the 11.

Think about the 11.

Some of them hadn't even seen any of this.

Go on.

So first Mary comes back and tells them they didn't believe.

So Peter and John go running to the temple, right Going to the grave, and then they believe, they go back.

There's a whole bunch of them that hadn't seen or heard anything.

And so here's two more.

They have witness after witness.

Hey, he's alive, I saw him.

He preached to us about himself.

Out of what?

Out of what?

The law.

What's the law?

Well, that's the five first books of the Bible.

The penitouk Jesus is in every book of the Bible, but he's in the law.

And the prophets?

Old fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

So the Old Testament predicted he was coming.

All through the Old Testament.

When we read the Old Testament we need to read it with New Testament eyes.

The Old Testament is not really to us, but it is for us At the New Testament, especially the epistles are for us.

So now that they constrained his presence and he ate with them started the process.

It doesn't say he ate, but he started that.

Then they, their eyes were opened and his presence was revealed to them.

So it's like this.

It's relationship, intimacy, revelation and faith.

Let's all say that out loud Relationship, intimacy, revelation and faith.

Now you don't pray for faith, but your prayer life is the cornerstone of your faith.

Without a prayer life, your faith is going to be weak.

At best You're just going to feed your faith a little bit of time you come to a service like this, you'll get a little information, you'll get a revelation in church.

I can't count the times I've gone to church and go.

I mean I got revelation.

What is revelation?

It moves from your head down into your spirit.

It's in your spirit where you have to have a revelation of the Word of God.

That's where faith is born.

When you have revelation, that's the beginning of faith and every disciple should be living a life of faith.

A just shall live by faith, the just.

So you've got to establish that you're just.

Most people they're not sitting under the Word, the right Word.

They don't know who they are in Christ.

Yeah, they know they're saved, but it's not really real to them.

They don't really meditate on the fact that when they got saved they became a new creature.

2 Corinthians 517.

If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.

Old things are passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

I mean the minute we got born again, everything changed about us and we became righteous.

When you receive Jesus, you receive the gift of righteousness.

Righteousness is not a fruit.

Righteousness is not something you grow in.

Righteousness is just there or it isn't.

You either received it or you didn't.

It doesn't come and go.

Come and go.

A lot of people you know they have a lot of religion and they just think they have to go get saved every week.

Every time they miss it, they get condemned and they think they're going to hell.

Look, listen.

I'm not saying that you ought to go out in sin.

I'm just saying you ought to be.

You ought to have that solid.

Your relationship with Christ is that he made you a son of God.

You are a son or a daughter of God.

You have a Bible, right.

You have the blood there in the Holy of Holies.

You don't have to wait in the lobby.

You can go right up into the Holy of Holies and you can have intimacy with Him.

Into me, see, and not be ashamed.

See, that's what righteousness is.

You're not afraid of His presence because you know the blood has cleansed you and if there is anything that you've done or said, you're going to get that cleaned up before you go and pray.

And that's why 1 John 1 9 is so important.

If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleans us of all unrighteousness.

There's no excuse for staying out of the throne room just because you missed it.

Admit it, confess it, forsake it, lay it down and receive forgiveness.

That way you've got boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies.

Everybody say relationship, intimacy, revelation, then faith.

Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God.

Faith cometh by revelation.

I take you back to Jesus talking to the disciples.

One day, teachable moment, he says hey guys, who do men say that I am?

Well, they say that you know.

Some say you're Elijah, some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're that prophet.

Well, who do you say I am?

Woo hoo, he puts his finger right on it.

Who do you say I am?

And Peter says thou art the Christ, the son of a living God.

Boom, he knew the answer Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.

He said blessed art thou Simon Barjona, blessed art thou Peter.

Peter, your name means little stone, but upon this great rock, what is he talking about?

The Catholic church says Peter is the foundation of this church and therefore Peter is the pope.

Well, that's a bunch of bunk.

That's not what Jesus said at all.

That is not even what he meant.

He meant that Peter knew Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, because he had a revelation.

And upon this rock of revelation I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Where do we get the revelation?

Well, we gotta have some intimacy, and then, when we constrain him and spend some time with him, we can know some things that we didn't know.

See, you're gonna know.

Revelation is knowing down here, not up here.

You know your head.

You can know a lot of things.

I know people that have memorized the Bible.

They can probably quote it better than me, but they don't have it down here.

It's down here, in your spirit, in other words, not in your belly, in your spirit.

Are y'all with me now?

So when God reveals something to you, your faith begins right there, at that moment.

Amen.

So prayer is this cornerstone of faith.

Now, jesus is our example here.

Let's turn back to Luke 22.

He was a man of prayer.

Why?

Well, you know he's the son of God.

Why did he have to pray?

Well, you know.

The Bible teaches that Jesus laid aside his deity and became as a man.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and Power Acts 10, 38,.

Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.

For God was with him.

So he did not minister on this earth during the gospel period, before the resurrection, he did not minister as the son of God.

He was the son of God, but he laid aside that power and the deity and became a man anointed of God and therefore he was dependent upon a prayer life.

He had to have one.

He had to go to his father in prayer Many times he would depart and go up into a mountain alone and pray.

So in Luke 22, he is at the last supper and it says here, verse 21,.

But behold a hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

And truly, the son of man goeth as it was determined.

But woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed.

He told Judas what you do quickly.

He knew it was Judas.

How did he know?

Prayer, prayer.

Well, it doesn't say that.

Well, yeah, but it indicates in John chapter five.

I didn't write the verse down but you can look it up.

In John chapter five Jesus made this statement.

He said I only do the things I see my father do.

In John chapter eight he says I only say the things I hear my father say.

So he in prayer would know what to say and do.

He didn't just have an end to.

He said I've come to do the will of my father who sent me.

I've not come to do mine own will, but the will of him who sent me.

How did he know the will of God?

Prayer?

Now he is the word made flesh.

So, yes, he does have a superior knowledge of the word because of that, but he still had to have faith to operate in that realm and he had to have knowledge from God, his father, to stay under the authority of the father.

Are y'all getting this now?

He's our example.

So he knew ahead of time that Judas was gonna betray him.

And then, at the same time, he just a few verses down second on the hit list and the devil was successful.

He knew the weak points.

Did it destroy Jesus as ministry?

Well, no, actually, god just used it to go ahead.

And I mean, that was the doorway through which he was crucified as he got sold out.

And Matthew, when Matthew was telling this story, you know what Jesus said about Judas it's better for him not to have been born.

Oh, that's kind of serious.

Better for him not to have been born than to have betrayed the Son of man.

But he knew ahead of time.

Oh, I'll tell you, our Jesus didn't.

He didn't hold back anything, he didn't stop anything.

He went all the way to the cross, he went all the way to hell and he came all the way back to give us something that's valuable and precious.

You're not gonna get it if you don't have a life of prayer.

You gotta have a prayer life.

So second on the devil's hit list is Peter, verse 31.

And the Lord said Simon, simon, the devil, enunciation of God.

You'll see, in the scriptures, you know, abraham, abraham, simon, simon, martha, martha, the devil, enunciation of God.

What does it mean?

Well, the devil enunciation is just like a grease board, and you underline a verb.

You know, ee, pay attention to this.

Simon, simon, satan hath desired to sift you as wheat.

Where did he get that?

In prayer, probably about the same time he got Judas.

See, the devil wasn't just trying to do one thing, he's trying to take the whole thing down.

Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat.

What does that mean?

Well, wheat had to be threshed.

You know, you got this big old wheat stalk.

It's got wheat in it, but it's got chaff.

It's got a stalk and all that.

What did they do?

Well, they put it on the threshing room floor and they would bruise it and run over it with wagon wheels and break it apart.

And then they would take a winterwing fork and they would scoop all of it up and throw it up in the air with a wind blowing and they would blow the chaff off and the wheat, being heavier, would eventually just pile up in the threshing room floor and they separated the chaff from the wheat and they'd gather the chaff up and burn it and then they would put the wheat into the storehouse.

Satan wanted to run over and destroy Peter.

He wanted to crush him, but Jesus said but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen the brethren.

He had hope.

I don't know if he remembered that part of the prayer that Jesus made for him or not.

I don't know if he, because I know he was real mad at himself and discouraged about himself because he denied Jesus three times.

Oh, though everyone leave thee, I won't.

Oh, you're gonna deny me.

You're gonna deny me three times for the rooster crows in the morning.

How did Jesus know that he was a man of prayer?

He had knowledge, he gained knowledge.

I'm telling you, god is just.

He's eager for his children to engage him, because that's why doesn't a father want his children to talk to him?

Isn't that why you have kids?

So you can have a relationship.

You raise them, you do the correcting, you do the teaching and then when they get to be like my kids age, I just treasure my children because I can talk to them.

They're adults, they can tell me things that I need to know and I see all the time I see them just going out ahead of me and doing things without I'm not around here, having to tell them every little thing to do.

They've got their own things to do and they do.

It's delightful to have a father, son, father, daughter relationship.

At the beginning it's difficult.

Why?

Because you've got to train them, you've got to child rear them and all of that.

There's challenges in that.

But after that's done, it's such a same with the father.

The father, how many of you know he knows how to be a better father than we do.

He's inviting us to come in so he can share the bounty with us, his knowledge with us.

You mean all my troubles are going?

No, I didn't say that.

He's not going to show you about every little thing that happens, because Jesus said in the world.

You're going to have trouble, but I'm convinced that if we don't have a prayer life, we'll have a whole lot more trouble than we need to.

So, and then on down the way there, versus 40 and 46, jesus warned the disciples.

He said pray that you enter, not into temptation.

Pray that you be kept through the temptation.

What was he talking about?

All these events that happened, his crucifixion, all of the all, the all that crowd screaming at him, crucify him, crucify him.

All the hatred that came out, all the lies that were told, having a witness, jesus being beaten to death almost until he got on the cross, and then they nailed him to that cross.

It was a horrible, horrible thing to see.

And he said you need to pray that you enter, not into temptation.

Enter in means put it on and let it affect you.

You know we're all tempted, but we don't have to enter in.

If you have a prayer life, you can identify temptation when it just first occurs and you can say, uh-oh, temptation, tests and trials means the same thing.

Are y'all getting anything out of this?

So, developing your prayer life?

I wanna make a statement Maturity demands availability.

How many of you wanna be mature sons and daughters of God.

I mean, you don't wanna be babies anymore, you don't wanna be children, you wanna be mature.

You wanna be someone that God can depend on, you wanna be someone that he can anoint for a purpose and partake of the believer's ministry.

This believer's ministry has got to be perfected.

It's not gonna be enough to have some great preachers.

It's not gonna be enough to have some great leaders.

We're gonna have to have the believer's ministry.

Yeah, oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the scriptures have stated, all the prophets have spoken.

That's what we have today In the American church.

We've got the blind share of the revelation, we've got the lion's share of churches and preachers and money, and yet we're just on a low level.

But it's changing.

I said it's changing.

So maturity demands availability.

The availability is on our side, it's all on our side.

Everybody say I am available.

See, it's not the ability, it's availability.

Ability comes to those that have the availability.

All right, let's read Colossians, chapter four, and I'm gonna read it in the Amplified verse two through four.

Colossians four two through four.

Of course.

This is Paul writing to the church and he says this in the Amplified.

I love this Be earnest and unwearyed and steadfast in your prayer life.

Hence the message today prayer life.

See, we have a home life, we have a professional life, we have a recreational life, we have a rodeo life, we have a barbecue cookout life, we have all kinds of things.

Do we have a prayer life?

Because a prayer life is different than just pray and ever get great once in a while when things are coming unglued.

I think most Christians do pray.

But is it like Colossians is saying look at what Paul is writing to the Colossian church.

He says be earnest, unwearyed and steadfast in your prayer life, being both alert and intent in your praying, with thanksgiving, and at the same time, pray for us also.

Also.

See, he's saying look, I need your prayers.

I'm the father of this church, I'm the one that beget it, I'm the one that gave it birth, I'm the one that started it.

But I need your prayers too.

We're in the same together and for us, at the same time, praying for us also, that God may open a door for us for the Word, the gospel, to proclaim the mystery concerning Christ, the Messiah, on account of which I'm a prisoner, that I may speak boldly and proclaim it fully.

The King James says pray for me that a door of utterance may be opened unto me, a door of utterance.

I claim that every time I come to church to stand up here.

But what would be great is if I had a whole church full of people praying that for me too, praying that when they think about their pastor, they pray for a door of utterance, that I will proclaim it.

I will speak it for fully and boldly, proclaim it fully.

That's what's not happening in the church.

It's changing.

It's changing, but it has.

It's been pathetic.

Makes me wonder is anybody praying the way that Paul said to pray?

Is anybody praying for their pastor?

Is anybody going to the throne room earnestly and steadfastly, with thanksgiving, because it's in your own best interests that I do that, because if I don't do that, you will not receive what you need to receive.

Are y'all getting this now, talking about having a prayer life?

Whoo glory to God.

All right.

So five things about your prayer life, developing your prayer.

Everybody say I'm developing my prayer life.

Doesn't that sound good?

My prayer life, see, my prayer life.

See, you got a professional life, you've got it Home life.

My prayer life.

Number one establish intimacy based on your relationship.

Now, I mentioned that earlier.

We've got to get it down in our hearts that we are sons and daughters of the most high God, that we have a place right there in the throne room.

We don't have to wait in the lobby, we don't have to cool our heels, waiting around.

He says come boldly to the throne of grace, the throne of grace, to obtain mercy.

He said covenant Obligation, to the point where God cannot not bless you, he cannot not reveal what's yours.

That's mercy.

And we think about mercy like may God have mercy on your soul, like the guy that's going off to the hangman's noose, you know, or going they're gonna flip the switch on the electric chair.

Well, yeah, but that's not what this mercy is.

This mercy is, has said, it's covenant obligation.

We have a covenant with almighty God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

He's bought and paid for things that we'll never find out about until we have a prayer line.

But you're gonna have to be bold.

I mean, you know the righteous are as bold as a lion.

You know you've gotta have this attitude that you're worthy to be in his presence.

Get that hang.

Dog unworthiness.

That's demonic.

If you need to confess your sin, you will own it, confess it and get rid of it and then throw it away and then go right boldly in there.

I mean, that's what the blood paid for.

You gotta go traipsing through the blood to get to him because it's right there at the mercy seat.

Oh, come on, lift your hand right now.

Glory to God, he made a way for us behind the veil.

No animals have to die.

No, no bullocks and no goats and no pigeons.

Nothing has to die.

They all died.

No, jesus died and his blood is there.

He's still speaking better things than that of Abel.

You gotta get it down that you are a new creature.

Your past is gone and it'll give you that kind of access.

I remember one time I moved back to Lakewood.

I was broke.

I was so broke I couldn't pay attention and I needed a job and nobody.

You're overqualified.

I've been self-employed for years at that point, lost my business and so forth, and so we so this guy called me and I had just met him.

I hadn't met him.

He's a businessman, had a big business, and he said John, I need to see you.

I've got a proposal.

I got something that I'm thinking about.

You were a home builder, right?

Yeah, I got something about doing.

He said all right.

So he called me.

I went to his office and met with him and his partner and they had this project they were thinking about doing and he was kind of just dancing around it.

He didn't really want to make a commitment.

I think he was just trying to pick my brain and I didn't.

I just told him what I thought about it and I said you're gonna have to have about a million dollars cash to do this project at least, and I don't know if you can borrow it or you have it, but you to borrow it is almost impossible because, right, that was during the depression of the 80s in Houston.

Nobody was lending money and there was no cranes.

You know, you go through Houston cranes or everywhere.

No cranes in the city at that time.

And Lakewood would just break and ground on its new building at the time that was the only thing going in the entire city was Lakewood Church.

And so I said you know you've this proposal is just.

You know, I just didn't think that much of it.

And then he called me back and he just wanted to see me again.

Yeah, let's keep talking, I think there's something.

And so I went back and I sat in his lobby for an hour and a half and finally, you know, I just thought you know what I'm done with this.

I don't need him to pull this on me.

I don't care.

God, what do I do If I, if I don't, do I have to wait any longer?

Can I just leave?

And I didn't.

I didn't hear anything.

And finally God said tell him to bake you a little cake.

First.

I said what, what, what?

Tell him to bake you a little cake first.

God, I can't tell him there he's going to think my hand's in his pocket.

Remember what Brother Hagin says beware of the profit that prophesies money out of your pocket.

I said I tell him okay.

So finally I walked up to some secretary.

I said look, I'm going to tell him that I'm going to bake you a little cake.

First I walked up to some secretary.

I said look, tell, I'm not going to call his name in case he ever hears this and identifies himself, but anyway.

So I forgave him.

I said tell so and so that I've got another meeting, I'm going to have to go.

And she pushed the intercom and told him Mr Griner is fixed to leave.

He's got to go.

He's got another appointment.

Oh yeah, send him in.

And so we talked a little while.

I said, well, I don't know.

We talked all about this thing.

I've told you what.

I gave you my best, and the only thing about my involvement is here's what the Holy Ghost told me to tell you Bake me a little cake first.

And he said what, like the prophet Elijah, here's a poor widow that's eating her last meal, so her and her son can die.

She's going to commit suicide and kill her son so they don't have to starve to death.

And he said, yeah, do as you have said, but bake me a little cake first, for thus saith the Lord, you know, the meal's not going to waste.

The oil won't go away until that there's rain in Israel, see, he prophesied, and they ate on what she had for a year, all three of them.

It was a miracle.

That's what I was saying.

And he looked at me, and so I went through that and told him that I said, look, I don't care what happens.

You know, I didn't you call me.

I'm not here with my hat in my hand.

I think we're done Now.

You knew, you know what God said.

That's all I can do.

It's your decision, totally your decision, but you're going to have to pay me if you want me to come to work for you.

I'm not waiting for this project to pay off and me getting my money.

I have to have something now.

I'm broke.

I didn't mind telling him I was broke.

He knew it anyway.

Are y'all getting this now?

Oh, glory to God.

You don't have to wait around in the lobby.

You don't have to sit around there acting like, well, you know, you're just some kind of just minor player in this deal.

You know God will get to you when he gets to you.

No, we can come right into the presence of God.

God whoo, hallelujah.

He was broke six months later.

I'm sorry, belly up, and I mean he had like 12 or 15 offices and they all closed.

Mama's money ran out, okay, so establish intimacy based on your relationship.

Your sons are the most high God.

Number two constrain God's presence.

This reminds me of last week, talking about asking, seeking and knocking, and really that's reverse order.

What we should do first is knock what's knocking, praise, then, after we've got the time, then, after we praise, we worship.

We don't come just boldly into his throne and bust the door down and say I need healing.

You're gonna knock.

You're meeting the judge of the whole world.

You're meeting the God of the whole earth.

He is holy.

He is worthy of our praise.

He's done things for us over and over.

We ought to knock on His door with thanksgiving what he's already done for us.

Thank you that you made yourself available to me.

I thank you.

The blood has been shed for me.

I'm a new creation.

Thank you, lord.

I worship you today.

That's constraining His presence.

You're speaking the kind of language that he likes.

You know you're gonna court somebody and you wanna marry somebody.

What do you do?

Do you look like a mud fence?

You're gonna put your best foot forward, aren't you guys?

I mean, aren't you gonna shine your shoes a little bit?

You're not gonna go in there with bed hair.

Are you Comb your hair?

Are you gonna just smell like a goat?

You hadn't brushed your teeth in a week?

No, you're gonna doll up, and so is the woman.

You know she's gonna put her.

It's all about what it's all about.

You know, becoming attractive for intimacy, or when.

I'm not talking about that kind of intimacy, I mean you're gonna get to know somebody.

You gotta put your best foot forward.

That's what we should that's what it's really talking about.

Have a protocol, seek, pray about what to pray about and then ask.

Then you'll know what to ask.

Are y'all getting this now?

So constrain God's presence, urge, insist, compel.

Thirsty people how thirsty are you?

See?

It reminds me of Crave.

We talked about Craving last week, jenae she was inspired by my Sheppley's donut thing and she was craving a Bavarian filled donut, and so she bought herself a Bavarian and she bought Jack, her dad, a lemon, and she brought Mary Sutton a raspberry.

Did I get it right so far?

I read it, yeah, and she just she turned my preaching into action.

But Craving God, see, hungry for God's presence, not hungry for what he can do, hungry for Him, hungry to hang out with Him, hungry just to spend time with Him.

It's gotta be your heart If you're just so, if you're so transparent that all you want is what's in the.

You know, like when you were a baby, you know, and mama's holding you and you're in the checkout line.

I want candy, I want candy, candy, candy, candy.

The way to destruction.

If mama gives you the candy, she's done.

No, you gotta get tough with kids.

You gotta tell them who's boss.

You can't give them every little thing they want and that God's the same way.

We ought to give Him what he wants.

Are y'all getting anything out of this?

Number three when God reveals something and he's gonna reveal something give thanks.

Let your prayer be filled with thanksgiving, because you know he's listening.

Let thanksgiving just flow in and out of all of your praying.

I, like you know Ephesians 5, 18, you know be being filled with the Spirit speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody and your heart to the Lord.

See, it's good to just praise Him, it's good to sing.

I tell you, before you do a whole lot of praying, you ought to sing.

You know I go to Galveston normally three or four times a year.

You know what I do when I go to Galveston.

I don't do it every time.

I pray here, but when I go to Galveston I always lay up an offering to the Lord.

First, the old timers whenever they came into His presence.

Old intercessors, pentecostal women that spent their whole life on their face praying.

When we get to heaven, we're gonna see people that are arrayed in all kind of royalty.

They're the ones.

They're the ones that are gonna get the jeweled crowns and all of the gowns and everything else, the ones that laid on their face for years praying.

But even them, this little grandma, she'd lay up a little offering up on her bureau and put it up there.

That's for you, father.

So I just lay up an offering, the honoring.

Honor is more than words.

Honor you have to honor with substance.

You wanna hear from God.

We'll lay up an offering.

Well, you're buying?

No, I'm not buying a thing.

I can't buy it, but I can let Him know how much I love Him and I wanna give Him part of my living and lay it up for the kingdom.

Are you with me now?

Give thanks.

Number four pray for the Lord, pray for your pastor.

Don't forget praying for your pastor and my family and my grandkids.

Pray for them.

Why?

Because we're at the top of this ministry and there's a whole lot of you know.

A great door in effectually has been opened unto us and there are many adversaries.

We're in this thing together.

I said we're in this thing together.

I see churches where the praying is infantile and non-existent and the pastor gets attacked, his marriage gets attacked, the thing falls apart and the church is disbanded.

Well, you know what.

Everybody wants to blame the pastor.

Well, you know what?

He didn't start off like that.

That's not what he had in mind.

Where's the responsibility for the kind of prayer it takes to uphold the man and woman of God and his family?

Amen, amen.

We're headed into waters right now that are so deep.

We left the shore a long time ago.

We're not hanging out in the harbor, we're not hugging the coast.

We are out in the deep where the waves are big and the devils are real and we need your prayer.

We're constantly making very, very critical decisions.

Yes, we have a prayer life, but you know what?

This church?

We need to pray, amen.

And then the fifth thing, the last one is praying church prayer meetings.

You know, just a handful of people pray on Thursday night and there's more than a handful here.

That needs to change.

I mean, you're going to look, we don't.

We let you off.

Wednesday night we don't have live service anymore because this is a regional center.

I asked a question last Sunday night.

We have 117 different zip codes of people who give regularly into this ministry, 117 zip codes.

This ain't a local church, this is a regional center.

People drive from all over 10 counties to get here and so for that reason, after COVID, wednesday night.

I've been thinking about it for years.

Do we need Wednesday night?

Because what happened was Wednesday night attendance got smaller and smaller as the traffic got worse and worse.

People work.

They can't get here on Wednesday night.

And there was the same people doing, you know, childcare, the same people doing the ushering and the same people doing the praise and worship.

And I don't mind preaching.

I'm still preaching on Wednesday nights.

Most of the time my family takes a turn.

On Wednesday night we're on live stream, but that's not the same as a live service.

Some of you say, well, we want the live service.

Well, will you come?

Will you help us?

Because it was getting hard to get any help and it's just all of it's falling on.

So I, you know what I just made an executive decision on Wednesday night service.

I didn't like it.

I still don't like it.

I'd rather.

I'd rather be live all the time.

I just rather be that way.

But we don't want to keep beating on people to make them get here when they can't get here.

But Thursday night, well, yeah, but I, I work.

I know everybody works, everybody's got a schedule.

But you know again, maturity demands availability.

If we're going to get to where we're going, where God has for us.

We're going to have to have a lot more unified prayer, because prayer is where God puts everybody together and puts them on a pathway in unity.

Love plus unity equals miracles.

Are y'all getting this now?

You know, when I was Young and the Lord, I didn't know how to pray.

I had my own personal prayer time, but I didn't know what to do in a corporate prayer meeting.

I went to a few at Lakewood, but when I was asked, gladys and I were asked to become what they called counselors.

Back then they changed it from counselors to prayer partners.

But it's the altar minute, altar workers ministry, where you're up here praying for people that come up for prayer.

We call our version of that life team.

Life team members lay hands on people up here.

So we were asked to be part of that and so I started going to prayer before the service.

We'd have prayer in those old buildings.

Lisa's dad, angus Hutto, built these old barracks out away from the original old building and so they had these for meeting rooms, and so I'd go out there and there would be three or four elderly gentlemen, older gentlemen of season, and I just did what they did.

I'd walk around and praying up and down the aisle, praying in tongues, and kind of watch them and kind of try to hear how they were praying, and mostly praying in tongues.

And one time the head of the prayer partner says you know, god's been talking to me about a billboard and there's a billboard that just came due up here on 610 and East Houston Road.

Let's pray, let's agree right now.

This morning and this is eight o'clock in the morning on Sunday morning See, I got there early to pray and you know what.

We claimed that billboard and you know what Lakewood got that billboard.

That's the first billboard they had in the whole town but I think it was the first one.

Right there they said Lakewood church, this exit.

We prayed it in.

Later on, when I got back from Houston, unemployed, like I was talking about, lakewood was building that big building, 750 seat building that they built and they were about to break ground and I had a staff member call me and said you know we're gonna have a private prayer meeting on Tuesday nights.

I just felt led to call you, would you like to come?

And I'm, you know, I don't even have a job.

I said yeah, I'd love to come, I'm honored.

So there was about five ladies, three of them on the staff, most of them older I mean, they're prayer warriors, they know how to pray and a couple of younger guys.

I was one of the younger guys and the other guy knew more about prayer than I did.

I just didn't know that much about corporate praying but I learned from them.

I just I just walked around, I'd listened to how they'd pray, I'd listened to how they'd act.

And then one of those ladies several times during the next few months I went every Tuesday night.

It's about seven people there and that big, old first building with 5000 seats 5000, where seven people in there praying in a 5000 seat sanctuary.

What were we praying about?

That building and how it would come to pass and how it'd get paid for, and all the transition from one building to another.

And I learned a lot.

And this one lady one night she just fell down on her face and wept for about an hour and I realized she's in travail.

I'd never been around it.

I mean I'd heard of it.

I read it in my Bible in the Galatians my little children, of whom I travail in birth again, till Christ be formed in you Paul's, talked about travail.

I'd never seen it.

Something got on me and I was able to.

I was able one time.

After that, few years later, travail came on me one morning at a full gospel business men's retreat Actually, it's an advance.

We don't believe in retreating and a guy got saved later that morning and got filled with the Holy Ghost that night, and it was because I knew how to get over into that realm of travail.

Are y'all getting this I'm talking about?

Let's look.

Let's graduate out of babyhood.

Let's quit praying in emergency mode.

Let's have a prayer life.

Let's develop a prayer life.

Glory to God, hallelujah.

And as you develop your prayer life, you will know things you need to know.

And once you know those things that you need to know, then you'll have a do list.

You'll know what you need to do.

So, praying to know things, developing your prayer life, the power of prayer.

Lift your hands and receive to me.

Praise God, hallelujah.

Did you get anything out of this today?

Glory to God, hallelujah.