THROUGH//9AM// Elder John Swain Jr.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Love Quest International

Church Podcast, where we seek to love all nations, equip the

church, mobilize the equipped, and serve all.

We're super glad you're joining us from whenever and wherever

you're at in the world. Welcome to the family to get

your Bibles ready, get some water, get some coffee, maybe

some tea and get ready to receive.

Let's get into. It glad to be here today.

I'm excited about what God has to share.

We're going to be building on the theme.

I love the one God does that builds on the theme, and I think

it's going to be something very encouraging with you and for

you. I do want to thank our pastors

for the opportunity to share the Word of God.

I really appreciate it helps me grow, but also helps grow our

community. God is in the activating

business, and my hope is that in God activating me, there's

someone out there that sees that God can activate them too

because we need everyone activated based on what God is

doing. Amen, Amen.

Let me on a set one thing up here.

Can you put this? So we're going to be talking

about praying through today, picking up that thing.

Hey, man, you can put the title slide up praying through through

just one more hour right now. Now, this is not all this part

isn't on my slides, but I thought it fitting to to share

this. What does it mean to pray

through? Sometimes people throw around

terms or, or say things and, and, and, and you're like, what

does it mean? What what does that relate to?

It was important to understand and, and get to that.

OK, And what praying through means?

It means praying until it's done.

OK, Sometimes that means until you see it.

But sometimes it doesn't mean till you see it.

It means till it's done. OK, the same God that pulls you

and calls you to prayer is the same God that tells you we're

done. Sometimes that means you see it,

but sometimes you're not. Sometimes you see it in

different forms than you expect. So for example, there was Anna,

a prophetess from the New Testament.

She was serving God with praise and fastings day and night.

There was a word that came to what sent me into there's a word

that came to them. They would see the Savior when

Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple as it was a custom at

8 days, she saw the Savior. He wasn't the crucified Savior.

He wasn't the risen Savior yet, but he was the Savior.

She prayed through until she saw it.

Even though the form she saw it, it may be indifferent than what

we expected. Praying through means praying

until you get a release from God in your spirit that that's it.

It's taken care of. There are times where I've had

to pray for things and pray for things and I pray for things and

I felt the Lord's like, thank you.

It's done now. It is as it is.

If you never pray for for again, it is as sure as ever.

But this is really important why?

Because when you get that relief from the Lord that is done and

you're still trying to pray, why are you afraid?

Are you scared because you don't see it yet?

Make sense? Sometimes praying when God is

saying it's finished is getting into disobedience.

All of our prayers based on God leading.

It's not based on our seeing. That's why the prayer is is

effective. That's how you pray through.

When you're praying based on your seeing, you're

automatically limiting your prayer.

Praying through is based on God's leading because he knows

exactly what's required to finish this thing and to get

through. Amen.

So we have to be willing. There's nothing wrong with

checking God. There's anything else you want

me to pray about that I know you told me it was finished.

I got a release. I got a peace in my spirit that

it was done, but I'm just checking this week.

We still good, Still good. Month pass.

God, we still good. Don't you pray about that?

No, it's good. It's good, It's good.

Two months pass. God, we need to pray about that.

Yeah. There's something else I want

you to pick up on that now. Was it not finished?

No, it may have been finished. Maybe God's like.

I'm adding an addendum to it based on how other people have

been responding. I'm going to add this to it now

and tack that onto it. Amen.

So that's what it means to pray through.

It does mean you're praying sometimes until you see it, OK,

But it doesn't always mean you're praying until you see it.

And I think that's an important distinction to make, but that's

the way. But you'll know the difference

by the time you spend with the Lord.

OK, everyone got that. Was that helpful?

Helpful. OK, I remember my Mama praying.

Give example. My Mama, my mom praying.

She was praying. I like to say my Mama, my Mama

praying, you know, I remember praying one time she's telling

me about she was praying one time she's praying, she's

praying. Then she went all right and went

to go cook or something, you know, something just like we

were like, ain't no 90° ain't going out.

She's like, oh Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Oh Lord, let's go to

the mall now. It was like that.

You know, I'm like, what's going on with you said no, it's, it's

done. God is blowing witness in my

spirit that we're done with that now we, we're good, right?

So again, that's important to recognize.

We're going to give you some tips about praying through

praying through everyone say praying through praying through

praying through means all the way to the finish, not to the

finish line, but through the finish.

All of my track stars and my track coach up in I got a track

coach helps me learn, helps me preach.

What they say is you got to run through the tape, not to the

tape. Gentlemen, y'all remember the

Olympics? Last Olympics.

Not Olympics. Olympics.

The last Olympics. Last Olympics.

Guy who won 100 meters. What's his name?

Leah. No.

No allow. No allows.

This is my dog over there. My dingo.

He's Australia. He's my dingo.

I'm his dog. I'm.

I'm your anyway. OK?

No, no. No allows.

No allows. Right.

He won by how he pressed through the tape.

One guy leaned through the tape with his head.

Noah leaned with his chest. His chest caught it.

It's about how your chest, not your head, the chest caught him,

right? Praying through means knowing

how to finish all the way. One of the ways you pray through

is understanding this. I'm not if you are, if you

running 100m race, I don't train to run 100 meters.

I train to run 200 meters. So that way at the end of my 100

meters, I am as strong at the end as I was at the beginning.

Praying through means you got to be willing to pray beyond what

you perceive, beyond the capacity, beyond what you think

it might take. You're not training to get

things done. You're training to be as strong

and as graceful and as full and connected with God as it's

possible to be. I got a couple things for you

here. Number one is this.

Don't expect your prayer to change things if your prayer

hasn't changed you. If you want a prayer that

prevails, changing things, don't expect to have prayer that

prevails. If you don't have a prayer

that's changed you, you, you can't pray to a space that you

have not gone in your own life. It's difficult to do that now.

There's a grace that can come on you to do that.

That's some of the gifts of the Spirit.

The gift of faith sometimes will come on to someone to take them

someplace or have them pray something beyond their lived

experience. But if your prayer ain't

changing you, why do you think it's going to change

circumstance? Where would you get that

understanding from? Because if your prayers changing

you now, you got confidence that the same God who's changed you

is that God's going to change that.

But if you believe you're stuck, but that's God to unstuck

something that's difficult, the internal confidence in you will

be distorted because you don't even believe it's, it's big

enough for you and you know you, you don't know all the

circumstances of what you're praying for.

Don't expect your prayer to change things if your prayer

hasn't changed you. So then one of the first tips

then in prevailing prayer is to have prayer that changes you

first. God change me to follow you,

change me to obey you change me to honor you.

God transform me. Give me your eyes to see who you

are in this. Let me be changed.

God first on the process as I'm praying for change in other

places. If you're praying for people to

be healed and you're trying to breakthrough, yes, you pray for

healing, but you also pray for peace.

That's just a little side tip. Pray for peace, but you just

what you also pray about. God help me to see that you're a

healer in this situation. Change my vision, change my

understanding to believe that you can and you will change me

and my relationship with you and my relationship to you.

Genesis 3226 through 28, I got another one up there.

I didn't give you it's job 42 five, not right now, but it's

going to come into that in this section.

Genesis 3226 to 28 says this got it up there.

The man said, now this is Jacob wrestling, OK, the man wrestling

quote UN quote. The man, the man said let me go

for his day break. But Jacob replied, I will not

let you go until you bless me. I would not go until I ain't

changed. Being blessed doesn't mean just

giving something. I heard someone preach this for

a good friend of mine. You said this.

Most folks, a lot of folks preach that I will not let you

go until you bless me, until you bless me.

She says she was praying that she was seeking God and God

revealed to her. And I think this is probably

more accurate. It says I won't let you go until

you bless me. Jacob had been blessing himself

his whole life. He was a trickster.

He was a huckster. He was a manipulator.

He knew how to get in on the end.

He knew the game and how it worked.

He said I know how to bless myself.

I need a blessing that only comes from God.

I need you to transform me. I can't trick my life in the way

it needs to be anymore, right? I need to be changed.

My prayer needs to change me first, above all else.

St. Corinthians 85 says this, that

in giving before giving an offering, people gave themselves

1st and they exceeded our expectations.

They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the

will of God they finished their giving.

They first said, change me, let me be changed, Let me give

myself first to the Lord. Let me put myself in a place

where God prevails in my life first as I'm seeking to have God

prevail through my prayers in the lives of others.

Amen. Acts 19, verse 15 and 16.

Acts 19:15

This is something, this is a verse we all know seven sons of

Sceva, right? They're trying to get trying to

get over and trying to do what the people of God we're doing.

And this evil spirit that was operating said this Jesus I know

and Paul I know, but who are you?

You ain't no different than the person that I know who you to

be. I don't see no change in you.

You're trying to operate a prayer that you haven't used to

change your life. Now you notice it doesn't say

Saul. I know it says Paul.

I know Paul is the chainsaw. I see the human changed by

prayer. I see you believe it.

I know Paul. Paul believes he changes.

Paul's changed through himself, through prayer.

He know. Yeah.

OK, now I'll respond accordingly.

So even the enemy's trying to see whether you let your prayer

change you. Because if you ain't changed,

boom, you're going to run. You got to let your prayer

change you. If you want to prevail in prayer

for others, you got to prevail in prayer for you to be

transformed into the person that God's called you to be first

1 John 3 · chapter mention

John chapter 3 verses 2324. Again, this section is what you

got to let your prayer change you.

First John 3 verses chapter 3 verses 2324 says this.

Whenever our hearts in tormenting self accusation make

us feel guilty and condemn us, we are in God's hands.

It talks about this. You expect if you want to

receive something from God. Understand the thing that will

keep you from receiving is feeling condemned in your heart.

If your heart is condemning you, you won't be able to receive if

you have not let prayer change your heart from a heart of a

condemnation to a heart of being free from guilt, a heart of

walking in the things of God. You will then be undermined in

your prevailing of prayer for others because your heart, who

are you to who are you to keep praying?

This prevailing prayer suggests that there's a time or stand

required, right? So the idea is this enemy come

at you and say, listen, see if he's holy enough.

It would have been done by now. If God had really forgiven you

for that sin you committed, it would have broken through by

now. It's because you still ain't

worthy. See, that's what it is.

That's what's causing it to be quote UN quote delayed, right?

If you have an unworthy heart, you're going to have problems

and prevailing in prayer. That's why you got to let your

prayer work on you and get the condemnation out of you so that

way you can be able to prevail. And Joe 42 five says this.

My eyes had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.

My ears, my, I think it's in my ears I heard of you, right?

Not my eyes. My ears have.

I had heard of you only by the hearing of the ear.

But now I see you. Now I see you.

See, Joe was doing a bunch of things out of fear.

Many times he was making sacrifice for his kids in case

the weekend came and they got a little turned up too much and

and they got caught up to his sacrifice in fear.

He knew God in a way, but there was a level of fear that was

governing his relationship with God.

And it came to this point after all of the things he'd been

through, he said, you know, I heard of you, but now I see you.

I've been changed. I thought I knew you, but I've

been changed to really know you now, I thought I understood.

I thought the hearing of you was enough.

But I understand now. I got to be able to see who you

are, not just hear who you are. I got to know for myself, not

just what, for what you tell me. That's when transformation comes

and prevailing prayer comes. If you know anything about Job

after this, it was after this point they got restored.

After this, he prayed for his friends and they got restored

after this. His prayer changed him.

First. Don't expect your prayer to

change things if your prayer hasn't changed you.

How much have you let your prayers change you?

How much have you use your prayers to examine your heart,

your pride, your issues, where you are, your fears, your

concerns? How much have you let your

prayers do that? Do you have to be perfect in

doing that? No, but when you have a heart

that's willing to allow your prayers to examine yourself

first, it creates a space of grace.

Then for your prayers to be more effective for others #2 boom,

boom, boom. Come on Danny, I thought you was

with me. Anyway, the next thing for

prevailing prayer is this. You got to have mind fixing,

mind blowing, mind cementing decisions.

You got to have mind fixing, mind blowing, mind cementing

decisions. I'm going to say it one more

time. You got to have mind fixing,

mind blowing, mind cementing decisions.

Your prevailing begins with your decision before you start.

This is a lot of the work right here, a lot of the work of the

believers that get you to this point of having a mind made-up a

mind fixed, a mind blowing. What do I mean by mind blowing?

I mean like man, it don't matter.

Here's here's a mind blowing decision.

Abraham got a son. God said go kill your son

Abraham. Fine, I'm going to go kill him.

He go off the worship to kill him and God has to say Abraham,

Abraham God don't often repeat himself like that.

Apparently Abraham was like I'm killing him because you told me

I'm killing him because you told me Abraham, Abraham.

Oh, OK, Abraham's mind was fit, was so set.

He was like whether the boy live or die don't matter to me.

If he did, he must be going to raise him up.

I don't care. Mind blowing decisions.

His mind was made-up through life or through death.

Another mind blowing decision. Three Hebrew boys.

OK, we would bow down to you if it didn't go against our God.

But we can't do that. We believe our God will deliver

us from this furnace, from this fire.

But even if he doesn't, we still not worship him.

It don't matter life or death, man.

I'm not concerned about it. I'm not concerned about the

outcome. I made-up my mind.

I made-up my mind. Quick testimony, my wife who's

having delivery of this child here and she was in delivery and

was having some difficulties that was going on and, and I and

I was mad at God because it was supposed to be easier.

I was mad at God because I prayed.

I was mad at God. I was struggling because God, I,

I did everything. I saw my men walk around the

block and pray and God go all come down there.

I was doing all of that and she was still, it was difficult.

A lot of stuff was going on and I had a moment where I felt the

enemy and I'd never say I've heard the devil speak to me.

I ain't saying that, but something said to me this Why

don't you just curse God and die, not die.

Why don't you just curse God? That's that was Job's.

Why don't you just curse God? He has forgotten you.

Look at your wife laid up there. He has forgotten you and

forsaken you. Why don't you just curse God?

And in that moment, tears on my face, I said, Lord, I don't

care. My words, whether the baby lives

or dies, I don't care whether my wife lives or dies, I'm still

going to worship you. It's not that I didn't care

whether he died, but I'm saying whether no matter what happens,

I'm going to worship you. My decision is not based on an

outcome. My decision is based on God.

Whatever the outcome and whatever the outcome is, he'll

transform and He'll change it. He'll do something to deal with

it. My job is not to dictate the

outcome. My job is to have a made-up

mind. Mind cementing decisions Once

you make that decision, I have decided who God is.

I have decided that I'm healed. I have decided that he will.

I have decided I'm a tither. I have decided my family shall

be saved. I have decided my my kids will

know the Lord. I have decided.

Once you have decided it, man, it is over.

Once you make that kind of decision and at the moment you

make that decision, here's what is how in my mind's imagination.

Welcome to my imagination. No charge.

It's an E ticket ride. Here's the express pass right

into no anyway. Welcome to my imagination.

Right in my imagination. It's like once you decide that

it's like God says all right, move the entire world into line

to agree with that decision. It's not I decide that I got to

make it happen in my mind. It's like once you make that

decision, they've decided that their family will know the Lord.

All right, cue the change in this country.

Cue the change on that job. Send other people around because

their decision, I'm going to back their decision.

I'm going to back what they said.

They're standing in a place. So I'm going to use all my

power, my authority to move everything.

It's aligned with that. So their decision is true.

I'll give, I'll give you a, a, a picture, father and son picture

for me, it's father and son. I, I except for my daughter too.

But this is the one I'm thinking about my kids in the park before

church. Kids learn how to throw and the

kid is like little kid too dramatic sometimes.

But you know, little kid and little kids trying to throw.

OK, little kid is thrown right there, Little kids throwing

right there. And I'm like, all right, throw

it to me. Throw it to me.

And the kid winds up throwing it like, like over here.

OK, I'm going to give myself a little more room.

I'm like, throw it to me now throw me the ball.

And the kid winds up throwing it over here.

You know what kids throw like that, right?

You know, over here, right? OK, say throw it to me.

And he throws over here who moves?

Dad moves to make it a catch. And then after Dad moves to make

it a catch. Know what he says?

Good job. Just try it again.

You don't say what you're doing, man.

That's crazy, man. Make me run all this far.

No, because you decided to engage.

Everything else begins to move the lineup to ensure that what

you've decided has come to pass. Man, that sounds like

witchcraft. That sounds like pridefulness.

Not when you've decided based on what God has already said.

When you've decided based on His word, all you doing is standing

on what He's already said you can stand on.

Now, if you're trying to decide some stuff that God ain't had no

input on and it's not according to His Word, then you need to

check that. OK?

But if you've decided based on what God has said and this and

this, this is the real thing with relationship and prayer.

Prayer is not this automaton. Yes, I'm a prayer.

Yes, I'm a pray. Yes, I'm a pray.

Thank you very much. I practice those right.

It's not that kind of it's relational.

Lord, listen, I want to make up my mind decide on this.

Lord is that can I do that Lord, would that go against with

something in your word if I decided this like this before

I'm making my decision, I'm consulting the Lord.

Well, I'm ready to get fixed on this.

Lord, I got one verse that helps me, helps me.

Is there any other verses that you think would be helpful for

me that once I make this decision, I can look to those

verses that help guide me? Now you get all of that and then

you say, OK, Lord, you're giving me permission to decide on this

based on your word. So now it's fixed and I'm not

moving. I'm not moving.

A mind fixing, mind blowing, mind cementing decisions.

It's important now that Next up I'm going to 1st Corinthians

1558. I'd like to give you scriptures

to show you not just making, it's not just air, it's not just

you know. And when I give you scriptures,

when anyone gives scriptures on the platform, we're not trying

to find a scripture that fits us.

We're trying to take a scripture that's in context, representing

exactly the context we're talking about.

Makes sense. So therefore, my beloved

brethren, be firm, steadfast, immovable, always a bounty in

the work of the Lord. Be steadfast, be immovable, have

a made-up mind, have a made-up decision, just have your mind

fixed. Why am I harping on this?

Because this is where people lose out in prayer.

They make up their mind to see if they make up their mind to

try. They don't make up their mind on

the matter. Period.

Regardless of circumstance or outcome.

That's the difference. The absolutes of God next for

prevailing prayer. So 1 you got to let your prayer

change you #2 you got to have a made-up mind and #3 you need to

get into the absolutes of God. The more you deal with the

absolutes of God, the more you will have prevailing prayer.

Why? Because all of your force will

be going towards what you praying about absolutes of God

and this generation absolutes are not looked upon very

favorably. People will say watch out, don't

be dogmatic. Watch out.

You can't have absolutes. Watch out.

No, you got to have some absence if you want to prevail in

prayer. Here's some absolutes, John 17

three. Here's an absolute.

Everyone say absolute good job, good job, good job.

John 17, three, this is Jesus praying and this is eternal

life. It means to know, to perceive,

to recognize, to become equated with and understanding you the

only true and real God. And likewise to know him, Jesus

Christ whom you've sent. You have to have an absolute

understanding of That's what life is.

There is no life except that there is no eternal life.

I'll go far and say there is no life.

This is life. Money is not life.

Family is not life. Marriage is not life.

Ministry is not life. This is life.

When that becomes an absolute in your life, knowing Him is life.

Everything in my desire is to know Him.

Everything I'm doing is to know Him.

Everything I'm believing is to know Him.

I get up to go to work to know Him.

I amend marriage to know Him. I serve to know Him because

knowing Him is life. There is no life apart from

knowing Him. Once you have that as an

absolute, then only abundant life flows out of your life.

There's nothing else that you're using to manipulate or to try to

get life from. John 15, five.

Now here's one. I am the vine as Jesus talking,

I am the vine. You are the branches.

Whoever lives in me and I and Him bears much abundant fruit.

However, apart from me, you can do nothing.

How many people really believe that?

Not, not not coming. Now, you know, we all raise our

hand. That's no problem.

I get it. I'll probably raise my hand too.

Troy, can you get up for me, please?

Now, Detroit, get up. When they spin his Spirit going

apart from you. Jesus, I cannot even get up.

Did you? Did you in your heart, having

made a apart from the Lord? I cannot thank you, Troy.

I cannot dress myself apart from the Lord.

I cannot sit here apart from the Lord.

I can't even breathe. Then I apart from him, I can do

nothing, absolutely nothing. There is nothing I can do.

Well, sure man, I can go out of here, get in my car, drive to

like, you know, Big Mac place, get me a Big Mac and come back.

I don't need God to do that. If that's your mindset, then you

won't prevail in prayer because when you understand this, that

though you don't say you need him for that, the truth is apart

from him you couldn't do that. When you understand apart from

God I could do nothing, then all of your prayers birthed and

breathing on dependence. God, you are the only one who

can do this. You are the only one that can

accomplish this apart from you. God, it cannot be done.

And that's why I trust in you and look to you and believe in

you and expect you to do God, things that other people can't

do apart from you. God, it's not going to happen.

And this is the real challenge of the mindset of North America.

With comfort and ease. God has blessed us to know how

to do a lot of stuff. And because God has given us

wisdom how to do stuff, we think our wisdom is what what serves

US versus apart from God. We can do nothing apart from

God. I don't eat apart from God.

I don't live apart from God. I don't stand here.

I'm not talking about metaphorically, I'm talking

about truly apart from Him. I don't stand here.

That absolute has me wholly dependent on Him.

So when I come to prevail in prayer, if I'm not apart from

Him in anything, then what am I in?

Him and everything, depending in Him and everything, abiding Him

and everything. And if I'm depending on

depending in and abiding Him and everything, then it's He's

interested in what I'm praying about as I am.

He's going to want to see it come to pass as much as I am

apart from Him, I can do nothing.

And for a lot of people, the decision and this kinds of

absolutes. The people you see have God

working on life in amazing ways. They've crossed this threshold.

Now I'm going to tell you sometimes and too often, people

rely on tragedy to get them here.

You don't have to rely on tragedy.

You don't have to rely on you've gotten to the point where all

natural hope seems lost. You can matter of fact.

It's better that you choose it without tragedy, because if you

choose it based on tragedy, then tragedy will have to motivate

all your prayer life. You won't prevail in prayer

unless tragedy exists. But when you choose it for

yourself, you say, God, I'm making a willing sacrifice.

Here's the prayer. I don't know.

I don't know if I believe this. God heard what he said.

I think he's doing too much. But your worry says apart from

you, I can do nothing. God, help me understand how to

live that. Put that in my heart.

God, transform me. God, I can't say that I'm right

there right now. So even in your prayer, you're

asking God to take you to a place where you can come to a

realization that apart from you, Jesus, I can do nothing.

He doesn't have to take everything out of your life to

come to here. He can reveal it to you in his

love. Everyone's absolutes.

Reasonable responses will wreck prevailing prayer.

Good enough will keep you from prevailing.

Reasonable responses will wreck prevailing prayer.

Well, it's better. Mighty woman of God.

I know. I was talking to the other day.

She was saying it's about that. She's talking about somebody she

prayed for and she encouraged this person.

The Bible says that by the stripes of Jesus you are healed,

not better, and you not not partially healed.

By the stripes of Jesus you are healed and made whole.

Reasonable responses will wreck prevailing prayer.

When you really be steady for the settle for the reasonable,

you'll give up the prevailing. As to me and my house, we shall

all serve the Lord I'm not selling at.

Well you know most of my cousins love the Lord.

Well, you know my 5 love the Lord, even know that my other

relatives don't. God, you said, As for me and my

household, we shall serve the Lord.

You said that I shall be saved and my entire household shall be

saved. My household includes my family.

My household includes my servants.

My household includes the people I work with.

My household includes ready my city.

My household includes my country.

God, me and my God, you promised.

And Lord, I'm going to tell you in all reverence, when I cross

this threshold and look you in face to face, I'm going to ask

you, Lord, I'm going to stand before you, Lord.

And I said you promised me and my household, and I believe you

going to tell me this, John, look at how I kept my word.

Here's your household. Now.

I don't want to say gossip. People have free will.

People have free will. Everyone say free will.

God's not going to force anybody in my family to give their lives

to him. He's not.

But God got a secret weapon. Say secret weapon.

No, seek it. And I can't say secret, secret,

secret weapon. You know what a secret weapon

is? His goodness.

God's goodness will cause every man to change their mind.

The issue is, have you got a big enough revelation of his

goodness? OK, what does that mean?

God, my, my uncle, he just tried not to follow Jesus.

He really did. Dug it hard.

How's that going to work? You promised me, me and my

household. How's it work?

Don't worry. Send send £10,000 of goodness

towards him. Turn up the goodness to full

blast. Reveal to him how good I am to

Him. Let him see how good I am to

him. I'm going to open his eyes to

see how good I am to him. I'm going to show him how good I

am to him every day, every week and times pass.

And the times we thought I wasn't with him, I'm going to

cause him to know how good I am. And it's the goodness of God

that will cause people to say, I see who you are and I accept who

you are. Reasonable responses will wreck

prevailing prayer. Last couple sections here,

worthy, unworthy. You got to deal with the worthy,

unworthy thing. It's kind of part of the

decision and and an absolute worthy unworthy.

Are you worthy, not worthy. I already talked about the heart

condemning you. Are you worthy not unworthy?

You got to decide. You can't be prevailing in

prayer but feeling unworthy on the inside.

You can't. It's not going to work that way.

The enemy going to check you if you want to send a word, send a

message, send something worthy or onward.

You got to decide now how you make this decision.

If you make it based on your actions, you always going to

decide unworthy because you not cannot act perfectly.

No one can. You know what worth is

determined by the person who, who's who's paying the price?

Who's buying it. This tile, someone was come and

pay me $500 million for this tile.

You know how much this tile is worth now, $500 million.

Why they set the price? Yeah.

You know, I'm going. You got to decide you're worth

it because the because your father said a price.

He bought you with a price. He bought you with his son.

He said you were worthy. He said you were worthy with the

price he paid. He said you were worthy.

Here's another thing about worth.

Worth is decided by the giver, not the receiver.

If I give choice something I'm already just telling him and

giving it man that you worth receiving this you worth it.

He don't determine whether he worth it or not.

It's my gift. I'm the one that gives it.

The giver determines the worth, not the receiver.

He can be in the worst situation of his life and I can give him a

gift that's that seems to be exceedingly above his situation.

It's not based on how qualified he is for the gift.

It's based on my generosity and my graciousness and giving.

James 18. Now I'm going to go to John.

John, John 1723. John 1723 double minded man is

unstable in all his ways. That's what we're trying to deal

with. But John 1723 says this, this is

Jesus praying again. John 17 second reference I and

them and you and me in order that they may become one and

perfectly united that the world may know and definitely

recognize that you sent me to the praying for unity so the

world can know that Jesus was sent.

You want to get your talent saved.

Walk in unity with believers and that you have loved them as you

have loved me. Do you really believe God loves

you as much as he loves Jesus? There's no difference not one I

order but Jesus was perfect doesn't matter.

It's not based on perfection. It's based on the Father's

deciding who to love. He loves you as much as he loves

Jesus and if you believe he loves you as much as he loves

Jesus. Do you think that his what did

he do in his love for Jesus? If his love is the same, then

his response is the Father is the same.

If you really come to understand that God loves you as much as

you love, but I'm sinful, God loves you as much as he loves

Jesus, but you don't understand it don't matter.

I love you as much as I love Jesus.

Lifting of your worth will allow you to prevail in prayer.

Because when I pray, it's like Jesus praying because God love

him praying the same way he love me praying.

He love me praying same way he love him praying.

You're not looking at Jesus that big Papa prayer and me is purely

prayer. He's saying God, you love me

like you love him and you will answer a prayer in love for me

like you answered a prayer in love for him.

It's according to your love, not according to how perfectly I

have lived. Romans 17 seven says this,

remember, is that 17/7 at 16 seven?

Look like I'm reading the side like that on the screen back

there. Is that 17 seven?

I think that's 16 seven. I'm going to take a little time

with this one. Was on 16 chapters.

Or maybe it's Romans 6-7. Maybe it's Romans 77.

Yeah, probably looks more like a seven or eight.

Try 7 or 87. What you're doing?

I'm prevailing. Sometimes prevailing is just

doing this. It's just not backing up.

You know, prevailing prayer is OK.

When you take a pause and rest, you still prevailing because

you're not backing up. But what if it takes some time

and you back up? You're still prevailing.

Why? Because you can have another

chance to run at it. Elder Brett, you can give me the

verse so you can get it up there.

Romans. Paul's talking about this.

He's talking about doubt now that he's come to come to life

in Christ. OK, He says.

The sin you see operating, it ain't me, but it's sin working

in me. Paul says this.

It's not me. I've been born again, but it's

sin working in me. 77 Romans 77 it's sin working in me.

Come on now, it's not me. It's sin working in me.

It's not me is sin working in me.

You are not your sin. You are not your sin.

Your sin doesn't make you unworthy, it just makes you have

to deal with it. You.

I'm not saying sin. It's OK to say I'm not saying

that. What I'm saying is when you look

at your identity as sin, you will always feel unworthy and

God is saying you are not your sin.

Put this way, my kid come in Adam snowboard and he snowed and

there's snow all on him and he come up in the house and he'd be

all slowed up. OK.

The snow is not my son. Better picture, kids comes home,

he kids dirty in the mud. Do I look at him and say you

muddy dirty kid depart or do I say, no, no, that's my son, mud

just on him. My son is still worthy.

It's just mud is just on him. I'm going to love him even with

the dirt on him because my son is still there.

We'll get the mud cleaned up. We'll get the mud washed off.

We'll we'll transform that situation understanding that I

am not my sin allows you that if you have to go fall in a place

or whatever you ask God for forgiveness and you stand before

God and you can pray with prevailing prayer.

Can you know when the enemy comes.

Well, you know what you know that counsel you out.

You know eight years ago. Well, you know, brother, I am

not my sin that got to do with that.

My prevailing prayer got to do with who I am and him and I can

still prevail in prayer period. Now the problem with sin is that

if you kept sneaky sin, your heart going to be condemned.

You won't be condemning yourself.

Who might be praying for them when I know I ain't checking

myself, right? That's why you deal with sins

and your heart can have confidence when you pray, but

your sin has never kept you from prevailing from God's

standpoint. He sees you through Jesus.

The last one is importunity. It was an importunity.

That's the King James Version, King James word.

The subtitle is the Press of presence, The Press of presence.

Luke 18, one through 7. Let's go.

Let's go to verse 4. Let's go to verse 4, Luke 18,

Luke 18:4

verse 4. You know what's really

interesting? Learning how to prevail is not

to hit him and quit him. It's not a tickle you and let

you leave learning how to prevail.

It take a time, it takes commitment, it takes

understanding, it takes listening, it takes application,

it takes focus and for a time he would not So this woman at

Pastor Terence talked about this in this in this message, this

widow's knocking said let me tell you about Jesus.

Let me tell you about praying. You got the widow knocking, the

widow's knocking, right? And he says for a time this

unjust judge would not respond. But later he said to himself,

though I have neither reverence or fear for God, nor respect or

consideration for man, keep going.

Yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will defend and

protect and avenge her. The lesson is this, this woman's

continual bothering. Hear me knocking continual

bothering, we'll make it even an unjust judge give her justice.

Don't quit. Pray without ceasing, don't quit

because if an unjust judge is going to respond to that

continuing, surely a just and good father's going to respond.

OK, but I subtitled this section here.

The Press of presents go back to that last break didn't say

because this widow continues to knock.

She continues to bother me. You know, something that really

bothers me, I'm watching the football game as a critical

point in time. And then someone who I know has

got an interrupting spirit on them, they just come and sit in

the room. They don't say nothing.

I'm like, they're just being there.

They're just being there. What, What, what, what, what,

what, what, what we going to do? I have to get back to the game.

What we going to do right this knocking, this continuing the

press is not just about what you vocally do.

It's about your standing, your posture.

It's about your being present. God, if I don't say nothing, I'm

just going to rest here in in this in this prayer rest here in

this prevailing right now. God, I'm going to keep my hands

on you as I know that you're really doing the work.

It's not about how much I'm always talking about what I'm

asking for. It's not how much I'm always

vocalizing. It's like God, I made-up my mind

and my spirit God that I'm going to stand till I see it.

So whenever you see me, I'm going to be present in that

prayer with you. God, it's not just about what

you say. Sometimes you think I can't

prevail because my, my voice runs out.

God knows that. Just be present in faith, in

trust. You ever seen somebody would

have made-up mine? You ever seen a picture this?

I'm going to close with this. Thank you for your patience.

This picture, right? Bull matadors I got, I'm not

trying to talk about animal abuse or anything like that at

all, but a picture of a cartoon I have when I was growing up as

a kid. And when a bull did this, that

means, oh, he's getting ready to charge, right?

The bull didn't say nothing. The bull just postured himself

and everybody knew they meant business.

Give me a chair. I'm have Troy come and be the

Lord. Stand up.

Be the Lord. Yeah.

Watch. This is importunity.

This is pressing. This is not giving up.

Now go ahead and move. You done my presence before him

continually puts a press on him to the point where I say

nothing. Like man.

What you want? What can I do?

How can I respond? Thank you.

How can I respond? Be present.

How do you be present? God, I love you.

God, I worship you. God, I know you are faithful.

God, I know you are faithful. I know you're good.

I know you're always good. God, I trust you.

God arrest in you. The circumstance is like, look

at your cousin, he's still out there.

God, I trust you. God, I know you're at work.

God, I know you're doing it. God, I'm going to stand before

you, God, and let you take care of that versus be focused on

that and continue to bring that issue to you.

We've talked about it. You know what you need to do.

God, I just thank you. I'm going to continue to watch

you even more than watching to see that change.

You do that and you'll change. And in changing you, your

perspective about your situation will change and then everything

changes. If you want to prevail in

prayer, you got to begin to let prayer change you.

So I want to have us responding this way.

You can come get this. Take some time to pray right

now. I'd encourage you to.

It's not a requirement. We don't force people to do

stuff here. But I encourage you to take some

time to pray right now and say, God change me.

God, give me the kind of prayer life that changes how I see you.

God, let me be mindful to pray in ways that changes how I see

you. Change me, God, to see you for

who you are. Change me God, to see me for how

you really love me. Change me, God, to see how much

you care for me. Change me, God, to see how you

don't see me as my sin. You see me as your son, Jesus,

taking care of my sin. Change me God.

Change me, O Lord, to see I even when I do sin, Jesus is already

forgiven and there's a blood that watches and cleanses

through repentance and a full turn towards you God, and it's

taken care of. Change me to see that even that

won't get in the way. Change me God, to have a mate of

mind. Change me, God, to really come

to a place of knowing that apart from You, I can do nothing.

God, I don't even know if that's possible, but because it says it

in your scriptures, God changed me.

God, I'm nervous for you to change me like that because it

may require changes in my lifestyle.

I may have to do different things, even good things.

God, I've always talked about people getting too over the edge

with you and I don't want to be one of them extreme people.

I've had church hurt my parents with Christian folk that came

home to argue and beat us and abused us.

God, I'm confused about what it means to be apart from you.

I can do nothing, but I'm willing to let you come in and

change me to agree and line up with that if that's possible.

I'm nervous, I'm scared. I don't know what it means.

I don't know if I can. But you're not even asking me to

do it in my ability, God. You're just asking me to be

available and say God do it in me.

God, I want to be able to prevail in prayer, not for just

for things. I want to be a prevailing prayer

for people that hurt you and they need you.

I want to be a prevailing prayer for a city that's lost and don't

know it's lost. I don't be able to prevail in

prayer for people who've been hurt God and you're the only

hope of healing for them. God, I want to prevail in prayer

to see sons and daughters come home and get to know you.

God, as a father, God, I want to be able to prevail in prayer so

people can know what you've experienced.

The same thing you've done in my life.

God, I'm, you've saved my life. I want to be able to prevail in

prayer so people can know you, so we can have joy in our city.

I want to prevail in prayer for the kids who have no hope and

bodies are broken and busted. I want to prevail in prayer for

the churches that feel that come to church every week but they

don't have a touch or a kiss from God.

God, I want to be able to prevail in prayer, God, so when

we come home to you, we bring a whole family with us.

I want to be able to prevail in prayer, God, to see your Kingdom

come in the earth and your will be done in the earth.

So change me. Let my prayers change me first

so I can then prevail in prayer for others to be changed the

same way. And when God, that is my posture

in prayer. Whenever I'm praying for others

to, I know they will be changed first, even before they receive

the answer to the prayer I'm praying.

And at the end of the day, God, that's what's most important in

Jesus name, Amen. Thank you so much for tuning

into this week's sermon. We pray you were challenged,

equipped and encouraged. Make sure to follow us on all

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But until next time, you know the drill, you know the motto.

Get your love fixed man and we'll see y'all real soon.