Scriptures are KJV
As I start this message, a lot of you are probably thinking – oh ANOTHER message about prayer – how boring! I don’t need THIS. But THIS show on Prayer has new stuff in it you really need to hear. Life changing stuff.
Definition of Prayer: The Norwegian theologian Ole Hallesby gives a good definition of prayer.
"To pray is nothing more involved that to let Jesus into our needs. To pray is to give Jesus permission to employ His powers in the alleviation of our distress." (copyrighted - from sermoncentral.com).
*** How many times have you heard someone say “Well I guess I’ll just pray, I don’t know what else to do?” As if there wasn’t any REAL hope in prayer?
*** How many times have you thought “Wow, I sure hope God heard me pray. I hope He will answer?
Think about how that lack of faith must look to our Lord, who stands ready to meet our every need, who wants to answer our biggest prayers.
I seldom ever read anything anymore but the Word of God. There is so little time left, I just feel I need to be in the Word. And I teach, so I need to be in the Word. How will I have any revelation to bring yall if I am not in the Word?
But recently, I have been reading up on one of the old revivals. And I had started reading a kindle book at night before I sleep by Frank Bartleman. He was a Revivalist Preacher in the time of the Azusa Street Revival that started in 1906 and he writes as an eyewitness to it.
I was very surprised when I read about how the entire Azusa Street Revival was birthed through prayer! This started me thinking we must surely underestimate the importance – and power – of our prayers! I mentioned it to a friend of mine who said she heard that Rhema Bible College also was birthed through prayer. I was not able to verify that, but it may be true. I know my own ministry was birthed through prayers I prayed for years while I was employed full time in the Oil & Gas Industry. I prayed without ceasing to do Kingdom work instead. And that prayer was answered.
So if prayer can birth a revival that we are still talking about over 100 years later, what else can it do? And What do YOU need prayer to do for YOU? And why aren’t we using our ability to pray more if it can achieve so much?
Why Pray
Why pray? Because HE WILL ANSWER YOU.
John 15:7-8 KJV
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
If His Words abide in us. That word abide means to STAY – to REMAIN. When you read the Word of God each day, His Word begins to abide in you – to remain, and to renew your mind and the way you see the world. As you continue in His Word, it changes you. You become more like Him. And that bears fruit for Him in this dark world we live in.
Another way we bear fruit for the Lord is through prayer – we help pray the lost into His Kingdom. Just as my Mom and Sister and some other people interceded for me until I surrendered my heart and my life to the Lord. And now I just can’t stop talking about Jesus. (They are probably up in heaven laughing together about how they tag-teamed me – LOLOL) And then the people we pray in go on to bear MORE fruit and glorify Him even more. In this way, we also redeem the time.
So Why Don’t We Pray More? – Satan attacks your prayer time - 5 Weapons Coming Against Our Prayer Time Right Now
Satan is afraid of our prayers – REALLY afraid. So he sends distractions whenever he knows we usually pray.
I had missed a day saying my confession prayers lately and then one morning when I began to get distracted, I suddenly became very aware of the weapons being used against my prayer time.
I encourage you to become very aware and make a list of 5 of the weapons being sent against your prayer times. This will help you understand just how powerful your prayers really are. Satan will not bother you if your prayers are ineffective.
***** If every time you prayed, your prayers were answered, how much more would you pray?
This one day I was studying this, I made a LIST of what distracted me:
**** If you have ever been distracted by any of these, raise your hand:
1. Phone calls AND TEXTS. one after another after another.
My phone can be so quiet before that that I start to think its BROKE and you let me start to read the Word or pray and it loses its MIND!
**** Yall ever notice that??? your phone don’t ring for hours, and the minute you sit down to read the Word or pray, it starts blowing up like satan having a hissy fit???
I used to get a lot of phone calls early in the morning, but I realized if I answer that text or take that call, I immediately get off track. The reason is because Any time we take a call or read a text, our mind starts thinking on THAT, not on HIM.
Remedy: The Lord showed me to MUTE my phone until my time in the Word and prayer time with Him is done. It works.
2. My dogs. My dogs come to me wanting attention, food or their walk. Remedy: I set the walk for a certain time, and we stick to that.
3. Tiredness/Yawning. This is a common one reported by many that gets worse from time to time. Remedy: Keep a regular sleep schedule. It works. If it still happens, drink strong coffee. And bind up the demon of sleepiness.
4. My To-Do List, especially if I am behind. I have a tendency to hit the ground running and take off on my Get ‘er Done wagon. This is a lot of the reason I set the first and earliest part of my day for prayer. That works. Because once I start working, I generally don’t stop til I drop but I’m trying to be a little nicer to myself now.
5. Thoughts About the Time We Live In. You would think this would motivate not procrastinate but we can get all hung up thinking about what’s coming and when and will we be here and are we ready and …. Blah blah blah and we cannot do one thing about that, yall EXCEPT pray for mercy for ourselves and those we love, and learn His Word for when they outlaw the Bible.
We are where we are – He CHOSE us for this time. Let the Lord handle all THOSE details – you keep doing what you’re supposed to be doing. I don’t like to waste time on anything I cannot affect, I am all about RESULTS. Worry about nothing, pray about everything. It works.
So just how serious IS missing our prayer time?
Let’s Talk About 11 Things that Happen When We Don’t Pray
#1. When I don't pray, demonic assignments are not canceled.
#2. When I don't pray, the Blood of Jesus is not appropriated for protection over me or those I love and pray for. His mercies are new every day so I figure my prayers need to be, too!
#3 When I don't pray, I will be more anxious because I won't have God's peace.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
#4. When I don't pray, I am not strengthening my connection to God. Our relationship with God can be compared with a marriage. How long would your marriage last if you didn't talk to your spouse every day?
#5. When I don't pray, I am not opening the door for the Lord to speak to me about important matters. Many people have written to me over the last 10 years saying they do not hear God speak. The Lord showed me in a vision that busy-ness was the reason most people did not hear Him. Because they have so many other things placed or prioritized before Him.
Because let’s face it, If I do not make time for Him, I am showing Him I don't care what He has to say to me.
#6. When I pray, coincidences happen. When I don't pray for long periods of time, I may not see nearly as much of God's favor at work in my life.
#7. When I don't pray, I open myself up wider for deception. Because I am not staying familiar on a day-by-day basis with the true King of Kings, I will be far more likely to fall for a clever counterfeit when the enemy sends one.
#8 – When I don’t pray, I don’t receive the blessing the Lord brings each day that I DO pray – He taught me this one.
#9 – When I don’t pray, I am not laying up treasures in heaven by praying for lost souls all over the world. This is VERY important – for two reasons: #1 – The Lord is all about souls – He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And #2 – He told me that if we will pray for the lost we DON’T KNOW, He will save the lost we DO KNOW, meaning our lost loved ones! Your prayers for lost souls are SEEDS.
#10 – When I don’t pray, I don’t pray my decree prayers which affect my health, safety and provision and which cover my unsaved loved ones in protection, so they may go without covering.
#11 – When I don’t pray, I won’t have my armor on. I will feel like life is beating the daylights out of me, as the enemy lands hit after hit on me, which is exactly what the satan wants.
You know, we pray when we want something, right? I've prayed for many things and received some of them much more quickly than others. Some things I'm still praying and believing for. Maybe there are things you're praying for - are you praying for your children to be saved? For healing in your body? For a promotion at work?
I do believe God wants us to pray and ask for the things we desire. He has told me more than once that His people believe Him for far too little, when He desires to give them much to show how mighty He is. Us doing without does NOT glorify God.
No teaching on prayer would be complete without Daniel 10:12 & 13:
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
I was thinking about the problem of prayerlessness when we become too busy, and I thought of this and wondered....would the angel have kept coming if Daniel had lost faith after a few days and stopped praying?
And I had to wonder how many blessings we cheat ourselves out of by losing faith and being prayerless.
A lack of prayer shows a lack of faith. If we truly believe God will answer our prayers, we pray.
Some people say you should only pray a prayer once, and then you should stop, but in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed the same prayer twice.
Matthew 26:39 KJV
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Matthew 26:42
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Jesus wasn't afraid to keep praying for an answer, and we shouldn't be either. When God says He's going to bring something, He will do it. He's faithful. God wants you to have life and have it more abundantly, and for your joy to be full.
John 16:24
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. DON’T LET THE ENEMY STEAL YOUR PRAYER TIME.
Or YOUR PRAYERS! I like how a friend of mine ends her prayers: We seal this prayer with Your Blood and we call it DONE!”
So when I don't pray, I may not receive from God, because I'm not asking for anything, or I don't keep asking. The Word says we have not because we ask not. God can’t answer a prayer you don’t pray.
I have heard it said that Faith is the currency of heaven. Faith is released when you speak.
We pray when we believe our prayers will be heard. In other words, when we have FAITH God hears our requests. So when we pray, our faith is released for God to work on our behalf. Our faith is our currency. Currency is something you use to get something else you want. God is sovereign and He can do whatever He wants to do, but the rules are the same for everybody with Him, and without faith it is impossible to please God. When we pray, our faith is released so God can answer our prayer. So when I DON’T pray, my faith is not released for God to intervene in my situation.
#9. When I don't pray, I may be tempted more often.
Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matt 6:13) That is part of what is known as the Lord’s prayer, or the template for prayer Jesus gave the disciples when they said Teach us to pray like John taught his disciples in Luke chapter 11. And while we’re in Luke, let’s look at vs. 9 and 10 in that same chapter.
Chapter 11:
Luke 11:9 KJV
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:10 KJV
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
In these verses, He is saying if you will ask, you will receive. If you seek an answer, you’ll get an answer. Keep coming back to Me and knocking with your prayers. Knock again and again and again and I’ll answer you!
#10. When I don't pray, God's work may not go forth as fully as it could.
Luke 10:2
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
So clearly, we need to pray each day and believe God to answer, because He will.
But what happens when our prayers don’t seem to be answered? What’s up with THAT???
I learned many years ago, sometimes the Lord won’t answer our prayers or won’t answer right away, because we are in a season of refining, or of learning. And I will tell you right now I hated refining. LOLOL I needed it (CLEARLY) but I HATED it. Oh I love being refined SAID NOBODY. EVER!!
Everybody hates seasons of refining. They’re miserable seasons of being stripped of all your comforts and then having pressure applied from every side so intense you feel like you will snap in two. I am not even kidding you. One thing after another after another goes wrong. You cry out to the Lord and He won’t make it stop – Why??? – Doesn’t He care??? YES!!! THAT’S WHY HE’S DOING IT – lololololol Because He cares too much to leave us the way He found us.
And I would not give you a DIME for another refining season, but I would not take 100 million dollars for what I learned in all the ones I’ve been through. Because in the desert seasons of your life is where you develop ROCK HARD FAITH that will get you through all the other seasons, bar none.
I had a really hard week the week I was trying to finish this message. That Wednesday, I had a new vet visit for my dogs to get the medications they take all the time that ended up being $225, but I knew that was coming weeks before so I knew how I already knew how I was going to pay for it. Then the next day I woke up ill again after I thought I was getting better from the previous week and weekend. I had no idea what was making me ill. I had been ill off and on and had missed church the previous Sunday. Then the Friday 2 days after that Wednesday, I get up and go to brew my coffee while I’m thinking about what I’m going to work on that day and my dog Bambi has come down with Pancreatitis and I have to go BACK to the vet which is over 40 minutes each way plus wait time but praise Jesus, they do their own lab work there, so that helps. That was ANOTHER $275 and that time I DIDN’T know it was coming. Praise God I was not ALSO ill THAT day, we were there over 2-1/2 hours. I was near useless by the time I got home, I was so worried for Bambi and so worn out by all that waiting and the drive. It don’t take as much to wear you out when you get older.
The next day, I woke up ill AGAIN. Now I’m getting frustrated, trying to fend off so many attacks of the enemy at once.
Lord, why did the illness I’ve been suffering, and Bambi’s Pancreatitis AND the financial costs of all that, get through all the prayers and decrees I’ve been praying??? I know You rebuke the devourer for my sake because I’m a tither and a giver. What gives???
Because let’s face it yall, it’s DISCOURAGING when you pray and pray and pray and then you get hit with stuff like that! And I KNOW the promise of the tithe and people can say That’s Old Testament – blah blah blah – Don’t you TALK that unbelief to me!!! ALL of God’s Word is alive with His Spirit!! Psalm 91 is old testament, too. Psalm 23 is Old testament, the 10 commandments are old testament. But its ALL His Word!!! Jesus QUOTED from the Old Testament – so clearly HE didn’t consider it irrelevant.
How DARE YOU declare ANY part of God’s Word irrelevant??? And if you go around saying that nonsense, you best be prepared to explain to the Living God at Judgment why you threw out half of His Word like it was yesterday’s newspaper!!
It is estimated that Jesus quoted the O.T. 78 times. He quoted the Pentateuch alone 26 times. He referred to the Old Testament as “The Scriptures,” “the word of God,” and “the wisdom of God.” The Old Testament predicted an estimated 350 events that were fulfilled by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament. the New Testament is the fulfillment of the old testament, and both Testaments must be studied together if you really want to understand the Word of God. ONE IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT THE OTHER. It takes a LOT of pride to think you can judge the Word of God and say part of it is irrelevant. We will pray the Lord helps you out with that.
So the NEXT DAY, the day after $225 vet visit, I wake up ill AGAIN!! I had canceled all attacks and assignments, was praying my heart out – I just don’t get it!!
So a day or two later, I’m still trying to figure out why my prayers did not prevent so many direct hits from the enemy from landing on me. It was in the wee hours (I often get up around 3am and pray and read the Word while there are no distractions). I’m reciting Psalm 91 over my children and grandchildren and in the spirit, I saw the Word of God “padding” my walls against the outside world. I saw the peace His Word brought into my house and the protection from so much more that is out there than what hit me.
And I realized, SOME things cannot be prevented by prayer. Like the course of nature. Let me give you an example. I have 2 grown children, a son and a daughter. They are both extremely intelligent. My son has a very high IQ and a lot of wisdom. He’s not just smart knowledge wise, he applies it to his life and walks in it. He has always studied science and medicine related things. He knows heart disease and diabetes are two of the main contributors to early mortality. He don’t want any of THAT and frequently cautions me about them as well. He keeps what he eats and drinks under strict control. He doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs. He is prudent about everything. Consequently, his cholesterol readings are so low they shock his doctor and he has NO major health issues. He’s almost never ill. He is walking in wisdom (applied knowledge).
So WHAT IF one day he says he doesn’t want diabetes but he loves sweets and eats them all the time.
Prayer will not prevent a person getting diabetes if everything they are doing of their own free will is LETTING IT IN. Nature will run its course.
I have an extremely pretty teenage granddaughter. I pray for her every day. Let’s say she gets into fornication. My prayers will not prevent her getting pregnant of her own free will. Nature will run its course.
Even God Himself will not override your free will. Nor theirs.
BUT…here is the good news. Let’s say I have a loved one who is depressed. Let’s say they have shown suicidal tendencies in the past.
Can my prayers protect them? No. Why? Because my prayers cannot override their free will.
HOWEVER…If I know HOW to pray, I can affect their situational circumstances if that is an issue, AND I can affect the negative influences causing them to think death is the only way out. So knowing HOW to pray and WHAT to pray makes all the difference in a situation.
We are in the end of the end times. America is under God’s mighty Hand of Judgment and that is NOT a good thing. America has turned and cursed the living God that made it what it once was, the most blessed and powerful nation in the world. Now we’re just a laughingstock because we have turned and spit in His face, kicked His Word out of schools, courthouses and our lives and pridefully said We don’t need YOU. And God’s answer is, as always, found in His beautiful Word:
Hebrews 10:30-31 KJV
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God .
Now I can pray against God’s judgment falling on America until the cows come home, but it will NOT avert it. It will NOT stop it. It will NOT lessen it. Because God Himself has ordained judgment on this nation. And that’s why it is SO important to be right with Him. And STAY that way. So I cannot avert His judgment on this nation. I CAN, however, pray for mercy for myself and those I love. And you can, too.
One of the biggest keys to answered prayer is knowing HOW to pray. We have not because we ask not or we ask amiss.
I had thought if I prayed against illness, if I prayed for protection over my little dogs, that we would be safe from sickness, and financial loss and all that. And we are still okay, but I did fall ill – it’s the winter season when things go around and in the natural we get exposed to those things. My immunity sometimes runs lower because of stress from this or that and because I work so many hours each week writing sermons.. And my little dog did fall ill with pancreatitis and the dr. did not even know why. So now I add a new thing to my prayers. Lord please help me to strengthen our bodies against illness so we don’t have to run back and forth to doctors and veterinarians. Help me to make wise choices so I don’t suffer financial loss.
He can answer that prayer by showing me how to strengthen our immunity against illnesses. See how that works?
The Weight of a Prayer (a lovely illustration from Sermon Central)
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store.
Visualizing the family needs, she said, "Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can."
John told her he could not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the Grocer the he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The Grocer said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?
Louise replied, "Yes, sir." "Okay," he said, "put your grocery list in the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries." Louise hesitated for a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the Grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The Grocer staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can’t believe it."
The customer smiled and the Grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The Grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer which said, "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands." The Grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and placed on the scales and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store.
The customer handed a fifty dollar bill to John as he said, "It was worth every penny of it." It was sometime later that John Longhouse discovered the scales were broken; therefore, only God knows how much a prayer weighs. (story from sermoncentral.com)
So praying, and praying often is very important. But many people neglect to pray as they should. Why? When so much help and blessing are available to us, would we neglect to pray?
What are some reasons for prayerlessness in our lives?
#1. We don't understand how to pray. But JESUS TOLD US HOW IN HIS WORD.
Matthew 6:9-13
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
#2. We have No faith. We don't pray because we really don't believe He will answer us, when His word clearly says He will.
"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins'" (Mark 11:22-25).
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
Often we don’t pray because we have no real Bible faith of our own. We believe in OTHER people’s prayers for us. We believe God will answer THEM but not us. Why? Usually the reason for this is we have not developed a real walk with the Lord yet. But the Lord wants to hear from YOU about what’s going on in your heart and in your life, not someone else. He LONGS for time with YOU, did you know that? He WANTS to bless you! But in order for Him to bless you, you have to spend time with Him. He longs for you to put Him first, to come aside with Him and pray a little while each day.
Yall know how I developed this walk with the Lord? Well first I fell in love with Him. I was SO amazed He even knew who I was! And I spent time with Him every day. Just pouring out my heart to Him. Just talking to Him about everything in my day. Later when I lived in Dallas, I prayed all through my commute to and from work. If you’ve ever driven in Dallas traffic, you know it will inspire you to pray. LOLOL
Okay – more reasons we don’t pray…
3. We get busy and our priorities get skewed. This, I believe, is one of the biggest reasons for prayerlessness.
"If your day is hemmed in with prayer, it is less likely to come unraveled." - Cynthia Lewis
My experience has been that if I put off praying my prayer list until later in the day, I seldom ever do it. One thing leads to another, and it just doesn’t get done. But on days when I put God first, and pray my prayer list like I believe He has told me to do, my day runs smoother, I get more done, and I know my day is far less likely to come unraveled.
4. We don’t understand the mechanics of prayer. There is no right or wrong way to pray. Prayer is talking to God, asking questions, making requests, and also telling Him you love Him, not for what He does, but for who He is.
5. We don’t hear God, so we feel stupid, like we’re talking to the air around us. This is a trick of the enemy to keep you from praying and STARTING to hear God. Don’t fall for it.
6. We’ve been sinning and we know it. Sin undermines our faith, that’s only one of many reasons why it is so dangerous to us.
7. God is more of an afterthought in your life, not the Lord of your life. If you see religion as just a set of rules to live your life by to foster good behavior and for fire insurance just in case God turns out to be real, you’re missing all the best God has for you. He IS real and just following the rules isn’t going to get you into heaven.
Matthew 7:22-24
King James Version (KJV)
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
If you want REAL assurance, not make-believe fire insurance, take heed to this verse, because it’s the truth. Build your house and your LIFE on the Rock. If you don’t spend time getting to know the Lord PERSONALLY and for yourself, this is what you will hear Him say. That’s why He’s called a PERSONAL Lord and Savior.
8. We’re angry at God. Whatever reasons we might feel we have that give us a right to be angry at God, we need to drop them. If you think you have problems now, let God take His hand from your life and you’ll see what REAL problems look like.
Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Jeremiah 18:6
O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as theclay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Romans 9:21
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
9. We don’t want to “bother” God. If your child wants or needs something, or they are sad or happy about something, are you “bothered” by them coming to you with that? God rejoices over us, He created us TO LOVE, TO SPEND TIME WITH, TO BLESS.
Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice overthee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Only the enemy would tell you that you are a ‘bother’ to God. He rejoices at every moment you spend with Him. He waits silently by as you go about your busy day, hoping you will make time for Him. When I learned this truth, it completely changed my walk with God – it transformed my relationship with Him and I began to see Him as the loving Father He really is.
10. We’re lazy. The Bible has much to say about those who are slothful, and it’s all bad. Many scriptures about this can be found in Proverbs. The time to heed these words of wisdom is now, not later, because we are already in the end times and you may or may not have a later. Lazy people never do anything great for God, they just shuffle through life hoping someone else will do it all for them. Your life doesn’t have a remote control. If you want it changed, get up and change it yourself, but don’t sit there and expect God to bring you stuff and rain down blessings on you or you’ll be waiting a very long time.
11. We’re discouraged. Back in 2009 and early 2010, I remember so clearly how weary we all were – trying desperately to hold on to our faith as God stretched it more and more, as we walked through day after day of a wilderness so dark many of us thought we couldn’t go one more hour, much less one more day or week or month. He did bring us through that, and we are all the stronger for it, but I can remember so clearly getting to a point where I just didn’t want to pray any more.
I was so beat down from trying to believe, trying to keep my faith up, and not seeing any answers come like I thought the Lord had said they would come. It is hard on the human spirit when we go for very long periods of time without being brought out of our difficulty or wilderness place. It is hard to keep believing when we can see nothing is changing for the better, and sometimes even appears to be changing for the worse, but without prayer there truly is no hope for change at all. We have not sometimes because we ask not.
God can’t answer a prayer we don’t pray.
It is so important and more so as we go deeper and deeper into the end times, that we don’t lose hope and we do make time to pray – every day, the first thing in the day, even if it’s just 10 minutes and we have to shut ourselves up alone some place to have the privacy to do it. We need that time with Him and He needs to see that we are putting Him first.
Every day we don’t pray, we miss blessings. I want to live a life of blessing, I know you do, too.
God does answer the prayers we pray.
My Mother and sister prayed for over 10 years for my salvation. Most of that 10 years, everything in the natural told them I was only getting worse. I praise God often they had real faith – faith that was not swayed by what their eyes saw. They stood on what their hearts believed.
My sweet mother was a model of virtue and faith to our family. She was taken into the arms of Jesus in August of 2014. Her last words on earth were a prayer to Jesus.
Let us continue to pray for those we love that are lost and those we don’t know who are, that He will send laborers into the harvest, and that they will be BOLD laborers, who will risk losing relationship to save a soul, and that the lost we lift up in prayer will have their hearts pierced by these bold laborers, and will give their lives to Christ and in turn will witness boldly to those around them.
That everyone who witnesses in this time will carry an extra anointing and more and more souls will come into the Kingdom.
Lord God, make US into bold laborers sent to those around us who need to hear the gospel, and every day remind us how short the time is, that every morning when we wake up, we will remember there are people who will die today that no one ever told about Jesus.
Lord, help us to remember today to PRAY and to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, as Your precious Word instructs us to. Help us to remember Ephesians 3:20 that says You are able to do exceedingly above and beyond anything we can ever ask or think, according to the power that works in US – and that power is Your precious Spirit. Give us more of Your Spirit Lord. Much more, that we may walk in your ways and minister to this lost and dying world around us. Help us to build our faith, Lord, so we can believe You for more, because You always want to give us so much more than we have – more health, more life, more of everything that is good. We praise Your precious Name tonight, Lord God. Amen.
I want to leave you with a precious story I came across. This is from a sermon preached by a man named Ricky Nelms in 2010 called Hallowed be Thy Name.
THE PRAYER AND THE CHAIR (copyrighted - from sermoncentral.com)
A woman called a pastor to come to the house to see her father. He goes to the house not knowing whether the man is Christian or not but he notices as he talks to him and the man answers back that he must be a Christian and there is a chair sitting close by. An empty chair. He asks "What's the chair for and the man said, "Well, I'll tell you, but I won't tell my daughter, she'll think I'm crazy. I've always had trouble praying. I knew a man in my early years who said to me, 'All you need to do is put an empty chair in front of you and prayer is nothing more than talking to God. And why don't you imagine God sitting in that chair and you just talk to him.'" And so he said, "I put an empty chair there and started talking to the chair as if God was there and it got so good that I just do it now hours sometime at a time and just talk to God and God talks to me and my soul is blessed by His divine grace." And he said, "If I tell my daughter, she'll think I'm losing my mind."
Some months later, the man died. When the Pastor came to visit the family, he said to the daughter, "How did he die? What happened to him?" She said, "Well, the sickness just finally got him. But the strangest way we found him. When I came in, he was dead, but there's a chair sitting beside the bed and I noticed that he had pushed himself out of the bed and put his head in the chair and died there with his head in the chair."
