WEBVTT

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Ephesians 6 again tonight Okay, so Ephesians

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6 beginning in verse 10. Finally, be strong in

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the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put

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on the full armor of God so that you will be

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able to stand firm against the schemes of the

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devil. For our struggle is not against flesh

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and blood, but against the rulers, against the

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powers, against the world forces of this darkness,

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against the spiritual forces of wickedness in

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the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full

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armor of God so that you will be able to resist

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in the evil day, and having done everything to

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stand firm, stand firm therefore, having girded

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your loins with truth, and having put on the

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breastplate of righteousness, and having shod

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your feet with the preparation of the gospel

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of peace, in addition to all, taking up the shield

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of faith with which you will be able to extinguish

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all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take

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the helmet of salvation and the sword of the

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spirit, Which is the word of God with all prayer

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and petition pray at all times in the spirit

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and with this in view Beyond the alert with all

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perseverance and petition for all the saints

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So we're just going to go to there Paul goes

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on there To ask prayer for himself and for the

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Expansion of the gospel the kingdom of God and

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so on But we're just gonna we're just gonna talk

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a little bit tonight about prayer so I Just want

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to make sure that we all know that this is not

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an exhaustive study and look at prayer this evening

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You would all do well to do an exhaustive study

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of prayer there is prayer mentioned all throughout

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the Bible If we just limit it to the New Testament

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We see it everywhere. We see Jesus teaching on

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prayer, giving a number of parables. We see what

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we call the Lord's Prayer, or the model prayer.

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When His disciples ask the Lord to teach them

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to pray, He says pray in this way, and He gives

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them an example there in the Lord's Prayer. We

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see just the example of Jesus praying. We see

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Paul all over the place. Saying I'm praying for

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you pray for me Okay, and so prayer is is everywhere

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It is an important part of the Christian life.

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It is a vital part of the Christian life It is

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a vital part of the church Church with no prayer

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meeting is not putting enough emphasis on prayer

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Prayer in the church is central essential and

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it's essential in our lives as well We need to

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be devoted to prayer and we're given those commands

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all throughout Scripture all throughout the New

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Testament in particular We are commanded to pray

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so I want us to I Just want to say that you know

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again. This is not Exhausted this evening. We'll

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look at a few things and Hopefully we'll be encouraged

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to press on in prayer and to grow in prayer prayer

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is an area that we, it doesn't just happen. So

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we need to be diligent, mindful, some of the

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things that we'll talk about tonight, but growing

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in prayer is the same as everything else in the

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Christian life. Growing in our sanctification,

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growing in our knowledge, how do these things

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happen? We put in work. Do we want to know who

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God is? What do we do? Sit on the cowlicks and

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say, well, I sure wish I knew more about God.

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Maybe God will strike me with a lightning bolt

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and all of a sudden I'll know all there is to

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know. No, we get in the Word. We study. We want

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to be sanctified. What does that look like? What

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does that mean? Well, we get in the Word. And

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then we have to apply those things. We have to

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live them out. We have to say, okay. I don't

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measure up here and here, I need to change. Here's

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some clear commands of scripture, I've got to

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change. The same with prayer. We examine our

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lives and we say, I need to spend more time in

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prayer. And so we devote the time and the energy

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to that goal. To pray more. To pray more consistently.

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To pray daily. To pray throughout the day. All

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of those things. So prayer requires effort. And

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I'm sure we all need to grow in that. I know

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I do. You know, I don't pray enough. I know that.

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For sure. I need to be more diligent in it. I

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need to be more mindful of it. And so, I'm exhorting

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and encouraging us all to be more prayerful.

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So, what does Paul say here? He says, with all

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prayer and petition, pray at all times in the

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Spirit. Be on the alert. with perseverance and

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petition for all the saints. There's a lot of

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stuff there that we'll talk about. I've got six

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things here that you could just, maybe some headings

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that Paul says here that we should, hopefully

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we'll hit them all here. The first thing here

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he says, take time for prayer. That's the first

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thing he says. Pray at all times so take time

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for prayer Pray at all times the second thing

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he says with all prayer and supplication So what

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does he say there we could say all sorts of prayer

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all kinds of prayer types of prayer The third

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one there he says to pray in the spirit The fourth

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he says to watch or to be alert unto prayer.

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And so what I put down here is to guard our time

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of prayer. To guard our time of prayer. The next

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one is with all perseverance and supplication

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or petition or to persevere to be constant in

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prayer. Constancy. Perseverance in prayer and

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then the sixth one there Who are we gonna pray

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for? Who does he say he says for all the saints?

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All right So we have six things there that we

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can think about regarding prayer Six simple things

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maybe not simple six basic things Why does Paul

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tell us to pray? What's the point of prayer in

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the context of what all we've just got done talking

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about? Just got done talking about the armor

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Probably all heard that song can't think of it,

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but the line is each piece put on with prayer

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It's all that's what's been coming to my mind

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here so the goal here what What we want to think

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about is using prayer as we use the armor. Each

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one of these pieces that we've put on, put on

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with prayer. We can pray with regard to each

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one of these things. Praying with truth. Praying

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in faith. Praying for faith. Praying... in light

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of the hope of glory that awaits us. And so prayer

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involves or should we say encompasses all of

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these things that we've talked about. We can

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pray for those things, we can pray for an increase

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in these things, and we can pray for application

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of these things in our lives. And again, daily

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using these things as we walk through this world,

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as we engage in this warfare that we're in. Okay.

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What is prayer then? Let's just start there.

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Just a basic understanding of prayer. What is

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prayer? If I was to ask somebody, what's prayer?

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What would you tell me? Okay, talking to God.

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Communing with God. What do you mean by commune?

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Have interaction with Him. Interaction, fellowship,

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relationship. Anything else? What else could

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we say prayer is if I was to ask? Make requests

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is a big part of prayer. We could say prayer

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is making requests. Absolutely. All of those

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are good. All of those are true. All of those

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are very relevant. And that is prayer. Those

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are all parts of prayer. What else is prayer?

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Prayer is worship. We're worshiping when we pray.

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Okay? So, think of prayer in that way. that prayer

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is also worship. When we gather here on Sunday

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mornings to pray, the prayer meeting is not this

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separate time and then once we're done with that,

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now we're going to worship. The prayer meeting

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is a time of worship. Because when we pray, what

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all are we doing? We're asking for things. We're

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telling God or praising God for who He is. thanking

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Him for what He has done. Right? Just a simple

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act of prayer is an acknowledgement of our need

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and saying that, God, You're able to do. You're

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able to meet my needs. I'm relying upon You.

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Okay? So, think of prayer in those ways. So that

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prayer is worship and adoration. And we see...

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Again, we see all of those things in the model

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prayer that Jesus gave us. Our Father, which

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art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom

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come, thy will be done, and so on. So, time for

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prayer. The first thing here, pray always. Is

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there a time that's inappropriate to pray? Is

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there a time when we should say, well, now's

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not the time to pray? No. Okay? So, Paul says,

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at all times, with all prayer. Okay? And so,

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we need to, hopefully, maybe I shouldn't say

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it like that, hopefully we think like that. Hopefully

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we think, prayer is a... is an all -day, anytime

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activity. It's not just Sunday morning. It's

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not just when I'm sitting in my study or in my

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chair having some quiet time and reading my Bible

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and that's when I spend time in prayer. Prayer

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is a daily, moment -by -moment activity. It can

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be. But it is certainly something that we should

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engage in throughout the day. I think Martin

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Lowe Jones used to say, if you ever feel the

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urge or the need or the desire to pray, don't

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ever quench that. Pray at that time. It doesn't

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require us curling up in a corner somewhere to

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be alone to pray. We can pray at all times and

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in all situations. It doesn't have to be a long

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and elaborate prayer. It can be a short prayer.

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Lord, help me, whatever. Lord, I'm struggling

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with my thoughts here. Help me here. I'm struggling

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with my thoughts and so I'm gonna, rather than

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dwell on that, I'm gonna pray for someone. I'm

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gonna pray for this thing here. And I'm gonna

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get my mind off of this and put it on someone

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else, on the Lord. Whatever, whatever. All of

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those opportunities are times for prayer when

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we are engaged in those things. So think of prayer

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as an all -day activity that we should be engaged

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in. Of course, I'm not minimizing the time that

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we should set aside to really devote ourselves

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to prayer. I hope we understand that. I'm not

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saying since we're going to pray all day, then

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we don't need to set a time aside to pray. I'm

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not saying that, obviously. But we need to broaden

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our thinking regarding prayer and broaden the

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times that we do pray It's an encouragement and

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a help to us To sit to get our mind off of the

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things of this world to get our mind off of the

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struggles to get our mind Off of the problems

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that we're in and to ask the Lord for help in

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those times There's nothing wrong with that.

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It's good. It's helpful so Always at all times

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in prayer kinds and sorts of prayer With all

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types of prayer, so I wrote down a few here Martin

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Lowe Jones says be at it always and in endless

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ways So types of prayer Public prayer right corporate

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prayer when the Saints are gathered Wherever

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that may be here on a Sunday morning Here on

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a Wednesday night, maybe you've got a small group

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in your home and you're having some fellowship

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there. Nothing wrong with spending time in prayer.

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So corporate prayer, public prayer, private prayer.

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So prayer alone, where we can pour out our hearts,

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our deepest darkest secrets, fears, concerns,

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all of those things that weigh upon our mind.

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Bring those to the Lord. in our private time

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you can say secret prayer private prayer secret

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prayer other types of prayer supplications all

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right adoration telling god how much we love

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him how much we're thankful for him adoring him

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for who he is repentance Repentance should be

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in our prayer lives, asking forgiveness for those

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things that we've done that are wrong, sin in

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our lives. Again, along the whole line of supplications

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and all of that, asking, I mean that's broad,

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that's a real broad, asking for all sorts of

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things, right? You could ask for spiritual needs,

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physical needs, asking for the needs in the church,

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those prayer requests that are given on Sunday

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mornings here. So that's a really broad category.

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I've got down sudden prayer, or again, just those

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times just through the day when something comes

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to mind, I should pray for that. You get a text,

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you're gonna pray for this thing. Thankfulness,

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thanksgiving should be part of our prayer. Thanking

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God for who He is, thanking God for what He's

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done, thanking God for His promises, all of those

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types of things. Those are a few that I have

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written down here. Again, if you read other commentaries

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they'll have... They'll have a whole list of

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other things as well. But prayer is very broad.

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It involves a lot. I know when I was younger,

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it's like you'd sit down, I'm going to spend

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some time in prayer. Five minutes goes by and

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you're like, I got nothing. I got nothing left.

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That's all I got. Five minutes worth. I mean,

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that's immaturity. I was young. And so, again,

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there's nothing wrong with that. That's fine,

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but we should grow in that. And this list that

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I gave you, my goal for you is to think all of

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these other things that you can pray for. You're

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not limited in your prayer life. So here's an

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encouragement to you. If you find that it's difficult

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to pray for, and again, I'm not saying that the

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super spiritual prays super long. I'm not saying

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those types of things. We grow in our prayers,

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we grow in our maturity, absolutely. But if you

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find yourself in that position where you got

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nothing else to pray for, start taking the prayer

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requests down on a Sunday morning and you'll

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have plenty more than five minutes worth if you

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go through your whole prayer list. If you go

00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.500
through every individual in the church. Okay,

00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:40.339
and you pray for them specifically I'm gonna

00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:43.059
pray for Caleb for this I'm gonna pray for Makayla

00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:46.359
for this grace for this Bryson and you just go

00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.819
down Okay, you've got the families all the families

00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:51.859
in the church written down in your in your prayer

00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:55.079
book and you're like I Don't maybe I don't know

00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:58.279
anything particular here, but I can pray for

00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:02.119
Sanctification I can pray for resisting temptation

00:20:02.669 --> 00:20:05.210
Can pray that he would be a good leader in his

00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:08.029
home that she would be a good wife in her home

00:20:08.029 --> 00:20:11.150
I can pray for their kids You understand what

00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:15.990
I'm saying? There's plenty to pray for them And

00:20:15.990 --> 00:20:25.009
Do it Spend time in prayer so all sorts of prayer

00:20:25.009 --> 00:20:30.150
number Number I'm gonna skip here. I'm gonna

00:20:30.150 --> 00:20:32.170
skip down to well. We'll just go to number three

00:20:32.430 --> 00:20:35.970
So praying in the spirit, what does that mean?

00:20:40.789 --> 00:20:52.549
I wrote down a couple things here. Three things

00:20:52.549 --> 00:21:03.829
here. Praying with knowledge. praying with fervency

00:21:03.829 --> 00:21:13.150
and praying with sincerity. What was two? Fervency.

00:21:14.490 --> 00:21:21.190
So passionate, intense, fervently praying with

00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:24.410
a real heart desire for these things that you're

00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:29.549
praying for. Sincerity. Honest, genuine heart

00:21:29.549 --> 00:21:34.910
for these things. And then knowledge, the knowledge

00:21:34.910 --> 00:21:38.089
of God and who He is, the truth of scripture.

00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:44.930
I think those are involved in praying in the

00:21:44.930 --> 00:21:48.029
Spirit. Opposite of praying in the Spirit, we

00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:51.150
could say, would be giving lip service. In other

00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:55.670
words, just kind of, not really, we're just praying

00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:59.740
to pray. And I really don't believe this. I really

00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.559
don't care about this person, I'm just doing

00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:05.539
this because it's what I'm supposed to do. And

00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:07.660
I really don't have a heart for anything here.

00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:12.500
So those are kind of two extremes, praying in

00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:14.880
the spirit and then just giving lip service to

00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:21.519
this time. With that, we don't want to pray like

00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:23.539
that. We don't want to pray with hypocrisy or

00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:25.259
giving lip service or those types of things.

00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.799
At the same time, I don't want to give us an

00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:32.500
out. That if our heart isn't in it, then oh,

00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:37.160
we just shouldn't pray. No. Pray and ask the

00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:40.460
Lord to give you a heart. Spend time in prayer

00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:44.059
and ask the Lord, help me to pray in a way that

00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:46.740
I should here. My heart's not right right now.

00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:50.180
I need you to work in me. I need you to change

00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:55.690
me. I need you to give me a heart for you. for

00:22:55.690 --> 00:23:01.509
your church, for the lost. Give me a true desire

00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:06.210
here. Change me. So just because we don't feel

00:23:06.210 --> 00:23:08.289
like praying doesn't mean we shouldn't pray.

00:23:09.609 --> 00:23:12.630
Our prayer may be different there. Rather than

00:23:12.630 --> 00:23:17.589
just jumping in head first so to speak and just

00:23:17.589 --> 00:23:20.130
delighting in our time of prayer, we've got to

00:23:20.130 --> 00:23:26.460
deal with ourselves and our sin. And so on, okay?

00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:29.259
So there's never an excuse not to pray. I want

00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:32.000
to make sure we're clear on that. There's never

00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.299
a reason that you can't pray. If you find yourself

00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:39.859
in sin, what do you do? Clean yourself up first,

00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:41.859
get out of it, get a few days down the road,

00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:46.440
okay, now I'm better, I can pray. No. You pour

00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.000
your heart out to the Lord in repentance. Then

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:55.039
and there. Don't wait. Okay, so there's never

00:23:55.039 --> 00:24:12.980
a reason not to pray. Number four, guarding our

00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:22.759
time of prayer. For years, my biggest struggle

00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:25.319
This was one of my biggest struggles, guarding

00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:29.799
my time. In other words, making sure that I took

00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:33.339
the time to pray. So I could sit in my study

00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:36.259
and I could read for hours. And I'd be content

00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:39.160
and great and I'd be fine. And then next thing

00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:42.339
I know, I'm up. And I didn't even spend time

00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:46.400
to pray. So I did not guard that time. I did

00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:51.039
not use my time well. Guard your time of prayer,

00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:56.799
whatever that is. If that's in the morning, that's

00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.759
when I'm wide awake. So I've got a window in

00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:01.660
the morning, I get up, I'm one of those people

00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:05.440
that when I get up, I get up early and I'm ready

00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:10.819
to go. At night, I'm falling asleep. So eight

00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:14.740
o 'clock rolls around, 8 .30, nine o 'clock.

00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:17.900
If I go to pray then, I'm gonna be sleeping in

00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:21.920
five minutes probably. It doesn't matter. It's

00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:24.519
just the way I've always been. I'm very limited

00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:28.940
there with staying awake at night. So I'm in

00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:31.119
the morning. And so I need to guard that time.

00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:34.339
I need to spend time, yes, in the word, studying,

00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:37.279
reading, but I need to devote and guard that

00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.480
I don't get carried away there. And before long,

00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.119
I've got to get up and go to work because I've

00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.819
been just reading for too long. So guard that

00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:50.220
time, whatever that time is for you. that time

00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:53.480
of secret prayer, being alone with the Lord,

00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:58.759
guard that time. It's easy, at least it was for

00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.779
me, to spend all sorts of time reading and studying.

00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:05.700
And then the difficult thing was the prayer.

00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:16.779
Guard that time, develop that time. Perseverance,

00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:20.680
with all perseverance. What more do we need to

00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:27.200
say there? Persevering in prayer. What is it

00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.500
that we persevere in? Well, if somebody tells

00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:32.839
you to persevere, what are they telling you?

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:39.720
Keep going, and why are they telling you that?

00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:48.019
It's a good thing. It's going to get hard. Persevere

00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:56.160
in it. Be constant in prayer. Persevere. Prayer

00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:59.380
is not easy for most folks, for a lot of folks.

00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:08.980
And that's fine. Persevere. Press on. It will

00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:13.759
become easier as we press on, as we become diligent,

00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.579
as we become disciplined. It will become just

00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:19.480
like everything else in our lives that we're

00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:22.859
diligent in. It will become a habit. It will

00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:25.779
become easier. It will become more enjoyable.

00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:31.859
It will be a time of fellowship, encouragement,

00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:41.359
and communion with God. So persevere in it. Press

00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:45.359
on. Don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged

00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:48.819
that you missed a day. Determine not to do that.

00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:52.819
Don't be discouraged that it was short. Press

00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:59.779
on. Grow. Mature. Ask the Lord for help in all

00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:04.660
of those things. And then the last thing that

00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:08.559
I had here is who to pray for. And we've already

00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:11.779
kind of dealt with this. Paul here, he's asking

00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:14.130
him to pray for him. He's asking them to pray

00:28:14.130 --> 00:28:16.490
for the expansion of the kingdom, the gospel,

00:28:16.650 --> 00:28:20.190
and so on. But he says here, pray for all the

00:28:20.190 --> 00:28:22.569
saints, all right? And so we've already said

00:28:22.569 --> 00:28:26.529
that. All the saints. So we could say everybody

00:28:26.529 --> 00:28:30.029
here in the church, right? But we could go further.

00:28:31.130 --> 00:28:35.509
We could say all the saints that we know, okay?

00:28:35.549 --> 00:28:39.450
So we know everybody here. We know some folks

00:28:39.450 --> 00:28:41.759
in some other churches. So we know some folks

00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.599
up in Columbia. We know some folks in Sedalia.

00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:47.819
We know Jake's family up there in West Virginia.

00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.079
We know Mac down in Texas. Matthew and Leah down

00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:57.259
in Texas. I know I'm forgetting the other people

00:28:57.259 --> 00:29:00.640
that we know. You know, we we know our whoever.

00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:04.619
Three doors down who goes to some different church

00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:06.759
that we're pretty confident they're believers.

00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:10.099
They're saints. We can pray for them, right?

00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:12.440
We can pray for all those saints in the Philippines

00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:17.200
that we know of. Pray for Ray, for Kim, for Rem.

00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:21.200
And the church is there. We can pray for the

00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:24.779
Jebelos. Again, there's so much that we could

00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:28.500
pray for. Those are the folks that we know. Can

00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:33.599
we pray for the folks we don't know? We certainly

00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:36.900
can, right? I mean, we can pray for the persecuted

00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:41.089
church. Again, we can't pray specifically for

00:29:41.089 --> 00:29:45.190
some individual necessarily, but we can certainly

00:29:45.190 --> 00:29:49.190
pray for the persecuted church throughout the

00:29:49.190 --> 00:29:52.750
world. Just the church throughout the world.

00:29:53.690 --> 00:29:56.789
All of those things we can be in prayer for.

00:29:58.849 --> 00:30:01.049
And we're called to pray for those things. We're

00:30:01.049 --> 00:30:06.369
called to pray for all the saints. The list is

00:30:06.369 --> 00:30:34.380
not limited. Okay. What time is it? I don't even

00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:49.279
know what time it is. 7 .46. Okay. So, um...

00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:52.130
I'm looking. I've got a bunch of verses down

00:30:52.130 --> 00:30:54.109
here, but we're not going to go through them

00:30:54.109 --> 00:30:59.710
all. I'm going to just encourage you. I'll give

00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:04.650
you these. You can write them down here. This

00:31:04.650 --> 00:31:09.210
is a couple. This is just a couple verses on

00:31:09.210 --> 00:31:19.450
some broad topics. Acts 12, 5. Romans 1, 9 -10.

00:31:23.850 --> 00:31:30.069
Colossians four, two through four. That passage

00:31:30.069 --> 00:31:32.430
in Colossians there talks a lot about Thanksgiving.

00:31:33.890 --> 00:31:38.309
If I'm remembering right. Thanksgiving should

00:31:38.309 --> 00:31:41.089
fuel our prayer lives. It really should. There's

00:31:41.089 --> 00:31:44.569
so much to be thankful for. That God has done.

00:31:45.490 --> 00:31:50.329
That God has promised. Some of the parables that

00:31:50.329 --> 00:31:57.009
Jesus talked up. gave us Matthew 6 6 Matthew

00:31:57.009 --> 00:32:11.190
9 18 through 26 18 through 26 Matthew 15 21 through

00:32:11.190 --> 00:32:16.150
28 so those are just a few just a broad array

00:32:16.150 --> 00:32:21.589
of passages regarding prayer Get out your concordance

00:32:21.589 --> 00:32:25.049
get out your topical Bible Get out your phone

00:32:25.049 --> 00:32:28.809
and say verses on prayer and just go read all

00:32:28.809 --> 00:32:31.450
these verses. It will be an encouragement to

00:32:31.450 --> 00:32:50.700
you Okay Any questions any questions Before I

00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:54.180
go any further questions or comments comments

00:32:54.180 --> 00:33:09.759
are always welcome as well Okay, go ahead Chris

00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:30.819
In what way were you thinking that? Well. When

00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:33.299
we already have just if it's like you know an

00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:37.059
urgent or emergency situation and it's time.

00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:40.640
To do at that point, well we could do and pray

00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:44.019
all the once. Prayer doesn't mean we've got to

00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:47.900
stop what we're doing. I can be walking. I can

00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:51.680
be and I have when I've been running to an emergency

00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:55.309
situation literally. Praying Lord help me give

00:33:55.309 --> 00:33:59.009
me wisdom here protection. I don't know what

00:33:59.009 --> 00:34:05.809
I'm getting into And I'm my feet are moving so

00:34:05.809 --> 00:34:15.489
Prayer doesn't mean we got to stop So I've got

00:34:15.489 --> 00:34:19.849
all these books here and They can be a great

00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:23.210
help, but they can also be a hindrance, okay

00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:25.780
Just like I said, you can wind up spending your

00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:28.219
time reading these books on prayer and not praying.

00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:34.840
You've defeated the purpose. Okay? Now, these

00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:37.139
are short books. These are just little booklets.

00:34:37.960 --> 00:34:40.780
Okay? Just little booklets, each chapter, you

00:34:40.780 --> 00:34:45.739
know, four, five, six pages, depending. What

00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:50.980
I have found in my life is when I take one of

00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:58.159
these books, and I read one chapter and I pray

00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:01.599
whatever is in that chapter, whatever it's talking

00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:05.460
about there. You can do that with this, with

00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:10.079
these books. So Jake mentioned E .M. Bounds on

00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:16.019
Prayer. E .M. Bounds on Prayer. And I don't remember

00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:18.139
if he's got a few books or if this is all of

00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:22.300
his books in one, I don't remember. But there's

00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:25.840
so many helpful things in here that you can read

00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:29.719
part of a chapter or one chapter and It will

00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:33.760
fuel your prayer life. I Remember reading this

00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:36.320
and just being encouraged to pray and spending

00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:38.559
so much more time in prayer as I went through

00:35:38.559 --> 00:35:42.619
this book Again one chapter or even just half

00:35:42.619 --> 00:35:46.380
of a chapter at a time So EM bounds on prayer

00:35:46.380 --> 00:35:50.440
is very good. It's very encouraging Again, you

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:52.539
don't necessarily need a book. You could go through

00:35:52.539 --> 00:35:55.980
the Psalms and do the same thing. So many of

00:35:55.980 --> 00:35:58.599
the Psalms, David's asking for things, or the

00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:02.099
psalmist is asking for things, or he's, you know,

00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:04.539
making some statement of who God is, or what

00:36:04.539 --> 00:36:07.659
God has done, and so fuels our thanksgiving,

00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:11.380
all of those things. So it's not like you can't

00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:15.400
do that just reading the Bible. You can. I just

00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:17.300
have found that these things are also helpful.

00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:22.260
They can also be an aid. So E .M. Bounds on Prayer

00:36:22.260 --> 00:36:29.639
is very good. Praying always. Franz Backe, another,

00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:32.340
it's just a little booklet. It's helpful, it's

00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:37.920
encouraging. You've got this little booklet here,

00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:43.440
Come Down Lord. Okay, a great encouragement for

00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:47.340
prayer. I remember right specifically that the

00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:50.519
Lord would move in a mighty way in revival and

00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:55.719
encouragement to pray The hidden life of prayer

00:36:55.719 --> 00:36:59.739
by David McIntyre another little booklet short

00:36:59.739 --> 00:37:04.099
Can be a great help and encouragement to prayer

00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:11.179
How I know God how I know God always answers

00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:14.380
prayer or God answers prayer Rosalind Goforth,

00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:19.159
another small encouraging book. I think a lot

00:37:19.159 --> 00:37:22.300
of testimonies in here of the Lord's answers

00:37:22.300 --> 00:37:27.340
to prayer, okay? Encouraging, encouraging. Knowing

00:37:27.340 --> 00:37:30.559
how the Lord has answered the saints of old is

00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:33.800
an encouragement for us to pray. Again, it's

00:37:33.800 --> 00:37:36.760
all through the Bible. Men prayed, the Lord answered.

00:37:37.099 --> 00:37:41.659
The Lord moved. I haven't read these. I just

00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:45.400
found them on my book, or on my bookshelf. But

00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:47.579
there's a couple of the booklets here that I,

00:37:47.579 --> 00:37:50.059
I guess I should read now that I found them.

00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:53.320
I'll talk about this one later also, but asking

00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:56.739
father, so all of you who have young children,

00:37:59.059 --> 00:38:03.400
and anybody really, Smiths, you'd love this probably.

00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:09.239
Anybody. This is a phenomenal book, okay? This

00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:13.880
is... Miracles. I don't know what else to say.

00:38:14.900 --> 00:38:21.159
Miracles of God working in the lives of people.

00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:25.639
The first one, I read it this morning again.

00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:31.500
It's just amazing to think what God does for

00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.320
those who ask. And I think this is mostly children.

00:38:34.780 --> 00:38:38.460
So this is children asking Father for help, for

00:38:38.460 --> 00:38:42.429
protection, for guidance. and amazing answers

00:38:42.429 --> 00:38:45.329
to prayer. That is a great encouragement. And

00:38:45.329 --> 00:38:48.590
so if you have young children, or as your children

00:38:48.590 --> 00:38:51.030
get old, this is a great book for family devotions,

00:38:51.349 --> 00:38:54.150
to read what God has done that the kids could

00:38:54.150 --> 00:38:59.110
see and hear. God does answer prayer. Again,

00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:01.050
they should see that in other areas of their

00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:03.989
life, but this is good. This is a really good

00:39:03.989 --> 00:39:07.510
book. Like I said, all of these things can be

00:39:07.510 --> 00:39:09.949
a help to us as we pray, but they can also be

00:39:09.949 --> 00:39:12.760
a hindrance to prayer if we just read it and

00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:17.539
we don't pray. So if you want those, get them.

00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:21.300
I might let you borrow mine, as long as you give

00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:26.079
it back. But you have to use them rightly. It's

00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:29.619
just like everything. We don't just read books,

00:39:29.679 --> 00:39:32.059
we read the Bible also. The Bible is integral.

00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:36.780
It's essential. The act of prayer is essential.

00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:39.460
We must be praying, not just reading about it.

00:39:41.140 --> 00:39:47.460
Okay, so Like I said, that's just a very brief

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Snippet here this evening on Some on prayer,

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but let me encourage you press on in prayer grow

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in prayer it will Have a great impact upon your

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life and it will glorify God
