WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.879 The house of prayer. The fervent prayer of a 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:08.980 righteous. You meant it for evil, but God meant 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:13.320 it for good. A prayer for God's purpose to prevail. 00:00:14.149 --> 00:00:16.649 This prayer is for you if you are going through 00:00:16.649 --> 00:00:19.570 a season you cannot understand. It is for you 00:00:19.570 --> 00:00:22.449 if someone betrayed you, if someone lied about 00:00:22.449 --> 00:00:25.710 you, if you have been falsely accused, if someone 00:00:25.710 --> 00:00:29.210 deliberately tried to hurt you, remove you, discredit 00:00:29.210 --> 00:00:32.250 you, or close a door against you. It is for you 00:00:32.250 --> 00:00:34.810 if something happened that you simply cannot 00:00:34.810 --> 00:00:38.020 call good. and it is also for you if you are 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:40.619 carrying regret because some of what happened 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:43.659 came through your own decisions. You may be asking, 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:47.140 God, how can anything good possibly come from 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:50.539 this? If that is where you are today, I want 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:53.740 you to pray with me, because what happened may 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:57.679 be real, the pain may be real, the consequences 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:00.960 may be real, but none of those things have greater 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.109 authority than the purpose of God. Listen to 00:01:05.109 --> 00:01:09.390 the word of God in Genesis 50 -20. You meant 00:01:09.390 --> 00:01:13.230 evil against me, but God meant it for good to 00:01:13.230 --> 00:01:15.950 bring it about, that many people should be kept 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:21.150 alive. And Romans 8 -28 reminds us, and we know 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:24.269 that all things work together for good to them 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:28.109 that love God, to them who are the called according 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:34.900 to his purpose. Let us pray. with everything 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:39.140 I do not understand. I bring you the pain. I 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:41.239 bring you the disappointment. I bring you the 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:44.340 betrayal. I bring you the accusations. I bring 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:47.219 you the closed doors. I bring you the things 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:49.879 people said about me. I bring you the things 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.920 people did to me. And God, I also bring you my 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.260 own mistakes. The decisions I wish I could change. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.000 The words I wish I could take back. The moments 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.989 when I allowed anger. fear, weakness, or frustration 00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:08.669 to control me. I place everything before you. 00:02:08.969 --> 00:02:11.729 I refuse to pretend that everything that happened 00:02:11.729 --> 00:02:15.289 was good. But today, I choose to believe that 00:02:15.289 --> 00:02:18.449 you are still good. I may not understand what 00:02:18.449 --> 00:02:21.330 you are doing. I may not see how these pieces 00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:24.849 fit together. I may not understand why you allowed 00:02:24.849 --> 00:02:28.310 certain doors to close. I may not understand 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:31.849 why you allowed certain people to leave. I may 00:02:31.849 --> 00:02:34.669 not understand why you permitted me to walk through 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:38.949 this particular fire, but God, I trust you with 00:02:38.949 --> 00:02:42.990 what I cannot understand. Joseph could not see 00:02:42.990 --> 00:02:45.610 the palace from the pit, he could not see Pharaoh 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:48.370 from the prison, he could not see preservation 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:51.289 while he was being betrayed, but you could, so 00:02:51.289 --> 00:02:54.210 today I declare, my present circumstances will 00:02:54.210 --> 00:02:56.949 not become my final conclusion. I will not write 00:02:56.949 --> 00:02:59.129 the final chapter while you are still writing 00:02:59.129 --> 00:03:01.990 my story. What people intended against me will 00:03:01.990 --> 00:03:04.590 not have the final word. What was spoken against 00:03:04.590 --> 00:03:07.270 me will not have the final word. What was done 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:10.770 against me will not have the final word. My disappointment 00:03:10.770 --> 00:03:14.129 will not have the final word. My failure will 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:17.729 not have the final word. My past will not have 00:03:17.729 --> 00:03:20.810 the final word. You will have the final word. 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:24.530 God, take what was meant to destroy me and use 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:28.069 it according to your purpose. Take what was intended 00:03:28.069 --> 00:03:31.610 to discourage me and deepen my dependence upon 00:03:31.610 --> 00:03:34.770 you. Take what was intended to make me bitter 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:37.810 and teach me forgiveness. Take what was intended 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:41.330 to weaken me and develop endurance. Take what 00:03:41.330 --> 00:03:45.030 exposed my weakness and use it to refine my character. 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:48.590 Take what closed one door and lead me toward 00:03:48.590 --> 00:03:51.800 the door you have prepared. Take every piece 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.439 of this season and place it into your hands. 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:58.300 Because I believe you don't waste the fire. God, 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:00.560 if there is something in me that must change, 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:03.659 change me. If there is something in me that must 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:07.740 be removed, remove it. If pride must go, remove 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:11.099 it. If bitterness must go, remove it. If anger 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:14.120 must be controlled, teach me self -control. If 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.629 my words must change, discipline my tongue. If 00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:20.689 my character needs strengthening, refine me. 00:04:20.930 --> 00:04:24.129 If I need to forgive, give me the grace to forgive. 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:27.589 If I need to repent, give me the humility to 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:30.410 repent. If I need to wait, give me patience. 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:34.449 If I need to move, give me courage. Do not simply 00:04:34.449 --> 00:04:37.649 bring me out of this season. Prepare me through 00:04:37.649 --> 00:04:40.029 this season. I don't want to come out carrying 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.569 the same weaknesses that entered the fire with 00:04:42.569 --> 00:04:45.180 me. I don't want to reach the place you prepared 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.139 for me without becoming the person who can carry 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:51.839 what you are preparing. Refine me, God, purify 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:55.139 my motives, strengthen my character, guard my 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:58.720 heart, order my steps, and keep me close to you. 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:02.639 Today, I release the people who hurt me from 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:06.300 controlling the rest of my story. I refuse to 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:08.740 allow what they did yesterday to determine who 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:13.389 I become tomorrow. I refuse bitterness. I refuse 00:05:13.389 --> 00:05:18.290 revenge. I refuse hatred. I refuse to allow another 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:20.769 person's actions to transform me into someone 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:25.310 you never called me to become. Instead, I surrender 00:05:25.310 --> 00:05:30.069 my story to you. And by faith, I declare, what 00:05:30.069 --> 00:05:32.670 they meant for evil, you can turn toward good. 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:36.449 What looked like rejection can become redirection. 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:40.509 What looked like delay can become preparation. 00:05:41.449 --> 00:05:44.790 What looked like an ending can become a transition. 00:05:45.910 --> 00:05:49.189 What looked wasted can still serve your purpose. 00:05:49.990 --> 00:05:52.589 And what looked like it would destroy me can 00:05:52.589 --> 00:05:55.129 become part of the testimony of what you brought 00:05:55.129 --> 00:05:58.730 me through. God, I don't know everything you 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:01.709 are doing behind the scenes, but I trust you. 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:05.209 I don't know how every chapter will end, but 00:06:05.209 --> 00:06:08.269 I trust you. I don't know when the answer will 00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:12.240 come, but I trust you. I don't know what the 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.839 next season will look like, but I trust you. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.560 And until I understand, I will remain faithful. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.500 Until the door opens, I will remain faithful. 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.720 Until the answer comes, I will remain faithful. 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:31.319 Until I can look backward and understand what 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:35.079 I cannot understand today, I will trust the author 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.540 while you are still writing. So I declare over 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:42.850 my life. The pit is not my ending The prison 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:47.029 is not my ending The accusation is not my ending 00:06:47.029 --> 00:06:50.990 The disappointment is not my ending The failure 00:06:50.990 --> 00:06:55.430 is not my ending God is still writing God is 00:06:55.430 --> 00:06:59.250 still working God is still refining God is still 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:02.629 positioning And God's purpose is still greater 00:07:02.629 --> 00:07:05.470 than what was intended against me. I will not 00:07:05.470 --> 00:07:08.629 waste the fire. I will learn. I will grow. I 00:07:08.629 --> 00:07:11.529 will forgive. I will repent where repentance 00:07:11.529 --> 00:07:14.730 is necessary. I will become wiser. I will become 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:17.689 stronger. I will become more disciplined. I will 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:20.389 become more dependent upon the Holy Spirit. And 00:07:20.389 --> 00:07:23.230 when this chapter is finished, I will not simply 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:27.750 say, I survived. I will say, God refined me through 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:30.370 it. What was meant for evil will not determine 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:33.810 my destination. God's purpose will. And somewhere 00:07:33.810 --> 00:07:36.889 between what they intended and what you are accomplishing, 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:40.709 I am being refined for a purpose. In the name 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:44.730 of Jesus Christ, Amen. If you are going through 00:07:44.730 --> 00:07:47.689 a difficult season and you cannot yet understand 00:07:47.689 --> 00:07:51.569 what God is doing, keep praying, keep trusting, 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:56.319 keep walking. God may still be writing the part 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:58.860 of the story that will eventually explain the 00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:02.620 chapter you are living today. Always remember 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:08.620 you are not alone. Pamoja Ministry is your prayer 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:09.019 partner.