Will you join us? What does God say about how we should respond when we are facing times of difficulty? In times of great turmoil and desperation, it is the privilege and responsibility of men and women of God to cry out to Him in prayer. Yesterday morning, Dr. Stanley explained what it really means to cry out to God, taught how to cry out to God (8min), and led the entire congregation in a time of crying out to God for breakthrough in our nation (12min). The election tomorrow reminds us that our nation is at a crossroad. Will we turn our eyes back to the Lord in repentance and ask for His supernatural powerful to be displayed? We’re sharing this new message with you today as an urgent invitation to join other believers in prayer right now, no matter where you are.
well what does God say about how we
should respond when we are facing
difficult in hardships and all kind of
things in our life that we don’t know
how to handle or don’t have an answer
for very simple in his word and that is
we should cry out to the Lord then let
me let me explain the difference between
just praying and crying out to the Lord
we talked about praying with thinking in
terms of Thanksgiving and petition and
intercession crying out to the Lord is
more than that and when I think about
that and I think about it where we are
just praying is it’s not enough that
something deeper than that so what I
want you to do is to turn to Psalm 57
and I want us to look at these verses
for a few moments and I want to
distinguish between crying and praying
we said praying we used to thanking God
for something interceding for something
petitioning him for something crying out
to him is a little different but Psalm
57 and oftentimes we find the scriptures
that God’s people began to cry out to
God because the more desperate they felt
the more needy they felt and the more
dangerous the situation was they cried
out to God not just prayed so Psalm 57
reads like this be gracious to me O God
be gracious to me for my soul takes
refuge in you and in the shadow of your
wings I take refuge until destruction
passes by let’s read it again and in the
shadow of your wings I will take refuge
until destruction passes by I will cry
to God most high to God who accomplishes
all things for me he will send from
heaven and save me he reproaches him who
tramples upon me
God will send forth his loving-kindness
and his truth my soul is among lions I
must lie among those who breathe forth
fire even the sons of men whose teeth
are Spears and arrows and that tongues a
sharp sword be exalted above the heavens
O God let your glory be above all the
earth now when he says we had to cry out
to God notice how he says it I will cry
to God Most High who accomplishes all
things for me and he will send from
heaven and save me crying to the Lord
what does that mean so I want to put
this on the screen so you can write it
down and then I want to talk about what
it means to cry so you know the
difference so beginning with a cry as a
spontaneous response to an urgent need
we are in an urgent time in the life of
our country and so we are crying out to
God about an urgent need and that be is
that God would give us the right leader
and so notice this it’s usually centered
on one thing something immediate
specific need the elections coming
Tuesday most of us have already voted it
may be motivated by the presence of
danger and oftentimes we’re in danger
don’t even though we are but many times
we’re in danger and though that we are
and what is our response to be that’s
the cry out to God because we oftentimes
feel helpless then it may be the
response to pain and hurt and I think
all of us are probably at some point in
life had either physical pain emotional
pain and we cried out to God because we
didn’t know what else to do and just
saying Lord bless me is not the solution
but crying out to him which will explain
in the moment and then it may be the
reaction to heartbreaking news you hear
some heartbreak and do something about
your family somebody you love
whatever it might be and just getting
down I’ll just walk around saying that
lord help me through this crying out to
God is an intense petition told him and
then it’s the response to a sense of
desperation and there are times when we
are desperate and there are times in
people’s marriages for example with
their children in the life of the nation
desperation God we desperately need for
you to intervene in what’s going on so
that’s the kind of praying we’re talking
about not letting that Lord bless
america we’ve already been so blessed
we’ve taken it for granted lord help us
we need more than help and so what I
want you to see here is crying out to
him goes to the depth of our heart a
very being we’re serious about what
we’re talking about and I want to follow
that up with this remember of what the
Bible says that we are to confess our
sins he’s faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness if I’m going to cry up
to holy God to help me
I’ve got he I’ve got to get right with
him and so dealing with sin is the
beginning of it and the scripture is
very clear he will not hear if I regard
sin in my heart so in preparation asking
God to do something awesome might help
us crying out to him it’s got to come
out of a clean heart so won’t you take a
moment or two and just think about your
own life think about the future of this
nation the future of this nation is
hanging and a very thin balance and
maybe you understand that maybe you
don’t maybe you think well you just you
just oversensitive no I’m not I’ve lived
long enough to watch what happens and
how it happens and where we’re headed
and what’s going to happen unless we
make God’s holy decision in this issue
and so
distinguishing between crying and
praying as we said praying is a petition
of thanksgiving or intercession now
what’s the message we’re sending when we
cry out to the Lord and I want you to
jot these down because it’s so very
important what’s the message we’re
sending when we cry out to the Lord we
are facing a desperate situation and we
are fearful God we’re in a circumstance
we desperately need you we fear what the
consequences would be if we do not have
your help in your strength I want you to
jot these down so when you pray and look
at it
secondly we feel helpless before our
circumstances we don’t know what to do
all of us have opinions and attitudes
and realize we’re facing a very very
serious situation circumstance that
affects the whole world what happens to
so affect the whole world and we
recognize that and we feel helpless if
any one of us could change things we
would but what any one of us can’t but
God can we feel helpless before our
circumstances we don’t know what to do
that and that sense of helplessness
causes us to cry out to God thirdly we
are recognizing that’s God’s
supernatural power to help us in this
crisis we’re saying God will helpless
but we believe that you and your awesome
power can help us in and through the
situation whatever you choose and have
you choose to do it then we’re
expressing faith in God that He desires
and will help us in time of need because
there’s so many promises in the Word of
God that he will
we’re crying out to him in faith
believing that he will hear us and that
he will answer our prayer and so it’s
not just the Lord thank you but I want
you to see that crying out to God is
coming out of a sense of helplessness
not any one of us or all of us together
can change things but God can change
things all across this nation
and change people’s attitudes change the
circumstances change the direction of
our nation and so the next thing I’d
simply say is this how do we cry to the
Lord we cry to the Lord with our voice
not simply with our thoughts he hears
both and the reason I want to put this
on the screen is while you’re praying
you might want to look up and say we are
facing a desperate situation and we are
fearful we feel helpless before
circumstances Lord God we don’t know
what to do we voted that’s all we can do
Lord we recognize your supernatural
power you can help us in this crisis we
expressing faith in God that you that He
desires to and will help us etomidate’s
I want you leave that up there so while
you’re praying you might want to glance
up then think okay Lord we recognize
your supernatural power we can’t but you
can
because we believe that you’re not nipa
than God and there’s nothing you cannot
do is that clear enough okay what I want
us to do is this I want us to just break
up wherever you are and you can sit
where you want to sit you can pray with
somebody you can pray with several
people you pray by yourself and let’s
fill up this alternates platform in
these aisles we are saying to God Lord
we acknowledge the helplessness and we
are crying out to you as your people did
in the Old Testament so we pray and cry
out to you this one and so let’s get
started all right
and we’re remembering the future of the
United States hangs in the balance Oh
God
father we’re crying out to you because
we desperately need your Lord
desperately need your intervention
father praying for your awesome power
and wisdom to be expressed and let us
not hesitate to pray that does not
hesitate dear father to say with their
heart and with their lips and what our
heart and our soul feels that we humbly
yield ourselves to you and cry out dear
God save our nation Oh Lord my god
that the gospel may be spread throughout
this world even in greater ways Lord let
us not hesitate that is not let us not
feel any hesitation but to cry out yard
and to believe Lord God that you heroes
that you want to hear our voice you want
to hear our hearts you want to hear our
pain you want to hear our concern and
the Lord that we ask we thank you for
the awesome nation that we have and we
see what’s about to happen we pray holy
God intervene in all of us hear the
prayers of your children and let us cry
out to you dear father without
hesitation in Jesus name
father I just pray that you set our
spirits free to express the deepest
yearning of our heart God set us free
father now think about what somebody
else need we’re praying to you go
we’re trusting you to hear as a thank
you Father
you
father we thank you for hearing us this
morning not because we deserve it but
because you promised it we’ve laid
before you our hearts as so our mind
ever being and we want your perfect will
to be done and father we pray that all
over this nation people are praying and
people have prayed this morning already
and we’ll pray before this day is over
and god these next two days is so
critical you know all about them we pray
that your will will be done that you
will be honored their father and
glorified Lord is our prayer thank you
that you’ve heard our prayer this
morning and as we continue to pray out
throughout these days well we want to be
people of Prayer not just praying in
times of desperation but praying daily
and praying continually praying for each
other
praying for a nation and praying father
for those who are preaching and teaching
the gospel all over the world and those
Father who are translating the word so
people can hear it and got one of our
primary reasons for asking you to save
this nation Lord God is in order that we
might keep on getting the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole
world it’s your will use it into all the
world God we want it in all the world
and we humble ourselves before you and
acknowledge God that this is your
command to us and you have blessed us
and blessed us and blessed us beyond all
comprehension now god we give ourselves
to you afresh and anew this day we give
ourselves to you dear father to live a
godly life a sanctified life and load in
the process of living that kind of life
we want your precious word that
penetrate every single heart on the face
of this globe
and Lord God in all those languages that
are yet to be translated they will be
and Lord that you’ll be glorified and
honored and Lord today this prayer
meeting is about America’s future and we
are praying for your safe
day praying for your will praying God
that you’ll have your way and praying
God that you will be glorified in it in
Jesus name Amen
amen
you