Bill Johnson teaches on prayer and how to pray effectively for your breakthrough. Jesus taught His disciples to pray without losing heart, and to pray without ceasing. Persistence in prayer develops your relationship with God and increases your awareness of His Presence. Prayer also protects you from temptation, while prayerlessness exposes you to temptations you may not have faced otherwise. Continuous prayer keeps your heart locked into who God is and His goodness as you press in for your breakthrough. Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube
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Scripture References: Luke 22 Matthew 5 Jeremiah 24: 7 Proverbs 30: 10 James 4: 2 Luke 18 Luke 11 1 Samuel 12 Originally shared at Bethel Church, Redding California, on October 7, 2018. Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Prayer
Jesus uses this illustration for
repeated day and night prayer and then
God says I’m going to answer speedily
and I’m thinking man I’ve been banging
on this door for 15 days you know when
is this thing going to open he says I’m
going to answer speedly and he
does there’s a Tipping Point in prayer
in which the answer is released and the
answer always comes quickly but to get
to that place where things shift
sometimes takes
persistence
ever since I was a child I’ve always had
a fear of someone under my bed at night
so I went to a psychiatrist and told him
I’ve got problems every time I go to bed
I think there’s someone under it I’m
scared I think I’m going
crazy he responded just put yourself in
my hands for one year said the shrink
come talk to me three times a week we
should be able to get rid of those fears
how much do you charge he asked $80 per
visit replied the doctor I’ll sleep on
it he said I said 6 months later the
doctor met me on the street he asked why
didn’t you come to see me about those
fears you were having I responded well
80 bucks a visit three times a week for
a year is over
$122,000 my neighbor cured me for free I
was so happy to have saved all that
money I went and bought a new pickup
truck is that so the psychiatrist
responded with a bit of an attitude he
said and how may I ask did your neighbor
cure
you I replied he told me to cut the legs
off the bed ain’t nobody under there
[Applause]
now
oh goodness all right all
right several weeks ago I I um during a
message I I took a little detour for a
few minutes and talked to you about the
high price of
prayerlessness and of course I would
never mean this to be a shame ful
message or uh some you know some harsh
exhortation but instead an appeal uh
that we could live sober minded and
realize Jesus gives this overall
commission and command and it has to do
with the relationship with him and it’s
the invitation to pray at all times pray
without
ceasing I personally like to think that
the prayer without ceasing is the
substance of prayer and the hour or
whatever you take is the iang on the
cake the real substance of prayer is the
fact that it is continuous fellowship
with God and prayerlessness has effects
on our lives that is uh is very very
sobering so what I want you to do is I’m
going to I’ve got six stories I want to
tell you not sure if I have time for all
of them but or six passages that we’ll
read and if we don’t I’ll just do it
another time so but let’s go ahead and
start with the first one I want you to
go to the Gospel of Luke chapter
22 this we’re going to read a portion
where Jesus is praying in the
garden and this is where his sweat
became as drops of of blood on his head
the anguish his own prayer uh prayer
time was physically having an effect on
him where sweat became
blood I don’t think it was a watered or
wine type thing I think it was actually
um such pressure was on him in prayer
that he physically manifested blood as
sweat on his
forehead right before this Jesus and the
disciples had a conversation
and in this conversation Jesus announced
to them that they were all going to fall
away and Peter made of course the
statement they they they might but I
won’t and then Jesus said as a matter of
fact Peter you’re going to deny me three
times and this is the prayer meeting
that followed that warning that Jesus
gave him so if you look at this with me
let’s go right to verse 33 we’re going
to jump jump in the middle of the story
um because of how much we have to read
tonight verse
43 then an angel appeared to him from
Heaven strengthening
him and being in agony he prayed more
earnestly then his sweat became like
great drops of blood falling to the
ground when he rose up from prayer and
had come to his disciples he found them
sleeping from sorrow then he said to
them why do you sleep rise and pray lest
you enter into to
Temptation that is a stunning
uh moment to me in Peter’s life in that
Jesus announced to him that he was about
to deny
him and yet he gave him access to a
strength where Jesus would have been
wrong he invited him into a time of
prayer where had he had pursued he never
would have entered entered into
temptation temptation is an interesting
thing because God never puts us in a
position to be tempted the real issue of
Temptation is that it’s the individual’s
heart that translates a circumstance and
makes it a
Temptation an illustration that I give
uh fairly often is let’s just say Brian
and I are going to a lunch and let’s
just say uh he’s doing real good with
the Lord doing well his finances are
just in order he’s just living in great
Victory and I’m living in great fear I
just I just I’m having a hard time I’m
afraid I’m not going to be able to pay
my bills I’ve got this anxiety fear
thing going on so we sit down at the
restaurant and right next to the salt
and pepper
shaker is a $100 bill folded up but the
waitress doesn’t see it when she uh
cleans the table and Brian excuses
himself wants to go wash the fellowship
off of his hands before before we have a
have a meal together and uh when he goes
I spot the $100 bill and it crosses my
mind I could take that because she
doesn’t even know it’s
there and then I resist the temptation I
go man that’s just totally wrong what am
I thinking I repent for even having the
thought I don’t take it Brian comes and
sits down he notices the $100 bill he
calls out the waitress by name he Andy
look somebody gave you a really good tip
it never crossed his mind now neither of
us took the money but one of us was
tempted heart condition turned a
circumstance and made it a
Temptation there are certain it’s almost
like doors on a stage there are
circumstances in life and what
prayerfulness does is it gives you a
discernment on the nature of the door
you don’t even fall into the situation
you don’t even come to where you would
be exposed in your weak place because
prayerfulness prayerfulness has
heightened your awareness of what’s
behind the
door without the prayerfulness you may
open the door you may fall into a
Temptation and you may successfully
hopefully resist the temptation but the
point is is you want to go through life
you you don’t want to face things for
which you have no
Grace it doesn’t mean you can’t muster
up the strength to say no to that temp
Temptation Of course you can we all have
a will and we can choose but what’s
tragic is some people because of
prayerlessness live in a battle with
circumstances they never should have had
to
face it it it um it dep it deplenish es
is that the right deplenish it robs of
strength it robs of creativity it robs
of Natural Healthy authentic expression
of who we are because we’re having to
constantly fight battles we were never
designed to
fight so he said pray that you wouldn’t
enter you wouldn’t even go through the
doorway of what would be appealing to
you at some weak place place in your own
life I remember years ago Paul man
wearing was he he used to be a used to
run a prison in the UK and a highly
decorated prison Warden and I remember
what he would do when he was working
with the prisoner is is he would remind
himself that he had the same potential
to be where they’re at that that they
had and he would remind them they had
the same potential to be where he was
it’s all Grace and what prayerfulness
doeses is it makes us aware of unseen
things that are actually more real than
what is visible we’re not talking about
a Land of Make belief we’re not talking
about the power of suggestion and just
getting us psyched up so that we don’t
fall into sin it’s not that at all it’s
that we’re actually drawing upon a
strength that is superior to everything
else we could possibly muster up and
prayerfulness unclutters the eyes to see
what is
real
amen turn uh in your Bibles to the Book
of Matthew chapter 44 this one is um is
really stunning to me Matthew
chapter
5
you guys all still
alive that’s good I hate when people die
in the meeting it’s just
a so
depressing Matthew Chapter 5 I have an
interesting verse
here in verse 43 I want you to look at
it with me you have heard that it was
said You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy but I say to you love
your enemies bless those who curse you
do good to those who hate you and
pray for those who spitefully use you
and persecute you that you may be sons
of your father in Heaven let’s take that
last phrase pray for those who persecute
you spitefully use you pray for them not
against them pray for them so that you
will be a son and or daughter of
God now are you
thinking there’s an exhortation to pray
I don’t believe he’s saying pray for
those who oppose you and then you’ll be
born again we become Sons and Daughters
of God in our faith in Christ that’s
what causes us to be born again what
he’s declaring over us is that when you
pray when you exercise your right to
come before the almighty God and you
actually use it to pray on behalf of
someone who has opposed you you’re
praying for not against when you do that
it becomes clear to you and to the
entire Spirit realm that you are a child
of God it becomes manifested why because
you’re using your authority to come
before a perfect father and you’re using
it to actually pray be uh for someone on
behalf positively for someone who has
opposed
you your identity in Christ becomes
Manifest this is interesting because uh
we don’t have time for it tonight but
this will trigger something in some of
you you remember in Romans 8 it says
that all of creation
groans that’s creation praying all
creation groans travailing waiting for
the Sons and Daughters of God to be
manifested what does this saying when
you pray for those who have opposed you
you pray for those who others would
consider to be your enemy and you pray
for their blessing you pray for their
welfare you pray as the perfect father
would
pray then your identity becomes
established firm and
revealed see there are certain things
that are being withheld of the purposes
of God in the earth and they’re being
withheld as they will only be released
to a people that have become manifested
as the Sons and Daughters of
God it is essential that we step into
identity and one of the clearest ways is
to pray for those who are opposed
to there are Realms in God there are
Realms in
in manifestation of presence in Kingdom
of power there are Realms in God that he
has
withheld only willing to release them
Upon A people manifested as Sons and
Daughters of
God so what does this do causes the
domino effect it positions us correctly
as identified from Heaven you say well I
was identified when you were born
again he said do this so that you’ll be
ident identified as a son as a daughter
of God something happens in the Unseen
realm that doesn’t happen another
way some of you were here when I I’ve
done uh teaching on
communion Benny and I like to take
communion every day which means it’s
most every day and uh sometimes we do it
together sometimes we do it individually
I take supplies with me when I travel on
the road and I just in Indonesia last
week and would take communion before the
Lord and there are a number of things
that I do and I I won’t take a long time
to mention this but when I hold the
bread I make confession by his stripes I
was healed and I pray for those who need
the miracle because the payment is in my
hand it’s the torn flesh of Jesus that
was torn in the beating that he suffered
by the stripes of Jesus I was healed is
what the scripture says Benny actually
somebody a friend of hers was dying had
seven different
diseases and uh she was in the hospital
and she wrote Benny and Benny wrote her
back a text or email and said take
communion every day and gave her some
instruction and within I don’t know how
long I think it was within a month all
seven diseases were gone she was
completely healed there’s something
about coming before the Lord with what
he paid for you and for me so by his
stripes I was healed but when I take the
cup I pray over every family member I
pray for uh my son Eric and his wife
Candace for Kennedy and SAA I pray for
Brian and Jen and Haley and ta Braden
Moses I pray for Gabe and Leah my my
daughter and son-in-law and I pray for
their four kids Juda Diego Bell and Cruz
and I pray over them each by name and I
pray that prayer out of Jeremiah 24 that
I actually started praying for my
children before I found it was in the
Bible when I found it it was in the
Bible I thought it’s legal it’s a legal
prayer I got so happy and I I’ve been
praying for them since they were very
very little children God give them a
heart to know you it’s in Jeremiah 24 so
I pray that over every family member I
pray that God would help them to know
his ways that he would they would hear
his voice each one God has no
grandchildren each one needs to be
summoned by the father to himself and so
I pray into that God let them hear and
know your voice to be summoned to you
when I’m through praying for my family
which I just I enjoy so much just in
fact what I do is I make confession as I
make a confession by his stripes we are
healed when I hold the blood before the
Lord I make the confession as for me in
my house we will serve the Lord every
single family member we will serve you
with Purity with power we will do so
with passion and great Zeal we will
withhold nothing from you it’s the great
privilege of prayer but as soon as I’m
through praying for my family I I pray
for three people that are international
and two that are not International who
have taken a position to oppose me as an
individual to write against me to hold
conferences against me and to do videos
and write books that sort of thing and I
bring their name to the Lord you see
what they’re doing takes great Zeal and
great courage do I think they’re
accurate no of course I don’t but they
are offering something to to the Lord
out of an offering of great courage and
great risk they suffer for their
decision I don’t support the decision
but I support them and so what I do is I
bring their names before the Lord and I
ask the Lord please cause them to
prosper Spirit soul and body cause them
and this is my the big thing I pray for
is cause these men cause them all of
their children and all of their
grandchildren to serve you with great
Zeal and great joy I want them to know
the pleasure of having children that
serve God and grandchildren I don’t want
any of them to fall away I don’t want
any of them to become complacent or
cold-hearted and so I bring them before
the Lord see this is what Jesus said he
said when you pray for those who
spitefully use
you when you pray for on behalf of in
supportive those who persecute
you you are a
son what else is
there okay I’m going to be a sun today I
was before I prayed but something
becomes pronounced and manifest when I
begin to pray out of earnestness of my
heart God cause these people to prosper
bless them I don’t pray that God would
change their minds I don’t pray oh God
expose the error of their way I don’t
pray any of those things you never
criticize a servant to its
Master Proverbs warns against
criticizing a servant to its master that
is forbidden territory they are not my
servant we had situations go on here at
Beth many many many years ago and here
in reading and people would come to me
they say well what do you think about
this and I would tell them no one can
force me to have an
opinion I am unwilling to take mental
energy and put it into a situation for
which I have no responsibility you do
not criticize a servant to their
master and so Jesus reveals In this
passage one of the greatest things re
that we need right now how many
Believers are there in the world it’s an
extraordinary number of hundreds of
millions I wonder what would happen to
their posture before Kings if they
simply gave themselves to pray for those
who oppose
them should go to the Book of
James you all right yep me too me too a
little messed up but I was messed up
when I got up here so
Chris o didn’t help at all with that
one we we we got a little little wreck
down there in the front
row second row third row how many of you
in the back row got a little messed up
too yeah that’s right yeah turn in your
Bibles to the Book of James and we’re
going to look at just one phrase out of
one verse um and and the reason the
whole verse the whole chapter obviously
is always worth studying but I’m wanting
to take a phrase because that I I don’t
want to be distracted by the rest so
hopefully that’ll make sense to
you we’re going to take verse two you
lust and do of chapter 4 James 4: two
you lust and do not have you murder and
covet and cannot con obtain you fight
and War and here it is you do not have
because you do not
ask say this with me you do not
have because you do not ask say it with
me now you do not have because you do
not ask say it again you do not have
because you do not ask prayerlessness
creates
lack prayerlessness fuels lack
prayerlessness is is what um
prayerlessness is what lack wants to
consume when we Face a need and there’s
prayerlessness
it actually fuels lack instead of causes
it to be solved and
disappear you have not because you ask
not so prayerlessness actually sustains
need and
lack many people walk around waiting for
God to do something and what I’ve been
finding out and I’m a slow and I do mean
slow learner I’ve been finding out most
of the time he’s waiting for me to do
something I mean how many you understand
we’re not talking about uh as you thank
God for the meal God thank you for the
meal um and provide for us today
amen I’m not saying that prayer doesn’t
work but if you’ve got a big need you
might want to dig in a
bit you might want to dig in a bit let
the weightiness of what you’re facing
determine the weightiness of how you
pray casual prayers get casual
answers if if you are willing to live
off of token answers then offer up token
prayers but if you want heaven to move
let your heart be moved he’ll move as
far as you
move I’m not saying at all that he can’t
surpass anything that we do and cry out
and lift up he’s God he can do whatever
he wants but in his effort to raise us
as Sons and Daughters of God that can
carry responsibility into the
Earth most of the
time he
looks for Earnest response in us to
bring forth an Earnest response from
him I I I hope that doesn’t sound like a
Works thing because I don’t see it that
way at
all it’s just you know what when you’re
on the altar you can pray
earnestly when you’re off the altar
considering the concept of the
altar you pray
timidly I heard
recently when you’re on the
altar you can pray earnestly it’s when
you’re off the altar considering the
concept of
sacrifice that’s where we pray token
prayers amen bill that was a really good
point why don’t you it’s too late Luke
chapter
18 I’m just teasing Luke chapter
18 Luke chapter
18 sorry I I have a gift of Torment I
just just it’s just what I do I torment
people I My love language is teasing so
I you know if I didn’t tease you you
could walk out of here wondering if I
loved you but but there should be no
question now
read uh Chris read this this morning in
uh I don’t know one of our
services we only had 800 services this
no no not he read this this morning
start uh with me with verse one it’s a
longer piece he spoke a parable to
them men ought to pray and not lose
heart so we’re talking about pray prayer
that’s not just a petition prayer but
it’s persistent in its petition he said
there was in a certain city a judge who
did not fear God nor regard man there
was a widow in that City and she came to
him saying get Justice for me from my
adversary he would not for a while but
afterward said within himself though I
do not fear God nor regard man yet
because this Widow troubles me I will
avenge her lest by her continual coming
she wear me out out the Lord said hear
what the unjust said judge said and
shall God and shall God not avenge his
own elect who cry out to him day and
night though he Bears long with them I
tell you that he will avenge them
speedily nevertheless when the son of
man returns will he really find faith on
the earth this is interesting because we
have on one hand we the picture is of a
widow that just keeps banging on the
door of the Jud
and then Jesus uses this illustration
for repeated day and night prayer and
then God says I’m going to answer
speedily he obviously thinks of speedily
different than I
do he says I’m going to answer speedily
and I’m thinking man I’ve been banging
on this door for 15 days you know when
is this thing going to open he says I’m
going to answer
speedily and he
does there’s a Tippy Point Tipping Point
in prayer in which the answer is
released and the answer always comes
quickly but to get to that place where
things shift sometimes takes
persistence
prayerlessness actually allows
circumstances to be
um uh prayer lessness allows the absence
of breakthrough to become the
norm and generally we come to the
conclusion well I prayed and it just God
sovereignly did not
answer so the absence of an answer falls
under under the category that we call
the sovereignty of God and yet Jesus is
saying persistence would have got the
Breakthrough so we’re talking now not
just about a prayer prayed but a
lifestyle of anchoring into something
now I mentioned this I’ve I’ve done this
teaching here uh several years back and
I mentioned it in our conference this
week and let me give you like the
two-minute
version Jesus said that we’re not to use
vain repetition in prayer in other words
you’re not to repeat a prayer over and
over again because he knows what you
have need of before you
ask in the very next chapter he says ask
and continue to ask the language there
is a a a verb that says you do this but
you continue doing it until this’s
breakthrough so in two chapters back to
back one says ask and don’t keep on
asking the other one says ask and
continue asking what’s the
difference come back next week and I’ll
tell you
no what’s the difference when he said
don’t repeatedly lift up the prayer for
before me for something he said for your
father father knows what you have need
of before you ask this is pertaining to
basic needs for me to say father would
you provide food for me today and for me
to ask him every five minutes is for me
to question that he’s actually a
father because it violates his nature in
his Covenant to me as a father who is
committed to taking care of my my needs
the persistence in prayer has to do with
how we pray with our
dreams the persistence in prayer I I I’m
supposed to pray for what I have need of
God provide for us our our our food
today I’m supposed to pray for these
things God I I need to buy coats for my
kids before winter sets in I’m supposed
to pray for those things but those are
basic human needs you lift them up and
then you celebrate the fact that you
serve a righteous and perfect father but
when it comes to the unfolding of a
dream God I’ve got it in my heart to
have this
business oh God this thing has been in
me for so many years and you fast you
get before the Lord you cry out for
breakthrough and you contend for this
breakthrough why because persistence in
prayer changes you and changes you to
where you become a person that can
properly Steward the answer that you
just prayed
for if he gives us much of what we ask
for when we ask for it would kill us I I
mean literally it would kill
us why does God discipline his children
is so that His blessings don’t kill
us we ask for oak trees he gives us
acorns why can you Steward the answer
in its embryonic
form because in stewarding as it grows I
become a different
person my strength increases my resolve
increases my sense of priorities change
all of a sudden I have this willingness
to pay any price because I can see
something happening before my eyes I
change with persistence in
prayer and so this exhortation for
persistence in prayer is connected to
breakthrough and where there is not
prayer and especially the prayer of
persistence there’s the absence of
breakthrough all right we’re almost done
isn’t that
fun let’s uh let’s do two more we’ll do
uh Luke
11 let’s back up a few chapters you guys
all right everybody still all
right I don’t know what I would do
actually I’ve had times where I’ve said
are you’re all right and somebody’s
yelled out
no I wasn’t sure what to
do the only thing that works for me is
just to ignore
[Laughter]
them
now this this one is a little bit more
abstract but I but I
um if I could teach 20 minutes on this
which I’m not going to do I’m going to
take maybe three or four minutes five
minutes if I could teach 20 minutes on
this it would make a whole lot more
sense I’m just going to trust that you
can work with it if you can’t stick it
on the shelf and see what happens in the
future Luke 11 verse
24 when an unclean Spirit go goes out of
a man he goes through Dry places seeking
rest does anybody remember who the holy
spirit is inside of us he’s in us as a
river in John chapter
7 the enemy is looking for dry
places those who fail to connect with
the flow of presence become a dry place
and it’s completely unnecessary
you say a Christian uh I think it was
John wiber that said
uh that why would a Christian want a
demon they make horrible pets so I
always thought that was a pretty good
answer but I remind you the Apostle Paul
in Ephesians 4 warned the church the
most mature Church of all the letters
received he warned them don’t give give
place to the devil it’s not demon
possession it’s a place of
influence Y which by the way in the Old
Testament when the enemies of Israel
gained influence in the city toaya I
think it was toaya ended up moving into
the temple where they kept the money if
you want to know where the enemy wants
to live in your
temple he wants to
live
where the generosity lifestyle and I’m
not just talking about offerings and
money I’m talking about the way you look
at people the way you look at human need
the way you look at the power of your
words to invest in someone it’s that
it’s that seat of generosity that
reveals we are like the father for God
so loved the world that he
gave and the enemy actually moved in
took out all the possessions that were
to belong in the temple and set up
residence in this Temple it’s crazy
all right back to verse 24 I said I was
going to teach on this for three or four
minutes make that five or six all right
let’s try to get through this quickly
when the unclean Spirit goes out of a
man he goes through Dry places seeking
rest finding none he says I will return
to my house from which I came when he
comes he finds it swept and put in order
he goes and he takes with him seven
other spirits that are more wicked than
himself and they enter and dwell there
the last state of that man is worse than
the first this is a very fascinating
story it does refer to a human being but
it also how many remember when the Lord
would speak of the House of David David
was a man but he wasn’t talking about
his physical
house right the House of David he’s
talking about the family line the house
of Israel an entire nation so there are
times where the scripture talks about
the house of a man and the implications
of much more far-reaching than just a
human being and possessing his own
physical
body
prayerlessness creates
vacancy in the heart of a
person this house was clean and swept
and when the owner of the house didn’t
put furniture in the house in the place
of where the enemy occupied it was left
vacant I could take you through church
history and I can show you where
denominations and groups of people that
were once powerhouses of the Gospel
slackened off and ended up with vacant
places that the enemy they once opposed
came back seven times
worse groups known for holiness
became the seedbed of vast expressions
of immorality and
ungodliness the Very plac is occupied
and I don’t say that in as a as a
criticism or or somehow to put people
down I’m just saying listen this is how
the enemy works and
prayerlessness is a vacancy because
there’s Furniture that’s supposed to
belong there in the house of my heart
prayer is one of the
couches
and if I if I remove the couch there’s a
vacant spot and wherever there’s a
vacant spot the enemy wants to
fill all right one
more one more one more why don’t you go
to 1st Samuel chapter
12 let’s get a little Old Testament
action in this we can probably get about
a hundred things on this list but I I
had uh three or four of them written
down and I I wanted to add a couple
today for our our little
talk first Samuel chapter
12 this is kind of a sobering moment
with uh Samuel and
Saul he gives him a warning verse 21 he
sayso not turn aside then you’d go after
empty things which cannot profit or
deliver they are nothing the Lord will
not forsake his people for his great
name’s sake because it has pleased the
Lord to make you his people verse 23
moreover as for me far be it from me
that I should sin against the Lord in
ceasing to pray for
you now I don’t know I’ve read this
verse for you know a long time and it’s
been one of those that has just stood
out to me concerning the responsibility
that we have for one another the
responsibility that we have uh for
leaders
Etc but something hit me today when I
was looking at this
passage far be it from me that I should
sin against the Lord by ceasing to
pray I I don’t know I I I don’t
understand it I’m just I’m marked by it
as all
I I I can’t teach on it well but I’m
impacted by the fact that he says it’s
almost like here’s a sinful act against
the Lord but there wasn’t a sinful act
there was the stopping of a righteous
act it almost looks like he’s saying you
know when you do this witchcraft you do
this that this this junk that junk
you’re sinning against the Lord but for
the prophet who knows what it is to Bear
responsibility before God he said it
would be a sin against God for him not
to
pray I’m just here to encourage you
that’s
[Laughter]
all
prayerfulness is a gift that we can
carry throughout the day I loved blocks
of time with refined Focus don’t
misunderstand me it’s been a huge part
of my life my goodness when I was a
young
man and was
single I mean both ends of the day with
extended periods of time as a pastor in
Weaverville I remember just walking the
city walking in the woods walking
through the church I I walk when I pray
because I don’t get sleepy when I walk
you know and I’m able to to get a little
bit more militant and aggressive
it’s just it’s just better for me I I I
can kneel and pray but I can also snore
uh
so I sleep is kind of like the kingdom
of God it’s at hand it’s always right
there it’s it’s a beautiful thing it’s
always it’s always ever
present and I I I practice falling
asleep in the presence I really do I
practice it
I do how many of you have pray you
determined to pray and you fell
asleep yeah how many of you how many of
you felt bad after you fell asleep go
man I just can’t seem to stay awake I I
get that I I’ve done that a
lot but you know when my kids would fall
asleep in my arms I I never once got mad
at
[Applause]
them
I actually held them hoping they
would so there is a spot for the
earnestness in prayer position yourself
physically to remain Earnest and if
you’re sleepy get up and walk I mean
just let’s be practical get up and
walk if you’re not kneel before the Lord
do
whatever but when you go to bed at night
remember you’re praying without
ceasing I used I don’t know if I if I
still do this because I’m I’m sleeping
but I used
to Brian actually captured lyrics of
Solomon uh in one of his songs years ago
though I sleep yet my heart is
awake that’s significant now well we’ll
wrap it up with this but I want you to
catch this thought God appeared to
Solomon in a dream
Solomon made a life-altering
decision in his
sleep God trusted him in his resolve to
the will of God so completely that he
allowed Solomon to answer him in his
sleep and Solomon was the one who pinned
these words though I sleep my body is
shut down resting my heart is awake
and I I uh I I used to wake myself up
praying I didn’t wake up to pray I’d be
praying while I was
sleeping I took a CR a trip with Chris
years ago Chris came with me to Colorado
to do this ww thing and I would I would
just pray throughout throughout the
night not knowing it I was sleeping but
my heart was exploding with cries to God
what you want to do is you want to you
you’ll have you’ll have a better day if
you have a better night and you’ll have
a better night if you engage with him
not over difficult
matters take care of that while you’re
wide
awake I made the mistake last night of
stirring up difficult
matters and lost a bunch of sleep as a
result it doesn’t happen much but it it
it happened last night and I just I just
broke one of those rules that I know
better on you you don’t bring up the
difficult things in the middle of the
night you know it’ll probably still be
there
tomorrow so engage with them tomorrow
but the point is is we have this
lifestyle of continuous fellowship with
him ongoing prayer pray without
ceasing and that is the luxury of this
relationship is that I live before him
in Heavenly places before a perfect
father who hears me I don’t think you
have to have long prayers to get big
answers but I do think you have to have
Earnest prayers to get big
answers if you study the book of
Nehemiah you’ll find a series of prayers
that he prayed that were only one
sentence
long the prayers of Nehemiah just look
at the prayers of Nehemiah one sense
long but when you’re dug in to an issue
and this request is not just a passive
thing to your conscience that you have
now prayed but you’ve actually dug
in regarding a matter and you lift up
that prayer there are times where one
sentence brings the Breakthrough so we
don’t earn breakthroughs in a sense of
I’ve got to pray for this one thing for
five hours then I know there’ll be a
breakthrough I had a friend that he he
was uh just contending with the Lord
over something he said he said I’m just
going to I’m just going to I’m going to
spend the entire night before before the
Lord praying for this matter as soon as
he knelt down the Lord answered it and
just kind of ruined his whole
night and he was so shocked but you know
that’s what you do you dig in and if he
brings it quick then you say thank
you thank you so much I would have just
rather have slept so this is great news
I will now
sleep but here’s this
issue
of
failing this is scripture so I I want to
be careful that I don’t trigger the
wrong message in
you but if I’ve been given an assignment
to pray and I don’t it’s as though I did
something against
God the absence the withdrawing from an
assignment is an aggressive posture
against so why don’t you stand let’s
pray all we used at Weaverville we used
to do prayer meetings a lot I we had
them for years 6 every morning or five I
think five days a week and then every
Friday night we started with this prayam
we started at 11: at night because I I
want to people have time with their
families I just want them to miss sleep
not family
time just this hardcore inyour face kind
of prayer stuff
and there were times there was a number
of folks there and for a number of years
there were times where nobody showed
up I remember Chris one time he led the
prayer meeting for me I was out of town
and nobody showed up for that particular
week so he took the microphone and he
was just praying loudly all these he’s
the only one in the room but he’s going
for it you know as though there was a
crowd of thousands I love
that and I I love the corporate prayer
Gathering I I hope I’m hoping our
schedules are so challenging our use of
facilities is so challenging I’m hoping
at some point we can have a facility
that’s just for corporate prayer
Gatherings it’s if if you if you
saw we have a hundred events a year here
constant Demand on every room in the
building and it’s just one of the
greatest challenges and what frustrates
me is one of the greatest criis in my
heart is the corporate prayer
meeting I I love agreement in
prayer
I guess what I’d like to see all of us
take home is just this
increased
mantle for
prayer there was
actually there’s actually one
particular soor I see if I can find this
there’s one particular
part of this
story I did forget
one I I’ll just mention it to quickly
because it’s it’s just bizarre this is
Old Testament as well I knew there was
one to do with the Pres it’s a it’s a
strange thing it’s this one phrase is
mentioned maybe seven or eight times in
one chapter and it was this whole deal
they had built a the Temple of Solomon
and the Lord was instructing people
listen when you when you get into a
battle when you get into a conflict when
you get in this situation or that pray
towards this
house and that that phrase toward this
house pray and we don’t pray towards
buildings and the Lord himself would say
there isn’t a building you can make that
I could inhabit you know completely and
yet he created this this system of
thought where people would actually face
Jerusalem and pray toward Ward Jerusalem
why not as a religious ritual why not
because it’s a certain uh you know it’s
East it’s it’s it has a certain
direction a geographical Direction it’s
because God was
there the point is
prayerlessness
accentuates the absence of the awareness
of the presence of God prayerfulness
heightens our awareness of
presence it’s not just praying for the
big things it’s the continuous
Fellowship it’s that keeps me connected
to presence ongoing presence so that
when an urgent thing comes
up we’re there we’re instant in seon in
seasoning out I remember back in the 70s
this guy was was telling us um his
upstairs uh bathroom uh it took forever
to get hot water cuz the hot water was
at the other end of the house and and it
would he’ just have to you know all this
water would go through just trying to
wait for hot water to come and so he
said I found out that if I turned it on
just a little tiny bit at night before I
went to bed it would just just slowly
drip and it would keep hot water ready
so that when I got up the next morning I
would turn it on instantly hot
water that’s what praying in tongues
throughout your day does
yes that’s that’s what that’s what
that’s what praying in tongue does
that’s what praying ongoing throughout
your day just keeps you connected to
everpresent hot water I’m ready to act
now all right why don’t you grab a hand
we’re going to pray we’re going to pray
for the
prayerfulness the prayerfulness of
Christ to be restored to us as people
the prayerfulness of Christ to be
restored to us as people tell them what
you want
ask him to do it to you for you I’m
going to pray over you in a moment but
you pray right now for yourself pray for
the ones on your right and left
pray
prayerfulness
prayerfulness the prayerfulness of Jesus
Jesus the prayerfulness of
Christ the ongoing awareness of presence
the ongoing awareness of the person of
the Holy
Spirit expand us God in this next season
that there be dramatic increase and
expansion in our awareness of your
presence of your
heartbeat
declare over the one on your right and
left prayerfulness just declare the
prayerfulness of Christ is upon you the
prayerfulness of Christ say it with
authority the prayerfulness of Christ is
upon you the prayerfulness of Christ is
upon you the prayerfulness of Christ is
upon
you
now just hold your hands before the Lord
I’m going to pray for you and we’ll ends
father I do ask that you would release
as a gift over every
person you know what folks I’ve never
prayed for this in my life the
prayerfulness of Christ there’s
something in that phrase that’s supposed
to take us into this next season Lord I
do pray the prayerfulness of Christ The
Unbroken Fellowship throughout the day
between Jesus and and the father and the
spirit of God who is upon him I ask for
the prayerfulness of Christ to rest upon
us and that we would Embark together on
this relational journey in a dimension
that is so new so exciting so impacting
on every part of our life I pray this
for the honor of the name Jesus
everybody said amen amen
amen
you