Praying And Waiting for God’s Timing | Sermon by Tony Evans

Praying And Waiting for God’s Timing | Sermon by Tony Evans

Elijah tells Ahab that it is going to rain. His fervent and effectual prayer opens up the heavens and rain comes to an area that desperately needs it. Have you ever wanted to see your prayer life become more powerful? In this sermon, Dr. Evans moves us from ritualistic communication to relational communication as we start to pray more effectively and see God work in our lives. Dr. Evans tells us that prayer is the point of contact between God’s power and His provision in our lives. Prayer is God’s mechanism for grabbing the invisible and making it visible in our lives. But in our praying we are not “making God do something.” Rather, prayer allows God to release His decreed Will in our lives. By studying and understanding God’s Word we are encouraged to continue praying until something happens! Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.

all of us live in houses that have been

wired for electricity electricity is the

power that is conveyed through the wires

so that we enjoy the privileges of being

blessed through the appliances we use

the lights we turn off and on through

the heat the stove or the refrigerator

or the freezer or the myriad of other

things that electricity provides the

power for us to do few of us could

conceive life without electricity

because we know electricity gives us

power but that power that electricity

provides needs a point of contact you

switch on a flip to turn on the light or

two to turn on some appliance in order

for that that appliance or light or

thing that you’re using to work the

provision is there electricity but the

point of contact is necessary to get at

what electricity is there to offer there

must be a point of contact between you

and God me and God in order to

experience his power and supernatural

provision there must be a point of

contact God has provided what his will

has decreed but without a point of

contact you don’t experience what the

provision is if you if you don’t turn on

the light switch it’s not a power

problem it’s not a provision problem

it’s a contact problem in other words

you’re not making contact with the

provision so you’re not experiencing the

benefits of the power there are many

people today

who believed in God’s power but not

seeing God’s provision

because they don’t understand his place

of contact we’re not making contact and

so we think there is no power or we

think that there is no provision when

the reality is there is no contact and

the point of contact between your need

and God’s provision is prayer

prayer is the one thing God has

established to make contact with what he

has already decreed where there is no

prayer there is no contact and where

there is no contact you do not get what

God has already declared for you to have

known as his will for many people prayer

is like the national anthem before a

football game it gets it started but has

absolutely nothing to do with what’s

happening on the field you do it but it

doesn’t seem to matter that you do it

and it doesn’t seem to work the lesson

that you and I are going to learn from

Elijah today I want you to right now put

everything out of your mind you’ve ever

thought about prayer for a few moments

and I want us to learn from Elijah this

point of contact and how it works we

hear about it we talk about it but I

want you to experience it today and it’s

supernatural ability to let you in on

the will of God to understand why prayer

is your point of contact you have to

understand what God decreed when he made

man when God made Adam and Eve he gave

three words that would forever control

how he would interact with history he

said let

M Rule in other words God says I’m going

to do what I do in the physical visible

realm from my invisible spiritual realm

and I’m going to do it through men and

the way men make contact with me is

through prayer so all through the Bible

you will see the word prayer in some

form of fashion when men make contact

with God and God then acts let me say it

another way

prayer is the mechanism God has decreed

that is absolutely necessary for him to

release what he intends prayer does not

make God do what he hadn’t planted you

but what it does is release God to do

what he has decreed to do there will be

many of us who get to heaven and God

will open up a storage place with all of

the things he would have done could have

done needed to be done that went undone

because we did not pray in Isaiah

chapter 65 verse 24 you don’t have to

turn there but God says before you call

I will answer before you call I will

answer in other words the answer has

already been made it’s just waiting on

the call God has already decreed his

will for you we’ll talk about that more

in a moment

he’s already decreed what he’s going to

do and he’s decreed it before you’ve

ever talked to him about it so it’s like

somebody putting a deposit in your bank

but telling you you must withdraw it

it’s sitting there but it could sit

there for the rest of your life if

there’s no withdrawal from it God has

decreed the end from the beginning he

has decreed the totality of your life

and all that he plans to do and it’s

already been decreed before you call on

it but the assumption is you will call

on it and when you call on it that’s

what he has decreed

he then dispenses if it is within his

will so let’s get this straight

prayer activates the decree and the will

of God it doesn’t make it happen it just

grabs it because it has already been

decreed to happen many of us have Direct

TV in our home and if you have Direct TV

that means you ever receive a box that

receiver box does not create the

programming the programming has already

been established on the multiplicity of

channels that are available through

DirecTV the receiver doesn’t make the

programs up but what it does when you

turn it on is grab something you cannot

see and put it on the screen so you now

can see it the receiver doesn’t create

it but it grabs it when it is turned on

so that now you can see a picture of

what you already have paid for and that

has been provided through the satellite

that DirecTV depends on in order to show

you something on your screen prayer is

the mechanism that grab something out of

the invisible realm so you can see it at

work in the visible physical realm so

God is decreed for every Christian the

sum total of your life what he will do

and what he won’t do

when he plans to do it but it’s with a

condition and the condition is prayer so

with that understanding and mine as a

backdrop with the understanding that

your job is to distribute what God makes

to happen from the invisible spiritual

to the visible physical like when Jesus

prays he can defeat 5,000 people with

fish and barley loaves he prayed all of

a sudden Moby Dick is laying on the

beach and he gets his disciples to

distribute it when God answers you

become the distribution point for his

supernatural activity you are the point

of contact and the switch is flipped

with prayer

now with that understanding let’s go to

the day’s story in the life of Elijah

let me start off by reading two verses

chapter 17 verse 1 of first kings

now Elijah the Tishbite who was of the

settlement of Gilead said they have as

the Lord the God of Israel lives before

whom I stand surely there shall be

neither do nor rain these years except

by my word so Elijah tells Ahab it

snuggle ring chapter 18 verse 1 and now

it happened after many days that the

word of the Lord came to Elijah in the

3rd year saying go show yourself to Ahab

and I will send rain on the face of the

earth so in chapter 17 verse 1 he says

it’s not gonna rain in chapter 18 verse

1 he says it’s getting ready to rain in

chapter 17 verse 1 God says I’m a closed

heaven in chapter 18 verse 1 God says

I’m open heaven and both of those

statements were made by the same person

so before we go any further let me

rain why this rain thing is there in the

first place

a hab didn’t make this up you see in

Deuteronomy chapter 11 verses 13 to 17

this is what God said God says if you go

worship idols

I’m a closed-down heaven so it won’t

rain if you choose other gods I’m going

to no longer bless your crops I’m no

longer going to bless your planting I’m

no longer going to bless your fruit

bearing and the sky is going to dry up

if you go after other gods but he says

if you turn away from other gods then I

will open up heaven and I will let rain

again fall on the earth so the whole

reason Elijah is praying is based on

something God had said years early to

Moses so Elijah reaches back to what God

had already said and by the leading of

God applies it many years later to the

situation we find him in in what we’ve

gone over so far in 1st Kings 17 and 18

in other words his prayer was tied to

God’s Word or let me say it another way

if you don’t know God’s Word you don’t

know how to pray because God’s Word must

be the basis or the foundation of your

request the reason why many of us pray

so generally Lord bless me Lord help me

which means you’ve said absolutely

nothing you’ve been so vague it’s

because you don’t have a point of

contact that you know about that you can

point to in Scripture that becomes the

basis of your request so you don’t even

know whether that’s something God is

interested in doing apart from some vey

general requests that you say around

grace Lord bless this food in my body in

Jesus name Amen okay the reason why much

prayer is vey

and you’ll see in a moment why that

affects the supernatural it’s because it

is untied to something God has said and

remember God said this years before

Elijah ever used it but it was

applicable to Elijah’s situation and

there are things in Scripture that are

applicable to your scenario that you’re

seeking a miracle for that you’ll never

see rain on because you don’t know how

to leave I don’t know how to leave what

I’m asking for to what God has declared

so he starts off by referencing

something God has previously declared

now so having prayed biblically we now

are going to see something I do want you

to turn your Bibles here hold your

finger in first Kings and turn to James

chapter 5 the book of James chapter 5 in

James chapter 5 that’s after Hebrews

before first Peter

let me read beginning with verse 16

therefore confess your sins to one

another and pray for one another so that

you may be healed the effectual prayer

of a righteous man can accomplish much

now watch this

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours

and he prayed earnestly that it would

not rain so he think it was back the

kings and it did not rain on the earth

for three years and six months then he

prayed again and the sky poured rain and

the earth produced its fruit stay with

me here

God said it’s not going to rain God said

it’s now go rain there’s a gap of three

and a half years between when he said no

rain because of their idolatry and when

it was going to rain so watch this the

change with the rain

only came when the idolatry was

addressed as long as there was idolatry

there would be no rain many people want

God to send rain in their lives called

blessings without wanting God to change

their lives they want God to do

something for them while they remain

idolaters and remember idolatry is any

unauthorized noun person place or thing

that you look to to meet your needs it

is any unauthorized thing so an idol can

be a person and Idol can be a place and

Idol can be stuff money possessions and

either can be a job and Idol can be your

career it can be your your position and

Idol can be any noun person place or

thing and you’re looking to that to be

your source that’s an idol so what God

has are folks who worship Him on Sunday

and date idols all week long and as long

as there was idolatry God would not

shift from no rain to rain so we have

people who come to church all the time

looking for their blessing who don’t

want to be messed with by their God and

so they wonder why it won’t ring because

God’s not gonna read on you so you can

share it with an idol okay so that means

anything you get you got to get on your

own independently of God because he’s

not going to help you become an ID Allah

but I want you to know something else

God said it’s not going to rain 17:1

then he said it is gonna rain three and

a half years but notice when you rejects

that we just read it says he prayed that

it would not rain and then he prayed

that it would rain but wait a minute God

had already said it’s not gonna rain

God then said yeah let’s go rain

so if God already said it how come he

had to pray about it because what God

has decreed needs a point of contact

before it is delivered so even though

God decreed rain start and stop he

didn’t let it rain until Elijah made it

a prayer matter in other words he was

going to stop the rain when he prayed he

was going to start the rain when he

prayed so God’s decree had to wait on

somebody to suck it down so God has

decreed certain things for your life his

will and it’s sitting up there to be

delivered at the proper time when the

point of contact is made so you could

have 25 years of something God is

holding on to that he wanted to release

25 years ago but he hasn’t been free to

release it because he’s not yet seeing

the point of contact because even though

God declared it it didn’t happen until

he lied you call for it then he says and

he gives you the secret of prayer that

produces the supernatural James said the

effectual fervent prayer of a righteous

man availeth much so we not only know

that Elijah prayed we now also know how

he lied you pray the effectual fervent

prayer of a righteous man availeth much

and James is writing the New Testament

Christians James is writing to you and

me but he uses an Old Testament Saint to

explain the New Testament Christians how

to get heaven to deliver rain how to get

heaven to open up to deliver the will of

God which is varying from person to

person in its application so that means

if you and I understand effectual

fervent prayer as illustrated by James

in the life of Elijah you and I can

affect heaven opening heaven closing no

rain rain we can affect it just like

Elijah affected it and let me tell you

why and then I’ll tell you how you know

why because James says that Elijah was

of like nature as us in other words he

wasn’t Superman Batman spider-man or

x-man he wasn’t some superhero he’s just

a man so he wants you to know Elijah has

nothing on you that even though he was a

prophet in the Old Testament cuz some

people say well that’s in the Old

Testament he says uh-uh he was flesh and

blood just like you but what he had was

an effectual fervent righteous prayer

and that was the prayer that closed

heaven up that opened heaven up so if

you’re here today looking for a miracle

that will open up heaven shut heaven

that is bring the supernatural in the

history based on the will of God tied to

his word you must be a effectual fervent

righteous prayer questions what do they

look like all right

verse 41 it says I hadn’t sound of the

roar of a heavy storm that’s what he

says Elijah says I hear thunder storm

but wait a minute in the verses to

follow

there is no storm yet in fact you going

to see in a moment the sky is clear in

fact that’s not even a cloud in the sky

in fact nobody hears this but Elijah cuz

the Elijah has to tell a hab that there

is a sound of a storm cuz they have care

here so let’s get something straight

your proximity to God will determine

what you hear

see if you are not close to God you

won’t hear the will of God applied to

you you’ll be like they have what you

talk about cuz you don’t hear anything

one of our problems is we want to hear

from God while keeping our distance from

God

no a hab could hear the will of God and

he could hear the timing of God’s will

see he already knew what the Word of God

said Deuteronomy 11 but the question on

the floor is how do I know that word in

Deuteronomy is applicable to me right

now that has to do with spiritual

distance when you drive your car a long

way away from the city of Dallas you’re

going to lose clarity of hearing in the

radio station you’re listening to the

further you go the more static the

station will become until the station

disappears altogether because your

distance is to fall to pick up the

station but when you come back to Dallas

you’re going to be able to hear because

you’re getting closer to the signal you

cannot keep a long-distance relationship

with God and still hear the sound of the

Thunder that nobody else can hear

that’s why prayer is relational

communication with God not ritual

communication with God ritual

communication is I’m praying cuz I’m

supposed to it’s great so I’m supposed

to pray I’m going to bed even though I’m

falling asleep in the middle of my

prayer don’t even know what I said well

I know what I said because it’s the same

thing I say every night so it’s ritual

prayer no this must be relational prayer

because I have made God my only God no

more idols I have drawn close to him so

his Holy Spirit is able to speak to my

human spirit about the application of

the scripture which is written in the

Word of God so the scripture said

gonna rain but how does he know when

it’s gonna rain he heard the sound he

heard something other folk couldn’t hear

because he was in a proximity that ahab

didn’t have and so he could pick up

things that other folk couldn’t pick up

because of his proximity to the lord

what made his proximity so close

it said elijah was a righteous man he

lived his life to please the lord you

cannot hear the sound of God’s will and

live a lifestyle that makes him sad that

makes him unhappy that is not seeking to

please if you can’t hear his voice and

be in a long-distance relationship all

right so if you want to experience

supernatural power in prayer the

proximity must be close it cannot be far

away so you can hear the sound of the

particular application of Scripture in

your personal experience okay so that’s

number one

but it gets deeper because verse 42 says

and Ahab went up to eat and drink but

Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and

crouched down on the earth and put his

face between his knees stay with me

Elijah goes up to Mount Carmel he

doesn’t go where they have he goes up to

Mount Carmel he separates himself and he

finds a place to get alone with God in

other words what he was getting ready to

ask for was so big when he was getting

ready to call on from heaven was so deep

that he needed an undistracted

environment for his discussion okay do

you have a place you can go a closet a

room a bathroom or something someplace

you can go where there will be

undistracted communication see we’re

distracted all the time we pray on the

run we do – we do all on the run

everything’s on the run

but when you need rain and it’s been dry

for three and a half years that’s not

the time for distraction we’ve all been

in situations where we’re talking to

somebody and they say you’re not paying

attention to me I’m talking serious and

you’re distracted no this thing was so

deep and so big he went up to Mount

Carmel and he wanted a concentrated time

even though God had already decreed it

he needed to make a point of contact

with God being a righteous man and so he

went up to Mount Carmel and separated

himself but look what he did when he

separated himself it says he bent down

put his head between his knees okay you

didn’t see that he bent down and put his

head between his knees what my boy doing

in Old Testament days they didn’t have

stirrups for pregnant women they didn’t

have a place where a woman would lay up

and put her legs on the SteriPEN for

examinations or to give birth uh what

the women did was crouched down put they

hand down and then somebody would say

push push push push

push push in other words it was the

position of labour why it was the

position of labour because he’s about to

give birth to a miracle it was the

position of labour because he’s getting

ready to get better to something

supernatural see when you need God to do

something not regular but super unleaded

when you need God to do something not

ordinary but extraordinary you got to

get in a position of birth but no woman

gives it a position of death unless you

pregnant the whole point of birth is

that you are pregnant see some of us

want God to give birth when we haven’t

even let God get us pregnant we don’t

have the pregnancy of his presence the

pregnancy of his life but we want him to

give birth to a miracle he knew that he

needed the miracle heaven opened so he

got in a position and he labored this is

the biblical word travail travail means

to be in labor when Jesus was with

Martha and Mary in John chapter 11 and

when it was in Martha Mary and Lazarus

had died and he was getting ready to

raise Lazarus from the dead that’s not

an ordinary thing so what Jesus did the

scripture says is he stirred himself up

the word there is no you and I we get

the English concept of an agitator in a

washing machine you’ve seen the agitator

in the washing know the older wash me

back and forth back and forth back and

forth back and forth back and forth back

and forth it works itself up in order to

do its cleansing job Jesus worked

himself up because he needed not

something ordinary he was getting ready

called a dead man the light and so he

agitated his spirit within because he

was about to pull off a miracle when you

need something supernatural that’s not

saying grace when you need something

supernatural that’s not saying a quick

prayer that’s going in the labor

you got you go before the face of God

and you know what the length of your

labor is oftentimes to how big the head

is that you deliver if you got a tiny

baby it may not last that long but if

you got a big-headed boy or a big hit a

girl that thing may hurt that thing may

be in pain that thing may be difficult

because the bigger the miracle you need

the more labor you gonna be in and the

harder you gotta push and push and push

until there’s a birth you say why do I

have to go through all that cuz you’re

giving birth to a miracle you’re giving

birth to something supernatural this is

not regular ordinary you’re asking God

to do something out of the ordinary but

it needs a point of contact okay we give

birth when it comes to our careers we

will label all night to study to pass

those exams we’ll work overtime to

impress our bure we go into labor for

jobs we go into labor for more money

we’re going for labor for promotion so

we will go into labor for this world

but not going to labor for that world

and wonder why we’re not getting

anything from that world cuz you’re not

well enough push the question is do you

want to give birth to something here we

have a man giving birth a man given

birth I talk to my family yesterday I

was speaking to a group I’m speaking to

a group of educators I’m speaking to a

group of educators and these educators

um wanted to give me a gift and I said

okay they called me up and they said we

would like you to have this they opened

up the wrapping

and it was a seahorse it was a seahorse

made out of shells so diggin give me it

give me a seahorse

but then she explained she said the

reason we decided to give you this

seahorse is because it’s the only

species created by God where the male

gives birth that says no other species

where the male gives birth you know I

never heard anything like this before

so I googled seahorse you know I go go

see us now I don’t know how to do much

with computers but I knew out of Google

seahorse and so so I google seahorse and

and and it had a picture Google had a

picture of a seahorse male giving birth

the male and the female intertwine their

tails and when they intertwine their

tails they do this dance and after they

have danced the female deposits her eggs

in the pouch of the male male has a

pouch the female deposits her eggs

inside the male’s pouch the male

fertilizes the egg inside of its pouch

and when I saw it on Google the seahorse

then gave birth to two thousand babies I

mean it just it just it just worked

itself up and food just babies flying

everywhere baby mama drama here dead

babies just babies just everywhere and

it it heap himself up and poof then it

would heave itself up again and puff

then it would heap it self I beginner

puffing all these babies would come

flying out she said any reason I wanted

to give you a seahorse where only the

male’s give birth this is so unique and

then they said cuz that’s what Kingdom

men are hard to find

because they unique that you need to

find something where the man is giving

birth where the man is taking ownership

for the kids weatherman is encouraging

responsibility I said I heard that

I heard that here we got a man giving

birth some of you you’ve dealing with

situations the counselor can’t help you

money can fix it and people you know

can’t change it you need to go into

labor we need to find a Mount Carmel

somewhere and you need to go down and

push and push and push you say how long

do a push how long do I put well let’s

go back to the scripture because it says

an effective fervent prayer of a

righteous man he said to his servant in

verse 43 go up now and look toward the

sea in other words look for the answer

because there’s a storm so look for the

answer so the servant went up verse 43

says and looked and said there is

nothing okay let’s stop there he prayed

and nothing happened anybody know what I

feel you pray and nothing happened he

went up he said I looked for an answer

but there’s no answer to the prayer

first of all did you pray in labor

because we all know that’s false labor

we all know that’s false labor you you

think something coming ain’t nothing

come but he prays he says I won’t say

anything but then he goes on and he says

and he went up and looked again there’s

nothing he said go back seven times go

back seven times seven is the biblical

number of completion seven is the

biblical number of completion when

something is completed in the Bible it

gives you the number seven it’s a

biblical number of completion another

word servant I know what the word said

Deuteronomy 11 I know what God told me

because I heard of Sal and we’re close

so when the written word lines up with

what God is telling me in my spirit and

then I go in the labor and nothing

happening yet you keep going until you

shut that thing down cuz the bigger the

miracle you need the more labor you

gonna be in cuz that baby head is so big

so you go you labor tell God answers it

once you can tie it to his word tie it

to your spirit and you labelled and

prayer about it you don’t quit

cuz you heard nothing you pray till you

get an answer cuz an answer is coming in

due season you keep going you don’t quit

cuz you see nothing you hear nothing you

know nothing no you keep going and so

notice this down he’s persistent he

keeps going until God relief see some

things you know the Book of Daniel

Daniel 9 and down your tent Daniel is

praying but it says a demon blocked the

prayer

cuz see the devil wants to not get it

through so the angel came and said

Daniel I would have come to you earlier

cuz God heard your prayer God sent the

angel to answer your prayer but on our

way to bring the answer to the prayer

the demons came and blocked us from

bringing the answer so you kept praying

because there was a war in the invisible

realm blocking this answer but you kept

praying until we overcame what was

happening up there

to deliver you the answer to your prayer

see that stuff happening up there that

you don’t know anything about but once

you know is what God wants you keep

praying until the angel gets the

breakthrough you be persistent and so

look at this now the man comes back

after the seven time verse 44 and says

behold a cloud as small of the man’s

hand is coming up from the sea okay

we’ve gone from seeing nothing to see in

a cloud this big a cloud the size of a

man’s hand a little tiny cloud he said

well I know I’ve been going seven times

and the only thing now is showing up is

a cloud the size of a man’s hand see he

prayed expectantly he expected to see

something now what he saw what much

because all I saw was a cloud with man’s

hands the tiny cloud but that’s all he

needed to see because sometimes God

doesn’t give it to you all at once he

lets you see a little something

something and a little something

something says I’m listening I’m hearing

you we’re not ready to complete it but

when you see that little cloud he said

oh you saw a little cloud he went until

they have go get your chariot go to

Jezreel cuz it’s getting ready

– thunder storm up in here up in here

why because sometimes God gives you a

little down payment he doesn’t take it

everything he just show you look hello

hello your members are little

something’s up you know yeah he gives

you a little shot so that you can you

can let you you can know he’s on the way

with the rest of it sometimes it gives

you a downpayment that let you know the

rest of the payments are on their way

sometimes he brings a little something

that’s a little cue to let you know keep

on going keep on praying keep on

trusting because I hear you see when the

crown of the head shows up it means the

rest of the body is on his way you may

not see it alright now keep pushing it’s

coming and then I love this piece I love

this piece I love this piece it says in

the last verse then the hand of the Lord

was on Elijah and he girded up his loins

and outran a hab the Jezreel

oh no you didn’t okay when watch us now

in the previous verse a has got a

chariot which means he has horses horses

are pulling his chariots and these are

multiple horses because he’s the king so

he’s got a group of horses pulling his

chariot from Carmel to Jezreel which is

15 miles so this is a 15 mile ride Kings

had runners the job of the runner was to

run in front of the king to make sure

there was nothing in the road so there

would be nothing to jeopardize the king

so the king had runners now I don’t know

what happened to have runners maybe they

got scared when Elijah killed all in

profits and quit I don’t know but his

Runner was nowhere to be found and

Elijah becomes his runner but wait a

minute

Elijah says he had to

– up his loins let me there – pull up

his robe tuck it under his belt and run

there’s an old boy here

oh boy is running 15 miles and he’s

outrunning the horses okay

he brought oh it makes me think of

Isaiah 40 those who wait upon the Lord

shall get new strength they were mount

up with wings as eagles they will run

and not go River they were walking not

feet somehow and saying you say how do I

know this is a supernatural track star

because it says and the hand of the Lord

was on Elijah and he started kicking it

he started kicking it because when God

comes through for you even though you’ve

had to wait for it you’ll be like Caleb

who said I started when I was 40 now I’m

85 but God is giving me strength at 85

that I had at 40 and it was worth

waiting on him for my change the car

God can take you and give you strength

for whatever he’s going to bring you

away when you suck it down from up there

down here through the effectual fervent

prayer now let me close with something

let me close with a true story not a

story somebody told me but a story that

I was involved with a number of years

ago for those who haven’t heard this

story I was doing a evangelistic crusade

in Columbia South Carolina this crusade

was at the Bryce football stadium which

is the football stadium for the

University of South Carolina it was

Sunday night the first night of the

crusade when somewhere between 15 or

20,000 people had gathered in the

stadium for us to preach the gospel –

before the service all the ministers and

the planning committee got went

downstairs underneath the stadium to

pray a gentleman came in and said we’ve

just been warned that a major store

one is coming and it will be here by

seven o’clock it’s now six o’clock and

the meeting is supposed to begin at

seven so based on the meteorological

report we were going to be drenched with

a heavy thunderstorm at seven o’clock so

we went into prayer and we pray that God

would hold the rain and we pray that God

would allow the service to go on and we

pray the ministers prayed but every

minister including me prayed a safe

prayer let me tell you a safe prayer our

safe prayer is Lord don’t let it rain if

it’s not your we’ll see you throw his

will in there in case it still rains you

can get him off the hook so we pray that

safe prayer at the end of the prayer a

five foot one lady named Linda me and

sister Evans were there named Linda said

may I pray we said well yes yes go and

pray you know we need all the prayer we

can get here is the summary of Linda’s

prayer Linda said Lord we are here doing

what you asked us to do you asked us to

win people of Christ

you asked us to proclaim your word we

have spent money time energy to put this

crusade together doing what you told us

to do so you would embarrass yourself if

you let it ring because you control the

weather

so therefore Lord hear got crazy I

command you to stop the ring all the

preachers did was if look at each other

and wait for lightning to strike

cuz we got this little five-foot-one

lady commanding God with the rain we

walk up it’s now seven o’clock it’s time

for the service to begin the emcee comes

out and he says ladies and gentlemen we

know that rain is supposed to come the

sky is dark behind us it’s coming this

way

we know it’s supposed to come we’re just

going to go as long as we can go so if

you’ll just remain it as long as you can

we’ll do as much as we can because it

wasn’t looking good you can hear the

thunder in the background it’s coming

this way as we begin the service we’re

ten 15 minutes into the service and now

it’s it’s black it’s thundering behind

us and you can begin to hear the rain it

begins to drizzle if the true story it

begins to drizzle so now everybody is

stirring because people are getting

ready to leave some people probably

heard the meteorological report and men

brought their umbrellas with them so a

few people were starting to open up

their umbrellas but you could see people

were getting ready to leave cuz you got

thunder and lightning coming this way

I’m looking down Linda is sitting next

to a gentleman the gentleman opens up

his umbrella cuz it’s getting ready to

rain it’s drizzling and he puts the

umbrella over Linda Linda takes her hand

and pushes his hand back and refuses the

umbrella and then it happened as we sat

there at Bryce Stadium as the rain came

up to the stadium with our own eyes the

rain split half of it went around this

way half of it went around that way and

then the rain came back together at the

other end of the stage

the preachers were being spiritually

polite but Linda gave an effectual

fervent prayer of a righteous person she

got down and put a hand down and pushed

and pushed and pushed and like Jacob

said I’m not gonna let you go until you

do something I’m gonna give birth to a

miracle somebody here today needs a

miracle in your life needs a miracle in

your emotion need your miracle in your

home needs a miracle on your job if you

commit to righteousness if you commit to

prayer if you commit to Mount Carmel and

if you get pregnant with God’s life and

are willing to go into labor what

happened to Elijah

James says is available to you