Praise the Lord. Somebody give Jesus some praise. Somebody give Jesus some praise.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Father, I will praise you. As we worship in your presence, there is healing, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, gentle touch, is moving, Jesus, Jesus.
Hallelujah. We believe. Jesus. There is healing.
There is healing. your name. Almighty Father, Almighty Father, we lift our heads to you. We receive the power to do as you would do. Oh, as we worship.
As we worship in your presence. There is healing. There is healing.
The Holy Spirit's touch. The Holy Spirit's touch. It's flowing.
Praise the Lord. I don't know who God is speaking to here, but from the beginning of the service when Elder Wiley led prayers and when choir came to minister, it's apparent. There is somebody here in the midst of God's people that God is reaching out to.
And the Bible said, At least let there be an evil heart of unbelief. And such that man would not enter into the... rest of God, even though from the foundation of the earth, God's work was finished. Listen, brothers and sisters, Citadel was not built last year.
Citadel was finished from the foundation of the earth. The Red Sea was not parted the day Moses stretched his hands. It was from the foundation of the earth. The thing that hinders man is the evil heart of unbelief. If Moses did not stand, as God says, stretch forth your hand, if he did not stretch forth the hand, the river would not part.
But it's not because he was not parted. He's been parted from the foundation of the earth. If pastor did not believe, Citadel would not stand.
Not because Citadel has not existed in the realms. Citadel is existing in the realms. Now God will expect a man that will believe.
And it will come down on the face of the earth. of the earth. I don't know who that man is. I don't know who that woman is. God is saying that which you have been living him for.
It hasn't finished from the foundation of the earth. You just believe. You just believe. He's not about to do it today.
He has done it. I know the reason why I sing. I know the reason why I sing. I know the reason why I sing.
I know the reason why I sing. I found the reason. I found the reason.
I found the reason why I sing. I found the reason why I sing. I found the reason why I sing. I find the reason Joy, joy is the reason The reason What? Say that!
Jesus the reason. Jesus the reason. Jesus the reason. Why I sing. Oh, you are.
Jesus the reason. Why I sing. You are. You are. Jesus the reason.
Why. You are You are the reason why I sing. You are the reason why I sing. You are the reason Why do I sing? I don't know how I would have paid it You are the reason Why?
You are, you are, you are, you are the reason why I sing. Jesus, I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a man The psalmist said something. He said he prepared the table before me right in the midst in the presence of my enemies and they can't do nothing about it. I will eat, I will dance.
because he will prepare even in the presence of my enemies. He will prepare a table and so I can walk through storms because I'm not passing through the storms alone. There is one with me and therefore I... can walk in the midst of storm because he prepares right in the midst of my enemies. That's why I know the reason why I sing.
I know the reason why I sing. I sing. I sing.
I sing because I know that before he brought me here to finish the walk. I know before he brought me here to finish it. He didn't start my walk when I came. He finished the work before I came.
And that's the confidence of my son. He didn't start the work today. He finished it before I came.
I know, I know, I know, I know all the reasons. I know the reasons why I sing. I don't know about you, but I know, I know, I know, I know. I know the reasons why I sing. I know, I know the reason why I sing.
I know, I know the reason why I sing. Our Father, you are the confidence of our life. You are our hope, you are our joy, you are our peace, Father, and so we can march triumphantly. Lord, so we bless you today, even as we look at your glorious word today.
help us open our eyes oh God fix us oh God that we will conform to that which you desire in the mighty name of Jesus blessed be the name of the Lord Lord, somebody give Jesus some praise. Give him, give him, give him. Give him.
Oh, Lord, we bless you today. In the name of Jesus. Please be seated.
Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Let's just put our hands for the choir. Choir has been awesome this season.
God bless you richly. God bless you. And until the 78th, we bless God for your life.
God will continue to keep you in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Pastor, Mrs. B, wherever you are, our prayers is with you. We trust that God's mighty hands will be upon you. And you will do exploit in the name of Jesus.
Today. I don't consider myself sufficient to put footnotes on pastor's message. You know something about pastor? If pastor takes on any message and he sits over that message for one week, two weeks, three weeks, if you get into that message, you'll be struggling to find what to say in that message. And so, Pastor has been taking us through prayer clinic for a season.
And so, what I just want to look at from the dimension of prayers today is the purpose of prayer. the purpose of prayer and so i'll do a lot of again i say to you it is allowed in the scriptures hallelujah and so i want us to go through some of those nuggets some of those highlights that pastor has taught us this few weeks And let's have them again in our hearts and let's remember them. One of them is he said to us, you must understand that spiritual timing is key to spiritual answers in prayers. Spiritual timing is key to answers in prayers.
In other words, If a man is going to pray, sometimes the man wants to understand the season. Now because there are things that just happened for you, not because of anything. They just happened because the season has come.
It's not because of the labor or anything that you have done. No, but because the season has come. Remember.
He said thou will arise you will have mercy on Zion why because the set time to favor Zion has come and now so the psalmist was saying Lord you will arise now to favor Zion why are you because it's the set time and so the psalmist could peep into the heart of God and see from the vestas of heaven and say ah this is the set time and he started to say Lord now is the time for you to have mercy why The favorite period, the favorite season is now. And so Pastor Terrell also said, you should and we should understand that one of the things that is very critical to answer prayers is understanding the spiritual timing. And it says something, prayers should start after the word of the Lord has come to us or the voice of God has come to us. That's when your prayer should come.
In other words, you know the direction God is going, you know where God is leading, you know what God is pursuing. It says from that particular time, once that is established, that is when prayers will start. And you know what? I want to tell you the truth.
Once you have known the mind of God, I think the best prayer you start praying at that particular point is thanking God for that which he has revealed. And so, Pastor Charles says that your prayers will start after... you have heard a word or the voice of the Lord. He also says to us that the difference between vain reputation, if you were in church last Sunday, the difference between vain reputation and perceived reputation.
Persistent prayer is in the content of the prayer. Vain reputation is like it's called vain. It is empty. It has no substance.
It's just mere reputation of nothing to God. And now, but he tells us that when it comes to prayers that are persistent, they are not vain reputations. That a man is crying out to God and asking God to fix something. It's not vain reputation.
and he showed us from the Bible last week. I'm just looking at the things. that this season has come strongly to me.
Now he said to us, while waiting for your prayers to be answered, you meditate on the things that will strengthen your faith. In the season while you're waiting for your prayers to be answered, there are things that you have prayed to God about. He said in that season, while you're waiting for God to indeed answer that prayers, what you should do is at that moment you are meditating on things that will strengthen your faith. It is not the time where you allow doubt choke your testimony or choke or destroy your miracle. It's not that time.
So it's the time for fervent meditation so that your spirit is able to trap what God wants to do for you. And it tells us what we seek matters to God. God wants us to seek his face, not his hands.
A couple of times, men are interested in seeking the hands of God instead of seeking the face of God. And you know what? Funny enough, those people that have learned to seek the face of God usually get things from his hands.
And it says the secret to power in life of a believer is the presence of God. Elder Wiley started from that place. That the secret to power in the life of a man, in the life of a woman is the presence of God.
And we have the privilege of the indwelling presence. In the old they had. The manifest presence, the spirit of God can come upon something and something can do amazing things. But at a particular point, he departed from him. But in our day and our time, we move from the manifest to the indwelling so that anywhere you go, he's there with you.
And seven things that I, this season, came very strong to me. It said the prayer closet is a secret place. And there are do's and don'ts that governs the prayer closet.
And he said one of those things that governs the prayer closet is you don't come there and start blabbing vain reputations. No. Then you don't come there, you don't come before God and you're coming to do show.
You're coming to impress God. No, you don't come to impress God when you come to pray. And so in the prayer closet, men are real to him because he knows you, he knows your heart. Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord. So some of those notes were some of the things that I picked and it's upon those solid foundations that I want to just bring to us the purpose of prayer. Now I want us to understand that there are two principal actors when it comes to executing the prayer protocol. Two principal actors.
One is God himself that answers prayer. And two is the man himself that is praying to God. And so whether a prayer is going to be answered or not is going to be a function of either of these two entities. And so when a man understands the God side of the equation and understands the man's side of the equation and is able to put it together, he gets answers prayers. Now this is the problem.
The problem usually is that the interest of God is different from the interest of man. And so in as much as there is no alignment of these two interests, if the interest of God and the interest of man does not align, prayers is not going to be answered. And so there must be an alignment of the interest of God and that of the interest of man. I'm sorry.
And the interest of man for prayers to be answered. Praise the Lord. Listen. In Matthew chapter number 6. When Jesus started to teach the disciples to pray. The first thing that you see him say is thy kingdom come.
That's the first thing he declares. Thy kingdom come. Declaring to you the interest of the father.
Thy kingdom come. It becomes the first thing. That's what is in the mind of the father.
Because you see, the interest of man is usually in his pleasure of anything that will take away pains from the man. That's the nature of man. A man doesn't want pain. A man wants pleasure. And so that's his interest.
And so he lives his life around the things that will give him pleasure. that will take your weapons from him. But God is concerned about the kingdom and his dear son. And so when there's an alignment between a man and God, you know, in Matthew chapter number 6, the same Jesus that taught the prayers in Matthew chapter number 6, Read in 9 all the way to 11 that tells you in this manner pray. Therefore our Father in heaven hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive our debtors as we forgive our debtors. Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. This same Jesus, not another same Jesus.
This same Jesus in this same chapter, not another same chapter, now comes to Matthew chapter number 6. And when you go towards the end, it tells you that you should not worry about certain things. Why? It's that those things are the things that the Gentiles seek after. It says, you seek first the kingdom of God and all those things, including give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our sins. I fall for this.
including all of those things, when you seek the kingdom of God, those things will seek after you. Why? Because when there is an alignment between heaven and earth, the prayers of a man will be answered. And so seek.
Not because the thing is. Heaven is the one that is supposed to seek for man. While man is seeking for heaven. That's the way God has planned it. While man is seeking for heaven, heaven also is busy seeking for man.
Remember the story of Solomon. Solomon came asking after the sacrifice of a thousand offerings. And God said, ask anything.
And Solomon said, I'm not asking for anything. I just want you to give me wisdom to lead your people aright. And God said, ha.
Okay, now that's it. Now, because you have aligned with heaven, even those things that you did not ask after, they will come. So in prayer protocol, in these two entities, God and man, the alignment between both of them is usually what brings about an answer to prayer. Listen to me, brothers and sisters.
Now, it is because God understands that you are... fickle your mind is fickle is little because he knows that you're taken by yourself and by your nature and therefore you would not be able to execute prayers because he understands that you cannot come into alignment between what he wants and so he decided that i'm going to make you come into alignment what did he do he gave you the holy spirit you Now, he introduces the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit is able to bring a man into alignment of what God wants. Romans chapter number 8, 26-27.
Romans. Now, I said, likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought to.
Now, I'll stop there. I'll still continue that reading. There are two things that you see there.
One, first and foremost, you don't even know what to pray. That's the first. Now, even when you now know what to pray, you don't even know how you ought to.
So you don't even know how you're going to execute it. And that is why, you see, it is not sure. When I pray and I pray in tongues, I am praying in tongues because I know that I am fickle. I know that my thoughts are fickle. I know that my language is inadequate.
I know that... the articulation of my words cannot execute my prayers. And so when I turn to the one that has the ability in articulate words, to speak the words that God can hear and understand, I start to pray in that language because God has given the spirit to me so that the spirit will be able to execute accurate prayers for me.
We do not know what in the first place. Then when we even know, we don't even know what we ought to, how we ought to. Please, let's continue reading.
But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Groanings is not, that's not groaning. That's not groaning. Groaning is the depths of God.
Something that gets to the depths of the spirit. And so from there, have you ever seen a man that is in a pain and words cannot even alter the pain? and the man is just there. You can just see the expression in the man's face. Now, the spirit gets to the depth of God and the spirit is able to express everything that is in the mind of God accurately to God.
Please, let's continue. And now he who searches the hearts know what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the sins according to the spirit of God. We'll still come back to the heart. It says, he who searches the heart knows what the mind of the spirit is. Sometimes we do not understand that you cannot execute prayers accurately if your heart is not right with God.
We'll get to that place. That's not where we... But I just want us to see from the scriptures that because of the disalignment, because of the difference between what man wants and what the father wants, God decided that he would give you the Holy Spirit to help you in the place of prayers. Our words are fickle.
And our expressions vague to capture the heart of God. The Spirit of God leads us from sin, revealing the iniquity of our hearts. And from dependence on our righteousness into paths we formerly knew not. To parts in which we should go. In parts of faith.
In parts of truth. In parts of righteousness. Of holiness.
The Holy Spirit leads us. Sometimes the road may be rough. But yet the Spirit of God leads us. And where is he leading us to?
He's leading us to a person. He's leading us to the blood. He's leading us to the righteous Christ.
He's leading us to the fullness of grace that is in God. He's leading us to the glorious presence of God. And so when the Holy Spirit begins to lead you in prayers.
Listen, friends, there are certain things that when you know that indeed your prayers and your prayer life is beginning to amount to something, there are certain things that you begin to see in your life. When you begin to see those things in your life, know of a true and a sign that, okay, your prayers is beginning to ascend to God and is going to be answered. Because we think that it's when your bread and your butter is met. That means God is answering your prayer. That's not true.
The unbelievers, their bread and their butter is also met. Their bread and butter is met. They also build big houses. They also buy big cars.
And so if it's that you're using to equate the prayers that God wants you to pray. If it's that that you're using to equate when your prayers is being heard in heaven, you miss it. There are dimensions and there are depths that is bigger than the needs of man.
And so I said to us, why do we pray? Why should a believer pray? Why should I pray?
Now the first thing I've said to Ross, I said, When we pray, we are engaging heaven and aligning with heaven and saying, Father, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. That is what we are engaging heaven and we are saying to God, let it be here as it is done abroad because that is the mind and the desire of God. That's the first reason why we pray.
So that the kingdom of God will come. How will the kingdom of God come? He is going to come when the will of God is done upon the face of the earth.
Thy will be done. Not your will. Not my will.
But his will. What is the will of a man? The will of a man is the thing that a man wants.
What he wants done, how he wants it, when he wants it, that's the will of a man. I want you to understand, we must understand that these things are God's and heaven's desire. And when we come to the place of prayer, that we understand these things.
Our prayer is used to execute the agenda and the calendar of heaven on the face of the earth. You know, in your calendar, you have different days. And in those days, different events happen. Now, that's what our prayer is used to do.
Oh, that God is going to do something. Like, for example, he has told us 20. 21, there is going to be a change of God. He has opened to you the agenda of heaven. And he has also shown you the calendar, the time frame in which that thing is going to happen.
So what does our prayer do? Our prayer starts from that point. We are not going to wait. We are not going to say, Lord, Lord, according to your word. Lord, let it be done to us.
Because you have revealed to your servant that in this season, this is what you are going to do. The prayer of ascent because you're bringing down that. They will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Do you know that when you read the book of Revelation, there's something the book of Revelation tells us.
It said there is no sickness there. There is no tears there. There is no sorrow there.
Have you read that before in the book of Revelations? It is there in the book of Revelations. Now that gives you a glimpse of the mind of heaven.
That gives you a glimpse of what is happening in heaven. So when a man on the face of the earth, having understood that it is thy kingdom come, that we be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and the man is seeing things that is causing tears and sorrow, not just in his life, in the life of others, and he stands upon that word. The father, you have said your desire is that that which is on heaven, done in heaven will be done on earth. Lord.
describe this is not according to the patterns that is in heaven therefore lord i stand upon the foundation of your desire let this one stop you see men begin to legislate things and it begins to happen why because they understand that prayer is about thy kingdom come that will be done on earth as it is done in heaven Prayer is the channel, the track that we convey for the will of God to be done upon the face of the earth. That which is in God's heart comes down on earth only through prayers. It is when men pray that what is in the heart of men, in the heart of God, comes down on the face of the earth.
And so, usually, men will be able to capture the... budding in the heart of God. There is a budding in the heart of God every time. In as much as this earth is in this chaotic state, there is always a budding in the heart of God.
And so men are the ones that are able to build channels upon the face of heaven to earth that will enable that which is in God's heart to channel. trickled down to earth. Jesus said there is a ladder that he saw that was connected from earth to heaven. Prayers is able to connect heaven and earth so that heaven can flow down to earth and things will begin to happen. It's our prayers.
Why a man should pray? Why you should pray? Why I should pray?
And so, pastor, part of the things he told us, he said, look, once you have the word of God, or you hear the voice of God, what it means is that the mind of God is already revealed to you. It means that the will of God is already revealed to you. You now start to establish that will on the face of the earth.
And so, by our prayers, we are able to establish the will of God upon the face of the earth. Our responsibility is to declare God's will on earth. The prayer of the church is the outlet of heaven. If you don't know it today, our prayer is the outlet of heaven. The other thing I want you to know about our prayers.
We pray because prayer offered according to the will of God is the most powerful force on earth. Prayers offered according to the will of God is the most powerful force on earth. That is why we pray.
We engage that force to change things here. We engage that force to legislate things here. The power of God on earth is expressed through prayer.
So the level of manifestation of God's power on earth is a function of the praying capacity of the church. God does not move if man does not pray. This was revealed in the life of Christ.
God's power was revealed through the life of Christ. Today the church is the Christ that man is seeing today on earth. Christ prayed and prayed. prayed and continued to pray and never stopped praying. He prayed when he started ministry.
He prayed during ministry. He prayed when he was about to depart the earth. He never stopped praying. He was praying. Why?
Because he understands that the effect of faith and prayer of the righteous man availed tremendous power, makes it available on the face of the earth. The prayer discipline is lost in the church today. It's lost in the faith. Believers don't pray. We have two major disciplines.
The prayer discipline is one, and the other discipline is the study of the word. If you're not there, then your faith is not complete. And that's the reason why we are not, the testimonies of the Christian faith is lacking in the life of people. God's power on earth cannot exceed the prayers of the church. Hear me.
God's power on earth would not exceed the prayers of the church. It is by the prayers of the church that the power of God is revealed on the earth. Does God have power?
Yes. But will that power be manifested? It depends. were done not the church praise if the church praise the power of god would manifest we can shut down governments we can shut down nations we can shut down evil if we will pray if we see what is in the heart of god and we begin to alter it on the face of the earth we can shut down governments we can shut down evil if we begin to pray You know, why we cannot ask God to do what he does not want to do?
Something that God does not want to do or he doesn't will to do. Why we cannot ask God to do that? We can hinder or limit that which he wants to do when we don't pray.
Why does God want you to pray? And why should you pray? Apart from the fact that the prayers of the saint brings about the establishment of God's kingdom on the face of the earth.
And brings about the will of God being done on the face of the earth. The prayer of the saint changes the saint. God wants you changed. Your prayers does not only bring... prayer also changes you.
And that's why the Bible said when we appear with unveiled faces before him as in the mirror, we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another degree of glory. It is that transformed man that can execute God's assignment upon the face of the earth. And that's why God is interested in your transformation because he knows that this state that you are, you can execute heaven's assignment. Until you are changed from the inside, until you are reconfigured from the inside, until your heart is fashioned to be that type that is able to trap the dimensions of heaven, you can't execute God's assignment.
And that is why God will lead a man to pray. Why? Because prayer starts to change a man.
See, let me tell you the truth. Anytime a man or a woman begins to pray, just give that man or that woman some time. You will begin to notice without anybody preaching to that woman.
Without anybody preaching to that woman, you will begin to notice certain changes in the life of that person. You see, because the reason is, when you come before your father and sit down, the Holy Spirit goes into oppression. Before you even start to utter one word, he begins to tell you, alright, let's do this better.
Let's do that better. Do this, do that. You will just find that you will begin to change. Why?
Because when you come before this awesome God and you're beginning to see his glory, his glory begins to transform and begins to change your form. Listen, men always think that prayer is about changing their condition. No, sometimes God uses your condition to change you.
And that is why you need to understand that it's not just about the change of your condition. It's about the change of your person. If your person is not changed and God changes your condition, he has not done anything good for you. The children of Israel, 10 times, God said this 10 times. You asked me for this, I did it.
You asked me for that, this 10 times. I have been answering your prayers. I have been doing everything.
But yet, the evil heart of unbelief did not change. If your prayers does not change you and changes your condition, you're not blessed. And so God wants to change your person first before even situations.
And so therefore, he allows some of those situations because he wants to change your person before touching those things. Because the truth is that sometimes when you are changed as a person, when you turn and look at those circumstances, they will flee. And so God wants to change your person.
All right, I would like to read this. Acts chapter number 10, 1 to 4. Now, because we are looking at the things why you should pray, why I should pray. You see, we don't want to look at these things.
Now, what does your prayer do for you? Look at the testimony of this man. Therefore, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment. A devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius, and when he observed him, he was afraid and he said, what is it, Lord?
So he said to him, your prayers and your alms have come. Up for a memorial before God. Your prayers and your almsgiving has come up as a memorial before God. What our prayers do for us is that it rises to God. And it goes to heaven.
And the memorial is built in your name. You don't understand what a memorial is. A memorial is something that is erected in the remembrance of somebody.
So that even when that person is not. there. The memorial is standing there. That's the reason why I go to the place of prayer. Because when I offer my prayers, it rises to God and God builds a memorial.
A day will come when my children will tap from the memorial of their father. A day will come when my cousin, a day will come when a brother, when a sister will tap from the memorial because the memorial has been erected before God. That's the reason why we pray.
We do not just pray because we want something from God. There are certain things that I pray us, establishes for us that it's just beyond what we're asking for. Say listen, aside to Cornelius, that Cornelius was a man that prayed always.
Remember Luke chapter number 18. Jesus said, men always ought to pray and not faint. And so, in that story, you see that there are two things that you must understand in the prayer protocol. There is a consistency of prayer and there is a persistency of prayer.
A man that prays always is consistent in prayer. But there is a man also that there is a particular prayer point he does not leave it. He remains there with God.
until that prayer point is discharged. The Bible said, Daniel remained there for 21 days. That is persistence in prayer.
He's not going to leave there. He's not going to shift until he hears God's word concerning that situation. There is persistence and there is consistence in prayer.
When a man is consistent in prayer, he rises and a memorial is built for him. And when we say pray, you don't want to pray. Your nature, you don't want your nature to be changed. I want my own nature to be changed.
That's why I don't pray with prayers. I pray because it is beyond God answering those fickle things that you bring as needs. No, it is beyond that. There is an agenda in heaven that my prayer needs to execute on the face of the earth. And so when...
I enter in my prayer closet and by the spirit of God, God leads me and I begin to speak mysteries to him. The Bible said you're speaking mysteries to God. God understands what he's saying.
Pray, my son, pray, pray, my son, pray, pray. Because at that particular point, point you don't know what is happening that your eyes cannot see but your prayers can go and God knows and the spirit of God can go by the reason of your prayers men have released angels of God by their prayers men have with these forces of the forces from above by their prayers and those forces came to shake the earth because men were standing in the place where they should be praying and they were praying men were not fainting Jesus said we should always pray and not faint you So you see, you know, Paul persisted in prayers. When that thorn remained in the flesh of Paul, Paul did not thorn. It's not this kind of prayers that we pray.
Let us pray. We'll pray that prayer for one minute and we'll go. If they ask you what you pray for, you can't remember. And you're waiting for an answer from heaven. Carry, well done.
Paul said, for this I beseech God three times, this thorn, take it away. Until God said, Paul, this thorn, I am responsible for this thorn. And so through this thorn, my grace will be made available to you. Oh, Paul said, such would matter. Now that you have spoken concerning it, thorns come and stay.
Because I know that in your presence there is a grace that is released to me. Word of Jesus. Go and read Matthew chapter number 26. He persisted.
He said, Lord, if it is possible, let this call be taken. Let it pass over. The Bible said the second time he went, prayed the same prayer.
The third time he went, prayed the same prayer. Until heaven discharged that prayer, he didn't leave it. There is persistence in prayer and there is consistence in prayer.
Why should we pray? We pray because prayers forestall the works of the wicked one. It forestalls it. It towards the works of the enemy.
It hinders the plans of the enemy. It interrupts and intercepts the plans of darkness. It checks darkness and puts darkness on the world.
It blocks the moves of hell. It prevents the prevailing of hell. He avants danger.
Aye, what's up? The attacks of the enemy, that's why we pray. Matthew chapter number 13. Hear Jesus. Oh, oh God.
Hear Jesus chapter number Matthew 13. I want to read from 24. I want to read from 24. Another parable he put forth to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed this. How many things has been destroyed in your life and in my life because we are sleeping? How many destinies have been rained because we are sleeping?
Because the enemy cannot sow tears unless a man is sleeping. Unless a believer is sleeping, the enemy cannot sow tears. That child is going away.
because of the child. It's because of you daddy. It's because of you mommy.
You are not praying. That family is reigning. It's not because of anything.
It's because you're not praying. While men slap the enemy. came to sow tears. That's why we stand on our watch. That's why at night we are not sleeping.
That's why we are praying. Why? We are standing on our watch because we know we are watchmen. We are standing in the ground because the enemy must not take this ground.
The enemy must not take your family. He must not take my family. He must not take our nation.
We stand on our ground while the enemy while men slept. That's when the enemy has opportunity to come and sow tears. I see us.
We are comfortable with our rots. No man can stand up and say, Lord, what is happening? Lord, what is happening?
Until you deliver, until this evil gloom and doom is taken away, Lord, I will not get out of your altar until you deliver this nation, until you deliver my family, until you deliver my life. This is not the life that I desire. Until you deliver, Lord, I will die at your altar.
And you will see God come with his strength and raise a man. You are there. Things are short and you're comfortable with it.
You're not praying. Wild men slept. Wild men slept.
That's why we pray. We pray because we know that if we sleep, this evil one will ruin us. Oh, don't think about, see, don't think that the people that pray, they don't know that sleep is sweet. Oh, we know sleep is sweet.
Once upon a time, when we take gear in sleep, gear one, change it to gear two and gear three, we don't go. We sleep. But the time comes when a man understands that you're not brought here just because to sleep. See, listen, everything that God put in your life, he will question them. They have a role they should play in your life.
There are some... thing that they are programmed to do. So sleep is not just for you to sleep is for you to recalibrate your body so that when you stand up again there is strength to continue the battle until you see the victory you're not going to stop. You know what? It is the devil that is going to shift ground not me.
It's the devil that is going to lose the battle not me. You know why I said so? The devil has been an incredible loser from the beginning.
Do you understand? He's a pathetic loser. And so why would I allow the pathetic loser come and win in my own life?
Never. I refuse it in the name of Jesus. The Bible said from the beginning, they plotted and they said, you know something?
We too will arise and we will win. We will become like God. We will ascend and we will sit on his throne.
God kicked him out. And when Jesus Christ came, he said, Like this one would never happen. The Bible said, if they had known, they would not have crucified the king of glory.
He failed. He failed from the beginning. He failed during Jesus. Jesus is going to fail again and again. If only you would stand up and say, not here, not here.
You can carry your madness to somewhere. Not here, not in this family. I refuse in as much as I stay as a watchman, not here.
You can carry the madness. God carry your jaguar, jaguar, not here. Wild man, wild man, wild man slept.
See friends, the reason why we pray, Hey Lord, help us. You know, men want to serve God, but they don't understand that there is an anointing that is required to serve God. There is an anointing that is required for service. And that anointing is different from, I have received the Holy Spirit.
It's different. We have received the Holy Spirit, but there is an anointing that God released. This is to a man for service. That is why.
If you go through the generations of men. And those men that have been called great men of God. Go and check their life. You will find something that runs consistently. Consistently in their life.
They don't. They are men of prayers. Their prayer closet.
They don't joke with it. Why? Because that is the place.
Where the portal for the flow. Of the anointing of God. Comes upon a man.
That is the place. Where faith is bathed in man. That is the place. Where the things that are impossible.
With man. A man comes to believe it. In the place of prayer. That man begins to see God. The way he's never seen God before.
In the place of prayer. He comes to the place where he believes that everything is possible. Because he has come to that place. He has partaken of the divine nature.
Listen to me. When we stay with God. There is something about God that wraps us on us. And one of those things is that God does not believe that there is anything impossible. He will throw that upon you.
And you too will become a man that doesn't believe that anything is impossible. It's in the place of prayer. Why are we comfortable?
You have been a believer for 20 years, for 30 years. Oh God, Lord help, Lord help, Lord help. A small 8 years old girl or 6 years old girl that is brought into the occult.
6 years will point at your car. Your car will start an assault. 6 years, period 6 years. Brought into the occult.
They will use your life, use the life of... people's family and they will use it to do IT. About six years.
They will use the life of God's precious people to do IT because they will say, just go there. Go and say this thing and see what will happen. And the child will go there and say, and that thing will happen.
Wild men slept, you're sleeping. Meanwhile, there are men that are burning fires. Oh, have you forgotten? Hey, the Bible said, please hear me and hear me very well. He makes his angels, what does he make them?
Ministers. Hey, but he makes his what? His servant flames of fire. We are flames of fire.
If you don't have fire, you don't have ministry. There must be fire in your bosom. There must be fire in your bosom.
We are flames of fire. We are born. That's when our ministry glows.
We are born. When that demon comes to point at you, fire will come. That's when you know you have a ministry.
That the father demon who say, who will suffer and pay, that is a no good area. They didn't tell you, Abiy. You have learned your lesson. Because a saint is born in.
Because he is born in. The Bible talks about John the Baptist, that he was born in a shining light. Listen to me. That's what we are. That's the ministry of the saints.
We born. We born. We are not coals of fire that any devil can put upon. We born. We're born.
We're born. And that's why we pray. We come to pray our altar because there God lights us up.
He ignites us and sets us on fire. Thank you, sir. Well, hallelujah. God, thank you, my father.
Now see, at what point will Michael begin to know that, okay, at what point will I know that, yes, He has started to hear my prayers. Let me tell you at the point when you will know. That something is beginning to happen to your person. When you start conforming to his image.
You know that something is beginning to happen. When you begin to ask. Escape the corruption of the flesh. You know that something is happening. When the prince of the power of the air has no longer power in you, you know something is happening.
When the self-life in you is ruined and sin is paralyzed and the interest of the world is killed, you know something is beginning to happen in you. Then you will know that the knowledge of the Almighty will start to crystallize in your heart. Your eyes of understanding will begin to gain illumination. You will know the hope of your calling.
You will grasp the depths of the love of God. of God that passeth on understanding. You will come to the place where you know the Father is with you.
Ah, then there is oneness between you and the Father and your brethren. You will know. You will see things that before has plagued you.
You now see those things. They have no strength over you. You know that power has come. You will know. You will know if before if you see a woman your body will begin to shake.
Now you see a woman even if the woman is naked. You are not whether you saw something you don't know again something has happened to you. You will know.
You will know. if you're that man that in your office let any deal pass you will trap the deal like that. You must hold the deal.
Now deal will be coming you say no don't bring it to this table. Take it to somewhere else. I don't need it. You will know something is beginning to happen. Something is bringing the order.
Water in your being. Sin is being ruined and plagued. Something is beginning to happen in your being. Your personality is changing totally.
Something is beginning to happen in you. Ah, you that before, if your wife says that, she will know that she got married to a man. But now she can talk and talk. You just say, my dear, please, I'm sorry.
Ah, you will know something has happened to you now. You know, our sisters, they like when we... But it is true.
It is true. If God has not helped a man, God has not helped a man. That's the truth.
And when God has helped a man, the man too will know that God has helped me. Ayaka. Oh, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know.
You know, sometimes, sometimes once it's 10 o'clock, 10 to 6, a man would not be able to sleep. Unless he sees something, he would not sleep. Hey!
The man will be restless. But a day comes when madam will even be saying, Ah, Ogbeni, are you sure you're alive? I say, I'm alive. I'm alive in the Lord. The strength of the Lord is seen by strength.
Hayagada. Hey, Mokulimata, let's go. Let's go on.
Now, when we started, we said there are two equations to answer prayers. We said one is God that answers prayers. Two is man that prays to God.
Now, I want us to understand some things about the God that answers prayers. Which men of old understood. Hey, when you go to the book of Psalms and you begin to look and read the practicums of prayer, you will see men that understood something about God.
And when they begin to engage God in those prayers, you say, wow, these guys, there's something they know. Let me start with Exodus chapter number 34, 6 to 7. Now, you will see something. I, God, the answer is prayer.
And now this is God declaring himself. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping his mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. generation.
Now that is Exodus. Then one of the reasons from that place that you find out that men engage God in prayers, they will say, Lord, answer us for your goodness sake. There is a reason why God does the things he does. He doesn't just do them.
And so where we read, it said, God abounds in goodness. And so a man will come in Psalm 25 verse 7. It said, do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgression. According to your mercy, remember me for your goodness sake. Aye.
And so God will also answer a man for his mercy sake. Why? Because he is merciful.
Deuteronomy 4.31. Deuteronomy 4.31 says, For the Lord your God is good. God is merciful God.
He is a merciful God. He would not forsake you, nor the paths, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which is war to you. Then the man will not Now come to Psalm 86 verse 5 and pray.
Hear the prayers of a man. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, abounding in mercy to all those who call upon you. The man will say, return, Psalm 6 verse 4, return, O God, deliver me, save me for your mercy's sake. Why?
Because he has declared that he is merciful. So for mercy's sake is another reason why the prayers of men are sent to heaven. Because it is in this nature.
Another thing you find that the men prayed of old. They prayed for his name's sake. In 1 Samuel. 12 verse number 22. I want us to go through these things because it's when a man understands the God side of the equation, understands his own side of the equation, now he's able to align his interest and the interest of God. And so when a man finds out that, Lord, I have committed iniquity, instead of you to come at that particular point and you're asking God for another thing, it is the time to say, Lord, have mercy on me for your mercy's sake.
Because until that is executed, you can't exceed, you can't transcend to another thing. 1 Samuel 12, 22, For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake. Because it has pleased the Lord to make you his people. It is God that pleased to make me amongst his people.
And not me, it is him. And so, for his great name's sake. And so, How would a man now pray in Psalm 106 verse 8? Hear the prayers of a man.
He said, nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake. That he might, that he might make mighty, he might make mighty his power. So God will do something for you because of his namesake.
Friends, you know, the name of a man carries the reputation of a man. Oh, the name of a man carries the reputation of a man. And of course, you know that there are three ways that people get the names of people. So my children can bear my name because I give birth to them biologically.
Another means is by adoption. If I adopt a child, the child will bear my name. Another way is by marriage. When I marry a woman, automatically I bequeath my name to her.
Hey, listen to me. In the book of Isaiah, it said, I have married you. It talks to us as God being our husband.
And as though that one is not enough, when Christ came, we were adopted. adopted. And apart from being adopted, the Bible said here, we are born by the incorruptible seed of the word of God. And that incorruptible seed is God himself. So in whichever way you look at it, I am God's own.
And therefore, I bear his name. And so when I stand in the place of prayer, I can cry. I say, Father, for your name's sake.
For your name's sake, my Father. For your name's sake. Not because of anything, but Lord, for your name's sake.
For your name's sake. For your name's sake. Why again does God do the things that he does?
He does things because of his covenant and his word. In Psalm 89 verse 34. My covenant I will not break nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips. And therefore, Daniel chapter number 9 verse 4, a man who prayed, and I prayed to the Lord God.
and made confession and said, O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and mercy with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments. Because Daniel have discovered this God is a God of covenant. He's a God that keep his word.
And so once he comes to God, he said, Lord, for your covenant sake, for your word sake. Psalm 2. 721, it reads, For your word's sake, and according to your heart, you have done all these great things to your own servant, to make your servant know them. For your word's sake. God does things. And so when you come to him to pray, you know the God that you are praying to.
Because when the prayers of a man aligns with God, the man is going to get the answers to his prayers. You know, this one says, for his servant's sake. 1 Chronicles 17, verse number 19. And so I can stand and I can say in the place of prayer, Daddy, joy if nothing.
Father, for my pastor's sake, for Pastor Tuni DeBacary's sake, for the sacrifice of your son, for your servant's sake. And he will hear, not because of me, but because of his servant. He said, O Lord, for your servant's sake, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness in making known all these great things.
You know, Potiphar was blessed. Why was Potiphar blessed? Because of Joseph. For his servant's sake.
Laban was blessed. Why was Laban blessed? Because of Jacob.
For his servant's sake. Why was Isaac blessed? It's because of your father Abraham. For Abraham's sake.
And so God does things because of the sake of his servants. If you read Genesis chapter number 18, God gives us a clue. When Abraham engaged God in prayer and started to ask God, he said, Lord, if you find 40 righteous men, will you destroy the city? God said, I would not. He comes down.
If you come, if you see 30, God said no. Now, what was Abraham telling you? Abraham was telling you that God has regards for the righteous. There are things that God would not do because of the righteous. Ah, that when destruction and plague is coming, there are certain people that because they are there, the plague will pass.
Because they are righteous, God would not destroy the wicked and the righteous together. For righteousness sake. And that's the reason why we are saying from the beginning, God desires that the prayer that you pray, when it changes you and conforms you into a certain nature, you don't need to pray prayers again.
Your life already is a prayer that ascends to God. Because when he sees you, there is a satisfaction that comes from him. Earth is only looking for their prayers to be answered.
And heaven is also looking for earth to answer the prayers of heaven. Would you be the man that answers the prayer of heaven? Oh, the last one. I love this. I love this badly.
For his own sake. For just God's sake. Not because of anything.
So if I look at it, okay, Lord. Okay, your servant's sake. You just feel that this particular one, your servant would not do it.
Okay. Righteousness' sake would not do this. Mercy's sake would not do this. This sake would not do that. And I have said, Lord, please, for your sake.
Just for your sake, have mercy on me. Just for your sake, have mercy on our land. Just for your sake, for your sake.
Lord, for your sake, not because of what we have done, not because of our righteousness, but for your sake. 2 Kings 20 verse number 6. And I will add to your days 15 years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria.
And I will defend this city for my own sake. Now we have looked at the God side of the equation. What of the man's side? What is that thing in the life of a man that will make a man's prayer not rise above a ceiling? So that you will deal with it, I deal with it.
So that when we come to the place of prayer, our prayers will rise as an incense to the Lord. That is acceptable, that is sweet smelling in his nostrils. When a man does not regard God and his word, the God that you don't regard and you want to pray to.
In Genesis chapter number 4 verse number 1 to 5, I want to show us the man's side of this equation. Now in this story, you will see something that is very critical when we are serving I hope you know that the prayer of the saint is also a service that we do to God. Now, but let's read this story.
And Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain and said, I have acquired. a man from the Lord. Then she bore again this time his brother Abel.
And Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering. Now that offering can be your prayers.
You can be it can be your service to God. It's what you're offering. It brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.
And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering. Listen to me, friends.
God will have respect for you and your prayer. And that is the reason why God, first of all, desires to change you into the man, into the woman, that he can have respect, that he can hearken unto. For the Bible says we know that the prayer of the...
Sinner is an abomination to God. There is in nature the state of a man that his prayer cannot rise above heavens. And so that's why the first thing God wants to do is to change you so that you become a man. That when God hears your voice, he says, my son is calling.
My son is calling. My daughter is praying. God can respond to you.
He had respect. for Abel. Hebrews chapter number five verse number seven.
I want to let us see that indeed our prayers is an offering. Now it says who in the days of his flesh? Who is he talking about here? It's talking about Jesus Christ when he had offered up what?
Prayers and supplication. So our prayers and our supplications can be an offering unto God. If you read the book of Revelations, Revelations 5 verse number 8, I just want us to know that our offering can be our prayers.
Revelations 5 verse number 8, And now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and a golden boils full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. So our prayers is... It's an incense.
It's an offering that we give to God. And so just like he had respect for that which Abel offers, if you're the kind of person that God should have respect for, when your prayer comes, it rises to heaven. And that's why the psalmist says, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? It's not everybody that can ascend the hills of the Lord. Some people, Psalm 15, Psalm 24, it tells you who shall ascend the hills of the Lord.
And it begins to... tell us the things that the person will be, the man's hand and all of that and gives you those qualities. Do you know something? Psalm 24. It is that kind of man that can say lift up your head.
And the gates will be lifted. He said, this is Jacob. The generation of them that love him. Lift up your heads, all you gates.
Listen to me. If you have not conformed to that image, you can't command the gates. And that's why he wants to bring you to that image. So that when you stand, you're a man of stature.
And you can command the gates and the heads will be lifted up. Because you have become that kind of man. The man that will raise a prayer cry and heaven will hear.
So, please, friends, brothers and sisters, in your praying and my praying, please let us know that there must be a symmetry of the heart and our mouth. Because sometimes a man's heart is saying something else and a man's mouth is saying something else. Prayers is not the things you say with your mouth. It is more weighty if it is a thing that comes from the heart.
That's why he said the fathom. prayer. It is the fervent prayer. Fervent prayers don't come from the mouth. They come from the heart.
It's the prayer that comes from the heart. The symmetry between what you say with your mouth and what is in your heart. It is what commands the attention of God.
You see, listen to me. Sometimes when men come to pray, they may not appeal to God for anything. They may not call the mercy of God. They may not call the sake of God.
They may not call anything. But the only thing is Oluwa Obami and their heart. crying from their heart and that prayer that comes from the heart will get the attention of heaven the bible says and a man called jabez cried out to god jabez was more horrible than his brethren and yet he was in pain and they cried to God oh that thou oh God will bless me and enlarge my coast and that your hand will be upon me that I will no longer cause pain and the Bible said and God of Israel he heard him why the prayer that came from the heart and I was crying in the temple so much so that the priest thought that this woman was drunk and I said no I am not drunk it is the bitterness of my heart that I'm pouring out to Jehovah Jehovah could see the heart So sometimes it's not the mouth that prays, it's when the intensity comes from the heart, that fervency that comes from the inside. God looks at and God extends his mercy.
And so, please, praying men, praying women, please don't regard iniquity in your heart. Because if we regard iniquity in our heart, the Bible says God will not hear us. I beg you, do not disobey the Lord and his word.
Zechariah 10 verse number 13. It says, Zechariah 7, 10 to 13. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in your hearts. What I was talking about against his brother. But they refused to heed. Shrugged their shoulders and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
Yes, they made their hearts like flint. Refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts has sent to his angels through the former prophet Tos. Great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.
Therefore, it happened that just as he proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen, says the Lord of hosts. Proverbs 28 verse number 9, One who turns away his ears from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination to God. You can't be in sin.
Friends, I tell you the truth. And that's why I'm saying the first thing prayer comes to do is to change you. To be that man. To structure.
To pattern your life. To trap your heart in such a way that anything that God wants from your life, God gets. You can't be a man that disobeys or a woman that disobeys her husband and yet you are crying.
What are you crying for? You're not living in obedience. If you do not, it's clear in his word.
So we have looked at God's path. So you're looking at your partner. Because I said, when there is a symmetry between God and man, prayers will be answered. I can't be a man that treats my wife the way I like.
And the woman is crying at night or in a closet and saying, Lord, how did I get here? Is this how I'm going to waste my life? And I think I'll come to lift up my voice in prayers and God will hear me.
I'm a joke. And so it applies to every other thing that God says you should do. I remember one day. I wanted to go and make an investment. I was to do that investment the next day.
And in the night, God came to me and showed me in the dream. And I saw in the dream a brother of ours, Brother Tuchuku. We are together in that dream. And he was pointing to me. He says, look at what happened to the people that invested the money in that stuff.
It was lamentation, tales and woes. You know what I did? I didn't go the next day.
I left it. The day after the next day, I went. The money went down the drain.
And I came to pray to God. What are you praying? Sharia Queen, didn't he tell you?
He told you. He told you. As one that loves his son, he assured you don't go there.
And so when men live in disobedience, they dwell in patch cities. Where in there is no water. It's not because there is no water.
But their rebellion leads them to bad cities. Where there is no water. Where there is no substance. Listen to me. There is no way God will bring a man upon the face of the earth.
That God will not figure out. What you will require from the beginning. To the end of your life. There is no way. It is impossible.
And so therefore. If a man aligns with God. There is a day by day provision. You know why? Because God wants you more alive than even you know.
Because if you are alive and you are the kind of man that he wants, every day you are pushing the kingdom of darkness backwards and you are establishing the kingdom of God. Every day you wake up, the devil will say, well, where is our life again today? Because there is a man that is thundering with God.
There is a man that is thundering with heaven. pushing back the gates of hell. The Bible said we will take the battle to the gates of hell.
We don't turn back from darkness. We push them out. We push them out. When a man aligns with God, it is to God's best interest that the man remains until the man finishes his assignment. Ah, when a man...
So I beg you, don't be rebellious to God's word. He hinders the answers to prayers. In the place where we read, please show kindness and mercy to the poor.
They are God's special people. I don't know why God just chooses to put his camp and his flag with them. Proverbs 21 verse 13. Whoever shuts his ears, they hear God. This is not me. They hear him.
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard. Did you hear that? You shut your ears to the poor.
And you have every reason why you will not help the poor. God said, You will come. And when you will come, Isaiah 1 verse 15. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I would not hear.
Your hands are full of blood. Hold your hands. Now this tells us, Psalm 15, Psalm 24. Who shall ascend to the hill of God?
One of the requirements is a clean hand. Pure hearts. Now listen to me. You see, when the scripture tells us these things, it's just to make you, you understanding the nature of God and understanding your own nature, you will know how you tamper your life. You know, you just know.
Brothers and sisters, even as I run this off today, as I run this off today, brothers, God, our God. He's fearful. Are you listening to me?
Oh God, our God is fearful. I'll round this off today by telling us, showing us great men who God did not answer their prayers. So that you will be afraid and just live the way he asks you to live. Deuteronomy 3, 23 to 26. Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, O Lord, this is Moses speaking, O Lord, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand, for what God is there in heaven and on earth who can do anything like your works and your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains and Lebanon.
But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me, enough of that. Speak no more to me of this matter.
Why? Moses speak to the rock. Moses struck the rock. He did not hallow God before the children of Israel. Do you know Moses?
Do you know Moses? The Bible said there is no man like this man. If there is any prophet in Israel those days, God could speak to them through dreams, through signs, through any other means.
But he said not like Moses. Moses, I speak to Moses face to face. As a man speaks to his friend, that's the way I speak to Moses. That is the same Moses that God said, speak to me, no further consigning this. David, 2 Samuel 12, 16, verse number 18. So that we will just trust God.
That's why I showed you that the Holy Spirit will lead you through paths. The Holy Spirit understands you. The Holy Spirit understands those termites in you that will destroy your destiny. The Holy Spirit knows those things.
And so the Holy Spirit in the place of prayer is coming to destroy those things that will destroy you tomorrow that you can't see. 2 Samuel. David therefore pleaded with God for the child and David fasted and went in and lay all night. He fasted and laid all night on the ground.
So the elders of the house arose and went to him to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day, it came to pass that the child died.
And the servant of Moses was afraid, and David was afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, ah, indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him and he would not hear our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do something, some harm.
Please go ahead. Go ahead. Let's finish it.
When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore, David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
I will stop it there. You understand everything. Now David cried. He fasted. He stayed on the floor.
He did not leave there. They were saying, oh God, it's okay. Okay.
He fasted, but God did not change his mind. consigning that child. I hope you know this David is the one the Bible says is the man after my heart.
Is this David? Is this David? Is this David? Not another one.
Genesis 17 from 15. Now, then God said to Abraham, as for Sarah, your wife, You shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her. Then I will bless her and she will be a mother of nations.
Kings of the people shall be from her. Ah, then Abraham, now this is the prayer of Abraham to God. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed.
Ah, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to a man who is... is 100 years old and shall Sarah who is 19 90 years old be a child and Abraham said to God oh that Ishmael might live before you the God answer Abraham and God said then God said no Sarah your wife shall bear you a son that was the prayer of Abraham Abraham just said this is impossible and so he lifted the prayer and said whatever thing you think you can do through Isaac or through whoever you think you want to bring don't worry I have one here so do it through Ishmael God said no let no God refused to grant that prayer regardless of the fact that he was Abraham the father of faith if you read in Matthew chapter number one the genealogy of Jesus Christ there are two people that you will find that That they are the patriarchs of Jesus. It was Abraham and David.
Now yet the prayers of these two men. When he did not align with heaven. Was not accepted. Paul. So that you will see the consistency of God.
So that we will align ourselves. Second Corinthians 12. I will read 6 to 10. Now for those. Oh, I might desire to boast.
I will not be a fool. For I will speak the truth, but I refrain. Least anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hear.
from me. And least I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations a thorn in the flesh was given to me. Now watch the servant of God. A messenger of Satan to buffet me least I be exalted above measure.
Consigning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it will depart from me. Did God hear that prayers? And he said to me, my My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul, I'm not going to take away the thorns.
The thorn has a role that is playing. The thorn, sometimes we do not understand that all things are created for God, by God, through God, including the devil and the demons. And so sometimes when God sends them an assignment, you will be crying.
Don't worry. They are doing the work of the master. They are doing something.
something in you to bring out a dimension of grace that you don't know. Finally, finally, this one will shock you, okay? It's our Lord himself, the very Lord Jesus. Matthew 26. I'll read 37 to 44. Hallelujah. The alignment of heaven and earth is what brings about the answers of prayers.
And he took me, he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. And he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful. It was. Even to death.
Stay here and watch with me. He went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh, my father. If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but you as you will. Then he came to his disciples and he found them sleeping.
And he said to Peter, what? Could you not watch with me an hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Again, a second time. He went away and prayed, saying, Oh, my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. And he came and he found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
So he left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words. is when you come to the book of Hebrews, you will understand the writer of Hebrews says that he offered up prayers to whom that was able to save him. But the Bible said, the he that is able to save him only had him, but he didn't deliver him because it was the will of the father that he goes through that.
And so when heaven and earth aligns, the prayers of a man is answered. If there is no alignment between heaven and earth, it doesn't matter who that man is. It doesn't matter the personality that man is. The prayers would not be answered. I want to ask you the question that Jesus Christ asked his disciples.
Can you not wait with the Lord for just one hour? I am leaving that question with you today. Can you not wait with the Lord just one hour?
He said, pray, watch and pray so that you would not fall into temptation. Temptation is everywhere. You're falling into them.
Why? Because you cannot watch and pray just for an hour. God will help us, George.
Stand to your feet. Our Father and our God, there is one prayer in my spirit today. Father, that you would change us from the inside out. That you would set our spirit man on fire.
Oh God, that our prayer closet will come alive. In the name of Jesus, O Lord, we pray that everything that causes liturgy in the lives of men, that make them lazy in the place of prayer, Lord, be merciful today, and Lord, take it away. In the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray, Father, that, Lord, you will stir up, Father, and see in our being.
In the name of Jesus. Lord Jesus, I, my brethren, would not sit still. Father, why demons? Lord Jesus who play around Lord God our destinies around our lives, around our families Lord we will arise we will war, we will fight oh God we will arise, we will pray because Lord you desire that the righteous man will pray and so Lord today we pray Lord that Father Lord Jesus you kindle our prayer altars in the mighty name of Jesus, Lord this is our prayer, we give you all the praise and all the glory ... For in Jesus' mighty name, we are prayed.