I want to hit on a topic which is very common
that we speak about as a church,
but I find in my own personal life
that if I'm not, I guess, feeling very zealous for the Lord,
you know, I'm not talking so much now as a pastor
because things have changed,
I've matured to a certain point,
but I just remember as a Christian growing up in church
and trying to walk in accordance to God's ways,
one of the major things
that would fall out of my Christian life,
and I'm just not walking with the Lord
as best as I should, is prayer.
Prayer would be something that would just fall off
my list of things to do,
where I would go days, I would go weeks,
just not ever really going to,
yeah, maybe saying a prayer before a meal,
maybe just your basic prayer before bedtime,
thank you, Lord, for the day,
but really spending time with the Lord in prayer.
You know, I remember that was just something
that would often fall off my list of things to do,
and if you look at James 5, verse 16,
confess your faults one to another
and pray for one another, for another,
that ye may be healed,
and this is the effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much.
Now, brethren, this is true,
the effectual fervent prayer.
When you think of this idea of fervent prayer,
we're talking about a prayer of passion,
of zeal, of excitement, coming for the Lord,
a fiery prayer, pouring out a heart before the Lord.
You know, this type of prayer is effectual.
This prayer gets answered,
the effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much.
Now, praise God that if you're saved,
you are a righteous man.
You are a righteous child
because you stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ,
and of course, don't forget,
we also have our own righteousness
that we're trying to walk in accordance to God's ways,
His will, and look, the more closer that we are to the Lord
as we go before Him in this effectual fervent prayer,
we're going to have prayers answered.
The title for the sermon this afternoon, brethren,
is the power of prayer, the power of prayer.
You know, I've never been so convinced in my life
that God answers prayer.
I've always known that.
I've always, you know, so does God answer prayer?
Of course, He answers prayers,
but I've never been so convinced
because it just seems like every time I go to the Lord
needing something, He gives it, He answers it,
or He answers it in a way that I just wasn't expecting,
in a better way, a much greater way.
I'm not just talking my own prayers.
I'm talking about just praying for other people.
You know, there are people that have, you know,
can you please pray for me about this?
A week later, they pray, get answered,
they've got what they want,
and you know, the reason prayer sometimes falls off our,
off our agenda is sometimes we have this idea
of just like, you know, just a coincidence.
You know, can you pray for me about X, Y, and Z,
and then X, Y, and Z gets answered,
and we just, oh, that's just a coincidence, I suppose.
We forget to thank God, but no,
we need to remember that our God
is the creator of this universe.
Our God is a miraculous God.
You know, even if the world is going a certain way,
and it just seems almost impossible
for God to do something, for him to step in.
No, he can change the events of this natural world
to just answer your prayer.
Prayer is so powerful.
Prayer is so important, and the reason
I'm just preaching about this common topic
is simply because I know, just remembering,
that this was something that fall off my agenda,
not going to the Lord in prayer.
I just wonder how many missed opportunities I had,
you know, where I could have had an answer to prayer,
and I just didn't go to the Lord about it, okay?
So the effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much.
You know, it's amazing what God can do
if we just speak a few words to him,
you know, fervently, in faith,
and we speak to our Lord God.
And I'll tell you number one
why I believe prayer is so powerful.
It's because as we, you know,
as we live our Christian life,
we have different responsibilities, right?
You know, such as going to church,
like reading our Bibles, like maybe preaching the gospel,
you know, confessing our,
oh, that's part of prayer anyway.
But we have different responsibilities
that we should be striving to do on a daily basis.
But when it comes to prayer,
this is one space in your life
that you're actually invoking the triune nature of God,
the Trinity, okay?
When we come to church, we often talk,
yeah, I mean, I'm not saying the Trinity's not here.
I'm not saying that, you know,
the Lord says he's in our midst,
the Holy Spirit is working in our hearts, all right?
I'm not saying that the triune nature of God isn't here,
but when we go to God in prayer,
we're actually invoking his triune nature,
the three that make up our one Lord God.
I want you to turn to Luke chapter 11, please.
Turn to Luke chapter 11, verse number two.
Luke chapter 11, verse number two.
The purpose of this sermon is to encourage you to pray,
to encourage you.
Yes, you know, I love Wednesday nights.
I love it when we pray together,
because hey, you know, it's a good way
to get into that habit, praying for one another,
praying in front of each other.
But we need to remember to pray
in our own personal time to the Lord, okay?
But Luke chapter 11, verse number two.
Luke chapter 11, verse number two.
Jesus Christ has given us the example of how to pray,
and in verse number two it says,
and he said unto them, when ye pray, say,
our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
So brethren, when we go and pray,
who are we speaking to?
The Father, right?
The Father, our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Let me encourage you, when you start to pray,
don't just immediately just offload everything
you need God to answer.
I have this need, I have that need, I have that need.
Okay, dear Lord, I have this need, I have this need.
You know what, when you get along with the Lord,
just hallow the name of the Lord.
What does it mean to hallow?
It means like holy.
Just elevate the Lord God.
Just praise God.
Just tell God how great of a God he is.
Just tell him how great of a Savior he is.
Also, when we have our church service,
and let's say we start with a hymn,
and we have that first opening prayer,
we want that first opening prayer to be a prayer
where we just hallow the name of the Lord.
Where we just exhort the Lord God for who he is
and for what he has given us.
We want to make sure that's the first thing
that comes out of our heart,
just thanking God for the great God that he is.
But I want you to notice there
that when we do go into prayer,
we're speaking to the Father, all right?
Now go to John chapter 14.
Turn to John chapter 14, verse number 13.
John chapter 14 and verse number 13.
John 14, verse 13.
Jesus Christ once again teaching us about prayer.
He says in John 14, 13,
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,
that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye ask, so if ye shall ask anything in my name,
I will do it.
Praise God.
So hey, what else do we learn?
We speak to the Father as we go to pray,
our Father which art in heaven,
and then when we ask things,
we ask in the name of Jesus.
This is why we often, you know,
it's not just a tradition.
It's not just a vain repetition.
Please don't let this become a vain repetition
in your prayer life.
In Jesus' name, amen.
I ask these things in Jesus' name.
Why do we do that?
Because Christ instructed us.
When we go and we ask in prayer,
let's ask in the power of his name.
Let me encourage you to use the name of Christ
as we go to the Father in prayer.
I mean, that's a guarantee from Jesus.
If ye shall ask anything in my name,
I will do it.
Do you have that faith?
Do you believe that whatever you ask of the Lord,
he will do?
I mean, it's quite interesting, eh?
I mean, this isn't black and white.
This isn't like, I might do it.
You know, there's a 50% chance that I'll do it.
No crisis if you ask in my name.
I will do it.
I believe in answered prayers.
Now, how does God answer?
Sometimes he answers yes.
You know, Lord, I need X, Y, and Z.
Can you help me with X, Y, and Z?
Yes, I can.
Hey, that's a great way for prayers to be answered.
But you know what?
When God says no, it's still an answered prayer.
He just answered no, okay?
And you just have to have the faith
and the trust in God that if the answer is no,
then it must be best for me.
I mean, if this was something
that was going to be the best for me,
then why would God not say yes?
If the reason he says no is because it's better
if I don't have it the way I want it,
or sometimes he answers it in a much greater way
than you need it in the first place.
Another answer that God will give you is,
well, wait.
Yes, but wait.
Yes, but not now, okay?
Wait for God's timing.
In fact, all prayer at the end of the day is God's timing.
But whatever we ask in the name of Jesus,
it's going to reach the ears of our Father,
and he'll answer that prayer.
You know, it amazes me to think that
the God of this universe who holds it all in his hands,
the heavens and the earth, right?
I mean, every aspect, you know,
from the things in the cosmic realm,
things that are microscopic,
the Lord knows every detail about everything there is to know
and that I can just go before God and he hears me.
Like, it blows my mind.
I don't know if that blows your mind.
Or if I'm praying,
maybe there's millions of other Christians
praying at the same time,
but God hears my prayer as though I'm the only one speaking.
That blows my mind as well,
that God knows everything, but he hears me as a son
coming before him in the name,
in the power of the name of Jesus Christ.
Can you please now turn to Ephesians chapter six?
Turn to Ephesians chapter six, please,
and verse number 18.
Ephesians chapter six and verse number 18.
Ephesians chapter six and verse number 18, please.
The Bible reads, praying always,
brethren, we should always pray.
It should never fall off the agenda, okay?
Praying always with all prayer and supplication,
look at this, in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all saints.
So what else do we learn here?
That when we pray, we are to pray in the Spirit.
Do you see how prayer invokes the triune nature of God?
We go to God the Father, we ask in the name of Jesus,
and we pray in the Spirit.
Now, brethren, the fact that it says pray in the Spirit,
that we are to pray always in the Spirit,
you know what that tells me?
The fact that it's written there
tells me that sometimes we pray in the flesh.
Sometimes we pray for our own selfish desires,
and we're not right with God, we're not close to God,
and we might spit out some prayer that means nothing really
as far as the spiritual realm goes,
and it's a selfish prayer, you know,
carnal things that we say.
I think it is possible to pray in the flesh, you know?
And if we're not praying in the Spirit,
it's not going to reach the ears of our Father.
You know, yes, you'll say some words,
it'll hit the ceiling and come back
and hit you on the head, okay?
But we need to remember to be in the Spirit.
It's so important that we're close to the Lord.
You know, not only when I go to prayer
do I exalt my Lord God, but one of the next things
I do immediately is just confess my sins.
Lord, forgive me for the sins that I've committed.
You know, I don't want there to be any separation
between you and I, I don't want to be in any darkness,
I want to be in your light, I want to be in your presence,
please forgive me for the wrong that I've done.
You know, I want my prayers to not be hindered,
I want them to reach our Heavenly Father,
but we must pray in the Spirit,
we must put off the old man, put off the flesh,
and pray in the Holy Spirit.
So prayer invokes the Trinity,
that's why I love prayer so much,
it's a fact that in that process, you know,
we are touching Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
as we speak our request before the Lord.
All right, please turn to another passage,
please turn to Colossians chapter four,
turn to Colossians chapter four.
Why is it that prayer is often the thing
that falls off, and I don't know,
I don't feel the same as me, bro,
I'm just being honest with you,
I remember that being the major thing
that would fall off my list.
You know, being a pastor has kind of forced me
to be more prayerful,
because that is one of the main responsibilities,
if you look at the pastoral epistles,
you'll often find the instruction to pray for your people,
you know, it's a major responsibility for pastors to pray,
so I'm reminded of that,
I'm always reading the pastoral epistles,
just to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing,
I don't want to miss the mark there, okay,
and so as a pastor, I'm kind of forced more to pray,
because I know it's the right thing to do,
but again, just going back, I remember before,
it would be something that I just forget,
say why, why do you forget that?
Because prayer requires labor, prayer requires labor,
it is not easy to pray, okay,
so what do you cause it's easy?
Just close your eyes, dear Father, say a few words,
no, but we're talking about effectual fervent prayer,
which availeth much, okay,
that kind of prayer requires a lot of labor,
look at Colossians 4, verse 12, Colossians 4, verse 12,
it says, Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ,
salute of you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers
that you may stand perfect and complete
in all the will of God,
prayer requires you to labor fervently,
this is why it's tiring,
this is why, you know, when Christ asked his disciples
to pray with him, they fell asleep,
because it requires work, it requires labor,
you know, how many times have you gone to bed,
you know, ready to just say a prayer to the Lord,
and then you've, you know, you've fallen asleep,
you wake up in the morning, did I finish that prayer?
I mean, you know, it's happened to me so many times, okay,
not only are you tired from the day's events,
but as you go before God, rest in your head,
you say a few words, done, because it requires labor,
you know, it does require, it's a spiritual work
that is required for you to do,
let's keep going to verse number 13, Colossians 4, 13,
for I bear him record that he have a great zeal for you
and them that are in Laodicea and them in Heropolis.
All right, so you see, prayer,
if you're gonna pray fervently,
if you're gonna pray effective prayers, it requires labor,
this is why when you've got that zeal,
you've got a great desire to go before God in prayer,
and when you lose that zeal a little bit,
so does the prayer life, so does that laboring in prayer,
praying for other people, you know,
it's a good habit to pray for others,
you know, I remember as a child,
I think I learned this in Sunday school,
but they use the, what's that?
Anyway, my teachers taught me basically the way we pray
is by the word joy,
I don't know if you guys have heard this before,
anyway, Jay represents Jesus,
so just like we begin, we begin praising the Lord,
thanking him for who he is, so we speak of Jesus
and then the O in joy represents others,
the idea was before you start praying about all your needs,
you know, try to remember the needs of other people,
yeah, that's exactly what Epaphras is doing,
when he's laboring fervently in prayer,
he's praying for his fellow brethren,
and then he prays, you know, why joy, you,
pray for yourself, pray for the things that you need,
I think that's a really good formula in which to pray,
you know, elevate Christ, you know,
think of others and needs of others,
and then bring your requests before the Lord,
but it requires labor, it requires effort,
and I think this is why we sometimes get tired doing it,
the other reason is there are certain things
in our Christian life that are very visible,
you know, coming to church is a very visible thing,
preaching behind the pulpit's a very visible thing,
you know, even speaking of the Bible
can be a very visible thing, you know,
if you know God's word, you can, you know,
people can sort of get to know that you know God's word
or you don't know God's word, but when it comes to prayer,
it's not a visible thing, is it?
It's something behind the scenes, you know,
and sometimes that part of our life can drop off
that which is behind the scenes,
because when something is very visible,
you're gonna make the extra effort, I suppose,
to do what you're required to do.
All right, I'm going to get you to turn to Psalm 145,
turn to Psalm 145,
and I'm going to read to you from 1 John 5.14,
you go to Psalm 145, I'm going to read to you
from 1 John 5.14, and the Bible reads,
and this is the confidence that we have in him,
that if we ask anything according to his will,
he heareth us, and if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him.
Maybe I should have got you to turn to this passage,
but the point here is this, say, well, I don't know,
am I praying in the spirit or am I praying in the flesh?
You know, are my prayers effective, Pastor Kevin?
You know, maybe you say, you know,
it just seems like God's not answering my prayer.
Well, here's the thing, here's how you can be sure
that God answers your prayer.
It says, and this is the confidence that we have in him,
that if we ask anything according to his will,
okay, he heareth us.
So this is what's important about growing as a Christian.
Why is it so important to grow and be more Christ-like?
You see, the more you're like Christ,
then your will will be closer aligned to the will of God.
You'll be praying about things that God,
that is definitely within the will of God.
And if your will lines up with God's will,
you're asking that, which is what God wills for you,
it will happen.
God hears it.
God will answer those things.
See, a lot of times we don't get the prayer answered
or seemingly doesn't get answered
or we don't feel like God is hearing us.
It's because we go to God with our own will.
You know, Lord, I need this, I need that.
God says, no, you don't need those things.
No, I don't wanna give you those things.
And we don't necessarily always know why.
But again, I just rest in the idea,
in the thought that, well, God, you know best.
You know what is best for me.
And maybe if I got what I wanted,
I might not be a faithful Christian.
If I got what I wanted, maybe I'd be selfish.
I don't know.
I don't know what the effects would be
if I got those things when God says no.
But the key is that we ask things in accordance to His will.
You see, as you become more Christ-like,
once again, your will is closer to the will of the Lord
and you'll experience more answered prayer
than you've ever experienced before.
I got you to turn to Psalm 145, verse number 18.
So why is prayer powerful?
Number one, because it is the method by which God hears us.
Okay, it's the method by which God hears us.
Psalm 145, verse 18.
Look at this, Psalm 145, verse 18.
The Lord is nigh, or the Lord is near,
if you wanna use that word,
the Lord is nigh unto all them
that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.
All right, so I know we say, when someone gets saved,
we say, you know, He called upon the name of the Lord.
Yes, that's true,
but we're talking about a believer right now,
someone that the Lord is close to.
He's close to those that call upon Him.
You see, if you want the Lord right by your side,
if you wanna be close to the presence of God,
you must have a healthy prayer life.
Now, what else does it say in verse number 15?
And if we know that He hear us,
whatsoever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.
Isn't that interesting?
If we wanna be close to the Lord,
we want Him to be hearing our prayers
and answering our petitions,
we must be nigh to the Lord.
We must have a healthy prayer life.
Prayer is powerful because it is the method
by which God hears us.
That is the number one method, okay,
that God will hear what we have to speak of.
I want you to also turn to Hebrews chapter four,
and I'm getting to turn to a few passages here,
but Hebrews chapter four, please, Hebrews chapter four.
Number two, point number two,
it keeps God close, okay, it keeps Him close.
And Hebrews chapter four, verse 14, please.
Hebrews chapter four, verse number 14.
Do you sometimes feel that the Lord is not that close by?
Sometimes feel like He's far off.
It's prayer that'll keep you close to the Lord, okay?
It's that communion with the Lord,
it's a fellowship with the Lord.
Don't forget, you know, the Lord God is another being.
You know, just like a friendship,
you know, to maintain a healthy friendship,
to maintain a healthy marriage, we must communicate.
We must be in close proximity.
We must have time of fellowship
and enjoy in one another's company.
That's what prayer does.
It helps us to be in the company,
in the presence of our Lord God.
It keeps God close by.
Hebrews chapter four, verse 14.
Hebrews chapter four, verse number 14.
It says, seeing then that we have a great high priest,
speaking about Christ, that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession,
for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities
but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin.
Isn't that interesting?
That God knows the temptations that we go through.
Jesus Christ became a man.
He was touched with our infirmities.
He knows the pain that we go through.
He knows the sicknesses that we suffer.
He knows the temptations that we go through.
You know what?
God is not this God that is completely unrelatable.
Jesus Christ, become a man,
fully understands the struggles that we go through.
He understands why we fail.
He understands why we commit sin.
He understands the frailty of man.
And this is why we can go to God
and share with God our weaknesses,
share with God when we fail,
share with God when we sinned,
because God understands those things through Jesus Christ.
It says there in verse number 16,
let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace
that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.
Brethren, where is the throne of God?
It's in heaven, isn't it?
You know, the Lord's throne in heaven,
surrounded by the angels,
surrounded in him and singing him songs of worship.
You know, I mean, heaven's a busy place.
All right, God's got his throne.
And here's the thing.
You think, well, how can I approach that throne?
You just bow your head, dear Father.
And there you are transported spiritually
before the throne of grace.
You know what?
And all of that noise in heaven,
all of that praise, all that worship,
God is able to turn to us and give us time and attention
for the needs that we have.
Let us come boldly.
I mean, sometimes I can't even lift my head to pray
because I know I failed the Lord.
I know I've sinned.
And I've got to remind myself that I'm a child of the king.
I'm a child of God.
I'm saved, right?
I mean, God knows that I can't live this perfect life
without any sin,
which is why I needed a Savior in the first place.
God knows these things.
I'm his son.
He wants me to come before him to the throne of grace,
to find mercy, to find help.
And we can remind ourselves when we feel that,
man, should I really approach God's throne?
Say, yes, I'm going to come boldly
because I'm a child of God.
And yes, I have weaknesses.
Yes, I have sin.
Yes, I have problems.
This is exactly why I need to go to God for help.
It's amazing that we can come before he's throne.
We don't even have to be in heaven.
We can just bow our head,
close your eyes, whatever your practice is,
and come before God's throne,
saying, God, help me, please.
I have needs.
What a beautiful thing.
It's a place.
Prayer, prayer is powerful
because it's the place that we obtain mercy,
grace, and help.
Mercy, we need mercy, don't we?
Man, you know, I'm so thankful that every time,
you know, that God doesn't just strike me with lightning
every time I do something wrong, right?
I'm just thankful that he gives me space,
you know, that he gives me time to fix things
or gives me time to repent,
gives me time to seek, to apologize
and get things right with God.
Mercy, grace, and help.
Boy, I don't know how, you know what,
I don't know how the unbelieving world
even survive in this world
without being able to go to God in prayer.
Say, God is a crutch, absolutely is a crutch.
Isn't that what the atheists say?
Oh, I don't believe in God.
You guys just use God as a crutch, yeah,
I need that crutch, I need it.
Because, you know what, this world is tough.
You know, I'm a weak man, I make mistakes.
I need someone that's gonna support me.
I need someone that's going to help me,
that's gonna lift me, that's gonna give me
the things that I need to be able to be successful
in his will.
So point number three,
oh, let's go through those points once again.
Number one, prayer is powerful because it is a method
by which God hears us.
Number two, it is powerful because it keeps God close.
Number three, it's powerful because where we obtain
mercy, grace, and help.
Can you please turn to Philippians chapter four?
Philippians chapter four, verse number 16.
Sorry, verse number six.
Philippians chapter four, verse number six.
Philippians four, verse six.
The Bible reads, be careful, that means,
be full of care, okay, for nothing, what?
Don't be full of care, don't be all worried,
and anxious, and concerned about everything.
No, be careful for nothing, how do I do that?
Man, we've had the unsettled, we've had the COVID world,
it's been all unsettled, we've got war there,
Russia, Ukraine, you know, we've got the interest rates
going up, and we've got all this, and we've got that,
we've got all these concerns.
God says, be careful for nothing.
Can you do that?
Can you be careful for nothing?
Can you stop worrying?
Say, how do I do that?
It says here, but, so this is what we do instead,
but in everything, brethren, everything,
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
Brethren, whatever it is that you're concerned with,
whatever burden you've got, everything,
just take it to God, and you be careful with nothing.
You leave it in God's hands.
Easier said than done, though, isn't it?
But that's the instruction that God gives us.
Yes, he's my crutch, I mean, God is much more
than my crutch, okay, I can take every concern,
every need to my Father, and God wants me
to be careful for nothing.
He doesn't want me worrying.
He doesn't want me anxious.
He just wants me to leave it with him
and see what God can do with my problems, okay?
And I love it, it says there in verse number seven,
and, so once you've done that, and,
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Prayer is powerful, number four,
because it gives you inner peace.
It gives you inner peace.
Now, brethren, you need to learn
to leave those concerns to the Father.
You need to go to the Lord in prayer,
offload your burdens, and you've gotta leave it there.
You gotta leave it with God.
What you do, and what I do, many times,
hey, God, I've got these burdens, can you hold them?
And then we finish prayer, we pick up the burdens again.
Thanks, God, I've got it now.
It's like, oh, no, no, God says leave it there,
and be careful for nothing.
Leave it in God's hands.
Again, easier said than done.
But when you are able to do this,
you will have the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding.
You know what that means?
That no one can understand why you're so peaceful.
Oh, but what if Australia goes to war?
I'll be at peace.
What if the interest rates go through the roof?
I'll be at peace.
What if the financial system collapses?
I'll be at peace.
What if there's a COVID variant, variant monster,
and it kills 90% of the population?
I'll be at peace.
Well, we should be at peace.
Okay, be careful for nothing.
Can you do that?
That's the power of prayer.
Where the whole world can be burning,
and you're like, this is all good.
I'm at peace with my Lord God.
It passeth all understanding.
You know what, the world can look at you
and just not understand why are you so peaceful.
Why are you just not full of care?
Why aren't you just anxious and worried like the rest of us?
Because I've got the peace of God.
I took my burdens, I left it with the Lord.
You know, when I heard that illustration,
one of my old pastors, we pray, we take the burdens,
and then we, thank you, Lord,
I put it back on my shoulders and we walk away.
I said, yep, that's exactly what I've been doing
my whole life.
And now I've learned, I'm just gonna leave it in your hands
and we need to learn that.
If you haven't learned that, you need to do it.
You need to apply this.
I want you to understand the power of prayer.
I want you to be able to understand and appreciate
the inner peace that God gives you.
We can just leave it in the hands of God.
Can you please turn to First Timothy chapter two.
First Timothy chapter two and verse number one.
First Timothy chapter two, verse number one.
Now we have government elections coming up,
and so I strongly encourage you to meditate
upon this passage, all right?
Even if you think that voting makes no difference,
it probably doesn't, okay?
But I still want you to meditate on this verse.
You know, voting may not make any difference,
but prayer makes a difference, okay?
And it tells us here, in First Timothy,
chapter two, verse number one.
First Timothy, chapter two, verse number one.
I exhort, therefore, that first of all,
prayers, sorry, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings, and for all that are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
in all godliness and honesty.
So what else does the power of prayer give us?
It allows us to live a life with minimal troubles.
How often do we take our government to prayer before the Lord?
How often do we pray for our Prime Minister
and our Premier?
Say, I don't want to, yeah, neither do I.
But God tells us to do it, okay?
To pray for these people.
Why, why are we praying for them?
Yes, so they pass laws that are godly, all right?
That God will change their hearts,
that God will do a mighty work there in Canberra.
You know, that God will take down the wicked politicians
and replace them with some God-fearing politicians.
I know full well that we're never gonna have
this righteous Christian Australian nation.
I understand that.
I understand the politicians that are in there
are not necessarily gonna be saved.
But at the very minimum of what I want,
and I believe it's achievable,
is for those politicians to have a fear of the Lord.
Just to know there is a God,
and I've been given a great responsibility to pass laws
to make judgments here in this nation.
If they just had a fear of God, all of them,
this would be a completely different nation, okay?
We need to go before God and ask,
Lord, can you pray for these things?
That we may live a quiet and peaceable life.
That's what we want to achieve.
Hey, we want the government to leave us alone.
You say the past two years, Pastor Kevin,
the government has not left us alone.
Yeah, you know why?
Because I don't think Christians
have been praying for their government.
That's what I think.
I think Christians around the world
have not been praying for the politicians
because they are so wicked,
because we don't want to even consider their names
in prayer, but what's caused is the oppression that we saw.
You know, all the mandates,
all these things that came to be.
I'm thankful for everything that we've gone through,
but it's reminded me, man,
we've just not been praying for these people.
You know, if they disrupt our lives so much,
and God is a God that is telling us this honest truth here,
that if we bring these kings before him in prayer,
that we'll be able to live this quiet and peaceable life.
So brethren, it allows us to live a life
with minimal troubles.
We've got elections coming up.
I don't care who wins.
I don't care if it's a Labor or Liberal.
I don't care if it's some minor party that disrupts things.
All I care about is are we lifting these people in prayer?
You know, ask God to take down the wicked ones,
the ones that are bringing in godless laws.
You know, ask God to bring in people with fear of God.
You know, ask the Lord that he will change their hearts.
You know, we read through the Bible
so many stories of kings and governors that are wicked,
but then God can change their hearts
and do something miraculous within them.
And you know, we want the same here in Australia.
We need the same thing here in Australia.
All right, can you please go to Matthew 26?
Turn to Matthew 26 and verse number 40.
Matthew 26 and verse number 40.
The power of prayer.
What else does prayer do for us?
Well, in Matthew 26 verse 40,
I kind of mentioned this story before,
but it says, and he cometh unto the disciples
and findeth them asleep and saith unto Peter,
what, could you not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Brethren, prayer is powerful because it gives you
the power to overcome temptations.
What does it say there, verse number 41?
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
You know what, if you're being tempted to sin,
you know, the lust of the flesh has come to be
the pride of life and you just know,
man, I want to commit this sin, but you know what?
The new man says, no, it does not want to.
You know what you do?
Go to God in prayer.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
You need to have that spiritual connection
with the Lord.
Lord, I'm being tempted.
Can you please help me overcome?
Help me find a way of escape out of this temptation.
You know, as soon as you just got that temptation to sin,
say, God, help me.
Lord, I'm being tempted right now.
It's got the power to help you overcome sins,
overcome temptations.
You know, why?
Because again, that prayer is, you know,
keeps us in that close proximity with the Lord.
You know, we don't want to like, you know,
I guess sometimes when we sin, we kind of think,
oh God, you know, he's far out there somewhere.
Maybe he's not paying attention to me.
But when we go into God in prayer,
and we know we have a choice to sin or not,
and we know, man, now I'm in the presence of the Lord.
I've gone before he's thrown of grace.
You know what?
That spirit's going to be empowered and be like,
how can I possibly sin before the presence of my Lord God?
It'll help you overcome temptations.
All right, can you please turn to Mark chapter 11?
Turn to Mark chapter 11.
We've got two more passages to turn to.
Just Mark chapter 11, verse number 23.
Mark 11, verse 23.
What about this passage in the scripture, in Mark 11, 23?
Jesus Christ says, for verily I say unto you,
that whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,
and shall not doubt in his heart,
but shall believe those things which he saith
shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, what think soever you desire,
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them,
and ye shall have them.
Again, brethren, this is in the Bible.
Okay, so when we go to God in prayer, what are we doing?
We're believing that this prayer will be answered.
We're believing that God is capable
of changing the laws of nature,
the laws of whatever it is, brethren,
just to step in and answer this lowly Christian's prayer,
to answer my need.
Can you place your faith,
just as much as you've placed your faith on Christ
for salvation, that same trust.
When you go before God, I know God will listen.
I know God's gonna answer with the best possible answer
that he can give me.
Hey, we go with that attitude, brethren,
and you're gonna see amazing things happen
in your prayer life, amazing things
that will blow your mind.
You know, I told you at the beginning,
I've never seen God just answer so many prayers.
It just keeps happening, you know,
and I shouldn't be surprised,
but it kind of is surprising, as long as,
like, God, you've stepped in, you've heard me,
you've heard my brother's prayer,
you've heard my sister's prayer,
and you've done something about that, Lord.
We're that important to you.
Yes, we're that important to him,
but we just have to apply that trust, that faith,
the same faith that you put on salvation.
Now, trust him with your needs.
Trust him with your prayer life.
Can you do that?
God says, look, those things will be answered.
You'll get exactly what you want,
but don't forget, it's gotta be in accordance to his will.
All right?
You know, people sometimes, I've had conversations,
you know, I'm just, God's not hearing me.
That's an issue.
You know, if you truly believe that God's not hearing you,
you're almost saying you're not saved.
I'm not saying you're not saved.
I'm just saying, listen, you're a child of God.
If you're saved, you're a son,
you're a daughter of the Lord,
of course the Lord will hear you, okay?
It's just that maybe your prayer life
is not what it should be, you know?
It might not be that effectual, fervent prayer.
It might just be that short,
thank you, Lord, for today, amen.
All right, thank you, Lord, for the food, amen.
You know, no, no, no, we need to take prayer seriously.
We remember who we're speaking to somebody.
Could you imagine if I spoke to my wife like that?
Like, she cooks a meal for us, right?
And I take a bite, ah, great, honey, see ya.
You know, like, you know what?
My wife's cooked a meal, all right?
Thank you, it's the best meal I've ever had.
Whatever it is, this is awesome, this is delicious.
Thank you for making this.
And me nuts, you know what?
I mean, why would God just wanna just
have this little chat with you
where you just spit a few words?
Hey, I said my prayers.
Wouldn't you stop?
When's the last time you really prayed hard?
When's the last time you truly shed some tears?
You truly cried out, maybe verbally,
maybe in your heart to the Lord God?
When's that last time that you had
that sweet hour of prayer with God?
It's probably been a long time, I don't know.
I don't know what your prayer life is like.
But we need to understand that we're speaking
to our Heavenly Father.
He wants to have fellowship with us.
He wants to hear our requests.
And he wants to answer our prayers.
We just have to ask in the right way.
I'll just quickly read to you from James 4, verse three.
Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss
that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
That's one reason why your prayer doesn't get answered.
Because it's out of your lusts.
It's something you believe you want or you need,
but God says no, it's coming.
It's not a prayer of the Spirit.
It's a prayer coming from the flesh.
And God says no, ye ask amiss.
There is power in prayer.
Truly, we can ask God to do amazing things
and he's already come through
and answered many of our prayers.
Okay, one more passage.
Please turn to Romans 8.
Romans 8, 26.
One of my favorite things about prayer.
Romans 8, 26, please.
Romans 8, 26.
The closer you are to the Lord,
the closer you are to his will.
The more you're gonna see your prayers answered.
All right?
But we're still human beings.
We still don't always necessarily ask
exactly the right things.
We may not necessarily pray exactly the right way.
This is why it's so important that we pray in the Spirit.
Okay?
Because it tells us here in Romans 8, 26.
Romans 8, 26.
And when I say pray in the Spirit,
you guys know I'm not talking about
some charismatic Pentecostal jargon.
Okay?
I'm talking about putting off that new man,
putting off your own self-interests,
and coming before God in the spiritual new man
Okay?
But it says in Romans 8, 26.
Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities,
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
So the Bible's saying, look, we don't really,
you know, yes, we go to before God in prayer.
We think we need these things.
We need it answered this way.
But really, we may not necessarily be asking exactly,
you know, what God's ultimate will be for our lives.
Okay?
But then it says this,
but the Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit,
maketh intercession.
Sorry, let me read that again.
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.
But it says the Holy Spirit intercedes.
It's like we say something to God in prayer,
and the Holy Spirit catches it before he gets to the Father,
and he changes it a little bit.
He changes it to be aligned with the will of God.
And this is in verse number 27.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints,
look at this, according to the will of God.
So remember, our prayers get answered.
We get what we want for, what we're asking for,
if we pray in accordance to his will.
But sometimes we don't.
Sometimes even when we're in the Spirit,
when we're trying to seek God's will,
we don't always necessarily know what we're after,
but the Holy Spirit intercedes,
gets a hold of that prayer,
lines it up with the will of God,
and then it reaches the ears of the Father.
And this is why sometimes we get prayers answered,
and it's answered much better
than what we initially wanted.
Yeah, we were seeking something good and right,
but it wasn't exactly God's will.
The Holy Spirit steps in, changes that prayer.
What he really meant is this, okay?
This is how he lines up with your will,
reaches the Father's ears,
and he says, of course, that's my will.
Of course I'm gonna answer that prayer,
and it gets answered.
And then we see it, and we get blown away.
Wow, man, that's even better than I wanted.
Have you experienced that,
where you've gone to God in prayer and say,
man, the answer was even better than what I really wanted?
You know why?
Because the Holy Spirit interceded at that point,
changed the prayer, lined it up perfectly with God's will,
and God said, absolutely, absolutely.
You know, we'll answer that prayer.
Prayer is powerful, brethren.
You know, don't let it be something
that falls off your life.
You know, I regret so many times
where prayer just fell off my list of things to do.
How many times did I, I did not experience,
you know, the answered prayer that I should have, you know?
And I love the fact that it invokes
the trying nature of God.
That when I go to God in prayer,
where before his throne, spiritually speaking,
where before his throne, in the Spirit,
asking in Jesus' name, speaking to the Father,
you know, our amazing God,
who we would think is too busy to even listen to us.
No, no, he stops and he hears what we have to say.
And if it's aligned with his will,
he says, absolutely, yes.
You know what?
And we can change the course of this world
by simply praying, praying in the right way,
praying for the right things,
praying for others, you know?
Putting the labor in, putting the effort in,
spending time saying, Lord, I'm gonna commit this hour,
this half an hour, whatever it is, even 10 minutes.
No, a good 10 minute prayer, that can be hard.
You know, most of our prayers, if we're honest,
might be just a few seconds long.
You know what?
If I was just speaking to my wife
just a few seconds every day,
we'd probably end up in divorce.
You know, communication is important.
God wants to be in fellowship with us.
God wants us to be, God wants to be close to us.
God wants us to overcome our temptations.
Prayer is powerful to accomplish all these things.
Okay, let's pray.