Community Stream Sunday - Prayer Pt. 2

[Music] hey well welcome to a another sunday edition of empower church coming to you to your living room from my living room and so welcome it's good to have you here today hey if you are new or visiting or want to know more about empower church and who we are and what we do please head to our website dot co that empowerchurch.co.com and uh come and say hi to us if you are wanting more information just can click on the connect with us tab um or button sorry and um and fill out the form there we would just love to be in contact with you and we'd love to be able to communicate to you in that way well we are um if for those for for the non-victorian non-melbournians um you might not know but we're in a seven day lockdown which is extended to a 14-day lockdown and um here we are at home doing church online again um but i've got to be honest with you of course i'd much rather us being person worshiping together but really and and truthfully there is a there is something stirring in my spirit um there is a faith in my heart to know that god is still moving powerfully and god god the tabernacle of the old testament that god wanted to move in was a physical building but the tabernacle of the new testament the meeting place of god is actually you it's me it's his body the church body the body of christ corporately together and so all it takes really is an open heart all it takes is agreement with god's word all it takes with is with faith all it takes is just just a little bit of leaning and focus focusing in on jesus and stealing your heart in the midst of the storm and allowing him to come and move and so i want to encourage you to do that today um i didn't realize this one i shared last week off the back of pentecost sunday but we had such a powerful move of god on pentecost sunday and uh last sunday i followed it up with a message on prayer and i kind of find ourselves we find ourselves today rather in a bit of a mini-series right now on prayer starting on pentecost sunday pentecost was birthed through a praying people they went and waited and jesus said what they why are we waiting and acts 1 8 says that you will receive power you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you that's why he told them to go and wait then the the king james version of that word or the old school pentecostal language there is go and tarry go and wait in jerusalem for there you'll be endued with power from on high you'll be anointed with power power extraordinary power is going to come upon the ordinary and it's going to bring it to supernatural life so that it can be so that you and i can be effective witnesses in this day and age and so today i want to continue talking to you about prayer now last week go back and listen to it on youtube on um on on podcast if you get an opportunity if you haven't listened to it yet but last week we spoke um about nehemiah we spoke from the story of nehemiah chapter one about how he just began to pray and the bible says that he heard these words and really a question that we had the question on pentecost was what room are you in are you positioning yourself in the prayer room are you coming out of the room of complacency are you coming out of those rooms into the room that god's calling you into and that was the question then last last week's question was really all around um what are these things what what are these words that you hear that are inspiring you and burning you to go and pray and today i really want to zoom in just a little bit further and i want to talk to you just really practically i find myself in these modes but as i'm behind the camera without an audience i really want to take this opportunity to teach you and to help equip you i don't care about the amens i can't hear them anyway but i really care about your life going away from this moment impacted challenged and enlarged so that you can have the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man so that you can see that scripture coming to pass in your life let's pray we're going to go straight to the word father in the name of jesus we honor your presence and we just wait and we wait on your glory jesus so right now spirit of the living god come and resurrect the dead things in our life come and heal the brokenness in our hearts jesus i'm asking right now by the spirit of the living god to come and invade living rooms right now come and cancel addictions come and transform thinking today father i'm asking as we're in this series on prayer i'm asking today in the mighty name of jesus i'm asking god that you were just burdened that a spirit of prayer an attitude a passion and a desire for prayer would come and fill your church i'm asking that you do that today in the mighty name of jesus father as we come around your word as we come around you jesus as we come to feed upon the bread of life as we come and come to drink of the water that when we do we never thirst again lord we want to partake of all of you father lord the harder things that you have to say to us the challenging things you have to say to us the encouraging things you have to say to us i pray in the name of jesus today would you speak to our hearts would you change our lives in the name of jesus let your presence be made manifest right here in our midst in jesus name amen well there are some things that you will never see there are some things that you can only see on your knees that you'll never see on your feet let me say that again there are some things you can see on your knees that you'll never see on your feet there's a realm of god's presence there's a realm of god's spirit there's a realm that i believe the spirit of god is inviting you and i as his body you and i as believers humanize his disciples also also the corporate church specifically us as the empowered church community i believe that the lord is inviting us into a deeper level of intimacy with him i believe that the lord is inviting us into a place of prayer that we've never experienced before i believe that jesus i can hear him calling in the spirit out to us to to press into him in a new way that we never had before i hear him calling us saying matt will you re-dig the wells that previous forefathers and other generations have dug will you pay the price in prayer and friend i want to tell you today as i speak some as i speak these words on prayer as in my own preparation time i'm not preaching at you today as much as i feel the holy ghost preaching to me i am strongly deeply stirred and convicted by the spirit of god that he is calling us into long extended seasons of prayer where we would press into him like never before and that invitation today by the spirit of god is being extended to you and he's inviting you to come and be with him the cross of jesus made a way so that you and i could approach his throne room boldly that we are not separated by the chasm of sin anymore but you and i are now reunited we are the righteousness we are in right standing with god we are the righteousness of god in christ jesus and and accordingly we now have access to him we have access to the throne room of god and because we have access as the book of romans chapter six to eight or five to five to eight uh tells us because we have access we we can because we have access we can approach him with boldness in our heart knowing that he's a good father and that the type of character the type of god that he is is that he is not the god that is going to close the door but god is also a god of order god is also a god of principle god is also a god that has systems and processes by which we must adhere to if we are not just to be a people that pray as the bible says in the book of james but there is a level and a realm of prayer that is more effective than other realms and it's because it's in kingdom order and kingdom alignment and as we share today i'm just being transparent up front i want to share some challenging things today i want to cheer i want to share some uh some confronting things today and i'm praying that the spirit of god would convict you and me so that we could be transformed in a in to the image of jesus so that we can pray like jesus prayed so that we can see heaven manifest on earth like jesus did prayer is not the overcoming of god's reluctance but it is the laying hold of his highest willingness prayer is not overcoming god's reluctance prayer is about overcoming uh sorry prayer is rather about laying hold and coming into alignment with what he is has already willed to come to pass jesus was a man of prayer just put that in the chat jesus was a man of prayer he was praying in luke chapter 3 verse 21 he he was praying we he was praying we see so many times that that show us evidence that jesus was a praying man yes jesus was fully man and he was yes fully god but the humanity in jesus knew that he had to be in alignment with the divinity of his true calling and identity he was a praying man luke 3 21 he tells us that he was praying when the holy spirit descended upon him like a dove he he began his ministry with a with 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness in luke chapter 4 verses 1 to 15. there are other times that he withdrew into the wilderness to pray luke 5 16 was zoning in on luke today he prayed he prayed all night when was the last time you prayed all night he prayed all night before choosing the twelve disciples luke 6 12. think about that how many decisions how many businesses how many opportunities how many decisions do we make that we rush into before going to that place of prayer he was alone in prayer just before he asked peter that that very poignant and pointed question who do you say that i am luke chapter 9 verse 18 just before he was transfigured he took peter james and john up on on a mountain to pray and we read about this in luke chapter 9 more specifically 9 28 jesus was up there praying and he was there praying at the beginning of our text in luke chapter 11. as we pick it up in verse number one we see that jesus was a man that prayed let's read it luke chapter luke chapter one luke chapter one uh sorry rather luke chapter 11 verses 1 to 13. this should motive us motivate us to pray to know that jesus was someone that prayed should strongly motivate and inspire us to pray to become like jesus apart a part of that means that we must become men and women of prayer let's read it verse number one it's on the screen for your convenience this morning make sure you're taking notes with us this is what it says one day jesus was praying in a certain place when he finished one of his disciples said to him lord teach us to pray just as john has taught his disciples can i just say just quickly what a powerful question if you're wanting to start somewhere this is a good place to start i love it we've got to put our shoes in the feet of the disciples we're going to put our our feet in the shoes of the disciples listen to their desire and to their appetite to learn of who jesus was and how he was in communion with the father man i i pray today that that that desire and that appetite for prayer and to learn of who jesus is would come upon you today would come upon me lord teach us to pray he said to them verse number two when you pray say father hallowed be your name your kingdom come give us this day our daily bread forgive us our sins as we also forgive everyone who sins against us and lead us not into temptation then jesus said to them suppose you have a friend and you go to him at midnight and say friend lend me three loaves of bread remember jesus is still in this moment teaching he's now illustrating about prayer a friend of mine verse number six on a journey has come to me and i've no food to offer him and suppose the one inside answers do not bother me the door's already locked and my children are in bed and children and i are in bed i can't get up and give you anything i tell you even though he will not get up and give you bread give you the bread because of friendship yet because of your shameless audacity i love that would you underline that in your bibles today because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and he will give you as much as you need so i say to you ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and the door will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and everyone who seeks and to the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks the door will be open which of you fathers if you asks if your son asks for a fish will give him a snake instead or if he asks for an egg will you give him a scorpion if you then though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father in heaven give the holy spirit to those who ask him what a powerful thing i don't know about you but i think it's easy as we're reading the the scriptures to think that maybe that's just talking about the character of god that story you know ask seek knock if we ask for for a fish is he going to give us a snake if we ask for a stone is he going to give us bread matthew the gospel of matthew says but it's actually talking yes it is talking about the character of the father but it's talking about it in the context of prayer the lesson that jesus is trying to teach the disciples is a lesson about prayer is a lesson about who we are called to be as praying people now before we extrapolate a few different thoughts and we exegete the the text in luke chapter 11. i want to lay some um some more broad brush ideas about prayer because today it is my objective it is my desire for you leaving this time together with some tools in your tool bag to be able to actually go from this moment here and being able to pray for you to go from this place right here in this moment whether you're watching this streaming this online for church or whether you are listening to this on the way to work or while you're doing a workout i want you to be able to go away from this place with some tools that you can instantly apply and start working towards being a person that just doesn't have prayer times but develops a strong prayer life let's read quickly ephesians chapter 6 verse number 10 i'm loving reading the bible to you today because god's word is powerful it's much more powerful than maya or man's opinion and so let's just read it we're going to read it's a famous passage of scripture i referred to it last week but i want to keep reading just a little bit more ephesians 6 verse number 10 finally my brethren be strong in the lord new king james version and the power of his might put on the whole armor of god that you're able to stand against the wiles or the schemes of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against rumors of darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places in other words he's trying to help us to identify that the armor that we put on is not number one it's a supernatural spiritual armor for a spiritual war and we're not wrestling he's contrasting the fact that we're not fighting like sure there's a whole lot of stuff going on out here with roman rule with politics with power with um with huge discrepancies between the rich and the poor sure there's a whole lot of stuff that's happening out here there's thorns in the flesh this there's challenges there's imprisonments there's persecution there's all these things that don't look like heaven and earth but they're actually a by-product not of what's happening in the natural but what's happening in the supernatural and he's trying to realign their way of dealing with those things so he's saying be strong not in your own human endeavor but be strong in the lord don't be strong in the in the economy be strong in the lord don't be strong in the human strength or your intellect or some gifts or abilities that you have that affect out here but be strong in the lord who's the lord the lord is jesus okay be strong in jesus and in the power of your might no the power of his mind in this season there is a yielding that must take place a deeper yielding that we would not lean on our own understanding but we would lean on on who he is and this is what this whole journey of being a new wine skin believer is of being his church in this day and age is why because we can't control whether our global pandemic pandemic is going to break out we can't control lockdowns we can't control um what's going to happen in our economic systems in this world but what we can control is where we our heart leans into and if if we put our trust in horses and chariots then we're gonna we're gonna um come we're gonna fall as as hard as we lean into those things and so jesus is asking us he's trying to realign like the like the apostle paul is to the church in ephesus here in ephesians 6 he's trying to say don't lean on those things the world isn't in trouble those things don't mean anything really lean into me let me let me let me let me let me lean into me this is a spiritual battle verse 13 therefore take up the whole armor of god that you may but a stand i withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand stand therefore gird up your waist with truth having put on the breastplate of righteousness having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace and and above all taking the shield of faith that you me may uh with which you with which you will be able to quench all fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god now let me pause there we are so concerned with what we look like on the outside now be fit be healthy be all those sorts of things but you don't need to be wearing prada to be powerful you don't need to be in gucci to be godly come on you don't have to have the latest car the latest vehicle the image on the external means nothing it provides no spiritual authority stop trying to mimic even the world and stop trying to mimic what you see as beautiful and successful in instagram on youtube come on young preachers you don't need a dress just your the clothes that you're wearing do not determine the authority that you're carrying when it pertains to these clothes it has everything to do with what not are you dressed as a roman soldier this is what paul's saying has everything to do with are you dressed for spiritual battle come on somebody this isn't even in my notes but i feel the holy ghost on this god is saying align yourself with me the world is going to deceive you it creeps into the church all the time we've got to look like this pastor speak like this pastor behave like that person worship like that worship team no you've got to do you've got to you've got to do what who jesus is and worry about nothing else be concerned with nothing else in this world but jesus verse 18 i want you to read this praying always listen to this with all prayer everybody say all prayer put it in the chat on youtube all prayer put it in the comments all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance say all perseverance put that in the chat all perseverance and supplication for all the saints for all the saints now before we move on before we move back to luke chapter 11 i want to give you these seven different realms that you find in the in the bible seven different realms or some people call it the seven different revelations of prayer you might want to call it the seven different modes of prayer or the seven different ways by which prayer is expressed write these down number one prayer is confession and we're going to zoom in on these a little bit later prayer is confession write that down number one prayer is confession it's not confession in the sense of us confessing our sins to god that's a part of our relationship with god absolutely and i'm i'm an advocate for that but in this context i'm talking about prayer is a confession of who god is and we see that directly in luke chapter 11 verse number two he says hallowed be your name our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name it's important prayer these are the realm seven realms or revelations of prayer number one prayer is confession number two prayer is supplication what supplication we'll talk a bit about about that in a little bit more detail later but realistically supplication is bringing our personal needs our daily bread type of needs before god number three prayer is worship another mode of prayer is worship when we're in that place of worship we're actually in an atmosphere in an environment of prayer number what is that number four prayer is intercession when we intercede we are praying we'll talk a bit about that in a bit more detail but let's just get these through number number five prayer is communion there is a devotion there is a part of just our intimacy with jesus when we are in communion and fellowship with him that prayer is communion communion is a mode of prayer it's just when we find our delight in him it's when we find our our joy in him it's when we find that moment of just love and peace and power and presence and we are just in that zone where we are just enjoying the presence of jesus via the spirit of god another another thing uh prayer another mode of prayer is thanksgiving when we are in that zone of thanksgiving we are in a zone of prayer that's why you've got to be someone that's so thankful you're in lockdown lockdown sucks but i reckon you can find some areas to be thankful don't feel see this is what the israelites did the israelites filled the atmosphere with complaining but you and i have got to be people that fill the atmosphere with thanksgiving the last mode that i want to talk about is that prayer is praise another mode of prayer is praise you say what what um i don't have time to give to give you an extensive list of of our scripture references this morning um about where you find these different things but you find different interactions with the people of god right from genesis through to the book of revelation where we see these modes of relationship with god taking place where people are praying i'm just using them to help you identify that prayer isn't just you sitting down at a desk like this or like this or on your knees necessarily saying words that sound like what you think prayer is sometimes prayer comes through song just read the book of psalms and you see david expressing his heart emotionally prayerfully praisefully thankfully and in those realms there is prayer taking place verse 18 of ephesians 6 which we just read um it's just there right now for you to read and look what it says right there look what it says right there it says praying always with all prayer that's why i wanted to talk to you about these prayers because you boxed in prayer at times to just be this thing that just comes out of your mouth like lord i thank you for this day god you're so good our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come you will be done on earth as is in heaven and we box prayer and to be that we've boxed prayer into being this mode in the western pentecostal church at least the tradition that i know of uh that that i'm experienced with where all prayer is is walking up and down a a pew or an aisle or an empty space in church life and praying or listening to other people pray and that is prayer i'm not saying that's not prayer that is prayer that's powerful it's important but it's not the only mode of prayer i'm trying to put different tools in your tool bag so that when you go to pray after this moment and you go to set aside time to go and pray you've actually got some things that you know to do in that prayer environment the the it says with all prayer and supplication listen to this in the spirit in other words if you are doing this in the flesh it has no effect that's why religion that's why the pharisees could pray all they want it's really quite ironic that parts of the um the the church on the earth at this day have made the lord's prayer something that we quote and we've got caught and have got stuck on the liturgy and the process and the and the thing well we've got to pray this way because jesus said it now he said pray this is a pattern of prayer it's not something that you need to necessarily repr repeat see and what happens is we then we're doing it in the flesh we're thinking if i just do that but paul is encouraging his audience to to with all prayer and supplication in the spirit you've got to yield to the spirit in these times you've got to allow the spirit to pray in you and pray through you you've got to yield you've got to have a heart that's open to praying and allowing the spirit of god to pray through you in that way there there are a few things that i want to point out about um that that we learned that jesus actually taught us about prayer he taught us about the priority of prayer friend you need to make prayer a priority the bible also teaches that prayer is a privilege a prayer is a privilege prayer isn't just something that we should just be so familiar with we have this a wonderful opportunity to walk right into the presence of jesus and pray prayer we're also taught by jesus that prayer has an appropriate place and what when i'm what i mean by place i'm referring to um even if we go right back to the book of exodus for example the bible tells us that that that god instructed moses to construct and build the tabernacle the meeting place the place of encounter the place of community and the place of connection with god the place of prayer that god instructed moses to build it outside of the camp and whenever the children of israel wanted to access that place they had to leave what they knew okay they had to leave the room of entertainment they had to leave the room of comfort they had to leave the room of worldliness they had to leave the room of their normal everyday life and go to that place of encounter and connection with god there's a place of prayer it's also interesting as you study luke chapter 11 you see that luke when he's writing this he says lord teach us how to pray not just teach me how to pray teach us how to pray of course there is a place where god is calling us to individually pray but there is also a place where god is um calling us to be in corporate prayer your prayer life can i suggest to you is actually incomplete if all you do is private prayer you've got to participate in public corporate prayer too we've got to be in that place of prayer another thing it teaches us the priority the privilege the place the pattern of prayer the persistence and the power of prayer i want to zoom right in right now um uh i i want to zoom in and i want to talk for a few moments just on these on these two things the pattern of prayer and the persistence of prayer i promise you we're going to be we're going to be quick before we get to the pattern and persistent prayer or prevailing prayer i want to talk to you quickly about the prerequisites of prayer put it in the chat say position yourself the prerequisites of prayer first of all let me clearly communicate that our identity and our righteousness is not found in works um it is found in the works of jesus alone we are saved and we have an audience with god our prayers are powerful only because of the finished work of jesus not the efforts or our human endeavor but because of jesus and jesus alone nothing could ever add to the work of christ it was complete nothing could ever subtract from the work of christ it was completely finished but there is order like i said at the start and there are principles to us relating and connecting with god and this is why i feel it important i'm not talking about salvation i'm not talking about your right standing with god but i'm talking about being effective in your prayer life and there are prerequisites i believe for us in order for us there are principles in god's word that clear the path for us imagine it's like clearing the hallway for us to access that place of power in the presence of god it's like if the hallway if the road that if the road that we're we're driving on is the road of prayer the destination is power the destination is revival the destination is is intimacy with god the destination is answered prayer the destination is open heaven the destination is corruption um being convicted and transformed into heaven on earth you know what i'm talking about but the road by which we get there is prayer then the prerequisites of prayer move any blockages in the road move any obstacles remove any crashes or debris or things that life can bring so that we can get to that place as effectively and efficiently as po as possible the first prerequisite of prayer i'm just teaching i'm enjoying myself stick with me today it's really important and it has to do with your heart the prerequisites of prayer can i say something before i get to this that's going to be extremely challenging for you today might be controversial might cause me to go viral on youtube but can i just say this today for the sake of saying it um first samuel chapter 12 verse 23 records um samuel saying this and i'll say it like this and then i'll make my statement as for me and i pray that the holy spirit uses these words to um yes to convict you but to compel you at the same time to the to be a person of prayer samuel says this as for me far be it from me first samuel 12 23 that i should sin against the lord remember this is not me saying this that i should sin against the lord by failing to pray for you and i will teach you the way that is good and right far be it from me that i should sin against who the lord how will would i be sinning against the lord i'd be sinning against the lord by failing to pray friends some preachers i've heard old school pentecostal preachers that we might not invite into our pulpits these days they've said it like this that prayerlessness is a sin and i'm saying this not to not because of condemnation i'm saying this because i want you to understand the importance of prayer you'll never be a praying person until you see the value of prayer see i don't want us to have to get to a place where we're shut up in prisons where the gospel is where we're being persecuted in this nation um like really persecuted i'm not talking about a post on your facebook wall but i'm talking about really persecuted for the sake of and the cause of jesus for then us as a body of believers to rise up and pray i'm praying today that we would capture the desire and the urgency and the value and importance for us to be praying people the prerequisite prerequisites of prayer number one the first thing you've got to have a clean heart sin blocks the effectiveness of prayer sin blocks i'm just preaching old school right now it blocks the effectiveness of prayer psalm 66 verse 18 if i regard iniquity in my heart in other words if i value it if i keep it in my heart the lord will not heal but certainly god has heard me he has attended to the voice of my prayer blessed be god who has not turned away my prayer nor his mercy for me iniquity if i regard iniquity in my heart you've got to get iniquity out of your heart the first thing before you come to that place of prayer for effective prevailing powerful prayer is you've got to bring your heart before the lord and say jesus forgive me jesus change me i repent of my sin i ask for you to wash me clean by the precious blood of jesus that was shed at calvary changed me from the inside out lord by your grace i can't get this sin out of my life i can't do it i can't make myself to be in right standing with god but today i'm asking holy spirit would you wash me clean would you make me white as snow i repent come on i pray that repentance needs to be and i believe that repentance needs to be a clear and a an important part of our vocabulary as the church in this day and age jesus through your shed blood come and wash me white as snow lord purify my heart purify my heart where i've got cold where i've i looked at and had idols in my heart forgive me jesus and wash me clean we've got to bring our hearts before god and we've got to ask him to forgive our sins because sin is a blockage to prayer life maybe your prayer is powerless simply and uh and ineffective simply because there's sin there's pride there's deliberate action on your part to be uh to participate in habitual sin but the lord is asking you to bring that before him today and repent of that sin and turn from it and yield to him another prerequisite of prayer the prerequisite to powerful prayer is obedience proverbs chapter 28 verse 9 says one who turns away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer is an abomination there's got to be obedience we can't just be hearers of the word we've got to be doers of the word if you want to set your prayer life on fire if you want to position your prayer life in a place for it to be powerful and potent then you can't just be someone that is just praying you've got to be someone that is not just hearing you've got to be someone that is also obeying you can't be someone that just turns away you know i i'm just pretending that didn't happen i didn't hear that god doesn't require that of me you've got to be obedient obedience pay pays a way for you to be someone of effective prayer and the last prerequisite that i want to talk about is action in a way it's in line with uh with a with with obedience but when i'm talking about obedience i'm really talking about in your heart for your own life i'm talking about listening to that still small voice but action for me is really um is really like well let's read proverbs chapter 21 verse 13 whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard if you've said no to the poor if you've said no to an immediate need that you know is in your world if you've said no to the poor then how can god say yes to you this is challenging isn't it when you see a need you and i as believers i i really believe that we have an obligation oh but i don't have enough you're looking in the wrong realm friend you don't have enough but since when do we rely on our own strength come on we've got to snap out of that fleshly way of thinking and lean in to the glorious riches that god has at his disposal you think giving away your last meal your last bit of meal your last bit of oil means that you're gonna have nothing when the prophet comes and asks you of it no it's in that moment of obedience when you give the very little that you have i don't know if i've got enough energy i don't know if i've got enough time i don't know if i've got enough resource i don't know if i've got enough you fill in the blanks and god says to you today it's in that moment when you are in that place of action that faith unlocks something in the spiritual and something powerful happens they're the prerequisites of prayer let's zoom in we're going to move through this fast the pattern of prayer there's a certain pattern of prayer um as as a kid out of matthew chapter six i was taught this way to pray and it was um it was a pattern out of out of um out of the lord's prayer and and i was taught it and i found it very helpful it was called wild prayer they used to call it it was worship it was intercession it was lifestyle and then it was devotion the worship was our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name the intercession was around praying for others the the um the lifestyle was give us this day our daily bread is in my personal needs and the d was devotion it was around spending this time in god's word and around allowing him then to speak back to us we see an important pattern in prayer we see an important pattern here and i just want to bring out these three thoughts on the pattern that we see of how jesus taught us to pray i want to talk to you quickly about worship i want to talk to you about supplication and i want to talk to you about intercession i have never had more points in a sermon in my life i am in this zone see the immature person's prayer listen to this emma the ima the atmosphere of immature prayer is all about us the atmosphere of immature prayer is filled with us lord do this for me lord do that god i've got this name but the atmosphere of new of of mature prayer is filled with god it's filled with god not my will but your will be done and it starts like the lord's prayer does tr in um our liturgical form of it which you might have prayed as a child in school or learned through a different denomination of church primarily anchored out of matthew chapter six here in luke that same prayer it starts with father father your kingdom come where is the father father who art in heaven it starts with worship what is worship how does it tie into these seven realms or modes or revelations of prayer confession god i'm confessing who you are come on i'm trying to help you today that when you go into your prayer life you need to think about these three things worship supplication and intercession start with worship why start in that place of confession as you confess what what am i doing i'm confessing who god is i'm not confessing what is happening in my world i don't i the what's happening in the world is going to be transformed into what's happening in heaven because my prayer as i look at our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come on your will be done on earth as it is in heaven as i begin to focus on heaven as i begin to as i begin to confess who god is god you're great god you're the healer i feel sick but lord i declare by your stripes lord by the blood you shared at the cross you made a way for me lord you might be you might um you might be riddled with all sorts of addiction let's just speak for a moment you might have an addiction to pornography that even your spouse or your family don't know about you've kept it secret for years you might have an addiction to alcohol you you just call it a casual glass every night or this or that but you might you might not be able to say no to that thing you might have an addiction to um to to thinking about yourself that's called pride you might have i'm not sure what your addiction is you might you might be feeling completely depressed and feel of no self-worth or value friend i want to tell you today don't fill your atmosphere with earth fill earth's atmosphere are with heaven itself you might feel addicted but god i declare that you are a strong tower that the righteous can run into lord i feel you might feel so far away from god but as you confess who he is you watch the atmosphere change around your life this isn't a blabber and grab it sort of thing this is about practicing the art and the discipline of worship we must confess who he is another realm of or revelation of prayer is the realm of worship what is worship hallowed be your name worship is about valuing the definition of worship is to value or to treasure god above ever any everything and anything else it's placing god as the highest worth and value in your life we when we do this we are we realign our values jesus said in matthew chapter 6 verse 33 he said don't worry about these things matthew 6 33 says but seek first everyone say first write it in the chat seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you he doesn't mind that there's two second or third or fourth or fifth or sixth he just says if you're gonna be if you're gonna be in love with me make me the first love if you're gonna seek me make me the first thing that you seek i don't mind that you have a career or that you have wealth or that you have those things but not at the expense of you valuing them over me i don't mind that you have ministry but not at the expense that you value that over me i've got to be number one and worship realigns our values and what we value and puts them in the right order and so when we worship god we work we realign who we are placing god jesus at the highest it's really worship jesus went on to speak about this excuse me he went on to speak about this and he said um he said he's really spoke about about the inner and the outer worship and you don't remember that conversation we said no well worshipers are coming that'll worship me in spirit and in truth in other words the jews have this whole outside worship going on but there's a worship that's going to come there's going to be birth from in here and it's going to be displayed out there but it's going to come from in here and there's this inner versus outer worship that jesus challenges in matthew chapter 15 verse 8 9. he says these people draw near to me with their mouth they sing all the songs they say the amens at the right time they they they they're up the front of church when they know when to jump and when to shout and when to do all those sorts of things in church life they honor me with their mouth they honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me and in vain they worship me teaching as doctrines the commandments of men in other words what makes it vain worship it's vain worship your worship is as powerless as your prayer is listen to me just like i said with this the prerequisites to prayer your worship has prerequisites and the prerequisite for your worship is that your heart and that your that your inner and that your outer are in alignment if it's just outer it's religion and it's powerless you have a form of godliness but you deny the power thereof second chapter timothy you and i have got to be a people that have the inner and the outer align and the only way we can do that is by constantly regularly almost without ceasing bringing a heart before god and bringing it into check and that is why worship is so important this is why the apostle paul said in romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 i beseech you he said there i appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of god present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to god which is your spiritual worship there's got to be a marrying of the internal or the inner and the outer for it to be worshipped how do we pray what pattern is god trying to show us in word in this area of worship when you go to pray today or tonight or tomorrow morning or next week or whenever it is start with worship we're going to confess we're going to realign our values placing god in worship as number one it's going to be inner and outer it's going to be inner and outer don't you dare dance up or lift your hands in church and do all those sorts of things if the heart isn't aligned with what's happening in the external another way that we're going to worship is we're going to be in thanksgiving that is simply acknowledging god in your everyday life everyday life lord i thank you life isn't what i expected to be i'm in lockdown but i thank you lord my ministry hasn't gone the way i thought it would go but lord i thank you god the marriage the the the way my child is right now isn't the way i thought it would be but lord i thank you i thank you they're away from you but i thank you that they're still alive i thank you i'm looking to find thanks in every moment and in every season i'm acknowledging your presence in every season in your life i'm in a prison i'm thanking you i'm under house arrest i'm thanking you i'm on the isle of patmos i'm thanking you lord i'm on a cross i'm thanking you my children away from you i'm thanking you there's no money in the bank account to pray to to pay the bills but i'm thanking you the business that i thought you put in my heart is underperforming but i'm thanking you and i'm gonna find reasons to thank god i've been holding on to this sickness believing in faith for you to heal me and it hasn't come to pass but lord there's breath in my lungs at least my illness isn't terminal i'm gonna still thank you i'm gonna thank you for my spouse i'm gonna thank you god the yeah my child's away from you but they've still got breath in their lungs which means you're still speaking you're still calling you're still drawing you're still leading them and i thank you for that thanksgiving is so powerful it is underrated come on your life may suck right now it may not be what you expected it to be but find something to thank god for fine be content this is why contentment is one of the most underrated principles and values that we can have in our life we do not talk about it enough but you've got to be content in all things if you can't be content when you've got nothing you'll never be content when you've got something contentment is a the where your heart is in the position of thanksgiving the last thing about worship is praise if worship is like um is uh praises like can is like worship it's like confession it's like um it's like thanksgiving all rolled into one but it's a declaration it's about the future it's lord i thank you for what's coming i can praise you for my future even in the midst of this moment that i'm in when god says our father when the bible says when jesus says pray this way our father who art in heaven hallowed be your name he's saying would you go ahead and praise me prayer praise rather in the realm of prayer is actually operating in a prophetic anointing you were praying prophetically when you were in praise because you were thanking god and you're worshiping god for something that may not have yet happened praise is is coming out of kind of our timeline and into god's timeline which there is none and acknowledging that he's above it all and that he sees what we don't see and praise is thanking god for the miracle and the breakthrough that's going to take place supplication then we move on to supplication what supplication it's just bringing our needs before god philippians 4 6 says don't be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving that your request be made known to god and the peace of god which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds see the reason why you keep worrying and the reason why anxiousness fuels your life the re there may be a lawsuit there may be challenges in your business or your workplace or your finances or relationships but the reason why that external thing has got into your internal thing your heart and therefore affected your relationship with god is big simply because possibly because you haven't brought it before him in supplication you're living in anxiety simply because you haven't taken it to god and prayed intercession is another thing in this pattern of prayer what's that if supplication is praying for your daily needs intercession is praying for the needs of others it's praying for your your your family it's praying for your neighbors it's praying for your church community and your the community that you live in it's praying for your government it's praying for your state it's praying for this nation it's praying for our prime minister it's praying for the nations of the world prayer uh intercession simply just means to intercede means to stand in the gap and we need to be gap fillers that's what we need to be in this church you don't just intercede just in the place of prayer it's also practical too it's by saying i'm going to fill that gap i'm going to get in that gap but it's it begins by being in that place of prayer lasting as we close today as the altar call music gets turned up is i want to talk to you about prevailing in prayer prevailing in prayer another word for this word prevailing i like the word prevailing because it reminds me of the roots my heritage from where i came from the old-time revivalist used to talk about finney has got a book about prevailing in prayer another word for that might be persevering in prayer [Music] we give up too quickly in prayer we pray microwave prayers we pray prayers that we want just to be instantly done and dusted lord why haven't you answered that prayer but jesus through luke here is trying to teach us the power of persistent prevailing prayer [Music] the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails that's why we must be a people that prevail in prayer you and i really need to take our prayer lives just from being the five-minute token lord please help us with this to being people that learn to go deep in the things of prayer i prophesy that the lord is calling some of you into two three four five six hours some of you into all night prayer because there's appalling in the realm of the spirit and there's an invitation by god's spirit there's an open door that i believe prophetically the lord is speaking to us as a church community to go deep into that place of prayer your actions and your behavior your humanitarian efforts are pointless and are going to be less potent if you're not someone that is in that place of prayer we must be people that go deep in the place of persistent prayer we must be those people that come in that shameless audacity like jesus said where even though the friend is unprepared you know jewish context tells us that they all used to in their houses they would have built like a platform much maybe like this table that the whole family would have would have slept on and um for the father to get up or for the friend to get for that person to get up would have woken up the whole family and the whole children so it was there was an inconvenience about it there was a it was just a thing in jewish culture that hey when the door's shut and it's locked it means the family have gone to bed do not disturb was on their door but friend when there's a desperate need when there's something inside of you when there's a hunger like there was in the disciples to say teach us to pray when there's a when there's something in jesus that's wanting to press into the realm of spirit to receive power the holy spirit like a dove that knows that that important decisions need to be made i've got to go to that place of prayer then then then there's a shameless audacity there's a spirit of audacity that comes on us in prayer that says i must pray no matter what the cost i'm going to ask i'm going to seek and i'm going to knock and i'm going to do it as much as i need to because i know that if i do the master jesus will open the door and he will provide with all that i need this is the father this is what this is what persistent prevailing prayer does prevailing prayer leads to power it says right at the end there it says uh if if you then though you were evil luke chapter 11 verse 13 know how to give your children give gifts to your children how much more will your father in heaven give the holy spirit to those who ask him this is important the greatest thing that you can get in the place of prayer is not a thing it's not a fish it's not bread it's not something earthly it is the holy spirit and we need to be in passionate shameless audacious pursuit of the presence of the holy spirit we prevail in prayer why because we are secure in our position because god is a good father this is what jesus teaches us he is a good father we we pray we prevail in prayer because we're secure in our identity with god it's not because of our own righteousness it's because god is a good god we prevail in prayer because delay does not mean denial just because the answer has not come in the timeline that you think it should come it does not mean delay that does not mean denial so keep prevailing in prayer keep pressing into god the reason why the answer has not come yet is simply because jesus has something better for you that you cannot see because it's hidden in a realm of prayer that you're about to unlock and lastly we provide them prayer because jesus said to and because he modeled for us to pray and to prevail in prayer remember that time jesus is praying and the disciples fall asleep what's jesus doing he's modeling prevailing prayer come on i pray right now that the spirit of prayer that prevailing prayer would come on us lord i feel like you've put in worship you've put in supplication put an intercession you're putting this persistence and prevailing prayer into our tool bag today and i asked holy spirit that you'd help us to use it this week as we pray we want to be powerful effective prayers we want to see heaven come to earth and i'm praying father that as we commit to being a church a praying church a praying church i asked lord that it would help us to pray be with us as we pray in jesus mighty name hey wherever you're joining us from if you're with us online right now live we're going to connect online uh through zoom come and do do that don't forget to subscribe to youtube hit the like button so you get and the notification button so you get all those notifications about content that we're releasing um and head to our website in powerchurch.com we'd love to connect with you god bless you if you need anything please reach out we're there for you you

Channel: Empower Church

Views: 289

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: empower church, empower, furtick, hillsong, church, matt garner, matty garner, preaching, preach, melbourne, jesus, bible, prayer, prayerwarriors, intercessors, intercede, nehemiah, luke

Id: feJPNC0ZYec

Length: 66min 21sec (3981 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 05 2021