Effective Prayer - Zac Poonen

one part of following Jesus is to pray and the important thing is to recognize that for Jesus prayer was never ritual nor was it a formality that he had to somehow complete if we understand what prayer really is then we will understand some of those very difficult commands about prayer in the New Testament for example the Bible never says pray for five minutes every day those are good suggestions to people who don't do it at all pray for five hours every day what the bible does say what Jesus said in Luke 18 verse 1 was he told them a parable to show that at all times they should pray and not lose heart so how often should we pray in at all times and that is confirmed in another verse which the Apostles wrote in 1 Thessalonians and chapter 5 where Paul says 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5 verse 17 pray without ceasing you probably heard me say this before but when I was a young Christian I read about these people who used to pray for 2 hours a day and 4 hours a day and prayed all night those days I was very challenged by that because I was young ignorant of the Bible and I thought boy that's a great thing but as I read the Bible I discovered some things one was Jesus said when you pray don't let anybody know how long you pray it away you prayed so I said how in the world do people discover that these people prayed for so long Jesus specifically said when you go to pray don't let anybody know lock the room don't let them know any at all and so I said if I obey that nobody's ever gonna know when I prayed or what I pray and so when somebody asked me brother Zach how long do you pray I say you want me to disobey Scripture now the Bible says pray without ceasing so I try to understand that verse and I asked myself what is it that I do in my life without ceasing one thing breathing whether I'm asleep or awake I breathe without ceasing so then I realize it because I like to think in pictures I find when I read the scripture and I see a picture I can understand it better that's why you find me using illustration Jesus used illustrations all the time so then I realized my prayer must be like my breathing which is not something I have to be conscious of sometimes I'm conscious of my breathing you know if I've got a little difficulty in breathing like wheezing or something then I'm conscious I'm breathing but most of the time I'm not conscious that I'm breathing just like you but I'm breathing that's how I live in fact I'll be conscious when I stop breathing if suddenly you stop breathing that's it I'm your conscience and the proof that your breathing is that you're alive you know you're in touch with reality so what I learned from that is that there must be an attitude of prayer more than an act of prayer all the time so in that context jesus said in Luke 18 when he said that men should always pray now I'm trying to convert you to my understanding your prayer which has liberated me from bondage liberated me from boasting about how much I pray liberated me from even telling other people how much you pray you should pray without ceasing if it doesn't happen you work towards it there are many commands in Scripture which we don't immediately obey rejoice always but don't give up say Lord I want to get there be anxious for nothing it may not have happened yet but if you fight it you can get there if you believe there are commands in scripture I have not yet reached but I want to reach the top of the mountain you can get there so you can say Lord I'm not yet praying without ceasing I want to come to that life where prayer whether I'm conscious or not conscious my whole attitude is one a prayer that means if I wake up in the middle of the night for example I think of Jesus I wake up in the morning I think of Jesus because that's the most important reality for me it should be like that for you it doesn't happen immediately but if you work towards anything the Bible is commanded and the Lord sees you're serious about getting there you will get there that I can assure you but it may take time it may take a few years and during that time the Lord will see whether you're persisting so in Luke 18 verse 1 where he said you must always pray James Version it says like that men ought always to pray and then he gave a story the story was of a a widow who kept coming to a judge in verse 2 and 3 saying protect me against my enemy and a lot of things we can learn from that whenever you read a parable try and meditate on it if a widow has to come herself to a judge it shows us two things she doesn't have a husband and she doesn't have a son and probably doesn't even have a daughter because if she had a son or a daughter the daughter or son would go and speak to the judge on behalf of the mother so here is a widow with no children and no husband and she has to come herself she's helpless nobody in the world to help her and she's not coming asking for money she's not coming asking for any gifts she's only saying my enemy is troubling me protect me from my enemy so what I learned from that is the main thing I come to the Lord in prayer for is protect me from Satan don't let Satan harm me and not only that I what I picture in my mind is that we know living in a compound and the neighbor trying to encroach into her property and trying to take some of her property by moving the borderline or something like that taking her property why do I say taking her property because he says give me legal protection that means what is my right I'm not asking for what is not my right I'm not asking for general help it's my right to have this property but this enemy is coming in please give me my right so that the enemy does not take anything that belongs to me that should be the main burden of our prayer Lord I don't want the enemy which is the devil to take anything which has been purchased think about the widow her husband maybe bought a bit of land for her and gave it to her and the enemy is taking it and our divine husband has purchased something for us on Calvary and given it to us and the enemy is trying to take it from us and if you look into your life you'll find the enemy has taken many things from you for example the Lord has purchased for you a life completely free from anxiety but the enemy is taken off a lot of that is making you anxious about hundred and one things almost most of the property is stolen the Lord has purchased for your life where you give thanks always rejoices in all situations the enemy has occupied that also the Lord has purchased a life for you where you can love everybody even if they hate you but the enemy is occupied that think of the areas in your life that Jesus purchased for you a life of freedom from anxiety and fear and complaining and grumbling and a life where you can love everyone even if they don't love you stolen stolen stolen and you can sit back and say okay the enemy is stolen it think of the habit you have of gossiping backbiting it's also areas which the devil has stolen in your life you don't see it you would not allow your neighbor to occupy three quarters of your property like that on earthly things because early things mean so much to you but the spiritual stealing of what Jesus purchased for you on the cross which the devil takes away you ignore it thereby you're saying to God Lord earthly things mean more to me than spiritual things whatever I may say on Sunday morning I will not let any and neighbor take my earthly property or steal my bank account I will check that nobody is hacked into my bank account about the spiritual things you know when the Lord sees that that is your attitude to spiritual things and what is your attitude to earthly things and those earthly things mean more to you okay you can take care of your earthly things but I'll tell you this you will lose out spiritually want to say to you in Jesus name from my own experience for more than 50 years seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first and I promise you everything that you need will be added to you you won't have to ask for it you wanted to fight for it just fight for your right to possess what Jesus has purchased on the cross and the judge said no I don't have time for you I don't have time for you but she kept on coming that is the meaning of pray always I keep on going to the Lord say lord I haven't yet got there I haven't even got there I haven't got all my property back there's still some more left there's still about 25% left I want it I want it I want it I want hundred percent of what Jesus purchased from me on the cross I hope there'll be a few people like that here I tell you you'll be amazed to see what God can accomplish through you even if you're a sister even if you're weak helpless like that Widow I don't think there's a single Widow sitting here who's as helpless as this one if you are a widow there are many people in this church who are ready to help you this Widow had nobody she is more helpless than the most helpless person sitting here and she accomplished he got what she wanted and that's what Jesus is saying God will bring her seven justice for his elect who cry to him day and night there again we see what prayer is like his breathing you breathe day and night and there is a prayer you can't keep on crying day and night what does he mean he means there's an attitude in your heart that's always seeking the Lord saying I'm not going to give one inch to the devil think of some of your children who are not wholeheartedly following the Lord what are you doing about it are you giving some territory to the devil now say Lord I will not give one inch to the devil not even one inch of my children the area of my children not even one inch to the devil do it like that I mean I pray like that for my grandchildren now so we must we have a responsibility to cry to God day and night we cannot pray for the whole world we cannot pray for all of India some people say pray for India I don't do that 17 and verse 9 Jesus said I do not pray for the world people ask me why don't you pray for India I don't pray for India I don't play for Karnataka I don't pray for the world I follow Jesus but I pray for those whom God has chosen Lord other people whom you have called who have not yet found you I want to find them people who should become disciples I want to find them he says I pray for those whom you have given me and I believe there are people who God has chosen whom God wants to draw to himself in India in other countries I said Lord bring them in bring them in we want them we brothers is what we prayed for 40 years Lord is there anybody seeking a godly life here please bring them to us or bring us to them that's what we have always prayed we base it on John 79 all these people is here Oh Lord I pray for Karnataka what are they praying that's a very pious prayer that makes them look very spiritual garbage they are trying to be more spiritual than Jesus jesus said go into the world and make disciples so I'm only looking I'm praying for those who want to be disciples Lord I want to find them we need to pray but we need to pray for those who want to be disciples and that the God will bring them to us not all those who want to go to heaven they can go some other churches but we have we're called to make disciples so these are things we pray for that whatever the enemy has taken we want to possess back and those are under the grip of the devil right now and Satan has been bound that we can take his property from him that would that we need to pray and so when we come together there are the reason why we prayed together is because Jesus said there is more power in two people praying than in one person praying Matthew 18 and verse 20 he said if two or three are gathered my name I am in the midst that's why we come together to pray there's a power in praying together you know I find that it's easy to pray just alone even if far there are other believers around in my mind for example if I'm alone praying that's good but when they're other believers just sitting there and I pray in my mind is much easier because the presence of Jesus listen to this the presence of Jesus is more there when there are two people who are aggrieved says in verse 19 they must be agreed that means they are not in conflict if you and your wife are in conflict then Jesus is not there I might as well tell you he's not there you can put a board there saying christ as the head of this house he's not there because the two people living in that house are not in agreement that's what the devil is interested in so when we come together we want to at least from your heart make sure your heart is clear and open towards everybody sitting here and then we can spend a little time in prayer we can pray for personal needs so we can pray for church needs we can pray for the country we can pray for the coming elections here in Akron Attica and in the rest of the country later on we can pray for the direction things are going and especially we want to pray that those who are seeking for a godly life will come here and we also pray that the hypocrites sitting in CFC will get exposed one way or the other and will be driven out one way or the other but also we pray for Lord bring on bring in those who are seeking for a godly life and expose one way or the other expose the hypocrites who are sitting here and so that they don't pollute the atmosphere and drive them out send them away that's that is God's will he gathers and he sends away isn't that a good prayer to pray scripture in the book of Zephaniah in the Old Testament Zephaniah is almost towards the end of the Old Testament two or three books from the end of the Old Testament is Zephaniah and in Zephaniah chapter 3 this is what the Lord says in Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 11 in the middle of that verse the Lord says I will remove from your midst all the proud boastful people no one will be proud and haughty but when they are removed then I will leave among you a humble lowly people who trust in the Lord that is the prayer I pray Lord Jesus according to your word remove from our midst those who are proud those who exalt themselves those who are critical of others and backbiting remove them and leave among us a humble lowly people who are leaning upon the Lord verse 13 who will do no wrong who will tell no lies our Lord those are the people we want because then we can say the Lord is in our midst verse 15 middle the Lord is in your midst again in verse 17 the Lord is in your midst he will exalt over you with joy is the same thing we read in Matthew 18:20 when the Lord why do we want the Lord to remove the proud and leave the humble so that the Lord can be in our midst the church is going through a constant purification there are people who come the Lord cleanses and some are removed and some still are not yet removed God will remove them and some have not yet come who need to come so they'll always be that that's why we say we welcome those who come but they get sifted here they get examined and some people get offended and go and others remain God is the one who does the sifting but ultimately there will be a strong church and fulfills God's purposes so that is the direction in which we pray so that's a good thing to pray like that for our personal life and for our home for our children and for our church and then for the country as well

Channel: CFC India

Views: 78,021

Rating: 4.8891754 out of 5

Keywords: zac poonen cfc Christian Fellowship Church Church Fellowship Christian Zac Poonen, Sermons, CFC

Id: vWYx1DATRLQ

Length: 20min 38sec (1238 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 02 2018