- Well, we've come to
the part of the evening where we've all been
anticipating and waiting for and I'm gonna make this
introduction really brief because I wanna give Jill as much time as she needs this evening. Okay, so Jill Briscoe,
what she's meant to me, she's been a mentor. I have loved her from afar. I now know her and have
spent a lot of time with her these last couple days and I am so excited for you to all have the opportunity to hear from her tonight. She has written over 40 books. She's traveled to just about
every country in the world. She's met most of the people that I admire and that are just legends
in the Christian world, but more importantly, she
knows Jesus intimately and she's here to talk
with us about we, too can have a close, intimate prayer life which is so essential. I wanna mention one thing to you because this is an awesome resource. It's a magazine that Jill
is the executive editor for. There are not many magazines out there that are still in circulation, everything's gone to the internet. This is one of them. It's called, "Just Between Us." And she has articles in here
that are going to help you in your life, the whole mission statement of this encouraging and equipping women for a life of faith. Who doesn't need that article? So this one's got Lysa TerKeurst on the cover, Jenny Allen writes here. Joni Eareckson Tada as
well as Jill and Stuart. And you can find it as well. And you can subscribe
online to JustBetweenUs.org. Amazing and wonderful resource, ladies. I want you to know about that. And just so you know, Jill will be doing a book signing in the book store immediately after our service. So you have that to look forward to and I suggest you do
pickup some of her books. So with that would you
welcome Jill Briscoe, first time to Harvest. Give her a warm welcome. (cheering) - Well it's my privilege
to be here, it really is. And to meet many more sisters in the Lord that I hadn't met before,
but have known from a far. My husband has been traveling to America, actually the anniversary
of his first sermon he preached at 17. Ah, means 71 years ago, no. You'll have to help me with the math. I gave it up for lent years ago. (laughing) But we're very old. We're in our eighties. And just had our 60th
wedding anniversary, but. Yes, yes, yes, yes. (cheering) It can be done, guys. Those that are married, it can, it can. Stick with it. So anyway, what a privilege it is to live as long as we have. And be able to look back. I was six when the Second World War began. Second, not first okay. (laughing) Nine when it finished. My husband's four and a
half years older than me so he was 11 when it
started, 16 when it finished. And that's where my story
spiritually began, basically. My dad and mom were
believers but didn't know it. What's that funny, Jill. No it isn't funny, it's
true of many church goers that don't go to church anymore. It's true of many Catholics. It's true of many, many people. They are believers but don't know it. And for example if they
believe the Apostle's Creed they're believers. Pretty good theology. And I was Church of England,
no I was Presbyterian. Baptized Presbyterian. But then the war came and my
dad went away for six years. And England to a man, woman, and child was in church before the war. Britain was in church. But they never went back. Those that came home, minus a million. They never went back. And so I was caught in that. And so during the war we had to run up to the lake district because
we were bombed every night and my dad was home once
and he put us in the car and he said, we were
told by the government, those in towns, get out. Those that are left, because the bombs had just wiped out all the towns. So, what did that mean? Thank God there was no division
of church and state for us. So we had to learn, learn
our Bible in school by law. And so right the way
through it, but not applied. It must not be applied. So by the time I was 18 and took the, I couldn't graduate without
doing scripture as well. And then get to college
at Homerton, Cambridge. Then I had to learn how to
teach it in the public schools. And so God used that
because even though no one was explaining it to me it was in my heart and memory and life. But no church. And so it was through the bombing that I first learned to pray. And we're going to talk about praying. And it was a terrible night in England if you had any land. We were rich, we were wealthy. Think small Downton Abbey, small. But that was my background. And we had a house in Liverpool and we had a beautiful
house like Downton Abbey in the country. My dad was a car dealer. He made his wealth through many, many businesses throughout England. So he goes into the Air Force and digs a little hole in the tennis
court we had in Liverpool. And that's where I sat night after night. Never slept in my little
pink bedroom again, once the war started. Just, didn't even bother getting in bed because we'd have to get out and run down to the air raid shelter. And the first really
important prayer I prayed was when I just started, I got hysterics because to hear the bombs come but not to see them is more terrifying then actually seeing them come. Because they make this horrible whine. They let them out and then it goes. (high pitched screeching) And then silence. And then this flash, and then the crash. And so you're listening
to this night after night for five hours, six hours. And very near us. And we were on the
beach, on the coast near where we were frantically making warships. We weren't prepared. We didn't have bullets. We had guns but no bullets for them. We had nothing. And we had no ships to fight. And so frantically they were being done. And then they would
come over and wait until they were nearly made. And then bomb them and
stop everything coming out of the harbor. And so night after night we were bombed. And one night I thought, I've gotta pray. I've just got to pray. But I didn't know who to pray to and I didn't know what to say. And so I just prayed the obvious prayer. Stop it, stop it, God tell
them stop it, stop it. And then I said to my mother,
who hates us like this? Who hates us, who's trying to kill me? And we're all crying,
my sister, my mom and I. And holding each other. And then I thought,
okay I'll pray that sort of prayer we have to
say everyday in school. The Apostle's Creed. It sounded like a prayer so
I prayed to God the father and I prayed to God the son, and I prayed to God the Holy Ghost, we called him in those days. And my little mind stopped and
I said, what, the Holy Ghost? I don't know, understand what. And then a bomb fell and I
prayed to the Holy Ghost. (laughing) And as I did, into my little
hole came the Holy Ghost. I can only explain it by this incredible, it's all right little girl, shh. It's all right, it's all right. And so I thought, oh
something's listening. Don't let the bomb touch our house. And don't let it hurt my
mommy's sewing machine, my sister's dolls, and
don't, don't, don't. And there was another crash. And then Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost. And then peace. I didn't know it was called the peace that passes understanding, of course then. But that's what it was and
I totally misinterpreted it. I thought God said yes, wouldn't you? So I relaxed. And my mom and my sister continued crying and screaming and holding each other. And they couldn't wait in the dawn. And you know, you see
these lights up here. Every dawn the all clear went because the enemy had to
get back before we could see them and shoot them down. And it was like holes in
heaven in my little mind. And all this light was shining through. Now we had to paint all our windows black. England had to, in case
they saw a chink of light. So we literally, black paint. And I thought, oh God. God's house, he's left all the lights on. It must be wonderful to have
all the lights on in heaven. And then I thought, and he kept us safe and my mommy's sewing
machine and our house. And I ran out, and I looked at the house. And a bomb had not taken it. But two down the house was gone. And the shrapnel, you know what that is, bits of bomb and everything else. Had come, and the back
of our house was black and two windows were broken. And like C.S. Lewis, I had my moment. And I looked up to heaven and I said, who are you to tease a
little girl like that? Why'd you do that to me? To say yes, it's all
right, it's all right. I'll keep you safe and then, ha, ha. And my search began not
as earnestly to know God but to know what he was like. And I didn't find anyone to tell me until I got to Cambridge. I know there must have been Christians, but they weren't into sharing their faith. Hey, lots of little girls
like me in America today. Next door neighbors coming
into your church, hopefully. So, what happened? C.S. Lewis. Who knows C.S. Lewis? Okay. He was professor of
medieval history at Oxford. On the BBC, which was
the only radio station. It had channels, the history
channel, a health channel, a main channel, a music channel. And he was at Oxford University
teaching medieval history. And he started throwing into
his medieval history talks little bits of his walk towards God, like. Now I'll tell you where I'm an atheist. Then he would define it. An atheist is somebody
that says there is no God. Do you know why I am an atheist? Because I am a professor
of medieval history and have been telling you about Europe. Do you know what the church was doing in Germany just before this reformation? Well if you know your church history it was at the bottom of the pile. And that's why I'm not a Christian. If that's Christianity and
I didn't bother finding out what those reformer people tried to do. I don't know what that was about. That's why I'm an atheist. And then a few days later. You know, I need to apologize. I cannot be an atheist, I
told you I was an atheist. And then he said, no now I'm an agnostic. And then he'd define it. An agnostic says you can't
know if there's a God. Why do you not know? How can you not know if there is a God? Because, he said, you'd
have to know everything there was to know in heaven and earth to know there isn't. So now I'm an agnostic and
then that means I don't know if there's a God. And then a few months
later, apparently, he said, I never heard him on the radio. He said, I used to be an agnostic but now I'm a deist. What's a deist? A deist believes, I do believe in God but I do believe he's unknowable. He's too incredible and
fabulous and ridiculous to be knowable. To a little creature like me. And then one glorious
day, guys, C.S. Lewis in the middle of his
medieval history lecture said I need to tell you something, I have now become a totally
convinced Christian. And England went, what? (laughing) Now there's a way you
could ask him questions. There were no typewriters,
remember that, in my day. There was no phones. I remember our 13 grand kids
asking Papa, my husband, at an Easter deal we were having. We were getting the food ready. My daughter and I and Papa's there with our teen aged kids. And Papa which television
program did you watch when you were growing up? (laughing) He said, none of them. It wasn't invented. There was silence. (laughing) Are you that old, Papa? And then our eldest, what did you do? (laughing) And my husband's crisp, strange things. Like read and think. (laughing) (applause) Yeah. Anyway it was in my search internally. I'd begun with hearing him
answer these questions. How? Because students at
Oxford and at Cambridge and all over England were listening to the BBC and they were writing. Stamped envelope, okay. That was the only way to ask the question. And then he would answer it. And so they were scribbling it down and I was standing in the lunch line at Homerton College, Cambridge. And messing up, making
fun and being a nuisance. And I did this and I turned around and somebody put in my hand, I never saw a face, was it
an angel or, I don't know. I'll know when I get to heaven. Some of the answers they'd scribbled down to these questions. And my heart began to beat and
thought, I'm going find out. I had been searching 18 years. If only someone would tell me. If only someone would tell. If only someone would do something. And the more searched
the more wild I became on the outside in my behavior. When you see somebody really way out it's because they're saying, look at me, pay attention, tell me. Don't you get it? What is this, what is this? And of course God saw that. And I left the lunch line, I went to my little beautiful 18th
century Christian room. And my roommate wasn't
there and so I knelt down and I didn't know what to say to God. How could I, what do you say to God? But I needed to say it and
I didn't know what to say and I was panicking and
if I don't say it right then maybe God won't hear me, etc. And then I just said, read me. And he did. Of course. And three weeks later I
got sick in the middle of the night, was rushed in
to Addenbrooke's Hospital. Put next to, out of 30 women in that ward, a nurse, top nurse who was sick. Who was six months old in Christ. And she'd had one class onto how to lead somebody to Jesus. (laughing) One. I was the guinea pig. (laughing) And she set about. She told me later, I
listened to your language and I looked at your
friends and I thought, I've got a lot of work to do. And after she led me to the Lord, she said one day, I'm
praying you won't get well for a long time. (laughing) I said, why? She said, because I've seen your friends and when you go back to college you're gonna lose all your friends. And I said, you didn't tell me that when you led me to
Christ, that's not fair. It was true, did. And I didn't get better. And incidentally they never did find out what was wrong with me. That was a miracle. And so she hurried up her following up. And the first day she
said, here's a nurse, tell her what we did last night? What, just tell her. Well I don't know what she did. I don't know what I said. But I did it. Well, it appeared it wasn't very good because the psychiatrist came to see me. (laughing) True story. I hear you're having religious thoughts. (laughing) Is that what I'm having, Jenny? Religious thoughts? Say yes. Yes. He rushed away, I don't know what he did. Anyway, I found Jesus, hey. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. (applause) And it staggered me that
I did through a prayer. I mean, how ridiculous is that. Come into my heart Lord, Jesus. She led me to the Lord we Revelation 3:20, out of context, guys. That verse is about a church that needs livening up and reviving. Not about somebody coming to Christ. But we used that verse for Jesus is knocking at the the
door, you go huh, right? No. It works, I've used it with all my kids. (laughing) So don't worry about that. (laughing) But what she did was talk
about the door, you know. And I said, I know about the door. She said, how do you know about the door? I said, there is a door opened in the pit of the swoles of the world and one day we shall follow our great captain inside. She said, where'd you read that? I said, on a piece of paper. It said Lewis. Oh, she said. Took a big risk and
said, yes Jill that door. And I said, can you take
me through the door? And she did, she did. She did. And the first thing she said to me, the most important thing that I'm going to try and teach you, Jill,
before you go back to college is about prayer. It's the whole thing. Prayer is your speaking
relationship with God. And he speaks to you and you answer him. And it's a sort of conversation, Jill. That's how it goes. I said, really? She said yes, so let's start in practice. So we did. We had nothing else to do. We were there all day. Lying flat on our back next to each other. And thank you, Jenny. She's in heaven now, smiling and saying, oh look at her, there she goes again. (laughing) Yeah. And she said, which is more important that he speaks to you or
that you speak to him? And I said, what's the answer
to that, of course this. She said, yes. So never think that you should
do more praying than talking because God would just
like to say, shh, shh, let me answer that, you know. This is the most important thing. In fact, when I went and
married my husband years later he was preaching at 17. As a lay person, he was in business. He was a bank inspector. He was catching criminals in the bank. I was teaching them in the
classroom at that time. So we had a lot in common. (laughing) That's where we met. But he comes from a
wonderful Christian family where they're all lay people but the men, not the women. The women don't speak in church and it was a very conservative group. So actually when we married I do remember my mother in law looking at me now with a funny look. And now I know what it was. Where did he find her? (laughing) That's another story. But my husband was a youth evangelist. Youth for Christ had
just begun over there, in his spare time. So he was a bank inspector in chief office and catching criminals in the bank. I was teaching them in the classroom and we met in that
context after Cambridge. I was, actually you have to hear this because the most important
thing you'll hear in the whole talk. I was teaching just where there was a strange group called The Beatles. 17 years of age, who had
just begun in the cavern. They came from Bootle
which is where I came from. Bootle, Liverpool. A suburb, Bootle. And they started this beat stuff. And one of them actually
couldn't read music. But he could play the guitar. He, like a pianist that can't
read music but can play. And they were 17 and 18. They had not been discovered. They started down from my school. I had gang kids, I had kids
with chains on their backs. They had razor blades in their toe they'd like to put in your
leg, you know all this. That was the area that I chose. Now listen to this, this is conversion. I was a snob. I was a rich, little snob. If I had seen those kids
coming on the street I would have passed over the other side. Now my feet were turning towards them. Now I chose, after Cambridge,
not to go to the posh schools I could have gone to
because I went to one. But to choose the only
public school in gangland. Now that's. Now did that mean, Jill
you're such a brave person? No, I'm the most terrified person that you've ever met. I'm fearful and all my life
I've struggled with fear. It must have been with the
bombs that did it to me. And you said well, how'd
you get the courage? Courage isn't feeling, guys. Courage is being so consistently sure it's the right thing to
do, you do it frightened if necessary. You just do it. You do it scared. And God will give you enough, enough power to get yourself into
the difficult situation. Courage is fear that's said its prayers. Right. And how do I know that I'm
the most fearful person still in this room? Because by the time we met and married, and had our first baby we were in mission. We left our business, we
were running a mission. And. I had a baby, he was what, one and a half. And he wasn't talking by the time he was, should've been, I'm an educator,
he should have been talking and he wasn't. And Stuart noticed and he said, you know shouldn't he be talking? And I said, oh I don't
know, it's fine, you know. So there was him and me
at the little gate house. That's where we lived all day. Just him and me. And Stuart was doing
all the exciting stuff. And one day he spoke, he spoke, he spoke. Not one word, two. And do you know what he said? Well I was so excited
I put him in the pram. We have prams not baby buggy's. My baby isn't buggy, okay, right. (laughing) And rushed up the road to the office where my husband and
three spinster ladies, unmarried ladies were
sitting in the little thing and said, he spoke, he spoke, he spoke! So Stuart of course, he's the
inspector, what did he say? He said, "Oh dear." (laughing) I put him back and ran out of the office. (laughing) It's only him and me guys, come on. That's me, oh dear. (laughing) So. If you don't learn the
language that you need to use, which is called prayer. How do you ever do anything
if you're so terrified? If you're frightened, if you're. Get anorexia because you're frightened. Which I was into but we didn't
know the name of it, so. Got better myself. And so, prayer isn't. It's the speaking part
of your relationship. And just put it into
human terms in marriage, a man and woman. We have been what, 50 years in ministry. In a church. And in a country where divorce,
you know better than me. And all the counseling
that we've done, etc, etc. The biggest thing Stuart and
I have done all these years is pray together about the marriages. Yes of course we talk, and yes of course but the thing is there
is power on your knees. You can go anywhere on your knees. You can go into the bedroom of that couple that's having trouble and pray. Nothing can stop you, you
can go to the White House. You can go the the terrible
place in Iran prison in Tehran where a friend of mine is being tortured as I talk to you. You can, and make a difference. You can go anywhere on your knees, guys. And bring the people that you're praying into his presence. And make a difference. Yeah-huh, make a difference. And you can even stand
outside those places that in my work when
I got out of Cambridge and went to the school
and began in the slums. You can even walk into the drug dives. I remember one time when
The Beatles got well known and the whole thing began in Liverpool. And they would fill
auditoriums and dance halls. And the kids would go,
you've seen pictures. And they'd bash their heads on the, and try and touch their guards on the, you've seen all the films. And when I got married with Stuart we went to the mission and we had
a short term Bible school for 16 to 21 year olds. And I would take them in with me. And I'm pretty bossy, I'm
sure you've realized that, so. You go there, and you
go to the fair ground, and you go in that pub, you know. I've trained you, just go. One night I was very good at getting them to do what they were told. But I was left and I hadn't. I always had a rule,
take somebody with you. You went in twos. And I left myself without anyone. And I was standing outside. The Beatles were not playing there. Actually, The Stones had just started but they weren't there. Herman's Hermits who
didn't come over here. That was that surge of
that music, as you know that eventually came over
here in different forms into what you know well. Which was the Jesus movement over here. And the Lord said to me, we had the conversation outside this place. The places were shaking with noise. I started to pray and
I said, Lord I'll pray for all the teens. And I knew what he was
saying, get yourself in there. And so I said, you want
me to go in but Lord, I haven't got anyone to go
in with, so I'll just pray. And he said, get in. And I said, I literally couldn't
I was so frozen with fear. Just as I was praying for courage and it didn't come because I expected, I love being persecuted. Stupid, right? (laughing) What do you mean courage is,
if God is, but I was thinking if you expect me to
walk in there on my own you better give me, yes! Right? And I prayed all night and it never came and I went home with the team. And the next night I went back on my own because if you're beaten
you go back and you go back and you, until you get it. And I started again,
help me to get inside. And just then they were
throwing out somebody that was drunk and they landed at my feet. And there's a great big bouncer there. In the end I said, Lord you've taught me that, you'd give me peace. And then I thought, but what is peace? Peace is actually the joy of
knowing you're doing his will. And I didn't have peace. Well, I knew why because I
needed to get myself in there. That's what he wanted me to do. And then I thought, okay. Then it's the right thing to do. This is why I'm here, right Lord? Yes, it's the right thing to do. And I took my will by the hand
and left my emotions outside and I got myself physically, with my heart beating like crazy, inside. And you know what, I got in
the courage was waiting for me after obedience, get it? Now, not all courage, not the
whole night, I assure you. But enough. And I knew what to say to the big bouncer that said to him, who are you? Are you from social
services or the police? And I said, no I'm a teacher in the area and I'm concerned, we
work with young people. And some of these young
people are in here. This new phenomena that's happening. And I just wanted to see what's happening. And then I heard myself
say, take me to the manager. (laughing) And I prayed, no, no, no. And he said, what do you want to go for? And I said, I just want
to ask him so questions. And to my horror he said,
all right follow me. So, I find myself with Allen
sitting with the manager of this grubby little room. And he was about, I don't know, 25, 30. And he said, so what do you want? And he asked me the same question. Are you from the police, social services? I said, no. And the din, it was so loud. You think this stuff's loud. Not yours, I hesitate immediately to say. They didn't have that amplification even but they had the noise. And he said, what do you want? And I said, what happens when this stops and there's an interval? And I knew where this was going and I was saying, no, no, no. He said, where? I said, what happens on the platform? And he said, nothing happens. And I said, could I have
it just for five minutes? And I prayed, let him say no. (laughing) Now this is all prayer, guys. This should go on all day. Whether it's a big stupid
thing like this I was doing or you know, you're making
something in the kitchen, or somebody comes to the door. Mission fails between your own two feet at any given time. And you start in
Jerusalem, and then Judea, and then Sumeria, and
then the outer most parts of the earth. And you'll be frightened every
single time about something. But that's what we're told to do. Because it's the right thing to do. And you just physically
take the first step and God will give you enough. America is not content with enough. It's always got to be the
most, but just enough. And so I told him, I made
sure that he wouldn't let me have the platform. I said I want to tell them that there's a God who's real, a
Jesus that died for them, a Holy Spirit that can
come and get them off drugs and help them, save their lives
from dying from an overdose. And the Bible's true. And he was silent and he said, sit down. He said I'll give you my platform if you'll do one thing, whoever you are. If you can explain that to
me, you can have my platform. I've waited all my life and
I run a place like this, never been to church. Yeah. (applause) Guys, the man was waiting, he
was waiting, he was waiting. Like I'd been in my different situation. If only someone would tell me. And this is where prayer comes in. Because there's a world
screaming for this. I know, I've been all over the world to every continent. I worked for World Relief in
third world, fourth world. There's a fourth world now. Third world is one cup
of rice per person, okay. Fourth world is no cup of rice per person. The starving world. There are three places in
this world at the moment where the population is starving to death and by the time tomorrow comes,
half of them will be dead. Did you know that? And that's where the visions
and dreams happening. You've heard of those. I am Jesus, this is my book. Someone will come and tell you. It's the same dream everywhere. We've been there when it's happened. On every continent in different languages. I am Jesus, this is my book. Someone will come and tell you. And nobody's going,
it's too dangerous now. Nobody's going, guys. And the missionaries that I learned about when I became a Christian
who walked into Pygmy tribes, who packed their stuff in a coffin because they weren't coming back. And took their two kids and did it. That day's over. And missions tell me,
tell us, Stuart and Jill we cannot get anyone to
commit to life mission. And all the easy places are taken. Only people that will go until God says, okay enough, get out. They say it's all short term. We'll send you a team from
our church for a week. That's not gonna do it. That's not gonna do it. Go into all the world. And you're only going to do it if your prayer life
and this, hand in hand, rule your life. Now you can become a total Bible scholar, but it's prayer that's
going to get you to say yes. It's prayer, taking something
this challenges you with and doing it. It's gotta be both. It's gotta be both. So P-R-A-Y. Let's do this, this is what
Jenny in the next bed needed. Did to me. P-R-A-Y. Praise, repent, ask for
others, ask for yourself. P-R-A-Y. And you've got to do it in that order. Because otherwise it's, Y-A-R-P
and you're yarping, okay. (laughing) Prayer, pray. Praise, okay so we're
gonna have a quiet time. A devotional time. How is your devotional time doing? Ah. Is the question I want you to ask yourself in God's presence at this point. Lord, how am I doing with this? What do I need to take from this? What do I need to listen to
and make real in my life? Is it this, that's lacking? And are you really into
the talk with Jesus? Well that's like you
yarping, yarping, yarping and never listening to what he says. It's gotta be both. In a marriage it's gotta be both. It's bad communication
breaks up most marriages. That's where it starts. And so it's more
important he speaks to me. So the first thing is,
have you got a good system of reading this book? Now, you're in a church like this. I don't even need to go there. You have a incredible privilege though you probably don't know it, to be in a Bible teaching church. I mean, yes. (applause) But then you have to talk back. So I want to just try
and be practical with the P-R-A-Y for a bit
and give you some ideas. That might help, I hope. P, praise, well that's easy. When we had our three kids
and we had family commotions, I mean devotions. (laughing) Especially when they were little. We did this P-R-A-Y to help them. And praise are thank you prayers. Well, small children, they're
selfish little beasts. They really are. (laughing) And they're not into
thanking, they're into please. Right, when they're really little. And big people are too,
they're into please. And old people like me, we're into please. Me, me, me! That's America, I'm sorry. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me. But this is he, right? (applause) P for praise, thank you prayers. So we would, with the
children as they grew up. Okay, let's start with thank you prayers. But as I say you had to
poke them for something. They got lots of the
others that were coming but no thank you prayers. And we'd make them sit there. I remember we came to
praise, R, repentance. That's the hardest with
children, being sorry for. (laughing) Oh dear, and with adults, actually. But we'd have to poke them. There's something you have done today. Maybe to your brother or a sister. That you need to say sorry to God about and to him or her about. And they were, they just
had a fight all of them and so they couldn't think of anything. (laughing) And so, there's this
silence and Stuart said, come on guys, let's get this done. And there was silence, stubborn silence. So I said, we are going
to sit there, here, until somebody is sorry for something. (laughing) That's what you do, mom. So there's another long
pause and then Jude, two boys and a girl, she's the middle. Oh all right, I'll say one. I am sorry for how nasty
David's been to me today. (laughing) It was a teachable moment, actually. We do not confess our
sister's or brother's sins. We confess our own. So it was another half
hour before one of them could think of their. So it doesn't always work,
but stick with it, guys. Stick with it. Family something, once a week. Sport, since we came here
has almost forbidden that in your households, the schedule. But once a week will work. Choose a day when this will work. Maybe at, I don't know, Sunday morning and go to second service or something. But to do family devotions,
very, very important. And so, P-R-A, what is repentance? One John chapter one. I have many people argue with this. God has forgiven all my sins ahead of me and behind me, why do I
need to say sorry, Lord for a sin I do in the day? It's all done, it's all
covered with the blood, right? Well, read One John chapter one. It's all about Christians,
he's writing to Christians telling them they need to repent. Really? Yes. This is what it is, it's family stuff. It's prodigal son stuff. It's the guy or the girl
in the pig stye stuff. And the father or the
mom is waiting for them to come home and have their
relationship restored. That's what repentance in prayer is. I'm sorry dad, I'm sorry father. Right. And then you can get on being
the son you should be for God. And he'll call you back into leadership, and help, and blessing to other people. Like the prodigal son. And so, it's never very, the older I get the more time I need
to spend in that space. I'm sorry, father. You see, the prodigal son in the story and the father, the father's
blood was in the son. He was his son, forever. Right? He was his son. But they'd fallen out on earth. And that's what we do. And John One, read it tonight when you go. And it's a good thing to read each time as you're getting ready to have that part of your prayer time. And say Lord, okay let's
talk through the day. Yeah, I'm gonna have to write them a note or do something to say
I'm sorry about that. And yeah, I'm sorry we had
that row, that was, lost it. And you've got to mend it. So God will not let you
get anywhere else in prayer until that sorry is done. The prodigal son was in the
pig stye until he came home and said, I've sinned, I'm
sorry father, I'm sorry father and he said, okay let's reconcile. Now here, okay let's get
back into kingdom work and this is what you're going to do and come back in palace and yes, right. That's what repentance in our
personal prayer life is for. And it'll make a huge difference. P, praise, thank you. You get there, easy. Praise, repent, asking for others. Now I come back to the power of prayer. I think about Paul, go back to the chapter at the end of his epistle. It talks about the breast
plate of righteousness and all of this stuff. And do battle on your knees for God. I can't tell you at times in our lives and one of the worst
things that happened to us and it's 21 years ago
now, but our eldest son. All our children are in ministry but he followed, he went to Bethel. Came out and took a little baptist church up in the upper peninsula of Michigan. In the country there. Just 60 people and he's
a small church pastor. God made him like that and he
grew it to about two or 300. And his beloved wife gave
us four grand children. And they were nine down,
twins and what not. And what a joy. I would love to go and
sit on the front row and be ministered to by my son. To be ministered to my husband, you have no idea what a gift. But to be ministered to by my son. And then one day it was little church, parsonage attached you know. David came in after a
Sunday and he'd noticed there was something
wrong in his relationship with his wife. And he didn't know what it was. And he came back after
service and called her name and called the kids and there was silence. And she'd gone. Taken our four kids and disappeared. It took four days to find her with the man that she had gone to. Try that. Especially when you're the pastor. Try that. When you're the mom or the dad. And unfortunately she never came back. Took our kids into three
different relationships, divorced my son. And the day I found out that had happened, my daughter called me,
who is now a psychologist and Dave had turned to
her when he had realized something was wrong. He'd not called us, and they had been, she had been trying to help Dave. And she called us, actually as well. And she said, dad and mum,
he wouldn't talk to me unless I promised not to say anything. But didn't you see what was happening? And so she called me and that was the beginning of the
nightmare for two years. And she divorced him and this,
no fault divorce, Wisconsin. Don't know what it is here. He's not at fault, she's not at fault. And unfortunately the
judges that had his case were both of that mind and other minds that were anti, what you and
I would say about marriage. And so at the end of the questions, is this marriage irrevocably broken my beautiful daughter in law said yes and my son said no. I'm a pastor. I believe that God can mend
marriages, I've seen it happen. That's a moral answer. You're saying she's wrong and you're. Children go to her. And they walked out of the court room. No fault divorce, guys. He couldn't make that statement that he was a pastor. This is America. And so now it's 20, what eight years ago. Never goes away, guys. But God, but God, but God. And that was the time that my prayer life took a totally different teaching and way that it ever could have
done any other way. And I began simply to win it on my knees. To win it as much as you can down here. And did wonders for my prayer life. I hate to tell you that, but trouble does if you let trouble drive you
to God and not away from him. Don't waste the pain, let it prove thee. Don't stop the tears,
let them cleanse thee. Rest, stop the striving
soon you'll be arriving in his arms. Don't waste the pain, let it
drive you deeper into God. He's waiting and you
should've come sooner. That's the poem I wrote during that terrible first time. Getting on with life
with this terrible thing happening all around and I was asked to go and speak to a whole
lot of women about faith. I said to Stuart, I can't. I can't get on a plane and go and do this. Of course I had to so, I get on the plane and I think, what am I gonna
say when I get off this plane? And it was when we didn't
know what was happening. This is before the divorce, but she'd gone and you know, you try that. And I've got to get in
front of all these women and say that, you've gotta
have faith, you've gotta. And God gave me those words
and I learned not to waste pain because pain can drive you away from God. Where were you? That was my first thing. I dropped to my knees in the kitchen when I heard this. When my daughter told
me what had happened. Where were you God? Were you standing in the
corner of their lives with your hands in your pockets? You promised, you promised, you, right? And God just said, come on, come on Jill. And you just come on. And he'll put his arms around you. And you will have, listen, the peace that passes understanding. Now I understand that. It passes all human understanding that you could have peace. But peace isn't a feeling. It's settled knowing
that's deeper than feeling. It was a knowing for me that God is. And so I can do it scared,
I can do it mourning, I can do it angry, and
while that's dealt with. The Holy Spirit is the only one. And when you do not know
what to pray, it says. Ask him, and the Holy Spirit
will tell you what to pray. So you don't need your list. Now you need your list for
other things to pray about. But to be able to walk
into the throne room and stand there before
God in all his holiness and see Jesus who is
your advocate who's going to pray for you, to know what to pray as you stand there, right? Hebrews. He's there in the father. Do it normally, just you go. And do not take with you
the elephant in the room. I wrote something about
the elephant in the room in the prayer room years ago. But the picture is in my mind. And it was over the divorce thing. My prayer life, I went
with the elephant to God and I knew I had to start with praising. So I tied the elephant
up in the throne room on a tree and (laughing) I went to the steps and
there was the father and the son and, well done, come, come. Jesus was ready, going to
help me with the prayers and I prayed the praise
prayers, I could do that. And I prayed the repent, plenty of them. And I prayed a lot of ask prayers. And then the Lord said
to me, should we go back to number two, the repent, Jill? And I said, oh time's
up, I've got to go now. (laughing) And so I went and I untied the elephant, took the elephant back with me. And I heard the voice from the throne, Jill bring the elephant here. And then tears, I went
back and he told an angel to take it away. And he said, now let's get down to prayer. And then I was able to start
and pray battle prayers. Freedom. Hurting, of course. Don't waste the pain. Just get on with it. P-R-A, ask. And then ask for yourself. Sometimes it's impossible. You just have to start with why. And that was one of
those days, in those days that God said, it's okay. Start with the why, Jill. Bring the elephant here. What is it you just cannot
talk to him about, guys? Pray about it. If you have a problem with
prayer, pray about it. (laughing) We don't, you don't make
sense, but we don't do it. We just have it and let it, you know. Take it everywhere with us. Take it to God. I have this problem about
praying for the world and the lost. That was one of my prayers once. How do I? How do I, in a song we're
gonna use at the end when we do this together, break my heart with what breaks yours. Dare to pray it! Anything for you for the kingdom's cause. That's my favorite song. And that bit is my favorite
song not because I love it but because it's the
hardest thing I ever pray. But until he breaks our
heart with the things. Don't you think he was broken
hearted about this divorce? And once I got into his heart, then I could do it, I
could go and say, Lord how do I battle for my son and my still beloved daughter in law? How can you do this? She is the mother of my grandchildren. That's taken a life
time, I want you to know. But it wasn't until I opened myself up to doing battle prayers for her that the healing came. Very easy to pray for your son. Try praying for your daughter in law that's just done this to your son. Praying for your enemies. Jesus said, pray for your enemies. Uh-huh, have you ever read that? I had, but ignored it. I have colors, you know, commands. A command to obey, a promise to claim, a warning to heed, something about Jesus, something about you
that's Scripture Union. Practical, go on those
little phone things you have. (laughing) And look up Scripture Union. And it is notes, Bible
notes for every age. Two to five year olds up to seminary level and family prayer things. And that is InterVarsity's work, what I was put on at Cambridge and we put the whole of our
church on them, right across. And it has been revolutionary. And they give you these Bible notes and they ask these questions, etc, etc. And that's the best practical
help I can give you. And that's what we used in our family time and that's what we've used
over our church, etc, etc. And it will help you with praise, repent, asking for others, and
if there's anytime left, asking for you. Okay, okay. Now we're going to do it, okay? (applause) And so we're going to go through praise and we're going to praise. And then at the end of
that just in a quiet moment you're going to be personal with that and then we're going to
do the repent and the ask. And so let's begin. (light music) ♪ Praises of a thousand generations ♪ ♪ You are worthy ♪ ♪ Lord of all ♪ - [Jill] Just listen,
I don't know the words. ♪ Unto you the slain and risen king ♪ Sing. ♪ We lift our voice with
heaven singing worthy ♪ ♪ Lord of all ♪ ♪ Be enthroned upon the praises of ♪ ♪ A thousand generations ♪ ♪ You are worthy, Lord of all ♪ ♪ And unto you the slain and risen king ♪ ♪ We lift our voice with heaven ♪ ♪ Singing, worthy, Lord of all♪ Just shut your eyes. You're in the throne room, guys. Just praise him, silently. (light music) Lord, we thank you. We praise you. We love you, Jesus. Father dear. Oh Holy Spirit, friend of sinners. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Praise, repent. Silent. Go to the throne room. The father's standing on
the rooftop waiting for you. Come home. Talk to him. Say sorry. (light music) ♪ No excuse, no words of blame ♪ ♪ Nowhere to hide ♪ ♪ The eyes of God ♪ ♪ Have found my failures, found my pain ♪ ♪ He understand my weaknesses ♪ ♪ And knows my shame ♪ ♪ But his heart never leaves me ♪ ♪ Waiting for angry
words to sear my soul ♪ ♪ Knowing I don't deserve another chance ♪ ♪ But suddenly the kindest
words I've ever heard ♪ ♪ Come flooding from the heart of God. ♪ ♪ It's your kindness that leads us ♪ ♪ To repentance, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Knowing that you love us ♪ ♪ No matter what we do ♪ ♪ Makes us want to love you too♪ (light music) Lord, we're sorry, but not enough. Forgive us, Lord. Sorry, father. We're coming home,
right now in this place. As if there's no one
else here in this room. We kneel before you. We're done with the pig stye. Dress us in your righteousness. Put us to work. Father, thank you. (light music) Then there's A, asking. Let's do the family first. The hardest things to pray are the things that break your heart. Like your family. So let's come once more, look up. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you words to pray for your family. And then do it. (light music) And maybe, believe it or
not, it's you who need to pray the prayer. Even of repentance. Have you ever prayed it? Oh, I grew up in a Christian home. I'm sure I did. Aren't you sure? If not, ask him now. Say father, I'm sorry
I just said I'm sorry. Holy Spirit come into my heart. Yes. (light music) And now folks, let's
pray for a lost world. There's a hymn, "Hosanna"
that is my favorite for one verse in it. But let's pray it from
our hearts, and yeah. (light music) ♪ Heal my heart and make it clean ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes to the things unseen ♪ ♪ Show me how to love
like you have loved me ♪ ♪ Break my heart for what break yours ♪ ♪ For everything I am,
for you kingdom's cause ♪ ♪ As I walk from earth into eternity ♪ ♪ Heal my heart and make it clean ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes to the things unseen ♪ ♪ Show me how to love like you ♪ ♪ Have loved me ♪ ♪ Break my heart for what breaks yours ♪ ♪ Oh everything I am, for
your kingdom's cause ♪ ♪ As I walk from earth into eternity ♪ (light music) Okay, if you just stand
with me for a minute for Y. (light music) I'm going to pray a prayer I usually pray. I didn't do it while I've been here. Before I speak. And you can make it yours if you wish. From now on, Lord. Give my words wings. May they fly high enough
to touch the mighty. Low enough to breath the breath of sweet encouragement
upon the down cast soul. Give my words wings, Lord. May they fly swift and
fierce, taking on the enemy. Give my words wings, Lord. See them nesting down at your feet. Silenced into ecstasy, home at last. Amen! Amen, amen. (applause) - Thank you, Jill. Thank you so much. Ladies, before. Before I let the night get away from us, we know that in a room this size with this many women here some of you have been invited, you're hearing things that you've heard for the first time. And we're praying for others,
we're learning how to pray. Jill's teaching us, walking
us through those steps and you've never experienced
anything like this before because you've never
prayed like this before. And maybe the thing that
is breaking God's heart is your heart. Maybe you're the one that his
heart is broken over tonight because you have never asked him in. You have never opened your
life entirely up to him. Maybe you've been in church. Maybe you were raised in this church. But you know for a fact
that you don't have that personal relationship with the Lord. You have no experience of what Jill's been talking about tonight because you're hearing
this for the first time. And we wanna give you an opportunity. God's arms are open wide to you tonight. And we don't want you to
leave this place tonight having heard things about prayer and having heard things about repentance and never having experienced it yourself. Maybe it's your heart
that needs to be presented to him first. You can't really learn
to pray until you know the God who loves you and as Jill said, the message that she
heard in that hospital bed when she was sick was that
there's a God in heaven who loves you. Who sent his son to die on
the cross for your sins. And who is willing to
give you his Holy Spirit to live inside of you and
heal you, and transform you. And if you heard the Holy Spirit speaking to you tonight, maybe
you've been resisting him and every step, just like C.S. Lewis, you find yourself getting closer, and closer, and closer to the truth. We want to give you that
opportunity, right now. The band is going to sing
a song of invitation. "Come to the Altar." And we're going to give
you and many others in this room who need
prayer, the opportunity to come down here and
stand before this altar. Let's present our hearts to him and then we're going to
share somethings with you and have prayer team people willing to take you and pray with you. Bare your heart, agree with
us, and agree with each other. It says when two or more agree on anything that God hears us in heaven
and he will answer us. And he will answer your prayers tonight. Let us come pray with you. But before that let's have you that need to know Jesus and don't
know him, come on down here and we'll be ready and
waiting to pray with you. God's arms are open wide. (light music) ♪ Are you hurting and broken within ♪ ♪ Overwhelmed by the weight of your sins ♪ ♪ Jesus is calling ♪ ♪ Have you come to the end of yourself ♪ ♪ Do you thirst for a
drink from the well ♪ ♪ Jesus is calling ♪ ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ♪ It's always gonna take one
person to make that first step and then it's like the flood gates open and you'll see so many coming. And God bless you, and God bless you. You know. Tonight you're either gonna go home a forgiven sinner or you're gonna go home an unforgiven one, when you
lay your head on that pillow. His invitation is right here. His arms are open wide. Come on down here. Our prayer team will be joining you and don't hesitate, come ladies. (light music) ♪ Leave behind your regrets and mistakes ♪ ♪ Come today, there's no reason to wait ♪ ♪ Jesus is calling ♪ ♪ Bring your sorrows
and trade them for joy ♪ ♪ From the ashes a new life is born ♪ ♪ Jesus is calling ♪ ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's arms are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's arms are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ♪ Jill said something tonight
that really resonated with me. It's that courage isn't a feeling. Courage is taking that step of doing what you're afraid of because you know it's the right thing to do. So we're going to sing
this song one more time. And I honestly am praying that if you aren't certain
that the Holy Spirit is living in your life and that you have a relationship with God,
that you will come down to this altar and let us pray with you. Let us share with you. Let us give you some simple steps on what this means to walk with Jesus. Because all of your prayers, the Bible says, God's ear is not heavy. That he can't hear. And his hand is not
short that it can't save. Maybe you've said, I've been praying. But you know what the
Bible says, right after it says that God's ear is not heavy and his hand is not short,
it says but your sins have separated you from me. And maybe you've been praying. You say, I pray all the time. But maybe you weren't praying with a heart surrendered to God in the first place. You haven't brought your life, you haven't presented your life to him. And he wants you to be his daughter. He wants you to be
welcomed into the family. And then the father's heart, and his ear, and his hand is there for you. So we're gonna sing this one more time. Those of you that want to
receive Jesus, come forward. Let us pray with you. ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's arms are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's arms are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness, was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ O come to the altar ♪ ♪ The father's arms are open wide ♪ ♪ Forgiveness was bought with ♪ ♪ The precious blood of Jesus Christ♪ Ladies that have come down
to pray to receive Jesus I want you to know that God
accepts you just as you are. He doesn't say get your
life all cleaned up, get your act together and
then I'm gonna talk to you. He's right here, right now. His arms are open wide to you. And I'm going to lead
you in a simple prayer and I just ask that you pray
this prayer from your heart. Mean it from your heart. And he will hear you. And so I just ask you to
bow your head right now. And let's just pray. It's so simple. It's just that simple. Say these words after me. God I thank you that you have sent Jesus to die on the cross in my place. That I might be forgiven of my sins. Holy Spirit I ask you to come and take residence in my heart. I give my life whole heartedly to you as best I know how. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Thank you for answering my prayer. Thank you that I am a child of God and you have forgiven me. In Jesus name, amen. All right, praise the Lord. Ladies. We have Laurie Hooper right
down here in the front. And Laurie is going to lead
you over to our prayer room in the back and the side here. It's gonna take just a minute. We want to give you a Bible. And we want to help you to
begin this walk with Jesus. So those of you that came forward, and if you didn't come
forward but you want to receive a Bible and you want to hear more about what it
means the walk with Jesus. We're gonna take these ladies
over to the prayer room in the side and we're
gonna pray with them. And teach them, and tell
them what they need to know about walking with the Lord. So let's just encourage them as they go. (applause) God bless you guys.
