PRAY: Consult Your Creator | Dr. David Jeremiah

[Music] today is about the rest of your life it's about tomorrow and the day after that the future god has planned for you shouldn't be a haphazard approach to life you might feel stuck but you don't have to be perhaps you're discouraged it's time to deal with that and if you feel uncertain you can find clarity you may not know what's next but god does he's there waiting for you and your tomorrow so step into it and discover god's presence and purpose in your life starting today starting now it's time to move forward it's time we rise above our circumstances conquer our fears face the future with faith prevail over the past aspire to accomplish greater things reclaim our birthright proclaim his power and claim god's promises god has more for us it's not time to stop it's time to move forward today on turning point dr jeremiah helps you identify god-inspired impressions about your future there's so many things that are unprecedented sometimes we don't even know how to pray we don't even know what to ask god for but you can be sure of this if you pray and you're sincere in your heart and you're walking with god he hears your prayer and he will answer it that's coming up on today's special forward edition of turning point in just a moment dr jeremiah will guide you into an active prayer life where you'll discover that prayer is the divine energy that brings the power of god into the plans he gives us find this and nine other ways you can know god's purpose feel god's power and accomplish god's plan for your life in dr jeremiah's new book forward discovering god's presence and purpose in your tomorrow you'll learn the biblical strategy about how to claim the future god has prepared uniquely for you no matter your age or your circumstance forward releases worldwide october 6th but you can pre-order your copy today when you give a gift of any amount in support of this program and in appreciation of your gift of 75 or more dr jeremiah will send you the forward set including his new book his entire teaching series on cd or dvd with a correlating study guide and the how to move forward interview special with sheila walsh on dvd plus with your pre-order of the book or set dr jeremiah will also send you his move forward motivation cards as a part of this bonus you will also receive instant access to difference makers a collection of five audio messages from dr jeremiah examining the lives of people in the bible who god moved forward to impact their world pre-order the forward book or set by october 6th contact turning point today thank you for watching forward here on turning point in appreciation of your viewership dr jeremiah would like to send you these move forward motivation cards absolutely free contact turningpoint today and now here is dr jeremiah with his message pray consult your creator in 1909 young lenora wood volunteered to go to the appalachian mountains to teach in a one-room mission school there in the impoverished town of del rio tennessee she became something of a living legend thanks to her commitment to prayer leonora knew how to turn dreams into prayer and prayer into dreams raymond thomas was a foster teen who often stopped at leonora's cabin in his knee-high clod hoppers and talked with her as she sat on the front porch shelling peas or darning socks raymond's seemingly impossible dream was to go to college but how can i manage it he said i haven't got any money i don't have any prospects i'm not saved anything raymond leonora replied whatever you need god has the supply ready for you the money will be there for any dream that's right for you every dream for what you're willing to work raymond asked leonora to offer a dreaming prayer for him and her prayer went like this father you've given raymond a fine mind we believe that you want raymond's potential to be used to help you lift and lighten some portion of your world since all the wealth of the world is yours please help raymond find everything he needs for an education raymond thomas did make it through college in four years working 12 jobs to support himself and graduating with a bachelor of science degree laude he also served in world war ii and later settled in vienna where he earned a phd in physics he went on to visit 60 countries master multiple languages and network was some of the most important people in europe through his job with the u.s atomic energy program looking back on his life raymond said the fact that i could dream of going to college and achieve it proved something to me very simply any right dream can be realized and prayer helps you know if it's right and gives you the power to stay with it in other words listen carefully the way forward is to pray forward i think that's what nehemiah would say too he was one of the most effective leaders in the bible and his story unfolds in the old testament book that bears his name executives and entrepreneurs study his book endlessly because of the leadership lessons that are found in it nehemiah was a jewish official serving the persian king in the city of susa a thousand miles from jerusalem the babylonians had destroyed israel and jerusalem in 586 bc and several thousand hebrew settlers had gone back to rebuild the temple and reestablish a jewish presence there this was a deep burden for nehemiah he knew god's plan of redemption depended on the continuity of his people in their land he understood that it was a matter of heartfelt prayer to make this happen one day nehemiah's brother and a few other men arrived from jerusalem with this grim message the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach the wall of jerusalem is also broken down and its gates are burned with fire this news hit nehemiah like a blast slumping into his chair he started sobbing but out of his deep tears came earnest prayers and out of his prayers came a fervent dream with god's help nehemiah would return to jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the ancient city of his god it seemed an impossible feat because nehemiah was the king's cupbearer and a trusted advisor the likelihood of king artaxerxes releasing him let alone financing the trip seemed very far-fetched but god he'd already planted the dream in nehemiah's heart just as he is planting fresh dreams in your heart today so you have to prepare your heart for god's plan god's desires flourish in prepared hearts just like seeds in a furled ground in the last message i urge you to imagine your future if you're saying yeah i want to do that but you're not certain what your dream is or what the next step forward is then prayer is where you should start nehemiah saw a need that burdened his heart and he started to pray about it i've studied the book of nehemiah many times and there are two verses that tell us something about dreams not the kind you have at night but the kind that guide you forward notice these two telling phrases nehemiah claimed that god put it in my heart to rebuild the walls of jerusalem later he said my god put it in my heart to organize the people nehemiah didn't come up with his dream for jerusalem's wall by himself his heart was receptive to the impressions god sent him let me tell you what i've learned a prayerful heart is fertile ground for divine ideas how can you be sure the dream in your heart is god's will and not yours well you must humbly and specifically ask god to place his ideas for your life into your heart and mind you do that through prayer you pray and you ask the lord to help you be sensitive to what he's telling you to do and then you pray about the plans that he gives you day and night no matter the hour of circumstances pray as god begins to give you impressions and thoughts about your future continue to pray commit them to him in serious ongoing prayer and as soon as nehemiah sensed the need for rebuilding the walls of jerusalem listen he sat down and he wept and he mourned for many days and he was fasting and praying before the god of heaven as his thoughts clarified and he better understood what needed to happen he wrote out an earnest prayer it's preserved for us in the book that bears his name here it is i pray lord god of heaven o great and awesome god you who keep your covenant and mercy with those who love you and observe your commandments please let your ear be attentive and your eyes open that you may hear the prayer of your servant which i pray before you now day and night nehemiah went on to confess his sins and those of his people he reminded god of the biblical promises involving the children of israel and he ended by saying oh lord i pray let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name and let your servant prosper this day i pray and grant him mercy in the sight of this man who was this man oh it was king artaxerxes the most powerful man on the earth and even though nehemiah was his cup bearer he couldn't approach the king without risking his life only god could arrange the right moment so nehemiah prayed e.m bounds was a 19th century pastor who wrote a powerful book on the subject of prayer i've read many of his books every page is kind of convicting so i can only read them in small doses but ian bounds called prayer spiritual energy here's what he wrote he said what great things are accomplished by this divinely appointed means of grace it brings things to pass which would never otherwise occur bound said that the story of prayer is the story of great achievements prayer is a wonderful power placed by almighty god in the hands of his people which may be used to accomplish great purposes and achieve unusual results the bible says it this way the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results prayer is the divine energy that brings the power of god into the plans that he's giving you i don't know any shortcut for this god guides his children as they learn the joy of praying to him night and day so prepare your heart for god's plan and pray about your plans day and night and then learn to practice spontaneous prayer it's wonderful to have a leisurely hour on the patio for bible study and prayer or to engage in a special extended time in prayer with friends at church asking god for his favors but sometimes you have to pray instantly sometimes you have to pray urgently on the spur of the moment and it's good to know that the lord hears those prayers as well i urge you to learn to pray quickly silently and instantly no one in the bible mastered that skill better than nehemiah his book is peppered with short little prayers that were injected into his narrative he knew how to pray spontaneously for example one day the king wanted a glass of wine so nehemiah prepared it and here is nehemiah 2 1 and 2. i took the wine and i gave it to the king now i had never been sad in the presence of the king before and so the king said to me why is your faith sad since you are not sick this is nothing but sorrow of heart now a little interpretation here nehemiah knew these words could have reflected genuine concern or they could have been his death sentence believe it or not in that day it was a capital offense to be sad in the presence of the king so watch carefully what nehemiah did he senses the urgency of the moment verses two through five so i became dreadfully afraid and i said to the king good move may the king live forever why should my face not be sad when the city the place of my father's tombs lies waste and its gates are burned with fire and then the king said to me what do you request now watch this so i pray to the god of heaven and i said to the king if it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight i ask that you send me to judah to the city of my father's that i may rebuild it i'm sure you noticed it here's the phrase i prayed to the god of heaven and i answered the king in the twinkling of an eye nehemiah had his opportunity but he had to say exactly the right thing in the right way to move the king to his cause his life was on the line not to mention the desires of his heart it was critical for him to speak wisely and for the king to react positively so nehemiah shot up an arrow to heaven maybe it was just help lord help most of us know that prayer we've prayed it on occasion the lord answered and soon nehemiah was on his way to rebuild the walls of jerusalem when you know how to earnestly pray day and night then you will find out there's great power in spontaneous prayer as well one fateful day back in 2001 lieutenant colonel dan hooton was working on the first floor in the sea ring of the pentagon that's sort of in the middle of the building he was preparing for a 10 o'clock meeting when a co-worker came into his office with news that the world trade center was on fire in new york hooton went to his boss's office where the television was on he watched events unfold then had a feeling down deep that he should get up and return to his own office along the way he stopped to talk to someone in a nearby cubicle and suddenly the whole room burst into flames and hooton was thrown 20 feet forward his left leg was pinned to the floor beneath rubble and the walls were on fire he yelled for his co-worker but heard no response he recalls at that moment i said a short prayer asking god to show me the way out he pried his leg loose and saw some light in the distance and crawling through an opening he found he was trapped again and the room was full of smoke and so were his lungs he said the room was like an oven and at that moment i thought i was going to die of smoke inhalation he climbed over more rubble saw a hand reaching out to him and at once he was on the helicopter pad outside the pentagon he began helping others not realizing he was bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds when he shares his story now he credits his survival to god answering simple words god show me a way out did you know that god answers prayers like that when you're in the midst of following your dream and god has given you a plan and you're on your way to the goal sometimes there are problems there's no such thing as life without any challenges there's the old statement that says if there's no friction there's no traction every major dream i have ever had everything god has ever done in my life has been fraught with trouble and often in the midst of it you have to pray lord help me help me to know what to do i don't know what to do but my eyes are on you so prepare your heart for god's plan through prayer pray about your plans day and night practice spontaneous momentary prayer and here's number four prepare for god to do things his way as god drops his seeds of aspiration into your mind and you pray over them whether in quiet extended prayer or quick in the moment prayer you're going to have to learn to trust him for his own brand of success you have to expect him to do things his way proverbs 16 3 says commit to the lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans the word commit means to trust god can be trusted with your dreams to divulge them develop them sometimes delay them and always drench them with his blessings so you have to understand god opens doors and he closes doors he arranges circumstances and sometimes he creates trajectories you didn't even expect in nehemiah's case the king granted him letters of safe conduct through the empire along with provisions for the walls and the gates nehemiah said and the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my god upon me and artaxerxes sent a military convoy to accompany nehemiah to jerusalem because the jews had a lot of enemies in judah when nehemiah got into jerusalem nehemiah wanted to keep his dream a secret until it was time to rally the jews so he saddled his horse in the darkness and inspected the ruins of the city by moonlight and the next day he gathered the people and he said you see the distress that we are in how jerusalem lies waste and its gates are burned with fire come let us build the wall of jerusalem that we may no longer be a reproach and i told them of the hand of my god which had been good upon me nehemiah declared with confidence the god of heaven will help us i believe with all of my heart that the god of heaven will grant success to his children who seek for his will in their lives remember success doesn't mean health wealth fame or fortune when god uses the term success it means the fulfillment of his plan for your life and you have to trust him however that unfolds if you want to move forward so prepare your heart for god's plan pray about your plans day and night practice spontaneous prayer and prepare for god to do things his way and then i want to add this plead for overcoming strength in overwhelming moments have you had any overwhelming moments lately if you're praying your way through what god wants you to do that doesn't mean you won't have any trouble that doesn't mean you won't have any problems the devil will hurl his forces against god's unfolding work in your life but let me tell you something friends don't be bullied don't be intimidated never let yourself be discouraged the devil will try to push you off the road but the one to whom you pray is the one before whom the devils tremble and god will give you overcoming strength for overwhelming moments that's what he did for nehemiah and get this he and the residents of jerusalem finished the wall in 52 days they rebuilt the walls of jerusalem in 52 days only god could have done that believe me you can't go forward in life without drenching every step in prayer one of the greatest ships of all time was the rms muritania built in it had a distinguished career captured the world record for crossing the atlantic served the british navy during world war one and even today many of the furnishings of the muritania are woven into the interiors of some of the world's most exclusive buildings hidden away in history is this interesting fact the muritania was built by prayer the naval architect who constructed it would not put in a single piece of that great ship without definitely asking god to help him and he would not receive any part of the machinery without having the consciousness that it had to be received from divine acceptance thus the greatest ship in the world has been built by making prayer a working principle of life so let me ask you to do that make a working principle in your life your prayer ask god for overcoming strength and overwhelming moments go forward in his power remember it's not your dream god wants it's you and then could i just add this final kind of postscript to all of this praise god for what he does you have one more opportunity to make prayer a part of your future you have the privilege of praising god for his work in your life nehemiah and the jews and jerusalem finished the walls so quickly they had time on their hands so what's next well let's have a bible conference with the security of a walled city the jewish settlers felt safe going about their lives and furthermore one section of the wall near the watergate formed like a new public square so the word went out all the people are come to the water gate and ezra the priest stood on a platform built for the occasion and he praised the god of heaven and the crowd lifted their hands upward and shouted amen amen and when the wall was dedicated great choirs marched along the parapets leading in worship and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced for god had made them rejoice with great joy the women and the children rejoiced so that the joy of jerusalem was heard afar off there's not anything in the world like the joy of watching god form and fulfill his plans for your life and it only happens as we step toward our dreams in his presence through prayer i begin this message by telling you about the inhibitable leonora wood let me end with a special prayer composed by her daughter catherine marshall this prayer was inspired by her mother and was included in marshall's book adventures in prayer both catherine and leonora are in heaven now but i'm sure they'll be thrilled if you make their prayer your prayer here it is father once it seems so long ago now i had such big dreams so much anticipation of the future now no shimmering horizon beckons me my days are lackluster where is your plan for my life father you have told us that without vision we perish so father in heaven knowing that i can ask in confidence what is your expressed will to give me i ask you to deposit in my mind and heart the particular dream the special vision you have for my life and along with the dream will you give me whatever graces and patience and stamina it takes to see the dream through to fruition i sense that this may involve adventures i have not bargained for but i want to trust you god i want to trust you enough to follow even if you lead along new paths so lord if you have to break down any prisons of mine before i can see the stars and catch the vision then lord begin the process now in joyous expectation amen and i guess i would say to you as they would say to you i dare you to pray that prayer i dare you to bring god into your life and make him the focus of what you do and who you are he's your creator and when he gives you a dream you have to consult with your creator and he will lead you to the realization of everything god puts in your heart to do amen dr jeremiah will return in a moment with one more inspirational word to close today's program right after this thank you for watching today did you know that this program is just one part of the ministry of turning point which is committed to delivering the unchanging word of god to an ever-changing world this program is only possible because of the generous and faithful support of viewers like you when you support the ministry of turning point you partner with us to reach across the world with the gospel and with the strong bible teaching of dr jeremiah through television radio print and digital ministry in several languages and to multiple generations please consider supporting this program and the worldwide ministry of turning point when you do dr jeremiah will thank you by sending his new book forward discovering god's presence and purpose in your tomorrow and if you give 75 or more he will send you in appreciation his comprehensive forward set your gift helps move the ministry forward contact turningpoint today and now with one last word for today's program here is dr jeremiah if you're serious about moving forward there is one crucial step to complete first it's step one of this process knowing christ as your personal lord and savior i hope you're walking strongly with christ because faith in christ is the starting block that will keep propelling you forward but perhaps you don't know christ if that's the case i would like to introduce you to him today please allow me to send you two free resources the first is a booklet called your greatest turning point and the second is our monthly devotional magazine turning points these resources are yours completely free when you contact turningpoint today also available from dr jeremiah the jeremiah study bible the culmination of more than four decades of dr jeremiah's study and teaching available in nkjv niv and esb plus dr jeremiah's airship genesis kids study bible for the young ones in your life order a bible for yourself or as a gift for someone you know contact turning point today next time on turning point whenever i find myself straying i feel these principles pulling me back into line that's what a priority will do when you choose something and make it number one in your life it will constantly be there and when you walk away from it a little bit it'll be like a magnet pulling you back thank you for being with us today join us next time as dr jeremiah challenges you to diminish your distractions and choose that which is most important here on turning point

Channel: David Jeremiah

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Keywords: Dr. David Jeremiah, David Jeremiah, Turning Point with David Jeremiah, Turning Point, God, Jesus, Christ, Bible, Forward, Pray, Overcoming, Overwhelming, God’s Plan, Nehemiah 1, Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah 4, Nehemiah 6, Nehemiah 8, Nehemiah 12, Psalm 25, Proverbs 16, James 4, Ephesians 3, Creator, Distractions, Safe, Chase, Mind, Outlive, Forever, Purpose, Tomorrow, Anxious, Disappointed, Unfulfilled, Conquer, Fear, Encouragement, Discover, Regrets, Prepare, Praise, Spontaneous

Id: 7-5xlA2irQE

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 27 2020