1 00:00:05,196 --> 00:00:08,766 Speaker: To Psalm 119, for example, uh, verse 33, we just 2 00:00:08,796 --> 00:00:10,636 recently covered this passage. 3 00:00:11,306 --> 00:00:14,626 The psalmist says, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, 4 00:00:14,626 --> 00:00:16,475 and I will keep it to the end." 5 00:00:16,475 --> 00:00:19,986 In, in fact, this whole section, "Give me understanding. 6 00:00:20,265 --> 00:00:22,415 Lead me in the path of your commandments. 7 00:00:22,416 --> 00:00:24,295 Incline my heart to your testimonies. 8 00:00:24,686 --> 00:00:26,746 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things." 9 00:00:26,906 --> 00:00:28,875 What is the psalmist doing here? 10 00:00:28,885 --> 00:00:29,646 What is he doing? 11 00:00:31,015 --> 00:00:32,046 He's talking to God. 12 00:00:32,046 --> 00:00:32,845 What do we call that? 13 00:00:32,846 --> 00:00:34,216 This is not a trick question, y'all. 14 00:00:34,676 --> 00:00:35,535 He's praying. 15 00:00:35,896 --> 00:00:36,625 He's praying. 16 00:00:36,906 --> 00:00:39,516 Psalm 119, so much of it is a prayer. 17 00:00:39,516 --> 00:00:43,225 Verse 65, "You have dealt well with your servant." 18 00:00:43,276 --> 00:00:44,525 Who's he talking to? 19 00:00:45,515 --> 00:00:45,936 Come on. 20 00:00:46,545 --> 00:00:46,935 God. 21 00:00:46,936 --> 00:00:49,126 We're gonna get into this thing this morning, church. 22 00:00:49,146 --> 00:00:50,185 We're gonna have some fun. 23 00:00:50,195 --> 00:00:51,215 We're gonna study God's Word. 24 00:00:51,666 --> 00:00:52,955 He's talking to the Lord. 25 00:00:52,986 --> 00:00:53,985 And what's he doing there? 26 00:00:53,995 --> 00:00:56,105 He's, he's praying, right? 27 00:00:56,105 --> 00:00:57,916 He's communicating to God. 28 00:00:58,385 --> 00:01:03,575 And so as we see in Psalm 119 so many different times, there are all of these, 29 00:01:03,605 --> 00:01:08,045 these sections where he is praying to the Lord, where he is going to the 30 00:01:08,045 --> 00:01:12,465 Lord, where he is beseeching the Lord and requesting things of the Lord. 31 00:01:12,785 --> 00:01:18,355 And so if we are gonna get the most out of Psalm 119, we need to understand 32 00:01:18,355 --> 00:01:20,396 that we have to be a prayerful people. 33 00:01:20,666 --> 00:01:25,215 Uh, Psalm 119:133, "Keep steady my steps according to your promise. 34 00:01:25,215 --> 00:01:29,705 And let no iniquity, let no sin get dominion, get mastery, 35 00:01:29,706 --> 00:01:31,955 get, get lordship over me." 36 00:01:32,706 --> 00:01:35,026 That's a prayer I think all of us would wanna pray, r- right? 37 00:01:35,475 --> 00:01:38,825 We would wanna say, "Lord, keep steady my steps according to your Word. 38 00:01:38,825 --> 00:01:42,405 I, I wanna walk faithfully in the path that you've called me to walk. 39 00:01:42,505 --> 00:01:45,795 And Lord, I don't, I don't want any sin to get mastery over my life." 40 00:01:46,386 --> 00:01:48,136 That's a great prayer to bring to the Lord. 41 00:01:49,305 --> 00:01:51,805 But I want us to talk about prayer in general this morning. 42 00:01:52,715 --> 00:01:56,995 Uh, prayer is, is something that can be so powerful, and you'll notice, uh, the, 43 00:01:57,015 --> 00:01:59,205 the title for this sermon is "Prayers that Change the World," and you might 44 00:01:59,206 --> 00:02:00,956 think that that's rather ambitious. 45 00:02:01,315 --> 00:02:04,106 And maybe you're looking for some quotes from E.M. 46 00:02:04,106 --> 00:02:08,015 Bounds or f- some quotes from Charles Spurgeon or s- some quotes from Amy 47 00:02:08,015 --> 00:02:12,265 Carmichael or George Müller or some people like that, that you know about because you 48 00:02:12,276 --> 00:02:16,454 know that they were people, men and women of great prayers, and they were men and 49 00:02:16,454 --> 00:02:18,625 women who did in fact change the world. 50 00:02:18,625 --> 00:02:21,945 But what I want to suggest to you this morning is that prayers 51 00:02:21,945 --> 00:02:24,876 that change the world are often prayed by people who won't. 52 00:02:26,225 --> 00:02:29,276 Meaning, they're often prayed by people like you and me. 53 00:02:29,905 --> 00:02:30,785 I don't mean to offend you. 54 00:02:30,785 --> 00:02:32,005 Maybe you'll change the world. 55 00:02:33,966 --> 00:02:36,976 But generally speaking, I think the majority n- of us in this room are, 56 00:02:37,006 --> 00:02:41,266 are gonna live our lives, hopefully faithfully walking with the Lord, we're 57 00:02:41,266 --> 00:02:44,296 gonna die, and then in a couple of generations we're gonna be forgotten. 58 00:02:46,105 --> 00:02:50,856 But in the meantime, while we're here, if we pray to the God of creation, 59 00:02:51,736 --> 00:02:55,296 the one that we just sang about, if we pray to that God, that what, what 60 00:02:55,296 --> 00:02:58,725 we'll find is that we can indeed pray prayers that can change the world. 61 00:02:59,796 --> 00:03:04,265 Back in 2007, my mom got me a Kindle, and it was the first Kindle 62 00:03:04,325 --> 00:03:05,845 edition that was ever released. 63 00:03:06,166 --> 00:03:09,045 A- and my mom is not the most techy person on the face of the 64 00:03:09,045 --> 00:03:11,896 planet, and so she was out in front of the tech curve on this one. 65 00:03:11,896 --> 00:03:13,675 I had not heard of what this thing was. 66 00:03:13,675 --> 00:03:17,295 I remember opening it and looking at it and thinking, "What in the world is this? 67 00:03:17,306 --> 00:03:21,835 It looks like a, a weird-looking PDA," if you remember PDAs back in the day. 68 00:03:21,835 --> 00:03:23,204 I'm dating myself there, too. 69 00:03:23,675 --> 00:03:25,095 Uh, but, but here's the thing. 70 00:03:25,576 --> 00:03:27,076 I didn't realize what I had. 71 00:03:27,326 --> 00:03:30,425 A- and so that first Kindle that I had, I really didn't use it. 72 00:03:31,036 --> 00:03:34,105 Uh, y- you probably have the Kindle app on your phone now. 73 00:03:34,105 --> 00:03:37,236 In fact, Amanda and I were flying back from California yesterday, and this sweet 74 00:03:37,236 --> 00:03:38,865 lady was sitting next to us on the plane. 75 00:03:38,866 --> 00:03:42,615 And Amanda had the actual Kindle device that she has, and she was reading that, 76 00:03:42,826 --> 00:03:45,936 and this lady leaned over to her and she said, "Can I ask you a personal question?" 77 00:03:45,936 --> 00:03:47,606 Which is always great to get on the plane, right? 78 00:03:47,954 --> 00:03:49,055 What is this gonna be about? 79 00:03:49,415 --> 00:03:50,865 And she says, "What is that?" 80 00:03:51,195 --> 00:03:52,485 And she points at the Kindle. 81 00:03:53,256 --> 00:03:54,885 And Amanda said, "I- it, it's a Kindle." 82 00:03:55,585 --> 00:03:57,715 And she goes, "Oh, I have that on my phone. 83 00:03:57,716 --> 00:03:58,355 I have the Kind…" 84 00:03:58,355 --> 00:04:00,426 She had the, uh, the Southern, most Southern accent we, 85 00:04:00,455 --> 00:04:01,385 I've heard in a long time. 86 00:04:01,786 --> 00:04:03,275 "I, I have that on my phone." 87 00:04:03,915 --> 00:04:04,716 And Amanda was like, "Yeah." 88 00:04:04,716 --> 00:04:07,655 And she, she was like, "Well, th- so that's just the Kindle." 89 00:04:07,945 --> 00:04:10,565 And Amanda said, "Yeah, that's, that's actually how it started." 90 00:04:10,565 --> 00:04:12,565 And she said, "Well, I'm adding that to my Christmas list." 91 00:04:13,345 --> 00:04:14,885 So hopefully she's gonna get a Kindle. 92 00:04:15,815 --> 00:04:16,966 But I didn't know what I had. 93 00:04:17,425 --> 00:04:21,964 I didn't realize the, the, the power that was there in that singular 94 00:04:21,966 --> 00:04:27,335 device, that I could store thousands of books right there at my fingertips. 95 00:04:28,256 --> 00:04:29,985 And so what happened is I just didn't use it. 96 00:04:31,425 --> 00:04:35,245 Y'all, that is prayer in the lives of so many Christians today. 97 00:04:36,935 --> 00:04:41,496 The most powerful resource, i- perhaps the most powerful resource that 98 00:04:41,585 --> 00:04:49,155 God has given you as a Christian is prayer, and yet we just don't use it 99 00:04:51,704 --> 00:04:52,084 Think about it. 100 00:04:52,734 --> 00:04:57,254 Prayer has access to a God who is all-powerful, who can do anything, 101 00:04:57,834 --> 00:05:01,454 who is omniscient and all-knowing and all-wise, and yet so often 102 00:05:01,454 --> 00:05:03,213 we just leave it on the shelf 103 00:05:05,430 --> 00:05:07,969 Listen, y'all, if we're gonna pray prayers that change the world, we have 104 00:05:07,969 --> 00:05:11,789 to begin by understanding why we need prayer in the first place, and that's 105 00:05:11,789 --> 00:05:15,449 what I wanna show us this morning from somebody who may have been the one that 106 00:05:15,449 --> 00:05:17,890 wrote Psalm 119, and that is King David. 107 00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:21,529 So take your Bibles over to 2 Samuel chapter 5. 108 00:05:22,050 --> 00:05:23,590 2 Samuel chapter 5 109 00:05:26,776 --> 00:05:30,226 2 Samuel chapter 5, David has just become the king of Israel. 110 00:05:30,646 --> 00:05:33,616 He was the king of Judah, but remember Ishbosheth had his 111 00:05:33,616 --> 00:05:35,506 little two-year rebellion there. 112 00:05:35,506 --> 00:05:39,106 Well, Ishbosheth was assassinated and all of Israel has just come together 113 00:05:39,256 --> 00:05:41,255 and they have made David their king. 114 00:05:41,846 --> 00:05:45,135 And so David is now king, but David's not gonna have a long honeymoon 115 00:05:45,135 --> 00:05:48,255 period as the king of Israel because pick up with me in verse 17. 116 00:05:49,215 --> 00:05:53,265 Verse 17 it says this in chapter 5, "When the Philistines heard that David had 117 00:05:53,266 --> 00:05:57,486 been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. 118 00:05:57,715 --> 00:06:00,926 But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 119 00:06:01,185 --> 00:06:05,236 Now the Philistines had come out and spread out in the valley of Rephaim. 120 00:06:05,446 --> 00:06:08,946 And David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go up against the Philistines? 121 00:06:09,115 --> 00:06:11,026 Will you give them into my hand?'" 122 00:06:11,325 --> 00:06:12,365 And so here's what's happening. 123 00:06:12,365 --> 00:06:13,635 David has taken the throne. 124 00:06:13,645 --> 00:06:17,945 He's king over all Israel, and the Philistines, they knew King David. 125 00:06:18,635 --> 00:06:19,745 How did they know King David? 126 00:06:19,815 --> 00:06:24,485 Well, recall that when David was running from Saul, one of the places that David 127 00:06:24,485 --> 00:06:27,235 sought refuge was with the Philistines. 128 00:06:27,875 --> 00:06:28,395 You remember that. 129 00:06:28,446 --> 00:06:31,675 In fact, him and his men lived amongst the Philistines for a while 130 00:06:31,675 --> 00:06:34,666 in Ziklag, and they were going out and they were winning battles. 131 00:06:34,666 --> 00:06:38,065 And, and so the Philistines knew David's leadership power, and they 132 00:06:38,075 --> 00:06:40,085 also knew his military prowess. 133 00:06:40,776 --> 00:06:44,906 And so David takes over as the king of all Israel now, and the Philistines are 134 00:06:44,906 --> 00:06:48,996 thinking to themselves, "We have to put this new king and this new nation that 135 00:06:48,996 --> 00:06:53,735 he's ruling down before they get too powerful because we know who David is." 136 00:06:54,255 --> 00:06:56,825 And so the Philistines come and they draw up for battle, it says 137 00:06:56,825 --> 00:06:58,615 here, in the valley of Rephaim. 138 00:06:58,615 --> 00:07:03,775 A- and so even while he's still settling in, he's still getting the, the wallpaper 139 00:07:03,806 --> 00:07:07,945 up on the, the walls of his palace, trying to figure out how he wants to arrange 140 00:07:07,946 --> 00:07:11,335 his office, which is a super important thing, by the way, to figure that out and 141 00:07:11,595 --> 00:07:15,835 maybe rearrange it once or, or 100 times depending on your, your spirit there. 142 00:07:16,365 --> 00:07:21,365 David is just still settling into the kingship and here come the Philistines. 143 00:07:22,946 --> 00:07:23,685 What did David do? 144 00:07:25,550 --> 00:07:27,490 Did he throw up his hands in frustration and say, "God, 145 00:07:27,510 --> 00:07:29,320 are you kidding me right now? 146 00:07:29,930 --> 00:07:31,250 Can't a guy catch a break? 147 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,490 After all, y- you anointed me with Samuel, and then all I've been doing 148 00:07:35,490 --> 00:07:39,280 is running from Saul, and then Saul finally dies, and then here's this 149 00:07:39,308 --> 00:07:41,670 Ishbosheth guy, and now the Philistines. 150 00:07:41,710 --> 00:07:42,940 Come on, God. 151 00:07:42,940 --> 00:07:44,819 Can't I just get a break, please?" 152 00:07:45,870 --> 00:07:46,719 All right, he doesn't do that. 153 00:07:47,870 --> 00:07:49,140 Does he get angry? 154 00:07:49,150 --> 00:07:50,769 Does he lose heart? 155 00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:52,650 Does he just grow discouraged and say, "Okay, I quit. 156 00:07:53,319 --> 00:07:54,010 I'm not gonna be king. 157 00:07:54,109 --> 00:07:55,259 I don't wanna do this anymore. 158 00:07:55,540 --> 00:07:56,760 This life is too hard. 159 00:07:56,929 --> 00:07:59,939 I've been facing just opposition after opposition after opposition. 160 00:08:00,359 --> 00:08:01,379 This life is so hard. 161 00:08:01,620 --> 00:08:05,680 God must not really love me, because all I'm facing is trials, so I'm 162 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,320 just going to pout and sit in the corner with my arms crossed." 163 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,619 All right, he doesn't do that either. 164 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:11,050 What does he do? 165 00:08:11,050 --> 00:08:12,630 It says in the text that he sought the Lord. 166 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,439 It says, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? 167 00:08:16,239 --> 00:08:17,679 Will you give them into my hand?" 168 00:08:18,919 --> 00:08:22,210 King David sees the enemy draw up for battle in front of him, and he 169 00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:25,539 assesses the situation and realizes the threat that's posed by them. 170 00:08:25,539 --> 00:08:28,289 And make no mistake, the, the Philistines were not a pushover. 171 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,938 And so David sees the Philistine army draw up for battle against him and 172 00:08:32,938 --> 00:08:37,120 against Israel, and he sits there and he assesses the threat and he realizes 173 00:08:37,450 --> 00:08:42,588 there is an enemy that exists out there, and David says, "I need the Lord." 174 00:08:44,750 --> 00:08:49,010 You and I have an enemy, not the Philistines, but it's the enemy that we 175 00:08:49,010 --> 00:08:51,560 talked about not long ago in 1 Peter 5:8. 176 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,700 You and I have an enemy that's prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking 177 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,310 someone to devour, and you're on the menu. 178 00:08:56,310 --> 00:08:59,970 And hey, if you're not gonna pray, you are going to be beset. 179 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,900 You are going to be attacked. 180 00:09:01,900 --> 00:09:02,920 You are going to be oppressed. 181 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,429 You are gonna be sidelined by this enemy who wants nothing more than 182 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:07,780 to hinder your walk with Christ. 183 00:09:08,639 --> 00:09:11,779 So one of the first reasons we have to be desperate to pray prayers that change the 184 00:09:11,779 --> 00:09:13,909 world is because we have a real enemy. 185 00:09:14,129 --> 00:09:17,729 Rely on prayer to overcome a real enemy. 186 00:09:18,770 --> 00:09:21,459 Rely on prayer to overcome a real enemy 187 00:09:24,250 --> 00:09:26,870 We, we talked about this back in 1 Peter 5:8, but let me just 188 00:09:26,870 --> 00:09:29,920 remind you did Satan go after Job? 189 00:09:31,918 --> 00:09:32,318 Yes. 190 00:09:32,348 --> 00:09:33,028 Yes, he did. 191 00:09:33,208 --> 00:09:33,758 Yes, he did. 192 00:09:34,408 --> 00:09:36,538 Did Satan go after Peter? 193 00:09:37,428 --> 00:09:38,018 Yes, he did. 194 00:09:38,388 --> 00:09:41,178 "Peter, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you." 195 00:09:42,758 --> 00:09:44,588 Did, did Satan go after Paul? 196 00:09:44,588 --> 00:09:45,248 What did Paul say? 197 00:09:45,248 --> 00:09:49,617 "I have a thorn in the flesh, which is a messenger from Satan," right? 198 00:09:49,898 --> 00:09:50,288 Yes. 199 00:09:50,328 --> 00:09:54,107 Did, did Satan go after Joshua, the high priest, back in Zechariah? 200 00:09:54,137 --> 00:09:56,468 That one may be a little bit more obscure, but yes, he did. 201 00:09:57,057 --> 00:09:58,217 He was accusing Zechariah. 202 00:09:58,417 --> 00:10:02,017 A- and then in Luke chapter 13, we find the woman who was 203 00:10:02,178 --> 00:10:04,897 bound by Satan for 18 years. 204 00:10:06,458 --> 00:10:09,748 In Revelation, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. 205 00:10:10,758 --> 00:10:12,137 Your brethren, by the way. 206 00:10:12,137 --> 00:10:15,687 I know we don't use that language, but the accuser of the brothers and sisters, the 207 00:10:15,688 --> 00:10:17,848 accuser of the, the faithful, the saints. 208 00:10:19,127 --> 00:10:22,247 And I talked about it back then, but y- you may not have Satan specifically 209 00:10:22,247 --> 00:10:26,117 targeting you, but I, I wouldn't be surprised to, to find out that, that one 210 00:10:26,117 --> 00:10:31,347 of his demons is targeting you, that he's been assigned you to study you, to know 211 00:10:31,348 --> 00:10:32,807 your weaknesses, and to come after you. 212 00:10:33,657 --> 00:10:35,297 You have a real enemy. 213 00:10:35,537 --> 00:10:39,398 You have a roaring, ravenous lion, and you're on the menu, and if you're not 214 00:10:39,398 --> 00:10:41,037 praying, then you're a sitting duck. 215 00:10:41,037 --> 00:10:43,117 And so what does David do when he sees the enemy draw up? 216 00:10:43,117 --> 00:10:44,408 He turns to the Lord. 217 00:10:44,408 --> 00:10:47,957 He inquires of the Lord, and that's a principle that his 218 00:10:47,958 --> 00:10:49,768 predecessor Saul had abandoned. 219 00:10:50,767 --> 00:10:55,487 In fact, listen to how 1 Chronicles 10:14 describes the reign of Saul. 220 00:10:55,727 --> 00:10:59,527 "He," Saul, "did not seek guidance from the Lord; therefore, 221 00:10:59,528 --> 00:11:01,107 the Lord put him to death." 222 00:11:01,988 --> 00:11:06,337 He did not seek guidance from the Lord; therefore, the Lord put him to death. 223 00:11:07,437 --> 00:11:10,748 Saul failed to remain dependent on the Lord in the face of enemies, in 224 00:11:10,748 --> 00:11:14,187 the face of opposition, in the face of trials, and David knew that he couldn't 225 00:11:14,227 --> 00:11:16,497 afford to make the same mistake. 226 00:11:17,197 --> 00:11:21,437 Maybe you're here this morning and prayer just isn't a high priority on your list. 227 00:11:21,958 --> 00:11:22,837 It's not up there. 228 00:11:22,837 --> 00:11:24,177 You're not doing much of it. 229 00:11:24,617 --> 00:11:27,378 It's that thing that when you hear a sermon on prayer, y- you, 230 00:11:27,378 --> 00:11:29,377 you feel a little bit guilty. 231 00:11:29,587 --> 00:11:32,408 You feel like, "I wish I'd known the pastor was gonna preach on 232 00:11:32,418 --> 00:11:34,557 prayer because I would've gone somewhere else this morning." 233 00:11:35,367 --> 00:11:38,227 And maybe that's where you're at this morning and I wanna suggest one of 234 00:11:38,227 --> 00:11:42,198 the reasons you might be there this morning is because you have been lulled 235 00:11:42,227 --> 00:11:45,487 into a sense of forgetfulness that you have an enemy that hates you and 236 00:11:45,487 --> 00:11:49,817 hates your Savior and wants to see you sidelined in your walk with Christ. 237 00:11:49,817 --> 00:11:52,848 In fact, not just sidelined, but wants you not to progress in sanctification, 238 00:11:53,587 --> 00:11:55,248 but to regress in sanctification. 239 00:11:56,587 --> 00:12:01,237 And you have to remember that he exists if you're going to be prayerful. 240 00:12:02,117 --> 00:12:06,877 You've been lulled into a peacetime mentality when the reality is God's 241 00:12:06,877 --> 00:12:10,857 Word is clear that you have an enemy that hates you and hates your Savior. 242 00:12:10,877 --> 00:12:13,328 That should make us desperate to pray to the Lord. 243 00:12:14,528 --> 00:12:18,127 But maybe there's another reason that you're not really praying as much as, as 244 00:12:18,127 --> 00:12:22,088 you wish you were praying or as much as we should be praying, and that's because 245 00:12:22,088 --> 00:12:25,767 y- you have this false sense of security that says, "I can do it by myself." 246 00:12:27,598 --> 00:12:30,907 Th- th- that you have this pull myself up by my own bootstraps approach to life 247 00:12:30,918 --> 00:12:32,848 that says, "I- God, I've got this one. 248 00:12:32,858 --> 00:12:33,157 Thanks. 249 00:12:33,157 --> 00:12:34,777 You can go help people that really need you." 250 00:12:36,737 --> 00:12:40,387 And so you, you wake up, and you get in the Word of God, and, and you listen to 251 00:12:40,387 --> 00:12:43,497 your podcasts, and you listen to your sermons while you're working out or 252 00:12:43,777 --> 00:12:46,757 on your commute, and you listen to the Audible books with all the Christian 253 00:12:46,767 --> 00:12:50,137 bestsellers that are out there, and you've got your scripture memory apps, and 254 00:12:50,137 --> 00:12:53,598 you're memorizing the Word of God, a- a- and you're doing all of this, and yet at 255 00:12:53,637 --> 00:12:57,457 the end, if you're not praying, all that that amounts to is self-righteousness, 256 00:12:57,457 --> 00:12:58,627 and you're trying to do it by yourself 257 00:13:00,910 --> 00:13:02,500 That has to be accompanied by prayer. 258 00:13:03,620 --> 00:13:06,520 Because all of those things that you're doing, if you're not praying, 259 00:13:06,579 --> 00:13:09,180 you're doing all of that and ignoring your relationship with God. 260 00:13:10,839 --> 00:13:15,120 And so don't be fooled into thinking, "God, I've got this because I'm doing 261 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,730 my daily Bible reading on a consistent basis, and I'm listening to the right 262 00:13:18,730 --> 00:13:22,219 things, and I'm memorizing the Bible, and I'm showing up at community group 263 00:13:22,279 --> 00:13:23,749 prepared with the questions answered." 264 00:13:23,949 --> 00:13:28,459 But if you're not praying, then you're just trusting in your 265 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:30,449 own works and your own efforts. 266 00:13:31,829 --> 00:13:33,349 And that's not gonna work against the enemy. 267 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:33,570 Why? 268 00:13:33,570 --> 00:13:35,230 Because he's stronger than you are 269 00:13:37,742 --> 00:13:40,781 In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 13 through 18, the Apostle Paul says 270 00:13:40,781 --> 00:13:44,322 this, "Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able 271 00:13:44,322 --> 00:13:47,411 to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. 272 00:13:47,661 --> 00:13:52,031 Therefore stand having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the 273 00:13:52,572 --> 00:13:54,981 breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the 274 00:13:54,982 --> 00:13:57,281 readiness given by the gospel of peace. 275 00:13:57,661 --> 00:14:01,361 In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish 276 00:14:01,391 --> 00:14:03,141 all the flaming darts of the evil one. 277 00:14:03,502 --> 00:14:06,291 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 278 00:14:06,312 --> 00:14:07,491 which is the Word of God." 279 00:14:07,742 --> 00:14:10,171 And then we stop, right? 280 00:14:10,442 --> 00:14:12,611 And then we stop and we say, "Well, there's the armor of God. 281 00:14:13,231 --> 00:14:13,952 I'm ready to go. 282 00:14:13,952 --> 00:14:15,191 I'm, I'm, I'm suited up. 283 00:14:15,231 --> 00:14:16,031 I got it all. 284 00:14:16,361 --> 00:14:16,931 Let's go. 285 00:14:16,972 --> 00:14:17,972 Let's go do battle." 286 00:14:18,421 --> 00:14:19,951 But what does Paul say right after that? 287 00:14:19,981 --> 00:14:24,021 And we, we I wish we just kept going one more verse, because 288 00:14:24,021 --> 00:14:25,351 what does he say in verse 18? 289 00:14:25,541 --> 00:14:29,872 He says, "Praying at all times in the Spirit with prayer and supplication." 290 00:14:30,941 --> 00:14:34,331 Prayer is as much a part of the armor of God as the sword of the Spirit or the 291 00:14:34,332 --> 00:14:37,502 breastplate of righteousness or the shield of faith or the helmet of salvation. 292 00:14:38,472 --> 00:14:41,321 Not praying is like going into battle without your comms 293 00:14:41,562 --> 00:14:43,222 to your commanding officers. 294 00:14:43,540 --> 00:14:45,741 Not praying is like being cut off completely. 295 00:14:45,931 --> 00:14:48,851 You may have the best military equipment that you can possibly 296 00:14:48,852 --> 00:14:52,512 have, but you've got no one there to help give you guidance as to what's 297 00:14:52,512 --> 00:14:56,261 coming or the threat that, that's out there or to resupply your needs. 298 00:14:57,901 --> 00:15:00,672 And so we have to be not just suited up in the armor of God, 299 00:15:00,672 --> 00:15:04,381 but also praying, because prayer is a part of the armor of God. 300 00:15:05,161 --> 00:15:05,611 Because why? 301 00:15:05,611 --> 00:15:08,861 Because you've got an enemy out there, and your enemy's not gonna stop. 302 00:15:08,881 --> 00:15:10,332 Your enemy's not gonna give up. 303 00:15:10,511 --> 00:15:12,711 Your enemy's not gonna sign a peace treaty with you. 304 00:15:13,681 --> 00:15:17,061 He's going to keep coming over and over and over again. 305 00:15:17,061 --> 00:15:18,951 This is why the Bible says, "Rejoice in hope. 306 00:15:19,121 --> 00:15:20,232 Be patient in tribulation. 307 00:15:20,401 --> 00:15:22,901 Be constant in prayer," Romans 12:12. 308 00:15:22,951 --> 00:15:27,602 Or Colossians 4:2, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being 309 00:15:27,602 --> 00:15:29,222 watchful in it with thanksgiving." 310 00:15:29,361 --> 00:15:32,831 Or 1 Thess 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." 311 00:15:34,574 --> 00:15:37,414 And so we have to rely on prayer because we have a real enemy. 312 00:15:37,704 --> 00:15:39,904 And so here's some of the prayers that you should be praying right now at church. 313 00:15:39,904 --> 00:15:42,574 You should be praying for your own spiritual wellbeing against that enemy. 314 00:15:43,514 --> 00:15:45,363 That, that should be a, a prayer every single day. 315 00:15:45,363 --> 00:15:47,934 Lord, I need you to help me stand firm today. 316 00:15:48,684 --> 00:15:51,104 I'm gonna take up the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit. 317 00:15:51,104 --> 00:15:53,664 I'm gonna remember that the, the righteousness of Christ 318 00:15:53,683 --> 00:15:55,414 is what guards me in my life. 319 00:15:55,414 --> 00:15:58,633 I'm gonna put on the helmet of salvation that's gonna remind me of my future 320 00:15:58,633 --> 00:15:59,804 and my thinking and everything else. 321 00:15:59,983 --> 00:16:01,253 But Lord, I, I need to be praying. 322 00:16:01,263 --> 00:16:02,914 You need to help me today. 323 00:16:03,103 --> 00:16:05,733 I need you to make it through the day because I've got an enemy 324 00:16:05,733 --> 00:16:07,653 that's out there that's real that's gonna come after me today. 325 00:16:09,223 --> 00:16:10,943 Pray that for your brothers and sisters in Christ too. 326 00:16:11,853 --> 00:16:14,063 Pray for them that they will be protected from the enemy. 327 00:16:14,743 --> 00:16:15,533 Pray for your church. 328 00:16:15,563 --> 00:16:16,814 Pray for this place right here. 329 00:16:16,814 --> 00:16:19,454 Pray that God will further the mission of the church, that we would 330 00:16:19,463 --> 00:16:22,794 be about reaching people for Christ and teaching people to be like Christ 331 00:16:22,794 --> 00:16:24,534 and training people to serve Christ. 332 00:16:24,543 --> 00:16:27,633 Pray that we will be effective in that and not just content to say, 333 00:16:27,633 --> 00:16:30,893 "Well, we've got two services and it's comfortable and I kinda like the 334 00:16:30,894 --> 00:16:32,793 size, so let's just be what we are." 335 00:16:32,853 --> 00:16:36,823 Pray that the enemy will not stop what we're trying to do here in North Texas. 336 00:16:37,914 --> 00:16:41,153 Pray for the church at large, the Church, big C. 337 00:16:41,383 --> 00:16:43,814 Pray that God will raise up more faithful lampstands that are 338 00:16:43,814 --> 00:16:46,574 obeying the Word of God, that are preaching the biblical gospel, that 339 00:16:46,574 --> 00:16:47,794 are doing the work of the mission. 340 00:16:48,103 --> 00:16:50,054 Pray that the church will have success. 341 00:16:50,063 --> 00:16:50,253 Why? 342 00:16:50,253 --> 00:16:53,933 Because we have a real enemy and we have to rely on prayer. 343 00:16:54,083 --> 00:16:56,903 And if we start praying that way, these are prayers that are going 344 00:16:56,904 --> 00:17:02,200 to change the world And you might think, "But does my prayer matter?" 345 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:02,750 Yeah, it does. 346 00:17:02,750 --> 00:17:04,869 Prayers that change the world are often prayed by people that won't. 347 00:17:06,369 --> 00:17:08,799 Because your prayers that do change the world are, are less 348 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,079 about who you are and more about the God that you are praying to. 349 00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:16,839 And that's where we go next, because David not only saw the enemy and 350 00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:19,509 turned to the Lord, but the reason he turned to the Lord is because he 351 00:17:19,509 --> 00:17:20,920 knew the Lord was able to deliver him. 352 00:17:21,929 --> 00:17:26,419 Look in the next por- part of our passage here in 2 Samuel 5:19. 353 00:17:26,419 --> 00:17:30,119 "And the Lord said to David, 'Go up, for I will certainly give 354 00:17:30,130 --> 00:17:31,500 the Philistines into your hand.' 355 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,159 And David came to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. 356 00:17:35,350 --> 00:17:37,540 And he said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before 357 00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:38,779 me like a breaking flood.' 358 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,039 Therefore the name of that place is called Baal Perazim. 359 00:17:41,859 --> 00:17:44,280 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and 360 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:45,600 his men carried them away." 361 00:17:46,299 --> 00:17:49,559 Uh, th- he experienced something similar to this back in 1 Samuel chapter 30 362 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:50,560 when he was with the Philistines. 363 00:17:51,419 --> 00:17:52,200 You probably remember that. 364 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,230 The Amalekites came, and they came to Ziklag, and they, they conquered 365 00:17:55,230 --> 00:17:59,769 Ziklag, and they took captive all of David's, uh, and all of his men's wives 366 00:17:59,769 --> 00:18:00,999 and families and all their possessions. 367 00:18:01,009 --> 00:18:01,549 You remember that? 368 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:03,990 And, and the men were really angry at David. 369 00:18:04,419 --> 00:18:06,969 And it says, "David strengthened himself in the Lord and asked 370 00:18:06,970 --> 00:18:07,950 the Lord, 'Should I go?' 371 00:18:08,510 --> 00:18:09,620 And the Lord said, 'Yeah, you should go. 372 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,690 I'll, I'll, I'll give them into your hand.'" 373 00:18:12,269 --> 00:18:13,969 Well, that's similar to what's happening here. 374 00:18:14,959 --> 00:18:17,619 The Lord said to David, "I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand." 375 00:18:17,629 --> 00:18:18,949 He says it literally in the Hebrew. 376 00:18:18,949 --> 00:18:20,920 It's giving, I will give them to you. 377 00:18:21,879 --> 00:18:25,449 So he's doubling down on the word there to emphasize this is a done deal, David. 378 00:18:25,540 --> 00:18:28,070 That's why it says, "I will surely," "I will, I will certainly 379 00:18:28,429 --> 00:18:29,419 give them into your hand." 380 00:18:30,269 --> 00:18:33,229 See, David went to the Lord in prayer when the enemy drew up for battle 381 00:18:33,229 --> 00:18:36,609 in front of him, not only because he needed it, but, but, but because he 382 00:18:36,620 --> 00:18:40,909 knew that God was greater in strength than the enemy that drew up against him. 383 00:18:42,479 --> 00:18:43,989 They were strong, but God was stronger. 384 00:18:45,499 --> 00:18:49,369 A genuine reliance on prayer recognizes that we have a, a need 385 00:18:49,849 --> 00:18:52,899 in the face of a great enemy and turns for help to a greater God. 386 00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:56,239 Second point this morning along those lines is this: we have to rely on 387 00:18:56,239 --> 00:18:58,959 prayer that beseeches a sovereign God. 388 00:18:59,869 --> 00:19:01,889 To beseech is to request, to ask of. 389 00:19:03,566 --> 00:19:06,886 And so we rely on prayer that beseeches a sovereign God. 390 00:19:07,216 --> 00:19:11,026 See, what drove David was that he knew who God is. 391 00:19:11,766 --> 00:19:14,826 That's one of the reasons why as we're studying Psalm 119 as Summer in the 392 00:19:14,826 --> 00:19:19,346 Word, and we're emphasizing and stressing being in God's Word daily, one of the 393 00:19:19,346 --> 00:19:22,576 reasons why is because the more you are in the Word of God and the more you 394 00:19:22,576 --> 00:19:27,025 come to know the God of the Word, the more you will pray to Him because the 395 00:19:27,025 --> 00:19:28,475 more of His character you will know. 396 00:19:28,475 --> 00:19:32,715 A- and when something happens in your life, you won't be as quick to hit the 397 00:19:32,716 --> 00:19:35,525 panic button or the a- anxious button. 398 00:19:35,535 --> 00:19:36,885 Y- you will say, "Wait a minute. 399 00:19:36,906 --> 00:19:39,976 I'm gonna hit the prayer button because I know who God is. 400 00:19:40,165 --> 00:19:42,335 I know God's bigger than what I'm facing right now. 401 00:19:42,516 --> 00:19:45,065 I know God is the God of peace and God of all comfort. 402 00:19:45,255 --> 00:19:46,595 I know God is sovereign. 403 00:19:46,746 --> 00:19:48,005 I know God is ruling. 404 00:19:48,136 --> 00:19:51,365 I know God is on the throne, and nothing can change that." 405 00:19:52,665 --> 00:19:55,825 David had his resources at this point in time. 406 00:19:56,185 --> 00:19:57,146 He had his mighty men. 407 00:19:57,546 --> 00:19:58,675 He had his military prowess. 408 00:19:58,676 --> 00:19:59,605 He had Joab. 409 00:19:59,605 --> 00:20:01,035 Joab was a pretty good commander. 410 00:20:01,305 --> 00:20:02,655 That guy was, was pretty sharp. 411 00:20:03,185 --> 00:20:04,865 He had the past promises of God. 412 00:20:04,865 --> 00:20:06,485 After all, he had been anointed by Samuel. 413 00:20:06,485 --> 00:20:07,985 "You're gonna be the king of Israel someday." 414 00:20:08,155 --> 00:20:09,736 He's just now taken the throne. 415 00:20:09,865 --> 00:20:12,775 He probably could have rationalized things in his head to go, "You know what? 416 00:20:12,816 --> 00:20:15,906 I can just go handle them because God promised me I'm gonna be the king of 417 00:20:15,906 --> 00:20:17,495 Israel, not just for a couple of months. 418 00:20:18,155 --> 00:20:20,025 I, I, I've got a long reign in front of me. 419 00:20:20,025 --> 00:20:22,525 I'm sure of it, so let me just go out and handle this." 420 00:20:23,555 --> 00:20:25,036 Things were looking up for David. 421 00:20:25,036 --> 00:20:26,026 The nation was coming together. 422 00:20:26,026 --> 00:20:27,096 He had every reason. 423 00:20:27,096 --> 00:20:30,215 It would have been easy for him to ride all of that momentum out into 424 00:20:30,216 --> 00:20:31,585 battle without ever going to the Lord 425 00:20:34,030 --> 00:20:35,910 If you're anything like me, you know that temptation. 426 00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:38,790 That temptation to say, "It's okay, God, I got it." 427 00:20:40,300 --> 00:20:42,720 That temptation to, to say, "I, I need to… 428 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,590 I, I'm facing a trial, uh, w- w- how do I get out of this? 429 00:20:45,590 --> 00:20:49,639 W- w- what can I do to bring myself out of this trial as quickly as possible?" 430 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:51,809 Or, "I'm facing a challenge. 431 00:20:51,819 --> 00:20:57,000 H- how can I use my intellect, how can I use my experience to overcome this?" 432 00:20:58,169 --> 00:21:00,049 Or, "Who do I know that can help me with this? 433 00:21:00,089 --> 00:21:01,080 Let me call this person. 434 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:01,739 Let me call Mom and Dad. 435 00:21:01,739 --> 00:21:03,220 Let me call this person over here." 436 00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:06,870 W- w- we're often so quick to either rely on ourselves or turn 437 00:21:06,870 --> 00:21:10,730 to other people way before we ever go to God with our requests. 438 00:21:12,530 --> 00:21:14,479 The F-22 is a pretty spectacular machine. 439 00:21:14,719 --> 00:21:17,699 I, I, I, I don't know a lot about fighter jets other than I think they're 440 00:21:17,699 --> 00:21:21,950 really cool, and Top Gun: Maverick is the greatest movie ever made. 441 00:21:22,269 --> 00:21:24,019 I know those two things, okay? 442 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:28,200 And I know we've advanced past the F-22, but the F-22 is still considered the king 443 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,770 of the skies when it comes to dogfights. 444 00:21:30,190 --> 00:21:32,560 It can reach speeds a- above Mach 2. 445 00:21:33,289 --> 00:21:36,589 Uh, it, it, it can get past the speed of sound without even 446 00:21:36,589 --> 00:21:37,739 kicking on its afterburner. 447 00:21:38,189 --> 00:21:39,299 It's designed even… 448 00:21:39,309 --> 00:21:42,269 The, the physical design of the plane is such that it doesn't 449 00:21:42,269 --> 00:21:44,049 show up on most radars out there. 450 00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:48,839 And so when it comes to air superiority, the F-22 puts us 451 00:21:48,839 --> 00:21:50,119 above anyone else in the world. 452 00:21:51,469 --> 00:21:53,999 But imagine how foolish it would be to go to war where you're going to 453 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,849 war against another nation who also has some pretty advanced fighter 454 00:21:56,850 --> 00:21:58,939 jet technology, though not the F-22. 455 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,349 Imagine going to war against them and thinking to yourselves, 456 00:22:03,169 --> 00:22:04,800 "I've got a fleet of F-22s. 457 00:22:05,509 --> 00:22:06,170 I'm not gonna use them. 458 00:22:07,579 --> 00:22:09,049 I'm gonna use older technology. 459 00:22:09,629 --> 00:22:11,429 I'm gonna use surface-to-air missiles. 460 00:22:11,879 --> 00:22:17,539 I'm going to use tanks to take out planes in the sky that fly really fast." 461 00:22:20,046 --> 00:22:21,986 You stood there and you said, "Well, that, that would be insane." 462 00:22:24,083 --> 00:22:27,373 Kinda like going into a battle against an enemy without praying 463 00:22:27,373 --> 00:22:28,664 to the God of the universe. 464 00:22:30,123 --> 00:22:32,853 Kinda like facing a, a trial or opposition that you're walking through 465 00:22:32,853 --> 00:22:34,264 without praying and asking God for help. 466 00:22:35,184 --> 00:22:37,744 Kinda like going through cancer without saying, "God, can you please 467 00:22:37,744 --> 00:22:39,303 remove this cancer from my body?" 468 00:22:41,976 --> 00:22:46,085 See, w-when we don't beseech our sovereign God in prayer when facing a 469 00:22:46,085 --> 00:22:49,956 trial or a temptation or a challenge, whatever the challenge may be, we're not 470 00:22:49,966 --> 00:22:51,785 employing our greatest weapon in battle 471 00:22:53,870 --> 00:22:56,899 The greatest weapon David had is the weapon that he turned to first, and that 472 00:22:56,899 --> 00:23:00,510 is the God of the universe, the sovereign God, the Lord of lords, the King of kings. 473 00:23:01,409 --> 00:23:03,399 Going to Him saying, "Lord, I need help." 474 00:23:03,419 --> 00:23:07,109 And there's, here, three aspects of God's sovereignty that should 475 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:08,859 drive your prayer life, okay? 476 00:23:09,110 --> 00:23:09,889 Three aspects here. 477 00:23:09,889 --> 00:23:12,609 The first is this: because God is sovereign, our prayers 478 00:23:12,610 --> 00:23:13,760 really do change the world. 479 00:23:14,819 --> 00:23:16,030 They really do change the world. 480 00:23:16,050 --> 00:23:16,840 They change things. 481 00:23:17,449 --> 00:23:19,979 And, and you may push back at this point and say, "But, but Pastor, 482 00:23:20,429 --> 00:23:23,839 doesn't that kinda undermine this whole idea of God's sovereignty? 483 00:23:24,469 --> 00:23:26,530 Isn't it right there in the point that, that He's sovereign? 484 00:23:27,070 --> 00:23:30,389 If God is sovereign and has decreed the end from the beginning," which 485 00:23:30,389 --> 00:23:34,719 I would a- agree, that I, I believe He has, "then why bother praying? 486 00:23:36,189 --> 00:23:36,929 Why bother praying? 487 00:23:38,050 --> 00:23:39,869 He's declared it, after all. 488 00:23:40,459 --> 00:23:41,249 He's ordained it. 489 00:23:41,859 --> 00:23:43,559 Does my prayer really change the world? 490 00:23:43,559 --> 00:23:45,609 You're telling me it does because God is sovereign, our prayers 491 00:23:45,609 --> 00:23:46,659 really do change the world. 492 00:23:47,870 --> 00:23:51,249 But it doesn't seem like that would fit together if He's sovereign. 493 00:23:51,249 --> 00:23:53,299 It seems like He's gonna do what He's gonna do." 494 00:23:55,229 --> 00:23:57,319 This is a tension that's long e- existed. 495 00:23:58,590 --> 00:24:01,020 Uh, but I wanna in- introduce a, a little bit of a different spin, 496 00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:02,559 a different perspective on it. 497 00:24:02,559 --> 00:24:03,300 And let me ask this. 498 00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:09,210 What if, in His sovereignty, God ordained that an outcome would occur, 499 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:11,289 occur in answer to your prayers? 500 00:24:13,492 --> 00:24:16,132 What if in the working out of his plan that he has ordained from the 501 00:24:16,132 --> 00:24:19,862 beginning of time, God ordained that your prayer would bring about 502 00:24:20,042 --> 00:24:22,362 this circumstance, this outcome 503 00:24:24,533 --> 00:24:26,374 Last week you guys got to hear my, my daughter give her 504 00:24:26,374 --> 00:24:27,813 testimony and then get baptized. 505 00:24:28,293 --> 00:24:32,964 Um, her mom and I were praying for her salvation from the time that she was born. 506 00:24:34,103 --> 00:24:38,194 Now, does scripture tell us that God had written her name in the Lamb's Book of 507 00:24:38,194 --> 00:24:39,684 Life before the foundation of the world? 508 00:24:40,583 --> 00:24:41,264 Yes. 509 00:24:42,164 --> 00:24:45,713 And did God answer our prayers that she would be saved? 510 00:24:46,383 --> 00:24:51,512 Yes A-a-and so the fact that God is sovereign, that's why 511 00:24:51,512 --> 00:24:54,391 you can pray with any hope that anything's gonna happen at all. 512 00:24:55,062 --> 00:24:58,422 If God's not sovereign, that's when why bother praying? 513 00:24:58,432 --> 00:25:03,432 I-if, if God's not able to bring about a, a, a solution or bring about 514 00:25:03,432 --> 00:25:07,351 some, some event in life, that's when we would say, "Why bother praying?" 515 00:25:07,361 --> 00:25:13,042 L-let me give you an e-example from Paul's life here from the New Testament. 516 00:25:13,292 --> 00:25:15,918 Uh, 2 Thessalonians 3. 517 00:25:15,918 --> 00:25:18,802 2 Thessalonians 3 beginning in verse one. 518 00:25:18,831 --> 00:25:22,532 Paul says this: "Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of 519 00:25:22,532 --> 00:25:26,261 the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as has happened among you." 520 00:25:26,482 --> 00:25:29,462 Now, did Paul believe in the sovereignty of God? 521 00:25:30,392 --> 00:25:31,371 North-south on that one. 522 00:25:31,431 --> 00:25:32,491 Yes, right? 523 00:25:32,692 --> 00:25:34,791 Come on, Paul wrote Romans 8, okay? 524 00:25:35,071 --> 00:25:37,921 Uh, that is like the magnum opus of God's sovereignty. 525 00:25:38,251 --> 00:25:41,341 So Paul believed in the sovereignty of God, and yet what is Paul doing here? 526 00:25:41,341 --> 00:25:45,821 He's saying, "Hey, I want you to pray that the word of the Lord may speed ahead 527 00:25:45,831 --> 00:25:49,651 and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked 528 00:25:49,651 --> 00:25:51,611 and evil men, for not all have faith. 529 00:25:51,871 --> 00:25:52,971 But the Lord is faithful. 530 00:25:53,042 --> 00:25:55,521 He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 531 00:25:55,712 --> 00:25:58,411 And we have confidence in the Lord about you that you're doing good and 532 00:25:58,411 --> 00:25:59,862 will do the things that we command. 533 00:26:00,131 --> 00:26:03,511 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to 534 00:26:03,511 --> 00:26:05,131 the steadfastness of Christ." 535 00:26:05,451 --> 00:26:10,241 Notice Paul didn't say, "I would ask you to pray for us, but God's 536 00:26:10,241 --> 00:26:11,962 sovereign, so why bother praying? 537 00:26:11,962 --> 00:26:13,352 What's gonna happen is gonna happen." 538 00:26:14,032 --> 00:26:18,182 No, rather because God is sovereign, Paul is saying this, "Hey, will you 539 00:26:18,182 --> 00:26:21,631 pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, 540 00:26:21,671 --> 00:26:23,001 as it has happened amongst you?" 541 00:26:23,182 --> 00:26:24,402 Why was Paul praying that? 542 00:26:24,691 --> 00:26:27,041 Because Paul knew that those prayers were gonna go to a sovereign 543 00:26:27,041 --> 00:26:28,211 God who could make that happen. 544 00:26:28,901 --> 00:26:32,382 So just because we believe in the sovereignty of God and that He has 545 00:26:32,382 --> 00:26:36,011 ordained all things, doesn't mean that God doesn't use your prayer 546 00:26:36,181 --> 00:26:37,771 to accomplish His purpose in life. 547 00:26:39,161 --> 00:26:44,752 And so you can pray to a sovereign God, and you can, can have a, a confidence that 548 00:26:44,752 --> 00:26:47,181 because He is sovereign, He will answer. 549 00:26:47,421 --> 00:26:49,321 Because God is sovereign, your prayers really do change the world. 550 00:26:49,322 --> 00:26:51,681 The second thing is because God is sovereign, you can trust 551 00:26:51,681 --> 00:26:52,871 Him to answer your prayers. 552 00:26:54,131 --> 00:26:57,651 Again, it's if God is not sovereign, that's when we should say, 553 00:26:57,722 --> 00:26:58,751 "What's the point in praying?" 554 00:27:00,052 --> 00:27:02,312 But because He is, we can trust that He will. 555 00:27:03,241 --> 00:27:05,141 In our daily Bible reading, we're in Nehemiah. 556 00:27:05,151 --> 00:27:09,131 And, and, and Nehemiah, Nehemiah being the cupbearer of the king, he goes into 557 00:27:09,131 --> 00:27:12,331 the king's presence a-and he's just heard about Jerusalem, that it's in ruins, 558 00:27:12,541 --> 00:27:14,502 and he's k- he, he's not doing well. 559 00:27:14,711 --> 00:27:17,791 And King Art, King Artaxerxes says, "Why so glum, chum?" 560 00:27:18,071 --> 00:27:19,401 And, and that's in the Hebrew. 561 00:27:19,601 --> 00:27:24,071 And Nehemiah looks at King Art and says, and, and before he answers him, he throws 562 00:27:24,071 --> 00:27:28,687 a prayer up to God really quick Asking for mercy from this man, King Artaxerxes, 563 00:27:28,687 --> 00:27:33,198 who could kill him for being in a bad mood when he's the king's cupbearer, right? 564 00:27:33,678 --> 00:27:37,708 Uh, uh, back before Amanda and I got to, to California, we were in 565 00:27:37,718 --> 00:27:39,208 Arizona, and we were in a tough spot. 566 00:27:39,298 --> 00:27:40,098 Uh, our church was… 567 00:27:40,478 --> 00:27:42,287 There were just some, some difficult things happening there. 568 00:27:42,287 --> 00:27:43,448 We were praying. 569 00:27:43,478 --> 00:27:44,597 We didn't know what God was doing. 570 00:27:44,718 --> 00:27:45,958 "Lord, we're, we're here. 571 00:27:46,017 --> 00:27:49,048 We believe that You led us here for a purpose, uh, but we're, we're 572 00:27:49,048 --> 00:27:51,737 not sure what's happening right now and where You want us to be." 573 00:27:52,148 --> 00:27:54,117 In the meantime, I decided to start pursuing my Doctor of 574 00:27:54,138 --> 00:27:55,747 Ministry at, at Master's Seminary. 575 00:27:55,747 --> 00:27:59,837 And so I was there, and the Master's Seminary brought in this guy, this guy 576 00:27:59,838 --> 00:28:04,277 named Pastor Mike Fabarez, to teach one of the DMIN preaching courses there. 577 00:28:04,967 --> 00:28:08,587 And I remember his book because I, I'd seen it back on the bookshelf of a guy 578 00:28:08,597 --> 00:28:12,097 that I knew from, from seminary days, and I was like, "Oh, yeah, Mike Fabarez. 579 00:28:12,097 --> 00:28:12,537 That's cool." 580 00:28:12,537 --> 00:28:15,687 And I, I listened to him as he was teaching this DMIN class, and I 581 00:28:15,687 --> 00:28:18,457 tho- I sat there and I thought to myself, "Man, it would be so cool 582 00:28:18,457 --> 00:28:21,597 to go work at a church like that someday, but that's not gonna happen." 583 00:28:23,117 --> 00:28:27,137 Well, Pastor Mike Fabarez's wife, Carlyn, was sitting in the room with him because 584 00:28:27,138 --> 00:28:28,497 they were getting ready to go on vacation. 585 00:28:28,498 --> 00:28:32,407 So she's sitting in the back of there in, in Compass Bible Church, which is 586 00:28:32,407 --> 00:28:35,037 the church that Pastor Mike Fabarez pastors, so maybe now you're starting 587 00:28:35,038 --> 00:28:36,387 to put together some of the pieces here. 588 00:28:36,888 --> 00:28:40,307 Uh, Compass Bible Church was in need of more staff pastors because they were 589 00:28:40,307 --> 00:28:41,487 growing and God was doing work there. 590 00:28:41,498 --> 00:28:43,237 And so Carlyn, his wife, is sitting in the back. 591 00:28:43,487 --> 00:28:46,207 I'm sitting there praying about my current situation at the church in 592 00:28:46,207 --> 00:28:48,747 Arizona going, "God, I don't know what You're doing, but, but we're just… 593 00:28:49,327 --> 00:28:51,897 We don't know what's going on, but we trust You." 594 00:28:51,898 --> 00:28:53,828 Carlyn's in the back of the room saying, "God, we, we need 595 00:28:53,828 --> 00:28:55,068 more pastors at our church." 596 00:28:55,397 --> 00:28:58,537 And she was praying, "Maybe there's somebody in this room who's going 597 00:28:58,538 --> 00:29:01,058 through a difficult situation in the church that they're in, and maybe 598 00:29:01,058 --> 00:29:04,137 You would bring them to come be a part of our church someday and serve 599 00:29:04,138 --> 00:29:05,377 with us at Compass Bible Church." 600 00:29:06,197 --> 00:29:09,017 Y'all, it was a year later that I was introduced as a staff 601 00:29:09,027 --> 00:29:10,117 pastor at Compass Bible Church. 602 00:29:11,428 --> 00:29:14,887 I- Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that that would happen. 603 00:29:15,117 --> 00:29:15,717 God did. 604 00:29:15,757 --> 00:29:15,967 Why? 605 00:29:15,967 --> 00:29:16,987 Because God is sovereign. 606 00:29:17,447 --> 00:29:21,077 So I'm praying, Carlyn's praying, and God is answering the prayer, 607 00:29:21,477 --> 00:29:24,167 and we had no clue as He's moving all these chess pieces. 608 00:29:24,167 --> 00:29:24,307 Why? 609 00:29:24,307 --> 00:29:25,147 Because God is sovereign. 610 00:29:25,147 --> 00:29:26,798 You can trust Him to answer your prayers. 611 00:29:27,727 --> 00:29:29,228 You can trust Him to answer your prayers. 612 00:29:29,428 --> 00:29:30,167 Daniel did. 613 00:29:30,248 --> 00:29:33,877 You remember when, when King Neb, when, when he was there and he, he had this 614 00:29:33,888 --> 00:29:38,228 dream, and he told his, his, uh, his sycophantic, his suck-up, uh, wise 615 00:29:38,228 --> 00:29:40,928 men, "Hey, I'm not gonna tell you what my dream is because I know your game. 616 00:29:41,178 --> 00:29:43,597 I want you to tell me the dream and its interpretation, and if you 617 00:29:43,597 --> 00:29:45,147 don't, I'm just gonna kill you all." 618 00:29:45,907 --> 00:29:47,357 And they were like, "This is impossible." 619 00:29:47,398 --> 00:29:47,957 And he goes, "Great. 620 00:29:47,987 --> 00:29:48,557 I'm gonna kill you." 621 00:29:49,597 --> 00:29:50,607 Daniel finds out. 622 00:29:50,868 --> 00:29:54,527 Daniel gets Rack, Shack, and Benny together and, and they go before the Lord 623 00:29:54,717 --> 00:29:57,157 and they say, "Lord, uh, we need You." 624 00:29:58,068 --> 00:30:00,477 And God doesn't say, "Sorry about you. 625 00:30:00,538 --> 00:30:01,667 I don't know what He's thinking." 626 00:30:03,228 --> 00:30:06,587 The sovereign God said, "Daniel, here's his dream and here's the interpretation." 627 00:30:06,587 --> 00:30:09,017 And Daniel went back in to King Nebuchadnezzar and said, "Hold on. 628 00:30:09,868 --> 00:30:10,667 Stop the killing. 629 00:30:11,547 --> 00:30:13,217 Here's your dream and here's the interpretation." 630 00:30:14,687 --> 00:30:16,777 Because God is sovereign, you can trust Him to answer your prayers. 631 00:30:16,777 --> 00:30:19,417 And finally, because God is sovereign, you can pray big prayers. 632 00:30:20,447 --> 00:30:21,417 You can pray big prayers. 633 00:30:23,150 --> 00:30:25,370 David asks for guidance before battle. 634 00:30:25,830 --> 00:30:28,360 Nehemiah asked for mercy before King Artaxerxes. 635 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,630 Daniel asked God to give him the wisdom to interpret the king's 636 00:30:31,630 --> 00:30:33,039 dream and to know the king's dream. 637 00:30:33,530 --> 00:30:34,840 These are big prayers. 638 00:30:35,820 --> 00:30:38,939 Yes, we should pray for small things, but don't be afraid to pray for big things 639 00:30:38,940 --> 00:30:41,490 because the God that you pray to is able. 640 00:30:43,050 --> 00:30:44,880 And so pray for the salvation of your children. 641 00:30:45,359 --> 00:30:47,049 Pray for the salvation of your spouse. 642 00:30:47,380 --> 00:30:49,619 Pray for your marriage to be reconciled. 643 00:30:49,999 --> 00:30:53,419 Pray for the, the health of your, your family. 644 00:30:53,490 --> 00:30:55,459 Pray for infertility to be overcome. 645 00:30:55,639 --> 00:30:58,629 Pray about moving across country and then don't stay here. 646 00:30:58,889 --> 00:31:03,089 Uh, pray and ask God for revival in our nation. 647 00:31:03,279 --> 00:31:06,310 Pray and ask God for peace and a just end to war. 648 00:31:06,490 --> 00:31:09,629 Pray for God to put an end to wickedness and evil, things like abortion. 649 00:31:09,869 --> 00:31:11,209 Ask God for big things. 650 00:31:11,209 --> 00:31:11,389 Why? 651 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,700 Because God is able, because God is sovereign. 652 00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:17,029 Pray prayers that can change the world. 653 00:31:17,510 --> 00:31:19,679 Just because you may not, doesn't mean that your prayers won't 654 00:31:22,482 --> 00:31:24,172 Don't leave your greatest asset on the shelf. 655 00:31:25,512 --> 00:31:27,581 Pray to the God who can. 656 00:31:27,752 --> 00:31:29,612 Rely on prayer that beseeches a sovereign God. 657 00:31:29,612 --> 00:31:32,831 But then finally, as our passage continues, we find that David prayed, 658 00:31:33,151 --> 00:31:37,032 uh, because God was able, and also because God was able to provide him 659 00:31:37,032 --> 00:31:38,412 a wisdom that he desperately needed. 660 00:31:38,882 --> 00:31:40,231 Look back at our text in verse 22. 661 00:31:40,952 --> 00:31:43,542 It says this: "And the Philistines came up yet again and spread 662 00:31:43,542 --> 00:31:44,862 out in the valley of Rephaim. 663 00:31:44,991 --> 00:31:48,202 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, 'You shall not go up. 664 00:31:48,441 --> 00:31:52,481 Go around to their rear and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 665 00:31:52,712 --> 00:31:56,261 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then 666 00:31:56,262 --> 00:31:59,272 rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike 667 00:31:59,272 --> 00:32:00,442 down the army of the Philistines.' 668 00:32:01,051 --> 00:32:03,122 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the 669 00:32:03,122 --> 00:32:04,761 Philistines from Geba to Gezer." 670 00:32:04,972 --> 00:32:09,462 Now, y- you can hear the e-brakes in the, the, the Israeli troops 671 00:32:09,531 --> 00:32:11,621 as David says, "Hold on a second! 672 00:32:11,981 --> 00:32:12,461 Wait a minute." 673 00:32:13,391 --> 00:32:13,701 Why? 674 00:32:14,261 --> 00:32:17,431 Because the Philistines are back, same song, new verse. 675 00:32:17,911 --> 00:32:21,782 But they're back in the same spot, and we're meant to see that in the text. 676 00:32:22,312 --> 00:32:25,751 There's a reason why we-- it, it says in the text, "They came out and spread 677 00:32:25,751 --> 00:32:26,701 out again in the valley of Rephaim." 678 00:32:27,421 --> 00:32:30,101 Because it's meant for us to say, "Oh, we know how this is gonna go. 679 00:32:31,091 --> 00:32:32,051 We know what this is gonna be like." 680 00:32:32,811 --> 00:32:34,592 And King David could have had that approach. 681 00:32:34,931 --> 00:32:37,962 "Oh, well, I've already sought the Lord once in this situation, and 682 00:32:37,962 --> 00:32:41,191 this is the exact same situation that I'm up against again, so why not? 683 00:32:41,781 --> 00:32:43,271 Let's just go out and do the same thing again." 684 00:32:44,381 --> 00:32:45,312 But that's not what David did. 685 00:32:45,841 --> 00:32:46,572 That's not what he did. 686 00:32:47,042 --> 00:32:50,661 Instead, David went to the Lord, and the Lord said, "You shall not go up." 687 00:32:51,451 --> 00:32:51,991 Why? 688 00:32:52,281 --> 00:32:54,001 Why did God change the approach with David? 689 00:32:54,491 --> 00:32:55,832 Why did he alter things? 690 00:32:56,421 --> 00:32:57,371 They had the upper hand. 691 00:32:57,381 --> 00:32:58,271 They had the momentum. 692 00:32:58,981 --> 00:33:00,221 They had seen this thing before. 693 00:33:00,231 --> 00:33:03,141 God could have easily just have done the, the, the same thing 694 00:33:03,611 --> 00:33:04,771 as he had done previously. 695 00:33:06,381 --> 00:33:09,111 But I think it was because God was teaching David a lesson that he would 696 00:33:09,121 --> 00:33:13,192 have to have, and learn, and know, and own throughout-- for his entire 697 00:33:13,192 --> 00:33:14,721 reign over the, the nation of Israel. 698 00:33:15,031 --> 00:33:18,311 It's a lesson that you and I need as well, and that is that our wisdom isn't enough. 699 00:33:19,341 --> 00:33:22,771 That we always need to remember humbly that we need the wisdom of God. 700 00:33:23,441 --> 00:33:26,901 And so God presents the same situation to David, and then says, "David, 701 00:33:26,921 --> 00:33:29,681 I'm gonna give you a wisdom to do things differently this time." 702 00:33:30,501 --> 00:33:34,521 And so God wanted David to come back to him and rely on prayer because David's 703 00:33:34,522 --> 00:33:36,462 wisdom was limited, and so is ours. 704 00:33:36,472 --> 00:33:39,201 Third and final point this morning is this: Rely on prayer 705 00:33:39,201 --> 00:33:40,651 because our wisdom is limited. 706 00:33:41,742 --> 00:33:42,662 Our wisdom is limited. 707 00:33:43,552 --> 00:33:45,721 I believe if David had just gone out the way that he had gone out the 708 00:33:45,722 --> 00:33:47,392 first time, Israel would have lost. 709 00:33:48,981 --> 00:33:53,441 But God was affirming in, in showing something to David, that David had an 710 00:33:53,472 --> 00:33:57,801 understanding, a, a keen understanding, that his understanding wasn't enough. 711 00:33:59,171 --> 00:34:01,411 That he needed God, that he needed the wisdom of God. 712 00:34:02,412 --> 00:34:05,182 And so if we're gonna pray world-changing prayers, we have 713 00:34:05,201 --> 00:34:08,251 to start by realizing we're not sufficient in and our-- of ourselves 714 00:34:08,251 --> 00:34:09,751 to change the world by ourselves. 715 00:34:11,210 --> 00:34:15,021 We need the wisdom of God to effect the change in the things that we're gonna 716 00:34:15,041 --> 00:34:20,384 ask him to do, 'cause we can't do it Let's just start, let me just start 717 00:34:20,384 --> 00:34:21,824 with something very simple right now. 718 00:34:22,074 --> 00:34:23,534 Can you save anyone? 719 00:34:24,784 --> 00:34:25,123 No. 720 00:34:26,224 --> 00:34:27,464 You need God. 721 00:34:27,464 --> 00:34:28,514 You need His wisdom. 722 00:34:28,514 --> 00:34:31,453 You need Him to do these things. 723 00:34:31,453 --> 00:34:33,694 And so when, when you come to the Lord, when you pray to the Lord, when 724 00:34:33,694 --> 00:34:35,893 you bring your plans to the Lord, let me encourage you this, pray like 725 00:34:35,893 --> 00:34:36,943 you really need to hear from Him 726 00:34:39,565 --> 00:34:42,665 Praying to the Lord is about hearing from Him more than it is Him hearing from you 727 00:34:44,984 --> 00:34:47,833 Sometimes when we pray, we like to pray and inform God. 728 00:34:49,143 --> 00:34:52,893 "God, I'm, I'm gonna go do this, and so I, I'm, I'd like you to bless 729 00:34:52,913 --> 00:34:55,413 this endeavor that I'm setting out on, because this is what I'm doing." 730 00:34:56,333 --> 00:34:59,453 Or sometimes we pray like God is, is the client, and we're trying to close 731 00:34:59,453 --> 00:35:04,083 the deal, and we forget that He's omniscient, that He knows all things. 732 00:35:04,654 --> 00:35:06,963 And so we pray to God, and we try to slant the details. 733 00:35:06,964 --> 00:35:09,624 Like, "God, I think this would be a really good idea for me and my family 734 00:35:09,624 --> 00:35:12,743 if we did this, and so I'm praying that you'll open these doors over here for 735 00:35:12,743 --> 00:35:14,033 us, because it would be a really good… 736 00:35:14,173 --> 00:35:16,223 Think of all the good we could do for you, God." 737 00:35:16,223 --> 00:35:17,793 As though God's up there going, "You know what? 738 00:35:17,794 --> 00:35:18,094 You're right. 739 00:35:18,094 --> 00:35:19,083 I'd never considered that. 740 00:35:20,084 --> 00:35:20,394 Okay. 741 00:35:21,213 --> 00:35:22,583 Well then, we're gonna go do that. 742 00:35:22,593 --> 00:35:22,984 Let's go. 743 00:35:23,483 --> 00:35:24,613 Thanks for letting me know." 744 00:35:25,843 --> 00:35:28,123 No, y'all, when we pray world-changing prayers, we have to come to God and 745 00:35:28,123 --> 00:35:30,933 say, "God, I, I, I need you, because I may not know what's best here." 746 00:35:31,743 --> 00:35:33,623 And so we pray, and we pray with open hands. 747 00:35:34,424 --> 00:35:36,723 We pray like we need to hear from the Lord. 748 00:35:37,904 --> 00:35:41,033 A great step in achieving the right posture before the Lord is to readily 749 00:35:41,053 --> 00:35:44,544 admit that we don't know what's best, and we don't know what's next. 750 00:35:45,794 --> 00:35:48,473 We're gonna get there in, in James when we study the Book of James next 751 00:35:48,483 --> 00:35:52,114 fall, but James Chapter 4 says, "Hey, instead of saying, 'This is what I'm 752 00:35:52,114 --> 00:35:54,694 gonna do,' you need to say, 'Lord willing, this is what I'm gonna do.'" 753 00:35:54,694 --> 00:35:56,994 And that's what we need to do with our prayers as well. 754 00:35:56,994 --> 00:35:59,504 So pray like you need to hear from the Lord, and coming alongside that 755 00:35:59,504 --> 00:36:00,893 and with that is this: pray humbly. 756 00:36:01,784 --> 00:36:02,383 Pray humbly. 757 00:36:03,233 --> 00:36:05,323 Imagine David telling God, "God, it, you know what? 758 00:36:05,333 --> 00:36:05,973 It's okay. 759 00:36:06,293 --> 00:36:06,853 I got it. 760 00:36:07,354 --> 00:36:09,423 Why don't you deal with more important things? 761 00:36:09,723 --> 00:36:10,703 I'll handle this one." 762 00:36:11,703 --> 00:36:14,223 See, sometimes we, we can have that mentality in our lives. 763 00:36:15,113 --> 00:36:18,093 We think it's humble for us not to bring things before the Lord, because 764 00:36:18,093 --> 00:36:19,433 we feel like we don't wanna bother God. 765 00:36:20,833 --> 00:36:23,793 "Well, I, I'm sure God doesn't really care about this business 766 00:36:23,793 --> 00:36:26,883 meeting that I'm about to have, so I, I, I don't wanna bother Him. 767 00:36:26,884 --> 00:36:27,553 I don't wanna use… 768 00:36:27,583 --> 00:36:30,493 I don't wanna take up His time or His, His prayer, you know, 769 00:36:30,503 --> 00:36:32,243 bandwidth," as though He has that. 770 00:36:33,413 --> 00:36:34,123 Or, "You know what? 771 00:36:34,223 --> 00:36:37,223 This medical situation that's going, it, it's pretty minimal. 772 00:36:37,233 --> 00:36:38,723 I don't wanna bother God with this." 773 00:36:39,523 --> 00:36:42,993 And that seems like humility, but that's a false humility, 'cause that's 774 00:36:42,993 --> 00:36:47,043 saying, "God, I don't need you right now," instead of saying, "God, I need 775 00:36:47,043 --> 00:36:51,203 you right now, and so I'm asking for wisdom to be able to navigate this. 776 00:36:51,674 --> 00:36:52,743 I'm asking you to lead me. 777 00:36:52,743 --> 00:36:53,903 I'm asking you to guide me." 778 00:36:55,663 --> 00:36:58,973 Proverbs Chapter 2 verses 1 through 6, "My son, if you receive my words and 779 00:36:58,974 --> 00:37:02,444 treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom, 780 00:37:02,593 --> 00:37:06,613 inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and 781 00:37:06,614 --> 00:37:10,463 raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for 782 00:37:10,474 --> 00:37:14,533 it as, as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the 783 00:37:14,534 --> 00:37:16,413 Lord and find the knowledge of God. 784 00:37:16,633 --> 00:37:21,263 For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." 785 00:37:21,433 --> 00:37:26,183 If you find that you need wisdom, and who among us doesn't, the, the writer 786 00:37:26,183 --> 00:37:28,673 of Proverbs, King Solomon, is saying right there, "The Lord gives wisdom. 787 00:37:29,913 --> 00:37:30,483 The Lord gives wisdom." 788 00:37:31,853 --> 00:37:34,523 We rely on prayer because our wisdom is limited. 789 00:37:35,703 --> 00:37:40,043 Even in circumstances when you feel like you know what's best, it's good still to 790 00:37:40,043 --> 00:37:42,383 bring those plans open-handed to the Lord. 791 00:37:44,174 --> 00:37:47,304 In fact, here's a pray to prayer, a, a pray to prayer, a prayer to pray. 792 00:37:49,163 --> 00:37:51,444 When you come before the Lord and you feel confident that you know what 793 00:37:51,444 --> 00:37:53,344 to do, ask Him to, to, to change it. 794 00:37:55,114 --> 00:37:59,094 You feel like this is an open door that's as open as it could ever be, say, "Lord, 795 00:37:59,094 --> 00:38:00,744 if this isn't your will, shut the door." 796 00:38:02,563 --> 00:38:05,394 You've got desires that you feel like are the right desires. 797 00:38:05,394 --> 00:38:07,723 "Lord, change my desires if they're not in keeping with your will right now 798 00:38:11,536 --> 00:38:14,306 This can be the hardest of all, especially when we're praying for God to do something 799 00:38:14,306 --> 00:38:15,616 we're convinced is the right thing 800 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:24,190 God save my loved one, bring peace to that region, so forth and so on. 801 00:38:25,270 --> 00:38:29,350 It's hard to bring requests like that with an open hand, but that's our job because 802 00:38:29,350 --> 00:38:30,700 God's wisdom is better than our wisdom. 803 00:38:31,909 --> 00:38:33,019 So what do you do in the meantime? 804 00:38:33,020 --> 00:38:35,190 Is it just a let go and let God thing and say, "Well, I guess I just 805 00:38:35,190 --> 00:38:36,430 sit around and wait for an answer"? 806 00:38:37,490 --> 00:38:41,200 You may wait, and you may wait a long time for an answer, but in the 807 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,609 meantime, you keep doing what you know you should be doing, what's 808 00:38:44,789 --> 00:38:46,430 clearly laid out for you in scripture. 809 00:38:46,849 --> 00:38:48,329 You walk faithful to the Lord. 810 00:38:48,859 --> 00:38:50,940 It's like Joab and Abishai in 2 Samuel chapter 10. 811 00:38:50,940 --> 00:38:54,390 Joab and Abishai, they, they're, they're facing an enemy. 812 00:38:54,390 --> 00:38:55,810 There's another battle situation. 813 00:38:56,049 --> 00:38:58,639 Joab says to his brother, "Abishai, you go over there with your troops. 814 00:38:58,639 --> 00:39:00,350 I'm gonna hang out over here with my troops, and if you 815 00:39:00,350 --> 00:39:01,280 need help, I'll come to you. 816 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:02,500 If I need help, you come to me." 817 00:39:02,679 --> 00:39:07,180 And then they say this in verse 12, and he says, "Let us be of, of good 818 00:39:07,180 --> 00:39:10,399 courage, and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our 819 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,920 God," and here it is, "and may the Lord do what seems, seems good to Him." 820 00:39:14,839 --> 00:39:17,219 Joab didn't say, "May the Lord do what seems good to Him, so let's 821 00:39:17,220 --> 00:39:18,389 just sit and wait and find out." 822 00:39:18,420 --> 00:39:18,700 No. 823 00:39:19,049 --> 00:39:19,589 They planned. 824 00:39:19,599 --> 00:39:22,369 They, they, they, they strategized, and they trusted that the Lord 825 00:39:22,369 --> 00:39:23,390 would continue to guide them. 826 00:39:23,769 --> 00:39:29,260 So as you wait, wait in active obedience to the Lord, and the Lord will honor that 827 00:39:37,262 --> 00:39:40,062 Yeah, we, we, we don't see the whole picture 828 00:39:42,766 --> 00:39:44,516 If you've watched any F1 racing 829 00:39:46,830 --> 00:39:49,490 I-i-interesting 'cause they've got these, these spotters that are 830 00:39:50,009 --> 00:39:55,190 watching everything going on on the track, and the driver is the 831 00:39:55,190 --> 00:39:56,279 one that's controlling the car. 832 00:39:57,630 --> 00:40:00,610 But without the spotter, the driver's toast. 833 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,489 In fact, I was watching something where a guy who was a former spotter and he 834 00:40:04,490 --> 00:40:07,559 was fired, and he was, he was there and he was, he was watching the race on 835 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,600 his TV and he's like, "I feel blind." 836 00:40:12,490 --> 00:40:14,480 Because all he saw was what the driver saw 837 00:40:17,710 --> 00:40:19,840 If an F1 driver went out there and tried to win a race without 838 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:21,700 a spotter, he would never succeed 839 00:40:24,066 --> 00:40:27,346 He needs not only his, his skills to be able to navigate the course, but 840 00:40:27,356 --> 00:40:29,725 more than that, he needs the wisdom of the spotter to be able to say, 841 00:40:29,725 --> 00:40:30,736 "Here's what you need to be doing. 842 00:40:30,935 --> 00:40:32,076 Yeah, it's time to pass. 843 00:40:32,185 --> 00:40:32,966 It's time to pit. 844 00:40:33,165 --> 00:40:34,245 This is how your car is doing." 845 00:40:36,984 --> 00:40:40,574 As we try to navigate this world, we need the wisdom of God. 846 00:40:41,114 --> 00:40:45,164 He sees the whole picture, and so we need to bring our requests before Him. 847 00:40:45,164 --> 00:40:48,744 We need to rely on prayer because His wisdom is greater than our wisdom, 848 00:40:48,744 --> 00:40:50,103 because our wisdom is limited. 849 00:40:50,754 --> 00:40:52,313 We don't understand the full picture, and He does. 850 00:40:53,843 --> 00:40:56,404 So we can rely on that wisdom, and we can pray these prayers, and 851 00:40:56,404 --> 00:40:58,403 what we'll find is we are praying prayers that do change the world 852 00:41:00,814 --> 00:41:02,913 Prayers that change the world, again, are often prayed by people who won't. 853 00:41:04,074 --> 00:41:08,394 And, and here's the thing, as we're about to now turn to, to communion, the 854 00:41:08,394 --> 00:41:13,533 reason why you can pray and pray these prayers that, that change the world in 855 00:41:13,533 --> 00:41:18,963 the first place is because what Jesus did that changed the world for us. 856 00:41:20,433 --> 00:41:23,113 When Jesus went to the cross and He died on the cross for your sins so that 857 00:41:23,113 --> 00:41:25,723 your sins could be forgiven, then He rose from the dead three days later 858 00:41:25,723 --> 00:41:27,093 so that you can live with Him forever. 859 00:41:27,093 --> 00:41:29,773 And if you will repent from your sins and put your trust in Him that He's done 860 00:41:29,773 --> 00:41:34,133 that, uh, then what happens is, as you're saved, you have the Spirit of God come to 861 00:41:34,134 --> 00:41:39,523 dwell within you, and that's what gives us access to be able to pray these prayers. 862 00:41:40,604 --> 00:41:43,833 That's what allows us to come before the God of the universe, the sovereign 863 00:41:43,834 --> 00:41:45,073 God that I was preaching about earlier. 864 00:41:45,353 --> 00:41:49,243 That's what does it, is the fact that you are now in Christ 865 00:41:49,243 --> 00:41:50,104 and have the Spirit of God. 866 00:41:50,104 --> 00:41:52,444 And what that comes back to is that comes back to this. 867 00:41:52,444 --> 00:41:53,594 That comes back to the cross. 868 00:41:53,603 --> 00:41:57,624 That comes back to these elements, the broken body of Christ and the 869 00:41:57,624 --> 00:42:01,213 blood of Christ, as the blood of Christ was shed for you and His body 870 00:42:01,213 --> 00:42:02,373 was broken for you on the cross. 871 00:42:03,044 --> 00:42:09,493 Because of that, you and I can pray and can bring these prayers to Him 872 00:42:12,214 --> 00:42:15,714 And so again, as, as you think about communion this morning, I want you to, 873 00:42:15,714 --> 00:42:19,454 to remember that this is something that is for believers, it's for Christians. 874 00:42:19,454 --> 00:42:21,964 If you would sit here and say with confidence, "I know that I'm not saved," 875 00:42:21,964 --> 00:42:25,774 let me just encourage you, let these, these elements pass as they come by you. 876 00:42:27,683 --> 00:42:31,723 Let me also encourage you to be thoughtful about this. 877 00:42:32,623 --> 00:42:37,203 If, if, if you're feeling distant from the Lord, if you've got unconfessed sin 878 00:42:37,213 --> 00:42:40,334 with the Lord, if, if, if you're here this morning for whatever reason and 879 00:42:40,344 --> 00:42:42,503 you are angry or you are bitter in soul 880 00:42:44,590 --> 00:42:46,960 During the time that the elements are being passed, let me encourage you to do 881 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:51,950 business with the Lord, to, to get right with Him, to repent from sin, to bring 882 00:42:51,950 --> 00:42:53,329 that before Him, to lay that before Him. 883 00:42:54,809 --> 00:42:55,340 And then finally 884 00:42:58,606 --> 00:43:01,626 Use this time to, to, to think and to dwell and to reflect. 885 00:43:01,676 --> 00:43:03,186 It's to be done in memory of Christ 886 00:43:05,614 --> 00:43:08,544 And so the elements are gonna be passed as the music is played here, and then 887 00:43:08,544 --> 00:43:11,754 we'll come up, back up together, and we'll all take it as, as a church. 888 00:43:12,374 --> 00:43:13,444 So we're thinking about prayer. 889 00:43:15,124 --> 00:43:19,143 Hebrews chapter seven tells us that we have someone praying for us right now, 890 00:43:19,614 --> 00:43:21,984 and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. 891 00:43:23,274 --> 00:43:24,453 Talk about world-changing prayers. 892 00:43:25,803 --> 00:43:28,564 He's praying for us because of this sacrifice that we're 893 00:43:28,564 --> 00:43:29,524 about to remember together. 894 00:43:29,524 --> 00:43:34,354 He's constantly bringing that before the Father, praying for our endurance, our 895 00:43:34,354 --> 00:43:40,013 perseverance as followers of Christ, and because of that, we know that we're going 896 00:43:40,013 --> 00:43:41,324 to enter into the presence of God someday. 897 00:43:41,774 --> 00:43:42,333 We're gonna be with Him. 898 00:43:44,253 --> 00:43:49,394 And so it's with great sobriety and, and seriousness that we remember the death 899 00:43:49,394 --> 00:43:53,823 of Christ, but it's also with a joy, an abiding joy for what this means for us. 900 00:43:55,733 --> 00:43:58,173 The Apostle Paul said this: "For I received from the Lord what I also 901 00:43:58,173 --> 00:44:00,873 delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed 902 00:44:00,873 --> 00:44:04,113 took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This 903 00:44:04,114 --> 00:44:05,963 is my body, f- which is for you. 904 00:44:06,003 --> 00:44:07,503 Do this in remembrance of me.'" 905 00:44:19,918 --> 00:44:22,978 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup 906 00:44:22,978 --> 00:44:24,528 is the new covenant in my blood. 907 00:44:25,008 --> 00:44:28,058 Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 908 00:44:34,542 --> 00:44:37,872 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim 909 00:44:38,312 --> 00:44:39,732 the Lord's death until he comes. 910 00:44:41,042 --> 00:44:41,442 Let's pray 911 00:44:44,274 --> 00:44:47,734 God, we thank you for prayer. 912 00:44:49,504 --> 00:44:53,294 We thank you that you have given us a line of, of communication 913 00:44:53,294 --> 00:44:55,064 that is direct and, and to you. 914 00:44:56,114 --> 00:45:00,404 We thank you that if you have not just left us to pool our, our minds and 915 00:45:00,404 --> 00:45:04,423 use our collective wisdom to try to navigate and, and figure out how to 916 00:45:04,803 --> 00:45:09,523 make our way to you, but you've given us the ability to draw near to you, 917 00:45:10,483 --> 00:45:13,923 to come before the throne, to find mercy and grace to help in time of need 918 00:45:16,108 --> 00:45:19,708 What as I was talking about earlier this morning, it's that thing that 919 00:45:20,268 --> 00:45:24,328 all of us would say we, we wanna be more faithful or better at or do more. 920 00:45:26,288 --> 00:45:28,598 It's the greatest asset that any of us have, and yet so 921 00:45:28,598 --> 00:45:29,788 often it's left on the shelf. 922 00:45:31,658 --> 00:45:37,297 God, I pray that you'd make us a, a praying church, a church that would 923 00:45:37,297 --> 00:45:42,738 say, "I, I could never think about going a day, let alone even think about a, 924 00:45:42,748 --> 00:45:48,207 a minute or an hour or a week without a, a, a posture, a mindset of prayer." 925 00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:53,470 Lord, we know that one day we'll, we'll live in uninterrupted 926 00:45:53,470 --> 00:45:55,130 fellowship with you forever and ever 927 00:45:58,190 --> 00:46:00,470 And yet here we, we live in a world that is hard. 928 00:46:01,250 --> 00:46:04,510 Trials, temptations, challenges, sickness, disease 929 00:46:06,734 --> 00:46:09,723 And you haven't said, "See you later. 930 00:46:09,774 --> 00:46:10,334 Good luck." 931 00:46:11,534 --> 00:46:13,314 But you've said, "I, I want you to talk to me. 932 00:46:13,544 --> 00:46:14,364 I want you to ask me. 933 00:46:15,494 --> 00:46:16,223 I want you to seek. 934 00:46:16,234 --> 00:46:19,663 I want you to knock, and I'm gonna respond." 935 00:46:21,234 --> 00:46:23,203 So Lord, we know it's, it's not a blank check. 936 00:46:24,154 --> 00:46:26,603 We know that there are things that we may be praying for, that we may ask 937 00:46:26,603 --> 00:46:30,143 for, that according to your perfect and sovereign plan, you may not give us. 938 00:46:31,584 --> 00:46:34,233 And so increase our faith in those times, Lord, to trust you. 939 00:46:36,253 --> 00:46:38,984 But God, I also pray that we wouldn't be those that sit there and you 940 00:46:38,984 --> 00:46:41,054 would look at us and say, "You don't have because you don't ask." 941 00:46:43,033 --> 00:46:44,514 And so God, make us a prayerful people. 942 00:46:45,263 --> 00:46:48,273 Make us a church that prays prayers that change the world even if we won't. 943 00:46:49,243 --> 00:46:50,004 We know you do. 944 00:46:50,703 --> 00:46:52,233 We pray this all in Jesus' name. 945 00:46:52,653 --> 00:46:52,953 Amen.