Pray Like Never Before

0:00 Welcome and the Unseen Reality of Prayer Good morning, happy three day weekend. Anybody do something fun yesterday? Anybody have fun plans for tomorrow? Trick question, Labour Day picnic. I expect, I expect to see all of us there tomorrow. 0:16 It's good to see all of us. My name is Andy, and I have the joy and privilege of serving as a pastor here. And whether you're new or you're visiting, we just want to take a moment to welcome you. We understand that coming into a new city, moving into the Bay Area might be in a big adjustment, and finding a community is one of our top priorities. 0:33 And oftentimes it can be a long journey. And so at the very least, would you come and at least say hi to me or even stop by our welcoming table downstairs. We love to get to know you. This morning, we're going to dive right in as I wanted to leave as much time as we can for prayer and also we will have communion as well. 0:50 And so we're going to wrap up our series this morning on the unseen reality. And here's our hope for this series is that God would awaken us to the unseen reality around us. You know, the question that we've been asking ourselves is what if everything that's happening in our lives right now, whether it's our own personal struggles with anxiety, loneliness, maybe even some of the tension that we're feeling in our relationships or some of the opposition that we're seeing in our lives, we're just feels like things are not going our way. 1:20 Or even our own personal struggle in our Christian journey and faith. It's not simply what we can see, but what if there's actually more that we can't see in our lives? Scripture shows us that there is more to life than what we can see or measure. 1:38 That as Paul has unpacked for us in Ephesians chapter 6, that there are spiritual forces and cosmic powers at work against us to destroy our faith and also the world in the process. And I really hope that the very least God is opening some of our eyes, that those of us who tend to under spiritualize everything, that everything is about reason and logic, that slowly but surely God would open your eyes. 2:06 That there is a spiritual dimension in front of us. That those of us who over spiritualize everything, who think that everything is the devil or something not of God, that we would have greater discernment and being able to know what is of him versus what is not. 2:23 You know, personally for me, this series has been a mini revival in my life right now. You know, I'm thinking about the text. I'm thinking about this letter that the Apostle Paul was originally writing to. That these letters were not just simply good moral teaching, that the Christian faith is not meant to just make us a better person in society. 2:46 Rather, these words that were written were a matter of life and death for the readers. And in the same way, I think a God has been convicting and humbling me to remind me that the Word of God is not just good teaching, rather it is words that can actually bring life to the soul. 3:11 And my parent hope is that we would also experience that. Because here is what Paul claims is that on this side of heaven we will face many spiritual battles, but as a believer, we know that the victory has already been won in Christ. 3:27 And so the armor of God that Paul points our attention to is not one that places us in fear, but with great victory and expectation because we know that the battle has been won in Christ. Amen. So with that, if you were able, would you stand with me as we read together our anchor passage for this series and allow these words to be written on our hearts coming from Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 and 11. 3:56 Let's read this together. 123 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and then the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may but will stand against the schemes of the devil. This is the way the Lord you may be suited. 4:11 So we began our series understanding the belt of truth that we're all called to put on, which is the word of God that holds us together and combat the lives of the enemy. Then we put on the breastplate of righteousness that speaks to our walk and holiness against our sin and temptation. 4:26 We talked a lot about putting on the shoes of readiness that can only be given by the gospel of peace, meaning our restore relationship with God. We take up the shield of faith, declaring that God is our ultimate shield. And lastly, we looked at we take the helmet of salvation where we remember the reality of our salvation. 4:45 And we take up the sword of the Spirit, which is to proclaim the gospel of salvation to those around us, especially those who don't believe. And let's finish with the rest of our pastors this morning as we conclude our series. 5:01 All rights, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication to that end. Keep alert with all the perseverance, making supplication for all the Saints and also for me, that words may be given to me, and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I'm an ambassador in chains, that I may declare boldly as I ought to speak. 5:22 Let me pray for us this morning. Father, we come before You where we tremble at your word. 5:37 May your words that bring life, that breathe life, that speak life, would they speak to us like never before? Today we thank you. In Jesus name we pray. 5:53 Amen. So Paul concludes this magnificent understanding of the battle that we're called to live and go against by having the armor of God. He concludes all of this in prayer that where Paul begins, which is to stand firm. 6:09 Paul is saying that how we stand firm as believers is through prayer. Simply put, prayer is how we engage in battle is how we can be strong in the Lord. And so there are three things that I would like to walk us through this morning is that prayer as our battlefield to look at what it means for us to pray in the Spirit, and lastly to pray for all the Saints. 6:32 Understanding Prayer as Our Spiritual Battlefield Let's begin with the first of prayer as our battlefield. There was a great pastor by the name of John Paper who once said this It is utterly impossible for people to understand what prayer is for until they know that life is war. But here's a problem. Many of us would not describe our life as war. 6:51 Maybe that's why when it comes to the topic of prayer, we often dismiss it as a Christian platitude, as something that we might say when someone is going through something and we just simply don't know what to say anymore, or we don't know what to do anymore. And So what do we say? I'll pray for you. 7:06 How many of us actually pray for them right on the receiving end of that? How many of us have also heard something similar to that effect? You're going through something and your fellow brother and sister says I'll pray for you. 7:24 It's almost like it's the the polite Christian thing to say when we've run out of things to say. And yet Paul doesn't present prayer as just another Christian ritual. He doesn't present it even as another piece of armor, if you notice. 7:40 Rather, he concludes that the entire armor of God is found and engaged in prayer. A commentator said it like this, that at the heart of all spiritual warfare is prayer. Prayer is both the foundational and continuous activity in which the battle takes place. 7:57 This is why prayer is a direct response or Paul's answer to his command for us to stand. We stand by putting on the armor of God through continual dependence of God in prayer. You know John Piper, he continues by describing prayer like this. 8:15 Prayer is primarily A wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It's not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom. You guys know what an intercom is? 8:31 Yeah, to call upstairs for more comforts in the Dun. Prayer is a wartime walkie-talkie that says God, we need you. And somehow in the mystery of prayer, God's power is released through prayer. 8:52 You know, in Second Samuel 5, there's an account where King David, he comes against the enemy, the Philistines. And before he actually steps into the physical battle itself, it says this, that David inquired of the Lord, meaning he prayed to God, shall I go up against the Philistines? 9:09 Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. You catch that meaning. David walked into this battle already knowing that the victory was his. 9:26 David didn't pray because he didn't know how to fight. Remember, David had the reputation of slaying the 10 thousands. He was a military general who knew exactly how to win a battle. And yet David finds himself in prayer because he knows who actually can give the victory. 9:46 This is the power of prayer. Oswald Chambers once said it like this. The battles lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. So Paul continues by commanding us to pray with all prayer and all supplication, meaning both general prayers and specific. 10:07 Consider the incredible breadth of prayer that we see throughout Scripture. It looks something like this. These are just the ones that I could find. Adoration prayers where we find Jesus praising and giving worship to God the Father, to authority. Prayers that have power to cast out demons and bring deliverance to people. 10:26 To gratitude. Prayers that are about thanking the Lord to healing. Prayers that pray for the lost, I mean for the sick and the broken. To confession, prayers that lead us to repentance, to even what I call the silent prayers. If you remember Hannah, it says that she prayed silently because words were not enough to articulate the inner cry of our hearts. 10:49 We look at that list. I wonder how many of us would find our prayers in the breath of what Scripture offers. You know, so often our prayers are limited to what we want God to do for us and our time and our way and our how. 11:08 But Scripture says, look how many ways in which we can engage in this spiritual battle together. Because at the heart of prayer is to ask the reality of God to bear upon the reality we are facing. 11:24 This is what prayer is. It's to ask for God's reality to breakthrough into our reality. I mean, isn't this why Jesus taught the disciples pray like this? Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11:43 Consider what those words mean. He's teaching his disciples to pray for God's heavenly reality to come into our earthly one. Why? Well, because I believe that He would never teach us to pray for His Kingdom to come if His Kingdom had no power to actually break into our reality. 12:08 He would not teach us to pray like this unless it was actually a possibility in our lives as well. He would never ask us to do something that He has not empowered us to do. And so prayer, again, is the door in which God's reality breaks through our reality, which means the reality that we see in front of us can never be greater than the reality that God brings into our lives. 12:38 Prayer is what calls to mind His Kingdom reality which is made available to us that gives us both confidence and authority to step into the spiritual battle. Now, how is this possible? 12:53 Everybody prays, right? Even an unbeliever prays. And in fact, this is actually one of the most things that they're more open to. I remember in college ministry, we used to have a sign that said free prayers. And I'm surprised to see how many people came up to receive prayer more than the sign that says, do you believe in Jesus or WWJDI? 13:16 Don't know. Like all of those things, it shows me that prayer is actually a very universal thing. Other religions pray. Now the question then is, is what makes a prayer powerful? Is it the eloquence of 1's words? Have you ever seen somebody pray and it feels like poetry just naturally comes out of their mouth? 13:36 Is it the amount of scripture that somebody knows or uses in their prayer? What is the substance behind our prayer? What makes prayer powerful and effective? 13:49 The Power of Praying in the Spirit Well, Paul answers that question for us as he continues in our passage. Paul writes, praying at all times in the Spirit, that it is the Spirit of God who is the substance, the power, the source, the means in which our prayers are effectual. 14:09 This is what he writes in Romans chapter 8 verse 26 regarding how the Spirit works in our prayers. He writes this likewise. The Spirit of God helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 14:26 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God. You catch that the Spirit of God is what makes prayer possible in the first place. 14:41 It is the difference between our prayers just being spoken into air to actually a prayer that is rising to a God who hears and a God who answers. It is a Spirit of God who directs and empowers our prayer, but it not only that who aligns our prayers to His will as well. 15:03 This is why I always teach people when they pray, pause. Before you begin to speak, take notice. Be aware that as soon as you pray, you're not praying into thin air. 15:20 You are praying with the Spirit of the living God that dwells inside of you. This is why when our prayers simply begin with our asks, it loses its power and substance because we don't know the very power and the source of the asks behind it as well. 15:38 Pause before you begin to pray and be aware that you are praying with the Spirit of the living God. 15:46 Cultivating Constant Prayer in Your Inner Life But this leaves us with a very practical question. What does it mean for us to pray at all times? How is that even possible? You know, some have interpreted this meaning in every occasion, whether you're at a wedding, whether you're at home, whether you're at school, whether you're at work, whether you're at your family, wherever it may be, you can pray. 16:09 And I think there's a lot of truth to that. But then Paul tells elsewhere, pray without ceasing. How is that possible? Or to use the language of the battle here, how can we keep alert with all perseverance? 16:25 And would you lean in with me here because I want to offer a very practical invitation of what it looks like for us to pray in the Spirit at all times. Most of us, I would define that a prayer takes place in two areas of our lives. The 1st is the public space and the second is our private space. 16:45 The public space is a gathering like this where Anna beautifully LED. I don't know why it may be today's a beloved day for sisters or something, but we had all sister worship. And this is what we call the public space where we come together to pray and worship together, whether it's in our CGS, our Wednesday night dwelling place, any public gathering for that matter. 17:05 But then we also have a private space. And these are our quiet times of the Lord. For us, some of us, it's in the morning. For us, some of us night folks, it's in the evenings. And all of these are vital. And if anything, some of us, we need to be more consistent in these two spaces. 17:21 We need a more devoted time in our private space, and we need to be more consistent and showing up to the public spaces. But here's what I find is that though they are vital, have you noticed they only make up a small portion of our lives, which means most of our lives are actually probably spent not praying. 17:44 So what does it then mean for us to pray without seizing? How can one pray without seizing while you're at work? You know, some of you are convinced that as a pastor, that's all I do during the week. I wish I could tell you that's true, but it's not. 18:02 But unless you're a pass through, what does it mean for us to pray without seizing? How can you pray without seizing on your commute to work? Unless you drive a Tesla with the full FSD option on your car? 18:17 My hope is that all of us, and my hope is that we're all focused on the road. What does it mean for us to pray without seizing at all times? And it's here I want to introduce 1/3 space. The third space is what I would call the inner place. 18:36 The inner place. You see, we all have an inner dialogue. We may call it our conscience, but we all have this inner conversation that is constantly happening within ourselves. When you meet somebody for the first time, your inner voice asks, do they like me? 18:56 Did I come off right? Did my hair look OK? Or even right now some of you as you sit here listening, your inner voice is active and it's probably asking, I don't know what I'm going to eat for lunch after service today. 19:13 Or at least my hope is, Wow, this is a really good message from the Lord. You see, we all have this inner dialogue. And here's what I've noticed. Everyone who begins to mature in their prayer life as they walk with the Lord finds this inner dialogue less with themselves and more with God. 19:32 You know, I remember a pastor once said that my problem and I was already triggered. If someone comes up to you and says you know what your problem is, you're triggered. And he said to me, you know what your problem is. He says you think too much. The inner dialogue and voice inside of me said, Well, I think you think too little, right? 19:52 But he was right, you know, Without Christ, I am naturally one who is lost in the ruminating of my own thoughts, identifying what's next, figuring out the alternatives, wondering what might happen. But then he said something so profound that it took me years to finally understand he said this. 20:15 Andy, you think too much the the voice in your head is just everywhere all the time. He said this. Imagine if you could turn all of those thoughts into prayer. 20:34 I didn't care. First, what does it mean by that? Does it mean while I'm walking to work, I'm like talking out loud and to thin air looking like a crazy person? Actually, in San Francisco, you might look actually kind of normal sometimes, right? 20:49 What does it mean? Like when you're at work as you're working on a presentation or as you're talking with a Co worker as they're responding to your question, you're saying God bless this person out loud or you're voicing with your lips. 21:04 How could it be that we're praying at all times in these moments? See, all of this feels very unnatural. It feels quite foreign to us. If I'm meeting with somebody and I'm internally wondering what they're thinking about me, it feels really strange to suddenly thank God. 21:23 I'm really concerned about what this person thinks of me right now. Whereas I'm replaying the day and that one conversation that didn't go well. Again, it feels weird to replay my day with the Lord. But imagine if this becomes second nature to you. 21:40 Imagine if the inner dialogue or the inner voice that is constantly with yourself, you're stressed out, insecure, confused self at the end of that inner conversation and dialogue is a God who knows you, loves you and says you are mine. 22:03 I don't know about you, but who would you rather have on that side of the inner dialogue? Henry now, and he called this the inner dialogue, the inner voice of love. He writes like this. You know that inner voice. We all have one. 22:19 We all turn to it often. But after you have heard with clarity what you're asked to do, you're start raising questions, fabricating objections, and seeking everyone else's opinion. Thus you become entangled and countless, often contradictory thoughts, feelings and ideas and lose touch with the God in you, and you end up dependent on all the people you have gathered around you. 22:40 Only by attending constantly to the inner voice can you be converted to a new life of freedom and joy. What about us? Who do you find yourself talking to when it comes to your inner dialogue? 22:58 I find that this has become my way of life now. I find myself constantly talking to God. All throughout the day. I have some of the deepest conversations with the Lord, even in the shower when I meet with people. 23:14 I find that I am the most effective and loving when I'm constantly asking in my inner voice for the Spirit of God to direct and guide me. That when I talk with somebody who desperately needs guidance or help, rather than providing my life experience, when I can allow the inner voice within me to say God teach me what to say, help me what to say. 23:42 And all of a sudden God points a word or phrase that this brother and sister says. And that word becomes a door for transformation and healing to take place. I find that even on my way to work, I pray for the city. 23:58 And as I walk, I look at the community around me and I begin to notice things that I've never noticed before. As I spend time with my wife and children at the dinner table, I've become accustomed to allow this inner dialogue within me that says, Lord, teach me how to love my wife, teach me how to love my children. 24:23 And all of a sudden, the Spirit of God gives me a question to be able to ask my own very kids. And that becomes a dialogue where I can shape and form them as well. You see, when you look at believers as they mature, this inner dialogue no longer just becomes a public space or a private space matter, but it begins to invade all of their life where they can't help but go an entire day without thinking about God and what God wants to do in their life. 24:55 Pray at all times, brothers and sisters, and you will find that your faith will become living and active all times. 25:09 Shifting Gravity: Intercessory Prayer for Others But you know, the amazing thing is, more than all the things that can happen when you begin to pray like this, there's a shift in gravity that happens. He's ready. That shift in gravity is this. 25:26 The more you pray, the more you begin to realize that your prayer cannot remain centered on yourself. Let me just say like this in laymen terms, you just start running out of things to pray for yourself. 25:44 It starts getting old. It starts getting repetitive. And what happens is, I think what Paul leads us to is you begin to start shifting the center of your gravity and your prayer from yourself, from your needs, even your immediate people around you to all those around you. 26:06 This is what I think Paul means in our last thought for this morning, to pray for all the Saints that God would awaken our hearts, to pray for others, to notice others, to contend for others, to intercede for others. 26:22 Paul writes it like this. To that end, keep alert with perseverance, making supplication for all the Saints. And he gets kind of selfish here, but I get it. And you'll know what I mean by that. And also for me, the words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of a gospel. 26:41 What this shows me is the battle that we're all in was never meant to be fought alone, but together. And how do we fight together? How do we stand together? Paul says in prayer for one another at all times. 26:58 Another way to put it is the prayer of intercession. To simply define intercession or to intercede. It means to come between to intervene between two parties or simply to pray on behalf of someone else. Intercession is actually very powerful and effective when you pray for those who are too broken, too sick, and too exhausted to pray for themselves. 27:22 Here's the thing. Our center of gravity is mostly around what me it's on ourselves. But what Paul's calling our attention to is to shift the center of gravity from yourself to those around you. 27:42 And this is what intercession does. It pulls us out of the gravity of ourselves. And as we begin to pray for others, we begin to see something powerful that happens. Three quick things for us. If you're taking notes, Intercessory prayer shifts our gravity from me to others. 28:01 Richard Foster once said that intercession or intercessory prayer is the ultimate expression of love for the other. Why? Because it is the most unseen thing that we can do for somebody else. I'm not talking about when you pray for them in the moment. 28:17 I'm talking about after you say I'll be praying for you, you go home to your private space and you cry out for them on their behalf. That the prayer of intercession is ultimately an act of love and it is most effective when we come to a place where there is very little that we can do and we ask for God to do the impossible. 2 Intercessory prayer brings others before God through Jesus. 28:46 I hear this often. My life is a mess, so I can't pray for others. I don't know how to pray for others. What do I start? What do I say? Let me tell you right now, Jesus said in John 1623, Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father, my name, He will give it to you. 29:05 Until now you have asked nothing on my name. Asking you will receive that your joy may be full meaning. We pray for one another in the power and authority of Jesus's name. That the name of Jesus is not a convenient way that we end our prayer, but is the very means in which we enter into prayer as well. 29:26 That we can pray because our authority does not come from the eloquence of our words or from the urgency of the matter itself, but we pray with power because we know that we come in the name of Jesus. Our prayers are not hopeless, but they have power and authority behind them. 29:44 Which leads to my last thought. Intercessory prayer opens doors and advances God's purposes. Did you notice in our text Paul says, pray for me not to be released from prison, but that I will stand to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel. 30:01 In Colossians 4, Paul actually makes a direct correlation between the prayer of the Saints to God opening doors. Brothers and sisters, intercessory prayer opens doors so that the purposes of God will advance not just in my life, but in the life of the church and the life of His Kingdom. 30:24 John Wimber, he said it like this. Prayer is meeting the limited needs of others on the basis of God's unlimited resources. I want to illustrate this in a couple ways. The first is this intercepts with prayer can look something like this in the spiritual realm. 30:43 You know, there's an account in the book of Mark chapter 2. Or there are four friends who bring a paralytic man to Jesus. Maybe some of us are familiar with this story, but because this man is incapable of coming to Jesus himself, these four friends, I mean, if you're looking for friends and the quality of good friends, this is the quality you should be looking for. 31:05 So for those of you who are just moving into the city and you're looking friends, this is the standard that you should be looking for, right? So because this man is incapable, these four friends, in their determination and belief that Jesus could heal him, what do they do? 31:20 They remove a roof. How many of us can say that my friend would remove a roof so that I can get to Jesus if you stayed, Yes. Tell me who your friend is, because I would love to be a friend as well with them, right? 31:36 They lower him on a bed to Jesus. But notice what Jesus says and does. And when Jesus saw whose faith? Their faith? 31:51 Jesus healed him. To me, this is what intercession looks like. And there's a mystery to this. I'm sure some of us have been on our own share and journey of unheard prayers. 32:11 Some of you even right now are wondering, is this all true? Doesn't matter. And I wish I could tell you that if you prayed for 15 minutes with these exact words in this specific way, God will move. 32:28 But I recognize there is no formula. Again, it's here where we question the effectiveness of our prayers. Does it actually do anything? But let me say this clearly. Just because there is no formula does not mean our prayers are not formidable. 32:48 No prayer is ever wasted. The God, I believe, would never call His people to pray if it had no impact on His people. 33:01 A Powerful Testimony and Call to Pray Like Never Before And I want to end with this last illustration and I want to slow down here. And I was thinking of how to end this message. And after a lot of thought and prayer, I want to share how prayers, excuse me, can make a difference, not in a story outside, but something that's happening in our church right now in the life of one of our sisters here, you know, with her permission. 33:48 And Tiana, if you're watching this, we're praying for you. I want to share this very carefully, but also invite our church to pray like never before. Just give me a minute. 34:14 As some of you know, one of our dear sisters, Tiana, is a mom of four. Wife to Brandon, has been battling stage 4 lung cancer for the past four years. Recently you heard some difficult news. 34:37 I didn't need to wake up, OK. The latest scans show that the cancer has continued to spread and along with other health complications, she is in a lot of pain and the doctors are actually out of options at this point. 34:54 And let me tell you, I've been personally praying for her, crying out to the Lord on her behalf. And I know family and friends have been praying for her. And I know the elders, the leaders, Hirsi G, you have all been praying and covering her in prayer for many years. 35:11 I have to admit, in these moments, I often find myself feeling kind of helpless and even wonder the effectiveness of our prayers. And again, maybe some of us have been there. So you know what I'm talking about. What's amazing about Deanna is that even as she's faced with these incredibly difficult news and struggling through so much pain, she shared with me a couple weeks ago a vision that she received as she's in the hospital, a powerful vision. 35:41 And I hope it's a reminder. And just, it would wake us up to pray like never before that the words of God are not just good teaching, but it has power to bring life and to breathe life. 35:57 So let me just share with you the vision. Gosh, she had two visions, so I'm going to read this very quickly. The 1st is this. 2 nights ago, right after the CT results, Deanna had a vision. She found herself riding piggyback on Jesus, feeling as safe and comfortable and as broad back as little child, even though she was in a lot of pain. 36:18 They were descending a steep mountain trail winding through a heavy forest. Even though they were high up and the terrain looked dangerous, she wasn't scared at all. Then it was intertwined in a parallel vision of Jesus carrying his cross up the Golgotha and during the weight of his sacrifice to conquer death and rise again. 36:35 The vision then shifted back to the forest path where Jesus continued down the mountain with absolute unshakeable confidence, as if nothing in all creation could stand. In this way, He turned to Deanna and assured her. When I took on the cross, died and resurrected, all power, authority were given to me. 36:50 So you don't need to worry or fear. Now. The second vision is where I found it to be so powerful for us. The following morning she had another vision which continued from the night before. She was still resting on Jesus's back. As they reached the clearing where the path ahead was just vast openness. 37:08 Jesus stopped and Dana looked back and was so encouraged by what she saw. Crowds of family and friends who have been praying for her were marching right behind them. Brandon holding the kids hands, people from Radiance and the Well Church. 37:23 They were fully geared up in the arm of God for battle. She suddenly realized that she had never been alone on that mountain path. While she was held securely by Jesus, a whole community was walking the trail alongside them. Some were struggling, uneven on their feet and unaccustomed to such rugged terrain. 37:41 But together, as one body, they pressed forward, following where Jesus was leading Deanna in his arms. And I want to thank Deanna for sharing this powerful vision and allowing me to share with the church, reminding us of what it means of why we're here in the 1st place. 38:09 Oh, man, if you are new here today, I'm apologize. This is this is not, I don't know, reminding us that we can stand together in prayer. 38:26 Paul says that if one body, one part of the body is hurting, then we're all hurting. So I'm actually going to invite us to a prayer and fasting chain for Deanna. If you read her vision, if you read just what God speaks to her with, is a reminder for us that no matter the reality we see in front of us, it is never the whole or our final one that we can pray. 38:59 Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth that is in heaven. We pray not because our words are empty platitudes, but we know that these words can bring life to those around us. 39:15 So, brothers and sisters, hear me. May we pray like never before. May we pray for our children like never before. If you are surprised that praying is hard, don't be. The devil is OK with you. 39:32 Serving is OK with you. Coming to church is OK with you opening your Bible once in a while. But the devil will try to do everything to stop you from praying because he knows that there is power in prayer. 39:47 If you're struggling in your identity before the Lord, you know there are some of us who are questioning the very worth of our life right now. Pray like never before. For those of us who are struggling in our relationships, or lack thereof in our marriages, pray like never before. 40:08 If you're struggling because you have no idea what to do with your children and you're at a loss for your words, may prayer not just be your last resort, but your first one, your every single day resort that you turn to, to say I will pray and contend for my children. 40:25 Pray like never before that His Kingdom will come and His will will be done in our lives, in our church, in our community, in the Bay Area as it is in heaven. Amen. 40:39 A United Church Awakens to Pray Together Can we pray? I mean, we got to pray, right? We got to pray. Can we pray as a church like never before this morning as I invite the worship team up. 41:17 Lord, we come before you this morning, and we confess that there are often times we don't know how to pray. Often times we question prayer. 41:37 But Lord, this morning, would you bring a fresh awakening that even this morning we would pray like never before. 42:21 to pray for her family, Brandon, her husband and the four children as well? And after you're done praying for her, I know there's actually a lot of us in this room who are sick, battling health complications, struggling in our relationships, marriages that are feeling like they're falling apart. 43:00 that what doctors say they have no more options for her. That with whatever little ounce of faith left that we would cry out to a Lord who heals and can do the impossible. 43:19 I know some of us, we tend to be a little bit more shy and quiet in our prayers. But today, would you join me in lifting up your voices just a little bit to pray for Deanna and all those around us? Would you join me? Let's pray together. Let's pray.