Let's stand please for the reading of the Word of God tonight. We're in 1st Samuel Chapter number 1 and verse number 9 So Hannah rose up after they'd eaten in Shiloh and after they drunk now Eli the priest set upon a seat by the post of the temple of the Lord 1st Samuel 1 10 and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore and And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou would indeed look on the affix of thine handmaid, remember me and not forget thine handmaid. But will give thine handmaid a man child, then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. It came to pass as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli thought she had been drunken. Her prayer is answered. Look at verse 20. Wherefore, it came to pass, when time was come about, after Hannah had conceived, she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. So I was praying which way to go tonight. I think I'm going to continue a thought that we talked about last night in this matter of prayer. It's family night, but I'll tell you, if there's anything our families need, it's to learn how to pray. We need men who will set the pattern for your children so they will learn how to pray. We need families that will get on their knees and seek God for an old-fashioned move of His Spirit in every heart and life. We're going to learn tonight how to prevail in prayer so that you know when you kneel and speak to God, He's listening. Thank you very much. You may be seated. Heavenly Father, we give you praise, honor, and glory for who you are. Thank you for the Word of God and the God of the Word. Would you speak to our hearts tonight? If there's anybody among us who's not been born again, may understand how simple it is to put their faith and trust in Christ. And then we say with the disciples tonight, Lord, Teach us to pray and you will get the praise honor and glory in Jesus name. Amen The greatest privilege of the child of God is the privilege of prayer God is inviting you into his throne room to carry on a perpetual conversation with him Hebrews 4 16 says let us come forth therefore boldly before the throne of grace That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Let me say it again greatest privilege of the child of God is the privilege of prayer Unfortunately, the greatest problem of many of God's children is the problem of prayer number of years ago A periodic was put on my desk if a man did his survey accurate. Here's what he reported the average Christian prays four minutes a day Then he said the average preacher prays seven minutes a day. And then we wonder why no major move of God in over a hundred years in the United States of America. Good friend, whatever's wrong with you and me is wrong with our prayer life. And my goal tonight is not to insult or intimidate you. By God's grace, I'd like to instruct you in prayer and inspire you to pray. And I was moved many years ago as I studied this passage with a lady by the name of Hannah. Her name means favor. She was married to a man by the name of Elkina. For some reason, Elkina married two wives. I don't believe God meant that for any man. You say, Preacher, why? He started things only with Adam and Eve. It was not Adam and Eve and Francis and Sarah. It was just Adam and Eve. One man for one woman for one lifetime. But for some reason, this guy marries two women. He marries Hannah and Peninnah. Now, one thing I'm sure of, you take two women, put them in the same house, under the same roof, with the same man, you got problems, and that shows up in this passage of Scripture. Hannah had no children, Penitenti had children. Hannah was grieved in her soul because she was barren. She's a good Old Testament picture of many people living in a New Testament day. You see, there's lots of people who are saved on their way to heaven, but they're barren. Many are barren when it comes to the fruit of souls. John 15, 8, hearing as my father glorified that you bear much fruit. Theologians will argue about what that is, whatever it is, part of it is the fruit of another life. I told you on Sunday morning, 97% of people who say I'm saved, according to Zondervan research, have no outreach whatsoever. Into the world of the lost then there's the food of the Spirit Galatians 5 22 says there's love joy peace Long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against this there is no law. You'll have to answer this Are you a patient Christian is the joy of the Lord your strength? Are you meek and teachable? Here's the thing you have to appreciate about Hannah. She was barren. She knew it she began to pray because she came to this conclusion and From a human standpoint, things look impossible. From a supernatural standpoint, what's impossible with my husband and I is always possible with God, and she begins to pray. Now, the word pray means to ask. It may mean many things, but it primarily means to ask. We're going to learn tonight how to ask God when we pray. I want you to pick up your reading, please, in verse number 11, where the Bible says, she vowed a vow. When I was studying, I found out that a vow was the most serious thing any Hebrew could do. Ecclesiastes 5.5 says, better not to vow a vow than to vow and defer to pay. You remember the story of Jephthah. He made a foolish vow, but he said, I've opened my mouth unto the Lord. I cannot go back. Nothing was more serious to the Hebrew mind than making a vow So let me make it very plain tonight that if we're going to be heard when we pray we must come to Almighty God seriously Psalm 145 verse 8 the Bible says the Lord is nigh to them that call upon him that call upon him in truth or in sincerity and In Hosea 7 14, God turned down the prayer of his people for he said they have not cried unto me with their heart. Jeremiah 29 13 says you'll seek me and find me, watch the phrase now, when you search for me with your whole heart. Half-hearted praying is a waste of your time and God's time. Hebrews 11 6, he that cometh unto God must believe that he is, he's rewarder of them, don't miss the phrase, of them that diligently seek him. James 5 16 confess your faults one another pray for one another the effectual we get our term energetic from that Fervent or boiling hot prayer of a righteous man a man who's right with God avails much. What's the difference a carnal Christian in casual prayer is wasting his breath because God hears the prayers of those who are desperate with him and Vance Havner said some years ago, the situation in the church is desperate and the saints are not. In almost 38 years of evangelism, I have never been in a heaven-sent, Holy Spirit-inaugurated, genuine Bible revival that was not immersed in prayer. A number of years ago, I pulled in on a Saturday night, and the pastor, a friend of mine, said, look, you do the preaching, we'll do the praying. We have some men coming, but you don't need to come to the prayer room. Went anyway, and when I got there, I noticed the parking lot had a lot of cars Usually if you have a prayer meeting and they're a dozen 15 minutes a pretty good prayer meeting But what I got they weren't having in a room they having in the auditorium Nobody was standing. Nobody was sitting and nobody was kneeling when I came in to the prayer room It was fervent with the power of God Every man in the place was prostrate on his face pleading with God to rim the heavens and come down and do a new thing. I On Sunday morning, they had friend day. 35 people trusted Jesus Christ in the first service. They had prayed that they would have 100 guests during the week. I saw this pastor about a year ago, and he said, Brother Farrell, over 100 people came to the foot of the old rugged cross. And people were saved continuing in the weeks after that. You say, Preacher, I'd love to get in that kind of meeting. Would you really? It'll cost you some desperate prayer. I was preaching in another southern city and I flew in by myself to the meeting. The pastor had called me. He said, I surrendered to preach under your ministry. I'm pastoring this church. If you'll just give us a meeting, we will prepare and you'll preach to lost people. When I got there about 1130 p.m. on a Saturday night, he said, I'll tell you what, we pulled out the stops. Our people are seeking God. He said, you're going to have liberty to preach. The next morning when I came in, the building was filling up. They had to show that morning's service by closed circuit in another building. I turned to the pastor, I said, pastor, are there people here today who are in need of Jesus Christ? He said, my friend, there's over a hundred people sitting in front of you right now that I have never seen in my life, plus others in the overflow building. That morning, pastor, I preached the most elementary gospel message you've probably ever heard in your life. Seventy-five people rose to their feet and said, we want to be saved by the grace of God. Oh preacher, I would love to get in a meeting like that. Good friend, it will cost you sincere, desperate, serious praying. Two times this summer at the Wiles Christian Camp and Conference Center, people who'd been praying for weeks and some for months brought their teenagers. On two different Wednesday nights, one in June and one in July, I delivered a strong message on hell. And as I did in both of those services, over 100 teenagers responded to the gospel. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to understand the gospel still works. I want you to know the power of the Holy Spirit is still available. And I want you to understand, good friend, that if anything is going to change, it's going to have to be our prayer life when we come and we come to Him seriously, believing He can do anything but fail. She came seriously. But I want you to notice again in verse 11, she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, If thou would indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, watch that word, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid a second time is used, but will give thine handmaid a man child. The word handmaid literally translated means female slave. So when she came, she came seriously, and when she came, she came submissively. She did not come bossing God, she came begging God. Psalm 9 and verse 12 says, he forgets not the cry of the humble. Psalm 86, 1, bow down thine ear and hear I am poor and needy. Now some of you have believed all of your life that God hears the prayers of every person, not Psalm 66, 18, if it's considered. If I regard iniquity in my heart, if I know there's sin in my life, I'm aware of it. The Lord will not hear me. Isaiah 59, to your iniquities have separated between you and your God so that he will not hear. You know, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes we think that we can just sin all we want, sin one quickly to heaven, and the heavens are going to open and we're going to see answers to prayer. Well, let me ask you a question tonight, sir. Are you right with your wife? Preacher, why would you ask that? Because the book of 1 Peter 3 and verse 12, the Bible says that the husband is to honor his wife as the weaker vessel, because he and she are heirs together of the grace of God. And if there is dishonor and you don't treat her properly, your prayer is hindered. That means tonight in this family night, if you and mom are not right with each other until you get right with each other, God's not going to hear your prayer. You may be here tonight and you're a lady and one of your favorite pastimes is gossiping. Pastor, they used to do it with their tongues, now they do it with their thumbs. Sometimes while you're preaching. May I announce to you, you may think that's cute, but the next time you're in desperation, don't bother to pray until you're right with God and right with that person. Ephesians 4.29 says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying. You're a young person sitting here tonight. Are you right with your parents? Ephesians 6.1, children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long upon the earth. If you are disrespectful and dishonorable and disobedient to your folks, you have no authority to pray. You see, my friend, if we're going to be heard, then we must understand God is not a cosmic bellhop jumping at our every whim. We are in desperate need of him. And so when we come, we must come seriously and we must come submissively. But I want you to notice again in the same passage of scripture, she said, given an handmaid, a man child. Now she's praying specifically. Mark 11 24. Therefore, whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe you shall receive them and ye shall have them. Things you desire, that's specific. Philippians 4 6. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, listen to the phrase, let your request be made known unto God. Pastor, do you take prayer requests here in this church? I knew the answer to that. How many of you have ever given a prayer request? Would you raise your hand? You know why we do that? It's not because we're Baptists, it's because we believe the Bible. We need to get specific when we come to God and pray to Him. You say, preacher, I'm in a dilemma. I'm not exactly sure what to do. I need some wisdom. I have an answer. It's in the Bible, James 1 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given unto him. Is Jesus Christ your first resource? Do you hit your knees when decision time comes and ask him what you should do? I'm hearing pastors and many times administrators say, we're not seeing as many young people going to full-time Christian service seemingly as we used to. I have an answer, it's in the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 9, 38, pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his field. My father was a businessman. He was going to a Bible-preaching church and the pastor got up and said, we're going to have a Matthew 9 38 prayer meeting. We're receiving words from missionaries who are older and their health is failing, they're coming home. We're receiving word that people need to go overseas because some of the places we have missionaries are now emptying out. We need to ask God to thrust into the harvest field people that God is calling. My father went, his best friend was a businessman, they went. Dad told me as a young teenager, he said, we didn't plan to stay all night, it just happened that way. He said, we prayed around, we prayed around again, we prayed around again. He said, lo and behold, before I knew it, it was morning. During that prayer time, God Almighty reached down to an accountant with General Motors and said, Bill, I'm going to answer your prayer and you're going to be one of the people that's going into full-time Christian service. My mother could not figure out where my dad had been all night. When he came home, she was pregnant with me and said, where in the world have you been? He said in prayer. And he said, now Doris, I believe that God wants me in the ministry, and therefore you and I may end up in Africa. My little mother, the country girl she was, said, I didn't marry a preacher, I married a businessman. My dad went back to prayer, and he said, God, if you've called me, you've called her. Thank God, in less than 24 hours, Linda, my mother came to my father and said, whether thou goest, I will go. Thy people be my people, and thy God will be my God. My mother said, after 25 years as a pastor's wife, I still don't know what a pastor's wife is supposed to do. I'm just doing the best I can. His friend kneeling next to him climbed telephone poles for a living. His name was Bob. Bob, during that night, since God had called him to ministry, he ended up going to Brazil, South America, where he served for over 40 years. My father and mother in heaven, Bob is still alive. And from time to time, he gets on a plane and goes to those places where he'd planted churches. He was there for eight years before he ever saw one convert. Out of that prayer meeting, ladies and gentlemen, came people that stepped out into the ministry and made an impact for Jesus Christ. Colonial Hills Baptist Church ought to be a place where people can sense easily the call of God, because people like you are interceding and praying the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his field. How long has it been since God specifically answered your prayer? I said, how long has it been since God specifically answered your prayer? I want to give a little gospel insert here. So if you'll hold your finger in 1st Samuel chapter 1, I want you to turn with me to the gospel of Luke chapter 18. Some years ago, a man walked up to me and said, do you have to pray to get saved? Now, when I'm not sure of an answer, I always say, ask me tomorrow. I'll have an answer then. When I got in the car, I thought to myself, why didn't you just answer yes? Because the word pray means to ask. And ladies and gentlemen, nobody ever gets saved by accident. You'll have to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. In Luke chapter 18, down in verse number 9, you've got two men going to the temple. Now look at what the Bible says. He spake a parable, or he spake this parable, unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. This is a dangerous thing to ever trust yourself and think you're good enough and the only one who could possibly get into heaven. The Bible picks up in verse 10, Luke chapter 18. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a Republican. Would you look this way? Pharisee. Separated one is what the word means. I told you Sunday, Pharisees fasted two out of every seven days, gave 10% of everything they owned, had memorized the Old Testament, had Bible verses in their clothing. This man was a respected man. Then there was not just the Pharisee, but the publican. Now, what was a publican? A publican normally was a Jewish IRS agent working for the Roman Empire. The way they made their living was to skim off the top and charge too much. Now, if you have any Southern in you, you'll understand this terminology. This fellow was as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Do you understand that? He was a rejected man. This was a respected man. This man was highly honored. This man was terribly dishonored. They had come to the same place for the same reason they came to pray. Now I want you to notice what the Pharisee does. The Bible tells us in verse number 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed, thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men. are extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. Notice it's all about what he has done for God. He commended himself, he compared himself, and he condemned others, particularly this sorry publican. Hold the thought look at the very brief but powerful prayer from the publican verse 13 the publican standing afar off Would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven but smote himself on his breath saying God Be merciful to me a sinner seven simple words He beat himself on his chest the sign of self-accusation He was not going to stand near this religious man because he knew he was not near as good as he was He had his head bowed, he was broken. He came helplessly and humbly, yet hopefully. He didn't pray with himself or to himself, he prayed to God. And he asked for mercy, the word means pity or compassion. Have mercy upon me, a sinner. Some who know more of the original language than I do say it means, he was saying, I'm the only sinner in the place. I'm the worst sinner here. There's probably no worse sinner in the entire area than I am. Now hold the thought. Here's the Pharisees' prayer, here's the publicans' prayer. Let's see which one God answers, verse 14, obviously following verse 13. I tell you this man, which man? The publican, the criminal if you please, the dishonored man, went down to his house justified, which means declared righteous. Rather than the other which means that the pharisee did not for Everyone that exalt himself is abased and he that humbled himself shall be exalted now. Let me put it so you'll never forget it The religious man the good guy the guy who was so highly respected went to hell. I And the bad guy, the guy who was crooked, the guy who everybody hated, the guy who everybody detested, came humbly and honestly and hopefully and asked for God's mercy. And tonight he's in heaven while the religious man is in hell. What a tragedy to stay over here when you can take a step and come over here. That's what I want to ask tonight. When did you move from here to here? You say, when I was baptized? No, that's not in the text. You say, when I was confirmed? No, that's not in the text either. You say, when I started doing better? He didn't do any better. He came as a sinner. When did you move from here to here? Every person when we're born is born over here And when we hear we're sinners and we're held down and only Jesus saves and there's nothing we can do that He will accept many times. It's offensive Because there's inside man something that says, there's bound to be something I can do, God will accept. But the Bible makes it plain, it's not by works of righteousness, which we have done, watch now, but according to His mercy, He saves us. So there has to be a time and a place when you move from here to here. Because if you never choose to move from here to here, you've never been saved. And if you're still here talking about the righteous things you're doing for God, you're as lost as the religious man, but you're not even as good as he is. Because I doubt anybody can say, I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of everything I own, I have Bible verses in my clothing, I've memorized the Old Testament. You're not even as good as he is, and he didn't even come close to making heaven. The wisest decision you'll ever make is to get serious about your sin. to come submissively and never again tell God how good you are, but come take your stand with the publican and simply cry out from a heart of desperation, God, have mercy on the sinner sitting here at Colonial Hills tonight. And I can guarantee you this, every person who comes seriously and submissively and specifically will call upon the name of the Lord, the God of the great universe will step down, enter your life, take away your sin, put your name in the book of life, and you will be for the first time in your life free. But not over here. So when did you move from here to here? Your parents can't do that for you. Your pastor can't do that for you. You have to choose to agree with God. that you're a sinner. Close your Bible, let me close the message. In the book of 1 Samuel, you'll see in verse 12 that she continued to pray. She multiplied her prayer, or she prayed steadfastly. Here's how to get your prayers answered. When you come serious, when you come, come seriously, submissively, specifically, and pray steadfastly. Matthew 7, 7 says, ask, it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, it shall be opened unto you. The Bible says in Colossians 4, 2, pray without ceasing. Verse Thessalonians 5 and 17, pray without ceasing. Romans 12, 12, continuing instant in prayer. The songwriter wrote, just keep on praying till the light breaks through. Just keep on praying, he'll answer you. I love to read about men that God has used. George Mueller would be one of my heroes. I sat in Bristol, saw the buildings that the money he prayed in built, they're still there. I sat in his chair and looked at his ledger. There were what we would call today millions of dollars raised by a man who sought God. He said there was one man for whom he prayed a recorded 40,000 times. But he said God saved him. He said, there's another man for whom I've prayed more than that, and I believe God will save him. When Mueller passed away at his funeral, the man came, heard the gospel, and according to those who are in the know, say he knelt by Mueller's casket and received the Lord Jesus Christ. He just wouldn't quit praying. What kind of prayer life do you have tonight? Does it look like Hannah's? Tell me tonight, good and loud, did Hannah get the answer to her prayer? Yes or no? What was the little boy's name? Samuel means ask of God or gift of God. Where are your Samuels? Where are the specific things you sought God for that you can demonstrate to your children and your grandchildren? Where are the specific things that you can say to an unsaved neighbor or friend? Only God could do this. Our young people have heard a whole lot about praying, but as one dear brother said, instead of another declaration about prayer, they need a new demonstration concerning prayer. Can I ask you a question? If your children pray like you, will they be powerful or pitiful? I want to encourage somebody's heart here tonight who has a prodigal child. Preacher friend of mine called me. He said, my daughter's living in sin. You're coming for a meeting. I'll be here. She's willing to see you. I appealed to her, begged her to come home with living in sin. She said, I'm going to live the way I want to. I said to her father, I'm sorry. I cannot help her. She's chosen to do wrong. Few days later, he called me and said, my wife and I have chosen a 40 day fast. We don't know if our daughter's lost or if she's just terribly backslidden, but we're going to seek God. 20 days into the fast, she came home. I'm going to lose some of you right here, so be very careful what you hear and how you respond. When she rang the doorbell and her father answered, she said, Daddy, I want to come home. And he looked at her and said, we want you to come home. We've been fasting, seeking God that you would come home. But you're not going to come home on your own terms. If you come back in this house, you'll have to come back on God's terms. Preacher, why would he say that? It's very simple. Many young people run out of money and they run home and they get money and go right back in sin, which means you're helping them continue in their sin. She said, Daddy. I want to come home. and be changed. He was an itinerant ministry, and so the night before he left, she said, I'd sure like to go with you. At great expense, he booked her a ticket. They got on the airplane the next day, and on Sunday morning, he said, I knew she was under conviction. And Sunday night, he said, I was preaching the word of God. And he said, down the left hand aisle came my daughter, and she was saying, oh, God, I need to get safe. She said, Daddy, please help me. I'm going to hell. He had the pastor finish the service and led his daughter to Jesus and call me to tell me the story. He said, that's wonderful, but it's not over. She went off to a Bible college and married a pastor and they have three children and they're faithfully serving Jesus Christ. Somebody ought to say amen. And I want to tell you, your children may not answer the phone and they may not answer the text message and they may act like they're ignoring you, but they cannot stop your prayer. And it is always too soon for you to quit. My wife's father grew up in a religious family, not a Christian family, but a religious family. When he was 20 years of age, he heard an old evangelist named Anthony Zioli preach the Word of God in an area-wide meeting. Dad said, I've never heard anything like that in my life. Dad was Italian, Zeoli's Italian. He explained how that if you'd repent of your sin and receive Jesus, you could get saved. And boy, dad said, I just about ran down that aisle. It must've lasted. He was 20 and he died at 87, was giving out tracts until he couldn't anymore. God revolutionized his life. When he went back home, he had six sisters and all of his sisters said, well, Joey, as they would call him, his name was Joe, has religion. And they were offended because he tried to help them to see that nothing they did for Jesus was going to work, but only what Jesus did for them. They would say, my religion is good enough. We had an opportunity as a young evangelist to eat in the six sisters' homes. we would they all met in one place and they put on an Italian feast how many of you have ever eaten a full-blown Italian meal and I'm not talking Olive Garden would you raise your hand all right you understand we sit down at 11 and I tried to get up at 3 we'll have some more have some more I said if I eat any more I will burp in Technicolor I cannot eat anymore My wife on the way through the door said, are you going to witness to them? I said, yes, I'm going to witness to them. She said, you know that they will get mad. I said, well, they're Italian and I'm Scotch Irish, so we may sell tickets to this fight. And I looked at the six aunts of my wife and I said, ladies, if you'd be so kind, you fed me a wonderful lunch and I'd like to have just a moment of your attention to tell you what your niece and I do as we crisscross the nation. And I went over the gospel. We're all sinners heading for hell. Jesus is the only Savior. It's not through sacraments and not through what you do for Jesus, but it's a gift that you receive by faith. And they never said anything and they never got mad. My wife said, that's unusual. I said, well, God was there. Over a period of years, this one got saved and that one got saved. But the toughest one was Aunt Stella, sweet lady. but don't upset her about her religion. My wife gave one of the clearest presentations of the gospel the last time we were with her. It wasn't quite as ornery, but it was still, my religion's good enough. So we sent some friends up in Jersey. I have a pastor friend who's a real soul winner, and he and his wife went, and my religion's good enough. And then sometime later, we got word she was dying. And so I called my buddy and I said, this is probably the last round up, the last rodeo. Would you go one more time? He said, we'll go. He and his wife went. And the reason I know the details is because he called me and I put it on speakerphone so Regina could hear. When he walked in, he put his hand on Aunt Stella's shoulder and he said, you know, you're preparing to leave. God's been so good to give you earthly life. He wants to give you eternal life. And he asked a question that I've asked ever since I got this illustration. He said, Aunt Stella, you've always said your religion is good enough. Now what I want to know is, is your religion good enough to die by? I don't want to ask everybody in this building tonight, is your religion good enough to die by? Because if it's not, you better get rid of it. You are going to die. And she began to weep. She said, no, no, it's not good enough to die by. He said, and Stella, don't you want to receive Jesus? Yes. Yes. I want Christ to save me. He said, brother Farrell, I started leading her in a prayer and I said, you say this and Stella, dear Jesus, I'm a sinner. He said, she didn't say that. She said, dear Jesus, I'm a bad, bad center. Do you know what she did? She moved from here to here. And she called upon the name of the Lord. And God saved her. And three weeks later, she was gone. But I'd like to announce tonight, if she received Jesus Christ, she didn't go to hell and there is no purgatory. Absent from the body is present with the Lord. And we thank that good preacher. And when I hung up the phone, my wife was sobbing and I said, honey, how long did you pray for Aunt Stella? And she said, dear, I prayed for her for over 50 years. And I want to say to you tonight, it's always too soon to quit. Does your prayer life look like Hannah's? Does your prayer life look like Hannah's? Do you have a powerful, fruitful prayer life that is resonating with your children and grandchildren so they know, like Hannah, you're meeting with