I invite you to turn in the Word of God this afternoon to John chapter 18, the Gospel of John chapter 18. It's a privilege to be here and to minister the Word of God. My prayer is that the Lord will do something, something. I don't know what, I mean, I have what I've been praying over, but that He would do something in your heart and in mine. In one sense, you could take everything Stephen said and think to yourself, well, he's his pastor, he has to invite him. That's the only reason why the unknown is there. I do believe we share a mutual burden for the revitalization, the revival, the restoration of these things that are so central to this conference. So, John chapter 18, let's read the Word of God. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Kidron, And where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples?" If I could just pause there and say, all that you know about Gethsemane, that happens here after this period. Then we have verse 2, "'And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. For Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, come a-thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. Amen. May the Lord bless His infallible Word. For those of you that were here yesterday, we were presented with a clip that Stephen put before us, and in that clip was language that went this way, remember when prayer meetings were a thing, and it has been to my amazement in the time that I have been in North America, which has been since the beginning of 2015, to realize that this isn't some isolated matter. Right across this nation and Canada, and I'm not dealing with the liberal churches, I'm dealing with the Bible-believing churches. there has been an abandoning of the prayer meeting. And I still can't quite get my head around that. It has become the bullied child of the church, the one that gets mocked, the one that no one likes and when it's not there, few miss. And if it is under threat in your church, I'm here to help you preserve it. If it has already been sacrificed because of some other good idea, or because of poor attendance, I'm here to encourage you to recommence. That's my objective. The biggest threat to the church today is not cancelled culture. It is the cancelled prayer meeting. Cancelled culture has arisen in part because of cancelled prayer. Cancelled prayer in your life. Cancelled prayer in your church. My focus today is corporate prayer. I do not wish to elevate it over private prayer, but Puritan Thomas Brooks was right when he said, he is a pious hypocrite who chooses the one and neglects the other. He went on to say, he who puts on a religious demeanor abroad To gain himself a great name among men, and at the same time lives like an atheist at home, shall at the last be unmasked by God. But my task is corporate prayer. My task is to encourage you to pray. Alone, yes. but specifically with others. It's not a new topic for me. Even before I moved to Greenville, I was invited to preach here on campus, and in another one of the locations here on campus, I gave a workshop on conducting and contributing to a prayer meeting. I was given the option what to deal with. The overall subject that year was revival. That was the workshop I wanted to deal with, the subject I wanted to leave before the people. Conducting and contributing to a prayer meeting, it is a burden in my heart. How could it not be? I come from a heritage where a whole denomination in a certain sense was birthed by men who had the experience of a 36-hour prayer meeting, non-stop. Going to God's house on a Friday night as they did every week. And they pray that Friday night but something stirs in the heart. They're prompted by the Holy Spirit to continue on. So they pray through Friday night. They pray through into Saturday morning. They pray through Saturday. And they pray through Saturday night and the preacher moves from the Friday night prayer meeting into the Sunday morning preaching session in the pulpit without a break. So it's in, it's in my heritage. I've turned you to John chapter 18, specifically verse two, which reads, Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas knew exactly where to find our Lord. He knew the time, He knew the place, because He was often there. And if I am not mistaken, taking a little bit of imagination or implication from the text, I learned from this that His practice in Gethsemane was to pray And anytime he was in that vicinity, in that region, he went to Gethsemane at night and he took his disciples with him at a certain point of the evening, he could be found there with his disciples in a posture of prayer. So Judas, Judas decides to betray him. He knows exactly where to find him. Jesus oft times resorted further with his disciples. He could be found, predictably, in the place of prayer with his disciples. Now if you don't feel the importance of corporate prayer, you are not paying attention. The Moravians, one of the most significant influences upon missions, global missions, especially in the 18th century, They were fueled by corporate prayer. Famously they had their, I spoke just a moment ago about a thirty-six hour prayer meeting, well that was a handful of men the entire time, but they actually had a prayer vigil where a number of people would be assigned to a particular hour of the day And they would continue to pray, that vigil would go on, not just for 24 hours, not just for a week, but famously went non-stop for a century. And birthed out of that, of course, was a burden for missions, for global missions. To go to the ends of the earth, to take Christ where He was not known. And so they did, influencing key figures, one of the most famous, of course, being John Wesley. If you know anything about the rapid growth of the Korean church over the last century or slightly more, in large part energized by dawn prayer meetings every day, gathering together to pray every morning. So I wish to address this, this important matter, with God's help that even one, even one would say, I'm going to start prayer. That the pastors here would say, it's time to ramp up prayer. Not making it dependent upon numbers. If you pastor a church of 500 people and only five come to the prayer meeting, you don't stop it. It's only telling you how much it's needed. So, three things here. The title that was given to this message, A Prayer Meeting with Jesus, may be fitting. But here are the three things we'll deal with. First, the practice of Christ teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. Secondly, the pattern of Christians teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. And the pursuit of Satan, thirdly, teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. So I'm taking you to Scripture, so you wrestle over that, you battle with that. Not with the preacher, I'm the messenger. So the practice of Christ teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. It was often the practice of our Lord Jesus Christ to pray alone. You may turn to these Scriptures if you like. Luke chapter 5 verse 16, he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed. Now the translation of our authorized version there gives the sense as if it was a one-time event, but in the original that is not the case. Really it reads, he himself was withdrawing in the desert places and praying. This was his practice. He was constantly withdrawing from the multitude, from the crowds, from all the hustle and bustle that surrounded him in his ministry. Withdrawing into places of solitude to pray. Luke 6 verse 12, he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. We want to be Christ-like, don't we? Isn't it funny how this isn't one of the things we list in Christ-likeness? Continued all night in prayer. How many of our prayer meetings, how many of our churches have ever had a night of prayer, even a half night of prayer? You know, you start at 8 o'clock and you go on to 2 o'clock, something like that. When? Have you been in one? The one who was without sin, who impeccably prayed without ceasing, hides himself in secret places to pray. And our text tells us that on this occasion he was not alone. Jesus oft times resorted further with his disciples. He pulled them alongside him. Eight of them are in one place, three are taken a little closer to where he is finally going to pray. And I've thought about this, was this the practice, you know, a group here and then the inner three, or was this a unique event like? like on the Mount of Transfiguration, and I think that's the case. I think this is unique. Gethsemane on this night is different. Gethsemane here is not like Gethsemane at other occasions or at other times. And so he has divided them on this occasion, but often it would have been his practice then to pull them close to him in the garden, and they would watch and observe him pray and engage in prayer themselves. It was not unique. Again, if you are in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9 this time, verse 18, we read there, it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, whom say the people that I am? So he gathers them round him. He's the one that carries the burden of ministry. He's the one with His heart broken over the multitude and the needs, but He gathers His disciples. So, they are to watch. They are disciples in every sense of the word. Think of the seminaries. Think of the seminaries that are I'm just talking about the good ones. Just think of the good seminaries and ask how many of them have seasons of prayer, have prayer meetings for their students, where the students gather around those that are aged and experienced and have been in the trenches and have learned to call upon God. This is one of the burdens I have for young men in ministry today. I think, how come? How come this isn't part of the training? Why is it that even when you raise it, it meets with resistance? It's like, oh, they're going to learn that somewhere else. The disciples didn't. The disciples didn't. They were gathered around Jesus Christ to learn to pray. And I think of how God in His mighty, merciful providence had me 8 o'clock Sunday morning around all people. Yeah, there weren't many. You know, the church was maybe 250 or 300 people, but there 8 a.m., Sunday morning, committing the Lord's Day to God and prayer, where a handful of maybe 12, maybe 15, most of them older, seeking God for His benediction upon the Lord's Day. And then a group of men on a Monday night, every other Monday night, the prayer meeting on Thursday nights, other times, occasions of prayer. And I'm listening, I'm listening, I'm imbibing, and I'm learning, and I'm having poured into me The importance of waiting on God. And even the language of prayer, even the language, the way they prayed, they prayed as people who knew what it is to be all out for God. Their language, what permeated their hearts, the pouring out of their souls wasn't some just perfectly crafted, well-ordered, and just methodical prayer. These were people that had learned to be burdened in prayer. and a call upon their God. And you're learning. You're learning a whole framework and an attitude of prayer that the disciples learned from Christ as well. Luke 11, verse 1. It came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. So again, he's gathered them around him. He has gathered them around Him. Now, I don't know to what extent they prayed and He would listen to their prayers, whether He would correct them and teach. I don't know. But He was teaching by them being there. But the sense of it is He, as the Great High Priest, is leading His church, but He is doing it with them around Him. He's gathering His disciples around Him. Not just for teaching, not just for systematic theology, not just for whatever subject may be important, but to learn to pray. And of course they've heard prayer their entire life. Their entire life they've heard prayer offered. These are Jews, they know what prayer is, but they see the Lord Jesus. And His prayer transcends anything they've ever experienced. And they're compelled to ask, Lord teach us. teach us. So his habit then was to gather them around him at specific times in specific places. So he would find the place. Anytime he was in a certain region, he would find the most ideal place. And around Jerusalem, it was Gethsemane. And Judas knew. He knew. And Jesus didn't miss his appointments with the Father. He didn't. And Judas was depending on it. He was depending on it. He won't miss. He won't miss. Oh, look what time it is. I know where he is. He's in Gethsemane. Which has very profound application when it comes to those of you who do have prayer meetings. And the question is to be asked, when that time comes round, are you there? Are you? Now we all can't be at every single prayer meeting perhaps, or every single meeting, but isn't it a tragedy, isn't it a tragedy that for some people they're never found at any? There's no appointment. They can miss it, they can miss it. There's a lot of correlation with what Dr. Beattie said. Isn't there? It's like these are fundamental, these are foundational things. And we have just cast them all aside. Negligence of corporate prayer is unruly living. In the past, again, like as our brother said, as he was saying, you know, if you didn't conduct family worship in certain circles, you would receive a swift admonishment and worse if it was not corrected. So it was with the corporate prayer gatherings. If you were not found there, you would be admonished strongly with other steps of discipline to follow if it was not corrected. And the question is, how is it that we have to be coerced into this? How come? How come? How come there isn't this, yes, prayer. Jesus did it. And He gathered His disciples around Him and He often was found there where His people will meet with Him. And look at the Old Testament, see how often it is filled with language of Him wanting us to seek Him and language of collectively seeking Him. It's filled with, I don't have time to go there today, but it's all over the place. So imagine, imagine being there in Gethsemane, imagine. So many people are caught up today, imagine the miracles, imagine the miracles. And the gospel writers had no problem, they had no problem recording all the miracles, no problem. Well, not all of them, but many of them. And most of it is filled with, he went here, and he did this, and he healed this, and so on. And they record all of that, but when it comes to the prayers of Christ, when it comes to that, they're almost, almost too sacred, it's too sacred to even tell the world of. Now if you have known anything about sweet times of prayer, you will know that your most memorable experiences with Christ are often in prayer. And often with other people. When you're gathering with them and you're entering into the burden of that other brother. Oh, I think of some of the most signal memories I have, sometimes with me and just one other brother. Just me and him, just getting alone before God, seeking the Lord, and there's this, the Lord comes. He comes, he condescends, he comes down, he lifts up your heart, he lifts the burden, he brings you face to face. with fresh truths or brings old truths in a fresh way and you can see the eye of faith is like the scales are removed a little more and you see the glory of Christ and the wonder of His cross and you're just filled with heart and fresh zeal and the tears begin to flow. And the way you've been living all kind of dead and cold and mechanical and then in the place of prayer there the Lord comes. Oh, memorable. Yeah, if I could take you to some of the greatest joys I've ever had, they would be found in places of prayer. Can you say the same, can you? I pity you if you can't. I legitimately pity you if you have no sense that some of the sweetest experiences of your Christian life don't in some way correlate with prayer. I want to be there, oh, to have seen him. in Gethsemane. So the practice of Christ teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. He gathered His disciples around. And it makes sense to me that He would offer the bulk of the prayers. That makes sense to me. And who's going to lead in prayer when He's there? I mean, really? So they're learning, though. They're learning, though. And well, that leads us into our second point. The pattern of Christians. I'm talking here New Testament Christians, and I could go Old Testament as well, but the pattern of Christians teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. The habit of the disciples was to gather with the other disciples with their master around our Lord Jesus. According to our text, that's what they did. Jesus oft times resorted thither with his disciples, and I don't think he was going to Gethsemane to admire the olives. He was there to pray. And they were learning to pray. And so after he ascended, it made sense to them to pray. especially when he had given his command, tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. Tarry. Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem. Doing what? Doing what? Just wait around Jerusalem? Just wait there? You know, twiddle our thumbs, play cards, go on, play games, you know, just waiting in Jerusalem, waiting for power to come from somewhere. You know, they knew. They knew. They knew. Acts 1. Turn to Acts chapter 1. So we're given some names in verse 13. They're in an upper room. Verse 14 says, these all continued with one accord and prayer and supplication with the women. Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Ah, there's been conversions of those who have come to believe, even of his own household. And all the others, they gather and where are they found? They are found in a room, continuing in prayer. Continuing in prayer. Tarry and Jerusalem. Well, tarry and do what? Till you receive the promise of the Father. Okay, well, let's take the mentality of some. Well, the Lord has promised it, therefore we don't have to pray for it. Oh really? Oh really? The Lord has promised it, therefore we don't have to pray for it. If your doctrine brings you to that point, you have no clue. You need to go back and read your Bible. So, they understood. He's promised it, therefore we should ask. We should pray for it. So that's what they did. They prayed, and so the Lord came, sent His Spirit in power. What a mighty work was done. Chapter 2, verse 42. I'm just going to skip, hop, and jump through the book of Acts here. You see what these Christians did. Acts 2, 42. So all these new converts, they continue steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, period. That would be the biblical churches. The Bible believe in churches today. And in prayers. I kept praying. Chapter 4, verse 23. The disciples are threatened. Don't be speaking in this name anymore. And with that threat, verse 23, being let go, they went to their own company. I like that, their own company. Is that how you feel about God's people, is it? They're my company, right there. They're my people. Such as my union with Christ and their union with Christ, that that bond is deeper and will transcend time itself. When other relationships will dissipate, this will not. So they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And one of them, being a politician, said, let's raise a protest. Let's go and appeal to the magistrate. Let's get a petition together and go on the street. Oh, can you see it? Can you see the pragmatic thinking? Here's what we need to do. They threatened you unjustly. They've no business doing that. Don't they know the First Amendment? You know, they need to start thinking that way. And when they heard that, they, this is what they did. lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, and then began to pray to the God who made all things. Well, I seem to think, it would appear to me that these individuals were filled with a sense of the power of God, not the power vested in their political leaders. They seem to really understand that God is all powerful. We give lip service to it. We say God's on the throne, but here's the mechanism we need today. God forgive us. The atheism that fills our hearts. I can't take too much longer. Acts 12. Acts chapter 12. This is wonderful. I love this portion. It's so good. You have the martyrdom of James, the brother of John. Here at verse 3, because he sought to please the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. So he apprehends him, he delivers him. Let's read it. Verse 4, and when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison. Right, so he's imprisoned. They've thrown everything they can to imprison him, keep him bound, but But, again, they appealed to a higher court. They went again to their mind, no, no, no, not a higher earthly court, but the courts of heaven. But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. This is collective. It's not that they all said, well, we'll all go home and write little letters, and we'll all do our own individual thing. And, you know, what did they do? Corporately, they came together, they prayed. They prayed. Why is it we don't do this? What has to happen before we wake up and realize that if we don't do this, we'll never have what it is we say is important to maintain in this nation and beyond. We will never possess the things that are of value to us, that we say are of value to us. Go down to verse 12 as well. So he gets out. Miracle happens. And when he considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. The details given are wonderful, because they're praying even though they don't, well at least some of them, don't really believe that God can answer in the way that He already has. They're there praying because at least, at least they had, here's the thing, at least they had the wit to know to pray, even if they had their doubts. Even if they're there praying one thing and thinking another. They're praying release Peter, but they're thinking his future's going to be the same as James. That's the way it's going to be. Oh, He condescends to the lowly, doesn't He? The Lord condescends, even when our prayers at times are in conflict with our hearts. He knows the desire of the soul. Chapter 13, yes, God's work. What does God's work need when we're thinking about labors and we need men to go to certain places? Is it all purely strategic? Are we to sit down and think? And look, there's a certain place for strategy. Don't get me wrong. There's a place for planning. There is. But planning without prayer is almost blasphemous. It's like, we know what to do, Lord. We've got this. So you have the leaders of the church in Antioch, chapter 13, and they're wanting to reach the world. God's already put His hand upon certain individuals for that task, but either some are not aware of it or they're struggling with it. They're struggling with sending Saul away because he's the cream of the crop. As he ministered to the Lord and fasted. The Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work we're on to I've called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, I laid their hands on them, they sent them away. I don't, I think we can read over this and imagine it may have been a 10 minute prayer. I doubt it. I doubt it because then the fasting, what significance does the fasting have if it's 10 minutes? They're waiting on God. They are waiting on God for direction. And so they pray. Are you getting it? Am I, as W.P. Nicholson spoke about, about rubbing it in. I'm trying to rub it in. Sometimes I have this one, people in my congregation, they get to put up with me every Lord's Day, so I can come back to something. But I may not ever stand before you again, and I'm trying to rub something in so that you go away thinking, yes, yes, I must, by the grace of God, have more corporate prayer. I must seek the Lord with others. Chapter 14, verse 23. Oh, wasn't it amazing what happened in the first century? Yes. Why? They prayed. First missionary journey has taken place. On their return journey, they try to put leaders, they attempt to put leaders in those churches. So verse 23 says, when they ordained them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they believed. So they're teaching them the importance of extended seasons of gathered prayer. Chapter 16, verse 13, I'll let this be the last one. They're in Philippi, ministering there. Paul has been called. He heads, well, you see from verse 13, we were told this morning they always went to a synagogue, but there wasn't a synagogue in Philippi. So, verse 13 says, on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made. We sat down and spake unto the woman which resorted thither. The word want, translated or accustomed, it has a sense of this was their thing. This was like an appointment. It was the law or custom for them to do this. So again, these women, these women, yes. When there weren't men there, even the women understood, we need an appointment for prayer. We need to beg God for a synagogue right here. They were gathered basically praying for the very thing that Saul was about to bring. The word of God into their city. And then Paul comes and he said, well, there's no synagogue here, let's go by the river where, as they did when they were in captivity, by the river of Babylon, they would sit down and weep and there remember, well, that's what the women are doing. They're by the river lamenting that there's no word for their souls, no spiritual leadership in their place. So they go and they pray. But they pray at scheduled appointed seasons. Okay, so do we get it? Do we understand? It wasn't just the practice of our Lord Jesus, it was the practice of His disciples and those who were taught by them. It was their habit, their pattern. So why is it not the pattern in our churches? It ought to be. Hasn't it been the remark of many in other places in the world? They come to America and they look and they're amazed at how much can be done without the Holy Spirit. Because they discern that the philosophy of the American church is pragmatism. We can do it. And we can do it with or without God. And we've gotten into a mode of working where we are, yeah, we can do this without God. We just bring all our business knowledge, all our advertising, proficiency and ability, we just do all of that. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with publishing books and whatever, doing nothing wrong with trying to get kind of the, something for the wind to get behind, but to do it without prayer? I don't, I don't, it doesn't resonate with me, I just don't get it. Which brings me finally, the pursuit of Satan teaches us to have corporate prayer meetings. He hates, Satan hates corporate gathering of the saints. He hates, especially when they come to pray. The very passage we read in John 18, Judas, into whom Satan has already entered, He comes at the point where he knows he's going to be praying. And if he had his way, if it was not from the omniscience of Christ, who knew he was on his way, he would have interrupted the prayer meeting. He would have interrupted the season of prayer, but we read of it. Christ knew, and he got up and he met him. This is Satan's purpose. His purpose is to interrupt, do damage. the kingdom of Christ by hindering places of prayer. Acts 16 is the same. I mean, you have it right here with the damsel. It's before me. When they're going, verse 16 of Acts 16, you can read it, it came to pass as we went to prayer A certain damsel possessed with the spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us in cries saying, these men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. And again, I'm making the assumption that this is every time they go to prayer. Every time they go to prayer, she's there. She is there to try and hinder and interrupt. So finally, We're told Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. But we're trying to interrupt going to prayer. There is a need here. I fear, I fear it will fall on too many deaf ears. I fear that you will think to yourself, well, I can't do anything about it. You can. You can. There's such a need for our churches to be houses of prayer for all nations. I need to close. So I was musing on all that is going on and thinking about this. I received a publication, a letter, as you do at this time of the year. You've bought a book from somewhere, then they send you a letter in December. Remember us when you're giving end of year donations? I read the letter. And it's coming from this slant of looking at the darkness of America and the problems that are going on, and of course, they're part of the answer to it all, and what they're trying to do, disseminating truth, and I understand them. But in the four pages of what they put before me, not one mention of prayer. Like, not even a passing reference. It's not even in the psyche of Christian leaders. Intensifying conservative values without prayer is a tower of Babel that God works against. It is. Godly dominion begins, continues, and ends with prayer because God's blessing demands man's dependence. God's plan is for victory for the church. Through Christ she will do valiantly. I believe it. I do. I really do. Oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you for the grace of believing in your power. I do. I thank Him for the measure of it. What a mercy. Yes. Have mercy on the pessimists. Yes. If you're a pessimist here today, God help you. God help you. But, but, yes, Christ will, using his church, extend his kingdom, but the war rooms for prayer must be erected and sustained. They must. Judas, as far as we know, missed one prayer meeting in comparison to what all the other disciples experienced. He missed one, and he missed it to betray Christ. I wonder if there isn't a certain amount of betrayal when we think lightly of gathered prayer. So what can you do? Pastors, talk to your elders, have prayer meetings. I'm not against small groups. I am against them when they replace corporate prayer. Set appointments, prayer meetings before your services. I know it can be a time of fellowship, the people come, they mingle, they talk, but oh, oh, I have no problem with that, but I long that all the people that are there catching up before the corporate worship, that they would gravitate to our pre-service prayer meeting. And pray for the, I mean, do they understand the weakness of their preacher? I can't bless them. Go in there, seek the Lord for His blessing. You can establish prayer times before you preach. You can establish prayer meetings through the week. You can establish Friday night prayer meetings, Saturday morning prayer meetings. You can establish days of prayer. Whatever, whatever. Start small. Right? Just don't try to run a marathon if you haven't run for the last three years. That's not going to end well. If you step out there and say, honey, I'm about to run 26 miles. I'll see you in 26 seconds. You'll be back huffing and puffing. So let's take it gently. But I am serious, pastors. I'm serious. Get before the Lord and pray. And you people in your churches, encourage, encourage gently. Be gently, be gentle, and encourage your leadership in this area. And if to no avail, gather people in your home. Get them in there, not to have a Bible study, not to start up a new church plant or whatever, but gather people around. I think of the older men who, one came alongside me one time and said, hey, would you like to come to a Monday night prayer meeting? And there were four men from four different churches all gathering there every other week to pray. And they pulled in this young man who was 15, 20 years younger than them to come along and to pray with them on Monday evenings in their homes. There's no excuse, as we heard already. Let's pray. One last time, you have it in your power to start a prayer meeting. Earlier this year I received an email from a college-aged girl who had started a prayer meeting because of a sermon she had heard me preach. and it has multiplied and touched the lives of others. There's no reason why God won't use you to do the same. Lord, not only teach us to pray, teach us to pray together. Make our churches the place where the battle is begun and won, where we have a true sense of thy people of old, some trust in chariots, some trust in horses. We remember the name of the Lord our God. Do something here, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.