He said, David, I feel so far away from God. I feel it's no wonder he felt so far away from God. He is far away from God. Do you understand that? Say amen if you do. I'm not trying to be judgmental. I get far away from God. My sin separates me from God as far as a relationship. But my point is this. You cannot live in adultery. You cannot live in idolatry. You cannot live in rebellion against a holy God and then feel close to him. Doesn't work that way. Sin against a brother or a sister, if there's bitterness, if there's resentment, if there's anger or hatred in your heart towards anybody on the face of the earth, that is enough of a barrier to come between you and God. Deal with it. Confess it. When you do, you'll feel that cleansing, that cleansing presence from God and God will wash you and you'll feel close to God again, but not until you make it right. Sin against a brother or sister. Sin against your wife. 1 Peter 3, 7. Look at it. You husbands give honor unto the wife. That your prayers be not hindered. Listen, you're the bride of Christ. God says, I'm going to deal with you like you deal with your bride, fellas. You're kind to your bride, I'll be kind to you, you're sweet to your bride, I'll be sweet to you. You show honor to your bride, I'll show honor to you. If you're not concerned about her needs, I'm not going to be concerned about your needs. That's what God's saying. You see, fellas, your wife is under your authority, the Bible says. God pity some of you women. Your wife is under your authority and in the eyes of God, you're responsible for her. And God looks at the way you and I treat our wives and God says, hey, she can't do anything about it. She's been taught to be a submissive wife and to be a good Christian wife, and so she just takes it. But you keep mistreating her. And now you expect me to care about you and answer your prayers and do you favors when you treat your wife the way you do? Listen, there's no excuse for a man to ever call his wife a name or to ever yell at his wife. There is no excuse for that, fellas. We must repent of that sin. We must. We must. It is no wonder we get on our knees and heaven is like brass. Sin forms a barrier. The sin of prayerlessness, look at it. First Thessalonians 5, we're always to be in the spirit of prayer. It is true that God never leaves us, but it's likewise true that sometimes we leave God. The Bible says pray without ceasing, but often we cease to pray. Listen, the average Christian man in America makes time for Monday night football, but he doesn't have time for Tuesday morning prayer. There's something wrong there. And I'm as guilty as anybody, but there's something wrong when week after week after week, we've got time for everything we want to do, but we don't have time to pray. There's something wrong there. That prayerlessness is a sin and it forms a barrier between us and God. There's the sin of selfishness, James 4, 3, you ask, but you don't receive because you ask amiss. That means you ask with the wrong motive for the wrong purpose. Your motives are not pure. Lord, let me have that promotion. Just think of all I can do for you. Not to mention all I can do for me. I don't know that it's wrong to pray for a promotion. I don't think it is wrong. But I know it's wrong to pray for a promotion for the wrong reason. I don't think it's wrong to pray for nice things. Some of the greatest people that ever lived in the Bible had nice things. Nothing wrong with having nice things. I thank God for every nice thing I've got. But it's wrong to pray for nice things for the wrong reason. I'm saying sin hinders our prayers. Look at 1 Peter 3. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. It's pretty clear, isn't it? God says, I'm all ears. But when you live a life of evil, I turn my face against you. I will not listen. Tonight we need to pray, search me, O God, and know my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me and cleanse me. Finally tonight, just a practical point and I'm done. When's the best time and where's the best place to pray? Turn in your Bible to 1 Timothy 2, verse 8. When is the best time and where is the best place to pray? 1 Timothy 2, verse 8. I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath, that is, without quarreling, without dissension with others, without doubting, without unbelief. God said, I will that men pray everywhere. Lifting up holy hands without quarreling, without doubting. I've had two or three people ask me recently, Pastor, is it permissible to raise our hands in church? Sure, you can raise your hands in church. I just assume you're not swinging from the light fixtures, they may not hold. Sure, you can raise your hands in church. The Bible tells us it's fine to do that. You feel led of the Lord to lift your hands to Him, you lift them. You say, what if somebody gets upset? But notice the verse says, I would that men pray everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere you are would include all the time. Because wherever you are, there's a time involved, so everywhere would also mean all the time. So when's the best time to pray? Anytime, all the time. Where's the best place to pray? Anywhere, everywhere. There's not a bad time to pray. There's not a bad place to pray. But practically speaking, I have found in my own life that the best time to pray is in the morning early. And the best place to pray is alone. My example, and that is Jesus Christ, turn in your Bibles now to Mark, chapter one very quickly. Mark, chapter one, verse. Thirty five. The Bible says in Mark 1 verse 35, And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed. Notice he got up before daylight, early in the morning, and he went to a very quiet place where it was only him and God, and there he prayed. That's the example of Jesus. You want to see something really precious? And Gary, I appreciate you sharing this with me the other day. Look back at verse 32. There in Capernaum, when the sun went down, it's nighttime. They, the city, brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. It was a city of thousands of people. And he healed many that were sick of divers' diseases, and cast out many devils, and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. Now watch. Oh, this is so precious. The sun's gone down. It's dark. There's a knock on the door and Peter says, I'll get it, Lord. Peter opens the door and his mouth falls open, he can't believe what he sees, the whole city's gathered outside the door. Thousands of people. And everybody that's got a sick loved one or a demon possessed friend, they brought them to Jesus. And the Bible says Jesus begins to heal them. And I don't know how long he worked, but it must have been a long time because there were thousands of people there. I don't know if he healed 10 or if he healed 10,000, but he healed those that were sick and those that were possessed with demons. I can only imagine that by the time he got through as a man in his humanity, he must have been drained. Did he work till 10 o'clock that night? Did he work till midnight? Who knows? But look at verse 35. Early, early in the morning, rising up a great while before day. He went out and he prayed. Now watch. If there was ever a time when a man deserved to sleep in. It was Jesus that night, that day. He administered and given and given and given and given and given. You know what he did? Before the sun even came up, and remember, they didn't have alarm clocks. I imagine his heart was just burdened. He wakes up. And he slips out, finds a lonely place where there's no crowds where he can pray. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. They woke up later and realized he wasn't there. They went looking for him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. What are you doing out here alone? Hey, you're, you know, you're famous back in town. But in that time of prayer, he had found God's will, and so he said, Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out demons. He poured himself out to people. He's drained. He goes right back to the father in prayer. He recharges that battery. Then he turns right around and he ministers again. Do you see it? He gives of himself. He goes to God for power. He gives of himself again. You know what often happens in our lives as Christians? We become weary and well doing. We give, and we give, and we give, and we serve, and we work, and we come to services, and we practice, and we run bus routes, and we witness, and we give of our income, and we work with the little children, and we work, and work, and work, and serve, and serve, and serve, and minister, and minister, and minister. And our whole battery runs down. You've only got so much juice in that thing. And we run down. And you know what happens? If we don't learn to go to the divine power source and get that battery recharged, the day comes when we just run out of gas. And we can't do anymore. I hesitated whether I should share what I'm getting ready to share with you or not I really don't want any pity parties, I really don't. My wife can pity me, but nobody else. And I don't want to be overly dramatic, but there have been times in my life as a pastor, you fellas that have pastored before, you know what I'm talking about. Man, you can get drained. I don't think the average person understands what a minister faces in his life. Chris Eller over here has been working on the staff in the office for a few months. And Chris, you'll vouch for it. It's nothing probably like you thought I would imagine. You face a lot, don't you? Sometimes you go home and you just feel like you've been you've been chewed up and spit out. And then walked on top of. Our associate pastors here in the church, they'll tell you that. Every one of them, none of them would complain, but Rob, you would agree with what I'm saying. Sometimes it's just hard. And I'm not looking for any pity, but I'm just sharing my heart with you. It's hard. You fellows who have pastored before and for whatever reason you've gotten into a secular line of work, you guys know what I'm talking about. It's hard. And not too long ago, I found myself just drained. I mean, in the last few weeks. I found myself just drained. I found myself getting sharp with people that before I literally cried for. And I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I had, I mean, I literally considered resigning this church as your pastor. And in the eight years I've been here, that thought had never even entered my mind. I just bought a house. We're not even moved into it yet. That thought entered my mind and I mean, it lodged there. I got to thinking, man, Atlanta looking pretty good to me. And I kept it all inside and one night I was laying in bed and I just started talking to my wife and I started telling her, sharing with her some of my frustrations. And I don't know how long we talked, I know it had to be at least till one o'clock in the morning. And finally, she just looked at me, she said, David, you need to go talk to a counselor. You know how we men are, we never need a counselor. Right, fellas? Counselors are for women. Amen, fellas? We never need counselors. And I will confess that there's probably been many times in my life when I needed a counselor, I will admit that. I probably need one tonight. But I said to my wife, my wife has been right, ninety nine point ninety nine percent of the times in our marriage. But I said, sweetie, I don't need to talk to a counselor. I need to talk to God. For you see, look at your next verse. They that wait upon the Lord shall what? You tell me. Renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Then I got a hold of this book. written by some wild-eyed charismatic. The title of it was, Could You Not Tarry One Hour? Man, every page I read was like God was saying to me, David, you are frustrated and David, you are just about worn out. You have been through the mill. But David, all you need is to spend some time with your father. I told my wife, I'm going to start moving that alarm clock back a little bit and getting up a little earlier. You know what I found out? I found out that pastors still get chewed on and spit out and stomped on top of. But you know what I've discovered? I can just go home and everything's fine. Circumstances haven't changed. But there's strength. And there's joy. And there's an attitude of God, I may not can please everybody, but I can sure try to please you. And Lord, today, every decision I made to the best of my ability, I sought to honor you. And I know you're pleased with me. And there's that strength. Say amen if you know what I'm talking about. They that wait upon the Lord. Shall renew their strength. They say, Pastor, what if I don't feel like praying? Think about it a second, think about that question. If you don't feel like praying, what does that mean? That's all the more reason to pray. Why would a child of God not feel like talking to his heavenly father? That certainly is not an indication of spiritual maturity or being right with God. The very fact that we don't feel like praying is all the more reason that we need to pray. It reveals a cold heart. It reveals a problem within. If I don't feel like talking to my wife, there's a problem between us. If I don't want to talk to you, there's a problem between me and you. And if I don't want to talk to God, there's a problem between me and God. That's all the more reason to pray. And finally, if I don't pray, what happens? Look at your Scripture sheet, John 16. If you don't pray, your life is going to be lacking joy. Do you see it? It's a wonderful verse on prayer. Jesus said, Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full. You know, one of the greatest joys in all the world is to go into the presence of God and talk to God and have God actually hear what you ask and have Him give you what you ask for. That just thrills you because you realize He was listening, He heard you, and He really cares about you. And I said this to our prayer meeting group last Sunday night. To me, the greatest thing about answered prayer is not that you get what you ask for, but it's the proof that God was listening to you and God actually heard you and God did what you asked. It's not that you get what you wanted, but that you've got a Father that you know He was listening and you know He heard. That just thrills me and it fills my heart with joy. I tell the Lord all the time, Lord, I wish you'd answer this prayer, not so I can have what I'm asking for, but just as a reminder to me that we're still connected. That you're listening, that you're hearing me. That fills my heart with joy. So if we do not pray, we lack joy. Number two, we'll find ourselves yielding to sin, to temptation. Look at your last verse. Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. I could write a book on that. When I pray, I stand strong and I stand firm. When I don't pray, temptation comes and I yield. I fall. I fall flat on my face. I'm saying if we do not pray, we will yield to temptation. Your marriage is not going to improve. Your relationship with mom and dad is not going to improve. Those sins that so easily beset you and I, we're not going to be able to lit them any better unless we learn to go to God in prayer. We will yield to temptation if we don't. And finally, if you do not pray, you grow away from God, you grow distant from your father, you do not lose your salvation, but you do lose your fellowship. You lose the joy of your salvation. Now, listen to me and I'm done, it's late. Congregation, listen to me, church friends, listen to me, face the facts. If you and I do not. Get serious about this matter of prayer, I mean, dead serious. Then we will be no further along in our relationship to God a year from now than we are right now. Do you understand that? Where you are is where you will be. Unless you really get serious about this matter of prayer. If you're content with where you're at spiritually, then keep doing what you're doing. But if your desire, if your goal is to grow and to mature, then you have got to get serious about this matter of true communion with the Father. So I want to ask you a question tonight. Will it be business as usual? When we walk out of this place tonight and say, well, he preached another sermon on prayer, are we going to do something about it? I want you to answer a question tonight from the bottom of your heart and answer it honestly. Can you not, Terry, one hour? Be honest. Can you spend one hour in prayer with God? Be honest. Oh, that verse convicts me. Tonight, I want us to pray, God, plant a desire in my heart to make prayer a priority. To transform my prayer life from a duty to a delight. Help me to be disciplined to where I can. Become a mighty warrior of prayer. Let's stand together, please. Their heads bowed and our eyes closed. Every head bowed, every eye closed, please. I don't want us to sing Sweet Hour prayer. I want us to not sing about it, but practice it. I want us to pray. Tonight we had a prayer meeting here in our auditorium, and I want to thank those of you who were able to come. Some of you were in choir and other things, but I want to thank my four deacons that came. I want to thank the others of you that were able to come and just get on your knees and pray. Our church needs prayer. And I know that with our schedules, we can't make every prayer meeting. I understand that. I really do. But I'm asking you to get alone this week. Just you and God. Get alone. Sometime early in the morning, late at night. Just get alone. And tarry. Spend that hour with God. Would you do it? I'm not talking about 60 minutes to the second, but I'm talking about just spending some time with your Father. Who would say tonight, Pastor Dave, I likewise like you sometimes feel weary and well-doing and feel a little drained, and I realize that I need to go to my Father for strength and for renewal. Who would say that tonight? Would you lift up your hands? See, we're just about all there, aren't we, folks? I don't think we have to burn out. I don't think we have to wear out. I think we can go to God and get all the strength we need. Is there anyone here tonight that needs to be saved or baptized or join the church? Some other public decision? If so, would you just slip out of your seats right now and come? Anybody at all? That's the night you want to be baptized. This is the night you'd like to join the church, accept Christ. Father in Heaven, I pray that You would get a hold of my heart. I don't want to just preach about prayer. I want to pray. God, as I've already said to you once today, if you will open my eyes to any sin in my life, I will confess it. Lord, I've got in my mind that we've got some members of our body that have got sin in their lives and we need to get it confessed. God, please purify this church. In Thy name we pray. Amen. Before I let you go tonight, the Faith Aflame Singles are going to Steve Berger's house, and you can see Bob Hill in the back of the auditorium for directions.