sharing with us again this week and I thought I'd say a few words that reflect what I said in my devotional this past week but I think it needs to be said again and I think we're all Just amazed at what's been happening in our country, all saddened by the rioting that's been going on. But more than that, let's go back to the incident that started it all off. If you were like me, you were sickened by the video that showed a police officer in Minneapolis putting his knee on the neck of George Floyd. And I was sickened by that, that ultimately led to his killing. And we know that officer has been arrested and three others that were involved in that situation. And I would just ask that we as a church would pray for our country. that we would pray that this country would be healed from the sin of racism and injustice. I think all of us hate the sin of racism. I know I do. I hate the sin of racism. I hate the sin of injustice. And I believe we're obligated as Christians that anytime we see that sin, whether it's against an African American or anyone, that we as Christians will take a stand. But take a stand for justice and love. You know, the word of God is so clear. All of us are brothers and sisters in this world in that we were created by God. We all have descended from Adam and Eve. There's really one human race with a beautiful variety that God created. We're all created in the image of God. And if our world would just accept that amazing message that's right in the Word of God, our world would be so much better off. Where Paul said, there's no difference between Jew and Gentile, Scythian, slave and free, but we are all one in Christ. I love the life of Martin Luther King Jr. in our country, Christian pastor. who was determined to confront the sin of racism and injustice. And what made him so loved by our country was that no matter how much hatred and violence was directed toward him, he didn't respond with violence and hatred. And I think that's what burdens my heart so much today. I would ask that all of us as Christians would respond in the way that Jesus told us to respond. He said this in Matthew 5, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. There's a powerful passage in Romans chapter 12. It says this, bless those who persecute you. Bless them and do not curse them. Then it goes on and says this in verse 17. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Then it says this in verse 19. Beloved, never avenge yourselves. Our path as Christians is clear. That if someone wrongs us, we're never to take vengeance ourselves. but we're to leave it with the Lord. It says, leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And the principle here is this, God is a much better justice maker than I am. I'm to leave it with him. And at the end of this passage in Romans 12, verse 21, it says this, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let's not be overcome by evil. Let's not respond to the evil of racism with more evil and hatred and violence. I'm all for peaceful protesting. Peaceful protesting is a wonderful tool in our country that can help us identify where change needs to happen. So as Christians today, let's be sure to stand up against any injustice, any racism in our country to make sure that none of that is in our lives, but that the love of Christ would dominate our lives and that we would break the cycle of hate and violence and do what Jesus clearly told us to do, to never avenge ourselves. to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us. Why? Because if we don't, the cycle of hate just keeps going. It just keeps going. So Riverview Church, before I get into Acts chapter 12, let's pray together, commit our country to the Lord, pray for the African American community, the family of George Floyd, and ask that God would heal our land. Let's pray together. Lord, I think we're all broken in our hearts by what we see in our country. And Lord, I do lift up the family of George Floyd, who was the victim of racism and injustice, Lord. But I pray God that this would not lead to more hatred and racism and injustice. Lord, I pray that there would be a healing in our land. Help us, Lord, to do what your word says, to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. And Lord, this may be a wonderful time for us to listen to our African American brothers and sisters and the hurt that they are feeling. And to make changes in our land. But Lord, that your love would dominate our country, that forgiveness would heal our land, and that we would stand up against any form of racism and injustice, Lord. We need your power today, Lord. We need your spirit to begin a revival in our country. And we pray this in Jesus' precious name. Amen, amen. By the way, I want to thank all the police officers out there who are protecting us every day. 99% of them are wonderful. They do their job faithfully. We have a number of them in our church. Thank you, police officers, for protecting us and putting your life on the line every day. Well, we're going to open up the Word of God and look at Acts chapter 12. We are in a series entitled, Unstoppable. All about the birth and growth of the New Testament church. How God selected the church and is using the church to change the world. And you're a part of that. Church is not a building, as we all know. The church is people. And last week we talked about the beauty of encouragement. Barnabas, this leader in the early church, who loved to encourage a quality that we need to have in our lives. Are you encouraging people around you today? Are you encouraging them? And that doesn't always mean that you say something that isn't corrective. Sometimes we need correction as a form of loving encouragement. But that your life would be dominated like Barnabas's was. Dominated by encouragement to others. So needed in the church. So needed in our country today. Today I want to talk about this. The power of prayer. And so fitting. So fitting for a response that we need to have in regards to what we're seeing in our country today. That we as a church need to pray. We need to pray and see God work in powerful ways. That's exactly what the early church did. The bottom line is this. Prayer is central to a real walk of faith. Prayer puts into action the belief that God exists. If you believe in God today, and I trust that all of you do, If you believe in God that knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and believes that you are worth much more than these, which you are, then we need to pray. First and foremost, because God told us to. Right there, that should be enough. That prayer is a act of faith, believing that God exists, that He hears our prayers, and that circumstances and people change as a result of faithful prayer. I'd like you to open your Bibles to Acts chapter 12. Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 12. We talked about Barnabas encouraging the church in Antioch. But Herod the King, he was really like a governor under Rome's control, but he was known as Herod the King. What he did in chapter 12 was this, let me read verse one. At that time, Herod the King laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. Violence was continuing against believers. Talk about injustice. He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. So the first apostle, the apostle James, was killed by Herod. That was a sobering act to the church. It must have sent shivers inside the church to the people that were believers in Christ. Are we next? Is Herod gonna kill us next? And when he saw that killing James pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. So now Peter's arrested. This was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. And when he sees Peter, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him. And Peter had four squads of soldiers watching him. intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people, probably to put him to death, just like he did James, because that pleased the Jews. They liked the fact that James was put to death. But here's the key, but earnest prayer for Peter was made to God by the church. I love the priority of prayer that we see in the text here. That really is the first lesson. Prioritize prayer in facing the unexpected challenges of life. The church was facing a challenge. Right? James had just been killed. Peter, their beloved leader, was now arrested, probably facing death. Four squads of soldiers watching him. What was their first response? Was to pray. They prayed. And I believe that's a great challenge for us as believers, not only in the church, but in our country. When we see all the unrest that's going on, breaks our heart, we need to be praying. I hope all of you are praying. You believe God exists. You believe prayer changes things. And so we are praying about this. We're praying for change. We're praying for healing. Just like the word of God says, if we humble ourselves, and seek God's face and turn from our wicked ways and pray. God can heal our land. And what I love here about the early church is they prioritize prayer. They're seeking God. They probably thought to themselves, God, why did you allow James to be killed? And sometimes God allows things like that to happen. But now Peter was in prison. and they were praying for a miracle. They were prioritizing prayer in the early church. Great lesson for us as we seek to live out our faith in Christ. See, Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer, this was like fervent prayer was made for him. Let's jump down to verse 10. What happens is amazing. while Peter's in prison, the day before Herod's gonna bring him out. In fact, let me read up a little bit. Verse seven, it says this, and behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to Peter in prison, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, get up quickly. And the chains fell off his hands. Just a reminder to Peter that God is more powerful than any set of chains that might be binding him. Get up quickly, the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, dress yourself, put on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to Peter, wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real. He thought he was seeing a vision. He thought he was dreaming. Chains falling off his hands, walking out of prison, past the soldiers that were guarding him. When they passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them on its own accord as the angel approaches the iron gate. It just opens in front of them. Isn't that powerful? God is just demonstrating to Peter how powerful he is. When they passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate, it opened on its own accord. They went out and went along one street and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I'm sure that the Lord has sent an angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. What he was referring to is his own death. They were expecting Peter to be killed. But the power of prayer changed things. Now right away from the text, we know that the prayers that are given may not always lead to a result that we are pleased with, right? I'm sure the church was not pleased with the killing of James, but God wanted to demonstrate to the church in this powerful object lesson that he was more powerful than any earthly leader, than any earthly power, than any earthly prison, than any chains that were binding Peter. God is more powerful than all of those things. But it reminds us of our need to pray and the priority of prayer. And I'm not sure what the challenges are that you're facing in your life, but are you prioritizing prayer in your personal life? Are you prioritizing prayer in your family? Sometimes prayer is the last resort. We'll run off to the doctor, which we should if our kids are sick. We'll try to do all that we can in our human strength and power to solve whatever problem is in our family. And then if it's not solved and things are totally out of control, then we pray. Moms, dads, husbands, wives today, parents, We should always prioritize prayer in our family. Our children should know, and we should know this about ourselves, that our first response is to pray. If we're facing a challenge in our lives, in our families, in relationships, that our first response is to pray, to commit it to the Lord. Not a last resort, but to pray. I define prayer as this, communication with God, fueled by faith. You're believing God exists. You're believing that God is involved in this world. You're believing that prayer can change things. It's fueled by faith. And our prayers involve adoration. Part of praying is just adoring the Lord for who He is and recognizing God for who He is. Confession. to bring whatever sin is in our life that doesn't match the reality of Jesus within us. We're to follow Christ. And if there's a sin in our lives, the Holy Spirit will convict us. We're to confess it, agree with God. See, the word confession in the New Testament is the Greek word homologeo. Hamo meaning the same, logeia meaning to say. When we confess something, we say the same thing about that act that God says about it. God, just like your word says, that was sin in my life. I'll confess it. I agree with you. I say the same thing that you do. Then to have hearts of gratitude. Again and again in scripture we see the command to pray with gratitude, with thankfulness in our hearts, not to come to God complaining and griping. And sometimes we all feel it in our spirit, don't we? We all have moments when we feel like complaining and griping because life isn't going our way. But the word of God tells us we're to come to the Lord with gratitude. Lord, yeah, there are things in my life that I don't like. There are situations that I'm facing that are a challenge. But Lord, I'm grateful that I have you in my life. I'm grateful that I can turn to you in prayer. I'm grateful that I am communicating with a God who has the power to change things. And beyond gratitude, of course, are requests. And the early church was praying, oh Lord, get Peter out of prison. Save Peter's life. That's a wonderful, by the way, guide for our prayers, what I've just shared with you. My wife likes these three words. She uses this as a guide. Thank you, sorry, please. God, thank you and sorry about the sin in my life. I homologueo it. I say the same thing about it that you do. I confess it. And Lord, please do these things. Now, as you know, every prayer is answered, amen? Every prayer is answered. It may not be the answer that we like. I can share story after story of prayers that I was praying that were not answered the way I wanted them to be answered. One of my best friends in Chicago that I would meet with once a week, we'd open the Word together and just study the Word together on Wednesday afternoons. We were gonna have a Super Bowl party at the church, and he didn't show up for some reason, even though he told me he was coming. When I tried to locate him, where he was, I found out that he was in the hospital, diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. And thousands of people prayed for my friend Cuz, that was his nickname, prayed for Cuz to be healed. And throughout it all, he was an amazing witness of faith in Christ. But for whatever reason, he was not healed. And at that point, we need to submit to the will of God, and realize God, for whatever reason, Cuz wasn't healed, even though there were thousands of people praying for him. There was a higher purpose that you had in all of this, and to trust God in those moments. It's hard, it's difficult. to lose a very best friend. The lesson is to trust God and to realize that cuz is enjoying the presence of the Lord forever and ever in a much better place than we are. But in that prayer, God answered that prayer. He said, no, I'm not gonna heal cuz. Another prayer, of course, is the prayer that we're requesting things and we get the answer, yes. God does what we ask him to do. Another answer to our prayers is to wait. Maybe not now, but later. There have been a number of times in my life that I'm so glad God waited to answer my prayer. And I'm sure you have moments like that too. But every prayer is answered, my friends. Every prayer is answered. Yes, no, or wait. And we as believers in Christ need to have faith in God that we will trust him. I'm sure the church was rattled by the murder of James, rattled by the murder of Stephen earlier, and they were praying that Peter's life would be spared. And we see in Acts chapter 12, verse 12, When he realized he was out of prison, that he wasn't dreaming, what does it say? He went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose name was Mark. Remember John Mark? I talked about him when I talked about encouragement last week. She's the mother of Mark that writes one of the gospels. Peter goes to her house, and sure enough, that's where they were gathered together and were praying. The priority of prayer. The priority of prayer. See, our God loves it when we invite him into the process. Our God loves it when we prioritize prayer, when we face challenges in our lives. I'm reminded of the story of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great, as you know, was not known as Alexander the Average. He wasn't known as Alexander the Mediocre. He was that great Greek leader known as Alexander the Great. And the story is told of Alexander that at times, he would have people come and stand before him in his courtroom, in his throne room, with other leaders standing around him. And they would make requests of Alexander the Great. And time after time, his leaders would see Alexander the Great deny most of the requests. Alexander the Great, could I have five acres of land and five sheep for my family? My father worked in the palace here for many years, would you grant that? And time after time, Alexander would say no, not granted. Time after time. He was known for not granting requests. But one day there was a man that came in and stood before Alexander the Great and said this to Alexander the Great, Alexander the Great, I'm asking you as the powerful king of the Greek Empire for 5,000 acres of land, for 5,000 cattle, 5,000 sheep and 5,000 goats. And the leader standing around Alexander the Great thought Alexander the Great would have that man executed, killed for his lack of respect and his incredibly bold request. But to everyone's surprise, Alexander the Great turned to the man and said, request granted. And as he left the throne room, one of his leaders asked Alexander the Great, why did you grant that request and deny so many others that was so much smaller? Alexander the Great's answer is powerful. He said, that man who stood before me believed that I was the only person on this earth who could grant such a powerful and bold request, and I wanted to prove him right. I wanted to prove him right. And I often think about that story as an example of the heart of our God, that we would come before him asking bold requests. And I believe the church was asking a bold request of the Lord that day, release Peter from prison, even though there are four guards, four sets of guards watching him. And here's how the story goes, verse 13 and 14 says this, and when Peter knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda, came to the door and answered it. Recognizing Peter's voice in her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. She was so overjoyed that she heard the voice of Peter behind the gate and left him standing there. Ran back in to the prayer meeting and told them that Peter was standing at the gate. Peter was standing at the gate. See, the prayer was answered that day in the way they wanted it to be answered. The prayer was answered. And I'm reminded of these words by W. Graham Scroggie, world-renowned Christian author who wrote this, pray when you feel like it, pray when you don't feel like it, pray until you do feel like it. I'm sure the church must have been struggling in prayer that night when Peter was released, but they kept praying. They prioritized prayer. James says this, is anyone among you suffering, let him pray. Is anyone cheerful, let him sing praise, which to me is a form of praying, lifting your heart in communication to God, thanking him. for the blessings in your life. See, wherever you are at in the continuum, whether you're suffering or cheerful, the Bible tells us to pray. Philippians 4, 6, a powerful verse. Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, there it is, let your requests be made known to God. Don't be anxious about anything. Our culture is so caught up in anxiety today. anxious about so many things. But we're not to be anxious because we serve a living God. We're to pray. We're to pray. And there are times when you don't feel like it, but we're to pray anyway. And you keep praying until you do feel like it, because you're seeing requests answered. Maybe not every one the way you want to see them answered, but you see God at work. The principle really is this. Pray at all times, in all circumstances. Pray at all times. 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. Pray without ceasing. What does that mean? It doesn't mean you walk around the day, the activities of your day with your eyes closed and your hands folded, praying. What it means is this. You're in an attitude of connection with God. You're not just thinking to yourself, but you're thinking to God. It's an attitude of prayer. God, I'm going into this business meeting today. Lord, help me. Instead of entering the workplace and saying, oh man, I got this meeting today. I hope it goes well. Man, I hope I do my presentation well. I hope the people there accept my idea. No, an attitude of prayer would be, Lord, I'm going into this meeting today. Guys, I'm walking into this meeting. May I find favor with the people inside. May they be accepting of my idea. See the difference? That's a wonderful step of maturity in the life of a Christian who can be in an attitude of prayer all day, praying in all circumstances, connecting with God, not just talking internally to yourself, but lifting your heart to God throughout the day. When you're driving your car, lifting your heart to God in an attitude of prayer. Constant communication with the God who is alive. See, what we need in our lives, we need a life connect, right? So often there's a life disconnect. This is what I believe. I believe there's a God who's alive. I believe he knows the hairs on my head, but somehow this life disconnect happens where we don't act in response to that. If there is a God that is alive, if he knows my circumstances, if he knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and I'm truly worth much more than these, then the life connect should be, I need to respond in prayer. First and foremost, because the word of God tells us to pray. That's all I really need to know. I might not understand the mystery of prayer, but I do understand this, God tells me to pray in all circumstances. to lift my heart to God. And I love the priority of prayer that we see in the early church. And here's the second thing that I want to challenge you with. Pray with an expectant heart. Rhoda's so excited that Peter's at the door, she can hear his voice on the other side of the gate. And she runs back in and tells everyone, Peter is out of prison, just like we were praying. But this is what the text says. It's kind of a comical moment in scripture. These people were praying, seeking God, believing that our God is almighty. When their prayer is answered, they respond to Rhoda and say to her, you are out of your mind. Rhoda, you're crazy. That can't happen. There are four squads of soldiers watching Peter. But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, it's his angel, it can't be him. But Peter continued knocking. Here Peter is, knocking away at the door. Peter here, let me in please. You're praying for my release. Please let me in. Kept knocking. And when they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. We need to pray with expectant hearts that God will change people and circumstances. To pray expecting God to do something. Now again, we know scripture makes it clear to us. He doesn't always answer the way we would like him to. But I love the example of Elijah, the prophet of the Old Testament. In James chapter five, it says, he was a man with a nature like ours. He prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. We're not to say, oh man, I'm not a prayer warrior like some other people. Man, if I were Elijah, man, then my prayers would be so much better. James makes the point that Elijah was just like you and me, but he approached the problems and challenges he faced by praying fervently, praying fervently. And in this amazing incident from the Old Testament, God stopped the rain for three and a half years. And then when Elijah prayed again, it began to rain. It's a challenge for us to pray and to trust God. It really comes down to trust, doesn't it? God, I trust you that when you say I should pray, I need to pray. God, I trust you that if the answer isn't an answer that I want, that I'll still trust you. Then you might say, well, Mel, you're a pastor, prayer comes easy for you. No, it doesn't. I can get caught up in busyness just like anyone else. I can get caught up in doubting just like anyone else. Will God answer this prayer like I want him to? But here's the key, and I want to reiterate it. When people say to me, Mel, how can I pray without doubting if God may answer my prayer with a no? See, this is what the Word of God tells us to do. We're to pray with faith, believing God is able to answer our prayers. in the way that we desire, as long as it's not against his will, right? As long as it's not against his clearly revealed will in scripture. Like I shouldn't pray, God, help me to rob this bank and get away with it. That's against God's will. But if I'm praying for the healing of someone, like my friend who passed away from that brain tumor, I'm believing that God is able to heal my friend Kaz, but not obligated to. God, I 100% believe that you're able to heal Kaz, and I'm praying for your healing. But I know you're not obligated to. that for whatever reason, and I trust you in this, there may be another plan and another purpose that I'm not aware of. And one day I will be aware of that plan and purpose. But I'm gonna trust you. I wanna challenge us all, trust God. Trust Him. Trust Him. Walk in such a way that you're trusting God. that you're coming before him and praying, just like Elijah, who was a person just like us. See, I like what it says here, 1 Peter 3.12, the eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. What does that verse remind us of? That sometimes our sin gets in the way of our prayers, right? It becomes a sin barrier, even as a child of God. If there's a sin in our life, that can be a barrier in my communication with God. And my prayers, well, they're not being effective. But the moment that I take that known sin in my life and repent of it, and I confess it, That relationship with God is opened up again. There's that relational forgiveness. God, I'm sorry I allowed that sin into my life. And we all have those moments. God, I should not have allowed that into my life. That open communication is there. We don't lose our sonship or daughtership every time we sin, but that sin can become this relational barrier between me and my heavenly Father. And at times I might feel like God is distant from me, but it's not God that's moved away from me. I have moved away from God because of the sin in my life. But once we confess it, relational forgiveness comes. See, the prayer of faith is really all about this. Believing without doubting that God is able, not obligated, to do the miraculous. Expresses absolute confidence and trust in the will of God. acknowledges God's sovereignty in his answer to that prayer. God, I acknowledge that you're sovereign. You're not like a genie in the lamp, that if I rub the lamp the right way, you have to agree with my three wishes. That's not how scripture portrays our relationship with God. That's how many believers act. that God must do it my way. If I have enough faith, God must answer my prayers exactly as I want him to. That's not scripture. It recognizes that God's will, not mine, is supreme in every situation. Where do we see that most powerfully? In the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus is approaching the cross and says, Father, if it's possible, may this cup pass from me, but not my will, thy will be done. It's this attitude of total submission to the will of God, that you trust him. There it is again. You trust God, but you're still gonna pray, because God loves it when we pray. He loves it when we seek his face. I love what Paul's advice to Timothy was, to address a common problem and error in theology that is in the church today. I know believers that have told me, Mel, if you ask something from God and you claim that prayer request, you name it and you claim it, then God must answer it. No, it's not in scripture. In fact, the verse I'm showing you right now, 1 Timothy 5.23, Paul writes to Timothy, no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. Timothy had a problem. He had some stomach issue, an ailment in his stomach. If God would be required to heal Timothy if we have enough faith, then Paul gives Timothy terrible advice. He should have said to Timothy, Timothy, up your faith. If you do, God must heal your frequent ailments. But he doesn't do that. He, in essence, tells Timothy to use wine in a medicinal way to heal the frequent stomach ailments that he has. See, sometimes God wants us to use the medicine that's available to us. We still pray as that's happening, but just like Paul here gives Timothy advice. Hey, use the wine as a medicine for your ailment. He doesn't say God's obligated to heal you, Timothy, if you just up your faith. But yet that teaching is prevalent in the church today. Don't believe it. Instead, we live in faith, trusting that God is able, but not obligated to heal, but praying the desires of our heart, and the Word of God encourages us to do that. Lastly, this is what I want to share with you. Testify to others of God's working in your life. Testify to others. We have seen miraculous answers to prayer here at Riverview. There are people that we've prayed for individually and as elders that have come back and said, I had this ailment, I had this illness, this cancer, went back to the doctor, it was gone. It was gone. I believe I had an amazing answer to prayer about 10 years ago when I had my heart attack. And I was paddled more than 30 times over an hour and a half, basically dead on the table, but thousands were praying for me. The doctors and nurses told my wife and six children that I would most likely, if I survived, never come home again. That I would be in a nursing home the rest of my life under the care of other people. But God had other plans. And thank you, church, for praying for me. That after being in the hospital 13 days, nine days in a coma, being paddled more than 30 times, being basically dead on the table for an hour and a half, according to my cardiologist, that your prayers brought about a miracle. Even my cardiologist tells me, Mel, what makes you unique is how bad you were then, because you were one of my worst cases I've ever had, and how good you are now. The power of prayer. There are times when God answers it exactly as we desire, and there are other times He has a greater purpose and another plan. We have to trust Him in the midst of that. And in this moment, Peter's life was saved. And I love what Peter does. He motions to them with his hand to be silent. He described to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. And he said to them, tell these things to James and to the brothers. He says, now you go out and tell others what God has done. You go out and tell others. Love what it says in Psalm 73. The psalmist was struggling, looking around the world and seeing evil people prospering until he went into the temple and worshiped God. Then he made this final statement in Psalm 73. But for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all your works. I wanna tell everybody what you've been doing in my life. Yeah, you know what, he didn't answer that prayer the way I wanted to, but later on looking back, I saw how God made me stronger in my walk with him through that circumstance. He answered it in a better way than I could even have imagined. He answered it in a better way than I was requesting because he did an awesome work in my life. It's good for us to be near God. He's walking with us in the midst of our trials. I'm reminded of a song years back by Andre Crouch. He was one of those pioneer Christian rock singers, gospel singers. And the song basically was this, if heaven never was promised to me or the chance to live eternally, it's been worth it. living for the Lord in my life. It's been worth serving the Lord in my life. Living in a world of darkness, he came and gave me the light. I love the concept of that. It's not just the promise of what will happen after this life, but the reality that we are walking with God, that we are near God. And as we close today, I wanna challenge you with this. Pray with your head and your heart. Pray with your head and your heart. Pray with good theology, understanding what prayer is. We're commanded to do it. but to know that God may not always answer the way that we desire. Here's the second principle, it's this. Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. Pray without ceasing, that attitude of prayer throughout the day. Pray with expectational faith. God, I'm expecting you to do something that will just blow me away, that will surprise me. Maybe it's answering it the way I want the prayer to be answered, but maybe it's in a far better way. Here's the next thing, pray humbly and honestly. God knows exactly where we are at. So we can pray honestly and share the desires of our heart. Here's the next thing, pray with simple helps. You might say, Mel, I struggle with prayer. Let me give you an acrostic that's pretty familiar, a helpful pattern for prayer. Start out with adoration, then confession of our sin, then thanksgiving for what God is doing, then supplication, the requests that we have, the acronym A-C-T-S, the acts of prayer that we enter into. Again, you may like what my wife likes as an outline. It's this, thank you, sorry, please. Great outline for prayer. To have a list of prayer. I get up every morning and at my desk, I have the word of God and I have my list of prayer items in my phone that I pray through. That helps me to stay focused in my prayer. Maybe you want to develop a help like that. To boldly enter the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. That we come to Christ boldly and cry out, Abba Father, Daddy Father, as we come to our Father in prayer. Here's the next thing. Take time to listen. I wanna close today that as you pray and have your time with the Lord, maybe it's in the morning, maybe at night, take time to listen after you pray. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak in that still small voice, not an audible voice. At least I've never heard it. There's some people that have told me they have. That's probably less than 1% of believers in my experience. But that conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we take time to listen. I like what Andrew Murray wrote, prayer is not a monologue, but a dialogue, a two-way thing, right? God's voice is its most essential part. Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that he will listen to mine. To take time to listen and allow the Holy Spirit to speak into our hearts and into our lives. I love the commitment of the early church to prayer. And may that be our commitment as well, that we seek to live for the Lord in every way we possibly can, obeying him. Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you've done in our lives. Thank you for the opportunity we have to come to you in prayer. And we're blown away by the fact that you long for us to come into your presence and pray. You desire it, you've commanded it. And Lord, we desire to be obedient. May we see you work in our lives and in our church in powerful ways. We love you, Jesus. And we pray this in your matchless name. Amen, amen. Riverview Church, next weekend, June 14th, next Sunday, we're reopening. We'll see you then. And live this week.