Thank you, Lord, for this time. Thank you for the report. And, Father, help us to have balance in our lives concerning the coronavirus. And these are things that are going to happen in the last day. They're pestilence. And, Father, but we have to understand you're in control. To act like you're not is just unbelief. It's foolishness. It's not what the Bible teaches. And Father, I pray that you protect our church. I pray, Father, you will be done. I pray we'd have a wonderful day in the house of God. You speak to our hearts. And Father, deal with the unsaved. And I pray, Father, that you would have them understand that there's an appointment with death. And it's so important that they come to Christ before it's too late. But, Father, we're going to continue preaching the word and doing your will. And I pray that you challenge our hearts this morning as we study the subject of prayer. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, notice chapter 11, verse 1. It came to pass that 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. Stanky may be seated. So we see here the importance of a prayer. And the disciples had waited till Jesus was done praying. And they asked the question. They said, Lord, teach us to pray. as John taught his disciples. So there's some general thoughts about prayer we find in Luke chapter 11 and we also find throughout the Word of God where the Bible teaches we're not to ask amiss. So in James chapter 4 and verse 3 the Bible says, let's turn there if you would, James chapter 4 and verse 3 and notice The Bible says in verse 3, you ask and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lust. So there's a problem in our prayer life, or maybe some of us, when we ask amiss. We're not asking according to God's will, according to what the Bible says. It's like that when you're praying for that Lamborghini, you know, oh God, give me a Lamborghini. He's not going to do that, that's praying a miss, all right? But you may pray, Lord, give me a good vehicle to drive me around, to take care of me, and I believe God will answer that prayer, amen? So we can ask amiss, and we need to be very careful how we ask. We must pray according to God's will, and that brings us to a place of knowing what the scriptures say. And then we ask with indifference towards the Bible. In Proverbs 29, he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law even his prayers shall be an abomination." So that brings us to our second thought here about praying and being indifferent to what the Bible says. So, you know, if a person just dismisses the Word of God, or they don't have daily devotions, they're going to be in trouble. Because God's not going to answer their prayer if they're not concerned about what the Word of God says. Third of all, asking with an unforgiving spirit towards others. Now, it's mere folly to expect God to answer our prayers if at the same time we are harboring hard feelings towards our fellow church member or towards our neighbor or towards our enemies, whatever it may be. Now, I want to say this. I think it's important to understand You know, I'm going to tell you how I'm going to vote. You can vote where you want to. That's your business. But you don't want to be ignorant when it comes down to voting. So there's a choice between a candidate promoting freedom and a candidate that's not telling you what he believes. I want to know what you believe. I want to know what you're saying. I want to know what you're going to do. And the idea of stacking a court, Joe Biden was asked in the media this week, asked a question. He said, I'm not going to tell you if I'm going to stack the court or not, because it's going to be on the headline news. Now, let's digest that for a second. If he stacks the court, that means they're going to put liberal judges in there. And it's not, we'll never, we'll never have a balanced Supreme Court again. May I say this? It'll become a banana republic. It'll become a situation where the people are not going to be concerned about what the law says, what the Constitution says, what the Bill of Rights say, but rather it's going to be what they want to promote, what they want to believe, what they want to do. And that's wrong, beloved. We need to base our belief upon the Constitution. That's the bottom line. And so, you know, to have this mentality of stacking a court, they haven't answered the question. Kamala Harris hasn't, Joe Biden. Look, you know, there's a problem there. And so I want to know what people believe. I want to know what they're going to do. And so anyway, let's move on from that. So, you know, we need to have a forgiving spirit. Unforgiveness is going to cause a blockage in God's answer in our prayer. Number four, asking while discord in the home. So the Bible tells us in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 4, the Bible says, let me see, likewise giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. So there's an important understanding that if the husband and wife are not dwelling together according to knowledge, If they're not on the same page, if they're not growing in grace and in the Lord, their prayers will be hindered. And especially when people are fighting and fussing with each other. And the bottom line of that, beloved, I want to say this as nice as I can, is just pride. It's people being stubborn with each other. you know, not to come to a place of understanding, a place of dwelling together according to what the Bible says, knowledge. And so with this happening in our lives, we're not going to have our prayers answered. God's not going to work in our lives and answer our prayers. I'll tell you right now, you know, I've been married to Liz for 43 years, I think. But the thing is this, beloved, is we determined from the beginning that we're going to deal with problems. And it's difficult because a man sees it one way, a woman sees it another way. But if we're going to submit ourselves one to another in the fear of God, realize there's a God in heaven, realize I'm accountable to God, realizing I have to do God's will regardless of what I think, regardless of what Liz thinks, it's important that we dwell together. And we learn throughout the years to confront things and to deal with things. And as difficult as it was, We did it, and praise the Lord, and we have a wonderful marriage, and not that we didn't at one time, but what I'm saying is that it's hard to confront things. It's hard to deal with things. It's hard to go through things, but it's important that we do. So number five, asking with unconfessed sin in our lives. Let's go back to the book of Psalms, Psalm 66. And notice Psalm 66 in verse 18. The Bible tells us, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So here's another problem. If we have unconfessed sin in our lives, God's not going to hear us. Now, this is what it says. If I regard iniquity in my heart, if I have sin in my life, if I have sin in my heart, if I know that I'm not right with God, I know that, well, the Lord will not hear me. And that's for a saved person and that's definitely for a lost person. That's why I say God's not gonna hear your prayers in a lost person unless it's a prayer of salvation. That's the first thing God's gonna hear from you. But he's not gonna listen to a lost person and say, God bless my day, God lead me, God help me, God meet my needs. No! Let me ask you this, as a father, If you had a son or a daughter that's not right with you, would you continue, well maybe you would, but you shouldn't continue to bless them and take care of them, provide for them and all that? No. You've got to say, you made a decision, I'm making a decision. And you're not going to be blessed while you live with me, or you're not going to be blessed in your life. I'm not going to do, I'm going to do what God does. And so it's important to understand that if we have unconfessed sin in our lives, God will not hear us. So prayer is merely sinful man communicating to a holy God. And God commands men to pray. In 1 Timothy 2, verse 8, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting. So God tells us here that we must pray, and when we pray, everywhere. and God goes on and tells us we lift up holy hands. So it's not the act of lifting up your hands, it's having holy hands. In other words, your activities are holy. God commands you to be holy as I am holy. So God tells us we must have holy hands. And again, without wrath and doubting. So if I'm praying, I would say many of our people pray well and pray with understanding, but if I'm praying and my heart, there's wrath there or there's doubting about whether God's going to hear me or God's going to do it, you know, He's not going to do it. If there's wrath in my heart, there's anger towards our fellow man, towards me, to the, you know, your enemies, that's wrong. The Bible says love your enemies. Do good to them that despitefully use you. And so, again, we're to be like Christ. We're not to be, you know, say, well, I don't like this person, I don't like this person, so on. We're to be like Christ. Look, if a person's an enemy, and I have enemies, any preacher worth of salt is gonna have enemies. But I still love my enemies. I may not like what they do. I may not like their action. I may not like their life. I still love them. I'm not against them. I don't want wrath against them. So this is important to understand. We must not have wrath in our hearts. We must not have doubting in our hearts. God wants us to believe. He wants us to trust him. And that's why he commands us to read his word. Now, God says it's a sin for man not to pray. Let's go back to 1 Samuel, please. 1 Samuel and verse 12. verse chapter 12, I'm sorry, and verse 23. Now notice the Bible says, moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord and cease to pray for you. but I will teach you the good and the right way. So God tells us in his word that God forbid that I should cease, that I should sin against the Lord and cease him to pray for you. So this is another thought here, not praying. And so what does God tell us? We're to pray for our enemies. Right? And that's why, you know, our lives should be careful to depict the Christian life. Not spew that hatred. Not, you know, when he comes down to certain people, certain subjects, I'm against, I hate them and so on. Don't do that. Why? You're sinning against God. It's not pleasing to the Lord. You're not being biblical. You're not being Christ-like. Why? Because of what the Word of God says. So the idea is that I'm against... Hey, that's your business. But don't be saying it. Don't be spewing it. Pray for them. Pray for them. I think that's what we should do, is pray for people. But, you know, don't broadcast. that you're against them. Now, let me say this. Again, the Bible teaches us we're not to pray in vain repetition. Let's go to chapter 6 of Matthew, Matthew chapter 6, and notice verse 7. The Bible says, but when you pray, watch this, use not vain repetitions. As a what? Say it again. As a heathen do. So you've got to be very careful to pray from our hearts. Now, people have asked me over the years, a preacher, well, sometimes I pray for the same thing. All right, what are you praying for? What are you talking about? Well, you know, I'm praying that this person would be saved. That's fine. but pray from your heart. And there are certain things that may seem repetitious, but don't pray with a mentality of being rote, of saying the same thing to God over and over and over again. God's not interested in that. What does he say? God comes out and says, as a heathen do. That's what they do. They pray repetitiously. And that's wrong. It's not led by the Spirit. So that's important for us to comprehend here. For they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. And the Bible tells us that they're not. That's not God's will. And then don't pray to another man or a statue. We know that. We're not to pray to statues. We're not to pray to a priest. Notice 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. And notice verse 5, 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, and God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So, you know, the priest of the Roman Catholic or the Greek Orthodox, whatever it may be, they say, well, I'm, you know, I'm gonna intercede for you, I'm gonna pray for you and so on. But that's not what God says. God tells us there's one mediator between God and man. And that's the man Christ Jesus. So we're not to allow that to happen in our lives. So we need to pray directly to God. And that's why, you know, I don't need, I'll pray for you. I'll pray with you, but I'm not gonna say, let me pray. I'll take care of this. I don't have that power, that authority to do that. You have the right to go to God in prayer, but you need to pray according to the scriptures. Otherwise you're making up your own religion. and that's not pleasing the Lord. So then notice if you would, Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18, the first prayer that God hears and answers is the prayer of salvation. Now notice Luke 18, we pick up here in verse 9, the Bible says, and he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. See, that's not the Christian way, that's not God's way. We shouldn't despise others. We should have compassion on others. We should pray that they would come to Christ, they would understand. But the attitude of despising others is not right. So verse 10, two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank Thee I'm not as other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. So think about what he said here, the Pharisee was despising others He was looking down upon others. He was looking down upon the publican. And he said, I fast twice in a week. I give tithe to all that I possess. And the publican, standing far off, would not lift up so much as his eyes in the heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. So the idea is that the Pharisee, who was a religious leader, He believed in God, he felt close to God, that's what he thought. Outwardly, he was a good moral man, he was an honest person. He sacrificed, went without food, he fasted, gave 10% of all he possessed. The publican, they were tax collectors who were considered as traitors, thieves, willing tools of the oppressive government of Rome. He humbled himself, he called on God, admitted his condition, and he repented. Now notice who went away justified. The publican, not the religious Pharisee. So we see here that the publican, he humbled himself. He did God's will. And let's go back to Isaiah 59 please. Isaiah 59 and notice verse 1 and 2. Isaiah 59 and verse 1 and 2. And the Bible says, in verse 1, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save. Neither is the ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not, what? He'll not hear. So the idea that God is not going to hear us, why? Because of our sin, because of our iniquities. And the Bible tells us they're keeping us from having a relationship with the Lord. And so the question we have to ask is, when were your sins forgiven? When were you converted? That's a good question. When were you born again by the Spirit of God? When was it? You may not know the exact date. I mean, I do, but you may not know the exact date. That's fine. But what were the circumstances? What took place? So, you know, we find here that people come up with all sorts of excuses, you know, when they were baptized, that they did good works. I had a man at the airport say, I witnessed to him, I said, I want to leave you something to read, and it was, am I a good person? He looked at me, he said, I'm a good person. So I said, well, you want to find out what God says? He said, no, I'm fine. I talk to God all the time. I just left it. I walked away and I said, I'll see you down the road. But here's a man who is basing his life upon his good works. I'll tell you this, I don't know this for sure, but he looked like a troubled man. He really did. He looked like he was a cover-up. I listened to him for over an hour, talking to people, friendly, outgoing, but I think within his soul he was a very troubled man. And the track would have helped him, but instead he decided to, I'm good. And he went on his way. So a lot of people trust that the, you know, give to an organization, they confess to a priest, and so we must do what the publican did. And first of all, humble ourselves. Realize that we're not good enough to get to heaven on our own. The Bible says that God raises the proud and gives grace to the humble. We've got to admit our condition. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's none righteous. There's none that doeth good. And then we have to repent. We have to turn to God from our sins. The Bible says in Acts 3 verse 19, repent ye therefore, be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. In Acts 20 verse 21, Paul said, repentance toward God in faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So we gotta turn to God from our false religion, our idols, our false beliefs. And we gotta call on the Lord. The Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, therefore, any man being Christ, he's a new creature. It's not a reformation, but a conversion. It's being born from above. It's doing God's will. It's conforming to the image of Christ. It's what takes place in our lives. So we see, second of all, the prayer for help. Let's go back to Luke 18, and notice, if you would, verse 4. Luke 18 verse 4, and he would not for a while, but afterward he said with himself, though I fear not God, let me just back up a little bit, verse 1, and he spake a parable saying to this end that men ought always to pray, not to faint. And that's for saved people. We're not to faint. We're not to quit. We've got to press through. We've got to be persevering. We've got to do God's will in this matter. And God tells us always to pray and not to faint. And it's saying there was a city, a city, a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man. But there was a widow in the city, and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said with himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because the widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, and let by her continual coming she weary me. And then verse six, the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge say, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, and though he be bare long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them. speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth." So again, God is speaking here about the idea of it's praying faith. It's praying. It's not just faith on the earth. It's people who believe enough to pray, to do God's will. And so the child of God You know the Lord wants to help you. He wants to help you and your problems He loves you and cares about you, and you know I was thinking of Preaching on this this morning in first Peter chapter 5 verse 7 casting all your care upon him Because he cared for you, and I tell you beloved we rob ourselves continually by our lack of prayer Rather we go to worry fretting, thinking, overthinking our problems, the first thing we should do is go to Lord. I have a problem here. And so what does God say? Cast all your care upon Him. Now, God didn't say what our care is. My care may be different than Millie's care, may be different than John's care, may be different than James' care, may be different than Sally's care. But the idea is that God cares for us. And the Bible says, casting all your care upon him. Why? He cared for you. Do you remember the story of Jesus being at the bottom of the ship and he fell asleep? And I think it's wonderful that he did that. And everyone else was out of sorts above because the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing against the ship, it was raining, it was storming out, and they were hanging on to dear life. And Jesus was just calm below. And so the disciples, they thought they were going to go under. They go down to the bottom of the ship and they said, Lord, carest thou not that we perish? Here's the thing. What did God know? Did he know they were going to perish? No. He knew he was going to work a miracle. So lots of times what we think, I'm going to die. You don't die when God tells you you're gonna die. And what happens when you get older, you die. Now there's a space in there, I don't know. God promised us 70 years. The average age is 77 to catch corona. And I don't wanna see people die, but it's part of life. My brother-in-law last week just passed away from a heart attack. So these things happen, beloved. It shouldn't be a surprise to us. Now I realize when people are real young and they die, it could be a shocker. But the idea is that it's appointed unto men once they die. And yet we have a span, you know, 70 to 100 and something years old. So just because I think I'm not going to make it doesn't mean I'm going to die. They said, Lord, care us down not that we perish. I mean, I have to tell you, there's a lot of ignorant things people say to God, but that's one of them. Does God care whether you perish? Well, let me say, of course he does. He cares for us. He loves us. He's going to do what's best for us. So the idea here is we see prayer of help. And preacher, you say, I've had a tremendous burden, and I have asked the Lord to help me or answer my prayer to the point where there's no answer. But may I say this? There is an answer. Notice verse 4, and he would for a while, and afterward he said it with himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I'll avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. So the widow woman kept coming before the unjust judge. And I believe the Lord will answer many times by your cries of desperation. And how bad do you want it? That's an important thought. Lots of times in our age, we ask and we don't have an answer. We just say, forget it, I'm not going to pray about it. That's your loss. God always answers our prayer. Yes, no, not now. He always answers our prayer. So we've got to just keep praying. And, you know, I've heard testimonies before. Ian Bounds, who wrote a series of books on prayer, he speaks about a time where I think his son was actually converted after Ian Bounds died. But that was answered prayer. His son came to Christ. So the thing is, this God's gonna answer our prayer. Maybe in our lifetime, or maybe after we die. And the idea is that God's gonna answer our prayer. So I remember Brother Lacey prayed for his father for many years. I think it was close to 40 years or so, maybe 50. And God answered his prayer. His father got saved before Al Lacey died. So the idea is this, is that God's going to answer our prayer, we've got to keep praying. Again with the question we asked, how bad do you want it? How bad do you want it? And then we see in Matthew 14, let's turn there please, Matthew 14 and verse 26. And the Bible says in Matthew 14, 26, when his disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a ghost. I'm sorry, it's a spirit. And he cried out for fear. but straightway Jesus spake unto him, saying, Be of good cheer, as I be not afraid. And Peter answered and said, Lord, is it, if thou, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water? And he said, Come. And when Peter came, was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. And when he saw the boisterous, the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Verse 31, and immediately Jesus stressed forth his hand, caught him, and said unto him, Be thou, O thou little faith, wherefore did thou doubt? So Peter cried with desperation. And his prayer was desperate. Let me ask you, are your prayers desperate? Or do you say your prayers? You go through the motions. I've got to say my prayers, I've got to do my devotions. That's not what God wants. He wants a heartfelt prayer to God. He wants us to pray from our soul. And many times that prayer should be desperate. Pray for our lost loved ones. In Luke 18 verse 7, the Bible said that the widow woman prayed, went to the judge and she said prayed day and night. We got to pray for our lost loved ones. I've been praying for years. Keep praying. As long as they have life, we should pray. You got a problem in your life? Be faithful before God, that God will hear your prayer. If there's a need, So the Bible tells us here in John 15, let's turn there please, John 15. And notice if you would, John 15 and pick up here in verse 7. And the Bible says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and shall be done unto you. So again, there's some key words here. In verse 7, John 15, Jesus said, if, if, if you abide in me. So if and abide are the keys of this verse. And the Bible tells us if you abide, it means to remain, to continue, to dwell, to stay put. And that's what God wants from us. We've got to abide in Christ. You know, I was telling my wife yesterday, oh boy, I'm telling my wife yesterday that we live in a different kingdom than this world. Why? We would translate it from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son. And there's gonna be things, and my wife lists a whole bunch of things that we did this year, even though it was coronavirus, and God blessed us, provided for us, met our needs, and even things that are beyond our understanding. And God did that for us. So the Bible tells us in 1 John 3, 22, whatsoever you ask, you receive of him. if you keep his commandments and do those things pleasing to his sight. So last of all, I wanted to cover the prayer of power, but I'm out of time. So we'll stop right there. And I trust that was a help to you and encourage you to keep praying. I know I didn't say anything new or unusual, but repetition is a good reminder. Amen? So let's pray. Father, thank you.