Open your Bibles to Matthew 7. Matthew 7 tonight. And I appreciate all the good singing. Ain't that a blessing? Don't take it for granted. Amen. I mean, it's a lot of work to get all that ready. And if you've never been around some of these people when they're practicing, it's probably a good thing because they don't sound spiritual at all. You say, how do you know? Because my family never sounds spiritual when they're practicing, amen. So I'm sure the floors don't either, and everybody else, amen, that's practicing. And especially if Jacob's there. Ain't that right, Mr. Megan? Ain't that right? Amen. I knew I'd get an amen from her. It's a lot of work and I sure appreciate it and I enjoy listening to it. But we'll get here in just a second. I really wanna ask the church if you would really make a matter of prayer this week for your preacher. And I'm not one of them guys that likes going to the mission field. I've been a couple of different places four or five times and I was miserable every time I went. And so I really just stay home and maybe stay in the States. I don't do well with it. Preachers asked me a couple of times I wanted to go, but anyways, because I know what they're dealing with. I know what they're dealing with right now and it ain't fun, amen. It's a blessing, but it ain't easy. And so really pray for him that God give him strength, keep him healthy, amen. And I mean, you're over there in that foreign field and there are all kinds of mess over there you can catch and you wore out. and they can get sick and just it ain't easy for him. He's already lost his luggage, amen. So he's wearing the same thing every day, you know. And so I can imagine how he looks and smells, praise God. So really, I mean, make it a matter of prayer and pray that God will get him home safely, amen. I couldn't imagine flying on a plane for hours and hours and hours. Longest I've ever been on a plane. I think it's when I went to Seattle and I didn't think we'd ever get there. We was only on a plane for three or four hours or something like that. I couldn't imagine 16 or 17 or 18 hours. Nah, just no, it ain't me. But anyways, I done killed somebody on there. And so pray for them, amen. and make it a matter, every day, every day this week, amen. If you don't normally pray for your preacher and Brother Jacob, pray for Brother Nathan too, amen. He's gotta be there with him. So you can only imagine. But so make it a matter of prayer. I really believe that we ought to be praying for him, that God will use him, amen. I got a few more days there. and that God do a work in them and God to get them here safely. And I'm sure Preacher would be glad when he gets his luggage, but it'd be too late when he's getting back on the plane. But at least the Lord's helping them. And I've heard a few things, not a lot, because you can't hardly talk to them. They're in the middle of nowhere, I guess. But I just wanted to really explain that tonight. I wanted you to really make it a matter of prayer. So I hope that you will. Matthew chapter seven tonight, And I'm gonna actually preach a little while on prayer, and it's probably one of the hardest subjects in the world to preach on, and that, and probably there's other things that are hard, you know, separation, tithing, hell, stuff like that. But anyways, preaching on prayer is probably one of the hardest things to preach on because, man, it hits every one of us, doesn't it? And I mean, I would say, I mean, if you're in here tonight and you got it all down, and that's a blessing, that's wonderful, and I hope you do. But the most of us probably, we probably struggle. We probably struggle with it. And you know, if you spend 15 minutes, you wish you'd spent 30 minutes. If you spend 30 minutes, you wish you'd spent 45. And you spend an hour, you still wonder, I say, have I done enough? Have I spent enough? I don't think you can ever spend enough time with God. But I don't think we need to beat ourselves up either, amen? But I do know this, I do believe that we ought to spend time with Him. And a Christian, dear friend, that doesn't have no prayer time, that just don't seem right. They just don't seem like the kind of Christian we ought to be. Look at Matthew 7, verses 7 and 8. Here's what he said. He said, Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. He that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. I say to you, dear friend, that's a great verse. You know what that is? That's promises. That's what that is. And I believe the promises of God. I really do. I believe there's a God in heaven. I don't think he makes a bunch of promises that he don't keep. Now, I will say this. It must be the Lord's will. We're not doing a study on prayer tonight, but if we was, we would study and show you where God says ask, amen, he says seek, he says not, but he also teaches you that it has to be his will. And I believe we ought to be praying in the will of God. But the Bible said in John 14, verses 12 through 14, he said this. He said, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. And I like this part right here. He says, and greater works than these shall he do. because I go unto my Father, and whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, and ye shall ask anything in my name, and he said, I will do it. Now, the Bible said greater works that ye said these shall he do. Now, I believe that them greater works is gonna come through prayer. I'll say it again, one of the hardest subjects to preach on because there's a majority in our churches across the land that are not spending a lot of time in prayer. But I will say this, there is a God in heaven that still answers prayer. There's a God in heaven that saved your soul, amen. Like I preached this morning, that gave us that great standing that we have, that is eager and listening and waiting for us to talk to him. The Bible said he seeketh such to worship him. Let me say it this way, God loves it when you spend time with him. And there's a God in heaven that wants to answer your prayer. I could sit up here tonight, no doubt, and many of you could too. I'm sure that you got some of these older men of God in here that could tell us stories tonight about how God has answered prayer. But I remember I can say on one occasion, I've been in evangelism, most of you know that, about 27 years plus, and we're in a gospel tent ministry. I'm on my third tent. or a part of it anyways. Part of a second, part of a third, that's because it's in sections. And the first tent Brother Jack Parchman gave me after I traveled with him for six years, he turned that over to me. I ran with that for two years. And then, man, I got looking at that tent and we needed a new tent. It was already, I think, 17 years old and somewhere around there, 17, 18 years old. because he had had it for a while. I began to pray for a new tent. God, I need a new tent. This tent's falling apart, it's leaking, and you can still use it, but not in the way that I was using it, you know, just many times, up and down, up and down. I began to pray, and God began to send the money, amen? And I needed $30,000. That's a lot of money for an evangelist, amen? Somebody that needs 30 grand. I mean, sometimes a church as a whole can come together and maybe get that money, amen, for projects. But man, you're one guy. You're trying to raise 30,000. I didn't know how I was going to do it. And I just begin to pray and ask God for it. Every opportunity I had, God, I need the money for that tent. Lord, I sure would like to have that tent. And I started raising money. And in 10 and a half months, the Lord supplied the whole need. And I didn't come all at one time. I mean, there'd be 500 here and a thousand here and a couple thousand here. But I remember on one occasion, toward the end, it was getting time. I had told people, I made a statement. I didn't know if I should have done it. But when you're young, you do things that are crazy. And anyways, I told people, I said, by next year, we'll have a new tent. And I'm saying, God, I done told them we're gonna have one by next year, amen. You gotta help me, amen. So, I mean, I'm praying and the hunting season come around. Everybody knows that's a holy time of year. But anyways, hunting season come around and I was out there hunting and doing things like that and working on stands and taking stands down and putting stands up and helping a guy. And I was up in a stand and I was taking this stand down. I used to be, you young boys, listen to me, you young fellas. I used to think I was invincible and nothing could hurt me, amen. And I'd run up a tree like a monkey, amen. Didn't bother me at all and I was taking this stand down and and cutting it down all sudden that thing collapsed out from under me I fell 18 foot and that and the bottom part of that left leg right there come out of the knee That's not that doesn't feel good by the way. Amen. And so I'm out there laying in I'm walling a mud hole out there in the middle of the woods. You say, what's that? That's a lot of pain. Hallelujah. I mean, I'm laying out there, walking around, screaming and hollering. Thank God nobody could hear me. But I was out there by myself. There was another guy that was with me. He was a long ways away. And I'm laying there and I'm, man, I'm in agony. I'm thinking I broke my leg. And so anyways, I got to set this thing out in the woods. That's what I'm thinking. So I reached down there and I said, God, I need some help. Pop, popped her back in. Amen. And then I wallowed me another mud hole. Amen. Cause that was a lot of pain. And I mean, it was bad. So anyways, that old fella came. I called him on my phone after I found it. I couldn't walk. I mean, I had no ligaments, ACL, everything gone. And so I'm laying out there in the woods and finally he come and got me after I made a phone call. Long story short, I had to have surgery. I'm laying up in a travel trailer. Now it's already bad enough when you're living in a travel trailer. And when you're laying up in one, you can't do nothing. You got six kids running around screaming and hollering and a wife, amen. And yes, I did say and a wife, but anyways, I'm there laying in that trailer. I mean, I can't hardly do nothing. I'm miserable. I'm upset. I'm like, what in the world am I doing? What was I thinking, amen? I said, I wasn't thinking. And so then I'm beginning to thinking, Lord, I gotta have this money for the tent. How am I gonna get in meetings? How am I gonna raise this money? I need all this money. I mean, we had already had several thousand that was donated to us. I can't remember how much we needed. I think we needed maybe 3,000 more or something of that nature. But I mean, it's the winter time. Everybody knows there ain't no meeting in the winter. I mean, it's Christmas time's coming, you know, in January and it's dead. There ain't nothing going on. I'm whining, complaining. I mean, none of y'all's ever done that, but I'm whining and complaining. Finally, I got a little better where I could get up and move around some Using crutches. I got in a few churches. I went visited my mother-in-law Hey, man over there in Arkansas and there's some country churches there and they know us and so they want us to come by and I went by one church and I I told him about what was going on. A guy came to me after the service and he said, Brother Jason, here's $1,000 for the new tent. Another guy came up to me and said, here's another $1,000 for that new tent. And boy, I got a little excited then. Hey man, I mean, I only had a couple months before I was going to be, a few months before I was going to be at that first meeting. And then I remember I went to a little church. I'm talking about a storefront building. It was about 15 people there that night. Maybe 20 at the most there's about 15 to 20 people there that night, and I needed 12,000 I told you three I was wrong. I needed 12. I remember now. I needed twelve thousand five hundred dollars That was after them guys that already gave me the money. I needed twelve thousand five hundred dollars I want this little storefront, and you know I thought to myself you know preachers what I'm talking about I thought well these people here ain't got no money and Ain't no sense in me saying anything about that tent tonight. I'm just gonna get up there. I'm just gonna let the kids sing a couple songs. I'm gonna preach and we'll go to the house. And anyways, I got up there and I felt the Holy Ghost say, you need to say something about that tent. And so I said, Church, I wanna let you know that we've been trying to raise money for a tent. It's gonna cost me $30,000. I said, I would appreciate if you'd pray, God help us raise that money. I need $12,500. I got done, I preached, amen. I sat down, the preacher got up there, he was just about in tears. He said, Preacher, he said, Church, I'm burdened for Brother Jason and that tent. He said, I think I wanna help him with that tent. And somebody said, how much you wanna give, Preacher? He said, I think we ought to give it all. And they wrote me a check for $12,500 and God paid cash for that tent. There's still a God that answers prayer. Since then, I've got another one that God has already paid for and taken care of the two ends. He just keeps on supplying. The church being the people, including many preachers across our land, I believe are in a state of apathy. when it comes to praying. Apathy is a calmness of mind, incapable of being ruffled by pleasure, pain, or passion. Quietism is apathy, disguised under the appearance of devotion. In other words, many appear to be devoted, but they're in a state of apathy. When you come to somebody and you say, I'll be praying about it, will you really? Or do you really? The church today is calm. I believe that there is very little pleasure or passion in the area of prayer. Today there is a quietness, dear friend, in the area of prayer, and there are many that appear to be praying, but according to the lack of testimony that prayers are being answered, there is little praying going on from the preacher's offices across our land and to the family's living room, dear friend. And I'm talking about the Bible believing, Baptist churches, I'm not talking about all the other non-denominational stuff that's going on. I'm talking about those of us that know, we believe that there is a God in heaven and we know that God answers our prayer. Listen, God will answer big prayers just like he answers little prayers. People talk about revival, but revival has never come without a sacrifice of prayer. People talk about souls being saved and salvations, but hear me church, it does not come without prayer. People talk about wanting to see great victory in the lives of people, and we want to see God do some great marvelous things. It will not come without prayer. A preacher one time was traveling in the Isle of Man, passing a crowd of convicts who were breaking some rocks, Some of these convicts were on their knees and he stopped his carriage and he began to speak with the convicts and he said this to one of them. He said, I wish I could break the stony hearts of men as easily as you break those stones. Your lordship, quietly asked one of them, do you ever try working on your knees? There is no telling what God would do if God's people would pray. You know, I got it in my mind tonight that I believe that the most people that in God's church today look at our country and they say, what's the use? They look at the people and the families that are around us and they say, what's the use? They look at the world, dear friend. They look at how so many people are living such a wicked life, and it seems that nobody cares anything about God. Nobody cares about your church. Nobody cares about the track you give them. Nobody cares about you telling them about Jesus, and they don't even, they're like, they don't care. Why should I care? But I say to you, dear friend, should we not give ourselves to praying? Pray and hide said this. Pray and hide, a great prayer warrior. He said, I've tried to enlist intercessors without success. He said, I found that the only way to get other people to pray is to do it myself. I can stand here tonight, dear friend, and beg you, and plead with you, and preach you. We gotta pray, we gotta pray, we gotta pray. But dear friend, the best thing I could do is just do it myself. The Bible says over there, it says, ask, seek, and knock. You know, in Matthew 7, where it says, ask, seek, and knock, if you take the first letter of all three of those words, you know what it spells? Ask. God wants you to pray. Many today want to do everything but what God has told them to do. And I'm not trying to be rude. I'm very thankful. I know preachers are thankful. I know that anybody that does anything around here is thankful. But dear friend, it's easy for us to jump in there, you know, and maybe paint something or clean something or fix something or work on something or jump in there and help out in the kitchen or jump in and take out the trash and do whatever needs and fix something on the outside. Man, we're quick to do that whenever something needs to be done. And that is a blessing. But I say to you, dear friend, what about it when God says, I want you to spend time with me in prayer? How quick are we to do that? I want to give you three things that I believe there is a reason why many of us or many of God's people, I should say, do not spend time in prayer. Just real simple. Number one, I believe there's an apathy of no prayer in our churches across the land because of no faith. You say, Bridger, how can you say that? Because if you really believe God would answer your prayer, you would pray. The Bible said in Matthew 17, 20, and Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief, he said, for verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, that's pretty small, friend, you shall say unto this mountain, remove hence the yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Now, this Bible story we're reading about is in Matthew 17. That's talking about the lunatic child. And the disciples could not cast him out. Remember when the Lord was up on the Mount of Transfiguration? And they couldn't cast him out, and they're trying to cast him out. And Jesus said, if you had faith as the grain of a mustard seed, impossible things would be answered. And I say to you, dear friend, it's impossible to move a mountain. And I don't know what mountain it is in your life, And I don't know what mountain it is that you've been praying about, but there are some things, dear God, dear friend, that God wants to hear you pray about, things that are in your life. And God said, if you'll just have the faith and pray, the faith of a mustard seed, if we just had a little bit of faith. The reason we don't pray, undoubtedly, is because we really don't have faith. How do I say this? I don't want to be rude. I don't pray to trees or the wall or the glass or the tree or the outside when I'm looking at the birds. I pray to God. And the reason I'm praying to Him is because I believe He'll answer prayer. Therefore the Lord is displeased with us, dear friend, if we do not truly have faith in Him. The faith here required is the faith that God, or the Christ I should say, gave the disciples for them to have even when He was not there. But hear me, the disciples undoubtedly questioned the power that was given. And the power is there for you and I. There is a God in heaven that, dear friend, wants to answer your prayer. And many have questioned the power of prayer. Therefore, the Lord is not happy with us because we do not spend time in prayer. Can you imagine God, amen, saying, hey, I want to do this for you. I want to do that for you. It'd be awful to get to heaven, and God said, I was going to do this, and he probably won't. But God said, I wanted to give you this, and I wanted to bless you here, and I wanted to use you here. But you didn't have enough faith to pray that I would do it for you. I don't want there to be anything that God wants to do for me that I didn't have enough faith to believe that He would do it. So I didn't pray about it. There's no limit on the greatness of a prayer request if you know it's His will. I believe most Christians' faith is very weak. They must be strengthened. And I say to you, the more prayer, the more faith. The little prayer, the little faith. And many today believe the word of God. If I ask you now, do you believe that Bible? You say, oh yeah, I believe the word of God. Which it is God, right? That is God. But Jesus said in John 14, one, listen to what he said. He said, you believe in God, believe also in me. Dear friend, it's one thing to believe in the Word of God, it's another when you have faith in the person of God. Amen? That is Jesus Christ. In other words, that means you are trusting in His ability. The song says, I'm asking you because you know how. And that's true, dear friend. There's a God in heaven named Jesus Christ that wants us to have faith in Him, dear friend, and come to Him. Answered prayer comes to those that have faith in Him. Here's what the Bible said over there, Luke 17, five, Lord, increase our faith. Luke 8, 48, he said, be a good comfort, thy faith has made thee whole. He said, Luke 8, 50, fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. Matthew 9, 29, according to your faith, be it unto you. Luke 7, 50, the Bible said, thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace. Let me say this to you. Don't let that crowd out there that believes, name it and claim it, that they believe, dear friend, all that stuff, and that's fine. If they want to believe that, God bless them, I'm not against them, but I say to you, there's a lot of people, amen, that they hear what somebody else says, so automatically, they kind of throw it out. No, you're on one side of the ditch, amen. There's something in the middle, and it's called faith, and it's called believing in God. There might be somebody naming it and claiming it. There might be somebody over here that says, oh, fool, you don't know that. But I say to you, dear friend, it's better to be in the middle and say, God, I'm going to trust you. Amen. I'm going to have faith in you. If you read Hebrews 11, one of the great chapters in the Bible talks about all those great people of God, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and all them people. Amen. Israel, Rahab, Gideon, Barak. And you know what the Bible says? The Bible says they're in there by faith. Faith by faith everyone by faith whenever they did this by faith You know what God put them in the Bible and they did a great work for God. Are you hearing me church? They did great works for God because they had faith in God Shame on a church that won't have faith in the God of heaven that they believe Will answer their prayer the Bible said in verse number six. He said this are you listening? He said in Hebrews 11 verse 6 without faith. It is what? impossible to please you You're not going to please Him. You can do everything you want to do, but if you don't have faith in God, it's impossible to please God. Let me ask you this. When's the last time you asked for something that seemed impossible? Why'd you quit asking for something that seemed impossible? Why aren't we seeing things that seem impossible take place in our life? Most people only pray about what they can control and what they can afford. Think about it. Most people only pray about what they can control and what they can afford. I'm praying for something right now I can't control. I definitely can't afford it. And it's up to God if he wants to do it or not. And if he don't do it, I'm going to serve him anyway. because it's whatever his will is, that's what matters. It was a week before Christmas after the World War, a tired looking woman came into a store having faith that the Lord would supply her need. She asked the owner for enough food to make up a Christmas dinner for her children. He asked her how much she could afford to spend. She answered, my husband was killed in the war and I have nothing to offer but a little prayer. This man confessed that he was not sentimental in those days, and a grocery store could not be run like a bread line, so he said, write it on a paper, and turned about his business. To his surprise, the woman took a piece of paper out of her pocket. She handed it to him over the counter and said, I did that during the night, watching over my sick baby. The man took the paper before he could recover from his surprise, and having regretting done so, for what would he do with it now? What could he say? Then an idea suddenly came to him he placed the paper without even reading the prayer on the weight side of his old-fashioned scales And he said we shall see how much food this is worth to his astonishment. The scales would not go down when he put a loaf of bread on the other side. To his confusion and embarrassment, it would not go down, though he kept on adding food, anything he could lay his hands on as quickly as possible, because people were watching him. His face began to get red. It began to make him angry. So finally he said, that's all the scales will hold anyway. Here's a bag. You put it in yourself. I'm busy. With what sounded like a gasp or a little sob, She took the bag, started packing in the food, wiping her eyes on her sleeves every time her arm was free. And he tried not to look, but he could not help seeing that he'd given her a pretty bag and it wasn't quite full, so he tossed a large cheese down the counter. He did not say anything, nor did he see the timid smile of grateful understanding which glistened in her moist eyes at this final betrayal. And when the woman had gone, he went scratching his head, shaking it in puzzlement, and then he found the solution. The scales were broken. He looked at the slip of paper which the woman's prayer had been written, and here's what it said. Please, Lord, give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6, 11. She came asking and believing with faith, and God answered her prayer. Can you put your finger on a time when you know God answered your prayer? If not, why not? And has it been a long time? If the Christians in America don't get on their face before God with faith, there is no hope for America. Dear friend, if we don't pray for our children, there is no hope for our children. Every day of my life, I have tried to pray for my family and my children. I know what the devil would love to do. I know how He'd love to destroy them. I know, dear friend, what He would do. I can give you a list of things that I pray for and I hope and pray to God that the Lord will continue and put a hedge about them and use them. But I say to you, Mom and Daddy, how in the world, how in the world are you going to raise a family for God when you don't even spend time in prayer? How are we gonna do a work in this church? And we don't spend time in prayer. How would he expect the God of heaven, dear friend, to fill our preacher with the power of God, and use him, and Jacob, and the music, and the sowing, and dear friend, and all the preaching? How's God gonna do a work, an even greater work here, if God's people don't pray? I don't know about you, dear friend, but we must have faith. And I believe that the reason that there's an apathy in the area of prayer in our lives is because there's no faith. Let me give you a second one. No compassion. There's many today that are very consumed with themselves, and I don't mean to be rude in that aspect, but we live in a world of me, myself, and I. The Bible said over there in Psalms 86.15, it said, But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, plenteous in mercy and truth. In Jude 22, a great verse, it says, And some have compassion making a difference. Dear friend, compassion is a suffering with another. It is painful sympathy, mixed passion of love and sorrow. And in Luke 15, I believe, now hear me, I believe the prodigal came home because he knew his father was a compassionate man. The Bible said his father had compassion and ran and fell on his neck. And I ask you, does the world know that we have compassion? I would hate it, dear friend, if those that rode by Victory Baptist Church and them people over there, boy, that's a mean bunch. Boy, that bunch over there don't care anything about people. That bunch over there is rude, they're hard, they're mean. I'd be awful if they said that about us. It'd be better if they said, boy, that's a sweet people. Boy, that's a compassionate people. I'll tell you one thing, Lord, one thing about that church over there, they care about people. How many churches today are making a difference? Most of our churches today are full of apathy mentality. Many are satisfied with a few they have. There's no great desire in many churches to make a difference in the community or in the lives of the people. The Bible says those with compassion will make a difference. You understand, dear friend? Because compassion, hear me, compassion will draw you to prayer. If your heart is broken, you'll pray. Illustration. We got one in our church that's going through something right now. Mindy Frederick. And those of you that have prayed for Mindy and them babies and that family, would you agree with me that it's because your heart's broken for them? You know why, dear friend, that some, and I'm not trying to be hard or rude, but maybe some have not really spent much time in prayer for them? Would you agree with me that it's because maybe your heart's not broken? Compassion will draw you to prayer. A quote from Ian Bounds, he said, This compassion has in it the quality of mercy. It is of the nature of pity and moves the soul with tenderness of feeling for others. Compassion is moved at the sight of sin, sorrow, and suffering. And I say to you, dear friend, many hearts today are full of insensibility and hardness of heart. Today, it seems that people don't grieve over lost sinners. They ignore them and despise them, which is the opposite of compassion. Dear friend, our heart ought to break. We ought to look at the vast number of people, dear friend, the traffic, and see the thousands upon people, dear friend, and say, I wonder, I wonder how many of these people are really going to heaven. I wonder how many of them are going to hell. But I would venture to say that the many of God's people today, they see that the lost dress different and they don't like it. They see that the lost act different and they don't like it. I'll be honest with you, dear friend, I can't stand to drive down the road and smell marijuana. I hate it. I can't stand that smell. That stinking nasty smell makes me mad every time I smell it. But to be honest with you, that individual that's smoking it is going to hell. That ought to break my heart. I don't like all that African music when they pull up beside me and it's so loud. Their tag's buzzing and mine is too. I don't like it. I don't like the noise. I don't like that kind of music. I don't like that smell. I don't like, dear friend, ungodliness and filth. I can't stand to see nakedness, but I'll be honest with you, dear friend, every single one of those people that are living that life is dying and going to a devil's hell without Jesus Christ. And there ought to be some compassion in my heart, and there ought to be some compassion in God's people's heart that they'll spend time in prayer for the lost. And I would venture that most people today are apathetic in the area of prayer for the lost people because really there's no compassion, it seems, in their heart. The Bible said over there in Matthew 14, 14, Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and listen to what it says, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Mark 1.41, and Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him. Mark 6, verse 34, and Jesus, when He came out, saw a bunch of people and was moved with compassion toward them because they were sheep not having a shepherd, dear friend. The Bible plainly tells us here in the Word of God that Jesus was moved and the Lord made a great difference in the lives of the people because of His compassion. And there is no doubt that His compassion moved Him to pray. Illustration. The Pharisees got angry. Jesus had compassion. The man that does not have compassion is a man that will not pray. Prayer belongs only to the man that has a compassionate heart. And can I say to you, dear friend, God forbid that we be like a Pharisee. You know what a Pharisee was, dear friend? That Pharisee had it all down pat. That Pharisee knew the letter, dear friend. He knew the law, knew the letter. Had her down to the dots, amen? I mean, he knew exactly how he was supposed to act. He knew exactly where he was supposed to go, at what time. He knew what he was supposed to do certain times of the year. I mean, he got it all down, amen? I mean, super spiritual, you know what I'm talking about? He had it all down pat, except one thing. He didn't have no compassion. As a matter of fact, they were willing to stone people. They were willing to get angry with people. They were so hard-hearted and so uncompassionate that they couldn't even stand it when the Lord Jesus Christ healed that man's withered hand on the Sabbath day. We got people today in our churches that's supposed to have a compassionate heart toward those that are lost. And we look at them with disdain instead of having a compassionate heart for their soul. I believe that would be acting more like a Pharisee. Does your heart not yearn for the souls of men? Are we not concerned for those that are on their way to a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched? Let it not bother us that our family, co-worker, neighbor, postman, or those that we meet in everyday life are going to die without ever knowing that someone had compassion for their soul. Does Jesus Christ not deserve a full reward? And the only way he's gonna get that full reward is by you and I telling others about him. The Bible said over there in Psalm 142.4, he said, no man cared for my soul. I pray that not be the prayer of somebody dear friend that we're around. Then there's no doubt, dear friend, there's no doubt why the church today seems to have maybe an apathy spirit in the area of prayer. because of no compassion. Many today, it's sad, are like Mary Antoinette. You say, who was that? She was on her way to Paris to become queen. And a command was given that no sick nor crippled one should be permitted by the wayside, that she might not be troubled by the sight of suffering. But I say to you tonight, dear friend, that wherever Jesus went, the sick, the lame, the blind were born by hundreds to the wayside and never one went away unhealed. Hear me, dear church family, the lost today does not want to be troubled by the saved, and the saved does not want to be troubled by the lost, and our prayers should be, God, give us compassion, else they die. They are going to go to hell. Somebody's got to tell them. Somebody's got to pray for them. Somebody's got to have compassion for them. Ian Bowne said this, he said, compassion may not always move men, but is always moved toward men. And I say to you, dear friend, compassion may not always turn men to God, but it always, I'm sorry, but it will and does turn you to God. Here's what Paul said in Romans 9. He said, I say the truth in Christ, listen to what he said, I lie not, my conscience also bear me witness in the Holy Ghost. Here's what Paul said, that I have great heaviness, are you hearing me? Great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I, he said, for I could wish to myself for a curse for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. He said in Romans 10, one, he said, I, he said, my heart, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. No wonder Paul did a great work for God. You say, Paul was the greatest preacher. Paul was the greatest missionary. Paul was this, Paul was that. You know why? Because he had great heaviness and consenual sorrow in his heart. And it was his heart desire to see his people saved. We don't want sorrow. We don't want compassion. We don't want heaviness. You know what the American people want? They want fun. Don't bother me with heaviness and burdens, preacher. Don't bother me with sorrow in my heart. I'm on my way to heaven. I ain't got time to worry about them people. That's the problem. That's why there's an apathy of prayer in our lives, because of no faith. No compassion. Let me give you a third one and I'll be done. No willingness to sacrifice. On Sunday night, April 1912, an American woman was very weary yet could not sleep because of an oppression of fear. At last she felt a burden to pray and with tremendous earnestness she began to pray for her husband who was mid-Atlantic, homeward bound on the Titanic. As the hours went by, she could get no assurance and she kept on praying in agony until about five o'clock in the morning when a great peace possessed her and she laid down and slept. Meanwhile, her husband, Colonel Gracie, was among the doomed hundreds who were trying frantically to launch the lifeboats from the great ship whose vitals had been torn out by an iceberg, and he had given up all hope of being saved himself, and he was doing the best he could to help all the women and children, and he wished that he could get a last message through to his wife, and he cried from his heart, goodbye, my darling. Then as the ship plunged to her watery grave, he was sucked down in a giant whirlpool. Instinctively, he began to swim underwater, ice cold as it was, crying out in his heart. Suddenly, he came to the surface and found himself near an overturned lifeboat. Along with several others, he climbed aboard that boat and was picked up by another lifeboat about five o'clock in the morning, the very time that his wife, got peace in her prayer. Sacrificial praying. It's the prayer that will not take no for an answer. Church, I ask you a question. Where is our willingness to sacrifice? Where is the sacrifice that we used to hear about the people of God that would spend time in prayer, dear friend? Some would even pray all night. Some would get up extremely early in the morning. Some would spend time during the middle of the day. And they would take time and they would sacrifice for the Lord Jesus Christ a sacrifice of prayer. Dear friend, the Bible said in Ephesians 3.20, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly, or listening above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Dear friend, according to the scripture, he's able to do, but very few today are willing. They're not willing to ask, to be uncomfortable. They don't want to be lonely. They don't want to humble themselves. They don't want to sacrifice. There is no doubt, dear friend, in my mind tonight, that Colonel Gracie would have died had he not had a wife that was sacrificing in prayer. You see, when you sacrifice, you sacrifice your sleep. You sacrifice your time, you sacrifice your pleasures, and you sacrifice your wants. Hey, it ain't easy to get out of bed earlier before you got to go do everything else to spend time in prayer. I mean, put the phone down. Turn the TV off. Turn the computer off. Are you hear me? I Know social media is old I understand social media. I understand. Amen It's a god May as well be a god because it's more important than God Are we willing to sacrifice many are more concerned with what they want instead of what God wants The Bible said in Matthew 9, 29, listen to what it says, and he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. That's talking about that boy that was full of demons, amen, when God was trying to cast, when the disciples were wanting to cast him out and they could not. The Lord's up there, amen, on Mount Transfiguration. And he come down there and the disciples asked him, how come we couldn't cast him out? He said, this kind comes not but by prayer and fasting. May I say to you, dear friend, may I just insert this? that the day in which we're living in, just about everything is so wicked and so bad, it's going to take a lot of prayer and fasting. To find a place by yourself and push everything out, just leave me alone, Make the world leave you alone. It's not that important. It can wait. And find that secret place with the Lord. When's the last time you did that? You know what would be a blessing? It's a blessing that Victory Baptist Church has, I believe, some of the best singing in the church. And really it helps being in a small building, but we do got some good music, good singing. That's a wonderful thing. I think it's a blessing that we got some great preaching that comes from this church. Our preacher dear friend feeds us, ain't that a blessing? That's a blessing. I love it. I want my family around it. I think it's a great thing that our church supports missionaries. I think it's a blessing. It's wonderful. I think it's wonderful. A preacher gets up here and says, we're going to send $1,000 to this preacher. We're going to send $500 to this family and help them. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. That's a blessing. We're going to give this to the print shop. Ain't that a blessing to be in a place that's like that? But it sure would be a blessing to be in a place where we were known as a praying church. Wouldn't it be a blessing if people said, you know what? When them people down there at Victory pray, God answers their prayer. The apathy of our churches. Miss Anna, you could come. People say, I want to see more souls saved. Sacrifice. I want to have power with God. Sacrifice. I wish God would save my family. Sacrifice. I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I- He'll do more than we can ask or think. I've thought about some pretty awesome things. He's greater than my thoughts. You know what He's looking for? He's looking for somebody to come to Him and trust Him and ask Him. You can play Miss Anne. Make me an intercessor, one who can really pray. one of the Lord's remembrances by night as well as day. Make me an intercessor in spirit touch with Thee and give the heavenly vision praying through to victory. Make me an intercessor, teach me how to prevail, to stand my ground and still pray on though powers of hell assail. Make me an intercessor, sharing Thy death and life in prayer, claiming for others victory in the strife. Make me an intercessor willing for deeper death, emptied, broken, then made anew, and filled with living breath. Make me an intercessor reveal this mighty thing, the wondrous possibility of paying back my king. Make me an intercessor hidden, unknown, set apart, though little by those around, but satisfying that heart. Oh, that our preachers would pray more. Oh, that our leaders would pray more. Oh, that our mamas and daddies would pray more. That our churches would pray more. For if they would, there'd be no apathy.