Our topic for this session is supplication, petitioning our Heavenly Father who gives good gifts. I'm very grateful that the elders and organizers of this conference has chosen this topic of prayer. I think the most needful thing for our day today is this very thing, prayer. earnest, fervent, constant prayer, both individually and corporately. We can never look back on our lives and say to ourselves, you know, I shouldn't have spent so much time in prayer. I think the opposite would be true. We would look back and say, I should have spent more time in prayer. The days that we live in are evil days. It is as if though Satan has been unleashed and he is seeking to destroy everything that is good. What is the weapon against them? What is our weapon against Satan? Turn with me, if you will, to Ephesians 6, verse 18. Ephesians 6, verse 18. Paul here is giving us the armor of God that we are to put on to fight and resist the enemy of our soul. And then he says in verse 18, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all saints, for all the saints. So. What do we do after we put on the whole armor of God? What are we to do? Do we stop there? Is that sufficient for us in order to fight against the enemy of our soul? No. He tells us that we are to be praying, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayers and supplications. To the end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. How many all's do you see in this verse? All the time, all times, with all prayers and supplications, with all perseverance, with all the saints, for all the saints. Do you think Paul is trying to tell us that prayer is essential? Another example of the importance of prayer and a verse where supplication, the word supplication is used is found in 1st Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 1. As you turn there, I had said earlier that we live in evil times. Not only is ungodliness is so rampant in our day, but we also don't know how long our freedom to worship and evangelize will continue. What is our first course of action? What is our first course of action? If we want to see our freedom continues, is it to go into demonstrations and to, and to try to petition our lawmakers? Well, that may be the second or third thing that we could do, but look at what Paul says. Verse one, first Timothy two, one. First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. So he says if we want to have a peaceful time in our days, that we can feel free to live godly lives, then the first thing, the first order of importance is to do what? is to raise up supplication to our Heavenly Father for our lawmakers. Did you notice that? First of all, he says, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all peoples, for kings, and so on. He says, I urge I urge that supplications be made." In other words, this is of prime importance. He's urging us. He's urging us to do this. So if we were to give a definition to a prayer of supplication from these two verses, along with the parable of the widow that's found in Luke 18, what do we find is this. If I was to give a definition, it would be a supplication. It is the earnest entreaty, humble petition, asking, pleading, and beseeching our Heavenly Father for ourselves and for others. And we are to do this with thanksgiving and in perseverance. We are to persevere in this. Now I'm sure that pastor Joe spoke on the privileges that we have been, that have been purchased for us through Christ to allow us to come into the presence of the God of the universe, to address him as our father. The world cannot know this privilege brethren, but this privilege is ours in Christ. Before we came to Christ, we used to think that God is a distant God. He's some kind of judge that we can't even get near. But now we come to find out He is our gracious, loving Abba Father who delights to shower us with good gifts. One of those wonderful gifts, brethren, is His Holy Spirit. He tells us in Luke 11, you don't need to turn there, to those who ask Him. Our Heavenly Father has promised to give us not only temporal things, but His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, the source of all joy and comfort and peace and wisdom and truth and hope. He's promised to give Him to us. He's also the one who helps us in our supplication. When our prayers are too deep and intense for words, And all we managed to get out is a cry from the depths of our souls. The Holy Spirit at that point is interceding to the Father on our behalf. It is as though He's taken those groans and cries and He's interpreting them to the Father. Let's now take a look at the Lord's Prayer and see two petitions in Matthew 6. Matthew 6, verses 11 and 12. In those two petitions, we see verse 11, give us this day our daily bread, verse 12, and forgive us our debts as also have forgiven our debtors, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Now in these two petitions, we are looking to our Heavenly Father to supply our daily needs, both physical and spiritual. Bear in mind that this is a model prayer, so these are simple petitions that encompass broader needs. But they aren't the bare necessities of what our souls and our bodies need to live. They're the bare necessities of what we need to live on. First of all, he says, give us this day our daily bread. There are some commentators who take this to be strictly spiritual, the bread for our souls, as Christ is the bread for our souls. While others see it as our physical bread, but others yet, and myself included, believe that it encompasses both physical as well as spiritual. It encompasses both our physical needs as well as our spiritual needs, everything that we need for our sustenance. As Jesus said, man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed from the mouth of God. So we need bread for our physical bodies, but we need spiritual bread for our souls. The word of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the bread of life. Now, as for the physical needs or physical bread, this would include provision of, as I said, this is only a sample of the basic necessity. But of course, what it includes is, includes our jobs, includes transportation to get to the job, includes good health. for us to be able to work, right? Includes housing and place to live. So all those are, you can kind of put into this, give us this day our daily bread, the needs, our physical needs. Notice also it says, give us, which means we're not just praying for ourselves, but we're praying for others as well. Notice also the simplicity of this request. We're asking for bread, not for steak, right? This is similar to Agur's prayer. Agur in Proverbs 30, verse 7, he says, Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me falsehood and lying. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, who's the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. He says, feed me with the food that is necessary for me. Whatever I need to live on, Lord, feed me that. Now today diets have become so very complicated. You got the keto diet and the Atkins diet and the gluten-free and the dairy-free diets and the vegan diets, eating organic and free-range and so on. The simple request is no longer so simple, is it? But whatever diet we have, we're asking for God to give us what is necessary for us and suitable for our constitution. He knows what is best for us. So when we say, Lord, bless this food, we're asking Him, Father, you break it down in my body so I would get the nutrients that I need and be able to be sustained and serve you with what you give me, all right? So maybe you might, you may be vegan and somehow there's meat in there, or you may be dairy free and somehow there's some, you just pray that God will bless that and He'll break it down the right way for you. In making this request, we are doing the following. One, as children, we are showing our complete and humble dependence upon our Heavenly Father to supply our every need. There's a beautiful imagery in Psalm 104. He says in Psalm 104, these all, these being all the things that God has created, these all look to you to give them their food, verse 27, in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed. When you take away their breath, they die and return to dust. This is a beautiful imagery of a caring, loving Creator for His creatures. It's a picture of this. Imagine you have seed in your hand, and you open your hand and the birds come to eat off your hand, the seed. This is the kind of the imagery is God opens his hand, why? So that we may receive all the things that we need daily for our sustenance. The difference, brethren, is that God's hand never runs out of seed. He never runs out of seed. That manna supply never ran out until they reached the promised land. That continued until they reached the promised land and they were able to eat of the fruit of the land. So God's manna never runs out. Notice also that we're asking and begging, not demanding, showing that we don't deserve. Give us, please, we're petitioning. We're not saying, hey, you owe me this. At least you owe me this much. No, no, we're begging, we're asking as to say that we don't deserve this. He owes us nothing. It is a gift from him. That is why our supplication is to be done with thanksgiving. Amen. Secondly, we are not being anxious for our physical needs, but trusting God to provide them for us. As it says in Philippians, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your request known to God. We're saying, Lord, I'm placing my daily needs into your care, into your hands. And then we're saying this day our daily bread, this day, right? Notice we're not asking for our needs for tomorrow. We're saying today. Like the manna, God had promised to send every day fresh manna from heaven, right? We get anxious when we start worrying about tomorrow and the day after. But what about tomorrow? Some of the Israelites didn't take God at His word. They tried to gather up more than one day's worth. And what happened to it? Right, it got moldy. It got moldy. His mercies, brethren, are new to us every morning. Third, we're asking for our bread, which means we are not coveting someone else's bread. We are accepting God's provision for us, not murmuring or complaining at His providence, however meager that may be, but receiving it with thanksgiving. Oh brethren, how we need to repent of the sin of discontentment and covetousness. We think that we deserve better or more. We look at what others have with envy, the gifts, the car, their house, their job, their opportunities. or we come to expect it and think God owes it to us. We fail to recognize God's sovereignty and wisdom in distributing His gifts according to His good pleasure. It's not for us as if though we are something special and God owes it to us. No, he has the right to do what he pleases with his gifts. And he distributes them according to his perfect knowledge of each one of us. Fourthly, bear in mind the goal of this prayer. We're asking God to supply our daily needs so that we may be strengthened to serve and seek his glory and honor in the earth. So there's a goal behind this. It's not an end to itself that our physical needs are being met. Good job, food, clothing, shelter are not an end in themselves. They are means to a higher end and that we might seek His kingdom and the advance of His kingdom. When you look at these food channels and these shows that talk about healthy diets, you would think that we live to eat, don't you? The food network industry is worth billions of dollars. Fifthly, even though we are asking for just bread, our Heavenly Father is not stingy. He's not stingy. He will give us far more and far above what we can ask or think. Having given us his son, brethren, how much more shall he give us? All things. It is our Father's good pleasure to give us not only what we have need of today, but the kingdom itself. The kingdom itself. He said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts, how much more will He give us the Holy Spirit? He will give us above and beyond what we can ask or think, my brethren. So we should never think of our God as being stingy. He's a gracious God. And He says that we are more than the sparrows. If He's good to the sparrows and He provides for them their daily needs, how much more to us who are His children? God blessed us incredibly in this nation, brethren. Secondly, in verse 12, the next petition in the Lord's Prayer is found there. And he says, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. The word our debts here, in view here, is our failure to fulfill the things that we owe to God, such as love, obedience, and gratitude. These are sins of omission and sins of commission, things we commit, things we leave out, where we transgress the law. And remember, every offense, every offense demands a payment. That's why it's debts. Every offense demands a payment. In the parallel passage in Luke 11, it states our sins. So it's equivalent. It's the same thing, saying the same thing. What a blessing, brothers and sisters, that we don't have to try to muster up enough good works for our Heavenly Father to forgive us. No doing penance, fasting many days, beating ourselves up, or saying 10 Hail Marys and 50 Our Fathers, or praying to the saints to intercede for us and give us some of their merits. No. We come to our God and we say, forgive us our sins. Do you see the beauty? Do you see the simplicity? Do you see the privilege that we have that we can just come into the presence of God and daily receive fresh forgiveness? Fresh forgiveness. The promise is if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness. Praise God. He's ready to forgive because Christ has paid our debt in full. That is why. This is an invitation for us to come each day and receive forgiveness for our daily shortcomings and failures. This will help us to keep short accounts with God and prevent from accumulating offenses that would Put a distance between us and God and create this sense in which, oh, I'm too unclean, I can't come. No, brothers and sisters, we come, we keep short accounts. Each day, each day, we need that forgiveness and we need to come and confess it and own it before the Lord and then receive that forgiveness and that fresh, clean conscience and know that we are right with God. Then there's a condition associated with this request, Brandon. We say, forgive us our sins as we also have forgiven our debtors, or those who sin against us. Those who desire to receive mercy from the Lord must be willing to show mercy to others. Now this harkens us to that passage, that parable of the unforgiving servant. I think most of you, I'm sure, know that passage in Matthew chapter 18 where you have the master comes in and he is comes to this servant who owed him he's settling account with his servants this one servant he owed him huge debt that he could never repay in a lifetime and then it says and he begs the master and he says please forgive me And he says, fine. He canceled his debt. He canceled the debt. That servant had another servant who owed him some small amount of money and he grabs him and he begged him to forgive him. And he says, he goes, I'll pay you back. So he grabbed him by the throat and he demanded that he pay or he be put in prison. Well, uh, the. When we are not willing to forgive others who sin against us, it is a clear indication that we don't realize the huge debt that we owe to God. Our sin is cosmic treason against an infinitely holy God, and needed the Holy Son of God to come down from heaven in order to satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf. And now when I sin as a Christian, I am sinning against knowledge and making light of the blood of Christ by which I have been purchased with. So my sin is magnified. My sin is magnified. Now brethren, I know that some of you, or I would think with a group this large, some of you have been grievously sinned against. And in order for forgiveness and reconciliation to happen, there needs to be repentance, right? There needs to be the seeking of forgiveness. That needs to happen. But for the most part, that doesn't happen. And so, but what is our response? What is our response? Our response is to be that we are willing to extend, we have to have this spirit of forgiveness. If that person ever was to come to us and say, forgive me, I wronged you in this, I sinned against you in this, we're ready to say, for Christ's sake, I'm willing to forgive you. So there's that spirit of willingness to forgive, even though the person may not. But instead of harboring ill will, and being resentful and wishing that person to get worse than what he's done to us, we have the spirit of forgiveness. We have a spirit of forgiveness. So we have to have an attitude of forgiveness, not having a vindictive spirit. We need to have the spirit of Christ in us that when he was sinned against, he did not get even but committed his soul to him who judges righteously. God is a righteous judge and he will settle all accounts at the end. Be assured of that. Notice also the past tense. It says, as we have forgiven our debtors, this is a complete act before we even begin to pray. We've done this. You see, we have already done this. This is so important that the Lord repeats it again in verses 14 and 15, where he repeats the same thing. If you don't forgive others their sin, neither will your heavenly father forgive you your sins. Whenever we're sinned against, remember our sin against God and what it costs Him to forgive us. That will help us, brethren. There's no sacrifice that we can give that would even come close to the Lord of glory coming down from heaven and taking on flesh that He might be our sin bearer. So as I mentioned earlier, these are simple sample requests. We have many more needs and we are to bring them all to the Lord. We need wisdom, we need guidance, we need direction, growth and grace, sanctification, salvation for people in our lives, et cetera. So these are just basic requests, but they encompass much, much broader things. Now, having looked at these principles of prayer, of intercession from the Lord's Prayer, let us now look at the godly example of this woman in scripture, Hannah, Samuel's mother. Cynthia read to us the passage in chapter 1 of 1 Samuel, and we're going to take some examples from her life, how she was a woman of intercessory prayer. Hannah stands out in Scripture as a woman of faith. Her song of praise is one of the few that is recorded in Scripture of godly women's songs, which are very few in number, but hers is one of the first ones. Deborah is another one in Judges 5. Now, before we are introduced to Samuel, her son, who was one of the great prophets and judge in the Old Testament, We are introduced to his godly parents and more specifically to his godly mother. They are faithful Israelites who annually made the trip to Shiloh to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover. The scripture tells us that Hannah's husband had two wives. The one had children while Hannah was barren. And every year at the feast, penina, I don't know what's the best way to say that. Peninnah, okay, Peninnah. I have to consult my English teacher here. Peninnah, whom the scriptures calls her rival, used to chide and provoke Hannah for not having children. Here's where it says, verse six, and her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. So it's almost like rubbing salt on her wounds. She kept edging her, just provoking her specifically about this area that she doesn't have children. Now, what was the reaction of this woman of God, Hannah? What was her reaction? Did she complain of her lot and question God's goodness and sovereignty in her life? Did she feel sorry for herself and become sullen and depressed? Did she blame her husband for the problem? Did she find a close friend and pour out her heart to that individual? Now, her husband was a godly man and he tried to comfort her and express his love and commitment to her. And I'm sure that brought some comfort, but that wasn't enough. No, what did she do? The first thing she does is she took her complaint to the Lord. She took her complaint to the Lord. Yes, friends and loved ones can be of some encouragement, but the deep sorrow of the soul can only be healed by the one who came to heal the brokenhearted. by the One who gives us beauty for ashes, by the One who turns our mourning into dancing, and in exchange of our sackcloth to a garment of gladness. So she came to that one. And that is exactly where she took her grief and sorrow. Here's what she said to the high priest, Eli, who thought she was drunk because her lips were moving, but no words were coming out. She said, no, my Lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out my great anxiety and vexation of spirit." So what does she do with her sorrow? What does she do with her vexation of spirit? She is pouring out her soul to the Lord. So that's the first thing we see. She took her complaint to the Lord. She fled to Him for refuge, and there she found rest and joy. The Lord comforted her by His Spirit. Secondly, she prayed in faith and expectation that she would be heard. She prayed in faith and expectation that she would be heard. Psalm 34, 17, it says, When the righteous cry for help, The Lord hears and delivers them out of their trouble. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. She prayed and cried and poured her soul before the Lord with expectation that she'll be heard because why? She was a righteous woman. She was a righteous woman. She knew that she would be heard. James tells us, James 5, 16, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Now, we're heard not because we are righteous. We're heard because Christ is righteous for his sake. But if there is known, unconfessed sin in our lives, brethren, we shouldn't expect to be heard. If there is known, unconfessed sin in our lives, we should not expect to be heard. We must confess that sin. We must own that sin. We must repent and turn from that sin. That is why, brethren, the prayer of supplication includes what? Seeking forgiveness for our sins, right? There is no prayer that's going to be heard apart from repenting and confessing our sin. Third, she cast all her cares upon Him. Verse 18, It says, then the woman went her way and ate and her face was no longer sad. She had left the Passover meal to go pray because her grief had taken away her appetite. And now after she had prayed, the scripture tells us that she was no longer sad. And she went and ate. and she was no longer sad. She left all her sorrows there. She didn't carry any of them back. Psalm 55, 22 says, cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never permit a righteous to be moved. She believed that God has heard her and that He would do what is right. She came heavy hearted and she left light hearted. We'll talk more about this in a minute. She did not, fourth, she did not retaliate and try to get even with her rival, but let God deal with her. Remember, it says, as we forgive those who sin against us. That was one of the, in the intercessory prayer and in our Lord's prayer, she had an attitude of forgiveness towards her. She says, God has got to deal with her. In her song, it says, She says, She's saying that God's going to take care of you. If you are proud and arrogant, He will deal with you at the end. Fifthly, God's kingdom was of a higher priority to her than just having a son. This is important. God's kingdom, remember I said that physical things are not an end in themselves. They are a means to a higher end. The higher end being the glory of God and the kingdom of God. Here she's asking, but she has a higher end in view. She's asking for a son. Why do I say that? How many mothers would be willing to part with their firstborn after they're three? Especially when they've been waiting for that son for so long. She says in verse 11, chapter one, and she vowed a vow and said, all Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head." She's saying, I'm basically giving him up and saying, Lord, he is yours. How many are willing to do that? And it says, after she weaned him. So we're assuming it's somewhere around two or three, you know. If you really, really, really press it, maybe seven, but that sounds like a long time to be breastfeeding a child. But really, it's like she just really loved God and she wanted this child to be for God. And the other reason I say that she had a higher view, she had the kingdom of God in view, is found in her song in verse 10, 1 Samuel 2.10. It says, the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth and he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. Now remember, this is the time of the judges. There was no king in view. A king didn't come along for decades. What she's talking about is the kingdom of God, Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah coming, and his kingdom spread to the ends of the earth. Do you see, brethren, her view is not just give me the son so I could be satisfied and my needs met. No, give me the son so your kingdom would spread to the ends of the earth. And here he is yours, And Lord, she's seeing a vision of the Messiah. This is the first time in scripture up to this point that the Messiah is mentioned. And it's spoken through this godly woman's voice as though God, she's a prophetess. She's a prophetess. So Hannah's seeing the Messiah's kingdom spread to the ends of the earth. So she has a bigger view and picture than just her own needs. This encourages us, Brethren, that when we pray for physical things, whether it be healing, a job, a house, or whatever it may be, always keep in mind the kingdom of God and the glory of God. Always keep in mind the kingdom of God and His glory. James says we ask and don't receive because we ask amiss. We ask amiss, we ask for things so that we could spend it on ourselves. Instead of having the bigger picture and the bigger view of the glory of God. And using these things for His glory. Do you want strength and healing? Well, so that you may serve the Lord, you may worship the Lord, you may glorify the Lord. We've been praying for our brother Jim here who preaches and leads in worship. We're praying and we're saying, Lord, he's got cancer. We're saying, Lord, don't just heal him so he can live long. Heal him so he can serve you more. You see, he can serve your people more. That's the point that we need to keep always in mind when we ask these things. She had strong faith in God's sovereignty and providence. She wasn't demanding. Remember we said that we're not demanding, we're saying give us, please. We owe us nothing. We're embracing your sovereignty and you do what you do because you are right and you're good. It says in her song, you see this come out in verse 6 and 8, it says, the Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and He exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust. He lifts up the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. So she's embracing God's providence. She's not saying, Lord, I don't deserve to be barren. No, why does my rival here has five children? I have none. She wasn't saying that. She was embracing God's sovereignty in her life. So I just want to take a moment to show you the impact that Hannah's faith and prayer had on her son, Samuel. Samuel knew the Lord from a child. God had revealed himself to him. And the Lord told Jeremiah in verse Jeremiah 15, 1, he says, though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not be turned to this people. Jeremiah was trying to pray for the people that God's wrath would be stayed. And he says, even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me right now to intercede on behalf of this people, I'm not listening. What the Lord is showing us here, he's putting Samuel on par with Moses. Where did this man learn the prayer to be a man of intercession and prayer? Do you see the impact of this godly mother? Can you imagine how overjoyed his mother was to see what a mighty man of God her son had become and how God's kingdom was being advanced through him? Is it not the longing of every woman of God to see her children serving the Lord? More on this point later. Now for our last point, I would like to address some of the hindrances that keep us from seeking God in prayer. This will have to be quick. I have five minutes to do it. First is self-reliance. Thinking that we only bring the big matters to God and the small, well, I got this, Lord. It's all under control. That's the other. Make a habit of bringing to God in prayer everything small and great. Philippians 4, 6 again, do not be anxious about anything, anything small or great, but in everything, is there anything that's left that's not in the anything and the everything? By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, Let your request be known to God. 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, 18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Now, let me take a moment to make a distinction. Some may say, you know, I pray all the time. That's wonderful. Praise God. We should be praying. We should be in the spirit, a spirit of prayer at all times. We're always asking, Lord, help me. Lord, thank you. Lord, praise your name. Lord, have mercy. We're always, throughout the day, we're bringing these, what's called, ejaculatory prayers to the Lord. Just very spontaneous, very free, you know, at any moment throughout the day. Because we have the Spirit within us and He's enabling us to pray. We're walking in fellowship with the Lord. But brethren, let me just say, that is not to take the place of the secret and quiet time with the Lord in prayer. We still need the one-on-one time with the Lord. Our Savior needed it. There was no one more filled with the Spirit than Jesus Christ. And yet he felt the need. He felt the need to take time out of his busy schedule. We'll get to that next point. To take time and to spend time in prayer. Now, the second point is our priorities get in the way. Our priorities get in the way. We need to learn from our Savior. He never allowed the business of the day to get in the way of His time with His Father. Even if it meant getting up early in the morning or staying up late at night. Luke 5 15 tells us, Now listen, Jesus is at the height of his popularity now. Great crowds, everybody has heard about Christ. They want to see him. Everybody in Judea and abroad want to see him. What do you think he does at this point? You think he says, listen, the priority of ministry are way more demanding. I have no time to pray, right? No, listen to the next verse. This is Luke 5, 15 and 16. But He would withdraw to a desolate places and pray. I have no time. I'm so busy in the work of the kingdom. This job of praying? No, no, no. I got souls to save. No, no. Jesus says He withdrew. He withdrew to find a place where there's no people. I need to be alone with God. Desolate. It's in the desert. It's on a mountain. It's wherever it is. I'm going to find a secluded place where I draw near to my Heavenly Father. So brethren, I say don't allow The spirit of prayer that you have throughout the day to replace your secret time in prayer with the Lord. If we neglect secret time with God and corporate prayer, I'm including corporate prayer here. I'll explain that in a moment. We should not be surprised that we don't see much change happening in our own lives, in our churches, in our family, in our neighborhoods and the world around us. We should not be surprised brethren that we're not seeing much change in those areas. I have an illustration, but I think I'm going to have to, there was, uh, uh, in 1949, there was a revival at the island of Lewis. This is an island over in Scotland. And do you know how that revival started? Two elderly women, sisters. Peggy and Christine Smith, 84 and 82 years of age, Peggy completely blind, and Christine bent over with arthritis, were burdened due to the depressed spiritual state of their Barbis, this is the name of the village where they lived, Barbis Village Church, their church. They said, things are dry. There's no spirit here. God is not moving in our midst. What are they gonna do? What do they do? Listen to what they do. They sensed the Lord speaking to them, I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground, Isaiah 44, 3. This led them to pray in their small cottage two to three nights per week from 10 p.m. till 3 a.m. After several weeks of praying, they feel that God is going to do something. They tell the elders of the church, God is going to do something, get ready. And the elders began to pray and God began to move and there was repentance and there was faith and there was turning from sin and people started coming into the church weeping. What happened? The spirit came. Why? Because two women prayed. So brethren, I want to encourage you with that. There were many, many other examples. that we could turn to. There were godly women. We talk about Timothy had a godly mother and grandmother. Charles Spurgeon, the Westleys, the Hudson Taylor, many, many other godly men had godly mothers who prayed. Now, thirdly, living in a land of freedom, this is, we're talking about things that hinder us from praying. Living in a land of freedom and relative security, a democratic society and abundant resources, that is jobs, food, shelter, medicine, all are readily available and affordable to most people. We begin to rely on our resources rather than on God, who is the giver of these resources. I dare say sisters that the prayer life of the first century Christians and that of our Asian and African brothers and sisters today was and is considerably different than our own. Because they pray more earnestly because their needs are great. Their needs are great and that drives them to prayer. So we need to look beyond, brethren and sisters, we need to look beyond the resources and see our spiritual poverty. Okay? We need to look beyond the resources and see our spiritual poverty. Fourthly, finding relief in talking to close friends about our problem instead of God. Well, brethren, the Holy Spirit is called what? The comforter. He's a paraclete. We may get comfort from friends, but it's not the comfort that we receive from the Holy Spirit. Fifthly, an anxious and worried personality. You bring your concerns to God, but you don't leave them there. It's kind of like fishing. You know when you fish, you cast the bait, and you cast it into there, and there's a little hook, and there's a worm, and then there's a weight there, and you cast it. And then what do you do? You reel it back. You reel it back, and sometimes even heavier load, because you may catch a fish, and you reel it back. That's how we pray, right? It's like fishing. No, brethren, that's not what the Lord says. Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you. It's taking the Lord and throwing it on Him. What happens is we get caught in a tailspin of all these what ifs. What ifs? What if I lose a job? What if that contract doesn't come through? Or what if that project falls through? What if, what if, what if, well, I would lose my job, and then I have no place. I can't afford the rent. And then I wind up on the street, and I'll be homeless. And see, before you know it, we just got into this tailspin. So what ifs? We need to avoid that. Sexually, we get overwhelmed because the needs are so great. You just don't know where to start. Where do you start? There's needs in your family. There's needs in your church. There's needs in the neighborhood. There's needs in the workplace. There's needs in the nation. There's needs in the persecuted brethren. Where do you start? You feel overwhelmed. I can't start to pray because I don't even know where to start, right? Well, He said, I would need four hours a day to be able to really pray through all those things. So as to not get overwhelmed, break up these needs to different days of the week. Not to pray is not the answer. Talk to some of the sisters who are prayer warriors and ask them, how do you do this? How do you do this? How do you get it done? Do you pray four hours a day? How do you do this? Now, some of you younger sisters with younger children are in a stage of life where you're very busy. Well, if you had a half hour to yourself, you probably want to take a nap, right? Kids are keeping you awake. What do you do? I understand. Let me inspire you with this example, okay? There's a woman by the name of Susanna Wesley. I'm sure you all heard of her. She had 19 kids, okay? How did she manage to pray, take time to pray? Do you know what she did? She sat and she pulled her apron over her head. And that was a signal to all her kids, mom is praying. You better be quiet. Don't disturb. It's like a sign that says, do not disturb. And that's how she prayed. And you know, this woman raised up two godly men, John and Charles Wesley, who went and preached the gospel. So it could be done. You need to figure out a way. It could be done. So your devotion to God and prayer could be the very thing that draws your children to him. Your devotion to God and your prayer could be the very thing that would draw your children to him. You will be passing a godly legacy to your children as they see your faithful prayer life. You may not see your prayers answered in your lifetime, but your prayers will outlive you. They will outlive you. They're not canceled when you get to heaven. They're not canceled. And John says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this time we're able to spend in your word, and especially in this area of prayer. Father, please help my sisters, by your grace, to be committed to it, that they would be able to find time to make it a priority in their lives. I pray, Lord, that you would use it in their families' lives, in their children, in their neighborhoods, wherever they are, that they would see fruits of their prayers that you would work in our churches, oh God, that we would truly be a people of prayer. Help us by your grace, Lord, in this area. Help us not to be content to just talk to others about our needs, but first and foremost, to cry out to you. Please help us to grow in this area of intercessory prayer, this area of seeking your face, Lord, for our needs always. And that may we have that joy that was experienced by Hannah when we pour our hearts before you and know that joy of forgiveness of sins and that our burdens have been taken care of. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.