Let's Pray: Prayer 201
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Let's Pray: Prayer 201
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- Allen Jackson: It's good to be with you again.
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- We're beginning a new study today.
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- The title is "Let's Pray," and I'm excited
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- about the opportunity.
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- We have worked through this in our congregation here
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- in Tennessee,
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- and it has opened the lives of thousands of people to
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- the power of God, to the moving of God in their lives in some
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- unique and some new ways, and I believe
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- it has the same opportunity for you.
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- It can change how we think of God and his involvement with us,
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- and in the interaction in our daily lives.
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- I think, to some degree, we all struggle
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- with compartmentalizing our lives.
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- We've got a church life and a work life and maybe a life with
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- our friends, and to integrate those is really the power and
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- the opportunity of being a Christ-follower.
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- Prayer is not something that's distant from us or removed
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- from us or too difficult for us, or it's not for someone
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- who feels more holy than we do.
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- Prayer is as close as your breath, and God is as interested
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- and as real as the sky you see above you.
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- So, together, we're gonna take a few weeks and unpack this notion
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- to allow prayer to become an expression of the power of God
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- on our behalf and through us.
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- Enjoy the study.
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- Allen: Well, in Isaiah 37, we get to listen in to a response
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- that God has from the prophet to the king.
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- "Isaiah, son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah."
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- Hezekiah is the king of Israel.
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- "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you
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- have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib, the king of
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- Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
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- 'The Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and mocks you.
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- The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee.'"
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- Isaiah the prophet goes to the king, Hezekiah,
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- with a message. Jerusalem has a problem.
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- The rising empire of the day is Assyria, and they have conquered
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- every nation that they have set their sights on,
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- and now the Assyrian armies have encircled Jerusalem,
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- and destruction seems imminent.
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- Hezekiah has prayed, and Isaiah goes to see the king
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- with this message.
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- We just read it. Did you see it?
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- He said, "Because you have prayed to me concerning
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- the king of Assyria, I have spoken against him."
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- The implication is very clear.
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- "Hezekiah, if you hadn't prayed, I wouldn't have done anything,
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- but because you prayed, in response to your prayer,
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- I have made a pronouncement against the Assyrian king,
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- and I will drive him from this land."
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- It's a very simple idea.
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- Prayer opens doorways of God's possibility in your life.
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- When we refuse to prayer, when we fail to pray, when we ignore
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- prayer, we remove God's possibilities from our lives.
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- Prayer is more than a burdensome responsibility.
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- It's more than the assignment given to professional,
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- clerical religious people.
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- Prayer is an invitation to every one of us to cooperate
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- with the purposes of Almighty God.
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- God responds to the prayers of his people.
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- Look with me, one more passage.
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- This time it's the New Testament, Luke chapter 11.
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- Jesus is speaking.
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- "I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you.
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- Seek and you'll find.
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- Knock and the door will be opened to you.
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- For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
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- and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
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- It's a very intriguing passage to me.
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- We are given a set of permissions from Jesus.
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- We are given permission to ask and to seek, to find, to knock.
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- If there's a door closed, Jesus doesn't say,
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- "Turn and go another direction."
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- He says, "Begin to knock."
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- It's an invitation to an assertive response to life,
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- a God-informed response to life,
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- a God-directed response to life.
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- Prayer matters.
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- Prayer is more than something to resort
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- to when everything else fails.
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- Prayer is not the territory of the weak or the incapable,
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- or the unmotivated.
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- Prayer is a powerful, powerful part of your journey
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- as a Christ-follower.
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- We can't afford to withdraw from the arena of prayer.
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- Now, I wanna suggest to you a new response for this year,
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- a way to interact with one another,
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- to interact with people.
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- It's a response to the challenges of life
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- and the victories of life, and it's wrapped up
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- in two very simple words: "Let's pray."
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- You don't need a Greek word or a Hebrew word or an Aramaic word,
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- or a word study.
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- "Let's pray."
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- And then they're simple.
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- I mean, they're both one-syllable words.
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- I think you can do this.
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- This isn't Nebuchadnezzar or Sennacherib, all right?
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- "Let's pray." Can you say it?
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- That was very mediocre.
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- I wonder if we could do it with the enthusiasm as if Angus
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- gave you the invitation?
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- Okay, on three, one, two, three. That'd be a bit better.
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- That's not quite up to Zulu standards,
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- but we're workin' on it.
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- "Let's pray."
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- I brought you a passage of Scripture.
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- Look with me in Philippians chapter 4.
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- Says, "Do not be anxious about anything."
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- How wonderful would it be to live a week
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- without being anxious about anything?
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- Wooh.
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- "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything,
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- by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
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- present your requests to God.
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- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
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- will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
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- Look at the outcome.
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- It says there's a peace that is beyond understanding that can
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- guard our hearts, our emotions, and our minds, our thoughts.
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- I'd like to live in that place.
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- I would like to live in a place that, irrespective of what's
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- happening in my life or in the broader world, I am at peace
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- within and at peace with the world, and at peace with God.
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- Wouldn't that be a good place?
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- Anybody ever lose your peace?
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- Get a little agitated, frustrated, anxious?
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- You probably know somebody that does.
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- Well, the pathway to that destination
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- is very clearly identified for us in that verse.
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- It says, "In everything--"
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- what's excluded from "everything"?
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- Nothing.
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- "In everything, by prayer and petition, make your requests
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- known to God."
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- How do you get to that peaceful state of heart and mind by
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- "in everything, prayer"?
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- Let's pray. Let's pray.
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- Now, here's the idea I give you, and I have an agenda.
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- I have an objective over the course of this year.
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- I want this idea of "Let's Pray" to become more widely addressed,
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- more widely expressed than our "Jesus is Lord" magnets
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- have ever considered be.
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- And that's sayin' somethin' 'cause I see those rascals
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- everywhere, and I know other people see 'em
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- 'cause they call me to complain about how you're driving.
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- What's up with that?
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- Do they think we have driving school on Saturday afternoon?
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- I'm grateful you've got one of the stickers.
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- If I was the only one, I would know for certain
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- it was me that--here's the idea with "Let's Pray."
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- We interact with people all the time.
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- Every day, every one of us interacts with dozens and dozens
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- of people: little people, big people, old people,
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- professional people, casual acquaintances, in the stores,
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- with our friends, with our families.
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- We do it in the social media. We post things.
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- We text, we tweet, we put things--all kinds of ways we
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- communicate, and there's a normal pattern of interaction
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- that's a part of dealing with people--an
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- exchange of information.
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- And if you grew up in the South,
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- there's a whole polite layer to that.
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- "How are you?" We don't really care.
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- We were just taught to say that as kids.
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- That's the truth.
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- "And how are you today?"
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- And if you've got a three-minute answer,
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- we're like, "Oh, could you hush?"
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- But we have this interaction, right?
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- All kinds.
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- People tell ya, you know, "How're you doin' today?"
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- "Argh*, it's not good.
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- The kids were sick last night--what I cleaned up
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- in the floor of my house."
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- I did not sign up for this, right?
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- "How're you doin'?"
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- "I'm not doin' great today. My boss is in a bad mood."
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- How are you doin'?"
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- "I didn't sleep at all last night."
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- All kinds of messages come to you, right?
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- I mean, dozens and--I mean, talkin' to you friends,
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- "How're you doin'?"
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- "Oh, I'm bummed out. My team lost."
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- "I'm excited my team won."
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- "Now, what're you doin' for the Super Bowl?"
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- I mean, you get all kinds of messages that come to you,
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- and, now, we've got a pattern of responses.
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- You probably got some phrases that you use.
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- I mean, it's habit to you at this point.
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- I'm asking you to retool the habit.
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- This isn't gonna be easy. We'll have to revisit it.
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- We'll have to practice. I'll need your help.
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- You'll need my help. We'll have to walk this out.
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- When you get that message, you've got a decision to make.
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- Now, what are you gonna do? You're gonna commiserate?
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- You're gonna carry the gossip one step further in the chain?
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- You're gonna empathize?
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- You're just gonna look at 'em with a dumb look?
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- What're you gonna do? What're you gonna say?
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- We've got habits.
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- "Aw, that's too bad. I'm so sorry."
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- Sometimes we try to top their testimony with a horror story
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- from our own portfolio.
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- "You think your husband's bad?
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- Listen about the man I live with."
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- "You know, you won't believe what happened at church."
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- "Well, let me tell you about the church I go to.
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- Darth Vader was in the lobby."
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- Don't send me an e-mail.
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- So you've already got--here's what I wanna suggest: The minute
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- somebody gives you one of those places is a window
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- into discomfort, angst, heartache, heartbreak,
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- concern, worry, whatever it is.
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- Our response is "Let's pray."
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- "Let's pray." "Let's pray."
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- But you can't stop there. There's a second step.
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- As soon as you say, "Let's pray," what I'm suggesting you
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- do, the second step in this, is you just drop your head.
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- Don't say, "Let's pray," and wait for them to respond to you.
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- "Well, now, Pastor, the way I believe--" no, "Let's pray,"
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- and you drop your head, and "We're gon' pray."
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- Now, I don't want you to swell up like a TV preacher,
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- all right?
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- I know some of them, okay?
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- I'm not suggesting you say, "Let's pray,
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- Almighty God--" okay?
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- I'm not talkin' to you about that.
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- And if you've got that tendency, you go outside with the rabbits
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- and the squirrels and the birds, and you go for it,
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- but don't subject us to that nonsense, all right?
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- Don't talk to God in the voice you don't use
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- when you talk to the rest of us.
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- He'll be laughin' at you too.
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- "Gabriel, get over here. Listen to this.
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- That 21st-century Southern boy just said, 'Thou.'
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- Look at that."
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- When it's time to pray, "Let's pray," and you drop your--now,
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- here's the third piece, and this is the money piece of this.
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- You're gonna pray a one-sentence prayer.
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- "How're ya doin'?"
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- "I'm not doin' great. My kids were sick."
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- "Father, help 'em, in Jesus's name, amen," and hush,
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- and then you--oh, you look right back at them,
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- and your next line is not spiritual.
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- You're not gonna look at them with that long, sad,
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- sober, "Bless you," all right?
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- "Let's pray.
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- God, help 'em, in Jesus's name, amen.
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- Who do you think's gonna win the Super Bowl?"
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- You with me? It's spiritual hit-and-run.
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- [congregation laughing]
- 00:12:36.260 --> 00:12:40.070
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:45.240
- 00:12:45.250 --> 00:12:47.170
- male announcer: Did you know that in the time it takes you
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- to have your morning coffee each day,
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- a new response to life can take root?
- 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:52.210
- When you donate today, you'll receive the "Let's Pray"
- 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:54.210
- devotional book, plus the "Let's Pray" coffee mug, a morning
- 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:57.290
- reminder as you start a new daily routine with the Lord.
- 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.220
- Be encouraged to take your prayers boldly before the throne
- 00:13:00.230 --> 00:13:03.140
- of grace with Pastor Allen's devotional book,
- 00:13:03.150 --> 00:13:05.180
- "Let's Pray," 30 days of prayer.
- 00:13:05.190 --> 00:13:07.280
- Through prayer, we are not alone
- 00:13:07.290 --> 00:13:09.280
- in facing challenges or problems.
- 00:13:09.290 --> 00:13:11.280
- We have help from Almighty God.
- 00:13:11.290 --> 00:13:13.140
- "Let's Pray," 30 days of prayer, can bring focus to your prayer
- 00:13:13.150 --> 00:13:16.290
- life, so call the number on your screen, or go to
- 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.260
- allenjackson.com, to receive the "Let's Pray" gift set
- 00:13:19.270 --> 00:13:22.150
- as a thank you for your donation,
- 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:23.270
- and thank you for supporting Allen Jackson Ministries.
- 00:13:23.280 --> 00:13:27.170
- Together, we can make a difference.
- 00:13:27.180 --> 00:13:29.060
- 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:32.290
- Allen: There is a "Let's pray" opportunity in almost
- 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.210
- every interaction you have through the day.
- 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:39.160
- This is not just something for the college kids
- 00:13:39.170 --> 00:13:41.180
- or for the little kids.
- 00:13:41.190 --> 00:13:42.280
- This works in a business meeting.
- 00:13:42.290 --> 00:13:45.030
- If you've got a tough problem and you need wisdom
- 00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:48.180
- and experience and some significant horsepower directed
- 00:13:48.190 --> 00:13:51.210
- at the problem, it's most appropriate for you to say,
- 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:54.260
- "Hey, let's pray.
- 00:13:54.270 --> 00:13:56.060
- God, help us, in Jesus's name, amen,"
- 00:13:56.070 --> 00:13:57.180
- and then get back to work.
- 00:13:57.190 --> 00:14:01.150
- If you've got a real challenge,
- 00:14:01.160 --> 00:14:02.250
- this isn't about your profession.
- 00:14:02.260 --> 00:14:04.050
- Don't tell me you're too professional to pray.
- 00:14:04.060 --> 00:14:06.100
- Are you too professional to need God's help?
- 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:11.000
- We're not too sophisticated or too educated.
- 00:14:11.010 --> 00:14:13.170
- There is a God, and prayer will make a difference.
- 00:14:13.180 --> 00:14:16.040
- "Let's pray."
- 00:14:16.050 --> 00:14:18.240
- Now, I wanna give you some tools to help you
- 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:20.060
- walk this forward a little bit.
- 00:14:20.070 --> 00:14:22.070
- Let's take this Prayer 201 just a little bit further,
- 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.060
- and what I wanna suggest to you is that there
- 00:14:25.070 --> 00:14:31.240
- is a workmanlike quality to prayer.
- 00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:36.290
- It's a very important piece of this equation,
- 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.160
- the workmanlike quality to prayer.
- 00:14:40.170 --> 00:14:42.070
- What I mean by that, when I think of "work,"
- 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:46.000
- I think of it in these terms.
- 00:14:46.010 --> 00:14:47.100
- I think "work" means that you show up
- 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:50.130
- whether you feel like it or not.
- 00:14:50.140 --> 00:14:51.230
- You know, it's not about the weather or the snow
- 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:56.090
- or the lack thereof.
- 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.120
- A workmanlike quality means you show up.
- 00:14:58.130 --> 00:15:00.220
- You do the things that you know you can do,
- 00:15:00.230 --> 00:15:03.090
- that you're assigned to do, that you're responsible.
- 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:05.230
- You gotta roll up your sleeves.
- 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:07.100
- You lean into what the assignment is even though you
- 00:15:07.110 --> 00:15:09.180
- understand sometimes that the larger outcomes are beyond you
- 00:15:09.190 --> 00:15:12.290
- but that, if you don't show up and do your part,
- 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.210
- you have torpedoed those larger outcomes.
- 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:17.210
- Well, there is a workmanlike quality to prayer.
- 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:22.050
- You have to show up, engage, participate, be willing to make
- 00:15:22.060 --> 00:15:26.290
- it a consistent part of your life response,
- 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:30.020
- even though we understand the outcome is beyond us.
- 00:15:30.030 --> 00:15:36.080
- See, when you see someone who, with some consistency,
- 00:15:36.090 --> 00:15:41.230
- has outcomes to their prayers, what I want you to understand,
- 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:47.160
- it isn't that they have found the secret sauce.
- 00:15:47.170 --> 00:15:51.210
- They don't know--they don't have some special dust in their
- 00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:54.130
- pocket or a mystical verse of Scripture that they have found.
- 00:15:54.140 --> 00:15:59.150
- When you see someone, when there are consistent outcomes to their
- 00:15:59.160 --> 00:16:03.090
- prayers, you can know for certain that they have invested
- 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:07.140
- time and effort in knowing God and in praying.
- 00:16:07.150 --> 00:16:12.210
- There is a workmanlike component to prayer.
- 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:15.180
- I remember Lance Lambert saying in this place that,
- 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:20.110
- "If someone has to tell you they're an intercessor,
- 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.030
- they're probably not."
- 00:16:23.040 --> 00:16:28.130
- I'm not talkin' about bein' goofy.
- 00:16:28.140 --> 00:16:31.270
- I'm not discussing weirdness.
- 00:16:31.280 --> 00:16:34.160
- I'm suggesting that the cultivation of meaningful
- 00:16:34.170 --> 00:16:37.120
- prayers in your life means you're willing to engage
- 00:16:37.130 --> 00:16:40.250
- in a set of practices.
- 00:16:40.260 --> 00:16:42.050
- Now, I wanna give you a couple ideas to help build that out,
- 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:45.220
- and the first is, when we pray, it's very important that you
- 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:50.130
- understand exactly whom you are addressing.
- 00:16:50.140 --> 00:16:56.090
- It makes a difference.
- 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:59.230
- In Luke chapter 11, in verse 1, it says,
- 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.140
- "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place."
- 00:17:03.150 --> 00:17:06.200
- May I suggest to you that, if Jesus took time
- 00:17:06.210 --> 00:17:09.070
- and energy to pray, it might be a good idea for you and me.
- 00:17:09.080 --> 00:17:13.020
- I'm just thinkin'.
- 00:17:13.030 --> 00:17:16.240
- "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place,
- 00:17:16.250 --> 00:17:18.230
- and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him,
- 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.000
- 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'"
- 00:17:21.010 --> 00:17:25.000
- It's worth noting these are the disciples
- 00:17:25.010 --> 00:17:28.080
- that Jesus had personally recruited.
- 00:17:28.090 --> 00:17:30.280
- I think we could argue that Jesus was an effective leader,
- 00:17:30.290 --> 00:17:34.140
- that his discernment, that his training skills
- 00:17:34.150 --> 00:17:36.230
- were above average.
- 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:38.030
- Now, he's recruited Peter, James, and John,
- 00:17:38.040 --> 00:17:41.010
- and the rest of this crew.
- 00:17:41.020 --> 00:17:42.130
- They've been with him a while now, and they've observed
- 00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:45.120
- Jesus praying, and they say to him, "Lord, we don't know
- 00:17:45.130 --> 00:17:49.240
- how to pray like you do.
- 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:51.270
- Teach us to pray."
- 00:17:51.280 --> 00:17:53.270
- That's a very important observation to me
- 00:17:53.280 --> 00:17:56.010
- because I feel that way a good bit of the time.
- 00:17:56.020 --> 00:17:59.110
- Jesus didn't rebuke them. He didn't chastise them.
- 00:17:59.120 --> 00:18:03.260
- He didn't do anything to diminish them.
- 00:18:03.270 --> 00:18:05.230
- He began to help them.
- 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.190
- So when you say, "I don't feel adequate,"
- 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.290
- "I don't know how to pray like I would like to pray,"
- 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.090
- "There's a deficit in me," it's not a point of shame
- 00:18:12.100 --> 00:18:16.040
- or embarrassment or humiliation.
- 00:18:16.050 --> 00:18:18.090
- It's not a threat of being rejected by God.
- 00:18:18.100 --> 00:18:21.000
- We're standing shoulder to shoulder with Peter,
- 00:18:21.010 --> 00:18:23.090
- James, and John.
- 00:18:23.100 --> 00:18:25.180
- "Lord, teach us to pray."
- 00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:28.020
- Jesus began his instructions immediately.
- 00:18:28.030 --> 00:18:31.220
- "He said to them, 'When you pray--'"
- 00:18:31.230 --> 00:18:34.050
- he assumes we're gonna pray.
- 00:18:34.060 --> 00:18:35.150
- "When you pray, say, 'Father, hallowed be your name,
- 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.200
- your kingdom come.'"
- 00:18:38.210 --> 00:18:40.060
- Now, most of you know the balance of that prayer.
- 00:18:40.070 --> 00:18:41.240
- It's the Lord's Prayer, the "Our Father," but Jesus said,
- 00:18:41.250 --> 00:18:45.160
- "The beginning of a meaningful prayer journey is this:
- 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:48.160
- When you pray, say, 'Our Father.'"
- 00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:52.170
- Our Father.
- 00:18:52.180 --> 00:18:53.270
- Who was Jesus addressing?
- 00:18:53.280 --> 00:18:55.290
- The Creator of the universe.
- 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.170
- The Creator of all things, the Most High God.
- 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:04.200
- But he said, "When you pray, pray this way: 'Our Father.'"
- 00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:10.170
- He didn't say, "When you pray, you should start and say,
- 00:19:10.180 --> 00:19:13.220
- 'Oh, Benevolent One, who watches over the universe,
- 00:19:13.230 --> 00:19:19.100
- the Most Omnipotent Higher Power."
- 00:19:19.110 --> 00:19:21.180
- No, he said, "When you pray, he's your Father in heaven."
- 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:30.010
- Now, I understand that some of us may have not had great
- 00:19:30.020 --> 00:19:33.260
- fathers, and that can impact how you understand the role of
- 00:19:33.270 --> 00:19:37.260
- father and how you see that, but don't let that part of your life
- 00:19:37.270 --> 00:19:41.150
- experience diminish this invitation.
- 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.200
- I'm not wanting to set that aside casually.
- 00:19:44.210 --> 00:19:46.230
- I can imagine the challenges it presents,
- 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:50.170
- but there's an invitation in this beyond that.
- 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:53.290
- Jesus said, when we pray, we can approach the Creator
- 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.260
- of all things as if he were our Father.
- 00:19:56.270 --> 00:20:01.060
- Think of it in the reverse.
- 00:20:01.070 --> 00:20:02.210
- He gave us permission to imagine ourselves part of the family.
- 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:09.030
- Now, that changes everything.
- 00:20:09.040 --> 00:20:12.020
- You go home from church today, and you walk in the kitchen,
- 00:20:12.030 --> 00:20:15.040
- and you see your kids eating your food.
- 00:20:15.050 --> 00:20:19.240
- Might be a little annoying.
- 00:20:19.250 --> 00:20:21.040
- They got ahead of the curve, but beyond that,
- 00:20:21.050 --> 00:20:25.090
- it's probably somewhat under the realm of expectation.
- 00:20:25.100 --> 00:20:28.140
- You go home today, and you find your house filled with 40 people
- 00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:31.060
- you don't know, eating your food?
- 00:20:31.070 --> 00:20:36.030
- You're gonna look for a weapon, a stick, and an officer,
- 00:20:36.040 --> 00:20:40.190
- and the order may not be important.
- 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:44.270
- When Jesus said, "When you pray," you can approach the
- 00:20:44.280 --> 00:20:48.280
- Creator of all things as if you're part of the family.
- 00:20:48.290 --> 00:20:55.010
- The power in that is startling--the magnitude
- 00:20:55.020 --> 00:20:59.270
- of that door of invitation.
- 00:20:59.280 --> 00:21:02.120
- See, the disciples are not foreign to prayer.
- 00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:04.170
- They pray in the synagogue. They pray at the temple.
- 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:08.030
- They pray on holidays.
- 00:21:08.040 --> 00:21:09.210
- They're familiar with all sorts of expressions of prayer,
- 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:12.140
- but Jesus is repositioning their imagination.
- 00:21:12.150 --> 00:21:16.110
- When you and I pray, we don't pray to some nameless,
- 00:21:16.120 --> 00:21:20.100
- unknown god.
- 00:21:20.110 --> 00:21:22.090
- We're praying to the God of our Bible, and his Son Jesus said we
- 00:21:22.100 --> 00:21:28.100
- have permission to approach him as if we're part of the family.
- 00:21:28.110 --> 00:21:34.040
- See, one of the great threats to our faith is if you will believe
- 00:21:34.050 --> 00:21:41.100
- the deception that God has many names, and it doesn't matter how
- 00:21:41.110 --> 00:21:46.130
- you approach him.
- 00:21:46.140 --> 00:21:49.070
- That is in profound, direct deviation
- 00:21:49.080 --> 00:21:54.240
- from what we're taught in this book.
- 00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:59.060
- Now, there's another component as we pray
- 00:21:59.070 --> 00:22:00.220
- to our Father in heaven.
- 00:22:00.230 --> 00:22:03.150
- Look in John 16. Jesus is speaking again.
- 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:07.130
- He said, "Until now you've not asked for anything in my name."
- 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:12.020
- Why haven't they asked for anything in his name?
- 00:22:12.030 --> 00:22:15.170
- Because he's been there.
- 00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:18.210
- When Jesus is teaching to the multitude
- 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:20.240
- and he says to the disciples,
- 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:22.040
- "You feed these people," then they said,
- 00:22:22.050 --> 00:22:24.190
- "Lord, that's too expensive, and, besides that,
- 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.130
- we don't have any food."
- 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:27.230
- Then he said, "Well, go find out how much you have,"
- 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:30.030
- and they bring him back, and they said, "We have a boy
- 00:22:30.040 --> 00:22:31.280
- with a Happy Meal"--Living Bible.
- 00:22:31.290 --> 00:22:36.190
- It says that Jesus took the food.
- 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:38.210
- He blessed it, and then he gave it to disciples
- 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:41.150
- and said, "Distribute it."
- 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.070
- When their friend Lazarus died and they went to the cemetery,
- 00:22:44.080 --> 00:22:47.250
- they get to the cemetery, and Jesus said, "Open the tomb,"
- 00:22:47.260 --> 00:22:50.150
- and then he stopped, and he said,
- 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.120
- "Father, I thank you that you always hear my prayers."
- 00:22:52.130 --> 00:22:55.270
- He didn't look at Peter and say,
- 00:22:55.280 --> 00:22:57.070
- "Hey, Pete, you got this one, go."
- 00:22:57.080 --> 00:23:01.080
- So up until this point, they've been watching Jesus's ministry,
- 00:23:01.090 --> 00:23:05.220
- but Jesus is about done.
- 00:23:05.230 --> 00:23:07.020
- His time on earth is coming to a conclusion,
- 00:23:07.030 --> 00:23:09.110
- so he says to the disciples, "Until now you haven't asked
- 00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:12.120
- for anything in my name.
- 00:23:12.130 --> 00:23:14.130
- Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
- 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:20.040
- He has given us permission to pray in his name.
- 00:23:20.050 --> 00:23:26.080
- It's not just a mindless recitation of a formula.
- 00:23:26.090 --> 00:23:31.160
- When we approach our heavenly Father, we are approaching him
- 00:23:31.170 --> 00:23:35.070
- in the authority of his sinless, obedient Son.
- 00:23:35.080 --> 00:23:39.040
- I'm not sinless. I'm frustratingly inconsistent.
- 00:23:39.050 --> 00:23:48.130
- I struggle, but I'm not approaching Almighty God based
- 00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:52.260
- on my goodness or my integrity or my great wisdom,
- 00:23:52.270 --> 00:23:57.190
- or my great insight.
- 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.080
- "Father, I'm coming to you to invite you
- 00:23:59.090 --> 00:24:02.120
- into the midst of this, and the authority
- 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:04.210
- with which I'm making this petition is in Jesus's name.
- 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:08.280
- Help me."
- 00:24:08.290 --> 00:24:11.050
- What a gift. What a gift.
- 00:24:11.060 --> 00:24:16.200
- 00:24:16.210 --> 00:24:18.200
- male announcer: Did you know that in the time it takes you
- 00:24:18.210 --> 00:24:20.000
- to have your morning coffee each day,
- 00:24:20.010 --> 00:24:21.170
- a new response to life can take root?
- 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:23.260
- When you donate today, you'll receive the "Let's Pray"
- 00:24:23.270 --> 00:24:25.260
- devotional book, plus the "Let's Pray" coffee mug, a morning
- 00:24:25.270 --> 00:24:29.040
- reminder as you start a new daily routine with the Lord.
- 00:24:29.050 --> 00:24:31.280
- Be encouraged to take your prayers boldly before the throne
- 00:24:31.290 --> 00:24:34.190
- of grace with Pastor Allen's devotional book, "Let's Pray,"
- 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.170
- 30 days of prayer.
- 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:39.030
- Through prayer, we are not alone in facing challenges
- 00:24:39.040 --> 00:24:42.040
- or problems.
- 00:24:42.050 --> 00:24:43.140
- We have help from Almighty God.
- 00:24:43.150 --> 00:24:44.240
- "Let's Pray," 30 days of prayer, can bring focus to your prayer
- 00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:48.040
- life, so call the number on your screen, or go to
- 00:24:48.050 --> 00:24:51.020
- allenjackson.com, to receive the "Let's Pray" gift set
- 00:24:51.030 --> 00:24:53.210
- as a thank you for your donation,
- 00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:55.090
- and thank you for supporting Allen Jackson Ministries.
- 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:58.230
- Together, we can make a difference.
- 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:00.120
- 00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:03.250
- Allen: Now, if you will dare, God will move through your life.
- 00:25:03.260 --> 00:25:07.080
- I wanna invite you to think about your world, the people you
- 00:25:07.090 --> 00:25:09.250
- interact with at work and your casual interactions with your
- 00:25:09.260 --> 00:25:13.040
- kids at the sports fields and all the places that life takes
- 00:25:13.050 --> 00:25:15.290
- you, to be willing to listen to the people around you and to
- 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.260
- extend that simple little sentence of invitation,
- 00:25:18.270 --> 00:25:21.180
- "Let's pray." Don't wait for their response.
- 00:25:21.190 --> 00:25:24.030
- You just step into that opening when you hear the needs
- 00:25:24.040 --> 00:25:26.190
- expressed in their lives.
- 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:28.050
- Simple prayer is "God, help my friend," "God, thank you that
- 00:25:28.060 --> 00:25:30.240
- you deliver," "Thank you for your rest."
- 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:33.010
- One line and an "amen," and you're on
- 00:25:33.020 --> 00:25:35.270
- with your conversation.
- 00:25:35.280 --> 00:25:37.070
- God will move in your life.
- 00:25:37.080 --> 00:25:38.180
- See, God doesn't listen to our prayers 'cause we're special.
- 00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:40.170
- He doesn't listen because we're holy or we're unique.
- 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:43.130
- We come in Jesus's name.
- 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:45.000
- It's in the authority of Jesus's name.
- 00:25:45.010 --> 00:25:46.190
- It's his power.
- 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:47.290
- It's his authority. It's his righteousness.
- 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.100
- It's not ours.
- 00:25:50.110 --> 00:25:51.200
- So when you feel the least like praying, you're still qualified
- 00:25:51.210 --> 00:25:54.170
- 'cause we're comin' in Jesus's name.
- 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:56.190
- I'm excited to hear the stories about what God does in you and
- 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:59.290
- through you.
- 00:26:00.020 --> 00:26:01.110
- It's gonna be a remarkable year together.
- 00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:03.050
- I wanna pray before we go.
- 00:26:03.060 --> 00:26:04.240
- Father, I thank you that you've called us, not simply to receive
- 00:26:04.250 --> 00:26:08.160
- from you but to be vessels on your behalf, that you've called
- 00:26:08.170 --> 00:26:11.230
- us, you've planted us in many places.
- 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:14.030
- Use our voice, use our ears, use our words for your purposes to
- 00:26:14.040 --> 00:26:18.180
- bring healing and hope to those around us.
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- I thank you for it in Jesus's name, amen.
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- God bless you.
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- announcer: Join us every week for another exciting message
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- from Pastor Allen Jackson, and until then, visit us online and
- 00:26:27.260 --> 00:26:32.000
- discover remarkable information and resources to help take your
- 00:26:32.010 --> 00:26:36.000
- Christian life to the next level, and when you visit
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- online, consider joining our effort to continue sending this
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- powerful and challenging message around the globe.
- 00:26:42.060 --> 00:26:45.060
- We want to share this program worldwide, but we can only do it
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- with your help, so consider partnering with us today, and if
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- you're visiting the Nashville area, we'd love to see you at
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- World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.
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- We're easy to find, so look us up when you're traveling
- 00:26:58.040 --> 00:27:01.030
- through, and don't forget to connect with Pastor Jackson
- 00:27:01.040 --> 00:27:03.290
- every day through social media.
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- Thanks so much for joining us
- 00:27:05.170 --> 00:27:07.050
- and being a part of this ministry.
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- We'll see you again next time for another encounter with
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- Pastor Allen Jackson.
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- 00:27:13.210 --> 00:27:22.130