Pray Through | How Waiting on God Changes Everything

[0:00] We're going to go to Isaiah 40. And I've talked on this one before, but really a somewhat different slant on it. Talking really about praying through, praying through.

[0:12] ! To pray and to pray through. Keep on praying. So that's the intent tonight. And this scripture is the launching pad, as we've read before, and it's a familiar one.

[0:24] And yet it does as well to hear it again, to wait again. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.

[0:35] They shall run and not be weary. And they shall walk and not faint. Really emphasising more the aspect tonight of wait. Wait upon the Lord.

[0:47] And here is the heart of prayer, really. To wait upon the Lord in prayer. To wait upon the Lord. To draw near. To linger in communion with the Almighty. And that's the thought tonight.

[0:59] Just to dwell upon that. To think upon that. And to think about prayer. And prayer, when we look at it scripturally, it's not some hurried duty.

[1:10] It's a holy dwelling. It's not a checklist. Or a shopping list. It's communion. It's communion. And when you think of that time that you draw closer to God, you spend that time in sweet fellowship with Him, and you draw near to God.

[1:29] And He draws near to you. You lean in. And you trust Him. Trust Him fully. And you keep going to prayer. Persistent prayer.

[1:40] Bold, hope-filled prayer. That won't quit. And there's examples of that. We'll just unpack a little of some examples. How we can pray and keep on praying.

[1:51] Keep praying. As we come with that persistency of prevailing prayer. Expectant prayer. And He calls us to that. He calls us to wait upon Him.

[2:02] As it simply tells us. And there's promises for those that wait upon the Lord. To wait upon Him. To pray through. To linger in that persistent prayer.

[2:15] And you think of prayer. We enter into His presence. Of course, His presence is always with us. And inside of us. But there's that special aspect where we actually are entering in.

[2:27] Into that time of prayer. And we come to wait upon Him. We trust in His perfect timing. For all of our hurried demands. Sometimes we've got our kind of hopes of certain things that we want Him to do for us.

[2:42] And we've got our own timing to that. But no, we've got to wait upon the Lord. And His timing. With all of our demands.

[2:52] And our own schedules. Actually, we're at His mercy. When we bring our petitions to Him. In all of the haste that we have. When there's an apparent delay.

[3:03] We've yet got to trust Him. And keep on waiting. And He wants for us to seek His face. To go to Him. And run to Him. To yield to Him.

[3:14] To find His will. To seek His face earnestly. And always seek His face. So, the message here tonight. Is to wait.

[3:26] To wait upon Him. To come unto Him. And to cling. To cling to Him. I pray that we can have that mind tonight. At the close of this.

[3:38] That will have a greater desire. To so yield. And here is where we can find His enduring power. As we come to pray. To the Almighty.

[3:49] The Almighty powerful. Almighty God. And we can pray through. You think about prayer. Really it's yielding to Him. To what He would have us. It's yielding in that communion.

[4:02] That abiding. In His presence. And many times we think of examples of prayer. Of times of prayer. Where the people of God prayed. Of the biblical call. To persevere in prayer.

[4:15] And for one we might look at. As an example. Jacob. Jacob. As he wrestled with God. He wrestled with God. What a picture that is.

[4:26] Of how we can wrestle in prayer. As it were. To strive with God. Or let Him strive with us. And make us. What He wants us to be. And Jacob.

[4:38] Stated. I will not let thee go. Except thou bless me. He had that persistency. That fervency. That he wanted to grab a hold of God. And not let go.

[4:49] Till God. Blessed him. That sense as he. As he had that wrestling match. With the angel. As it were. And it's a picture for us. Of really prayer there too.

[5:01] That we can cling. Unto our God. We can cleave. Unto him. And we can hold on to. Our God. As Jacob held on to. The angel.

[5:12] Of the Lord. And we can wrestle in prayer. In desperate. Fervent prayer. Till breakthrough comes. Until we find his peace.

[5:22] And God. Granted. Jacob there. And we can cling to God. Brother. Sister. In prevailing prayer. Just one example.

[5:32] Is Jacob. And you could look at. Psalm 91. As a. Psalm filled with promises. Of prayer. Of yielding to the presence of God. And in Psalm 91.

[5:43] Verse 1. We can come. And we can find our refuge. In the Almighty. It says. A promise for us. He that dwelleth. In the secret place. Of the Most High.

[5:54] Shall abide under. The shadow. Of the Almighty. Look at the picture there. Of dwelling. Of abiding. Not just visiting. But dwelling there. Abiding there.

[6:05] Persevering there. To be in that place of prayer. To come under. His shadow. And. You think of other examples. Of coming under. His wings. Under his feathers.

[6:16] As it were. That picture of the overshadowing. Overshadowing. Of our Almighty God. Dwell there. Abide there. In prayer. In persevering prayer. Consider some other examples. Some real life Bible heroes.

[6:27] Of people who prayed. People who prayed. Those who prayed through. They pressed in. And they saw God work. And they saw the working. Of God upon. Their lives.

[6:38] Their circumstances. They saw. The miracle. Power of God. We could consider for one. The Matthew 9. Verse 20. It talks about. The desperate woman.

[6:49] Reaching out. Reaching out. To touch. Just to touch. Just for a touch. Of the master's robe. Just for a touch. Of his garment.

[7:00] Of the hem. Of his garment. And it tells of this desperate woman. In Matthew 9. That she'd been diseased. For 12 years. And. There was this time. Where it was a crowded time.

[7:11] And she pressed in. Through the throng. Through this multitude. That were gathered there. To the master. And she pressed through the throng. To touch the hem.

[7:22] Of Jesus's garment. Whispering within herself. If I may but touch. His garment. I shall be. Whole. You could think of her hand. Extended.

[7:32] Reaching out. Through the crowded place. Through the multitude. Gathered there. To just reach out. And grab a hold. To touch. The hem of his garment. The crowd pressed.

[7:44] But she pressed in. She pressed in. Further. Her faith moved her. It was a picture. If you like. Of that. Prevailing prayer. Of that. That earnest prayer.

[7:55] That. Fervent prayer. To press in. To lay hold. And she was undeterred. By the obstacles. The crowd. And all the things. That might have. Dissuaded her.

[8:06] From pressing forward. She pressed past the crowd. All the hubbub. Past her weakness. Her shame. Of her sickness. It was something.

[8:17] That was. Irksome. And. She could have been ashamed. And held back. And. Hidden away. But no. She wanted to press in. No matter what. She had to. Lay hold.

[8:27] She had to. Press in. And it's a picture of prayer. Of laying hold. Of the master. We could think. How can I lay hold? How can I touch the hem of his garment? How can I.

[8:38] Lay hold of Christ. Such that his healing. Virtue flows. We could think of that. In a spiritual term. Or how can. His power work. Within my life. If I can just lay hold of him. If I can just touch Jesus.

[8:50] Let him touch me. And. May we have such a prayer. As that woman. Who pressed in. And our Lord urges us. To such prayer. For example. Luke 18. He urges us.

[9:00] To that kind of. Prevailing prayer. And it tells. He spake a parable. Unto them. To this end. That man ought. Always to pray. And not to fain. That thought of.

[9:11] Always praying. Of continual prayer. Of that spirit of prayer. And in Luke 18. He tells the story. Of a persistent widow. This parable. Of this persistent widow.

[9:22] And she came. Day after day. Day after day. Before this unjust judge. And she wore him down. With her persistence. She wore down his reluctance.

[9:32] Till justice prevailed. And you could think. Of that unjust judge. He was this hard-hearted. Grumpy man. And it's like. He didn't really have time. For her. He didn't really care.

[9:43] For her. But he relented. Because of her. Persevering. And how much more. He says. How much more. Will our merciful father.

[9:54] Hear his children's. Unceasing cries. So brother. Sister. If you've got that. Heart to pray. That heart to persevere in prayer. That you can bring your need.

[10:06] To him. Again and again. Day after day. You can bring it. Day by day. You can bring it unto him. To seek his face. To always to pray. And not to faint.

[10:16] In other words. Don't get weary. Don't be despondent. Don't be a quitter. But keep on praying. May not always to pray. Always. Keep on praying. And not faint.

[10:27] Not grow weary. Romans 12. 12 urges us likewise. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Continuing instant in prayer. Continuing instant in prayer.

[10:39] It's got the sense of a constancy. Continuing instant. It's got the sense of constancy. Of constant prayer. Continuing in prayer. May your prayer be continual.

[10:49] But you're always praying. You're continuing to pray. You keep on praying. And you hear his voice as well. As he tells you this. And it's like an acrostic.

[11:02] As you could reckon it. Of the A. Ask. S. Seek. K. Knock. It's A. S. K. It's prayer. We come and we ask. Don't we?

[11:12] A. S. K. Ask. Seek. Knock. And of course people might be familiar with the old Sunday school chorus. Ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking.

[11:24] Knock and keep on knocking. And it's actually quite in accord with the Greek grammar. In fact. Because that's the sense of Matthew 7. It's got the sense of ask and keep on asking.

[11:37] It's got the sense of seek and keep on seeking. It's got the sense of knock and keep on knocking. It's like when we go door knocking sometimes. We just annoy people so they open the door.

[11:49] You've got to knock and keep on knocking. Amen. Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth.

[12:00] And to him that knocketh it shall be opened. The call there is to ask and to keep asking. To seek without slacking. To knock until that door comes open.

[12:11] It's a picture of prayer. It's telling us there to keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. As you come to prayer. And it's the essence of praying.

[12:21] The essence of prayer. Of praying through. Of that steady unyielding communion. That abides in God's presence. Another Bible example we could consider. Hannah. Hannah poured out herself in prayer.

[12:33] And it tells of her in 1 Samuel 1. Verse 10 and 15. It tells of Hannah. She was in bitterness of soul. And prayed unto the Lord. And wept sore.

[12:45] And she says. I have poured out my soul before the Lord. She prayed. And she kept on praying. She had that deep heartfelt prayer. And the Lord answered her prayer.

[12:58] She poured out her soul in prayer. Persevering prayer. It bears fruit. God commands us to so pray. It tells us 1 Thessalonians 5.

[13:09] Verse 17. Pray without ceasing. Pray and keep on praying. Don't stop. Pray without ceasing. And we come like the watchman of Psalm 130.

[13:20] He says. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch for the morning. We're waiting on the Lord. We're waiting with that earnestness.

[13:30] That intensity. To pray. Another example we could think of prayer. Is Elijah. On Carmel. Mount Carmel. In 1 Kings. He tells Ahab. He declares.

[13:41] There is a sound. Of abundance of rain. Now at the time he said that. There was no sign of anything. It was a clear sky. It was a clear blue sky. And he says to King Ahab.

[13:53] I hear that sound. There's a sound. Of an abundance. Of abundance. Of rain. And then he went to prayer. Then he bowed low. He bowed down. Time after time.

[14:03] He sent his servant. Seven times. He bowed down. Seven times. In between. He sent the servant. To go and have a look. Where's the cloud? Not yet. He kept on praying.

[14:14] Time after time. Seven times he prayed. Seven times the servant scanned the horizon. Six times he returned. And told that it was empty skies. And yet Elijah prayed on.

[14:27] Undaunted. Elijah prayed seven times. And on the seventh time. Gehazi the servant said. Of this tiny cloud. He said this.

[14:38] A cloud. It's the size of a man's hand. And Elijah knew. That that was. The cloud. That tiny cloud. Became a downpour.

[14:50] A storm of blessing. As he prayed. As he prayed. As he prayed through. God answered his prayer. God answered Elijah's persistent prayer. And he can answer your persistent prayer.

[15:02] Dear believer tonight. He can answer that prayer. As you trust him. As you trust his will. And enter in. Into prayer. Another example is the Canaanite mother.

[15:13] In Matthew 15. And she had. Her tormented daughter. That she prayed for. And she sought the Lord's mercy. As she came to the Lord. In Matthew 15.

[15:24] And she cries out. Have mercy. On me. Oh Lord. Thou son of David. My daughter. Is grievously vexed. With the devil. Lord. Help me. Was her prayer.

[15:35] At first. She was met with silence. And then it seemed. Even a rebuke. But yet she pressed in. She pressed in. In humble faith. Lord help me. And Jesus marveled.

[15:46] And it says. He says. Oh woman. Great is thy faith. Be it unto thee. Even as thou will. She had this persistency. To her request.

[15:56] She had this persistency. To her petition. Unto the Lord. To her prayer. She prayed. And she prayed again. She sought him. And she sought him again. She besought his touch.

[16:09] His ministry. And she received it. She pressed in. In humble faith. And God answered her prayer. And it's the same for you. Brother. Sister.

[16:19] Even when it seems. Like heaven is silent. Press in. Press in. Like these examples. We've heard of today. Press in. When it seems. Answers are not coming.

[16:31] Continue. In prayer. Continue. Instant. In prayer. In other words. Constant. In prayer. Always to pray. Press in. And even we could think of the early church itself.

[16:43] In a time of facing threats. In Acts 4. They didn't panic. They prayed. We could think of who knows what could happen. To individuals.

[16:55] To our gatherings. Think of in other countries. And places. Where it's dangerous to pray. It's dangerous to assemble. They've got to secretly.

[17:06] Kind of. Surreptitiously. Get together. They can't meet. In really an assembly hall. They've got to meet in smaller gatherings. Where they can't be noticed. And yet. Of this church in Acts 4.

[17:17] They didn't panic. They prayed. And they prayed. They united in one accord. And it tells how they prayed. They prayed as one. In Acts 4. 31. And when they had prayed. The place was shaken.

[17:28] Where they were assembled together. And they were all filled with. The Holy Ghost. And they spake. The word of God. With boldness. When they prayed. When they prayed. When they assembled.

[17:39] They were filled. And they spoke the word of God. There was a boldness there. They pleaded together. In that unified prayer. It's the same for us. Brothers and sisters. Take those opportunities to pray.

[17:50] When you can. Take those opportunities. We've got regular times. Generally. Each time. Through the week. There's times in meetings. We can pray. And pray together. We might be praying silently.

[18:01] But we're praying together. We're praying as a body. We're praying as one. There's a united prayer. A unified prayer. And that's what the early church did. They pleaded together. In that unified prayer.

[18:13] And God answered. That's why I think it's a great initiative. We've got a monthly prayer meeting. As we've talked about. It's good to get that time to pray. And as we've talked about. Also.

[18:24] Earlier today. There's opportunity to. Bring your prayer needs. Through. An email. Sharing. Means. So you can pray. You can pray for others. Who say. I've got this prayer need.

[18:34] Hey. Make it known. Through the prayer chain. And we can share that together. You can pray for one another. God filled the church. With that Holy Spirit boldness. When they prayed. The persecution lingered.

[18:46] But prayer. Lined them up. With divine purposes. They weren't saved from persecution. But they were filled. And they were made bold. To go through it. To go through that persecution.

[18:58] And God. Blessed. Signally blessed them. Another example of praying. Is in Mark 7. Of the Syrophoenician woman. A Syrophoenician woman.

[19:09] And she fell at Jesus' feet. She prayed for her child. Who was tormented. And it seemed like the answer wasn't coming. Straight away.

[19:20] Because she wasn't really. The focus of his ministry at that point. That she was. A non Jew. She was a Gentile. And yet she pleaded and pleaded.

[19:33] And she was desperate in prayer. And. He was saying that he's come to the children. And so she says. Yes Lord. Yeah the dogs under the table. Eat.

[19:43] Of the children's crumbs. She had this persistency. To pray through. To believe. It's kind of an unusual. A colloquial kind of term. Isn't it? As he says. I've just come for the children of Israel.

[19:55] She says. Well even the. Even the dogs eat from the. Children's crumbs. Underneath the table. I want to be. Just. If. I can be just like a dog. And have. Just a morsel. Just a crumb.

[20:05] That was her heart. She was so desperate. That she would receive. From him. She was desperate. In prayer. And she found deliverance there. As she prayed through.

[20:16] She prayed through. It's a picture for us. Of not giving up. In prayer. Whether your prayer is for healing. Provision. Or guidance. To persist in prayer. And.

[20:27] It will yield a harvest. He will answer. We can know a sustaining hope. As we pray. In Psalm 130. You see another example. As the psalmist cries out.

[20:37] With this persevering of heart. He says. I wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait. And in his word. Do I hope. There's a hope there. There's a hopefulness in prayer. And we're never alone in prayer too.

[20:49] We can have a persistent hope. In our God. As the psalmist says. I'm going to wait for the Lord. I'm going to keep on waiting. And I'm going to trust. I'm going to hope. In his word. Jeremiah writes in Lamentations.

[21:01] As well. The Lord is good unto them. That wait for him. To the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should. Both hope and quietly wait. For the salvation of the Lord.

[21:13] The Lord is good. Unto them that wait for him. We can know that. You can know that brother. Sister. That the Lord is good. As you wait upon him. He is good. For the soul that seeks him.

[21:24] He is good. And it's good for you. To both hope. And quietly wait. For the salvation of the Lord. So in other words. Fix your eyes on him. Keep that patience.

[21:35] That spiritual patience. It's a fruit of the spirit. Isn't it? That fruit of the spirit. It helps us. To endure. To be temperate. To be patient.

[21:45] That patience that we need. To just wait. And wait for God's time. To give the answer. As you keep believing. It's like as a farmer. Would patiently wait.

[21:56] As James 5.7 talks about. A patient farmer. Waiting for the rain. Waiting for the rain. For his seed. And God's promised harvest. Ultimately will come.

[22:07] As you trust him. And you keep waiting. Waiting on the Lord. Think of the early church again. As the disciples waited. In Acts 1 verse 4. They tarried. They tarried.

[22:18] They stayed waiting. They stayed praying. They stayed together. Praying together. Persevering in prayer. In that upper room. Until Pentecost power. Descended. They tarried.

[22:30] And God answered. Their prayer. Think of all of these examples. From Hannah. From David. Elijah. Desperate women of faith. Look at the praying church.

[22:40] And they've all got this one lesson. The same lesson. God answers. Persevering prayer. Doesn't he? He answers that prayer. That will persevere. So brother, sister.

[22:51] That's really. In a nutshell. Really a short message tonight. Of that truth. To persevere. In prayer. To pray. And keep on praying. How do we make that happen?

[23:02] How can we implement that? How do we cultivate. Such a pray through. Kind of lifestyle. As we trust his word. We could think of. Some practical steps. We could take.

[23:12] For example. As David. He cried out. In Psalm 5 verse 3. In the morning. Will I direct my prayer unto thee. And will look up.

[23:24] David prayed. And he prayed daily. You see. In the morning. He had that. Scheduled time. He had. That determination. To have a set time. And whether it's the morning.

[23:35] The afternoon. The night. Or all three. You can have a set time to pray. You can have a time. That you put aside to pray. That you make that appointment. That you put that appointment. In your diary. With God.

[23:45] As it were. That you make it a daily communion. My voice shalt thou hear. In the morning. O Lord. You got that heart to pray. And to pray. In a regular way.

[23:56] A daily communion of prayer. We see that for example. With Daniel. In Daniel 6 verse 10. He made it a daily communion of prayer. Didn't he? He had this regular sequence of prayer.

[24:06] Of prayers. Daily. Multiple times daily. Daniel prayed. He had a regular cultivated time. Of meditation. Of worship. Of prayer.

[24:19] And you think of. Likewise Psalm 42 verse 11. How it helps us to pray. Especially when we have those times.

[24:29] When it's hard to pray. In Psalm 42 verse 11. It reads. Why art thou cast down? O my soul. And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him.

[24:41] Who is the health of my countenance. And my God. The psalmist here is saying. Hey. Don't get discouraged. I'm talking to myself here. Don't do it.

[24:52] Don't be disquieted. Hope thou in God. I shall yet praise him. He's speaking to himself. He's speaking to his soul. And in that time. Where it's the midnight time.

[25:03] As it were. Of the soul. And we have those times. Where we're inclined to be cast down. Hope thou in God. Tell yourself. Hey. Stop that. Hope thou in God. I shall yet praise him.

[25:14] I shall yet trust him. He's my God. He's the health of my countenance. He's the one that makes me well. And keeps me. In his heart. Here's my hope.

[25:26] My hope is in God. And our prayer becomes praise. Even when we might be feeling. Inclined to feel. Cast down. That. Our prayer becomes praise. Pray with thankfulness too.

[25:38] They go together. In 1 Thessalonians 5.18. We see prayer. In the context. Is connected here. To giving thanks. To thanksgiving.

[25:49] And for this is the will of God. In Christ Jesus. Concerning you. In everything. Give thanks. In everything. So pray with thankfulness. Sometimes we come to pray. And it's all about.

[26:00] What can we get. But we should have that heart. To thank him. We should have that heart of gratitude. And not forget to thank him. Keep that grateful heart. As you pray through.

[26:11] Colossians 4. Tells us again. Of that continuity. To continue in prayer. And watch in the same with thanksgiving. Again that same sentiment. To have thankfulness in that prayer.

[26:22] To have that thanksgiving in your praying. To have that vigilance to pray. To continue in prayer. Another good thing. In praying. To encourage prayer.

[26:33] Is to pray together. As we've talked about. Regular times. We can pray together. And you can see that. Kind of pictured in Mark 2. From verse 3 to 5.

[26:43] It talks about. These ones. Of that circumstance. Where. The man needed healing. And there was such a big throng. They couldn't get near.

[26:54] To the Lord. And the place was packed. So. These friends. Took the man. And the stretcher. His bed. Onto the roof. And they broke through the roof.

[27:05] To get down. Into. The place. Where. The Lord was. And his friends. Hoisted this paralytic man. Down through the roof. That the friends cared so much.

[27:17] That they would. Do something. Probably quite. Outrageous. Someone started to break through the roof. You can imagine. What it would be like. If that was your home.

[27:28] That they would break through the roof. They were so desperate. To get this man. To Jesus. And you could think of the friends. There's a picture really. You could. Take it to illustrate really.

[27:39] That power. Of collective prayer. The power of collective prayer. The power of collective prayer. The way. We love people enough to pray for them. To bring them before the Lord. To pray for others.

[27:50] To pray with others. And so their shared faith. Led to healing. Led to the healing of this man. And forgiveness. As he was received. By the Saviour. Think of these truths.

[28:01] Of praying with others. There's power there. Power in collective prayer. Psalm 40. Verse 1 through 3. Illustrates that prayerfulness again.

[28:12] Of that waiting. Waiting patiently. For the Lord. Psalm 40. The writer says. I waited patiently. For the Lord. And he inclined unto me.

[28:24] And heard my cry. He brought me up. Also out. Of an horrible pit. And he set my feet upon a rock. And established my goings. And he hath put a new song.

[28:35] In my mouth. What a blessing. That we could wait. Wait patiently for the Lord. Sometimes we want answers. And we want it now. We want God to do something for us. We want him to intervene.

[28:46] We want him to take action. Straight away. According to our time schedule. No. I waited patiently. For the Lord. And he inclined unto me.

[28:59] He's going to do his work. In his good time. According to his good plan. So for the meantime. Our part. Is simply to trust. To trust the Lord.

[29:09] To take steps to pray. To pray through. So claim your promise. You can pray through. You can pray through. Saint. He's the same God. That he always has been.

[29:20] And prayer is just as real. And as needful. And as powerful. As it ever was. So. So pray. Pray through. Pour out your heart to him.

[29:32] Pour out your heart. Like the psalmist in Psalm 62. In Psalm 62. The psalmist invites us to pray. Trust in him. At all times you people. Pour out your heart before him.

[29:44] God is a refuge. For us. Selah. As in. Yeah. Get a hold of this. Yeah. Grab a hold of this. Yeah. Wait. On him.

[29:55] Trust in him. At all times. Trust in him. Even at the times you don't feel like trusting. Trust in him. At all times. You can trust in him. At all times.

[30:05] You can trust in him. And those times when you don't have much faith. You can trust in him when it feels like it's pretty desperate. You can trust in him. Even though you feel like you're at your wits end.

[30:18] Trust in him. At all times you people. And pour out your heart before him. Just let your heart pour out your petitions. Pour out your need. Pour out your weakness.

[30:29] Pour out your unworthiness. Pour out your heart. Give him your heart. And we know that as we can come unto him. As we know him.

[30:41] That he will hear us. And if you've yet to trust him. Pour out your heart before him. And he'll hear your heart. He'll hear your heart's cry. And the most immediate and essential need for any soul.

[30:53] Is that they can know that heart that is saved. A new heart. A new spirit. A saved heart. A saved life. And you can pour out your heart before him. And trust him. Simply trust him.

[31:04] To save you. To be your saviour. And then we that are saved. God is a refuge for us. We can know his saving grace. And we think of praying. Praying through.

[31:16] It transforms us. Really. It makes us worship. Doesn't it? As we pour out our heart before him. We enter into worship. As we pray through.

[31:27] It transforms waiting into worship. It transforms trials into testimonies. It transforms our burdens. Into songs of praise. Pray through.

[31:38] Brother, sister. Follow the examples we've talked about. Of the men and women of God. They prayed. And they prayed through. And God answered. Even our Lord himself. Is a great example.

[31:49] Of praying. Even as our Lord interceded. As he agonised. As he agonised in the garden. Of Gethsemane. And he knew that our sin. Was to be placed upon him.

[32:00] He knew that our guilt. Our shame. Our penalty. Was before him. That bitter cup. Of the death. That he would die. For us. To save.

[32:11] And now. He intercedes for us. Eternally. He continues to pray. In Hebrews 7.25. He continues to pray. Think of the praying through. Even of our saviour.

[32:23] That he's even praying through. Before the father's throne. As the advocate. For you. So. Believer here tonight. Pray. Pray saint. Pray through.

[32:34] And do not underestimate. The power of prayer. As we see in these examples. There's many. More that we could cite. Of the examples of prayer. Of the answers to prayer. Of praying people.

[32:46] And we can be amongst their number. The people who pray through. Who pray. So let us be a people. Who pray. As we trust his timing. As we rest in his promises.

[32:57] We find his strength. When we've got none. Of our own. And those trials. Will become our testimonies. Those testings. Will become our testimonies. And Galatians 6.9.

[33:08] It tells us. Let us not be weary. In well doing. For in due season. We shall reap. If we faint not. Our Lord says. Men always ought to pray. And not to faint.

[33:20] We're all inclined to faint. We've all got our. Our limit. Haven't we? We've all got our. That place where. We've got to the extent. Of our strength. Our limitation.

[33:31] Right? But let us not be weary. In well doing. We shall reap. If we faint not. Let's not fall.

[33:42] By the wayside. As it were. And to faint. To get so weary. That we faint. Let us not grow weary. In prayer. Wait. Wait. And keep on waiting.

[33:52] In prayer. Persevere in prayer. Keep pressing forward. And don't quit praying. Keep praying. And believing. And lean on his strength. And know.

[34:03] As we talked about. When we started here. That it's his strength. That's going to. Intervene. As you pray. As you pray. As you pray through.

[34:13] As you wait upon the Lord. He's going to sustain you. It says. They that wait upon the Lord. Shall renew their strength. There's a promise here. For those who pray. Who pray through.

[34:24] That we're going to renew our strength. We're going to mount up with wings. As angels. We're going to run. And not be weary. We're going to walk. And not faint. There's a picture there. As again.

[34:34] I don't want to. Over. Cover the areas. We talked about. In that previous message. On the same. Sort of theme. But more to emphasize. The point. Of praying.

[34:46] Of praying through. To go and pray. To persevere in prayer. Brother. Sister. Don't neglect to pray. And don't. Quit praying. Keep praying. Keep praying.

[34:56] And pray through. As it were. Go through. To that secret place. That you can abide. Under the shadow. Of the almighty. You can find his covering.

[35:07] And his refuge. You can find. Of him. And receive. Of his strength. And your strength. Can be renewed. When you come to the end.

[35:18] Of your own strength. You can renew your strength. As you trust the Lord. Let us pray. Lord. We thank you. That you are. Hearing.

[35:29] Our prayers. Lord. As we. Yield to you. And come. Unto your throne. We can. Enter in boldly. Lord.

[35:39] And. There's not. Necessarily. A place. Or. A set. Meeting time. But. Your.

[35:51] Availability. Is. 24-7. For your children. To come. To your throne. Lord. There's no. Barring. Entry. That.

[36:02] You will receive. All who will come. Unto you. We pray. That each one. Might have. That same. Trust. To flee. From the wrath. To come. To flee.

[36:13] Unto you. For refuge. To flee. To you. That high tower. Where we can find. Our security. And our salvation. Lord. We pray.

[36:23] Each one. Might know. That trust. And help us. Lord. To. Not neglect. To pray. To. Take that time. To. Dwell.

[36:36] In that shelter. The place. Of prayer. To abide there. And to pray. And not.

[36:49] To weary. In prayer. But to persevere. In prayer. Help us. Lord. We pray. We know. That there's many needs. We all. Could bring. Unto you. But.

[36:59] Help us. Lord. Remind us. To bring. Thankfulness. When we pray. For all your many benefits. And blessings. Lord. That sometimes. We take for granted. Lord.

[37:10] Help us. Not to pray. As it were. Merely. Our own needs. As a shopping list. But. To have a heart. That seeks. Your will. And.

[37:21] Yields to your plan. That will pray. According to your will. And will live lives that. Yield to your glory. And your direction.

[37:32] Pray. If anyone is here tonight. If yet to trust you. For their salvation. Lord. That you'll make that very clear. To them tonight. How they can. Trust in you.

[37:44] And know. A heart. Washed clean. And made. Brand new. Inside. Lord. Help us to have that heart to pray. And to seek your face. And keep on praying.

[37:55] That man always ought to pray. And not to faint. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.