Prayer And Obeying Divine Instructions During Fasting

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another faith-building message by Pastor David Entry. Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the Word of God.

[0:12] May your knowledge of Jesus Christ increase as you listen. Be blessed. Alright, I want to read from James chapter 5. James chapter 5 verse 13 says that, Is any amongst you afflicted, let him pray.

[0:31] So that means that prayer is a divine prescription for affliction. Having a prescription for affliction is prayer.

[0:45] It's important to understand that there definitely seems to be something in your life which you have to take advantage of this fasting to tackle that thing in your life.

[0:59] Amen. That is not what you want to see. So there is a positive dealing with things in prayer and a negative dealing with things in prayer.

[1:09] The negative dealing with things in prayer is when something is going on which you don't like. That must be over 10, over 10, over 10. Positive dealing with things in prayer is when you are beseeching heaven to do something.

[1:25] God, guide me. God, bless me. God, show me the way. God, do that. You are about to make a major decision in your life. You are thinking of what career or what to major on in your PhD program or your master's program or which university to choose, which school to choose.

[1:42] All those things require prayer. So you are asking God, guide me. Do not be a victim in life when you can pray.

[1:54] One great man of God said this some time ago. A lot of negative things that happen to Christians could have been avoided if somebody was praying.

[2:05] We have to give ourselves to prayer. Because you are at a junction in your life.

[2:21] Things are about to turn. Amen. We have to engage in prayer and bring down the hand and the mercy of God, the hand of God, the favor of God, the power of God to work for us in a certain direction.

[2:37] Listen. It is not bad to pray to ask God to help you. Okay. Well. It's actually very Christian.

[2:49] And it's a sign of humility. Okay. To pray and say, God, help me. Help me, Lord. Guide me, Lord. I believe by the time this fasting is over, somebody's situation has radically changed.

[3:06] Amen. James chapter 5 verse 30. It's that it's only one. Is any among you afflicted? Now, when you come across that, the you there is not talking about the world.

[3:19] It's talking about the church. Okay. That's why I said among. Among a particular group. Hmm. Church people. Christian people. Prayer is a covenant means to turn captivity around.

[3:35] Wow. It's a covenant prescription for affliction. And why worry when you can't pray?

[3:46] That's right. This platform is for prayer. Yes. Jesus said in the book of Mark chapter 11. He said, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

[4:01] God's house is a place of prayer. Yes. As long watch this. Thank you, Holy Spirit. As long as, oh, cold of shadow. As long as prayer keeps ascending.

[4:12] You cannot be a victim. Yes. Keep loading. Let's keep loading heaven with prayers. Yes. Amen. And for that matter, when you are fasting, your prayer gets an extra.

[4:28] Hmm. In the book of 1 Chronicles chapter 4, verse 9 says that, And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren.

[4:41] And his mother called him Jabez, saying, Because I bore him in sorrow. Why did his mother call him Jabez? He bore him in sorrow. So, every time the mother saw him, the mother remembered her woes and her sorrows.

[4:57] So, he said, sorrow. Does that sound like somebody we read about in John chapter 9 today? Hmm. Who was born blind? The condition of your birth doesn't have to be the condition of your death.

[5:13] Amen. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Jesus can change it. Amen. Yes. That's my background. I was born like this.

[5:23] And this is what happened. And this is what happened. And it has always been like this in our family. And it's gone like this in our family. The good news, I have to tell you that it doesn't matter what condition you were born in.

[5:35] The story can change. Amen. Blind man who was born blind. So, it was complex. Is it his sin that made him blind because he was born like that?

[5:46] That means he had not seen it. He was experiencing that made him blind. Like Jesus said, this problem is that the glory of God will be manifested. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[5:56] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[6:07] Yes. Yes. Yes. and verse 10 1 Chronicles chapter 4 verse 10 and Japheth called on the God of Israel saying oh that thou would bless me indeed and enlarge my cause and that thine hand might be with me and that thou would escape me from evil and that it might not bring me when God granted him that which he requested God answers prayers not fasting okay so if you do not pray and just fast you have actually missed an opportunity wow God answers prayers it doesn't answer wishes he answers prayers Japheth prayed and God granted him oh so it looked like God was waiting for him to pray if he had not prayed heaven wouldn't have done anything about it our prayers are bringing heaven down in our case do you remember when Jesus taught his disciples to pray he says that that will be done on us let me take you there

[7:29] Matthew chapter 6 verse 9 after this manner therefore pray our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name verse 10 says thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven thy kingdom come thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven that's prayer so that means if you don't pray his kingdom come come if you don't pray his will will not be done on earth so Japheth prayed he said God that you bless me indeed that it will not harm me and you enlarge my course and God said okay that's all I was waiting for I'm trying to talk to somebody and let you know that I'm listening heaven is waiting for your prayers amen amen we shall pray heaven is waiting for someone to pray so heaven can move thank you Lord when you study the text very carefully what I just read in Matthew chapter 6 from verse 9 our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trust and ask for giver in the center of the prayer the core of the prayer is what everybody needs every day three things that everybody needs every day is at the heart of the prayer number one food number two forgiveness number three freedom food forgiveness freedom give us this day our daily bread

[9:10] Lord supply for us and it says that lead us not into temptation verse 11 give us this day our daily bread verse 12 and forgive us our trespasses verse 13 and lead us not into temptation but deliver us Lord deliver us amen Lord leave me not don't let me make that mistake again don't let me make a mistake that will cause my future cause my marriage cause my destiny cause my health cause my career cause my business Lord help me amen amen temptation amen deliver me from evil food forgiveness forgive me forgive me forgive me for what I said which I shouldn't have said forgive me for watching things I shouldn't have watched forgive me for lying forgive me oh Lord for allowing myself to be angry when I shouldn't have forgive me

[10:15] Lord listen listen you are fasting in the time of fasting please be quick to ask for forgiveness because see if you are if you are not working in forgiveness in other words under grace of forgiveness God has forgiven you it's actually going to make things complex for you because in the time of fasting that's that's when you want the heavens to be open and smooth flow of grace but if you are still in your sin or your hands are still dirty and you have not asked for forgiveness and for the blood of Christ to cleanse you from all unrighteousness it is actually undermining your fasting and prayer wow and since we started this fasting definitely one or two people have moved in the direction you shouldn't have moved said something you shouldn't have said watched something you shouldn't have watched been somewhere you shouldn't have been that's something you shouldn't have done and you know you know you see interestingly you always know it it doesn't take a pastor to remind you the Holy Spirit is speaking to you clearly the first the whole day and 6pm you haven't sorted the sin out sorted out come on so forgive us feed us free us forgive us feed us

[11:44] God is a provider Amen I don't know what is going on in your life that requires the hand of God but it's good to pray about it in this time of fasting you won't go to guide you, direct you cleanse you, forgive you you won't go to strengthen you you won't go to help you you want something to change you won't help this time there's no box, prayer box but be yourself make your create a prayer box in your spirit and engage and engage it's going to be interesting you are going to have fasting with that anointing oil anointing oil because God wants to show us that man must not live by bread alone sometimes he allows every other thing to be stripped so that it can become just you and what the scripture prescribes your faith the more you are praying the more you are beginning to have divine promptings what does that mean?

[12:48] so as you are praying God will be laying something on your heart to start doing okay do not delay in taking steps of obedience in faith God is as you are praying God will begin to lay on your heart forgive that person believe that person is not from your phone write an application here God is beginning to lay on your heart go and see these people God is laying on your heart do this God is laying on your heart just make sure that you are more committed now and join the department now don't say you are waiting for lockdown to be over as you fast and you pray any genuine prayer ends up changing something in you most of us think prayers always change things a good prayer changes you before it changes things every time you pray you hear God or you have promptings in your inner man that start reading your Bible now that read it more that go and buy that book or go and start this or listen go and listen to this message again and listen to this message again sometimes it will tell you call this person and apologize or call this person and ask ask for forgiveness or call this person and tell the person it's okay don't worry and don't argue

[14:02] God will always speak to you when you say God help me every prayer gets you closer to God but because God is the word God is a speaking God there's no time you get close to God and you will hear him tell you something sometimes he'll tell you that okay when you finish this prayer go and read your Bible some of you know what I'm talking about if you prayed genuinely as I spoke as we prayed right now God has actually told you what to do God will lay on your hearts to do this take this step go here do this do this don't wait for something very spooky don't wait suddenly for your room to turn so dark don't wait for suddenly strong don't wait don't say that okay God if it is you let the pastor say that the one who is doing this you stop he may not say it it's true but you know what to do why don't you get up and do it thank you your blessing is attached to your obedience in Deuteronomy 28 verse 1 it said if you shall hearken to do the voice of the Lord these blessings will come upon you and overtake you blessings are a result of obedience of the voice if you shall hearken diligently to do all that I commanded then I will bless you and the blessings will come upon you these blessings will come upon you and they will overtake you why because you hearken diligently to obey the voice of your Lord

[15:44] I will not be a decent and a genuine man of God if I just will tell you God is doing it for you God is doing it anytime God is going to bless you he will also leave you with an instruction it may not be a radical instruction but some of it is even something basic and something simple sometimes after prayer God will tell you that food you have stored in the fridge just get rid of it that jewelry you bought you love so much God will tell you go and give it to that lady and maybe he told you about three months ago he didn't do now that you are serious with God praying that thing will come back again but sometimes we block it and we say God bless me we block it the point I'm making is every genuine prayer the effective prayer changes the one who is doing the way is praying before it changes things prayer to receive immediate divine intervention open your ears and your heart to also take immediate steps based on divine instructions there will always be instructions there will always be instructions thank you for listening to hear more from David Entry follow him on Facebook

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