[0:00] The following message is given by Walt Alexander, lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee.! For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at TrinityGraceAthens.com.
[0:14] Acts 12, and I'm going to begin reading in verse 1. So you'll look there with me. Acts 12, verse 1. About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
[0:27] He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread.
[0:40] And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
[0:51] So Peter was kept in prison. But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
[1:02] Now, when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains and centuries before the door were guarding the prison.
[1:16] And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly. And the chains fell off his hands.
[1:28] And the angel said to him, Dress yourself and put on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed it.
[1:39] Verse 10, Verse 12, When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
[2:29] And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice in her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.
[2:44] They said to her, You're out of your mind, Rhoda. But she kept insisting it was so. And they kept saying, It is his angel. Verse 16, But Peter continued knocking.
[2:59] And when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.
[3:10] And he said, Tell these things to James, that's the brother of Jesus, and to the brothers. Then he departed and went to another place. And now when the day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
[3:26] And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
[3:38] Verse 20, Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. And they came to him with one accord, having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.
[3:53] On an appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration for them. And the people were shouting, The voice of a God and not of man.
[4:05] Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
[4:17] But the word of God increased and multiplied. It's the word of God. Almost everything in life is noise.
[4:33] During a flight over Florida in 1972, two pilots for Eastern Airlines found this to be true. The Lockheed Jet was preparing for landing when one pilot noticed the landing gear indicator light wasn't lit up.
[4:51] The tiny green light signals when the nose gear is locked down. The nose gear was working fine, unbeknownst to them, and was already locked down, but the indicator light was not working, and was not lit up.
[5:06] The pilots immediately focused on this indicator light. They tried to get it back on. Try to figure out what was going on. Some short or something like that. They assumed that because the indicator light wasn't on, that the nose gear was not locked down.
[5:23] When the pilots hyper-focused on the indicator, they failed to notice the plane's autopilot function had been deactivated until it was too late.
[5:35] They were unaware that the plane was descending. The plane crashed into the Florida Everglades, resulting in one of the worst airline crashes in U.S. history.
[5:46] And the takeaway is the nose gear didn't cause the crash. The crew losing sight of the bigger problem did.
[6:02] Almost everything in life is noise, because almost everything in life is trying to take our focus off what really matters and on to what doesn't.
[6:14] Whether it's the 24-hour news cycle that has gotten nice and geared up for our presidential season that keeps us glued to the headlines or social media that keeps us attached to our phones and focused on the likes and the feelings of connection they offer, or the subtle shift from desiring to provide well financially to being driven to overwork, or from desiring to give our kids good options to being run ragged by doing too much.
[6:42] The opportunity to waste our lives on things that doesn't matter is always at hand. Almost everything is noise, but prayer is not. Prayer is one of those things that's often neglected, but matters immensely.
[7:00] Tim Keller says it like this, prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. Now part of you should think, ah, that's overstated.
[7:10] I don't think it is. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. Prayer is the way to reality. There is nothing more important or harder or richer or more life-altering.
[7:23] There is absolutely nothing so great as prayer. Prayer. This morning we come to another text where the early church finds its back against the wall and another text where the early church is praying.
[7:39] And I just love it. Look down there in verse 5. It's worded so well. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer was being made to God for Peter.
[7:51] What's prayer? Prayer is just a message conveyed to God specifically. So what are they doing? They're praying to God for Peter, and they're praying earnestly, eagerly, intensely, continuously.
[8:04] We're not looking at one moment in the life of the early church. We're capturing just another moment of the early church. So where we're going today is pray to God and never give up.
[8:16] Pray to God and never give up. And this is a totally fun text. She probably picked it up as I was reading it.
[8:27] But the first point is some prayers are unanswered. Some prayers are unanswered. You know, Peter is back in Jerusalem and back in prison. You know, if you were here and we were working through Acts 3 and 4 and 5, we thought we wouldn't see him back in Jerusalem and back in prison again.
[8:43] But he's back there. You know, if you remember a couple weeks back, we studied Paul being saved on the road to Damascus, the scales falling from his eyes. And in chapter 10, told us of Cornelius, the centurion being led to Christ.
[8:57] In chapter 11, told us of a new church being planted in Antioch. And Mike preached on that. And he did such a great job. Except for the part about mocking me in there and my hair.
[9:09] I think I've gotten it a little bit better now. But chapter 12 takes us back to Jerusalem for another glimpse at this church and to tell us of Herod's persecution.
[9:21] Now, this is Herod Agrippa the first. So he's the grandson of Herod the great, which we know about in other parts of scripture. And he's the most dangerous persecutor the church has faced yet.
[9:32] And we see that immediately. Look in verse one. Herod the king laid violent hands. You see Luke's emphasis right there, right? Violent hands. He killed James.
[9:43] Now that's James. That's not the brother of Jesus, James, who wrote the letter in the New Testament. That's James and John. Remember the sons of thunder, the sons of Zebedee. That's James, one of Christ's inner circle, who is killed.
[9:57] And it says about Herod, he was killed with the sword. So this is a brutal tyrant. This is way more serious than the high priests and scribes that they faced in chapters eight, or chapters three through five.
[10:17] And so they capture Peter. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, this is Herod, he proceeded to arrest Peter. And when he seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him.
[10:32] Now, no doubt, when Peter made his way back to Jerusalem, he was praying to avoid persecution. No doubt, his prayers increased once he heard that James was executed.
[10:46] No doubt, his prayers increased as the church prayed about James' execution. Nevertheless, against his prayers and against his wishes, Peter is imprisoned as Herod awaits to do to him what he had already done to James.
[11:03] God didn't answer his prayer. Some prayers are unanswered. That's the first thing we see. You know, that's what Peter quickly found out.
[11:15] I mean, what do we do with unanswered prayer? Why does God not always answer? You know, sometimes God doesn't tell us why.
[11:26] He doesn't answer. One of my favorite Proverbs is Proverbs 25 too. It's the glory of God to conceal things. That's kind of funny. Obviously, it's the glory of God to reveal things too.
[11:37] He reveals things, His beauty, His glory in creation. He revealed the goodness of God in Jesus Christ in the Gospels and the message of salvations. And yet, sometimes it's His glory to conceal them, to keep things to Himself, to hold His card, so to speak, close to His chest.
[11:57] to leave us in the dark and to only let us see a part of what He's doing. These moments are agonizing. These moments, you know, when loved ones aren't healed, when the door doesn't open and the promotion never comes, when the straying child strays further, when the marriage continues to feel cold, sometimes God doesn't answer and we don't know.
[12:32] but, when He doesn't answer, it's always because He knows best. Tim Keller says it like this, God will either give us what we asked or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything He knows.
[12:51] That's incredible. God will either give us what we asked or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything He knows. The truth of Scripture is that God is directing everything towards our good and sometimes that means leaving prayers unanswered.
[13:08] That's why Garth said, sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayer. I remember a preacher referencing that when I was in like 10th grade in a sermon. I'm sure you can thank Him too.
[13:18] Maybe like Garth, you can thank God you didn't marry that high school flame because of the trouble that might have come down your road with her.
[13:29] But if this is true, when our prayers go unanswered, we should continue to pray and be content. I love how this passage continues.
[13:40] After praying, if you look down there in verse 6, after praying, after getting arrested, after getting settled on death row, Peter falls asleep. It reminds me of Jesus in the midst of the storm just falling asleep in the boat.
[13:55] And what's more, all that verse is about about Him being brought out of prison by the angel of the Lord and how He didn't really understand what was going on, thought it was a dream. All of that's just trying to tell us that Peter was certain his faith was sealed and he was fine with it.
[14:11] Now think about that. Who sleeps on death row? Well, several weeks ago, my wife and I went to see Just Mercy. I don't, as a policy, I don't recommend movies, but this movie, I can definitely recommend.
[14:25] It is fabulous. It tells the story of a Harvard lawyer who moves to Georgia and works to release prisoners wrongly convicted on death row.
[14:36] He takes up their case. He takes a fresh look at it. He studies the file, does his own interviews, makes new appeals. And all the while, he's working desperately to get them released before the date is set.
[14:49] I won't tell you the whole movie, even though I'm tempted to do it, but with one individual, in one case, he makes an appeal for a man named Herb, but it's denied.
[15:01] Before long, Herb's date is set and that date just rings out through death row as all his fellow prisoners hear that his execution is set.
[15:13] The next scene shows Herb wrestling through the night with the torment of knowing tomorrow he'll die. He doesn't sleep a wink, but Peter sleeps in peace.
[15:28] What's going on? This is not like a fairy tale. This is a real man trusting the Lord. I mean, all his prayers go unanswered and now he's awaiting a gruesome execution, yet he's sleeping in peace.
[15:44] The point is, Peter prayed and now he's resting content in whatever God decides. Prayer is not just a way to make your desires known. Prayer is a way of leaving the decision in the Lord's hand.
[15:55] I love the way Martin Luther says it. Pray and let God worry instead. I mean, that is so good. That's the point of prayer. Prayer is not trying to hold on and control all these things. It's praying and Lord, I'm going to let you worry.
[16:08] You let him worry. You let him sit on his throne and worry about what worries you. Pray and go to sleep. But it begs the question, how do we respond to unanswered prayer?
[16:22] I mean, do we worry? Do we get busy trying to fix ourselves and fix everything going on? Do we run in our own strength until we collapse in frustration and fatigue?
[16:33] Do we get bitter? Do we get angry? Do we withdraw? Do we stop serving and stop praying or do we rest in his wisdom? Are we content?
[16:47] Regardless of what's going on, are we content? Elizabeth Elliot, who's just a giant, she says this. We're not afraid of chaos. We're held in everlasting arms.
[17:01] And therefore, and this makes the difference, we can be at peace and we can accept, we can say, yes, Lord, I'll take it. Faith enables me to say, yes, Lord, I don't like what you're doing.
[17:12] I don't understand it. But God, you're in charge. I know the one who is in charge of the universe. He's got the whole world where? In his hands. And that's where I am.
[17:26] Ladies, you want to be the type of woman the devil's scared of. Don't follow the ways of our culture. Read stuff like that and pray stuff like that. That book is called Suffering is Not for Nothing.
[17:39] I love it. The reason I say that with a vengeance is because Elizabeth Elliot does not pull punches. She's the real deal. Some prayers are unanswered, but other prayers are answered.
[17:52] And this is glorious. After Peter goes to prison, the church starts praying. Let's look at that again. Peter's kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
[18:06] Look down there, verse 12, when Peter realized this and he got knitted back up with them where many were gathered and were still praying. As if it's the only thing they do.
[18:19] And then the Lord graciously answers their prayer. And the church is overjoyed. The angel of the Lord comes and strikes Peter, wakes him up, chains fall off, says, put on your clothes, your sandal, your jacket, and follow me.
[18:31] And they walk right out of the prison. They walk right through the gates. They walk right through all these centuries and cohorts of guys around them and protecting them and keeping them in chains.
[18:43] And this seems just wonderful when he's reunited with the church. Look at verse 12. He says, when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, where they were still gathered.
[18:53] And when he knocked at the door, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. And I just love it. Recognizing Peter's joys, it's so vivid in her joy. She did not open the gate, but ran in to report that Peter was standing at the gate.
[19:09] They said, you're out of your mind. She kept insisting. They kept saying, yeah, it's his angel. But Peter continued knocking. And then they opened. That seems so vivid, right?
[19:20] Rhoda is so overjoyed, she forgets to let Peter in. I remember meeting a girl named Rhoda. I said, I just love that name. I want to forget things in joy.
[19:35] Then she tells everyone, Peter's at the door and they're like, you're crazy. He's in prison. Then they say, it must be his angel. Now think about that. You know, the church finds it more believable that it's an angel, a miracle, than it is that Peter's out of prison.
[19:50] Just in case you didn't think that the early church believed in miraculous wonders and signs. And Peter keeps knocking. Hey!
[20:01] Let me in. I want to pray. This is the middle of the night. My friends would have been waked up. And when they saw him, they're amazed.
[20:12] That word is used throughout Acts. It's the same word used again and again for the overwhelming experience of seeing the Lord work. They're amazed. They're overwhelmed.
[20:24] They get loud. They celebrate. Can you imagine? The confetti might as well be fallen from the sky because this quiet prayer meeting has erupted. You know, post-game interviews are usually so uninsightful, so predictable, and so boring.
[20:46] You know, they say something like, you've got to give them credit. You know, they did a good job. That's a good ball club over there, you know. But we came out on top. We just gave it that extra 10%, 110%, and that's why we won.
[20:58] Whatever. You know, they're so predictable and boring until you win the Super Bowl. How about them Chiefs? How about the big guy? Getting a Super Bowl ring. And I just love the post-game interview with Andy Reid.
[21:11] That was my favorite part of the Super Bowl because he said little more than, ah, yeah. I mean, they're like, coach, how does it feel to finally get that ring? Ah, you know. How did you do it?
[21:21] I mean, what was the game plan to put it together? Yeah, yeah. I'm so grateful. Patrick Mahomes was right there and he started making sense and collecting the moment for Andy Reid.
[21:31] Well, that's what happened when Peter walked through the door. The church said, oh, oh, Lord. Yes. Yes. He had to quiet him with his hand because it was a miracle that it happened.
[21:44] Their friend that was lost and his execution date was set, was set free. They're so happy because the Lord answers prayers. The Lord hears and answers.
[22:15] This is one of those truths that the people with a big view of God get all knotted up in. Is God just one big guy in the sky who got it all started but remains at a cool distance?
[22:28] Is he so involved in all the details that nothing we do makes any difference? Or is it something else? Does God answer prayer or does he just do what he planned to do from the beginning? And yes is the answer.
[22:40] God works out all things according to his plan and yet part of his plan is to use our prayers to make it happen. John Piper says, prayer causes things to happen that would not happen if you didn't pray.
[22:54] Failing to pray causes things not to happen. That's the point. That's what they saw. How does it work? I don't know. But it works. James 4.2 says, you do not have because you do not ask.
[23:09] Now you can't twist that verse and say God planned to give what he'd always planned to give. The point is, you don't have because you don't ask because God answers prayers in his way that I don't understand.
[23:22] And it's an unspeakable privilege. We know around here God does not need anything. He's not thirsty or hungry or tired. He's not weak or worried or confused or lonely.
[23:32] He does not even need our prayers. He knows what we need before we even ask. But that is who he is as the king of the universe and the way he rules. Yet he calls us to pray so that he can hear our prayers and answer them.
[23:47] He says our prayers change things. And this is true. We should pray expectantly and thankfully.
[24:00] We should pray expectantly. I mean, do you pray? I believe in prayer. We believe in prayer as a church. I mean, when we had First Deacons meeting several weeks ago, we spent half of our time praying for you.
[24:14] Such a privilege. and an honor to hear those men pray for you. That's why we carve out a chunk of the meeting to pray for the need of the church.
[24:25] It's because prayer matters and it causes things to happen. And we've seen it in our little church. We saw Karis' eye having no permanent damage. Sam's dad's jaw being healed. The hills being sustained and then conceiving.
[24:39] The Thomas' being kept another year. Scott's uncle passing away and then the family reuniting wonderfully. Just weeks ago, I was on the phone with TK and Charity. They told me how they're anxious about getting pregnant and desiring to be pregnant.
[24:51] We paused and prayed. They found out she got pregnant that night. Give it up to the Lord. That's right. Give it up to the Lord. Let the confetti fall.
[25:04] It's better than the Super Bowl. The Lord wants us to be watchful. He says, Continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful with thanksgiving.
[25:16] Not because he's trying to decide whether to pray because he's dying to give you everything you need. That's his heart. You're not overcoming any reluctance in this Lord. Not the one who gave his own son. All you're doing is preparing your heart for blessing.
[25:32] That's the truth. It may not be financial. It may not be the job opening. There are unanswered prayer but nevertheless his best is coming. Either in some way in this life or the eternal weight of glory in the next.
[25:50] You know, far too often I pray. I'm so desperate for whatever it is. A meeting or this meeting or whatever's going on and then the Lord delivers and I forget.
[26:02] So I'm new to this. I'm not great at this but I got a journal that I just write down prayers answered. And it builds my faith. Because I can follow the ways of this coach and just think, man, pray doesn't matter.
[26:18] The Lord just does what he wants to do. But man, I was reviewing that list this morning. The Lord answers. He loves the prayers of simple people fighting to follow him and faith.
[26:31] Finally, all prayers are heard and glorify God. All prayers are heard and glorify God. When everyone in the prison wakes up, there was quite a commotion.
[26:42] Peter was missing. And you see that. Look at 18. Now when the day come, there was no little disturbance. I mean, it was a ruckus, you know, among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
[26:55] Probably a lot of finger pointing there. As expected of the evil ruler, Herod, the soldiers that were guarding Peter were sentenced to death. They were executed with the sword. After that, the text kind of meanders along.
[27:07] It kind of rambles a bit and tells us the rest of Herod's life, this tyrant's life. And Herod had a spat with some surrounding nations. They joined together and they praised him.
[27:19] And he doesn't correct them. And so the Lord corrects him and strikes him down. Look at verse 22. They say, the voice of a God and not of a man.
[27:29] We saw that with Nebuchadnezzar. It didn't end well with him either. The angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory. Now, why does this text end this way?
[27:43] Why this kind of a bit random conclusion to Herod's life? Why not a closer look at the early church?
[27:53] The point is to contrast Herod with the church. That's what Luke's doing. The church prays earnestly to God. Herod has people bow before him.
[28:06] The church gives glory to God. Herod seeks to steal glory from him. The angel of the Lord strikes Peter up to wake him and deliver him.
[28:18] But the angel of the Lord strikes Herod to kill him. I think the point of the story is the story begins with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. But it ends with Herod dead, Peter free, and the word of God triumphing.
[28:33] Amen. Right? Isn't that amazing? The story begins with the church witness being on the verge of being snuffed out. Another of the inner circle being taken down. But it ends with the word of God increasing and multiplying.
[28:45] Those little summary verses that run throughout this text. The word of God, the center of the word of God is the gospel. That's what's bearing fruit all throughout the world and the New Testament all throughout this world.
[28:58] It is the message that God is holy and His eyes are too pure to look on evil. We have sinned against Him. No amount of the good things we could do or attempt to do could make us pure or right with Him.
[29:09] But God sent Jesus Christ to stand in the place of guilty sinners like you and me so that He might endure God's just and furious wrath and set us free for eternity.
[29:20] And so Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day as the exclamation point to say all who trust and follow Him shall have eternal life. And that word is bearing fruit throughout the world.
[29:36] I just love that picture. Herod may swing with a sword but our sword is mightier. It's the sword of the Spirit. So what's the takeaway of this change?
[29:54] I mean Peter's freed. Herod struck down. I think all prayers are heard and glorify God. Let me explain that for a moment.
[30:05] All prayers are heard by God whether they're uttered in the silence of your prayer closet or in the presence of a king. Every prayer is heard by Him.
[30:16] How many times did the psalmist say you heard my prayer? It's everywhere. All prayers glorify Him. Now how does prayer glorify God? John Piper uses this illustration.
[30:28] Suppose you were completely paralyzed and could do nothing for yourself but talk. Suppose you have a strong reliable friend who lives with you, promises to be at your side every moment to help you do everything you need to do.
[30:42] How would you glorify your friend? How would you appreciate Him? How would you honor Him with that request, with His generosity and kindness?
[30:53] Would it be trying to get out of bed on your own? Or God forbid, trying to carry Him? No, you would say, come help me. Help me. Help me get dressed.
[31:06] Help me brush my teeth. You glorify Him who's offered to help you by needing Him, by calling to Him, and by counting on Him. And that's the same thing that goes on with us. That's how we glorify God in prayer.
[31:19] The church glorifies God. It's glorifying God in that moment by needing Him, by calling on Him, by counting on Him. They have no other recourse. They have no sword. They have no other option.
[31:31] And that's the way we glorify God. Scriptures say, you can do nothing of your own. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I am Him, He is that bears much fruit.
[31:43] For apart from me, you can do nothing. So how do we glorify God? We glorify God by needing Him, praying to Him, hiding in Him, and depending on Him for everything.
[31:58] The goal of prayer is not to do it perfectly, but to do it continually. That's what needy people do. One of my favorite people that I don't know on the planet is Johnny Erickson Tata.
[32:13] She was paralyzed from the shoulders down, quadriplegic, at 18 in a diving accident. after becoming depressed and bitter, she eventually came to Christ and has gone on to become an influential voice in the evangelical world.
[32:31] She's now lived for over 50 years as a quadriplegic. And I love to hear of her prayers and her daily dependence on God. She tells in this article I recently read, my girlfriends will tell you in the morning when I wake up, I know they'll be coming to my bedroom to give me a bed bath, to do my toileting routines, to pull up my pants, to put me in the wheelchair, to feed me breakfast, and push me out the door.
[32:58] I lie there thinking, oh God, I cannot face this. I'm so tired of this routine. My hip is killing me.
[33:08] I'm so weary. I don't know how I'm going to make it to lunchtime. I have no energy for the day. Some of you feel that way. So God, I have no smile for these girlfriends.
[33:19] of mine who are going to come in here with a happy face. Can I please borrow your smile? I need it desperately.
[33:30] I need it. That's prayer. Before long, prayer becomes less focused on getting something from God and more focused on looking to Him for everything. That's the way He likes it.
[33:43] That's the contract He wants with you. That's what glorifies Him. She says later, maybe the really handicapped people are the ones who wake up in the morning, hit the alarm, take a quick shower, scarf down breakfast, give God a speedy tip of the hat of a quiet time, then zoom out the door on automatic cruise control.
[34:05] Prayer is the key to life. There's nothing so great as it. And that's the key. It's the greatest indicator of how we're doing.
[34:19] Is the check engine light on? How you doing? Are you sailing?
[34:33] Maybe you've never been on a sailboat, not much for me, but sailing in the Christian life is when you feel the wind at your back. The Lord feels near. All your prayers are being answered.
[34:43] The Bible seems so fresh and so real. Those seasons are amazing. Are you sailing? Or are you rowing?
[34:56] Rowing is when the work of prayer and reading is more of a duty than a delight. When God feels distant, when the prayers are not answered, yet you're continuing to row.
[35:07] You're continuing to fight and refuse to give in to self-pity or pride. You're continuing to pray and to read and pursue God and need God. If you're rowing, keep rowing, please.
[35:21] The wind's coming. There's wind. Maybe you're not sailing or rowing, you're drifting. Drifting is when you experience all the same things as rowing, the same distance, the same dryness, but drifting is when you stop rowing.
[35:42] you stop praying and seeking God. You stop resisting self-pity and pride. You begin to escape into eating more, sleeping more, drinking more, or more of anything that will deaden the pain.
[35:57] And drifting is the most dangerous place to be in the Christian life. Are you there? or are you sinking? Eventually, you drift too far outside the currents.
[36:15] That's why driftwood drifts up on the bank. You stop moving entirely. The numbness of your heart goes from numb to hard.
[36:27] You're on the verge of going under. Any small difficulty could take you out. where are you? Where are you?
[36:40] Pray about it. Invite somebody to pray about it with you. We find ourselves somewhere right there.
[36:54] And the Lord's here. And the Lord is near. And eager. I gave you this little book. in your seats. Kind of looks like a book from another world with this greenhouse in the snow.
[37:09] But we all know all about snow after this week. I want you to grab it up and flip it open if you would to that first page.
[37:19] this guy prays. He's a friend of mine. Number one.
[37:32] The hardest thing about prayer. He says the hardest thing about prayer is a small gap between thinking about praying and actually praying. That is just to begin.
[37:44] The will to start praying requires supernatural help and the deceitfulness of sin will delay the impulse to later. Flip two more pages.
[37:55] The paradox of prayer. We need to pray in order to pray. A little prayer leads to more prayer. A little neglect of prayer leads to more neglect of prayer.
[38:06] The negative habit of non-prayer is an extremely hard habit to kick it, but must always first be overcome before we can ever learn the positive habit of prayer.
[38:17] One request in prayer must be then, Lord help me to pray. That's what I pray is the effect of today. Lord help me to pray.
[38:29] Wherever you are, whether your prayer time is three minutes or thirty minutes or whatever, God's here and invites you. You've been listening to a message given by Walt Alexander, lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee.
[38:45] For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at trinitygraceathens.com.