I want to talk to you this morning about the need for convicted, confident, steadfast prayer wrestlers.
Wrestlers. That's why I said wrestlers.
Need for convicted, confident, steadfast prayer wrestlers, right?
I'm going to start with a quote from E.M. Bounds.
He says, this is not a praying age.
It is an age of great activity, of great movements,
but one in which the tendency is very strong to stress the seen and the material
and to neglect and discount the unseen and the spiritual.
Okay?
I can't stress enough the importance of prayer in the role of a church plant.
Okay?
I can't stress enough the importance of prayer as a role in the church plant.
Luke 10, verse 2.
Jesus said to his disciples, he said,
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Okay?
A church plant, one of our goals is to win souls, is to go into an area, bring God's kingdom,
by seeing people converted to Jesus.
The Bible says the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
When you said yes to the church plant, you said, hey, I want to be one of those laborers.
I want to be a team of people that goes out into the harvest field.
But that statement that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, demands a specific action.
You think, well, it would demand that I be a laborer.
Yeah, it demands that you be a laborer.
But what is the response that he has?
He has a therefore there.
Whenever you see therefore, look what is before it to see what it's there for.
Okay?
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore, pray earnestly.
Does the fact that there is a harvest that is plentiful and laborers that are not,
does that cause you to pray earnestly?
Are you praying earnestly for laborers, for us to be laborers who would go into the harvest field and reap a harvest?
Are you praying at all about it?
And if you are praying, are you praying earnestly?
Colossians 4.3, Paul says,
Pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison.
As a church plant, we need to be praying into the work that God has us to do.
Praying that God would open doors for the word of God to be preached in such a way that people be saved.
Okay?
It's one thing to do the work of preaching the gospel.
That's just as important.
But we also need to realize this isn't just a physical act.
It's not just words being spoken.
There is a spiritual reality here.
And so we have to pray.
We have to pray that doors would be opened for the gospel.
In Acts 4.29-31, it says,
Now, Lord, look upon their threats.
This is the prayer they're praying.
Look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
While you stretch out your hand to heal,
and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
This should be our prayer as well.
Are we any less needy than the church in Acts 4?
I don't think we are, are we?
Do we need also to be filled with boldness?
Do we also need to be filled with the Spirit?
Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
This should be our prayer as a church.
Okay?
We don't have no slick marketing campaign.
There's no social media campaign.
There's no slick sign.
There's no Holy Trinity of church planting with a bunch of dynamic speakers
and a slick children's program and a, you know, full band worship team of hired musicians.
We just have a ragtag group of people who love Jesus and who can be filled with the Spirit.
And who have prayer.
One of the greatest powerful weapons on the face of the planet.
I'm not talking about a nuclear weapon.
I'm talking about prayer.
Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
Is that your prayer?
Lord, grant us to speak your word with boldness.
It says, and when they had prayed, how did God, it says,
and while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders perform,
praying for power.
When they had prayed, it was shaken and they were all filled with the Spirit
and they continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
What does it say?
It says, God is faithful to answer prayer.
When you ask to speak the word with boldness, guess what he gives you?
He gives you his Holy Spirit so that you can speak the word with boldness.
He gives you his Holy Spirit so you can speak the word with boldness.
Are we trying to do church without a dependence on the Holy Spirit
to speak the word of God with boldness?
We cannot.
We must not.
We can't, you know, pray sometimes and not other times.
It has to be sustained.
There are many aspects of the work of planting a church,
but one of the most important has to be, it's got to be prayer.
Okay?
Got four points today that I want to hit on prayer.
Number one, we must possess a conviction of the necessity of prayer.
We must possess a conviction of the necessity of prayer.
When I said before, the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few.
Therefore, pray earnestly.
What does the word earnest mean?
Dictionary definition is resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction.
When you think of prayer,
are you possessing sincere and intense conviction about prayer?
Or is it just something you do in a crisis?
Is it just something you do because there's a prayer meeting?
Is it just something that you do out of guilt?
Or are you earnest in prayer?
The Bible tells us to be earnest in prayer.
Earnestness in prayer is having sincere and intense conviction.
Do you have this about prayer?
Prayer is absolutely necessary.
You might say, why do I need to pray?
Well, let me give you two good reasons for it.
Number one, prayer is necessary because God is necessary.
That's good enough right there, right?
Do you need God?
Is God necessary?
Well, how do you apprehend all He is and all He has for us?
Prayer.
Prayer is necessary because God is necessary.
In Acts chapter 12, verse 5,
it says Peter was kept in prison,
but earnest prayer for Him was made to God by the church.
To God by the church.
That's prayer.
We're saying, God, we need you.
The church comes together and says, we need you.
We have vision to say, hey, we want to see people saved
in this area of town.
We left our church.
We were sent out of our church for a specific purpose,
and see God's kingdom in all of life together.
And that means seeing people get saved.
And so we preach the gospel.
We get our mission to people.
But let us not forget earnest prayer.
Earnest prayer for Him was made to God by the church.
It's earnest prayer for souls made to God by Christ's church.
It needs to be.
Number two, prayer is necessary because God says so.
People don't like it when parents say,
when they ask, why do I have to do this?
And they say, because I said so.
Well, guess what?
When God says so, that's good enough reason.
You don't need another reason.
If God says so, that's all the reason you need.
God is God.
God is the authority.
And so when God says to do something,
we say, yes, sir.
When God says to do something, we say, yes, Lord.
When God says to do something, we say, yes, my king.
Well, then you might say, well,
isn't God going to do whatever He wants to do
because He is king and He is Lord and He is sovereign?
Isn't He just going to do whatever He wants to do anyways?
Well, let's look at what the Bible says.
James 4, verse 2.
Ready?
This is, you don't get much more simpler than this.
You don't have because you don't ask.
Why don't you have?
Because you don't ask.
Is prayer necessary?
Yes.
The last thing I would want to be on my tombstone
would be, here lies Josh Christopherson.
He did not have.
Why?
Because he didn't ask.
That'll be the only reason.
If I didn't have, it's because I didn't ask.
I want to be someone who's convicted,
who's sincere and intense conviction,
that I have to ask.
Because that's the way God set it up.
Wasn't God going to do it anyways?
No, He set it up to not do it.
Except through the prayers of the saints.
Now, He'll still get His prayers.
If He doesn't get it through you,
He'll get it for someone else.
But I don't want Him to get it through someone else.
I want Him to get it through me.
I want to be the guy who's praying.
I want to be the church that's praying.
Do you want to be that church?
Are we that church?
You don't have because you don't ask.
1 Samuel 12, 23 takes it up a notch.
He says,
If I cease to pray for you,
that would be a sin.
Do we ever regard prayerlessness as sin?
Do we ever regard failing to watch,
failing to be faithful in prayer
as an actual sin that needs to be repented of?
When's the last time we went to the Lord and said,
God, forgive me.
I have sinned,
for I have ceased to pray.
I have not prayed.
Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord
by ceasing to pray for you.
Do you see the language He's using there?
Far be it from me.
Is this something that's far from you,
or is it a little too close?
It's a little too close that we cease to pray for people.
He says,
Far be it from me.
Like, I don't want this even in the vicinity of me.
And we, as a church,
say,
we don't even want prayerlessness
to be even in the vicinity of Christ's church.
Can we have that conviction?
We must.
Who's going to lead in that?
Who's going to be an example in that?
Who's going to be faithful in that?
Matthew 7, 11,
If you then who are evil
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father,
who is in heaven,
give good things to who?
Those who ask Him.
Okay?
I'm going to give you two examples of,
I'm going to drill down on this a little bit more,
because I think sometimes we say,
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, Josh, I know, I know.
I'm supposed to pray.
I get it.
I don't pray enough.
I get it.
I want to drill down a little bit more,
look at more scriptures.
I want to look at Elijah,
and I want to look at Daniel, okay?
On this first point of having a conviction
for the necessity of prayer.
Okay?
Elijah,
first example.
We're going to go to 1 Kings 18,
starting in verse 1.
This is the story of Elijah.
It says,
After a long time,
the word of the Lord
came to Elijah in the third year.
Go present yourself to Ahab.
I will send rain on the surface of the land.
Okay, did you hear that?
What did he say he was going to do?
He said,
I'm going to send rain
on the surface of the land.
So done deal, right?
I mean, God said it.
I don't need to do anything, right?
Didn't God say it?
Don't I just like sit back now
and watch the rain come?
Get out my umbrella,
sit outside,
start waiting for it?
Well, what does he do?
1 Kings 18,
later on,
41 to 45,
Elijah says to Ahab,
Go up and eat and drink,
for there is the sound of a rainstorm.
So Ahab went to eat and drink,
but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel.
He bent down on the ground
and put his face between his knees.
Is that just the way he likes to sit?
What is he doing?
He's praying.
How do we know that?
James 5 tells us.
So he goes,
I thought God said.
I thought it says he's going to send rain
on the surface of the earth.
Why doesn't he just sit and wait for it?
No, he bends down onto the ground
and puts his face between his knees.
Then he said to his servant,
Go up and look toward the sea.
So he went up,
looked and said,
There's nothing.
Seven times Elijah said,
Go back.
So they're just repeating this.
He's praying.
Go back, check.
Nope, not yet.
No rain yet.
Okay.
On the seventh time he reported,
There's a cloud as small as a man's hand
coming up from the sea.
Then Elijah said,
Go and tell Ahab,
Get your chariot ready and go down
so the rain doesn't stop you.
In a little while,
the sky grew dark with clouds and wind
and there was a downtour.
So Ahab got in his chariot
and went to Jezreel.
James 5, 16 to 18,
the CSB gives us a little more insight into this.
I love it when the New Testament
gives a commentary on the old.
It's fun because you get to see something.
God is giving commentary on his own word,
which is pretty awesome.
So you don't have to try and figure it out.
Just what does God have to say about his word?
It's one of the best ways to interpret the word
is with the word.
Okay.
So James 5, verse 16 says,
The prayer of a righteous person
is very powerful in its effect.
Elijah was a human being as we are
and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain
and for three years and six months
it did not rain in the land.
Then he prayed again
and the sky gave rain
and the land produced its fruit.
So which is it?
If God said to do it,
isn't that all we need to do?
Or do we need to pray as well?
Well, what did Elijah do?
He prayed.
He heard the word of the Lord.
He heard what?
The revealed will of the Lord.
And he said,
Oh, that's God's will.
Whenever a Christian hears God's will,
knows God's will,
he now has a responsibility
to pray God's will.
And 1 John 5, verse 14 says,
If we ask anything according to his will,
he hears us.
And if he hears us,
then we have what we asked.
So this is the confidence we have in prayer.
That's what it says.
1 John 5, 14.
So that's what Elijah did.
He didn't take the God's will
to see something happen
as,
Oh, it's time to,
it's Rancho Relaxo here.
I'm just going to wait for it to happen.
No, he took it as a call to prayer.
Do you?
You know that God led us to this church.
Are you just waiting for it to happen now?
Or do you take your involvement,
your call to this church
as a call to prayer?
God wants to raise up a church.
All right, I'm going to sit around
and wait for it to happen.
No!
Pray.
It's time to pray.
Just like Elijah.
Hey, it's going to rain.
Elijah prays seven times.
He keeps praying.
And then it downpours.
He was a man just like us,
says James 5.
Just like us.
But how did he pray?
He prayed earnestly.
What does it mean to be earnest?
To have sincere conviction.
Do you have sincere conviction in prayer?
Let's look at the second example with Daniel.
Okay?
Daniel chapter 9.
Starting in verse 1.
In the first year of Darius,
the son of,
oh boy,
the son of Ahasuerus.
Sounds like a dinosaur.
In the first year of Darius,
the son of Ahasuerus,
a Mede by birth,
who was made king over the Chaldean kingdom,
in the first year of his reign,
I, Daniel,
understood from the books,
according to the word of the Lord,
to the prophet Jeremiah.
Okay?
So he's reading Jeremiah.
And it says that the number of years
for the desolation of Jerusalem
would be 70.
So I turned my attention to the Lord God
to seek him by prayer and petitions
with fasting,
sackcloth,
and ashes.
Same thing, right?
He's reading.
He's reading in Jeremiah.
And it's saying how long
the time of desolation would be.
And he says,
oh, it's 70 years.
So does Daniel,
you know,
pop open a bottle of wine
and say,
hey,
the desolation's gonna end.
This is awesome.
And just chill out
and wait for it to come?
No.
Verse three says,
so I turned my attention
to the Lord God
to seek him by prayer,
petitions,
which is a specific kind of prayer
where we're asking him for things,
with fasting,
sackcloth,
and ashes.
This is intense prayer.
Again,
why didn't he just wait for it to happen?
Isn't God just gonna do it?
It says in Jeremiah
he's gonna do it.
What does he do?
He prays.
He doesn't just wait for it.
He's actively involved
in seeing the will of the Lord
done through prayer.
The will of the Lord
is revealed in the word of God
to Daniel.
He hears,
oh,
this is God's will
and then knows immediately
that my responsibility
as a Christian
when I hear that something
is God's will
is to now pray it into existence.
You might say,
well,
God doesn't need you to do that.
He doesn't,
but he chose to.
God doesn't need anything
from anybody.
He is totally
and fully
self-sufficient.
So what?
What does that have to do anything?
He can choose to involve people
because he loves them.
Don't let this weird,
hyper
view of God's sovereignty
keep you from doing
your work in prayer.
God has chosen
to execute his will
on the earth
through the prayers
of the saints.
He gives us his intent,
his will.
It's in his word.
We have a full book
of all the things
God wants to do
and it's our job then
to pray those things
and as a church
we need to be a praying church.
Okay?
Daniel chapter,
and if that wasn't enough,
we get a little picture
of what happened
when Daniel prayed, right?
Let's look at that.
Daniel 10,
the next chapter,
verse 10 to 14,
suddenly a hand touched me
and set me shaking
on my hands and knees.
Okay?
He was fasting
and praying for 21 days.
He said to me,
Daniel, you are a man
treasured by God.
An angel came to him.
You are a man
treasured by God.
Understand the words
I am saying to you.
Stand on your feet
for I have now been sent to you.
After he said this to me,
I stood trembling.
Don't be afraid, Daniel,
he said to me.
Listen to this.
For from the first day
that you purposed
to understand
and to humble yourself
before your God,
your prayers
were heard.
I have come because
of your prayers.
What a statement.
Isn't that amazing?
The angel came
because of his prayers.
But the prince
of the kingdom of Persia
opposed me
for 21 days.
Then Michael,
one of the chief princes,
came to help me
after I had been left there
with the kings of Persia.
Now I have come
to help you understand
what will happen
to your people
in the last days.
His prayers
were moving angels.
His prayers
were doing battle
in the supernatural.
Our battle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against powers
and principalities.
Here's an example
of that right there.
Daniel's prayers
were moving angels.
That should build
our faith.
The prayer
of a righteous man
is powerful
and effective,
it said in James 5.
Okay?
So that first point,
we must have
a conviction
of the need
for prayer.
Number two,
we must wrestle
in prayer.
Okay?
We see this example
of Epaphras
in Colossians 4.
In the CSB,
I love this language.
In the ESV,
it says struggled.
But in the CSB,
it says he's always
wrestling for you
in his prayers
so that you can
stand mature
and fully assured
in everything God wills.
He is always wrestling
for you in your prayers.
Have you ever wrestled
with God in prayer?
When you think
of the word wrestling,
this isn't,
oh God,
thank you for this day
and I pray
that it would go good
and we'd have fun.
Amen.
Right?
That's not wrestling.
Have you ever seen
a wrestling match?
Just watched
the college
NCAA championships
last week.
Man,
these guys are aggressive.
These guys are aggressive.
These are some of the best
wrestlers in the world.
Okay?
They don't just come up
in there and say,
oh, hey,
how's it going?
You know,
let's wrestle.
No,
they want to destroy
that other person.
They are there
to destroy them.
They are there
to conquer them,
to completely defeat them.
When you wrestle,
you are aggressive.
Epaphras was like this
in prayer.
He was wrestling
in prayer
for the church
in Colossae.
He was wrestling
for them.
Have you ever
wrestled in prayer
for Christ's church?
Now,
I know you've prayed.
I've heard you pray
and I love when you pray.
I love hearing us
all pray together.
I know that you guys
pray outside of our
prayer meetings,
but let me ask you
a question.
Have you ever
wrestled with God
together for
Christ's church?
You're saying,
these things must happen.
These things have to happen.
What does that look like?
Genesis 32,
verse 26.
Jacob,
you know the story
where Jacob wrestled
with God?
He says,
let me go.
The angel of the Lord
was saying,
let me go
for the day is broken.
But Jacob said,
I will not let you go
unless you bless me.
And there he blessed him.
You know what
wrestling looks like?
Losea 12,
3 says,
Jacob wrestled
with God.
You know what
wrestling looks like?
Wrestling looks like,
I will not let you go
until you bless me.
That's wrestling.
Like,
I will not let you go.
God,
I will not let you go
until you bless
Christ's church.
God,
I want to apprehend you
and I'm not letting you go
until you bless
Christ's church
with souls.
Until you raise her up
on a sure foundation.
Until you bring
lost people
in the darkness
into the light.
Do you rescue them
from darkness
and set them
on a sure foundation?
You pray like that.
Hebrews 10,
19 to 23 says,
therefore brothers,
since we have confidence
to enter the holy place
by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living way
that he opened up for us
through the curtain
that is through his flesh,
and since we have
a great priest
over the house of God,
let us draw near
with a true heart
in full assurance
of faith.
With our hearts
sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience
and our bodies
washed with pure water,
let us hold fast
the confession
of our hope
without wavering
for he who promised
is faithful.
Do you have full assurance
of faith when you pray?
Do you hold fast
the confession
of your hope
without wavering?
Why?
For he who promised
is faithful.
For he who promised
is faithful.
We can wrestle
with God in prayer
because we know
he's faithful.
We know he is faithful
to answer those prayers.
What does hold fast mean?
Holding fast
means I will not
let you go.
I will not let you go
is what wrestling
and prayer looks like.
Holding fast.
You're holding fast
to who God is.
You're holding fast
to God himself.
You're saying
the one who promised
is faithful.
God you said
you said
that the harvest
is plentiful
but the workers
are few
and that if we prayed
for workers
you'd bring them.
You said oh God
that if I draw near to you
you would draw near to me.
You said God
it's holding God
to his word.
Don't ever be afraid
to hold God
to his word.
Don't ever be afraid
to be bold in prayer
without wavering
and full assurance
of faith
because he who promised
is faithful.
But prayer
the way God
is described
in the scriptures
is prayer
that is wrestling
and it doesn't let go.
It doesn't let go.
Number three
we must be confident
in prayer.
James 1
5
through 8
says
if any of you
lacks wisdom
what should you do?
Let him ask God.
Okay
same concept again.
Who gives generously
to all without reproach
and it will be given to him.
Again
there's a promise.
When you see these promises
you say
alright
I can hold on to that one.
If any of you
lacks wisdom
where do you go?
Let him ask God.
And then what's going to happen?
He gives generously
to all without reproach
and it will be given him.
Not it might
not hopefully it will
it will be given him.
You lack wisdom?
You know what the Bible says
he who wins souls is wise?
Are you winning souls?
If you're not winning souls
you may lack wisdom.
If you lack wisdom
where do you go?
You go to God.
And if you go to God
and ask for wisdom
what does it say?
It will be given him.
You believe that.
God
you promised.
You said
if I asked
for wisdom
it would be given to me.
I need wisdom
to win souls.
I pray that often.
I say
God give me the wisdom
to win souls.
I want to see souls saved.
You promised.
But when you ask
let him ask in faith
without doubting
for the one who doubts
is like a wave of the sea
that is driven
and tossed by the wind.
That person
must not supposedly
receive anything
from the Lord.
He's a double-minded man
and unstable
in all his ways.
We can't be double-minded.
God's not pleased.
Without faith
it's impossible
to please God.
Hebrews 11.6
says you must believe
that he exists
and that he's a rewarder.
Do you know
that it does not
please God
to go to him
and not believe
that he's going to
give you a reward?
You know that's not pleasing?
But I prayed.
So what?
You didn't pray in faith
and without faith
it's impossible
to please God.
You can't just believe
he exists.
You have to believe
that he rewards you.
Otherwise it's not pleasing.
Romans 4.19-21
it says
this is about
what we just
we just read
with the kids
with Adam.
It says
he did not weaken
in faith
when he considered
his own body
which was as good
as dead
since he was
about a hundred years old
or when he considered
the barrenness
of Sarah's womb
no unbelief
made him waver
concerning the promise
of God
but he grew strong
in his faith
as he gave glory
to God
fully convinced
that God was able
to do what he had promised.
Oh my gosh
that's so good.
Right?
No unbelief
made him waver
concerning the promise
of God.
This is wrestling
this is saying
listen
I am going to be
confident in prayer.
No unbelief
is going to make
me waver.
He said it
it's going to come
to pass.
His promise
is faithful
I am not going
to waver
in unbelief
concerning the
promise of God.
Actually
I'm going to grow
strong in my faith.
How?
As he gave glory
to God.
Why do we worship
God in song
every week?
Well the main reason
is because he's worthy
but you know
what else it does?
When we give glory
to God
we grow strong
in our faith.
We grow strong
in our faith
and we declare
who he is
and what he's done
and we take
to the Lord's table
every week
and we declare
who he is
and what he's done.
We put our identity
in the person
and the work of Jesus.
We stand on it.
We declare it.
We boldly proclaim it.
We sing it.
We grow strong
in our faith
as we glorify God.
How convinced?
Fully convinced
that God
was able to do
what he had promised.
Are you fully convinced?
Are we fully convinced
as a church
that God
is able
to do
what he had promised?
Luke 7, 9-11
says,
Which one of you
if a son asks for bread
will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish
will give him a serpent?
If then you are evil
and know how to give
good gifts to your children,
how much more
will your Father
who is in heaven
give good things
to those who ask him?
Luke 11,
Luke,
he says,
How much more
will he give
the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?
Do you ever have
a hard time believing
that God wants
to give you a spirit?
Do you ever have
a hard time believing
that when you ask God
if he's really going
to give you a spirit,
that he's going to
pour out his spirit,
that he's going to
fill you with his spirit?
He says,
If a good father
gives good gifts
to his kids,
how much more
will God give
the Holy Spirit
to those who ask?
Why are we doubting this?
This is a promise
that we can hold on to.
We should always be
depending and praying
for God to be filling
us with the spirit.
We need his power.
If we're going to
be God's church,
we need his power.
Which means we need
his spirit.
And we should be confident
that that's a prayer
that God always
wants to answer.
Why would we
waver in unbelief
thinking that God
doesn't want to
fill us with his spirit?
That's one of the most
ridiculous things
to not believe.
Because you,
even though you're
not a good father,
you would give that.
So how much more
a God who's
the perfect father
give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask?
Give good gifts
to those who ask?
Think how foolish
that is.
If we wouldn't
even withhold that,
how much more
would God not withhold that?
That's the confidence
we have.
Because Matthew 6,
8 says,
your father knows
what you need
before you ask him.
He knows.
He's a father.
That's why Romans 8
says,
if God is for us,
who can be against us?
If he did not
spare his own son
but gave him up
for us all,
how much more
will he not also
with him graciously
give us all things?
Think of the greatest
thing that God gave.
If he gave you
something that great,
you could be confident
that he'd be willing
to give you less things.
Like if someone said,
hey,
you know what?
I want to gift you
my car.
Okay?
You'd say,
wow,
that's a huge blessing.
You just gave me a car.
That's amazing.
And then you realized
that you brought
your diaper bag
but you forgot a diaper.
And do you think
it would be weird
to ask the person
who just gave you
their car for a diaper?
Do you think maybe,
I don't know if they're going
to,
they want to give it to me.
You think,
no,
of course they would.
But why do you think
that they would give you
a diaper?
Because they gave you
a car.
Do you understand
what I'm saying?
Like if God gave you
a son,
how much more will he give you
all the lesser things
than his son?
Is there anything
that's not lesser
than his son?
That's why he says,
how much more will he
graciously give you
all things?
Because all things
are less than the son.
If he was,
if that,
the great gift
that he gives
is a revealing
of his intent
to be generous.
If someone gives you
their car,
of course they're going
to give you a diaper.
If somebody gives you
his son,
of course he'll give you
all things.
Why do we doubt?
We need to be confident
in prayer.
Like 1 John 5,
14 says,
if he asks anything
according to his will,
he hears us,
and if he hears us,
we have what we ask.
This is the confidence
we have in prayer.
Which means we have
to understand
what the Lord's will is.
Like Ephesians 5,
17 says,
do you know
what his will is?
That's why
sometimes when we
read the word,
we should be reading
it as our prayer manual.
It's like,
this is what I need
to pray.
This is what
God's will is.
You understand
what the Lord's will is.
You pray what
the Lord's will is.
He hears you,
and if he hears you,
then you have
what you asked.
This is why Epaphras,
when he was wrestling
in prayer for them,
you know what he was
wrestling in prayer for?
That they would stand
mature and fully assured
in all the will of God.
He's actually praying
in confidence
that they would be
assured in the will of God.
Why?
Well,
obviously,
if the will of God
is what gives you
confidence in prayer,
and he's praying
that they would stand
fully assured
in the will of God,
he's also praying
that they would be
people who would pray.
Because when you know
the will of God
and you're assured
of the will of God,
then you pray
the will of God,
and if you pray
the will of God,
then he hears
the will of God
and you have a chance.
Last point,
number four.
You must be
steadfast in prayer.
Colossians 4,
verse 2 says,
continue steadfastly
in prayer,
being watchful in it
with thanksgiving.
You know,
getting people to pray
in a prayer meeting,
that's one thing,
but you know
what's the hardest thing?
It's getting people
to pray continually
until they see the answer
for a long period of time.
It says,
continue in prayer.
Have you ever been guilty
of not continuing in prayer?
Maybe you started off great.
You know,
maybe we start off the year
and say,
oh man,
I'm praying for character,
I'm praying for order,
I'm praying for family.
The Spirit spoke this to us,
so we're praying
these things into existence.
But what are you doing
in November and December?
You still praying?
Are we still continuing?
Are we still steadfast in prayer?
Anyone can start,
but who can finish?
Who continues?
Hebrews 6, 11 to 12,
says,
we desire each one of you
to show the same earnestness
to have the full assurance
of hope until the end,
so that you may not be sluggish,
but imitators of those
who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.
Everybody wants to say,
oh, it's all about faith, man.
You know,
we have a,
I'm a faith preacher,
I'm in the faith movement.
Where's the patience movement?
Where's the patience preachers?
Hey man,
he's a faith preacher.
Oh yeah?
Is he a patience preacher?
I'm not impressed
by the people who have
a surge of faith
in the beginning.
Real faith continues.
Real faith perseveres.
Real faith keeps going.
Whoop-dee-doo.
You get hyped up emotionally
for a moment,
and you pray,
and you call that faith.
The Bible doesn't call that faith.
The faith that the Bible talks about
presses in and continues,
keeps believing.
Okay?
That's why Daniel said,
you know what it said
to Daniel in Daniel 6?
Three times a day,
he prayed and gave thanks
before his God.
And I love the verse,
and the statement right after it says,
as he had done previously.
This is what he did.
Three times a day.
Prayed.
As he had done previously.
This is what Daniel did.
He had a life of this.
Okay?
We don't need the flash of the pan.
Super charismatic.
Super emotional.
Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.
We need the people
who are consistent
to keep praying,
and keep praying,
and keep praying.
This is what Jesus talks about
in his parable in Luke 11.
It says,
Jesus was praying
in a certain place.
When he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
Lord,
teach us to pray.
As John taught his disciples.
And he said to them,
when you pray,
say,
Father,
hallowed be your name.
Kingdom come.
Give us each day
our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins.
We ourselves forgive everyone
who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.
And he said to them,
which of you
has a friend,
which of you
who has a friend
will go to him at midnight
and say to him,
friend,
lend me three loaves.
For a friend of mine
has arrived on a journey
and I have nothing
to set before him.
And he'll answer him
from within,
do not bother me.
The door is now shut
and my children
are with me in bed.
I cannot get up
and give you anything.
We can understand this, right?
If someone came over
at midnight
and said,
hey,
I got some guests coming.
I want to feed them.
Give me three loaves of bread.
He'd be like,
get out of here.
Go to bed, man.
It's midnight, right?
So we can relate to this story.
It's like,
of course.
Of course he would say that.
Jesus goes on in verse 8.
He says,
I tell you,
though he will not get up
and give him anything
because he is his friend,
yet because of his impudence,
he will rise
and give him
whatever he wants.
Okay,
we're going to look at that word
here in a second.
I tell you,
ask and it will be given to you,
seek and you will find,
knock and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks
receives
and the one who seeks finds
and the one who knocks
will be opened.
What father among you,
if his son asks for a fish,
will instead of a fish
give him a serpent?
How much,
you know,
we just went over this.
How much more will you give
the Holy Spirit to those that?
So he says,
he says,
he will not get up
and give him anything
because he is his friend,
but because of his impudence,
he will rise and give him
whatever he needs.
Let's look at what that,
what words are used
in different translations
for the word impudence.
NIV says,
shameless audacity.
The NLT says,
shameless persistence.
The New King James Version
says,
persistence.
The NASB says,
shamelessness.
The Amplified says,
persistence and boldness.
The CSB says,
shameless boldness.
You get in kind of a little picture
of what he means by impudence.
I know that's not a word
most of you use
in your vocabulary probably,
but these other words
give us a little insight.
Shameless audacity,
shameless persistence,
persistence,
shamelessness,
persistence and boldness,
shameless boldness.
Is this what your prayer life
looks like?
Is this what my prayer life
looks like?
Luke 11,
9 to 10,
the following verse
after he says,
uses this word.
In the Amplified,
he says,
so I say to you,
ask and keep on asking.
Then it shall be given to you.
Seek and keep on seeking
and you shall find.
Knock.
You guess what it's going to say?
Keep on knocking
and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks
and keeps on asking,
receives.
And everyone who seeks
and keeps on seeking,
finds.
And him who knocks
and keeps on knocking,
the door shall be opened.
It's bringing out
that this,
the verb that's being used here
is an active verb.
It's a continual verb.
It's not a one and done thing.
This is why Paul would say
in Colossians 1,
9,
I have not ceased
praying for you.
Or Ephesians 1,
16,
I do not cease
to give thanks for you,
remember you my prayers.
Or to pray unceasingly.
Okay?
A lot of people say,
well,
that means you have to pray
all the time.
Maybe.
That could be
maybe what that means.
I would maybe throw out to you
that maybe what it means
is that you have to pray
and keep on praying
and you don't stop.
You don't give up.
Like,
you keep going.
You keep asking
until you see an answer.
You persevere in prayer,
steadfast in prayer.
And I think this is one of the
major missing things
in a lot of Christians
is the persistence in prayer.
We're not talking about
good starts.
We're talking about
good finishes.
We're not talking about
when you're a young,
zealous man.
We're talking about
when you're still doing it
when you're an old man
and you're tired
and you want to go home.
We're talking about
not just when everyone's hyped up
and there's thousands of people
praying together
and fasting together.
We're talking about
when nobody's praying
and you're in your room
and there's crust in your eyes
and drool in your mouth
and you really wish
you could just sleep
a little bit longer.
I'm talking about
when you've seen
over and over again
that it seems like
everything that you see
with your natural eyes
seems to go in contrary
to what you're praying
and seeing
with your spiritual eyes
and you don't let
that which is seen
dictate what is unseen
but you walk by
what is unseen
not by what is seen.
You walk by faith.
I'm talking about
continual persistent prayer.
Do we have it
at Christ Church?
Do we have persistence
in prayer
where we keep praying
and say God
establish this church.
Establish this church.
You might say
well yeah
that's what we're doing.
We're doing the work.
We come here
we meet weekly
we're trying to reach out
to unbelievers.
Praise God
for all that stuff
and we'll talk more
about that next week.
But listen
what we're doing
the work of prayer.
Don't neglect
the most important work.
The work that's done
in the spirit
to say God
we need you.
We can do all kinds
of things
but if we don't have God
we don't have anything.
We have a church
but we don't have God
we have nothing.
If we need God
so we need prayer.
We need prayer.
Lord establish this church.
Lord give us the wisdom
to win souls.
God anoint us
with your spirit
to speak your word
with boldness.
Let a harvest come in.
Pray for laborers
to raise up
who will labor
in the gospel
who will labor
in prayer
who will labor
in the work of the Lord.
And we keep praying.
And when God doesn't answer
do we give up?
No!
We keep praying.
And when we knock
and the door doesn't open
do we stop knocking?
No!
We keep knocking.
And when we seek
and it doesn't seem
like we're finding
do we stop seeking?
No!
We keep seeking.
Can we be as a people
marked by this?
Okay!
If we're going to be
a church plant
this is what we have to do.
Again,
the props are pulled out.
Like,
I don't know,
if you haven't noticed
there's not like
flocks of people
coming to gather with us.
They're not banging
down the door.
If the door got banged
down this morning
it's because we farted
in the wrong spots.
Right?
I don't even think
they realize
that we're meeting
as a church.
Right?
Okay?
We gotta pray.
We need to pray.
We must pray.
As a church plant
we need to be convicted
of the necessity
of prayer.
We need to be
wrestling in prayer.
We need to be
confident in prayer.
We need to be
steadfast in prayer.
Amen?
Amen.
Let's stand.