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SPEAKER_02Good evening, good evening. God bless you. Wherever you are across the world, may the Spirit of God be over you. And we thank you for joining us wherever you are tonight. May the God that we serve, you know, just covering the love of Jesus
Christ. We're going to jump straight into the message in a moment. We just want to let everybody know that wherever you are tonight, right across the world, that the power of God is in your life and the Spirit of the living God is with you. We're going to jump straight into the book of Matthew, chapter 5. We're just waiting a few minutes just for let people just jump in. We're a little bit early. I don't know, you know, if many people are there at the moment. We can see a few, but may God bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. We're going to jump into the subject of prayer. Prayer. We're going to look at the word prayer, you know, and we see what Jesus Christ says. Prayer is critical for our lives. Yes, we know that it's obvious, you know, but prayer is key, you know, above worship, above preaching, above evangelism, above everything else. It is prayer. You know, prayer is the way forward. So wherever you are at this moment in time, we invite you, you know, to gather around the word of God and to just to get this book up. You know, we've got to get to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6, and we're going to pick it up from verse 9. Matthew chapter 6, verse 9, and wherever you are at this hour, may the Spirit of the Lord be over you. Thank you for joining us on the Word of Podcast. Thank you to everybody that's joined us in the World of Radio. Thank you for those that are on live stream on camera at this moment. May the Spirit of God just carry you right now in the name of Jesus. There is
power in prayer. You know, we need to get into prayer, you know. My whole life, very interesting. My my my church life, my my walk with God. You know, my mum used to pray for me as a young lad, and she kept praying, she kept praying, she kept praying, she kept praying, she kept praying. Prayer is the key. You know, it's not worship. We can listen to worship. You know, worship will take us to a certain place. It depends what type of worship we're listening to. You know, worship will give us, you know, emotional feeling, but there is something about prayer that is above preaching, that is above the uh the teaching, uh, above uh, you know, all that sort of stuff. You know, Sundays there is something about prayer, and I really believe that God is calling us to prayer. I believe God is calling us right back to the very basics. I I pray right now that the power of God will just move in your heart, your mind, your body, your soul, and just touch your life because prayer, and then the question is people seem to be asking me a lot lately. I'm praying, but I'm not getting any answers. Nothing seems to be happening. You know, I think what's what it what the truth of it really is, is that we just got to keep praying. We just got to keep going, we just got to keep going, no matter what, just keep praying. Don't expect that answer straight away. Everything is in God's timing, everything is when He is ready, it's it's when God is ready, but we just got to keep praying, you know. Never give up in your prayer life, you know. We don't have a microwave Jesus, it's not the ping Jesus, you know, it's not just put him in the press the button and out, he'll come out in five seconds, you know, ready, roasted, and all ready to go. You know, prayer takes time, prayer is a lifetime, prayer is a lifestyle. Worship is for a moment when you think about preaching and worship, evangelism, all that is for a moment, but prayer, prayer is actually true worship. When we get into that posture of prayer, it's really, really important for me to understand that the power of prayer is true worship. And we see this from this gospel writer, the gospel writer of Matthew. When when you look at this, you know, verse 9, as we read from verse 9 in just a few moments, so prayer. You know, as a young lad, my mum prayed for me, prayed for me, prayed for me. My mum was a person of prayer, even though she was disabled, she was really unwell in many areas of her life, really, really unwell. You know, she never gave up in prayer. My mum never got healed, but she was so unwell, it was unbelievable. But she never she was faithful in prayer. That's one thing that I can draw from it. That my mum never got healed. She was ill for many, many years, and I watched her and different areas of her life. But what was fascinating is what the prayer, what the prayer done to her as a human being, as a Bible-believing believer. Yeah, of course God heals. God does miracles. I'm not saying that he doesn't, but what I'm saying is that prayer is the weapon of warfare. Prayer changes everything within us. You know, it might not, we might not get healed, we might not receive a healing, but what it does, it strengthens us, it carries us, it moves in our lives, it keeps the enemy away. Prayer is powerful. It's not worship that I should be focusing on. It's not preaching, it's not the teaching. It's getting close to God. And how do I get close to God? It's through the power of prayer, it's through the power of prayer that takes me closer to God. It's where I have that those moments of quietness, of stillness, through the power of prayer. You know, worship, worship is great. We worship in church, you know, but true worship, true worship is prayer. What do you mean? Well, in verse 9, as we look there, our Father in heaven, hallow be thy name, you can't you can't get any more higher praise than what we are reading here in the scripture. You know, Jesus has given us one prayer on one prayer only. You know, when you look about prayer, you know, it's it's across every level of life. We got more prayer books than we can count. There are there, I'm a wash with them on the studio walls over there. You got prayer, this, prayer, that. But the only prayer that Jesus Christ has ever given us is this New Testament prayer that you find nestled in the scripture in Matthew chapter 6, verse 9. And if you take this prayer, if I take this prayer and we we get into this prayer, you know, we are living in very fierce and very powerful, very spiritual days, really spiritual days. Everybody's exhausted, everybody's weary, there are things going on, you know. We are living in the in the the beginning. Well, not the beginning, I shouldn't say the beginning, because the beginning happened at the cross and around there. Um, what I'm referring to is the end days, the the moment. So the temperature, the the presence, you know, there are things happening in the spiritual realms, and humanity can't cope with it. There is a there is a temperature, there is a heightening in the spiritual realm. You can feel almost the pressure, you can feel just the weight of life, you know, the seasons that are changing at this moment in time. The only way that I'm I'm gonna get through this, the only way I'm gonna get through the valley, Psalm 23, is by being persistent in prayer.
As I said earlier, I can preach all day, I can teach all day long, I can do this, I can do that. But above everything else, it is the power of prayer. The prayer, you know, the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. Without further ado, let's get straight in. Well, I think let's pick it up. Let's let's stay in chapter six, but let's pick it up in verse five, and it says, When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing on the synagogues or in the synagogues, wherever you're reading from, in the synagogues and on the street corners, uh, to be seen by men. I will tell you the truth. They have received their reward in full. But when you pray, look, I love this. Verse six, verse six, I want to encourage you, never give up in your prayer life. Even though you feel and you seem and you think nothing is happening, there is something happening. It has to be true, it cannot be any other way. You keep praying. You know, if you are struggling to pray, if you are uh worried about praying, if you're in a prayer meeting and you don't know how to pray, and others are praying out, making a noise, just get hold of this, get hold of this prayer nestled in Matthew chapter six. It is so powerful. And we're picking it up, and we're gonna back up a bit in the verse, so we're gonna pick it up in verse six, and it says, But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling like the pagans, for they love the uh to be heard by by many words, and do not be like them, for your father knows what your needs are before you ask. This is then how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallow be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us of our debts as we forgive those uh forget our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And then it goes on in verse 14, and it says, For if you forgive men uh their sins against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your father will not forgive your sins. And then it goes on a little bit fur further, and it talks about the fasting and everything, about the hypocrites and the pagans and all that. But what I just want to hold on at the moment is is just want to encourage you at this moment, don't give up in your prayer life. Don't give up. Just because we're not seeing results, you know, the world expects and the world tells us that everything that we do in life, we will see a result straight away. Straight away. We are living in a world that is is instant. As I said, it's the microwave world where you press the button, you can have everything instant, instant, instant. That that's not actually kingdom walking. Kingdom walking is is about endurance, kingdom walking is about living by faith. Kingdom walking is is believing and calling the things that are not as they are. It will take everything that you got, everything that you've got within yourself to keep praying, to keep standing on the word. Then we say to ourselves, well, how can I keep praying? I can't go into church and pray. That is not what we're talking about. Our lifestyle should be the posture of prayer, the way that we are, the way that we are. You know, we're praying, we're in a car, you're having a conversation with God, you're you're walking, you're taking the children to school, you're working, whatever you are doing, you can pray with actually out moving your lips. You can actually, you know, bring such powerful prayers without actually making a noise with your lips. That's what I love. It is so powerful, you can be anywhere, but we don't need to be in the church. Now, you obviously all know my background, Pentecostal background, really loud, very, very noisy, and all that Razmatazz and everything that goes along with that. Now, I've been in uncountable prayer meetings that are so noisy you can't even hear yourself think. And when you study Jesus in prayer, it is not like that. We've got to be so careful when we go to prayer meetings, the noise, the noise that can be in certain prayer meetings and certain cultural prayer meetings. Now, when I look back and study prayer and I think about the power of prayer, I realize that I've been in prayer meetings that have not actually been praying to God. When you talk about speaking in tongues and the heavenly language, and if you're not speaking in tongues, you're not a Christian, it's just all rubbish. It's just it's just crazy. It is exactly as the Bible says it is babbling. There I've been in so many prayer meetings that I've realized now that it's just been babbling, wailing, and making a strange noise. They really haven't been prayer meetings, as in the scripture, how the Bible talks about praying and and and coming before God. So we need to analyze everything. When you look at these scriptures that we've just been reading just for a moment now, I'm just trying to take my time. I'm just trying to unpack this and think about it and pray about it as we go and believe uh in the word of God as we read this. But in verse 6 of Matthew chapter 6, I think this is really important. It says, But when you pray, go into your room, you go on your own. I find this fascinating, really fascinating. In a moment, we'll turn to the book of Acts and you can read Acts chapter 2 about the birth of the church. But it says the men and the women, they were together. Now there's another area that we've really got to make sure is the Bible doesn't segregate men and women in church. Culture does, colour does, many, many things separate men and women within church. That that is not actually scripture. So when you look at the birth of the church, the birth of the church came around and they was praying before the Holy Spirit fell. So they was already in prayer. So they didn't, and they wasn't requiring the Holy Spirit to fall on them before they started to pray. So
it's really important that if you're worried about that you're not speaking in the heavenly language, you're not speaking in the gift of tongues, please do not allow that weight upon yourself. Do not do not carry that weight. If you go to certain churches, certain movements, all they will talk about is you've got to you've got to speak in tongues, you've got to speak in tongues, you've got to speak in tongues. If you don't speak in tongues, if you don't speak in tongues, or you're this, you're that. You know, you've got to shut yourself down to that. If God wants you to speak in tongues, he will give you the gift for you or whoever it is to speak in tongues. Now, it's really, really important to understand that I don't get myself pressurized by the church as in the prayer meetings. Prayer meetings are power. You know, it's not about making a noise, it's about praying with the Bible. We can make as much noise as you like in a prayer meeting, but if scripture isn't at the center, it is not really worth doing. You know, I've been in and I've right I've I could tell you a life story of prayer in meetings in this church, that church, churches all over the place, just making a noise. And when I look back now, I think to myself, how many years and hours have I wasted being like a pagan praying, making a noise, all that noise, all that rasmataz, all that showmanship, all that standing on one leg, standing on one hand, you know. Oh, goodness gracious, I could tell you a thousand stories about prayer meetings. But what's really important is the instruction that Jesus gives us. This is what we need to follow. We need to follow the instruction of God. Really, really important. Prayer is so powerful. Prayer is so powerful, and so often we pray and we feel like we're actually going backward. And what I mean by that is we're stepping back rather than moving forward, we're actually going backwards. We're going backward in in stuff, but it's actually not true. What it is is God is cleansing and God is moving through the power of prayer, and he's sharpening us up and he's making us more spiritually alert for the awareness of life, culture, and everything around us. So when we pray and it goes quiet, please do not do not get yourself frustrated. Do not worry. I've had quite a few messages lately over the last few weeks. I'm praying and I'm praying and I'm praying, and nothing's happening, nothing's moving. Where is God? Is it real? God is real. Let me tell you this: your prayers are being heard, but we got to get into the position of enduring. We've got to get into that posture of just pressing through in prayer. We got to keep going. You got to keep going and you keep going, and you never give up. You keep praying like you've never prayed before. But if you feel like you don't know how to pray, the Lord's prayer is the model that we take. The Lord's prayer is the model that we take. This this prayer is critical. You can go to a meeting, you can go anywhere you want, and you haven't got to uh have all these massive prayer uh prayers printed off from online and this and that. The most powerfulest prayer anyone could ever have is the Lord's Prayer. God, through Christ, has never given us anything else except the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is the way to go, the Lord's Prayer is the way forward. If you are looking for healing, if you're looking for miracles, if you're looking for breakthrough, if you're looking for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, it has to be the Lord's Prayer. If we take the Lord's Prayer and we meditate on the Lord's Prayer, when you think about Joshua and Caleb,
God told them, Whatever you do, you know, meditate on the word of God day and night. Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. So if you
take Matthew chapter six and you get hold of that and you take it from verse 9, it says, This is then how you should pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us of our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And then it goes on a little bit further there. But let's just pause it there a moment. If if you are in trouble tonight, if you are worried about your health, if you're in financial stretch, if you've got relationship issues, if you're down and depressed, if you've got anxiety and fear, this is the prayer that will really break everything. Why do I say that? It's very, very simple why I say this. Because when I pray this and I read this, I'm actually reading the prayer of God. I'm hearing the heart of God. When I go off on my own little tangent and I don't use scripture, the Bible says, teach us, this is how you should pray. We need to take the scripture. If you were to turn to Psalm 23, we've 23, sorry, we've used Psalm 23 quite a number of times just for a bit of an exercise, you know. But if you was to turn to Psalm 23 and you read that and you turn it into the prayer, if you look at Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Father, I thank you that you are my shepherd. I'm not going to be in want. Lord, I thank you that you make me lie down in green pastures. Lord, today I've got to lie down. Lord, I've got to lay down in a refreshing place. Lord, you've got to refresh me. So if you it's critical for prayer not to be like the pagans, the pagans, the Pharisees and the Sadducees of making a noise on the street corners in synagogues and all those areas, just for the sound of making a noise. I've been in them prayer
meetings. I've been seriously involved in the type of prayer meetings where there's really been, well there hasn't actually been any scripture in prayer. It has just been noise, it has been chaos, organized chaos. You know, it's really, really serious. Really serious prayer is so serious, but it is so easy. Prayer is so easy. And I know some people say, Oh gosh, I I struggle praying. And that is because we're living in a world where our brain cannot cope with just thinking and coping with one thing. Our brains are moving from one thing to another all the time. We got this hypersensitive way that we think. It's moving from one thing to another. One, one, one, one, one. That's because of this, because of the phones. It's because of the gadgets, it's the phones, the computers. Our minds are going from one thing to another. Um, I've got an email coming through, I've got a text, I'm on social media, I'm watching YouTube in the corner of this eye. I've got football starting in a minute. You know, we are dancing on, we have got so many things spinning, our mind can't cope. When we come to prayer, what happens is we we we can't concentrate on what we're doing. Our mind is all over the place. We're praying and we're thinking about the chicken in the oven, or we're praying and we're thinking about the football's coming at eight o'clock. We're we're praying and we're thinking and thinking, oh Lord, I've got to pray, I've got to uh pay the bills today. You know, we can't seem to focus. This is a very dangerous area that we've lost a lot of our focal point, which is Christ, and we've lost a lot of our focal point simply because not because we've come away from Jesus, but because of our mind, our mindset, what we think about. We've got so many things in front of us, and our brain is just ticking all the time, ticking all the time, ticking all the time. What are they doing over there? Where's the children? What time are they going to be back? I've got to get this done, I've got to get that done. I'm doing one, two, three, four, five, six. I'm doing seven tasks with just my one brain, just trying to think. And then when it comes to prayer, we're absolutely exhausted. That's why it's critical to start the day with prayer. Before the world grabs a hold of you, when you wake in the morning, when you wake in the morning, just try and wake up a little bit earlier and have this Lord's Prayer ready. Have the Lord's Prayer ready to pray. You know, get this Lord's Prayer in your spirit, your mind, your body, your soul, because prayer is powerful. Prayer is so powerful. And when we pray with the word of God, I'm I'm referring to praying with scripture. Maybe we need to learn to pray differently. I don't know. Maybe I don't know how your prayer life is, but just analysing and thinking how things are across the board of church. You know, as as we say, you know, we we come to church now with mobile phones and we don't come to church with Bibles. You know, it's it's a bit of an unusual thing to walk in a church with a Bible under your hand. Normally we got the mobile phone in our hand, and we're just texting as we walk into the church door, or someone's sending us an email, or we're sitting in the car par on the social media feed chatting away. Our concentration has been taken. You know, it's very interesting that how how the world keeps us busy, how the devil keeps us busy with our mind, and our mind is just racing all the time. So when it comes to the the scripture where it says, Be still and know that I'm God, I can't do no more than one second because my mind, I can't be still. We have lost the the understanding of being still. Uh, how do I be still before God? Because when I go into that quiet place, the scripture says up there, when you should pray, it says, But when you pray, go into the room, close the door, and pray to your father who is unseen. Now that is a that is an unbelievable fact as it is. We go into that place and it's just us. There's no one there. Of course I know God's there, but what I mean is no other human being. And the Bible says that God is unseen, your father who is unseen. So we you might need to take make the van your prayer place, your car, your commute, whatever you're doing, but that's that quiet place, you know, wherever you are, and just just be focused, just be focused on prayer, and uh just just bring everything before God and don't dance around the houses. This is why this scripture is so on point. This scripture is so powerful. This Lord's Prayer is just exactly what we need, and this is what it says. I'm gonna again, I'm gonna read it. But if you are shy, if you're worried about speaking out in church, if you're in a church and and they offer out prayer, that's great and amazing. And if you feel that you can never pray out, that you don't know how to pray and you don't know what to pray, have this ready. Get a highlighter pen and mark it in your Bible. If I was you honestly, I'd come away from having your your phones and your iPads in church because they're major distractions. That's what the enemy wants. You know, get yourself a Bible, take yourself a paperback version, put your phone in your pocket for you know for an hour and a half, whatever it may be. But this is this is the prayer, this is the prayer that we should pray. So if you go into a prayer meeting, if you want to start a prayer meeting, join a prayer meeting, it's the only prayer that God give us through Jesus Christ. He says, This is then how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallow be thy name. Straight away we're into worship, straight away in verse 9. Our Father, we're declaring that our Father is in heaven. The Father, there's uh there's the earthly father, and there's this heavenly father, the the father above all fathers. You know, we're declaring our father in heaven, hallowed. You know, when you talk about the word hallowed, it is such a holy uh word, it is such a powerful word. So we're declaring worship, we're worshiping
God with no music. It's really interesting that we're worshiping God with with no music, with no latest Christian music on, blaring out across the radio. We are worshiping God, you know. The Bible says the worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. We can only worship in spirit and in truth when we're in the Holy Spirit and when we're in the truth. What is the truth? The truth is the word of God. So if you're struggling to pray, I've really got to encourage you to take this prayer, get yourself a highlighter pen, get yourself a Bible, and literally mark it. Don't be frightened about marking the Bible. Don't listen to all those out there. Oh, you shouldn't mark the book. The the book should be marked, you know. Mark the book up for your own benefit. Underline things, make make notes on it. It's okay, you know, it's okay, it's perfectly okay. Don't listen to them have a lot out there. Please just get yourself a marker pen. Mark Matthew chapter six, verse nine. You know, we might be prayer warriors, we might be, you know, all that sort of stuff, intercessory prayer and all that. You know, it's it's it's critical, it's critical wherever you are that prayer is the key, prayer is the way forward. There's nothing else in the world that we need more than prayer. Preaching is amazing, evangelism, evangelism is amazing, worship is amazing, but prayer overarches and and and is out there because prayer has everything in one thing. So we spend more time listening to secular Christian music than we actually do in in the time of prayer. Prayer should be always upon our lips. You know, prayer is so powerful, and I keep emphasizing this. When I mean powerful, it's only powerful when when we bring these scriptures because we gotta we gotta bring the word of God in. We gotta we've gotta have the Bible open again. If you have a Bible, turn to Psalm 23 and just read what it says. Use Psalm 23, verse six verses, six verses, pray that, use that as prayer. Use Psalm 23 as your daily, your morning prayer, and then turn to Matthew chapter 6, uh verses 9 through to the end of uh 13. You use those as prayer wherever you are you go, take these two, and then if you want to venture a little bit further and you've got more time, go into Psalm 91, go into Psalm 91 and use that powerful, you know, scripture. You know, the word of God, it is the word of God that we got to get in. It is the word of God, and through the power of prayer, you'll see sickness change around, you'll see fear go, you'll see doubt go, anxiety go, miracles, you know, miracles in the word of God, but it has to be the spoken word, it has to be the spoken word of God. As I said, I've been in many prayer meetings, many, many prayer meetings over the years. They've been noisy, it's just been like in a pagan festival. Yeah, when I think about it now, it's been noisy, it's been loud, it's been out of control, it's been chaotic. But when you talk about and you read about what Christ says and how Christ prays, Christ prays in such a gentle way. He prays in such a gentle way, he he does it so gently, he's not shouting, he's not screaming, he's not speaking in tongues. When you think about that, where in the scripture do you find Jesus speaking in the heavenly language? Where do you find Jesus? Where do you see where are these scriptures where you find Jesus speaking in tongues? Where do you where do we see this? We don't see it in the word of God. Jesus speaks, Jesus is quietly spoken, even when he's in the wilderness and the devil comes to tempt him. You know, he says, it is written. That's all we've got to do, is we've got to get the word of God because there's power in scripture. If you need healing, if you need a miracle, if you're financially stressed, if you've got anxiety and you're doubting things and you're worried about life itself, the way forward is through this prayer. Start simply because this is the only prayer that Christ has given us. It's very simply He has given us Matthew chapter six, and it is verse 9. This is then how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallow be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our debts, and we forgive those who are our debtors as well. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. It has absolutely everything in those few scriptures, those few lines, for us to be refreshed, restored, you know, redeemed, free from the temptation of the world, you know, the devil is under your feet. You know, so many times we've been in these prayer meetings and they're so noisy and they're so chaotic. But I want to encourage you now, wherever you are, get yourself a Bible, get yourself a marker pen, get yourself a pencil, and open up your word tonight. Open up the word of God and just draw around and make a make a conscious effort just uh to highlight the Lord's prayer because it is the only prayer, it is the prayer that Christ has given us through the living word. Now let's turn to the book of Acts a moment. So the Lord's Prayer, if you're struggling to pray, if you feel embarrassed in a prayer meeting or if you want to pray out in church, if you want to pray out in church, by all means, please do that. But the way that I would do that, if you're feeling a little bit intimidated, a bit, a bit uh pressed, I would take the Bible with you. I wouldn't read it from your phone, you'll get distracted. But if I was you, I would take the Bible with you into church. I highlight what I said, the Lord's prayer. And when they say if anybody's got uh anything, they want to pray, has anyone got a prayer or scripture? You know, just read out this, you know, you read out Matthew 6. It's so simple. You can read it over and over and over again. And when you go to a prayer meeting, just take this and just because this is a prayer, this is the word of God. It is so powerful. But as we accelerate further up into the word, let's go to the book of Acts. Let's go to the book of Acts, and as we turn to the book of Acts, you know, this is a very interesting scripture that we got here.
Now, we might go back to Matthew in just a few moments, Matthew chapter six. But uh, if you can, can you please uh grab yourself a Bible and get into the book of Acts, chapter one, and it says, when they return to Jerusalem, and it says the hill called the Mount of Olives, uh, a Sabbath day walk from the city, when they arrived, they went upstairs. Now, this is really interesting, these scriptures. It says, uh, when they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Barnabas, Matthew, James, son of Alphonse, uh, son of Zealot, and then it's got he's going a bit further, Judas and son of James. Verse 14, and it says, All of them join together. When you look at certain cultures and certain churches, certain areas, there's there's a lot of segregation. There's a lot of segregation in the hierarchy. Pastor sits at the front, and then you go all the way back. Pastor's got a throne in certain churches, he's got a great big chair where he sits on the stage with everyone to look at. You know, when you look at that, but this is what the Bible says when the prayer meeting started. The women wasn't separated. The women was not separated. The men and the women were together in prayer. They sat in the same place. They weren't to the back of the church, they weren't to the left of the church, they weren't to the right of the church, they was just in that. Place of prayer. You know, it's important. If you go to a church and there's separation and you're pushed to the side, you're pushed to the back, and you're over there, you know, be very, very careful because that that is not scripture. Because when we look at this, this is one of the most powerfulest prayer meetings in the church. Why is it? Because it's coming under the instruction of God. When you look at Acts chapter 1 and chapter 2, is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is Christ getting the church ready to receive the Holy Spirit, and to receive the Holy Spirit, what does it say? They they was in unity. So let's just remind ourselves what the scripture says. Let's pick it back, pick it back up in verse 14. It says, All of them joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary and the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. In those days, Peter stood up among the believers, a group numbering about uh a hundred and twenty and said, Brothers and sisters, have uh to be filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke a long time through the mouth of David concerning. And as you go the way down, you read that, read what it says. Read what it says about the power of prayer. It's really, really interesting. It's really powerful, these scriptures. And then as we turn over the page, let's go to chapter two. As you look at chapter two and in verse one, Christ has already prepared them, he's already got them ready, and they're already in prayer, they're mixed up, they're men and women together, they're already praying, they're they're they're comfortable in that place, they're they're upstairs, they're not even in a church. But this is what the Bible says when the day of Pentecost came, they're all together in one place. Now, I find that really interesting as well. I find that a very um important scripture for me to understand. It says when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. There was no division, there was no segregation, there wasn't no women to the left, men to the right, so and so at the back. There was none of that. It says they was all together in one place. So there was no denomination. It's it is really uh beautiful pieces of scripture because there is no denominational divide in the kingdom of God. Because when you're in the kingdom, you're in the kingdom. It doesn't matter your your ethnicity, it doesn't matter where you're from in the world, it doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, you know, the kingdom of God doesn't separate anybody. The spirit of God doesn't separate anybody. God doesn't say when we're in the kingdom, men down the front, women to the back. He doesn't say anything like that whatsoever. But this is what the Bible says in Acts chapter 2, verse 1. When the day of Pentecost came, they're all together in one place. Suddenly the sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire separated, came and rested on them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. What's important to understand is the Holy Spirit enables you. It's to do with the timing of God. God in his timing will deliver what he's gonna deliver. We cannot force it, but prayer is important. Prayer is important to understand that I've got to be together, the power of the Holy Spirit. I I love this. Now let's turn to uh staying in Acts, go back to chapter one. I want to pick it up in verse seven a minute. I want to pick it up in verse seven. And it says there in verse seven, it says, and he said to them, Is it not for you to know the times or the dates that the Father has sent by his own authority, but you will receive the Holy Spirit when he comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. See, we got the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. We got the Holy Spirit already. You already fully loaded, you already have the deity, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Now, when you talk about the gifts of tongues and the the interpretation of tongues, you're getting into a another area, and and the problem what we've had with church is we've got too many um charlatans, we've got too many devils not actually speaking in tongues, speaking in the devil's language, and then you've got devils interpreting the devil's language. So you've got to be extremely careful. It is really, really important when we talk about the interpretation of tongues, uh, because it is critical, it is absolutely critical. You we can't take this lightly. But the church, you know, the church has got so many different understandings on it. I believe God is drawing us back to to doctrine. I believe God is drawing us back to the word of God. If if you are uh not praying in tongues, don't panic. Don't worry. Just take these scriptures. You know, God, if it's God's will for you to speak in tongues, God will make it and God will do that. But if you're not speaking in tongues, don't panic. Don't be forced by pastors and leaders, don't be forced by the church. Just ask and pray, God. God, if it's your will, if it's your purpose, Lord, let me speak in that heavenly language. You know, I know so many people that have never spoken heavenly languages, and that they're so powerful in prayer, it's just absolutely amazing. So don't hold and don't hang on to anything like that. So a few things that's really, really important to remind ourselves. What we have to understand is that the Spirit of God is moving. But the most critical thing that I need to lock into my spirit and my heart is that prayer is more powerful than preaching, prayer is more powerful than evangelism, prayer is more powerful than what we call worship, and what I'm talking about worship is when we go to church and we sing a few songs and we're happy, clappy, and we dance around the church handbag. Prayer is more powerful than any of those elements because prayer is actually worship. Prayer is is so strong and it is so powerful. So if we can get into scripture,
if you can get into Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Psalm 40, take the Psalms and literally break them down line by line and pray. The Bible says, Be still, know that I'm God. Today, Lord, I'm gonna be still as according to your word. Lord, I'm gonna be still and I'm gonna know that you're God. Father, I thank you, Lord, as the psalmist writes, the prayers of David, Lord, I thank you for Psalm 23. And today, Lord, you are my shepherd. Lord, I thank you that God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, that you are my shepherd in your full deity. Just take it line by line. Read the scripture, and you know, Psalm 23 is a great psalm to use as your prayer foundation, because the Bible makes makes it clear that we got to pray with the word of God. It has got to be with the scripture. With the scripture, it is everything. So as we've just briefly looked at the book of Acts, it tells us that the men and women were gathered for prayer. And what's really, really interesting as well is that they they wasn't in a church, they wasn't in a denomination, they was they was upstairs, they was in a room, they wasn't in a denomination, they wasn't in elim, they wasn't in the Pentecostal movement, they wasn't in Catholicism, they wasn't in the Church of England, they wasn't in this church, they weren't on the social church. The Bible says that they was upstairs and they was in a room, they was in a stone room. It had no crosses on it, it didn't have no literature in there, it wasn't called a church, they was in a room, you know, they was just together, they was just in prayer. Now that really should encourage us that we we can pray anywhere. You can literally pray anywhere. Prayer is so powerful, but when I get prayer and I put this prayer and I pray the Lord's prayer, the Lord's prayer is really so strong and so powerful. It lets let's get in a rhythm, let's go from tonight and really take the Lord's Prayer. You know, Matthew 6, let's take that scripture and really pray that. Maybe you do this all the time. Maybe you're you're you're saying, Well, I already do that, Ben. Well, um, well, that's amazing. If you already do that and that's what you're doing, it's maybe time that you teach others to pray like that. Because what we need is is brothers and sisters around the world, locally, in church, out of church, to teach us to pray. Because the majority of church doesn't teach us to pray, it doesn't teach us how to get into prayer. So this is why we are have so many crises on our on our hands, because we think that worshiping is the way forward. Worship isn't the correct yes, it is and it isn't. What comes first is prayer, because when I pray the Lord's prayer, our our Father, you know, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. That first few lines, that is Holy Spirit-fired stuff. I'm worshiping God through his word, his word is holy, his word is power, his word is life. I can take the psalms, I can take any scripture, and I can turn any scripture into a prayerful way. Any any scripture I can pray through. There is an answer for you in your life, and we want to encourage you. We're coming to the table in just a few moments, but I just want to reiterate that as I read out from the book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 12, and it says, They were they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives. Now, as you go further on a little bit further, then start picking it up. Verse 14, I want you to remind yourself of this. There was no division in this room that there was. There wasn't in church, there was no pastors as we understand pastors, there was disciples, they were men and women together. They was going under the instruction of Jesus because Jesus gave them this instruction. Jesus gave them this instruction. So if you're in a church, especially with the women, if the women are if you women are in church out there, if the ladies, the sisters, are are in a church and you're being segregated. I I went by a certain place the other day and a certain faith, and it had two entrances to this place. It had two, you know what I'm talking about. I've got to be really careful. It had two entrances. The men's was on the left of the f of of this place of worship, and the ladies had a at a separate door. Now that is completely wrong. When you look at that alone, the men went through that door, the women went through that door. The women are not allowed in that area, all that old Razamatazz, but the Bible makes it extremely clear. Even when they went down to find the body of Jesus, it says they went together, Mary, Marty, and the disciples, they were together, the men and the women, they was together in following Jesus. There was no segregation. If you are in a church and the church is putting more weight and more and bringing the men out more than anything, you really have to ask yourself, what am I doing in this church? You know, you should not be in a church where you're separated, you should not be in a church where you are expected to look up look after the children at the back of the church while your husband's down the front uh singing kumbaya with the others. You know, you've got the Bible is clear. The Bible is clear, you know, there is no segregation in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God doesn't segregate colour, it doesn't segregate culture, it doesn't segregate knowledge, it doesn't segregate any of this. It's completely, it's completely, we are just brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. So you need to have a check of wherever you go to church. Many churches are like it, many churches are like it where the men are right down the front, the men are doing everything, and the women are at the back looking after the children and tearing their hair out. There's no point in going to church, you know, if that sort of thing's happening, then what's the point of that? But it's really important is the power of prayer. That's what I'm getting to, and what I've just said in verse 14, and it says they all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of James, uh mother of Jesus, sorry, and his brothers. They was together. They was together. There was no segregation, there was no this door and that door, there was no women sitting up the back of the church, there was no none of that. They was together and they was constantly in prayer. They was praying together, they was in the presence of Christ, they was in the presence of God. Let's go to the book of Matthew. We're coming to the table. We're running out, we're running out of time, and we've got to be pretty lively here. So we're in uh Matthew chapter six, and uh, I just want to read this prayer again, and as we come to the table, this is a great prayer to bring us to the table. And this is what it says in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter six, verse nine. This is then how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we also forgive those that uh our debtors. And it says, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one. Let's take this prayer and really pray it. Let's really almost like challenge ourselves in the morning, in our commute, in the day in life, you know, just pray the Lord's prayer, you know. It is so powerful. Prayer changes me. Prayer changes me, prayer shapes me, prayer molds us. It it's really important
that we we get into the word, because the word needs to be in our prayer life. It is the Bible, you know. So wherever you are, you know, and even if you can remember these scriptures when you're on your commute or whether you're driving or doing whatever you're doing, if you put this like to song and you can you can sing it and you can pray it, you're praying the scripture. The word of God is critical. We're coming to the table now, and I'm just gonna bring us to the table. We're gonna break bread and take at a cup, and I invite every one of you across the world, wherever you are tonight, to really get into prayer, to get into prayer in your life like never before. This is this is how it starts. It says, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Father, we come to you tonight, Lord, and you are holy. You are holy and you are worthy, and hallowed be thy name. Lord, I thank you for your powerful name, Jehovah Jirah, Jehovah Nisi, Jehovah Shalom. And Lord, as we come to this place of prayer, Lord, as we come to this place, Father, God of rest, as we learn to be still and know that you're God, Father, we come to this table now. And Lord, we pray for such an outpouring of your spirit, Lord, that you will lead us to the cross of Calvary. And as we gather around the Passover table, as we break bread together right now, Father, we thank you that this bread symbolizes the body of Christ. So, Father, your body was broken from the garden to the cross. And Lord, we thank you for redemption right now, Lord. Father, will you strengthen us? Will you carry us, Lord? Lord, let your hand be over us today. But Lord, we thank you for Psalm 23, Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. I thank you, Father, for your word. Your word is leading us, your word is drawing us. Your word, Father, is making a way where there is no way. So, Lord, I pray for the listeners across the world, whether on radio, whether they're on RB Christian Radio, whether on the social networks, Lord, if they're just listening to this podcast back, I pray, Lord, that you will draw every one of us into a greater relationship with Jesus. Lord, that we will walk at a greater level. Lord, that we will walk, Lord, at a greater level in the Word of God. Lord, that we will surrender our lives to you, that we will get to you, Lord, that we will come to the cross. But right now, we thank you for this bread that symbolizes the body of Christ. And I invite every one of you, wherever you are, whether you're in your van, whether you're in your car, whether you're on the commute, you know, just to grab a bit of bread wherever you are. If you've got no bread, you've got a bit of biscuit or whatever it may be, you know, because it's symbolic, you know, it's important just to go through this. We are, this is not a uh a ritual. This is literally, this is out of the word of God. And God is calling us, God is calling us to prayer. God is calling us to be warriors, he's calling us to be braggados, he's calling you to stand on the gospel of hope. Wherever you are across the world, I pray that you will pray like you've never prayed before. And you keep praying and you keep saying the Lord's prayer over your life, in your life, around your life, that you keep praying that prayer. So, our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Lord, I thank you that this bread, this bread, Lord, is just bread itself, but what it symbolizes is your body. So, Lord, as we break this together across the world tonight, wherever we are, Lord, at home, sitting wherever we're sitting, Father, I thank you that the Spirit of the Lord is over us. Come, Holy Spirit, refresh us tonight, but bless this bread. Amen. Grab yourself a bit of grape juice. Grab yourself a bit of uh wine, whatever it may be. If you've got nothing that that is symbolic to red, just get yourself a tiny bit of water. You know, don't stop doing this. Whatever you do, don't stop yourself doing this. But keep keep prying, keep keep breaking bread. Do it once a day, twice a day. Do it whenever you need to do it. You know, maybe you've got nothing that's red indoors, you know. Don't go cutting your finger and all that sort of stuff, trying to make it red. You know, just just if it's water, it's water, you know, because it's not it's not it's not a ritual, it's from from our heart. This is the thing, it's from our heart, it's got to be from the heart. You know, you can I I worked in a certain area for quite a while, and every time the communion came in, it had to be blessed by the archbishop and this and that, and it had to be special wine, it had to be a special bread, it had to be this. Oh my goodness gracious me, you know, it's absolutely crazy, it's absolutely bananas, it's just it's just madness. It's madness, you know. Jesus just tells us how to do this. So if you're at home now, you're breaking bread with us, you're taking another cup, it's brilliant. It it's it's so good, you know. Wherever you are, you can stop and sit in a field, sit on a beach, go you at the top of a mountaintop, wherever you are, you know, but it's important that it comes from the heart because that's the critical thing. It comes from the heart because it's it's an inward move. It's not a it's not a physical action from the outside, it's an inner move. It comes from the inner me, it's from inside of me. You know, God is not gonna uh smack me around the back of the ear olds because I haven't got no grape juice and I've had to grab a bit of water, but there might be a crisis in my life, and I've got a little bit of water and I've got a digestive with a little bit of chocolate on the top for good measure. He ain't gonna beat me black and blue and and and stop all that because it it's in my heart, it comes from your heart. That is that that is the thing, you know. It it's coming from within, Lord. I thank you, Lord, that I've only got a bit of water today, Lord. But Lord, I I know it just it it it symbolises the blood. So Lord, I ask you, Father, I I've got nothing around me in my home. I haven't I can't afford, Lord, to buy anything else. Lord, I've got what I've got. Lord, I'm struggling to get a bit of bread, maybe a Raya Vita or something. Don't don't allow all that to stop you doing it because it's an inward move, it's inward, it's not external, it's not showmanship. What have we been reading? We've been reading about the pagans, the Pharisees, the Sadducees making a noise in their synagogues, standing on the street corners, going through all the rituals. This is not a ritual. This is not a ritual. So let's just take this now. Father, we thank you for this cup because it symbolizes the blood of Jesus. So whatever it is in there, Lord, it symbolizes the blood. So, Father, will you wash us from the crown of our head to the sole of our feet, Lord? Father, we are sinners saved by grace, but it is by grace we have been saved. So, Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for these moments wherever we are across the world. Cover us and wash us in the blood of Jesus. Amen.
It's that easy. It really is simple. You know, prayer. So let's just reiterate, just as Alex takes us out of the service tonight, let's just take a moment just to reiterate a couple of things. Prayer. Above preaching, above evangelism, above all that sort of stuff, above worship, what what I'm singing along, above all that, it is prayer because prayer is the ultimate place of worship. Prayer is above the preaching, prayer is above the evangelism, prayer is above everything else. Because when I'm praying and when I'm reading the word of God and I'm using that as my prayer platform, I'm actually praising God at such a higher level, such a level that is so high. You know, when you look at that prayer, the Lord's Prayer, our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. It it's such a powerful uh word. You know, that is a place that we can never get to through just general worship, through general secular Christianity music that we even play ourselves when we listen to ourselves here. You know, the place that I get to this, this, this, this real high crescendo of of absolute true worship, true worship is is found in prayer. It's not in an auditorium with with someone down the front knocking a few tunes out. That is not the ultimate place. The ultimate place of true worship is through the word of God on my own, praying and reading the scripture and getting into that place, getting into his presence, getting into the presence of God through the word, because it is the word that opens up true worship. It is the word of God that opens up true worship. So true worship comes from the heart, it comes from the inner, it comes from the heart. So as we back out of this service, I just want to let you know, you know, grab yourself a Bible, go to the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter six, go even Psalm 23, and just read them line by line. Maybe do it just slowly and but surely, and just take your time and read it and pray it through, and just bring it, just bring it on your own, sitting on your sofa, sitting in your bed, sitting in your car, wherever you are. It doesn't matter where you are because it's all from within. It's within. That's what I've got to understand. I've got to make this so clear tonight that it's not the outside action, it's from the heart. It's from the heart, you know. As I've said, there's been many prayer meetings that have been fully loaded, fully charred with all the Razamatazz. I've been to more worship venues and festivals than you can ever count. I've been to so many areas of church stuff over the years, and suddenly I'm starting to realize so much of that was was was not really what it should have been. It was worshiping and glorifying the man, glorifying the artist, glorifying the preacher, glorifying the the transatlantic evangelist. It wasn't what it was, or glorifying the bishop, the the preacher, the teacher. It really wasn't what it what it should what it should have been. So, you know, I've experienced so much over the years that the 31 years that I've been in the ministry and seeing all this sort of stuff. 31 years, I've seen everything under the sun. And right now, right at this this part now, this critical part in my life, um, God has brought me back full circle to what prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer. And it's been like that for probably about a year, barren about a year. It's prayer because prayer is the key, and prayer is is worship. So we're out of here. May God bless you. Alex is gonna take us out wherever you are, never give up. You know, just because it sounds and it seems quite quiet in the heavenly realms, don't worry. Just keep the scriptures rolling off your lips. God bless you, Alex.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for that. For the powerful word about prayer. Remind us that what Jesus taught wasn't just words to repeat, but a lifestyle to live. When Jesus said, Our Father has opened the doors for all of us to come close, not as strangers, but as sons and daughters. And when he said, Ask and give and seek, and you'll find knock and the door will be open. He showed us that real faith keeps moving. It doesn't stop at one prayer, it keeps passing in and passing on. So tonight, whether you're in the kitchen, your car, or sitting quietly with your Bible, reminder, this is your prayer, this is just for you. And heaven is not silent, God is answering those who say ask, seek and knock. As with the prayer of the word Jesus taught us, our Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread. The Lord reminds us that prayer doesn't end now. He invites us to go further, to ask in faith, to seek in its brethren, to knock in the comfort, knowing that the door of heaven is not closed to his children. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says, Ask and it was given to you. Seek and you'll first knock, find the door and it will open for you. So tonight as we move forward from the Lord, prayer, let's stop, just let's stop. Not praying, keep on thinking and breathe and relax. This is your invitation. Ask, seek and knock. And trust your Father in heaven and here for you. Our Father, we thank you tonight for your words. Remind us to never stop coming before you and not distant God. You are just our Father, who listens and who seeks and who cares. Lord teach us to pray with faith and does not fade. When answering feels delayed, help us to keep answering. Help us to keep on going. Just to listen to our voice, to help us going, please. When doors feel closed, give us courage to keep knocking and believe that in your perfect time that will open. Bring us even brooding, every name, even so even silent request to you tonight. You know that what each heart needs before your single words is spoken. So rest in your goodness and trust in your pain. Let us peace in your guidance more. Let your spirit fill our home and let your words will be done. In Jesus' name, Amen.
SPEAKER_02Amen. Amen. Amen. May God bless you wherever you are across the world. Thank you, Alex, for bringing that. Thank you so much. You know, sisters and brothers, whatever your name is, wherever you are across this world, you know, never give up in prayer. Never give up in prayer. You know, take the word of God and use the word as the weapon of warfare. You know, we are living in such powerful days. You know, everybody is tired, everybody is weary, you know, things are happening. We've got more plates that we're spinning than we can actually keep moving. We are trying to juggle
so much in life. You know, take the word of God. If you need a Bible, if you need a Bible today, it was great. You know, a Bible went to Zimbabwe today. You know, we we posted one right off to Zimbabwe, you know, we had the request come through, we we pushed it through, it was taken down. The good old British post office, it went off, you know. So if you need a Bible, please just let us know. You know, Bibles are going out in the name of Jesus. But it's great to know, you know, people are are reading the word of God and God is bringing us back to the word. But if you can, I really want to ask you this as well before we duck out of this, you know. I wasn't planning to say this, but if you can, if you can, you know, and if you've got Bibles that you're wash with Bibles at home, and if you have any spare Bibles, can you please bring them to the church? You know, I'm laughing. Please can you bring them to the church? We we are needing more Bibles. So wherever you are, may God bless you. In the name of Jesus. Take care. We'll see you soon. We're out of here in the name of Jesus. God bless.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for joining us on Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast. We hope you feel inspired and uplifted. Don't forget to support us by buying us a coffee. Your generosity keeps this ministry thriving. We'd also love to hear from you, so please leave us a review and let us know what you think. And of course, for more inspiration, visit us anytime at rbchristianradio.net. Until next time, stay encouraged, stay faithful, and know this you are not alone.