Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
Reverend Ben Coopers podcast, offers an inviting space for listeners to explore Christianity and spiritual growth with wisdom, humor, and a deep commitment to biblical truth. Through Rev. Ben's engaging conversations with guests, the podcast not only explores the timeless wisdom of the Bible but also tackles the pressing issues of life, faith, and hope in a way that is accessible, thought-provoking, and enriching. Whether you’re seeking spiritual nourishment, answers to life’s big questions, or simply a place to reflect on your faith, the Rev Ben podcast is a valuable resource on your journey.
In each episode, Rev. Ben guides listeners through profound theological reflections, personal stories, and practical insights drawn from the Bible and the broader Christian tradition.
Reverend Ben Cooper's Podcast
C4 - Devoted Life: Essence of Prayer: (PBC@015)
Title: The Essence of Prayer – Rediscovering Sincere Connection with God
Prayer is more than a habit or tradition—it is the heartbeat of a real relationship with God. In this episode, we step into the transformative power of prayer, exploring what it truly means to connect with God beyond formality, culture, or routine.
So many believers struggle with prayer. It can feel distant, repetitive, or even intimidating. But what if prayer wasn’t about getting the words “right,” but about showing up sincerely, just as you are? We dive into this truth by revisiting the story of Elijah, whose earnest prayers weren’t perfect—but they were powerful. The fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much (James 5:16), not because of eloquence, but because of faith.
In this episode, we unpack how many of us have inherited prayer practices that are more performative than relational. We confront the spiritual confusion often created by rituals, routines, or pressures within church culture, and offer a fresh perspective grounded in Scripture and faith.
We also open up about our own journeys—what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how we’ve struggled with consistency and confidence in prayer. Whether you're just starting your prayer life or seeking to deepen it, this is an honest and hope-filled conversation for you.
Key takeaways from this episode include:
- How to pray with authenticity, not anxiety
- Why simple prayers often carry the deepest power
- Overcoming spiritual resistance and doubt in prayer
- Aligning your words with God’s Word for lasting impact
- Rediscovering joy in consistent, sincere communication with God
This conversation is an invitation to stop striving and start connecting. The God who parted seas and sent fire from heaven is the same God who listens to your quiet whispers. It’s time to reclaim the sacred space of prayer—not just as a practice, but as a relationship.
Whether you’re praying through heartbreak, waiting on answers, or just learning how to talk to God again, this episode will remind you: your voice matters to Him. Come be refreshed, encouraged, and equipped to build a vibrant, personal prayer life rooted in truth and love.
Christian teaching on prayer, how to build a prayer life, Elijah prayer story podcast, overcoming fear of praying, authentic prayer with God, biblical perspective on prayer, how to pray sincerely, prayer in church culture, daily Christian prayer guide, power of simple prayer, spiritual communication with God, podcast about growing in faith
https://www.pastorbencooper.co.uk/
https://www.rbchristianradio.net/
Thank you, amen. Good afternoon wherever you are, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We thank you for joining us. Myself and we've got our good friend Mark Riversong on the other side of the mics and we're going to be looking into a really interesting subject. Sorry, it's all about prayer. Prayer that's what it's about. The title for your own reference is the essence of prayer. May god stretch you, lead you, keep you on the potter's wheel of life, and may he shape you into the person that he's calling you to be, wherever you are. Remember that prayer is power. Prayer is life-changing. Prayer turns things. Prayers opens the doors. Prayers closes the doors. Prayer is so powerful. That is what we are looking at.
Speaker 1:This is part one, so welcome to part one. All our brothers and sisters across this beautiful earth in which we all walk and we all live our lives, wherever you are and whatever nation you're in, we thank god for you, because we've had thousands, tens of thousands of downloads, that they are skyrocketing, and I just want to say thank you really for my myself and mark and everyone else that that comes across the mics and we chat and we ramble and we talk and we believe this. What god's leading us into. We want to say thank you from the very bottom, the very bottom of our boots, from the bottom of our heart, and say god bless you wherever you are. Thank you for listening. It's so, so important, and we are here in sunny kent and we are within swanley and we are in a beautiful studio that the lord has got together and we are so blessed that we are able to bring this ministry and, uh, these conversations to you and we will meet you in glory one day. We will see you in heaven in the name of Jesus. But, mark, it's so good to see you, my friend.
Speaker 1:It is a wintry evening here within the UK. It is what day are we? We're on Tuesday, it's the 12th of December, it is quarter past five. It's dark, it's been wet. We've had thunder and lightning today. I've done a funeral today and I got soaking wet at like three o'clock. It was absolutely cats and dogs and it was really coming down. But, mark, lovely to see you, my friend, it's lovely to see you too, ben.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to rain today. I looked, I checked the forecast last night and, yeah, it appeared to be dry. I thought there was just going to be rain for a couple of hours and then, yeah, looking at this topic of prayer and the text I'll bring this evening about Elijah's prayer for rain probably kind of is relevant.
Speaker 1:I wasn't praying for rain, but uh yeah, it has been, it's been raining, someone's been, someone's been praying for rain, because I tell you what it has been hammering it down, yeah, but prayer is so key. You know, um, in my own personal life, before we start pressing off, um, I have, uh, really noticed the significance of the power of prayer, how prayer is really, really needed in someone's life. But we were just having a little chat off air and what I said to you I think is really important that we had our friend, brian Green and we were just chatting and he mentioned about prayer, a situation. He's from Mayoz International Ministries and we do a lot of stuff together and and you and the listeners will know him, but we was just at a. He brought something in and it was about prayer and I'm really looking for the lord in my own personal life, for some real major, major miracles and being brought up in the pentecostal movement and all the stuff, the bells and the whistles and all the razzmatazz and the showmanship.
Speaker 1:I believe that there is many churches, including myself, that has lost the essence of prayer, because prayer and I'm going to put it like this, as we spoke earlier and I spoke to Brian the Jews and the Messianic side of all, that. They know the Word of God and how powerful it is in determination and, just like Elijah that we're going to read, they was strict, to the point. There was no skirting around the edge. There was no dancing around the prayer handbag in the UK church. There was no fluffing it about waiting for the bishop to wave a flag up and start making so much noise. I've been in so many prayer meetings that are so noisy and so ridiculously english and so crazy. It wasn't prayer. It becomes a mantra. Yeah, a noise for the sake of a noise, and it's not really.
Speaker 2:You're not praying biblically yeah, yeah, that's that's the sense I've had and I think, um, you know the essence of prayer what, what is it like? Why? Why pray what? There are churches that we can go to and they don't seem to know how to pray or why we pray, and and yeah, it's an important topic and one thing I've noticed and been inspired by with this church here in Swanley is that you know such a large percentage of your congregation come to the prayer meetings and they're prayer warriors.
Speaker 2:Yes yeah, it's been a place of real growth and joy and realizing just how important it is.
Speaker 1:The prayer room, which is, you know, you come in here and you pray with Donnie and you come into this room weekly, into the studio, you pray over the mics, you go to the prayer meetings.
Speaker 1:We are believing that the Lord is leading us to prayer meetings every day, every day, that there will be a prayer meeting in the Lord's house and then progression from that, because prayer is dynamite and what I've realized in my life is that you can quite easily become an evangelical prayer and not a biblical prayer. It's so important to pray with the word of god and, coming back to the, the israelites and all that sort of stuff and the way that they prayed, that they would be in determination and they would be demanding. Now we know there are a lot of cultures in this church and there are a lot of cultures in the english church that drive this cultural prayer. You know, even when you look at the Common Worship daily prayer book, we have to be careful, don't we, that we pray not because it's the way the culture teaches us, not the way that the denomination teaches us or the movement. It's the biblical essence, it's the power of prayer with the scripture.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's not just some evangelical super spiritual person.
Speaker 2:We're all called to yes, every one of us and sometimes it's hard even myself when I'm in prayer uh, I try and pray daily and I, when I'm in the presence of god, then then I love it. But very often my mind wanders and it's hard to stay on track. The flesh is weak, but we, we are all called. If we're, if we're saved and washed by the blood of jesus, then we, we really need to connect to him, because if we find ourselves wandering, it's so easy to deceive ourselves to believe that we're on a good path.
Speaker 1:That's correct, and neglect this, and that's right, neglect. You know the English church, across all denominations and stripes. I really believe that we have, together, have neglected the essence of the power of prayer. Now there might be cultures out there say, well, we have this prayer meeting with this bishop, that bishop, this, this, this and him, and that I've had texts come through to me and people that are pretty close to me and what I'm finding lately is that there's so much going on about this deliverance ministry. It is driving me balmy. I am sick to the back teeth about hearing that. That man over there, he's a deliverance prayer and you've got to get to him because you've got to be delivered. You know what the prayer of deliverance? There are so many people that actually need to be delivered from deliverance ministries because they are fixated on the devil, yeah, and other spirits rather than the power.
Speaker 2:I know we're going to come on to elijah in a moment, elijah, but when you look at the, the ones that prayed in the bible, they didn't give the devil a window no, but you know what, in these churches where they're casting out devils, I think if there was some serious teaching on sin and some serious uh reforming of the worship style, and I think you'd see people with itching ears that go in to kind of witness a miracle that it doesn't go down too well for them and they start turning their backs. I like what John Bunyan says on sin, that prayer will make a man cease from sin or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. And that's where we're at. If you want to walk close with the Lord, then you need to sort out your prayer life.
Speaker 2:You need to fix it.
Speaker 1:And there are, as you know. And what was it? David Wilkinson. Don't hold me to this, but I remember David Wilkinson gave a great quote when he was back in the days when he was in a massive churches in America. He said you're loaded with so many people, Sunday after Sunday, to the door brimming over, but show me your prayer meeting. And when you looked at the prayer meeting, there was a handful, hundreds of people in congregations, churches, rammed out, packed out for all the glitz and the glamour and all the Sunday morning stuff. But show me your prayer meeting. What is the calibre, what is the essence of your prayer meeting? Very, very few.
Speaker 1:And the ones that showed up only showed up because they had to show up, because they were the eldership team yeah so prayer is key and the devil will keep us away from prayer, because when you really grasp prayer and I, and I have seen this now I've been in prayer meetings we've had prayer meetings here that have been dangerous as in not prayer meetings what do I mean by that? Coming away almost chanting and giving a shopping list to god, rather than understanding what prayer really is, and then we think or me, maybe the louder I am, the more the miracle is going to be. What a load of junk. Yeah, our rubbish is all that. The power is in the faith, the power is in the depth of the prayer, and we don't need to keep shouting and hollering, because God is not deaf.
Speaker 2:No, no, he's not. And it's something I see it as being like a beating heart of the church. I see it as being like a beating heart of the church. If a church, if you've got a congregation, lots of people, and you don't have a prayer meeting or very small, I think it indicates a life, the real spiritual life in that church and in this place. To me it's like a throbbing heart.
Speaker 1:It really is pounding, it's beating.
Speaker 2:And I have been so blessed in prayer I've've grown. Thank you, mark a lot, and the lord speaks to us he does it's not like, uh, an audible, an audible voice, it's, uh, it's with the eye of faith as it grows. It grows in the prayer meeting. It grows in your devotions but yeah, we, we're not to give up, we're to be persistent, and um so this topic that you're bringing us mark yeah the essence of prayer.
Speaker 1:You've got a scripture as well, so what is the scripture we're referring to?
Speaker 2:so james. Chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, says that elias was a man subject to like passions, as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months, and he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. So Elias, the man of God, praying that it would not rain, and he prayed again and heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. God hears and answers prayer, and you were saying earlier about how the Jews were holding God to account, to account to his word.
Speaker 1:You tell us god that we have not, because we ask not. So when we ask in line with scripture and we are praying, and then we believe it. So what was the power in this prayer that this, this prophet pray? What was that? What was the key? What was the individual thing? Why did god and how did god answer this man, when the writer of james is very clear he says he was a man just like us. Straight away he's telling us that he's no super human being. No, he ain't. No, he ain't no um super christian with a cape on his back, you know, and he ain't super holy. So when he says a man just like us, that like us refers to you, to me, to bill, to fred, to jane, to, to everybody on the earth. What he's saying is is god answers prayer, not to the super holy joes, the pharisees and the sadducees and the churchgoers and the religious lot. What does he mean? A man like us, a man subject to flesh? You read that out from your reading. What are you reading from mark? What? What version?
Speaker 1:I've got the kjv here if you could, could you just read that again?
Speaker 2:Elias was a man subject to like passions Hold it there.
Speaker 1:A man, a man Like us, subject to the passions I love the way it puts that To the lusts of the world, the pride of life. He was a human being that had flesh on the bones, he walked in, he had a heart, but God answered his prayer. He wasn't a holy Joe. He wasn't a Levitical priesthood that was put in a cupboard and didn't see the world. This man knew the world. This man was the man. When I say of the world, we understand what we are saying. He was a man just like us that had to do what he had to do. There was nothing particular in this prophet's life whatsoever that would make him so holy that God would answer his prayer because he was so holy. That's why the Bible reference. He is a man just like us. That is so critical. A man just like us. That is so critical.
Speaker 2:A man just like us yeah.
Speaker 1:All the fallings, all the failings, all the tribulations of being a human being. And we've got to remind ourselves, mark, haven't we? When they're referring to this prophet Elijah, what resonates in me at this moment? He wasn't saved because the salvation that we know wasn't wasn't at that particular point. So when you think about this, so the english church makes so much emphasis on salvation, but not on john 3 3, on this watered-down, liquidified, this salvation that is very weak and washy, not even speaking about true salvation, but this man wasn't saved, according to what we know biblically.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was the Old Testament church. He's the.
Speaker 1:Old Testament man.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He had seen things, he had experienced things. This is an Old Testament church. He's the Old Testament man. Yeah, he had seen things, he had experienced things. This is an Old Testament gentleman. It is not a born-again Pentecostalist shouting and hollering and screaming and wailing all over the place.
Speaker 2:But it says as well that he prayed earnestly.
Speaker 1:That's the key. Earnestly, yeah, what does that actually mean? How do we break that down? What does that mean? Prayed earnestly that's the key. Earnestly, yeah, what does that actually mean? How do we break that down? What does that mean? Earnestly, how do we look at a word like that? Earnestly, that he never gave up, that he never gave in, that he was steadfast in what he believed. So when you put prayer and belief together, it's like holy and grenades. It's so powerful when you put prayer and faith and belief a mix of three and and I have to reference we haven't got this on our uh schedule and and uh, we do a lot of free speech here and we just got these, these tables of of reference to scriptures and that, what we have in front of us. But you have to also. You have to look at Jacob A man, a sinful man, wrestled with God and he didn't let God go until God blessed him. There is something in being earnest and radical for not letting God go until he comes back and says there it is.
Speaker 2:The thing is, earnestness is opposite to indifference.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And I think you can get a lot of people that seem to pray, pray, big prayers, but really where's your heart at?
Speaker 1:Where's your heart?
Speaker 2:You can pray loud, grand prayers, but if you're spiritually indifferent If you're not hungry for Jesus.
Speaker 1:You could pray a very beautiful eloquent prayer in a grand cathedral, but if your heart's not right If your heart isn't focused on Jesus, if your eyes are not on Jesus. I know we've all sinned and fallen short of that glory, so there is no one worthy of actually walking into a church. No one is worthy of the kingdom of God. None of us are that pure and holy that we float in and out. We are all sinners, saved by grace, but there is something about someone that will never give up.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:When someone is tenacious, when someone is radical, when someone is braggadocious about Jesus. I'm bragging and God, your word has told me you're going to bless me, but I can't see that at the moment. So, lord, I'm going to hold you accountable to your word, because your Bible says, Lord, that you will not let the righteous be beggars of bread. And, lord, we need a change.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And in Proverbs 3, 5, it says To trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. That's it. We've really got to trust in him in all things.
Speaker 1:That can be very difficult, can't it? Because that brings anxiety, doesn't it? You know we need peace. You know giving him thanks and praise. We've got to guard ourselves. We've got to rest in him and trust him. You know the power of prayer, the power of prayer, prayer is powerful. Wherever you are across this earth at this moment in time, don't ever give up in prayer If we think that there is something adrift and we are not getting what we think. Maybe we need to be a bit more determined and a bit more. What could we say more vocally? Pinpointing rather than skirting around the handbag of church and prayer. Actually go straight to the point. No, no, flicking around the edge, no wetting, getting God's appetite wetted. Oh, hallelujah, straight in Prayer is straight in. When you look at Elijah's prayer, he didn't float around the edge of it.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:He knew what had to happen and he went straight for it and God honoured his prayer. But he was a man just like us. He was A human being.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:An Old Testament gentleman.
Speaker 2:But also you know why we pray when the disciples crossed the sea with the. Lord In Mark 4, 35 to 41,. There he is, crossing the sea of Galilee and you know he fell asleep. And the disciples becoming, they become fearful, yeah, when they see the waves.
Speaker 1:The storm.
Speaker 2:The storm. And you know, if they were in trouble then the Lord would have awoken. But there's a time when the Lord will stand and will rebuke the sea. But actually, he didn't need to be awoken, but they did. He awoke even though it was only their own fears. He didn't need to be awoken, but they did. He awoke even though it was only their own fears. He didn't have to awake. No, he would have awoken if it were perilous.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you look at Christ asleep and Christ knew every droplet of water in that ocean. Christ knew because he created everything, so there was nothing new happening outside the boat in the storm that jesus didn't know about. That's got to give us comfort that, even though the storms are raging, jesus is resting in the midst of a storm. And I've got to learn to rest in the midst of a storm. I've got to learn to rest when it is raging, dark, wet. Everything is against me. I've got to learn to rest because Jesus knew that storm will come together. A furious squall came up out of nowhere, hit the lake Suddenly. The boat of life is being tossed backwards and forwards, turned every way Wind, rain. Whatever way you look at that story, everything was against them. If everything is against you, learn to rest in the storm. Peace.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, Like the two, two different situations. There's the one where Elijah prays and three and a half years there's no rain.
Speaker 2:And then he asks for rain, and then the Lord sends it and brings forth fruit from the earth. And then you have this other kind of parallel scenario where there's water all around and the people are fearful because they, uh, they want the lord to to still the, still the storm, and there's, uh, yeah, there's what. Why we come to the lord is it. Is it just because of of our own desires? Once, yeah, what do we want? But Elijah, he was a righteous man and the earth brought forth its fruits, so it was a blessing to him and others.
Speaker 1:So that's right. So you look at the power of that prayer. He was a man, a human being just like us, righteous, seeking God, used by God, had some character defects, like everybody has, but God answered his prayer. God is answering your prayer, wherever you are now. But I also believe that we've got to go deeper. What do you mean, go deeper? What I mean by going deeper is literally being more vocal over the point and not being an evangelical skirting around the edge and making it all, ramping it all up and presenting it to God in a nice little box with a bow wrapped on the top of it. Get straight into it, bang, make God have it.
Speaker 1:Oh, that sounds a bit brutal. Make God have it, mate. Put it in his face, face, put it right on his lap, put it in front of him, because that's what he loves. He loved jacob because he was a radical nutter that pushed his family on one side of the river, pushed all his possessions over there and went right. I'm doing some business with the chief and he wasn't going to leave that arena, and that's okay. But the church in england, the church, these mega churches, think that we've got to tiptoe around the base of it and suddenly turn it into a performing arts sort of situation, going on when god wants you to be absolutely radical for him and meeting him head on and going God now.
Speaker 2:God now, but I think there's a place with these two situations, where you know there's Elijah on his own praying, but then there's a situation where the disciples, they're gathered together and they come to the Lord.
Speaker 1:So individually and individually as a human being, on your own, as a Christian.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then in a group setting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, there's a place for both of it.
Speaker 1:I think the safest place there's two ways to look at that the safest place could be with an individual, because if you get into certain groups you could become taken off the peg because the group has got a different understanding of what prayer is. So the prayer is key for the individual. First to understand what prayer is. And what did god, through the voice of christ, through the autonomy of the lord jesus christ, give us?
Speaker 1:he gave us one prayer, one prayer yeah, I've got up on that shit, them shelves over there that no one else can see. I've got more books on bishops apostolic, this man, that man, him, her, everybody with great titles of how to pray, a hundred ways to pray. This is the prayer, this way to pray, this is how you do it. But I'll tell you something there isn't anyone in there that's going. I'm just going to tell you how to pray and I'm going to take you to the Gospel of Matthew and that's it. It's all their prayer, it's all what they say, it's all what the man says, it's all what the bishop says, it's all what the doctor says of theological understanding, rather than someone writing a book that's two pages, that goes I'll tell you how to pray.
Speaker 1:Look at this, go to Matthewew, our father. The end of the book. Yeah, no one really talks in depth. And you know about the lord's prayer. One page, it's not even a full page. But I've got books up there that have cut the amazon rainforest down, that are filled with books of prayer. The common book of prayer, this book of the common book of prayer, this book of prayer, hymn book of prayer, fred book of prayer, bishop leader, spiritual warfare book of prayer. All that don't mention the Lord's Prayer. No, as in, as it should be, no reference to what Jesus said.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you could certainly have Mr Doctor, you know, leading whatever theological seminary, telling you that this is A thousand steps. The Lord's Prayer is just a format and he has his own method that his followers seem to follow that format of prayer that format of prayer. But you know the godly people in the Bible you've got. I'm trying to find in Luke 18, the parable of the persistent widow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, love it.
Speaker 2:You know you've got people who are lowly in life. We haven't got much to bring to the Lord.
Speaker 1:Downtrodden ostracised lowly.
Speaker 2:But these are the kind of people who the Lord hears and answers prayer. Even Elijah, didn't they? John the Baptist? He was, as as Elijah. Where was it? They were asking the Lord, the Lord who Elias was it was John the Baptist yes but you know, even he, he was a strange, unique character, john the Baptist An oddball. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Locust.
Speaker 2:Yeah, living on locusts and wild honey.
Speaker 1:And all that and he was pushed outside of society.
Speaker 2:And he was known as well. He was known by society for his lifestyle. It doesn't mean that we have to be like that. No, no, no.
Speaker 1:If anyone's out there, don't go and sit in a field and eat wild honey and crazy locusts. You know God has got greater things for you, but the point is, though, mark, isn't it the very fact of the matter that God will use who? He's going to use the lowly. I love that scripture. You know God uses the lowly things to conform the wise and to confuse. You know God uses the person that the world looks down on. God uses that person. He brings that person forward because that's what he does. He uses those that society kicks about and religion puts down. How many mega churches do you go in and you look at all the stuff going on, and you might be a great preacher, teacher and that, but you've got no chance of getting in their arena because it's a club. You ain't got no chance.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:You've got no way of stepping into their club.
Speaker 2:If you're going to a big church, you know it's usually, you know you have the pastor, and then the elders, and then the deacons, and then you might it depends you know where you are, if you have an opportunity to say anything. So yeah, there's a Prayer meetings.
Speaker 1:So just a rhetorical question to everybody out there what is your church doing for prayer? What do you? What is going on for prayer? What is happening in your church? What is happening in your denomination? How strong is your denomination on prayer? There's a fantastic church out there, you know, right out in China and and all that you know and, uh, the early rain church, and that they are just prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, push, push, push, really calling on god. That that's what makes god go.
Speaker 2:Okay, and you know what like. If the church doesn't have a prayer meeting, I I say there's nothing wrong with, you know, linking up with some strong believers and starting one yourself. You know it doesn't have to be.
Speaker 1:You know some big church approved no official prayer meeting because the Bible says don't it Mark where two or three are gathered in agreement.
Speaker 2:Amen, that's, that's the thing. Yeah, yeah, just before. I see the time. Time is rushing. But can I read Luke 18, starting from chapter one? Sorry verse one. It says Sorry verse one.
Speaker 2:It says and he spake a parable unto them, his disciples, to this end that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Saying there was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man, and there was a widow in that city and she came unto him and said Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while. But afterward he said within himself Yet, because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said to her Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not god avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him. Though he bear long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, shall he find faith on earth?
Speaker 2:And yeah, we need to be the Lord's faithful prayer warriors. We need to cry out to him day and night. And yeah, we really need to continue to reach out to Christ. And yeah, there's a lot there. But yeah, there was a city and a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. We live in a world where there's a lack of fear of God, even those praying.
Speaker 1:Definitely that's the key mark, isn't it? Fear God. The Bible says work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You know, wherever you are, we're coming to a close of this part one and we didn't even get to Paul's transformation in the book of Acts, chapter 9. But wherever you are at this moment in time, what is the key mark to everything that we're talking about? It is persistency earnestly from your heart, from your innermost, being not around the handbag of church, church and religion, but going right in. And when we say demanding, god knows that we are being respectful, but not demanding in a way of arrogance and a lot of what. We're not in a controlling mechanism way, but actually going in and speaking to god and say god, these are the, are the promises. This is what you say, not what I say. God, this is what you say.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get into his word. God doesn't lie. Keep praying, don't give up. And yeah, press into him, he'll answer your prayer.
Speaker 1:Amen. Thank you so much for joining us, wherever you are across, uh, this globe at this moment in time. Today's title of this podcast we've stretched 35 minutes. We are in. This is part one coming to a close. We're going to go straight into part two. So grab yourself a coffee, grab yourself a cup of tea, or a fruit tea, or a big mac, even if you're in a drive-thru, wherever you are. Cheeky milkshake, all that sort of stuff. The essence of prayer, the power of prayer. Come on church, let's believe, let's really get radical for jesus christ. God bless, we'll see you soon. Take care. Part two is on its way, thank you.
