WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:05.173 To begin this morning, I'd like to sing two songs that integrate well with the sermon. 00:00:05.173 --> 00:00:09.009 So grab your song books and turn to number 828. 00:00:09.009 --> 00:00:11.914 For the first one, 828. 00:00:11.914 --> 00:00:23.187 This song is a rendition of the Lord's Prayer in the form of a song, and then we'll follow this with singing Gracious Father, which is 822. 00:00:23.187 --> 00:00:28.722 So 828, our Father in heaven, the verse that goes along with the Matthew 6.9. 00:00:28.722 --> 00:00:31.347 Lord teaches to pray in Luke 11.1. 00:00:31.347 --> 00:00:35.213 After this manner, pray 828. 00:00:35.213 --> 00:00:37.484 Three pages forward to 822. 00:00:37.484 --> 00:00:39.447 822. 00:00:39.447 --> 00:00:44.475 Gracious Father, o Lord, hear us when we call upon thee. 00:00:44.475 --> 00:00:48.168 A call to prayer, a call to prayer. 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:55.789 I'd like to begin with a quote from our ATori, maybe better known as Reuben Archer. 00:00:55.789 --> 00:01:00.962 He was an American evangelist in the late 1800s, in the early 1900s. 00:01:00.962 --> 00:01:04.328 He was also a renowned prayer warrior. 00:01:04.328 --> 00:01:31.814 He says this when the devil sees a man or woman who really believes in prayer, who knows how to pray and who really does pray, and above all, when he sees a whole church on its face before God in prayer, he trembles as much as he ever did, for he knows that his day, the devil's day in that church or community, is at an end. 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:42.293 The inspiration for this sermon this morning, a Call to Prayer, came or was born somewhat out of a few comments that Zach Parkman made last Sunday. 00:01:42.293 --> 00:01:45.843 One thing that really impressed me about his presentation was at the end. 00:01:45.843 --> 00:01:53.870 Yes, he did encourage us to support, but the way he encouraged us to support was he said we can act by praying. 00:01:53.870 --> 00:02:03.343 Then he also made a few comments in reference to Jesus cleansing the temple in Matthew I believe it's Matthew 21 or 22, when Jesus mentioned that my house is a house of prayer. 00:02:03.343 --> 00:02:22.834 And as I was contemplating about the few comments that he made and as I was looking over my life, I became convicted of my prayer life and I felt led to take a break from 1 Peter and to preach on the subject of prayer, a Call to Prayer. 00:02:22.834 --> 00:02:24.643 That was the inspiration. 00:02:24.643 --> 00:02:39.376 The purpose of this sermon is this to encourage those that are to continue and to call those that aren't to become people of prayer. 00:02:39.376 --> 00:02:48.415 To encourage those that are to continue and to call those that aren't to become people of prayer. 00:02:48.415 --> 00:02:59.423 I know we have some people in this room that are people of prayer and I thank you for being those people, for being what we call prayer warriors. 00:02:59.423 --> 00:03:09.430 And then I imagine there's some of you, like me, that have struggled with having a consistent, meaningful prayer life. 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:15.806 So why is it that those of us that do struggle, why is it that we struggle with this? 00:03:15.806 --> 00:03:32.609 Perhaps it is that we're too busy, it might be that we simply don't know how to pray, or perhaps we have had unanswered prayers and our faith has eroded and we might actually think is it worth putting forth the effort to pray? 00:03:33.531 --> 00:03:43.419 Turning your Bibles to Matthew 6, and I like to use as a text the portion in Matthew 6, which is also found in Luke 11. 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:49.251 And I'd like to read Matthew 6, verses 5 through 14. 00:03:49.251 --> 00:03:57.408 Now, before I read this, jesus, in this particular passage, is giving this in the context of. 00:03:57.408 --> 00:04:06.677 It is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and he is giving it in the context of not making a show of one's righteousness in order to be seen of men. 00:04:06.677 --> 00:04:30.603 And he touches on giving, then he touches on praying, but then, after he tells them, don't pray to be seen of men, he goes into this is how you should pray, and there's an almost identical Scripture found in Luke 11, where one of the disciples specifically asks Jesus, lord, teaches to pray as John taught his disciples. 00:04:30.603 --> 00:04:33.769 But I chose to use a passage in Matthew. 00:04:33.769 --> 00:04:36.401 There's a few more details in Matthew. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:54.682 Now, one thing that I had, I'll admit, never noticed before is that none of the passages Matthew 11, or Luke 11, or Matthew 6, in the ESV, they don't include the last part of what we know of the Lord's Prayer. 00:04:54.682 --> 00:04:56.245 They stop with and leave it. 00:04:56.245 --> 00:04:58.108 Sign it in temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:04:58.108 --> 00:05:03.007 Then they omit, for that is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever. 00:05:03.007 --> 00:05:03.769 Amen. 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:24.843 And I did not put any further study in that the King James has it and the 1995 version of the NASB has it, but the 2020 version of the new American Standard Bible does not have it, and it would be interesting to put more thought into that, why some versions omitted and why some included. 00:05:24.843 --> 00:05:29.870 But I have chosen to Use it in the King James version. 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:37.483 I really like the addition of that prayer on the heels of what Jesus taught to pray. 00:05:37.483 --> 00:05:44.843 So, but I will read it in the ESV, because that's what most of us have this morning the Lord's Prayer, matthew 6, verse 5. 00:05:44.843 --> 00:05:54.615 And when you pray, you must not like, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. 00:05:54.615 --> 00:05:55.437 Truly. 00:05:55.437 --> 00:05:58.142 I say to you, they have received the reward. 00:05:58.142 --> 00:06:07.492 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father, who is in secret, and your father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 00:06:07.492 --> 00:06:14.891 And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their Many words. 00:06:14.891 --> 00:06:19.646 Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. 00:06:19.646 --> 00:06:25.120 Pray, then Like this our father in heaven, how would be your name? 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:30.000 Your kingdom, come Year will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:41.574 Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 00:06:41.574 --> 00:06:42.958 I think we'll stop there. 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:48.410 I like to touch on four points that are interwoven into the Lord's Prayer. 00:06:48.410 --> 00:06:49.833 This is night. 00:06:49.833 --> 00:07:10.660 All this is not all inclusive and each of these four points would have probably many sub points To each of these four, but for lack of time, I'm going to touch on four this morning and I'm going to arrange them into a very popular acronym for prayer, which is pray, and I like to look at. 00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:10.940 First. 00:07:10.940 --> 00:07:12.524 I like to look at praise. 00:07:12.524 --> 00:07:15.137 Secondly, I like to look at repent. 00:07:15.137 --> 00:07:21.564 Thirdly, I'd like to look at ask and fourthly, I'd like to look at yield. 00:07:22.610 --> 00:07:29.790 For those of you that are sitting here this morning and are saying I try to pray, I come up empty. 00:07:29.790 --> 00:07:32.517 I don't get anything out of my prayer life. 00:07:32.517 --> 00:07:36.389 I have no rhyme or or rhythm in my prayer life. 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:38.415 I really don't know how to pray. 00:07:38.415 --> 00:07:50.363 I hope that maybe you can be encouraged with these four points this morning If you feel you don't know how to pray, or you don't know how to pray to where you find fulfillment in your prayer life. 00:07:50.363 --> 00:08:04.278 Sometimes a systematic way of praying will get us started and I encourage you to take down these points and to start praying through these points in Order for you to at least begin having a prayer life. 00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:08.637 The first one praise Our father in heaven. 00:08:08.637 --> 00:08:11.834 Hallowed Be your name. 00:08:11.834 --> 00:08:14.021 Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this. 00:08:14.021 --> 00:08:22.985 The right way to pray is to stretch out our hands and Ask of the one who we know has the heart of the father. 00:08:22.985 --> 00:08:31.877 When we pray in praise, we usher ourselves right into the throne room of God Almighty. 00:08:33.071 --> 00:08:37.567 Throughout the Bible there are lots of examples of prayers beginning in praise. 00:08:37.567 --> 00:08:52.065 Actually, if you look at Jesus, prayers that are recorded not all of them, but a lot of Jesus recorded prayers begin with praise to his father prayer, our praise, opens our hearts to God. 00:08:52.065 --> 00:08:57.090 Praise connects us with our loving father. 00:08:57.090 --> 00:09:03.672 Praise is simply telling God who he is. 00:09:03.672 --> 00:09:06.258 God already knows who he is. 00:09:06.258 --> 00:09:19.166 We know who God is If we go through this group this morning and I'd ask each of one who is God, we probably all have different answers because God is so many things and we're all different. 00:09:20.368 --> 00:09:26.360 Praise is literally praising or telling God who he is. 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:30.791 Praise pulls us out of our little world that we live in. 00:09:30.791 --> 00:09:33.657 Praise gets my mind off of myself. 00:09:33.657 --> 00:09:37.595 Praise keeps me from just asking. 00:09:37.595 --> 00:09:45.015 When I pray, the hand motion for praise in prayer is outstretched arms. 00:09:45.717 --> 00:09:53.283 I like to do something this morning that might make some of us rather uncomfortable, but I would like to all of us stand. 00:09:53.283 --> 00:09:58.580 If you comfortably, can All of us stand, and you can stand, please stand. 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:09.392 And I would like to have a collective, audible prayer of praise, and what I mean by that is all of us praying out loud together. 00:10:09.392 --> 00:10:16.994 I know we've done this a few times here at Grace Point, I know we've done it at Crosspoint and, for those of you that have never been involved in something like this. 00:10:16.994 --> 00:10:24.327 It might feel a little bit awkward to get started, but all of a sudden you'll hear your neighbor praying and you won't be listening to your neighbor. 00:10:24.327 --> 00:10:44.418 You're concentrating on what you're praying and as we do this audible prayer, I would like for this to be a prayer of praise to God, as you see God for who he is to you, and I don't know how long this is going to take, as I hear you coming to a close. 00:10:44.418 --> 00:10:47.168 I will bring it to a close and then we'll proceed. 00:10:47.168 --> 00:10:51.948 So let's all together audibly praise God for who he is, our Father. 00:10:51.989 --> 00:10:53.414 God, thank you for being yowee. 00:10:53.414 --> 00:10:55.625 Oh God, we praise you for who you are. 00:10:55.625 --> 00:10:59.798 This morning there are, we can't say, enough names to describe you. 00:10:59.798 --> 00:11:06.139 And Lord, thank you for being all-powerful, gracious, loving, compassionate. 00:11:06.139 --> 00:11:07.121 The list goes on. 00:11:07.121 --> 00:11:10.610 Lord, we praise you for being Almighty God. 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:12.735 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:11:12.735 --> 00:11:15.489 You may be seated Just quickly. 00:11:15.489 --> 00:11:16.812 Who is God to you? 00:11:16.812 --> 00:11:21.746 Yes, god of creation, lord of lords, king of kings, more. 00:11:21.746 --> 00:11:24.350 God of mercy. 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:28.157 Grace, god of grace, amen. 00:11:28.157 --> 00:11:36.975 Father of the resurrection, any others, redeemer, love and justice provider, healer. 00:11:36.975 --> 00:11:37.677 Amen. 00:11:37.677 --> 00:11:44.293 Holiness, be holy, for I am holy, creator and of beauty. 00:11:44.293 --> 00:11:53.793 Amen, praise, prayer of praise, connecting with Almighty God by coming to him with our praise. 00:11:54.774 --> 00:11:58.267 Point number two repent, repentance. 00:11:58.267 --> 00:12:03.677 When we praise God, we become aware of our uncleanness. 00:12:03.677 --> 00:12:14.846 When we connect with who God is, with His greatness, his holiness, we become aware of how frail and human we are. 00:12:14.846 --> 00:12:21.212 When we truly connect with a holy God, our uncleanness becomes evident. 00:12:21.212 --> 00:12:23.495 Turning your Bibles to Luke 18. 00:12:23.495 --> 00:12:27.589 Luke 18, e, verses 9 through 14. 00:12:27.589 --> 00:12:30.212 9 through 14. 00:12:31.615 --> 00:12:36.107 The Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18, verse 9,. 00:12:36.107 --> 00:12:42.046 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. 00:12:42.046 --> 00:12:46.870 Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 00:12:46.870 --> 00:12:57.876 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers or even this tax collector. 00:12:57.876 --> 00:13:12.609 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get, but the tax collector, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 00:13:12.609 --> 00:13:15.392 I tell you this is Jesus speaking. 00:13:15.392 --> 00:13:28.562 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 00:13:29.504 --> 00:13:38.994 When we come to prayer before Almighty God, we first need to repent of our own sin, even before we pray for the sins of others. 00:13:38.994 --> 00:13:40.755 First check our own life. 00:13:40.755 --> 00:13:44.659 Repent of whatever might be in our heart. 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:47.942 Ask God to reveal to us if there's something hidden. 00:13:47.942 --> 00:13:50.024 God's not out to play any tricks on us. 00:13:50.024 --> 00:13:52.386 He is not out to deceive us. 00:13:52.386 --> 00:13:53.827 The devil's out to deceive us. 00:13:53.827 --> 00:13:57.269 Ask God to reveal if there's anything that I'm missing. 00:13:58.030 --> 00:13:59.091 What does repent mean? 00:13:59.091 --> 00:14:10.110 Repent means to admit my sin, to feel remorse or to be sorry for my sin and then to turn away from it and not commit it again Now. 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:11.177 We all make mistakes. 00:14:11.177 --> 00:14:16.652 We probably all had instances where we fell back into that same sin. 00:14:16.652 --> 00:14:25.474 But to repent means to try our best, with God's help, to walk away from it and to stay away from what we confess. 00:14:25.474 --> 00:14:32.413 When God reveals sin in my life, I have two choices I can repent or I can harden my heart. 00:14:32.413 --> 00:14:36.732 God fills and uses a soft heart. 00:14:36.732 --> 00:14:45.614 When we come to God in true repentance, the heart that might be hard becomes soft and pliable and ready for God's use. 00:14:46.441 --> 00:14:54.284 The posture for a prayer of repentance is kneeling, bowing before God, and this is interesting. 00:14:54.284 --> 00:15:03.620 I came across this in a book that I didn't read the whole book, but I read parts, and quite a few of the thoughts that I'm using this morning came from this book. 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:19.312 It's a book on prayer, just a short book on prayer, by Daniel Lancaster, and I don't know I don't know much about Daniel, but I've been blessed and challenged with his thoughts on prayer and this was a hand expression that I found interesting. 00:15:19.312 --> 00:15:39.399 He says when we repent, when we pray of prayer repentance, he says fold your hands like this, but look away, referencing that you're confessing your sin and you're turning away from that sin to walk away from it, and sometimes practical things like that help different people different ways. 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:50.533 So I'm just sharing that, not at all saying that that's how it has to be, but I'm sharing that if you find it helpful to have some physical things that you can do to encourage prayer. 00:15:51.022 --> 00:15:53.572 Now we're going to make you a little bit uncomfortable again. 00:15:53.572 --> 00:16:13.659 We're not going to do inaudible prayer of repentance, but for those of you that can, I'd like for all of us to kneel facing forward, to just get off your chair and kneel facing the back of the seat in front of you and we're going to do a silent prayer of repentance, and you can treat that however you wish to ask God to reveal things. 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:23.427 If you don't know of anything in your life, if you do know of something, bring it to the Lord, a prayer of repentance, and then I will close after a few minutes. 00:16:23.427 --> 00:16:24.390 So let's go ahead. 00:16:24.390 --> 00:16:33.620 So we have a prayer of praise, we have a prayer of repentance, and the next is ask, asking. 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:36.746 Luke 11, verse 9, ask and it will be given. 00:16:36.746 --> 00:16:42.659 You seek and you will find Knock and it will be opened unto you. 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:54.668 I will be transparent and tell you that probably 75% of the time that I spent in prayer, in prayer, I find myself asking. 00:16:54.668 --> 00:17:02.177 I find myself asking and too often I find myself asking for my own needs, even versus the needs of others. 00:17:02.177 --> 00:17:09.876 And if I'd record my prayers, oftentimes it'd be give me this, give me that, give me this, give me that if it's your will, asking. 00:17:10.771 --> 00:17:12.380 Asking is an important part of prayer. 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:14.817 Asking is an important part of prayer. 00:17:14.817 --> 00:17:23.421 Starting out with praise and following with repentance puts our heart in a much better posture for asking. 00:17:23.421 --> 00:17:30.740 If we empty ourselves of ourselves, then our heart is at a much better place when we bring the ask. 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:39.652 The selfishness is oftentimes taken away through praise and repentance and it's more like God. 00:17:39.652 --> 00:17:41.137 What do you have for me? 00:17:41.137 --> 00:17:43.217 And still make Pacific asks? 00:17:43.971 --> 00:17:47.381 Jesus had asks when he was here on earth. 00:17:47.381 --> 00:17:53.701 We read numerous times in the New Testament when Jesus even went away from his disciples to pray. 00:17:53.701 --> 00:17:58.818 He not only asked God to meet his needs, but he often asked God to meet the needs of others. 00:17:58.818 --> 00:18:05.298 Spending time with his father brought a spirit of servanthood to Jesus. 00:18:05.298 --> 00:18:07.477 He knew his mission. 00:18:07.477 --> 00:18:12.820 The same thing happens when I spend time with the father. 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:14.955 I take on the heart of a servant. 00:18:14.955 --> 00:18:19.136 And when I have the heart of a servant, my asks become different. 00:18:19.136 --> 00:18:20.895 My asks change. 00:18:20.895 --> 00:18:23.798 The theme of my asks change. 00:18:23.798 --> 00:18:29.436 Servanthood heals a selfish heart and the requests will look different. 00:18:29.436 --> 00:18:36.318 Asking includes petitions for myself and it includes petitions for others. 00:18:36.318 --> 00:18:41.080 The condition of my heart will dictate what I'm asking for. 00:18:41.530 --> 00:18:45.757 A good hand motion for asking is just simply having open hands. 00:18:45.757 --> 00:18:54.575 I think I've done this exercise with I don't know if I've done it with Grace Point, but I don't think we'll do it this morning, but I think we did it at Cross Point. 00:18:54.575 --> 00:19:24.576 If you have a hard time of living with your hands open sometime if you, by yourself, do a very simple exercise of clenching your fists for 10 seconds, white knuckle your fists and then, after 10 seconds, just very slowly open up and ask yourself which feels better, having a closed fist and holding things to yourself, having your own ideas, or letting go and opening your hands and taking what God has for you. 00:19:24.576 --> 00:19:29.279 I've heard Mark Miller from Pastor at Cross Point. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:38.478 I've heard him say that, yeah, if we close our hands, we can hang on to whatever we want to hang on to, and even God might not be able to pry it out of our hands. 00:19:38.478 --> 00:19:41.817 But also, god can't fill clenched fists. 00:19:41.817 --> 00:19:45.934 In order for God to fill, our hands need to be open. 00:19:46.789 --> 00:20:08.635 I'd like to again spend a few minutes in doing a prayer of asking and just let's just stay sitting where you are, just close your eyes and I encourage you to just open your hands and we're going to do another silent prayer and whatever you have on your heart is it for yourself or is it for God or is it for others Just ask. 00:20:08.635 --> 00:20:18.057 Let's pray God this morning, as we come to you with our requests, we again pray that you might hear our prayer and we pray that you might answer our requests. 00:20:18.057 --> 00:20:30.175 Lord, there's many people here this morning and there's many different requests and, lord, I pray that you might search our heart and if it does align with your will, I pray that you might provide answers. 00:20:30.175 --> 00:20:32.616 Thank you for caring about each one of us. 00:20:32.616 --> 00:20:35.417 We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 00:20:35.417 --> 00:20:43.777 So we have the prayer of praise, the prayer of repentance, the prayer of asking and, lastly, is the prayer of yielding. 00:20:45.575 --> 00:20:49.779 Dl Moody said this prayer does not mean let me start over. 00:20:49.779 --> 00:21:00.958 Prayer does not mean that I am to bring God down to my thoughts and my purposes and bend his government according to my foolish, silly and sometimes sinful notions. 00:21:00.958 --> 00:21:13.078 Prayer means that I am to be raised up into feeling, into union and design with him, that I am to enter into his counsel and carry out his purpose fully. 00:21:13.078 --> 00:21:15.518 That is by DL Moody. 00:21:15.518 --> 00:21:20.280 Yielding is the key to answered prayer. 00:21:20.280 --> 00:21:29.454 I can become pretty good at steps one, two and three Praising, repenting and asking but what about yielding? 00:21:29.454 --> 00:21:37.694 What about totally opening my hands and saying, okay, god, this is what I've prayed, but now I want to hear from you. 00:21:38.530 --> 00:21:42.678 The prayer of yielding is not just me speaking. 00:21:42.678 --> 00:21:52.136 A prayer of yielding should included in the prayer of yielding should be pauses for us to listen and to hear from God. 00:21:52.136 --> 00:21:58.678 The results of prayer are fulfilled when we are willing to hear and obey God's will. 00:21:58.678 --> 00:22:01.458 Luke 22, verse 42,. 00:22:01.458 --> 00:22:09.915 Jesus was struggling with yielding Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. 00:22:09.915 --> 00:22:14.335 Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. 00:22:14.335 --> 00:22:22.131 When God sees a person surrender to His will, he knows he can bless that person and use that person in a powerful way. 00:22:22.131 --> 00:22:24.990 How do we know what God's will is for us? 00:22:24.990 --> 00:22:30.915 How do we know that God will actually answer our prayer? 00:22:30.915 --> 00:22:34.913 How do we know that we're making even the right requests? 00:22:34.913 --> 00:22:57.231 And I think step four is definitely a continuation of the first three In getting our heart right by praising God, getting rid of ourselves, repenting, softening our heart and through the context of that posture, making the right asks and yielding will be a lot easier. 00:22:57.231 --> 00:23:01.492 Jesus showed His dependence on our Father, on His Father. 00:23:01.492 --> 00:23:07.435 Even Jesus wasn't self-sufficient when he was physically here on earth. 00:23:07.435 --> 00:23:10.792 When I depend on myself, I tend to worry. 00:23:10.792 --> 00:23:23.866 When I depend on God, we will find confidence and what we look at as self-image will actually go into self-worth, because it's God working through us. 00:23:23.866 --> 00:23:27.575 We are part of something bigger than ourselves. 00:23:27.724 --> 00:23:38.516 I'd like to just in closing, I'd like to sing the chorus Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me, melt me, mold me, use me, fill me. 00:23:38.516 --> 00:23:40.829 And I'd also like to sing the song. 00:23:40.829 --> 00:23:48.736 We normally only sing this song in ordinations, but I'd like to sing it this morning, the song have Thine Own Way. 00:23:48.736 --> 00:23:50.672 And I should have gotten the number and I did not. 00:23:50.672 --> 00:23:53.910 I believe it's in here, number 923. 00:23:53.910 --> 00:24:06.098 And we'll do this instead of a prayer, number 923, just sing it as a prayer of consecration to God to invite Him to have His way with our lives. 00:24:06.098 --> 00:24:08.972 Let's first sing the chorus Spirit of the Living God. 00:24:08.972 --> 00:24:11.131 It's just between you and God. 00:24:11.131 --> 00:24:15.594 Whatever this song speaks to you, it's between you and God. 00:24:15.815 --> 00:24:20.394 On the subject yielding, I think we'll just sing verses 1, 3, and 4. 00:24:20.394 --> 00:24:22.068 1, 3, and 4. 00:24:22.068 --> 00:24:28.933 So we have the prayer of praise, the prayer of repentance, the prayer of asking and the prayer of yielding. 00:24:28.933 --> 00:24:33.535 I'd like to close with the verse 2 Chronicles 7, 14. 00:24:33.535 --> 00:24:34.517 Very familiar verse. 00:24:34.924 --> 00:24:38.415 I think Franklin touched on this with one of his songs here a few weeks ago. 00:24:38.415 --> 00:24:50.998 If my people who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 00:24:50.998 --> 00:25:05.269 If we want to be a success and if we want to be a powerful organization in the area that God has planted, grace Point, we need to become people of prayer and continue to be people of prayer. 00:25:05.269 --> 00:25:15.256 It starts at home, in our own closets, in our own bedrooms, in our own offices, and then it translates into a corporate setting of being people of prayer. 00:25:15.256 --> 00:25:26.836 God has called us to pray and that is the way we will endure the test of time, everything that comes our way, if we become and stay a praying people and a praying church. 00:25:27.686 --> 00:25:28.348 May God bless. 00:25:28.348 --> 00:25:29.664 Let's pray, god. 00:25:29.664 --> 00:25:32.954 I pray that you might grant the increase to what was said this morning. 00:25:32.954 --> 00:25:37.635 Lord, teach us and help us pray in a fervent way. 00:25:37.635 --> 00:25:41.295 So, lord, we commit this sermon and we commit this meeting into your hand. 00:25:41.295 --> 00:25:42.333 I pray this on your name. 00:25:42.333 --> 00:25:44.428 Amen, and the time over to Randy.