Don’t Stop Praying!

Pray even when it seems nothing is happening! Food is always moving! #pray #Godknows #Godhasnotbfoegotten #Histiming

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Well hello, hola, bonjour, canichua, soarika, cha previet, niha, and young haseo, but hava namaste, yes, what's up? It's your girl, your friend, your sis, your chica, and your amiga, your homegirl in the gospel lyric, the lyrical miracle McCree. Hello everyone from Panama. Yes, your girl is in Panama on vacation for 35 days. I've been here 11 and I am loving it, loving it, loving it. It's raining, which that is my favorite, favorite time of the year, which we do not get enough of in California, as far as I'm concerned, at least not Long Beach, California. And so I'm loving it. Um I I prayed for this rain, and we are getting so much of it. It has been raining all day today. It's still raining. I mean like hard rain. Um, yesterday, the day before, for like five days in a row. We've been getting rain, but today was the first day, I believe, that it rained like all day. So I'm just super excited. I'm super grateful to be in an environment where the rain is coming down. I'm at the beach. Um, the Lord blessed us to be in a beautiful Airbnb with a beautiful view, everything my kid needs, two water parks, um, a children's uh playground, a lake, a lagoon, um, just everything. Swimming pool. I'm super excited, and I'm grateful because I have prayed for this moment. It was always my dream as a young teenager to travel and to just see the world that God created, but I just never pursued it because I just never thought that I could, even though I prayed for it. Isn't that something? I prayed for it, but I just really I think because I was just never in a position financially to do so, I just didn't think that it was possible. And so um I'm not rich. I I still have bills, but I feel like why am I gonna put all my money into bills and not live the life that God gave me? So I decided that I'm gonna do some more traveling whenever I have the chance, and so in April, the end of April, we went to Mexico, uh, we took a cruise, and now I am in Panama, and I am super excited, I'm super, super excited that God has answered my prayer, which is one of the things that I want to talk to you about today, because many of us have prayed and we have prayed and we have prayed, and it just seems like the things that we're praying for, we're just we're waiting. And some of us have waited so long we have given up, which is I'm talking to myself because I've also done that in some areas. You know, I've prayed for certain things and haven't seen them yet manifest. And so I just assume that well, maybe the Lord doesn't want me to have it. But that's not necessarily true because the word says ask, seek, and knock. And everyone who asks that they will receive. So here we are. So I'm grateful. I'm sorry I had to drink some water because now all of a sudden, just because I'm talking to you all, I have the hiccups. But anyway, I'm just grateful and thankful for this experience, and I do speak some Spanish. It's funny because I took Spanish in junior high, high school, and two years in college. And after my second year, I wanted to make Spanish my major. So I went to Spanish three. I went through Spanish one, two in college, and then got to three and got intimidated because it was more conversational Spanish. And even though I did exceptionally well in all of the other steps, I just felt intimidated. And the enemy will do that to talk you out of your blessing. Hmm, that's a word. You see that the Lord has gifted you and blessed you in some area, and because it becomes challenging, He will make you think you can't do it. That is too much, that it's too hard, difficult, that it's maybe it's not what the Lord called you to. And if I had just stuck with it, I would be here in Panama right now, not having to look on Google Translate. But it's okay because uh one of the the drivers that I had um for Uber, because they have Uber in Panama, and it's way cheaper than America, like way cheaper. And he told me that I speak really good Spanish, and so I was I was happy, but I know that my Spanish is limited because the way Spanish speakers speak Spanish, it's like, whoa, you're talking fast. And then one of the guys told me that's how we sound in English to them when they're learning English. Like, I think, oh my god, you're talking too fast. Like, I'm not picking up on what you're saying, even though some of the words I'm catching, but you're speaking so fast, but it's normal for them, that's the way they talk. But when I speak English, I speak fast, and that's normal for me because that's just the way I talk. So he told me that's the way we sound to them when we talk. Like it's too fast, it's hard to pick up on. But anyway, I'm just grateful that the Lord, you know, sent me someone. Um, he was one of the drivers for one of the apps, like Uber, but it's called in Drive. And he also speaks English, so thank God for that because that was one of my concerns. Like, this is gonna be frustrating, Lord. I need to go here, I need to order this, I need to get that, and I have to keep running back to Google Translate to um understand what they're saying to me, and it's taking too much time. So, I have a driver who speaks both English and Spanish, and I'm so grateful because he also helps me outside of um the app, where I don't have to just, you know, use the app and have people come and they may or may not speak English. He has been willing to help me, and I, you know, pay him to help us go grocery shopping or whatever we need. And he's also a tour guide, so that's that's really good. And so the point is um that sometimes we pray for things and we feel like because it's not happening right away, that maybe the Lord doesn't want us to have it, or maybe it's not going to happen, or sometimes we just get frustrated, like Lord, I've been praying about this about 5, 10, 15 years, and I don't see a change in this thing, but the Lord wants us to persevere, and so my question is are you in a season of waiting today? Because I am, even though and this is my second international trip, but you know, I remember when I just wanted to travel, travel, travel, and it just wasn't happening, and so I finally stepped out on faith and got me a passport, got my daughter a passport, and I actually procrastinated because the Lord told me years ago to get a passport, and I didn't do it because I was like, I don't have any money, and my aunt wanted to treat me to a trip to Jamaica, and because I didn't have a passport, I didn't get to go. If I had just listened to the Lord, I didn't even have to have the money for the trip because she was going to do it, she was gonna pay for it, and it was just out of the blue. She was like, Do you have a passport? I said, No. She said, I wanted to treat you on this trip to Jamaica, and I was like, You're lying. I was so disappointed because Jamaica is one of the places I always wanted to go. But because I didn't listen to the Lord and get the passport and I kept putting it off, I missed out. So um I decided to go ahead last year. Yeah, last year. Early last year, and get my passport and get my daughter's passport, even though the Lord told me years ago to get a passport, and that's why obedience matters, because we can miss out on a blessing that he has for us because we did not follow instructions. He didn't ask me how much money I had, he said get a passport. And because I didn't get a passport, I missed out. So now I have one, and the Lord has opened some doors for us, and I'm super grateful. And if you hear my daughter, you all know I have a daughter who is level two artistic, and so her being quiet in the background is not probably going to happen. Um, and so you may hear her, so I I apologize. But I want to encourage you to keep praying, to keep believing, no matter how long it's been, just keep going. If you're in a season of waiting, and maybe you've been praying for a breakthrough, you've made your request known to the Lord, like the word says, you've even received a word from the Lord, something that stirred your heart and you know, and gave you hope about something that you have desired. But days and months and years have passed, and everything still looks the same. I know because in some areas I'm there too. I've prayed for healing, I've prayed for a husband, I prayed for multiple things, and they still haven't happened. So um the door hasn't opened, that opportunity hasn't arrived, and that can that condition hasn't gotten better. It's like that mountain still hasn't moved. Okay. So in those moments, like in in those moments like these, it's so easy to start wondering, like, Lord, did I hear you wrong? Am I missing something? Should I just stop asking? Like, can I just encourage your heart today to keep praying? Don't stop believing in the power of prayer, especially when you know what you're praying for is a covenant promise. It's something in God's word that He has promised you. You know, it's something that that our Lord, our Father, purchased that Jesus purchased for you at the cross. Like healing. His word says, by your stripes, by excuse me, by his stripes you are healed. We are healed. He went to the cross for those things for us. And so that's a covenant promise that he has come to give us life and life more abundantly. That is a covenant promise. So whether it's healing, provision, restoration, wisdom for your family, don't pull back from it. Don't let up. And I'm saying that because I've made that mistake, and it gets discouraging, it's it's disheartening because it looks like God has forgotten about you, but he has not. So instead, just press into his promises and believe all the way, even when you don't see anything changing. It's not like you're someone begging or trying to twist God's arm. It's someone who knows their father's heart towards them. He's not reluctant and he's not holding back. So while we don't have all the answers on why there are seasons of delay and seasons of waiting, we can still stay rested and trust our Heavenly Father and depend on his perfect timing. Because he does have perfect timing. No one could have told me that I would be in Panama right now. Like, my plan was to go to Thailand. Well, uh, my funds were not allowing me to go to Thailand right now. So I prayed. I said, okay, Laura, so look, Thailand is not an option right now, but where can we go? Where can we go affordably? Where can we go? And when I prayed that prayer, I was on YouTube later on that evening, and all these videos about Panama started coming up. Well, I had already had Panama on my radar, but I was so tuned into Thailand that I wasn't really paying Panama a whole lot of attention. So when they when all the videos kept popping up and all of these ways to go and show me where I could stay and all that stuff, I got interested. And it's a Spanish-speaking country, and I'm like, you know what? I can go there and practice some of this Spanish that I've learned over my life. And I just started looking into it. And literally later on that night, I was online looking at prices, flights, and all that hotels, Airbnbs, just you know, trying to see is this something we can do. And it was. And so a month later, here I am in Panama talking to you. It's it's remarkable, like God is really good. So I'm thankful for that. And again, you know, while we don't have all of the answers, just know that he does, and maybe some things are not happening right now, but there are some things that can happen right now. Thailand couldn't happen for me right then, but Panama could. And so just keep pressing in. And so in Luke 11, the Lord tells a parable about a man who goes to his friend's house at midnight asking for three loaves of bread. It's late, it's inconvenient. And the friend initially says, basically, don't trouble me, the door is shut. I'm thinking, like, wow, this is a friend. This is your friend, but the man doesn't walk away. He keeps knocking, and eventually the friend gets up and gives him what he needs. So, what gave that man the boldness to keep knocking? Because he he had to know his friend's heart, even though it was late and his friend was turning him away, he had to know his friend's heart. So he obviously believed, even if it takes a little persistence, I know he'll come through for me. And I believe that the Lord is saying to us, if that's what happens between friends, how much more with your heavenly father who actually delights to give to us? This isn't about praying harder, it's about praying with confidence because, like the man in Luke 11, you know the heart of the one you're asking, you know the heart of the father, you know his word says that it is it is his good pleasure to give us good things, it's his pleasure to bless us. So you know that our father is good, we know that he is kind, we know that his desire is to bless us. Now, I don't want you to walk away with the idea that the Lord is withholding your answer from you because I have thought that too. Like, Lord, why are you denying me? Why won't you answer me? That's not his heart, because we know the Lord loves to give, we know the Father loves to give based on the fact that he gave Jesus Christ, like he doesn't have anything more precious than his son to give us, and he gave it to him, and if he's willing to give us his son, the word says, How much more will he give to us? So sometimes the answer is being prepared for the right moment. I mean, the Lord may be aligning people, timing, and circumstances for you and I behind the scenes because he's always working, and sometimes he's growing in us a spiritual tenacity, a strength, a faith that can only be formed in the waiting. Some of the things that we go through that we're waiting for, he's he's working on us. So when he doesn't change our situation, he's changing us in the situation. He's honing our character, he's deepening our trust and shaping our faith. So sometimes the right opportunities only appear after the wrong ones pass. We know that. I heard a pastor say once, like, when you're waiting for, say, a husband, the enemy will send Mr. Wrong to throw you off because Mr. Right is coming. And I believe that. So some doors of opportunity they don't open until the fullness of time, and the right opportunities only appear after the wrong ones pass. So, you know, there are times too when when spiritual warfare is at play, because we know that the enemy does not want us to ascertain what it is the Lord has for us, and so he will fight that. Nevertheless, don't fear, because we know that no weapon formed against God's beloved children, not one, shall prosper. And when we persist in prayer, um, we're not just waiting passively, we're also making intercession. We're pushing back every assignment of the enemy and laying hold of what grace has already provided for us. So, what's the best thing we can do in our season of waiting? One, keep believing and keep praying with the spirit of hope. Have hope. Sometimes it is hard. I know that. I know it because there have been times where I just ugh. But just have hope. And then number two, you know, even more than that, keep your eyes on the Lord as you pray. Don't be fixated on the outcome. Don't be don't be bound to your own timeline because our timing is not God's timing. Fix your eyes on the Lord Jesus, the giver, not just the gift, the one who answers prayer, not just the request. So we don't want to focus on just the request, we want to focus on the one who answers the request. We are to set our hearts on our Father, who only has good in store for us, his love for us. That's what energizes our faith. That's what gives us the tenacity to keep going, and that's what will sustain us, even when the answer seems to tarry. You feel?