Rick Warren - What The Bible Actually Says About the Power of Prayer

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1:01When things are not going good in your life, you want God to just make it all happy. Put a band in on it, so that you take away the pain. Not clear up the relationship. Not deep in your character. Not change you. We want a quick answer and God wants to cut out the cancer. Today I want to look at why must I keep on praying persistently? And the reason why I want to deal with this is because of all of the mysteries about prayer. And there are a lot of them. There are a lot of things about prayer. I do not understand. I don't always understand how it works with the sovereignty of God and the will of man. When you're praying for other people and they have a free will, I don't understand it all. I know that just God said do it. He says it over and over and over 20 times in the New Testament. He says ask. I want you to ask. You have not because you asked not. Now, since our Heavenly Father loves us, we know that. And since we know that He wants to answer prayer, He's commanded us to ask for prayer.

2:04He has given us multiple promises about prayer. And He says I want to ask and I want to answer quickly. He's eager to meet our needs. The question then is then why do I have to pray more than one time? Why do I have to make the same request over and over to God? If I want, when I'm asking for prayer, and if God is clearly loving and as we saw in the last message, He's never going to give you something bad. He's never going to give you something detrimental. He's never going to give you something harmful or unhelpful, but He will always give you what's good and what's best. He will never give you a bad gift. And if God wants to do that, why do I have to ask multiple times? You know, Jesus said, we looked at this last week, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. And that's a mystery to a lot of people. Why can't I just say one time and then God gives it? And He knows that. The Bible's many times talks about being persistent in prayer.

3:08One example is there on your outline, Colossians chapter 4, verse 2. Be persistent in prayer. In other words, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Don't just pray one time about something. Keep on praying. Be persistent in prayer and keep alert as you pray. In other words, don't fall asleep when you pray. That's a good principle to remember there. I was resting in the Lord, you know. Keep alert as you pray. Always giving thanks to God. Now we've looked four times at prayer and every time it adds, give thanks when you're asking. That we ask out of a grateful heart. Gratitude for the past. We're asking about the future, but He says always be grateful for what God has already given you. So why do I have to ask over and over and over and over and over? This God has to be controlled. Control does He have to be pestered? Does God have to be bothered? Do I have to wear God down? Do I have to beg and beg and beg and bribe and plead and cry and bother? And until finally just God goes, okay, enough already.

4:09Shut up. I'm going to give it to you. Is that what kind of God we serve? The answer is absolutely not. That is not at all the reason. God says I want you to ask multiple times. It's not for His benefit and it's for our benefit. In fact, we're going to look at two stories today that Jesus told that teach the exact opposite of that idea that I have to wear God down, that I have to keep pestering and bargaining and bribing and then finally God just goes, okay, I give in, you can have this. In fact, Jesus told two parables that teach the exact opposite thing. Now by the way, what is a parable? You've heard this word parable. A parable is simply a story with a point. A parable is not just a story. It's a story with a lesson. It's a story with an insight. It's a story with a truth that God wants you to get. The Bible tells us that Jesus never taught without using parables.

5:13He was the master storyteller and these stories still relate to us 2,000 years later because he was such a master storyteller. He just would deal with slices of life. Now there are two kinds of parables you need to understand. There are comparing parables and there are contrasting parables. Let me explain this. In a comparing parable, Jesus tells a story and he's saying this compares to God. God is like this, like the loving father in the story of the prodigal son. God is like that. And when Jesus tells a story where he's saying, this is what God is like, that's a comparing parable. But sometimes he says, God is not like this. That's a contrasting parable. It's a contrasting parable. No way. People of the world are like this, but God's not like this. The two stories we're going to look at today, they're very brief, actually are contrasting. And God is saying, I am not at all like the people in this story.

6:13And he's getting rid of the idea that you have to beg and bargain and bribe God to have an answer to prayer. So let's look at these two stories and then we'll unpack them. The first one is in Luke 11. And it's the story of a persistent friend. Look up here on the screen and here's what the story is all about. Once when Jesus had been out praying, his disciples asked Lord, teachers, to pray. We talked about this last week. And by the way, when he said, teachers, to pray, he taught them what is now known as the Lord's prayer. And he taught them the model prayer. He said, okay, here's how you started. Our father. Remember we talked about that last week. It all starts with the right relationship. God is not some force in this guy. He's not a force, he's your father. And he's not like any human father who is inconsistent and uncaring and distant and distracted and sometimes demeaning. This God, this father is caring, he's consistent, he is competent, he's capable and

7:17he is always with you. He's close. And so he says, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts or trespasses as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. But after Jesus taught him the Lord's prayer, he then told them the story. Here's what he says. But then he said, suppose you went to your neighbor's house at midnight and knocked on his door, double, hmm, and said, an out of town guest has just arrived at my place. He's hungry and I've got nothing to feed him. So I need to borrow three loaves of bread. Would you do that with your neighbor? Wake him up at midnight. This is the persistent neighbor. Now your neighbor would probably whisper from the inside of his house, don't bother me.

8:21The door is already locked. Enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons. This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 2.99 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns eight count are 2.99 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or cantaloupe are 1.99 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in, these deals won't last. Visit vonsoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. McDonald's is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a big mac, McNuggets or sausage egg and cheese, McGrittle's, make it a meal and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too. Extra value meals are back. Enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons.

9:27This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 2.99 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns eight count are 2.99 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or cantaloupe are 1.99 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in, these deals won't last. Visit vonsoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. For the night. He's saying this from the bedroom, maybe out the window. The door's already locked for the night. We're all in bed. I can't wake up everybody just to help you. He says, but even though he would not help you out a friendship at that particular moment, if you keep persistently knocking on his door, he's going to get up and he's going to give you what you need because of your persistence. All right, already.

10:27He says, you just keep on knocking. So Jesus says, I tell you this, this is a parable by contrast. Keep on asking and you'll get it. Keep on seeking and you'll find. And keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks to receive and everyone who seeks will find, and if you keep on knocking, the door will be open to you. Now just in case we didn't get that message, he says, I'm not like that guy who's not going to give it to you out of friendship. He's just giving it to you out of his hair. He says, the principle there is, you should keep on knocking. Keep on asking, keep on seeking. And Jesus wants you so badly to understand why you should pray about something more than once, that he doesn't just give you one story, he gives us two. And let's look at the second parable. And in this, he wants to emphasize that you should never, never, never give up praying for something that you're asking for until you've got it.

11:29All right. Now here's the second story. And it's in chapter 18 of Luke, in its first eight verses. This is called the story of the persistent widow, similar theme. It's one day, this is a different day. Jesus told his disciples another story to illustrate that they should always keep on praying and never give up. Now before we take that verse down, I want you to know something. He says you should always keep on praying and never give up. In your life, you are always doing one of the other. If you're not praying, you're given up. And if you're given up, if you're discouraged this weekend, it's because you're not praying. Jesus said we should always pray and not give up. What is the opposite of discouragement, persistent prayer? What is the opposite of not praying persistently, discouragement? So you can go through life either discouraged or diligent.

12:32You can be pressured into feeling bad about it or you can be persistent in praying. And he says you're going to, throughout life, you're always doing one of the other. Anytime you get discouraged, you should ask yourself, have I stopped praying persistently? That's why you're discouraged. Because you've gotten your eyes off of God and onto yourself. On the other hand, if you're praying persistently, it eliminates discouragement in your life. You're going to pray or you're going to give up. Now, then he says this. Here's the story. There once was a big city judge, Jesus says, who didn't care at all about God or people. But there was an elderly woman, an elderly widow, who kept coming to this judge over and over pleading for the judge to protect her rights and do something about a man who had cheated her. I want justice. I have my rights. She keeps coming back to the judge over and over. Judge, you've got to help me. He didn't care less about her. He says, or even God.

13:33Now it says for a long time, this judge just ignored her pleas. He couldn't care less about this widow. He has no interest in her and helping her get justice or protect her rights. The judge just ignored her pleas for help. But eventually, he had had enough. So he thought to himself, even though I don't care at all about what God or what this woman think, I'm tired of her pestering. I'm tired of her pestering request. So I'm going to see that she gets justice just to get her to shut up, just to get her to be quiet and stop bothering me. Note the same theme as the other story. Then the Lord said, now, learn a lesson from this uncaring judge. He says, okay, guys, get the point here. Even if that corrupt uncaring, this guy has no compassion at all.

14:36He didn't care about you or anybody else. Even if that corrupt uncaring judge eventually gave... Enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons. This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 2.99 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns 8 count are 2.99 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or canelope are 1.99 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in, these deals won't last. Visit vons or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Toyota's easy choice sales event is on. Whether you're looking for the performance of a camera, the versatility of Rav4, the efficiency of a Corolla or all electric driving in the BZ, there's a Toyota that's just right for you. And with great deals across the lineup, now's the time to find yours. But hurry, these deals won't last long. Toyota's easy choice sales event ends soon.

15:38We make it easy. Toyota, let's go places. Enjoy big savings with red hot deals at Vons and Albertsons. This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 2.99 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns 8 count are 2.99 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or canelope are 1.99 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in, these deals won't last. Visit vons or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. And to that woman's request, won't God who loves you deeply say, this guy's not like me, won't God who loves you deeply surely give you what is right if you keep crying out to him day and night? Jesus tells two stories to teach the exact same truth.

16:38Every time Jesus tells two stories to teach one true, it's that important. Why you should never give up in praying for something, not to go well I prayed and it didn't happen so I just gave up on it. Now here's the contrast. He says, God listens to you, God cares and God wants to answer even if people don't. Even if your neighbor doesn't, they think you're being rude, you're in the middle of the night or even if some unjust, uncarrying, unsympathetic judge says forget it, I have no time for you. He said God is not like either them. He listens, he cares. And the point is this, that God is eager to answer your prayers. So why then doesn't God just answer the first time I ask? Why does he want me and it says over and over scripture to keep on praying, keep on seeking, keep on asking, keep on knocking. Why does God want me to be persistent? Number one, because it keeps my attention focused on God.

17:40When you pray about something over and over and over, where's your attention? It's focused on God. Now I've told you this many times that attention is the greatest gift you can give somebody. Guys, the greatest gift you can give your wife is your attention. The greatest gift you can give your kids is your attention. Why? Because your attention is your time and your time is your life. You're never going to get that back. You can always give people money, but you can always get more money. You can't always get more time back. You've got the same amount of time as everybody else, 168 hours a week. When you give your attention to somebody, when you look someone in the eye, you're saying you matter to me, you're valuable, you're worth part of my life. It's the highest gift you can give people crave attention. God wants your attention. You know, the Bible says God is constantly thinking about you. How about if you thought about somebody all the time and they never thought about you?

18:45Well that probably was true when you were in junior high school. Because there's somebody you thought about all the time and they were totally oblivious to you. You know how painful that was that they did not even notice you when all you could do was think about them because you were in love in your mind with that person. God says, I want your attention. And so when you pray about something over and over and over, you give God your attention. God loves to have your attention because he's always thinking about you. One of the reasons God loved King David and the Old Testament of the Bible is because David gave God his attention all the time. Look at these two verses. Psalm 2515, David says, my eyes are continually looking to the Lord. That's another word for being persistent. I'm continually looking to the Lord for help. And he alone can rescue me from all the traps. It's supposed to be plural, all the traps. You know what? You're going to have a lot of traps in your life this next week. He's the only one who knows them in advance.

19:46Have you ever gone up a mountain road and you're behind a truck and they're slow and you'd like to pass them, but you can't see around the curve and how great it would be if you could call in a helicopter and they could say, yeah, it's clear around the corner because they could see what you can't see. God can see what you can't see. He can see the traps. You're going to have this next week, this next month and this year. He says, focus on me. Continually, and I'll show you how to be rescued from all of the traps. Psalm 105 verse 4. Go to the Lord for his strength. Seek his face how often. Constantly, circle that. So it keeps my attention focused on God. God wants you to keep asking because it keeps your attention focused on him. Question, do you talk to God more when you need something? Of course you do. If you never needed anything, would you talk to God as often? No. When do you talk to God the most when you're in deep pain? So it keeps me focused on God continually.

20:49There's a second reason and it's because having to wait teaches me about myself. Having to wait teaches me about myself. You're going to learn some things while you're praying for an answer that you won't learn any other way. This is going to be a mind-opening message for some of you because you learn not just about God, you learn about yourself when you don't get everything you want instantly. When you pray and God says, well, let's just see about how long it's going to take before that prayer gets answered. Some prayers are answered immediately, but some take times, weeks, months. Two of the most important prayers I've ever prayed. One of them took 13 years and one of them took almost 25 years, but God answered it. And they were the most important prayers in my life at that time. Why did it take so long? Because while I was working on the prayer, God was working on me.

21:50And there are a number of tests that happen when you pray about something over and over and over that reveal more about you. Notice this verse, Zachariah says in Zachariah 13 verse 9, God says, I will test and purify them. That's you and me. I'll test and purify them as silver is purified by fire. Never wonder when you're going through the fire while you're going through it. It's for testing and for purification. I will test them as gold is tested. How do you test gold? You put it in a big vat and you heat it up until it gets so hot that all the impurities are burned off. And how do you know when gold and silver is pure because a silversmith can see his reflection in it. God can see his reflection in you when all the impurities have burned out of your life. You've been through the fire. He says, then after I've tested them, after I've purified them, then they will be, they will pray to me and I will answer.

22:51Notice that the prayer is answer comes after the test. Does that sound vaguely familiar? We spent 10 weeks on Daniel looking at 10 tests of Daniel and I said before every blessing there is a testing. And God tests you with stress before he trusts you with success. That principle of Daniel's life is one of the principles of persistent prayer. God is going to test you before he blesses you. And he says, I'm going to test you and in this test, you're going to learn a lot about yourself. If you give up praying, you're never going to learn these lessons. He said, what do I learn? What do I specifically learn about myself when I have to pray specifically and persistently? Well, let me just mention four areas. Four areas that God wants me to grow, want you to grow. Write these down. The first would be this, praying persistently tests my desires. Praying persistently tests my desires. And what that means is I ask the question, what do I really want?

23:56When you start praying and many of you are praying for a breakthrough, you're going to find that actually your prayer changes. It evolves, it grows, it develops because you're going to see, well, that's not really what I want. What I really want is this or that. And praying persistently tests my desires. What I really want. Now, everybody has desires. The reason you have desires is because God put them in you. Now, a desire can be misused. It can be abused. It can be perverted. The desire for a sexual relationship, that's a normal human does. It can be abused perverted, misused. Of course, it can't. All of God's gifts are good, but they can be misused. Fire is good in the fireplace, but fire in the wrong place will burn a house down. Water is good in a bathtub, but water in a flood too much of it can drown you. Many of God's gifts can be perverted, misused and abused by Satan. The reason why God had... Enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons.

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25:59This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 2.99 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns eight count are 2.99 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or cantaloupe are 1.99 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in, these deals won't last. Visit vons or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Certain parameters for sex is not because it's dirty, it's not, it's holy. In fact, sex is more important than you think. It's also less important than you think. I'll do a whole message on that some other time. But here's the point. I just peaked your interest on that one. There are good desires in your life and there are bad desires in your life. There are appropriate desires in your life and there are inappropriate desires. In your life there are helpful desires in your life and there are harmful desires in your life. There are righteous desires in your life. There are unrighteous desires in your life.

27:00There are constructive desires in your life and there are destructive desires. When you pray persistently, those start to filter out. And you begin to realize this is a good desire or this is not a good desire. Persistent praying shows the difference between a whim and a deep desire. If you ask God for something and you only ask about it one time, that's not a deep desire. It's just whim. And God is not in the business of fulfilling every whim you've got. God is in the business as your Heavenly Father of taking care of your deepest desires. God doesn't give you every little whim. You might watch something on a shopping channel. Oh, I really like that. And three minutes later, you've already forgotten it. It's a whim. If you're not willing to pray about something more than once, it's not a deep desire. It's just a whim. And God doesn't promise to meet all your whims.

28:02It's Christmas time. When my kids were little and they used to come to me, I'd take them to the mall and we'd go through stores and they'd say a hundred things that they wanted. I'd like that, daddy, I'd like that, daddy, all that. Can I get this dad? How about that, daddy? And a hundred different things. And I know most of them are just whims. But when they go, daddy, I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, daddy, I really, really, really want this. Now I know we're not talking about whim. We're not going to a deep desire. But they had to say 18 really to convince me. And sometimes when you've got a prayer guy, he goes, you just ask him for that and you know, you want to get married, you want a husband, you want a wife, how serious are you willing to pray about it every day? Would you like a job? Whatever you want to, are you willing to pray about it three times a day?

29:03Like we're doing right now and bring it before God. It kind of sifts out. Now, that's not that important to me. So the first thing that praying persistently does is it tests my desires. By the way, have you ever wondered where your deepest desires come from? They come from God. They come from God. They're part of your God-given shape. There's some things that attract your interest. Some things you couldn't care less about. Some things really turn you on. Some things bore you to tears. Some things really wind your crank. Some of things just give a big yawn. And all of us have different desires, different needs, different interests. That's part of your God-given shape. They came from God. And God put that desire in you and then He wants you to ask and then He wants to provide for it. That builds the relationship. That builds the connection. When you have a need and then you recognize that need and then you verbalize that need

30:05to God and then God meets that need, what's the end result of that? You trust God more. And every time you get an answer to prayer, you trust God more. That's why God wants you to pray. That's why God wants you to ask and keep on asking. He says, I want first to know what you really want in your heart praying, test my desires. Did you know that God wants to give you your deepest desires? He does. He just wants to make sure that He's in the first place. That He's your first desire and then everything else is second. There is almost nothing that God won't do for the woman or the man who puts God first in every other life. That's nothing. Look at this next verse. It's an amazing verse. Psalm 37 verse 4, great promise. Take delight in the Lord. That's a desire thing. And He will give you, read it with me, the desires of your heart. Holy moly.

31:07You need to write that one on a card and put it on your visor or on your refrigerator or on your mirror and your bathroom. Delight yourself in the Lord. Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. God is not stingy. He's waiting on you. Delight yourself in the Lord. Pay attention to God. And when I pay attention to God, it tests my desires. What do I really want? Here's the second thing it tests. Number two, praying persistently tests my priorities. It tests my priorities. And when I have to pray for something more than once, it's not like I'm convinced in God to do it. He already is waiting to give it. He just wants to know what's really important to me. That's the question. What's most important in my life? And so when you pray about something, it tends to clarify what's important to you. If you don't pray about it, it's obviously not important.

32:09If you do pray about it, it obviously is important. Now if it's not worth praying about repeatedly, then it is in a priority. By the way, do you know how to know what's important to you? What's really important to you? You want to say, I don't know what's important to me. I'll tell you what's important to you, what you worry about most. Worry tells you what's important in your life. If you worry about it, it's important. If you don't worry about it, it's not that important because you've given it up to God, you've trusted Him for it or it's not even that important to you. Worry tells you what's important to you. But every time you're worried, you're acting like an atheist. Worry is practical atheism. I've said that many times. It's acting like you don't have a Heavenly Father who has promised multiple times in this book, I will take care of every one of your needs. When you worry, you're acting like, I don't have a God, and I don't have a God who

33:11loves me, and I don't have a God who's promised to take care of all my needs. So if it's to be, it's up to me, I've got to take care of myself. I've got to worry about it. Worry isn't an ineffective way of trying to control. You can't worry about the past, won't change the past, worrying about the future, won't change the future. Worry just messes up today. It's stewing without doing. It's a waste of time. If it's worth worrying about, it's worth praying about. And if you prayed about everything you worried about, you'd have a lot less to worry about. Worry all you want, and it won't change anything. Pray about all you want, that will change everything. So every time you start to worry, you should stop and turn the worry into a prayer. Does that make sense? Every time you start to worry about anything, you stop and you turn that worry into a prayer. Worry without just worrying is, as I said, acting like you're an unbeliever. In fact, Jesus gets right to the point in the Cermon on the Mount. Matthew 6, verse 32 and 33.

34:12He says, why? Why be like unbelievers? Who worry about everything? Does that not have any God? Heavenly Father who loves them, will take care of them. Why worry? Why be like an unbeliever who worry about everything? Your Heavenly Father already knows. Already circle that. Already knows all your needs. You're not convincing God. You're not even notifying God when you have a need in prayer. Your Father, Heavenly Father already knows your needs. And He'll give you all you need if your first concern is to live for His kingdom, first concern. What is that? That's called a priority. Pray persistently. Test my priorities. Now, when your priorities are right, listen. When your priorities are right, God's answer is, yes, it's yes. And when my priorities are not right, God might have another answer. And there are multiple ones He can have for that.

35:14I'll share them with you in a minute. But when your priorities are right, God says, enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons. This week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 299 per pound with membership where applicable limit three racks. In ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns, eight count are 299 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or canelope are 199 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in. These deals won't last. Visit vonsoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Right now at Subway, try the 499 sub of the day. Get a different six-inch sub every day for just 499 each, like Meatball Marinera on Mondays. Tuna on Tuesdays and the BMT on Saturdays. It's a different six-inch sub every day, packed with protein and your choice of chopped veggies for just 499 each. Or make it a meal with chips and a drink for just $2 more. But hurry, it's only for a limited time and only its subway.

36:14After participating restaurants, prices higher in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii and on third-party delivery, add on taxes and fees for delivery additional. Enjoy big savings with Red Hot Deals at Vons and Albertsons. Next week at Vons and Albertsons, baby back pork ribs are 299 per pound with membership where applicable limit 3 racks. And ballpark hot dogs or hamburger buns 8 count are 299 with digital coupon. Plus personal seedless watermelons or cantaloupe are 199 each with digital coupon. Enjoy fresh and delicious savings for every meal. Hurry in. These deals won't last. Visit vonsoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. He already knows your concern. He'll give you all you need if your first concern is to live for his kingdom. So really, you know, you say, well, I'm waiting on God to answer his prayer. Are you waiting on God or is God waiting on you? Maybe he wants to test is a desire. And maybe he wants to test your priorities. What's really important to me?

37:16Look at this next verse. Psalm 84 verse 11. This is an amazing promise. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right. Wow. God says, you know what? Your priorities are right. You're living for me. Your attention is with me. You're staying in connected me. My kingdom is your number one priority. Guess what? Anything you ask. No good thing will I withhold from those who walk up rightly. That's why I said earlier, there is nothing. Almost nothing. God will not give the man who's totally committed to Jesus Christ. There's almost nothing God will not give to the woman who's totally committed to Jesus Christ. He says, no good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right. So that leads me to ask the question, what's out of order in my life? Are your priorities out of whack right now? It's right now your job taking number one. It's right now, you know, you know, television taking number one.

38:18Is your, are your priorities out of, are you spending more time? You're spending more time on social media than in the word of God? That's called out of order priority. He says, no good thing will God withhold from those who do what is right. Here's the third test. But what it shows me about myself. Persistent praying, test my maturity. This is a big one. When God doesn't give something to you immediately, he is testing your maturity. He's testing your character. He's testing your responsibility. He's testing whether you've grown up or not. It's a gut check. God is, and I told you it last week, God is not a vending machine. He's not a genie. He's popping the prayer like a coin and you instantly get it. He wants to reveal your character. He wants you to show you the areas where you need to grow. Persistent praying. When I ask for something over and over and over, it actually shows my maturity rather than my immaturity. Say, what do you mean by that?

39:18If you tell a toddler, you can have it in a little while. Do they get that? No. If you tell a toddler, not yet, okay, in a little while, if you tell a toddler, you can have it later, they typically will throw a temper tantrum. Why? That's called immaturity. Why? Tottlers don't know how to wait. Immaturity humans don't know how to wait. Immaturity humans want it now and I want it yesterday and I want it even though I can afford it and I'll put it on a credit card and I'll buy things I don't need with money I don't have. And then I'll be in debt. And I'll be in debt for a long, long time. Why? The number one cause of most of your problems in life is the inability to delay gratification. You don't know how to wait. We're in a society as I got to have it and I got to have it now, even if I can't afford

40:19it, I'll put it on credit, et cetera, et cetera. Pray persistently test my maturity. Why? Because toddlers don't know how to wait. They don't know the difference between no and not yet. Do you? When God doesn't give you a prayer instantly, do you just grab your blanket and your ball and go to the corner? I'm going to go pout because God hasn't given me. I've been praying for that for weeks or months or maybe even years. Don't you think your Heavenly Father knows what you need more than you do? Knows when you need it, knows why you need it, knows the best way to need it, is working behind the scenes. While you're whining, God has been working. And while you're waiting, God is working on the answer. Sometimes He has to get certain things into place. I prayed for 13 years for land for this church. And in about 12 of those years, the piece of land that we set on on the Lake Forest

41:20campus wasn't even around. It wasn't even available. It wasn't even charted. There was no Rancho Santa Margarita city. There was no foot-held ranch city. There was no Lake Forest in this area. The roads weren't even in. It was just cow pasture. It wasn't even available. But before God even put in my mind to come and start Saddleback, He already knew where the first campus would be. It was just a matter of time that Domino's were falling over. And so patience is a mark of maturity. And when it comes to prayer, if God doesn't give it to you immediately, do you just give us? Well, I'm not going to pray that about that anymore because He didn't give it to me in a month or a year or whatever. I'm just going to give up on it. Maturity means you know the difference between a delay and a denial. A delay is not a denial. Now, a baby doesn't understand that. No, and not yet, or mean the same thing. But when you grow up, maturity means I learned the difference between a delay and a denial.

42:22God hasn't said no to your request, but it's going to come in His timing. Now let me just say this. God wants to meet your deepest needs, physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, relational, all your deepest needs. And He's promised to meet those needs, but He's far more interested in your character development. You've heard me say many times, God's more interested in your character than your comfort because you're not taken all your clothes and shine it and cash to heaven. You are taken your character. In heaven, there will be no problems. This is the Get Ready stage. You shouldn't expect things to be perfect on this earth. Everything is broken on this planet. God wants to meet your needs, but He's more interested in growing you to become more like Christ. And one of the characteristics of Christ is patience. The Bible says patience is a fruit of the Spirit. And how do you learn patience? Waiting.

43:24Department of motor vehicles. Waiting in a traffic jam. Waiting in a doctor's office in the waiting rooms of life. And you also learn patience by praying persistently even when you don't see any results. God is testing your character. He's testing your heart. He's testing your maturity. He's testing your patience and all these different things. Those are your moms. You remember how you felt. The first time you let your first child cry themselves to sleep. I'm such a bad mom right now. You can hear that baby in the other room crying and previously every time they cried, you were there instantly. You were there instantly. And eventually you learned you can't be there instantly every time they cried.

44:25And the first time you as a mother or as a parent as a dad and you let that baby cry itself to sleep. Question. Was that important to that baby's development? Hello. If you think somebody's going to come wipe your nose every time you have a problem in life, you're going to be severely disappointed with life. Everybody owes me everything because I'm the center of attention. It's all about me. Of course. Let me ask you another question. Those are your parents. Do you remember the first time you thought your child was old enough and responsible enough to leave them alone at home while you went out? And how nervous you were the first time you did that. Right now at Subway, try the 499 sub of the day. Put a different 6-inch sub every day for just 499 each, like meatball marinara on Mondays,

45:28tuna on Tuesdays, and the BMT on Saturdays. It's a different 6-inch sub every day, packed with protein and your choice of chopped veggies for just 499 each, or make it a meal with chips and a drink for just $2 more. But hurry, it's only for a limited time and only its subway. After participating restaurants, prices higher in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii, and on third-party delivery, add on Staxes and Fisre delivery additional. Toyota's easy choice sales event is on. Whether you're looking for the performance of a camera, the versatility of Arab 4, the efficiency of a Corolla, or all electric driving in the BZ, there's a Toyota that's just right for you. And with great deals across the lineup, now's the time to find yours. But hurry, these deals won't last long. Toyota's easy choice sales event and soon. We make it easy. Toyota, let's go places. But downs is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets, or sausage, egg, and cheese, McGrittle's, make

46:29it a meal, and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too. Extra value meals are back. Get a big something extra. With a Big Mac or 10-piece McNuggets, fries, and a medium Coke all for just $9. Limited time only, promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing. You left them alone. You bad parent, you. And you bad, bad parent. You left them alone. You thought, I think they're old enough to be left alone. I think they're maturities at a level. They're not going to tear the house up. They're responsible. They're not going to do something stupid. And so I think they're responsible enough to leave them alone. And was that incident, no matter how painful it was to you, important to their development maturity? Of course it was. Of course it was. Okay, I want you to get this.

47:30When God thinks you're mature enough, He's going to let you go through a period where you feel alone. And you don't feel His presence. The question is, I'm not going to depend on my feelings or I'm going to depend on God. It's part of your development, your spiritual growth, your building muscle. God doesn't want you being living by your moods. He wants you being living by your commitments and by your trust in His Word. And when God thinks you're mature enough, He's going to leave you alone for a while and it's a character test. Some of you are in it right now. Congratulations. I haven't felt God in a long time. I just feel like it's a brass ceiling there. I'm not getting my prayers are bouncing off. And when God leaves you alone, He's actually testing a couple things. Will you do the right thing without supervision? Like you had to test your child?

48:32Will you keep praying when the answer isn't immediate? Isn't quick? Isn't instant? Isn't immediate and all of a sudden there? Will you throw a temper tantrum and say, God, you're not fair and God, you made all these promises and you're not keeping them? Let me show you an example. Second Chronicles chapter 32 verse 31. God left Hezekiah. He was a king, a very good king. God kept left Hezekiah on His own for a while. Whoa, to see what He would do. God wanted to test His heart. And before God answers your prayer for a breakthrough, He's going to test your heart. I'm telling you this as your friend. God is going to test your heart before the breakthrough happens. And He wants to know, are you ready to handle the blessing? We talked about that with Daniel before every blessing is a testing.

49:34Do you know that God once did this for an entire nation? It's called the Nation of Israel. He had a blessing for them called the Promised Land. But before he let him go into the Promised Land, he wanted to test them. If they were mature enough, they were ready enough, they were responsible enough, they were committed enough to handle the blessing of the Promised Land. And so He kept them out in the desert in the wilderness. They could have gone from Egypt to Israel in a matter of weeks or months. And it took them 40 years. What were they doing? Walking around the desert for 40 years. It's just not that long. You can get across that in several months. Certainly shouldn't have taken a year. And it took them 40 years. Well, they're getting tested. Now, here's the cool thing about God. When God tests you, He wants you to succeed. And because He wants you to succeed, He'll let you retake the test.

50:36And in 40 years, God gave them seven different attempts. Like, you can retry for the bar exam. You can test again. And God wants you to keep retaking the test until you pass it. Now here's what the Bible says, Deuteronomy 8 verse 2. Oh Lord, led you through the wilderness for 40 years. Wow. Humbling and testing you, circle testing. Humbling and testing you to prove your character. Remember I said, when God is delaying an answer, He's testing your desires, He's testing your priorities, and He's testing your maturity. He wants to prove your character. And to find out whether or not you would really obey His commands. Now let's just get real honest here. When you're in pain, when I'm in pain, and we cry out to God, either emotional pain or physical pain, or even when you're not in pain, you're just uncomfortable or you're bored.

51:38And when things aren't right in your life, what we want is we want God to remove the symptom, the painful symptom when God wants to remove the cause. That takes a little bit more time. Let me say that again. When things are not going good in your life, you want God to just make it all happy. Put a band-aid on it, so that you take away the pain. Not clear up the relationship, not deepen your character, not change you. We want God to change the symptoms, change the circumstance, not change our character. We want a quick answer, and God wants to cut out the cancer. We want to feel the ease in our prayer. God wants us to heal the disease. The thing that's causing that problem in your relationship, that's causing that problem

52:38in your marriage, causing that problem in your finances. We want God to just get us out of debt. God says, how about if we work on what caused you to get in it in the first place? Because if we get you out of debt and we don't work on the cause, you'll be back there in another year. We want to feel the ease. God wants to heal the disease. It's a whole different level. So here's the big question. When I'm praying for God to do a breakthrough in my life, I want to get married. I want to get a job. I want to see my dream come true. God wants all these things. If there are desire that he's put in your life and all these things to be met, God wants these things to be true in your life too. But the first question you have to ask is, am I willing to let God change me instead of changing the circumstance? That's a whole different issue. Am I willing to let God change me instead of God changing the... Book a Love by Guest Property with Verbo.

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54:42That's why trade pros trust Fiber cement, Party Backer Board to keep tile firmly in place, resist cracking and help block moisture. Chosen over 40 million kitchens and bathrooms, Party Backer Board, what the best build on. Shop now at participating Home Depot, Loes and floor into core stores. For more information, visit JamesHearty.com slash Hearty Backer. This is a link that I don't like. This is friend what's called the point of surrender. And the point of surrender happens in every breakthrough prayer before the breakthrough happens. And if you don't get through this point, you're not going to get to the breakthrough. Am I willing to let God change me and my attitude and my heart and my character and grow me up and change me and make me more like Christ? Why in the world am I praying for this promotion or whatever else? This is the point of surrender. Look up here on the screen.

55:44Romans 16, 613 says this. Give yourself completely to God to be used in the hands of God for His good purposes. Give yourself completely to God to be used in the hands of God for His purposes. That's the point of surrender. That's the point where you go, God. This is what I want, but really more than anything else, I want to be in the center of your will. You are in the place of God's anointing, God's blessing, God's power, God's grace, and you will see things that you never thought imagined. God is testing your desire. Do I really want this? He's testing your priorities. What's really most important in my life? He's testing your maturity. Do I know the difference between no and not yet, between delay and denial? Am I growing in character? Am I saying, God, I'm surrendering to you before the breakthrough prayer? Finally, do you know what else is does? When you're waiting, when you keep praying and praying, and the answer has a comment,

56:46you keep praying and praying, and says, come, this is a test. It is testing, persistent praying, test my faith. And that's the most precious thing of all, your faith. And the really issue, the question here is, do I trust my feelings or my father? I know what God has said. I hear you. I'm going to meet your need. I will meet your need, the answer is on its way. Do I trust my feelings or do I trust my father? It is a mistake to trust your feelings. Now last, in our last message, I said, God, I'll never give you. Your Heavenly Father will never give you anything on a helpless or harmful or detrimental. He'll never give you anything detrimental or deadly. He'll only give you what is good. God made you. He knows you better than you know you. He knows what will make you happy more than you do. He knows what you need more than you do. Why don't you trust your Father?

57:47The one who made you, you wouldn't take the next breath if it weren't for him. And God knows what's going to make you happy. Now you know, if you've been a Saddleback, you know what God has said about this and about purpose. This next verse is one of our most familiar verses, Jeremiah 29-11. For I know, God says, the plans I have for you says the Lord. They're plans for good and not for evil. Plans to give you a future and a hope. You're going to trust your feelings. You're going to trust your Father. He says, I have these plans, but you know what happens with plans? You have to wait on God's timing. Not all plans happen overnight. In fact, the bigger God wants to do something in your life, the longer the runway. It takes to get it off the ground. When God wants to do something really big, a big breakthrough in your life, it doesn't happen, boom like this. It happens when you're going down the runway and you're praying and you're trusting

58:48and you're growing in priorities of maturity and desires and in faith. And God says, I'm going to do it, but you've got to do it in my Tommy, Galatians 6.9. Let us not get tired of doing what is right. For at the right time, circle that phrase, at the right time, at the proper time, God's timing is perfect. He's never early. He's never late. At the right time, we will, not might, we will, repaharvest the blessing. If we don't get discouraged and give up, your faith is more desirable and more important and more precious than anything God could possibly give you. Now knowing this, that God wants you to keep praying, not because you're trying to wear him down. You don't have to convince God of your desires. He's already said, delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. He's already said, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk up rightly. He's already said, ask anything in my name and it shall be done.

59:49He's already said, you have not because you asked not. He's already said, I could give you 100 scriptures. You're not trying to convince God when you keep praying for it. But in that persistence, God is changing you. Changing your desires, purifying your desires, testing your character, building your faith, strengthening your life, He's doing all of these things for good in your life. So let me end with how God answers prayers. Four things. I don't have to explain this, it's self-explanatory. Four ways God answers prayers. I told you last week, God always answers prayer. There was no such thing as an answered prayer. He doesn't always answer the way you like. But God always answers prayer. And He always answers prayers one of four ways. Here's what he goes. When my request is not right, God says no.

1:00:49Because God's not going to give you something that's harmful for you, bad for you, is destructive. We've already said that. He'll only give you what's good for you. God will not give you something that's bad for you. When my request is not right, God says no. That's an answer. Number two, when I'm not right, God says grow. Now He's saying, yep, I want to give this to you, but you're not ready to stay at home by yourself yet. You're not ready to handle the responsibility. I have a blessing that's so big, it would blow your mind and your character couldn't handle it. And when your professional life outpaces your personal life, that's called stress. So God says, when you're not right, God says grow. We got a little grow. Shop the Sirwin Williams Labor Day Sale and get 35% off paints and stains August 28th through September 9th. Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your

1:01:50vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sirwin Williams store. Click the banner to learn more. Details sales only, some exclusions apply, see store for details, delivery available on qualifying orders. McDonald's is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets or sausage egg and cheese, McGrittle's, make it a meal and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too. Extra value meals are back. Get a big something extra. Get a Big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets, fries and a medium coke, all for just $9. Limited time only, promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing. One here to do, in character and in development and in surrender. Number three, when the timing's not right, God says slow. He says slow.

1:02:52It's common, but it's not here yet. And a backer says, do not be discouraged if the vision isn't fulfilled overnight. Surely it will happen. It will not be overdue a single day. God says it's common, it's slow. We're going to take this slow until you're ready to handle it. Pacing growth. I could give you a big testimony about that one, but I don't have time for it. Number four, but when my request and the timing and my character, they're all lined up right, God says go. Those are the four ways God always answers prayer. No, no, he says sometimes, grow, he says sometimes, slow, and then he says go. So this is the reason we do what Ephesians 6, 18 says last verse. Pray it all times, pray it all times, and on every occasion in the power of the Holy

1:03:58Spirit always stay alert and be persistent in your prayers. Not because you're trying to convince God, because these other reasons. Be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. I want you to circle all of those all words, okay? Pray all times, circle all. On every occasion, circle every. Always stay alert, circle always. Be persistent in your prayers for all Christians. You need to be praying for other people. God healed Job when he prayed for his friends everywhere. Now, what is not included in that verse? Nothing. That's why Paul says pray without ceasing. Not three times a day. All the time. Let's bow our heads. This could be a breakthrough moment for you.

1:05:01As I pray this hymn again, will you make it your prayer? Say, Lord, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Say, take my moments and my days. Let them flow in endless praise. And they say, God, take my voice and let me sing. Always only for my king. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee. Say, God, take my hands and let them move at the impulse of your love. And take my intellect and use every thought as you would choose. Amen. Say, God, take my will and make it thine. It shall no longer be mine.

1:06:05Take my heart in his your own and it shall be your royal throne. Say, Father, who loves me in heaven, take my love, my Lord, I pour. At your feet, it's treasurestore. Take myself and I will be ever only all for thee. Ever only all for thee. Help me to never give up in the prayers you put in my heart. But to keep praying until you say no, or grow, or slow, or go. I pray this in Jesus' name and everybody said, Amen.