Praying With Christ One Hour Part 2

Marie Flores looking to Jesus in Gethsemane Jesus rose his sleeping disciples asking good you not pray with me one hour when loser is asking each of us the same question today. Let's covenant to set aside one hour a week for Jesus from the Moody Church in Chicago this with Dr. Sir clear teaching helps us make it across loser. Many of us might find it hard to set aside one hour a week since even 10 minutes seems difficult and you know the reason that 10 minutes seems so difficult is because many people think of prayer as simple asking God for things or after you've gone down the list. What is there left to say.

But if we change our thinking and realize that prayer involves worship in involves the adoration of God.

It involves our own personal experience of submission to God, then we can indeed pray for an hour, and in this culture. We desperately need prayer. I've written a book entitled, no reason to hide at the end of this message. I'll give you some contact info as to how it can be yours. But meanwhile, let us remember the words in the experience of Jesus as he gives us a pattern for submission to the father. My challenge is one hour. 1/168 hours a week Jesus prayed when things were going well when things were going poorly, when he was rejected.

He prayed under pressure, he prayed without ceasing. You see, many of us think to ourselves that 10 were too busy to pray that of course is not true at all. Or you can watch at least one hour of television a week. Many of us watch a lot more than that. It's not a matter of saying that you don't have the time for getting to the real matter now as we come to the third question in the third question is what are the struggles that were going to encounter when we pray, why is there so much resistance. Why is it that when we begin to do it. It seems as if every demon in that hell begins to show his face well you can begin to understand that, don't you what the struggles that were going to experience when we pray what it was going to be in opposition to you if you say yes, by God's grace today one hour a week. In addition to my regular devotional time. This is just one special hour a week. In addition to what I'm doing.

What are some of the struggles that you're going to have a number one, a place to pray. You live in a very busy home, perhaps a small home.

You might find it difficult. That's why your prayer time may be early in the morning or late at night. I believe it's very important.

Jesus always went to Gethsemane. It says that whenever he went to Gethsemane, the disciples knew that it was there to pray Jesus it's time to pray Gethsemane is the place I love that we love the garden of Gethsemane today. Don't wait you've ever been to Israel because that's where Jesus prayed to the place of prayer.

I have a place at home. I also have a place here at the church and I always say that that is my place of prayer when I'm really serious and when I need some time to pray.

That's where I go. Do you have a place to pray. Now you always can't pray there obviously because you may be traveling because of schedules and so forth. But there should be a place to pray. But that's not to be your biggest struggle. Your biggest struggle is going to be your motivation.

This spirit is willing, all yes, we heard that message and we signed up this spirit is willing but the flesh is so weak because they're all these other things to do and furthermore my day is falling apart and nothing's going right and today is not the time to do it because as I'm saying the opposition is going to be relentless. All 52 weeks I have in my hands, something that that was written by Sid Lowe Baxter. Now he was a Scottish pastor great preacher, and as I read about his struggle with prayer. I wonder if you can identify.

I mean, this is my story to so I know I can. He says that he wanted to get up early in the morning to pray and to do so with some regularity, but he says just as the stars in their courses fought against Cicero so the stars in their courses seemed set on smashing my well made plans. He said I would begin and so forth.

But then none. He says I won't take the time telling you all of the subtle subterfuges which Satan uses to trip me up and tricked me out of keeping my plans and he says it isn't necessary because he says you know them all many times he says my time for prayer and Bible study were getting crowded out and he says I was getting used to it. Are you used to it and then he says that he began excusing himself in his prayer life became a case of sinning and repenting every time I got down to pray. I had to start weeping and ask God's forgiveness because of my powerlessness. Then all of it came to a crisis at a certain time.

One morning I looked at my watch and according to my plan for.

I was still persevering. I was to withdraw for an hour of prayer.

I looked at my watch and it said time for prayer said. I looked at my desk and there was a miniature mountain of correspondence and something within me said you want to get those letters answered.

So as we say in Scotland. Ice withered, I vacillated prayer or letters, prayer, or letters yes no and then a little voice began to speak into my inner conscience. That said, look, here's said what's all this bother you know very well what you should do the practical thing is to get those letters answered. You can't afford time for prayer this morning and the boy said, look here said, don't you think the Lord knows how busy you are. You're having conversions.

The church is growing. God is pleased with you. Looks said you'd better face up to it.

You're not one of those real spiritual one is that I want to use extravagant phrases, but if you had plunged a dagger into my bosom. It could never hurt me more. You're not one of those spiritual ones.

He said I looked within. I found that there was a part of me that wanted to pray, and there was a part of me that didn't want to pray anybody here identifying my all alone up here this morning. I'm not alone. He said that the part of me that did want to pray with the intellect and the will, the part that didn't was my emotions. Suddenly I found myself asking Sid Lowe Baxter are you going to let your will be dragged around by your changeable emotions. So I said to will will are you ready for prayer will sit here I am, so I set off to pray and all of my emotions began to talk. They said we're not coming.

We are not coming where not coming so I said to will will can you stick it out. He said yeah I can. If you can little bit of schizophrenia going on here so will and I dragged off those wretched emotions by the scruff of the neck and we went to prayer. If you'd asked me did you have a good time. Did you have a good time said of course not. He said what I would've done without will I don't know, in the middle of my most earnest intercessions. I found that one of my principal emotions was a way out on the golf course playing golf. I had to run out to the golf course and Dragon back. He says a few of my emotions and traveled a day and 1/2 ahead and were preaching a sermon. I hadn't even, yet prepared I had to say come back. He said it wasn't a good time.

It was exhausting.

He said this went on for about three weeks but will and I stuck it out and then one morning during that third week I looked at my watch and I said will it's time for prayer.

Are you ready and he said yes, I'm ready, just as we were going in. I heard one of my chief emotions say to the other. Come on fellows. There is no use wearing ourselves out there going to go pray, no matter what we do. Suddenly one day while Will and I were pressing our case at the throne of heavenly glory. One of the chief emotions shouted hallelujah and all of the other emotion said a man, and for the first time the whole territory of James Sid Lowe Baxter was happily coordinated in the exercise of prayer course it's going to be tough course you're going to have a position of course the kids are going to misbehave. Of course, your husband is going to be irritable. Of course, expect all the opposition because the devil knows that if you're really serious. You are going to do some serious damage to the kingdom of darkness, and he will resist you and you'll say to yourself I'm not spiritual enough for this. What's a good reason to sign up with answer three questions today. Why should we pray, when should we pray, what are the struggles were going to have. How do we pray with Christ for one hour.

How do we do it in your bulletins today. There is another insert. I wonder if you take out the time right now to get it out. It's a little pamphlet entitled your one hour prayer guide if you found it. It should be there this prayer guide is a guide for you to pray one hour. However, I suggest that you use it only for the first two or three weeks because if there's anything that is his disappointing end and monotonous about prayer toys. When you do the same thing in the same old way. So this is a guide that goes through the Lord's prayer our father who art in heaven tells you how to meditate some ideas. The key concepts of the Lord's prayer and then praying for other specifics like your immediate family or relatives and so forth. This serves only as a guide. My suggestion to you is that you follow this for a while and then you begin to plan your own prayer time and yes I mean plan your prayer time. Pray Scripture take Romans chapter 12 and prayed for Moody church are prayed for some member of the family you have somebody you're really serious about praying about you read Colossians chapter 1 Paul's prayer in Colossians. Paul's prayer in Ephesians and in his other letters and you begin to pray those prayers on behalf of others because those are scriptural prayers and then you also spend a lot of time not just in intercession but in praise and in yielded mass my own time goes something like this. First of all there's a time of real silence before God.

I don't say anything I meditate on a passage of Scripture and all that I'm doing is asking God a single question, what is there in my life that I need to confess and to make right that occupies me for the first while, then I go into some time of worship and praise and then I begin to intercede on behalf of others.

Somebody asked me this week.

Well, what if you don't do the whole hour can you do 1/2 at one time and 1/2 at another time. And the answer is yes, of course, because, however, your schedule divides itself up, but I personally think that one hour, that's well-planned in God's presence. I think there's something about being there with Jesus, for one full hour so this is your guide, but creatively think of ways that you can pray using Scripture and using other guides and once you get hooked on one hour a week you'll ask yourself how did I ever do without it. Why is it that we don't pray more often. You know that's a very, very easy question to answer is the simplest question that I could possibly answer. Today we pray more often, it's because we don't believe God answers prayer, pure and simple. We been disappointed because of unanswered prayer, and we think to ourselves if I should go to prayer meeting. Things are going to be the same after I've been there as before.

So why the hassle. Don't bother. And because we bought that lie. We therefore don't pray you know that if we believed is a church that God answered prayer, we wouldn't have enough room in Kappler whole for prayer meeting we have to move up here to the sanctuary. We actually believe that things would be different because we pray we couldn't we couldn't have enough room, but we don't believe it doing. Let me tell you a story that was told on this platform. Just a few weeks ago Jim symbol a has a daughter whose name is Chrissy and Chrissy was here and told her own story some of you know, the Brooklyn Tabernacle and its great ministry in New York.

What a story. Here she is, she is a teenager loves her daddy loves her church, but she begins to get into close and looking just right and then she meets a man a guy who tells her that she's beautiful and that began a downward spiral. She left home lived with him had a baby which he kept in there were weeks when Pastor symbol and his wife did not know where Chrissy was Pastor symbol. I called a pastor and the pastor said well you know your daughters Chrissy is going to do what she's going to do. There's nothing really that you can do about it. I mean she's 18 now and she's gonna live the kind of life she wants to live symbol hung up the telephone and said no I'm not going to accept that verdict and he began to give himself to prayer, but he didn't tell his congregation about his wayward daughter during one of those prayer meetings and they do have 2000 people at their permitting. My wife and I were there years ago and you have to. People were lined up partially around the block before the doors opened to let people and for permitting as they have this crazy idea there that God actually answers prayer. Really something. So anyway at prayer meeting one night somebody handed him a note that said, tonight is Chrissy's night so Pastor symbol is shared with the whole congregation. The story of Chrissy and everybody began to pray and according to reports, it was as if it was a birthing room as if women were giving birth to children as they agonized and prevailed.

Almost with whaling Chrissy was away from home and mom and dad didn't know where she was. After that permitting symbol.

I came home and said to his wife. Tonight we reached heaven if Chrissy doesn't come back. There is no God. Because we reached heaven tonight and she will return in less than 36 hours Chrissy was at the door with her baby, saying as she knelt before her mother and father single do what ever you want me to do.

She kept saying over and over. Get who prayed for me Tuesday night who prayed for me.

Tuesday.

Well let's hear her part of the story she told us here on this platform couple of weeks ago she sleeping Tuesday night and God awakens her in the middle of the night and a demonic spirit comes to her in all of his evil and since I got you. I want your baby. He's next one sleeping in the crib, but at the same time God revealed himself to her and it was as if Jesus came to her and almost put his arms around her and for the first time she could pray as you see, as long as you're walking and disobedient your mouth is close to me and how do you begin to cry up to Jesus when you're doing your own thing in your living a lifestyle of people. She was able to pray and she humbled herself and pled with God and repented of her sins and all the evils that she had been into and she came home now and today she's the wife of pastor here in the city and they are beginning the Chicago Tabernacle Church, and the little daughter that she bore before her marriage is now a teenager walking with Jesus.

You see, that's what happens when people really believe that God does answer prayer.

Here's my challenge to you. I would like to dedicate for prayer meetings and have as many pop-ups as possible present note, you're saying you're saying did we hear you right now what you're asking.

Pops TOPS yeah pop stands for parents of Chronicles like to have as many presents and were going to be praying for your children in fasting and praying believing this notion that God actually does answer prayer, and with you, praying with Christ for one hour as parents and a singles and whoever you may be as teenagers, your your accepting this challenge to pray with Jesus for an hour. Can you imagine what God may be pleased to do can't even imagine it. If we really got serious and believe that God answered prayer did not answer the prayer of Jesus. My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me know the couple is not taken, but in the process of praying Jesus had the strength to go through with a cup that his father gave him the death on the cross and then in the end God answered the prayer by raising him from the dead in a different way than maybe the request was answered. But God was there. God is for us and with us even when we don't get the answers that we seek. I want you to visualize Jesus in heaven today saying to us. I know that were not Peter James and John.

But same to us. Can you not watch with me for one hour is one hour a week too much for you and me to get together to pray this morning. What we want you to do is to sign up the pray for an hour now, I can tell you that I'm going to be praying with Christ for one hour this week for sure. So you can ask me any time are you keeping up with your commitment.

By the way you said you to pray in our and and how is that Scripture reading coming you can hold me accountable, but who's going to hold you accountable. Sign up with a partner find somebody after the service who has the same vision as you say yes will do this together and will hold one another accountable to accept the invitation from Jesus to do some serious damage to the kingdom of darkness.

God does answer prayer. God does answer prayer.

But sometimes he doesn't. Until we get dead serious, and then the blessed Holy Spirit of God, who helps us to intercede brings about the transformation.

Would you join with me as we pray our father we ask in Jesus name that this church would be no is a house of prayer as you asked that the temple in the Old Testament be no not just a house of worship, but a house of prayer, but Lord, we can do change human nature we can take unmotivated people and motivate them. We can't implant within the human heart the desire to pray that's all your business. Our business was simply to lay out the the opportunity would you stimulate your people that together we might see your glory in your power at the Moody Church in Jesus name we pray those of pastor. I'm so thankful for the many evangelical churches in America that continue to preach the word of God and continue to pray. I've always believed that permitting is one of the most important times when we get together to intercede. Let me ask you a question.

Are you aware of the fact that we are living in a culture also.

However, where there is what we could call the Christian left.

That is to say Christians who are beginning to submit to the culture giving the culture, what it wants instead of standing against it. That actually is one of the chapters in my new book entitled no reason to hide standing for Christ in the collapsing culture. Here's how you can connect with us. Go to RTW offer.com for gift of any amount. This book can be yours. Call us at 1-888-218-9337 Bible says the gospel is the power of God. That power was felt in the early church and next time will trace the impact the gospel made in the first century. Erwin lutes will begin a series on light shining in darkness how the gospel impacts culture will start off in the book of acts, and watch as the light shines in a prison. It's no secret that America is in crisis.

Pastor's book no reason to hide standing for Christ in the collapsing culture will be sent as our gift to you when you give a gift of any amount to support running to win. Just call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 online and go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or write to running to win Moody Church 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago 60614 running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin lutes or this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher