PRAY - Consult With Your Creator

Going tonight welcomed report review division want to move forward in your life. Prayer is a powerful starting point to the right of the beverage or marshes insights from the Amaro whose prayers were key in achieving history lesson is that which is his message Triton consultant creation. Thank you for joining us for the weekend edition of Turning Point.

We are learning how to go forward in life all last week on the weekend edition we talked about what it means to begin with the dream, but today we add this dimension. It has to be accompanied by prayer. Ask God to give you the vision for the future and whatever you do, make sure you talk to them about it all the way through front, back, and in between today, play, consult your creator in 1909 John Norwood volunteered to go to the Appalachian Mountains to teach in a one room mission school there in the impoverished town of del Rio Tennessee. She became something of a living legend, thanks to her commitment to prayer not know how to turn dreams in the prayer and prayer in the dreams, Raymond Thomas was a foster team who often stopped at Leonora's cabin in his knee-high plot hoppers and talked with her as she sat on the front porch shelling peas or darning socks.

Raymond's seemingly impossible dream was to go to college. But how can I manage it. He said I haven't got any money I don't have any prospects are not saved anything Raymond Leonora replied, whatever you need.

God has the supply ready for you. The money will be there for any dream that's right for you. Every dream for what you're willing to work. Raymond asked Leonora to offer a dreaming prayer for him and her prayer went like this father you've given Raymond a fine mind.

We believe that you want Raymond's potential to be used to help you lift and lighten some portion of your world. Since all the wealth of the world is yours. Please help blame and find everything he needs for education Raymond Thomas did make it through college and four years working 12 jobs to support himself and graduating with a bachelor of science degree, cum laude. He also served in World War II and later settled in Vienna where he earned a PhD in physics. He went on to visit 60 countries master multiple languages and network with some of the most important people in Europe through his job with the US atomic energy program. Looking back on his life. Raymond said the fact that I could dream of going to college and achieve it proved something to me very simply, any right dream can be realized. And prayer helps you know if it's right, and gives you the power to stay with it. In other words, listen carefully. The way forward is to play forward. I think that's what Nehemiah would say to them was one of the most effective leaders in the Bible and his story unfolds in the Old Testament book that bears his name.

Executives and entrepreneurs study this book endlessly because of the leadership lessons that are found in it. Nehemiah was a Jewish official serving the Persian king in the city of 6000 miles from Jerusalem. The Babylonians had destroyed Israel and Jerusalem in 586 BC and several thousand Hebrew settlers had gone back to rebuild the temple and reestablish a Jewish presence there. This is a big burden for Nehemiah. He knew God's plan of redemption depended on the continuity of his people in their land and he understood that it was a matter of heartfelt prayer to make this happen one day. Nehemiah's brother and a few other men arrived from Jerusalem with this grim message. The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach the wall of Jerusalem is also broken down and its gates are burned with fire. This news hit Nehemiah like a blast slumping into his chair and started sobbing, but out of his deep tears came earnest prayers and out of his prayers, came a fervent dream with God's help. Nehemiah would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the ancient city of his God. It seemed an impossible feat because Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer and a trusted advisor, the likelihood of King Artaxerxes releasing him let alone financing the trip seemed very far-fetched for God.

He'd already planted the dream and Nehemiah's heart just to see his plaything, fresh dreams in your heart today so you have to prepare your heart for God's plan. God's desires flourish and prepared hearts just like seeds in a fertile ground in the last message I urge you to imagine your future if you're saying yeah I want to do that, which are not certain what you dream is or what the next step forward is that prayer is where you should start.

Nehemiah saw a need burden his heart and he started to pray about it.

I've studied the book of Nehemiah many times, and there are two verses that tell us something about dreams not the kind you have at night, but the kind that guide you forward. Notice these two telling phrases. Nehemiah claimed that God put it in my heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem letter. He said my God put in my heart to organize the people.

Nehemiah didn't come up with his dream for Jerusalem's wall by himself. His heart was receptive to the impressions God sent him let me tell you what I've learned a prayerful heart is fertile ground for divine ideas. How can you be sure the dream in your heart is God's will and not yours. While you must humbly and specifically ask God to place his ideas for your life into your heart and mind. Psalm 25 forces show me away all Lord, teach me your paths so when you prepare your heart for God's plan. You getting ready to receive what he wants you to do you do that through prayer. You praying you asked the Lord to help you.

Be sensitive to what he's telling you to do then you pray about the plans that he gives you day and night. No matter the hour of circumstances, pray as God begins to give you impressions and thoughts about your future.

Continue to pray, commit them to him and serious ongoing prayer and as soon as Nehemiah. Since the need for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem listen. He sat down and he wept anymore, and for many days and he was fasting and praying before the God of heaven as his thoughts clarify that he better understood what needed to happen. He wrote out an earnest prayer is preserved for us in the book that bears his name. His I pray Lord God of heaven.

All great and awesome God, you will keep your covenant and mercy with those who love you and observe your commandments.

Please let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now. Day and night. Nehemiah went on to confess his sins and those of his people. He reminded God of the biblical promises involving the children of Israel, and he ended by saying all Lord I pray, let your be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name and let your servant prosper. This day I pray and granted mercy in the sight of this man who was this man was King Artaxerxes the most powerful man on the earth.

And even though Nehemiah was his cupbearer.

He couldn't approach the king without risking his life.

Only God could arrange the right moment so Nehemiah pray EM bounds was 1/19 century pastor who wrote a powerful book on the subject of prayer read many of his books. Every page is kind of convicting so I can only read them in small doses, but bounds called prayer, spiritual energy is what he wrote. What great things are accomplished by this divinely appointed means of grace.

It lays its hand on Almighty God and moves him to do what he would not otherwise do if prayer were not offered and brings things to pass which would never otherwise occurred bounds so that the story of prayer is the story of great achievements.

Prayer is a wonderful power placed by Almighty God in the hands of his people, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and achieve unusual results. Bible says it this way, the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Prayer is the divine energy that brings the power of God into the plans that he's giving you.

I don't know any shortcut for this God guides his children as they learn the joy of praying to him night and day. So prepare your heart for God's plan and pray about your plans day and night, and then learn to practice spontaneous prayer is wonderful to have a leisurely hour on the patio for Bible study and prayer or to engage in a special extended time in prayer with friends at church asking God for his favors but sometimes you have to pray instantly. Sometimes you have to pray urgently on the spur of the moment and is good to know that the Lord hears those prayers as well. I urge you to learn to play quickly, silently and instantly. No one in the Bible, mastered that skill better than Nehemiah's book is peppered with short little prayers that were injected into his narrative. He knew how to pray spontaneously. For example, one day the king wanted a glass of wine sold Nehemiah prepared and here is Nehemiah 212 I took the wine and I gave it to the king. Now, I have never been sad in the presence of the king before and so the king said to me, why is your face sad since you are not sick. This is nothing but sorrow of heart know a little interpretation here. Nehemiah knew these words could have reflected genuine concern they could have been his death sentence.

Believe it or not it that day. It was a capital offense to be sad in the presence of the king. So watch carefully what Nehemiah did he senses the urgency of the moment. Verses two through five so I became dreadfully afraid and I said to the king. Good move. May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my father's tombs lies waste and its gates are burned with fire, and then the king said to me, what do you request no watch this. So I pray to the God of heaven and I said to the king, if it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight. I asked that you send me to Judah to the city of my father's that I may rebuild it. I'm sure you noticed, here's the phrase I pray to the God of heaven and I answered, became in the twinkling of an eye. Nehemiah had his opportunity but he had to say exactly the right thing in the right way to move the kingdom was caused, his life was on the line, not to mention the desires of his heart. It was critical for him to speak wisely and for the king to react positively sold Nehemiah shut up an arrow to heaven. Maybe it was just help Lord help. Most of us know that prayer with plated on occasion, the Lord answered soon. Nehemiah was on his way to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

When you know how to earnestly pray day and night.

Then you will find out there's great power in spontaneous prayer as well.

One fateful day back in 2001 Lieut. Col. Dan who was working on the first floor and the ceiling of the Pentagon. That's sort of in the middle of the building he was preparing for a 10 o'clock meeting when a coworker came into his office with news that the World Trade Center was on fire.

New York went to his boss's office where the television was on the watch events unfold, then had a feeling down deep that he should get up and returned to his own office.

Along the way.

He stopped to talk to someone in a nearby cubicle and suddenly the whole room burst into flames and who was thrown 20 feet forward. His left leg was pinned to the floor beneath rubble and the walls were on fire. He yelled for his coworker, but heard no response. He recalls that moment I said a short prayer asking God to show me the way out the pride his leg loosen saw some light in the distance and crawling through an opening he found he was trapped again in the room was full of smoke and sort his lungs said the room was like an oven, and at that moment, I thought I was going to dive smoke inhalation declined over more rubble saw him reaching out to him and that once he was on the helicopter pad outside the Pentagon. He began helping others, not realizing he was bleeding from multiple shrapnel wounds when shares a story now credits his survival to God answering simple words, God show me a way out. But you know the God answers prayers like that when you're in the midst of following your dream. God is given you a plan and you're on your way to the gold. Sometimes there are problems doesn't just get you there is no such thing as life without any challenges.

There's the old statement that says if there's no friction there's no traction.

Every major dream I have ever had everything God is ever done in my life has been fraught with trouble and often in the midst of it, you have to pray Lord help me, help me to know what to do.

I don't know what to do. But my eyes are on you. So prepare your heart for God's plan through prayer. Pray about your plans day and night practice spontaneous momentary prayer in here's number four. Prepare for God to do things his way, as God drops his seeds of aspiration in your mind and you play with them, whether in quiet extended prayer or quick in the moment prayer you have to learn to trust him for his own brand of success. You have to expect him to do things his way. Proverbs 16 three says commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The word commitments to trust God can be trusted with your dreams to divulge them, develop them sometimes delay them and always drench that with his blessing.

So you have to understand God opens doors and closes doors.

He arranges circumstances and sometimes he creates trajectories you didn't even expect in Nehemiah's case, the king granted him letters of safe conduct through the Empire along with provisions for the walls and the gates. Nehemiah said, and the king granted them to me.

According to the good hand of my God upon me and Artaxerxes sent a military convoy to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem because the Jews had a lot of enemies in Judah.

When Nehemiah got into Jerusalem. Nehemiah wanted to keep his dream a secret until it was time to rally the Jews so he saddled his horse in the darkness and inspected the ruins of the city by moonlight, and the next day he got of the people and he said you see the distress that we are in how Jerusalem lies waste and its gates are burned with fire, come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer be a reproach and I told them of the hand of my God, which is been good upon me.

Nehemiah declared with confidence the God of heaven will help us.

I believe with all my heart that the God of heaven will grant success to his children, who seek for his will in their lives. Remember, success doesn't mean health, wealth, fame or fortune.

When God uses the term success. It means the fulfillment of his plan for your life and you have to trust him however that unfolds.

If you want to move forward. Now we have to have a plan. We need to move forward toward God's plan for our life, but you also need to pray and for so much of it. It's out of your control is about true and thrust at this particular time in life. During this pandemic that many of us have experienced there so many things that are unprecedented. Sometimes we don't even know how to pray, we don't even know what to ask God for what you can be sure of this.

If you pray and you are sincere in your heart and your walking with God. He hears your prayer and he will answer it is what James for 13 to 15 says come now, you who say tomorrow or today we will go to such and such a city, or spend a year there, or buyer and seller make a profit while as you do not know what will happen tomorrow for one is your life. It is even a vapor that appears for a long time and then vanishes away.

Instead you want to say if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.

That puts things in perspective doesn't commit to the Lord whatever you do in this attitude is the important thing of your prayer life. The Lord Jesus has a wonderful way of fulfilling your plans way beyond your expectations when you just surrender your plans to him and he is able to do according to Ephesians 320 exceedingly abundantly above all that we will ever ask or think, according to the power that works in us. So prepare your heart for God's plan. Pray about your plans day and night practice spontaneous prayer and prepare for God to do things his way, that I want at this plead for overcoming strength in overwhelming moments. Powerful forces in the province of Judah came up against Nehemiah. As soon as he showed up.

The occupants of Judah hated the idea of the Jews in Jerusalem and one of the principal falls was a Samaritan warlord named Sam ballot.

Modern research has shown him to be the commander of a garrison force. He was a formidable opponent in Nehemiah forces. This when Sambol occurred that we were rebuilding the wall.

He was furious and very indignant and he mocked the Jews, and he spoke before his brethren in the Army of Samaria and said what are these people Jews doing will they fortify themselves. Will they offer sacrifices will be completed in a day will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish stones that are burned. That's where Nehemiah was when he went back out was the mentality of the people had.

He was the object of criticism and cruel treatment and you will have opposition like that too, if you follow through on your dream if you're playing your way through what God wants you to do.

That doesn't mean you won't have any trouble. That is, anyone have any problems like Sam ballot, the devil will hurl his forces against God's unfolding work in your life. But let me tell you something friends. Don't be bullied. Don't be intimidated. Never let yourself be discouraged. What Nehemiah did notice these two little verses that Nehemiah inserted into the story.

There's a square pillow God, for we are despised turn their reproach on their own heads give them is plundered to a land of captivity do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you, for they have provoked the anger before the builders and a few verses later, more problems and more prayer. Nevertheless, we made our prayer to God and because of that we set a watch against them day and night and a couple chapters later, more problems and more prayer, but I prayed. Now strengthen my hands and so it goes. You have to pray for strength in overwhelming moments. You need God to strengthen your hands as you go forward and especially when you're facing unexpected and unwanted difficulties. So just expected. The devil will try to push you off the road, but the one whom you pray is the one before whom the devils tremble, God will give you overcoming strength for overwhelming moments. That's what he did for Nehemiah and get this, he and the residents of Jerusalem finish the wall in 52 days they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. Only God could have done that. Believe me, you can go forward in life without drenching every step in prayer, when the greatest ships of all time was the RMS near Acadia built in 1906, it had a distinguished career captured the world record for crossing the Atlantic serve the British Navy during World War I and even today, many of the furnishings of the Mauritania are woven into the interiors of some of the world's most exclusive building hidden away in history.

Is this interesting fact. The Mauritania was built by prayer. The naval architect and constructed it would not put in a single piece of that great ship without definitely asking God to help him and he would not receive any part of the machinery without having the consciousness that it had to be received from divine acceptance.

Thus, the greatest ship of the world has been built by making prayer and working principle of life. So let me ask you to do that make a working principle in your life, your prayer, ask God for overcoming strength in overwhelming moments go forward in his power. Remember it's not your dream. God wants you then can I just add the spinal kind of postscript. All of this place. God for what he does. You have one more opportunity to make prayer a part of your future. You have the privilege of praising God for his work in your life.

Nehemiah and the Jews in Jerusalem finish the wall so quickly. They have time on their hands. So what's next, let's have a Bible conference with the security of a walled city. The Jewish settlers felt safe going about their lives and furthermore one section of the wall under the Watergate formed like a new public square, so the word went out from all all the people are comfortable, Watergate, and Ezra the priest stood on a platform built for the occasion. Any praise the God of heaven and the crowd lifted their hands upward and shouted Amen amen Ezra the scribe read from the Scripture explained the meaning of the Scripture. He gave the application of the Scripture, and at first the people were sad because they realized how far they have come away from God, but Ezra Nehemiah told him this day is holy to our Lord and not be sorrowful for the joy of the Lord is your strength and the emotion of the crowd quickly changed and the people rejoiced in what God had done, and when the wall is dedicated great choirs marched along the parapets leading in worship and on that day. They offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy the women and the children rejoice with the joy of Jerusalem was heard a far off, not anything in the world like the joy of watching God form and fulfill his plans for your life and it only happens as we step toward our dreams in his presence through prayer logger. The nonessentials recalls a moment when God answered a huge prayer for her family matter had weighed heavily on their hearts they had earnestly prayed about it. So God answered unexpectedly in his timing with perfect wisdom. So Tiana and her family decided to celebrate.

She said I wanted my kids to understand that it wasn't just a good thing that happened it was a God thing that happened we were beyond thankful.

She said we were overjoyed it was a moment her family will never forget.

That's all it was for the residents of Jerusalem rejoiced in their God and their joy gave them a new strike and will be that way for you to so what's your next step. I begin this message by telling you about the inimitable Lynn Norwood, the man with a special prayer composed by her daughter Catherine Marshall.

This prayer was inspired by her mother and was included in Marshall's book adventures in prayer. Both Catherine and Leonor are in heaven now, but I'm sure they'll be thrilled if you make there prayer your prayer.

His father once it seems so long ago now, I have such big dreams so much anticipation of the future now. No shimmering horizon beckons me. My days are lackluster. Where is your plan for my life. Father told us that without vision we perish. So father in heaven, knowing that I can ask in confidence what is your expressed world to give me. I ask you to deposit in my mind and heart.

The particular dream special vision you have for my life and along with the dream you give me whatever Grace's impatience and stamina. It takes to see the dream through to fruition. I sense that this may involve adventures.

I have not bargain for what I want to trust you, God, I want to trust you enough to follow even if you lead along new paths so Lord if you have to break down any prisons of mine before I can see the stars and catch the vision than Lord begin the process.

Now enjoy this expectation. Amen. And I guess I would say to you, as they would say to you. I dare you to pray that prayer I dare you to bring God into your life and make him the focus of what you do and who you are. I dare you to dream big dreams and then get into connection with God and see it through. He sure creator and when he gives you a dream you have to consult with your creator and he will lead you to the realization of everything God puts in your heart to do that.

We hope you enjoyed today's Turning Point, weekend edition with Dr. David Jeremiah to hear this.

Another Turning Point programs get more information about this ministry. Simply download the free Turning Point in my ball have the smart device or visit our website at David Jeremiah dawdle/radio that Jeremiah G/radio. You can also view Turning Point television offering to HL-7 to Sunday mornings at night and on I CCTV Sundays at 6:30 AM Friday one, we invite you to join us again next weekend is Dr. David Jeremiah. She is another powerful message God's word here on Turning Point weekend. In addition, thanks for taking time to listen to find a nice trim piece.

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