Faith in Prayer

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   like it. Lord, you're going to break through and send an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a rushing mighty wind, a true revival. And Lord, we're praying and asking you to move in a powerful way beyond anything we could ask or think. Lord, we know God that you can do greater. Lord, that you can do greater than we can even ask or think or imagine. You can touch, Lord, the ones we thought would never be saved, the ones that would never change. Lord, you can strike them down like like Saul of Tarsus and convert them. God, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Lord God, raise up what preaching and teaching that's going to bring conviction of sin. Lord, bring anointing and power. Bring signs and wonders. Lord, whatever it takes, Lord, but we pray for the real thing, God. The The counterfeit thing, the false thing. The devil's had his way long enough, and we pray and intercede, God, for our city, for the lost souls in this city, the lost friends and co-workers and and people we go to school with. The lost family members. The lost children. And we pray for them today. Move us into that place of prayer and fasting and power that will set the captives free. Father, we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. And amen. You may be seated. Be praying. Be praying for revival. God's about to do something fresh. Amen. Um Everybody take your Bibles. I want you to take your Bibles and let's Let's see. I don't even know where I want to go first. Let me look. I want everybody to turn to Luke chapter 18 first this morning. Luke chapter 18. This is kind of going to be I don't know how to put it but kind of a a discussion uh it's going to include some end times things and and prayer and and about revival, but I just want you to um just kind of follow with me cuz there's a lot of scriptures I want to look at, but this one this one's been rolling around in my heart for some time because it has to do with prayer and with faith in prayer, but it also has to do with the end times. So, I think it's very appropriate. Something that Jesus said here, but Luke And and and as you're turning to Luke chapter 18, I want to say this. I think that Christians, a lot of us, even spirit-filled Christians and we would say that we believe in the

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   power of prayer, but we have really lost faith in the power of prayer. You understand what I'm saying? I mean, we'll say it because we wouldn't want to be caught saying the opposite, right? Or we wouldn't want to admit it. But I can honestly tell you that that your prayer life, how much you pray, how fervently you pray, how diligently you pray, I mean, it really does show where your faith is. Not so much not so much you know, yes, it can be a flesh issue, it can be a discipline issue, but it it it shows that if if you believe your God is hearing your prayers and your prayers are powerful and that God is really you believe what you're praying is going to happen. Let me tell you something. Somebody that's really in faith for prayer will spend time in prayer because they really are convinced there's power there. They are convinced God hears them. They are convinced that they are making a difference in someone's life. And that's why and that's why with the Lord when he was impressed this on me, he's he's like we have got to regain our faith in prayer itself. Because if we do if we if we regain our faith in the power of of the prayer of a righteous man or woman if we if we really start believing that tremendous power is being being brought down upon the earth and brought down upon a situation. See, and part of the problem is is that we've seen so many situations go bad and people go bad and things happen wrong and it seems like our prayers didn't get answered and we've let discouragement come in and rob us from our faith that really it doesn't matter that people have free choices. They have free will. So they can do things. But God wants us to pray and that he will move in power if we pray in faith. Okay? This is something that we've got to switch to. I was talking to someone this week who, you know, there's a situation I'm I'm I'm dealing with a totally demon possessed 22-year-old that that their parents may even fly me to Texas to help minister to this kid. But the bottom line is is that, you know, his his mother she's spirit filled but a little in fear. And I had to tell her I said, "Look, the Bible says this that he's your child. You bind Satan. Satan's not going to kill him. Luke 10:19, behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. If a lot I mean if Abraham could pray for Lot and keep Lot from being destroyed in Sodom with the rest of the Sodomites, our prayers are effective." Okay? Our prayers can deliver people who don't even want to be delivered. Remember the angels were dragging them out of the city. You hear me? Our prayers are powerful. So, I want to I want to look at that, but let's let's look Luke 18 and listen, let this Let the word of God

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   change you today. Amen? Not what Pastor Dean says. Let this word change you cuz just this first verse is convicting. It ought to convict us all. Okay? Look what he says. Luke 18:1, "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Let me read that one again. "And he spake this parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray." Sometimes to pray? When you feel like praying? No. What did David say? Night and day. Daniel, who was a man Here's something that's beautiful. Daniel, a man greatly beloved. It said when the angel appeared to him, said, "Daniel, you're a man greatly beloved." You know what Daniel's Daniel prayed three times a day. He was a man of prayer. Okay? Busy man, too. Political leader. Right? Three times a day, though. And even when they made a law that he wasn't to pray, what did he do? Three times a day. You're not back I'm not backing off. Men ought always to pray and not to faint. So, here's the parable. He said, "There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, 'Avenge me of my adversary.'" So, I want want to show you something here. The parable Jesus is giving is a parable of spiritual warfare. What was this woman saying? "Avenge me of my adversary." Who's our adversary? Satan. actually, the name Satan means adversary. Okay? So, what he's saying is if you want to have victory over the devil, you want to have victory over your adversary, you're going to have to pray like this woman. You're going to have to have the persistence, the dedication, the commitment, the discipline. You're going to have to say, "I'm I'm going to make up my mind that God is going to avenge me of my adversary. He's not going to have his way in my life. He's not going to run my family. He's not going to run my home. He's not going to have my city. I'm not going to sit here and be discouraged and weak and watch people go to hell." That's it. I'm putting my foot down. Enough's enough. All right? He says there was a there was in a city a judge which feared not God neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, "Avenge me of my adversary." And he would not for a while. Doesn't that sound like God? Sometimes it seems like he waits. But it says he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself. Now, this is a wicked judge he's giving an example of. He said, "Though I fear not God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary me." Okay? And the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge says.

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   And shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" Who will God avenge? Who will God fight for? His elect that cry unto him day and night. Amen? I'm fired up about this this morning. Who will he So, what is what is the opposite side of that coin? You You always two sides to every coin. Those who do not cry unto him day and night will not be avenged. GOD WILL NOT FIGHT THEIR adversary for them. Are you with me? Okay? We have an enemy. Right? Peter said, 1 Peter chapter 5, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." Your adversary. Somebody say, "He's my adversary." He's seeking some some way to devour me. That's what he's doing. So, God says, "Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night him, though he bear long with him?" And this is something you guys have got to grasp. Why does God not answer our prayer the first time we pray it, when especially when it has to do with a problem or an area we're battling or spiritual warfare? Why does God bear long? Why does he wait? Because he wants us to pursue him. He wants us to put in the time, the effort. He wants to see if we really mean it. And I'll tell you who else is watching to see if we mean it. Satan. Listen, nobody's fooling anybody. We're not fooling God, and we're not fooling the devil. He knows who who's going after God and is dangerous, and he knows who's not. But I'll tell you this, Satan's goal is to keep everybody away from prayer and from faith in prayer. I mean, we're going to switch it, but look at what Jesus said. So, we've got We've got this this parable Jesus told about prayer. It has a warfare context to it. And then Jesus goes to an end time context with it. Next verse, verse 8. He said, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?" See, some people will take that verse and quote it, "Well, well, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Like like that's just a general thing. No, it's in context with this. What faith is God looking for? People who cry unto him day and night and believe that there's power to avenge, to get vengeance and punishment, and power against the devil. It's the faith that persists.

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