Never Give Up! THE Prayer Series
So let s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don t give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT
I want My church back! -Jesus, 1996 First Assembly of God Red Hill
A 900 foot Wave God is calling some of you to stand on the Wall and watch!
Ice Breaker Ship
A Pioneer Dream
Pioneering What? The restoration of the family The restoration of the supernatural The restoration of unity in the church
The Cost? I lost friends I was misunderstood I was labeled a heretic
The Sheep Bit
Last in Line
Parked at the Bottom
On the Tail
If you want to be great in My kingdom you must be a servant of all. -Jesus
Many times i wanted to quit and run away
When you want to give up, look up!
When you want to quit drop to your knees
Jahaziel said, Listen to me King Jehoshaphat and everyone living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: Don t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God s battle! 2 Chronicles 20:15 ERV
Father, not my will but thine be done. -Jesus
You can only advance if you stay on your knees
Prayer is not persuading god to do something on your behalf
God is not a Genie in a lamp
Prayer is trusting your Heavenly Father
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Why don t we trust the Father? Past disappointments We believe that our parents didn t protect us from harm Someone close to us betrayed us for their benefit and our demise
Your focus should not be on the answer to your prayers but on your relationship With your father
Share your requests with the father
But, lay your expectations down
Otherwise you will conclude or think...
I ve spent all this time in prayer and nothing has happened yet!
Why is the Lord ignoring my requests?
God Doesn t Care!
I give up, god is not listening to me!
The Bible tells us what goes up must come down
Then the eighth angel with a golden incense burner came and took his place at the incense altar. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer up, consisting of the prayers of God s holy people, upon the golden altar that is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the holy ones billowed up before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel filled the golden incense burner with coals of fire from the altar and hurled it onto the earth, releasing great peals of thunder, voices, lightning flashes, and an earthquake. Revelation 8:3-5 TPT
God s timing is Always perfect
But we want an answer now!
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
If you Rush ahead of god s timing you ll get an Ishmael instead of an Isaac
Do you trust God?
When our trust runs dry we are prone to the thought, Run!
We give up too easily
Why?
We either see the glass half full or half empty
It s all about perspective
There s Got to be a pony somewhere
Nick Vujicic Story
Andre Ingram
The persistent widow
One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration: In a certain town there was a civil judge, a thick-skinned and godless man who had no fear of others opinions. And there was a poor widow in that town who kept pleading with the judge, Grant me justice and protect me against my oppressor! Luke 18:1-3 TPT
He ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking. Eventually he said to himself, This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her rights, and I m tired of listening to her. Even though I m not a religious man and don t care about the opinions of others, I ll just get her off my back by answering her claims for justice and I ll rule in her favor. Then she ll leave me alone. Luke 18:4 TPT
The Judge in this story does not represent our Father!
This story is about a woman who never gave up
The Lord continued, Did you hear what the ungodly judge said that he would answer her persistent request? Don t you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his Spirit upon them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. Luke 18:6-7 TPT
God will give swift justice to those who don t give up. So be ever praying, ever expecting, just like the widow was with the judge. Yet when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of persistent faithfulness in his people? Luke 18:8 TPT
God wants to build up your trust muscles
He wants us to not give up on him
Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door. Matthew 7:7-8 TPT
So don t worry about these things, saying, What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31-33
A man describing his prayer life said... When everything is going wrong I PUSH When my job is getting me down I PUSH When people don t react positively I PUSH
When my finances are low I PUSH When I feel misunderstood I PUSH When I feel like blasting instead of blessing I PUSH
P.U.S.H. Pray until something happens!
To P.U.S.H. we need Faith!
Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this. Hebrews 11:1-2 ERV
Ministry Time Breaking down the walls of mistrust Breaking free from hopelessness Committing ourselves to prayer