WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.780 --> 00:00:04.080 You want God to just make it all happy. Put 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:06.099 a bandaid on it, soothe it, take away the pain. 3 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:11.929 Not clear up the relationship, not deepen your character, not 4 00:00:12.029 --> 00:00:16.309 change you. We want a quick answer and God wants 5 00:00:16.350 --> 00:00:19.710 to cut out the cancer. Today I want us to 6 00:00:19.750 --> 00:00:23.489 look at why must I keep on praying persistently? And 7 00:00:23.510 --> 00:00:24.890 the reason why I want to deal with this is 8 00:00:24.949 --> 00:00:29.079 because of all of the mysteries about prayer. And there 9 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:30.179 are a lot of them. There are a lot of 10 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.179 things about prayer I do not understand. I don't always 11 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.359 understand how it works with the sovereignty of God and 12 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:38.520 the will of man. And when you're praying for other 13 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:40.479 people and they have a free will, I don't understand 14 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:42.920 it all. I know that just God said, do it. 15 00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:45.789 And he says it over and over and over 20 16 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:48.070 times in the New Testament. He says, ask, I want 17 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:52.350 you to ask. You have not because you ask not. Now, 18 00:00:52.509 --> 00:00:58.219 since our heavenly father loves us, we know that. And 19 00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:01.020 since we know that he wants to answer prayer, he's 20 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:04.629 commanded us to ask for prayer, he has given us 21 00:01:04.810 --> 00:01:08.969 multiple promises about prayer, and he says, I want to 22 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:11.209 ask and I want to answer quickly. He's eager to 23 00:01:11.250 --> 00:01:15.290 meet our needs. The question then is, then why do 24 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:20.109 I have to pray more than one time? Why do 25 00:01:20.170 --> 00:01:23.180 I have to make the same request over and over 26 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:26.260 to God? If I want what I'm asking for in prayer, 27 00:01:27.010 --> 00:01:29.329 And if God is clearly loving, and as we saw 28 00:01:29.650 --> 00:01:32.159 in the last message, he's never gonna give you something bad, 29 00:01:32.189 --> 00:01:34.420 he's never gonna give you something detrimental, he's never gonna 30 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.640 give you something harmful or unhelpful, but he will always 31 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:40.620 give you what's good and what's best, he'll never give 32 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:43.780 you a bad gift. And if God wants to do that, 33 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:48.370 why do I have to ask multiple times? You know, 34 00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:51.810 Jesus said, we looked at this last week, keep on asking, 35 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:56.730 keep on seeking, keep on knocking. That's a mystery to 36 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:59.349 a lot of people. Why can't I just say one 37 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:02.390 time and then God gives it? And he knows that. 38 00:02:03.209 --> 00:02:07.019 The Bible many times talks about being persistent in prayer. 39 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:10.080 One example is there on your outline, Colossians chapter four, 40 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:15.039 verse two. Be persistent in prayer. In other words, keep 41 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.719 on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. Don't just 42 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.669 pray one time about something. Keep on praying, be persistent. 43 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:27.629 when you pray, that's a good principle to remember there. 44 00:02:28.689 --> 00:02:32.449 I was resting in the Lord, you know. Keep alert 45 00:02:32.469 --> 00:02:35.979 as you pray, always giving thanks to God. Now we've 46 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:39.219 looked four times at prayer, and every time it adds 47 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:42.539 give thanks when you're asking. That we ask out of 48 00:02:42.580 --> 00:02:45.520 a grateful heart. Gratitude for the past, we're asking about 49 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:47.879 the future, but he says always be grateful for what 50 00:02:47.930 --> 00:02:50.150 God has already given you. So why do I have 51 00:02:50.189 --> 00:02:52.069 to ask over and over and over and over and over? 52 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:56.189 Does God has to be cajoled? Does he have to 53 00:02:56.229 --> 00:02:59.270 be pestered? Does God have to be bothered? Do I 54 00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:01.960 have to wear God down? Do I have to beg 55 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.199 and beg and beg and bribe and plead and cry 56 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:08.219 and bother until finally just God goes, okay, enough already, 57 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:13.590 shut up. I'm gonna give it to you. Is that 58 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:17.949 what kind of God we serve? The answer is absolutely not. 59 00:03:18.849 --> 00:03:22.939 That is not at all the reason God says, I 60 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:26.060 want you to ask multiple times. It's not for his benefit, 61 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:30.599 and it's for our benefit. In fact, we're going to 62 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:33.370 look at two stories today that Jesus told that teach 63 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:35.849 the exact opposite of that idea, that I have to 64 00:03:35.909 --> 00:03:38.370 wear God down, that I have to keep pestering and 65 00:03:38.469 --> 00:03:41.590 bargaining and bribing, and then finally God just goes, okay, 66 00:03:41.669 --> 00:03:45.810 I give in. You can have this. In fact, Jesus 67 00:03:45.909 --> 00:03:51.590 told two parables that teach the exact opposite thing. Now, 68 00:03:51.629 --> 00:03:53.229 by the way, what is a parable? You've heard this 69 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:56.870 word parable. A parable is simply a story with a point. 70 00:03:58.370 --> 00:04:00.610 A parable is not just a story. It's a story 71 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:03.840 with a lesson. It's a story with an insight. It's 72 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:06.520 a story with a truth that God wants you to get. 73 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:10.500 And the Bible tells us that Jesus never taught without 74 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:15.219 using parables. He was the master storyteller. And these stories 75 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.740 still relate to us 2,000 years later because he was 76 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:20.379 such a master storyteller. And he just would deal with 77 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:23.560 slices of life. Now, there are two kinds of parables 78 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:27.740 you need to understand. There are comparing parables and there 79 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:32.199 are contrasting parables. Let me explain this. In a comparing parable, 80 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:35.680 Jesus tells a story and he's saying this compares to God. 81 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:39.459 God is like this. Like the loving father in the 82 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.819 story of the prodigal son. God is like that. And 83 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:45.560 when Jesus tells a story where he's saying this is 84 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:49.889 what God is like, that's a comparing parable. But sometimes 85 00:04:49.990 --> 00:04:55.290 he says God is not like this. That's a contrasting parable. 86 00:04:55.790 --> 00:04:59.189 It's a contrasting parable. No way, people of the world 87 00:04:59.230 --> 00:05:02.259 are like this, but God's not like this. The two 88 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.519 stories we're going to look at today, they're very brief, 89 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:09.040 actually are contrasting. And God is saying, I am not 90 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.689 at all like the people in this story. And he's 91 00:05:12.730 --> 00:05:14.769 getting rid of the idea that you have to beg 92 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:17.750 and bargain and bribe God to have an answer to prayer. 93 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:20.449 So let's look at these two stories, and then we'll 94 00:05:20.470 --> 00:05:23.430 kind of unpack them. The first one is in Luke 95 00:05:23.509 --> 00:05:27.939 chapter 11, and it's the story of a persistent friend. 96 00:05:28.009 --> 00:05:30.639 Look up here on the screen, and here's what this 97 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:36.350 story's all about. Once, when Jesus had been out praying, 98 00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:40.639 his disciples asked, Lord, teach us to pray. We talked 99 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:43.939 about this last week. And by the way, when he 100 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.360 said teach us to pray, he taught them what is 101 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:49.839 now known as the Lord's Prayer. And he taught them 102 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:52.019 the model prayer. He says, okay, here's how you start it. 103 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.189 Our father, remember we talked about that last week. It 104 00:05:55.250 --> 00:05:57.529 all starts with the right relationship. God is not some 105 00:05:57.610 --> 00:06:00.290 force in the sky. He's not a force, he's your father. 106 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:04.490 And he's not like any human father who is inconsistent 107 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:09.120 and uncaring and distant and distracted and sometimes demeaning. This God, 108 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:15.480 this father is caring. He's consistent. He is competent. He's capable. 109 00:06:16.829 --> 00:06:19.800 And he is always with you. He's close. And so 110 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:22.079 he says, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be 111 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:25.459 your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on 112 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.579 earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 113 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.720 our daily bread and forgive us our debts, our trespasses, 114 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:34.100 as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And 115 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:37.100 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 116 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:39.370 For yours is the kingdom and the power and the 117 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:43.670 glory forever. Amen. But after Jesus taught him the Lord's prayer, 118 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:46.089 he then told them this story. And here's what he says. 119 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:51.680 But then he said, suppose you went to your neighbor's 120 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:57.379 house at midnight, hmm, and knocked on his door, double hmm, 121 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.139 and said, an out of town guest has just arrived 122 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:04.620 at my place, he's hungry, and I've got nothing to 123 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:07.579 feed him, so I need to borrow three loaves of bread. 124 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:10.339 Would you do that with your neighbor? Wake him up 125 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:14.689 at midnight? This is the persistent neighbor. Now, your neighbor 126 00:07:14.709 --> 00:07:18.120 would probably whisper from the inside of his house, don't 127 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:22.959 bother me. The door's already locked for the night. He's 128 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.180 saying this from the bedroom, maybe out the window. The 129 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.579 door's already locked for the night. We're all in bed. 130 00:07:29.810 --> 00:07:35.430 I can't wake up everybody just to help you. Now, 131 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:38.470 he says, but even though he would not help you 132 00:07:38.589 --> 00:07:42.750 out of friendship... at that particular moment. If you keep 133 00:07:42.810 --> 00:07:49.399 persistently knocking on his door, he's gonna get up and 134 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.459 he's gonna give you what you need because of your persistence. 135 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:57.430 All right already. He says you just keep on knocking. 136 00:07:58.509 --> 00:08:00.870 So Jesus says, I tell you this, this is a 137 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:04.810 parable by contrast. Keep on asking and you'll get it. 138 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:08.509 Keep on seeking and you'll find. And keep on knocking 139 00:08:08.730 --> 00:08:11.430 and the door will be opened to you. For everyone 140 00:08:11.490 --> 00:08:14.850 who asks, receive, and everyone who seeks will find. And 141 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:18.379 if you keep on knocking, the door will be opened 142 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.220 to you. Now, just in case we didn't get that message, 143 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.579 he says, I'm not like that guy who's not going 144 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.100 to give it to you out of friendship. He's just 145 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:28.579 giving it to you to get you out of his hair. 146 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:32.620 He says, the principle there is you should keep on knocking, 147 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:36.100 keep on asking, keep on seeking. And Jesus wants you 148 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:39.779 so badly to understand why you should pray about something 149 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:43.019 more than once, that he doesn't just give you one story, 150 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:47.580 he gives us two. And let's look at the second parable. 151 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:51.379 And in this, he wants to emphasize that you should never, never, 152 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:54.759 never give up praying for something that you're asking for 153 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:59.370 until you've got it, all right? Now here's the second story, 154 00:08:59.830 --> 00:09:02.490 and it's in chapter 18 of Luke, and it's the 155 00:09:02.509 --> 00:09:04.669 first eight verses. This is called the story of the 156 00:09:04.909 --> 00:09:09.409 persistent widow. Similar theme. It's one day, this is a 157 00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:15.200 different day, Jesus told his disciples another story to illustrate 158 00:09:15.529 --> 00:09:19.740 that they should always keep on praying and never give up. 159 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:21.740 Now before we take that verse down, I want you 160 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:24.429 to notice something. He says you should always keep on 161 00:09:24.490 --> 00:09:27.730 praying and never give up. In your life, you are 162 00:09:27.889 --> 00:09:33.980 always doing one or the other. If you're not praying, 163 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:38.220 you're giving up. And if you're giving up, if you're 164 00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:43.379 discouraged this weekend, it's because you're not praying. Jesus said 165 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.399 we should always pray and not give up. What is 166 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:50.610 the opposite of discouragement? Persistent prayer. What is the opposite 167 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:54.649 of not praying persistently? Discouragement. So you can go through 168 00:09:54.710 --> 00:10:01.179 life either discouraged or diligent. You can be pressured into 169 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:04.980 feeling bad about it or you can be persistent in praying. 170 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:08.519 And he says throughout life, you're always doing one or 171 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:11.100 the other. Anytime you get discouraged, you should ask yourself, 172 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.600 have I stopped praying persistently? That's why you're discouraged. Because 173 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:17.679 you've gotten your eyes off of God and onto yourself. 174 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.990 On the other hand, if you're praying persistently, it eliminates 175 00:10:21.049 --> 00:10:23.830 discouragement in your life. You're going to pray or you're 176 00:10:23.850 --> 00:10:27.230 going to give up. Now, then he says this. Here's 177 00:10:27.250 --> 00:10:32.299 the story. There once was a big city judge, Jesus says, 178 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:36.519 who didn't care at all about God or people. But 179 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:40.220 there was an elderly woman, an elderly widow, who kept 180 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:45.019 coming to this judge over and over, pleading for the 181 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:49.330 judge to protect her rights and do something about a 182 00:10:49.370 --> 00:10:52.769 man who had cheated her. I want justice. I have 183 00:10:52.830 --> 00:10:55.889 my rights. She keeps coming back to the judge over 184 00:10:55.909 --> 00:10:57.809 and over. Judge, you've got to help me. He didn't 185 00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:01.490 care less about her, or even God. Now, it says 186 00:11:01.529 --> 00:11:05.649 for a long time, This judge just ignored her pleas. 187 00:11:06.129 --> 00:11:08.830 He couldn't care less about this widow. He has no 188 00:11:08.889 --> 00:11:11.190 interest in her, no interest in helping her get justice 189 00:11:11.230 --> 00:11:15.350 or protect her rights. The judge just ignored her pleas 190 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:21.350 for help, but eventually he had had enough. So he 191 00:11:21.389 --> 00:11:25.529 thought to himself, you know, even though I don't care 192 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:29.480 at all about what God or what this woman think, 193 00:11:30.429 --> 00:11:33.379 I'm tired of her pestering me. I'm tired of her 194 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:37.039 pestering request. So I'm going to see that she gets 195 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:41.519 justice just to get her to shut up. Just to 196 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:46.830 get her to be quiet and stop bothering me. Note 197 00:11:46.870 --> 00:11:51.269 the same theme as the other story. Then the Lord said, now, 198 00:11:51.769 --> 00:11:57.029 learn a lesson from this uncaring judge. He says, okay, guys, 199 00:11:57.210 --> 00:12:02.399 get the point here. Even if that corrupt judge Uncaring, 200 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:04.370 this guy has no compassion at all. He doesn't care 201 00:12:04.389 --> 00:12:07.330 about you or anybody else. Even if that corrupt, uncaring 202 00:12:07.370 --> 00:12:13.309 judge eventually gave in to that woman's request. Won't God, 203 00:12:14.370 --> 00:12:17.090 who loves you deeply, he's saying, this guy's not like me. 204 00:12:17.710 --> 00:12:21.490 Won't God, who loves you deeply, surely give you what 205 00:12:21.649 --> 00:12:25.809 is right if you keep crying out to him day 206 00:12:26.269 --> 00:12:31.960 and night? Jesus tells two stories to teach the exact 207 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.960 same truth. Anytime Jesus tells two stories to teach one truth, 208 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:40.480 it's that important. Why? You should never give up in 209 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:42.759 praying for something. Not just go, well, I prayed and 210 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:45.539 nothing didn't happen, so I just gave up on it. Now, 211 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:51.779 here's the contrast. He says, God listens to you, God cares, 212 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:55.330 and God wants to answer even if people don't. Even 213 00:12:55.370 --> 00:12:57.330 if your neighbor doesn't, they think you're being rude, you're 214 00:12:57.350 --> 00:13:00.490 in the middle of the night, or even if some unjust, uncaring, 215 00:13:00.909 --> 00:13:04.750 unsympathetic judge says, forget it, I have no time for you. 216 00:13:05.090 --> 00:13:08.009 He said, God is not like either of them. He listens, 217 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:11.110 he cares, and the point is this, that God is 218 00:13:11.269 --> 00:13:17.990 eager to answer your prayers. So, why then doesn't God 219 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:21.490 just answer it the first time I ask? Why does 220 00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:26.269 he want me, and it says over and Keep on asking, 221 00:13:26.289 --> 00:13:29.830 keep on knocking. Why does God want me to be persistent? 222 00:13:30.250 --> 00:13:34.889 Number one, because it keeps my attention focused on God. 223 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:38.289 When you pray about something over and over and over, 224 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:41.980 where is your attention? It's focused on God. Now I've 225 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.279 told you this many times, that attention is the greatest 226 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:49.919 gift you can give somebody. Guys, the greatest gift, if 227 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.820 you're married, the greatest gift you can give your wife 228 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:57.009 is your attention. The greatest gift you can give your 229 00:13:57.070 --> 00:14:00.889 kids is your attention, why? Because your attention is your time, 230 00:14:01.149 --> 00:14:03.730 and your time is your life. You're never gonna get 231 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:07.830 that back. You can always give people money, but you 232 00:14:07.870 --> 00:14:09.870 can always get more money, but you can't always get 233 00:14:10.230 --> 00:14:12.190 more time back. You've got the same amount of time 234 00:14:12.230 --> 00:14:15.929 as everybody else, 168 hours a week. And when you 235 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:18.789 give your attention to somebody, when you look someone in 236 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:21.620 the eye, you're saying, you matter to me, you're valuable, 237 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:25.259 you're worth part of my life. It's the highest gift 238 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:30.960 you can give. People crave attention. God wants your attention. 239 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:34.220 You know, the Bible says God is constantly thinking about you. 240 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.929 How about if you thought about somebody all the time 241 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:41.330 and they never thought about you? Well, that probably was 242 00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:44.690 true when you were in junior high school. Because there's 243 00:14:44.710 --> 00:14:47.029 somebody you thought about all the time and they were 244 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:51.149 totally oblivious to you. And you know how painful that 245 00:14:51.230 --> 00:14:54.090 was that they did not even notice you when all 246 00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:56.429 you could do was think about them because you were 247 00:14:56.470 --> 00:15:00.419 in love in your mind with that person. God says, 248 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.340 I want your attention. And so when you pray about 249 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.539 something over and over and over, you give God your attention. 250 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:08.830 God loves to have your attention because he's always thinking 251 00:15:08.870 --> 00:15:12.009 about you. One of the reasons God loved King David 252 00:15:12.950 --> 00:15:15.090 In the Old Testament of the Bible, it's because David 253 00:15:15.129 --> 00:15:17.110 gave God his attention all the time. Look at these 254 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:21.259 two verses. Psalm 25, 15, David says, my eyes are 255 00:15:21.539 --> 00:15:26.039 continually looking to the Lord. That's another word for being persistent. 256 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.960 I'm continually looking to the Lord for help. And he 257 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:33.600 alone can rescue me from all the traps. It's supposed 258 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:35.690 to be plural, all the traps. You know what? You're 259 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:37.370 going to have a lot of traps in your life 260 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:40.730 this next week. He's the only one who knows them 261 00:15:40.769 --> 00:15:43.909 in advance. Have you ever gone up a mountain road, 262 00:15:44.309 --> 00:15:46.450 and you're behind a truck, and they're slow, and you'd 263 00:15:46.490 --> 00:15:49.110 like to pass them, but you can't see around the curve? 264 00:15:50.009 --> 00:15:51.909 And how great it would be if you could call 265 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:56.059 in a, like a helicopter, and they could say, yeah, 266 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:59.259 it's clear around the corner, because they could see what 267 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.740 you can't see. God can see what you can't see. 268 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:03.659 He can see the traps. You're going to have this 269 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:06.480 next week, this next month, and this next year. He says, 270 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:10.830 focus on me. Continually. And I'll show you how to 271 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.789 be rescued from all of the traps. Psalm 105 verse four, 272 00:16:14.149 --> 00:16:17.789 look to the Lord for his strength. Seek his face, 273 00:16:17.929 --> 00:16:23.019 how often? Yeah, constantly, circle that. So it keeps my 274 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.879 attention focused on God. God wants you to keep asking 275 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.740 because it keeps your attention focused on him. Question, do 276 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:32.139 you talk to God more when you need something? Of 277 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:36.250 course you do. If you never needed anything, would you 278 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:38.500 talk to God as often? No. When do you talk 279 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.700 to God the most? When you're in deep pain. So 280 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:46.139 it keeps me focused on God continually. There's a second reason. 281 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:50.210 And it's because having to wait teaches me about myself. 282 00:16:51.950 --> 00:16:56.690 Having to wait teaches me about myself. You're going to 283 00:16:56.750 --> 00:17:05.079 learn something. This is going to be a mind opening 284 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.509 message for some of you. Because you learn not just 285 00:17:08.569 --> 00:17:12.849 about God, you learn about yourself when you don't get 286 00:17:12.910 --> 00:17:16.670 everything you want instantly. When you pray and God says, well, 287 00:17:16.690 --> 00:17:18.769 let's just see about how long it's going to take 288 00:17:18.849 --> 00:17:21.890 before that prayer gets answered. Some prayers are answered immediately, 289 00:17:22.150 --> 00:17:25.079 but some take times, weeks, months. Two of the most 290 00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:29.180 important prayers I've ever prayed, one of them took 13 291 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:33.279 years and one of them took almost 25 years, but 292 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:37.589 God answered it. And they were the most important prayers 293 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:41.569 in my life at that time. Why did it take 294 00:17:41.589 --> 00:17:43.789 so long? Because while I was working on the prayer, 295 00:17:43.849 --> 00:17:47.480 God was working on me. And there are a number 296 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:50.839 of tests that happen when you pray about something over 297 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:55.140 and over and over that reveal more about you. Notice 298 00:17:55.160 --> 00:18:00.740 this verse, Zechariah says in Zechariah 13, verse nine, God says, 299 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:05.390 I will test and purify them, that's you and me, 300 00:18:05.910 --> 00:18:09.250 I'll test and purify them as silver is purified by fire. 301 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:11.289 Never wonder when you're going through the fire, why you're 302 00:18:11.309 --> 00:18:14.640 going through it? It's for testing and for purification. I 303 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:17.089 will test them as gold is tested. How do you 304 00:18:17.109 --> 00:18:20.130 test gold? You put it in a big vat and 305 00:18:20.150 --> 00:18:21.950 you heat it up until it gets so hot that 306 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:24.730 all the impurities are burned off. And how do you 307 00:18:24.750 --> 00:18:27.690 know when gold and silver's pure? Because a silversmith can 308 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:31.210 see his reflection in it. And God can see his 309 00:18:31.250 --> 00:18:34.279 reflection in you when all the impurities have burned out 310 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.440 of your life. You've been through the fire. He says, then, 311 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:42.579 after I've tested them, after I've purified them, then, They 312 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:46.140 will be, they will pray to me, and I will answer. 313 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:50.680 Notice that the prayer's answer comes after the test. Does 314 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:54.569 that sound vaguely familiar? We spent 10 weeks on Daniel, 315 00:18:55.009 --> 00:18:57.609 looking at 10 tests of Daniel, and I said before 316 00:18:57.710 --> 00:19:02.809 every blessing, there is a testing. And God tests you 317 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:06.940 with stress before he trusts you with success. That principle 318 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:10.059 of Daniel's life is one of the principles of persistent prayer. 319 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:13.220 God is going to test you before he blesses you. 320 00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:15.009 And he says, I'm going to test you. And in 321 00:19:15.210 --> 00:19:17.890 this test, you're going to learn a lot about yourself. 322 00:19:18.869 --> 00:19:20.950 If you give up praying, you're never going to learn 323 00:19:20.970 --> 00:19:24.990 these lessons. You say, well, what do I learn? What 324 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:27.490 do I specifically learn about myself when I have to 325 00:19:27.549 --> 00:19:31.490 pray specifically and persistently? Well, let me just mention four areas. 326 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:33.859 Four areas that God wants me to grow, wants you 327 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.599 to grow. Write these down. The first would be this. 328 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:44.730 Praying persistently tests my desires. Praying persistently tests my desires. 329 00:19:45.430 --> 00:19:48.130 And what that means is I ask the question, what 330 00:19:48.450 --> 00:19:53.519 do I really want? When you start praying, and many 331 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:55.519 of you are praying for a breakthrough, you're going to 332 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:59.880 find that actually your prayer changes. It evolves, it grows, 333 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.000 it develops, because you're going to say, well, that's not 334 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.220 really what I want. What I really want is this 335 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:08.019 or that. And praying persistently tests my desires, what I 336 00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:11.019 really want. Now, everybody has desires. The reason you have 337 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:15.319 desires is because God put them in you. Now, a 338 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:17.509 desire can be misused, it can be abused, it can 339 00:20:17.529 --> 00:20:24.049 be perverted. The desire for a sexual relationship, that's a 340 00:20:24.089 --> 00:20:28.049 normal human desire. Can it be abused, perverted, misused? Of 341 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:31.470 course it can. All of God's gifts are good, but 342 00:20:31.490 --> 00:20:34.279 they can be misused. Fire is good in the fireplace, 343 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:36.640 but fire in the wrong place will burn a house down. 344 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:40.720 Water is good in a bathtub, but water in a flood, 345 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:43.839 too much of it can drown you. Any of God's 346 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:49.170 gifts can be perverted, misused, and abused by Satan. The 347 00:20:49.190 --> 00:20:52.269 reason why God has certain parameters for sex is not 348 00:20:52.670 --> 00:20:56.390 because it's dirty, it's not, it's holy. In fact, sex 349 00:20:56.450 --> 00:21:00.420 is more important than you think. I'll do a whole 350 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:02.619 message on that some other time. But here's the point. 351 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:07.859 I just piqued your interest on that one. There are 352 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.450 good desires in your life and there are bad desires 353 00:21:10.490 --> 00:21:12.750 in your life. There are appropriate desires in your life 354 00:21:12.809 --> 00:21:15.849 and there are inappropriate desires in your life. There are 355 00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:18.630 helpful desires in your life and there are harmful desires 356 00:21:18.690 --> 00:21:21.329 in your life. There are righteous desires in your life. 357 00:21:21.349 --> 00:21:25.019 There are unrighteous desires in your life. There are constructive 358 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:30.079 desires in your life and there are destructive desires. When 359 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:36.829 you pray persistently, those start to filter out. And you 360 00:21:36.869 --> 00:21:39.089 begin to realize this is a good desire or this 361 00:21:39.170 --> 00:21:42.930 is not a good desire. Persistent praying shows the difference 362 00:21:43.250 --> 00:21:47.910 between a whim and a deep desire. If you ask 363 00:21:47.950 --> 00:21:50.309 God for something and you only ask about it one time, 364 00:21:50.569 --> 00:21:54.269 that's not a deep desire. It's just a whim. And 365 00:21:54.329 --> 00:21:59.059 God is not in the business of fulfilling every whim 366 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:03.630 you've got. God is in the business, as your heavenly father, 367 00:22:03.710 --> 00:22:06.099 of taking care of your deepest desires. God doesn't give 368 00:22:06.140 --> 00:22:10.619 you every little whim. You might watch something on a 369 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:13.140 shopping channel, go, I really like that, and three minutes later, 370 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:17.769 you've already forgotten it. It's a whim. If you're not 371 00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:20.009 willing to pray about something more than once, it's not 372 00:22:20.130 --> 00:22:23.029 a deep desire, it's just a whim. And God doesn't 373 00:22:23.250 --> 00:22:27.680 promise to meet all your whims. It's Christmas time. When 374 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.539 my kids were little and they used to come to me, 375 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:33.480 I'd take them to the mall and we'd go through 376 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:35.859 stores and they'd say a hundred things that they wanted. 377 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:39.109 I like that, daddy, I like that, daddy, all that. 378 00:22:39.349 --> 00:22:41.529 Can I get this, dad? How about that, daddy? A 379 00:22:41.789 --> 00:22:44.109 hundred different things. And I know most of them are 380 00:22:44.150 --> 00:22:52.430 just whims. But when they go, daddy, I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, daddy, 381 00:22:52.589 --> 00:22:55.029 I really, really, really want this. Now I know, we're 382 00:22:55.049 --> 00:22:58.259 not talking about a whim. We're talking about a deep desire. 383 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.700 But they had to say 18 reallys to convince me. 384 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:06.079 And sometimes when you've got a prayer, God goes, are 385 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.660 you just asking for that? You want to get married, 386 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:14.950 you want a husband, you want a wife, how serious 387 00:23:15.089 --> 00:23:19.319 are you willing to pray about it every day? Are 388 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:23.180 you willing, would you like a job? Would you, whatever 389 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:25.440 you want to, are you willing to pray about it 390 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:28.680 three times a day like we're doing right now and 391 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:32.069 bring it before God? It kind of sifts out, nah, 392 00:23:32.109 --> 00:23:36.390 that's not that important to me. So the first thing 393 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:42.210 that praying persistently does is it tests my desires. By 394 00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:44.130 the way, have you ever wondered where your deepest desires 395 00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:48.150 come from? They come from God. They come from God. 396 00:23:48.349 --> 00:23:51.289 They're part of your God-given shape. There's some things that 397 00:23:51.569 --> 00:23:53.789 attract your interest, some things you couldn't care less about. 398 00:23:54.130 --> 00:23:56.190 Some things really turn you on. Some things bore you 399 00:23:56.210 --> 00:24:00.539 to tears. Some things really wind your crank. Some things 400 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:03.299 just give a big yawn. And all of us have 401 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:07.980