Latest / The OneCry Podcast / #163 Watchmen on the Wall (2 - The Power of Praying Like a Watchman)

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#163 Watchmen on the Wall (2 - The Power of Praying Like a Watchman) · The OneCry Podcast

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  So the enemy is after the mind of the next generation. Are you making war?
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  And from your post, praying for them, that you don't use your post as a place to complain.
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  I said this to our church recently, don't complain if you won't cry out.
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  Welcome to the One Cry Podcast, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening.
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  The goal, accelerating the movement of God through sharing revival truth, stories, and reports.
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  Well, welcome to the OneCry podcast. We're so glad that you're joining us today.
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  And I'm Bill Eliff. Kyle Reno. Hey, baby.
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  He's just right here. He's on the other side of this little line in the screen,
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  if you're watching on video.
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  And yeah, we can't just go in there.
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  And, you know, Kyle, I know where you're headed today in this second part of
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  this Watchmen on the Wall series that is just an incredible call to us.
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  But you're going to give us some green peas today.
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  You know, you're the master of alliteration. Bro, listen, people give me and
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  you both a hard time about it. But let's be real.
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  Alliteration works. It's memorable.
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  That's why we do it. It works. People remember stuff.
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  It's their pegs on a wall, you know. See, there's a pegs on a wall.
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  That's all we're going to hear.
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  They're pretty and they're powerful. Yeah, right.
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  It's presence-centered. Yeah, that's right. So anyway, catch us up to where we started last week.
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  And then you're going to give us some real practical ways. There's another P.
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  Practical ways to do this.
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  I know we got excited last week. We heard the podcast. You didn't go back and listen to it.
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  But maybe you say, man, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to charge in,
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  but I just don't know what to do.
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  So help us with that. Yeah, honored to.
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  Isaiah 62, you know, and I gave this context a little bit, just real quick,
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  man, Isaiah 58 through 62, holy ground chapters of the Bible.
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  To me, it paints a picture of God's heart for restoring a people and renewing
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  cities and changing lives and trajectories of nation, specifically with Israel.
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  But and I know much of that was contextually to them, but it paints a picture
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  of who God is, you know, and how God works.
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  And what God desires to do. And then, man, I think in these two verses of Scripture
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  in Isaiah 62, 6, and 7, that God in a physical way paints a picture of how prayer spiritually works.
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  And for the reader in that day, man, they would have known it.
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  They would have visually been captured by the thought of on your walls,
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  O Jerusalem, is how it starts in verse 6, that God is saying through the prophet to the people,
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  that on your walls, not just merely physical, he's saying spiritual,
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  because this all is about prayer, these two verses of Scripture.
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  On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen. That in the same way that in
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  the day that Israel would have had walls, Jerusalem specifically would have had walls,
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  and they would have placed people on those walls to watch out and to look for certain things.
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  And I'm going to talk about that in a second. But God is saying in the same
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  way that I have placed my people to pray.
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  And for us as a new covenant people, and here's the thing that just floored me, man.
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  And the more I think about it, the more I know it's true and know this is how
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  God works, that in the sovereign plan of God,
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  specifically for us as a new covenant people, That the moment that by faith
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  we put our trust in Christ's finished work on us, many things happen.
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  I mean, we are family of God, eternity secure.
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  I mean, like so many things that we should hallelujah for.
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  But we are also in that moment placed by God to pray.
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  That God places every person in a specific post, in a specific time in history,
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  in a specific place to pray specific prayers that only you can pray.
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  And I know you said last week, Kyle, that just so struck me,
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  and I don't want us to miss this, that you said it matters how many people pray.
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  It really does. I mean, you've got a wall here around our city,
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  around our churches, around our families.
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  And does it matter if a husband prays and a wife prays? Absolutely.
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  Right. Or there's a gap in the wall. And the enemy, you know,
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  Nehemiah in his day, he said, what's going on with Jerusalem?
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  He said the gates are, the walls are down and the gates are burned with fire.
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  Right. And so the enemy could just come in like a flood. So it matters how many
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  pray, but I know, Kyle, it matters how we pray. That's exactly right.
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  So jump in there and talk to us about how we pray on those walls.
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  So here's what I want to give you. And this is back to our alliteration.
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  I want to give you four ways to pray like a watchman.
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  Four ways. So maybe if you're a note taker, take notes or you can listen now
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  and go back and do it. And so here's some things that God wanted us to learn
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  from the watchman in the physical sense for Jerusalem in that day.
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  So what did a watchman do? One, he was looking in a protective way.
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  So we can learn from the watchman in the physical context that we should pray for protection.
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  That watchman would have had a constant gaze for the way or any way that the enemy might attack.
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  Attack, awareness in case of some kind of sneak attack. And here's the,
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  here's a truth, man, that got me when I, when you bore down into it and think,
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  and I think the more you walk into this, the more God would reveal,
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  but attack didn't happen every day,
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  but it could any day.
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  And so there had to be a watchman every day. I would say that again,
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  that that attack didn't happen for Jerusalem every day, but it could any day.
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  So there had to be a watchman every day, meaning like we don't know when the
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  attacks are going to come.
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  So we got to pray in protective ways every day. So the truth is this,
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  man, that the presence of a watchman in itself is a deterrent.
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  Like for the enemy to scope across the horizon and look toward the walls of
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  Jerusalem and see that a watchman was ready and watching, looking,
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  was a deterrent for any kind of attack.
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  So I say to us again, listen to me, men and women, people of God,
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  your mere presence in prayer is a deterrent to the enemy. Think about that.
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  Like your presence in prayer makes the enemy aware of your awareness.
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  So we're not an easy target by merely showing up to pray, to show up to pray
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  in protective ways for those that God has entrusted to you.
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  Listen, I would say dad, mom, friend, co-worker, member of a local church,
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  like your prayers for protection matter.
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  And when you don't pray in protective ways, that there is a gap in the wall to a family.
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  There's a gap in the wall to a church.
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  There's a gap in the wall to a nation. And I think going back to what we said
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  before, I don't think that we like to say this or maybe we're afraid to see
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  it this way because we know we're in trouble.
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  But it does truly matter how many of us are praying, because when there's not
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  people filling those posts, there's weakness in our wall.
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  There's weakness that we are an easier target to stand and pray in protective
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  ways in the authority of Christ. All right. So protections, number one.
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  Second one is for provision.
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  Is that from that place, the watchman saw not only enemies that could come, but they saw caravans.
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  They saw people that would come that could help with human flourishing within the walls.
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  Those that are going to come and sell produce, those that are going to come
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  and bring different sheep, oxen, different things like that,
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  that would help. And listen, as I say, this is awesome.
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  They also could distinguish from the wall those that would bring things that would not help.
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  Things that might try to bring things within the wall that was only about their
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  gain and not for the good of the people.
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  So oftentimes a watchman would dispatch people to go and check on those that
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  are trying to enter the wall to make sure these are things that actually provide for God's people.
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  Not those that are just going to come and take advantage of them.
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  I want you to think about the life of your family. We want things to come within
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  our home, within our church that help people flourish, that help provide people
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  with intellectually, emotionally,
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  spiritually, physically, all those things.
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  But we also should be watching for things that will not provide for health.
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  They will not provide for their wholeness, for them growing up into the fullness,
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  measure, stature of Christ.
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  So we should be praying for those things to provide. God, let the things be
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  brought into our lives, man, from every need, from every meal to every moment, season of life.
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  So to pray for provisional ways, there's a whole lot of thought around that.
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  Another is for purity.
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  To pray like a watchman is to pray for purity.
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  What they could see many times is not just, I think a lot of times we think
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  about the watchman as, man, it's just somebody crest the hill.
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  And here comes an army and, oh, man, we're at war, which is true, which is true.
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  You need to watch out for that. But many times it's much more subtle.
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  Maybe it's alliances that are forming or things that would lure people away.
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  A watchman in that age would have been watching for things that were idolatry.
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  They don't need to be in here. That's not who we are. That's not what we believe.
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  Somebody needs to go check on that. They didn't leave the wall to go get into
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  that, but they made someone aware.
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  They would dispatch somebody in the same way that when the enemy was coming
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  in an army, a horde of people are coming their way. They didn't come down.
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  They would tell the military leaders they're coming to the east side. Get there.
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  In the same way, man, a place in prayer is praying for purity in your own life,
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  within the walls of your own heart and saying, God, I see things that's coming my way.
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  And I got a moment here to respond one way or another. And I'm praying my way toward pure places.
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  I'm praying for my family, for my kids. And I'm listening.
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  I'm raising five little ones from 11 to three years old. And if I'm not on the
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  wall praying for their purity, who will be? Who will be?
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  Churches. Listen, we get frustrated at the next generation and things that we
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  see that are tainted and wicked and all those things.
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  But are you at your post praying for purity, man, making war for what's trying
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  to enter their hearts and their minds? The enemy is after the mind of the next generation.
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  Are you making war from your post, praying for them, that you don't use your
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  post as a place to complain?
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  I said this to our church recently. Don't complain if you won't cry out.
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  Don't get angry if you won't ask.
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  Don't snarl if you won't make supplication. Don't do that. If you're not going
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  to make petition, you've got no right to be mad.
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  So make war like God posted you in a place to pray. So be a watchman.
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  I think about how many men keep falling in a public way.
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  And you know, at some point, there's just talk. At some point,
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  they didn't stand their post.
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  At some point, they probably didn't bring people alongside them to cover them as well.
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  That's why we need each other. That's why we need the wall filled,
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  man. I need you. I need overlapping prayer.
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  I need prayer that I'm praying for us. And then I need prayer that's being prayed for me.
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  And so that we're covered and that we're praying toward our own purity.
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  And then I love this captured me.
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  I'm still enamored with this thought that Watchmen had a perspective that nobody
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  else had, that those within the cities didn't.
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  And that for us, I think there's something in light of us praying with perspective.
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  And and for them, they didn't have in that age, you know, what no one had was
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  the Weather Channel app. Yeah, they didn't have any way of knowing what kind
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  of weather was coming their way.
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  They first heard from a watchman, meaning this someone that would say,
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  hey, prepare, a storm is coming.
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  Prepare for this, a mudslide might happen.
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  Prepare for this, the river banks might, the water might exceed the river banks.
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  Like there was something about a watchman that had a perspective to pray. And here's what I think.
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  I know that God gives his people that pray perspective.
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  That God, if you stand your post, God will let you see in ways what's coming.
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  And sometimes he will allow us to pray that the Lord would say to the storm, hush, be still.
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  Sometimes he will allow us to pray like the psalmist pray, shelter us in the storm.
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  I think also that if we'll stand our post and pray with perspective, Perspective.
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  God, who I think God will make aware first when he's going to move,
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  when the reign of God's coming, is those that are praying.
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  If you're on the wall praying, listening, discerning, interceding,
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  God would say to us, hey, I'm going to give you a little perspective.
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  I'm about to do something.
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  So in ways that are preparing us for places of struggle and suffering and hardship,
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  but also in days of abundance, in days when God's moving in might and power.
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  So perspective matters. The question is, will you stand your post?
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  Will you pray like a watchman? So I'll say it again to us, man,
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  to pray for protection and to be on your post and pray for that for you personally,
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  for who's been entrusted.
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  To you, family, for your church, for your city, man, to pray in ways that are provisional,
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  to ask God to do in supernatural ways what things you need and things you don't
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  for purity and to pray that we would not allow things into our lives that would
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  defile us, our God's people, and to pray with perspective, man.
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  So, Bill, I think that that's four ways to get us started praying as a watchman.
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  And I know if we would do that, if we just lean into that, man,
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  stand our post, that God would hear those cries.
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  It's incredible. I tell you, if a man or a woman doesn't have...
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  What they need to get started, you know, right now they're, they're,
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  they weren't listening because you, you, you're giving us what we need to pray.
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  Just those, just those things is enough. And you got to repeat that statement
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  that, you know, the enemy doesn't come all the time, but what was to say that
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  one more time? Yeah. Yeah.
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  I think that, I mean, in light of protection, objection, I think that a full
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  out assault, it didn't happen every day, meaning like it wouldn't happen,
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  but it could happen any day.
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  Right. So that means that we need to be in our post every day.
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  Every day. Every day. I mean, just as it's true, because if you could anticipate
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  every time he would move, you would be like, oh, we got to be ready on Wednesday
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  because we got an attack coming.
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  But it doesn't work that way. So you have to be ready every day.
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  Well, in fact, the enemy's greatest ploy is to do a surprise attack.
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  So, you know, when you're least expecting it, so then you must always be ready.
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  So we just can't let up on this.
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  And I think, you know, the Lord is saying something to us right now, Kyle, through this.
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  And you alluded to this last time.
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  I think he's saying something to us across the country.
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  Yeah. And has been for the last decade, calling us to a whole new level of prayer.
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  And you're reiterating that. And so just for our listeners that are in the sphere
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  of our voice right now, he's calling you to prayer.
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  He's calling you to be a watchman.
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  And now he's giving you tools. And next time we'll see a little more on this.
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  So if we don't do it, it's on us, right? Right. I mean, it's it's going to leave
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  a gap. It's going to have consequences. And that's not.
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  Not to shame us into something.
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  It's to call us into something that's glorious into the presence of God and
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  experience with him as we're talking to him and bringing God into the equation.
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  So, Kyle, could you just take a minute and lead us in prayer for this?
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  That god would just seal maybe even
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  all these these four things just into
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  our hearts and minds yeah no doubt well let's enter in lord i i'm asking and
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  i i pray that we're surrendering maybe even they're listening right now and
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  you want to just say lord i want to be a watchman i want to be a man or woman
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  that stands my post talk to him about that.
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  Lord, I pray for our listeners now that some sincere surrender,
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  God, that we would come and stand to attention and that from our place,
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  God, you would empower people all over our nation right here,
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  Lord, right now to pray like a watchman.
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  To pray, Lord, for protection. To pray, Lord, in ways that bring about provision.
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  To bring about the work of God, the things we truly need. Or to pray in ways that promote purity.
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  Or to pray with perspective, God. So I am asking, Lord, for your namesake,
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  God, raise up men and women that would assume their post that would never come down.
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  Never come down. Would pray, and as we'll see next week, Lord,
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  we'll pray until you establish your movement among us.
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  And pray until it's time for us to come home.
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  So, Lord, I just believe you for this. God, I know you're doing this,
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  God, and we're going to be a part of it.
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  So I pray for faith, Lord, that gets some feet and gets moving toward the wall.
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  And that, Lord, you would respond as you do, and you would move in power.
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  So, Lord, we love you. Thank you. Thank you for the privilege of prayer.
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  I thank you for those, Lord. What a gift.
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  And I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
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  Well, thank you, Kyle. And thank you, listeners, for hanging in there with us today.
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  And we're so grateful that God has called us to a high task. I mean, just a great.
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  We're not charged to do some little thing. we're charged to do a great thing.
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  And I don't care who you are, how well equipped you are in prayer or not,
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  you're called to take your part and take your place on the wall.
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  And so I pray that we pray that you will and that we all will.
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  And tune in next time. We have some more here that you need to hear to get you
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  fully equipped to do this great task.
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  And we're so grateful that you've come Come and call a friend and join us this
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  next time on our next OneCry podcast.
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  Music.