Latest / Faith Church Podcast / Watch and Pray | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church

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Watch and Pray | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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You can turn with me to Acts chapter 6, Acts
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chapter 6, and I want to share with you this
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morning a bit of some things that the Lord is
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putting on my heart for 2026. I was going to
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preach this message a couple weeks ago. You remember
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when I preached on the family. And there have
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been some key words that have been given already
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this year that if you've missed, you need to
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go back and listen to. Pastor Cammie, I already
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said, preached on listening to the Lord last
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Sunday. That's a message you need to hear. The
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message on family. God wants to bless your family.
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You need to hear that word, and so keep that
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word. close to you. And I believe that 2026 is
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a year where your family is going to be blessed.
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Amen? And this word kind of dovetails. It's why
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I wanted to give it right after last week's word
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on listening to the Lord. It dovetails with that
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a little bit. And it's going to be more me just
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taking you on a journey that the Lord has been
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showing me about what needs to take place in
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the church. And the things that God has given
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to the church are not always easy, but they are
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usually simple. They are usually easy to understand,
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although because of this struggle that we have
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with our own selves. Of course, nobody else here
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has struggled with their own selves. Am I the
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only one with my hand up? Come on, put your hand
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up if you struggle. Make me feel better. Make
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me feel better. Because of the struggle we have
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with our own selves, this world that we live
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in that is seemingly getting crazier and crazier
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by the day, can all the stuff that we deal with,
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the stuff of life, the scriptures call them the
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cares of life, that can choke it out. Because
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of all these things, it's not easy, but it's
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simple. And I want to call us as a church this
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morning. to be overcomers in 2026, and to not
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just yield to those things and say, oh, well,
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we'll just let these things slide. We'll just
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do whatever in 2026. No, we need to put our hand
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to the plow and not look back and do the things
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that God has called us to do. And so I was devotionally
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reading in Acts chapter 6. And I came to this
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passage, and this is a significant passage. This
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is when Jesus, or not Jesus, when the apostles
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first create the space for deacons in the church
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in Acts chapter 6. And so let's just read from
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verse 1 and down for a minute. Now in those days
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when the number of the disciples was multiplying,
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there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by
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the Hellenists. So this is the Greeks and the
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Jews. These are both Jewish groups, but one of
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them is of Greek descent and the other is of
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national Israeli descent in the daily distribution.
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And I read this and I say, you know, I take comfort
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in it. Because I'm like, there were problems
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in the first church. It's kind of like when we're
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at district council and they say, play the video,
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and the video does not play. I go, oh, praise
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God. You know, it strangely encourages me. When
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I see churches that seemingly have it together
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and something flops major, I go, oh, praise God.
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And they had problems. And so they came to the
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apostles with their problems. The apostles were
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their leaders. And can I just tell you this?
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It's okay to bring stuff to the leaders of the
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church. Okay? People that are gossips don't go
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to the leaders to gossip. People that are trying
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to cause trouble, they don't come to the leadership.
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But the leadership is who you're supposed to
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come to, right? So when you have an issue, when
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things go wrong, because they do go wrong even
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in the church, come to the leadership. And that's
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what they did. And so the leaders did not bat
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them down. They did not tell them, well, buck
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it up. They didn't tell them that. They recognized
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this as a real issue. And it was in this moment
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that God gave them wisdom on how to deal with
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it. Verse 2, then the twelve summoned the multitude
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of the disciples and said, it is not desirable
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that we should leave the word of God and serve
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tables. Now they weren't saying in this passage,
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they weren't saying we're above this. That's
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not what they were saying. We're too good to
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serve food. We are so high and mighty, we can't
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debase ourselves by scrubbing toilets. That's
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not what they were saying. But what they did
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recognize is their role. And that their role
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as apostles, they were so busy. Can you even
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imagine? There were, at this point in time, probably
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10 ,000... believers plus. Sometimes those numbers
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are only the men in those days. There could have
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been 20, 25 ,000 Christians in this day and 12
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apostles, and they were meeting in homes. And
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the apostles every single day, every single day,
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I'm sure sometimes multiple times per day, were
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in homes with groups of 30, 40, 50 people teaching
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the Word of God. It wasn't that they were just
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preparing. for a sermon on Sunday morning. They
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were discipling the people every single day and
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there were only 12 of them. And the church had
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not yet developed to the point where all the
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gifts in the body were released. And so they
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were the main disciplers. And now they have an
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issue come forward, and they're saying it needs
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to be met. But if we take our time to feed people,
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if we take our time to organize this, to get
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it all together, and to make it happen, then
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the Word of God that God is using, us to deposit
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into other people the Word of God will suffer.
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And they realized their lane, their role. And
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so here we see the distinction, the first distinction,
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between what I believe the apostles acting as
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elders in the church and deacons. And so here,
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let's see what they say. Therefore, brethren,
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seek out from among you seven men of good reputation,
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full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom whom we may
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appoint over this business. And so these weren't
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just people that liked to... liked to do things
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rather than spiritual. They were not people that
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neglected the spiritual side of life. They were
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people that were full of the Holy Spirit. They
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understood the Lord and they had great wisdom.
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And so they even said, you choose them. We're
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not even going to appoint them. You choose them.
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So they all got their ballots out and nominations.
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Actually, we don't know how they came up with
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the first seven deacons. Later on in the church,
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there were deaconesses. Later on, there were
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women that were deacons and women that served
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in leadership positions in the church. And so
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they were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
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And they chose them. And it goes on. But I want
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to read verse 4. And when I read this, verse
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4, this is what the Lord captivated me with.
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But we will give ourselves continually to prayer
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and to the ministry of the Word. And when I read
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that, I felt the Lord just speak to me and say
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that 2026, that he was speaking to me personally,
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Darren, you need to come back to the place of
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prayer. And I realized not that I have quit praying,
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not that I have quit reading and quit studying,
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but I have, and it might be because I quit doing
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praying 3 ,000 five times a week. That might
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have something to do with it, but I felt like
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2025, I drifted away a bit from that strong place
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of prayer. And that in 2026, that we as a body,
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now this is speaking about apostles, about elders
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as their main role, but how many of you would
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say that God has been, in this first month of
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the year, speaking to you about your prayer life.
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Yeah. Yeah. Prayer is such an important, important
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place in our lives. Prayer was important in the
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life of Jesus. I have a whole sheet that I might
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print and distribute concerning prayer and Jesus'
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life. It's fascinating as you read the Scriptures,
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especially the book of Luke. Luke seems to capture
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the prayer life of Jesus more than any other
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of the Gospels. But Jesus is constantly finding
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a place to spend time with the Father. And one
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of those verses in Matthew chapter 14, I want
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to read. And this is right after the feeding
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of the 5 ,000, Matthew 14. There's thousands
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and thousands of people that Jesus is ministering
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to. He gets this loaf, two loaves of bread, a
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couple fish, and he breaks them and gives thanks
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to God. gives them to the disciples, and in the
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hands of the disciples, as they are distributing
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the fish and the bread, multiplication happens,
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and thousands and thousands and thousands of
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people are fed. He's been teaching all day. He
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sees this miracle happen, and it's pretty awesome.
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And so they were all filled. They took up 12
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basketfuls of fragments afterwards. And just
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an incredible time together. And then verse 22
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comes. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get
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into the boat and go before him to the other
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side while he sent the multitudes away. And when
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he had sent the multitudes away, he went up by
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the mountain, to the mountain by himself to pray.
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He went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
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And the story goes on, and there's another awesome
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story that happens after that. But sandwiched
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in between them, Jesus got alone with God to
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pray. And then I begin to think about the different
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times where we're called to pray. Jesus taught
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on the Sermon on the Mount, flipping back a few
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chapters in Matthew to Matthew 6. And I shared
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a couple of weeks ago that I believe that this
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is the single most important Scripture for Christians
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in 2026. Matthew 6, verse 6. In fact, I think
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we should just all memorize it right now. Everybody
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turn to Matthew chapter 6, verse 6. Turn there,
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and we're going to read it together out loud.
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We're going to lift it up with one voice. Well,
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if you have the New King James Version. If you
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don't have the New King James Version, you can
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kind of mumble along with me when the words are
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a little bit different. But let's read it together.
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when you pray, go into your room, and when you
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have shut your door, pray to your Father who
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is in the secret place, and your Father who sees
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in secret will reward you openly. Now, I know
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that to memorize something, you've got to read
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it more than once, and so let's read it again.
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But you, When you pray, go into your room. And
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when you have shut your door, pray to your Father
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who is in the secret place. And your Father who
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sees in secret will reward you openly. This is
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a powerful, powerful promise. It's one of those
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promises that is dependent upon obedience. The
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open reward of the Father will not come unless
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you fulfill the first part. And I believe that
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this call, Jesus is not here talking to elders
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and apostles. He's talking to us all. And I believe
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that the enemy above all, Tries to keep this
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verse from being fulfilled on a day -by -day
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basis. I believe that this is one of the hardest
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verses for the... Church to live out. But I also
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believe that it is the greatest call to any believer
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is to get alone with God and pray. Now, there's
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all different kinds of prayer. There are secrets
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to learning prayer. Dick Eastman's prayer wheel.
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The hour that changes the world. That's the book
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he wrote. Dick Eastman put a prayer wheel together
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and it tells you how to spend five minutes in
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each. spoke of the wheel in praise, in reading
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scripture, in asking for needs, in listening
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to the Lord. It has 12 different spokes and it
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ends with praise, starts with praise and ends
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with praise. And if we spend five minutes in
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each of those spokes, we'll have spent an hour
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in prayer. It's a really wonderful, wonderful
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tool to teach you how to pray. But more than
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the formula of how you pray, is that you pray.
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Is that you spend time with God. Amen? Spend
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time with the Lord. And Jesus says, go into your
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room. Shut the door. Shut the door. And what
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He's saying is, Get alone with God. If He was
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in our culture today, what might He say? Everybody's
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saying the same thing. Turn off your cell phone.
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Because this is the number one distraction in
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my life. Is it the number one distraction in
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your life? If it is, raise your hand. Okay, most
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of you have your hand raised up. The number one
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distraction right here. That's what he's saying.
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Shut the door. Be alone with God. And friends,
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when you first start, if you've never shut the
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door, and if you've never spent time alone with
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God, you will shut the door and you'll sit down
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and you'll say, Lord, I thank you for this day.
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And then after that, you'll be like, and what
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do I say now? But I want to encourage you that
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the journey of learning how to pray is worth
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it. And the journey of learning to spend time
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with God. will help you. It's there in the alone
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time with God that He will bring conviction to
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you when you need to repent and turn back to
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God. It's there in alone time with God that He
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will speak to your heart direction that you need
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for your life. It is there in the alone time
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with God that He will unlock the keys that you
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need and give you the wisdom that you need to
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solve problems. It is that alone time with God
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that ultimately isn't about your own life, but
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it changes and shapes nations. Alone time with
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God changes the course of nations because we
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spend time with the Lord. When the disciples,
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when they asked Jesus to teach them how to do
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something, They did not ask Jesus to teach them
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how to preach. I believe that Jesus was a good
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communicator. And people sat on the edge of their
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seats and they even commented, they said, you
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teach like one with authority. You teach like
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with... Somebody that has substance behind what
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they're saying, not like what we've heard our
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whole lives in the synagogue. And they were captivated
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by how he taught and how he preached to the multitudes,
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but the disciples did not say, teach us how to
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preach. Jesus did miracles, which the disciples
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also did, but could not do them all. In fact,
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failed on at least one of them. But the disciples,
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their question in this moment was not, teach
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us the supernatural. But we need to learn the
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supernatural. Their question was, Jesus, teach
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us how to pray. Teach us how to pray. Teach us
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how to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, If
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you'll go there in Matthew chapter 26. Matthew
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26 and verse 40. And Jesus, he brought Peter,
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James, and John, and he was in the garden of
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Gethsemane. This is the night before his arrest,
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the night before he went to the cross. And he
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takes them in the garden so that he can pray.
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And he wants to be alone with the Father, but
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not totally alone. And so he brings the three,
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and he puts them here. And the Bible says he
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moves a stone's throw away. What is that? About
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50 yards away. Carter and David and I were at
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a campsite, and we found out how far a stone's
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throw was. And I threw with all my might, but
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I could not hit the other side. I was two feet
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away, and my arm was sore. I don't know why I
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told you that story. But they were a stone's
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throw away, and Jesus is there praying. And in
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verse 40 it says, lest you enter into temptation.
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And just as a side note, we see here the single
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greatest key, I believe, to overcoming temptation.
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Like if you have a besetting sin and temptation
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keeps coming your way, the number one way to
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get strength to overcome that temptation, watch
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and pray. Learn how to pray. Well, don't I need
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to learn how to resist and say no? Well, there
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might be some keys to that. But the first key
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is to give yourself to prayer. Amen? Amen. And
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so if you find yourself, you know, constantly
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tripping over sin, learn how to pray. Watch and
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pray so that you don't enter into temptation.
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told them, couldn't you? You're my disciples.
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Couldn't you even stay awake and pray with me
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for one hour? And for some of us, an hour of
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prayer seems very daunting. And this is not saying
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that if you can't pray an hour, you're a failure.
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But I do think that time with God, that we need
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to be challenged in that. And so I just want
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to challenge every one of you, grow in 2026 in
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your prayer life. Amen? Grow in your prayer life.
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The Father who sees what is done in secret will
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reward you openly. Now it's right to bring your
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needs to the pastors, to the elders. It's right
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to have them anoint you with oil and pray over
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you. James chapter 5 says if anybody's sick,
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let them come to the elders of the church. In
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fact, it's an act of faith. The Bible says come
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to the elders of the church. You can make a phone
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call. You can text. Now, you couldn't do that
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in Jesus' day, but you can do that now. And then
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you can come down to the altar after church and
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say, Pastor, pray over me. All those things are
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good and all those things are important, but
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may those things not be in lieu or instead of
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you going to your father in the prayer closet.
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Because your trust is never, even though you
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come to your elders, even though you're anointed
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with oil, your trust is not in people. Your trust
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is in God. Amen? And so when you have a need,
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where should you go? Hebrews says this. Hebrews
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says that we should come boldly to the throne
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of grace. That's the secret place. That's the
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place where God wants to meet you so that you
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can find help in your time of need. Hallelujah.
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Somebody give praise to the Lord. And so you
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have problems at work. Do you know what you need
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to do? You need to bring them to the Father in
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your prayer closet. You have problems in your
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home. You know what you need to do? You need
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to bring them to the Father in the prayer closet.
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You have problems with your kids. Then you know
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what you need to do? You need to bring it to
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the Father in the prayer closet. You have problems.
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Maybe you're in a blended family now and you
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have problems with people that you used to be
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in relationship. You know what you need to do?
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You need to bring that to the Father. in your
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prayer closet because the Father sees what is
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done in secret. This is true for young people.
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You have a problem with somebody at school. You
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have a problem with your teacher. You have a
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problem with other students. Do you know what
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you can do? You can bring it to the Father in
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your prayer closet. And the Father... who sees
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what is done in secret, will reward you openly.
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Now Jesus told the disciples in this passage,
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watch and pray. Watch and pray. That doesn't
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sound like somebody that is just sitting in a
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chair. That's right. Watch and pray. There's
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a vibrance to that. Watch and pray. Watch and
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pray. We need to apply this to the news that
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we take in. We watch. We need to pray. The world
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is watching. I think sometimes, depending on
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your news source, just believe whatever slant
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comes from the news source. You can't do that.
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But when you digest what is happening, then what
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do you do? You've got to pray. We can't afford
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to just be people that have opinions like the
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rest of America. We can't just choose a side
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and then get angry with that side. are the watchers,
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and we are the intercessors. Do you know who
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history belongs to? The people that pray. Do
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you know why we won World War II? There were
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soldiers on the front line, and there were intercessors
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praying at home. World War I is documented that
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where intercessors prayed, Things happened on
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the battlefield. I can show you. Intercessors
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own history. People that pray. And so as you
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engage in America, engage in your prayer closet.
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Go into the secret place. Father, I lift up Minneapolis
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to you right now. Father, I'm just asking you
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that you would work and move in Minneapolis.
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In fact, let's all just pray right now. Let's
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just engage as if you're in the prayer closet
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right now in Jesus' name. Father, we ask in the
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name of Jesus that your hand would be on church
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leaders in Minneapolis. This morning, even as
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they're worshiping you, I pray that your presence
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would be made manifest amongst the believers.
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I pray that there would be a distinction between
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believers and people in the world. I pray your
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presence, oh God, will minister right now. God,
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I'm asking you that families, Lord, in Jesus'
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name, that their needs will be met in the name
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of the Lord. And I'm asking you that no matter
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what person, God, whether they're immigrants
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or whether they're being dealt with as illegal
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immigrants, God, whatever person, they are all
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made in the image of God. And I pray in Jesus'
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name that Your hand would be on their journey
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and that they would come to know Christ as their
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Savior. In Jesus' mighty name. God, we bind up
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demonic activity over that city that would do
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what the devil does. He steals. He kills. He
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destroys. And the instruments that are being
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used by the enemy, whether they realize it or
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not, we pray that they would come unto repentance
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in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah. I believe
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that it's God's will. friend, that revival break
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out in Minneapolis. I believe that Minneapolis
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needs to be a city that is known for the moving
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of the Holy Spirit and not just a city known
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for conflict like it has for the last five or
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six years. We are watchers and we are prayers.
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Hallelujah. Turn with me to Luke chapter 21.
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This is concerning the second coming of Christ.
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This is the words of Jesus. Verse 34. But take
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heed to yourselves. Everybody say that together.
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But take heed to yourselves. Lest your hearts
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be weighed down. With carousing, with drunkenness
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in the cares of this life. There it is. And that
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day, that's talking about the return of Christ.
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And that day come on you unexpectedly. For it
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will come as a snare on all those who dwell on
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the face of the whole earth. Wow. Wow. And you
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think about the world right now. Do you think
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it's ready for the return of Christ? It is not.
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But you take heed. You take heed. Watch, therefore,
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and pray. There's that phrase. Watch and pray.
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Always that you may be counted worthy to escape
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all these things that will come to pass. And
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to stand before the Son of Man. Wow. That if
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you watch and pray, if you go into the prayer
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closet, that God will count you worthy to escape
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the judgments that will come upon mankind. And
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to stand in that day. before the Son of Man.
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This life, what is it? It's a rehearsal for that
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life that is to come. You're going to stand before
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God one day. I think about it every day. I am
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going to stand before Jesus and give an account.
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And Jesus says, if you'll be a person that will
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do this, that will watch and pray, Make... Prayer,
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a part of your life. Make the secret place a
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part of your routine. If you will be one that
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will watch and pray, He will count you worthy
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to escape the judgment coming on the world. And
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you, when you stand before God, won't try to
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run and hide. You won't be ashamed in that day.
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But you will be able somehow to stand before
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the Lord in that day Receive the reward that
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He has for you. Hallelujah. That's good news.
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That's good news. For people that will watch
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and pray. For people that will go in to the secret
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place. Favor. Favor. referring to this passage.
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I just feel like it's time to conclude here.
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I've got a bunch of other scriptures here, but
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I'm going to go to the last one. And I've been
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turning to this passage quite a bit lately. And
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it's in 1 Peter 4. And I've already read it publicly
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a couple weeks ago. I think it's an important
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passage, 1 Peter 4, 7. And it says this, But
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the end of all things is at hand. Therefore,
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be serious and watchful in your prayers. It goes
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on to say, and above all things, have fervent
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love for one another. But that first part is
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what we're talking about right now. It says,
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therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers.
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Be serious and watchful in your prayers. This
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year is going to be a year for us as a church
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to grow in prayer. I'm talking here today about
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your personal prayer. Pastor Cammie preached
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last week as well on your personal prayer, listening
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to God. And the scriptures talk about corporate
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gatherings. It's why we meet on Sunday morning.
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This is the Lord's Day. Sunday is the Lord's
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day because it's the day Jesus rose from the
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dead. The believers gathered together. And all
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through the scriptures, you see corporate prayer
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meetings and we're called to corporately pray.
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And what I'm telling you that in 2026, we are
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going to be growing as a body in corporate prayer.
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It is also essential. But corporate prayer is
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fanned into flame. when the people that are a
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part of it have been maintaining their secret
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place. Private prayer makes corporate prayer
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powerful. Sometimes when you go to pray and you
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get done, And the Bible says when Jesus finished
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praying, there was a time when he concluded that
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moment of prayer. He was still connected to the
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Father, but he finished praying. And sometimes
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when we finish praying, we go, well, that wasn't
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all that powerful. God didn't really say much
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to me today. I didn't even understand the Scripture
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I read. But I'm telling you that there is way
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more happening than what you know. Sometimes
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God reveals what's happening when we pray, and
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we love that. But oftentimes He does not. But
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your faithfulness to the secret place changes
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the world in which we live. And God has his hand
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upon this church to be a church that prays. The
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third weekend of February, we have a gentleman
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by the name of Travis Rosenthal coming. On that
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Saturday night, we're going to be gathering people
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that just have a heart to pray. Saturday night,
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6 p .m., I believe it's the 21st or the 22nd,
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21st of February. Travis Rosenthal is a young
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man. He's 27. He might be 28 now. I don't know.
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But he's a young man, and he's a home missionary.
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He's raised support so that he can be a part
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of the Assemblies of God World Prayer Center
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in Springfield, Missouri. And just talking with
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him, I can sense, like they said of the disciples
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in Acts chapter 3, They took note that they had
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been with Jesus. And when I was talking with
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Travis, I can tell this man has been in the presence
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of Jesus. And I believe that God is going to
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do something on that weekend in the area of helping
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us to grow as a body in this area of corporate
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prayer. And so we can expect that in 2026 for
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that to happen. What I want to call for this
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morning, those of you at home, those of you here,
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is for you to come before the Lord and say, God,
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this year I want to grow with intentionality,
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with purpose. I want to grow. In my secret place,
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time. I want 2026 to be a year where I gained
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more discipline. Some people, that's what they
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need. That's what I need. Gain more discipline
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in how you spend the moments of your day. For
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some of us, it's... turning something off. For
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some of us, it's getting up earlier. Perhaps
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your schedule denotes you stay up later. But
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we purpose in 2026 to say, God, I want my prayer
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life to grow. The greatest thing fathers can
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do for their family, pray. Spend time with God.
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The greatest thing mothers can do for their children,
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pray. Spend time with God. Spouses, the greatest
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thing you can do for each other, maintain your
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personal prayer life. Everything else will grow
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out of that. Give yourself to prayer. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah. This is a real altar moment of us
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saying, God, here I am. Perhaps you need to come
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with humility and just say, Lord, I know I've
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failed in my secret place time. It hasn't been
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a part of my life. Perhaps you need to just make
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that confession to the Lord. But will you come
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before Him? He's not saying, oh, because you
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have not been great at this in the past, I'm
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pushing you away. No, that's not the heart of
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our Father. He's saying, come on, son. Come on,
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daughter. I will teach you if you will come.
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Will you come? Will you come before the Lord?
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I want to encourage you to just bow your head,
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just close your eyes, whatever you need to do,
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and just talk to the Lord right now. Just say,
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God, I want you to have your way in my heart
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and in my life. I want the secret place, God.
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To be real in my home. To be real in my family.
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To be real in my personal life. Here I am, God.
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I give myself to you. Help me, God, to embrace
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that which might feel a bit uncomfortable at
44:45
first. Help me embrace. Help me embrace the command
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of God. Jesus, you said it, the promise. And
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if I'll go into the secret place and I'll shut
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the door and I'll engage with my Heavenly Father,
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that my Heavenly Father will reward me openly.
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God, I just say yes to you. This is a consecration
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moment. That whatever else I do in my day, all
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the getting that I give myself to, get to work,
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get to the grocery store, get to this appointment,
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get to that appointment, then in all of my getting,
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I will get to this secret place. In all of my
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imperfections aside, I will come before my Father
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and I will say, God, Here I am. Here I am. I
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want to know you. I want to know you. And the
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secret in the quiet place. In the stillness you,
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you are there In the secret, in the quiet hour
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I wait only for you Cause I want to know, know
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you more to know I want to hear your voice to
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know Jesus I want to touch to see your face to
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know If this is your heart, I'd like you to stand
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with me as we sing verse two. I am reaching the
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highest goal. And I might receive the prize.
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Running after you, oh God. I sing onward, pushing
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every hindrance aside. my way cuz I want to I
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want to touch you. I want to see your face. I
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want to know you more. that do that religious
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thing and then go on with their day. But Lord,
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you did not go to the cross to start a religion.
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You went to the cross so that we could know you.
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And I'm asking you, Lord Jesus, that you would
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help us in 2026 to take on that mantle. God,
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I want to know you. Jesus, some of us have people
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in our families that knew you that we respect.
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There's something about them, a quality about
50:30
them. And now you're knocking on the door of
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my heart. And you're saying, son, you're saying,
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daughter, I want to know you. God, I pray for
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courage to do the practical things in the next
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24 hours to make room for time alone with God.
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Here we are. Just present yourself to the Lord
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right now. Just say, God, here I am. Here I am.
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Jesus, Jesus, I want to know you. I want to know
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you. Thank you, Lord.