Latest / The OneCry Podcast / #187 Positioned for Revival (3 - Positioned Through United Prayer)

Transcript

#187 Positioned for Revival (3 - Positioned Through United Prayer) · The OneCry Podcast

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  If we're going to position ourselves to see the movement of God in our generation,
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  we have to continually devote ourselves to the right thing.
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  And what they devoted themselves to was united prayer.
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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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  Welcome to the One Cry podcast. I'm Kyle.
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  I'm with my host over here, Bill Eliff, the man, the myth, the legend.
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  I know, I'm actually pointing at you. That worked. I've never done that before.
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  That's going to be bad that we know we can do that now.
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  Listen, it's an absolute privilege for us to be able to do this podcast,
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  because honestly, for me, it
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  just helps rekindle what's in our hearts and what God's done in our lives.
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  So, Bill, it's an honor to host it with you and be a part of it.
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  Man, this series, it's probably—well, I'll just say it this way.
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  I think it's going to be right on time because I think that the Lord,
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  in faith, we're recording these ahead.
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  In faith, we're already watching, but we're believing 2025 is a significant
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  season in the spiritual life of our nation.
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  And we don't want to miss it. So with that, Bill, we've been in a series on
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  how to position yourself for revival, for a real move of God.
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  And I know God's shown you some things in Acts 1 that can help us do that.
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  Well, that's true. And, you know, we talked here in the last few weeks about
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  positioning ourselves to personal holiness and just being ready,
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  just your heart being ready over time to hear the Lord, cooperate with the Lord.
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  So when he comes, you're ready. And we talked about positioning ourselves through
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  choosing desperation, not just a kind of a hopeless old me,
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  but choosing to fast and pray and get serious about crying out to the Lord for
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  a greater movement, for more. We just want more.
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  And, you know, the disciples, as Jesus left, were wanting more,
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  and they knew Christ had promised more.
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  And after the resurrection, he began to unfold what that was going to look like.
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  And I just want to draw your attention briefly to one verse,
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  and then we're going to pray together about how to position our self-revival.
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  Jesus, as he was ascending, you know, the story in Acts chapter one that he
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  said, now, look, guys, you're going to receive power and you're going to have to have power.
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  And to do what I've told you to do, my great commission to you to make disciples of all nations.
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  But you're going to receive power and it's going to happen when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
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  Now, he was prophesying about what he said he would do, that I'm going to ask
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  the Father, he's going to send the Spirit who will be with you, but will be in you.
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  This was a new iteration. This was a new level.
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  I've been walking beside you in the flesh, but now I'm going to send the Holy
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  Spirit, and he's going to indwell you.
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  I've been dwelling with you. He's going to indwell you, and you'll have all
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  the power you need to do anything I'm asking you to do.
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  So as he was ascending, they were gawking up into the sky, and the angel said,
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  Guys, where are you looking up here?
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  He told you to go and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. So they go back.
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  And then this is one verse that if you're a preacher today and you're listening
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  to this, You've preached on this one verse, but I just want to remind us of it.
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  He says, these all, he's talking about all the disciples,
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  these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer along
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  with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
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  Just break that down phrase by phrase for just a moment. These all with one mind.
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  There's something about unity there.
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  That God that just pleases God. And what was their one mind?
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  Their one mind was they needed the Lord.
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  Their one mind was, we're waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit.
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  We're waiting for power.
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  We have got to have power to do what God has asked us to do.
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  And we're completely united in this.
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  So these all, with one mind, look at this phrase, were continually, continually.
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  So this wasn't Peter and the guys coming back and saying, well,
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  let's have a prayer meeting.
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  We really need the power of God. So hey, maybe next Tuesday,
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  can you guys come together and we'll take a moment.
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  We always said, let's just take a minute and pray, which is indicative of the
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  way we live. Let's just take a minute and pray.
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  We'll just have a brief prayer meeting. And now these all with one mind were
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  continually, continually.
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  In other words, we're going to stay here until God comes. We're going to stay
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  here until the power comes.
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  We're going to stay here until God does what he promised he would do.
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  We're continually. Now look at this next little phrase I'm reading from the
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  New American Standard Translation.
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  These all, with one mind, were continually devoting themselves to prayer.
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  Now, that word devote, I've talked about this before, but it means to be strong towards.
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  Everybody's strong towards something. You know, some guys watch TV in great
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  excess. They're strong towards TV.
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  They know what's on. They know when it comes on. You know, they know how to
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  handle the remote better than most.
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  Some people are strong towards their work. Some people are strong towards sports.
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  Some people are strong towards hobbies, you know, whatever it is.
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  But they devoted themselves to something.
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  And if we're going to position ourselves to see the movement of God in our generation,
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  we have to continually devote ourselves to the right thing.
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  And what they devoted themselves to was united prayer.
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  These all, with one mind, were devoting themselves continually to prayer.
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  Now, why in the world would you do that?
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  Well, you would do that if you realize that communion with God is the great essential in your life.
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  Is that you need the presence of God, and the way we enter into his presence,
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  the way we commune with him, the way we talk to him, and we let him talk to us, is prayer.
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  And somehow along the way, these fledgling disciples, and they were young disciples,
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  and they were young disciples,
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  had watched Jesus enough that they knew that the secret to the power of Jesus'
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  life was his communication with the Father. They prayed.
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  And so much so that they came to Jesus one day and they said, Lord, teach us to pray.
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  We want to know how to do this. We want to know how to commune.
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  We don't know how to pray like we ought to pray. So Jesus taught them how to pray.
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  And then he said, Now go wait and pray and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit,
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  of the power of the presence of God.
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  And so they did. And they did it continually. And they were strong towards it.
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  And they were devoted to it. And you just get the impression they're not leaving until God moves.
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  They're not stopping until God comes in power.
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  They devoted themselves to prayer. let me just pause right there and ask you
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  a very important question could that sentence be said about you and your church
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  these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer,
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  you say well we don't really do that you know well you may not see the power
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  of god like they saw it We may not experience revival.
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  We may not be ready when God wants to move. We may not be postured for it because
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  we're not postured in prayer.
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  But the people who see the movement of God are people who are in God's presence
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  enough in prayer that they're hearing and listening and anticipating.
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  And their spiritual senses are attuned to God.
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  And they're devoted to him in unceasing prayer.
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  I've often made the statement that there's something about united prayer that is irresistible to God.
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  I've got eight kids and 27 grandkids currently.
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  I don't know where that'll go in the days. There'll be more, I'm sure.
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  When one child comes to me and says, you know, dad or granddad,
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  we want to get ice cream. It's just one kid.
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  I say, well, talk to your mother about that. Or, you know, I'll call you in a little bit about that.
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  And so I can push that off.
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  But when all eight of my kids, when they were younger, and all of my grandkids
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  now come in and they're screaming, ice cream, ice cream.
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  We all scream for ice cream. You know where we're going? We're going to get ice cream.
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  And what they don't know is I wanted ice cream before they even wanted it.
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  And I want them to experience that.
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  And so God, there's something about the heart of God with his children.
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  But his children with one mind continually devote themselves to prayer.
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  God hears and answers that cry.
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  You'll never find a great movement of God in revival and awakening that was
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  not preceded by united prayer.
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  Never in human history will you find that. Never in the Bible will you find that.
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  And so we just want to challenge you as we're talking about positioning ourselves
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  for revival, that if you want revival, then pray and pray with others and pray
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  with one mind and pray continually.
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  And look, don't give up praying until you see the movement of God in your generation
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  and in your life and in your city and in your family.
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  And I want us just to pray for that right now. All right.
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  And wherever you are, I want to ask you to just stop and join with me.
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  And for a minute, I want us to just pray about our praying.
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  Just ask God to help us in the coming year to get positioned for revival by
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  Extraordinary United Prayer. Would you join me in that right now?
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  Father, we thank you so much for...
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  This way that you have given us to come into your presence and to commune with you.
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  Lord, nobody else has that but those who know you.
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  Lord, this ability through the
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  Spirit, because Christ has given us an introduction into your throne room,
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  and we stand in grace facing you, we can come and we can pray.
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  And forgive us, Lord, for not availing ourselves of that privilege more.
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  But I pray, Father, this year for everyone who's listening, I pray for myself,
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  I pray for Kyle, I pray for all of us, Lord, that we would be men and women
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  of great, prevailing, devoted,
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  united prayer.
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  Whatever praying we've done in the past, I pray this year we would take that up a whole new notch.
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  And we can't even do that without the help of your spirit.
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  So Spirit of God, we've been learning that you're our helper. So Lord, help us pray.
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  Help us pray. Help us to stay in prayer. Help us to be devoted to prayer.
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  Help us to not give up in prayer. Help us to not faint in prayer, Lord.
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  And I pray that we would be positioned to see a mighty movement of God across
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  our nation and really around the world in this day, and we'd be right in the middle of that.
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  So help us, Father. We pray that in your precious holy name. Amen. Amen.
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  Well, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.
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  Kyle had to slip out before we got through here, but we're so glad that you've
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  come, and we're talking about how to position ourself for revival.
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  I believe it's coming. In fact, I believe it's here and we want to be ready. Amen.
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  Join us next time. And in the meantime, with one mind, with others,
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  unite together in unceasing prayer.
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  Music.