God's Promises and Prayer

SPEAKER B Jesus promised his disciples in Acts One eight, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all here and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Welcome to. You shall receive power. And here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Colin Hone. SPEAKER C Greetings and a warm welcome to the program. We're glad you can tune in again today and join us on You Shall Receive Power as we go through the book by Pastor Dennis Smith called 50 Days Prayers and Devotionals to prepare for the latter rain and Christ Soon return. And I believe, Colin, it's Christ's imminent return. SPEAKER D Yes, it is. He's coming very soon or imminent. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER C Now the day we're looking at, so the lesson is day 20, God's Promises and Prayer. And we're also going to combine day 21, which is the scriptures and prayer in this program. And just as we start, we just invite you to join with us as we pray and ask God to bless you and us in this study. Gracious Father in heaven, it's such a privilege again to come together to study Your word, to look at the importance of prayer and to pray the promises, to believe and receive the promises by faith. Father, you tell us that faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. And as we hear it today, we just pray that you would increase our faith, that you will strengthen our faith, that you will take those blindness off our hearts and our minds that causes us to doubt and to practice unbelief. May you be present through your Holy Spirit. Father, anoint us now, anoint the listener as they spend time with us in this study. This is our prayer in Jesus name, amen. Right, Colin? So our discussion today talks about praying, the promises of God's promises in prayer. And it's important for us, if we want to pray according to God's will, to know what God's will is. God has the best of intentions for us. He's come to save us. He's demonstrated his love to us through Jesus Christ dying for us while we were yet sinners and ungodly, as it says there in Romans five. So where is this lesson going to take us today? SPEAKER D I don't know about you, Eddie Ann, but have you ever made a promise? Yes. SPEAKER C More than one? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So I've made promises. You know what, some promises I've kept, but there are times when I've made a promise and I haven't kept them. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C Unfortunately, I have to say that I've done that probably a lot more than I'd like to remember and I'm sure. SPEAKER D That many people can relate to that. But I want to tell you something about God. God makes a lot of promises. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D The difference between God and us, because we're our sinful nature is every promise that God has made, he will fulfill. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D It says that God cannot lie. So if God says possible for God. SPEAKER C To lie, the Bible says it's possible. SPEAKER D For God to lie. So when God makes a promise in the Bible, he will keep his word. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D And God's given us many promises in the Bible to meet our every need. Do you know he's got a promise for every need that we have. Both in the Old and the New Testament, we've got examples of God's people claiming the promises of His Word when facing difficulties. So we're to pray the promises in his word. So if God says in his word, I promise to do this. Now sometimes it's a condition on our part, okay? For example, he says if my people pray, then God will do this. If I confess my sins, he is faithful forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So that's God will do his part sometimes there's a condition though on those promise. And so we can claim God's promises in His Word when we're facing difficulties in our know. There's a Bible teaching on prayer in the book by Glenn Kuhn on it's called the ABCs of Bible Prayer. And so the concept of claiming God's promise in prayer is this and it can be a great blessing to you in your life. And the prayer form is really simple. Everyone can say ABC. SPEAKER C Yes, ABC. That's easy. SPEAKER D Even I can say ABC. SPEAKER C All right? SPEAKER D And so here's the prayer form, it's really simple. A is for ask, B is for believe, and C is claim the promise with thanksgiving. So for example, let's look up Matthew chapter seven, verse seven, and it says. SPEAKER C Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. SPEAKER D So there you have a promise to what? Ask. SPEAKER E Ask. SPEAKER C That's right. So that's the A of the ABC, ask. SPEAKER D And if you ask, what did God say he'll do? You will in that verse he said. SPEAKER C Ask and you will receive. SPEAKER D Yeah, knock and he'll open it for you. That's right, that's right. Then we have in Mark chapter eleven, verse 24, where it says jesus says in Mark eleven, chapter sorry. Chapter eleven, verse 24 therefore I say unto you what things soever you desire when you pray. Believe that you receive them and you shall have them. And again, verse 25 and when you stand praying, forgive your to against any that your Father also is in heaven may forgive your trespasses. So again we're to believe that God will answer and fulfill his promises. Then we have the C, which is to claim the promise yes, with thanksgiving. That's found in John chapter eleven, verse 41 to 43 says, then they took. SPEAKER C Away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me. But because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that you sent me. Now, when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, lazarus, come forth. SPEAKER D So Jesus thanked God before he even did it. SPEAKER C Yeah. Thank him that he heard him. SPEAKER D That he heard him. And so, you know, we claim the promise with thanksgiving before any answer is seen, before even the answer is given. We thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer. And so God's promises are sure. We can be confident that God will do what he says. We can see that in Numbers, chapter 23, verse 19. SPEAKER C Numbers 23, verse 19. God is not a man that he should lie, nor a Son of man that he should repent. Has he said and he will not do? Or has he spoken and he will not make it good. SPEAKER D There it is. SPEAKER C Yeah, beautiful. SPEAKER D Can you read that again? That is just an awesome Bible promise. SPEAKER C God is not a man that he should lie, nor a Son of man that he should repent. Has he said and he will not do, or has he spoken and will he not make it good? SPEAKER D So there you go. Whatever God, he can't lie, whatever he says he will do, he can do, and he will do it. So that's an incredible promise then. And you believe that by faith that God can do what he said he can do. That is a fantastic thing to go through life with, knowing that God will fulfill his promise. And so we can look in Jeremiah, chapter 32, verse 17. Jeremiah 32, verse 17. SPEAKER C Our Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. SPEAKER D There is nothing too hard for God. According to that verse, he made the heavens and the earth just by speaking it to existence. There's nothing too hard. And I love this quote by Ellen White concerning the promise of God in Christ's. Object lessons, page 38. Can you read that for us? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C In every command and in every promise of the Word of God is the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized. SPEAKER D Wow, there's a promise and power. That is an amazing promise from that quote. SPEAKER C Well, that's why it's impossible for God to lie. When he says something, it happens. He said in the beginning, there let there be light. And what was there? There was light. SPEAKER D Whatever he says, he said, let the. SPEAKER C Waters separate from the waters. And what was there? The separation between the waters. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So God has got creative power in his word. And what intrigues me about the statement in Christ Object Lessons is that that same power is in the word of God as we read it as we read the Bible, and by that command, whatever his promise is, by that same command, the promises are fulfilled and realized. SPEAKER D What an amazing statement, Eddie. So God's power and very life is contained in the promises of the Bible? SPEAKER E Yeah. Amen. SPEAKER D Wow. Nothing can stand in the way of his promises then being fulfilled when we claim them by faith and persevering prayer, then, and I love that in John, in his first letter, he assures us in one John, chapter five, verse 1415, that we can have confidence in God. SPEAKER C It says, now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. SPEAKER D So according to that, though, if it's. SPEAKER C According to his will yes, according to his will. So to know the will of God, we can ask with confidence and God will fulfill it. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C And God will give it to us. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D So I guess how do we get to know God's will? SPEAKER C That's a good question. SPEAKER D In God's word. Yes, God's word. He tells him what his will is. So we're going to become like Abraham, I reckon, when God promised him a son in his old age remember Abraham? I mean, how old was he as an old guy? And his wife, I think, was like 90. Sarah's wife was eight. It was 90. And I think he was like, maybe 120. SPEAKER C That's right, yeah. 99. And then 100 he had his second son. The first son he had at 80. 86. SPEAKER D Yeah. SPEAKER C But that was not the son of promise. SPEAKER D No, that's right. And so God promised him a son in his old age. Now, Abraham did not look at the impossibility of the circumstances or the limitations of human ability. I mean, let's be honest to all reasoning and logic, and just looking at the reality of the situation from a human perspective, it seemed impossible for Sarah to be pregnant at 90. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C That is just she passed that time in a life where she could get pregnant. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER A Yeah. SPEAKER D So the circumstances or the limitation of human ability said, this is impossible. Instead, he chose to believe God's promise, though, didn't he? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D He still believed. SPEAKER E Okay. SPEAKER D Even though this seems impossible from a human perspective, he believed. And we read that in Romans, chapter four, verse 19 to 21, where Paul writes about Abraham and Sarah, and it. SPEAKER C Says, not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body already dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully convinced that he had promised, he was able also to perform. SPEAKER D Did you notice that Paul states that Abraham another translation used staggered. And your translation used what? He staggered, not at the promise of God. What does your one say? SPEAKER C Yes, it says there that he did not waver. SPEAKER D Did not waver. So notice he didn't stagger or waver, not at the promise of God. You know what? Sometimes our problems may seem so great that we're tempted to stagger or waver at how difficult it appears it will be for God to fulfill His Word to us. We're saying, oh, this one's in a bit of an impossible. God can't do this one. I've heard that many times. I don't think God can do that one. It's impossible for God to have victory over sins in our lives. SPEAKER C Well, that sounds to me as more as smacks of unbelief rather than faith. If faith comes by hearing the Word of God and believing God's Word and expecting God to do what he says, if there's living power in God's Word and God can do the impossible when he says things that we can't see in our own experience, do we believe our own experience or believe the word of God? Because I think if we believe the word of God, the experience would finally come. SPEAKER D Well, that's what happened with Abraham. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D The reality of the situation was his wife was 90. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D From all human perspective, it seemed impossible for her to have a child. And Abraham was also old as well. But God said he would, and he believed by faith, according to the thing that he would. And so sometimes we've got to learn that the more we focus on the problem, instead of God's promises, the larger the problem looms before us. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So we don't focus on the problem. We just focus on God's promises. SPEAKER C Promises. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D So we've got to train ourselves to turn quickly away from dwelling on the problem and immediately turn to God in prayer. This could be also if you're being tempted yes, we focus on the sin. SPEAKER E Yeah, that's true. SPEAKER D Focusing on the sin and the sin, instead of focusing God's promise to have the victory. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D And said, Lord, you give me the victory. SPEAKER C Focus on the solution, not the problem. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C But I mean, by nature, you use the word train there. I think by nature, some of us are more inclined to focus on the problem. The glass is half empty rather than half full. But the great news is, by training and also by the unction of the Holy Spirit, we can transform. We can be renewed by the transforming of our mind and start to look at things in a positive light and in the power that we see in the Word of God to deliver on what he has promised and said he would do. SPEAKER D Because you got a choice, haven't you? SPEAKER E You do. SPEAKER D You can focus on the problem, or you can focus on God in prayer. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D And have by faith about the promises he's made to solve those problems. So the idea is to immediately turn to God in prayer. Yes, we got to train ourselves, Lord, and go to him in prayer. Now, there's a beautiful model prayer that I think we can learn from the Old Testament, and it's found in two Chronicles, chapter 22nd Chronicles, chapter 20, and verses six to 13. So I want you to read that, and then we're going to unpack exactly what jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, what he did, okay? SPEAKER C And verse six, and he said, o Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? And do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in your hand, is there not power and might so that no one is able to withstand you? Verse seven are you not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, forever? Verse eight. And they dwell in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying verse nine if disasters come upon us, sword, judgment, pestilence or famine, we will stand before this temple in your presence, for your name is in this temple and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. Verse ten. And now there are the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Sarah, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they returned from them and did not destroy them. Here they are rewarding us by coming to throw us out of your position, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. And verse 13. Now all Judea, with their little ones, their wives and their children, stood before the Lord. SPEAKER D Wow. So what a marvelous prayer model of claiming God's promises. So what's happened? You see, just to give you some background here, jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, was facing an imminent invasion by a confederacy of armies. So he's facing this armies that are coming against him now. He'd made preparation for this crisis by building up Judah's army defenses. He'd made preparation. He had more than 1 million well trained men ready for the battle. However, when the threat became known to the king, did you notice his first response was not look to the preparations for war, but rather look to the Lord? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So he went to the Lord. So we can learn from that. When we face problems in our life, our response should be the same look to the Lord first. Now, this does not mean that we can meet the preparations whatever need may arise. The danger is that we have a tendency to go immediately to our human resources for help and deliverance. That's our natural tendency. SPEAKER C That's true, yes. SPEAKER D You know, and our mind starts formulating ways to solve the problem rather than turning to God first. So I love Jehoshaphat's response. It's a hard name to say, but it's a good example for us to follow. The first thing he did is he called the nation to pray for a fast and prayer. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D That's step one. He called them to fast and pray to the Lord. Remember, we discussed in the previous sessions that united prayer and fasting was essential in order to enable God to work on their behalf. SPEAKER C Yeah, that's right. SPEAKER D So next we read of the king seeking the Lord himself in prayer. So first, he brings his whole nation to prayer and fasting to the Lord to seek his wisdom, to seek his help. Then we see the King himself going to the Lord himself in prayer. And his prayer on this occasion is a wonderful example of how to pray the promises of God rather than praying the problem. SPEAKER C Okay. SPEAKER D And that was the difference when facing a crisis. So what it means is this praying the promises means we focus on God's word and his promises and not on the problem. Because what happens if we focus on the problem? We will feel more overwhelmed and discouraged after that prayer than before it. If we just focus on the problem. SPEAKER C There'S no power in the problem, really, to fix it, is it? Power is outside of that. That's right. Yeah, that's right. SPEAKER D In fact, focusing on the problem causes the problem to grow larger in our mind. And as we said in that prayer, this is what in two Chronicles, chapter 20, verse six to 13. What's the first thing the king did? He began what? What was the first thing he did? SPEAKER C Well, he was praising God, wasn't he? SPEAKER D That's right. He was praising God's attributes, especially those related to the problem he was facing in verse six. So when facing an attacking enemy, as Jehoshaphat was, it was encouraging him to recall that God rules over all the kingdoms of nations. He just said, you rule over the kings of nations, that power might are in his hands, that no one can withstand him. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Nothing can happen without God letting it happen. Second, the king, what did he do? What was the second thing the king did in that prayer? SPEAKER C Well, record how God had driven the inhabitants out of the land previously. So the victories that God had given to Israel and Judah in the past. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D So he went and said he just sort of lined up all the things that God had done in the past, the deliverance he'd done in the past, so similar to the present victory that Judah needed. He says, you did all these things in the past, will you do it for us? So what happens when we recall God's provision in the past related to our present need. It reminds us of God's faithfulness and builds our faith. So when we're praying, Lord, you did all these things in the past, will you do this thing for me today, Lord? SPEAKER E Right. Yes. SPEAKER D Third, he stated in prayer a promise. That's the third thing he did, okay. God had made to his people in the past a promise related to the problem he was facing in verse eight and nine. So he said you promised that you would take care of us, that you would deliver us from the enemies that you had born us this land of Israel. And then the fourth, after these three steps in prayer, jehovah then stated the problem. So the last thing he did after all these things, he then stated what the problem was. So fifth, and then what he does then after he states the problem, then he praises God. Before any evidence of victory was seen, he started praising God. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Do you note this important point? The King did not begin with the problem. The first three elements of his prayer built up his faith because he was focusing on God and his promises. SPEAKER E Yeah, that's true. SPEAKER D So when we the first elements of that prayer builds up our faith by focusing on God and his promises, not the problem. So by the time he got to the problem, it did not seem so overwhelming. In summary, Jehoshaphat's prayer model is this praise number one claim the past victories that God has done, the promise that God has made forth, then the problem, and then he praised God. So that's the model of the prayer. Praise past victories, promise, then the problem, and then praise God. Why do we need to praise God? What's the necessity of praising God? Praise during prayer is essential. When you start praising God, I'm telling you, you're going to feel a lot better just by praising God. There's joy in it. SPEAKER C Our words definitely have an effect on us. Our mood has an effect in our words, and our words have an effect on our mood. So if we start praising God, that's definitely going to just have a positive effect on the mind. But now if we're talking about things of a spiritual nature, just think how much more that will have an effect. SPEAKER D Just if you're just going all negative all the time with God and you're always whining, complaining and negative, guess what's going to happen to you? SPEAKER C Well, you're going to become whining, negative and complaining continually. SPEAKER D And so it's important that we praise God during our prayer. I've found that I don't do that enough myself, Eddie. I can easily go to the problems. Sure. Instead of praising God for what he's done in the past, praising God for the victories in the past, praising for who he was and the promises that he's made, and that's when you do that, you're going to have a more positive outlook and it's faithful. SPEAKER E Yes. Amen. SPEAKER D And in Philippians chapter four, verse six and seven. Philippians, chapter four, verse six and seven. Paul counsels us about this prayer. What does he say? SPEAKER C Says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And then verse seven says, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. SPEAKER D So he's saying thanksgiving. It's also important to note that in the two verses before this, he instructs us to rejoice in the Lord always. This is so important that he writes again in Philippians, chapter four, verse four, he says, I will say it again. He says it again. SPEAKER C Rejoice, rejoice. SPEAKER D I think he's trying to make a point. Rejoice in the Lord. See, when we praise God, guess what happens? The angels join us in our praise. The angels love to praise God. They love it brings joy to them. In fact, when you praise God, God himself draws close to us. For example, in the Psalms, chapter 22, verse three, what does David say? SPEAKER C He says, but you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. SPEAKER D Wow. But thou art holy, mind says, O thou, thou inhabit us, the praises of Israel. So isn't that incredible? So, most importantly, we must always praise God when we pray. Doesn't matter how difficult the situation. Praise plays an important role in our victory over the enemy. We can see also Daniel praising and thanking God in prayer when he was threatened with death for praying. Remember, he was threatened in death if he prayed in public. There was a decree made by I think it was Darius. That's right, he made a decree and all these generals and all these councils came together and said, hey, make a decree that for the next so many days that anyone has to just worship you and not pray to any other God. But Daniel, he prayed three times to God every day in the morning, in the noon and the evening. Yes, he did, every day. And he was threatened with death. Anyone who was caught praying to another God during those, I don't know, was it ten days or whatever it was, how many days? What happened to them? They were going to throw in the lion's den. SPEAKER E That's right, yeah. SPEAKER D So we see Daniel praising and thanking God in prayer when he was threatened with death with praying. And I remember also in Acts chapter 16, verse 25, we see an example of Paul and Silas. They're in prison and what are they doing? SPEAKER C Edie and yeah, they're praising God after they've been beaten, singing praises and praying. SPEAKER D While they were in chains. They're in chains and they prayed and sang praises to God while in chains, in prison. You see, if we don't praise God, we will not see God work on our behalf as he would like to. By the way, praise to God is not for his benefit. SPEAKER C Okay. That's an important point to keep in mind. SPEAKER D It is for our benefit. It lifts our sights upwards towards God and increases our faith in Him, in his delivering power. There's this beautiful quote by Ellen White concerning the importance of praise, and that's found in testimonies volume to the church, volume five, page 317. Can you just read that for us? SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER C We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. If the lovingkindness of God called forth more thanksgiving and praise, we would have far more power in prayer. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER C Isn't that incredible statement. So if the loving kindness of God called forth more thanksgiving and praise, we would have far more power in prayer. And who wouldn't want more power in prayer? We would abound more and more in the love of God and have more bestowed to praise Him for. Isn't that great? So it just keeps on growing and swelling and getting. You have more to praise as you praise God. You get more, you receive more and then have more again. SPEAKER D It's just wonderful. SPEAKER C You who complain that God does not hear your prayers, change your present order and mingle praise with your petitions. Then you consider his goodness and mercies. You will find that he will consider your wants. SPEAKER D Wow. I mean, even like Paul and Silas here they are in jail in chains, praising God. They've just been beaten. They praise God that they were persecuted for preaching about God. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Interesting though, when they were in jail, what happened? SPEAKER C They praise God and they thank him for it all. And I mean, the other prisoners, I guess, must have been amazed. And then God sends an earthquake and. SPEAKER D He delivers them and delivers them. And who was saved that day? SPEAKER C Jailer. And his family, his whole household. SPEAKER D So would the jail have been saved if God didn't send Paul and Silas to that jail? SPEAKER E No. SPEAKER C It wouldn't have happened. SPEAKER D No. So that's why whatever circumstances you're in, you praise God. For example, joseph. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D He was sent to prison. He hadn't done anything wrong, but he's sent to Joseph, you know, after because the general's wife, or whatever his name, wanted to his wife wanted to have relations with Joseph and he was sent to jail. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C For doing the right thing. SPEAKER A Yeah. SPEAKER D For saying, no, I can't sin against my master or God. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D And what happened? Joseph sent to prison, but he still praised God. But if he hadn't been sent to prison, he wouldn't met the guy that makes bread. SPEAKER C Yeah, that's right. SPEAKER D The baker and the baker and the wine cup bearer. He wouldn't have met them, and therefore he wouldn't have interpreted their dreams. And he wouldn't have then met Pharaoh. And if he didn't meet Pharaoh, he wouldn't have heard his dream and then he wouldn't have saved his people, Israel, when there was a seven years of this bad drought that would have killed everybody. See how. God works. SPEAKER C He just incredible. SPEAKER D He brings us sometimes into places that we don't want to be. I mean, who wants to go to jail? SPEAKER C No one wants to go to jail. But God brought something really good out of that terrible situation that Joseph found himself in. Not only been sold as a slave, but then being faithful to his master, he gets accused of something he didn't even do. Matter of fact, he was doing the opposite. And then through all that adversity, god then elevates him to be in charge only second to the Pharaoh of Egypt. And that was one of the mightiest kingdoms in that time. Well, we've just run out of time here for the first half of the program. Stay tuned after these messages. We'll be right back with you. 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SPEAKER C Welcome back to You Shall Receive Power with Colin Hone and Etienne McClintock. And we are looking at lesson 20 and lesson 21, which has got to do with God's promises and prayer, and then also scriptures and prayer, which we'll be touching on very shortly. And it comes from the book 50 Days Prayers and Devotionals to prepare for the lateral reign and Christ's soon return. So we're talking about examples in the Bible, Colin, of people who through adversity were made strong and just by praising God. Even in those difficult situations, god has been able to elevate and deliver them. And we gave the example of Daniel in Daniel chapter six, where he was thrown in the lion's den for being faithful and continuing in prayer. And then God delivered him shut the mouth of the lions. And those lions were very hungry. Wasn't that they were hungry because when the other guys were thrown in there, before they even touched the ground, the Bible says they were devoured. SPEAKER D Isn't it interesting too that because of what happened through that adversary, the king said, your God is God, Daniel. So he even convicted a king that Daniel's God is the true God. There's just so many examples in the Bible that, you know, sometimes he has to take us through adversity and we can't see it. We can't see the big picture, but God has a bird's eye view, he can see everything. And so know, we talked about Joseph, how he was for example, he was thrown into a pit by his brothers and sold as a slave. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D And he's just thinking, I just had a dream about my brothers bowing down to me and saving them and all this, and next minute I'm being sold as a slave. Little did he realize that he was going to be sold to a slave to Potiphar, that he would be put in jail. Right. And that he would interpret dreams in the jail. That led him to Pharaoh interpreting his dream, which then put him in charge, second in charge to Pharaoh. And because of that, he was able to save not only Egypt, but Israel. And the twelve brothers came down and he was able to save them from the drought. See how God used adversity? SPEAKER C Incredible. SPEAKER D For a purpose, to fulfill God's purpose. SPEAKER C It's out of that adversity that greatness came. Now, for example, if none of those things had happened, joseph wasn't sold into slavery, he didn't end up in Know. Joseph wouldn't have been more prominent at that time than his brothers. But his brothers ended up actually bowing down to him because of all these adversities that he went through, which then God then out of that adversity elevated him to an incredible Know, one of the greatest nations of the earth at that time, and he's second in charge. SPEAKER D But what was the purpose, though? The purpose was to elevate Joseph, though. Was the purpose to save his brother? Yes, to save his brother. SPEAKER C Preserve the seed through who the Messiah would come. SPEAKER D That was the purpose of it. And you can see so many examples in the Bible of this happening. Like Daniel. We read again in Daniel. We also read in Daniel, for example, they stood firm for what they believed in when they were told they had to eat all this king's food on the table, which was unclean food and drinking alcohol, and they didn't want to partake about it. And they then had a test. And because of them standing firm for what they believed in, their life was on the line. But what happened? They were then elevated to be the counselor to the king himself. SPEAKER C God bless their faithfulness. And there's such a small little thing as diet and appetite. SPEAKER D So when God brings you through adversity in your life, and I can speak for myself, it took God to take me down to the lowest point to get my attention. I've been always searching for God, but it was sort of like a search but never really following through. And God eventually allowed me to go through cris in my life when I was about 29 years of age, where I was in drinking and smoking and smoking marijuana and even dealing in drugs and all sorts of things. And eventually I had no money. I had no money. I was absolutely had nothing. I had $1 to my name. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D And it was like that night I actually cried out to God. So he had to allow me to go through that to the rock bottom for me to get his attention. For Him to get my attention. SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER D Sorry. And so when I prayed lord, who are you? Do you have a church on the earth that's following God's word? And he led me to Jesus. He led me to the seven day Venice Church as a prophetic movement to give God's last day message to the world, the three angels message. He led me, but it had to get rock bottom. SPEAKER E Right. SPEAKER D And again, another crisis happened in my life because what happened to me is I didn't join the church. But you know, when you first you're excited about something, but it can wane. And I became lukewarm and I just sat in the pews and I never led anyone to Jesus. I didn't do anything for twelve years. And God had allowed another crisis just like Joseph to come into my life to get my attention. And through that crisis he actually led me to understanding the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit of Christ in the hope of glory. And from that he's then from that rock bottom again, a year in the wilderness. Yeah, he's led me where I've been able to preach and teach in probably over 1516 countries. And we've distributed that Steps to Personal Revival book, like with a number of other people for Holy Spirit Ministries, 600,000 of these books. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER C Incredible. SPEAKER D That is helping with revival in the church and even on being on this radio station today, that would never have happened if God didn't allow me to go through adversity rock bottom to get my attention, to turn things around. So you may be out there feeling rock bottom, you might be depressed, you might be going through a broken relationship, a marriage or anything could be having a sickness. God is in control of everything. SPEAKER E Yes, he is. SPEAKER D And out of anything he can bring good. So I just wanted to share that. SPEAKER C Now, I appreciate you sharing that as well, because as I'm listening to know, we refer to Abraham's faith. Abraham is the father of the faithful. He was elevated to great prominence in the Old and New Testament. Now, that story of Abraham and Abraham, although he exercised faith, his faith was not made perfect until sometime down the track, because you look at the experience there, god promised him, he believed God. But then God says he'll make a great nation of Him, but then he fears for his life when he goes into Egypt and says to Sarah, Sarai, you are too beautiful. You tell them whenever they ask you, you my sister. Now, that was a half truth because she was his half sister at the time. But it wasn't the full truth, because the closer connection was actually the marriage covenant between the two of them. She was his wife and so then he caused her to lie. And of course we know that Pharaoh took her for a while, but then God caused some problems for him and then revealed to him, look, he's a prophet, let him pray for you and you'll be healed. But then after that the same thing happened again with Abimelech, who was prominent in the leader there where the same thing happened and Abimelek wanted to take. SPEAKER D Him and he says, well, the Lord king, wasn't he? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C And so the same thing happened. So Abraham's faith faltered there again. And of course then when there was a delay in fulfillment of the promise that through His Son, all the world, all the nations will be blessed, which was a promise of the Messiah, he tried to fulfill that by his own works, by having a child through the servant of Sarah, which was Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl. That's right. Yeah. So what happens that was also not an act of faith, that was an act of works, but it actually demonstrated an element of unbelief because that's what you call faith and works. God has promised. God has promised. However, I can't quite see that happening. So I've got to help God now, fulfill his promises. And we know that that was not the Son of Promise. Ishmael was not that son. It was Isaac who was the Son of promise. So then finally, when God gives him the son Isaac, god then sends him another test, another adverse that he's got to go through. SPEAKER D Test his faith again. SPEAKER C Test his faith because he'd failed the previous time. And this test was far more severe than the others. But he came through it with flying colors that even when God said to him look through Isaac, all the nations of the earth will be blessed through that seed. God then says to him go and sacrifice your son. And he go, well, how is it that God's word seems to contradict itself? But he went ahead anyway, knowing that God was faithful, that he would even raise Isaac from the dead, even after the sacrifice, if required. SPEAKER D That's found in Hebrews chapter twelve, chapter 1111. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D It talks about the faith. He believe that God was able to raise him up. So he believed by faith in the impossibility. SPEAKER C He didn't understand how God could possibly do, but he knew all these options available to God, because God's Word is living and powerful. But he believed the Word even though he didn't understand the whole principles involved in it all. And so we are tested in the same way. We may be going through adversities, but God's Word, if it promises us that he will do things for us, that he will save us, he will redeem us, that he will heal you even if you're in sickness, we know that God will deliver just as he has delivered with Abraham. And look, I've got a similar testimony as well to you, Colin, and maybe when we've got some time in the next program or further down, if we have some time remaining at the end, I can maybe share that as well. But let's get back into the lesson. SPEAKER D We're in the lesson, we're talking about the promises of God. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D You just gave an example. God promised Abraham that Sarah would get pregnant. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And through his seed, through Sarah, he would have a son. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D And through that, the nations would be blessed talking about a future messiah. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So we know that was God's promise. And like you said, abraham tried to fulfill the promise himself. God took him to test him on his faith a couple of times, hey, would I take care of you? And a couple of times he failed. SPEAKER E Yes, he did. SPEAKER D So God sometimes might bring us back around to the same crisis. SPEAKER C Look, that is so encouraging for me to see Abraham, who's the father known as the father of the faithful, that even though Abraham made mistakes, god did not forsake him. God brought him back every time, but he strengthened his faith so he could endure that final test. And so it is with us. Maybe I should share that testimony. I had been working for a company many years earlier, and one of the things we could do is if we worked overtime, we could actually claim some money for meals. If you work after six or so, you can get some money. Anyway, I took full advantage of that, and after I'd left the company, I was spending some time in prayer and devotions and study, and I got closer to the Lord. And as I got closer and closer, this started being impressed on my mind that it's something I need to fix early. When I gave my heart to the Lord, it wasn't that prominent because God hadn't led me down that path yet. But as I got closer to the Lord, I got convinced that I need to fix this because I actually abused the privilege. While I could legally get to get away with it, I felt that it was not really done in the right spirit. So I was ooming and arring about this, whether I contact the boss at the time, the manager there, whether I tell him about this or not, because I thought, man, that would impact my reputation. It'll just be an awful thing to go through. I don't want to do this, but you the more I'm praying about it, the more I'm convicted that this is the right thing to do. So I thought, okay, well, I'm going to bite the bullet. I'm going to contact this person, tell them what it was, and I'm going to tell them that I'm going to give all that money back because I actually abused it for me. It came almost down to theft, basically. So what I did is I rang the guy. I had a good prayer before I did that. I rang this guy and I was just in an average job at the time, and this guy was blown away that I would actually do that. Instead of being angry at me, which I thought he might be, or being disappointed in me, it seemed to impress him that I was prepared to do this. And you know what he did? He offered me a job. I was just thinking, I'm confessing a sin here, you shouldn't trust me, and I'm really sorry. But he said, the fact that you were prepared to do this shows me that you're a changed person. And he offered me a job, not only a job, a promotion with significant, larger, more than double income I was earning at that time. And God changed my adversity into something that was far better than I had at the time, just simply because I followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I thought it was going to lead to something that would actually be derogatory, that would actually drop me further down. SPEAKER D You might even be sacked. SPEAKER C Well, that's right, yeah. And it actually didn't turn out that way. It turned out exactly the opposite. So I praise God for that, but it just gives me confidence in examples of the Bible that God, if he can do it for the people in the Old Testament and the New Testament, he's able to do it for us as well. SPEAKER D I love that. I love that. It's a great example. And so let's look at the practical application of this. Now let's apply this victorious prayer method to a present day situation. For example, one could use this prayer for prayer when facing a financial problem, right? Okay. So if you got a pen and paper, you might want to write these things down if you have one. But the first thing is, step one is to praise God. Number one, praise God, because the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Psalms 24, verse one. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Do you want to read that? SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER C It says, the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein. SPEAKER D Isn't it reassuring to know that our Father has all the resources at his command? SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D When we're facing a resource problem, it just says he owns what, the cattle on a thousand hills? He owns everything. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D So it's reassuring that the Father has all the resources at his command when we're facing a resource problem. Now, the second thing is start recalling past victories God has given you when you previously face financial difficulties, go back through your life and say, hey, Lord, you came through me then and then and then. So start focusing on the past victories that he has given you. SPEAKER A Yes. SPEAKER D I'm sure all Christians have had numerous experiences in this area, financial difficulties in their life. Now third, if you faithfully return a tithe to God, you can in faith claim God's promise to provide and rebuke the devourer when threatened with the loss that's found in Malachi, chapter three, verse ten to eleven. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C And it says there, bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts. So God tells us to try him. If I will not open for you the window of heaven and pour out on you such blessing that there will be no room enough to receive it. And in verse eleven says and I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of Hosts. SPEAKER D So here we have a promise that you're claiming by paying tithe to God that he will take care of all your needs. He'll come through for you. He'll even rebuke the devour, the financial problem that you're having. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Because he has all the resources if. SPEAKER C He put God first. Because sometimes people say, well, look, I can't pay tithe, I can't afford to do that, how would I pay my bills? But God says, if you put me first, I will bless you and you will be able to do all those things you require. SPEAKER D I remember someone saying I'd rather only have nine tenths and have God's blessing than have ten tenths and not have his blessing. Someone saying that to me. So now, the fourth thing we do, once you faithfully return a tithe, that you can claim God's promise, that he made a promise, didn't he, to take care of you? SPEAKER E Yes, he did. SPEAKER D The fourth thing is you can present the financial problem to God. Then that's the fourth thing. Then you come and say, here's the problem, I've got God right. And then fifth, you can then praise God for answering your prayer before you see any evidence of the answer. Lord, thank you for what you're about to do. Yeah, I don't know what it is, but I thank you for what you about to do. SPEAKER C Yeah, well, if we have read God's will in the Bible, we can't thank Him for receiving it. If we've prayed according to his will, he hears us and he gives us our petitions. SPEAKER D We thank Him for what he's about to do. So that's faith, isn't it? SPEAKER C That is faith, for example. SPEAKER D So the number, step one is what? Praise. SPEAKER E Praise? Yes. SPEAKER C Step two, recall the past victories that God has God has given you. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C Step three and then, of course, claim his promises. SPEAKER D Yes. Claim the promises that God has said in his word. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And number four, that's when you start. SPEAKER C Bringing your problems up and say, lord, please help me with this problem. And fifth, the fifth one is into. Praise God and thank Him for answering your prayer. SPEAKER D So you can do this in any situation that you're in. You can apply this practical application. And with this kind of prayer life, we can live above the problems and circumstances over life and truly rejoice in the Lord always. As Philippians chapter four, verse four says, because we know that God has made provision through his promises for every situation in life. And that's found in Philippians, chapter four, verse 19. SPEAKER C And it says, and my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. SPEAKER D How many needs was that? SPEAKER C All your needs? SPEAKER D It just says all of them. So remember to pray the promise and not the problem while praising God in every prayer. And we just want to share just a few praying Bible verses. And if you've got a pen and paper, you might write some of these down, because there's many verses in the Bible that contain promises and the condition required fulfillment of that promise. So when you pray these and other Bible verses, you should do two things. Number one, ask God to fulfill the condition in you and the church that is required fulfilling of that promise. And number two, ask God to fulfill that promise. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So some of these verses and prayer requests that follow will give you some verses that contain a promise and the condition of that fulfillment. Okay, for example, you can write this one down. Two Chronicles, chapter 16, verse nine. You want to read that one. SPEAKER C For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is fully committed to Him. SPEAKER D So, for example, from that promise you could have this prayer and say, well Lord, make our hearts fully committed to you. Show yourself strong on our behalf to bring about the needed changes in us so we will experience revival and reformation. We need that's a promise you can pay in the church. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D So here's God's promise and then here's the prayer. For example, if my people pray, where's that found? That's found in what about this one? Two Chronicles, chapter seven, verse 14. SPEAKER C This is a wonderful if my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. SPEAKER D So did you notice there's a condition there says, if my people pray? So this could be what you could then pray back to God and say, lord, lead us into humility. Put in our heart a desire to be a praying people and to turn from our wicked ways. Hear our prayer, forgive us and heal us of our backsliding. Here's the promise, Lord, and you pray. This beautiful. What about this one? Psalms 85, verse six, will thou not. SPEAKER C Revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee? SPEAKER D So here's the promise and here's the prayer. Lord, revive us and make us a people who rejoice in you. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D All right, have you got another one there for us? SPEAKER C Psalms 25, verse six. It says, Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness, for they have been ever of old. SPEAKER D Okay, so what you could say from that promise, you could say, Lord, be merciful to us and forgive us our sins, restore us to your favor and glorify your name through us. SPEAKER C Well, here's another one from the same psalm, psalm 25. And this is verse 16 to 18. It's a little bit longer. It says, Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged. O bring thou out of my distresses, look upon my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins. SPEAKER D So there's the promise, and here is the prayer you could pray to that, lord, have mercy upon us, for we are spiritually desolate and afflicted. Forgive us our sins and bring us out of our later sin or lukewarm condition. SPEAKER E Yes, very important. SPEAKER D This is a church could then pray that prayer, here's the promise. Lord, we pray that you will do this. Have you got another one? SPEAKER C Yeah, what about this one here? Psalms 32, verse eight, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with my eye. SPEAKER D There's the promise. And this could be your prayer, lord, guide us and teach us, Lord, that we will be constantly under your direction in our lives and our church. All right, we're just going for maybe one or two more. SPEAKER C Okay, so this is one from Psalm 34, verse seven. It says, the angel of the Lord encamps around them that fear him and delivers them. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D So you could say, Lord, deliver us from our state of spiritual lethargy and protect us from Satan's attacks. SPEAKER C Well, let's look at the next verse there as well. It says, O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is a man that trusts in him. SPEAKER D So your prayer could be, Lord, cause us to trust in you, Lord, and not earthly things, and then bless us abundantly. SPEAKER C Well, let's go to the next verse, psalm 34, verse nine, o fear the Lord, you his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. SPEAKER D So again you could say, Lord, cause us to fear and reverence you with all our hearts. Lord, deliver us from the things that keep us from having what we need spiritually. So there's so many promises in the Bible that you can go to and then you can pray those promises back to the Lord. SPEAKER C And you know, the psalm we're particularly looking at the moment, psalm 34 is a great psalm to commit to memory and then to use in your prayers as well. I'm just looking there's. Verse 15 of Psalm 34, for example, it says, the eyes of the Lords that are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. SPEAKER D So your prayer could be Hear our cry for revival, Lord. SPEAKER C Beautiful, right? SPEAKER D So that's just some wonderful promises. So I really encourage you to go to the promises of God and go through those steps. SPEAKER C So let's just go to the information on how people can contact us and we'll be right back after this short break. SPEAKER B Thank you for joining us on You Shall Receive Power. If you would like more information about today's program or if you have any questions, please contact 3ABN Australia Radio by Phoning 024-973-3456. Or you can send an email to [email protected]. You can also contact us on our 3ABN Australia radio Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you. SPEAKER C Welcome back to you. So receive power. And just as we are wrapping up the program, we pray that you have been blessed by it. And also you've taken some of those contact details down in case you need to get hold of us or get access to these books. You can go to your nearest Adventist book center, of course, or you can contact us to get this book 50 Days Prayers and Devotionals to Prepare for the Latter Rain and Christ's Return. Now, just in closing, we should just summarize what we've spoken about praying, the Bible verses, but also that model prayer we received when Jehosphat and all of Judah were being threatened with extinction because they had all these other nations coming up against them. And that prayer is recorded in two Chronicles, chapter 20 from verse six to verse 13. Now, the steps that Joseph had went through is basically these, and that is to praise God first. Then he recalled the past victories of the Lord, then he claimed the promises, and then after that, so that was the fourth step. He actually then presented the problem. And after he presented the problem, he actually went back to praise God for answering his prayer before he even saw the evidence for the prayer being answered. Now, that is actually not an act of presumption. That's an act of faith, because it's based on the promises of God. And Jehoshaphat expected God to deliver on what he said he would. So that's implicit faith. Now, sometimes people can be presumptuous and they may start asking God to do things that they're not even sure about his will. But when we clear about God's will, he wants to save us, he wants to deliver us, he wants what's best for us. And as we read those verses in the Bible and claim those promises, we can go through this process. So I hope you've written it down. Praise God. Praise him for his past victories. We call those claim his promises related to. Your circumstances, then present your problem and then praise God and thank him for his goodness in answering your prayer and expecting him to answer your prayer. So, dear listener, we pray you've been blessed by this program. Prayer is such an important part of our walk with the Lord in how we communicate back to God and pray on behalf of others. And they can also pray the prayers of faith in accordance with his will and his word. Now, dear listener, if you want that book, 50 Days prayers and Devotionals by Pastor Dennis Smith, they are available for $5 at your avenues book center. Or you can even contact us here at Three ABN, Australia. Thank you for joining us today. We look forward to catching up with you in the next program. God bless you. SPEAKER D You've been listening to a production of Three ABN, Australia radio.