(Om Orientation) Our Weapons Prayer - Part 2 — George Verwer

Sending Laborers Into the Harvest

But I'll tell you, when I go to prayer, I'm sending forth laborers, and it's a thrill to my soul to know that I can have a little part of God's plan of sending out missionaries. And wherever there's two or three gathered together in prayer, there is a mission board.

There's a real mission board. Sending forth missionaries, believing God, the Lord of the harvest, to send forth laborers into the harvest. What a thrilling task! What an opportunity for us to send forth laborers into the harvest.

That's the ministry we need. Might God grant it. Might God show us from this passage of scripture that the greatest thing we can do is in love. Remembering verse 36, is with compassion, pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers.

You see the motivation right in the middle of it, and prayer without love is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. And when you get in a prayer meeting and you begin to pray, and you don't love the brethren who are in the meeting, and you don't love the people you're praying for.

Loving Others by an Act of the Will

I'm not speaking about an emotion. I'm not speaking about a sentiment in which you feel like putting your arms around everyone. I'm speaking about an act of the will in which we recognize our flesh to be dead.

Our unloving sentiments to be dead. Our unloving spirits to be dead. Our inability to be dead, and we as an act of the will believe that we love this person and we love that person. And then in obedience to the word of God, we live in relationship with that person on a love level.

Believing God to love him through us. So often we're tricked up in our Christian lives because we trust feelings. If you want to get fouled out in your Christian life, if you want to get on a sidetrack, if you want to end up on the shelf, if you want to end up spiritually defeated, trust feelings.

If you want a minimum prayer life, if you want to see the devil bombard your prayer life, trust feelings. When you get up in the morning you don't feel like praying. And when you come to meet together in prayer there at your school or wherever you are, you might not feel like praying.

And if you trust those feelings, I guarantee you will get very far. And I believe sometimes God honors our prayers more when we don't feel like praying than when we do. For what is more honorable to God?

Praying when we don't feel like it? Stepping out by faith when all of our flesh seems to be rebelling against it? Meeting for a night of prayer when everything in our flesh says go to bed? Meeting together for intercession with people who you don't exactly perhaps agree with and your flesh isn't very attracted to it.

But as you go into it you believe God and you reckon yourself as dead unto sin and dead unto all these things. Isn't this more pleasing to God? Of course it is. The word of God clearly says without faith, not feelings, without faith it is impossible to believe God or to please God.

Oh might God grip us with this tremendous need of reckoning our feelings as nothing and believing Him as an act of the will and loving the lost sheep and those that are scattered abroad as an act of the will.

Might God grant it. Now look at Matthew 17. Matthew 17. Let this kind goeth not out. Upright prayer. There's not time to read the holy lunatic. Here's this young fellow up. They couldn't do anything for him.

And he rebuked the disciples very bluntly and very clearly and told them that it was because of their unbelief. And then he said that if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed they could remove mountains.

And he says in the last part of verse 20, nothing shall be impossible unto you. Do you believe that? What a promise of the word. Oh there isn't time to dwell upon it. There isn't time to say all that could be said about it.

Nothing shall be impossible unto you. But look at it. How be it this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Mark it down. Underline it. Meditate on it. And then look at verse 22 and chapter 21.

Coming right behind this story in chapter 17. Here we read 21, 22. Starting at the 21st verse is better. Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done.

And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Do you believe that? What a tremendous promise of the word of God. All things that you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Faith, God's Will, and Answered Prayer

But some people say, Well, I ask for things and I don't receive them. I say, Did you believe? Many times they say, Well, I guess not. Others say, Well, I asked for things and I believed. I believed and I didn't receive them.

And I say, Uh-uh. That can't be. You see, God is the author of faith. And note this. God is never going to allow you to believe in for something that's out of his will. Some people say, Well, I prayed and I believed God for something, but it was out of his will, so he didn't give it to me.

Nor did he give you the faith. God always gives the faith when it's in his will. When you ask and it's in his will, he gives the faith. He gives the assurance. That's why it's so important in praying concerning Mexico, in praying concerning Europe.

Because we've asked, we've challenged you to pray in a certain amount of money. And this is the real test. Some people, they get along with everything in our work but this. Because this is the real test.

Whether they can really do anything through prayer. Whether they can really do anything specific through prayer. God's will to go forward in these crusades. And when you come to the conclusion and you know it's God's will for you to go, then you know that he will supply.

And so you can ask anything in prayer, believing. And it will take place. This is given even more strongly in Mark 11. Look at Mark 11, 24. Oh, there's never enough time to cover these verses. Mark 11, 24, here it is.

Oh, might God grip us with this tremendous weapon of prayer that we can believe and that settles it. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. That's how we need to pray. That's why we need to do less rambling in our prayer.

Oh, how much better it is to unite our hearts over a few specifics and make sure that we're taking territory for God. And I have people come to prayer and they pray for a thousand souls to be converted but they don't really believe it and so it will never happen.

And sometimes in their flesh they try to work up faith. I believe, I believe. And they shout and they scream, I believe, I believe. But that won't do it either. We need to wait upon God. Notice Mark 13, 33 for a divine principle.

Mark 13, 33. Here we see what we need to be doing. Look at it. God grants us this. Take heed. Watch. For ye know not when the time is. And that's what we need in our praying. We need to be watching. We need to be waiting upon God.

Watch and pray. Oh, how we need to remember the words of the Old Testament that say, Be still and know that I am God. Waiting upon God. Gathered around this table and worship to Him. And praise to Him.

Waiting for Him to reveal His will. Not barging into His presence and saying, Oh now God, do this, do that. Now God, I want to go here. I want to go there. I want to do this. I want to do that. But waiting upon God.

Letting Him pluck the heart strings of your heart. Through His love. Through His word. Through prayer. Through the facts He gives you concerning the mission fields of the world. Through other people. Waiting upon God.

Watch and pray. Waiting upon God. Oh, we see this word throughout the Old Testament and in the New. This thing of wait. How we need to learn to be patient in prayer. And to wait on God. And to worship Him.

And to be thrilled with Him. Let's not get captivated into the praying. Into the praying club. And we become praying nuts. We always want to pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Prayer isn't the end. Prayer is the means to the end.

Prayer as Communion With God

Let's not make the prayer meeting on God. Let's not substitute God for praying. Or praying for God. Let's realize that prayer is a means to getting through to God. Prayer is communion with God. Prayer is speaking with God.

Prayer is loving God and fellowshipping with God. And let's not have our morning quiet time. Because every good evangelical Christian has five minutes in the morning quiet time. Or a half hour in the morning.

Or you need to pray at least an hour a day to keep on the victory side. All this stuff is just nonsense. It's not prayer that's going to help us. It's God. And if our praying doesn't take us through to God.

And if our praying isn't fellowship to God. And isn't worship of God. And isn't praising God. If it isn't waiting upon God. It will mean relatively little. And we're far worse than those people we often criticize with their rosary beads.

And those who go on with their vain babblings. Let's beware of it. Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Now let's look rapidly at Luke. Luke 6, 12. We see the Lord Jesus Christ doing something that oh how we need to do in these days.

Luke 6, 12. Luke 6, 12. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city. Behold there was a dead man carried out. Pardon me that's chapter 7. Back one more chapter. 6, 12. And it came to pass in those days.

That he went out into a mountain to pray. And continued all night in prayer to God. And Jesus needed to spend nights in prayer. How much more do we. Oh I know little of this. But might we press toward the mark.

There isn't time to comment on it. But what more do we need to do than to see Jesus Christ. We see Jesus Christ going off to pray. We see Jesus Christ with his disciples in prayer. We see Jesus Christ in the wilderness in prayer.

We see Jesus Christ in the mountains in prayer. What more do we want. He set the example. How can we claim to follow him. How can we claim to love him. How can we claim to be concerned about him. Or to be his children.

And not want to follow his example in prayer. And not want to follow him into the mountains to pray. And not want to follow him into the wilderness in prayer. Oh how blind we've been. We've said we follow Jesus but we don't follow him.

We've said we want to do what Jesus did but we don't do it. And many of us want to see the miracles that Jesus did. But there's few of us that want to pay the price that Jesus paid. There's few of us that want to enter into the life that Jesus lived.

Oh my God open our eyes. Mighty anoint our eyes and take away our blindness. Mighty take away my blindness today. That I might see that if I'm to follow Jesus. It must be in a life of communion with the Father.

Jesus who said my meat is to do the will of the Father. And we see the same thing emphasized again. In Luke 19 .46. Here we read. Saying unto them it is written. My house is the house of prayer. But ye have made it a den of thieves.

The Church as a House of Prayer

The Old Testament said. That God's house was to be a house of prayer. Jesus in order to refresh our memories. Quotes the Old Testament and says. My house is the house of prayer. Not the house of preaching.

Not the house of teaching. Not the house of evangelism or soul winning. Or any other of these good and important and essential activities. But first of all. My house shall be a house of prayer. Why is there so much powerless preaching?

Simply because there's so little powerful praying. Why is it that there are few souls coming to Christ in many of our churches? It's because there are few people out on the prayer meeting. Night when we should be going to God in prayer.

For great and mighty things. And many times when we do have the prayer meeting. It's dead and it's formal and it's cold. And there's lack of love and there's no unity. There's no power. What is the sense of continuing in it?

What is the sense of continuing having a form of godliness. And denying the power thereof? Unless God moves upon us in power. Unless God changes our lives and gives us love for one another. Unless there's revival and reformation and revolution.

What purpose is there to continue? As we look out upon this world. And we see the cults. And we see the communists. And we see the Jehovah Witnesses. All doing these tremendous things that we see them doing.

In advancing their cause. Without the power of prayer. How much more should we be doing with the power of prayer? Is the devil stronger than God? Is the power of darkness greater than the power of light?

Is the inspiration of Satan. Able to give more dedication, more drive, more zeal. Than the inspiration of the Holy Spirit upon us? Of course not. Just one look at the cults. One look at these false religions.

Should cause us to fall on our faces before God. And realize that we've been duped. We've been tricked. Edward R. Murrow once said. Billy Graham quoted him. That we've been doped. We've been doped. How true it is.

Spiritually we've been doped. And we're dead to the movings of the spirit. And we don't respond. And I'm not ever saying or ever recommending. That we be inspired or motivated by what other groups are doing.

We don't need to look at the communists or the Jehovah Witnesses. Or any other group to receive our motivation. We're to look to Calvary. It's at Calvary that we receive the motivation we need. When we see Jesus Christ laying down his life for us.

So that we should want to lay down our lives for him. My house shall be a house of prayer. Can you say that about your bedroom and your dormitory? Can you say that about your house? Can you say that about where you're fellowshipping?

It's a house of prayer. It's a place where men and women are meeting God in prayer. Again there's not time to dwell upon it. Meditate on it. Think upon it. Now turn to the Gospel of John the 15th chapter.

Abiding in Christ for Effective Prayer

As we come to a close of this session. Might our hearts be gripped afresh. With the fact that all these things that we desire to do. Cannot be done by us. But must be done by the life of Jesus Christ.

Working through us. And this is clearly seen in John 15 in relation to prayer. Here we read John 15 7. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you. Ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.

Here again we see another one of the requirements. That must be met in order to see answered prayer. We've already seen back in Matthew. That to receive answers to prayer we must believe. And in order to believe we must be praying in the will of God.

And as we pray in the will of God. God will give us the faith. And we can believe him for great. And mighty things. That's how we'll take Mexico. That's how we'll take the Muslim world. That's how we'll take Europe.

As we wait upon God he gives us the assurance. That this is his will. And then we can lay hold of by faith. Those things that must come to pass. Whether it be funds or vehicles or manpower. Or a place to meet or anything else.

God will supply and he says here. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you. Ye shall ask whatever you will and it shall be done unto you. What tremendous promise. What a tremendous promise. There's enough promise right there in that one verse.

To evangelize the world. What does it depend on? What does it hinge upon? It hinges on you and me abiding in Jesus Christ. Are you abiding in him? This isn't something that comes one day and then it lasts forever in a sense.

It's something that daily we must put into practice. Daily we must abide in Jesus Christ. When we find ourselves moving into the realm of irritability. Or moving into the realm of impatience. Or moving into the realm of pride.

Or moving into the realm of self-seeking. Or moving into the realm of an unloving spirit. Or moving into the realm of jealousy. Or moving into the realm of striving. The minute we feel ourselves moving into any of these realms.

We need to realize that we're moving out of Jesus Christ. You don't move into sin. Without first moving out of Jesus Christ. And pulling yourself away from the Savior. Of course there's another sense in which you can never pull yourself away from the Savior.

Because he has said that he's dwelling within us. The Holy Spirit is within us. But you can't move into any of these realms of sin and selfishness. Any of these realms of awayness and loneliness from God.

Without first grieving the Holy Spirit. Without first quenching the Spirit. Without first turning the Spirit's work off in your life. What a tremendous promise. And look in John 16. How real this is. John 16, 24.

Heather, if you ask nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive. That your joy may be full. All how we need to realize God wants us to ask. He wants us to believe him for great and mighty things. He isn't a stingy old man.

Holding back on his blessings. Saying beg another hour longer. Pray another night longer. And maybe I'll give it. But God wants to pour out a blessing. God wants to give us all that we need. God wants to do great and mighty things.

And the problem isn't that we have to beg him. The problem is that God looks for a man who will be faithful. He looks for a man he can trust. And the reason some young people never pray at any money. Is because God can't trust to give them anything.

It will go to their heads. Or they'll think that they're a man of prayer. Or they'll think that they've accomplished something. And it isn't that God doesn't want to give us the money to do the job. That God doesn't want to pour out financial blessing upon us.

So that literature can be printed and souls can be won. But he's seeking. He's looking for someone who will be faithful. For someone who will be honest. For someone who will be just. He's looking for good stewards.

Heather to you, have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask and ye shall receive. That your joy might be full. God wants to give us joy. God wants to give us an abundant life. The life of a true disciple isn't a life of long faceness.

It isn't a life of sadness. It's a life in which the fruit of the spirit joy is flowing through us. And we're rejoicing constantly in Jesus Christ. We're bubbling over constantly in the joy of God. Not a superficial, shallow laughing.

But a realistic joy that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the joy that was evident in the New Testament church. And just in closing, let us read a few verses in the book of Acts. Look at Acts 1 -14.

Unity and Prayer in the Book of Acts

Here we see the New Testament church putting into practice those things that Jesus Christ said and taught. Acts 1 -14. These all continued with one accord. Notice that. That's one of the keys to answered prayer.

If you're going to receive answered prayer there in your prayer group, you must be of one accord. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. With the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

And then in Acts 2, starting at the 42nd verse. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were done by the apostles.

And all that believed were together and had all things common. There's many who want to see the blessing of verse 41. Where it says they were added to the church about 3 ,000 souls. But there's few who want to pay the price of verse 42 and 44 and 45.

In verse 45 we read. And sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord. There it is. One accord in the temple with breaking of bread from house to house.

Did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God and having favor with the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. And there's many who want to see that happen.

There's many who want to see verse 41 and verse 47. But there's not too many that want to pay the price that was paid by these people. The price of unity. The price of prayer. Meeting together. Loving one another at any cost.

And as we look through the remaining pages of the book of Acts. We see the same thing over and over again. In Acts 4 .31 we read these words. And when they had prayed the place had shaken. Where they were gathered together and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

And they spake the word of God with boldness. And right on through the book of Acts. When Peter was in prison. When Paul was in prison. And the church prayed and they were released. And so the book of Acts is one picture.

Of people obeying the principles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Meeting together in love and in prayer and in unity. And in one accord. And in closing this message I want to say. Unless we're willing to do the same.

A Final Call to a Life of Prayer

Unless we're willing to have all things common. Unless we're willing to meet in love. Unless we're willing to be of one mind and of one accord. Unless we're willing to be shaken and filled with the Spirit.

Unless we're willing to bow down even when we're in the difficult spots. As Peter was when he was in prison. Unless we're willing to bow down in the midst of trials and battles and problems. And enter into the life of prayer and into the life of praise.

And worship Him and praise Him. And believe Him for great and mighty things. Then let's quit now. Let's turn off the recorder now. Let's not go on any further. For unless God builds the house. The house will be built in vain.

All might God grant it. In Jesus name. Let us pray. Heavenly Father we thank Thee that Thy Word is true. We thank Thee that You're a prayer answering God. We thank You that You're a miracle working God.

And You're able to do exceedingly abundantly. Above all we ask or think. Oh God we pray that Thou would make these verses from Thy Word real in our lives. That we tonight. That we today might enter into the school of prayer.

And learn of Jesus. That in these days we might see great and mighty things. For His honor. For His glory. And for His praise. Amen.