Answered Prayer： 10 Things You Need To Know — Shane Idleman

Seeking God’s Guidance Instead of Human Opinions

Weak everywhere. Think about that. If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere. Looking at my own personal life, I can say that is true. Men give advice, but God gives guidance. Men give advice, but God gives guidance.

And we get so much advice out there. And I don't know if you ever watch YouTube Shorts or Instagram. All these different opinions on what's going to happen with the banking system. Have you seen those?

Or where our government's going? Or what this administration's going to try to pull? Or I'm like, Lord, I don't know what to do. Opinions. But You will give us guidance. That's why it's so important to not just take opinions and seek God for guidance.

Because when He might want you to buy a house, He might want me to sell it. He might want you to pull cash out of the bank. He might want me to keep it in there. But see, we start getting all this guidance from YouTube Shorts.

From people who aren't even believers. And it could be good stuff, right? Cash out, you better get some silver right now. Pack your home with silver. Okay. What does God say? What is God telling you through His Word?

And I believe He's done this to me many times. For example, on that point, let's say you're reading and you're reading how the children of Israel would store up and God would give them silver and gold.

And maybe, hey God, as you're praying, that's a good indication. See, that's how the Bible can kind of speak to you through biblical principles, but also through His Word because it's living and powerful.

Or maybe it's a bad time to start a business for you, but a good time for someone else. And I just really, the last month, there's so many opinions out there on what to do. How to do it. Dave Ramsey versus this guy.

Pay off your house if you can. This guy, no, don't pay off your house. Get a second, use that money to buy other houses for rentals. Okay, that's great, but what about if the market crashes and your renters don't pay rent?

You're in big trouble. Man gives opinions, but God gives guidance. And being honest with you, sometimes I listen too much to the opinions of others. And you do too, so don't look at me that way. But God will give you guidance if you seek Him.

Trusting God When Financial Security Fails

And then there's something incredible that happens. Let's say, hypothetically, you're one of those banks that went down, and then Lord, man, most everything's gone, but I trust in You. You're guiding me.

What can man do to me? Sometimes I think we put too much into the things we have. The retirement and the 401k. And God sometimes will take those away. Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but it's what is our trust in.

Especially you see it when things crashed in 2018. How many of those top officials and CEOs and different people committed suicide? Because their whole world came apart. So remember, man will give you advice, but God will give you principles.

Intercession Through Christ’s Victory

So I left off with principles of intercession. Principles of intercession. I wanted to share from Reese Howells. Anybody heard that name? Reese Howells. Get his book on he was the intercessor. And they had, I think, intercession every day during World War II three or four times a day.

And they can see how that could have brought Hitler's reign to an end. And it's amazing how they track it, what he did. Fasting was not uncommon. Just throwing it out there for him. He realized how strong King's stomach was.

And because of all that, they put out these principles. Most fundamental of all is the principle that intercession is based on the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ in His atoning death and resurrection.

See, intercession, in case you weren't here last week, it's you going in between. So you are going in between God and your prodigal. You're going in between God and your problem. Many of us are going between God and our government that is so corrupt and arrogant and perverted.

Lord, hey, hello, we live here too. We're interceding. Would You please do something on behalf of Your people? And we would see people would intercede. Look at Abraham. I don't know if he was Abram back then, but Lord, if there's just 50, spare the city.

45, 40, 35, 30, spare the city. And sometimes I wonder, he stopped. What about if he said, Lord, would You spare the city for five? But he stopped. There wasn't enough righteous there in that city. And he interceded.

Just think of how many people interceded. I talked about Ezekiel where God said I look for someone to intercede, stay in between. And I could not find them. So the Lord's looking for intercessors to stand in the gap?

Spiritual Warfare From a Position of Victory

Number two, the New Testament makes it clear that there is I need to talk about one for just a minute. The most fundamental point is the principle of intercession. We have to remember that victory, the victory that was won on the cross.

The victory that was won on the cross. So we pray from a position of victory, not defeat. That should really encourage you because you're like, oh, Lord, please, I know if You could just win this battle, don't let the enemy win this battle.

We're coming from a position of victory, not defeat. Who can stop God Almighty? The New Testament makes it clear that there's consistent warfare going on in the heavenlies. And the Apostle Paul was constantly urging Christians to be aware of this.

To be clothed with heavenly armor and to fight the good fight of faith. So when we intercede, we have to remember, and I think it's going to be one of the points, is what's going on here is often a reflection of what's going on up there.

I don't know exactly where the heavenlies are, but it's not right here in front of us. And this conflict is often a spiritual battle. And you can see all the references there that you can look at in Ephesians and Timothy and putting on the whole armor of God.

And as you go into intercede and you pray, you have on the breastplate of righteousness, of course, Jesus Christ and His righteousness, but also living right before God and holiness before God and the helmet of salvation and being clear and being secure and the sword of the Spirit.

And this is how I fight my battles. This is how I fight my battles. Not with armor-piercing 9mm Ruger shells, although they're fun to shoot. But you're not going to have a physical result without heavenly warfare.

And so that's an incredible principle because sometimes we pray and we forget that I am actually right now, I am pulling down heaven. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against rulers of darkness of this age.

And as we wrestle, like this? No, like this. Oh God, please do something. Draw that prodigal son home. Draw that daughter home, Lord. She is back on crystal. She is back on alcohol. She is drifting from You.

She is wanting to embrace the LGBTQ agenda. Oh God, would You intervene? And I'm not going to eat until later today. And I'm going to call down heaven. And Satan, you have no authority in my home. And you begin to do heavenly warfare.

That's heavenly battle. We wonder why things aren't happening. Well, are you at the prayer meeting? Are you scheduling God on your calendar? No matter what the cost, I will seek You. If you understand that prayer truly moves the hand of God.

And you understand, if I'm not praying, I'm not engaging in spiritual warfare. Am I? Pull down heaven. That's what praying is, pulling down heaven. And I see so many Christians, they love the Word. They quote the Word.

They study the Word. But when it comes to prayer, it's not really a passion of theirs. It's hard. Yeah, it is hard. So is losing weight. Those things that are worth having, worth fighting for, are always hard.

Get over it. Try spending time with your kids. No, I just want to go watch YouTube. No, I want to spend time with you. No, no, no, no, no. Try having a devotional. It's tough. I told my wife this morning, she came early and I said, let me get the littles ready and I'll bring them.

Oh my gosh. Never again. I told you that's the secret to marital happiness is taking two cars to church. Actually, it wasn't too hard. My 13-year-old helped me a great deal. Praise God. Thank you, Gracie.

But I told my four-year-old, I said, listen, you cannot have a meltdown. Daddy needs to be at church in 30 minutes, okay? Just happy you get to ride in the big truck, okay? Just come on, get me through this.

Let's go, we gotta get out the door. My other daughter, she could care less. Like, I gotta be there. I'm kind of doing something there. Let's go. Let's go. So thank God for moms. I am not doing that for a while.

But you know, isn't it stressful? Like, hey, let's go to rock and jump and you can jump on trampolines, no problem. I'll get dressed, I'll get dressed, I'll go to the car. You're actually going out to the car, I'll eat something, everything's good.

Persevering in Prayer Through Spiritual Resistance

But coming to church, could it be heavenly warfare? Can the enemy plant seeds in the minds of your children? And you? Number three, there is nothing automatic in this conflict. We see Daniel praying through.

We see Daniel praying through. That's in bold for a reason. And maybe it's me, but I was convicted this week. How much really doesn't happen because we don't pray through? Have you ever started a pot roast or crock pot and you're like, you know, forget five minutes into it, I'm just going to put this back in the freezer.

Like, four hours? But could it be you have not because you ask not? And asking, the Bible talks about, is not just often a quick request, it's a petitioning. What's petitioning? What's pressing through?

What is travail? Bible talks about travailing. Weeping in worship. And the early church prayed for five minutes. No, they prayed for a while. And I do want to put a disclaimer in there because people get confused I guess sometimes.

Or George Soros hires them to come after me. But I'm not talking about being perfect and you always got to pray a long time and thank God for short prayers. Lord, help me. Lord, I need help getting out the door.

I need some, of course, but there needs to come a time also when you put those things aside. If Jesus went to a solitude place and spent the night in prayer, no doubt fasting, should we not have a model to follow?

Somehow we've got to make some time to travail and to press in. And it's hard. Pastor Abram can relate because we have a cabin we go to sometimes. I call it by Wrightwood. Or we used to go to the Oaks.

And I'm just bringing a gallon of water and my Bible, and the first 12 hours are like, I'm going home. I'm going to run to the store and go get some nuts or something. What's going on? My phone doesn't work.

What's going on? I don't like this. Morgan, just say you miss me, the kids need me, I'll be coming home, right? But when that shift takes place, then you don't want to go home. Because you can hear the birds.

You can hear the breeze. Spending time with God, you're not in a hurry. I get a little jealous about biblical times because I think that was much easier. Absolutely. Think of a little house on the prairie.

Pop, can I go to town with you? No, I've got about a three hour walk. Can you call me on my cell? No, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Instagram, no chat, snap, whatever. Constant communication. Constantly going here.

Constant stimulation. Constant things that are happening. You must take time and pray through. Like Daniel, it was a season of weeks where he would pray through for the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the return of the Jews to Jerusalem after the 70 years of captivity.

And Daniel just kept seeking God and praying through, even in his bondage. Remember, he was taken captive. Oh, it's interesting what difficult times will do and they'll change your prayer life. Sometimes we curse the difficult times, but sometimes they're a blessing.

The Holy Spirit’s Guidance in Spiritual Conflict

There are times when the intercessor number four, there are times when the intercessor finds himself up against very real forces. And if you've ever tried to pray through and you felt that blockage, you get up in the morning and your mind's going 100 miles an hour, and heaven is brass, as they say.

You're not seeing results. Life is kind of challenging. You don't feel that great. And there's times when you feel there's something preventing me from praying. The principalities and powers, the rulers of darkness of this world, are opposing the prayer.

It is here, folks, it is here, and only here, that the Holy Spirit must guide the intercessor as He alone knows the way to break through the opposition. God, I don't know how to pray. I don't know how to pray right now.

Have you ever been there? I don't really know how to pray. I've got things right now like, Lord, You have to take care of this, because I don't know how to pray. I'm up between a rock and a hard place.

As we press in, we're like, oh, I didn't see the exit back this way. Thank You, Lord. When God is in the equation, there's always a solution. It's here the Holy Spirit must guide the intercessor as He alone knows the way to break through the opposition.

As we're praying, God, I don't know how to pray for this situation. What is best for this child? What is best for that child? What is best for this situation? God, I don't even know, because I don't want to pray amiss.

I don't want to ask for something that's not Your will, hello? God, and I'm so broken. I'm so, to tell you the truth, I have a hard time sometimes. I don't know how to pray for America when it seems like she's out of control.

The rollercoaster jumped the track a long time ago, and we are hitting people left and right and wounding the innocent, and the little ones and the perversion, the school. It's like, have we collectively just lost our mind?

The Intercessor’s Responsibility and the Cost of Prayer

God, I don't even know how to pray, because it seems like nothing's working. Lord, help me pray in these difficult times. And then number five, a vital aspect of spiritual conflict is that of the responsibility of the intercessor.

Oh my goodness. Are you ready for a conviction alert? Once the Holy Spirit has put a burden on you, you now have a responsibility. Tell me that's not true. Because God gave you the burden, the responsibility now rests upon me and you to bring it to fruition, to pray.

Whatever the cost, whatever the cost, the intercession must be carried out to the end. And that's why I said I will die preaching what I preach. I don't have retirement on the radar, because I have a responsibility to intercede for our nation, for our state.

It's where God has me. If your calling is the missions field, your calling is for abortion clinics or the homeless ministry, praise God, let's come alongside each other. But God has given me a burden for this, this calling is a burden from the Lord.

And whatever the cost, whatever the cost, Shane, that might mean you can't be as busy as other pastors. You might have to say no to certain things. I've turned down a lot of speaking engagements, especially out of the country.

Like when you look at your calendar and you look at the family needs and there's a cost. Whatever the cost, is fasting a cost? There's a cost. I've shared with you before, one of the things, how fear of man, I don't know if fear is the right word, but opinions of man.

Whenever, sometimes I fast, I try to avoid people. Pastor, you're looking too skinny. I'm gonna bring you some beef stew next week. Right opinion, like are you sick? What's going on? No, I'm seeking God.

There's a cost. I'd love to see what Jesus looked like after 40 days. I don't think He was plump to begin with. Let's be honest, let's be real. There's a cost to the prayer closet. There's a cost. You know what?

I can't hang out with my buddies every single night. I can't sit and watch TV till 11 o 'clock and be stimulated by things that I shouldn't be watching and I have to get up early and seek God like never before.

There's a cost to it. There's a cost to pursuing God. Yes, there's a cost to coming to morning worship and to prayer meetings and to getting into God's Word and there's a cost to contend for my family.

It means dying to self. There's a cost. Whatever the cost, the intercession must be carried out to an end. And God might put on your heart, you know, pray for your son or for your daughter all the way up until Easter.

Give up dinner. Or whatever He might put on your heart. There's a cost to that. And the only reason I mention fasting in this context is because, I mean, maybe it's me, but a full stomach does not make a good prayer warrior.

That's when excuses come in. Oh, maybe next week. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll start. A full stomach is hard to have a fullness of God's Spirit in me. As difficult as it is. The biggest threat to America is possibly dead formalism.

Dead Formalism Versus Spiritual Fire

We have form, but no fire. Think about that. Look at all the churches. And we're like, what is going on? What it reminds me of is the Navy SEALs fighting ISIS. It's like we should be winning. What's going on here?

Because formalism. Form, but no fire. Going through the motions. Going through the motions. And dead, rigid prayers. No prayer life. No fire. No unction. No desperation. No desire. You can have form, but no fire.

What's your biblical example, Shane, for that? Well, the Pharisees had great form. Jesus said, actually, don't even pray like them. Don't even watch them. When you pray, go into a public arena and show how wonderful of a prayer warrior you are and how eloquent your words.

Boy, they're deep. They're spiritual. No, go into your private place and shut the door. Shut that door. And I'm not against formal prayer meetings. Sometimes, we don't always feel like praying. You don't always feel the strong moving of the Holy Spirit.

That's where obedience comes into play. But we will not have reformation without intercession. We will not have change without some pain. We will not have a cure without a cost. And comfort is the enemy of productivity.

I often wonder, maybe that's why God keeps us a little uncomfortable sometimes. Because if we're comfortable, we tend to get lackadaisical. It's a history of our nation. Bondage led to freedom. Freedom led to this, led to apathy.

It's a cycle of when the children of Israel grew comfortable and complacent. Actually, Isaiah and Jeremiah, if I'm not mistaken, were written about 50 years after the nation of Israel's experience. Fifty years of prosperity and abundance.

And they had drifted from God because of apathy. And sometimes, we have to force ourselves out of this comfort. Force ourselves out of this comfort and be productive. Many of you have heard of cold water therapy, have you?

Ooh, it'll wake you up. I tried it this morning. Oh, the hot water off just the cold water. Man, I'm not comfortable anymore. I need to get out of this thing. I'm cold. I'm happy. I'm excited. See, I got rid of that comfort.

And as I'll be teaching at the health seminar, actually, comfort actually leads to a lack of longevity. Because the body just gets weak and dies even quicker. And the cells and everything just doesn't like comfort.

Fasting is not comfortable for the body. It's actually a stress. It's actually a stress that takes place. Your cells begin to say, uh-oh, get rid of the microconjure, the old cell tissue. Get rid of this.

I've got to generate new stem cells. I'm uncomfortable. I'm under stress. And that's where the body begins to heal itself. Exercise is stress. Did you know that? But there's a good stress. Because it wakes up the body.

Wake up! Maybe some of you need to set your alarm clock. Watch how strong the flesh is. Sounds great at night until it beeps and the defense attorney also wakes up with you. Shane, you've got a full day today.

Ten Biblical Principles for Answered Prayer

There's a lot going on. The kids are sleeping in. This is your chance to sleep in. Defense attorney, thank you. I will go back to sleep. So that was the introduction. Here's the message. What time we got here?

Alright. Ten things you need to know. I'm going to have to do part three. But I have to. I can't just stick with because I felt God's prompting me in a lot of these different rabbit trails and areas. And I just have the skeleton up there and I pray that He puts the clothes on.

And that's why if you ever listen to first and second service, different stories, different analogies, different flow, different structure often. So ten things you need to know for answered prayer. And the Bible does talk about prayers being answered.

It's incredible. It's either yes, no, or wait. And here are ten keys that the Bible is crystal clear about. I've experienced this through my own life. Ten things you need to know. Number one, remove the kink in the connection.

Remove the kink in the connection. If you've been coming here a while, you remember the story I told you, but it bears repeating because I have so many new faces every couple months. But when my son was little, I'll never forget, the water was on full blast, and it's like, Dad, it's not working.

And we had good water pressure. Guys, you like good water pressure at your valve? I can tell you I worked for the water district. I can tell you I had to increase it illegally, but it's not a good idea.

So anyway. Yeah, they've got governors on the prayer. But anyway, so the pressure's on full blast. And this was one that was just like... There's nothing coming out. I said, oh, here's the problem. Right?

The water hose? Well, there wasn't just one. There was a few of those. And I went around, and the last one... He's getting them in the face. He's crying a little bit. It's like, what? What happened? Same pressure.

Same pressure. Same water. Same hose. There's something that can stop that. And the biggest thing in all of our lives that can stop answer prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and direction from God and peace and joy...

Have you experienced a peace and joy when you're in God's will and you're living right and you told Krispy Kreme no? Or maybe you were being drawn to the Internet late at night, and you said, no, I can't do that.

God, please help me. And you go and you read the Bible? That joy that follows? I just had to deal with this yesterday. Nobody you know, they don't live here, so you're okay. But my email was not going to be very good.

My text was, you know how you can go get them. Oh yeah. Hot shot. Right? It's like, Lord, just wait on You. Wait on You. Deep breathing. And then thank God I didn't do it. Or other things. And when you begin to please God and you keep a small leash on sin, right?

And you do business with God. You're transparent. You're open. That's what I love about this church. It's there, but I don't see a lot of hypocrisy. I don't see a lot of people coming in with, oh, hi brother, how are you doing?

I'm doing so great. I see people at the altar struggling with real things. In the prayer room, struggling with real things. Why? Because we're being honest and we're being transparent. I can work with that.

God, help me a sinner. Jesus said, that man went home justified. Wait a minute, he went home justified? A sinner? But the Pharisee was rebuked by Jesus? Yes, I'm glad I'm not like him. I fast twice a week.

Jesus said your prayers aren't even answered. And so it's so important, but any time I talk about this and encourage you, I want you to know that I'm not up here saying I haven't sinned in the last six months, man.

What's wrong with you guys? Like this morning, me and my wife had to apologize. We got a little snarky with each other. Ever happen? You guys. You're only hurting yourself because I know the truth. And you get things right.

Right? But your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear you. Now people might say, but Shane, that's Old Testament. True, but I think that's a true principle.

We can go into Pauline Epistles. We can look to other books of the Bible and see that sin separates. Or in the New Testament, it would say quenches and grieves the Spirit. Same outcome. The prayers are not heard.

Your sins actually hide His face from you. It's an incredible picture because it's saying is God's arm not short? He doesn't have an arm, but it's the imagery there. Or is ear not heavy that He cannot hear?

Yes, He can save. He can hear you. But, your sins. Unrepentant sins. Boastful, arrogant, stiff-necked people thinking they're right with God and praying, oh God. And He says, I'm not going to hear your prayers.

So we have to start there. Ten things you need to know to get prayers answered. Number one, remove the kink in the connection. And 1 Peter, man, are you ready for this one? That's a tough one. Your whole prayer life can be hindered by how you treat your wife.

A lack of respect, a lack of honor. Praying, Lord, what's happening in my workplace? Why am I being demoted or humbled in the workplace? Why aren't things going good? You need to stop lashing out at your spouse and demeaning her.

And realize that it's two shall become one flesh. There's an esteem. There's an honoring. There's a respecting. And God says, I will answer that person's prayer. We don't see that dominating, iron-fisted, woman, do things My way.

I'm the man of this house. You need to submit to Me. Do you know people say that? I'm like, oh my... If you have to say that, the problem's in here. Now, she might not be doing what she needs to do as a wife, but let God change her.

But we always think the Bible says, okay, here's what you need to do. No, it says, here's what I need to do, and God, You change them. And as you change, God changes them often. James and Peter both say that God resists the...

And I'm pretty sure they were talking to some Christians in that group of their letters, weren't they? I don't know. They're writing the Bible. It might be written to Christians. God resists the proud in heart.

Wisdom from Scripture as the Measure of God’s Will

Number two, wisdom from the Word is your gauge when it comes to prayer, when it comes to knowing God's will. Wisdom from the Word is your gauge. Am I praying according to God's will? And I've talked to people a lot of times in the prayer room, God is just not answering my prayer.

He's not answering my prayer. Are you praying according to God's will? I don't think there's anyone here this morning, but over the years now, God's not answering my prayer. What's your prayer? Get my husband out of my life.

I hate this guy. We shouldn't have ever got married. And when I say these things, I can not relate to physically difficult marriages, but I can understand that it's challenging. Oh, just come on. Just get over it.

I mean, some homes are volatile and explosive, and there needs to be separation. I got it. But are we sure we're praying according to God's will? And if you don't know it, be praying for Him to show you.

That's why wisdom is so important. Wisdom is so important because wisdom shows you God's will. Wisdom shows you God's will. James 4 .3 You ask and you do not receive. You ask and you do not receive because you ask what?

A miss. You miss. Basically, you miss God's will. Lord, why isn't this happening? Because you miss God's will that you may spend it on your pleasures. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

And so many people when we're praying, we're praying for basically comfort and convenience and this type of job where I can make this type of money. I don't care if it draws me away from God. This is what I want.

And God, why aren't You opening the door? And so the prayers have to be prayed according to God's will. And a lot of times, I don't know what His will is. Maybe I'll share in the future. I've told you this many times before.

There's things I'm praying for. And you're like, Lord, I don't know if this is Your will. Would You show me? I'm going to keep contending. I'm going to keep praying for it until You make it clear. Lord, show me if this is Your will.

And I don't think God's up in heaven playing games. Ah, let me just keep messing with them. Because in not knowing His will is where I tend to seek Him even more. Isn't that true? Think about that for a minute.

Okay, here's what God's called us to do. Okay, I'm good for a while. But when I'm not sure of something, God, I need to meet with You every morning or every evening. I need to press in. I need confirmation.

I need to seek Your will. It's that flame of the Holy Spirit drawing me to know God's will. And God, please show me what Your will is. I don't want to make the wrong mistake. And then number three, persevere.

Persevere until you prevail. Intercede until God intervenes. And something very profound and powerful about prayer is you continue in it until there is a release. And not just give up because you're frustrated.

Can I get an amen on that one? I'm just going to give up. This prodigal son is not coming home. He's actually getting worse. Or my daughter, this situation is, whoa, Lord, You are not answering a thing.

Unbelievable. I was praying for this. Now You've turned this into a nightmare. You've turned this into a whirlwind of problems. Oh my goodness, I am giving up. No, you intercede until God intervenes or makes it clear.

And let me tell you, He will release the burden when the burden's to be released. And I've noticed, often it gets more challenging before the answer comes. How many times have you seen or you've heard you're praying for a spouse and they come home and drunk and rages and all hell's breaking loose and oh, this is not working, but that God uses to break them.

The prodigal son or daughter is just as belligerent. The texting is cussing and I never conserve that. It's like, what is happening? Spiritual warfare is taking place. God is applying some heat and when you apply the heat, you get upset.

And so often, often it does get more difficult before there is a breakthrough. I don't like that. But ask a mom who's had a baby, does it get difficult at the end? You know, right before you birth forth the dream?

Is there a little fighting and challenging? Keep persevering. I'll never forget our doctor. I don't remember what baby it was. Morgan can tell you. And I was like, whoa! And they get stern, right? Stop crying and keep pushing!

Get this baby out! Ready to give up. Who can relate to that? Because you know what happens if you stop. What happens to that child if you stop pushing? Emergency C-section possibly? Or death? I mean, there's so many things.

And the Bible also talks about the children are about ready to be born, but there's no strength to bring them to birth. The principle of perseverance. And you will be challenged more than anything right now in this culture.

When I look at what's going on, I'm like, forget this. It's unbelievable. The negative Nellies, judgmental Jerrys. You can't make a difference. Look at what's going on. But we persevere until the end because we never know what God will do.

And you have to get to a point to where you say even if God doesn't do it the way I want, I will not bow to this world system. And I love the three Hebrew boys caught in the fiery furnace. You've heard me talk about this before.

They told the king, I will not bow to you. We will not bow to you. God will deliver us. That needs to be our stance too. We will not give up. We will not quit. Our God will deliver us. And then thank God for the rest of that sentence.

Hands, who knows what the rest of the sentence says? You guys have to get in your Bibles more. Balcony. Balcony. The rest of the sentence goes on to say, but even if He doesn't, we will not bow to you, O king.

Thank God for that verse. Has that helped anybody else before? Okay, whatever. It could get really bad. Some bank closures. Right to cryptocurrency. Shut down voices of truth. Nevertheless, I will not bow my knee to this world system.

Man, don't fear man that can kill the body. Fear God who can cast both body and soul in hell. There's too much fear of man in this place. Too much fear of man in this place. You will never regret praying too much.

Before I shared that, I thought about it this week. Let me make sure. But I don't think you could you? I mean, I guess somebody's like, oh, I spent way too much. I mean, I guess if it costs you your family, but if you're praying, it's not going to cost you your family and you're not going to get weird out there, right?

I don't know if we'll ever regret praying too much. The intercessor, though being dead, still speaks. Your prayers will outlive you. I'm convinced my prayers will outlive me for my kids and for this church, for grandkids, for our nation.

The intercessor, though they be dead, they will still speak. Colossians 4 .2 Continue earnestly in prayer for a few days. Stop when you feel like it. Just see if you're awake. Continue. He's writing to the church and the city's called Colossae.

And he's writing to the Colossians to encourage them. And he says continue earnestly in prayer. Why? Probably because their prayer life is being challenged by persecution. Being vigilant. See, it's not just earnest.

Earnest is like the desire, let's do it, let's meet, but vigilant is like sucking it up and fighting. Because you can be earnest, but not vigilant. Like, hey, we're earnest. Let's come back tonight at 6 o 'clock.