All Prayer — Bill McLeod

All Prayer and the Spirit’s Help in Prayer

This is Bill McLeod from Winnipeg, Canada. Bringing you a message on what I want to call all prayer their phrases from Ephesians 6 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication. The spirit and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication.

For all saints and then Paul answers and for me and for me all prayer. To begin with Romans 8 26 says we do not know what we should pray for as we are. We don't know what to pray for as we should. Okay, so that being true, then what do we do?

Well, we we asked the Holy Spirit to show us what we should be praying for and he will do that. That's what it says in Romans chapter 8. Okay, first of all there is serving God and. And Anna in Luke chapter 2 verse 20 at 37.

She served God with fastings and prayers night and day. She served God with fasting and prayers night and day. So we can serve God by fasting. Fasting, you know is praying without words. The Bible speaks about fasting crying to God over in Esther the matter of the fastings and their cry.

So when you're fasting you're crying. It's praying without words. You're crying to God and. So she served God with fastings and prayers and night and day. And then the word persevering Ephesians 6 18 with all perseverance.

That means never giving up. Genesis 32 gives us the example you remember of Jacob. How he prayed all night wrestling with the angel of God and find the angel said let me go the day is breaking and he said I will not let you go unless you break unless you Bless me and so he was blessed and so God changed the name from Jake which meant the supplanter or deceiver.

To Israel which meant Prince of God because God said you power with God and with men. He prevailed with God and I gave him power with men persevering all perseverance. Thanksgiving. Oh. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving.

By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. That your request being made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding. So keep that as it'll guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Beginning Prayer With Thanksgiving

We said I don't think we should ever start praying without starting with Thanksgiving. Abounding their in with Thanksgiving. We read in Colossians chapter 2. I Remember one time seeing some men. Oh, they were not Christians, but they were fishing on a June morning in a wilderness River and there are probably a half a dozen men there and They said if you want to catch a big walleye.

Stand over there. You'll catch one every second or third cast. If you want to if you don't mind if you like to have smaller fish two and three pounds stand here. You'll get one every cast and then we're literally filling baskets and big five gallon cans with with walleyes.

Beautiful day. Having a wonderful time catching a system. What else they were cursing and blaspheming all of these. I never had anything like it. I couldn't believe it, but that was unsaved men and Sometimes as Christians we may not curse and blaspheme.

But we have a sour heart. We're not thanked thankful to God. We're not rejoicing as we should rejoice in the Lord always. Paul wrote and again, I say rejoice. Christ said don't rejoice because you have some because demons are subject unto you rather rejoice because Her names are written in heaven.

There's that old song written in heaven. Oh glorious thought this consolation to me Christ has brought. So rejoice in the Lord always. Then acts 6 for the Apostle said we will give ourselves continue to prayer and to the ministry.

We're beginning with with prayer and ending with ministry to others. Giving ourselves. So the idea is throwing yourself into with every ounce of energy you have. Give yourself to it. That's a few that's Acts chapter 6 verse 4 and what to strive together.

Striving, Helping, and Travail in Prayer

Romans 15 30 Paul says striving together with me and your prayers to God for me and. The word strive there comes from word, which really means agonize. And so we're to strive together with Paul to agonize to prayer again.

Like I say to to give it all you can. And then second Christian 111 speaks about helping by prayer. You also help them together by prayer. You know, the Bible speaks about the gift of helps. I've never heard of any Christians convening a conference invited people to come.

So they could spend a weekend trying to discover what helps God had given them. Know that it never happened it as far as I know. It's never happened to probably never will. Well people want to Find out about more flashy gifts, you know on the platform stuff.

And so they want to find out they want to get the gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy and all this kind of stuff. What about just having the gift of prayer? You also help me together by prayer. And then Paul spoke about travailing in prayer over in Galatians 419 he said My little children of whom I travail and birth again until Christ be formed in you.

The churches in Galatia Paul had been there before. They've been completely alive praying much witnessing much giving much. He comes back some years later and He sees they're all dead and he said you did run.

Well, who drove you back who hindered you who drove you back? What's happened here? And so Paul went to prayer and he likened it to having to a woman having a child. They called it travailing in prayer travailing in birth again until Christ be formed in you.

I Say a 66 8 says as soon as I'm travail. She brought forth her children and Finney applied that to praying for four souls to be saved and he said you can't. I can't he said I can't. I can't speak effectually to individuals or publicly to groups of people if I ever lose a spirit of prayer and He made much of this having the spirit of prayer so that he could truly travail in prayer for the souls of others and for other matters.

Waiting and Watching on the Lord

Finney made a great deal of this. I think we should do. Then the Bible speaks about us watching and waiting in Colossians 4 to watch in the same with Thanksgiving. Watching and waiting. Well, you know, it really means means spending time and mark 1333 to 37 there are four such references.

What I said to you. I said to all watch watch watch a. Psalm 27 14 says wait on the Lord be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart. Wait. I say on the Lord. So wait on the Lord and dear people listen.

Wait in any language means wait. Wait on God. You know what? I say a 40 31 day the weight upon the Lord shall renew their strength is shamanic with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.

But wait, I'm God wait on God. Had a friend he he taught psychology in University in Canada, he was a Christian he came to one time and said Pastor, could you give me some books or recommend some books?

It would be helpful to me. And I said yes, I suggested four books two books on Spurgeon's life the early years and full harvest and then The two volumes set done by Pastor Dallimore a pastor from Ontario on the life of George Whitfield.

Well, he bought the ones on the life of George Whitfield. And his life was totally transformed. He might walk up to you in the church and say would you? Wait with me in prayer for a while. Now if he asked you to do this, you have to think in terms of maybe two hours, you know.

He was constantly waiting and watching and with God. Was amazing you rarely saw him in the church services during the services. He'd be up there in the prayer meeting which in that church overlooked the congregation and he'd be up there praying the whole time.

Watching and waiting waiting and watching and he knew what that meant. He just spent hours at it and had a wonderful insight into into God and Into the works of God and so They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up with eagles. They shall run they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. It's a promise of God get alone with God. You've got to scrap the the system you have now your agenda, you know.

Doing running here running they're getting this done doing something else and rattling off a two-sentence prayer at the end of the day. Or maybe starting the day with a one-sentence prayer. People that's an insult to God.

Laboring Fervently and Showing Zeal in Prayer

Give God quantity time watching and waiting and then laboring. It speaks about that press in class of 412 and Paul saying was always laboring fervently For you in prayer. So it's work. It's hard work laboring fervently.

It's hard partly because we are opposed. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but we do wrestle Against principalities and powers against what Paul called the rulers of the darkness of this world.

They hate to see you praying. The devil is always at you if you Spend a lot of time in prayer, but we overcome him to prayer. Always laboring fervently in prayer. Okay Colossians 412 and then in Colossians 413 it speaks about this man Epiphras again and Paul said I Bear witness him.

It is great zeal for you in prayer great zeal. You know, somebody said I know a Christian is very zealous. Would you think in terms of some person who was praying? No, he's a zealous Christian. Oh, he's giving no tracks.

He's a zealous Christian. He's always witnessing for Christ. He's a zealous Christians turn around the country holding meetings. No, no. Great zeal in prayer. No people. This is what God is saying. And then the Bible speaks about people praying night and they saw me eight one.

I've cried Night and day. David said I have cried night and day. First the song 310 Paul said night and day praying exceedingly that I might see your face and my perfect that which is lacking in your life and so night and day praying.

Second Timothy 1 3 Paul said to Timothy I remembering in my prayers night and day. Now people it doesn't mean he's praying All night and all day. It's just a phrase. He's using Demonstrating or illustrating that we should find ourselves, you know.

Prayer as the Soul’s Spiritual Breathing

Prayer has been called the breathing of the soul in Lamentation 356. Do not hide your ear at my breathing at my cry. Okay, so Prayerism is a matter of spiritually breathing. So we should pray without ceasing and everything.

Give. Thanks. We should find ourselves praying constantly through each day. We don't have to be on our knees praying. We can be praying as we're driving in the car. We can be praying as we're studying a book.

We can be praying as we're washing the dishes. We can be praying at our job, whatever it is. Praying in our hearts. Many examples in the Bible are praying in their hearts. The Eleazar Abraham servant he prayed in his heart and God gave me some Guidance, which is what he needed at that particular time.

Nehemiah prayed standing before a king and. So we can pray standing and Joshua prayed riding in a chariot when he was faced with danger. He cried to God so you can pray when you're driving your car and Joan.

I'm sure he prayed in a horizontal Measure because that's where he was in the fishes belly when he cried again to God and God set him free. All right, laboring fervently. See you night and day day and night.

Christ’s Examples of Solitary and Persistent Prayer

Then people we have the wonderful example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 14 23 He went up into a mountain a park to pray alone. Mark 1 35 rising a great while before day he prayed. Long before the Sun was up Christ was out there.

Just praying Luke 5 16 he withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. Luke 6 12 he prayed all night before choosing the 12 apostles. Then Luke 9 28 9 on the Mount of Transfiguration. But Peter James and and John he prayed and Moses Elijah showed up on the mountain.

Let's call the Mount of Transfiguration. It says that Christ was transfigured before the Apostles when they looked at him. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. That's why it was called the Mount of Transfiguration.

That's a wonderful example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh people, let's pick up on that and then we have a wonderful example of other people, you know Abel clarion father Nash to finish helpers when Finney was going somewhere for special meetings and they found out about he would tell him and they would take off and go to That place and rent a place to stay and start their prayer ministry.

Historical Examples of Fervent Prayer and Revival

They prayed eight to ten hours a day. And they might be there a week or two weeks before Finney got there and Finney Said when I got there the prayer had already started had already begun through the purge of these men.

There's some men called the praying men of Barbus in Scotland and Duncan Campbell told me about them. He said these men they give up their job and Have supper and go to bed right after supper and they sleep until nine o 'clock at night.

Then at nine o 'clock they rise up and they pray until two o 'clock in the morning. Then they go to bed and Sleep until seven. When they get up to take care of their days work or chores praying men. They did pardon me.

They didn't meet together pray. They just prayed and he told me something of their power and prayer because he'd gone to the out of sky. Not as interested in this story because that's where my the club McLeod clan came from the out of sky.

So he was trying to reopen a church to have been closed for years. He started on Sunday five people showed up. Nothing happened Monday five people same five nothing happened Tuesday Wednesday. Nothing happened same people five people so we got a message that praying men of Barbus he said.

Asked him to take this need on their hearts and they did. And after spending that night in prayer the next night There were 60 or 70 people showed up and a revival began and there were seven people I believe he said saved in that one meeting and the church was reopened as a consequence of praying men of Barbus.

Praying Hyde in India, you know, he He prayed constantly if the if the on the compound where he stayed for other missionaries. When the dinner bell rang he lifted his heart and say God Do you want me to go for dinner or do you want me to continue praying?

And if God said pray he was staying pray. He missed many meals this way and then he began asking God for one soul a day and God gave him one soul a day. And they asked for two souls a day then three souls a day.

And I think he finally began asking for four souls a day and he prayed and believed God and God Gave him what he asked for. You know, I was reading in one of dr. Edwin Jay or his books on Revival about a Baptist Church in the early 1800s.

Wanted revival so bad, you know what they did listen carefully. They established three prayer meetings every day one in the morning at 7 1 in the afternoon, maybe two or three and one in the evening and They continued this three prayer meetings a day for two years.

A Call to All Prayer and Gospel Boldness

And then a mighty revival came and hundreds of people found Christ as their Savior. Well, our text Ephesians 618 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication.

For all saints and Paul adds and then for me because he said he wanted to Open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. Are you into this thing called all prayer? Oh, I hope that you are Praying with all prayer serving God or persevering in prayer praying with Thanksgiving.

Giving ourselves to prayer striving in prayer. Helping others by prayer. Travailing in prayer watching and waiting in prayer laboring fervently in prayer. Zealy zealous in prayer having great zeal in prayer praying night and day praying night and day.

Following the wonderful example of the Lord Jesus Christ and then Following the wonderful example of others able clarion father Nash the praying men of Barvey Praying Hyde and that Baptist Church three prayer meetings daily for two years and then revival came.

Well, my dear friend I've done my best today. And my best is not all that great but listen. Give yourself continue to prayer give yourself. Thanks. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus. Concerning you so we read in first Thessalonians chapter 5.

Establishing a Daily Discipline of Prayer

Praying to do at this point is get on your knees and ask God to forgive you for the poor prayer war you've been Asked God to forgive you and to give you and start setting aside time. If necessary rise early in the morning give yourself an hour or two early in the morning.

I heard a Christian worker whom God was mightily using he said this. I Decided to follow the example of Dwight Al Moody and Charles Finney rising at 4 o 'clock in the morning. He said I didn't want to get up before I was too early.

So I started getting up at 7. I normally get up at 8 and Then he said I that didn't do it. So I got up at 6 and that didn't do it. So I started getting up at 5 and that didn't do it. And finally I started getting up at 4 and that did it and So it's just a challenge to your people except a child do something about it in this area of prayer.

Everything depends on it in the work of God. We should know that God bless you. Thank you.