School of Prayer 1 – Corporate Prayer

[00:00:00] Now could we turn to a few scriptures. Matthew 18, 1920. Matthew, chapter 18, verses 19 and 20. [00:00:15] Matthew's gospel, chapter 18, verses 19 and 20. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father who is in heaven, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. [00:00:46] And in Matthew, chapter six. [00:00:53] Matthew, chapter six from verse five. [00:00:58] And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, or they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward, but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy father who is in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. And in praying use not vain repetitions as the gentiles do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. [00:01:39] Be not therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him after this manner. Therefore pray ye. [00:01:53] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. [00:01:59] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses. [00:02:36] And then in the letter of the apostle Paul to Timothy, the first letter of Paul to Timothy, chapter two from verse one. [00:02:48] One Timothy, chapter two from verse one. [00:02:56] I exhort therefore, first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all that are in high place, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior, who would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. [00:03:31] And then in acts the book of the acts and chapter four. And from verse 23. Now this is the only paraphrase account we have of a corporate prayer meeting. We actually have in the book of acts a number of occasions when we're told that they prayed here or they prayed there and the way they prayed. But this is the only occasion where we have a paraphrase of what happened. Acts chapter four from verse 23. And being let go, that is, Peter and John, they came to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them. And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, o Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David, thy servant did say, why did the gentiles rage in the peoples? Imagine vain things. The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed for of a truth in this city, against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal. And that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken, wherein they were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they spake the word of God with boldness, just a word of prayer. Dear Lord, we are gathered here in the first of these times, and we know that the enemy is interested, dear Lord, in every means available to him. To intercept thy word and somehow to dull it, so that, Lord, it doesnt get into us. But we praise thee, that thy word is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword. It does pierce between joints, the joints and the marrow. And is, Lord, a division makes a division between soul and spirit. O Lord, we bring ourselves to thee this night, and we declare that over this matter of thy word, Jesus Christ is Lord. [00:06:38] And we thank thee too, Lord, in spite of all the movements in the unseen on this particular, that, Lord, we are secure in our Lord Jesus Christ. [00:06:49] Thou hast provided grace for us and strength for us, and wisdom for us and life for us, and we thank thee. There is an anointing provided for us, not only for speaking, but for hearing into that anointing. We all stand now, Lord, by faith that this may be a time of divine enlightenment and revelation. Lord, there may be things said that some of us know. Deliver us, Lord, from just sort of being shut to it, because we know it. O father, let it all come to us with such freshness and vitality that we shall receive Lord, not only old treasure, but new treasure as well from thy hand. And so together we give ourselves now to thee in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. [00:07:42] Now, in these times we are not dealing with private or personal prayer, but with corporate prayer. And although we shall make now and again references to private prayer, they will be few. We are confining ourselves to this subject that is so little understood and so little taught. The subject of corporate prayer. It seems that it is an almost lost art. [00:08:19] For example, there are hardly any books written on corporate prayer now. There are a multitude of books on personal prayer and private devotion. I can think of a whole module power through prayer by Ian bounds, the secret of intercession by Andrew Murray. [00:08:45] Oh, there are multitudes of books on the matter of private prayer. I know of only two books on corporate prayer, Arthur Wallace's prayer in the spirit. Prayer in the spirit, which is really, again, more personal in many ways than corporate. [00:09:08] But there is an american lady, her name has gone from my mind, who has written a very simple book on corporate prayer. And of course, just recently our brother Stephen Kong has brought out another translation of Watchman Ni's ministry, the prayer ministry of the church. Now, that book I suggest you all get, it's downstairs in the bookstore. The bookstall tonight is downstairs in the main room. And I suggest that you get that book and if it's the run out of copies, put an order in for it because it really is a very simple but clear book on corporate prayer and will back up and help you to remember much of what you will hear in these days. The prayer ministry of the church. Another book, of course, which isn't an actual book on a corporate prayer, but which illustrates very much of what I will be saying over these times is the biography of Rhys Howells, Rhys Howells intercessor. And if you have never read that book, that biography, then get it because it really is a tremendous story. And that is the illustration from that one life and the company of God's people that came into being in a remarkable way in Swansea. It is the illustration really of this whole matter of corporate, particularly of intercession. [00:10:47] It's a very sad fact that one can count almost on the fingers of one hand the companies that really know how to play. And I include in that charismatic companies. [00:11:01] I travel, I suppose, all over Europe and have been a number of times over the states and there must be, of course, companies that I obviously don't know anything about. [00:11:12] But I think it is a tragic evidence for the lost art of corporate prayer. That one knows only about four companies between Jerusalem and Los Angeles known personally to me at any rate in my ministry and travels that really know how to pray corporately. Oh, there are lots of prayer meetings, but there are very, very few companies who know really how to pray together and how to pray a matter through together. [00:11:49] The powers of darkness have worked so insidiously that many prayer meetings are anything but meetings for prayer. [00:12:04] Many prayer meetings I know, are tacked onto the end of a Bible study. Alan Redbath used to say years ago, if you had the Bible study and the prayer meeting on the same night, you get neither a proper Bible study nor a proper prayer meeting. [00:12:24] Sometimes its just ten minutes on the end of an evening. [00:12:29] Other times the so called prayer meeting, a tremendous amount of information is given and at the end about ten to twelve minutes is spent in prayer. [00:12:41] I suppose most of you remember the famous occasions when we went to the United Prayer meetings, week of prayer, when every evening we were given 45 to 50 minutes of ministry and had at the end of it about ten to 15 minutes of prayer. [00:13:01] It is a very, very sad evidence again for the enemies working in this field. In this way, whole companies of God's people are paralyzed or blockaded, and the work of God is rendered very largely ineffective. [00:13:28] For, whether we like it or not, gods word is truth, and gods word tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenly places. We are told therefore to take to us the whole armor of God, and having done all to stand, and we are to take the sword of the spirit, and we are to pray at all seasons with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. [00:14:16] The fact of the matter is this, that so often we think we are only up against flesh and blood. [00:14:22] We see the apathy of the neighborhood, we see the indifference of the people that are all around us. We see some kind of hardness coming into all evangelistic outreach. Or sometimes we have some difficult christians that appear to be the blockage to everything or, you know, all kinds. But it's always flesh and blood. It's either the brother who's leading or it's someone else who's sort of in the congregation or company that sort of done wrong in some way, but always it's flesh and blood. Now, flesh and blood, of course, the enemy uses, but the word of God says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rules of this darkness, against hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenly places. [00:15:12] What does it mean? What does it mean? Principalities. What does it mean? Powers. Principalities are princes, those with sort of governing, as it were, areas, powers or authorities. What are the world rulers of this darkness? What does it mean? World rulers of this darkness. [00:15:38] Whatever does it mean? It means that behind flesh and blood, behind ideologies, behind new philosophies, high new current ideas, so often stand spiritual powers that are ruling the present spiritual darkness and holding in their captivity thousands of people, a whole community, can be kept in bondage. A church of God can be subjected, a local church can be subjected to a blockade and finally paralyzed and sat upon by the enemy. [00:16:13] And if those dear children of God don't wake up, the enemy will sit on them till all life is smothered. [00:16:22] After all, the apostle Paul didn't say we are in a tennis championship with Satan, but he said we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the world rules of the darkness. Now, wrestling is an impolite sport. It's not just some sort of tennis match where you sort of send the ball back and it comes back and you send it back and it comes back and you send it back and then you sort of mark up the points. [00:16:56] Yeah, well, we've done well today. The enemy's sort of gone. [00:17:02] The apostle Paul did not use some sport that was a polite sport. He used a sport that is impolite, wrestling, something that's sweat and blood and means that you may have your arm twisted up, your back or your leg nearly torn off you, or one moment you may be flung to the other side of the ring and the next moment have some twelve stone sitting on you. [00:17:32] But Christians don't seem to think this. They seem to think that it should all be a joyride, that we believers should have just a wonderful bubbling experience all the time, and that if there's any sense of the enemy, something's wrong, something's wrong. No, it isn't. It's not. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against us. There are times when those very powers, those world rules of darkness, those hosts of wicked spirits, are going to get hold of us and get us into a vice like grip. There are times when they will sit on us. But any one of you who's ever watched a wrestling match will know that just because some 1215 stone is sitting on another 1215 stone doesn't mean that that one's won the match. [00:18:15] The one underneath may get up to win the whole thing. [00:18:18] We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenly places. The fact of the matter is this, what does it mean? We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Surely it means that somewhere there has to be a prayer ministry. [00:18:42] Somewhere before ever we can see a community broken open to the power of God and to the working of God. Some have got to get behind the scenes and paralyse the enemy. Our Lord said, first bind the strong man if you would spoil him of his good. [00:19:01] But we don't think of that. We think that as long as a person preaches long enough, someone's bound to get saved. As long as you get a well oiled evangelistic meeting, someone's bound to get saved, as long as you sort of have the right sort of atmosphere. But you can have everything, and still you're right up against a brick wall. [00:19:21] And let me say this, the more vital and the more spiritually valuable any work is, the more likely it is that the enemy will come right in and sit on it. [00:19:34] He doesn't just stand back and let you play games and have a good time if there's any chance that there's going to be a permanent breakthrough. [00:19:47] So we have to understand this very simple fact, that there could be few matters more strategically vital to the church of God than this matter of corporate prayer. [00:20:04] And I must say also that in the days that lie ahead, during the last phase of world history, we shall need to know how to pray together, and how to pray through a matter together. [00:20:21] And furthermore, should real persecution come in the decades that lie ahead, and should we lose our liberty then we've got to know how, in groups, small groups, we can really get through together. [00:20:41] No good waiting until that day dawns and then suddenly say, now, what did they say years ago in that school of prayer? What were we always being taught? It's too late. [00:20:53] You must remember that when that day dawns, so will the enemy have far greater power. [00:21:02] You will not just be able to go and study some book and mug up, as it were, all the principles of corporate prayer. Unless the spirit of God has burnt it into us, we shall be found out in the day of our crisis. [00:21:19] And thats why this is so necessary, not only for those of you who are younger in the Lord, but for those of us who are older in the Lord to learn the lesson, however costly it is to us. Some of us older ones have learnt such bad habits in prayer that they have become second nature to us now. It's no good just sort of throwing in the sponge and saying, oh, well, because I'm a little older and I've had this background, it's no good me trying to learn. Do you mean to tell me that the Holy Spirit can't overcome your background? [00:21:58] He can keep all thats best and most valuable of your background and he can overcome all the bad things if youll only trust him, if you only be open to correction. The basis of all learning is to be meek. [00:22:17] The moment a person says I dont need that, they never learn. [00:22:24] The moment a person says, well, I'm not going to accept that you can't learn. [00:22:31] There's not that we want you to swallow everything. We want you to take it right back to the Lord and really sort it out. But I believe that we must learn how to use this colossally effective weapon which God has placed into the hands his church. Well, now lets have a little look at this matter of prayer then. First of all, if you will, turn to one Timothy and chapter two and verse one. [00:23:06] We have four kinds of prayer here which comprehend all the aspects of prayer. Its interesting. We have here four words used, each one in the plural. [00:23:18] Supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, four kinds of prayer which comprehend all the aspects of prayer. [00:23:35] First of all, supplications, the word primarily means a need. [00:23:42] That's the word behind this word supplication. In your authorized version, your revised version, your American Standard version, and the revised standard Version all use the same word supplication. You will see the new American Standard Bible uses the word entweet. Entweety. The reason is that the word primarily means a need and then an asking or an entreaty or a beseeching. [00:24:12] It stresses the sense of need and then the earnestness in asking or appealing because of the need. [00:24:24] This isnt just an asking of something of God. It is really something more than it is an earnest appeal to God, an earnest entreaty of the Lord, an earnest beseeching of the Lord. [00:24:42] I think the best way we can understand this word supplication is that the thought of inquiry coming out of urgent need is in it. Now I'll say that again. The thought of inquiry enquiry coming out of urgent need is in this word. In fact, we can best understand this aspect of prayer in this way. [00:25:12] In other words, the first thing we have here is something that comes out of real need, and it is because of that need there is an enquiry of the Lord, an earnest beseeching of the Lord, an earnest appealing to the Lord, an earnest entreating of the Lord, an inquiring of the Lord as to what his mind is on this need. Now, I believe this is vitally important. Why is so much prayer ineffectual? [00:25:49] Why is it that so often we go into a prayer meeting and we come out of it and we have to sort of pull every strand of ourselves together and say, now, of course, God does hear prayer, because something deep inside of us says, much of that didn't go above the ceiling. [00:26:11] We say, no, no, no, God. God heard the prayer, because God hears and answers prayer. In actual fact, a lot of it didn't go above the ceiling. Why? Because we're praying our own prayers. [00:26:24] We are praying our own prayers. [00:26:27] We have never stopped to inquire of the Lord. Not for one single moment has there been an inquiry of the Lord. [00:26:36] In other words, this is the first aspect of prayer, because obviously it is the most fundamental. [00:26:43] Unless we supplicate the Lord, unless we inquire of the Lord, unless we appeal to the Lord on the basis of this urgent need, we shall never know his mind about it. And therefore, because we do not know his mind, we shall be threshing around in prayer, using many words and getting nowhere. [00:27:08] Inquiry. [00:27:13] It's fundamental to all prayer. [00:27:16] Inquiry of the Lord. We cannot pray, right? We cannot use the provided weapons unless we first know the Lord's mind on the matter. For instance, supposing we have, like this matter of the referendum, we don't know how to pray. Supposing we really sought the Lord about it. And as we sought the Lord, the Lord gave us a word. [00:27:37] Now we have got something to go. We may not know all the Lord's mind on the referendum, but we've got the Lord's word. [00:27:45] We have inquired of the Lord. Now we have the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. [00:27:51] Now we don't have to thresh around. We don't have to spend half an hour in making noises or saying all lots of lovely scriptural phrases which don't mean anything. [00:28:04] We've got the word of the Lord. We have inquired of the Lord, and we've got the word of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord will give that word to one person, and if only, and it very rarely happens, but if only we would rise up and take that word. [00:28:21] Once it's come one after another, you will find that the Holy Spirit will give us insight into that word and we shall be able to tear open the whole situation with that word from God. It's like a sword of the spirit. It cuts right through the situation. [00:28:35] Oh, we just. We. If we only knew what it is to inquire of the Lord. [00:28:44] We need to do this on healing. We need to do this on other matters, provision and other things. It's no good me just saying it says in the word of God, ye have not because ye ask not. Therefore, I'm asking the Lord for a Rolls Royce. [00:29:01] Many people have terrible tragedies along this line. They've asked the Lord for all kinds and they say, I don't know what's wrong with me. And then forever after, the devil's got them in his grip because they feel that somehow or other, either the Lord has let them down or there's something no good about them. And because they're not in the inner circle of God's specials, they don't sort of see anything happen. But the fact of the matter is you can't just take any scripture and batter it into being. [00:29:30] You have to inquire of the Lord. And when you inquire of the Lord and you've got clear in your heart, in your spirit and not your soul that God says, yes, yes, you can go ahead. [00:29:42] That's what it means when it says, if he asks and does not doubt in his heart, you may have many a doubt in your mind, but does not doubt in his heart. [00:29:52] He shall have what he asks. [00:29:55] We inquire of the Lord. We have to know the Lord's mind on all kinds of matters. That's why this matter of supplication is absolutely fundamental. And I don't think there's anything that really, this evening could be said more important than this than to underline this matter of supplication. It is the missing link. [00:30:18] Where do you find prayer meetings where people really inquire of the Lord or where there's even a spirit? But you see, it's not as if the Lord will keep you waiting for night after night after night after night on many matters. He only wants an attitude. He just wants an inquiring attitude. And almost instantly he will say, here it is. [00:30:36] You see, we've got the idea that the Lord is like us. So it's got to be cajoled and sort of humored and sort of got into a nice mood and sort of sort of placated. And when finally he's in that sweetness mood, we can finally get out of him what he wants. [00:30:55] But the Lord isn't like that. He's more interested in touching Richmond than we are. He's more interested in certain situations being touched by his finger than we are, and that he only wants a spirit of inquiry. And sometimes, almost immediately, he will give. Clearly, this is the direction. But you see, so often in our times of prayer, before we've evenly had a chance to let the Lord show us. People go in like bulls in China, shops in, they go like tanks, mowing everything down. [00:31:32] Instead of simply. [00:31:35] It's not that we've got to wait. As I say, ours is just a spirit. [00:31:39] What is the Lord? What is the Lord's mind now in this matter? How are we to pray? What is the word God would give us? What is the right weapon to use? [00:31:51] Supplication. The second word is prayer. We will not spend too much time on this word prayer because it is the most frequently used term in the New Testament. And the general word for prayer, literally it means pouring out. [00:32:08] Pouring out. That's what prayer is, a pouring out. [00:32:14] You pour out all the need, you pour out all the hurt, you pour out all the feeling. It's prayer. Well, I think most of us understand that. Not too much problem on that one. [00:32:30] And then the third is intercession. Intercession, the word used here, now listen to this carefully, has the idea of petitioning a supreme, a king, a magistrate, a prince, someone with authority. The idea originally was that you petitioned a superior. [00:32:51] That's why the new american standard Bible, I think, sadly, has just put the word petitioning instead of intercession. And that's a much poorer word because it doesn't really be. The idea is that you petition someone who has authority to do something. [00:33:08] In other words, it speaks of seeking the presence and hearing of God on behalf of others or for situations in which we are all involved. That is intercession. Now this is the deepest aspect of prayer and the least experience. [00:33:29] There are few companies of God's people, people who know much about corporate intercession. Why? Because intercession is not just a few words mouthed on behalf of a situation, but it involves your spirit, your soul and your body. [00:33:49] And that is the lasting value of Rhys Howell's life story. [00:33:56] If you would be an intercessor, professor, look out for God will require every single thing that belongs to you. Spirit, soul, body, time, energy, health, possessions, everything God will take. Never devalue the word intercessor into just someone who goes away and shuts a door and says a few words to the Lord. That may be prayer, it may be inquiry, it may not be intercession. Now don't be frightened by this, then I'm not going to do anything anymore. I'll have to take my name off the intercessors for Britain. And, you know, a few other things. You really frightened me to death, what you've said about intercession. But the fact is, the matter is we all have to start, and God loves a person who is ready to intercede. [00:34:50] I believe that you come nearer to the heart of God when you're prepared to be an intercessor than in anything else you do. [00:35:01] And if you are prepared to be an intercessor, God will firmly, strongly, and just as you are able, lead you step by step, first from the kindergarten of intercession into the preparatory school and then on into high school and university. [00:35:27] But in the end, you will know how to intercede. But I must tell you this, it will cost you everything. [00:35:34] Don't ever think that intercession is just something that you can easily do. It costs you everything to intercede. [00:35:43] And that's why there is so little intercession, because it requires some degree of spiritual maturity. If their maturity is not there, the Lord cannot give you the matters he wants to give you for intercession. Now, don't get me wrong. You see, when we are young in the Lord, and we say, Lord, I want to intercede, God will give you the matters which you can handle, and we must be careful in this matter. He will give you matters that you can handle. [00:36:15] But God's dilemma is that he cannot find the spiritual capacity or maturity that can really intercede on matters that are absolutely vital to his purpose in this world. [00:36:30] That's why I say again, read Rees Howells, and you will understand that there's not a person in this room who is not here because of that company's intercession, which cost them everything. [00:36:43] All those young people walked together at the beginning of the war, stayed together right up to this time. [00:36:54] It cost them everything. [00:36:57] But they got behind the scenes and things happened just because they knew something of intercession. [00:37:07] Thanksgiving, the giving of thanks not only for answered prayer, but for the Lord himself. You see, most people think immediately when you think of thanksgiving. You think only of, ah, yes, of course, we thank the Lord for the prayers we uttered last week which have got answered in between. [00:37:31] We always think of thanksgivings. He says, let your request be made known unto God with thanksgivings. Do you know how most people understand that you have a request? You see, so what you do is you say to the Lord, Lord, here is my need, or here is our need. Would you please do so and so and so and so and so. And so about it. Dear Lord, and I want to thank you now for the answer. [00:37:56] But that's to devalue the word thanksgiving, the giving of thanks. Isn't that you just thank God that he's going to answer or that he has answered. The giving of thanks is for what God is all that he is, his grace, his love, his mercy, his throne, his truth. It's on another level, the whole matter of worship, which is such a vital and strategic part of corporate prayer, the whole matter of worship is involved in this word thanksgiving. Now, you know, many people, I say, I've said it before, I say it again here. Many people, we are so self centered that the enemy just. He can just twist us round his little finger. [00:38:42] He just comes to us and he says, now, it's no good you worshiping the Lord. [00:38:47] You've been in a bad mood all day. [00:38:51] You've seen everything from the dark side. The kids were dreadful or the office was awful. The boss gave you more than he should have done, or this, that and the other. You had a dreadful time getting back from work or whatever else it was, and you're in a rather ratty state. [00:39:08] It's no good you thanking the Lord. [00:39:13] You are just a defeat. [00:39:17] And you say, of course, oh, yes, the one thing we want to be at Halford House is real. [00:39:26] We must be real. [00:39:29] And I don't want to be a hypocrite. I don't want to open my mouth and praise the Lord and thank the Lord when I'm just being a hypocrite. And the devil says, of course, absolutely, you don't want to be a hypocrite. Of course not. So you just opt out. [00:39:47] You will find that you're opting out out of about 95 of every hundred meetings for the enemy has now got you into a position where you can only praise the law when you feel good. [00:40:05] And so the devil's whole machine is geared up to making sure that you feel bad because he wants to destroy any thanksgiving or any worship. Because worship and thanksgiving and praise is a tremendous weapon in the battle that we're in. [00:40:27] We are so self centered that we fall for this line of the enemy. Horse, book, line and sinker. We can go down on the whole thing. [00:40:37] And sometimes people will go for years without even opening their mouth and praising the Lord. They can't even tell him he's lovely. They can't say that his throne is forever. They've never said with their lips publicly, thy truth, o God, stands forever. Thy mercy lasts to eternity. [00:41:00] But when we suddenly realize that we can be honest with God. You don't have to say it out loud, but you can say to the Lord, I feel awful, Lord, I feel awful. I've had a dreadful day today, Lord. Oh, but I do thank thee, Lord. Thy throne is the same. My having an awful day hasn't brought about an abdication in heaven. [00:41:22] But the idea seems to that if we get out the wrong side of the bed, there's been a cabinet crisis in heaven. [00:41:29] And if we should have eaten something last thing at night, which has not quite agreed with us, and we get up with a rather jaundiced view of things. The Lord has abdicated. The whole of heaven has collapsed in a heap. And the enemy is swarming over everything in the whole world. [00:41:44] It's so nonsensical when you see it. When you're down, you can praise the Lord. And when you're up, you can praise the Lord. Now, when you're down and you start to praise, Lord. You're honest, you say, lord, I do feel dreadful. But I want to thank thee for what thou art. You are wonderful, you are just simply marvelous. All your works are wonderful. Your truth lasts forever. Just at present, I've got a rather jaundice view of things, Lord. But above my jaundiced view, your truth is forever. [00:42:11] And the devil, she doesn't know what to do. [00:42:14] No, he says, this person is talking truth. Now what do I do? I can't do anything. And so he says to his whole hierarchy, leave so and so alone for a while. [00:42:25] More value comes out of them when they have a bad time than when they have a good time. [00:42:32] Some of you are helping the enemy to keep you in a permanent bad time because you have not learned the lesson. I will bless the Lord at all, all times. Because you've got the idea that to bless the Lord means Lord, thank you so much. My heart is bubbling over with joy. I'm full of peace. I feel absolutely marvellous. That's your idea of blessing the Lord? You're not blessing the Lord, you're blessing yourself. [00:42:58] You're just saying all that you are. But if you were just to forget yourself and bless the Lord and say, o Lord, I blessed, thou art so blessed, you are so blessed, you are so wonderful, you are truth, you're on the throne, you are forever. You have all authority in your hands. Then, you see, you'll suddenly find that the joy will come back into your heart. It's a quite spontaneous thing. The peace will come back into your heart. Life will come in. [00:43:26] I know that we all have to say this. I have to say this to myself. You have to say it to yourself. But oh, how the enemy gets us. This self centeredness, that is the instinct in every one of us. The enemy knows it so well. He ties us up in knots on this matter. And thus thanksgiving can become a very artificial thing. There's a kind of long, embarrassed silence while we wait for those who are on top to do their little peace, and the rest of us sort of opt out of it. But oh, it is so wonderful when we see that we can bless the Lord at all times. [00:43:59] His praise, his praise shall continually be in our mouth. [00:44:05] Then we have a weapon in our hands. It says the high praises of God in our mouth and a sharp two edged sword in our hands. [00:44:17] Thanksgiving, it's so tremendous. Now let's say something about the principle of corporate prayer. What is the principle of corporate prayer? We find it in Matthew, chapter 18 and verse 19 and 20. We read it earlier this evening. [00:44:38] Again, I say unto you that if two of you shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father who is in heaven. [00:44:50] For where two or three are gathered together into my name, there am I in the midst of them. What is the principle of corporate prayer? Now listen very carefully. What is the principle of corporate prayer? The principle of corporate prayer is togetherness. Or another word, mutuality. [00:45:11] Mutuality. Togetherness. Mutuality. Now look at this word. Agree. Listen again. Again, I say unto you, if two of you shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask of my father who is in heaven, I'm sorry. Touching anything that they shall ask on earth, it shall be done for them of my father who is in heaven. Now this word agree is the word for symphonio, from which we get our english word symphony. [00:45:42] Symphony. [00:45:44] And it really means literally to sound together, voice together, or speak together. It really means just to harmonize together. [00:45:55] Harmonize together. [00:45:57] It was primarily used of musical instruments. And it is the word we get in the story of the lost prodigal, the prodigal son. When he came home and heard the sound of music, the word is he heard a symphonia. [00:46:16] And again you got it in this wonderful word, what concord hath an idol with the temple of God? You know, in two corinthians, chapter six and verse 18. I think it is the word concord. What concord? Then the whole thought is of really originally of musical instruments sort of blending together, harmonizing together. Now, the normal idea of this verse, Matthew 1819, is we agree to agree. You know, the idea you often get is this. Now, is there anyone here who agrees with me on this matter? [00:47:01] We want to agree to agree. Now, when we've agreed to agree, we don't say it. But what we mean is this. When we agree to agree, we can twist the arm of God and get him to do something which he is basically unwilling to do. [00:47:18] He doesn't really want to do it. But if you and I agree, we can twist his arm and get it out of him. Now, that's putting it very crudely. But that's exactly the idea that is so prevalent about this verse. We agree to agree. And when we agree to agree, God, who doesn't really want to do this thing, will have to do do it. [00:47:38] The whole thing's a lie. [00:47:44] Why? [00:47:46] Because of this little word. For now I've heard many messages on the first sentence. Again I say unto you that if two shall of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them and my father, who is in heaven. I've heard many messages on the second sentence in verse 20. For where two or three are gathered together into my name, there am I in the midst. But I've hardly ever heard a message on the whole sentence. The whole meaning. Listen to it. Again, I say unto you that if two of you shall agree, as touching anything that they shall ask on earth, it shall be done for them and my father, who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together into my name, there am I in the midst of them. [00:48:36] Now that for means that the second sentence qualifies the first. [00:48:43] The whole first sentence has got to be understood in the light of the second sentence. What does it mean then? It means simply this, that where two or three are gathered together into the name of our Lord Jesus, he is there. And because he is there in their midst, he gives expression to his mind and his will and his purpose. [00:49:06] And it comes out in the lips of the members of his body. [00:49:12] And there's an agreement. [00:49:14] That's why some people. It is not in the passage, but some people often quote this verse. Again, I say unto you that if two of you shall be agreeable. [00:49:24] Because really, that is the meaning of it. It's not in the passage. It is if two of you shall agree. But nevertheless, the whole idea is really that the Lord in our midst, by his holy spirit. Is making known his mind and his purpose to the members of his body. [00:49:41] Now, I think if we begin to understand this, we get hold of something. What does it mean where two or three are gathered together into the name of our Lord? [00:49:49] Is the name of our Lord just a little charm that we end our prayers with? We say, in the name of Jesus. It's not wrong to end your prayer in the name of Jesus. But what do you mean by it? [00:50:03] Do you mean somehow or other you're using as a kind of little magic formula? [00:50:08] What do you mean? Don't you mean that, Father, we are one with thy son. We are joined to him. He is the head, we are the body. And in the name of the head we are gathered. [00:50:24] Now you begin to understand something very wonderful. Anything that you ask in my name that will my father give you. And it says all the way through the word. Everything they did was in the name of the Lord. It means it's a question of your position. Do you get it? In the same way that people use the phrase the blood. People speak about the blood, the blood, the blood, the blood. And they had strange me ideas about this. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb. What does it mean, the blood of the lamb? It means the finished work of Jesus Christ. [00:50:52] Do you understand? It's a symbol of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Now, in the name of the Lord Jesus is another phrase which means that we're in the body. Where is your position? You are joined to the Lord. You are a member of his body. He is in our midst, we are in him and he is in earth. Do you begin to understand it? [00:51:15] When we begin to see this, we find something very wonderful. We find that Christ's presence in the midst of us gives rise by the spirit to our agreement in prayer, the spirit of God leading, directing, prompting, enabling. [00:51:33] And so the prayer time becomes an expression of the body of Christ. It becomes an expression of our oneness with Christ and our oneness in Christ. [00:51:44] Now you begin to understand why some of us get so bothered about these kind of prayers that sometimes, which are totally individualistic, they have no regard to the body of Christ. There's no harmonizing with any other things. You would almost that they've not heard anyone who prayed before or anyone who comes after. It's a totally sort of unrelated, individualistic type of prayer. Of course we get worried about it. Nothing wrong with that when we're on our own. But when we're together, it denies and contradicts the very principle of corporate prayer, which is for where two or three are gathered together into my name, there am I in the midst, and I am giving rise to the agreement. So what happens is this. It's not that you and I say, now we're going to agree to agree. How many here will agree? And we, a few hands clapped. And we say, now we'll shut the rest out. [00:52:39] But you and I are, we're like an elite in here. We're going to get something done. We're going to get God. We're going to sort of get God into a corner now he's got to do something. [00:52:49] That's not the idea. It's blasphemous when you really think about it. [00:52:55] When we see what real agreement is, it is this, that as we are gathered together into the name of our Lord, we take our position in Christ. One body in Christ. We wait on him, we inquire of him, we entreat him. So into our midst comes the mind of the Lord. And, you know, it doesn't need long prayer. Sometimes it will come out one. And as someone's praying, something kindles in your heart, you know, as you hear them praying. Oh, yes, that's right. You can hardly wait for them to stop. [00:53:27] I sometimes wish that we could do what it says in the scripture, that if one prophet is speaking, the second has a revelation. Let him shut up. The first. [00:53:37] There we are, we've got the bell. [00:53:44] Well, friends, that's the bell of the front door. [00:53:55] Anyway, getting right back to the subject, the fact of the matter is this, that when we're really together in prayer and someone prays, there comes into our heart a burden. Oh, that's where it's so terrible when someone prays too long, because when it's really corporate prayer, it's the Holy Spirit is going from one to another to another to another. And you see, it's as if it somehow dies if someone prays for too long. Do you understand what I mean? But you see, out of our mouths comes an agreement. And the thing that establishes that as something that is done is the fact that it is in the mouth of two witnesses, at least. [00:54:36] Now you ask me straight away, why does God need. I don't know. [00:54:44] It's good to be able to say there are things we don't know. I don't know. It is amazing to me. All I know is. All I know is this, that God is not unwilling to say. [00:54:53] It's not that God is unwilling to do this or that or the other or the other. It's not that we've got to twist his arm to do something which he's basically unwilling to do. He wants to do it. But once we're in line with him. Once we're in line with him, he has to. He needs, he wants that that thing should be expressed in the mouth of at least two witnesses. [00:55:14] When it's a very important matter, it has to be expressed in the mouth of two or three. That's where it's quite wrong, this idea that if one person prays, that's enough, you can leave it. [00:55:26] It's not that you want everyone praying. You see, we have to learn the lesson here. When does the anointing move on? When does the anointing. Sometimes the anointing will stay on something, and 30 people will say the same thing. Like going around Jericho again and again and again and again until the walls fall down. [00:55:43] Another time it only needs two people or three, and the thing's done and the anointing moves on. There's no point going back to it, for it's done. [00:55:54] But, oh, if we could only understand this. This is the great distinguishing mark of the new covenant. You see, they used to pray in the old covenant. And how they prayed was quite simple. Everyone prayed together. That is the mark of the old covenant. All prayed their own prayers, all in a great sort of thing that God sorted out in heaven. [00:56:17] There was no relatedness to one another. Everyone was individuals. All saved, absolutely saved. Just as you and I are redeemed by the blood of the lamb, looking forward to the cross, they were saved by it. [00:56:33] But you see, the great distinguishing mark of the new covenant is that God has put his spirit within us. [00:56:45] We are no longer individuals. We are members of a body. [00:56:50] And it's a great thing at times just to all pray together, because God sorts it out and lets out a whole lot of things into the presence of God. [00:57:00] We don't want to be inhibited just because we're british about that. Nevertheless, the mark of the new covenant is that the Holy Spirit is in us. And he can use your lips and your lips and your lips and your lips. And this is the thing that bowled over the jewish people in the early days. They couldn't understand it. What's got into these people? What is it? [00:57:24] They move together as if some invisible conductor is there. Here one comes in, then another one, then another, then another. And the place is shaken. [00:57:36] Because this time it's not just a congregation of units. [00:57:41] It's a body in Christ joined to the head, in him, and under the direction and government of the Holy Spirit. So the right kind of prayer time, the normal idea of the prayer time is simply that at its very best, it is the giving of voice to matters in our hearts. I think that's the best that most people think of a prayer time. And the worst is what I heard in the states. Well, it's a good thing to have a prayer meeting, they said in a group of pastors that I was present at. Because it lets out the psychological sort of problems that are in the congregation and makes it easier for the ministers. [00:58:25] That's their idea of prayer. Some of them. [00:58:28] No question of God hearing prayer. It's just that, you know, people have got it all locked up inside of them. So why not let it down out? Like one of these sort of sessions in a sort of hospital for the mentally sick, let it all out, and then afterwards, everyone feels much better for it. [00:58:45] Now, that's the worst view of corporate prayer. [00:58:51] But basically it's the same many individual units praying without too much regard to one another. [00:58:58] Now, if that's the case, we might as well suggest matters for prayer and send everyone home to pray alone. This would cut the wastage of time by about 75%. [00:59:11] If everyone's going to pray their own prayer, just as if no one else is there, why don't we give all the matters out for prayer? And that would take us, say, about half an hour, and then send everybody home to spend ten minutes on their knees everywhere in the quiet of their own rooms. In this way, we would cut down, we would have more time. We would all have to get things done. [00:59:36] But you see, really, basically, this is what people do with the prayer meeting, you see, the first person prays, and I'll take Ian's example, and we'll say he prays, and he prays for some Billy Graham campaign, shall we say, of Los Angeles. And then he goes to Cape Town and prays for a family in great need in Cape Town. And then he's off to Melbourne. And there's a brother there in Melbourne who's gone back from the Lord. Then he's gone to Tokyo and prays for Shigeru. Then he goes over, over back to London and prays for the company here. And then he prays for grandmother's gangrenous toe. [01:00:14] That's his prayer. Then Paul comes in, he prays for this fellow in Melbourne who's gone back from the Lord. He goes to Shigeru in Japan. He comes back to Billy Graham in Los Angeles. He comes to London and he prays fervently for London and the british people in the light of the referendum. And then someone over the back there prays, and he starts and he prays for grandmother's gangrenous toe. Ian's grandmother's gangrenous toe. And prays for five other sick people. Then he plays for Billy Graham in Los Angeles. Then he's gone off to Melbourne. Then he goes to Tokyo for Shigeru and ends in Tokyo. Then Ralph comes in, and Ralph prays for Shigeru in Tokyo. Hops across to Peking and prays for all the saints behind the bamboo curtain. Goes off to Russia and prays for all the saints behind the Iron Curtain. [01:01:08] He then enters Czechoslovakia, fervently praying for those who receive sounds. Then someone over here prays for all those who are suffering everywhere, especially in the benighted catholic countries. Back to the Iron Curtain. And then from the Iron Curtain off to Tokyo. Now you wonder what's happening in this prayer meeting? Can the Lord sort it out? First we're here, then we're there. Then we're here. Then we're there. Then we're here. Then we're there. Then we're here. Back and forward, backwards and forwards. And, you know, if you went and prayed like that at home, the Lord would say that you needed some help. [01:01:45] When you pray at home, you get on your knees and you pray. You pray for Billy Graham, shall we say, in his campaign in Los Angeles. Then you go on to this matter in Melbourne. Then you go on to Shigeru in Japan. Maybe you come to Cape Town in South Africa. And finally you pray for some of the local needs. [01:02:01] But you don't start with Billy Graham. Go off to Melbourne, come back to Billy Graham, go to Shigeru in Japan, come back to Melbourne, go off to Cape Town, come back to Melbourne, go back to Billy Graham, then go back again to Melbourne, then back to Los Angeles, then to London, then behind the Iron Curtain. And then the Lord would say, my child, you need healing of the mind. [01:02:26] You just all. All over the place. But you see, what we wouldn't dream of doing. We wouldn't dream of doing that privately or personally. We would think that you need a rest. [01:02:37] The Lord would say, my child, come away and rest awhile. [01:02:44] We wouldn't dream of. But in the corporate time of place, exactly what we do. [01:02:52] And so we're all over the place and we get nowhere. And the sense is just a heaviness comes down, the edge is blunted, and we don't know where we're going. [01:03:04] An evidence of this kind of prayer. Not so much amongst us, but certainly in many, many places. The use of I and my. Now, there's nothing wrong in saying sometimes when you mean me to say me. And when you mean I to say I. [01:03:19] Some people say, look, Lord, we all feel so dead. [01:03:27] You can't witness to that kind of thing. I don't feel dead. [01:03:34] We all feel dead. I have to say, lord, count me out. [01:03:40] I don't feel dead. [01:03:44] That brother should say, or that sister should say, lord, I feel so dead. Help me, Lord. Help me, Lord. And maybe some others will take up that prayer and say, lord, we pray for our mother. [01:03:55] Be honest. But it is sad when you get all I and my, and me all in a time of corporation. Our Lord never taught us this. He taught us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy. Thy will be done as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive those that trespass against us. I've got a bit of that there. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I mean, it's all in the plural. [01:04:34] It's we. It's us our. [01:04:37] And that's a sign that we really feel we belong to the body, where we can begin to pray in the name of the body. It's not just I pray, but we are. [01:04:48] That's a tremendous thing, the right kind of prayer. Time obviously has an order and a design and a togetherness and a harmony and must be so if our Lord is in the midst and by the spirit is giving rise to his mind. There must be a purpose and an aim and. And a design and a harmony, a togetherness. In that time. There may be brevity, thank God, but mutuality, because that is the key to the whole time. Our Lord. [01:05:23] There are bound to be some things going in and out. We'll never be perfect, and the best of us will at times put our foot in it. [01:05:31] But nevertheless, overall, there will be a design and an aim and a harmony. You know, the seconding of one another's prayers is so important here. Just a little word on this and then we'll come to an end of what we've really got to say this evening with a few practical points. I mean, the seconding of one another's prayer. You know, I feel so sad sometimes when someone under anointing and, you know, you don't have to be a great saint or to have lived years and years and years in the service of God to distinguish an anointing on someone in prayer. [01:06:09] You listen to a person and you note that the anointing's there. There's a clarity, there's an authority. Are they praying? And, you know, so often we think, well, that's enough. We don't have to do any more about that. That's tough. It's not. [01:06:22] It must be seconded. [01:06:24] If two of you shall agree, it must be second. Do you know, sometimes I just wish. I know it sounds a bit irreverent. I just wish that in times of prayer, people would say, lord, I second that. [01:06:39] It would be worth a thousand other words just to hear a plain lord. I second it. [01:06:50] It's done. An agreement here. [01:06:54] This word amen is so interesting because it comes from the same root. It's a hebrew word, of course, amin, but it comes from the same root as the word ma'am. Ma'am means simply to believe, to have faith. [01:07:08] And when you say amen, do you know what you're saying? I believe. I faith. I faith for that lord. Because we put it in the old word, let it be even so. Even so. Let it be, Lord. Even so. But what you mean is I've got faith for you. [01:07:23] Faith. You just think about that next time when someone is praying something and God has put into your heart a witness. That's right. You just say, amen. [01:07:33] Had faith for that. I'm with that. I'm right behind that. [01:07:38] And that's exactly what it says in one corinthians 14 and verse 16, when it says, how shall the unlearned say amen? [01:07:48] Well, I don't know. There must be an awful lot of unlearned in some meetings. There are some meetings I go to, no one ever says amen at all, but amen, even the unlearned. And the word unlearned in Greek means the person without gifts, doesn't mean the unbeliever. The person without gifts, person who has not yet had their gifts manifested. Even that person can say amen when they hear a gift being exercised. There is prophecy, of course, in this connection, and they can understand, and then they can say amen even so. [01:08:29] Oh, there's lots that could be said about this, but the time prayer has to be conducted like a military operation. So often the idea seems to be prevalent amongst believers that as long as you've got a gun and enough ammunition, that's all that matters. Firing, sort of training your sights on the enemy and firing accurately is a very secondary thing as long as you just fire the gun. And that's what people do. They get their gun put in all the bullets, and as they go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, all over the place. [01:09:04] Sometimes, you know, they'll keep one or two bullets and go bang and bang. That's you two guys. [01:09:12] The idea is, just like in the east, when we used to be in the east, if you make enough noise, the piards or the jackals will run away. [01:09:23] You just bang the dustbin lids or bang a drum or make a noise and they'll run off. The idea is the devil is so dim witted that all we have to do is make a hullabaloo, shoot off a few scriptures in different directions, make a noise. Here and there have lots of people saying, praying, all in the name of Jesus. And the devil runs away. Actually, he's having a picnic right beside us, just sort of and saying, my, my, my. The Christians are having some fireworks tonight. [01:09:57] The fact of the matter is that if we really understood that we're in a warfare and that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but mighty, through God to the pulling down of strongholds, then we would understand that we've got to train our weapons or our guns, whatever they are, onto the target. [01:10:18] It's not just firing everything all over the place, but really firing at the target. Now that brings me to a few practical points which come out of all of this, which cover this whole matter of prayer. [01:10:37] There's the a number of things we need to avoid, like the plague. [01:10:43] Horizontal prayer. All prayer is vertical. [01:10:49] Horizontal prayer is a dreadful plague. [01:10:55] It is information giving. [01:10:59] It's for one another's attention. You know, the kind of thing we pray instead of being honest and sort of breaking in and just saying, I ought to have mentioned this, but there's misses so and so round the corner in the vineyard, a number so and so on the third floor in the back room. Her husband fell down the other day and broke his leg. Her child's in hospital with diphtheria and she's in dreadful need. Could we pray for her? That would at least be a bit more honest. But what happens is this. Can you. Oh, Lord, we pray for misses so and so, who lives off one of the roads, off Halford Road, the vineyard. A number so and so, third floor up, Lord. And in the back room, her husband has broken his leg and the child is in hospital with dip. I mean, the Lord says, my dear child, I know all this. [01:11:56] You really don't need to tell me. Why are you saying all this? [01:12:01] Why? There's no need to say it all. [01:12:06] It's destroying prayer. Because you are praying to other people, you're not praying to God. No matter how old you are, you are not praying to God. You are praying to other people. And the sooner you learn that your prayer is valueless in the sight of heaven, the better. [01:12:26] We have to learn hard lessons. [01:12:30] What point is there when you get to heaven? You say, I did pray and the Lord says, you did not. [01:12:36] You spent most of your time in giving information to others and a lot of hot wind and as far as we're concerned in heaven you were a dreadful bore. [01:12:47] Do you think, do you think, do you think. No, I'm not playing at words. Do you think our Lord is going to acclaim someone who has destroyed prayer meetings? [01:13:00] Never. [01:13:02] All isn't a diplomat, he's not a politician. He's not going to say, oh, you did very, very well. [01:13:10] He's going to say, you were the destroyer of those prayer meetings. [01:13:17] Why didn't you learn? [01:13:20] Why didn't you allow me to do something with you? Horizontal prayer is a plague. [01:13:27] Ask God to keep you away from it, to keep you free from it. All. Prayer is direct, God knows. That's why the old preacher said, remember God is in heaven and thou on earth, therefore let your words be few. He didn't mean don't pray much, he just meant just remember God's in heaven and your honour, he knows it all. [01:13:49] What did our Lord say? Don't use vain repetition, don't pray long prayers like the gentiles who think, for they are much speaking their heard of God. What did he say? He said this. He said, remember, your heavenly father knoweth what you have need of before you ask him. It doesn't mean don't ask, for he taught us to pray. Give us our daily bread. [01:14:15] He taught us to pray it. But he said don't go all round the bush, your heavenly father knows it anyway. Be direct horizontal prayers. And then of course the sermonettes and the Bible outlines thats another great destroyer of prayer. Our beloved Lord is more preached at than any other person in the whole universe. [01:14:39] If the heathen were preached at as much as our Lord, some things might have happened before now. [01:14:45] But sometimes you wonder why people dont give the Lord the chance to come forward and answer the appeal the way people give a rehash of the sermon on the mount or some other scripture. [01:15:01] You see the trouble is that the prayer meeting is often the venue for frustrated preachers cant get out anywhere else. So out it comes in prayer. And we have biblical outlines and points one, two, three and four and all the rest of it with alliteration in some places as well. [01:15:21] That is all the points beginning with the same letter. For those of you who are ignorant, may the law preserve us from. Theres a difference in rehearsing the word of God before the Lord that we need to learn. But to preach sermonettes or give Bible outlines is terrible to preach at garden. And then there is what we call the shopping list prayer, or the world tour prayer. You know, the kind of thing where the whole person has a whole list of things. Probably had a great battle in getting their mouth open. And finally, when they've got it open, they think, now I'll take my opportunity while I've got my mouth open. And they go through the lot. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, right down the shopping list and it's done. Or the world tour. As I said, you start here and you go there and you go right round and back where you come a few minutes later, not even by jet. [01:16:12] Another thing we have to avoid is sentiment and artificiality. It was Wp Nicholson who once said, why do people have to use strange voices when they speak to God? The word for prayer? It just means that it is always used that word for prayer. By the way, the general term for prayer is always used of an only use of speaking with God. But prayer is only speaking with God. We must be reverent before the Lord. There must be a fear of the Lord. But why do we have to be artificial? [01:16:42] WB Nicholson said, if his wife came to him early in the morning and said, willie, I have got your porridge and there is milk on it. [01:17:01] Do you wish sugar or any other thing added? [01:17:10] He would say, I think she'd gone crazy. [01:17:14] Why does our Lord have to be treated to such an artificial way of praying? Why can't we speak with the Lord as we speak with one another, only reverently? [01:17:29] Long prayer. Sometimes people know how to pray for one thing, and they keep in thinking, but they pray for so long. [01:17:37] And we have to learn that often it's repetition that keeps us at such length. Well, now then, there are many other things as well. In this introductory time that covers the whole gamut of prayer. There is mechanical noise, I don't think. I think the lord has dealt with some of that amongst us. But I remember the day when there used to be. Sometimes it could be mechanical. Some would grunt. [01:18:02] And really, sometimes people will grunt mechanically. [01:18:13] It has no regard. Because sometimes someone could say, oh, lord, Soviet Russia is so dark. [01:18:23] You will remember that brother who came with that idea, that hallelujah has to come from the spirit deep down inside. You remember him, some of you. And he stood up on that famous occasion and prayed for the boy Ivan's Hallelujah stones. [01:18:40] And then he prayed later on for runers Hallelujah rumbling of paintings. [01:18:48] And finally he said, o Lord, we stand against the Hallelujah devil. [01:18:54] On that he was nearer to the truth than on anything else. [01:18:58] He'd got this idea that the hallelujah had to come involuntarily from deep down in here. [01:19:06] And it did. [01:19:13] Mechanical noise oh, its a plague. [01:19:18] Its nothing to do with. Its a wonderful thing when someone really does say hallelujah, or when someone says amen, or when someone says yes, lord, out loud, when it really is from the spirit and wonderful when the great chorus of amen go up on something just because we're all really witnessing to that matter in the spirit, the mechanical noise is something to be avoided. [01:19:44] Speak up. [01:19:47] Don't speak into your hands or into the chair. [01:19:51] I've said it so many times that still people do it. [01:19:55] We can't hear a word that they're saying. They might as well be speaking. Speaking in a tongue would be better really, if they were. [01:20:03] Can't hear a word just like one. Corinthians 14 we can't say amen because we don't understand a word of what they're saying. If you have a soft voice, don't let that stop you from praying, but don't pray for long. If you have got an inherently soft voice and can do nothing about it, pray, but pray briefly and speak up. Don't pray on your hands. Don't pray into the seat. Now that brings me just simply to say this. We've covered a great range of things in this matter of prayer this evening. I wish I could say a good deal about insensitivity, because I believe that is our biggest problem, insensitivity to, for instance, just the leading of the spirit of God to the way he's going to the anointing. [01:20:56] Sometimes when some of us are deaf and I'm getting like that, I have to say there is a tendency sometimes to wait for someone who speaks powerfully or clearly and you can hear and then come in. Now that may not be the spirit of God, and we have to learn somehow or other even on that, to be led with the spirit. Holy Spirit will lead us in simple, clear ways. Sometimes we are so insensitive that we have a slavish mechanical following of the suggested items for prayer. [01:21:29] You know, we will just go right through the whole list to the end. [01:21:36] As soon as there's a moment of silence in, we are onto the next point, because we're not under the anointing, we're insensitive to the spirit of God. Maybe the Lord doesn't want to mention that. [01:21:47] Why should we have to pray for every item that suggested some of that will be prayed for in homes? [01:21:55] We need to be sensitive to the spirit of God. And that, you see, leads me to say this thing about what is the root of the whole problem. [01:22:04] I talked about the principle of prayer and the aspect, four aspects of prayer and the right kind of prayer time, and made some of these practical points. But, you know, the root of the whole matter is the need for an awareness of God. [01:22:23] You may not think that, but if you go away and meditate on it and reflect on it, it will come home to you as clear as possible. Crystal. That the great problem is this need of an awareness of God, 75%, if not 80% or more of all our prayer is really for public consumption and not for divine attention. [01:22:58] And the reason is that we are not aware of the Lord. Now, Jeremiah, not Jeremiah. Elijah said three or four times, the Lord before whom I stand. [01:23:09] No one could see him standing before the Lord. He used, sometimes he was standing before King Ahab or Jezebel, but he always said, the Lord before whom I stand. He had such a consciousness, such an awareness of God. [01:23:20] Always it was the Lord before whom I stand. And I believe that that is our greatest need. [01:23:28] Some people treat prayer as a devotional exercise, others as some kind of duty that's got to be fulfilled. We've got to open one's mouth and pray for as much as possible in one go. [01:23:41] All that would vanish if we were really aware of God. If I was aware that God was in this place, I was aware that the Lord is actually, though not, we cannot see him with physical eyes, actually present by his spirit in our midst. I am in the midst of them. It would revolutionize our prayer. You know, we'd be so direct, there'd be no third person. We'd be direct. We'd get hold of and say, lord, Lord, you're here. We want to pray about, we want to pray about Vietnam. We want to bring it. You're here, Lord, the master of the whole earth. You're actually here amongst us. We want to bring this need to you, Lord. We don't have to tell you heaven, you know it all. Do you understand? We get, because he's here. We're aware that he's here. [01:24:31] A few words in the ear of the king of kings could change a situation. You know, some of us we would think if only we had the influence of power. Oh, I had a few, a few moments with president forward, just a few moments to sort of say this, this, this and this. [01:24:54] But you know that we can have an hour again and again in the presence of the king of kings. [01:25:06] The tragedy is that so often that hour can be lost in so much that is not real prayer. [01:25:16] And the time can be killed by all these other things. [01:25:22] May the Lord graciously give to every one of us an awareness of his presence. [01:25:30] Shall we pray?