(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) So you're there in First Thessalonians chapter five, and really the verse I want you to see there is verse 17, where it says, pray without ceasing, pray without ceasing. I've done our sermon on prayer, it's been a little while, but I want to do a whole sermon on this concept of praying without ceasing. What does that mean, what does that entail? And the one thing that I want to, you know, because people that are over spiritual, or you know, I led a Pentecostal mentality on this, is like, well, you should just be praying every second of the day. I mean, every thought that you have should be prayer, and should be rejoicing, and praising God. That's not realistic, and that's not what it's saying, okay? I mean, because if you're saying to me that you're doing that, at the moment you're saying that to me, you're not actually doing it, okay? Because you cannot just, you can't be praying and talking, and praising God, and doing all that all at the same time. Okay, there's a time and place for everything. And so the idea of this being something that's just like a constant, is not what it's saying. Praying without ceasing is talking about the fact of that you don't cease to pray for certain things, and you don't cease to do that. And I do believe this should be on a daily basis. So daily, you should not be ceasing to pray for your family, for bread, and I'm gonna get into this. But first I want to give you an example of someone that did pray, and how often. You know, because that's the question when you see pray without ceasing, is the automatic question is, well, how often do I need to pray a day? What's the number of times that I should be praying? Well, I think Daniel is a good character to look at when it comes to this. Go to Daniel chapter six, Daniel chapter six. And I want to read this to you, as you're going to Daniel chapter six, in Ezekiel chapter 14, this is what God has to say about Daniel. In Ezekiel 14, 14 it says, "'Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, "'were in it, they should deliver but their own souls "'by their righteousness,' saith the Lord God." Okay, and it repeats this, actually, in that same chapter, it's basically saying, the only people that I would save out of this city is Noah, Daniel, and Job. You know, and he's basically saying, I wouldn't even save their families. That's how bad that city was, and that judgment that was coming on. And he says, I will do it by their righteousness. So that really shows you just the kind of man that Daniel was, as far as how close he was with the Lord, and that he's in that list with Noah and Job. Okay, so, but that being in mind, we're going to see here that Daniel prayed three times a day, three times a day, okay? Not every second of the day, three times a day, okay? And it wouldn't make sense, because, I mean, just think about this on a surface level, when Jesus would go to pray, that wouldn't make sense if he's already praying, right? He went off yonder to pray. I'm going to get to those passages, but to say, like, I'm going over here to pray, or when you pray, wait, I thought you were praying all right now, you know? If this is pray without ceasing, meaning every second of every day, okay? So I just want to debunk that real quick, okay, that that's ridiculous, and that comes from, like, this Pentecostal over-spiritual mentality of, like, I'm just praising the Lord and everything that I do, everything I say. And listen, that should be our prerogative, and that should be what we're striving for, but to think that you're just praying at all times, you're rejoicing in the Lord at all times, you're giving thanks at all times, even when you're speaking to somebody, even when you're doing a project at work, even when you're doing all these different things, I mean, it's just not attainable, okay? And people that, it's like people that think they can become sinlessly perfected or something like that. It's just this unattainable thing that they're trying to say they're doing. But in Daniel chapter six and verse 10 here, this is, if you know the story, obviously, the leaders and the princes of the province, they didn't like Daniel because he was being promoted, and so they had the king sign this decree that if anybody prays to any other god besides Nebuchadnezzar there, or bring any petition to anybody else besides Nebuchadnezzar, then they need to be thrown into a den of lions. Okay, that's the story. And in verse 10 here, it says, "'Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, "'he went into the house, and his windows being open "'in his chamber toward Jerusalem, "'he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, "'and prayed and gave thanks before his God, "'as he did a four times.'" So first of all, he didn't just do this to make a show of it, okay? This is what he did a four times. So he's just doing exactly what he did before, even though he knew that the decree was signed, but he's just like, nope, I'm doing it anyway. That's what I did before, that's what I'm gonna do again. But no, it's three times a day. It says, "'Then these men assembled "'and found Daniel praying and making supplication "'before his God. "'Then they came near and spake before the king, "'concerting the king's decree. "'Hast thou not sign to decree that every man "'that shall ask a petition of any god "'or man within 30 days save of thee, O king, "'shall be cast into the den of lions?' "'The king answered and said, "'The thing is true according to the law "'of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.' "'Then answered they and said before the king, "'That Daniel, which is of the children "'of the captivity of Judah, "'regardeth not thee, O king, "'nor the decree that thou hast signed, "'but maketh his supplication three times a day.'" Okay, so it's very clear that he's doing this three times a day, but the key is is that he did this four times, okay? So if you want a good marker as far as, well, how many times a day should I be praying or making a point to pray, I think three times is a good attribute, and you say, well, I'm not doing that. Well, we all need to be better at this. Sometimes these are the hardest sermons to preach because it's the ones that I need to get better at when it comes to prayer. Setting aside time, I think in the morning is a great time and in the evening is a great time, but there probably should be times in between that, and I think a lot of us do this, too, like we're praying for meals or doing things like that. I think you can get into that as well, but here, he's literally taking time apart and setting it apart to particularly pray to God, and I think this is a good thing to strive for, okay? Not this unrealistic of praying every second, every moment, every day, okay? But this three times a day, maybe morning, afternoon, evening type of mentality, you know, when you wake up, starting off your day, during the day as you're going through life, and then at the end of the day before you go to bed. I think that's a good policy anyway to read your Bible and pray before you go to bed, just a little bit at least, because dreams come from a multitude of business that the Bible teaches, and you may have noticed this, but if you're watching something scary, like I'm not saying you're doing that right now, but people that would watch horror movies and then they go to sleep, you end up getting chased by a monster your whole night long because you're thinking about that, okay? I hate horror movies. I don't understand why anybody would like them, but all that to say is that if you're reading the Bible and you're praying to God, that's what was last on your mind, and so if you want to have better dreams, you want to have more peace when you're sleeping, instead of listening to things or reading the news and reading about all the craziness that's going on in the world, I mean, the last thing you want to do is just read about all the wickedness that's going on in the world before you go to bed, okay? That's the last thing you want to do, okay? You probably don't want to start off your day that way either, okay? I'm not saying not to look at what's going on in the world, but you should probably start your day off on the Bible and prayer with God and you should end it the same way, okay? And I think having in between there a time where you're setting apart is a good idea as well, okay? I don't think there's, it never says, thus saith the Lord, pray three times a day, okay? It never tells you like how many times, just as much as it doesn't tell you how much to read your Bible or how much Bible to memorize. I believe a lot of this has to do with where's your heart at and how much do you want to do and how much you're going to try to do, okay? But in all this, there has to be a balance, okay? Meaning this is that there's only so much time in the day, okay? You got to work, you got to read your Bible, you got to spend time with your family, you know, there's a lot of things that you're trying to do throughout that day that you got to know that, hey, I want prayer to be in there, but it's got to work in there. You can't say, well, I'm just going to pray five hours a day every single day, it's not realistic. You're not going to be able to do it. You're not going to be able to fit everything else in there. How are you going to work eight or nine hours a day? Then come home and spend time with your family, eat or something like that, and get five hours of prayer in and then read your Bible. How are you going to do all that? It's unrealistic, it's got to be a realistic goal, okay? So first I think what you should try to do, the pray without ceasing, is to set up certain times where like I pray in the morning no matter what. Even if it's like you're really rushed but you're just like, I got to get a prayer in, okay? You may not be spending an hour in prayer, but you're getting that prayer in and getting into a routine. I think getting into that routine, which Daniel obviously was in, okay? This was a routine. He opened up his windows, he looked toward Jerusalem, and he prayed three times a day. He was in a routine. And it's like anything else, as soon as you get into a routine, it becomes second nature. You're just like, well, that's just what I do, right? You go to the gym, you get into a routine of working out, it's just what you do. Like I don't think about it, you know? Like I get in a routine of going to the gym and I'm just like, it's Monday morning, I'm going to the gym. It's Wednesday morning, I'm going to the gym. And it's not like, I don't wake up and be like, am I going to go today? If I did that, I probably wouldn't go, okay? No, I just go and I don't like it all the time. You know, I'm not always just excited to go into the gym at 6.30 in the morning. But, you know, it's a routine. It just becomes something that you do, okay? Now, I think about this when he opens up this window and here's the thing, this is in his house. Technically, no one should be seeing him, right? You can't help but that people are spying on him, okay? It's like the neighbors are spying on you in your house. He didn't like go out into the marketplace and get down on his knees and just start praying up, you know, three times a day. He was in his house. And you say, well, he opened his windows. We can't open our windows? Like, what are you talking about, okay? Now, I understand the Bible talks about going into your closet, but the whole point of that is that you're not being open about it, okay? It doesn't mean that you, the only time you could ever pray is in a closet. If you don't have a closet, then you can't pray. That's ridiculous, okay? Well, the whole point of what he's saying there is that you're basically isolating yourself. You're doing this alone with God, okay? And I believe Daniel was doing that. I think he was more so opening a window so he can kind of look up into heaven. And I think of this verse in 1 Timothy chapter two, kind of going with that as far as why would he open his window. It says in 1 Timothy chapter two and verse eight, it says, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And just kind of thinking about who you're praying to. Obviously, you're praying to God who's in heaven, and so looking up into the heavens and looking into the sky is not, like, that wouldn't be out of the ordinary to think about who you're praying to and what direction you're praying to and all that. And also to the promise of the temple, if you remember when Solomon built the temple, he said, if we pray toward this temple, he made this covenant with them, saying, if you pray toward this temple, then I will hear your voice and I will heal the land and all that promise, okay? So in the Old Testament, when they built this temple, God heard that prayer of Solomon, and he said, okay, pretty much. He's like, okay, you pray towards this, and you turn from your iniquity, my people, which are called by my name, and it goes into that whole thing with, like, 2 Chronicles 7.14. So you can understand why he's opening up his window and he's praying toward Jerusalem, okay? He's kind of making a point to be like, I'm doing what you told me to do, God, okay? So I don't look at it as being a show, like he's being showy about it. I think he's just trying to honor what God told him to do, and he particularly did it three times a day. I think that's a good goal to have, okay? But I don't think it's a commandment to go three times a day. I think that if you prayed every day, that's what you should be doing, just as much as reading the Bible, right? Read the Bible daily, but reading it three times a day is a good idea, right? In the morning, at night, and in between, and the day. Go to Psalm 119, we're gonna talk about David, Psalm 119, Psalm 119 and verse 164. This is kind of a different point, because a lot of times people mix prayer with praise and rejoicing, okay? Because these things are kind of different things. Praying is asking for something, like I pray you, I beseech you, right? And don't get me wrong, as you're talking to God and calling on him and speaking to him in prayer, you could be praising him and giving him thanks, okay? So don't get me wrong there. Obviously, you could be praying to him and giving him thanks, but really, prayer is asking for something, okay? You're petitioning God for something. You're beseeching him, right? But this idea of praising him, David did it seven times a day, okay? And this could be in prayer, but this could just be, I mean, obviously, if you're talking to God, you'd be praying to him, technically, right? As far as calling on him, talking to him. But in Psalm 119, 164, it says, seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy judgments. So seven times a day, David praised the Lord. So if you want a timeline, but again, this does not say thou shalt praise the Lord seven times, okay? God doesn't put these numbers and quantify praise and quantify prayer and quantify reading, quantify memorization or meditation. He doesn't quantify it. You know what, there's a lot of liberty. And here's the thing, you know why he doesn't quantify it? Because he wants it to be what you desire. He wants you to do it seven times a day because that's what you wanted to do, okay? Not because you're like, oh, I'm trying to meet the quota, right? But I'm showing you this because, hey, these are great men of God. You had Daniel, who's a great man of God, David, who's a great man of God, and these are things they did, okay? So if you want to emulate somebody, I think that's a good goal to try to set. But in the end, it should be from the heart, it should be because you love God, you should be praising God, not because you're like, well, I did it six times, I need to do it one more, you know, meet that quota. No, you should be praising God because you want to. I think God would rather you praise him six times from the heart than just fake the last one because you're meeting a quota, or a prayer for that matter, okay? And Psalm 35, though, says this, Psalm 35 and verse 28, Psalm 35 and verse 28. So this is more of a practical sermon, but I just, you know, sometimes you see these, these, not superlatives, but you know, like a superlative is like, you know, that's the worst, or that's the best, but this is kind of like, you know, everyone or ceasing, you know, without ceasing is kind of like without end kind of thing when it comes to certain things that you're supposed to be doing. And sometimes people take that broad, they take that broad stroke too far. But the idea of without ceasing's true, okay? But it's not true in the fact that it's without ceasing every second of the day, okay? That's where people mess up. But without ceasing would imply the fact that every day you're doing it, right? Like I read the Bible without ceasing, because every day I read the Bible, right? And so, but in Psalm 35, verse 28, it says, and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long, okay? So, see, people could take this verse and say, well, see, we're supposed to be praising them all the day long, at every second, every moment, everything that comes out of your mouth better be praised to the Lord, okay? And it's this over-spiritual mentality. Well, David did it seven times a day. Is he not a spiritual man? Yet he was the man after God's own heart, okay? So, when you read some of this stuff, you have to understand, yeah, praising them all day long, it's meaning that throughout the day, at any time of the day, you could be praising the Lord and you should be praising the Lord and you should be striving to, whatever you do, you should be trying to praise the Lord, but to say that that has to be at every second, every moment, no, David did it seven times a day. Daniel prayed three times a day. And you know what? God thought that was good enough to where he would save Daniel from a city where he wouldn't save anybody else, but him and Noah and Job, okay? That's a small group, especially if you think about all the men of God, like Moses and all these great men of God that have been in the past, and he's just like, nope, only Noah, Daniel, and Job. And that really kind of shows you how great those guys were, okay? And we know Job was the most just man upon the earth in his generation. We know Noah obviously was. He found grace in the eyes of the Lord when everybody else was not following the Lord and all that. But this goes into, you know, when you're in 1st Timothy, 1st Thessalonians chapter five, sandwiched on the outside, or at the beginning and the end of where it says pray without ceasing, it says, in verse 16, rejoice evermore. And in verse 18, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Okay? So all these things kind of work together, and you'll see this stuff kind of used interchangeably a little bit, where they're like praise the Lord, rejoicing, and praying, okay? All these things are used a lot together, but I do believe there's differences in there, right? If you're rejoicing, you're not necessarily giving thanks. You're just excited, happy about, you know, the fact that God saved you, or that God's doing great things, or, you know, you're just rejoicing, or that you're giving thanks. Giving thanks is different than asking for something, right? It's like I thank God for eternal salvation, but I'm not asking Him for it at that moment, right? But I did ask Him for it at one time, you know, to get it. You know, I called upon the Lord, I asked Him for that salvation by faith in Him, and so there is little differences, but you can see how that can all take place in prayer, right, as far as talking to God, and how it's, you're rejoicing in it, you're thanking Him for it, and you're asking Him for it. So, but go to 1 Samuel chapter 12, 1 Samuel chapter 12, and dealing with this thought of pray without ceasing, okay? Because this is something Samuel brings up about his prayer life. And you say, well, what do we need to be praying for without ceasing, that's what I want to get into. Now that you understand, okay, when it says without ceasing, it means like, pretty much on a daily basis, you're doing this, right? You're not stopping, you're not stopping prayer. You're just continually praying every single day, but that doesn't mean every second of the day, okay? So in 1 Samuel chapter 12, verse 22, it says, for the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great things He hath done for you. Now this is a story where they're asking for a king. All right, they're like, you're getting old, Samuel, and your sons aren't following you, and we want a king. That's what's going on in this chapter. And he's telling them, I'm not gonna cease to pray for you, and I'm not gonna sin and cease to pray for you, okay? So what do we see here? Praying for others, right? Praying for our brethren, praying for people, and the fact that we should not be ceasing in that, meaning that you're praying, I just think of the church in general, praying for the people of this church. And so, you know, one of the things that I always try to remember when I'm praying is praying for the families of this church. But I more specifically, I try to go into specifics. We gotta be like, well, pray for all the families of Mountain Baptist Church, and just be general. You can do that, and I do that, but there's a lot of times where I'm going specific. Certain things going on in a certain family, or someone's going through something hard over here, or this person's been sick, or whatever's going on, and I'll specifically go over into prayer and say, Lord, please bless this family particularly, bless this husband, bless their children, and heal this person, or this person's dealing with a job. They need a job, or whatever's going on, and particularly, praying for those people, okay? And so as a pastor, obviously, I consider that an obligation, that I'm praying for the flock, and praying for those in the church, and this is something I need to get better at, and something that I think all of us can try to strive to get better at, okay? So praying for other people, praying for people to get saved, I mean, that's a great thing to pray for. You know, you think of unsaved family members, unsaved friends, and just praying for opportunities, praying for their heart to be open, praying for circumstances to fall into place, to where it would be a good way for it to happen. You could also be thinking of this in forms of imprecatory prayers, praying for people, right? Wicked people that are haters of God, praying that death would seize upon them, and that they go quick down in hell, that their days would be few, and another man would take their office. I mean, it doesn't always have to be a blessing when you're praying for them, right? But at the same time, you're still praying for people, okay? And Samuel is saying, listen, I'm not gonna sin against God and not praying for you, because he was a judge of the land at the time, okay? Even though they were asking for a king, he was still an authority, he was the judge of the land, he was the ruler, he was the governor, if you will, and so he needed to be praying for the people. So that's something we need to not cease in praying, but it doesn't mean that Samuel was literally just every second, every moment praying for the people, okay? It just means that every day, he was praying for the people, okay? And obviously, some people are gonna get more attention than others in some days, depending on what they're going through. I may spend a lot more time on one family in the church in prayer than I will on another family at that certain given time, depending on what they're going through. But I still try to pray for everybody at the same time, because I'd rather pray and then pray that you still wanna pray for people to be healthy, even if they're not sick. So go to Acts chapter 12, Acts chapter 12. Here's another case, and this is the case with Peter being in prison. I'm just kind of showing you places where it says to pray without ceasing, or making mentioning without ceasing in your prayers. So in Acts chapter 12, verse one here, it says, now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church, and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw what pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four cartonians of soldiers to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And again, when you look at this, people say, well, they were just praying. That whole time he was in prison, they just didn't eat, they didn't drink, they didn't move, they just prayed. I don't believe that's what it's saying. I just believe that they were constantly praying for him, that they weren't giving up. They didn't stop praying for him, meaning that they didn't, it'd be like this, if I was praying every day for something and then I just stopped, that means I ceased. I ceased to pray for that thing. Or I was praying for a certain individual, whether it's a brother in Christ or whether it's for someone to get saved, and I just stopped. That would be ceasing. So it's not, people look at these words, they're just like, well, ceasing means that they were doing it at all times, at every moment. I don't know what that means. I go to work without ceasing. Does that mean that I'm at work every second of the day? No, it just means that I'm going to work every week and I go in, day in, day out, I go to work and I don't cease working. That doesn't mean I never rest, I never sleep, I never do anything but work. You can apply that to anything. I go to church without ceasing. Does that mean that I'm at church every second of the day every moment I'm at church? No, but I'm not forsaking the assemblies. I'm doing that without ceasing. I'm preaching the word of God without ceasing. And to cease would be to say, all right, I'm not going to church anymore. I'm not gonna preach anymore. I'm not gonna go to work anymore. That would be ceasing. Now, and the same thing with them praying for him. Now, go to Romans chapter one, because I think this really kind of tells you what it means by that. When it says pray without ceasing, it means that when you pray, you don't cease to bring up certain people or certain things, okay? You don't stop praying for certain things. And some things are gonna be things that you're just gonna pray for and then you don't need to pray for it anymore after that, right? And so I'm not saying like there's certain things that you should just be praying for even though it's like a non-issue anymore, right? Obviously, we're gonna be praying for things that are needed and there are certain things that are gonna be always needed, okay? So it's not a matter of like, well, when that's done, then I don't need to pray for it anymore, okay? Because that's what I'm thinking about here, what I'm preaching about are things that are always needed, like reading your Bible, like going to church. All these things are always going to be needed, okay? So it's something that should never stop. You should never cease, right? But in Romans chapter one and verse eight there, it says, For I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you, okay? So notice he's specifically mentioning what he's not ceasing about. He's not ceasing to make mention of them, like in his prayers, okay? So that's what he's not ceasing to do, okay? So meaning every time he prays, he's making mention of them, okay? So every time you pray, there should be certain things that you're praying for. That's what it means by pray without ceasing, is first of all, that you don't stop praying, okay? That you're praying every day, that you don't just quit praying, okay? You're not just like, well, I just haven't prayed in like three months. That's ceasing, okay? Or even if you're like, I haven't prayed at all this week, well, you've ceased from prayer. You need to get back on that. I believe a daily prayer is what we should be doing, daily prayer, as much as daily Bible reading. And so, if I go to 2 Timothy chapter one, just to show you some other places where it mentions this ceasing not, if you will. In 2 Timothy chapter one, in verse three. 2 Timothy chapter one, verse three, it says, I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing, I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day. Notice that it's in his prayers that he's not ceasing to remember them, okay? It doesn't mean that he's always thinking about them, right? In every aspect, wherever he's at, he's thinking about them. No, in his prayers, he always brings them to remembrance. He doesn't cease to bring them to remembrance when he's praying. So when he's praying, he's not ceasing to remember them. And the same thing would go with praying without ceasing is the fact that in each day, you're not ceasing to pray. Not every second. Now, where does it say that, like every second of the day? How far would you take that? And notice in, or where did I stop there? Night and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother, Lois, and in thy mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. So he's always praying for something particularly, right? That he may be filled with joy, that he may come unto them. He's requesting something, right? With all these cases when he's talking about prayer, he's requesting to do something for someone to either be saved, or my prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. It says in Romans chapter 10. So, I mean, all these things, as far as prayer is concerned, is asking for something. And Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one and verse 15, Ephesians chapter one and verse 15, Ephesians chapter one and verse 15, it says, Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of him. So this kind of goes back to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing and everything, give thanks, right? And cease not to give thanks for you. That doesn't mean that every second of the day he's giving thanks for them. It just means that when he's praying, he's giving thanks for them, right? He's bringing them to remembrance and he's not ceasing to do that, okay? But it's just kind of showing you, okay, what is he doing when he's praying? Okay, he's thanking the Lord for these certain people, he's praying that he'll be with them, he's praying that he'll be filled with joy because of what they're doing, like just these different things that he's praying about. In Philemon, in verse four there, so Philemon one and verse four, it says, I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers. So it's just another way of saying it, right? Instead of saying without ceasing, it's just like I'm always making mention of you in my prayers, okay? Hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all saints that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. So what is he praying for? He's praying that, hey, I hope that your communication of your faith is effectual, meaning that you're winning people to Christ, you're doing great things for God and he's praying for these people and praying for Philemon particularly, who he's writing this letter to, that he's not, he's always making mention of him and he's praying specifically that he'll be an effective soul winner is really what's going on there. So now go to Luke chapter 11, because why does it say pray without ceasing? Well, what I believe this is talking about is basically being persistent in your prayer. Meaning you don't give up. Because it's easy to say, man, I've been praying that prayer for years now. And you're like, it just hasn't happened and what it's basically saying, don't give up. Just keep praying for it. And the difference is it's not, you don't want to be vain repetitions, right? It's not saying to just pray it over and over again as you're sitting there, right? That's where it's ridiculous to think that pray without ceasing means every moment of the day. You're just constantly just saying, Lord, save that person. Lord, save that person. Lord, save that person. Lord, save that person. Ah, you know, it's just like, or you know, you think of like how the Catholics just chant off the Lord's prayer and it's just like, that's a vain repetition. You keep saying that over and over again. It's losing its meaning. Like it's losing its effectiveness, meaning that it's vain, okay? Not the word of God, but the fact that you're repeating it over and over again, you don't really mean it, okay? And there's two stories here in Luke. Go to Luke chapter 11 and verse five. One is dealing with this man that comes to his friend's house and is asking for bread and it talks about this man that's knocking on his door and his importunity. Importunity is another way of saying like being persistent. Okay? So his importunity is causing you the fact that this guy's just like, all right, you can have some bread and just leave me alone, okay? So this is what I believe when it says pray without ceasing is basically have an importunity, being persistent. And verse five there says, and he said unto them, which of you shall have a friend and shall go unto him at midnight and say unto him, friend, lend me three loaves? For a friend of mine is in his journey and his journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer and say, trouble me not. The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give thee. Now I can understand where that guy's coming from. You're like, call me in the morning, man. I'm tired, I'm sleeping. Why are you coming to me at midnight to ask for this? So you can understand where this guy's coming from, right? And he's like, you should have got your bread for your buddies that's coming over at midnight. Don't come knocking on my door. Anyway, in verse eight here, it says, I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needed. So he's basically saying, just because he's persistent. It's not because he's his friend. It's not like, oh, you're a good friend of mine. I'm gonna get up for you. That's because he won't stop bugging him, right? He's so persistent in it. And notice what Jesus is doing here. He's liking this unto prayer and asking God things, right? It says in verse nine, and I say unto you, ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. And knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receive it, and he that seeketh find it, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you, any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he, for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? So we're talking about prayer. We're obviously talking about beseeching God and petitioning God and asking him for something, right? And he's basically giving this example of just everyday people, right? And fleshly people, worldly people, people that are friends. And he's saying, listen, it's not because he's friends with this guy that he's given him this bread. It's because he's bugging him and he wants to get him stop knocking on my door at midnight, right? And he's basically turning around and he's like, I mean, if that guy will give this guy bread and will get up and do this, how much more shall your heavenly father, which you ask, give you if you're, notice, persistent, okay? Go to Luke chapter 18. Kind of the same thing, dealing with, but now in this story, instead of a friend coming to his friend's house at midnight, now it's about this unjust judge and this woman that's been wronged. Same thing, though, same type of deal. She's persistent. Luke 18 and verse one, it says that, and he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. So what's the subject matter here? Praying and not fainting. So what does that mean? Praying, don't fall asleep? I mean, yeah, I mean, kind of, but at the same time, what you're talking about is not ceasing in prayer. Not in one so long stretch, but just in life, right? Pray and keep praying. Don't cease. Don't give up on prayer. Don't stop. You may not get your answer, but you know what? Sometimes you may not need the answer that you're asking for. A lot of times you need to be asking, is this, obviously, according to God's will, because he sees the bigger picture. What you're asking for may not be the best thing for you. He may have something better for you. You don't even know. But in Luke 18 and verse one, we see that it's talking about prayer and not to faint, and I believe this is the same as pray without ceasing. Don't cease, don't faint. Verse two, saying, there was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, avenge me of mine adversaries. And he would not for a while, but after he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge said, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them. Notice that. He's basically saying, you know, you're crying unto him, but you're not getting avenged, right? It's not happening yet. Think about the souls underneath the altar in Revelation chapter six. When the fifth seal's open, you see these souls saying, how long, oh Lord, will you not avenge our blood? And he's saying, just a little while. Gave him some robes, and he's like, until everybody else that must die will die, then it'll happen, okay? So it's not that it's not going to happen. It's just the fact that, hey, he's bearing long with them. They're crying on him night and day, but you know what he's saying? Don't stop. Keep doing it. Because you know what, one of the first things that happens when the day the Lord happens, when he's going to pour judgment, he literally takes the prayers of the saints, the censer with the prayer of the saints, and he pours that on the earth with fire. That's the first thing that comes down. So when you think of your adversaries or people that hate God and people that are against you and the prayers that you pray, listen, that's going to be brought down on this earth. And so by going on from that, it says in verse eight, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? It takes faith to pray. That should be obvious, right? Because obviously we need to pray in faith. This isn't necessarily a sermon going through all the aspects of how do you get your prayers answered, because we can get into the fact that you keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight, if you ask according to his will, and you pray believing, like all these are aspects that go into how do you get effectual prayer, right? But what I'm talking about is not stopping. Just keep going. Pray without ceasing, don't give up on it. You may not get your answer for a long time, you may not get it until judgment day when it comes to what's going to really happen, but God doesn't forget it. You know that your tears, he keeps that recorded in a book the Bible talks about. God will remember every single prayer that you say to him. And it's not to be vain repetitious, because go to Matthew, Matthew, or actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. Go to Matthew 26, because the idea is to be continual. You know, like this unjust judge, just because she's continually wearying me. And then the other guy says, because of his importunity, you know, his persistence. And so this widow woman just kept coming up to this judge, she's just like, I don't fear God, I don't care about this widow, but I'm going to deal with this just because I'm tired of her continually coming and asking me about this. And the flip side is that, how much more shall your heavenly father, which loves you and cares about you, will actually listen to your prayer and answer it? How much more when wicked people in this life that don't even fear God will deal with it, you know, if you're continual and you're persistent, okay? But how long should you pray? You know, when you think of like, okay, I'm going to pray three times a day. Again, there's no time frame. Like I said, I think that the reason there's no time frame is because God wants to lead this up to us and how much we want to spend time in prayer and he wants this to be a willing thing, you know, free will, okay? It's not this matter of like, all right, I've met all these marks and I have all this time and here's the checklist. You can see how people would treat it as that, okay? But instead, you don't know. It's like judge nothing before the time. You don't know how many rewards you have compared to anybody else, but you know what, it's better that way. I'd rather not know. I'd rather think I don't have anything right now and I need to get busy, right? Because to me, because you can't see it, I almost think that, right? I'm just like, I don't have anything, you know? I need to get on this. I don't think about having mountains of rewards or anything like that. And the same thing with prayer here. I think there's some things that we should strive for. You think of the sweet hour of prayer, but you know, does this have to be every, you know, if you do it three times a day, do you need three hours of prayer every day? I think you should maybe strive for an hour a day total, you know, if you were to do a cumulative, ugh, cumulative of all your prayer time. I think that's a good, you know, base mark, you know? But again, I think that there's a lot of liberty in that. Maybe you have more time and you spend more time in prayer than that. That's fine, that's great. And here's the thing, depending on the circumstances, you may spend more time because you need to spend more time. By necessity, you're spending more time in prayer. But I think an hour, even in times of prosperity, that should be, you should try to do that. We should all try to do that, okay? And in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 36, this is where Jesus is praying in Gethsemane. Again, if praying without ceasing meant that you're always praying every second of the day, why would Jesus say, hey, I'm gonna go pray yonder? He'd be like, I'm praying right now, I'm gonna go over there and continue to do what I'm doing, right? So, and Jesus is obviously perfect and he's the son of God, so he doesn't have any sin. It's not like he's sinning and not ceasing to pray. You know what I mean? So, sometimes you just gotta put common sense in here a little bit and put away this weird over-spiritual stuff that people are trying to push on you. Matthew 26 and verse 36, it says, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane. And saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Tear ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, what, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. So, you know, if I were to put a quantification on like how much we should pray, I think an hour is a good, you know, as far as in the whole day, okay? I'm not saying like an hour in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, an hour in the evening, because again, I think that's going to get into the fact of when you're going to be reading, when you're going to be doing this, and especially if you have to work full-time job and all this, as far as that goes. But I think in general, if you're trying to, you know, you're praying in the morning and you spend a lot of time in that, and then you pray in the evening, you spend a lot of time in that, and then maybe throughout the day, because it doesn't just have to be three times, right? You could pray at different points in the day. But I think that if you're trying to have a goal of a certain amount of prayer, I think an hour a day is not a bad goal to have. Again, I'm not saying that if you don't pray for an hour that you're not right with God either. But when Jesus said, could you not pray for one hour, you could look at this and be like, well, this is kind of a special case where you're in a time of trouble and he's obviously in great sorrow. It's like if someone died in your family or something happened tragically, obviously you're probably going to pray more, right? You're going to end up having more time in prayer then. But again, like I said, if you're going to have time, I think that watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. An hour in a prayer will keep the temptation away. You know, like, I don't know. Just trying to be cute on the phrase there. But in the end though, I don't think you can go wrong with more prayer. Like if you said, well, I'm going to go more. I'm going to take a step further. You know, it's always better to go more. Same thing with your Bible reading. But the thing is with this, I don't think that you're going to end up overdoing it. You know what I mean? Because I think this is something that we all struggle with. I think this is something that we all need to get better at. Okay, if we're all honest with ourselves. Because we can read and that's fun, that's exciting. But prayer's not that easy. Meaning that you're praying to God and you're just like, all right, what else do I need to pray about? And you're just trying to think about what you're praying about. And you're trying to connect with God and try to just think about who you're talking to and not fall asleep as you're doing it at night and so it is something that's a little more challenging, right? And so one thing that I do, I try to when I pray is bring up Bible. I think invoking the Bible's always a good idea when it comes to prayer because how do you know that you're praying according to his will? Well, quote off the Bible and you'll know that's his will. And when you do that, it makes you a little more interested in what you're saying because now he's talking back to you a little bit, right? And as far as like his word is talking, you're like, yeah, that's right. And then you start kind of talking about it to God, talking about his word, what he's saying to you and talking to him about it, you know what I mean? And so those are the type of things that I find help it easier to, instead of just saying, okay, I thank you for my job, you know, and those things are needed because go to Matthew chapter six because the Lord's Prayer, I believe is a great guide as far as things that we should never stop ceasing to pray for, meaning that every day, these items should be brought up in prayer, okay? Because there's always something that needs to be prayed for, okay? So in verse seven there, so Matthew chapter six and verse seven, it says, but when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. And this goes into the, the praying without ceasing is not vain repetitions. It's not saying to just say it over and over and over again, just this groaning prayer that you're doing all throughout the day. This is what the heathen do. This is what, you know, all the idolaters do. They go into a temple and they're just like, ah, you know, just like praying to their God. And this is what the Jews do in front of the Wailing Wall, right? They're just back and forth, just praying the same chant over and over again. This is what the Catholics do. They say the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. And it's just this groaning, vain repetition, okay? But what we're talking about is praying without ceasing, meaning that you're consistent, you're persistent, you're continually doing it on a daily basis and you don't stop. You don't give up, okay? So if there's a way to explain it, don't give up praying. You know, don't cease. Keep doing it. It does work, okay? Now in verse seven, I'm sorry, in verse nine there was where we get into the prayer. And I just want to point out some different things that, you know, you should be praying for. So in verse nine, it says after this manner, therefore pray. So notice it says after this manner, it doesn't say repeat this verbatim. At all times, you know, 60 times a day, okay? It just says after this manner, okay? Our Father, which art in heaven. So you know what a good thing that you should do is start off talking to the Father. This is very biblical, you know, when it says dear heavenly Father, you know? And just starting off with that or our Father. You can say our Father, which art in heaven, you know, and start it off that way. But I wouldn't just read off this, you know, in your prayer because that's gonna seem insincere, okay? Now, it's nothing wrong when you pray to quote verses off. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I do that all the time. You know, I bring up verses. I want to invoke the word of God as I'm praying because I'm invoking promises that God has given us or statements that he's made, okay? But it shouldn't just be like you're just quoting off a book or something, you know what I mean? That's just kind of not, it's not from the heart. It's not a personal thing, okay? And so, you know, we should be addressing the Father, but it says, hallowed be thy name. So honoring him, saying, you know, just praising God, you know, honoring the Father, honoring the Son, honoring the Holy Ghost, praising him for what he did, giving thanks. And I think this is where you get into the fact of rejoicing, praising, giving thanks, and, you know, in your prayer to God. And David did that seven times a day. You could do this while you're walking down the street. I remember when I was in college and I had engineering campus, Brother Joseph knows what I'm talking about, but it's on a hillside. And, listen, I was not fat when I was in college because I was just walking up and down that mountain, getting to class, and you have a lot of time to think. And, you know what, they had iPods back then, but I never had like earphones in, listening to music. I was just never technologically savvy. So other people would have music in, but I would just never have anything in. So I would just have me and my thoughts. Now, if I was walking with people, obviously you could talk to them, but a lot of times I was by myself. And a lot of times I would just talk to God as I was walking, you know, thinking about what I read and just talking to God. And, you know what, that's a good thing to do. I think that if you have the time to do it, right, but now, you know, as a husband and working, you know, all day, you know, throughout the day and all that stuff, I don't have this time where I'm just roaming this mountainside trying to get to class, okay. I don't have this hour of time where I'm just walking to one area to the other, okay. But all I'm saying with that is that you may, maybe you have that circumstance where you have that time. You have that space of time where you can just think. But you can't read it at the same time either, right. I'm not gonna be walking down the street reading something. So anyway, going further here, in verse 10 it says, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. I think this is a great thing to be praying for all the time that God's will would be done, okay. And in prayer, that's one of the things that we need to always be remembering that it's according to his will. But that his kingdom would come, you know. Behold, I come quickly. Even so, come Lord Jesus. That's how, you know, Revelation is ending there and the fact that we're saying we want your kingdom to come. And how much more when the world gets wicked and crooked where you're just like, Lord, please come now and set this world right, you know. And I know that with that, with saying that, that the great tribulation has to happen first and it has to get worse before it gets better. But you know what, so be it, like God's will be done, whether it be good or bad, you know, for my case or in this world, I know in the end it's gonna be great. So I can't wait for the Lord Jesus to rule and reign. I can't wait for him to be, you know, the ruler of the earth. And, you know, I look forward to that. And so to me, praying for that is just more of just a happy thought, you know. Just like, thank God that's gonna happen one day, but Lord, just let it be so now, you know. And verse 11 there, give us this day our daily bread. Praying for food. I mean, this is something that, obviously throughout the day you can do. I'm not one that believes that you have to pray before every single meal that you eat, okay. Now if you're that way, that's fine, okay. And I've been that way, I've done that before. But I don't necessarily pray for every little meal that I eat. I don't just pick up a thing of chips and be like, all right, I need to pray for this. I think you could pray once in the day for your food that you're gonna eat throughout the day and that would be fine, okay. Now if you wanna do it more, and sometimes, I'd say like dinner time is a time where, you know, as a family we pray and pray over the meal and thank God for what he's given us. And, you know, but, and I'll pray over my lunch. But, you know, when I drink my protein shake in the morning, I don't pray for that, you know. And you can judge me if you want, okay. I don't pray over my coffee, I don't pray over certain things like that. But I think that, you know, this, it doesn't say how many times a day, it doesn't say before every piece of bread that you eat. But I do believe this is something that should be daily, obviously, if you give us this day our daily bread, and that you should, without ceasing, be thanking God and praying that God would feed us, okay. And so that's something that we should be praying for. And verse 12 there, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. This is something that we should be doing in prayer. Asking God to forgive us of the sins that we committed against him, that he would wash us. You know, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now this is obviously talking about cleansing the flesh, you know, the washing, you know, the purifying of the flesh, you know. And so this is getting in good fellowship with God, okay. This should be a daily thing, okay. So if you're not asking God for forgiveness for your sins each day, you need to start, okay. Because we do sin on a daily basis. Even if it's something minor and just little things, could be like just foolish thoughts, anything like that. And a lot of times I'm just like, Lord, you know what I've done, you know, secret faults, all these things David talks about, you know, forgive me of secret faults, youthful lusts, like all these things. And some things could be specific. You'd be like, I shouldn't have watched that. Forgive me of that, you know, whatever it is, right. But that should be a daily thing, okay, that you're asking God to forgive you of your sins, your debts, you know. And obviously if someone has sinned against you, you should be getting that right in another time. Basically what he's saying here is forgive me my debts as I forgive others, meaning that I'm getting, you know, I'm not holding grudges against other people, so please forgive me of my sins that I've committed against you. So that should be a daily thing. Verse 13, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So this is really kind of the end, because then it says, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen. So it's kind of like ending with praise. So you kind of begin with praise, end with praise in your prayer. I think that's a good idea. And then in between, you're asking him for a lot of things, right. And so in this, the last thing here is lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So I think this should be a constant prayer. And listen, I'm just gonna be honest with you. This is something I pray all the time, especially with my kids. You know, when I was single, I didn't really, I was like, you know, if I die, I die, you know. And it just didn't matter, like the things that were going on in the world. But with my kids, I think about this all the time, and I'm always saying, Lord, protect my family, especially when I'm not there. But even when I'm there, that you would help me to protect my family. You know, because safety's of the Lord. I could have all the guns in the world, but it doesn't mean that I'm gonna be able to protect them. So I still trust in the Lord, even though like I feel confident that I would be able to take care of the situation. But to lead us not into temptation. So what does that mean? Lead us not into temptation to where we can sin. You know, when it comes to any sins, when it comes to adultery, anything like that, I pray that God doesn't lead me into that temptation, meaning that he keeps me from it. You know, all the girls that would be at a gym that could be tempting, all these different things, you know, make that not so, okay? And then, or just anything, right? People that you work with, you know, just let me work with men, and you know, and if I do work with ladies, let it be like older ladies, and be like ladies that I would not be attracted to, you know, and not to be mean or anything like that, but it's just the fact that I'd rather be around the fact where I'm just like, I'm just not tempted. Or, you know, no women are like trying to come on to me. Okay? And so, you say, well, you know, aren't you a little proud to think that women would come on to you? No, I'm just not an idiot to think that that's not possible. Okay? Meaning that it's obviously possible for someone to come on to you. Wherefore let him to think if he stand it take heed lest he fall. I'm not exactly, you know, a male model up here, but at the same time, I also understand that women could come after and try to, you know, seduce me or try to do things like that, and you know what, I pray that those situations don't even come to even close to me, right? You know, one way to do that is not get any, getting into those situations, right? You know, stay out of those situations as much as possible. But some things you know as well as I do, with work especially, some things you don't have a choice, right? You're just, you're just stuck in a situation, right? You have a meeting and it's like some girl architect and all you have, all you can do, I mean, you can't send me like, listen, I can't, I need some other dude in here. You know, you're just like, it could even not even start off that way. It's just the fact that everybody had to leave and then it's just you and this person over there. And you know what, and thank God, I believe God has answered those prayers, you know? But do you think I'm gonna cease that? Like, oh, he's taking care of it now, I'm just not gonna pray for it anymore. No, I'm gonna pray without ceasing that that continues to be the case, that I'm not put into those type of circumstances, that I'm not, you know, even having to think about it. When, isn't that easier, right, if you don't even have the opportunity? Why would you want the opportunity, right? You're like, well, I wanna think that women think I'm unattractive. No, you don't, because all that's gonna do is breed temptation, okay? I'd rather think that every woman out there thinks that I'm unattractive and they wouldn't wanna be with me, because then I'm thinking, well, then I'm just like, well, you know, I don't have to worry about it, okay? And you say, well, you know, do you think God can, I think God can. It's interesting, after I got married and prayed that prayer, how those type of situations have diminished. And I don't think that's an accident. I'm just being honest with you. I think it's because I prayed that prayer, that I prayed to not lead me into those temptations and not to put me in those type of situations. I don't think that I just literally changed how I looked or that I just changed overnight that way. I think that God is protecting me in those areas because I'm praying that. And that's just one example, right, as far as just different temptations, okay? But I'm not gonna cease to pray for that, okay? Because you can get into that idea and be like, well, it hasn't been a problem. I'm just gonna stop praying for that one. That must not be an issue. Yeah, maybe it's not an issue because it has been working, because God has been helping you in that area and helping you stay out of those situations and not be around those situations and all that. But also to deliver us from evil, thinking about my kids as far as anybody that would try to harm them. I'm just gonna be honest with you. When I pray about this, I pray that God would ultimately destroy anybody that would ever try to hurt my children or my family. I mean, like that. I pray that God would send them to hell immediately if they tried to hurt my children. If they tried to steal my children, you think of people that kidnapped children and all these things. I pray the fire of hell on them. You say, well, I can't believe you do that. Yeah, I do that. Because I have no remorse for people that would do something like that or to my children. And you know what? I pray that so that I don't just live in fear and just be like, oh man, what if this happened? I prayed to God and my father heard me when I prayed that prayer. You think I'm gonna cease to pray for that? No, if there's anything I'm gonna continue to pray for, it's that right there. And these are just different things as far as things that you don't wanna cease to pray for, meaning that you don't give up on it, that you're continually praying for it, that you have the importunity of that friend that's knocking at midnight saying, no, I need that bread, right? And just keep knocking, keep praying, keep asking, not in a vain repetition, but just daily. You're just like, Lord, please give me this. Please help me in this. Please do this. And go to James chapter five. We're gonna end with this passage right here. And what I really wanna get across here is that don't give up on prayer. Prayer is powerful. And don't think that God doesn't hear you. God already knows what you need, but he wants you to ask. God knows your heart. He knows that that's your desire, but he wants to hear you say it. He wants to hear you say, Father, please help me in this. And he will hear you every single time. So in James chapter five, I know we read this this morning, but what I want you to focus on is as we get down to the end with dealing with Elijah or Elias there, in verse 13 it says, Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any married? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if you have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. That's what you need to remember. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And what I'm dealing with mostly here is the fervent part of that. Effectual, meaning that it's powerful, why? Because you're keeping the commandments, you're asking according to the will, right? Fervent is consistency, persistency, continual, the importunity of your prayer that you do without ceasing. And it availes much when you do that. See, prayer entails a lot of different things that you need to be thinking about. And one of those things is the fact that you don't stop. You keep doing it. And notice it gives an example of that. It says in verse 17, it says, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. You know what this is saying is that Elijah's just as much as like you. He's not this God man. He was subject to like passions as we are. I love that because you get this idea that the apostles were levitating above us. There's these holy guys with a halo around their head, and that's what the Catholic church wants you to think. But you think of the prophets the same way. They're these holy guys, and they were just so much above who we are. No, they were subject to like passions as we are. They're just like you and me, and that man that's just like you and me prayed that it wouldn't rain on the earth for three and a half years, and it didn't rain for three and a half years. And then he prayed again that it would rain, and rain came on the earth, and it brought forth its fruit. That's the power of prayer. And so when it's talking about praying, notice this is in the New Testament, okay? Meaning this is that God can still do those type of powerful answers to prayer. But don't forget about the fervent part of that. Don't forget about the not ceasing. Don't forget about the importunity, and don't forget about the continual prayer and making mention of these things that God is telling us to pray for every single day. Don't give up on it. And in the end, we just need to pray more. We need to pray more, but just be continual in it. Do it without ceasing, and God will hear it. And in the end, God knows the end from the beginning, and he sees the big picture, okay? So you may not be getting the answer that you want right now, but maybe there's a reason for that, okay? And so just remember that God knows more than you do. He knows what's best for you, and I don't believe he's up there saying, I'm just gonna keep this from this person just because I don't wanna see them happy. That's not the God we have. God wants us to be happy. He wants us that our joy would be full, but he also knows that some things that you ask for may not be the thing that's gonna make your joy full, or that's not gonna be good for the kingdom of God, or that there's something better for you. And so just have faith in God that he knows what he's doing, and just don't cease to pray. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for today, and thank you for these that made it out. I do pray that you be with those that aren't feeling well. I pray that you'd heal them, and Lord, help us for everybody to get back into church and to be able to be here and be healthy and all that, and Lord, just pray that you'd be with us throughout the week and pray for so many opportunities, and just pray that you'd help us to win more souls to you and to bring glory to your name, and Lord, we just thank you for eternal life. We thank you for salvation. Thank you for everything that you've given us, and Lord, we're not worthy of your grace, but we just wanna praise you and thank you for everything that you've done for us, and just pray that you'll be with us throughout the rest of this week as we go back to work, and Lord, we love you, and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.