This sermon emphasizes the importance of prayer, fasting, and seeking God's face, drawing from the example of Daniel's deep communion with God. It highlights the need for genuine repentance, mourning over sin, and a fervent spirit of prayer to experience God's touch and revelation. The speaker shares personal experiences of revival through prayer and fasting, urging believers to prioritize intimacy with God above all else.

Before giving the floor to Pastor David and his brother Silvano, who will present it, I want to tell you this little thing, to introduce it. I remember when I was a little boy, I went to church. My mother, because she had eleven children, could not always come. And when I came back, I remember, she said to me, Who has preached tonight at the cult? And when I said a certain name, she regretted it more than usual, because she could not be present at the cult. I did not understand this, I was a little boy. It took me many years to understand why she regretted it. Thank God for every man and servant of the Lord. But there are some special things, sometimes, that give us the sense of regret for not having listened. Having read many books of Pastor David, I have many books, I read many things, and I have understood his message. I think I have understood the line, even before listening to it directly. These days have confirmed some things regarding the ministerial line, the doctrine that I share. I say perfectly, but a good part, a greater part, how to present it to him. You know, one day Philip met Jesus, and then he said to Nathanael, We have met the Messiah. Nathanael argued some things, and said, Come and see. When he presented himself, Jesus said to him, Here is an Israelite in whom I will not find anyone. This struck Nathanael. Jesus, you know, reading the Gospels, was not very prudent in greeting people. He did not greet Peter, or John, or James, or Paul. Even Nathanael did not do much. But he had such a strong, wonderful appreciation from Jesus. Here is a man in whom there is no fraud. A man whose heart is pure. If I have to present, and I am doing it, here is a man in whose words, in his writings, in his messages, in what he has heard, there is no trick, there is no fraud. God bless you, Philip. God bless you this morning. Forgive me for the way I am dressed. Especially standing next to this man, all dressed up. I am on my way to the airport. I need to leave about four o'clock. We are going down to Sicily, to Catania, to minister the Word of the Lord there. They did not tell me when I came that I was going to speak again here today. They said, we are going to this church to eat. They said, we are going to this church to eat. But this is food. There is a verse in Daniel, chapter 10, one verse. Two verses. Verses 15 and 16. I'll read it in English, and then, if you will, follow me in Italian. I'll read the two verses first. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. While he was addressing me, I lowered my eyes to the ground and remained silent. And behold, there was a man who looked like a son of man, and he touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, and said to him who was before me, My Lord, this vision has filled me with anguish, the forces have forsaken me, and there is no longer any vigor left in me. One like, the likeness of the sons of man, which is Christ, touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. Look at verse 10. And behold, a hand touched me, and it set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. Does that say in Italian, a hand touched me? Yes. I went on my knees. If God has touched you, you're going to end up on your knees. And Daniel said, actually that he received, while he was on his knees, the vision of Christ. He said, I didn't speak until I had the vision. God touched me first, then I spoke. I've been very interested this past year why God touches certain men. Out of many pious, righteous men, God seems to just lay his hand on certain men. God seems to, in particular, lay his hand on some. And we see it also through the whole word. Here we see Daniel and his companions, who were among the most righteous men that we see in the Scriptures. They built Jerusalem. Why did God touch this man? And when I was praying, I felt if I could understand why God touched this man, if I could understand how Daniel was chosen for a special touch from the hand of God, perhaps I could pursue God in that way. In verses 4 and 6, I'll just give you a synopsis, I'll just give you an overview of what happens here. He's walking beside a river. He said he lifted up his eyes and looked. A man clothed in linen. He was clothed in fine gold. His face the appearance of lightning. His eyes like lamps of fire. Arms like polished brass. His voice like a multitude. The same image of Christ given to John in Revelation, the same image of Christ given to John in Revelation. Word for word. A vision of Christ. And Daniel alone saw and heard the vision. The Bible says that there were those traveling with him. Now Daniel would not be traveling with ungodly men. His companions were all righteous men. And this great vision comes. Christ reveals himself in all of his glory. Very few men have seen Christ in his glory. None of the other men saw the vision. And a voice came. A thundering voice. It sounded like a multitude. The Bible said the voice was roaring. A loud voice. In verses 8 and 9 it says I, Daniel alone, saw the vision. And the men that were with me didn't see the vision. But they began to quake. And they ran and hid themselves. And I was left all alone. And I alone saw this great vision. These are pious, good men. Why did one man get the vision? Why did one man hear the voice like no other man heard it? God loved them all. They were not living in sin. If you can discover the secret of why God spoke to one man, you're going to find the secret to going further in God than you have ever gone in your life. I've met men like that. They go places in God that no other man goes. When I say men, this includes women. I'm talking about mankind. And I keep asking myself this question. Why did these other men who knew God run and hide? And why does Daniel stand amazed? He looks around and he sees them running. And I was left all alone. I was the only one who saw the vision. I'm the only one who heard the voice. And it amazed him. He couldn't understand it. I was left alone. I was left alone. These could not have been Babylonians. They would have never walked with such men. It's an awesome thing to watch God lay hold of a man. When God begins to draw him, I believe God calls all his servants. He calls them to a place that they have never been. There's never been a time that we needed to hear the voice of God more than now. There are very few hearing God. In the measure God wants to speak. I have a mailing list. Almost one million people. And I receive letters, 50,000 letters sometimes a month. And I believe I receive about 50,000 letters a month. And the number one complaint from all of the United States is, my church is dead. And when I go to church, it doesn't seem worthwhile. The majority on my mailing list are Pentecostals. And thousands from all over the United States, from churches large and small, we're not hearing a word from heaven. We hear and hear scattered all over the nation. People write to us. And they're of a different spirit. Our church is on fire. God is moving. People are being saved. And every time our pastor gets in the pulpit, you hear a sound from heaven. God is touching our pastor. You can't wait to get to church. But it's one man in a city. Another man in another city. All around him are good men. They're not living in sin. But they don't seem to have this touch of God. Let me share with you why I believe God touched this man. How does a man become an oracle of God? The Bible says that Daniel gave himself to prayer. In the ninth chapter of Daniel, verses 20 and 21, while I was speaking and praying, I was confessing my sin and the sin of my people. I was offering supplication to the Lord. While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning, he came swiftly to me and he touched me in the evening prayer. Here's what the verses are saying. While I was praying, God touched me. Where did he get such skill and understanding in the Word of God? He was trained in the highest courts in Babylon, but this ability to reveal the Word of God, he didn't get it from the higher learning institutions of Babylon. Listen to this. While I was speaking in prayer, I was being informed or taught. O Daniel, I have come now to bring you skill and understanding. He said, this whole thing happened when I was on my knees. What kind of praying does it take to bring God down in our lives for revelation? In Daniel 10 verses 12, you follow me on this, please. This is Gabriel speaking. He said unto me, Fear not, Daniel, because from the first day you set your heart to understand, from the first day you chastened yourself before the Lord, that is fasting, that is why I have come in answer to your words or your prayers. In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I ate no fancy food, no wine came to my mouth, for three whole weeks. Now here's a man we are told prayed three times a day. He was a man of prayer to start with. But when he got a vision of Christ, and God began to open the word to him, you remember he came across the words of Jeremiah, that after 70 years Israel would be restored. He calculated that that time had come. You see, today we would say that's the word, let's just take it by faith. God's promised it, let's just receive it by faith. I hear people say, if you ask God for something that he's promised two or three or four times, that means you don't have faith. I don't find that in my Bible. I find it when the promise is given. Like the woman who wouldn't let the judge alone, you keep coming and coming and coming. Now here's a man that's been praying three times a day. But he's seen something fresh in Christ. And he knows the times are changing. And God comes to this man and he says, I'm going to demand more from you. I'm demanding more from every man of God. There was an urgency. There was a call to prayer. And what the Lord is saying, what you have been doing, and how you've been praying, that's very commendable. But these times are going to demand more. It can't be just the way it's been. Everything has to change. This man now hears from God. And for 21 days, he gives himself to prayer and fasting. Eating only enough to sustain him. When I fast, I take a little juice. And one or two pieces of whole wheat bread for one day. And for 21 days, he is shut in with the Lord. Now you ask, why did God pick this man out of a wonderful, holy gathering of men? God knew he would respond to the call. You see, in my life, I pastored a little church up in the country. About 1,500 people in the town. And I was teaching a Sunday school class. And I said, Lord, there has to be more to it than this. I love these people. People are not getting saved. I was so skinny. I was about half what I am now. I was not educated. Small congregation. But I was a praying man. My father taught me there are 24 hours in every day the same amount of hours Elijah had. You can pray as diligently and as long as Elijah prayed. And he said, God always makes a way for a praying man. My father taught me to pray. And I was praying. But I didn't see what I wanted to see. And one day I was watching a program. If you read my book, the Lord told me to sell it. He said, if you spend the time praying that you spend watching television, if you will give yourself to prayer, not just that hour, not just going into the Bible to look for a sermon, and there was a call. The Lord says, get along with me. And I'll change you. You'll see things you've never seen. I sold the television. And I got my car. And I drove up on a hill where my wife could see my car. I rolled down the window. And I went out in the woods with my Bible and sit under a tree and pray, to read my Bible for hours. If anyone wanted to see the pastor, he said, there's his car up there. My wife said, there's his car up there. He rang the horn. And he came out. I spent one year seeking God and I was a busy man. I found out when I gave myself to prayer I could do more business in less time. Daniel was a very busy man. He was one of three presidents. The Scripture says, and I, Daniel, fainted. And I was sick for many days. Then I rose up. Then I did the king's business. And I kept being astonished by the vision. He said, I did my business. But I gave myself to prayer. And it's been that for a number of years. There came a time that after I established a drug center in New York City they wanted to go to Chicago. I had to go to Chicago, Los Angeles, all over the United States. I had to start raising money. And when the Cross and Switchblade book was published I became very much in demand nationwide, radio and television. So they wanted me to have youth crusades all over the United States. And I got very busy. No time to pray. Just that one hour. Meditation. But not that fire. Not that desperation for God. And I wound up preaching to up to 50,000 people. And drying up inside. I would get up and preach. It was empty words. Because I had not been on my face. I was near total despair. Because a man who doesn't pray becomes full of despair. I traveled in a special made 40 foot bus. Half a million dollar bus. Special made. Another bus for my band and my singing group. Well known. Thousands of people. And growing colder and colder and colder. I hated to get on that bus and go. I had about five sermons. Preach them over and over and over again. No fresh word from heaven. One day I was leaving to go to a big crusade. And a prophet came to me. Leonard Ravenhill. Great man of God. He was my neighbor. In fact he was on my staff. He saw something in me. And we were close. We loved one another in Christ. And he gave me a big book. He said, when you're traveling next crusade, please read this book. He said, God's going to change your life. I looked at that book, 1200 pages. Christian in complete armor. I said to myself, who has time to read 1200 pages from a man who's been dead for 300 years? And I just threw it in the back of my bus. Fifty miles down the road. The Holy Spirit said, go back and read that book. I went to the back of the bus. Opened the book. I had only read 25 pages. And I fell on my face. Because I said, oh God, I don't know you like this man who's long been dead. I failed to pray. I know how to do it. I have the ability. I can move a crowd. And I'm sincere. Faithful to my wife. I am not living in sin. But I'm dead inside. I went to that crusade. And canceled everything for a whole year. I released many of my staff. I canceled everything all over the world. God said, get back to prayer. I began to seek him again. And I remember a certain day when God would come down on me with such power I would just wail and the agony in my soul and the awful sin of neglecting him And this went through my emotions. We had invited some friends and I had been praying for weeks. Of course I still had business I had to do. But I spent hours with the Lord. Fasting and praying and in the Bible. Getting a fresh word. A new vision of Jesus. And you see what I believe is that all ministry has to be born out of communion. If it is not born out of communion with Christ it is of the flesh it cannot last. Everything we do has to be born out of intimacy with Christ. God revived my soul. That's when he called me to New York City. And this happened when he called me to New York City. He called me 17 years ago. And for the last 15 years in New York City I have seen miracles. When I was up in the hill praying I was 27 years old. And after seeking God he told me to go to New York City. I had never been there. And that was the beginning of a worldwide ministry to drug addicts. I want to tell you something. It was not that in eternity God said I want to use this man to help drug addicts. But he knew that when he called me to pray I would respond. When I read a book that convicted me when a prophet spoke to me God knew I would respond. I would have done what he said. Like the first movement of the Teen Challenge. And then the second call to prayer. Years later. Times Square Church came out of that. And now that I am 71 the Lord has given me one more call to travel around the world and minister to pastors. While I am speaking there is a fire burning in you. It is most likely that God is calling you. You see God calls us many times. And he says will you seek me with all your heart? Will you shut everything down at times and just get with me? Will you help me? We say yes Lord I will do it. And we go so far and then we get busy. And we forget it. God touched Daniel also because he grieved. And he was troubled and he mourned about the conditions in the church and in society. Daniel said in those days I was mourning. No flesh or wine came into my mouth. You see there are praying men today and I have met some wonderful praying men here. And I would say the majority here are praying men and women. Sincerely praying men and women. Righteous. I have sensed that when I come in. When I have been embraced I have had the witness that this man is holy. But of all the men in Daniel's time he is the only one I hear saying this I was grieved in my spirit I was grieving in my body and these visions troubled me. There are many righteous people but I don't see them grieving for the sin of their churches or their own lives or for the nation. And they are sad for the sin of the nation all around them. These visions troubled me. I met men of God when I was younger. They were such men of prayer that God had touched their lives. Then I met them a few years later. They were like dead men. They still doing things for God. One preacher said he said, I used to preach like that. I used to preach with revelation. I had a pastor his wife invited me out for dinner. They said, it's urgent we talk to you. This man had a thousand people in his congregation. And while we were eating his wife said are you going to tell him or must I tell him? I thought it was adultery. He bowed his head. He said, I have a confession. He preached about prayer. And I'm convicted. He said, I'm a pastor of a large church. And it's growing. And I'm being used. And I know how to be a pastor. But I have not prayed one time for a whole year. I haven't prayed. I don't seek God. And I'm convicted. Amos 6.6 says this They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. The last reason I believe God chose Daniel God touches a man who refuses to hide any sin in his heart. Daniel said I set my face to seek the Lord with prayer and supplication and fasting. I saw him in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God. I made my confession. And I said, O Lord God who keeps covenant We have sinned. We committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We have rebelled. We've departed from your precepts. I don't like to hear a preacher say You have sinned. You have sinned. We have sinned. Please don't ever use the word You. Daniel, a righteous man, identified with the sins of the people and the nation. I prayed and while I prayed I made my confession. I had no idea what I would speak to you today. But I believe something stirring deep in my heart that the greatest need in Italy is not a program. Not another evangelist. It's a call to prayer. Seeking the face of God. My dear brother and sister, there are no shortcuts. In New York City when the people started gathering I said, How am I going to get these people to pray? First of all God said, You set the example. I just seek Him with all my heart. Then one night the church was full and I said, We're going to teach you to pray. You know, if you call a prayer meeting everybody just comes and most prayer meetings are song services. They just sing. So I got my watch out and I said, Alright. I want everybody to stand. And for the next two minutes you're going to pray for Israel. So they prayed for Israel and I said, Sit down. And then I got up and I said, The Bible said we're to pray one for another. You get together and hold hands with three or four people. You name your unsaved loved ones. I said, This is going to take five minutes. And so I started clocking them. And soon an hour has gone by. But I went prepared. I had the issues to pray for. And for about a month I timed them. Three minutes for this issue. Five minutes for this issue. And they knew what they were praying about. And they were learning to talk to one another to God. Then I come in one night. I took my watch off my arm. And I stuck it in my pocket. And I said, Now we're just going to open up heaven. And from then on God opened up the windows of heaven to pray. Now I don't know how you're going to do it. The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a great church in New York City. The pastor is a dear friend of mine. It's probably one of the greatest churches in New York City. It's probably the strongest church in New York City. That prayer meeting is packed. You can hardly get a seat. And that's why that church is moving into a new theater. It seats 4,500 people. If you would ask me the reason why God is so blessed our church, this church, and other churches, it's prayer. Confession of sin. I'm going to pray that God, when I go home, I'm going to have our people pray that God will raise up a great ministry of prayer. How many times we've heard that. But how few times we've followed through. We have what we call prayer revivals. Come to church every night. On one occasion for three whole weeks. No speakers. Just a prayer revival. All night prayer meetings on Friday night. The Brooklyn Tabernacle has prayer meetings all night, every night, every day of the year. It's the only thing that's going to break the hold of Catholicism. Well, I think I've unburdened my heart. Please understand that I don't come here thinking that some of us pray more or use more than Italian pastors. Some of you know God more than I will ever know. But I can't help feeling this I've felt it ever since I came to Italy. God is it's like a reservoir that's being held back. Like something is holding back this huge wave. And God says if you just humble yourself and pray He says, oh, we pray, we pray. I'm talking about this kind where a man sets his heart. When I go to my prayer room my wife knows even if the president never called me you'll have to wait till he's done. No emergency. Nothing. Because when I go to pray God knows I'm here for him. This is your time. This is God's time. And he knows that until we come to that place where we get away. Now this is so simple that I believe God wants to do something powerful and great in Italy. And some of those that God is going to use are here right now. I told you I'm not a prophet. But as sure as God sent a prophet to me I'm speaking a prophetic word to some few here. While I've been speaking God's been reminding you of the call he gave you and how far you've drifted away from it. If you respond tonight, today God will take you places you've never been and show you things you've never seen. And it's not that you want people to see it or know it. I'll tell you who I want to impress more than anybody else. I want my wife to know the one who lives with you. And the greatest compliment my wife has ever given me is to say to me David, I know you're a praying man a man of God because I see your life. Because I've seen your life. I don't care what the world says. This is what my children I have four children in the ministry and eleven grandchildren and I'm praying God use every one of them. And never one day goes by that I don't intercede and name their name and keep the power of the devil away from them. And if you're a pastor your wife knows how you spend your time. I pray to God that she and you a broken hearted man that comes out of the secret closet with the word from the throne of God I close with this verse and while I was praying a hand touched me and put me on my face then I spake then I gave the word. I promised God I will never go to the pulpit I will never speak his word unless I come from his presence shut in with him and get the word from him. Father I thank you for the wonderful privilege to speak to such a righteous group that this church is an example of your blessing. Lord I thank you for praying men but what I believe you're saying to us today don't be satisfied where you are I have so much more I want to do so much more and I need you to come to my presence and set your heart so that everybody will see and everybody will know this man has been with Jesus God bless you It's been a marvelous privilege to share with you here Pastor thank you for the invitation Pastor thank you for the invitation I am a little sensitive about our music style We didn't want anyone to be offended by the gospel music but that's our style but that's the American we told them you have to be what you are I hope you understand God bless, thank you Pastor I know why the flies are here Pastor I don't know where the flies are but maybe they smelled all this good food I'm ready to eat thank you I would like to invite Brother Medeo to sing a song a chorus I don't remember the title but it was about him touching me Touch me I feel the touch something like that Touch my heart Touch my heart we want to stand up we sing this chorus for the moon we are at lunch so after we have the opportunity to say goodbye to those who will leave and those who will stay instead we will go down to the moon and we will have lunch together and we will have this time of communion together Amen