In this sermon, the speaker addresses three common lies that hold people back from having a strong prayer life. The first lie is that people don't know how to pray or have a clean heart. However, the speaker emphasizes that prayer is not complicated and that even a child can have a powerful prayer life. The second lie is that people don't have time to pray, but the speaker challenges this by stating that everyone can find at least 20 or 30 minutes in their day to spend with God. The third lie is that people feel they are not good enough for God to hear their prayers, but the speaker reminds listeners that we pray in the name of Jesus, not in our own righteousness. The speaker encourages listeners to engage in united prayer with others, targeting specific needs and allowing God to work miracles. The sermon concludes by offering a book that provides scriptures and addresses the excuses that hold people back from a strong prayer life.

I am so honored to be here because whether you know it or not, what's been happening in your church over the last few months is really unusual in a wonderful way. A lot of times you go places and very honestly you can't say that they're on a rapid journey of going deeper with God, but you most definitely are. The way your church has been growing in prayer, your pastors on a whole new deeper journey with God, your prayer room, the Friday night prayer movement. I'll tell you, if you're not a part of that, it'll change your life and there's nothing to be intimidated about. That's where the power is and it'll set you free. Your mission's commitment and you know most of all the unity of this church. We're seeing a lot of churches today kind of struggle with the vision and no church is perfect of course, but you know you travel a lot like I do. It doesn't take long to sense the spirit of a church. It really doesn't. You know a church has a spirit and a personality just like people do and the minute I got here last night, really before that when I was met with Doug yesterday, I really sensed the love of God, the presence of God here and this is what is extremely exciting. When we see this in a church like what we're seeing right now, I kind of know where it's going because I've seen it across the country and really the world. In all likelihood within a year or two or three you might not even recognize yourself. You may have grown so much and not just in number but in depth and it's just incredible. So I want you to be excited. God finishes what He starts and He's really started something among you and it all has to do with prayer, about closeness with Jesus and going to a whole new level and the great news, it's not out of reach. I don't care who you are, how busy you are, you can experience this great revival depth with God. Now most aren't yet but we're about to. So I'm going to ask you to take your Bible if you will and turn to James chapter 5 and verse 16. I do apologize we got out of the books and that's a good sign for you. That means your hunger is great. We will get them here within two or three days and I love to give people something they can do because you mean well but if we don't have something in our hand to help us have that deeper prayer life we may struggle. So it will help you do that but there's another one we're going to send to you that'll really help you do what we're about to talk about right now. So James 5 16, there's a lot of other scriptures we'll look at and we're talking about taking that next step, turning that corner where God is suddenly a lot more real and powerful in your life and through your life and that's what He wants to take us to. So I'm going to ask that we bow our heads and hearts before God right now. There's only one voice in here that needs to be heard and it's sure not mine, it's God's and He is in this room right now by His Holy Spirit and just in the quiet of this moment would you just settle your mind on Him. He truly is looking into your heart right now. I trust He's seeing you looking at Him right now. Father we do bow before you. God we confess you are God. There's none beside you. Oh God thank you for Jesus. Thank you for your grace. God thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord with you all things are possible and Father we're asking in these moments you would take us God to a whole new level of knowing you and Lord of praying in your power and in your will. Father take us to a new level of surrender that you may flood your presence in us. God help us to live our lives to glorify you and to know you Lord not just to use you to get things from you but Father to really to be surrendered to you. Oh Father thank you there's no battle in this room that you cannot win. Lord there's no mountain you cannot move. So Father we're trusting you in these moments take us deeper let it be a turning point for many in this room from teenagers to senior adults. We ask these things in faith knowing we're praying in your will. So we thank you for the answers on the way. God give me your words. Father help it be your word and your spirit not mine. But we ask it in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Well what's happened to us in our busy society today is that without meaning to many of us have kind of stopped short of the actual mountain moving prayer. But James 516 gets at a great truth that will revolutionize your life when we get it. And the Word of God says this confess your trespasses one to another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. Now did you really hear what God said there. A lot of us need healing both physical or emotional or relational financial even. We need God's touch. Areas of our life we just frankly we need a miracle. Well do you notice what has to happen before the miracle comes before the power is released. The Word of God says confess your trespasses one to another so that you may be healed. Now there's a very important principle there. A lot of us are are crying out to God do this do that or bring in our wish list which he wants us to bring. But we've kind of short circuited that first part or we've glossed over that first part the deep cleansing that may sound a little odd to you. Why did he say confess your trespasses one to another. Don't we mainly confess our sins to God. Why would he say confess your sins to each other. Well of course we do mainly confess our sins to God and he is the one that has to forgive us. So why did he say this other. Well here's what he's saying. We have to get really serious about letting him search our whole heart. You say you see if I'm serious enough to let God cleanse me to say to my brother or sister would you pray for me about my temper or would you pray for me about some wrong thoughts I'm having. If I don't get specific like that and get serious like that then really I'm not doing what he said here. So what we're often doing is just kind of doing the general God forgive my sins but we're not moving to what he said in James 5 16. There's also a very important principle here. We have to humble ourself. You know the Bible says God resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble. And one thing's for sure this morning there's not a one of us that really have any right to be proud because we're all a work in progress. And the Bible says we've all blown it many ways and we still do in some ways. And so he's saying we have to really humble ourselves and just admit I don't have it altogether and admit there's areas of my life I'm struggling I need to grow in. Until we get honest like that and open up like that it's like his spirit is kind of quenched and and he's not doing the mighty river of power that he wants to sin. So God is saying the deep cleansing of our hearts has to be there otherwise a lot of times the healing doesn't come. Because again we've seen it on in every session we have to come back to the understanding God is a holy God and and unconfessed things in our life really do hinder his spirit. He still loves us but it blocks a lot of his power. So he's saying in James 5 16 if you and I will get really serious about letting him have our whole heart in cleansing then he'll get really serious about releasing his power like a mountain moving flood. But that's but that is the principle without that it doesn't happen. And that's why a lot of people discourage they prayed and prayed and not much happened. But God will fix that he really will. Now let me go ahead and say here about confessing sins to each other. We don't want to do that carelessly and you do that with close friends and and with discretion. But God is so merciful. Now but look at the last part of James 5 16 it's an incredible little statement. The Word of God says it is the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man. That'd be a woman too. It's the effective fervent prayer what it means is is a of a clean heart that avails much or has a lot of power. Now that's a big statement. Think about what God is saying. If some prayers are effective that means other prayers are what? That's right. Prayer can be ineffective. How can it be ineffective? Well the Pharisees prayed scripture all day and God didn't hear a word. They said their hearts weren't yielded. Their hearts weren't right. So he wants our prayers to become very effective not just not just casual and fervent there that means they're empowered prayers. They've got power behind them. They're not just saying prayers. Not just doing my quiet time. What God is saying I want to take you to a place where your your prayers are really effective. They're mountain-moving. They're not average prayers anymore. They say I want to take you to a place where your prayers are anointed by the Spirit of God. They're alive. They have power about them and you know they have power. A lot of folks are kind of caught in dry prayer and you know it's kind of hard for them to struggle. God wants to fix that. But notice the key to that effective fervent prayer really it's the last part of that verse. It's it's the righteous man and what does that mean? Well it means somebody a little bit more than somebody that's just saved but but yet they're kind of not walking close with God. It's talking about someone who understands how to have the daily cleansing. How to really let the Lord have our whole heart. Otherwise things are blocking the flow of God. A lot of folks are living in that category. So what we want to do for just a few moments you see how God takes us into effective prayer into anointed prayer where God is real. He's flowing. Well effective prayer has to involve another scripture. And let me give you this passage if you want to turn to it or just listen to me you can. But it's Mark 11 22 and this is a very important principle that God is taking us to. Mark 11 22 and if I were to ask you this morning how many of you think the Lord Jesus exaggerates? What do you what would you say? He doesn't exaggerate us. That's that's a formal line. Would you agree the Lord pretty well says what he means and means what he says? We would agree with that. Now remember that because this passage is so incredible if we're not careful we almost think yeah but he didn't really quite mean that. It's not quite that simple. But it really is. Now he wants us to have a mountain moving prayer life. In fact he loved to he used that phrase a lot. He loved to talk about moving mountains. Well look what it says in Mark 11 22. Jesus said have faith in God for barely barely I say to you whosoever. That's you. That's me. Whosoever says to this mountain. That's the biggest impossibility we could ever have. Whosoever says to this mountain. Be removed and cast into the sea. But notice this little phrase that's the key to powerful prayer. And doesn't doubt in his heart. Well that's important. He says he will have whatsoever things he says. That's incredible. But then he goes on to say it's a command. He says when you pray believe that you receive the things you ask for. In the Greek text that means believe it's as good as done and you shall have whatsoever things you say. Now what's he saying here? Well some people do take it a little far. Some people have a thing they call name it and claim it. And that's not bad unless it goes too far. Some people will say oh goody that means okay Lord I want a brand new Lexus in my driveway tomorrow afternoon paid for in the name of Jesus. That's it I got it right. You know he might not want to give you a brand new Lexus. And he's not against that. That's not exactly what he's talking about here. But he is talking about us coming to a point in our prayer life where we really are praying in faith. That's important. Effective prayer has got faith in it. Now a lot of believers are caught in hope so and have not moved into this level of really praying in faith. So how do we pray in faith? He said if you don't doubt in your heart that you'll have whatsoever things you ask. Now but that also means but if you doubt in your heart there's going to be a hindrance. Now don't get scared. God will help you fix that. None of us have perfect faith. But I want you to think about how important this is because sometimes as Baptists or other groups sometimes we throw the baby out with the bathwater. We might understand that name it and claim it. Maybe it gets a little extreme. But yet sometimes we think oh so it doesn't matter that you really have faith. Just pray. Let God do what he wants to do. You know that's not exactly true either. God wants us to trust him. He wants us to be praying in faith. Most aren't. Most are just kind of throwing a request toward heaven hoping to goodness maybe two or three of them stick. He wants us to get a little bit beyond that. Well how do we get there? In fact James 1 5 is a very important verse. Think about what God said here. He said if anybody lacks wisdom in James 1 5 if anybody lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to everyone generously and he won't pick you apart. That's a good translation of it. Aren't you glad God doesn't want to pick us apart? He really wants to wants to hear us and love us and forgive us. But in James 1 6 it says but but let him ask with with no doubting. Now how much doubting is no doubting? That's no doubting. Let him ask with no doubting because he who asks and doubts is like a wave of the sea tossed back and forth. Now think about what he's saying here. If you're praying but you know you don't have any faith you know you're saying I hope he answers but I don't know if he will. I just don't know but you're kind of back and forth. James 1 7 gets pretty scary. God says let not that man think that he will receive anything from God. Now again does the Lord say what he means? Yeah he does. Is he saying that faith when we pray is really important? He sure is. That's what he says in that verse what he said in Mark 11 22 and about 50 other places. So it really is important that we get beyond just the asking into really believing God. But how do you get there? Now let me make this a lot better. Some of you might be getting scared right now. You may be thinking well I can't even pray then. I don't have perfect faith. That's not he's not saying we have to have perfect faith. You remember when the man came to Jesus and had a demon possessed son and disciples couldn't cast the demon out. It was embarrassing and so the Lord came on the scene and I'm paraphrasing but this is what happened. He said Lord if you can do anything please help me. Remember what the Lord said? He said what do you mean if I can do anything? If you can believe all things are possible. There's that statement again. And then the little man said what we so often feel and he was so honest. He said Lord I believe but help my unbelief. What was he saying? He was saying Lord I do have some faith in you but Lord I'm struggling. I'm doubting. Lord they couldn't do anything. Lord I'm just scared. Aren't you glad the Lord didn't fold his arms and frown at him and say you come back when your faith is perfect or I won't touch you. Aren't you glad he didn't do that? He went right ahead and met that man's need even though his faith wasn't perfect. He was struggling but he just was honest with God. He said Lord I want to trust you but I'm struggling. That's all God asked of you. And so I want you to hear that God is wanting to take us into effective prayer that we're some mountains really start moving in our marriages, our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors, our own life but many are stuck less than that. So here's the million-dollar question. How do we get to greater faith? How do we get to praying in his will? And we know we're praying in his will. Well 1st John 5 14 again tells us that there's there's a way to get there and listen to this verse 1st John 5 14 and what I want you to really get in this conference. God has such a great vision for you. God has such a great plan for you. He didn't save anybody to be an average Christian, have an average prayer life. He really wants you to know him, be full of his presence but in 1st John 5 14 it says that. Listen to what God says. He says this is the confidence we have in him that if we ask anything. There's that word again. He's a big God. If we ask anything but here comes the the one that scares people. Anything according to his will. Now do you know how a lot of people say that? They say oh well you can ask anything but there's a catch. It's got to be according to the will of God. As if the will of God is stingy and bad and you wouldn't want it anyway. Oh no the Word of God says he's able to exceedingly abundantly above all we ask you think it might be different but it's gonna be better ultimate than we would ever even dream of asking. So that's not a downer that's an upper. He says he says if we ask anything according to his will we we think that he hears us. No it says we know he hears us and if we know that he hears us we hope we might get the request we've asked him. Is that what it says? Not at all. It says we know we have. There's that word again past tense in the Greek good is done. Is God kidding? Is he teasing us? Is he exaggerating? Is this only for a select little few? No. Then why are why are so many not exactly experiencing a lot of this? Why is it more like a little little molehill moving every now and instead of a mountain? Well all right there's a key here to the whole thing and the key is this people say well yeah I could pray in faith if I knew it was the will of God but how do I know it might what I'm asking might just be what I want. How do I know it's God and how can I really pray in faith and be praying in the middle of his will? How can I do that? That's a great question and there's a great answer. The Lord Jesus said in John 10 27 he said my sheep will hear my voice. They'll know my voice. They'll follow my voice. They'll recognize my voice. Now we're sheep all right? All right. How often does a sheep have to how often do we hear the Lord's voice? Well once when we became a Christian right? No. If you're gonna be a sheep following a shepherd how often do you have to hear the shepherd? Well daily or you'll get it you'll get away from it. He's saying I want you to live your life in a way that's close enough to me that you really are sensing me speaking to your heart a lot. Now he doesn't talk all the time. There are times he's silent but for the most part he speaks to our heart. Now again I say what I said last night if you're hearing a bunch of voices in the air I don't know if I'd tell anybody because he doesn't normally speak that way but he is saying I speak very clear to my children in their spirit by the time he becomes very real. And if that were to ask you the question well where do you get faith? Where you're really praying in his will and you know you are. Where do you get that? That sounds so hard to a lot of folks. They just say well I could never do that. That's for only really spiritual people. That's for children that know the Lord. I mean it's not that out of reach but how do we get there? Well the Bible tells us how we get faith greater faith and it says you can probably quote it for me. Faith comes by what? Isn't that interesting? It doesn't come by naming and claiming the right thing. The right magic phrase it comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. That means the word he speaks to your heart through scripture. It's a personal relationship. The faith comes by hearing and hearing by that personal relationship where he's speaking to your heart and that's the Word of God. Now here's what he's saying to us. He's saying I want you to be able to have your prayer life and live your life in such a way that it's not just kind of a wish list. It's not just a little tad here there and yonder. It really is deep enough where the heart is clean enough where your hearing is clear enough that he's really real and so therefore you're praying promises a lot that he's giving and we don't always know exactly what to pray about everything and he doesn't tell us everything but there's an awful lot he'll tell us if we're listening. You know the Lord speaks to us. The Bible tells us very clearly what kind of voice he uses. Does God shout at us a lot? He can. Sometimes he does but the Bible is very clear he speaks mostly with what kind of voice. He says he speaks with a still small voice. Now you know there's no accidents in the Bible. God could have said it's a still voice. He could have said it's a small voice. Why do you put them together? He's making a very important point. He's saying I speak so soft so quiet it's less than a whisper. Why does he do that? Is God trying to be hard to hear? Is God trying to be hard to find? Oh no. But he says what I want from you is love. What I want from you is closeness and he's saying that means I want you to give me time and get in my presence because you love me. And that's why he said be still and know that I'm God. That's why he said shut the door and go into your closet. It's not about making it hard. He's saying I want you just to desire closeness with me. Not just to get me to do stuff for you but to want to hear me. And you see when your heart gets clean let me give you this illustration. If you walked up on a pool of water on a really windy day and it was just full of waves and you leaned over and looked down in that wavy water what would you see? Well water. That's all you'd see. But if you went to that same pool of water the next day and it's dead calm just like a mirror and you leaned over and looked down in that water what would you see? Well you'd see your face just like looking in a mirror. Ladies and gentlemen our hearts are exactly like that. That's why I said shut the door. Go in your closet. Be still and know that I'm God. Let me search your heart. Let me cleanse your heart because when you do that your spirit becomes just like that water and that still small voice gets really pretty clear. But if you and I are in a big hurry God I'm gonna seek you with all my heart. We got three minutes hurry up. Your heart and mind is just kind of like that water and especially if we hadn't let him do the cleansing then his voice is not that clear. And so we're praying but we don't have much faith. We're hoping he does something but we hadn't heard him speak to our heart. And so his presence is not that real because his spirit is grieved. But great news this is so easy to fix. Now I say it's not it's not shallow but it's simple. A child can do this. So that's why he says if you'll if you'll let me take you to a clean heart as a lifestyle not perfect heart but a yielded heart then your spirit becomes clear. That voice becomes clear and then you start getting promises from God. Then you're praying in real faith. Man it makes all the difference in the world. It is incredible the difference it makes. Well here's the big question. How do we get there? In our busy lives we're imperfect. Some of us really live in tough situations. Workplaces. How do we get there? And this is the great news. Even though even there are times when God doesn't move a mountain sometimes we have to go through a mountain. And some prayers do take years to see an answer but he's saying I can be so real to you in the meantime you got grace and peace even in a battle. And that's what he's saying. But how do we get there? We're busy. We struggle. How do we get there? Well there's a principle and a principle is really a foundation. And if you got this foundation God will do the rest. But you know if you're gonna build a house what's the first thing you have to do? Put down the foundation. You try to build a house without the foundation even if you get it built it won't stand. There is a foundation to this effective fervent prayer life and closeness with God. If it's not in your life you can go to church all your life. You can do a thousand study courses. You'll always stay kind of you know not not too far from just just a small baby Christian. So how do we grow up into in the mountain moving prayer? Close hearing of God? Clean hearts? Victory? How do we do it? Well here's the foundation. You must make an absolute commitment to consistently spend and don't try to write this down I'm gonna explain it okay. You must make an absolute commitment to consistently spend significant time along with God in uninterrupted prayer as a love relationship. Now that's talking about a little quiet time but not just a minute or two. Taking it deeper it's talking about the cleansing of the heart. Now let me stress this very important. This is not another thing you've got to do. This is not oh boy another duty another responsibility another hoop to jump through. I always know we're in trouble when somebody comes to me okay Brother Greg how long do I have to spend with God and let him cleanse my heart in order to be fully right fully filled with his blood. How long do I have to do that? You got it wrong. It's not how long do I have to it's how long do I get to because when you really get understand what he's saying to us it is not I have to. It is a get to. It's not about legalism it's about a love relationship. You see we approach prayer not from just want to get something but I want to know God and then it then everything changes. So let's take this apart for just a few moment be real practical. How do we go from here to here in just a few weeks okay? Let me take that foundation apart. You must make an absolute commitment to spend significant time alone with God uninterrupted prayer. That's the key for most American believers is to take it a deeper but what is significant time? And that is the big question. How long do you need to spend with God and what do you need to do in that time for God to call it effective for God to say that's a powerful prayer life and for God to be able to fill you with his spirit and answer your prayers. How long does it have to be and what do you have to do in it? Well you know what I could never tell you that. I could never stand here and say it must be an hour or it must be 30 minutes. I could never tell you any of that. You say why not? The Bible doesn't and I better never say anything the Bible doesn't say because you know it'll be different with each person. But on the other hand I can tell you exactly how long it is to be. You say you're contradicting yourself. You said you couldn't now you say you can. Which is it? All right now folks this is this is an old bit of Tennessee wisdom and I just know California people will get this. All right here we go. So this is how long your time with God must be to be mountain-moving where his spirit is real, his voice is clear. It must be exactly this long no more no less and here it is. Are you ready? Your time with God must be exactly as long as a dog's leg. Now California people no matter no matter how whether it's a German Shepherd or a Datsun how long is that dog's leg? I'm playing with you a little bit we're gonna make a real important point here. It's long enough to do what? Breach the ground right? Okay another way another way to say that it's long enough to do the job. Now here's the serious question. What is the main job of prayer? Do you know how a lot of people answer that survey when they just get real honest they say well it's to tell God what I need and what I'm where I'm hurting and what what I need some guidance and you know it's it's about getting something from God but do you know in the Lord's prayer he really doesn't talk a lot about that. In fact in the Lord's prayer the pattern he gave us the purpose of prayer was was to get in his presence by worship and to really get on his wavelength about his kingdom praying things on his heart and yeah we're gonna talk to him about our needs that'll be there but it's not first it's about letting him really deeply cleanse our heart especially removing any anger that comes in so fast and then he said it's about spiritual warfare delivers from evil which we need to know how to pray and then it ends up with worship again so have you ever thought about how much of the Lord's prayer is about give me give me bless me bless me how much of the Lord's prayer is about what I need and what I want and what my problems are you know it's it's shocking about 15% 80 to 90% of the Lord's prayers about guess it's about God it's about getting focused on guts about worship it's about letting him absolutely cleanse our heart in fact I think Jesus said that didn't he let's see if I've got it right he said this is how you live your life this is how you pray this is the key to the whole thing I think I got it right in Matthew 6 let's see he said tell me if I got he said seek first to get your needs met and get blessed amen that wrong yeah I'm kidding what'd he say he said seek first the kingdom of God what does that mean though well that means pray mostly about eternal things kingdom things like people coming to Christ marriage is getting changed relationships getting healed church getting revived seek first the kingdom and then he said something else and his what and his righteousness what does that mean that means his name been exalted as righteous but especially means God cleansed every corner of my heart Lord help me give you everything today my thoughts my attitudes my motives he said isn't it amazing he said if you'll get focused in your prayer time about him and about really letting him have your whole heart you remember what else he said I already know about your problems I already know about your needs I know about those earthly thing what he's saying is if you'll get really focused on me and closeness my kingdom and a cleansing of your heart he's saying I work so many miracles you can hardly keep up with it got bad news though studies clearly show that most believers prayer life in America's mate it's been reversed it's made up about 80 to 90 percent of what we want what we need what we desire and only a little bit about the other but you know what it's changing and here's the great news this is not hard to change is well brother Greg I don't know how to do what you're talking about that sounds hard to me I just can't do that oh you'll you'll be amazed how easy it is to let God reverse it and then yeah you see a lot more miracles you see a lot more of his power but he's saying significant time with me about my kingdom and about cleansing so your time with God must be exactly this long it must be long enough to experience some real worship and some real cleansing of your heart and to let him guide you just in a little prayer this bigger than my problems and needs and you know that may not take real long for you at all and it'll be different from day to day but it'll it's almost certainly gonna be more than two minutes on the run with a quick prayer about my needs and we ought to read the devotions they are very powerful we ought to read them but they were never we were never meant to stop there God wants to take it just a little deeper so let's go back to that foundation God saying I want to hear you I want to move in your life I want to give you faith when you pray but he's saying you need to give me an absolute commitment to have some significant time time really letting him cleanse your and we don't outgrow that we don't get past that we don't get to a point we don't need that all of us do and what he does it just gets deeper and fuller you get more and more full of his presence more and more he's more and more real to you and there are times of battle I don't want to mislead you there are times where he says no but oh it's so incredible but now we want to examine that very important little phrase you and I must make an absolute commitment to this but were to ask you do we have a spiritual enemy I think I know your answer aren't you glad when you became a Christian the old devil just said well I'm so good I hate I lost that person but I'll just leave him alone now is that what happened to you I think you know better than that but you know he did have to change his strategy now he can't he's lost you for eternity but in fact if I were to ask you what is the enemy's main goal in your life before you become a Christian well the Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 10 3 through 5 that we're in a war and in 10 5 it says he's he's using imaginations and what that means is things in our mind he's using thought patterns to keep us from the knowledge of God so before you became a Christian he was doing everything he could to keep you from becoming a Christian he's given you all kinds of excuses but once you become a Christian he doesn't just shrug his shoulders oh well I lost him I leave him alone but now what's his main job once you're a child of God what's the enemy's main job it well is to keep you from growing to keep you from being full of his presence to keep you from having a mountain-moving prayer life so how does he do that same way he uses our thoughts the imaginations 2nd Corinthians talks that means ideas there are things in our head that even as we're Christians that keep us back from this mountain-moving prayer I told you about miss Polly we're seeing miss Polly's and mr. Polly's created all over this country but there's certain things that keep most of us from from walking there what are they what I want to do for just a few moments I want to name for you about six of the enemy's most effective lies that have kept most of us from moving into mountain-moving prayer and seeing God even more real the reason I want to do this it is the it's the lie you don't realize there's a lie is the one that gets you it's it's the excuse you don't realize there's an excuse is the one that holds you back so I want to name them so if there's any of these in your head never again will they hold you back so what are they well one is this one I don't know how to have that really strong prayer like that clean heart I just don't know how brother I'm not good at it I've tried I've struggled I just can't do it wait a minute is that really true most of the things the enemy gives us are really lies but we don't realize their lies think about it did God say you have to understand the 369 principles of prayer to have a powerful prayer life there's no such thing praise the Lord he didn't make it complicated there's only four or five you can name them on one hand so this powerful awesome prayer life and clean heart is a child can do it but a lot of people think oh it's really hard it's really complicated maybe someday I'll be spiritual enough to know God like that that's a lie from the enemy and you know really what that is it's it's it's it's a loser's limp it's an excuse you know what a loser's limp is we don't mean to do it but we probably all I know I've done it it's when you kind of make an excuse why you're not doing something you sit on a football field when a guy breaks into the end zone he's wide open he's going out for a pass the quarterback stole a perfect pass it's flying through the air it's gonna hit him in the hands it's gonna be a touchdown the crowd is cheering and it hits him right in the hands but he just drops it but if you ever noticed what he's doing when he gets up that's right he's limping looking down his leg something made him drop that ball he didn't just drop that ball he's you know something tripped him everybody in the stands knows there ain't nothing wrong with that guy's leg he just dropped the ball we do exactly the same thing spiritually and don't even realize oh I wish I could know God better oh I wish I could pray like old so-and-so wish I could walk with God like that who's stopping us it's not complicated we give him a little quality time and let him really cleanse our heart a child can do this but if we say oh I don't know how I've tried it so I'm just not good at that that's a lie but we don't even realize it is it'll hold you but God will set you free from that there's a second lie and we really most of us done this one I just don't have time brother my life's crazy my life's hectic I'd like to be more regular and have that deeper of quiet and brother I just can't do it I've tried you know have you ever noticed how many of you come the end of a day lately 12 o'clock at night and said you know what I was so busy today I didn't have time to eat a bite all day long if you say if it happened you lately you know breakfast you were hungry just didn't have time lunch you about to starve just didn't have time about that drop at supper but too busy to eat I have a sneaking suspicion that didn't happen to too many of us have you ever noticed no matter how busy we are we know what we're gonna eat who we're gonna eat with I mean we would take it serious now why is that you know it's a priority eating is a priority so we make time for it but wait a minute what Jesus say he said you don't live by bread alone you really live Matthew 4 for by every word that comes from the mouth of God he's saying your time alone with me in my word and prayer that's more important than food is and yet we somehow we don't have time for Almighty God well folks I know some people that watch the weather channel four hours a day and it's the same thing over and over again oh but I don't have time to pray don't have time to meet with God you see what a liar of the enemy is he'll tell you you don't know how it's really hard that's a lie he'll tell you just don't have time gotta work with your schedule surely we can give God 20 or 30 minutes in an entire day of course we can if we want to there's nobody that busy so you see what's happened to us these lies I don't know how I don't have time here's the third one I'm not good enough man I do lose my temper too much or I do have bad thoughts or I do have some some habits I just struggle I blow it a lot wait a minute got we don't pray in our righteousness we pray in the name of Jesus that's oh good okay but you know the the idea that we have to be almost perfect for God to hear us let me do a little survey how many in a month of it last month been absolutely perfect now if I get a hand on that I need you to come either come pray for you shake your hand one of the two okay none of us even close that's why I said we pray in the name of Jesus by his right but the devil the enemy will get you on a guilt trip and that he just loves on your shoulder and just be the accuser of the brethren and you know what God is saying we're not perfect but if we'll surrender and let him be working on those things that his grace helps your prayers to be powerful so we pray in the name of Jesus now there's a fourth lie that's caused a lot of people to stop short of real closeness with God and I call it the legalism trap and precious people will mean so well they'll say I'm gonna have that quiet time I'm really serious about this I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do it right and they'll do it right for a few days but then they miss one and they just feel terrible that day oh man I'm sorry Christian I don't have my quiet time God must be mad at me today and it may not think that but there's kind of that guilt hanging over them and then they try and they seem like sometimes they're dry and or they miss some and it becomes a legalistic trap to them to where they start just feeling bad about it all the time and then they just give up on the whole thing that's not what God wants you to do and it's not about a legalistic trap he's gonna grade you by the minute each day and there may be days you have to miss and don't get me wrong daily is best but but friends we are under grace don't let this become a legalistic trap that beats you up I need to say this carefully it'd be far better for you to spend three or four days and have pretty good time with God even if for whatever reason you couldn't do it every single it'd be far better to do that that they're gonna condemnation and give up on the whole thing and a lot of folks have just gotten beat up about it and you said what if I miss my quiet time talk to God anyway plead the blood of Jesus and just you may have to pray a certain way just talk to him from your heart I don't want anybody here this prayer sounds hard I might do it wrong now oh no just talk to him but the traps the enemy says you know that I don't know how thing or I don't have time or or I'm not good enough or if you don't do it perfect every day it's not about that there's a fifth lie we're talking about things in here that keep us from taking this step into a whole new walk with God this is a really big one especially with us men but also women too and here it is it's in our head well now prayer is not my main thing I have other gifts I'm good in other areas but prayer is just not my main gift friends prayer is not a thing it's not a gift some have and some don't it is the very essence of your relationship with God it is the will of God for every saved person to have a mountain moving prayer life a clean heart and a powerful what we got that is the heart of your abiding in Jesus and the devil knows John 15 for better than most believers do he says if I can just keep them from abiding in Jesus I got them so he does everything he can to talk you into having just a little prayer on the run or talk you into not having a powerful quiet time in a clean heart he's really works at that and he uses the very things we're mentioning now he'll tell you don't know how or you don't have time or you're not good enough you can't do it perfect or it's not your thing you don't have to worry about that you have other gifts that's a lie straight from the pit a lot of folks who believed it it's held us back there's a sixth lie that's kept most believers from going into the depths with God it sounds so good most of the effective lies sound good here it is now I really don't need a strong quiet time and to let him really cleanse my heart and here it comes because I talk to God all the time well and we mean well and the Bible says we pray without ceasing but wait a minute think about it disciples ask the Lord teach us to pray was the first words out of his mouth shut the door and go in your closet now what about that do I not get first words that did the Lord Jesus have a quiet time did he spend much time alone with the father it wasn't always the same amount of time but it clearly in Isaiah 50 verse 4 it says each morning he made time to get along listening with the foster think about that I'm gonna say oh when I don't need a quiet time I don't need let me search my heart because God and I are so close I'm so tight with God I talked to him all the time I'm saying oh yeah the Lord commanded me to have a quiet time but I don't need to and the Lord himself yes he needed much time alone with the father and Paul didn't Peter did but I am so spiritual I don't need to you know what we none of us would ever really say that we wouldn't want to ever say that but we've been deceived we think we're saying something that sounds good we mean well but it's just not true so do you see how our enemy works right here and but he's taking people so much deeper than this there's one other I'll mention real quick and it's actually blessing you say how could blessing be bad well we get proud our lives are going okay we got it we had a few little prayers answered so we start thinking we're spiritual Giants we said oh I know all about prayer had a prayer answer well God probably won't answer ten and so sometimes that's why I said we're to hunger and thirst after righteous he hates it when we start coasting he hates it when we get up answered to and start just kind of sitting down and thinking we've arrived and so right now he's doing an awesome work he's taking plain busy folks like us and he's saying give me a little more quality time and let me totally cleanse your heart don't just do the forgiveness of sin on the run drop these lies that are in our head another one is well I'm not a preacher missionary I'm just little old me there's no such thing as little old me you none of us are saved to have an average walk with God you're special to God so do you see any of these has been in your head well he's setting us free now there's another scripture I need to share with you it's about this effective fervent prayer that moves mountains it's Matthew 18 19 and the Lord said if two of you agree together touching anything you ask it shall be done for them by my father which is in heaven friends there is a power in in united prayer that is just far greater than just praying by yourself now praying by yourself is very powerful that's why this Friday night meeting in your church is absolutely biblical and absolutely crucial to your growth it's for every slave person and so when people start praying together in agreement the power gets far greater we're seeing this between husbands and wives and you may not have some legalistic prayer every single day but when they learn how to pray together at least some I've known some of them the husband's a real reluctant they can even pray together silently they sit there and they read certain requests right out of the Bible and they say let's pray about this for our kids or grandkids and they even pray silently although most of them will go ahead and pray out loud because it's simple God didn't care what it sounds like in fact sometimes the worse your prowls your prayer sounds a better he likes it because it's coming straight from your heart he's not interested in fancy words but when husbands and wives learn to pray together or if you're a single parent God will hear your prayers we're seeing folks get a prayer partner and start praying about certain things and the mountains start moving this is a big principle from God I want to give you an illustration right now that I hopefully encourage you there was a woman in my church in Memphis named Addie I told you about Polly within also seen this in some men's lives and teenagers but this dear lady had a son named Darren and she was so brokenhearted for daring because he was in a nosedive he was moving away from God he was getting on drugs all kinds of things and she was burdened for her son and she was a nice lady and she had a little quiet time every now and then but it wasn't very deep and she wasn't letting the Lord really cleanse her heart deeply and she prayed her head off I mean was she even in our prayer meeting she'd stand up and just beg us to pray for Darren for three years and sometimes she'd actually cry she was so broken for her son maybe maybe you know what that feels like maybe you got a daughter maybe your marriage or whatever or friend well and Darren was getting worse she heard this message I'm bringing to you right now and it just dawned on her I've stopped short I've been doing the wish list thing and she said I want to learn to let God totally cleanse my heart I'm not she's I'm not praying in faith I don't have promises for my son and so she said God I want to go deeper I want you to help me to pray in power and she talked to me she said brother great how do I do this and so I got good news for you it's not hard I said if you'll see if you'll if you'll set your clock a little earlier or if you'll show up for practice and I'm gonna give you these scriptures and if you'll let God go through your whole heart it'll take him three or four weeks or maybe more just a little bit each day he'll take you there and he'll you know show you how to pray for this and by the way there's a lot of believers now that really don't know how to pray a hedge of protection around their family around their kid I'll tell you that's serious in this day and time if you don't know how to pray a hedge of protection biblically around your kid I'll tell you I don't mean this ugly they're almost sitting ducks in this day and time there is so much coming at them miss Addie was right there she was praying but it was very shallow well she took she gave God a little more time in fact up for the next seven weeks we have prayer time she come down to the altar and she'd spend a moment down there and she first Sunday she looked up at me after she gave God more time and let God start searching her heart and just like I said about Polly God showed her some TV programs you need to turn off and some people she needed to forgive and some little changes but the first week she looked up to me and she held up five fingers and she just kind of went like that I said what do you mean what what are you talking about and she said God showed me five things in my life this week that I didn't even know were there it's been hindering his spirit attitude she had some yeah there was maybe she hadn't forgiven and then the next week is the same thing she held about three fingers I knew what she was talking about then in the third week she held up three I think and then the next week for God was really showing her things because she gave him a chance she let him really search her heart and by about the fifth week she didn't hold up any fingers but where she just smiled at me and she'd come down there she bound down to that all and she just pray and you could see her change coming I'm the joy in her life was getting greater and then I saw her face change you say well how did her face change she'd stand up in that prayer meeting and she wasn't crying anymore back she was smiling big old smile and she said you all keep praying for daring but God is gonna do something man I just had to ask her I said Eddie have you seen Darren lately folks he was getting worse I mean he was worse than ever I thought what what she's so happy about do you know what she said to me this is this is incredibly important she said brother Greg I know he's getting worse but she said let me tell you what's happened she said seven weeks ago I was praying my head off but I was praying in my power not God's and she said there were things in my life that I really even hadn't let him even begin to deal with and she said his spirit was hindered in my life and I didn't even know it she said it's so different now she said when I pray now I sense his presence like I never have before and she said brother you remember the fervent prayer James talked about she was experiencing that and and she was just a plain little old lady I mean she wasn't kind of spiritual giant but then the big change she said brother Greg about a week ago in my time with God he gave me two promises for my son see when your heart gets clean you start getting promises many times and she said brother Greg I don't know how I don't know when but God is gonna save my son and my son's gonna be in the ministry what a what a big statement and she said because God's given me a promise the Word of God gives you the faith you know and and and again some prayers take years and and they really do but this one was one of those pretty quick ones I was up about a month later at the church studying ten o'clock at night and church was in a gang infested area I mean a tough gang area and the buzzer outside buzzer rang I thought oh no it's probably a gang member gonna try to rob me so I dreaded to look and I looked and it was Darren out there and he looked nervous he was holding on to his body and I thought he's on drugs he's all strung out and I dreaded to go but I went to the door and said Darren what's going on he's I got to talk to you ran in and he was nervous he went out of my office he's back pacing like a wild animal and he kept saying I can't stand this I can't stand it and I said what can't you stand he said I don't know what's the matter with me I don't know what's the matter is what's the matter with him we went back and forth and finally all of a sudden he just stopped and looked at me and said Greg what's happened to me said for the last seven weeks all I can think about is God I said what he said I don't know what's wrong with me said Greg God's on my mind all the time and he'd get in trouble before no I want God to get me out he didn't pray the sinner's prayer and didn't meet in the morning goose nothing happened to him but that man was on a conviction I mean he said Greg I've got a an evil heart he said I just need to be changed I want to surrender my life to Jesus I didn't have to get him to pray he just bowed down the floor and gave his heart to Jesus he got up you could look in that man's face that's a new creature I mean man his whole countenance was different Sunday morning he was down the aisle the church rejoiced God gave him one most beautiful singing voices you've ever heard he's now one of the strongest deacons in Nashville Tennessee and just got back from a big mission trip to Russia I mean God totally changed that man's life but now here's the question why had this nice sweet Christian lady who had a pretty good little quiet time why'd she pray her head off for years her son was going just like this and I don't know that that's the total reason but I've seen this over and over and over again God is not a JCPenney catalog he is a holy God and when we get serious about really knowing him and letting him really have our heart he gets serious he can then fill us and our prayers then have some faith in them they then have the power of the Holy Spirit in the more than us just saying prayers and we've seen this over and over that that breakthroughs start coming and I don't want you to get on a false condemnation or sitting there thinking well you know my loved one didn't get touched just because it's because of me it may very well not be the case but I have to be honest with you and say there are some cases where that is a factor in fact there's a lot of times where that's a factor so you know what's happening there are people all over this country and it's not a it's not a majority it's a little minority that they've known the Lord for years they've seen God answer a few prayers but they've made a commitment they've said Lord I want to make an absolute commitment to give you a little more serious time and to let you absolutely cleanse my heart to the very bottom now we don't get perfect but we do get yielded and what that means is there's still areas that he's working on and there are things we'll have to confess from time to time that may be some of the same things but there's a change going on and they're not there's no areas that were they were holding back that we're just not letting God have that blocks his spirit and folks are getting set free and God becomes so much more real we're seeing people have lost a loved one maybe they're by themselves now and they understand there can be there can be peace by yourself some of us are in situations that are not going to change overnight and people understand them when Jesus is close there can be a victory even in those hard places I don't know if you have a daring maybe you've got four or five Darren's maybe maybe it's a daughter maybe a granddaughter maybe it's maybe as a teenagers some of your friends maybe your parents but I want you to know God loves you daring a lot more than you do and he's a powerful God he's not a weak God but he's a holy God and so what he's doing right now he's helping us to come to a place where we're praying in a little more faith we're praying in the power of his spirit and we're praying with inside this little book that you're gonna get we're so excited it's not the book it's just the scriptures in it's not the book but it shows people how to to have what we call a united prayer blitz where they do just what God said where they get with some folks and maybe one or two or maybe more than that but they agree together they target a certain thing maybe a relationship maybe a barrier maybe a mountain maybe some great need they target that thing they agree together they let God cleanse their hearts during this process you would not believe some of the miracles we've seen within seven weeks and we always tell them do this at least seven weeks and then that's not a magic number but it's amazing within seven weeks how many people are starting to see breakthroughs isn't it astounding what we put up with isn't astounding we'll put up with mountains and defeat in our own life in our family and in lives of others and we never we never try the united prayer just like he said that's what you can do on Friday night in this church you can come up here and get two or three to agree with you about something on and they pray with them on a weekly basis and then a lot of times they'll get people to pray with them not not together daily but just agree would you pray with me at lunchtime wherever you are would you focus on this thing friends God answers prayer he answers the prayer of united prayer it's amazing you know he said you have not because you ask not or you ask a miss we ask with wrong motives or we don't agree together and so do you see he's sitting before us a whole new walk with him a whole new life but it all comes back to the effective fervent prayer of a clean heart you see here's the great news no one in this room can say I don't know how to do that for five little elements in the Lord's Prayer anybody can do that and if you don't know how this little thing you're going to get in a couple of weeks it'll show you exactly how to do this using scripture I want to encourage you can do this so I've never even had a quiet time you can start now you say I don't know how to agree together with anybody it'll show you exactly how so there's an open door in front of you it's not about what you get it's who you know and when you let him be the clearest voice in your life there's no other voice like that no other voice like that could I ask that maybe right now we just bow our heads and hearts before God with every heart bowed before God I want to ask you this question do you have a daring maybe a spouse it may be a child a grandchild maybe a friend maybe a parent it may be something in your own heart it may be wrong thoughts it may be a temper it may be some habit and it's just it's just in the way it's it's held you back for so long maybe anxiety maybe fear but it's a mountain that's just not moving and this morning God said to you I hope you've heard him say I love you I want to be real to you but I can't be at a distance and I can't be on the little just a little shallow prayer but I hope you've heard him say none of this is out of reach and so this morning would you be willing to say oh God I really will give you I'll show up for practice and folks that you see well you keep coming back to that yes I do because friends with most of us this is the key it's just it's just showing up so would you be willing to say this morning Lord help me set my clock earlier Lord help me to guard and carve out that time and it maybe you do this in a car maybe you do have a long drive and you know if it's done right that time can become a time of real prayer but this morning it may be that you know there's some areas of my life I've confessed over and over but I hadn't turned from them they're no different or it's dawned on you I'm not doing that deep cleansing of my heart that's just really not what I'm doing I've never done that then it is absolutely the will of God that you say yes Lord today I'm gonna start that journey or maybe you've gone through the little book and I'm glad that's over God's saying to you let this journey become a part of your quiet time it maybe you say I don't have a prayer partner we're not praying together as husband and wife or maybe you don't have a spouse that's okay but would you be willing to say I'm gonna find a prayer partner and we're gonna do what God said and agree together oh God loves you he loves you Darren you know it really would be a terrible thought to think that that there's a chance my Darren or my mountain is not moving because I've really stopped so short you know just the problem I'm not praying in any faith my heart is not clean but do you hear this morning you don't have to ever again think you can't do it never again must you say well I don't know how do you see you don't have to ever again say that well I don't have time has that held you back right now would you be willing to lay that before God no more excuses or would you say well well I'm not good enough none of us are if you'll just confess your whole heart he'll forgive you he'll cleanse you well I can't do it every day well probably no one can perfectly would you just begin to be serious about making some efforts maybe you've said well now that's not really my thing that prayer life that's oh you see what a lie that is this morning would you lay that excuse before God or maybe you've said oh I just talk to God when I can and then on the run that's okay and you've seen this morning it's not okay oh you said well I've had a couple of prayers answered well God probably wants to answer 50 things not two so this morning would you say God no more excuses Lord I'm coming to you and Oh God let this be a turning point for me Oh God let this be the hope for my Darren for my own heart well he'll take you there just as we've done on the other services this morning we're just gonna have a prayer time I never will forget it miss Addie walked down Alma Church 1989 and she said Oh God I'm serious about this God almost set my clock early and God I'm let you search my heart and she knew three or four things already that she knew I thought I just need to give you this and not just confess it but turn from it and the moment she's got on us with God God took her on a journey and she was never the same this morning you won't be either father I pray that we'll understand the effective fervent prayer of a clean heart avails much father help us be determined that we won't settle for the ineffective casual prayer of a heart that's not fully yielded Oh Father help nobody here think they can't do this Lord help nobody here think they're Darren is too far gone and father their parents here that feel like they're failure because they hadn't done this Oh God help them understand they can start now that you're merciful even if their children are grown they've got grandchildren God that you can often give back years that locusts have eaten away if we'll just start now Oh Father help us here and help us respond to you in Jesus name I want to ask that we stand right now with our heads bowed and our hearts bowed and just as we've done you say maybe you want to pray with your pastor about someone in your life or something in your own heart he'll pray with you and there's power and agreement together if you need to do something if you need to join this church this morning they'll receive you if you need to spend a moment just praying talking to God to say Lord help me become a miss Addie mr. Addie he'll help you do it but you have to mean it so this morning while we prayerfully wait just with your hearts and heads bowed before God your pastors here if you want to just pray with him you do that right now