1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,480 Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,280 take hold of. So we hope this message inspires 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,560 you and build your faith, but it helps you have more of a God 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,880 perspective for your day. Enjoy. 6 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,960 To hear from each of you about your life story, testimonies of 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,640 what it means to be a praying woman, what it means to be the 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,040 daughter of an incredible praying woman and through many, 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,800 many seasons. And so I know that I am 10 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,720 absolutely blessed to hear your answers to each of these 11 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,080 questions and church. I pray it be a blessing to you 12 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,040 too, as we get to know these women more, but also get to 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:51,120 learn a little bit more about how we men as a women, be so 14 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:56,120 strengthened in our relationship and our intimacy with our God. 15 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,280 And so this morning I have a few questions. 16 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,519 My first one is for all of you. So I'm sure you each have a 17 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:07,000 microphone. Fantastic. 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,080 I'm going to let you decide who gets this one first. 19 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:15,200 My question is because each of you have different journeys and 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,200 have had different life experiences, I would love if you 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,720 could share with us what prayer looked like in the world where 22 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,880 you were raised. OK, I'll go first. 23 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,320 Yes, Justine. So for me, prayer looked very 24 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,040 different from a Christian life. In fact, it was the complete 25 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,480 opposite. For those who don't know, my 26 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,080 family and I were raised in a Muslim background, so prayer in 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,720 the household looked like going to the mosque. 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,320 You'd pray to Allah, you'd have prayer mats, you'd get beat if 29 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:49,400 you don't pray, and you'd have to pray five times as a day a 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,520 day. So as a child I didn't really 31 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,000 understand any of it. But still to this day I remember 32 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,920 how stroked and mandatory prayer was. 33 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,360 But after being saved and coming into Christianity, it was 34 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,360 completely different. Thank you Lord. 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,920 My mother was probably the biggest example of what prayer 36 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,680 looked like. She would be up at night or 37 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,440 early in the morning praying so loud so we'd always hear her. 38 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,480 But growing up, this showed me that Christianity is a 39 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,600 relationship with the Lord, that it's not strictly limited to a 40 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,680 certain time of the day, that prayer can be done anywhere and 41 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,280 everywhere. But I will. 42 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,800 Say, I do admire the consistency and effort that Muslims put into 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,240 praying. I think that as believers, it's 44 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,960 something that we should all be going in if we want to build the 45 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,360 habit of daily prayer. Thank you, Justine. 46 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,600 Wow. I did not grow up in a Christian 47 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:47,440 home, so we had no prayer at all in my home. 48 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,160 I think if there's one way that it's now shaped how we pray in 49 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,240 our house now, how I do as a discipline, it's that when I 50 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,920 growing up, the moment we woke up, things were like always 51 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,880 super hectic, like there was no peace or calmness in our 52 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,360 morning. So now the like first fruit of 53 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,280 my morning goes towards prayer, goes towards humbling myself for 54 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,800 my day and also before the Lord and setting my day for him so 55 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,120 that he can direct me in each each way that I go so that I can 56 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,440 have peace and and some sense of calm in this world throughout 57 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,840 the day. So that's probably mine. 58 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:32,040 Significant. Well I have a very different 59 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,080 story to the 2 girls. For I was raised in a House of 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:41,080 faith and so for me there are two things that I saw as a 61 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,560 rhythm of prayer in my childhood for all good church kids, any 62 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,160 church kids in the house. Monday night prayer colouring 63 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,800 under the Rose. It was a normal part of the 64 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:56,560 rhythm of our family for all of my years growing up and I, 65 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,720 unlike these two girls, woke up to the sound of a praying 66 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,920 parent. And so when I we would wake up, 67 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:07,960 it was to the alarm of my father storming heaven and my mother 68 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,360 lying in her bed with a cup of tea, praying in tongues. 69 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,440 And because we lived in a 2 bedroom flat, even though we 70 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,680 were a family of six with some of us children inside their 71 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,040 bedroom, we got to witness a life of prayer. 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,400 And that was our morning wake up. 73 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,000 Beautiful. Wow, that is so much like just 74 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,120 remarkable. Pastor Mel, this question is for 75 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,240 you. Would you be able to speak to us 76 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,240 about how you learnt to pray and what that looks like? 77 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,800 I would say to everybody here in the room who has faith to answer 78 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,760 your question, Pastor Nicole, it was absolutely learnt behaviour. 79 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,640 So because I witnessed what it was to pray to the Lord, it was 80 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:56,920 easy to step into it myself. Unsurprisingly, that is part of 81 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,560 the rhythm that I have done for my life is morning prayer 82 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:04,200 because it is what I saw as a pattern for many years in my 83 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:08,520 years of formation. So I would say that would be the 84 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,440 number one answer is it is a learnt behaviour. 85 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,600 But to step into it myself, I received an incredible gift 86 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:18,720 every year. Our church used to give us a 87 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,000 part of the Christmas pageant, which is what they were called 88 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,800 back then, Christmas pageant. They would give you a Christian 89 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,680 book and every single child received one and they were very 90 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,800 individual and at 12 years old I received, for all of those of 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:33,880 this era church, you know exactly what this is. 92 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,520 I received Rebecca St. James 40 Days with God and it 93 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:44,000 was a prayer journal to walk you through teaching you how to 94 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,080 pray. And so at 12 years old, I 95 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,640 received this for Christmas and I took this 40 days, which at 96 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:54,040 that time was coupled with fasting, which was significant. 97 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:58,960 And, and I have used that rhythm of prayer then for the rest of 98 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,080 my life. So I would encourage those who 99 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,600 have young people in the room to set your children up. 100 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,320 Don't just leave them to their own. 101 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:10,680 You know, they'll figure it out for themselves. 102 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,160 I was. I felt like I was set up as a 103 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,840 child both through a learned experience I got to witness it, 104 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,880 but also given some tools to help me discover and study and 105 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,680 understand what it was to talk to God and have Him talk back to 106 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,040 me. Thank you, Pastor Mel, I've seen 107 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,920 many of the how to pray for tweens and for children and for 108 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,840 teenagers and for adults at Quran with a sneaky plug. 109 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,920 Pastor Soraya, would you be able to speak on what what it was or 110 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,680 what happened in your life that made prayer personal to you? 111 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:50,520 Could you bring us through that journey? 112 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:59,800 Yeah, I think prayer isn't something that I, in my personal 113 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,200 opinion, that becomes personal for a person. 114 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:05,840 Prayer is actually just personal. 115 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:11,320 And so I think we sometimes can feel distant from it. 116 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,440 So I think at the beginning of my prayer life and understanding 117 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,320 what prayer was, I felt very distant from it because it was 118 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:22,920 something foreign to me that I didn't understand properly or I 119 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,280 still don't. I'm still learning, but I think 120 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:31,360 in the journey that we take in understanding the personal God 121 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:36,440 that we serve, like the fact that we have a God who is not 122 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:41,480 separate from us and who is like we're here and he's far away and 123 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,960 we have to do all of these different things to try and get 124 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:50,920 into his presence and know him is not the reality of who we 125 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,520 actually serve. Not only do we have Jesus Christ 126 00:07:54,520 --> 00:08:00,360 who came down on onto earth as fully man, fully God, and dwelt 127 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,560 amongst his people so that now we have a high priest that knows 128 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,120 every single part about our struggle and our life. 129 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,640 Not only that, but when he was, he ascended back to heaven. 130 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,520 We were then given the Holy Spirit to dwell with us always 131 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:19,800 so that we wouldn't be separate from God. 132 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:24,480 That was no longer a separation. So I think it's so personal in 133 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:29,600 the whole makeup of what we believe as Jesus believing Holy 134 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,480 Spirit filled people. It is a personal thing that we 135 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,559 do. And so prayer isn't is not 136 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,880 separate from that. And so I believe that I know 137 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,440 that when I started to learn about prayer and learn what 138 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,560 prayer actually looked like for me, one thing that helped click 139 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:51,320 into my head what it looked like because I'm very visual was in 140 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,600 Psalms and Revelation. It talks about the prayer of the 141 00:08:54,600 --> 00:09:00,360 Saints being like gold bowls of incense in the throne room. 142 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,320 And that to me just clicked something in my head. 143 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,280 And I remember thinking, I, I grew up in a house where my mom 144 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,920 constantly burnt incense. And I hated it because anybody 145 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:16,160 who's been in a room full of incense, it's like a full 146 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:21,360 sensory experience, right? It's thick so you can see it, 147 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,760 you smell it, you can feel it because it's so thick. 148 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,680 You can hear it burning, like you can even taste it. 149 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:31,400 Incense is this is that thick. And this is what sits in the 150 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:36,840 throne room of heaven and that is how our prayers are received 151 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,120 for our Holy Father and Jesus Christ who sits at the right 152 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,320 hand side. And it is a sweet and pleasing 153 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:47,880 aroma to Him like that to me is if there's anything that made it 154 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,240 feel personal, it was that. Because what do you mean that I 155 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:57,200 serve a God who not only made a way for my salvation so that I 156 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:02,680 was no longer held and bound to sin and shame and death, but now 157 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:07,120 he sits in the throne room, the holiest of holies, and my 158 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,040 prayers are able to be there in a gold bowl? 159 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:13,360 What? Like that, that was super crazy 160 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,440 to me. So I think the more you begin to 161 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,720 learn about who it is that you serve, who it is that you've 162 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,520 given your life to, who you have handed everything over to, you 163 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:31,000 see that he is personal. So he has given us this personal 164 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,640 thing of prayer to be able to speak to him. 165 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:38,400 Like just like Justine was speaking about before with what 166 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:42,800 people who who are Muslim have to do to pray, like they have to 167 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:45,560 face a certain way. I don't know the whole Muslim 168 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:47,640 thing, sorry if I get it wrong. You can come talk to me 169 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,160 afterwards. But like, they got to face a 170 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,280 certain way and they got to do these things. 171 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:54,400 No, I can shut my eyes right now. 172 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,800 I can shut my eyes right now and be like, Holy Lord my Father in 173 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,200 heaven, oh Holy Spirit, you are with me and you dwell with me in 174 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,080 every place. I am able to come into the 175 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,840 throne room boldly because of Jesus Christ and what he has 176 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:09,520 done for me. Like this is the God that we 177 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,920 serve. He is personal and prayer is 178 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,320 another just personal key for us to be able to speak with him, 179 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,440 have his ear. Like I could be in my car and 180 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:23,720 just be like, Lord, I'm having a, I'm having a day, please, I 181 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,800 just need you right now. And he hears it. 182 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,600 It's still in a gold bowl of incense in the throne room. 183 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,400 So yes. Amen. 184 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:37,960 Thank you Pastor Saraya, I love that you touched on just the 185 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,120 praying in the car bit as well. Just a reminder to everybody 186 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,720 that you can pray with your eyes open. 187 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:49,040 He still hears You Beautiful. I would love, we already are 188 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,880 getting really honest, to be honest with you, but I would 189 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,840 love if we could hear from each of you. 190 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,880 As women, we know that there are very, very busy seasons in our 191 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,440 lives. So from I mean, I know I'm not 192 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,760 even a mom yet, but moms, how do you do it? 193 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,920 There's so much, you know that women do and are responsible for 194 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:17,680 in the ministry of their homes, in their workplaces, wherever 195 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,240 they find themselves. Would you be able to speak on? 196 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,240 I'll start with you, Pastor Mel, how you prioritize prayer in a 197 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,440 full season. Well-being really honest, I 198 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,520 would love to know this season's thing and when seasons finish 199 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:40,400 and when seasons start because I don't know if anybody else is 200 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:46,600 feeling this in our age, in our times that busy seasons don't 201 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,840 seem to stop. Does anybody else feel that? 202 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,960 And I do think it is the God of our age. 203 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:59,320 I believe that when the enemy can't make us bad, he makes us 204 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,440 busy. And so we are distracted from 205 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,600 the important stuff or the priority stuff because our lives 206 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:12,040 are so full. So being really truthful, I have 207 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,720 felt like I've experienced a season that's gone for the last 208 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:20,840 15 years, and most seasons are really, really busy. 209 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,040 And so I would answer your question, Nick, that our rhythms 210 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,560 then have to prioritize, regard our circumstances. 211 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:37,320 I, I have through the grace of God learnt like Pastor Surrey 212 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:42,160 was saying that each moment of our day requires prayer. 213 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:47,840 And this does not mean by, you know, time or in a calendar, but 214 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:54,160 in the rhythms of our routines. We require stopping and talking 215 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,320 to the Lord regularly because we do a lot. 216 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,760 As a part of this rhythm. I have found I can't do 217 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:05,080 back-to-back meetings anymore. I require at least a 20 minute 218 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:09,520 break between. A lot of my life is is meetings, 219 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:14,120 is meeting with people, and so I require 20 minute intervals 220 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:19,000 between to stop and do what the Bible says, to cast my cares 221 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,800 upon the Lord and to reset and go. 222 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,720 You have anointed me and you have graced me for what I'm 223 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,120 about to walk into, regardless of what it is, whether it's, you 224 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,120 know, walking people through trials or finance or walking 225 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,880 back into homes where toddlers are like they want you on, 226 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,680 right? That you've graced me to do this 227 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,000 and you've anointed me. He has anointed you and graced 228 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,440 you for what he's called you to do today, each and everyone of 229 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,680 you. And so when we remind ourselves 230 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,480 of that and we go, God speak to me about what I'm about to go 231 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:02,800 into, we find we are less reactionary and more purposeful 232 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,880 in operating in what he says about whatever situation we're 233 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:08,280 going into. It doesn't matter whether it 234 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,560 carries great joy or whether it carries great pain. 235 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,680 And so I don't think it is a prioritizing a specific moment, 236 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,840 but rather lots and lots of rhythms around what your life 237 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,400 looks like. The truth is, as many moments 238 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:29,120 before a phone call to your next client could just have that God, 239 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:31,760 before I speak to them, let me be light. 240 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:36,680 Let me be love so that I don't come from me and I don't bring 241 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,560 what I last was carrying into this moment. 242 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,600 Yeah. Beautiful Justine, similar to 243 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,720 what Pastor Mel said, I just feel like I've learnt throughout 244 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:52,160 my life that there's no excuse to not pray when you understand 245 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,640 that it's a relationship with the Lord, you realize that he's 246 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,520 not there sitting counting the minutes you spend in prayer. 247 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,200 He's simply delighted that we've showed up and so that's helped 248 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,040 me to realize that I can talk to God wherever I am. 249 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,400 So if there's days where I've slept in or I've got an early 250 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,000 shift where I just don't feel like praying, I can still talk 251 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,080 with God and even in my mind because we all talk to ourselves 252 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,720 in our heads. So I just thought why not direct 253 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,640 that towards God instead? So yeah, it's just great to be 254 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,640 able to know that I can talk to the Lord anytime, wherever I am. 255 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,240 And I've changed my schedule to prioritize my time with him. 256 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,800 So I've noticed that when I didn't have uni or early 257 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:37,320 mornings it felt easier to spend time with God, but when it meant 258 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,600 waking up an extra hour early. But was staying up later it 259 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,400 actually began to cost me something. 260 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,520 And so I've noticed the shift in power and that when I work my 261 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,760 schedule around God first. That's right. 262 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:53,400 That's the Surya. I, I do agree a lot with what 263 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,760 both personal and Justina said about the rhythms of your life 264 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,720 and seasons change. Like last year I was in full 265 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,880 time Bible college and this year I'm not. 266 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,839 So it's a completely different way of how like last year I had 267 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,160 on the way home a commute that was nearly an hour and 40 268 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:14,839 minutes. And during that time, I would 269 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,400 just shut off, wouldn't answer my phone, and I would just pray. 270 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:19,760 And that was my time at the Lord. 271 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,839 But my discipline in prayer, because I do believe that it's 272 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,160 important to have a discipline of prayer. 273 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,040 Mine is my first fruits of the morning. 274 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:34,080 I wake up in the morning, whether it is I am still in bed 275 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,800 and I have 1/2 hour or whether I've gotten up when I was 276 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,280 supposed to and I've got 2 hours to give to the Lord. 277 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,200 The first fruits of my day will go to him, and I will be in His 278 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,120 presence in the morning before my children wake, before my 279 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:54,600 husband wakes, because my relationship with God, Jesus, 280 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,600 and the Holy Spirit is so much more important than anything 281 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,960 else I do in my day. And I want him to know that. 282 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,920 I want him to know that I love him, and I want to see him in 283 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,880 the morning. And also like what Pastor Mel 284 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:12,840 said, just taking that time out so that you're able to respond 285 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,600 to things in a way because we all go throughout our day and 286 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,920 things happen and they're not great. 287 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,880 You know, all that kind of stuff. 288 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,760 Well, you know, life throws you a curveball. 289 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,560 But when you've set your day out and you've said, Lord, here I 290 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,440 am, use me today and whichever way you want and however that 291 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,360 looks according to your will, He's like, OK, cool, I'm allowed 292 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,720 in today. I'm allowed to be here today. 293 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,680 The Holy Spirit is allowed to work through through me today. 294 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:48,520 So I do keep that discipline. The other things might change in 295 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,160 my day, but my discipline is my morning for the Lord. 296 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,000 It's before my children. You can even ask Malachi or 297 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,200 Zion. If they wake up and I have my 298 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,320 Bible and I'm sitting there, it's more Zion than Malachi. 299 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,480 I'll say that it's more Zion. But if Zion like they come out 300 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,040 and they see me sitting with my Bible because we live in a 301 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,600 really small house, I'll just kindly remind them, especially 302 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:16,000 Zion and say, do you do you see what I'm doing here? 303 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:21,200 I'm spending time with my father and he will go OK mom and leaves 304 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,200 until my Bibles closed and I'm up and walking around again. 305 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,960 So yeah, that's what I believe. Thank you. 306 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,480 Beautiful influence on your boys there as well. 307 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,040 Pastor Mel, Pastor Shreya mentioned you know when when 308 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:39,120 times are getting hard, if someone is feeling not as 309 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,480 particularly spiritual to get up and to pray. 310 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:47,960 What does prayer look like in those moments as well for you? 311 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,880 It's a great question. I think that the enemy loves to 312 00:19:52,880 --> 00:20:02,640 trap us in using our default behaviours to counteract or to 313 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,760 fight against challenging times. Regardless of what the 314 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:10,720 challenging times are. Humanity does one of two things. 315 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,680 We love to find somewhere to blame, right? 316 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,920 We love to find who's at fault. Because it couldn't possibly be 317 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:23,560 me, right? And #2 then we need to tell 318 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,440 somebody about it. Come on, let's be real and 319 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:33,600 honest this morning, all right? I have found that when I react 320 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:40,800 like this default behaviors that I am never praying according to 321 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,480 His Word. I am a pray. 322 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:50,440 I am praying, still praying according to my flesh, according 323 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,640 to my emotions. And I actually think that this 324 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:59,640 the enemy loves us to have these fruitless prayers, but not 325 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:04,640 effective prayers, right? Might be fervent, but not 326 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,680 effective. And so as a part of the rhythm 327 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,560 for my life, I have decided that I wanted to pray the Word of 328 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,200 God. And so regardless of where I am 329 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:22,320 in the Word of God, I pray because God speaks through every 330 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,120 part of it. None of His word is made 331 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:29,800 redundant. It is alive and it is living. 332 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,480 He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 333 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:38,160 So there is no challenge. There is no situation that there 334 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:43,320 isn't an answer for here, but I don't even need to go searching 335 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:47,120 for it. I can simply open it and pray 336 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,920 it. And so for quite a long period 337 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,360 of time in my life, maybe the last 17 years, I've actually 338 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:57,960 used my Bibles as prayer journals. 339 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,640 So the margins, you have to buy Bibles that are margins to do 340 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:07,840 this, but the margins are the chapter title and then the 341 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:13,200 prayer, praying through exactly what the chapter says. 342 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:18,480 This then helps me align my life to His will. 343 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:24,760 I think so many of us feel at odds or even at a loss of 344 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,800 direction for our lives. And yet if we open our word, 345 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:35,960 direction is found instead of being LED emotionally or led by 346 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:37,920 being really honest. Others. 347 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:42,880 I, I read my word and I see that Job's friends, godly friends, 348 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,240 had nothing good to say. Nothing. 349 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:52,000 They were godly friends. And there isn't an account in 350 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,680 that word that is according to God's will. 351 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,560 And so Job just had to go back to the source and the source 352 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,000 alone. And I love this in the start of 353 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,720 Psalms when I've gone through really challenging times, not 354 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,680 just what I'm reading at the time. 355 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,480 At the moment I'm in Isaiah, which is really quite full on. 356 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,360 I'm sure many of us feel about the Bible in All in all, 357 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,720 wherever you are at like this. But I will revert back and I 358 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,880 will start to read the Psalms again because I'm reminded that 359 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,560 in hard times he is very, very, the psalmist is very, very 360 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,040 honest with the Lord. And right from the very 361 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,840 beginning it says comments like this made by the psalmist at the 362 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,800 very beginning of the Champ chapters, chapter 4 says, answer 363 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,040 me when I call to you. That's, that's the psalmist 364 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,320 talking to the Lord. Does anybody else talk to the 365 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,440 Lord like that? Answer me when I talk to you 366 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,800 right. Oh God who declares me innocent, 367 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:57,560 free me from my troubles, have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 368 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:03,080 Hear my prayer chapter 5 Lord, hear me as I pray. 369 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:09,320 Pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my 370 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:14,320 King and my God. For I pray to no one but you. 371 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,120 And this is what I have highlighted. 372 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:21,040 I haven't written in the front of my Bible, for I pray to no 373 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,680 one but you. I think church we can commonly 374 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:33,880 pray to ourself. This is how my feelings are. 375 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:35,600 This is what my friends have said. 376 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,080 And so I'm going to pray about that. 377 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:44,240 But his word says, for I pray to no one but you, I'm going to 378 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,240 hear from you where my direction and my help comes from. 379 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,080 Thank you, Parsima. I was so hoping that you would 380 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,960 bring about how you've been journaling in your Bible. 381 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,080 You spoke about this. I don't. 382 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,440 Yeah, a while ago. And it's a habit that I have 383 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,920 been able to do as well. And I I hope that that blesses 384 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:09,440 many, many people here today because this our Bibles are life 385 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:11,920 manuals and they are prayer manuals as well. 386 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,600 They're amazing. I'm in Isaiah at the moment, and 387 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,800 if you're worried about anything that's going on in the world, 388 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,880 pray through Isaiah. It's all there says don't put 389 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,560 your hope in governments don't put your hope in wealth, don't 390 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,720 put your hope in. Don't put your hope in. 391 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,160 Don't put your hope in. You can't build trust with 392 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,320 anything else except God. God and God alone. 393 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,560 That's what it's telling you when it's saying rivers and 394 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,800 Cedars and let it have been on and all of the above, right? 395 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,640 Amen. Thank you, Pastor Saraya. 396 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:48,800 There might be women here today who we don't quite know how to 397 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,040 pray yet. Can you speak to those women in 398 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,560 the room? Yeah, awesome. 399 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:01,840 I would, I would say to anybody in the room who's feeling as 400 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,720 though they can't pray before we just before when I answered 401 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,960 about personal prayer and I talked about incense, what it 402 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,320 says in Scripture about incense burning in the throne room of 403 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,360 God. Incense needs fire to get 404 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:20,520 started. And we have been given the most 405 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,080 incredible helper, the most incredible in power in the 406 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,520 world. The same Spirit that rose Jesus 407 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:33,400 Christ from the dead now lives within us, and He is the holy 408 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:38,120 fire that we need at any single moment, that we can call upon in 409 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,960 any single moment when we don't know what to say. 410 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,600 And that's the beauty of our spirit language. 411 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,360 That's a beauty. Beauty of speaking in tongues is 412 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:51,200 that we don't even know what to say, but the Spirit makes groans 413 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,720 through us that are in line and in thought with the Father's 414 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,120 will for our life. And so that's the first point I 415 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:02,400 would say. We here in City Point are 416 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:08,120 Pentecostal, Holy Spirit, believing, fire, holding people. 417 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,080 And so then if you are in a moment and you feel as though 418 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,120 you can't pray, you don't know what to say, call upon the Holy 419 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,880 Spirit. He is present everywhere, every 420 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,880 moment. He is never not near you. 421 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,880 So you don't call upon Him, and He takes a while to get to you. 422 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:27,520 He is there always and as soon as you call upon Him, He will 423 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,600 bring to you words that you are able to speak, words that don't 424 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,800 have to be fancy. Prayer isn't fancy and all that 425 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,520 kind of stuff. But the Holy Spirit is your best 426 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,760 friend when it comes to prayer. He is the one who intercedes on 427 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:47,440 your behalf and He also even gives you the empowering and the 428 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,640 knowledge to even know what to pray about. 429 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:54,560 So the Holy Spirit first and foremost, speaking in tongues, 430 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,720 your spirit language, if you don't know where to start, start 431 00:27:57,720 --> 00:27:59,800 there. If you haven't been baptized in 432 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,200 the Spirit, come and see one of us and we will lay hands and 433 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:08,680 fire will fall upon you in the name of Jesus by the Holy 434 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:12,960 Spirit. The second part I would say is 435 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,400 just like what Pastor Mel said is Scripture is your go to. 436 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:21,960 Scripture is where we find the makeup and the not rules, but 437 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,080 the blueprint for how to pray. Anytime I've had anyone come to 438 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,720 me and say how do I pray? I want to learn how to pray. 439 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,320 I say Scripture's the best place. 440 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,240 Psalms is an incredible place to start to pray. 441 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:38,160 If you want fancy language like I do, I love fancy words, I go 442 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:39,920 to Psalms. Psalms gives me all the fancy 443 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,880 words, but in Matthew 6, Jesus tells us he gives us the 444 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:48,600 blueprint on how to pray. And it says even starting in 445 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,520 seven. And when you pray, do not heap 446 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,320 up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they 447 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,240 will be heard for their many words. 448 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,520 Do not pray like them, for your Father knows what you need 449 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,680 before you ask him. This is how Jesus is leading 450 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,200 this. And then he says prayer like 451 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:05,640 this. I'm getting a little bit fired 452 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,160 up right now, but it says pray like this. 453 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,800 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, 454 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,440 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 455 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:20,240 Give us this day Our Daily Bread, and forgive us our debts 456 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,200 as we forgive those who have debts against us. 457 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,680 Oh come on, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 458 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:32,040 evil, for yours is the Kingdom and the power and glory forever 459 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,240 and ever. Amen. 460 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,680 So if you don't know what to pray, I just prayed Scripture 461 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,680 right then. And the fire of what comes from 462 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:44,000 what we have been been given is readily available to you to 463 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,920 speak in every moment. And you might think, oh, this 464 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,600 situation doesn't doesn't make sense that I would be praying 465 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,640 the Father's prayer. This prayer is the prayer you 466 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:58,040 can pray anywhere every time. And the Holy Spirit comes, you 467 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,560 are submitting yourself to the Father's will for your for your 468 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,120 prayer and what you are speaking in that moment. 469 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:10,200 So yeah, Scripture, Holy Spirit and Scripture, two of the key 470 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,280 ingredients that we need to be able to pray and pray 471 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:14,440 effectively. So. 472 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:18,040 Yeah, Pastor Saray, you are on fire, the Holy Spirit. 473 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,320 So I'm going to shoot back to you. 474 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,480 Are you ready? I am sure there are many, many, 475 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:27,240 many, many many moments and accounts, but I would love for 476 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:32,440 us to hear one where prayer has changed something in you or 477 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,000 around you. This. 478 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,040 Yeah. Awesome everyday it is. 479 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,800 But if I can think of one specific moment was I, my 480 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:47,560 husband and I, we were supporting a close friend of 481 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,680 ours of my husband's through a court journey he was going 482 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,480 through. He was in jail and he was having 483 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,960 his court date to see whether he would be let out on a suspended 484 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:02,920 sentence or whether he would have to serve that time. 485 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,440 And so we went all the way to Brisbane to the Supreme Court, 486 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:12,680 you know, the big dog one. And we were in there and I just 487 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,480 remember sitting in the courtroom and it's so like, Oh 488 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,400 my gosh, it's so like they come in and you go to Bow and I don't 489 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,320 know if you've ever been to court, but it was like super 490 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,200 hectic. And I was sitting in our seats. 491 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:30,640 And then they brought our friend in and he came and sat on the 492 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,400 right hand side of where the judge was sitting. 493 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,600 He sat on the right hand side. And sorry, it's left because 494 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,200 when you're looking this way, but if you're looking from the 495 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:47,040 judge, it's right anyway. And he was being defended by his 496 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:53,960 lawyer and his lawyer would go to him and our friend, if, if 497 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:57,040 you knew him, he's he, he's doesn't have any fancy words. 498 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,720 He doesn't know, doesn't know any law terms. 499 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:03,520 So the lawyer would be going to him and be saying, and then 500 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:05,920 she'd come and she'd say something incredible. 501 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,600 And I'd be like, he didn't say that, not my friend. 502 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:12,560 He didn't say that. But I had this revelation 503 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,560 sitting in that courtroom and I just felt the Holy Spirit 504 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:21,560 descend upon that place and show me the throne room of God and 505 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:27,000 how when I enter the throne room of God, Jesus Christ, my Lord 506 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,720 and Savior, your Lord and Savior is sitting at the right hand of 507 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:34,200 the Father. And when I go into the throne 508 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,560 room, I probably come with words that don't make sense. 509 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,840 And I'd be like there. But then Jesus comes and he 510 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:43,640 goes, What was that? Okay, cool. 511 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:47,360 Comes before the Father intercedes and speaks on my 512 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,400 behalf. What? 513 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,760 That's just crazy. This all happened in that moment 514 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:57,160 of sitting in that courtroom, seeing how our Father in heaven 515 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:01,600 has set up prayer for us and what Jesus Christ, what the 516 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:06,400 price he paid on the cross now means for us more so than just 517 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,080 the salvation, which is an adjust. 518 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,600 It's incredible what he did there, but the tools and the 519 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:16,720 keys that he has given us now to live life as Jesus, believing 520 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:20,640 Holy Spirit filled, praying fervently people is just 521 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,400 immense. He goes before us on our behalf 522 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,080 half in every kind of way. So now when I pray and I enter 523 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,520 the throne room, it is a seed of humility that I always take 524 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,520 because it's not me I want defending myself or it's not me 525 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,520 that I want speaking on my own behalf. 526 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,280 It's Jesus Christ. And He knows what I'm going to 527 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,200 pray before I even get there. And then when I get there, he's 528 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,640 praying on my behalf with words that are more incredible and 529 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,520 more in line with the Father's will and that speak a better 530 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,040 word than I could ever, ever say. 531 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,480 And so that's something that I've forgotten the question 532 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:59,640 anyway. But this, this is how I pray now 533 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,760 and this is the breakthrough that I had in prayer was that I 534 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:09,400 have been given the keys to be able to enter the throne room as 535 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:13,679 the righteousness of Christ. Like this just blows my mind 536 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:17,320 continuously, which is why my face looks like that is that I 537 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,480 cannot make sense of the fact that not only did I receive 538 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:25,239 salvation from Jesus Christ so that I would no longer be bound 539 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:29,360 to sin, death and shame in my life, but that then he also gave 540 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,920 me life and life abundantly that I can go into these heavenly 541 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,320 places, these high places and be able to speak with my Father in 542 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,000 in in conjunction with Jesus Christ. 543 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:44,840 And then when I here, the Holy Spirit prompts me every every 544 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:48,920 second of the day, gives me the words to say and intercedes for 545 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,000 me. And it just it's insane to me 546 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,440 that we live this life and this is what we're we are readily 547 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,480 given when we accept Jesus Christ into my life. 548 00:34:58,480 --> 00:34:59,800 So I hope that answered the question. 549 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,680 It does. Absolutely powerful. 550 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:03,320 Pastor Surrey. What? 551 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,520 Yeah, but what? Pastor Surrey you've just 552 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,440 shared? Not just what a moment where 553 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,400 prayer changed something in you, but truly for me and I'm sure 554 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,000 many people here just hearing that revelation alone, 555 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,720 visualizing it and now knowing it on our hearts, I I'm sure it 556 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:22,280 is going to change for each of us as well. 557 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,880 That was that was mammoth. Thank you, Possumel. 558 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:30,120 A few weeks ago you were chatting to me about a beautiful 559 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,000 story of a woman named Susanna Wesley. 560 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:39,800 And you were talking about how she was this busy mother, lots 561 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,800 of kids and and she would do something quite remarkable. 562 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:46,640 I was touched by this. And so I'd love if you could 563 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,880 speak on it to the to our beautiful church. 564 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:52,080 Sure. Who in the building knows who 565 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,560 Susanna Wesley is? A couple. 566 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,080 OK, great. So one of our incredible fathers 567 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:01,720 of the faith. This was his mother, all right? 568 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,640 And I just love this because we hear of some of the significant 569 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:09,720 things that John Wesley has done for the body of faith. 570 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,040 There are incredible resources out there. 571 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:16,120 If you've never heard about the impact that this man's life had 572 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,840 on churches across the world, it's significant. 573 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:24,240 But this is actually the story of his mom who raised not one 574 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:29,360 son but many children. And he learnt, he spoke about 575 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,200 the story. This is how it came out about 576 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,600 the significance on and the impact on his life because he 577 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:39,080 witnessed, which is even why we have Justine sitting on this 578 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,560 panel today. She is sitting here as witness 579 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:47,520 and as testimony of an interceding mother, a woman who 580 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,360 intercedes with her life. There are many in this church 581 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,000 who've been impacted by the intercession of this mother. 582 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:57,520 Well, this particular mother, Susanna Wesley, was exactly the 583 00:36:57,520 --> 00:36:59,920 same. And John was so marked by it 584 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:02,600 that he spoke about it many times. 585 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,800 And so he said he was taught the importance of talking to God 586 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:13,520 first, say first. We have a habit in this day and 587 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,360 age of talking to everything else first. 588 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,760 But Susanna found it such a priority to talk to her God 589 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:25,960 first that it mocked her children and it set them up for 590 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:27,840 ministries that went across the planet. 591 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,560 She had this unusual practice that she actually used to get 592 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:36,840 either her kitchen apron or a tea towel, and she would put it 593 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:41,560 up over her head. And when the tea towel or the 594 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:46,320 apron was placed over her head, it was a mark to her children. 595 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,360 Like Pastor Saraya was saying, when the Bible is open, Zion 596 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:52,760 knows she's spending time with her father. 597 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:58,400 For Susanna, the children knew that she was talking to her 598 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,680 father and that she was not to be interrupted. 599 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:07,240 For this mother, she actually John has actually unpacks that 600 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:11,360 she used to put this over her head for two hours every day. 601 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:16,000 Somewhere in the day, the apron or the tea towel would be 602 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:21,240 covering her face and she would say it would cover my face so 603 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:26,160 that I have time to come face to face with my Heavenly Father and 604 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:29,440 give him one-on-one attention and hear from Him. 605 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,200 And so this story absolutely marked me because in the seasons 606 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:38,120 that we have for so many here, there will be many of you in the 607 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:44,400 young family season. It gives us an incredible idea 608 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,760 of how we can prioritize this. For the girls who were at SWB 609 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,200 last week, you may have heard Pastor Lee say she locked her 610 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:56,880 children in a bedroom and would lie on the floor outside the 611 00:38:56,880 --> 00:39:00,960 bedroom door. Did anybody else hear that riot? 612 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,440 Sometimes it takes extreme measures. 613 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:06,840 Do you know? It doesn't matter what your 614 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:11,000 strategy is. I have a place that I get to go 615 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,440 without them. And so it's a sacred place 616 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,440 without little ones where I get to talk to the Lord. 617 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:20,920 And often in those times, it's where you're weeping, but you 618 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,840 are also rejoicing. It's where the Lord meets you so 619 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:25,840 intimately. Do you know, I think one of 620 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,200 these great strategies that I've actually used and all of my 621 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,880 children will attest to this, doesn't matter whether they are 622 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,920 4 or 21 of these has been in the car. 623 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:40,320 Is anybody else find that children just become chaotic in 624 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,560 the car? It's like they know that your 625 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:44,600 hands are on the wheel and you're not allowed to do 626 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,320 anything else. And so you've done these ones 627 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:50,760 long enough and it's not working. 628 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:52,880 And it definitely doesn't work to go. 629 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,120 Would you be quiet? It's almost like it elevates the 630 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:59,760 volume, right? I don't know where I got this 631 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,000 from. I'd probably say if I asked my 632 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,080 mother, I probably got it from her because it's it's, it's one 633 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:08,840 of these wild strategies, but it's not uncommon in our car. 634 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:18,920 That when the children go chaotic, I will just start and 635 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:23,920 the car falls silent. Some of you are looking for 636 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,200 silence with the Lord. You might just need to speak in 637 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:31,480 tongues. Because the truth is, is I think 638 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,400 even when we've received really hard news, sometimes I've been 639 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,680 able to do nothing else but that is to pray in a heavenly 640 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:43,560 language or sing in a heavenly language and it is silenced the 641 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,600 noise. And some of us need to hear that 642 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:49,320 this morning. The noise will always be there. 643 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,600 But that what God has given us strategies to silence the noise. 644 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:55,960 So say some of you might need to exercise today, some speaking in 645 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,160 tongues on the way home from church with tired children. 646 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:03,560 Shiki Araba Cosi Carrera. Thank you, Pastor Mel for 647 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:05,720 teachers in the room. It works in the classroom too. 648 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,800 I'm just going to finish off with some rapid fire questions, 649 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,880 so Mike's ready. We'd like to hear from all of 650 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:14,560 you. One quick, quick answer as quick 651 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:16,640 as you can. So are you a morning prayer or 652 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,480 late night prayer or both? Morning, morning. 653 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,040 Both worship music or silence when you pray. 654 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:26,840 Silence. Worship music. 655 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:30,920 OK, love. It journaling prayer or walking 656 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:32,360 prayer? Journaling. 657 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,000 Walking. Journaling. 658 00:41:35,720 --> 00:41:40,000 Journaling as well, yeah. One word women need to hear 659 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,480 today. Pray first, talk last. 660 00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:50,200 Is it just one word or you can say it? 661 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,320 Could be a phrase. Phrase is fine. 662 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,760 You are the daughter of the Most High, Yeah. 663 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,040 I'd say authenticity. Yeah, say it. 664 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:05,560 What steals prayer most easily? Dizziness. 665 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:09,320 As Pastor Mel said before, I'd say pride. 666 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:16,200 Yeah, I'm with Pastor Surya. And lastly, do you have your 667 00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:26,480 best prayer tip in one sentence? Just have a yarn. 668 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:30,040 Great. Just he just wants to talk to 669 00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:33,600 you and that's what prayer is. It's super relational. 670 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,320 Just speak with your Father in heaven. 671 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:38,760 He'll receive you however you come. 672 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:41,720 Just as you talk with your friends, you talk with the 673 00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:44,000 people you love. You receive them as they are 674 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,760 when they speak to you. Your Father in heaven does so 675 00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:49,440 much more in that aspect. Just talk to him. 676 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:53,960 Just talk to him. I would say come boldly. 677 00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:58,320 Beautiful. Just like pride steals prayer 678 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:01,120 lives. I think it's why we're prompted 679 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,120 to come boldly into the throne room. 680 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,600 We do not need to be covered. Or I would say, leave the cloak 681 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:11,720 of shame at the door, drop it off and walk in. 682 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:15,800 If there's anybody who can redeem, restore, renew, it's 683 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,920 Him. So come boldly, so. 684 00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:21,880 Good. It's like God is our Father, so 685 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:25,080 you'd come to him as children when we pray and that it's a 686 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:28,560 conversation with the Lord. So to not have all these big 687 00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:32,560 standards or expectations, but it's just communion conversation 688 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:34,040 with him. Amazing. 689 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:38,080 Hey, can we thank these beautiful women for sharing with 690 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,240 us? Thank you so much, Justine. 691 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:45,000 Pastor Saraya, Pastor Mel Touch. I'm going to leave you with 692 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:49,520 Pastamel as I know she's got something incredible to end this 693 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:50,720 morning. Yeah, we're going to do 694 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:52,360 something just a little bit different. 695 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,520 Girls, you received a gift this morning. 696 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:57,200 I'm going to ask you in this moment, would you unwrap it? 697 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:10,110 It'll make sense when you do. We've spoken today about Susanna 698 00:44:10,110 --> 00:44:17,520 Wesley, and when I think about this extraordinary woman, she 699 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:22,800 didn't wait for perfect silence. She didn't wait for ideal 700 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:28,800 conditions. She made sacred space in 701 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:32,600 ordinary life. Today you thought you just came 702 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:38,840 to church, ordinary life, but each of you received a gift. 703 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:43,040 I want you to do something really bold. 704 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:48,280 I want you to put over your head, pray our photographer is 705 00:44:48,280 --> 00:45:00,760 roaming right now, aren't you? Put over your face, put over 706 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:07,120 your head so you can't see. It's a simple symbol. 707 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:14,640 It's a reminder to you that you can make space with God in every 708 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:20,560 single season, in any moment of any day. 709 00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:27,000 Now, for those of you who are sat in our auditorium around a 710 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:32,240 woman with a tea towel covering her head, I'm going to ask if 711 00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:34,680 you would go and lay hands on this woman. 712 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:42,080 We as a church are going to pray for our mothers, our wives, our 713 00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:47,600 daughters, our grandmothers, our sisters, or any special woman 714 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,960 that you are sat beside this morning. 715 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:55,360 And we're going to place our hands on her shoulders and begin 716 00:45:55,360 --> 00:46:00,480 to pray a blessing over her. But I want to pray something 717 00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:04,320 else as well. Pastor Soraya unpacked in this 718 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:12,360 beautiful moment on the panel that for those of you who desire 719 00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:19,640 or so desire to have a an incredible relationship with 720 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:24,680 their Saviour, with their God through the dialogue of prayer, 721 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,920 that this is cultivated through the Holy Spirit and through 722 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:33,000 fire. And so I wonder right now, I'm 723 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:35,520 not going to do it. You're going to do it. 724 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:39,360 I'm going to ask that those around lay hands on and they 725 00:46:39,360 --> 00:46:44,200 pray for fresh fire. Fresh fire, Come on right now, 726 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:46,200 somewhere you're going to stand and you're going to impart 727 00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:49,400 something right now. Stand and impart something. 728 00:46:49,720 --> 00:46:53,760 Pray and intercede. Prayer, blessing, pray fresh 729 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:56,480 fire. Pray right now that this woman 730 00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:00,880 begins to hear the voice of God clearly because she hungers and 731 00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:07,880 she yearns for it. Hoora basika rabba kushika rabba 732 00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:13,320 rabba, fill them a fresh gone. Fill them a fresh, fill them a 733 00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:16,440 fresh law gone. The hunger and the yearning can 734 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:19,920 be satisfied by you. And so, Lord God, this morning 735 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:23,080 we pray for fresh fire in each woman. 736 00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:27,280 Would you stir that flame? Would you move it from a kindle 737 00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:32,080 to a burning fire that cannot be quenched, but to spend time with 738 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:34,760 you? Lord God, I pray now for each 739 00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:38,320 and every woman that they would receive clarity when they speak 740 00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:41,080 from you, that they would receive direction, that they 741 00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:44,680 would receive peace, that they would receive an understanding 742 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:46,720 of things that they do not understand. 743 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:51,480 Revelation from your word as they pray, God, I pray God right 744 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:55,360 now that women sitting here this morning who might even even feel 745 00:47:55,360 --> 00:48:00,240 strange sitting with their faces covered would come face to face 746 00:48:00,240 --> 00:48:03,920 with their Savior. Face to face with their Father, 747 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:08,640 face to face with the one who loves them dearly, face to face 748 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:11,080 with your glory. Lord God, that they would be 749 00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:14,560 marked by you God, they would be marked. 750 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,440 We pray for a fresh impartation on your women. 751 00:48:18,520 --> 00:48:22,400 Would we call them this morning? And we prophesied this morning 752 00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:28,080 that they would be a praying generation of women who will 753 00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:32,520 bear witness to not only a move of God in this nation, but their 754 00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:37,240 children will rise up and call them blessed and know how to 755 00:48:37,240 --> 00:48:41,120 speak with their God because they've witnessed these women 756 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:47,240 walk it out diligently day by day, cultivating relationship 757 00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:51,080 with you. God bless their households, 758 00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:56,640 bless their motherhood, bless their families, restore what is 759 00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:03,280 broken, restore what is broken, and let them live out the 760 00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:09,000 promises that you have for each and every one of them in Jesus 761 00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:12,880 mighty name, Amen, Amen. Amen. 762 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:13,360 Amen.