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Well, good morning. 
My name is Jenna. 

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I am the Versa Hatfield Sight 
pastor along with my husband AJ,

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who he's there at the moment 
with the team in Hatfield. 

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But here we are, We have arrived
at our final week in our prayer 

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series and what a series it has 
been. 

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I don't know about you guys, but
I have been encouraged, 

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inspired, challenged over the 
last few weeks as we have dived 

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deeper into different aspects of
prayer. 

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We have looked at so much, 
haven't we? 

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We have looked at what it means 
to pray for our personal needs 

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and provision. 
We've looked at what it means to

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pray beyond that, for Kingdom 
prayers, to align ourselves with

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God's will, and to pray for His 
Kingdom to come and for His will

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to be done. 
We've unpacked what we're to do 

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when we're in a season of 
waiting. 

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You know, how do we wait in 
expectation of all that God is 

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doing and is yet to do? 
We've looked at the invitation 

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from the Lord for us to fast and
pray, and I know many of you 

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have joined us on Wednesdays 
fasting. 

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We've looked at the importance 
of intercessory prayer. 

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You know what it means to stand 
in the gap and to pray on the 

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behalf of other people. 
We've looked at how to listen 

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well as we pray, how to hear the
voice of God. 

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So much wonderful stuff. 
And I would encourage you if you

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have missed any of those, you 
can catch up with the talks on 

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our YouTube channel. 
And if it's your first week 

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here, welcome. 
You can catch up on all of them 

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on the YouTube channel as well. 
And here I am with the privilege

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of finishing the series. 
But I want to say that actually,

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in reality, this is not the end.
I don't want us to 

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compartmentalize this series to 
box in everything that we have 

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talked about and kind of say, 
well, that was the season, that 

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was the series on prayer and now
right on to the next thing 

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because church now is not the 
time to stop. 

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Each of us has been invited into
this prayer journey, not as a 

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series, not as a tick box 
exercise or we haven't talked 

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about intercessory prayer in a 
while. 

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Tick, done that one. 
But it's an opportunity for us 

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to be ignited again, to have a 
posture towards prayer, a daily 

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rhythm of prayer, a recognition 
that we absolutely cannot live 

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without prayer, not just for six
weeks, not just for a season, 

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but for the rest of our lives. 
Amen. 

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So I'm going to pray. 
Father, I want to thank you for 

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this series. 
Father, I thank you for all that

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you have done in us as a church,
in us as individuals over these 

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last few weeks. 
And Father, I thank you that 

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this is not the end. 
And I pray, Lord God, that you 

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would open our hearts right now,
open our ears. 

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Spirit of God, would you fall in
this place afresh? 

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Would you take these words that 
I've prepared and breathe your 

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life in Jesus name? 
Amen. 

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OK, we're going to look at our 
anchor texts for this morning, 

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which is found in One Kings 18 
In a minute. 

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We're going to read it. 
We're going to read from 41 to 

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45. 
But before we do that, I want to

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give you a little bit of 
context. 

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It's really important that we 
know what's going on here right 

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before we pick up these verses. 
So at this time in Israel, there

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is a severe drought. 
There has been no rain for just 

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over three years. 
And there is a prophet called 

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Elijah who God speaks to and God
promises him that there's going 

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to be rain soon. 
And he tells him, go and see the

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king, King Ahab, and tell him. 
So Elijah goes to the king and 

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he confronts him about the 
idolatry that is taking place. 

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And he basically says to him, 
hey, you know what the drought 

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is because of the idolatry 
that's taking place. 

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That's the reason that the 
drought is here, because you see

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lots of people at the time had 
been worshipping false gods. 

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They had been worshipping a God 
called Bao. 

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And it's so Elijah calls the 
prophets of Bao. 

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There's about 450 of them. 
And as many people as he get can

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get from all around Israel to go
up a mountain with him where he 

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proposes a contest to these 
prophets. 

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And he basically says, right, 
both of us, we're going to 

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prepare a bull sacrifice. 
We're going to get the wood 

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ready. 
We're going to chop up the bull.

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We're going to put it on there, 
but we're not going to light it,

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OK? 
We're not going to light the 

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sacrifice ourselves. 
We're going to call on our gods.

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You call on your gods. 
I'll call on my God, Yahweh. 

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And we're going to see what 
happens. 

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We're going to see who is the 
one true God, right? 

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And so we read about these 
desperate prayers from the 

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prophets. 
They're crying out to bow day 

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and night. 
They are shouting, they're 

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dancing. 
They're even cutting themselves.

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They're apps, absolutely nothing
happens. 

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And Elijah, it's quite funny, He
starts to mock them a little 

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bit. 
He's like, maybe you're God, 

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he's having a nap, you know, 
maybe he's busy, maybe he's got 

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better things to do. 
That's why he's not answering 

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you. 
And then Elijah prays to God, to

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Yahweh, and immediately God 
sends the fire from heaven and 

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the sacrifice is lit. 
And it says, when all the people

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saw this, they fell on their 
faces and they said, yes, this 

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is the God. 
This is the one true God. 

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And then Elijah orders that all 
the false prophets are 

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destroyed. 
And then we pick up from verse 

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41. 
Are you with me? 

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Right, Let's read it. 
If you've got your Bibles, you 

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can turn to the passage, which 
is 1 Kings, 1841 to 45, or it's 

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going to come up on the screen. 
So it says. 

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And Elijah said to Ahab, go eat 
and drink, for there is the 

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sound of a heavy rain. 
So Ahab, that's the king. 

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He went off to eat and drink. 
But Elijah climbed to the top of

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Carmel. 
That's the mountain. 

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And he bent down to the ground 
and put his face between his 

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knees. 
Go and look toward the sea, he 

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told his servant. 
And he went up and looked. 

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There's nothing there, he said. 
Seven times. 

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Elijah said, Go back the seventh
time. 

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I haven't reported a cloud as 
small as a man's hand is rising 

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from the sea. 
So Elijah said, go and tell 

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Ahab, hitch up your chariot and 
go down before the rain stops 

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you. 
Meanwhile, the sky grew black 

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with clouds, the wind rose, a 
heavy rain started falling, and 

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Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 
How often we look at the story 

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of Elijah on the mountain, and 
we focus on the fire falling on 

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the altar. 
But this morning I want to these

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last few verses at the end of 
the chapter, we're straight 

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after this amazing demonstration
of God's power. 

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Elijah prays for rain in James. 
So James is a book in the New 

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Testament, the the stuff we've 
just read that's in the Old 

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Testament. 
And so James refers back to 

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Elijah, this experience, and he 
says, you know, this isn't just 

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for Elijah. 
In James 5/17, it says Elijah 

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was a human being even as we 
are. 

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He prayed earnestly that it 
wouldn't rain and it didn't rain

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on the land for 3 1/2 years. 
And then again, he and the 

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heavens gave rain and the earth 
produced its crops. 

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And, you know, I think sometimes
we can think like people like 

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Elijah, some kind of superhero, 
like they have like a direct 

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access to God. 
But according to James verse 17,

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he's not. 
He's just like us. 

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Elijah was the man who perceived
what God wanted and he prayed it

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into existence. 
So we too can expect God to move

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just like he did when Elijah 
prayed. 

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You see, Elijah would have known
from the book of Deuteronomy 

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that God would send a drought on
the land when the people 

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strayed, when the people turned 
their back on God. 

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And so he simply prayed for 
that. 

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And then he also knew that God 
said the drought would end when 

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the people returned to him. 
So having just seen people fall 

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on their faces and recognise God
as the one true God and repent 

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and turn back towards him, 
Elijah knew that actually rain 

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was going to come because God 
has said it would. 

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And So what can Elijah's prayer 
teach us about how we can pray? 

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I think there are five things 
from this passage that I want to

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pull out this morning. 
So number one, from verse 41, it

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says this. 
And Elijah said to Ahab, go eat 

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and drink, for there is the 
sound of heavy rain. 

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At that moment, there was no 
rain, not even a cloud in the 

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sky. 
I mean, imagine if you guys ever

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climbed to the top of a mountain
and you've looked out and it's 

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just all around. 
You can just see blue skies, no 

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clouds anywhere, no sign of 
rain. 

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And yet Elijah says he heard the
sound of heavy rain. 

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So this was not with his 
physical ears. 

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This was with his spiritual 
ears. 

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You see, before Elijah ever saw 
the rain, or even had saw signs 

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of the rain, he heard it. 
Elijah spoke as if the answer 

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had already come. 
He prayed in faith that the rain

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was on its way. 
You see, Elijah knew what God's 

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promise was. 
He knew, as I said, that once 

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the people had repented, the 
rain was going to come because 

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God had said that. 
So the first thing we can take 

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from this is that when we pray, 
we pray on what God has said, 

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what He promises, not on how 
things look. 

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We walk by faith and not by 
sight. 

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Faith sees the answer before our
eyes can. 

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Faith is also demonstrated by 
giving thanks before the 

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blessing comes. 
I love it here when it says that

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Elijah told Ahab he told the 
king, go eat and drink because 

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essentially he's saying to him, 
you better get ready to 

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celebrate. 
That's what you've been waiting 

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for, it's coming, it's on its 
way. 

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This says that even as we are 
praying, we thank God we 

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celebrate. 
Before the answer comes for some

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of you this morning, maybe 
you're here and you're 

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struggling financially or you're
waiting for a new job. 

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You know you too can pray like 
Elijah in faith. 

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Father, I thank You that you are
my provider. 

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Even though I don't see yet how 
you're going to meet my needs. 

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I trust that you're already 
sending the rain. 

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I hear it. 
You said you're going to supply 

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my needs, Lord God, So I thank 
you in advance for the doors 

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that you're going to open for 
me. 

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Or maybe you're praying for a 
friend or a family member that 

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doesn't yet know Jesus. 
And again, you can pray in faith

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like Elijah. 
Lord, I don't see the change 

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yet, but I believe you're moving
in their heart. 

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I can't see the rain, but I can 
hear the rain. 

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Thank you that you're faithful 
to complete what you start what 

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you start. 
And so I see life and hope in 

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Jesus name. 
You know, when we pray, we do so

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from a place of faith, standing 
on the promises of God, 

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believing that the rain is 
coming even if the circumstances

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say otherwise #2 Verse 42. 
It says, so Ahab went off to eat

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and drink, but Elijah climbed to
the top of Carmel, climbed to 

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the top of the mountain. 
You know, Elijah had just seen 

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this incredible experience where
God had answered his prayer. 

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Immediately there was fire from 
heaven. 

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People fell on their knees and 
repented. 

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This was a dramatic public 
demonstration of God's power. 

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And what does Elijah do? 
He turns around and he climbs to

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the top of the mountain, and he 
seeks a private place to pray 

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away from everyone where he 
could take a moment to connect 

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with God spiritually. 
He'd heard the sound of the 

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rain, but now Elijah needed to 
pray for the rain, pray that 

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they would see the rainfall and 
the end of the drought. 

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But he did that away from 
everyone else. 

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And we saw Jesus do this all the
time in the Gospels. 

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We read about it. 
He would often withdraw from the

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crowds. 
He would often leave his 

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disciples. 
He would go off on his own 

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somewhere. 
He would go up a mountain or 

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he'd get up early. 
He'd stay up late. 

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He demonstrated a pattern of 
disconnecting from those around 

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him in order to connect with the
Father, Matthew 66 says. 

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But when you pray, go into your 
room, close the door and pray to

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your Father who is unseen. 
And then your Father, who sees 

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what is done in secret, will 
reward you. 

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I don't think that literally 
means we have to go into our 

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room and pray. 
We can do. 

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But I do believe it's saying 
that we should find a place in 

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private where we can pray. 
But as if we only pray in 

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public, something is wrong. 
We need to get in His presence. 

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We need to prioritise the secret
place. 

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You know, if I only spoke to my 
husband in public and didn't 

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prioritise that time of private 
conversation with no 

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distractions where I could 
really say what I wanted, if I 

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only did that in public, our 
relationship would only go to 

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one level, right? 
I love the message version I'm 

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00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,040
going to of that same verse, 
Matthew 6/6. 

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It says, here's what I want you 
to do. 

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Find a quiet, secluded place so 
you won't be tempted to role 

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play before God. 
Just be there as simply and 

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honestly as you can manage. 
The focus will shift from you to

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God and you'll begin to sense 
His grace. 

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Isn't that beautiful? 
I love it. 

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Find a quiet, secluded place 
where you won't be tempted to 

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00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:09,960
role play before God. 
It's so much easier in that 

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00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:15,640
private place to bring our raw, 
authentic selves before God. 

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We are in the world, but we are 
not of the world. 

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And so is there any wonder that 
sometimes when we are feeling 

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00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,120
totally overwhelmed, we have to 
take time to disconnect from 

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00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,360
this world, to connect with the 
Father who is eternal and 

248
00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,960
steadfast, The one that we don't
have to role play with, the one 

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that we can be totally upfront 
with. 

250
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,560
And so we pray in faith and we 
pray in private #3 from verse 

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00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:47,320
42, the end of 42, it says he 
bent down to the ground and put 

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00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,360
his face between his knees. 
So here is Elijah. 

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00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,880
He's now alone with God in that 
private place at the top of the 

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00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,960
mountain, and he starts praying 
for rain, How on his knees with 

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00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:03,760
his face to the ground. 
Elijah had seen God demonstrate 

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00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:08,000
his power and authority, but now
he was appealing for God's grace

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00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:13,000
to bless the people and for the 
drought to and he does so from a

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00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:18,240
posture of humility. 
When God asked Elijah to go and 

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00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,360
confront the king about the 
idolatry, right at the 

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00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,360
beginning, he knew that with 
that God had promised to send 

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00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,600
the land, the rain on the land. 
And so now as he prays, he's 

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coming humbly before God, and he
asked him to honour his word and

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00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,320
to fulfil his promise of rain. 
He doesn't start making demands.

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00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,520
Well, you know what God, you 
said when this happened, this 

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was going to happen, therefore 
where is it? 

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00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:44,720
He doesn't come negotiating. 
You know God, if only you'll 

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00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,960
send the rain, then I promise 
then I'll go and do this for 

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00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,080
you. 
No, He prays on his knees in 

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00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:55,000
total surrender, knowing there's
nothing more he could do but 

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00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,240
wait on God. 
Psalm 37, five says commit your 

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00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,480
way to the Lord, trust in Him. 
And then it goes on to say, be 

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00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,600
still before the Lord and wait 
patiently for Him. 

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00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,000
We commit our plans, the things 
that we long to see happen 

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00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,520
before the Lord, and then we 
wait patiently. 

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00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,520
We surrender ourselves in 
humility, saying, God, this is 

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00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,200
not about us, God, this is about
you. 

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00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,800
And in doing so we createspace 
for him to do only what he can 

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00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:31,800
do #4 From verse 43 it says, go 
and look towards the sea. 

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00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:33,920
He told his servant and he went 
up and looked. 

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00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,760
There's nothing there. 
He said seven times. 

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00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,680
Elijah said to him, go back. 
Now we don't know exactly what 

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00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,320
Elijah was praying here, like 
the actual words that he was 

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00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,600
saying, but we do know that he 
prayed. 

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00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,680
Once he got his servant to go 
off to check over the side of 

285
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,640
the mountain to see if there was
any sign of rain. 

286
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:52,640
He comes back, he's like no, 
there's nothing there. 

287
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,760
So Elijah prays again and then 
he asks his servant to go have a

288
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,840
look again, 7 times this 
happens. 

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00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:01,760
Now, I don't know about you 
guys, but I'm not sure I would 

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00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,400
have kept going after four 
times, maybe 5 at a push, but I 

291
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:07,839
think I probably would have 
given up. 

292
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:15,200
Maybe I didn't hear right, maybe
I misunderstood, but every time 

293
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,920
Elijah's servant comes back and 
says Nope, there's nothing 

294
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,240
there. 
How does Elijah respond? 

295
00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,560
Does he panic? 
Does he moan and grumble? 

296
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,720
Does he throw his toys out of 
the pram? 

297
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,200
Or does he get back on his knees
and pray again? 

298
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,040
He doesn't stop praying. 
He prays with perseverance. 

299
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,920
I don't know why God didn't send
the rain the first time Elijah 

300
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:44,880
prayed, or the 3rd, or the 6th. 
But I do know that sometimes we 

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00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,200
only see the breakthrough when 
we persist in prayer. 

302
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,480
Jesus teaches us in the Gospels 
that God rewards persistence. 

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00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,160
In fact, in the parable of the 
widow, he says that we should 

304
00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,920
call out to God day and night. 
We're actually to wear him out 

305
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,760
with our praying. 
We're to keep knocking on the 

306
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,640
door of heaven. 
It's not enough to pray once 

307
00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,800
about something and then forget 
about it. 

308
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,760
There are some things that we 
have to pray and pray and pray 

309
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:19,600
and pray and pray until God 
responds and until the 

310
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:24,160
breakthrough comes. 
The 7th time the servant 

311
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,680
reported a cloud as small as a 
man's hand is rising from the 

312
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,560
sea. 
Every small cloud starts to rise

313
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,560
from the sea. 
And I wonder this morning, what 

314
00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,840
cloud are you waiting for to 
appear? 

315
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,920
Have you given up because there 
just seems to be nothing there? 

316
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:48,160
Maybe this morning God is 
inviting you to persist in 

317
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,560
prayer again. 
We don't know how many times it 

318
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,320
will take. 
You know, it might be 7, but 7 

319
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,200
isn't like a magic number. 
It could be more than seven 

320
00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,600
times. 
We don't know how, how many 

321
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,520
times, how long it's going to 
take, but what matters is that 

322
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:10,160
we persevere until the cloud 
forms #5 verse 44 it says. 

323
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:13,720
So Elijah said, go and tell 
Ahab, hitch up your chariot and 

324
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,840
go down before the rain stops. 
So here is Elijah with his 

325
00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,920
servant. 
And hey, they see this cloud 

326
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,080
forming. 
And Elijah knows his prayer is 

327
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,800
answered, even though no rain 
has fallen just yet. 

328
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,440
He saw that first sign of a 
small cloud and he knows that 

329
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,000
the rain is coming. 
It's coming. 

330
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,320
The rain that they have been in 
desperate need for for 3 1/2 

331
00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,440
years. 
The rain that was promised to 

332
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,120
come is on its way. 
And what does Elijah do in that 

333
00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:45,800
moment? 
He doesn't wait for the rain to 

334
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:51,160
fall, but at the first sign he 
proclaims God's promise, the 

335
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,360
rain. 
He says to king, it's on its 

336
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,560
way, you better get ready. 
The ground, it would have been 

337
00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,800
hard and dry. 
You know, Elijah knew this 

338
00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:01,400
wasn't a sprinkle of rain 
coming. 

339
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,320
This wasn't a drizzle. 
This was going to be a downpour 

340
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,120
of rain. 
And he says to the king, you 

341
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:10,800
better get your chariot off this
mountain because the rain is 

342
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,120
going to stop you. 
You better get going. 

343
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,400
Sees the cloud, he declares what
God is doing before it actually 

344
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,600
happens, and then he tells the 
King to move it. 

345
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,440
Some of you have seen the cloud.
There's no rain just yet, but 

346
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,080
the cloud is there. 
You know it is, and the Lord is 

347
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:35,000
calling you to move into action.
Get prepared because it's on its

348
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,920
way and you need to be ready. 
And so to summarise, like 

349
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,720
Elijah, we pray in faith, we 
pray in private, we pray in 

350
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:48,000
humility, we pray with 
perseverance, and we proclaim 

351
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:53,320
the promise of God. 
You know, as we started this 

352
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,040
series, if we cast our minds 
right back to the beginning, 

353
00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:01,960
Claire presented this beautiful 
invitation for us to embrace 

354
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:07,240
this season by digging wells, 
deep wells of prayer, where 

355
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,920
springs of living water and life
rise up. 

356
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,320
And who knows that digging 
requires effort. 

357
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,040
And as we put in that effort, 
our muscles, our spiritual 

358
00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,680
muscles are physically changed 
and strengthened. 

359
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,160
And I think that's the keyword 
there, effort. 

360
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,320
I think if we want to be 
transformed, it requires a 

361
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,760
certain amount of responsibility
on our part. 

362
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,320
Anyone here ever go to the gym 
or you've taken up and you, you 

363
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:35,800
don't have to put your hands up,
it's fine. 

364
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,760
Or taken up running or like 
another form of physical 

365
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,600
exercise. 
You know, that requires a 

366
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,080
certain amount of effort, right?
Especially if we don't want it 

367
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,840
to be just a one off. 
We want to develop a a long 

368
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,760
habit, long lasting habit. 
For me, I usually come back from

369
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:53,760
the summer holidays. 
I'm like, I've eaten way too 

370
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:55,560
much. 
Like now is the time to hit the 

371
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:58,440
gym and I start off well. 
I have all these amazing plans. 

372
00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,520
I know the days I'm going to go,
I know what I'm going to eat, 

373
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,400
you know all of that stuff. 
This time next year you're not 

374
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,600
even going to recognise me, you 
know, that type of thing. 

375
00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,480
I'm totally motivated to get 
fit. 

376
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,640
And then a few weeks in, what 
happens? 

377
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,120
The dark mornings come, might 
get an injury. 

378
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,200
The kids have kept me up at 
night, might have a headache and

379
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,920
what happens? 
I fall out of the habit of going

380
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,280
because my motivation dwindles. 
But you see, what I've come to 

381
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:29,280
realise is that in order to make
habits last, I need more than 

382
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,440
motivation. 
I need discipline, John C 

383
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:38,920
Maxwell says motivation gets you
going, but discipline keeps you 

384
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,120
growing. 
You see, motivation is what 

385
00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,080
pushes you to take the first 
step. 

386
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:48,800
That's a good thing. 
But the problem is, motivation 

387
00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,080
comes and goes depending on how 
we feel, right? 

388
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,480
Depending on the circumstances 
around us. 

389
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:58,360
Whereas discipline is what keeps
us moving forward even on the 

390
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:02,080
days you don't feel like it. 
Because discipline is a choice, 

391
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,240
and it's not based on feelings. 
And so when we're talking about 

392
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,000
creating a lifelong habit of 
prayer, motivation is only going

393
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,680
to get us so far. 
We can walk out of here today 

394
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,800
and be totally inspired to set 
our alarm clocks half an hour 

395
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:23,840
earlier to get up and pray, or 
to be excited about committing 

396
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,600
day to praying for 5 minutes for
that person that doesn't yet 

397
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,800
know Jesus. 
But the truth is, those good 

398
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,200
intentions are only going to get
us so far. 

399
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,960
If we are serious about creating
and maintaining a rhythm of 

400
00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,440
prayer, we need to be 
disciplined. 

401
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,440
And so just to finish some 
really practical ways that we 

402
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,200
can be disciplined #1 choose a 
place. 

403
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,320
Doesn't matter where, but 
somewhere you can be alone with 

404
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:56,240
Jesus. 
That private place that we 

405
00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:00,160
talked about earlier, the place 
you can get angry, the place you

406
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,400
can get sad. 
The place that you can share 

407
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,800
everything with him whilst also 
leaving that space for Him to 

408
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,200
share with you. 
That secret intimate place where

409
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,920
it's just you and him and this 
could be anywhere. 

410
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:14,880
I would recommend you just don't
take your phone. 

411
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,320
Leave your phone in another room
and then find a place. 

412
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,280
It could be your favorite chair 
in the house. 

413
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,160
It could be in the shower. 
It could be on a walk. 

414
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,440
It could be on a bench like a 
particular bench in the park. 

415
00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,600
It could be standing while 
you're washing up For the mums 

416
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,120
out there. 
I know that you're going to say 

417
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,680
I know it. 
No place is private. 

418
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,360
Is it Like no place is prior? 
I hear you. 

419
00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:38,880
Like the kids, they follow you 
everywhere. 

420
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,600
But try locking yourself in the 
bathroom like that's like, I 

421
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,640
know they will find you, but 
you've probably got 3 or 4 

422
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:48,240
minutes. 
So you could try that. 

423
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,600
So choose a place #2 choose a 
time. 

424
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,760
Of course, we can pray anytime. 
In fact, the Bible says that we 

425
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,560
should pray continuously. 
You know, the ultimate aim here 

426
00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:05,480
is for us to develop a pattern 
of prayer, a life of prayer, 

427
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,400
where we're talking to God 
constantly through the day about

428
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,800
everything that happens, every 
decision we have to make, 

429
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,720
everything that winds us up. 
But this doesn't accidentally 

430
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,160
happen. 
It starts with us being 

431
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,560
intentional about it, so I 
suggest the setting a specific 

432
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:23,320
time of the day when you can 
pray. 

433
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,160
It could be first thing in the 
morning, it could be over your 

434
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,960
morning coffee, it could be on 
the 6:32 train to work, it could

435
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:34,360
be before you go to sleep. 
But if we are not intentional, 

436
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:39,320
then it's not likely to happen 
#3 keep it consistent. 

437
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:45,520
Make a commitment to join in 
with corporate prayer rhythms. 

438
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,560
Like we have prayer hour that 
takes place once a week online, 

439
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:55,120
we have space that takes place 
once a month across the Hemel 

440
00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:56,320
and St. 
Alban sites. 

441
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,920
Why not commit to being 
consistent in that for six 

442
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,840
months or whatever it is? 
Maybe continue to fast on a 

443
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,400
Wednesday, or to to be 
consistent in praying at 

444
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,320
mealtimes, or with your kids 
before they go to bed, or with 

445
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,720
your friends, your colleague at 
work, or in your versa group. 

446
00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:21,040
Honour those daily, those weekly
moments of prayer and keep it 

447
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,480
consistent. 
And then #4 keep it short. 

448
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,600
Matthew 6-7 to 8 says. 
And when you pray, don't keep 

449
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,080
babbling like pagans, for they 
think they'll be heard because 

450
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,680
of their many words. 
Don't be like them, for your 

451
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,720
Father knows what you need 
before you ask Him. 

452
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,560
We don't need to Babble. 
We don't need to go on and on. 

453
00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,480
We can just get to the point. 
Praying is not a formal 

454
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,840
presentation. 
We don't need to pray like we 

455
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,440
think we should, but we all know
those amazing prayers, right? 

456
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,000
Like Richard, you mentioned it 
like a pro prayer. 

457
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,920
Like we all know those people 
that just seem to be so eloquent

458
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:02,400
in the way that they pray, so 
articulate. 

459
00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,360
They're just calling on 
scripture and speaking out here,

460
00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:07,960
there and everywhere. 
And those people are amazing. 

461
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,440
I love that that's their way of 
praying, but don't let that put 

462
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:16,400
you off from praying or to feel 
that your prayers are any less 

463
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:22,600
than or even be tempted to copy 
that and to try and pray like 

464
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,800
them. 
Guys, Jesus wants us to be real.

465
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,640
He wants us to be authentic. 
Do it often and get to the 

466
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:35,280
point. 
So some really practical ways 

467
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:40,400
that we can be disciplined in 
maintaining a life of prayer. 

468
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,960
Keep Choose a place, choose a 
time, keep it consistent, and 

469
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:45,600
keep it short.