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If you feel disconnected from 
God right now, please would you 

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just listen to what I've got to 
say? 

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I hear so often people say to 
me, Joe, I just don't feel like 

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God is near to me. 
I feel like he's a million miles

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away. 
I feel like when I'm praying, 

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it's like the heavens are like 
brass. 

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I just can't. 
I can't feel God. 

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It just feels like he's so far 
from me and maybe it's because 

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I'm a Sinner and I've I've 
committed these repetitive sins.

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Maybe that's why God is is 
distant and and the Bible does 

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say that you know, if if you're 
double minded, don't expect to 

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receive anything from God. 
If you are living with sin which

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you're you're covering and 
you're you're choosing not to 

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forsake, that could be one of 
the issues. 

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But I think there's a lot of 
people the main reason why they 

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don't hear from God is because 
they don't put the work in. 

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Can I say that to you? 
You see, if you look at anything

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in life, anything that's worth 
having, there's always work 

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involved in marriage. 
Many of you will know if you 

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don't work at your marriage, it,
it doesn't work, does it? 

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If I can again say that it's 
difficult marriage. 

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Any marriage therapist will tell
you you need to put work in 

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anyone who's built a massive big
business and it's successful. 

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They will tell you there was 
many late nights. 

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It was many nights staying up, 
working hard, many mornings 

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rising early. 
Lots of hard work. 

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Any man who's in the NBA, any 
footballer in the Premiership, 

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they'll all repeat the same 
message. 

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It was hard work that got me 
here. 

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And actually it's the same with 
our relationship with God now. 

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The beautiful message of the 
Bible is that we don't work for 

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our salvation. 
We don't have to do anything. 

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We just rest. 
We just rest that Jesus Christ, 

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when he said it is finished. 
All those who come to me, I will

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not cast out all who come to me 
and receive my name. 

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I'll save them. 
That's the beautiful message of 

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the Bible. 
We don't work for that. 

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We we cannot work our salvation.
But the Bible does teach us that

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we are. 
If we draw close to God, he will

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draw close to us also. 
I mean, if I told you right now,

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I've been away travelling for 
two months, I've been preaching 

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around and I didn't ring my wife
once on all of this time away 

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you'd say to me, you're a 
terrible husband. 

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Don't be surprised if your your 
wife wants nothing to do with 

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you. 
If you neglect your family, 

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don't be surprised if if you 
feel distant to them. 

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Now I haven't been away 
preaching. 

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I've not been invited anywhere. 
But no, all jokes aside. 

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But the truth is this. 
I do know that if I I put time 

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in with my wife, our marriage is
healthy. 

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And so it is with God. 
We've got to make time for God. 

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We've got to protect our quiet 
times, our devotion. 

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Now, for a long time, I did used
to feel like my Christianity was

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just made-up of being around 
Christians, you know, doing 

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evangelism, going to church. 
I felt like a Christian when I 

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did those activities, but when 
it was just me and the Lord, I 

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really did feel like, am I just 
on my own here? 

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What what is this that everyone 
keeps talking about, this 

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intimacy with the Lord God. 
And then I started to do this 

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method and that's really what I 
want to tell you about. 

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And it's called the axe prayer 
method. 

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If you've watched any of my 
videos on my main channel, on 

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the Off the curve channel, 
you'll probably know. 

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I've talked about this before. 
It's a very simple method and I 

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think it'll help you. 
So AXE, it's an acronym. 

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The A stands for adoration. 
When I pray, I start by adoring 

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God. 
I think about his attributes. 

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Lord God, you are the creator. 
Look all around me right now. 

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Here. 
These trees, they were made by 

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you. 
They started as a tiny seed and 

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you created them. 
This beautiful green grass. 

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All of creation cries out that 
you are Lord. 

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And I praise him. 
I praise him that he's a 

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merciful God. 
I praise him at times that he is

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a God of wrath. 
He's a God of justice and he is 

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to be feared, and that he holds 
my my very heartbeat in his 

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hands right now. 
I'm alive right now. 

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You are alive right now because 
God has given you permission to 

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live. 
I praise him and I come before 

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him and I adore him. 
Then the sea is at confession 

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and I confess. 
I I sort of go over the things 

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yesterday. 
Typically if I'm praying in the 

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morning I'll think of the things
yesterday that I did the the 

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sins. 
Yes, we are to to keep short 

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accounts and constantly if we 
sin, we say, Lord, forgive me, 

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but I think it's helpful also to
remember those sins and to 

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confess them. 
Lord, I was, I was proud 

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yesterday, Lord, I was jealous 
of that person. 

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Lord, I lost my temper with my 
my family. 

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Lord, I I looked when I 
shouldn't have that person going

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by in the street. 
You know, we confess these 

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things and we say, Lord, forgive
me. 

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And then I I remind myself that 
by the blood of the Lord Jesus 

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Christ, I'm washed whiter than 
snow. 

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Then we come to tea. 
Tea is for Thanksgiving. 

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And I just say thank you for all
kinds of things, you know, thank

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you that I can walk today. 
And thank you that, you know, my

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health is good today. 
Thank you that I've got two 

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beautiful children at home. 
Thank you for a wife. 

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Thank you above all things. 
Thank you that my name is 

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written in heaven. 
Like Jesus rebuked his disciples

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when they were saying, you know,
we're able to cast out these 

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entities. 
We're able to do this and that. 

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We're doing all these amazing 
things. 

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And Jesus said, no, don't 
rejoice in these things. 

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Rejoice that your names are 
written in heaven. 

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So I make sure I do that every 
day. 

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I thank him that I'm saved. 
I thank him for this ministry. 

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I thank him that this people are
getting saved. 

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I thank him for all kinds of 
things. 

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And that's something that's so 
important that we are to to 

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count our blessings. 
And then S that the last letter 

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of Acts S is supplications, 
where like the Bible says, he 

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will supply our every need. 
And that's when I I lift up my 

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requests before the Lord God. 
Lord, I pray for that man who 

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has a terrible health problem at
the moment. 

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I pray for this person, this 
person's baby, who in the womb 

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is not well at all. 
Lord, I pray that that baby 

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would be born healthily. 
And no matter what the 

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scientists say, no matter what 
the doctors say, Lord, you have 

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the final say. 
Lord, I pray for everything 

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that's going on, all the 
conflicts around the world, in 

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Ukraine, in Russia, in Israel, 
Gaza, Armenia. 

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Lord, please bring peace to 
these people. 

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Lord Godda, I do pray that my 
ministry, this next video I'm 

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making, would reach many people 
and souls would get saved. 

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All these different things, you,
you know, these things. 

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I don't have to share my 
particular prayer request, but 

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you get the idea. 
And every day I try to do that I

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seek to read the Bible and I 
seek to pray. 

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And the way I do it is I I walk 
because I find if I sit down, 

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I've got ADHD kind of brain 
where I I'm so quick to to think

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about different things and you 
know my mind will switch between

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tasks. 
But I find if I walk I'm able to

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concentrate. 
I'm able to focus better and as 

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I walk past particular sort of 
landmarks, if that makes sense, 

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people's houses or or trees and 
that kind of thing, I remember, 

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oh, at that point, yes, I was 
praying for that person. 

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So I'll pray for them again now.
And it helps you remember and it

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helps you to stay focused. 
So please do try the axe method 

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of prayer if you've got another 
one. 

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I know there's another one 
there. 

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I think it's it's the pray 
method, which is, yeah, I'm not 

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going to go there, I can't 
remember all of that. 

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But whatever method you use, 
whatever works, just make sure 

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you spend much time in prayer, 
because prayer is where we draw 

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close to God and we gain that 
closeness. 

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And I know the days when some 
days I've had the privilege of 

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being able to spend hours in 
prayer when I've taken a day 

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off. 
And those days have been the 

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most unforgettable days where I 
know that the Lord God has drawn

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close to me and it's almost as 
if I could reach out and touch 

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my Saviour who has saved me. 
As you know by now, I'm trying 

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to make videos as well As for 
unbelievers on my main channel 

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off the Curb Ministries. 
I also make the sort of 

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unscripted videos for 
Christians. 

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So if you've not yet subscribed,
please do. 

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I really would love to see you 
again. 

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And if you'd like to see a video
all about the new year and being

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consistent in the new year, 
please click this video right 

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now. 
God bless you all and thank you 

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for watching.