[0:00] . . .
[0:15] . . . . . . .
[0:28] . . . . . . .
[0:42] . . . . .
[0:54] . . Baxia, believe it or not. But I'm not Baxia born and bred. Have you guessed that yet? I'm originally from Swansea in South Wales. But it is a privilege to be with you, to worship with you, and to serve you with God's word tonight.
[1:12] Let us worship God in song by singing our first hymn, which is number 395. Here from the world we turn Jesus to seek. Here may his loving voice tenderly speak.
[1:42] Let us continue to worship God in prayer. Let us come before the Almighty. O holy, awesome Lord God Almighty, we do indeed long for thee. May we know your presence in a very real and powerful way in this place tonight.
[2:14] We thank you for this great joy, honour and privilege of being able to end this Lord's Day, as it were, with our brothers and sisters in worship.
[2:27] And Lord God, I pray that you will bless the words of the hymns we sing tonight to our hearts, minds and souls. Lord God, we thank you that we're going to be gathered around your word tonight.
[2:40] Thank you that we're going to be gathered around your heart tonight.
[3:10] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Written in the Bible. And our main scripture reading this evening is from Matthew's Gospel and the sixth chapter.
[3:29] And I'll be reading from the fifth verse through to the fifteenth verse. So that's Matthew chapter 6, starting at verse 5.
[3:43] And in my Bible, it's got the heading, Prayer. Let us hear the word of God.
[3:57] And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.
[4:15] Truly, I tell you, they've received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father who is unseen.
[4:29] Then your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans.
[4:42] For they think they'll be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. For your father knows what you need before you ask him.
[4:52] This, then, is how you should pray. Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
[5:05] Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
[5:16] And forgive us our debts. As we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
[5:31] For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.
[5:51] Amen. This is the word of God. And may he bless the reading and the preaching of his word. Praise God.
[6:03] Well, if you do have a Bible, will you please turn once again to Matthew chapter 6, and verses 5 to 15.
[6:17] But before we look at God's word again, let us pray and ask God to speak to us in power by the preaching of his word and to bless his word to our souls.
[6:33] And I wonder if we could just have a moment's silence, an opportunity for us all to pray quietly and silently in our own hearts and minds and ask God to speak to us.
[6:46] Let us pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[7:00] Oh, Lord God Almighty, we thank you that you are the one true living God. We thank you that you are a speaking God. We thank you that you have spoken to us tonight already by your holy, pure written word.
[7:16] And no doubt you've spoken to us through the words of the hymns and the prayers, and maybe through words of encouragement through a brother or sister. and Lord God I pray that you will speak to us now by the preaching of your word in the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus's name we pray amen it'll probably come as no surprise to you that I'm going to preach on the subject of prayer tonight now there are 650 prayers listed in the Bible 650 listed prayers in the Bible there are approximately 450 recorded answers to prayer in the Bible the Bible records Jesus praying 25 different times during his earthly ministry and the Apostle Paul mentions prayer or prayers prayer reports prayer requests exhortations to pray 41 times the Bible has got a lot to say about prayer and obviously I'm not going to be able to cover everything the Bible says about prayer tonight but I do believe that there are three lessons for us to learn on prayer in Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 to 15 lessons that Jesus teaches us three very simple lessons one on the practice of prayer secondly on the place of prayer and thirdly the pattern of prayer so the practice of prayer the place of prayer and the pattern of prayer so firstly the practice of prayer first and foremost
[9:21] Jesus expects his followers to pray what do we read in verse 5 and when you pray what do we read in verse 6 and when you pray what do we read in verse 7 and when you pray Jesus expects his followers to pray a lot a show of hands how many of you find prayer easy I'm glad no hands have gone up because it's not easy it should be the most natural thing in the world for the Christian isn't it to pray but we don't find it easy do we but I believe when we truly grasp what prayer is we'll never want to stop praying when we truly grasp what prayer is we'll never want to stop praying now I want you to imagine that you could talk to anyone on planet earth whenever you wanted wherever you are and they will always listen to you just imagine that anyone in the world and they tell you you can talk to me whenever you want wherever you are and I will always listen to you
[10:54] I'll have all the time in the world for you who do you admire who is your hero who do you believe is the most powerful person on earth Queen Elizabeth II would you like that if Queen Elizabeth II told you you can talk to me whenever you want wherever you are and I will always listen to you I've got all the time in the world for you what a privilege what an honour would you ever stop speaking to Queen Elizabeth II you'd be on the phone with her all day wouldn't you if she was really listening to you really cared about what you had to say and you had access to her whenever you wanted now obviously you can see where I'm going here can't you the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords says the same to us the eternal holy awesome
[11:59] Lord God Almighty who is all knowing all powerful the Almighty Creator gives us an invitation to speak to Him whenever we want wherever we are and He's got time for us He'll never say I'm too busy He could easily turn around and say don't you realise I've got quite a lot on my plate at the moment haven't you watched the news haven't you seen what's going on all over the world no He says no I'm ready to listen to you so I think the first lesson about prayer or the practice of prayer is that it is essentially talking to God talking to God as our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ in the Spirit that's what prayer is isn't it talking to God as our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ in the Spirit
[13:01] I love what we read in Matthew chapter 7 verses 7 to 11 what do we read there if we turn the page over Matthew 7 verse 7 ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and the door will be opened to you for everyone who asks receives the one who seeks finds and to the one who knocks the door will be opened which of you if your son asks for bread will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake if you then though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him don't you love God he's such a generous kind loving Heavenly Father I love the way Jesus describes the Father in Heaven
[14:02] Jesus is always saying He's so kind He's so generous He's so faithful ask Him speak to Him you are His child and He loves you and I love Galatians chapter 4 wonderful lesson on prayer for us in Galatians chapter 4 verses 4 to 6 but when the set time had fully come God sent His Son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption to sonship isn't that wonderful if you were a Christian here tonight you've been adopted into God's family you are a child of God and because you are His sons God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts the Spirit who calls out
[15:05] Abba Father isn't that wonderful prayer is supernatural prayer is miraculous the only way we can pray is because Jesus lives in our heart by His Spirit and by the Spirit of Jesus we can cry out Abba Father the Father in Heaven loves His children we are God's children by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and if our faith is in Christ by His Spirit we can cry out Abba Father and prayer is a sign that we are spiritually alive prayer should be like breathing for the Christian do you ever go a day without eating
[16:06] I'm sure many of us have gone maybe a day maybe a few days without eating do you ever go a day without drinking what do they say that you can go three weeks without eating that you can go three days without drinking but you can't go more than three minutes without breathing I think you can say that we should be praying at least every three minutes now it doesn't mean we have to get our mat out prayer mat or something or a book but we should constantly be speaking to our Father in Heaven every three minutes we've got something to be thankful for haven't we every three minutes we've got something that we need help for I think the most common prayer in the Bible is just help isn't it have mercy on me give me grace give me peace give me strength we've got so much to be thankful for as God's children should be constantly crying out thank you Lord help me Lord the most common prayer we should pray and if you want to know if a human body is alive what do you check for?
[17:23] you check for breathing don't you? that's what the paramedics would tell you if you phone 999 is he breathing? is she breathing?
[17:34] check for the breathing isn't it? if someone is spiritually alive the first sign would be that they're a praying man or woman so that's something about the practice of prayer essentially it is God's redeemed children speaking to God the Father through God the Son by God the Holy Spirit and then secondly something about the place of prayer what do we read in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 6 the place of prayer or maybe where should we pray what do we read in Matthew 6 verse 6 but when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you so where should we pray should we only pray in our bedrooms with the door closed
[18:41] I'm not sure if Jesus is being literal there the only place you should pray is in your bedroom with the door closed what is the lesson for us there Jesus is telling us pray in somewhere quiet and private and the question for us this evening have we got a quiet or a secret place where we can go to pray and if we haven't maybe there's something that we need to think about have I got a quiet or a secret place where I can go to pray I've got a friend who's got a prayer chair I'm not saying everyone needs to have it but in his bedroom he's got a chair and he only ever sits in that chair if he's going to pray and he says it's just something that works for me it's something that I find helpful when I see that chair I think I need to have a sit down there and I need to pray it's just somewhere quiet private where he can go to pray
[19:41] Jesus had a quiet and secret place where he went to pray what we read in Luke's gospel chapter 22 verses 39 to 41 Luke 22 39 to 41 Jesus went out as usual went out as usual to the Mount of Olives that seemed to be his favorite place to go to pray his secret place his quiet and private place Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives and his disciples followed him on reaching the place the place of prayer he said to them pray that you will not fall into temptation he withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them knelt down and prayed what do we read in Mark's gospel chapter 1 verse 35 very early in the morning while it was still dark Jesus got up left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed and I don't know about you but you find that outside is a good place to pray maybe today wasn't the best day to go outside to pray but there's something about being outside seeing
[20:59] God's fingerprint seeing creation all around us it's almost as if you feel that little bit closer to God isn't it even going up a mountain where you're almost physically closer to the heavens aren't you being outside is a good place to pray so we are to have a secret and a quiet place where we can go to pray but there's evidence in Matthew chapter 6 that there's another place where we should pray what do we read in Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 to 13 this then is how you should pray our father in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not to temptation but deliver us from the evil one what do we learn there about the place of prayer we're to pray with other people prayer is to be corporate it's so important that we have personal private times of prayer but it's equally important that we have corporate times of prayer the church should pray together what do we read in
[22:31] Matthew's gospel chapter 21 verses 12 and 13 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves it is written he said to them my house will be called a house of prayer the new testament says that the church is God's household and God's house is to be a house of prayer the church is to be a house of prayer now this principle of God's people meeting together to pray is seen in Jesus' words in Matthew 18 verses 19 and 20 what do we read there Matthew 18 19 and 20 Jesus said if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you by my father in heaven for where two or three come together in my name there am
[23:43] I with them isn't that a wonderful promise I can't say that I understand that promise but it is a promise Jesus isn't a liar is he what does he say if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you by my father in heaven I think the lesson there is power in two or three of God's people coming together to pray I don't know how many of you have heard of the American preacher who's in glory now George W Truett he was pastor of first baptist church in Dallas Texas from 1897 to 1944 I don't know how fast your maths is but he was pastor of that church for 47 years and the only reason he finished his pastorate there is because he went to glory at the age of 77 he died whilst he was pastor of the church isn't that a wonderful way to go well he has this story that he was preaching on that text
[24:57] Matthew 18 verses 19 to 20 he announced the text if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you by my father in heaven and he just asked the rhetorical question do you believe that promise and then a poor frail old lady said yes pastor I believe that promise and he wasn't expecting anyone to answer his question and then she said oh pastor will you come and pray with me will you come and agree with me here on earth about something I'm praying for and the pastor didn't know what to say and then a big blacksmith stood up and he said I will pray with you sister and both of them in the aisle there in the church on a Sunday morning got down on their knees and prayed and the blacksmith said sister what do you need prayer for
[26:00] I'll pray for my husband he's a long way from God he's a drunkard and he's foul mouthed and right now he's at home sleeping off a drunken sluper and they prayed there in the aisle the Sunday evening meeting came and who should come to church for the first time the lady's husband and all the way through the meeting the lady's husband was listening and the lady was praying but she wasn't praying for her husband to be saved she was just giving thanks all the way through the service she was giving thanks that her husband was going to be saved that night because she said because I claimed the promise I believed in Jesus promise two of us on earth agreed about something and now we're just waiting for the prayer to be answered and that man became a child of God through faith in Jesus
[27:12] Christ on that Sunday evening meeting and the early church in the book of Acts knew the importance of meeting together to pray what do we read in Acts chapter 1 verse 14 they all joined together constantly in prayer is that true of the church in the British Isles in the west do all the church constantly join together in prayer sadly I'm not sure if it is true and then what do we read in Acts chapter 4 verse 23 4 on their release Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them when they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer to God raised their voices together in prayer to God and then what do we read in verse 31 of Acts chapter 4 after they prayed they prayed the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the
[28:37] Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly we all want to be empowered by the spirit we all want to speak the word of God boldly what should we do come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ come together with the church to pray and what do we read in Acts chapter 12 verse 5 Peter was kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying to God for him and what about chapter 12 verse 12 many people had gathered and were praying many people had gathered and were praying the Baptist preacher of the 19th century in London Charles Harden Spurgeon said brethren we shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians shall I read that again brethren we shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians and quite famously
[29:55] Charles Harden Spurgeon called the prayer meeting the boiler room for the church didn't he what does a boiler room produce power and warmth isn't it if you were feeling powerless as a Christian meet with God's people to pray come to the prayer meeting if you feel powerless as a Christian if you're feeling cold as a Christian come to the prayer meeting it'll warm your heart and then thirdly and lastly the pattern of prayer so we've seen the place of prayer that we had to have a secret and quiet place to pray and the church should be a place of prayer and we've seen now thirdly the pattern of prayer so we've seen about the practice of prayer that we should be praying
[30:57] Jesus expects us to be praying we've seen where the place of prayer is a quiet and secret place and the church should be a place of prayer and then thirdly the pattern of prayer and the obvious pattern of prayer is Matthew chapter 6 what we know as the Lord's prayer but it's not really a prayer that the Lord Jesus needed to pray was it it's the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray but I would like to turn to Luke's gospel chapter 11 starting at verse 1 the version of the Lord's prayer or the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray there Luke's gospel chapter 11 starting at verse 1 one day Jesus was praying in a certain place when he finished one of his disciples said to him
[32:05] Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples and I just find that so fascinating the disciples had seen Jesus praying and said that is the real deal we've seen the Pharisees praying and that's not real praying this man is communicating with the almighty have you ever experienced that sometimes you listen to someone praying and you're not sure what's going on here I think it's just a speech he's either just talking to himself or he's just doing a bit of a show when Jesus prayed it was obvious he was speaking to someone and the disciples said that's how we want to pray that's how we want to pray that's how I want to pray and what did Jesus say he said to them when you pray say father father we have to begin our prayers with
[33:11] God we have to begin our prayers with adoration praising God for who he is father praising God for the fact that we can call him father you could just meditate on that first word of the Lord's prayer for hours couldn't you father what a miracle that I can address you as father a sinful fallen human being like me and it's a reminder of who we're praying to what we read in Ephesians 2 verse 18 for through him that's Jesus through Jesus we both have access to the father by one spirit now ordinarily we pray to the father through the spirit through Jesus by the spirit we pray to the father through the son by the spirit and what about the next part of the prayer hallowed be your name what does that mean to pray hallowed be your name
[34:19] I think essentially it's praying may your name be honoured revered praised and glorified God I believe that this is a prayer of intercession praying for others praying that they will come to praise and glorify God's holy name because a lot of people use God's name don't they in our society people use God's name as a swear word or people mock God's name don't they well our prayer of intercession should be we should be praying that others would come to use God's name as a holy name hallowed be your name may people come to revere and honour your name just like Psalm 67 verses 3 to 5 may the peoples praise you God may all the peoples praise you may the nations be glad and sing for joy for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth may the peoples praise you
[35:26] God may all the peoples praise you but hallowed be your name could also be a prayer of petition us asking for something Father in heaven may your name be hallowed in my life help me to live a life that's holy pure and pleasing for you and it could also be a prayer of consecration what is a prayer of consecration where we dedicate our lives to God for his service it's basically praying Father in heaven I want to live a life that's holy for you from now on I'm not going to do that I'm not going to do this that or the other this area this area of my life is now going to be totally dedicated to you I'm sure many of you have heard of the great man of God David Wilkerson and in the evenings he used to enjoy watching the late night movie nothing particularly wrong with watching a movie but David
[36:37] Wilkerson was particularly convicted that it was a waste of time for him and said from now on I'm going to stop watching the late night movie at 10 o'clock and he decided to get rid of his television from now on late at night I'm going to dedicate the hour and a half or the two hours I used to spend watching the late night movie in prayer and he was particularly praying for gangs in New York and he moved from the south of America to New York and he lived for a while in his car and he was reaching these gangs of New York people like Nicky Cruz reaching them with the gospel and a great church started in New York Times Square Church because one man David Wilkerson prayed a prayer of consecration he wanted to dedicate that particular time of the day in prayer to God and what about the next part of the prayer your kingdom come now this can also be a prayer of intercession praying for other people praying that
[37:51] God's kingdom would come into people's lives that they would make Jesus king of their life that they would allow Jesus to reign and rule in their heart and their life praying for God's kingdom to extend all over the world but I believe it's also a prayer of petition asking for God's kingdom to come down to earth praying for Jesus' speedily return it's praying for heaven to come down to earth as will happen one day according to the book of Revelation what do we read in Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah and he will reign forever and ever when we pray your kingdom come I believe it's praying for Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 to 4 to happen soon what do we read in
[38:55] Revelation 21 verses 1 to 4 then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea I saw the holy city the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying look God's dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them they will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God he will wipe every tear from their eyes there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away when we pray let your kingdom come it's like the prayer in 1
[39:58] Corinthians chapter 16 verse 22 come Lord come Maranatha and I don't think it's a prayer that you hear very often in the church praying for Jesus his speedily return and it's the last prayer in the Bible praying for Jesus his speedily return what do we read in Revelation chapter 22 verse 20 he who testifies to these things says yes I am coming soon amen come Lord Jesus isn't that interesting and I believe it's a prayer that we should be praying every day come Lord Jesus come when we watch the news what should we pray let your kingdom come Maranatha come Lord Jesus come when we see injustice when we see pain when we see suffering when we see death we should long for
[41:00] Jesus to return because when Jesus returns he will get rid of sin and all effects of sin he will get rid of death he will get rid of crying he will get rid of pain and suffering and mourning don't we long for Jesus to return to wipe away our tears when we see disease we should pray come Lord Jesus come because really sin and all the effects of sin don't belong on this earth sin and all the effects of sin don't belong on this earth it's almost as if they are squatters and Jesus is coming back to drive out the squatters crying doesn't belong on this earth pain and suffering death decay injustice corruption crime he's going to drive it all out come
[42:00] Lord Jesus come we long for this day of justice and peace isn't it a day of liberation and what about the next part of the prayer what do we read in verse 30 give us each day our daily bread that's quite simple isn't it it's praying that God would give us our daily food the thing that we need every day every night I pray this prayer with my children my five year old son and my six year old daughter the prayer is thank you for our food and our clothes please keep giving us food and clothes that is a paraphrase of give us today our daily bread isn't it because I want my children to realise their food doesn't come from
[43:01] Sainsbury's or Tesco's I want my children to realise their clothes doesn't come from wherever they get their clothes from wherever their mother gets their clothes from it doesn't come from the hand-me-downs from their cousins I think that's where most of their clothes come from or their grandparents no everything that we've got the clothes that we've got the food that we've got today has come from God hasn't it God just has to say the word and the earth will stop producing crops God just has to say the word and animals won't be able to produce food for us anymore we won't have milk and eggs and cheese and butter we won't have meat God just has to say the word and then in a few weeks time we'll all be starving to death if God just said the word food would stop being produced but God produces food for us day by day because he's a generous kind loving heavenly father
[44:15] I love the promise in Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus we trust in him to meet our needs and then what do we read in verse 4 forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us this is a prayer of confession we are to pray a prayer of confession every day at least twice a day at the end of the night tonight we are to pray father forgive me for the sins I've committed today we've all sinned today haven't we maybe we're not even aware of it we've committed sins of omission there are things that we should have done today that we haven't done the sins of omission we've omitted from doing things that we should have done we're to confess our sins every day to God and what's the promise in the
[45:28] Bible if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness isn't that a wonderful promise the question is what if we refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us what does that say about us what does we read in Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 and 15 Jesus says for if you forgive other people when they sin against you your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others their sins your father will not forgive your sins what does that say if I refuse to forgive someone who's seeking forgiveness from me what does that say about me that's evidence that I haven't had my sins forgiven if I refuse to be merciful to someone else that means
[46:33] I haven't experienced mercy if we've had all of our filthy rotten sins forgiven then we should be able to forgive a brother or sister who are seeking forgiveness from us and if we don't that's sure evidence that we haven't experienced forgiveness so important that we pray that God would forgive us our sins and that God would give us grace and mercy to forgive those who are seeking forgiveness from us and the prayer goes on to say and lead us not into temptation that is such a powerful prayer isn't it and lead us not into temptation have you prayed that prayer today if you haven't you're on dangerous ground so important that we pray that prayer every day father in heaven lead me not into temptation today it's one of the last words that Jesus said before he was arrested in the garden what did
[47:46] Jesus say in Matthew chapter 21 verse 41 watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation temptation some of Jesus' last words watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation it is vital that we pray that prayer every day lead us not into temptation because we might be just one temptation away from a serious fall and I've seen it happen I've seen godly well seemingly godly gifted men who are husbands fathers and ministers who lost everything because they stopped praying that prayer he stopped praying lead me not into temptation he sees a pretty girl in the library becomes friendly with her has an affair with her leaves his wife leaves his two daughters and he's disqualified from a ministry and his daughters won't speak to him anymore his life ruined because he stopped praying that prayer lead me not into temptation powerful lessons for us on prayer lead us not into temptation and
[49:19] Matthew's gospel says deliver us from that evil one we can resist the devil in the mighty name of Jesus and then the footnote in Matthew's gospel says for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen isn't that wonderful the Lord's prayer begins with God and adoration to God and it ends with praise and adoration to God so some brief lessons for us there on prayer it's so important that we practice prayer so important that we have a place for prayer that we pray privately and secretly we pray with the church we come to the prayer meeting and thirdly we have a pattern for prayer laid out for us by Jesus there let us pray our
[50:29] Lord God Almighty we thank you that you are our gracious loving heavenly father thank you for adopting us into your family thank you that we are your children through faith in Jesus Christ we thank you that the spirit of Jesus lives in our heart and by Jesus his spirit we can cry out now Abba Father we thank you that you're such a generous father such a good father we praise you we worship you and we adore you and Father in heaven we pray that your holy name would be revered on the lips in the hearts and in the minds of men women boys and girls in Whitby in Yorkshire in England Wales the British Isles and to the four corners of the earth
[51:30] Lord Lord God we pray for our unbelieving family members who maybe use your holy name as a swear word have mercy on them we pray we pray that you will add them to your kingdom may your kingdom advance tonight all over the world and Lord God we do pray this evening come Lord Jesus come when we see all the pain the suffering the sorrow the injustice all over the world our hearts just cry out come Lord Jesus come we long for the day when you will return Jesus to right all the wrongs in the universe we long for the day when you will drive out sin we long for the day when you will drive out Satan from this earth when you will throw him into that pit forever and ever
[52:31] Lord Jesus we long for the day when you will take us home to be with you we long for the day when you will wipe away our tears we long for the day when all physical suffering will disappear we thank you the sickness and sorrow can't exist in your physical presence and Father in heaven I pray that you will continue to give us our daily bread continue to meet our daily needs we thank you for the clothes that all of us are wearing here tonight no doubt all of us have had food today we thank you that you do meet our material needs and I pray that you will meet the needs of this church the physical and material needs of this church and also the spiritual needs of this church we know that we don't live by bread alone but from every word that comes out of your mouth and we thank you that the words that have come out of the mouth of the
[53:41] Lord Jesus Christ have been written down for us and we we we we we we we we have been able to look at them tonight please bless your word to our souls Lord God I pray that you will bless and encourage this church I pray that this church will become more and more united more and more holy Lord God I do pray that you will bless the the Bible week next week Lord God we pray for the preachers who are coming Lord I pray that you will equip them and empower them by your spirit to give a message to the people here next week a message that they desperately need to hear and Lord God I do pray that you'll forgive us for our many many sins we confess them to you now Lord I pray that you'll show us the sins that we're not even aware of sins that we need to confess to you now sins that we need to repent of Lord God please wash us and cleanse us in the blood of Jesus
[54:53] Lord God we thank you for the promise that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and Father God I pray that you'll give us grace and mercy to forgive those who are seeking forgiveness from us we know we know what an unforgiving hearts can do it just makes us bitter oh Lord God I pray that there won't be any bitter hearts here tonight that we'd have joyful hearts forgiving hearts peaceful hearts Lord God I pray that you'd show us the people that we need to forgive from our hearts tonight help us to release them as it were and Lord God I pray that you'll give us not into temptation but you'll deliver us from that evil one we know that we have an enemy who is the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour us we thank you that we can resist him in the mighty name of Jesus we thank you that he is a defeated foe and Father God we thank you that you are able to do all this because yours is the kingdom and all power and all glory belongs to you forever and ever
[56:32] Amen Amen Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory majesty power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages now and forevermore Amen