Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW017147A
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00:09 ♪[Theme music]♪
00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 00:22 Thanks for joining me. 00:23 I'm in Moldova, a little country in Eastern Europe 00:26 sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. 00:30 It's a quarter of the size of the state of Tennessee, 00:33 has the population of the state of Connecticut, 00:36 about three and a half million people. 00:39 ♪[Music]♪ 00:43 For 50 years, Moldova was a Soviet socialist republic. 00:48 It was under communist rule as part of the Soviet Union. 00:52 But a remarkable thing happened, 00:54 the most significant political change of the 20th century. 00:58 And it affected the life of every person here. 01:06 ♪[Music]♪ 01:16 ♪[Music]♪ 01:24 As far as European communism went, 01:26 the winds of change really began to blow in the 1980s. 01:30 In Poland, the solidarity movement, 01:32 led by Lech Walesa, called for a series of strikes 01:36 which crippled that country's economy. 01:38 In Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Romania, 01:42 governments came under pressure to roll back 01:44 the oppressive restrictions of communism. 01:47 In previous times, the Soviet Union's response 01:50 would have been swift and severe. 01:52 But this time things would be different. 01:56 On November the tenth, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. 02:00 It was a serpentine, 12-feet-tall, 02:03 100-mile-long barrier that separated West Germany 02:07 from communist East Germany. 02:10 East Germans celebrated, 02:12 and that falling domino set off a chain reaction 02:15 that led to the dissolution of communism in Eastern Europe. 02:19 And by the time the dust had settled, 02:21 the Soviet Union was no more. 02:25 But the story many people haven't heard 02:28 is how the fall of communism had less to do with 02:30 Lech Walesa and protest and more to do with prayer. 02:37 In 1982, in the city of Leipzig, 02:40 a Protestant pastor named Christian Fuhrer 02:43 began holding Monday evening prayer meetings in his church, 02:46 St. Nicholas Church. 02:48 Pastor Fuhrer conducted those prayer meetings 02:51 in spite of the East German government's strong opposition 02:54 to religious activities. 02:57 So the government pushed back, 02:59 saying they'd do whatever they had to to stop what had 03:02 morphed from simple prayer meeting to peaceful protests. 03:07 But on October the ninth, 1989, 03:10 eight thousand people gathered in the church, 03:13 and another seventy thousand people 03:15 massed in the streets outside. 03:17 In the end, the government let them protest. 03:22 The BBC later reported that East German officials said that they 03:25 were ready for anything at all, except candles and prayer. 03:32 ♪[Music]♪ 03:38 Exactly one month after that historic night, 03:41 the wall came down. 03:44 And so too did a whole series of atheistic dictatorships. 03:48 ♪[Music]♪ 03:59 So while there were certainly other factors involved, 04:02 it can't be denied that prayer 04:04 played an incredibly important role in bringing about 04:07 in East Germany and throughout Eastern Europe 04:11 an incredible change, 04:13 which not long before would have been completely unimaginable. 04:18 So what's the secret to effective prayer? 04:20 Can anyone learn to pray effectively? 04:24 Or do you have to be specially qualified 04:27 to get your prayers answered? 04:28 ♪[Music]♪ 04:33 It seems to me a former Soviet socialist republic 04:37 is a pretty good place to ask, 04:38 and then try to answer those questions. 04:43 So what is prayer? 04:44 A dictionary will tell you that prayer is a petition to, 04:48 or communion with, God or another object. 04:52 Now, for the purpose of this discussion, 04:54 we'll limit ourselves to the idea of praying to God. 04:58 Someone once said that prayer is the opening up of the heart 05:01 to God as to a friend. 05:05 Now, God has asked that we pray. 05:08 And He's promised that He'll answer our prayers. 05:11 Now, listen to this: it's Second Chronicles 7, verse 14. 05:15 Solomon has just dedicated the temple to God. 05:18 It's in the tenth century B.C. 05:20 And God spoke to Solomon and said this: 05:24 “If My people, which are called by My name, 05:27 shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, 05:31 and turn from their wicked ways; 05:34 then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, 05:38 and will heal their land.” 05:40 The Sovereign of the universe says, 05:43 “I will answer your prayers.” 05:46 And you notice He makes it nice and simple. 05:48 There are very few conditions involved. 05:50 God simply says that if you come to Him humbly, 05:53 and if you turn away from sin, 05:56 He will hear and answer your prayers. 06:00 Now, over in the New Testament, 06:02 we read this in First John, chapter 5, verses 14 and 15: 06:08 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 06:10 that if we ask anything according to His will, 06:13 He hears us. 06:14 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, 06:18 we know that we have the petitions 06:20 that we have asked of Him.” 06:22 John, the man who wrote the gospel of John 06:24 and the Book of Revelation, 06:25 a man who spent three and a half years 06:28 as one of Jesus' closest friends, says that if you pray, 06:32 you can know that God hears you, 06:34 and in knowing that He hears you, 06:36 you can be confident that He will grant your petitions. 06:40 Now, that has to be one of the most remarkable things 06:43 ever written. 06:46 So, how do you go about praying in a way 06:49 that you can be certain your prayers will be answered? 06:52 Tell you that in just a moment. 06:54 ♪[Music]♪ 07:03 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future 07:04 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 07:08 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer 07:11 free planned giving and estate services. 07:14 For information on how we can help you, 07:16 please call 800-992-2219 07:19 Call today, or visit our website, 07:23 HisLegacy.com 07:25 Call 800-992-2219 07:31 >>John: There is power in the Word of God, 07:32 and power available to you through the promises of God. 07:37 God wants you to experience that power, and so do I. 07:40 I'd like you to have today's free offer, 07:42 “Promises of Power,” new from It Is Written. 07:45 To receive “Promises of Power,” 07:47 call 800-253-3000 07:50 800-253-3000 07:52 Visit ItIsWritten.com 07:54 or write to the address on your screen, 07:57 and be sure you receive “Promises of Power.” 08:01 ♪[Music]♪ 08:06 >>John: This is It Is Written. Thanks for joining me. 08:09 The first prayer in the Bible 08:11 appears in the third chapter of Genesis. 08:13 The last prayer in the Bible is in Revelation, 08:16 chapter 22, in the second last verse of the Bible, 08:20 where John rights, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” 08:24 God wants us to pray. 08:26 He wants to communicate with us. 08:28 So how do you pray effectively? 08:31 What's the secret? 08:32 I've come to Orheiul Vechi, 08:34 a fascinating place about an hour from Chisinau, 08:37 the capital of Moldova. 08:39 Until 1991, Moldova was a communist land, 08:42 part of the Soviet Union. 08:44 Most people don't know how significant a part prayer played 08:48 in bringing about the end of communism. 08:52 And this historic little place 08:54 gives us an opportunity to reflect on prayer. 08:58 They say the medieval town was built here around 700 years ago. 09:03 Mongol invaders came through a little after that. 09:06 And then there was a time of peace under kings 09:08 such as Alexander the Kind and Stephen the Great. 09:12 There was a palace here at one time. 09:15 Governors lived here. 09:16 There was a mosque and a minaret from which 09:18 the call to prayer was made. 09:20 Ruins of an old Christian church can be seen. 09:23 And today, there's still a monastery here. 09:27 The cave monastery goes back hundreds of years. 09:31 It can't have been easy to build. 09:34 Monasteries are places of reflection. 09:37 Some have been built in the unlikeliest of settings. 09:40 In most every monastery, 09:42 prayer is high on the list of priorities. 09:46 Here at Orheiul Vechi, 09:48 the monastery is run by the Eastern Orthodox Church. 09:52 Monks actually used to stay in these little cells, 09:56 once upon a time. 09:58 Considering that the temperatures here can be 09:59 absolutely frigid, that's really something. 10:03 It's not unusual for monks, or others who live in a monastery, 10:07 to withdraw from the world and give themselves over to working, 10:11 to reading the Bible, and to prayer. 10:19 You don't see a monastic life 10:21 modeled or recommended in the Bible. 10:23 Now, it's true there were times that people came aside 10:26 for periods of spiritual devotion. 10:28 But they were connected to active ministry for others. 10:32 The six weeks or so that Jesus spent in the wilderness 10:35 after his baptism were immediately prior to 10:38 the beginning of his active earthly ministry. 10:42 In Mark 6 and verse 31, Jesus said to his disciples, 10:47 “Come apart by yourselves into a deserted place 10:50 and rest a while.” 10:52 Jesus could see they needed rest. 10:54 They needed time with him 10:56 to be strengthened for the ministry he called them to. 11:00 Does God hear prayers prayed in a monastery any more clearly 11:04 than he hears prayers prayed in the middle of a bustling city? 11:07 Does God hear the prayers of a monk or a priest or a minister 11:10 any more clearly than he hears the prayers 11:12 of a construction worker or a taxi driver? 11:17 Absolutely not. 11:19 The key to successful prayer is...to pray. 11:24 Whoever you are, 11:26 wherever you are, 11:28 whatever you are: 11:29 if you'll pray, God will hear your prayers. 11:34 Now, there's a common mistake that far too many people make 11:38 when it comes to prayer, 11:39 and that is thinking that prayer is all about getting. 11:44 Now, it's true, when you come to God in prayer, 11:46 it's okay to do your fair share of asking. 11:49 But prayer is so much more 11:51 than coming to God with a shopping list. 11:54 Prayer is communion. 11:56 It's communication. 11:58 It's spending time in God's presence 12:00 so that you and God are on the same wavelength, 12:03 so that God's thoughts become your thoughts, 12:06 and so that you are strengthened to live a Christian life 12:10 in the very center of the will of God. 12:13 I got an email a couple of days ago 12:15 from somebody asking about a difficult temptation 12:18 he was facing. 12:19 As a matter of fact, 12:20 he said it was beating him and he was feeling crushed, 12:24 and he couldn't get the victory over a certain sin. 12:27 And in that email he said, 12:30 “But I don't read my Bible, and I don't pray.” 12:34 Well, ladies and gentlemen, there it is. 12:37 He wasn't praying. 12:38 So of course he was being defeated. 12:41 If he had prayed, 12:42 well, he might not have got that shiny red truck 12:44 that he was wanting, for example, 12:47 but he would have been strengthened to meet the trials 12:50 that were coming into his life. 12:52 Prayer would have made the difference. 12:57 Now, while it's a good thing to pray in a peaceful place, 12:59 it's good to get away from it all, 13:01 it's good to be someplace that you're not going to be bothered, 13:04 what you need to know is how you can pray wherever you are 13:07 and still be heard by God. 13:09 There's no special place that you must pray 13:12 in order to be heard. 13:13 You can pray anywhere at all and anytime. 13:21 Prayer is where your desires become molded 13:24 to the will of God. 13:26 In fact, prayer is more about you trying to find out 13:28 what God's will is on something, 13:31 rather than trying to bend God to suit your will. 13:35 And prayer is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. 13:38 You can pray all you want, but your dog might still die 13:41 and you might still lose your job. 13:44 But if you pray, 13:45 you'll be strengthened to meet the trials life brings your way. 13:49 So how's your prayer life? 13:51 God is waiting to hear and answer your prayers. 13:55 I'll be back with more in just a moment. 13:56 ♪[Music]♪ 14:03 ♪[Music]♪ 14:06 Today I'd like to ask you to help It Is Written 14:09 open the eyes of the blind. 14:11 India has more blind people than any country on earth. 14:14 But simple cataract surgery can make the difference between 14:17 seeing and not seeing. 14:19 Eyes for India is a project that's providing 14:21 cataract surgery for people in desperate need 14:24 of the gift of sight. 14:25 Please help today. 14:26 Call 800-253-3000 14:30 Or visit itiswritten.com 14:34 ♪[Music]♪ 14:35 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, 14:37 “It is written, 14:38 ‘Man shall not live by bead alone, 14:40 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” 14:44 “Every Word” is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional 14:47 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw, 14:49 and designed especially for busy people like you. 14:52 Look for Every Word on selected networks, 14:55 or watch it online every day on our website, 14:57 ItIsWritten.com 15:00 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 15:02 Watch “Every Word.” 15:03 You'll be glad you did. 15:05 Here's a sample. 15:08 ♪[Theme music]♪ 15:12 Joseph: sold as a slave by his own brothers 15:16 and taken off to a foreign country, 15:18 where's propositioned by his master's wife. 15:20 To betray his master's trust 15:22 and to sin against God would have been disastrous. 15:24 But to spurn this woman, well, we know how that turned out. 15:28 But when Potiphar's wife was turning up the heat, 15:31 Genesis 39, verse 8 speaks of Joseph when it says, 15:35 “But he refused.” 15:37 Three simple words that could change, 15:38 or maybe even save, your life. 15:40 Temptation comes at us every day it attacks us, 15:43 and often when we're weak or where we're weak. 15:46 But as challenging as temptation can be, think of Joseph. 15:49 “But he refused.” 15:51 He could have acquiesced, but he refused. 15:53 He could have fallen, but he refused. 15:56 Temptation offers you a choice. 15:57 Let it be said of you, “But he or she refused.” 16:00 And let God's Spirit keep you in the will of God. 16:03 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 16:04 Let's live today by every word. 16:08 ♪[Music]♪ 16:13 >>John: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 16:16 People come to monasteries like this one in Moldova to pray. 16:21 Prayer is fundamental to the Christian experience. 16:24 In fact, you cannot really call yourself a genuine believer 16:27 in God without habitual, personal prayer. 16:31 Prayer is where your mind meets with the mind of God. 16:36 Prayer is like breathing the air God breathes. 16:39 It's like downloading God's thoughts into your own. 16:43 Now, remember Psalm 66, verse 18, which says, 16:46 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” 16:50 Now, that does not mean that God 16:52 doesn't hear the prayers of sinners. 16:53 If that were true, none of us would be heard. 16:56 But what it does mean is that if we choose to cling to sin, 17:00 and refuse to surrender it to God, 17:03 we're really telling God that we're just not serious about 17:07 his will being done in our life. 17:09 As John Bunyan, who wrote “The Pilgrim's Progress,” said, 17:13 “In prayer a heart without words is better 17:18 than words without a heart.” 17:22 Consider the Lord's Prayer with me. 17:24 It's the model prayer given in the Bible. 17:27 The disciples came to Jesus in Matthew, chapter 6, 17:30 and they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” 17:33 And what prompted them to make that request was what Jesus 17:36 had been talking about immediately prior to this. 17:40 Jesus warned them against praying like the hypocrites, 17:44 who prayed so that other people 17:46 would see their religious devotion. 17:49 Now that word, hypocrites, is translated from a word 17:52 that means an actor. 17:54 Insincere prayers, just acting the part, 17:58 aren't getting anyone anywhere. 18:00 He went on to say in Matthew 6, verse 6, 18:03 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, 18:06 and when you have shut your door, 18:08 pray to your Father who is in the secret place; 18:10 and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” 18:15 Private prayer should be private. 18:18 When you're pouring out your heart to God 18:19 about what's nearest to you, 18:21 you want to have a place to go to pray that's your own space. 18:24 That's important. 18:26 And notice that Jesus in that passage suggested 18:28 that God will answer your prayers. 18:31 You find that thought expressed all the way through the Bible. 18:34 In the next verse, 18:35 Jesus said there's no place in prayer 18:38 for what He referred to as vain repetition. 18:41 That's saying the same prayer over and over and over again. 18:46 You see, when it comes to prayer, 18:49 what God wants us to know is that prayer 18:51 is a meeting of minds and hearts. 18:54 God wants to hear what's on your heart. 18:57 He wants to hear from you in communication 19:00 about what's important to you. 19:02 Simply regurgitating a learned prayer 19:06 doesn't really constitute true prayer. 19:08 I'll give you a case in point. 19:11 In my life I must have prayed the Lord's Prayer, 19:13 oh, thousands of times. 19:16 Because as a child we were taught to pray that prayer 19:18 over and over and over, and again and again and again. 19:22 But think about it. 19:24 You'd be far better off praying that prayer once, 19:27 and thinking about it, and reflecting on it, 19:31 really getting something out of the experience, 19:34 than you would saying that prayer a hundred times 19:37 without giving it any thought. 19:40 And then Jesus said in Matthew 6, verse 9, 19:43 “In this manner, therefore, pray: 19:45 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” 19:49 Now, who are you praying to? 19:51 You're praying to your Father. 19:54 And that ought to give you confidence and assurance. 19:58 And involved in that little phrase Jesus taught 20:00 was the idea of praise. 20:04 You're to praise God when you pray. 20:06 Praise Him for who He is, for what He is, 20:10 for what He's done, for what He means to you. 20:14 Just that can keep you busy praying for quite a while. 20:18 Verse 10: “Your kingdom come. 20:21 Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 20:25 We're to pray for the coming of God's kingdom, 20:27 the setting up of His eternal kingdom when Jesus returns. 20:32 You see, prayer focuses your mind on the important things 20:35 on the big picture. 20:37 And notice we're to pray that God's will is done. 20:42 Now, you and I both know that we don't always see our prayers 20:46 answered the way we wish they were. 20:49 And maybe that's because God knows 20:50 you don't really need a raise right now. 20:53 Or you can actually get by 20:55 without fine weather this weekend. 20:57 And that's fine. 20:59 But what about when your child doesn't recover from cancer, 21:02 or Dad doesn't come back from the hospital? 21:05 What then? 21:06 Well, the fact is, that's life. 21:10 That's life in this sinful world. 21:12 Now, it's not God's will that children should suffer 21:15 or that parents should die. 21:16 That's not God's will at all. 21:19 But what is God's will is that you're saved 21:22 into His eternal kingdom, 21:23 that you spend eternity with God. 21:26 And people who spend eternity with God are people 21:28 who've learned to say, like Job said, 21:31 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” 21:34 Now, we don't always get what we want. 21:36 Our prayers aren't always answered the way we wish. 21:40 But we can trust God anyway, and say, “Thy will be done.” 21:47 Matthew 6:11: “Give us this day our daily bread.” 21:52 God wants us to ask Him for what we need and for what we want. 21:56 But we need to remember, God's not Santa Claus. 21:59 He knows what's best for us in every situation 22:02 as He considers the big picture. 22:04 But He does want us to pray big prayers. 22:08 John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, 22:10 didn't just pray for the salvation of a family member 22:13 or a neighbor. 22:14 He prayed to God and said, 22:15 “Give me Scotland or I die.” 22:18 He prayed for the salvation of a country. 22:22 In Second Kings, chapter 13, a king came to the prophet Elisha. 22:25 Elisha said to him, “Strike the ground,” 22:28 which the king did, three times. 22:31 Elisha was upset. 22:33 He said, “If you had pounded on the ground five or six times, 22:37 God would have given you complete deliverance from Syria. 22:40 But you only pounded on the ground three times.” 22:42 You see, God understood the king's timidity 22:45 in striking the ground as an expression of a lack of faith. 22:49 God wanted to do more for the king. 22:52 And often God wants to do more for you. 22:55 Pray big prayers. 22:57 Now, if you're praying for a bigger house and a nicer car, 23:01 well, you want to be careful about that. 23:03 Sometimes that might be appropriate, 23:05 but far too often it's just greed or ego. 23:09 But do pray big prayers, really big prayers, 23:13 and know that God is big enough to answer them. 23:17 In verse 12, the model prayer goes on: 23:19 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” 23:23 First, it's important to pray for forgiveness. 23:28 If you've sinned against God 23:29 and you have, then confess that sin. 23:33 John wrote directly about this in First John 1, verse 9: 23:36 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us 23:41 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 23:44 There's your assurance right there that God 23:47 will forgive your sins. 23:49 That's settled. 23:49 Don't doubt that. 23:51 But notice that caveat “as we forgive our debtors.” 23:55 So how's that working out for you? 23:57 If you harbor unforgiveness toward others, 24:00 you're essentially begging God not to forgive you. 24:03 Pretty simple. 24:05 Verse 13: “And lead us not into temptation, 24:09 but deliver us from evil. 24:11 For thine is the kingdom, 24:13 and the power, 24:14 and the glory, 24:15 for ever, Amen.” 24:17 Your battle with sin, your temptations, 24:20 your struggles, that's all material for prayer. 24:24 Talk to God about it. 24:26 Appeal to God. 24:27 Wrestle with God. 24:29 Paul prayed about healing three times, 24:31 and then God told him to pray about that no more. 24:34 But as the great man of faith George Muller said, 24:37 “The great point [of prayer] is never to give up 24:41 until the answer comes.” Amen. 24:44 So today, little Moldova is a free country. 24:49 You could create a politics for that. 24:52 Or you could recognize that God on His throne 24:56 hears the prayers of those who pray. 25:00 Pastor Christian Fuhrer said, 25:02 “Without the church, 25:04 it would have been like all other revolutions before: 25:09 bloody and unsuccessful.” 25:10 He could have said, without prayer. 25:15 What would your life be like without prayer? 25:19 Or should I be asking, 25:20 what would your life be like with prayer? 25:23 Take time to pray. 25:25 God is waiting to hear from you. 25:28 ♪[Music]♪ 25:35 There is power in the Word of God, 25:36 and power available to you through the promises of God. 25:41 God wants you to experience that power, and so do I. 25:44 I'd like you to have today's free offer, 25:46 “Promises of Power,” 25:47 new from It Is Written. 25:49 To receive “Promises of Power,” 25:51 call 800-253-3000 25:54 800-253-3000 25:57 Visit ItIsWritten.com 25:58 or write to the address on your screen, 26:01 and be sure you receive “Promises of Power.” 26:05 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:07 is a faith-based ministry, and it's your support 26:10 that makes it possible for us to share God's good news 26:13 with the entire world. 26:16 Your tax-deductible gift 26:17 can be sent to the address on your screen, 26:19 or through our website, 26:21 itiswritten.com 26:23 Thank you for your continued prayerful support. 26:26 Our toll-free number is 800-253-3000 26:29 800-253-3000 26:32 Our web address is itiswritten.com 26:35 ♪[Music]♪ 26:41 Let's pray together now. 26:43 Our Father in Heaven, 26:44 we thank you today for the privilege of prayer. 26:48 I thank you that you are a prayer-answering God, 26:51 and that you are willing, eager to do in answer to prayer 26:55 those things that you have placed on our heart. 26:58 Father, right now I know there's someone needing a miracle. 27:01 This man, this woman, this young person, 27:04 needs to see you intervene in a powerful way. 27:09 We are praying for this. 27:11 We know that Jesus has said, 27:13 “Ask and it shall be given,” 27:15 and we are asking. 27:17 He said, “Seek and you will find.” 27:18 We are seeking through prayer. 27:21 So Lord, grant our heart's need. 27:24 Grant what you know would be best for us 27:26 in the plan of salvation and in the overall flow of eternity. 27:31 And Father, I'm praying right now for that one 27:33 who needs to give his or her heart to you. 27:36 I pray for surrender. 27:37 I pray for conversion. 27:38 I pray for salvation in so many lives. 27:43 So we praise you and honor you, 27:44 and again we thank you that you hear us, 27:48 and that you act in our behalf. 27:50 And we pray in Jesus' name, 27:52 Amen. 27:54 Thank you so much for joining me today. 27:55 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:58 Until then, remember: 27:59 It Is Written. 28:01 Man shall not live by bread alone, 28:03 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 28:08 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2019-01-12