Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM250018S
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00:01 The hour is urgent, as darkness is dispelled by the light of
00:07 God's Word, a new day begins. 00:10 Jesus, the light of the world is shining. 00:14 Prepare your hearts to proclaim the final cry. 00:17 This is 3ABN Summer Camp Meeting. 00:23 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Summer Camp Meeting Happy 00:27 Sabbath. 00:29 This is the program right after lunch, so we decided we needed 00:33 to do an interactive program. 00:36 This way we stay awake here, and hopefully you stay awake at 00:40 home as well. 00:42 This camp meeting is preparing to proclaim the final cry. 00:45 What an incredible camp meeting it has been, and we're doing 00:49 something special. 00:50 I don't think, at least in the last few years, we have done 00:53 this. 00:57 We're going to talk about what is prayer? 00:59 What does it look like? 01:01 How do you pray? 01:02 Is there a secret formula to success in prayer? 01:06 What do we do with unanswered prayers when it seems like we 01:11 pray and the answer doesn't come or the answer that we want 01:15 doesn't come? 01:16 What do we do as believers when that happens, and how do we 01:20 pray for others? 01:21 What is the power of intercessory prayer? 01:24 It's going to be interspersed with music, with times of 01:28 prayer. 01:33 some of our 3ABN family here will be praying over these 01:36 requests as well. 01:38 So we're looking forward to this time, and the panel here 01:41 just introduced to my right, my sister in Jesus, Risë Rafferty. 01:46 Happy Sabbath, sis. 01:47 Thank you very much. 01:48 Hold up the mic. 01:49 Did you want me to introduce myself? 01:51 Well, just say hi and whatever's on your heart. 01:53 I'm so happy to be here. 01:54 Yeah, and I'm excited about this topic of prayer. 01:57 Me too, and Pastor James Rafferty. 01:59 We wanted to do couples, so this is really special. 02:02 Yeah, it is good, and I'm glad to be here, but I'm glad Risë's 02:04 here, too. 02:05 Amen. 02:08 And sitting next to you, we have Angela Vandervalk and Ian 02:12 Vandervalk. 02:13 They both work in our production department, although 02:16 you've probably seen them maybe on some Today programs or Bible 02:19 Q &A programs, and we're so glad you guys are here. 02:22 We're so happy to be here with our 3ABN family. 02:24 We're happy to be here. 02:25 Happy Sabbath. 02:27 Yes, just happy to be here just to echo what my wife said, and 02:29 I'm happy just like Pastor James is to be with Risë. 02:32 I'm happy to be here with my wife, Angela. 02:34 Amen. 02:38 hosting together. 02:40 He's in the audience, and he'll be sharing with you from the 02:43 audience as well. 02:45 Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer as we begin, and then 02:47 Tim's going to lead us in a congregational song. 02:50 God, we just come before you, so grateful that you are our 02:55 Father. 03:01 and bringing before you the needs on our hearts, would you 03:06 draw near? 03:08 Would you come and change us? 03:09 In Jesus' name, Amen. 03:12 Brother Tim. 03:14 Some of my favorite songs are prayers, much like this song, 03:18 and I encourage you and invite you to sing along with me. 03:31 I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord. 03:40 No tender voice like thine can peace afford. 03:51 I need thee, oh, I need thee. 03:59 Every hour I need thee. 04:04 Oh, bless me now, my Savior. 04:10 I come to thee. 04:18 I need thee every hour. 04:24 Stay thou nearby. 04:29 Temptations lose their power when thou. 04:40 I need thee, oh, I need thee. 04:46 Every hour I need thee. 04:51 Oh, bless me now, my Savior. 04:58 I come to thee. 05:07 I need thee every hour. 05:11 In joy or pain, come quickly and abide, for life is vain. 05:28 I need thee, oh, I need thee. 05:35 Every hour I need thee. 05:40 Oh, bless me now, my Savior. 05:47 I come to thee. 05:56 I need thee every hour. 06:01 Teach me thy will. 06:06 And thy rich promises in me fulfill. 06:18 I need thee, oh, I need thee. 06:27 I need thee, bless me now, my Savior. 06:37 I come 06:45 to thee. 06:46 Thank you, Tim. 06:51 need. 06:52 So, Sis Reese, we're coming to you first. 06:55 Why do we pray? 06:56 What is the biblical underpinning for prayer? 06:59 You know, I grew up praying, so I never thought about that 07:01 question too much, but there's a word that James and I, we use 07:04 a lot in our home. 07:06 He historically used to travel quite a bit, and he'd be on a 07:10 different time zone, and I'd be home, and we wouldn't get a 07:13 chance to connect on a daily basis. 07:16 And when he would come home, we would both feel the need to 07:20 connect. 07:21 And even now that most of the time we're together, busy 07:24 lives, sometimes he'll say to me, Reese, can you put the 07:28 computer away so we can connect? 07:31 Or I'll say, hey, I feel a little disconnected. 07:33 Can we connect tonight? 07:34 It means can we spend some time talking together? 07:37 And I think it's amazing that the God of the universe, the 07:40 majesty of heaven, wants to connect with us. 07:44 And this is, at least for me, I put it first, because it's the 07:47 primary reason why we pray. 08:10 Whatever reason we may call upon him, Psalms 42.7 says, and 08:15 I like this, this is one of my favorite verses on prayer, when 08:18 there are no words, because when we think about connecting, 08:21 it's like let's talk, right? 08:22 Words are so powerful, and yet when there are no words, the 08:26 Bible says that deep calls unto deep, and we're connecting on a 08:31 level that maybe isn't audible, maybe there's no words to 08:33 describe it, but it's a deep connection. 08:36 And so we pray. 08:38 One of the ways we lose that connection most profoundly is 08:41 when we hurt each other. 08:42 Maybe it's unintentionally, or maybe when we're indifferent 08:45 with one another, we lose that connection, and that can happen 08:50 in our relationship with God, too, where we lose that 08:53 connect. 08:57 the shame, we don't naturally gravitate towards going towards 09:01 the people that we've hurt. 09:03 You think of a husband who's maybe cheated on on his wife, 09:05 right? 09:08 You think of an employee who maybe did something, made the 09:11 business lose a ton of money, and he doesn't want to meet the 09:13 boss in the hallway type of thing, right? 09:16 How can I avoid? 09:17 And we've inherited that from Adam and Eve. 09:19 They hid when they knew that they had done wrong to God, and 09:23 yet this is the very time that I found in 1 Kings 8 where 09:28 Solomon gives us reasons why to pray or when to pray, and he 09:32 says, when we sin against our neighbor, that's the word to 09:35 pray, when we are defeated before an enemy because we've 09:38 sinned, when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, 09:41 then we pray, when there is famine pestilence, and when the 09:45 enemy besieges us, when each one knows the plague of his own 09:49 heart. 09:51 Isn't that amazing that that is an invitation for us to pray 09:54 and to regain that connection? 09:56 When you are a stranger from God and when we come to 09:59 ourselves, these are all reasons that Solomon said for 10:02 us to pray, and I think that we might think it's presumptuous 10:05 to come to God when we have hurt him or feel estranged from 10:08 him, but again, this is the very time, and so we pray. 10:14 Philippians 4 says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything 10:19 with prayer and supplication, you guys haven't memorized, 10:23 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, 10:27 and what do we get in replace of our anxious anxiety? 10:32 Peace. 10:33 Do you know that we are electromagnetic beings, like 10:36 they can measure the frequency of human beings, I don't 10:39 understand it, but they found that the second highest level 10:43 of frequency that a human being can have, what state they're in 10:47 that causes that second highest frequency is peace, right? 10:52 Whereas anxiety is very low frequency. 10:55 God wants to make a literal transfer with us through 10:59 prayer. 11:02 that come up in my life, whether it's someone else that 11:05 I'm talking with, there's a reason for anxiety, whether 11:08 it's a loved one who's maybe drifting away or that we're 11:11 concerned for, or the things that maybe we even heard about 11:15 in our sermon hour today, right? 11:17 We can feel anxiety about that, and yet God is calling us to 11:21 make this incredible transfer through prayer, and literally 11:25 change the magnetic frequency that we're operating by, that 11:29 we can inhabit that place of peace. 11:32 David says, Hear me when I call, O God, you have relieved 11:35 me in my distress. 11:36 And I think that's a powerful reason to pray. 11:40 Oh, if everyone would only know by personal experience how much 11:44 of heaven's promised rest can be secured to the soul even 11:48 now. 11:49 And how do we get it? 11:50 Through prayer, right? 11:52 Why wouldn't we pray? 11:54 And so we pray. 11:55 Jesus gave us another very important reason to pray, and 11:59 he said, Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. 12:04 And it's amazing that prayer allows God to send 12:08 reinforcements of powerful angels and grace to come to 12:14 each one of us literally and do battle on our behalf and allow 12:17 us to be strengthened to become victors in areas that maybe we 12:21 are pathetically weak or that by ourselves, you know, we 12:24 would find ourselves just plummeting, and yet prayer is 12:28 the avenue through which God does deliver us. 12:32 And the last one I just wanted to bring up, there's so many 12:35 reasons why to pray, so this is not, you know, complete in any 12:39 sense of the word, but this is the last one I wanted to share 12:41 with you that was so powerful for me this week, and it's 12:46 found in 1 Timothy 2.1. 12:48 It says, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, 12:52 intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men 12:56 because our God desires all men to be saved and come to a 13:01 knowledge of the truth, right? 13:03 So when we pray, I'm included, I'm one of the all men, I 13:06 definitely pray for myself, I definitely pray for the loved 13:10 ones that I have that are close to me, but all men, God is 13:13 asking us to intercede on other people's behalf, confessing not 13:18 only my own filthy rags and asking for, you know, God's 13:23 robe of righteousness to cover me, but I've been very 13:26 impressed with the prayers in the Bible that are found, and 13:29 it's really cool, they're all found in chapter 9, Nehemiah 9, 13:33 Ezra 9, Daniel 9, Ezekiel 9, and in Romans 9, we're going to 13:41 find a theme, and that theme is we have sinned, We have fallen 13:48 away from God, it's because of our sin. 13:51 And especially in the light of the sermon that we just heard, 13:55 what if we were to pray over all of that as a we, not a 13:58 them, not a... 13:59 and what if we started praying that kind of prayer, like, oh, 14:03 please be with brother so-and -so, that he's fallen away, or 14:06 please be for my son because he's doing after the man of the 14:08 world, or whatever. 14:10 But it was that we have sinned, and the result of that is, I 14:14 think, and have a profound effect on our influence on 14:17 other people, but I also think that the Bible shows us that in 14:20 answer to that kind of praying, it will bring revival, and it 14:24 will bring transformation to the life. 14:28 So... 14:28 Amen. 14:30 Thank you so much for sharing that. 14:32 Let's take just one or two minutes, and then we're going 14:34 to go to the audience here. 14:35 Any thoughts from anybody on the panel regarding why do we 14:39 pray? 14:40 Well, what stood out to me or what came to my mind when you 14:43 were speaking is what is said in the book, Steps to Christ, 14:46 where it says, prayer is opening up the heart to God as 14:49 to a friend. 14:50 And I mean, that's really what prayer is about. 14:52 It's that communication. 14:54 You mentioned it right at the beginning, that line of 14:55 communication where God wants to talk with us. 14:59 He wants to have a conversation with us. 15:02 And sometimes we just think, why would God want to do that 15:04 with someone like me, you know? 15:06 And it's just a beautiful thing to know that the God who 15:09 created all things wants to talk to each and every one of 15:13 us. 15:15 Amen. 15:17 Want something, Pastor? 15:18 OK, Greg, let's go to you. 15:20 I see you three quarters of the way back over here and share 15:23 with us. 15:25 Yeah, Jill, it's a blessing to be here sitting in the audience 15:28 for the 3ABN family. 15:30 And this is just a lot of fun. 15:31 I have the Thomas family from South Carolina sitting next to 15:34 me, and then we have, of course, Carmelo. 15:36 You and your family come from Connecticut and Carmelo is 15:39 going to be praying for us here today. 15:42 But I want to say thank you so much for everyone's submission 15:44 of the prayer requests here. 15:46 You know, as we read these, there's just a lot of pain in 15:50 this world. 15:51 And it's wonderful to be able to take our requests to our 15:55 Heavenly Father. 15:56 And I just want to read some of these. 15:57 We had a huge response, so we're going to go through as 16:01 many as we can here today this afternoon. 16:04 This is from an anonymous wife. 16:06 Pray for my husband to be set from and delivered from the 16:11 lies of the enemy and from all the means the enemy uses 16:14 mentally and physically to cause pain and distraction, 16:18 asking God that he will heal him and make him a mighty 16:22 warrior for his kingdom. 16:24 Praise God for that. 16:26 This comes from Canada. 16:27 I will have brain surgery this coming Monday. 16:31 Serious. 16:31 From Tennessee. 16:33 Pray for all the requests on my prayer list, especially for my 16:37 brother, Earl, who is dying. 16:39 It's really sad for my daughter -in-law, Jessica. 16:43 This comes from Jennifer in Missouri for my daughter-in 16:46 -law, Jessica's pregnancy, my son, Benjamin's schooling, 16:49 working toward his bachelor's in science and nursing and also 16:53 my son, Elias comes from Jackie and Nick. 16:57 Pray for all our grandchildren. 16:59 We have eight of them and especially pray for one who is 17:03 struggling with the transgender issue. 17:07 Let's see, this one here is from Missouri that our house 17:10 sells to the right person and that we find the right house 17:13 for us. 17:16 Comes from Louisiana. 17:17 Please pray for my son, Jordan, that he will listen to the 17:21 sweet voice of the Holy Spirit and give up alcohol, smoking, 17:27 gaming and all those things which harm him physically and 17:30 spiritually. 17:35 for a change of heart. 17:38 This is anonymous family and children who have strayed away 17:41 from the Lord and another anonymous for my family to 17:46 return to God. 17:48 Carmelo, pray for these requests, but it also looks 17:50 like you have a scripture, my brother. 17:51 I do, so as you're reading all that, what comes to mind is 17:55 James, chapter one, this is very unknown, verses two 18:00 through six. 18:01 My brother, count in all joy when you fall into various 18:04 trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces 18:09 patience, but let patience have its perfect work that you may 18:13 be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 18:17 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all 18:22 liberally without reproach and it will be given to him. 18:26 But let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts 18:30 is like a wave of the seed driven and tossed by the wind. 18:35 Let us pray. 18:37 Heavenly father, we want to thank you, Lord, for your grace 18:40 and your mercy. 18:42 Lord, you know the past, present and future. 18:44 You know what we're all are going through and Lord, you 18:48 have that love for us, Lord, and I just pray that for all 18:51 the prayer requests that are out there, Lord, that you go 18:53 before everyone, Lord, and just heal those who needs healing 18:59 and even to the small prayer of, you know, just getting 19:03 through school. 19:05 So we thank you, Lord, that you are already going before us and 19:07 we pray this in Jesus' holy name. 19:09 Amen. 19:10 Thank you so much, Greg and Carmelo. 19:13 That's really powerful. 19:15 They all ministered to me those prayer requests, just thinking 19:17 of the burdens on people's hearts. 19:19 The one that really spoke to me was the one going in for brain 19:22 surgery coming up here on Monday and they're here at camp 19:26 meetings. 19:26 So we are praying for you. 19:28 Ian, let's go to you, brother. 19:30 How do we pray? 19:31 Is there some sort of secret formula to prayer? 19:35 You know, that is a wonderful question because just to kind 19:39 of give you a little insight into how I was raised, I was 19:42 raised in the Catholic church, went to Catholic schools, 19:45 private schools, you know, all the way up through high school. 19:48 And I can remember that often we had to say the Our Father is 19:53 what we called it. 19:54 And that's kind of all that I really knew was say the Our 19:57 Father and that is our petitions up to God to ask for 20:00 forgiveness of sins. 20:01 But there's so much, there's some principles that are found 20:04 in the Lord's prayer, which you can read. 20:06 I'm not going to read them, but you can read them in Matthew 20:09 chapter six and verses nine through 13. 20:12 And the reason why I suggest that is because one of Jesus' 20:15 own disciples said, Lord, how shall I pray? 20:18 How can I pray? 20:19 So there are principles found in that, but I'm going to give 20:21 you kind of my own version, what has been on my heart when 20:25 I was asked to be up here and share, you know, how do we 20:30 pray? 20:33 the other day or the other evening, is just simply come. 20:37 You know, in Matthew, Matthew 11 and verse 28 says, Come to 20:40 me, all you labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 20:44 rest. 20:45 That's the first and foremost, you know, principle. 20:48 There is no special formula to prayer, but God and Jesus, he 20:51 wants us to come to him, to sit at his feet, to learn of him, 20:56 because I believe that so often in this world we can get caught 20:58 up in all of the things that are going in our lives with 21:01 work and stresses and family, whatever have you. 21:05 And you know, one of the stories and biblical stories in 21:08 the Bible is about Mary and Martha, right? 21:10 And Martha is just so busy, busy, busy, busy, trying to 21:13 work while Jesus is right there, and you know, Jesus even 21:17 says, Martha, Martha, and that's the way that I hear him 21:21 in my head is, Martha, Martha, because I can hear him saying 21:24 that to me too, especially being in ministry when you're 21:28 trying to work, I can hear him all the time saying, Ian, Ian, 21:33 just come to me, sit at my feet, learn of me. 21:37 You know, especially as a Seventh-day Adventist, you 21:41 know, there's so much that we want to learn, there's so much 21:43 truth that we have in God's Word, and we want to learn it, 21:46 but all, and we need to, we need to understand our 21:49 doctrines, we need to understand why we believe what 21:51 we believe, but first and foremost, we have to come and 21:55 sit at the feet of Jesus. 21:56 And the second thing that came to my mind was faith. 22:01 Now, I'm going to turn my Bible there, but if you do have your 22:05 Bible, let's turn to Matthew chapter 11, and some of you can 22:09 probably quote this, but Matthew chapter 11 and verse 22:13 24, I believe it is, oh no, and I got it wrong. 22:24 Okay, well, I wrote down the wrong verse, so shame on me, 22:27 but we need to have faith when we pray, or when we pray, you 22:32 know, I just think about, it is impossible to please God 22:37 without faith, so as we speak to God and as we're giving our 22:41 petitions to Him, we need to believe as it says in God's 22:45 Word, we need to believe that He is, so when we pray to God, 22:49 are we really believing that He is the God who has created all 22:53 things, that when, in Genesis, when He speaks and He creates, 22:58 can He do the same in our life, when we're struggling with sin 23:02 or we're struggling in something in our own lives, do 23:05 we really believe that we can conquer that? 23:08 Do we really believe that those things that seem to be so 23:11 embedded, so rooted, because I can tell you, I spent 38 years 23:15 in the world. 23:17 That's a lot of time to cultivate some things that 23:20 should not be there. 23:22 And we need to believe by faith that He is God and that He is a 23:28 rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. 23:30 That He can help you conquer. 23:33 The same God in the Old Testament is the same God in 23:35 the New Testament. 23:36 The same miracles that you see in the old are the same 23:39 miracles that you see in the new. 23:40 And the same God throughout all of scripture is the same God 23:44 that we serve today. 23:46 So we need to believe by faith. 23:49 And the last thing, and I believe my wife is even going 23:51 to maybe touch on this if not in principle, but perseverance. 23:57 The Bible tells us that we need to pray without ceasing. 24:02 We need to constantly, even when we're struggling, even 24:05 when we're at work, even when we're driving, just be thinking 24:09 of Jesus. 24:10 Just be thinking of the goodness that He's done for us, 24:13 that He's done for you. 24:14 And just to consistently persist in that prayer. 24:18 You can read it in Romans chapter 12 verse 12, Luke 18 24:22 verse 1, Colossians 4 verse 2. 24:24 But in 1 Thessalonians, as I mentioned, 517, it says, pray 24:28 without ceasing. 24:29 So no matter where you're at in your life, no matter what is 24:32 going on, even if you feel distant from God, sometimes 24:35 that's when He is the closest. 24:37 Never stop speaking to our Savior. 24:40 Amen. 24:41 That's powerful. 24:42 Come. 24:43 Come to Jesus. 24:44 Faith. 24:48 And neither rest of you have anything you want to share or 24:50 add about how to pray. 24:55 I loved what, I don't know if this was the verse you were 24:57 looking for, but Matthew 17 has been really special for my wife 25:00 and I because it was about a man who had a son who was demon 25:04 possessed and the disciples tried to cast out the demon 25:06 while Jesus was up in the mountain with the three and 25:09 they couldn't. 25:12 And the disciples came to Him and said in verse 19 of Matthew 25:16 17, why couldn't we cast him out? 25:19 And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief, for 25:22 verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of 25:24 mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, be removed 25:26 hence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall 25:29 be impossible unto you. 25:30 How be it, verse 21, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and 25:34 fasting. 25:35 And that's what we're going to touch. 25:37 I'm going to touch on that a little bit with Daniel, but 25:38 fasting is another component of how we pray and we see 25:44 ourselves doing that and we see God working through that. 25:47 So it's powerful. 25:49 I love that. 25:49 Yeah. 25:53 and so I'll let God know I'm fasting now. 25:55 I'm really, I want you to know that my heart and my stomach 25:59 are really invested in this prayer time, but I just wanted 26:02 to share this is so simple, but in the morning I go for a 26:05 prayer walk and you asked if there was a form or anything 26:08 like that and there's a woman here that I only see once a 26:11 year at camp meeting. 26:12 We made friends here at camp meeting and it's when I saw her 26:14 and we sat, I was like, cut to the chase. 26:16 Tell me about what happened this year. 26:20 I want to know what's the joys, what are the trials, what are 26:22 you going through? 26:23 And so in 10 minutes we went really deep. 26:25 You know what I mean? 26:27 And I think, so when I pray, I always pray for myself first 26:29 and then I go to my husband and my kids and then my patients 26:32 and everything else that's going on, but I have that 26:34 because I feel like, no, you and me, God, we need to connect 26:37 on what's going on with me. 26:39 I just feel like that's what he wants to know just as much as I 26:43 wanted to connect deeply with her. 26:44 Amen. 26:45 I love that. 26:46 We're going to go to a time of prayer again. 26:48 So we're coming over to Greg here with some of the prayer 26:50 requests that you all have turned in during this camp 26:53 meeting. 26:57 well. 26:59 Yeah, amen. 27:00 So many requests here. 27:01 I was thinking I probably need to read a little bit faster 27:03 maybe because there's so many that we can get through more of 27:05 them. 27:08 I have brother Bryant here from Illinois, sister Goldeen Buxton 27:12 from Delaware. 27:13 And so she'll be praying for us here shortly. 27:15 But the prayer requests from Indiana. 27:18 I want you to keep me in prayer that I find a job that is 27:21 suitable for me and helps me to reconnect myself with God and 27:25 rediscover my faith, even if this doesn't reach out to this 27:28 wonderful church. 27:29 I know that God is always watching and listening. 27:32 This comes from Illinois. 27:34 Please pray for me to prioritize my study time and 27:38 read God's word. 27:39 Time management is what they're praying for. 27:42 Ebenezer, Illinois, requesting the Holy Spirit to strengthen 27:46 my faith in God. 27:49 This comes from Illinois. 27:51 Looks like they have a family member that's not attending 27:54 church anymore. 27:57 Another one from Illinois. 27:58 Someone I know was active in the church before she joined 28:01 the military. 28:03 Now she is a nurse but not attending church anymore. 28:06 So please pray for her. 28:07 Anonymous, please pray for healing of my scoliosis, 28:12 arthritis, and osteo. 28:14 Also my two friends with similar issues. 28:17 Definitely. 28:18 For my adult children and my brothers, that they will accept 28:21 Christ in their hearts and believe in him, that they will 28:25 walk in the ways of the Lord. 28:27 This comes from Patrick in Arkansas. 28:29 A few more here. 28:30 This is a prayer for cancer from Jerry from Michigan. 28:36 This one is anonymous. 28:38 Please pray for our three adult children who are not walking 28:41 with the Lord. 28:43 Prayer request for salvation and finances to complete their 28:47 housing situation and also their vehicle situation. 28:50 Comes from Tennessee. 28:52 And then Kim. 28:53 My prayer request is that the Lord will grant us all and our 28:56 families victory over sin and for the outpouring of the 29:00 latter rain to go forth and proclaim the loud cry message 29:03 in Jesus' name. 29:05 And then one more here from Patrick. 29:07 Please pray for healing, spiritual, physical, mental. 29:10 Also for my family, church, and school. 29:15 And Sister Goldeen, I know you're a prayer warrior. 29:17 You've come to Thriben for many years. 29:18 But please pray for us right now. 29:22 Almighty Father in heaven above, we do humble ourselves 29:26 at your footstool, Father, knowing of a truth that we are 29:29 nothing, thou at all. 29:31 Master, we must decrease. 29:34 Thou, Almighty Father, must increase. 29:36 Thou art blessed forevermore. 29:38 Father, we sin in thoughts, in words, and in deeds. 29:41 Please wash and cleanse us, Lord, from every sin, from 29:44 every unrighteousness. 29:45 Father, when we hurt, you hurt. 29:48 Lord, you said, cast your cares upon me because I care. 29:52 Oh, Father God, we come now. 29:54 You hear the many requests. 29:56 Oh, Father God, into your hands we are commending them. 29:59 The great I Am, the great healer, the great redeemer, 30:03 sustainer, and friend. 30:04 Blessed Master, nothing is impossible with you. 30:08 The cancer is nothing impossible with you, Lord. 30:10 And all of the other many requests, Lord, nothing is too 30:14 hard for you to do. 30:15 And so, Father, say, cast your cares. 30:17 We humble ourselves. 30:19 We ask you to forgive us, Lord, because you promised no good 30:22 thing you're going to withhold from us. 30:24 Lord, into your hands we commend them. 30:26 We're thanking you for the victory because, Father, 30:29 victory is in Jesus. 30:31 Lord, by his stripes we're healed. 30:33 And, Father, we claim healing for your people, Lord. 30:36 Bring back the fallen. 30:38 Lift up the ones that are downtrodden. 30:40 Father, in the name of Jesus, do your might work in your 30:45 people. 30:45 And we thank you. 30:46 We praise you. 30:47 We honor you. 30:48 We bless, glorify, and magnify your holy name for what you've 30:51 done for us, what you're doing as we speak, and what you will 30:55 do for Christ's sake. 30:57 Amen. 30:58 Amen. 30:59 Amen. 31:00 Thank you, Sister Goldine. 31:03 And the Harmony Sisters? 31:05 Yes. 31:06 So, yeah, this morning I was at the prayer group here. 31:10 And what a blessing. 31:11 I heard some young ladies singing in between some of the 31:14 prayers. 31:18 afternoon. 31:19 And they are the Heavenly Harmonies. 31:21 Is that right? 31:24 the shots that they need. 31:26 But, yeah, minister to us a song, please. 31:28 Praise the Lord. 31:30 Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer That calls me 31:46 from a world of care And bid me at my Father's throne, Make all 32:07 my wants and wishes known. 32:15 In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found 32:34 relief, and oft escaped the tempter snare, by thy return, 32:54 sweetheart of prayer. 33:02 Amen. 33:03 Amen. 33:04 Amen. 33:04 Thank you so much. 33:07 We're transitioning now, Pastor James. 33:10 What happens when I pray and I ask over and over again and it 33:15 feels like the answer is no or God's not hearing me? 33:18 What do we do with unanswered prayers? 33:21 Yes, such a good question. 33:23 You know, one of the reasons why I really love what Risë 33:27 shared in 1 Kings 8 because she was outlining there all of the 33:31 reasons why Solomon says we should pray are the very 33:35 reasons why we don't pray or they're the reasons why we 33:38 don't get answers to prayer and I think one of the reasons we 33:41 don't get answers to prayer is because we don't believe. 33:44 That was the verse we looked at in Matthew 17 because of our 33:46 unbelief and then of course adding to that the fasting. 33:52 So Risë and I have been praying every week. 33:54 We have a time of fasting and prayer for our kids 33:57 specifically and we've seen amazing answers to prayer but 34:02 it's just so interesting that we weren't doing this for so 34:05 long. 34:07 You know, we've just started doing it maybe a couple years 34:08 ago or so but why weren't we always doing this? 34:13 I think part of the reason we don't see answers to prayer is 34:16 because we actually don't pray and we don't pray earnestly and 34:19 we don't pray believingly. 34:21 This sister just prayed for us and I thought as she was 34:23 praying I was just thinking this sister prays on a 34:26 consistent basis because the way she's talking to God and 34:30 the way she's communicating tells me that she's expecting 34:32 and believing that God is going to work. 34:35 Now there are times of course when the answer is no or the 34:40 answer is wait a minute, let's just look at a couple Bible 34:42 verses. 34:43 Of course I want to start with James chapter 5 because you 34:46 know there it talks about Elijah and it says Elijah 34:49 prayed and it rained and Elijah prayed again or Elijah prayed 34:53 and it didn't rain and then Elijah prayed again and it 34:55 rained. 34:59 story it's in 1 Kings chapter 18 42 to 46 it says that Elijah 35:08 prayed for rain one time and the servant went and looked and 35:11 what happened? 35:13 No rain. 35:16 and? 35:17 Then he prayed a third time and the servant went and looked 35:19 and? 35:20 Nothing. 35:21 Fourth time, fifth time, sixth time, seven times he prayed. 35:25 That was Elijah that was the man that was translated without 35:27 seeing death. 35:29 Time and time and time again and I think that God will take 35:32 a man like Elijah and put him in a prayer situation like that 35:35 and record it for us. 35:38 So Jesus says in Luke chapter 18 do not be weary in praying. 35:43 He gives the parable there of the unjust judge. 35:48 He says men should always pray and not faint. 35:53 So one of the things we need to do in other words prayer isn't 35:56 just for the thing we're asking for, prayer is for us. 36:00 It's for us. 36:01 And God is encouraging us to have a greater sense of trust 36:06 and confidence in him through this process of prayer. 36:10 Now we see this with Daniel. 36:11 Daniel is probably the best example that we can have and 36:14 we'll just we're going to land in Daniel chapter 10 because 36:17 there's so much here for us to understand. 36:20 But you know Daniel is praying and fasting for how long? 36:22 One week, two weeks, three weeks. 36:26 Okay so okay my wife and I are fasting and praying and we're 36:29 just yeah God you told us we fast and pray you're going to 36:32 get an answer. 36:35 One week, two weeks, three weeks goes by and there's no 36:37 answer and he's pretty urgent about it. 36:39 And when the angel which happens to be Gabriel shows up 36:43 Gabriel tells him why his prayer wasn't answered. 36:47 Now what's interesting is this. 36:49 Gabriel doesn't tell him that his prayer wasn't heard. 36:52 In fact Gabriel says something a little bit different. 36:54 He says here in the context of this let's see where we are 36:57 we're in verse 13 12. 37:01 And he said unto me fear not Daniel Daniel 10 verse 12 for 37:05 from the first day that thou did set thine heart to 37:08 understand and to and to chase in thyself before thy God thy 37:15 words were heard. 37:17 When were they heard? 37:18 When you first prayed them they were heard. 37:20 And we know this because in Daniel chapter 9 he prays and 37:22 before he's done praying the angel's there. 37:25 Before Daniel was done praying in chapter 10 the angel was 37:27 sent. 37:28 That's we see that in the context. 37:30 What happened to that angel? 37:31 Well and it says here verse 13 but the prince of the kingdom 37:38 of Persia with stood me one and twenty days. 37:42 Who's the prince of the kingdom of Persia? 37:44 The kingdom of Persia is an earthly kingdom. 37:47 Who's the prince of this world? 37:49 Satan is. 37:50 Satan's with standing. 37:52 He is hindering the answer to Daniel's prayer because 37:55 Daniel's prayer is about the fulfillment of the prophecy 37:59 that's given in Daniel chapter 9 and 10. 38:02 Right? 38:04 And that prophecy concerns the Messiah. 38:06 And of course the date has to start for Messiah to for the 38:10 countdown to Messiah has to be from the going forth of the 38:13 command to rebuild and destroy Jerusalem and of course that's 38:15 going to come from the meat of Persians. 38:16 And so Gabriel's coming down to influence the meat of Persian 38:20 prince to put forth the decree and Satan is influencing him 38:23 not to. 38:24 You get the picture there? 38:25 Right? 38:26 And what happens is Michael comes to help him. 38:29 Michael comes to help Gabriel to persuade the prince of 38:33 Persia to put forth the decree that's going to help Daniel to 38:37 understand the countdown to Messiah. 38:39 Michael is Christ. 38:41 We know that Christ is not created. 38:43 He's God, the son. 38:44 And Michael comes to help put into effect a decree that's 38:48 going to lead him to the cross. 38:52 It's so powerful isn't it? 38:54 And when we think about this we recognize that that is the 38:58 answer to humanity's need. 39:00 The cross. 39:01 And that prayer that Daniel is praying is directly connected 39:06 with the countdown to the cross. 39:08 And Satan is doing everything he can to stop that from 39:10 happening. 39:13 he can to stop that cross being manifested in our lives and in 39:18 our hearts. 39:21 away. 39:24 We've got someone that's fighting against God's purposes 39:26 for our lives. 39:28 And so that should make us more earnest and more persistent in 39:32 our prayers. 39:33 Amen. 39:34 There's a deeper battle going on. 39:35 The battle between good and evil. 39:36 Christ and Satan absolutely. 39:38 And we'll get into intercessory prayer in just a little bit. 39:41 And the power of praying for others in the midst of their 39:44 battle. 39:49 Yeah absolutely. 39:50 I'm here with my brother Wynn. 39:52 And you're from Louisiana. 39:53 Of course been here a number of times. 39:56 But I'm going to read a few prayer requests here and then 39:58 we'll go to time of prayer. 39:58 And we have a scripture as well. 40:01 This is from Sandy from Georgia. 40:03 Please pray for holiness in our hearts, minds, and homes. 40:07 Full deliverance from evil. 40:09 Please pray for God to be our personal savior and special 40:12 friend. 40:14 From Kentucky, prayers for our daughters and son-in-laws to 40:18 come to the Sabbath message. 40:20 Please pray for my grandson Erwin and his depression that 40:24 the Holy Spirit will touch him and give him peace, joy, and 40:28 happiness with God's grace. 40:30 I pray that he will surrender himself completely to God. 40:32 That comes from Elma in Illinois. 40:35 Please pray for my mom. 40:37 She is stressed a lot. 40:39 Also for Wendell. 40:41 He's now an adult but he's not walking with God. 40:46 Please pray for a young man from West Virginia who lost his 40:50 leg in a motorcycle accident. 40:52 From Wisconsin, please pray for my grandson Jalen. 40:58 He received a severe beating from the gang he is afflicted 41:02 with or involved with. 41:05 He's in pain but no head trauma. 41:08 I talked with him and he asked if I would pray for a change 41:11 that he wants to make and needs to make in his life. 41:15 He wants to be happy and he's only 16 years old. 41:21 George. 41:23 Praying for the continual outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 41:26 he wants to be receptive and recognize God's voice in his 41:30 life. 41:32 And this is from Zambia. 41:35 Pray for me to be healed of all sickness to be 100% a child of 41:39 Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit and James 1.5 wisdom. 41:44 I want to lead others to Jesus to be ready for his soon 41:48 return. 41:49 Please pray also for my baby brother. 41:52 So this is from Zambia. 41:53 Brother, win a scripture or maybe a prayer. 41:56 Yes, I'm just going to share a scripture as we go into prayer. 41:59 In Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 it's my strength. 42:02 I mean it starts off with I am crucified with Christ. 42:06 We're going through that, but the difference is we're with 42:10 Christ. 42:11 Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. 42:18 And if we can remember these promises, let's go to prayer. 42:21 Heavenly Father, we just ask for your Holy Spirit to be 42:25 poured out on us here today. 42:28 We ask for all those who are in need to look to that great 42:31 healer, Jesus Christ, who is there just holding his hand 42:35 out. 42:35 All we have to do is reach out. 42:38 And he will take it from there. 42:40 Give everything to him. 42:42 Father, we ask for these petitions to be lifted up to 42:45 your ears so that you can do your mighty work in each of us. 42:52 And we can just look to the throne, look to you for 42:55 everything in our lives. 42:57 So Father, we pray these promises that you give us in 43:00 that mighty and in that loving and in that merciful name of 43:05 Jesus Christ. 43:07 Amen. 43:09 We're going to transition to Sis Angela here. 43:12 You're talking about intercessory prayers. 43:15 Why do we pray for other people? 43:18 Does it make a difference in other people's lives when we 43:21 pray for them? 43:23 Well, Jill, it reminds me of Acts 12.5 how Peter was in jail 43:28 and the church prayed for him. 43:31 Constant prayer was offered to God for him. 43:35 And I think of Peter, he's bound between two chains and 43:40 two soldiers on each side. 43:43 And there's a guard so he couldn't escape. 43:45 Even if he got out, there's a guard at the end. 43:48 And God sends an angel to save him. 43:52 And he is freed. 43:54 And that reminds me in my own life how I constantly prayed 43:59 for my husband. 44:00 And how it changed. 44:02 You know, we had a hard marriage but over time, I 44:07 prayed for God to help him. 44:11 And, you know, little by little I saw my husband put down the 44:15 alcohol, put down the drinking, put down not spending time with 44:20 our family. 44:21 It was that continually prayer. 44:25 You know, you might hear, oh, 11 years, but imagine 11 years 44:29 of praying. 44:30 And it was continual prayer that allowed God in his time in 44:35 to heal our marriage and to have my husband come up here. 44:39 Ian and I are nothing special. 44:40 We just come up here to show what God can do in anyone's 44:45 life if you just continually seek him. 44:49 And also I prayed for my daughter to find a godly 44:52 husband. 44:53 And I prayed for her. 44:55 And now she's married. 44:56 And I just see how God can work in anyone's life. 45:00 And I know there's parents that have heavy hearts of their 45:04 children leaving. 45:05 And they want them to be with a godly spouse, somebody that can 45:08 bring them closer. 45:09 And I'm here to say that continue to pray for your 45:15 children. 45:18 Because God loves them just as much as you love them. 45:21 And he will hear your prayers through you. 45:27 That's powerful. 45:29 Anything anyone else wants to share about intercessory 45:32 prayer, the power of prayer in other people's lives. 45:36 I definitely do because what you just heard is a very 45:40 condensed, very short story of my wife's constant prayers for 45:46 me. 45:48 And I almost in a way look at it where I may not be here 45:53 right now if it wasn't for my wife. 45:57 Had she just given up and said you know what I prayed long 46:00 enough. 46:01 Maybe just that one day she said I'm done praying for him. 46:07 I just think about that she could have given up on us. 46:13 But she never did. 46:14 She continued to listen to what God was putting on her heart. 46:18 And despite the pain, despite the difficulty, and I could 46:20 tell you it was very difficult. 46:23 I'm just grateful that she never did throw up her hands 46:28 and just say I'm done. 46:30 That she continued to pray. 46:31 So if there's, if you have a marriage that's hurting, or 46:34 maybe there's someone who's watching right now where your 46:37 spouse has walked away or you're having difficulties, 46:41 believe, not in us, believe in God. 46:44 Because God can change everything in your marriage. 46:49 He can change everything in your life. 46:51 And he can he can almost work, not almost, he can work a 46:57 miracle if you just stay in that constant prayer. 47:01 Amen. 47:02 Any other thoughts? 47:04 Ezra chapter 9 also, Risë brought this up but we didn't 47:06 get a chance to look at it. 47:08 But Ezra 9, Ezra has this spirit of incessary prayer. 47:12 And he comes on a scene where all of his people who have been 47:15 brought out of captivity are going right back to the same 47:17 sins they were committing before. 47:19 And you know, he could stand in there and just let him have it. 47:22 But what he does is, he afflicts himself. 47:24 He actually pulls out the hair of his beard and the hair of 47:27 his head. 47:30 that. 47:30 But it's very painful, right? 47:32 And he afflicts himself. 47:34 He falls down before the Lord and he says, we have sinned. 47:37 It's a corporate attitude that he has. 47:38 He includes himself with the others. 47:40 The same attitude that Christ had when he was baptized. 47:42 He didn't get baptized for himself and his sins. 47:44 He didn't sin. 47:47 He got baptized for the sins of the world. 47:50 Ezra has that same attitude and it works. 47:53 Because when Ezra gets done praying, the people are 47:56 weeping. 47:57 And they're repenting. 47:58 And they are following through. 48:00 So we can step into the gap. 48:03 And what that means is, stepping past the finger 48:06 pointing accusatory type of attitude. 48:09 And stepping into the corporate attitude of, you know, we're 48:12 going to take this responsibility upon ourselves. 48:14 And our leaders aren't repenting. 48:16 We're going to repent in their behalf. 48:18 We're going to step in there. 48:18 We're going to ask God to forgive them. 48:20 To forgive us. 48:22 Because we have sinned and we have turned away. 48:24 And that kind of prayer we're told in the spirit of prophecy 48:27 is going to bring revival to our church. 48:30 Amen. 48:31 I just want to also remind us that we have a high priest who 48:35 ever lives to make intercession for us. 48:39 His passion is to intercede on our behalf. 48:42 My blood, my blood, he says to the Father. 48:46 And what a privilege to follow him in that practice. 48:51 That's powerful. 48:52 Greg, let's go over to some more prayer requests in time of 48:55 prayer. 48:56 Absolutely. 49:00 Jonathan and Kathy from Tennessee. 49:03 And the other night I was talking to Jonathan and I was 49:06 saying, well, you know, you've been here two or three times. 49:08 You're not a first timer. 49:09 I said, you're a repeater. 49:11 And then he said, no. 49:11 He said, we're alumni of 3ABN. 49:14 I love that. 49:15 That was great. 49:16 But wonderful, some wonderful prayer requests that have come 49:19 in here. 49:22 And there's just so many. 49:24 This comes from Kenya. 49:25 Prayer for someone I know to fully surrender to Jesus for 49:29 help to stop telling lies and to be filled with the Holy 49:32 Spirit 100 percent and to raise their children to know and love 49:38 Jesus. 49:39 This comes from Indiana. 49:41 Please pray for peace in my family that they will accept 49:44 the Sabbath truth. 49:45 They are very faithful Christians, but not accepting 49:48 the Sabbath yet. 49:49 So praying for that. 49:51 From Florida, Ron had a brain bleed. 49:54 Wow. 49:55 Then a stroke. 49:56 Please pray for his healing and may the Lord be with he and his 50:00 wife. 50:01 Let's go to some more here. 50:04 From Canada, please pray for directions on what I should do 50:08 for God. 50:09 My children who have left the church, my sister and her 50:13 ministry, and for healing from God. 50:16 Also there's someone she knows with some marriage issues and 50:20 just they need strength through some very difficult times. 50:23 Another one here, Ashley from Florida. 50:26 Prayer for family solutions, healing from disease, guidance 50:29 in relationships, deeper love and deeper love and faith in 50:33 God. 50:34 Jeff from Indiana. 50:35 Pray for me to be connected to Jesus and filled with the Holy 50:38 Spirit 100 percent. 50:41 And this is from doesn't say from where, but please pray for 50:46 Gianna that she will come out of darkness and into the Lord's 50:49 marvelous light. 50:51 Another one says please pray for my son and his family for 50:54 wisdom and guidance in their business. 50:57 From Sonya, Kentucky. 50:58 Prayer for friends in North Carolina who deal with 51:01 addiction and for Aziza who is also sick. 51:04 Also please pray for someone who's struggling with some 51:08 mental health. 51:10 This is anonymous. 51:11 Please pray for my son who's been struggling with 51:14 pornography. 51:16 But Cathy, I see you have a scripture here. 51:18 I see your Bible open and then please pray for us. 51:21 I'd love to end my prayer times with this verse. 51:25 I love that I'm the last one. 51:28 This is Jeremiah 32-17. 51:31 Ah, Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth 51:35 by your great power and outstretched arm. 51:37 There is nothing too hard for you. 51:42 Dear Heavenly Father, it is our privilege to come to you in 51:45 prayer and we thank you that you're waiting to hear our 51:49 prayers and our concerns. 51:51 Lord, we praise you that you are so loving towards us. 51:54 Complete love. 51:56 We praise you that you have all knowledge of these situations 52:00 and of each one of us. 52:02 We praise you that you have complete power. 52:05 Lord, I pray that you would strengthen our faith to believe 52:08 in your power. 52:10 And now, Lord, because we are asking it of you, would you 52:13 send your Holy Spirit and the heavenly angels to come into 52:19 some situations where you've been denied before and work in 52:23 these lives, Lord. 52:24 You know each situation. 52:26 I also pray for comfort for those that are coming to you in 52:30 prayer that you would give them peace knowing that you are 52:35 working, working, working for us. 52:38 So, Lord, we just praise you and thank you that you're 52:41 holding us completely. 52:43 I pray that we will persist in prayer until you come again and 52:48 take us home. 52:49 In Jesus' name we ask. 52:50 Amen. 52:51 Amen. 52:52 Thank you so much. 52:57 time of opening up the word, hearing those requests. 53:00 Tim, is there a chorus you could lead us in something? 53:03 I just want to sing that same I Need Thee Every Hour. 53:06 Perfect. 53:07 I need the every hour most gracious Lord, most gracious 53:16 Lord. 53:17 No tender voice, no tender voice like thine can peace 53:24 afford. 53:25 Can peace afford. 53:32 need thee, oh, I need thee every hour I need thee. 53:44 Oh, bless me now, my Savior. 53:49 I come to thee. 53:56 Right now, someone whose spouse is struggling, what would you 54:01 tell the spouse who's praying for their spouse who's 54:05 struggling? 54:06 Continue to be in God's Word. 54:09 Continue to pray for them daily. 54:12 And continue to ask God to reveal to you what you can do 54:17 to help be a better person, a better wife, or maybe a better 54:22 husband. 54:23 Amen. 54:26 for the answer for their prayer right now? 54:29 God knows the right time. 54:31 He knows the right place. 54:32 He knows the right circumstance. 54:35 Sometimes we pray for things, and it's just not God's time 54:38 yet. 54:42 decisions. 54:43 There are people who are on the fence. 54:46 There are people who are going to impact your prayers in a 54:48 very powerful way. 54:49 And so he's not necessarily always waiting for you. 54:52 Sometimes he's waiting for other people or other 54:54 circumstances. 54:55 Like in Daniel 10, God had to work on the King of the Heart 55:00 before he could answer the prayer of Daniel. 55:03 So sometimes it's something else that's going on. 55:06 Amen. 55:09 connect with God? 55:11 Every prayer is heard. 55:13 It doesn't matter who you are, who you think you are, how high 55:17 or how low, you are precious to God. 55:20 And he hears every single prayer, and he is longing to 55:24 connect with you. 55:26 Amen. 55:28 don't think I'm doing it right. 55:29 I'm not sure I'm praying the right way. 55:33 You know, the only thing that I could really say, and what's 55:35 really been on my heart this entire hour, was there are 55:40 three words that you can say that are the most powerful 55:44 words that you could ever pray. 55:45 And that is, Lord, save me. 55:49 Tim, you want to lead us in that chorus again? 55:53 I need Thee, oh, I need Thee Every hour I need Thee Oh, 56:07 bless me now, my Savior I come to Thee God, we come before you 56:18 just now as your children. 56:20 So very grateful that you are our Father. 56:25 That you see the needs in our lives. 56:28 You watch the brokenness. 56:30 And you want to bring healing. 56:33 You want to mend those broken places. 56:36 You want to pour in the transforming grace and power of 56:40 your Holy Spirit. 56:41 You want to hear. 56:44 You want to answer. 56:45 And you want to connect with us as your children. 56:50 We thank you for what you have done. 56:52 And what you are going to do. 56:55 And we ask all this in the precious and holy name of 56:59 Jesus. 57:00 Amen. 57:02 We thank you at home for joining us. 57:05 You are part of the 3ABN family. 57:08 And thank you all for being here at Camp participating. 57:10 For sharing in our time of prayer and praise. 57:14 Praying with us. 57:14 Submitting those prayer requests. 57:16 Know that at home we love you and we pray for you. 57:19 You can contact our pastoral department anytime when we 57:22 would love to pray for you and with you. 57:25 And don't go anywhere. 57:27 We're coming up next hour with a special sermon from Pastor Kenny. |
Revised 2025-06-09