Summary of the preaching
Sunday, December 10th 2023 – Apostle Billey.
Luke 11.5-13
5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?
8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
It is the Lord Jesus who tells us these things so that we understand the need to pray, but also to persevere – to persevere in prayer. We must do everything we can to make God our priority.
We must persist in the life of prayer – for all our subjects of prayer: home, healing, conversion of souls, work, deliverance…
We must pray against the forces of error, confusion… against pride, against the love of the world…
We must renounce the world and pray for the sanctification of our houses, homes, families…
Persistence is important, even if it’s the same subject – the same need – on the same day.
Prayer must be part of our time, our habits, our breathing…
We don’t have to pray just once, one day, one week, one month or even one year and give up.
We need to be prayer machines. There are advantages to this – and nothing but advantages.
It is impossible to pray according to God and be defeated. But those who don’t pray can be defeated.
He who prays according to God can never be defeated, for he prays with the criteria that God himself has instituted. Then he can only win, for God is the God of victory.
We live in a world of battles, and every day, every week, every month, every year, the fighting gets more intense.
So the weapons the Christian must use must be of God, such as prayer.
A Christian who only prays for five, ten, twenty, thirty minutes is not enough. This level is for recent converts. But after a year, you have to move on to the next level.
Every Christian must be a man and woman of prayer.
Why pray?
Because praying shows the strength of the Christian. When we say that a Christian is victorious, it’s through prayer. Prayer cleanses the day – gives shape to the day by taking possession of it.
The Christian life is a life based on the Word of God and prayer.
You have to pray in advance for everything – to annihilate all manipulation in your life, your family, your health, your children specifically, your work, your finances, your church, your pastor, your friends, your nation… You have to ask for things in line with God’s will. Learn to ask for grace, God’s favor.
The Christian must dominate time, the seasons, the day, the night, everything. And prayer is proactive – it anticipates situations. In other words, prayer destabilizes in advance anything that might be done against us. It’s a very effective weapon.
When the enemy doesn’t want you to pray, he’ll bring his word, he’ll bring his situations, his thoughts to keep you from doing what you’re supposed to do.
This is the case of the prophet Elijah, who was tricked by Jezebel in 1 Kings 19.
The prophet Elijah prayed and fire came down from heaven and the altar was set ablaze. He gave the order and the devil’s prophets were slaughtered. After this great victory, Jezebel heard this and sent a message to Elijah.
1 Kings 19.2 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
And Elijah went down – that’s how he was fooled. he was oppressed inside, discouraged and began to see himself alone, to lament. So he became afraid of Jezebel and ran away.
Despite the victory he’d just had, he lost the mental war to the point of wanting to die. He won his first victory in special fashion, but lost his second.
Discouraged, Elijah wanted to die – he collapsed – an angel came to give him food to give him strength to continue his walk.
And when he reached the mountain of the Lord, Mount Horeb. He went into a cave and lay down, expecting God.
1Kings 19.11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Elijah heard the wind, the earthquake, the fire, and God was not there.
He waited for God, thinking that God would come through great things, through supernatural things.
And finally, he hears a little voice and he paid attention to that little voice inside him – and God was there.
Beloved, God is in the little things. When he says to you: I am with you – I have redeemed you ….
This voice, this word, is God – seize it.
God can come by fire, but he can also come without fire.
God showed his power by destroying all the prophets with fire and everyone saw it, but he can also manifest himself to just one person without being seen by everyone else.
This is the lesson the prophet Elijah understood.
In all circumstances we must learn to be with God and be faithful to what God has told us.
No matter what the devil makes us hear – no matter what Jezebel says, it’s God’s voice that counts -that’s important.
Beloved, this is the lesson you must understand.
God sent down fire from heaven when Elijah prayed – in the same way, in the face of this threat, this oppression, he still had to pray.
He still had to answer Jezebel’s servants boldly – telling them that the fire that came down from heaven – that same fire would come down to consume her too.
Christian prayer is effective – that’s why God wants us to be persistent.
Beloved, when we’ve had victory A, we must continue to pray for victory B, for victory C….
Victory A is different from victory B, and so on.
So Monday’s prayer is different from Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s…
Each day is different from the next, and we need to pray accordingly.
What God wants from you is different every day. And the day’s provisions are different too. You have to dominate every day, because we are dominators.
Today, we don’t pray because we have too many things on our minds. And prayer is not effective. It’s as if we want to control God – we’re not patient enough. The attitude of our hearts says it all.
We must allow God to be God in us.
** So how do you pray effectively?
In the passage below, it’s all in there
1 Corinthians 6.20
For you were bought at a price; Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Sometimes, when you want to pray – you don’t know how to start, or sometimes you start the prayer mechanically – without being able to put your heart into it.
What does this do?
It’s when God’s word is no longer on the surface of your heart. It’s because words are below and concerns are above. As a result, God’s power is not easily accessible.
When the word is far away, the person becomes heavy at the moment of prayer.
God’s word must always be on the surface. That’s when the strength comes.
When you remember the word, and bring it back above, victory will be possible. And everything God has said about this word will begin to manifest itself in your life. To the point where victories will happen.
This verse from 1 Corinthians 6:20 should be uppermost in every Christian’s heart during this study series on prayer.
Your thoughts and imaginations must be the word. The word is our connection with God.
1 John 2.5
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
He who keeps the word – he truly loves God.
God’s love is not carnal, emotional, in words.
You can’t fool God by saying, I love you. It’s not in human emotions – it’s in character.
God looks at what’s inside – that’s why a Christian’s strength comes from within.
And since God’s word is God’s expression, having his word in us makes us true children of God.
God is not involved in our words unless his word is in us.
Ps 119.11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
What can give me the strength not to sin?
It’s the word.
Consider this way of praying with the Word from now on and let’s apply this:
** Suppose you’ve just woken up and it’s time to pray.
First, remember – look at 1 Corinthians 6:20
Remember the example of the marker you’re going to buy at Office Depot. As soon as you buy it, you take it with you. The marker belongs to you.
It’s the same principle – we belong to Jesus. We’re with him.
So when you remember that you’re redeemed, you need to know that you’re with Jesus.
In a second, you have to bring that word back up. And from there, you can pray.
**Other cases of prayer: Now on the way home from work -Before going to sleep .
You still need to look at this word 1 Corinthians 6.20 – it’s your lift-off force.
If it goes below, and you do nothing by continuing other activities, you can become weak.
You’ll lose touch with God – that’s when you’ll start yawning when it’s time to pray. And if you do nothing, you’ll get heavier and heavier.
** To bless the meal:
Even then, your prayer must have a foundation.
You can be bewitched by food – so take every moment of prayer seriously.
You therefore bring this verse 1 Cor 6.20 above. You must remember the word and sanctify your meal.
Whether it’s praying for yourself or praying for your house, home, spouse, career, the work you do for the church, for your church…
We must stand on the foundation – the rock that is the word – that is our right. But you have to be on top of it – it will allow your prayer to flow.
This is how every Christian should pray.
What’s standing on a rock?
It means relying on the Word of God revealed in you and praying. This is how Christians should pray.
** The word is alive and visible with the eyes of the heart.
When you put this word on the surface. You stand on authority.
The stone rejected by the builders has become the head of the corner. Ps 118.22
It is this truth, this rock, this rock on which you must declare things.
On this rock, you can destabilize any power of darkness.
Remember or consider the example of a brother who wants to get married – what will he say?
Il va parler – et dire à la soeur, je veux t’épouser.
Man speaks, because God speaks, and when we speak in Jesus’ name – things speed up.
** If this brother doesn’t say anything – if he doesn’t speak – or if the sister doesn’t speak. Nothing’s going to happen.
But when he speaks, his word will leave his heart and enter the sister’s heart.
And so, the brother enters the sister – through her word.
But how often can the word of God act on a man’s word?
** After hearing/receiving this brother’s word, the sister will then feel: joyful/content – full of confidence, she will feel loved, considered, she will feel visited, she will feel strong….
She will begin to see herself as a bride through the eyes of her heart. She’s about to be delivered from the spirit of celibacy…
What gave him all that?
Is this the man’s body? No – it’s the word
So if a man’s word can do that – how many times can God’s word?
It is with the eyes of the heart that we see the things of God, and our eyes must not be blinded.
** If the brother goes home, will the effect of his word end up in the sister’s heart?
No – and in the same way we must keep God’s word in our hearts.
So what will this sister’s foundation be? Will she or must she lose this?
The foundation of his joy will be this word. Despite the fact that, physically, the marriage isn’t yet complete.
Beloved, we must run after the word.
When we’re sad, and we don’t pray – that means the enemy has stolen the word.
When God visits you through his word, you have to have your eyes on it, don’t lose that.
The word you received today must stay with you all week, and even grow within you. The Christian must always put God first in everything.
If you want to be victorious, you have to keep the word above your heart.
LET US PRAY →