HOW TO LABOUR IN PRAYER IN MINISTRY || APOSTLE FEMI LAZARUS || IMC 2024

Thank you, Lord. Amen. Lift your hands where you stand and give God praise. Make sure you're intentional. Be intentional. Give him praise from the depth of your heart. Thank him for the privilege he's given to you to be a part of what he's doing. It's a privilege. You could not have earned it. Thank him, thank him. Bless his holy name, bless his holy name. You have— come on, don't wait, don't wait for me, don't wait for me. Go ahead and thank him, go ahead and thank him. Go ahead and thank him and give him praise and honor him. Give him the honor that is due to his name and the praise that is due to his name. We thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Now ask that your eyes of standing will be enlightened in the course of this conference. It will open your eyes to see, not just hear. You will see. Come on, pray it. Pray it that you will see correctly the way you should in this conference. You will see. Come on, pray. Pray that it will help you to see. Thank you, Lord. Yes, that your eyes of understanding will be flooded with light, light, light, light, light, light. Oh, thank you, Lord, in Jesus' Mighty name we're praying. Shout that amen loud enough. Can we scream it? Thank you, Jesus. All right, you want to do that better and louder? Now welcome someone to your right and to your left and say, welcome to IMC 2024. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Turn your Bibles quickly to the book of 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter number 2. We start the reading from verse 4. 2 Peter chapter number 2. We start the reading from verse 4. Says, for if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them into hell and delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the 8th person, a preacher of what? Righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. Verse 7: And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling amongst them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with the unlawful deed. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be what?

Punished.

Now that's a very direct scripture, likened our days to the days of two individuals. The first, the days of Noah, all right, the second, the days of Lot. Are you there? Good. And those two days, scripturally, all right, they, they received judgment for their sinful deeds. They were judged. Now, one of the words that the Bible used to describe these days. And by these days, I mean the end time. All right, is a very strong word, and I want to call our attention to them, to that word. Turn your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy, chapter number 4. 2 Timothy chapter number 4. Let's build.

Amen.

Now let's start the reading from verse, um, let's start from verse 3. 2 Timothy 4 from verse 3 says, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But after their own lust shall they eat for themselves teachers, having itching ears. Now pay attention, all right? Said that time will come. What is that time? These days, gonna read further, all right? That people will not have endurance, all right, to do what? To cope with sound doctrines. So they are going to develop what? Itchin ears. So what does that mean? They will have the kind of ears that they want to put everything inside. That's what it means. Whether it is demonic, whether it is ungodly philosophies, whether it is godly philosophies, As long as it is content, I want to believe that specifically the Bible is talking about the generation of content. All right, you can engage and interact with content meaningfully, and you can interact with content because you are not busy. And it is not every content, all right, that is for God's children. And they will develop itching ears, um, and I think that is happening more now, that there is a way a set of people will hail what you have taught. You will have to go and check if you taught right or they understand it wrongly. You can teach the right things and they interpret it in a manner that suits their lust. So they go back to the eras of 1 Corinthians 3, while some said I'm for Paul and some said I'm for Apollos. All right, so this one said, yeah, that man there, that's my man. That one said, that's my man. And if care is not taken, the demarcation is made based on what you endorse. And if you're a minister in these last days who is doing ministry for recognition, you will miss it. If you are doing ministry because the day will come that you will be known, because the day will come that you will trend, because the day will come that you'll be— you will be universally accepted, you will miss God. What that means is that you will have to engineer things in the flesh. Now let me call your attention to something. It is not publicity that makes a meeting It is the timing of the meeting in the activity of God.

You—

this one I just said, listen to it, all right? Let's say for instance we have International Ministers Conference. Let's make it a city-wide thing. It doesn't work like that. God can put a mark of 'hear ye him' on a man of God, but he has not called a generation to his meeting yet till the ground is trained to produce some kind of sons. Because if you are a newbie, you want to think that it is everything that deserves publicity yet. When you gather the wrong crowd, it will hinder the right message.

Are you here? Uh-huh.

God will train you and train your voice, then he opens the door. Now pay attention. If you want money, attention, mention publicity, fame, and all that, the devil can give it. He can give you— the devil can promote a man. But the Bible says that the promotion of fools is shame. And the reason why this understanding is important is so that ministers can get the priority right. You can miss your entire message because you want to know what people are hearing now. Your message is not a strategy, it is engraved in your calling. Have I gathered the wrong crowd? All right, what did I say? Your message is not a strategy. It is engraved in your calling. It is the nature of your calling that determines your kind of message or your kind of emphasis. Very important. Praise God. So those days will come that people will not be able to endure sound teachings, but after their own lot they will get for themselves teachers. So what that means, if I'm going to do a bit of training, what that means is that that you pastor a church and you have people listening to you every Sunday doesn't mean you have members. What did I say? That they come and listen to you every Sunday, I'm telling you, doesn't mean you have members. Because they may be getting for themselves a teacher for the season.

Membership—

people are trained for it. People are taught how to listen. They are taught that the word of God is not a one-time thing, is not a snippet thing. It's a building material. Are you there? The word of God is for what? Building. They are taught. They are taught. Now, one of the most strategic place that the devil nips minister of the gospel in the bud is the place of anxiety. The place of anxiety. Now you read John chapter number 21. John chapter number 21 from verse 1. John 21 from verse 1. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to disciples at the Sea of Tiberias on this wise. Shewed himself. There were together Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael of Canaan of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and other of his— two other of his disciples. Simon Peter said unto them, I go a fishing. So it is possible that there are ministers who are ministers, but their fishing net is still around. In case ministry doesn't produce, in case it doesn't yield, in case it doesn't work, in case it doesn't— I'm not known on time, in case I didn't blow on time. So they hang around, hold the mic with one hand and their fishing net with the other hand. And what happens is that until your eyes be single, your body can't be full of light. There are dimensions of grace you can't access if you are double-minded. I'm telling you, you will not even be able to endure hardness. You won't be able to stand for God. You, you, you, you want to prove point, you want to make sense, you want to prove people who didn't believe in you wrong. You are waiting for the time that you can say, look at us now. That's not ministry. That's not ministry. And because of this, many ministers have entered into snares, and they are not strong to navigate these difficult days because they didn't prepare for days like this. And you can be around in the days of war and you are busy with spoils of war, but not the war itself. Are you there? There is a foundation that a minister must have, and the foundation is a rugged foundation of 'Though he slay me, yet will I praise him.' That's the foundation. You are not giving God time. 'What I'm doing must work between now and the next 5 years. If not, I know what to do.' That's not ministry.

That's business.

That's not ministry. That's what? Business. And until we get to the point where we don't see material things as the proof of alignment— because there are those who are obviously wolves among sheep who also have material things. When you pursue fulfillment of ministry you are not pursuing the cars, the house, and the auditorium. We have entered the season that those things can't answer the questions being asked. So it must be that God has either prepared you for these days or he's preparing you for these days. It can't be anything apart from the boat. Are you there? Are you sure? Are you there?

Praise God.

All right, so Peter said, hey, I go out fishing. The rest say, hey, we follow you. And they went back to fish. Verse 4: But when the morning was now come, You see that when they went back to fishing, they also toiled through the night and caught nothing. If you are not stable, you won't catch. I'm telling you, you won't catch. I'm telling you, they toiled through the night. They, they did what? They didn't catch. Because the grace of God is not there. God won't endorse what is wrong.

They didn't catch—

they didn't catch anything. One of the questions you must ask yourself as a minister is that, has God approved of the things I'm doing? Did he call for the meetings? Did he call for the strategy? Did he call for the method? Throughout the night, they caught nothing. All right, look at it, verse 4. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Because the more you wander away, the more blurry your vision becomes. To stay sharp, stay in your calling. Stay in your calling. That's the place of precision. See, let me tell you something. If you don't stay in your calling, you'll be wondering how others are getting their summons. You won't see Jesus now. You'll be thinking, ah, how are they getting their summons? Then before you know it You'll have to go and hear one to know what to preach. And when you lose the message, you've lost the ministry. You must know with precision what your message is. You must know with precision what he wants you to emphasize on in different seasons. Many ministers don't know. We duplicate what seems to be working. All right, we duplicate what seems to be working, and I don't want to give examples. Praise God. So when the morning was come, they did not know Jesus was standing. He stood on the shore. You notice that Jesus didn't come to meet them. He could walk on water and say, do this. No, he stood there, right there, then said unto them, children, have you any meat? They answer him, no. What was he saying? You trace instability to children. The head of the house, as long as he's a child, differeth him nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is made subject to tutors and teachers. If God has called you, stay in the calling. Now there are people who have lost their way because of instability. They're everywhere. I understand that there are times God allow us as ministers to wear coat of many colors. He allows you to do this and do that and do that. But to sit down— let me leave it for now. The first thing God wants to give you in ministry is not finance, it is faith. First thing is not finance, is faith. Are you there? Man does not live by bread alone. We've been teaching that for a while, because if you fail to learn the ways of God, you will borrow to do your assignment, because you will have no choice than to employ human strategy. Unfortunately, many ministers are at a point where they always exhaust human strategy. Before they ask God for the way out. That's their default setting. They, they, they, they, they are principalities in the flesh. They are only in the spirit when they want to preach. Do you spend time with God to tell you what to do? Do you still pray prayers of inquiry? But one of the things we must do in this conference is to pray. Are you there? To do what? Pray, to inquire. Am I doing what I should be doing? Am I doing the right things? Is this your plan for me? What will you have me do? So Jesus said to them, children— tell the person beside you, don't be a child. Hey, come on, say it again. Tell the person, don't be a child.

Have you any meat?

They answered him, what? No. You see, if you abandon God's plan for your life because you want meat, even in 10 years when they ask you, have you any meat, The answer is still no. Once you know it, stay with it. That's it. Once you know it, do what? Stay with it. I, I can count people who pursued meat, and even the meat they don't get. But when you seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, all other things will be added. You, you must get to the point where you are ready to fail in his will than to succeed in yours. Any minister who is insecure, who has low self-esteem, you will leave your calling to proof point. All right, you will leave your calling to a proof point. You will, you will, you will. You can't see— let me tell you something, you can't be in the will of God by luck. That you have been living your life the way you want it, but the day it will matter, by luck you make the right decision— it doesn't work. It is what you prepare yourself for that you exhibit. If you don't train yourself with prayer, you will not even pray to save your life. If you don't train yourself to be spiritual, to study the word and know what God wants for you, you will have no message. You will have human strategy, you will have methods, you, you'll be gallivanting everywhere, but it will be clear that while what you are doing is loud, God is not in the noise. It can be loud. No, you can succeed in reaching the ears of your generation, but it may still not be God. It is different when it is God behind it. It is different. My prayer for you is that you won't lose your message. Maybe you are not here to say the amen.

I say again, my prayer for you is that you won't lose your message. You won't throw away your calling to make sense to men.

Are you there? All right. And he said unto them, cast your net on the right side of the ship and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for multitude. What does that mean? What does that mean? It means that if you can hear him, you will have But if you can't hear him, you'll be stranded. It is what he says, not your strategy. You can learn ministry wrongly. You can learn ministry in places that prayer is not the method. Maybe somebody wants to start ministry now in these days and time, and the fellow is waiting for some, some millions of naira. So what do you want to do with it? So we need to buy lights, moving heads, okay? Then we need to buy screen, screen, screen, or buy screen. Then we need to buy some powerful— they are fantastic, but that's not what amplifies your voice. And that's the reason why you must expect— respect the older generation. They were viral without Facebook. That's power. The power— something will be happening in Elisha and they are talking about it in Kaduna. It was the power of prayer. Let me show you what prayer does. Luke chapter number 4. Are you still with me? You know, this conference, in all honesty, you will have to draw out the things I need to share, so you must be hungry. Telling you. Luke 4, are you there? Now look at it. Let's start reading from verse 13. Luke 4 from verse 13. And when the devil had ended all the temptations, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in what? In the power of the Spirit into Galilee. And there went out a fame of him through all the regions round about. As you break through in the spirit, you will break through everywhere else. It is prayer first. It is prayer. Thank God for excellent profile pictures. Thank God for excellent social media content managers. Thank God for PR. But tell your neighbor, it is prayer.

Come on, say it loud and clear. Say it again. It is prayer, not human methods, not human strategies. Say it again. It is prayer. The ministry that God will endorse will be a ministry that is praying.

Um, digital ministry— this is not me pulling down digital. With School of Ministry, we have a digital ministry. They are fantastic, okay? But you know, some things are like icing on the cake. If the cake is missing, what do you want to do with icing? There'll be licking cream. Have you seen people with fantastic suit but no message? The biggest billboard but no candlestick before the throne. It's not by all those things. You pay influencers to push your voice. When God has not placed the mic there, it won't go anywhere. Tell your neighbor, everything by prayer. The way you are saying it, I'm not sure you are praying.

Come on, say it again. Everything by prayer.

One time people started coming to our church. Who are your media, um, people pushing your teachings. It's prayer. I'm a Nigerian man. Do I look like we just drop money and drop the money somewhere? Let's pray. Let's do what? Let's do what? Let's pray. If you are not sweating in prayer, you are not doing the right things yet. It is a custom you must learn from now, because if the foundations are destroyed, there's nothing you are going to build. The weak foundation will destroy your intentions. You have fantastic intention, but the foundation can't carry it. Prayer forms the core of the foundation of your assignment.

If you get it wrong in prayer, you have missed it.

And that's why the most strategic thing that the devil wants to attack is your prayer life. If your prayer life is down, your perception will be wrong, your message will be down, will— you will not even have one. You will be full of anxiety because the voice of God is not on your tables. Nothing makes a man more confident than when he has the word and the voice of God. It puts you in a secure place.

If you don't have it, you are not in a secure place. You are jittering, shivering, trying your methods. And unfortunately, your method may work.

Unfortunately. And unfortunately, another generation can learn wrong things work sometimes.

Wrong things work. So you don't know what is correct by checking what works.

It is what he says. The fact that it is working doesn't mean it is God. Wrong things can work. If you replace the place of spiritual fervency with some businessmen approach here and there, it will work to that degree now. So that's why some don't take us serious. You know why? Because they are looking at it that we are not praying your kind of prayer, but we are gathering crowd more than you. If you think that crowd is where you are going to with the prayer, then you have missed it, because the wrong people have it too. You are not seeking God for things, you are seeking him for himself. Praise God! Are you still there? So when he departed without any form of publicity from people, his fame went everywhere. And you see, when he began to speak in Luke 4:18, he spoke with precision. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. Do you know the dimension of the Spirit of God that is on you? You should know what is it there for. Now, caution, if you are going to do ministry in the last days, you must review your strategies. Now, if you look at the book of Matthew chapter number 24, The Bible gave us some explicit description of these are days. One of the things Bible says in Matthew 24:12 describe these are days as the days that iniquity will abound and the love of many will wax cold. Amen. So you have been called at such a time that the love of God is not a natural thing in the heart of people. They, they don't love him. They don't want to hear anything about him. You must have more than swag to speak to a generation at the time that rebellion is heightened. You must have more than what? Swag. You must have the fire. You must have the touch from the place of prayer.

Are you there? It is a must. You can't do anything beside that.

It is a must.

You know this in last days, that perilous times shall come. Men will be lovers of themselves. These days will come difficult times, the time that there's so much cloud of demonic activities everywhere. And unfortunately, many people just think that these are natural phenomenons, that these things are just happening. Oh, people, you're just thinking it's a Gen Z thing.

No, it's a demonic thing. It's cluster of powers. Strange forces trying to condition the souls of men. So you have the opportunity to stand and speak to people, but your tongue has not been touched with coals of fire. You will sound to them as one who has the sound of entertainment. That you have English doesn't mean you are passing a message. And that's why I love the scripture I read, that did not our heart burn? But you saw that it was after the breaking of the bread that the veils fell. One of the prayers you must explicitly pray— see, if you don't start praying this prayer, you will not know that something is wrong. There are prayers you start praying that those who have heard you 5 years ago will now say, it is now I'm understanding. And when they were there, that last said, he said, deep. But that doesn't mean they have understanding yet. Can I ask you to pray in 2 minutes that you will touch my— are you a minister of the gospel in any capacity?

So I, I—

hello, this ministers conference, right? I don't think I need to motivate you on how to pray, do I?

Huh? Talk to me now.

Do I have to motivate you and show you how to pray?

Touch my tongues with your coal of fire. Touch my tongue with your coal of fire. Touch my tongue with your coal of fire. Touch my tongue with your coal of fire. I am tired of ordinariness. I'm tired of being dry. Touch, touch, touch my tongue. Touch my tongue with your coal of fire. Touch my tongue.

Shaka palenemo kofende kosi fa.

Touch, touch, touch, touch my tongue. Touch my tongue. Let your fire land on my tongue. That I will not be as one bringing entertainment. I will not be as one bringing sounds of merriment. Touch my tongue. Touch my tongue.

In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Before I continue teaching, there's something you need. It's called Otrant. Now listen, have you seen yourself in a place where you've been given opportunity, or that's your platform, this is your topic, but you don't have depth to it? Sometimes you have the burden, but once you have done 15, 20 minutes, you are wondering, what next do I say? You don't have utterance yet. If I ask you to pray, will you pray? Will you ask God for utterance?

Give me utterance of the Spirit! Give me! I thirst for it!

I hunger for it!

Touch my tongue with your fire! Utterance! Supernatural utterance! To speak as your oracle. Supernatural utterance. Brrr! Break. Pray, pray, pray! Ministers, pray! That's our routine. That's what we are called for. Pray, pray! Pray! Ministers pray— pray!

Ministers pray, ministers pray. In Jesus' mighty name we're praying. Let that amen roar like thunder. Amen. You're trying. Sit for a while. You're trying. You're coming up now. I most times see lots of anxiety in ministry and ministers, and we have questions in our heart. What if I obey God and nothing comes out of it? Did you ever read in your Bible that God disappoint anyone? Because there are questions that shows that you are following him for bread. Just a revelation. Sometimes a process is about to end, then a question shows that you are in need for mundane things. Then he said, a process is only over when you are at the end of yourself. This Abraham still has the strength to go into Agar. Give him time. It is not God that determines your wilderness experience, it is you. I think somebody used Google Maps recently to check the distance they trekked from Egypt. And then to the promised land by leg. I think on the map it showed 4 days. It is not the distance that makes a journey long, it is rebellion. It is rebellion. There are things that God wants to do now, but because you are not attentive to his ways, it will keep getting longer. Till you come to the end of yourself. Many of you are too smart for the ways of God. That's why I said it while I was teaching, that Christianity is not for smart people. It's not. It's a journey of obedience. So you see loads of agitations, loads of cares, loads of anxiety, and many things. I curse the root of that spirit now. I curse the root of that spirit now, that the root of it wither.

That—

listen— that you will not serve and serve in vain. Listen, are you listening to me? You can serve and serve in vain. And God saw from the moment you agreed to serve that you were in it for what is yours. And why people are cheering you on, God says that your heart is not correct. Ministry is not for those doing it quick, it's for those doing it right. Your work doesn't count until your heart is right. You know, you can fast 40 days so that you can begin to minister on a kind of platform that very soon they should begin to invite me to on this kind of platform. Say, yeah, and then you now wait till you share poster or flyers with certain men to feel important. Then while we do all those dramas, God is looking at you. I say, to what end? If you know what I want to give you, you will not wait to be on flyer with someone who is not in his perfect will.

What—

whosoever it is you have seen on that flyer, if that fellow should be in God's perfect will, you'll be afraid. So you reduce the grace on your life. To measure up with another person whose grace you don't know, and you don't feel any sense of importance until some platforms open. Even now you are important. Hello! Even now you are important. So some ministers wait till they have access to some people and then they snap selfie. That's the— and I'm sorry if I stumble on anything. You post the selfie, Kunasa saying congratulations. For what? You know, one time I see a lot of drama. Somebody took a picture with me maybe 3 years ago in a meeting. Then the fellow start hearing Femi Lazarus everywhere, then posted the picture like we took it yesterday. I smiled. Why the pressure? You don't need to be in camera with anybody to be important. By yourself you are important. So this is an anti-selfie move. So throughout this conference, I post just one picture and look at you, of everything you can receive. Picture. It's okay to be a social person and all that, okay, if your heart is right. Let me put the balance: if your heart is right. But if it is to put on your DP as a sense of new level, you don't even know the call of God. If you know who you are, you will not reduce yourself to that. If you, if you, you, you sit down and look at yourself and feel, I'm just someone hidden there. If you know the grace of God upon your life, you will not jump. Most times when you jump out in agitation, you are missing God's mark. Are you there? Are you still there? Wrap your hands around your chest and say, God loves me. Come on, say it again. Come on, say it again. I am important. I matter in his agenda. It is not screens, lights, and stage that defines my essence. It is Christ in me, the hope of glory. Praise God, because if you delay that understanding, people will take advantage of you. Important. The yardstick for measuring correct ministries in those days is not all these things. It is the visible fire of God you see on the life of a man. That one no promoter can give you. The presence can't be bought. Ambience doesn't bring it. Are you there?

The anointing can't be bought. That's the mark, that's the fire that anywhere the words go out— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, he anointed him. Say it again: I am anointed. That's important, right? That's more powerful than suit. That's more powerful than Italian shoes.

I, I was somewhere, I think the last time I was in London, and one of our very dear brothers bought me a shoe. The shoe is all those shoes that tall. I zip the shoe. I snapped the shoe and sent to my wife. Is this for male? But it has legs like— so I was in a program and a very senior man of God was ministering with that same shoe. Ah, I'm not wearing it now, not because I don't feel important, you see. There are people that when they see men of God ministering, they say, ah, did you see that shoe? Geazai has chosen his own portion. There are those who are saying, did you see that suit? That's, that's, that's so-and-so brand. They know all the brand and the make. But they don't know God. Some are fascinated by the cars, some are fascinated by the entourage. That maybe as we're having meetings like this and ministers are coming and the guy keeps saying, walai, walai, you know what that means? One day to be me, and he's ready to do anything for that. Many people have marks in their life that they have designed that the day I can reach here, I'm fulfilled. That's a wrong spirit. I cast it out. I cast it out. The mark of God's endorsement is his presence. Joseph was in the house of Potiphar. He was asleep, but God was with him, and God caused all that his master did to prosper. That's the— you can't buy that. No influencer can influence you into that. You pray into that. Are you with me?

You pray till you begin to interact, do business.

See, there are questions people ask me that I can't relate with. Because both of the things I'm doing are not strategies, they are instructions. As fantastic as they may be, they are instructions.

They are instructions.

They are sometimes out of burden, taking matters to God in a place of prayer. How do we go about this now? Then God says, I'm giving you grace in this area, start this now and I'll back you up. Instruction. From today, you will be— you will receive the garment of prayer. Can I give you 2 minutes to pray? Restore me back to the place of prayer and consecration. The place of prayer, prayer and consecration. The place of prayer, prayer and consecration. The place of prayer and consecration. The place of prayer and consecration. The place of prayer.

You don't need instrument to pray. Pray.

Prayer is a discipline.

Pray, pray, restore me back. Ministers, pray, pray, pray, pray. You are not being called into hunting, you have been called to stay in his presence. Pray. Learn it now. Learn it now. Learn it now. Master it now. Master it now. Learn it now. Kill the flesh now. Master prayer now. Pray. Pray. Learn prayer now. That's what matters. Pray. To navigate dark days ahead, we must pray.

When we pray, he answers us.

When we cry, he hears our voice. We are not alone, God is with us. Immanuel, Immanuel. When we pray, he answers our prayers. When we cry, he hears our voice. We are not alone, God is with us.

Immanuel. Immanuel.

In Jesus' name we're praying.

Sit down for a while. What do you do in the days that the ministry is still small and you are not so busy like your colleagues? That time that you have is an opportunity to pray. Are you there? That's an opportunity to pray yourself into the accuracy of his will. That no storm cannot put you from what you found. I'm telling you, it doesn't matter how gifted you are, if you have not mastered prayer, you won't last. The storms of life will move you out of your calling. It doesn't matter how gifted you are, if you don't master prayer, you won't— what? You won't last. Storms will drive you out.

Pray! Pray to become ruggedly adapted to his will. Pray. Thank God for billboards. Thank God for— but pray, man of God. Do what? Pray. Peter said, we'll give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Lord.

We will give ourselves to it. I will hand myself to the hands of prayer.

I will abandon myself in the place of prayer. I will recklessly put myself there. I will waste my life praying. Pray! That's the secret of strength. Listen to me, that's the secret. If you came around to transact for a momentary gain, you won't endure the test of time. Pray! We will give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. That's how we navigate. We pray, then he speaks. Let me give you 2 more minutes. Pray tonight! And roar in tongues. When we pray, he answers us. When we cry, he hears our voice. We are not alone, God is with us. Emmanuel, Emmanuel.

When we pray, he answers us.

When we cry, he hears our voice. We are not alone, God is with us. Emmanuel, Emmanuel.

Pray. It is everything by prayer. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' mighty name we are praying.