If You're Seeing These Signs, You're Maturing in Prayer

I wanna share with you 5 ways that prayer will change you. More than it will change anything or anyone else, prayer will change the one who prays. My prayer for you is that as you hear these truths from Scripture, that your spiritual hunger is cultivated. My goal is that as you're listening, you develop a desire for the deeper things of God. that you develop a hunger for prayer. Now, why does prayer transform you? 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 say this, but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. So now we can see him. Verse 17, for the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I would often read this and I would say, well, If the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, why isn't everyone free everywhere? Well, that's because this scripture is talking about the presence of the Holy Spirit that abides with the believer. The Holy Spirit abides with believers in a much different way than he abides in his omnipresence around the world. This is his influence. This is his dominion. So where the Spirit of the Lord is, where that dominion is, where that influence is, and that's his dominion, his influence in you, the believer, there is liberty. So all of us who have had that veil removed, so unbelievers have not had that veil removed, you have had that veil removed. And so now we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. Look how powerful this is. So all of us who have had the veil removed, now we can see him, we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. Wow. Well, that's why prayer changes you, because prayer is glimpsing at God's glory. Prayer is seeing Jesus. Prayer is looking unto him. And the Lord who is the Spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. It's impossible to accomplish nothing in true prayer. For every moment you are praying, you are transforming. As you pray, you're looking unto Jesus. And as you focus on the Lord with the eyes of your heart, things within you begin to transform. Your flesh becomes weaker, your spirit becomes stronger. It's the transformation of your being because prayer is seeing him. And as I see his glory, I reflect his glory, become like him. I become a reflection of his light in the earth. That's what prayer does to you. Amen. It's looking unto Jesus, being transformed by the Holy Spirit, communing with God himself, and having your very nature, your very being transformed. If you desire that, I want you to write that in the comment section, watching live or on replay, simply write, show me your glory. Make that your public prayer. Express your desire to know the deeper things of God. Even as I'm talking to you right now, I can sense a really strong anointing And I know that those who are of the Spirit can sense that too, that connection, that pull, that magnetism, that's the Holy Spirit drawing you to this because he wants to speak to you. So what are some of the ways that prayer transforms you? Now, we could talk about 100 ways that prayer can transform you, but I'm gonna focus on 5 of them here. Number 1, unusual peace. Those who are people of prayer have unusual peace. Isaiah 26:3 says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. If you don't have perfect peace, then you don't have perfect focus. If you don't have perfect peace, then you're not truly looking unto him. You're being distracted by all the cares of this world, all those things that worry you and that stir your emotions. Philippians 4:6-7, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Worry is the flesh's powerless counterfeit for prayer. Instead, pray about everything. Those who are people of prayer understand that we do pray about everything. Some think you might be ridiculous. Some might criticize you saying, why would you involve God in this or in that? Why would you involve him in every detail of your life? But you understand that you're wanting to walk in perfect alignment with heaven. And in order to do so, you must be in constant communication with the heavenly Father. Tell God what you need, the scripture says, and thank him for all he has done. So it's possible, at least scripture makes it clear, that you can ask God for something, you can submit prayer requests while also having a heart filled with gratitude. Tell God what you need, tell him, he doesn't mind hearing it. and thank him for all he has done. You can do those things simultaneously. Verse 7, then you will experience God's peace. Well, when? When I'm praying about everything, when I'm submitting to God my prayer requests, when I'm unburdening myself and removing distraction by taking all my cares and responsibilities and worries and placing them in his hands. Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't tend to your responsibilities, This just means that you shouldn't worry about them. You can give them to God, place them in his hands, and then be free of the worry and the clutter of the mind that prevents you from moving to deeper places in prayer. Verse 7, again, then you will experience, when? Well, when I stop worrying and when I start praying, when I submit my prayer request and when I have a heart filled with gratitude, then that peace fills me. And that peace exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ. So that peace around you acts as a fortress or a wall. It's a protection, a shield against the cares of this world. Because the moment, hear me now, please, the moment we begin to worry, that's when the flesh begins to try to take control. Worry is the entry point of the flesh's control, or I should say an entry point for the flesh's control. In other words, when you begin to worry, it's a demonstration that you don't trust God because you don't believe that he's actually handling it. You don't believe that he can handle it. You may not say that out loud. You may not think that outright, but in the flesh, that's where you— that's what you're thinking in a very deep level of the flesh. Now the flesh begins to reach for control. The flesh begins to try to pilot the situation. The flesh now begins to try to do things in its own ability. Why? Because you're not praying. But people of prayer experience this peace that passes all understanding. Look at what the Bible says in Romans 8:6. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Well, if you lack peace, that means the Spirit doesn't have control of every aspect of your life. You've given it to the flesh. For the believer, you can either operate in the flesh or you can operate in the Spirit. You can either be self-reliant or Spirit-reliant. If you're self-reliant, now everything depends on you. And the moment that things begin to fall apart, The moment that you begin to recognize that some of these situations are bigger than your power is capable of handling, then worry begins to set in. But when your faith is in God and your trust is in him, then you recognize that no situation can come your way that's outside of the capability of God's power. Fear is of the flesh. Peace is of the Spirit. You wanna know if you're in the flesh? If you're worrying. Fear is a manifestation of the flesh, always. Perfect love casts out all fear. Now again, fear is different than tending to a responsibility or being aware of a situation or exercising wisdom. Those are of the Spirit. I'm talking about living a life of fear. That's a demonstration that you're in the flesh. But those who have peace, and maybe this is you, maybe I'm describing you if you're a person of prayer, Maybe people think, how do they do it? Why is it they always seem to be walking in such peace? Why do they seem so unbothered by everything? And this doesn't mean that things don't affect us mentally and emotionally. It just means that there's this great stability, this anchor for the soul that is in your life that's recognizable. And you walk in the Spirit when you begin to become a person of prayer. This is how prayer transforms you. It gives you unusual peace. Amen. When you're facing attacks and slander, people dragging your name through the mud, people speaking against you, and then those who love you believing the slander, those who love you believing the attacks, people of God who are in prayer, they walk through it with peace. Why? Because they've given that responsibility of their reputation to God. When you walk in a way that's surrendered to the Holy Spirit, Your reputation is God's responsibility, and it's none of your business. And people of prayer know this. When people of prayer come under financial pressure, instead of worrying from morning to night, staying up late, scratching their head, wondering how everything's going to work out, instead of allowing those agitations of the flesh to begin to affect the way they are with their family, Affect the way they are with their children, their spouse. Instead of allowing the flesh to gain influence in that way, those who are walking in this unusual peace, even under financial pressure, peace. Even in the midst of health scares, peace. Even when others reject them, peace. Even when the future looks uncertain, peace. There's this great stability about people of prayer. when it comes to peace. And others can sense it on you. When people come around you, they feel safety, certainty. You're like an anchor. They feel grounded, levelheaded when they're around you. Maybe there's chaos and confusion in their world. When they come next to you, a person of prayer, well, now they're grounded. I know people like this. And for several years when I was, first beginning to serve the Lord, I would often deal with these attacks on my mind and I just couldn't get past them. And I would get around certain people of God, just to be around them for an hour or so, because I knew that if I could get around them, the peace of God on them would start to, in some ways, affect me. And I've seen men and women of God, generals in the faith, come up against some of the most horrific attacks from people and from the enemy. And they walk in peace. That's how prayer can change you. That's number 1. And number 2, people of prayer have strength under temptation. In Matthew chapter 26, I'll begin reading at verse number 36. The Bible says this, then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane. And he said, sit here while I go over there to pray. He's talking to the disciples. He took Peter and Zebedee's 2 sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me. So now he's asking his disciples to pray. He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, my Father, if it's possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. So here we see Jesus coming now to his assignment, some of the final moments of that assignment. He's in the garden. He knows the crucifixion is imminent. He's asking his disciples to pray. He's anguished in his soul. He knows what's coming. And now he's saying, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. There was, I'm sure, temptation to just move beyond that moment. I'm sure there was temptation to reject the cross. Well, look at Matthew 4. Did not the enemy tempt Jesus with a way out? To have the kingdoms of the world, to have dominion and power without the cross? That's what the enemy tempted him with, dominion and power without the cross. I'm sure it was a temptation. Verse 40, then He returned to the disciples and found them asleep. So imagine here, here's a moment where He's experiencing anguish of the soul. How many times have you been in a situation like this where no one around you seems to understand how much you're suffering? And so here, in one of His most vulnerable moments, His friends fall asleep. He said to Peter, couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray. Watch this now, verse 41. Keep watch and pray so that you will not give in to temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed. Now watch this. My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, Your will be done. Now he embraces the will of the Father. Why? Because he was praying. Under that moment of temptation to deny the cross, under that moment of temptation to take a crossless path, he's able to stand firm in the will of God. He's able to stand firm and obey the commands of the Father. He's able to stand firm and go with what heaven wanted because he was in prayer. That's right. That's why he was praying, because there was a temptation to resist the cross. That's why he was praying, because there was another path that was calling for him to walk it. And he decides now in this moment of vulnerability, in this moment of temptation, to give himself to prayer. And that's when he tells his disciples, keep watch and pray so that you will not give into temptation. If you find yourself giving into temptation too often, It's a lack of 2 things and 2 things only, the word and prayer. That's it, the word and prayer. You begin to walk in the Spirit through prayer and the word, and there's no bondage or temptation that can hold you. Now in James 4:7, the Bible says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Well, here in the garden, in what we just read in Matthew 26, we see that the disciples chose the flesh instead of the Spirit. Now think about this. The disciples chose to sleep instead of praying. And because they chose to sleep instead of to pray, they denied the Lord. They fled from him. They rejected— they didn't have boldness. They didn't have power to stand. They didn't have the ability to come up against the pressure that was coming up against them. Why? Because they weren't in prayer. They were asleep. And because they were asleep, they fled. Well, either you will flee or the enemy will flee. It's only gonna be one of the two. But the Bible says in James 4:7, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee. So Jesus demonstrated how prayer strengthens us against the pull of human will. And the enemy often takes advantage of our will. What does the Bible say? That when we are tempted, we're tempted by our own desires. So the enemy uses our own desires against us. And if we're not in prayer, those desires will be strong. The cravings of the flesh will be strong. If you are not a person of prayer, you can't possibly keep your flesh weak. That's why, by the way, your flesh resists the place of prayer. You ever notice that when you go to pray, your flesh starts to squirm, you get agitated, you wanna get out of that situation and into something more entertaining? Yeah. And move on to something more fast-paced, and you want to get out of the place of prayer—that's your flesh fighting its own death. Because prayer is the death of the flesh. Matthew six seven through thirteen says this: When you pray, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him. Verse nine: Watch this now. Pray. like this. And we all know the Lord's Prayer. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Now watch this, verse 13 is key. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. What's the Bible talking about? The Bible here, Jesus here is talking about prayers that deliver you from temptation. Specifically, the Lord's Prayer is talking about deliverance from temptation. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. What does the evil one do? He tempts. So how do you come away from that temptation? Prayer. Prayer. How do you break the power of that temptation? Prayer, prayer and the word. How do you break the power of the enemy in your life? The Bible says it here. It's very simple, you know. I think sometimes because of religious thinking, we complicate the issue. And by the way, religious thinking does not like the simplicity of spirituality. Religious thinking doesn't like the simplicity of spirituality because it places the focus on the Holy Spirit's power instead of man's ability. And that hurts the religious ego. But here clearly the Bible says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee. What does it say? Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Resist the devil and he will fight? Resist the devil and he will resist back? No, resist the devil and he will flee. Why? Because the moment the enemy recognizes that you're submitted to God and now you're turning against him, He's out of there. Why? Because the believer that is submitted to God has absolute dominion. And the enemy fears that kind of believer. You submit your life to God, resist the devil, and he will flee. Well, that's how little power he has in the life of the believer. Now, if you're living in sin, yeah, he's gonna gain more influence in your life. But if you are walking with God, you're submitted to that authority, there's nothing he can do. In fact, he can't even fight. He flees. That's what the Bible says he does. This is biblical truth. So to stand against those temptations of the devil, he comes to tempt you. He comes to show you what the world has to offer. He plays on your cravings and desires, presents— look, if sin were a product, the devil would be a salesman. And so he presents these things before our eyes. And if you're not submitted to God, those things will begin to pull you in. But the moment you submit to God and you resist that temptation, Enemy's out of there. Resist the devil and he will flee. How do you do that? How do you submit yourself to God? Prayer. How did Jesus do it in the garden? Prayer. Matthew 6, how does Jesus tell us to pray? He says, deliver us from the evil one, don't lead us into temptation. So it's in prayer that we submit to God. It's in prayer that the will is crucified. It's in prayer that the flesh is weakened. Prayer gives you strength against temptation. So that's number 1, unusual peace. Number 2, strength against temptation. Let me just add this, by the way. I've never met a Christian who had a consistent, deep prayer life who dealt with habitual sin. Never met that Christian. I've never met that believer. I've never met a Christian who was daily in the word, daily in prayer, walking in the Spirit, and stuck in spiritual bondage. You want me just to be blunt about it? If you're in spiritual bondage, you're not living the Christian life. Spiritual bondage is not meant to be a part of the Christian life. And I think sometimes we've accepted the idea that it is, and that's a lie from the enemy. Well, you know, that's just my cross to bear. It's spiritual bondage. We all battle it from time to time. Spiritual bondage, no. Trials, yes, we'll all face trials. Persecution, yes, we'll all face persecution. Heartache, tragedy, temptation, we will all face that. But spiritual defeat, that is inner defeat, lack of peace, lack of joy, lack of love, lack of the influence of the Spirit, no, my friend, that was never meant to be a part of the Christian life. And some believers sadly even have some sort of validation from the fact that they're suffering because they think that the fact that they're being attacked so much is proof that they're spiritual. When in fact, the Spirit-filled Christian, the one who walks according to the will of God, knows victory is theirs and that spiritual bondage is not a part of their life. And so if you're in prayer, temptation will not have ahold of you. You're in the Word, temptation will not have ahold of you. Or we believe that prayer doesn't have power. Or we believe that the Bible doesn't have the power to set us free. But the Word of God does have the power. Prayer does have the power to cause us to walk in victory. So you become a person of prayer, you watch that temptation begin to weaken. You wanna see how strong your flesh is? I'll give you a little test here. You wanna see how strong your flesh is? Go try to pray for an hour. Look at how your flesh fights you to get out of there. You wanna see how strong your flesh is? Go wait before the Lord and just be silent before him. Try to do that for an hour. And watch the activity that begins to try to pull you out of that moment. Watch the activity that begins to look for a distraction. Watch the pull of the flesh. You'll see just how strong the flesh is. But I've never met a Christian, I've never met a Christian who was consistent in prayer, consistent in the Word, and walking in the Spirit who also walked in a spiritual bondage. Now, again, don't get trials confused. All of us will face trials. Don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying your life should be perfect. I'm not saying everything will go the way you want it to go. I'm saying inwardly, you should always have the victory. That's number 2, strength against temptation. Number 3, divine wisdom. In 1 Kings 3:5-14, we read the story of Solomon. Now the Lord offered him favor and he said, ask me for whatever you want. Solomon asks for wisdom. And God says, because you asked for wisdom, I'm gonna give you that wisdom. and then everything else that you didn't ask for. But here's the truth. Solomon prayed for wisdom and God gave it to him. James 1:5-7 says this, and this, by the way, this verse, this portion of scripture, I should say, was a catalyst for my teaching ministry. I remember the days when I would read the scripture and have no idea what I was reading. It's embarrassing for me, but I think it's beneficial I share it with you. There were times when I would read a whole chapter of the Bible and then I'd go, hmm, I didn't understand anything I just read. Or I would read through the entire chapter and I would go, I was distracted that whole time, let me start over. And so there was this season of life where the word made no sense to me. The things of the Spirit didn't quite click. And it wasn't until I came across this portion, James 1:5-7. In fact, James was one of the first books of the Bible I read as a new believer. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God. That's prayer. And he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver. For a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. And so I looked up and I said, Lord, I'm an 11-year-old boy. I definitely lack wisdom and I need your help. And the Lord began to impart wisdom. He gives you a discerning heart. He gives you the ability to navigate difficult circumstances. In fact, that divine wisdom is seen by others And they begin to become drawn to you because now they see that fountain of wisdom pouring out of your life. And they say, I wanna go to that person and ask a question. And they see the way you handle circumstances. And they see the way you handle heartache and trials, that wisdom that guides your life, that even begins to cause you to prosper and flourish and be fruitful in many areas of your life. That's wisdom. Read Proverbs. Wisdom always leads to prosperity. Now, when I use that word, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying wisdom leads to luxury. I'm saying wisdom leads to prosperity. That's simply fruitfulness. Wisdom leads to fruitfulness in every area of your life where it's applied. And so when you become a person of prayer, suddenly now, remember you're looking to him, you're becoming like him. I'm praying daily and over a transformation period, I begin to notice gradually I'm transformed and then suddenly. So there's this period of gradual transformation. And then there are these suddenlies, these leaps in the Spirit that we take. And now wisdom is beginning to pour outta you. And now you begin to think with the mind of God. And now you begin to think according to his word. And now you begin to reason with the mind of the Spirit. You know, people often say, well, you shouldn't be too intellectual. You shouldn't use your mind too much. And I think that's just nonsense. It's just like saying that you shouldn't be able to feel in your emotions an encounter with God. God gave us our emotions and God gave us intellect. Both of those were created to respond to who he is. So sometimes when the presence of God moves, you're gonna feel the emotions of that. And that's a good thing. Now, emotions can't lead to an encounter with God, But an encounter with God can lead to feeling certain emotions. And it's the same with reasoning. God wants to give you a divine mind. God wants to give you, and I have to be careful with the way I say that, I'm using that term in the biblical sense. God wants to give you, what I mean by that is God wants to give you the ability to reason according to his word. He wants to give you the ability to reason according to his will, his nature, his ways. And many people just dismiss that. Well, that's too much head knowledge, or, You're overthinking it, or, you know, I don't wanna use the— well, no, the Holy Spirit anoints the mind too. In fact, revelation is knowledge set on fire by the Holy Ghost. You read the scripture, look at the many patriarchs, look at the many prophets, people who are of the Spirit have a sharp mind, and that comes from divine wisdom. So that's number 3, you'll begin to notice divine wisdom. Now watch this too. You'll also begin to notice you become a person of prayer. Boldness begins to abound now. Look at Acts chapter 4. I'm gonna read verses 23 through 24, and then I'm gonna jump down to verse 27. Verse 23 of Acts 4, as soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. And then they go on praying. Now Peter and John were held captive and they come back to the people of God. They report about this persecution. And this was the church's response. They had a prayer meeting. Verse 27, in fact, this has happened here in this very city. For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate, the governor of the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. And now, O Lord. So here's the people of God, the church of God crying out to God in response to this persecution. And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power. May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. After this prayer, The meeting place shook. Guys, the building shook. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word with great boldness. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Peter and John among this group, by the way. Peter and John walked with the Lord and were a part of his ministry before the crucifixion. So they were casting out devils, teaching and preaching and healing the sick before. So they had some measure of the Holy Spirit's power. John 20:22, Jesus breathes on them, says, receive ye the Holy Spirit. Of course, they're gonna receive a measure of the Holy Spirit's power. Acts chapter 2, Peter and John were there when the Holy Spirit came upon the church and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. Yet here they are again in Acts 4. Now that's a totally different message for a totally different time. The constant infilling of the Holy Spirit, the ongoing baptism with the Holy Spirit, Different lesson, different time. Look at Ephesians 5:18, Acts 2, Acts 4. We can go into that another day. But what I wanna point out here is the fact that they received this refreshed boldness, this intensified boldness, even though they were already Spirit-filled, even though they already had the Holy Spirit, even though they already had measures of his power. After this prayer meeting, another measure of boldness comes upon them. That means the more you commit to prayer, the greater the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life. I don't think they were receiving more of the Holy Spirit here. I think the Holy Spirit was receiving more of them. I think they were surrendering in greater measures. And because of that, boldness began to abound. If you kneel before God, you can stand before anyone. Look, you need to be filled with this boldness because the hour calls for it. You need to recognize that you can't cancel who God has called. If they didn't call you, they can't cancel you. If they didn't anoint you, they don't have the authority to remove you. God is the one who gave you that fire. God is the one who gave you that platform. God is the one who imparted that anointing. People can't take that away. Nobody has the power to speak against you and cause others to turn away from you if God has called you. It's impossible. Why? Because God backs the ones he calls. And people who are of prayer, they are filled with this boldness because they understand where they stand with God. Now, if you lack prayer, you may feel, oh, I don't deserve to have that. Oh, I don't deserve to have power. Oh, I'm unqualified. And all of these insecurities begin to become stronger if you lack prayer. But the moment you begin to become a person of prayer, You become an individual who's committed to being in the presence of God. Now boldness begins to abound. Look, there are things that I preach that the world does not want to hear. There are things that I preach that religious people in the church don't wanna hear. But you know what? I preach it with boldness anyway. What can they do? There's nothing that man can do against you when you're preaching the truth. There's nothing that anyone can do to cause you to lose influence, to cause you to lose power, to cause you to lose favor. In fact, the attacks they bring against you are just gonna work against them. The attacks and slander they bring against you are just going to end up benefiting you. The world can attack you because you love Jesus. Religious people can attack you because you love the word, the truth of the word, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Who cares? Now, I'm not saying that we should be rude and unloving and mean, no. I'm simply saying that boldness is a recognition of who you are in God. And that recognition comes the more time you spend in prayer, because now you know him, you're fellowshipping with him, and you know you are backing your word, Lord. You're backing this, and I'm involved in what you're doing. Why? Because prayer aligns you to his will. Prayer puts you in alignment with his will. And when you get in alignment with his will, you have his backing. And you need to have that confidence. If God be for you, who can be against you? Tell me, who can be against you? There is a spirit in you, the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit in you has more power than any spirit that may try to come against you. The Holy Spirit in you has more power than any person that might try to come against you. Favor will shield you from those attacks. Favor will shield you from persecution. This doesn't mean you won't be persecuted. This just means that there's ultimately nothing anyone can do to you. Because even if they can destroy the body, guess what? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It's constant victory. There's victory on all sides. Why? Because we are in Christ. And when you're in prayer, you're very mindful of that victory. When you're in prayer, you're very mindful of, Standing in that authority, that dominion and power. When you're in prayer, you recognize, you remember who you are in Christ. And so it gives you great boldness. Number 5, prayer will cause you to have a heart for people. Look very carefully here. This is very interesting. Matthew chapter 9, I'm gonna read verses 35 through 38. Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the good news about the kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. Watch this now, verse 36. This is the Lord now. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, the harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest Ask him to send more workers into the field. I wanna point out firstly, that Jesus was filled with great compassion. And that great compassion is what caused him to instruct his disciples, pray to the Lord of the harvest. Please pray that God would send help for these people. Now, this is what's so interesting here. Jesus instructs his disciples, you pray that God sends workers. Okay, that was the instruction he gave. Now look at this, very next chapter, first verse of the very next chapter, Matthew 10:1. Jesus called his 12 disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. There we see the scripture making a delineation between a demonic spirit and a sickness. Verse 2, here are the names of the 12 apostles, and he lists The 12 apostles, of course. And then of course, Jesus gives instructions for this outreach. Verse 7, go and announce to them the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received. So Christ sends them now into the harvest field. Wait a minute. Were these not the very same disciples who were instructed to pray that workers would be sent? So imagine this, the disciples in response to the compassion of the Lord, in response to the command and the compassion of the Lord, begin to pray. Lord, send workers. Lord, send workers. Lord, send them help. And then they become the workers that they prayed God would send. They become the help that they prayed that God would send. Prayer will sometimes demand That you become the response that you're praying for. People of prayer understand this. Look, I'm talking to Spirit-filled people now. I'm talking to people who are, who love the deep things of God. That's why you're watching right now. You love the deep things of God. So you understand that when you pray, sometimes God will cause you to become the answer to that prayer. Lord, bless them, bless them, bless them. He says, okay, I'll use you to bless them. Lord, heal them, heal them, heal them. Okay, I'm gonna use you as a vessel of my healing power to heal them. Lord, deliver them, deliver them, deliver them. Okay, I've given you authority to go and pray for deliverance. This is what prayer does. It transforms you to become the response for which you are praying. Prayer is most powerful when the one who is praying is willing to become the response to that prayer. Prayer is most powerful when the one who is praying is willing to become the response to that prayer. Well, that's what prayer is. Prayer isn't me trying to get God to do my will. That's not prayer. Prayer is becoming like him and being pulled into alignment with his will. That's what prayer does. It transforms you. And so here we see the disciples saying, send workers, send workers, send workers. So he sends them. Prayer gives you a heart for people. That very same compassion that the Lord had now became the compassion of the disciples who prayed. And this is what begins to happen. In fact, people can feel the love of God around you because when people come near, your heart just goes out to them. I've had this happen several times where when I'm meeting someone, I can feel the love of God flowing for that person. Now, maybe not in its full measure. In fact, I'm certain not in its full measure, or I'm positive I would break down weeping. I wouldn't be able to handle it. But the Lord often will allow me to sense his love for his people. When I'm preaching the word, when I'm teaching like I am on a livestream, when I'm praying for the sick, praying for those who need deliverance, praying for those who want the baptism with the Holy Spirit, as I'm praying for these people, as I'm ministering, I can often feel the love of God for these people. And that love of God causes me to get angry at the enemy. It causes my heart to go out to them. And that's what happens in you. When you pray, suddenly these desires begin to develop in you for others. Now others become your focus. You become a person of compassion. And in fact, it gets to the point sometimes where you're meeting the needs of others, even when your needs are going unmet, where you're praying for others, even when you need prayer. Where you're praying for the sick, even when you're sick. That's the compassion of the Lord. And you begin to develop this heart for the lost, for the broken, for fellow believers who are struggling. That's what prayer does.