Why Pray? Feat. Joshua Stewart

WHY ON EARTH WOULD I PRAY! This is a question we desire to answer in this podcast. Why should you pray and why you should be excited, humbled and passionate about entering his throne room.

Time Codes: 

0:00 - Intro
0:59 - Prayer
7:52 - What is Prayer?
15:34 - How does prayer affect us?
23:40 - How does prayer affect others?
34:31 - Sovereignty of God
37:36 - How does our prayers affect the world?
44:05 - Summary
46:52 - Joshua's nugget to take away
51:11 - Closing prayer

Music by
Over the limits
Vernacolmusic

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:59 Prayer
• 7:52 What is prayer?
• 15:34 How does prayer affect us?
• 23:40 How does prayer affect others?
• 34:31 Sovereignty of God
• 37:36 How does our prayers affect the world?
• 46:52 Joshua's nugget to take away
• 51:11 Closing prayer

Transcript

Wildfire podcast is an extension of Wildfire, which has a focus of igniting men and women of God into a deeper discipleship with Christ, instilling people with a passion to radically and relentlessly pursue Christ wherever that leads.

That God's truth will spread like a wildfire.

Hey.

It's got a red light.

That's good.

Oh, good.

That's good, you're going.

You're going to go ahead and speak.

Oh, no.

Hello.

Boom.

It's picking you up.

So we usually pray before the podcast, but you requested that we pray on the podcast.

And so we're going to do that right now.

Will I do it?

I usually pray.

I'm just saying.

Usually.

I'm happy with that.

It's my podcast.

You take.

But if you want to do it.

You do it.

But I'll do it.

Dear God, thank you so much that we can gather here and that we can just look over your word and talk about the power of prayer and what prayer is and what it means to us.

I pray that for those listening to us right now, that they will just discover how much of a blessing, how much grace and love is found in prayer as a gift that you have given us to commune with you.

Amen.

Hey.

Hey.

Who are you?

Me?

Yeah.

Who are you?

I'm Josh.

Okay.

Joshua.

I thought it was Joshua.

Is it?

Have I got that wrong?

I've given an exclusive rule.

Okay.

That actually North Coast folks can say Joshua, because they say it like Joshua.

Yeah.

It's so nice.

It's so nice.

So, only people...

Liz Bernoso, no.

No.

because it's quite liboreate, not even a no.

It's like a, it's hard for them, you know, like Josh you are.

Josh you are.

It's a lot of, but Josh you.

So, am I in the rule?

So, I, Joshua?

No.

You're, I'm, I'm...

You've not really got a very...

Yeah.

Well, I mean, a kind of North accent.

Yeah.

I'm from Middlester.

Fair.

So, you're...

So, I can't, you're Josh.

I'm Josh the...

Josh.

Josh, if you're North Coast.

And besides your beard, what else do we need to know about you?

That's really all you need to know, aren't we?

I find your beard so distinctive.

Whenever I think of you, I think of your beard.

The beard?

Yes, sir.

It's kind of the Auburn...

Yeah, it's your neck.

Maybe it's because I am insecure, because I myself can't grow a beard.

I mean, man looks in the outside, God looks in the heart.

I'm just saying, I've prayed.

Yeah, oh really?

I'll buy getting a beard.

Oh, see what I did there?

A little hint drop to what we're talking about.

But yeah, tell us more about what you do.

What I do?

So past two years, I've been doing kind of a split role between a high school called Laurel Hill and Lisburn, big ups.

Been in that for three days of the week.

I was like an SEN assistant slash technician, kind of in the whole school.

And then that was kind of the fund, the internship that I did with axelous and then associate role that I also did.

I've just kind of finished.

And then there's new things coming this year.

Might be moving to the new goal.

I don't know if I told you.

I didn't even tell you this.

Oh, here we go.

Wow.

Yeah.

Details are being learned out.

So can't share.

Too much?

Yeah, just like to be safe as well.

You'll tweet it.

You'll tweet it.

Yeah, yeah.

So.

I should do it.

But Twitter doesn't exist.

Exists.

It's called X.

Which is questionable.

I got to say, I don't personally like the branding and I don't like the name.

But we're not here to talk about that.

No.

We're here to talk about prayer.

Now, I came to you with this topic, didn't I?

Yeah.

And so do you have maybe any questions as to why?

Yeah.

Why?

Why, Luke?

Why?

Why prayer?

Well, whenever I met you, it was actually playing like, it was a game.

It got pretty intense.

Secret Hitler, Venom knows it.

So immediately, I hated you.

I did not like you, and so was Mitchell.

I hated me.

And so, well, that's that done.

And but the next time I seen you after that, when do you remember when that was?

I remember there was this whole idea of the holiday happening and to Dunnegal, like this trip, and then I met up with you to discuss that trip, because me and you, things were stirring.

And sort of different camps, me and your camp, especially, we were like, holiday?

And I'm like, I love holidays and rest, but what about the vocation that God has given us as a commission?

It's like, yeah.

So we've all, every day, we've got to take the command to go serve our king, and that includes on the holiday.

But how often do we see this dichotomy between rest and work?

So many people just go and rest and sit by a pool and don't do anything as it comes to the kingdom.

And I mean, you were discussing, how can we take this holiday and make it, yeah, and sort of provide this catalyst for, okay, now every day, you need to incorporate rest and work for the kingdom.

So that was the next time I met you, and I had some great conversations with you and that.

And then we had the trip itself.

Yes.

Okay, and I was, I was, I was witnessing you.

I was just looking at and watching.

And I remember we sat on a beach one time, not just me and you.

Bonfire.

That'll be weird.

There was a squadron of us, but there was a few of us who stayed behind, maybe it was four or five of us.

And this was maybe like half 12 or something at night.

And we all just started talking with one another.

And I just noticed your intentionality in the conversations.

And your intentionality in acknowledging the presence of God.

So much so that we ended up staying there for hours, like till about three.

And then the tide came in, and then we were stranded.

It was nice.

And then we had to like wade through the water to get back to the house.

People were freaking out.

They actually were, they said they were really genuinely worried.

Like they thought we were done for.

Yeah, exactly.

We were okay.

Yeah, we were fine.

And the next time I seen you was at Summer Madness.

Whenever you were serving on the prayer ministry prophetic, the team focused on...

Prophecy slots, they come and receive prayer from us.

So I was like, that just syncs up with everything.

All my interactions with you and everything that I've observed, especially during that time we hadn't done a goal.

And I was like, you know what?

This is a guy who's like, you know what I mean?

He cares about prayer and I've watched you pray.

I've seen you pray for me.

And so whenever I thought about the topic of prayer, boom.

I'm the guy.

And here it's an honor, as he is.

And here we are.

So the topic for today is why pray.

And I would like to start off with like a simple sort of definition on prayer.

For those who are seasoned and experienced scholars, who can give us the Hebrew and the Greek to the person who's like, what is prayer?

They're showing me that prayer is such a heavy, alluded term.

So, yeah, it's a good question.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think, as you're saying, it's easy to go for the Hebrew definition.

And that stuff is really valid.

But yeah, there's places for that, I think.

Whenever I was actually thinking about this, prayer is such a participation.

It's not just a knowledge thing.

It's not just like, we can't understand the knowledge of prayer, but until we actually pray, until we actually do it, it's just words in our mind.

So for me, who loves knowledge, pursuit of knowledge, yeah, not just knowing in a knowledge sense, but also knowing in a relational sense.

So I think whenever I was meditating on it, I feel like I'm speaking quite loud.

It's totally fine.

I'm looking at it.

We're great.

Okay, cool.

Whenever I was thinking about it, I kind of came to Luke 15, and my story has been very up and down in my life.

I was a prodigal son, which, if anyone doesn't know, is someone who leaves the father's house and goes and does his own thing and lives in a wild manor and then comes back.

I'll maybe briefly summarize the story, just to...

well, I kind of already have, but yeah, it was kind of my story.

jesus talks about this in Luke 15, of the son who leaves the father, goes off wild living, does his own thing, then has this moment of being in depths, being empty and wanting to return to the father.

And then he comes back, gives this kind of speech of almost confession.

He says, as he's on the way back, he sees his father approaching him and his father is running towards him and going to embrace him, because it says that the father was filled with compassion for him.

He's a far way off and he's coming back.

And the son kind of has this thing of confession.

He says, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you.

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

And then he's like, you know, just make me a servant in your house at the very minimum.

But the father ignores all that, puts a ring on his finger, a robe on his back, sandals on his feet and embraces him as a son.

He's like reinstated fully.

And I think for me, this actually really summarized part of what prayer is for me.

It's not only this kind of conversation with God.

It's this whole life experience, this interaction with the father.

It's not just this kind of exchanging of words.

But like within that story, there's repentance, there's confession.

There's also this like receiving of grace.

That was the most important part of that.

He actually, the son, received something from the father.

I think that's a real core of prayer, is not just us communicating to him.

It was kind of part of that strand of that repentance and confession, but there's also this embracing and receiving grace.

So I think, yeah, it's funny that you had mentioned about being aware of his presence on the beach, and I think that's kind of my core of prayer.

Definitely the initial part of prayer is being aware of his presence, being aware that he is with us, and just like being there for a while, uncomfortably so maybe, sometimes just sitting and enjoying his presence, receiving his affection, like the father embracing the son, and receiving that affection.

And then later on, in that story of the prodigal son, the older brother is a little bit peeved off, because he's been slaving, as he says in the house, and he's been serving the father, and he feels dry, he feels disconnected.

And I think that can also be how we feel in prayer, is this disconnect between the father.

And what the father said to him was, son, you're always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

So that's a real big promise.

That's a real promise, a foundational promise of like his presence, son, you're always with me, and also all that I have is yours.

Like, it's this generosity, and it's like, I think it expands our perspective on prayer.

You know, it's not just this, again, the set prayer that we say maybe in church, or it's not just this like thing that we do before meals.

We are in the presence of God, and we're receiving grace, and we're giving our thanks.

We're asking for the things that we need, which is kind of what Luke 11, that's how jesus kind of defines it.

If you're wanting a biblical definition of prayer, then Luke 11 is your place to go.

You know, jesus talks about like, this is how you pray.

Again, not just the theology, but a participation, like something you've got to engage in.

But yeah, what he says in that, which is just kind of explains around prayer, is that whole thing of, you know, ask, seek, knock, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.

And in the same way that you would ask a father, he says, which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?

Or if he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion?

So then, though your evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

Or good things, if you ask him, is another immoral gospel.

So it's just that kind of, he wants us to ask for good things, and he wants to give us good things, and he wants to give us grace.

But yeah, I think we sometimes need to break that kind of knowledge base of prayer and really participate in it.

You know, as a son or a daughter, I've spoken a lot about it on pack.

But I loved everything that you said.

So I'm hearing, I think a key word from what you're saying is communion.

In short, prayer is God saying, Communion with me.

100%.

Like, come and have a conversation with me.

Communion is good.

Yeah.

So that's what I'm getting at.

You're talking about the prodigal, and it's like, for the longest time, all of us, like our story begins with us squandering everything that God had given us.

And us, like there is an absence of communion with God.

And then through jesus, we're restored into communion with the Father.

And now, like, his spirit indwells within us, and we get to have constant communion with him.

Yeah, yeah, 100%.

Prayer is that conversation.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's, yeah, it's that receiving, giving, it's that relational communion.

Communion is a good word.

Yeah, and so, the next thing is, people often view prayer as, yeah, it's something like, I'm giving, I'm doing, and it's about me and the things that I do, and how they affect the life that I live.

But more so, how does prayer affect us?

Yeah, yeah.

Whenever we pray, how does prayer, that communion with God and that conversation, how does it actually affect us in our day to day lives?

Yeah, personally.

Joshua.

Joshua.

Joshua.

Sorry.

How it affects us?

I think it's a...

Well, yeah, I think jesus has a real good example, obviously.

He's a pretty good example.

Luke 22, you know, he's in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And there is, like, there's, I don't think there needs to be this kind of fear around prayer being personal in terms of, like, this is me and you, God.

Like, what's going on here?

And I think that should be embraced.

And for jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, you know, seeing the weight of the cross, the weight of what was going to come upon his shoulders.

And it's where you praise that, you know, really infamous prayer of like, Father, if it's your will, would you take this cup from me?

But if it's not your will, like, Father, may your will be done.

And that surrender, like, that's a...

Yeah, there's something that happens there for us and through us that changes it from being this kind of selfish, you know, like, God, I'm asking, seeking and knocking for, you know, a Lambo or, like, for even, like, things we might think are good, like a girlfriend or a boyfriend, depending on...

12 grates of iced tea.

12 grates of iced tea, yeah.

It might not be good for you, you know.

So it's that kind of, like, I think that's largely what people would have a reservation around asking things is like, you know, it's not just like a vending machine kind of thing.

But he does desire to give good things, but he also desires to like change us and to use us.

So I think that's a really good example of that tension there of, and probably we'll transition into our next question, of, well, probably it also reflects that Philippians 4, Philippians 4.6, you know, of like, present your request to God, and, you know, so that you receive that, like, peace that surpasses understanding, like, just tell him how you're anxious, tell him what you're feeling, and then allow him to, like, to give you his peace.

So that could also be an element of that within jesus' prayer of, like, he was communing with his father, like, he, even though the father was like, it is my will for this cup to pass, but it's gonna go through you first.

You know, you're gonna have to go through this.

And that was for our betterment, you know, it was for the betterment of others.

So there's a real tension there of, like, you know, asking what we need, especially for us who, like, he's inviting us to present the request, request to him so that we can receive that piece.

But it's also this kind of, yeah, it's helping us to surrender our wills as well, to surrender, like, the things that we might want to do in our physical person, but that, you know, he wants us to still go through, but he will give us the strength for that, you know.

And even after that prayer for jesus, it says that, pretty sure it says that the angels strengthened him, like, God provided what he needed for that next kind of intense experience that he was going to go through, you know.

So even if he doesn't change the direction, he'll give what we need in that, like, you know, in that communion.

Hopefully, there's that.

So I'm getting, if you think of, like, the biblical terminology, this is what I'm getting from what you're saying, of, like, the, you know, the potter and the clay, or that all the pages of our life are spread out like an open book.

Like, God's the author and perfecter of our faith.

So it's almost like prayer is us sort of stepping in to that process of the potter and his clay.

Yeah.

And us stepping in to the process of the author writing the book.

And us communing and us praying.

Prayer affects us in that it helps us conform and become what the potter wants us to become and sort of helps us align with the pages that are being written by the author.

And that's a real, it actually talks about that in Jeremiah.

I don't have the reference for you.

That's just kind of something I know, but I'm so sorry.

You should have every...

I'll try and find it if I can.

No, no, please.

But yeah, it talks about that in Jeremiah, like the potter and the clay, and that's in the context.

But then he says, if the people, if they repent from what I've planned to do, then I'll not do it.

But he talks about that in the context of potter and clay, there's still this element of like, we're not just literally jars that can't do anything.

There's an act within that, you've got to respond, you've got to participate, you've got to come in here.

And I'm like, because that's what he desires.

He doesn't want us to be lone rangers doing anything.

He wants to participate with us.

For us to be like that protocol, welcome back in, or the older son, welcome back in.

You're in my, you're in the father's house.

You know, it's kind of the, it's the imagery of the ring.

And the ring that goes in the younger son's finger, that is authority.

You've received authority in my house to do what I want you to do.

You know, to do the father's business.

So I think there's something really exciting in that as well, that it's not just this stale, boring thing.

It's like this invitation into, he's giving us his authority.

Always keeping in line with it.

Like he's really over that, you know, we don't just, we can't just do whatever we want to do, but like, yeah, he's, he's asking us to participate in that.

just really, I find that exciting anyway.

Hopefully, you do too, the listener microphone.

So I guess part of that process has been, for me practically, I'd spoken about Laurel Hill there, and how I was offered this internship with exodus.

It sounded really good.

Felt, felt right.

I had the piece that surpasses understanding kind of vibe, just had that sort of sense that this is the right thing.

And I really needed a job to go alongside that.

So it was one night I just got my face, and just asked, God, you know, I need you to make my path straight.

I need this to work out.

And I need you to provide a job.

And then went to sleep that night, woke up, got a text the next morning from my friend.

And she had just sent me, or forwarded me this job advertisement for Laurel Hill.

And it was a part-time role, perfectly fitted in with alongside exodus.

So, it was just this really encouraging express delivery service prayer, of like, this was good for me, this was going to refine me, it was going to provide for what I needed for my family, what I needed to contribute, but also giving me this in route to others as well.

So prayer is often, I feel like there is personal blessing, but there's also this kind of blessing that blesses others too.

It's kind of the currency of the kingdom in a way, of he's not just giving us things to make our lives happy, but he's giving provision to his body, all of us together, but also individually.

It affects everyone.

So I think it's probably a good story, or an example maybe of that kind of coming together.

I love that.

So to transition us into the next question, how does prayer affect others?

because we talked about how it affects us, but yeah, does it affect others?

Or is prayer like an exclusive like, yeah, just me, sometimes me, myself and I, but when I'm doing well, just me and God.

And yeah, or where does the others come in to India?

If it does.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I think that story is, that example is a good example of the overlap there, as we're saying, but I think there's a number of layers, but then not as well.

Yeah, there's, for example, it could be as simple as, it's kind of a me on another thing, you know, a kind of confession, which is really underrated.

I think, especially in the Protestant circles, it's kind of, it's almost a dirty word for us, but actually, you know, it's really, really biblical, and it's really, really good, just from experience of it.

So it's kind of a side quest answer, but, you know, participating with others in that.

I've got a number of mentors and friends who I will just share openly with and pray with.

And it's kind of like John 1, or 1 John 1 verse 7 talks about us like walking in the light so that we'll be in fellowship with one another.

So I think there's something around that in prayer, firstly of, you know, presenting our requests to God and confessing that to others, you know, this is the stuff that I'm going through, this is what I need.

And, you know, we're two or more gathered and agree in jesus' name, it will be done.

You know, that's a promise that jesus, that he gave.

So I think there's a real strength in that, you know, praying with others, whether it's for you, whether it's for a situation, whether it's for them.

That personal element is really good.

There's also the intercession, which is just a big word.

It sounds kind of scary, just means praying on the behalf of somebody else.

So it might be somebody else who's gone through a bad situation or need something.

We've got Abraham, who in Genesis 18, 22 to 23, God has basically said like, okay, Sodom and Gomorrah, we're cutting, we're pulling the cord, like things have gotten messy, I'm getting rid of this place.

Abraham, he knew his cousin was in there, wanted to have compassion on him.

So it says that he remained, God gave this command and then it says that Abraham remains standing before the Lord.

So the first thing there is this kind of boldly approaching the throne, you know, like I'm standing in the gap here between this person and God.

And they're aware of like the reality of the situation.

It's not that they're like a moody teenager, you know, like, how could you do this?

You know, this isn't, but it's standing with this like compassion, and with this desire and this confidence that God will give you his ear.

And then it goes on to say, and then Abraham approached them and said, you know, and it's this kind of thing of boldly approaching the throne of grace, to find help in your time of need.

And then it's this kind of funny, bordering thing that he goes through in it, where he's like, you know, don't destroy it.

Would you keep it if there's like 40 people here?

Okay, what about 30 people if they're like, you know, if they'd be going for you?

What about 20?

And then he kind of riddles it on and on.

And in the end, he actually does, because of his intercession, because he stood in the gap, his friend, his cousin, a lot is delivered from death, basically, in judgment.

So yeah, I think there's, on that trip that we did in Donegal, one of our days was Community Day, and we were looking at provision, and I just felt led to pray with this guy.

He was a Brazilian guy in Donegal, who had been working in this, like, he'd come over from Brazil, been working in, I think it was a bakery, maybe, and he needed more provision.

He had quite a few kids, and he was really clever.

Like, he was here, he was, like, in a bakery, but back in Brazil, he was, like, an engineer.

You know, he was so smart, he was so equipped, but often there's a bit of resistance to people from outside of, you know, Ireland getting a job that maybe an Irish person could take.

So just, like, felt the compassion of that, felt like, yeah, I kind of understand that, but also, like, I had love for this guy to receive.

So, prayed with him, and that was great.

Then we, the next day, we all went to Charlie's.

Shout out to Charlie's in our draw.

Best.

Oh, so good.

Check it out.

And got a text from him.

Hadn't actually read it, walked out the door.

He was there with his kids.

He had picked up something from Charlie's, and he was just getting in the car to go to the beach.

And he was like, oh man, so good I've seen you.

The guys who I'd applied for in Randox, they gave me a call literally today, and I got the job.

It was such a good celebration of this provision for this guy.

And it wasn't for me, but it encouraged me.

And it wasn't from me, but there is still that kind of ask, ask, seek and knock.

You know, and if you don't, like there's kind of an application there that you won't receive.

You know, so there is like this kind of, I think there's a real pressing in there, and there's a real promise.

There's a real boldness and encouragement that God like loves.

He loves that.

He loves people interceding.

He loves people asking him because it shows this desire to like participate.

It can mean.

Yeah.

Whenever we were in Donegal, we started, I remember one of our morning devotions, the first morning devotion by Mariah Sinclair.

Shout out.

It's a good devotion.

She was like, okay, we're gonna talk about intercessory prayer.

And I was like, right.

That set the tone for the week.

because I was like, all right, guys, we're just gonna like, just reread chapter here.

It's just like, we're talking about intercessory prayer.

And I was like, yeah, okay, let's go.

And I remember that morning and like, just, yeah, it was just, I find it insane.

I find it insane, that discovery.

And that was only recent, that God is inviting us in this new covenant to be like administers of the new covenant.

I remember me and you were together for that.

Yeah, yeah.

And like you gave me that.

It was just a reconciliation.

Yeah, you gave me that scripture.

And I'm just like, we are invited to be ministers of this, like this new covenant.

And we are invited by God to come boldly before the throne room.

And we can come boldly before the throne room because of jesus and what he has done.

He has torn that curtain temple, that veil in two.

And so that's the reason why we can come up with this boldness and this confidence.

And we can bring others before God.

And that's what the father desires of his children.

100%.

And like God, the father wants to grant the request of his children, like what good father doesn't.

But can the father grant a request that is never given?

Yeah.

That's the, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

God has created this, his economy is that we are like participants in this.

Like we actually have autonomy.

We actually engage.

We actually pray.

And so whenever you're not doing that, do not be in a way surprised that there is this absence of the supernatural, when there's this absence of this faithful, bold prayer.

And really this absence, it's like narcissistic prayers, where how often do others come into your prayers?

How often do we intercede?

And how often, when we do intercede, do we recognize that as an incredible gift that we're partaking in?

100%.

Yeah, like jesus stood in the gap.

He was the intercessor in that.

And even now, it says, you know, well, yeah, even before he died on the cross, he said, Peter, Satan wants to grind you up like the dirt, but I have prayed for you.

You know, even now, then after jesus died on the cross, which in itself was intercession for us, he was standing in the gap.

And then after the resurrection, you know, it also echoes that idea of, you know, it echoes out of like, he's interceding for us in the right hand of the throne, and on the throne, and like, something really powerful about that.

And it reminds me of in Alpha, there's, you might have heard it, there's a story about the soldier who's like really despairing.

I can't remember the details of it, but it's a true story, and he's really despairing, and he wants to, I think, go home in the war, the civil war that was going on, to basically like see his brother, his mother, or something like that.

And he's despairing, and he can't get into the White house, you know?

Like he can't like, he can't just approach his commander and say like, this is what I want, because he had to come into this.

Then he bumps into this little boy, and the little boy's like, you know, what's up?

And he tells him his trouble.

Then the boy just says, like, come with me.

And he walks with the boy, goes into the White house, straight through security, straight through the bodyguards, right down the hallway, and then comes to the presidential suite, door swings open, the son brings him in.

Dad, this is the son.

Dad, this guy needs your help.

And it's like Abe Lincoln, you know, just chilling in the White house.

But that is a real image of jesus, you know, like, come with me.

Like, I'm going to bring you into the White house.

Like, I'm going to bring you to the father, and like, make a request.

And that, every time we do that, like, that's what we're doing.

We're standing in the throne, room of grace, and like, we're asking.

Yeah.

That's mental.

It actually is.

It's a class.

It's like, what?

And there's a reverence in that, and like, a fear of the Lord in that, of like, and like, a love, you know, because it's also your father.

It's not just the president.

This is the prodigal son, father, who runs to you.

Almost like meets you in the corridor in a way, there, like, you know, like, son, what do you want?

Or daughter, what do you need?

Like, let's come in, let's have a chat, you know?

And I think, and this is in no way a caveat, or an add-on, or a disclaimer, but a fundamental acknowledgement and recognition of God's people must be the sovereignty of God.

And the sovereignty of God, however way you view that, many people view it, okay, so it sort of detracts away from our petitions and our requests and our prayers, when actually it should bring us more to the throne room.

Confidence.

Yeah.

The sovereignty of God is the context for our prayers.

It's like everything, all of our prayers are done in the context of the sovereignty of God, who stands over and above everything, and who is sovereign over every request that we bring.

This is where our confidence should come from.

And so, yeah.

You almost see, he fuels it too.

Like the Spirit has been given to us, not only to be born again, and just like that moment of, okay, you're in, see in heaven.

It is that participation of, you're a minister of reconciliation.

And, you know, it says the Spirit like speaks in grooms, like, and I think speaks in words, but just clarity, like, this is what I want you to press into.

And I go do it, you know, and like, there's, again, that is a participation thing of like, we're receiving, okay, this is how we do this, this is what I feel the Lord leading me to, you know, and like, and I want to do this, I want to surrender to that, you know, there's an element of the will and the sovereignty.

Yeah.

Together, you know, married.

I think we divide that way too much.

But actually, it's such a, it's a beautiful mystery, but it's beautiful.

Like, it is beautiful.

Yeah.

That alludes back to what we were saying about prayer.

Like, conforming us to the will of God.

So we're not creators of the will of God.

It's like, here's the will for everyone, me, everyone, the world.

No, no, no, that's not prayer.

Prayer is communion with God, and God saying, here, my child, is my will.

And it's about conforming us and surrendering it to that.

It's John 15, like, I no longer kill you slaves, I call you friends, because the friends know, you know, my business, basically, they know the father's business.

Like, you are, you're getting an inside scoop here.

You are able to receive, you're able to participate in this.

Like, I'm going to be telling you stuff that, like, I, like, I don't tell anybody else, like, demons don't know this, spiritual realm, like, they don't necessarily know this.

Maybe some of the angels do, but, but yeah, that there is this real, like, honor and, like, connection and closeness in it, which is really, really cool.

So the next question I have for you is, we've got HyperFX, us, the individual, HyperFX, others.

But what about the world?

The world.

It is, yeah, globally.

The whole, the whole shebang.

Globally, man.

This big blue planet of ours.

Yeah, I, I, what?

What?

What?

I'm gonna be honest with you.

I don't pray often for our planet.

Um, we're like, yeah, what does that, what does that mean?

Like, can you provide more detail to that?

Well, firstly, I think that's a really good acknowledgement.

You know, I didn't play much for my planet.

Like, we live in a culture that is like never before have we had so much information about all of the world's problems all the time.

So many prayer group chats, so many things, so many like things pulling us their way, you know, like we need prayer, we need prayer, we need prayer.

I'm not saying like, there are really good things as well.

But there is also this element of, it can become so overwhelming.

And you're like, I don't even know where to begin.

But I think finding your compassion, I think that's a big one.

What is your heartbreak for?

Or ask God like, break my heart for what?

Break series like, what am I not breaking for that I need to?

Where am I apathetic?

That, you know, where's my heart hard that I need to have compassion for?

There's Matthew 9 where jesus talks about the harvest fields.

And it says, jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Then it says, when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

So there's kind of a thing there of like, compassion being the, this kind of like foundation to that, of like, what is it that's breaking my heart?

And then it's the like, ask, you know, it's the like, well, probably he was participating, he was already doing.

And then as he was doing, the needs were arising.

And then as the needs arise, you know, okay, this is what I need to like press into.

And the word ask in that, whenever he says, you know, like ask the Lord of the Harvest for workers, the root of that in the Hebrew and the original language and the Greek as well is like this thing of begging, like, it's this like constant repetition, this like not giving up, you know, like this constantly really pressing in and pressing into prayer.

And even if it's not just, if you can't do it to pray for somebody else, like to pray that someone can go and do that, you know, pray for the laborers, pray for those who will go into the harvest field.

And part of the harvest field imagery is that like, you are assigned to your plot of land.

You don't need to consider like, you can be aware of other people's plot of land, but like, what is your plot of land that you're being called to?

And focus wholeheartedly on that, because that's part of the world.

And if we all do that in all of our different areas, then the harvest field is gonna get brought in.

Like, the work is gonna be done.

But yeah, I think in the bigness of the world, there is like a call to, what's breaking my heart?

What can I focus in on?

And where is my harvest field?

Like, what can I, jesus, what are you asking me to focus on here?

And let me do that with all my heart.

Yeah, and I guess there's also just that thing of, I gotta do the plug.

Wildfires, exodus, these things, they are participating in the Ministry of Reconciliation.

They're wanting to do these things.

Like, jesus invites us in Matthew 17 to, you know, if you pray with the faith size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.

And I like, there was a really nice moment in Teams where we needed like 300 pounds for our fundraising.

We had done our fundraising already, but a month prior to this, to knowing that we needed this 300, my mentor had come to me and said, you know, God's really put this number on my heart, and it's like, to give you.

And I was like, oh, great, yeah, yeah.

I'll just like get it from you at some point.

In my head, like 30 quid, yeah, that'll be good.

So kind of forgot about it.

Month on, did fundraising, 300 pounds we needed.

So I was like, oh, this is really inconvenient, really annoying.

But God, like we're trusting he's going to get this.

And then had another meeting with, where I meet up with my mentor, and he was like, oh, by the way, I need to get the money that I promised, like a month ago.

I was like, oh, sweet, yeah, yeah.

Like, just give me an eye share.

And if that's okay, I was like, I might need to like transfer you.

And I was like, why?

And he was like, well, God said specifically 300 pounds, like I need to give you that specifically.

And I was like, I love you so much.

Love his faithfulness.

I love his like, his generosity there, but yeah, that's for me is an example of this, like asking in faith, you know, for the harvest fields, because that's what we were going to do.

We were going to the harvest fields and asking for that like bigger picture.

Like none of that was going to us.

It was going to this world mission.

And he is like, the money belongs to him.

The provision belongs to him.

The power, the authority, everything that belongs to jesus, that belongs to God.

So when we ask in faith in that way, and like we want to have compassion on the harvest fields.

We want to have compassion in that area.

God really honours that.

That story for me is just really, it really like just reminds me of his provision, and that he is always there to give what we need when we do that.

So really, it's about acknowledging that we find ourselves, our story finds itself in a bigger tapestry.

That you can go from your home to your street, to your village, your town, your city, your country, your continent, your world.

And it's about lifting your eyes, and you're finding yourself in this eternal tapestry that began with the words, let there be light.

And really the consummation of everything, whenever jesus Christ returns, when we're reigning with him for eternity, it's like prayer helps us take a step back, and see ourselves in this bigger picture.

And then, but by looking at the bigger picture, it helps us to step in and see the specifics, like as you said, like the individuals, like and then the specific, like 300 pounds.

Yeah, it gets into the details of the people's lives.

So can I summarize?

Go for it.

Can I?

That's the question.

Well, am I capable?

The topic is why pray, and we sort of began by saying, what is prayer?

And really, it was communion with the most high, like just being in his presence and having that privilege as his child, because they're everything that was accomplished by jesus on the cross.

It's like, have a conversation with God.

And we talked about how prayer actually affects, prayer does something.

Prayer is not us bouncing words off a wall or a ceiling.

No, prayer is actually affecting us, the individual, because it's helping us surrender to, you know what I mean, the potter and what he's doing to us, the clay, and the author and what he's doing and writing our story.

It helps us to conform and align to his will, his sovereign will.

And we talked about how prayer affects others.

So not just focusing on ourselves, but looking outward and becoming interceders, like intercessory prayer, actually bringing people before the throne room in faith, knowing that you're bringing them and your father sees that and can respond.

And actually looking for the fruit of our prayers, like bringing these people and saying, hey, what's going on?

Anything new?

And then we looked at how prayer affects the world.

Like we find ourselves in this bigger tapestry of life and this bigger tapestry in the world that we're in.

But by looking at that, it helps us home in on where we're at.

Yeah, 100%.

And the last thing I want to do is one thing that you want the people who have been listening to this podcast to take away, like, what one thing do you want to say on the topic of why pray?

That's it, yeah.

Well, I think there's that, you know, not a plug for Nike, but just that, like, do it.

Like, just do it, don't like think about it too much.

just do it.

Like, spend time with them.

If there is a resource that could help, I did a course with my church called Spending Time with jesus with Belfast City Vineyard.

Phenomenal, helped me so much with my, just one-to-one time with jesus.

I think that's the thing to take away, is like, that's where it all starts.

just you and jesus.

just spending time with him.

Like, if all of this has kind of landed on deaf ears, just take that one thing away, and he'll give you what you need to know.

You know, what you personally need to understand, what you personally need to carry, is spend time with jesus, and just do it.

Like, create space in your schedule, morning, evening, if you can.

And yeah, it's like, even with the nut, it's for the course, it encourages just like silence, sitting before the Lord, and receiving his affection, kind of just like giving adoration to him, asking for mercy, just being silent, and then receiving his word, getting in the Bible, just like practically receiving comfort, conviction, giving thanks, returning to silence.

So there's this kind of rhythm, which is what I do every day now, if I can.

I write a little diary note of, this is what I read today, and this is what I feel, and this is what it's saying in the scripture.

Yeah, because it's not always, sometimes it contradicts how I feel, and it's like, I feel this, but actually God's saying this through his word.

So yeah, that's the place to start, spending time free to jesus.

That's where it all begins.

That's where the source of life in a way comes from.

because prayer is like part of a relationship with him, together with him.

It's not this thing you've got to take off on your box.

It's something that you need.

You can't function as a Christian without it.

And if you are, if you're trying to, I don't know if you're doing it successfully, and you'll probably start to see the fruits of that.

And also, there is that question of, you know, God, am I really, like, am I spending time with you?

Am I, like, are we tight?

Like, I need, I want to be tight.

Like, I want to know you.

And not that that will, like, hopefully that doesn't lead to, like, paranoia of, like, oh my gosh, I can't even go.

because the invitation is boldly approach, boldly approach the throne of grace to find help in your time of need.

So his arms are always, like, whether you feel distant, like me as a prodigal, and you're far off, the invitation is come to the father.

And if you're like an older son who's in the church, feeling dry, feeling like you're not receiving from him, the invitation is, son, you're always with me.

Everything that I have is yours.

Or daughter, you're always with me.

Everything that I have is yours.

So come into the house.

Let's celebrate, let's enjoy this life together.

And then let's live, you know, with son and daughter, with the father.

Yeah, do it, just do it.

just do it.

just do it.

Be a Mary and not a Martha when it comes to prayer.

Don't do, do, do.

And miss his presence and the invitation just to sit.

And when you do that, you're doing it.

Yeah, when you pray, you're in his presence.

And that's enough.

Oh my god, it's getting quieter, it's getting quieter.

Would you, would you pray to close?

Would you intercede?

Look, I don't know how to pray.

Oh, oh no.

It's pretend all the time.

It's just you could pretend her.

Yeah, please, if you would just like, sort of, yeah, pray for us and others.

Let's do it.

Father, I pray you would just, wherever we are, you're here with us in this room, Lord, but you're also with people wherever they are, in their cars, in their rooms, walking about, Father, so I pray, just right now, you would make them aware of your presence, Lord.

The Alpha and the Omega, you're here with us.

Emmanuel.

Father, I pray you just, I pray you would speak your own take away for whoever's listening, Lord.

I pray you would speak with us as well, Holy Spirit, just what do you want them to take away?

I'm just in some seconds of silence here.

just speak that word to them, Lord.

What do they need to take away from this?

Father, I pray you just speak now in clarity to them.

What do they need to take away?

Father, I pray that you would confirm and encourage and reinforce this word.

Pray whatever has been spoken in this, whatever maybe was brought to memory, that that would land on their hearts.

And that they would not only know more about prayer, Lord, but they would actually know you more, that they would be encouraged to boldly approach your throne of grace, to find help in their time of need.

You're a good father, and you desire to have communion with us.

Lord, so I pray that you, Father, would draw near to us, God, as we draw near to you.

Father, I pray you would supply everything that we need and encourage us to pray, Father, encourage us to commune with you.

Father, I pray for you to transform our lives completely and that we wouldn't just be content with where we are, Lord, but we would desire more of you.

So, Father, I pray bless this ministry, bless the ministries that, bless the lives, Lord, that have been impacted by you.

Yeah, and I pray you would fill us with your goodness and your grace.

In jesus' name, Amen.