Deepening Our Prayer Life Through Faith and Righteousness

Prayer is important. I just met this past week with, there's a group of pastors that meets, we meet down at San Marcos community church. And we pray for the corridor, right? All the way from Buda. We pray for the corridor, right? All the way from, down to New Braunfels, and so we got churches represented from, you know, along 35, and we just get together as pastors, and we pray for this area. [00:29:10]

Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11, starting in verse 12. The context is, this is that last week. You know, Jesus had triumphal entry, and then he's basically living to the east of Jerusalem. They go back to Bethany, the Mount of Olives, and they just, every night they go there to stay, and then they come back to Jerusalem through that whole week before the end of that week we have the crucifixion. [00:33:00]

My house is to be a house of prayer for all nations. He's going back to King Solomon. He's going back to the first temple, the dedication of the first temple, and God's purpose for his temple. His temple was a place right in the middle of the temple. The Holy of Holies, the presence of God was to be there. [00:35:29]

When Jesus died, he paid for our sin, and he said, It is finished. And what happened at the Holy of Holies? This giant curtain, huge, one that Herod had made. It's like huge. It's huge and tall, right? If we're going to try to rip it, you wouldn't have been able to, but a strong man would come in and try to rip it, and he would go from the bottom, and he wouldn't be able to get anywhere. [00:38:27]

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up, thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. You think because I said, may you never bear fruit again, and then 24 hours later this tree is withered, that that's a big deal. [00:40:43]

Talk about hearing with faith, obeying by faith. Those are the steps to get into this place of where I am walking in faith and obedience, hearing God and trusting what he says. And it's from that place of faith, trusting God, that then prayer becomes powerful. I am walking in a manner pleasing to God. [00:45:16]

If we continue in verse 25, he says, And whenever you stand praying, forgive. If you have anything against anyone so that you can forgive, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. What have I got that's getting in the way of my prayer that needs to go? It's my trespasses. [00:51:58]

So legally before God, we are no longer condemned. We do not face eternity in hell. There is no punishment left for our sin because it's been punished on the cross. We are justified. Done completely. We don't have to do anything. We just simply have to believe in faith what Jesus did for us. On the cross, it's done. [00:54:30]

You want your prayer to be meaningful? You want your prayer to be answered? You want to be heard? To see God respond? Here's what we do. We walk in righteousness because His eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayer. Here's the third point. God responds to the righteous. [01:05:00]

And Jesus is saying, follow me into this place of intimate relationship with the Father. Just trust God. Have faith in God. What's it like? When the eyes of God are upon us. Intimate relationship with God. I don't care about Ferraris anymore, right? I don't care about demonstrating my power, right? If I'm walking in fellowship with God, it's all about him. [01:06:29]

James chapter 5 says is anyone among you sick let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he's committed sins he will be forgiven prayer of faith whose faith is operating there first the person who says I'm not good elders please come and pray over me what are they saying they're saying if you're a person who should be following God because you are in a position of leading in his church then God's listening to those who are walking according to his ways and please don't try to put a pastor up on a pedestal we are all desperately trying to learn to follow God and to follow God and trust him but this expression of faith say come pray over me is an expression of faith to God and the anointing of oil oil is not powerful in itself but what is it it's an expression of faith [01:07:52]

I am so convinced that the most important thing for us is to pursue constantly a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Father, corporately and individually. What we do in this church, like we're doing the spiritual leadership class, or we're doing other things. And as we get together in small groups, we're doing that to grow together in our relationship with Jesus. [01:13:00]