It's Time to Pray

In Jeremiah 33:3 God declares, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Is that not what we’re after? Do we not want, and need, God to show us the path to true victory, freedom, and godliness? Do we not need our heavenly Father to give us wisdom, direction, guidance, and strength as we walk that path? Yes, yes, and again, yes! That is why we so desperately need to be in a constant posture of prayer.
 
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Transcript

In Jeremiah 33:3 God declares, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Is that not what we’re after? Do we not want, and need, God to show us the path to true victory, freedom, and godliness? Do we not need our heavenly Father to give us wisdom, direction, guidance, and strength as we walk that path? Yes, yes, and again, yes! That is why we so desperately need to be in a constant posture of prayer.

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #197 entitled “It’s Time to pray!”

God says, “Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.” (Psalm 50:15 NLT) The Psalmist tells us that God “fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” (Psalm 145:19 NIV’84) And in Isaiah 65:24 God proclaims, “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” (ESV)

Jesus promised that when you ask “it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 ESV).

Before starting the day – each and every day, I challenge you to ask God to “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” (Psalm 25:4-5 NLT). I urge you to pray, “Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.” (Psalm 5:8 NLT)

There is great value in starting each day with prayer. It’s important to ask God to:

·      “Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me.” (Psalm 27:11 NLT)

·      “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11 ESV)

·      “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” (Psalm 143:10a ESV) 

As we seek to be free from the grip of our sinful habits and as we endeavor to pursue a life of Biblical integrity and godliness, we need God to teach us His way. For your Heavenly Father to actually teach you, you must literally be teachable.

·      “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5 NIV’84)

Are you a person who lacks wisdom? It’s time to pray. Are you struggling with understanding not just what to do, but how to do it? It’s time to pray. Ask God. Yes, it is that simple. “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17 NLT).

When someone is crying out for help, that person is acknowledging their desperate need for some form of assistance, relief, and support. What are you needing God’s help with right now? It’s time to pray. “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18-19 ESV).

As we seek to be Christ-honoring, godly men and women, we desperately need the wisdom only God can give. His divine wisdom enables us to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong, between good and evil. God is greatly pleased when we ask Him for this, so I urge you to go ahead and ask.

·      “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV’84)

·      “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 ESV)

·      “For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:3-6 NASB’95)

Let’s face it: up to this point you have struggled to be completely free of your sinful habits. You have not known what steps to take to permanently stop your idolatry and be the man or woman God has called and equipped you to be. If you did, we would not be here. To have victory over your struggle with sinful choices you desperately need the wisdom, the insight, and the understanding only God can give. This is why I so strongly urge you, as you begin each day, and as you go throughout the day, choose to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There [you] will receive his mercy, and [you] will find grace to help [you] when [you] need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

It is also critical that you continue this spirit of prayer throughout the day. Every day, you must “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Matthew 26:41 NLT). Without prayer you are vulnerable. Without prayer you are exposed. Without prayer you cannot be in fellowship with God. This is why I repeat – it’s time to pray!

Jesus made it abundantly clear when He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9 ESV). He also said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7 ESV).

Let me clarify something. If you see prayer merely as a means of acquiring what you want, then you will inevitably be disappointed in what will appear to you to be unanswered prayer. However, if you understand that prayer is primarily an ongoing conversation with God, then you will begin to grasp the fact that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer.

God may not choose to do what you ask of Him when you want, the way you want, but if you see prayer as an ongoing dialogue between you and your heavenly Father, then His promise to always hear your heart and supply your needs should be the only answer you ever truly need.

Do not let a day go by without coming before God’s throne, seeking first His kingdom in your heart, and His righteousness in your life. Only then will everything begin to fall into place (see Matthew 6:33).

As we ask God to give us wisdom (James 1:5), He will answer primarily through the words of Scripture. 

·      “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6 ESV)

·      “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.” (Psalm 119:98 NLT)

The only way you will experience permanent victory versus temporary success is through the daily study and application of God’s word. I do not want you to miss this. It is only “from his mouth” that you will receive wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. It is only “from his mouth” that you will discover how to combat and defeat King Me. This requires reading, studying, and meditating daily upon Scripture.

I strongly encourage you to read God’s Word daily. You see, “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4 ESV). You will not be free of the grip King Me has on you, you will not live daily in victory, you will not experience freedom and genuine satisfaction, based upon man’s counsel and your own personal efforts alone. Believe me, I know. I tried to change my behavior without changing my heart. It does not work. Oh, sure, behavior modification can bring about a temporary “change,” but without the Holy Spirit engaged in changing your heart, you are bound to eventually fall and fail.

I am not saying all of man’s counsel is bad. Nor am I trying to imply that your personal efforts are utterly worthless. What I am saying is that freedom, victory, and lasting godliness is found through Scripture because “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NLT). God’s Word has the cleansing, restorative, and reenergizing power you need to be free from the snares of the enemy. Only as you daily fill your mind with His Truth, letting the Holy Spirit use God’s Word to wash your mind of those King Me centered, self-pleasuring thoughts, will you be able to live daily as one who is truly godly.

The key is that “when you received the word of God ... you accept it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV). There is tremendous value in listening to what God has to say to you through the Bible.

·      According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, reading God’s Word will teach you. It will instruct you in how to do what is right. 

·      Reading God’s Word will reprove you. It will show you what and where you’ve done wrong. 

·      Reading God’s Word will correct you. It will help you fix what was wrong and make it right. 

·      Reading God’s Word will also train you in how to live a life of righteousness, a life of purity, a life that daily honors and glorifies your Creator and Heavenly Father.

The result of not just reading God’s Word daily but choosing to live by it is that you become a person of God who is completely equipped to be a man or woman of integrity and godliness. This is why I strongly encourage you to read your Bible every day, seven days a week.

OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com

One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is the recently updated, 2nd edition of my book entitled “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” This newly released 2nd edition is rich with hundreds of Scripture references, scores of practical illustrations, and each chapter now ends with a study guide full of questions and discussion points.

“Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you on a journey through the Bible to examine what God has to say about how your thoughts, words, and actions influence and impact your heart.

If you’ve followed this Point of Purity Podcast for any length of time, then you’ve heard me emphasize the fact that what you think becomes what you do. When you train your mind to think godly thoughts, the things you say and do day in and day out will be godly. On the flip side, when you allow your mind to think sinful, fleshly, ungodly, King Me centered thoughts, the result (your daily attitudes and actions) will be ungodly. So, how do I change the way I think? How do I change the things I do? How do I successfully and effectively guard my heart? This book, “Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you into God’s Word to help you answer those questions.

So head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Extreme Mind Makeover” today.

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!

So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.