Prayer & Purpose with Margie Fleurant | CTN Episode 39

0:00 pray it and he can answer it the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much God will put the prayer in your heart to pray so that he can answer it goes into the hearts of the people doesn't return void it produces results praise God isn't it good to just you know we come out of the you come out of the traffic you come out of all this and we're in the presence of God amen we just have to switch gears and refocus. That's how prayer works. And you could do the same thing at home. Amen? We just happened to get in there a little quicker because there's a corporate anointing here tonight. But you could do the same thing at home. Now, as you know, we have had an assignment the last three times to get back to basics. And we don't really know what's going to happen after tonight. But tonight we're going to be talking about personal devotional basics, part two. The guided prayer tonight, the Holy Spirit set the intention. It's him who's put this on my heart to teach. And our prayer focus is following hard after Jesus. Everyone say following hard after Jesus. And I just want to say that this is one of my favorite churches in the whole wide world. Is it okay if I say that? Yeah. So before we get into the heart of

1:35 what I want to share today, I want to do a little bit of review, not too much. And if it's okay with Pastor Joe, I may teach a little longer and then we'll have a little less prayer just to let you know. I believe that's how we're going to go tonight. And the prayer time will be about 15 minutes. So I just want to just kind of just let you know what to expect as we lead in tonight. But by way of review, I just want to share what I had shared last month, that the Lord said to me, many desire to draw near to me in prayer, but don't know how or don't know where to begin.

2:19 And then someone once said, Mommy, prayer is boring. And I couldn't believe it when I heard that. And my thought process was, well, that's why I'm just uploading everything that we're doing up on the internet. So in the event that you don't catch the vision and you don't run with it and mommy goes up into heaven, you could still hear me teach you how to pray through my YouTube channel. But prayer is not boring. We said this last month that prayer goes from sacrifice to a joy, from a desire to a discipline, and it eventually becomes a delight. But you have to put in practice the principles of how to pray.

3:14 And it just begins right where you are. So we're going to change that. So this teaching and you putting into practice and not giving up in your pursuit of Jesus in the secret place is going to change prayer being boring. Amen. So our homework last month, and this is the first time in four years, three, four years, I don't know how long we've been doing this, that I'm going to talk about our homework first. Our homework for last month was we told you that you were to purchase, I believe, this is not law, purchase a physical Bible. In a version you can understand. I'm sure you've heard the discrepancy about the Message Bible. I don't recommend that as your devotion.

4:06 I recommend the New King James Version or the NIV. But purchase a Bible that you can understand. You can get it online. We said for homework, to get yourself a new journal. I'm not going to ask how many did this. Get yourself a new journal because we want to start fresh. I know a lot of us have a lot of journals, but this is your new journal, right? And then number three, what I like to do is I like to have colored pencils. So I highlight, for example, all the scriptures on healing. They may be all in blue or all the scriptures on the Holy Spirit are all in red.

4:47 It's good to have these little tools to kind of help you get motivated. biblegateway .com, or however you decide to look up your scriptures. Because when you pray, and we're going to get into this, there'll be times you'll hear like... A scripture on the inside of you. Or a half scripture. Or you have a sense. Hmm, that might be in the word of God. It sounds very familiar. And so the best thing to do nowadays is just to go into the internet. Go into Google or chat GBT or whatever.

5:28 And just put out those words that you heard on the inside and look it up. And you'd be surprised at how you hear from God. Jesus said it himself. He said, my sheep hear my voice and the voice of a stranger you will not follow. So just become familiar with that. Now remember this, we're talking about basics. Everyone say basics. Number six, get a devotional book or any book that is going to feed your spirit. Now remember we said last month that it's not just prayer, but it's the word of God in your devotional time. prayer we likened it unto a bird what makes the bird fly the left wing or the right wing it's both wings you need both wings to fly so we need to have a foundation of the word of god in in our time and in our devotional time as well as the foundation of entering into the presence of god okay now Let's go into our text. I'm going to ask my girl. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name.

6:39 I apologize for that. If you could put up Psalm 63, 1 through 8. And I love the way the Holy Spirit gave this to me today. And this is where we left off last month with Psalm 63, 1 through 8. And what I'd like to do is I'd like for us to do what we did at the end of the service last week. I'd like for us to read it out loud together. Are you ready? Let's read it. Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Next. So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power. and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus, I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with morrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches because you have been my help.

8:11 Therefore, in the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind you. Your right hand, it... upholds me. Now I love this psalm and we made it tonight like our prayer like we did last month. Now this is the psalm and David spoke these words to God as a prayer in a challenging time. The title of this psalm, if you look in your physical Bible, says a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah and he said, oh God, You are my God. So if you're ever in a wilderness, this is a really good place to start. If you're ever in a dry place in your prayer time and we all go through dry seasons and don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about, then take out this song because this is exactly how David's felt. He said, my soul thirsts for you. My body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

9:24 Now I want to highlight Psalm 63 verse 8. He said, my soul follows hard after you and your right hand upholds me. So David wrote this while hiding in the desert of Judah. Are you listening? And it was a hot, dry, lonely place east of Jerusalem. Most likely, this psalm was written when David fled from Absalom. Absalom had rebelled and tried to take the throne. How many of you know that?

10:04 David had to leave Jerusalem quickly and escape into the wilderness. Listen, he was tired. He was thirsty. and he was heartbroken. Far from the tabernacle and public worship. Now let's talk about the Hebrew meaning of the two words hard and follow, and I'll make my point. He says, my soul follows hard after you. That word hard in the Hebrew means to cling, to stick. To hold fast. So he's in a desert place. But he's saying listen. I'm not moved by all of this around me.

10:48 I'm not moved by the loneliness. I'm not moved by the warfare. I'm not moved by the rejection. I'm only moved by one thing. And one thing is needful. And I have chosen that good part. I am going to follow. Hard after you I'm gonna cling to you I'm gonna stick to you and I'm gonna hold fast to you come hell or high water sink Or swim. Because I know you are faithful. I know you are just. I know you will never leave me. I know you will never forsake me. I know that you are with me always. And I can trust in you with all of my heart. I know you will always be there. And you are in every present help in the time of trouble. He had friendship with God.

11:37 As a matter of fact, the Bible calls David a man after God's own heart. And I think that God looks at our hearts, that when we're in a dry and thirsty place and there is no water, so to speak, if we just keep following hard after him and keep clinging to him and not be moved or not be swayed or not be led by our emotions, God... likes that because without faith it is impossible to please him. The Bible says he that comes to God must believe that he is and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and David was a man after God's own heart. How many of you would say boy that sure is me I have a heart after God. If you didn't have a heart after God you wouldn't be here tonight. It's that word heart is also This is my book, Decision Time.

12:35 Everyone should read this book, especially those of you who are at a crossroads in your life. You don't know what to do. You don't know how God is leading you. This is the book where you reach a place where you say, Lord, not my will, your will be done in my life. I also include in this book. how to hear the voice of God, which is important when you're making decisions. If you go to my website at margieflaurent .org, you will see that this book is available to you. Be here tonight. It's that word heart is also used in Genesis 2, 24, and where it says, a man shall cleave to his wife. He says here, my soul clings. close behind you. In other words, I hold tightly to you with love, devotion, independence, never letting go. How many of you could say that that's you? I don't really feel that that's me.

13:40 But if you look on the inside of you, right here where the real you is, the hidden man of the heart, don't you just have that desire for God, that longing for God, that will to know him and to understand the wonders of his person? God created us for intimacy. God created us to be close to him. So he said here, my soul clings close behind you. So let's put the words together. Follow and hard. He said it paints a vivid picture. He said, I will follow hard. I will follow hard after you. That word follow to me shows direction.

14:28 And what's the direction? The direction is toward God. I will lift up my hand. to the hills. From whence cometh help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. So it shows me direction. That David's focus and direction was toward God. Not even towards people. Listen, I have learned more recently than ever that sometimes people will fail you. You can't trust them. They give you the wrong advice. but the wisdom of God is perfect so that follow my soul follows hard after you shows direction toward God hard to me shows intensity my soul follows hard after you. It shows intensity with deep devotion. So what's the message? Even in the hardest place, and I know I'm talking to somebody tonight because I just put this out here and I said to the Lord, what is it? He said, it's for someone here tonight.

15:41 Even in the hardest place, it is important for us to cling close to God, follow hard after him, no matter what. So I want to encourage you tonight, don't run from God in the hard times, run to him. And remember this, that the thief comes but for to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus said, I've come that you may have life and life more abundantly. So when you find yourself in a hard place, in a dry place, in a wilderness place, that's not from God. Just keep pursuing the heart of Jesus. Keep running hard after him. Yeah, sometimes you won't feel the presence of God, but who said it? Somebody said it. I think the people in the Word of Faith movement, which I'm a part of, I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm only moved by one thing, that the Word of God is forever settled in heaven.

16:50 And if God said it, whether I believe it or not, that settles it. So we're going to run to Jesus. I'm not running away from him. So what's the reflection tonight? You good that I'm going quick? Knowing God and practicing his presence develops this kind or a kind of confidence, devotion, and like we talked about last month, friendship with God. And I said this last week. And I'm going to say it again. And I prophesied it years ago that we must know God for ourselves. Let's not be like the children of Israel who are hiding outside the tabernacle and wanting the man of God to do all the work for us. You just go into the presence of God and you get the word of the Lord for us. Can I just be honest with you? Get the word of the Lord for yourself. We must know God for ourselves, deeply and intimately, if we are going to survive in these times. Just like David, who is known after a man after God's own heart, we too can have a heart that follows hard after God, even in the midst of a difficult season. This devotion comes by friendship with God. We're not going to talk about the first

18:22 three. I'd really like to get into more of it later. But actually the first two. But it comes by what I call continual prayer. That's a whole message. It can also come by praying in your bed. Praying in your bed. I said praying in your bed. How many of you wake up in the middle of the night? What are you going to do? Lay in bed and worry and fret and have anxiety about everything you're going through? Or are you going to cast all of your cares, all of your concerns once and for all over on him? You can pray in your bed. You can have a posture of prayer right in your bed. And guess what, new moms? There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. knows you need to get to bed when you're raising these kids and you're a new mom. Amen. Well, you know, I heard messages about praying in the closet. Well, your bed can be your prayer closet. We're going to talk about the closet kind of prayer. And here's our text.

19:36 and i know i've talked about this before but it doesn't really matter because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god and the spirit of god gave us the assignment he says you've got to get back to basics because My people need to have some have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they become cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water, and therefore they're not operating out of their overflow. But I need them to come to me, and they're not being doers of the word. They're just being hearers, and they're not practicing my presence, and they're not entering into my presence. to keep saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it and as soon as my people enter in then we can move on do a lot of times as leaders we're stuck because you you know you just like the children of Israel you know they just kept going around and around and around and around you know if we could just get unstuck we could go way further than we could ever imagine, hope, dream, or desire.

20:53 Because God said, I'm able to do for you exceedingly, abundantly, above all. You can ask, hope, dream, or desire, but I just need you to get unstuck. So faith comes by hearing. Mark 44, 3 and 4. With many parables, Jesus spoke the word of God to them. To who? To his disciples. Because he was teaching the crowds in parables. Right? But listen, he could only go so far in his teaching and in his directive and in the things pertaining to and of the matters of his heart. He spoke the word to them as much as they could understand.

21:47 He did. not say anything to them to the crowds without a parable but when he was alone with his own disciples he explained everything so we're talking about time alone with jesus everyone say time alone with jesus let's say it again Time alone with Jesus. Now, Margie, when you talk about time alone with Jesus, does that mean Jesus is really there? Yes. You can't see him, but he's there. There are those that believe, but haven't seen me with these eyes. He's there.

22:45 He's the same Jesus that was raised from the dead, that disappeared in the clouds. He's the same Jesus that walked through the walls. He's the same Jesus that appeared to Kenneth E. Hagin in many dreams and many visions. But we have to walk by faith. We talked a lot about this last week. I really liked that message last week. I got to listen to it myself because I learned a lot. So how do we... develop the practice of closet prayer these are the basics and we did teach this to the young people and I'm teaching it again with no apologies how do we develop the practice of closet secret prayer number one decide on a time that works best for you, where you will not be interrupted or distracted. And listen, my friends, it's different for everybody.

23:44 Now, when I was living in Pennsylvania and I was... pursuing God and God was new in ministry and I was super young and I was just so young and I you know I didn't need as much sleep as I do now I was just young and I mean I'd be up in the middle of the night sometimes and I'd get up and I would walk the floors in the middle of the night and I'd spend time in the presence of God in a childlike way in my mind I know it's not true but in a child like way because I was like, you know what? I said, a lot of people are sleeping right now and I have the eyes and the ears and the attention of God like right now in the middle of the night. Now we know that's human thinking because he said, my eyes will be open. My ears will be attentive under the prayers that you pray. And when you pray, your prayers will go up like incense before the throne of grace. All of us can pray at once. And he hears us all when we pray. How do you explain that? I can't explain it. Can you explain to me how he knows how many hairs I have on my head?

24:56 And then how many hairs I have on my head after I put on my extensions? See, God is a... multifaceted God he created the heavens and the earth he is the Alpha the Omega he created the brain he created your eyes we are fearfully and wonderfully made so of course when we all pray he hears every one of our prayers I can't wait to get to heaven I'm not ready yet But I can't wait to get to heaven with long life. He's going to satisfy us and show us his salvation. But I can't wait to get to heaven. Because when I get to heaven, I'm going to understand some things I don't understand right now. I'm just going to drop the bomb. Another bomb. We've dropped several already. Do you know how they communicate in heaven? In thought. Open up your mouth. Bible says he discerns our thoughts from afar. So what I love about God is I can think and pray. Everyone say think and pray.

26:11 With long life, Pastor Joe, he's going to satisfy you and show you his salvation. You just turned 70. Hallelujah. Turned 70. And I'm going to live about you. These aren't going to go down. No weapon formed against me will prosper. Satisfy you. I told my kids, when I'm in my 90s, I'm in. I told my kids, I'm going to be like Joyce Meyer. I'm going to still be preaching. And you're not going to escape my prayers. Because long after we've left this earth, our prayers will still avail much. I will contend stewarding the hearts and destinies of our children through prayer is one of my most favorite projects thus far. In this book, I teach the reader how to pray effectively. for their children, their grandchildren, and the rising generations that are in the earth today. Make no mistake about it. There is war

27:43 over the hearts and the destinies of our children. And this book will equip you as to how to pray effectively to those young people. In this book, I teach you about the power and the purpose of praying in tongues. I show you what a prayer alert looks like. There are sample prayers. Not only that, There are outlines at the end of each chapter. So if you run a Bible study, you can use this book as a springboard to teach others how to pray for their children. Go to my website at margieflorent .org and pick up your own copy.

28:30 Thank you so much for tuning in to today's podcast. It has been such a joy sharing this time with you. For more inspiration and resources on today's topic, please visit our website at margieflorent .org.