PRAY FIRST! You Will Never Pray The Same Way Again After Watching This!

if you go into any family there are Customs there are traditions they have ways of doing things some eat at the table together every night some go to the local Diner every Christmas Eve and they've done so for the past 20 years if you go to some parts of the world in certain communities they have their own traditions and customs certain African Traditions require the man to pay a dowry payment to the family of the bride before marriage in certain Jewish communities they have a coming-of-age ceremony a bat mitzvah all across the world people from all kinds of walks of life all have their own traditions and customs but there is a man in the Bible who had a very interesting custom that he follows and this man is known for other things and I'll tell you his name in a moment but this man had a custom that constantly brought him closer to God a custom that drove his heart toward the lord and I believe it was his custom what he did on a regular basis it was this that caused him to experience the power of God in his life the man I'm talking about is Daniel and yes we all know Daniel because he was delivered from the lines then but I want to highlight a different side to Daniel that you may never have paid attention to the Bible in Daniel 6 verse 10 says now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went home and in his upper room with his windows open toward Jerusalem he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since early days Daniel's custom was prayer Daniel's habit was prayer and I want you to notice that he prayed in secret his relationship with God was sacred to him it wasn't for public display so that people would say he is Holy no it wasn't for people to see but Daniel went home to his room to his prayer closet and God on his knees and it was just him and the Lord now the Bible says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 5-6 and when you pray you shall not be like the Hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men assuredly I say to you they have their reward but you when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly The Testament there is a key message that comes up over and over again and do you know what this message concerns it's about prayer in Romans 12 we're told to be constant in prayer in first Thessalonians 5 we're told to pray without ceasing in Ephesians 6 we're told to pray at all times in the book of Colossians chapter 4 We're told to continue steadfastly in prayer in James chapter 5 the Bible says the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working [Music] now these are just a few scriptures I haven't even touched on all Jesus's teachings about prayer that are given in the four Gospels and so people of God let's fight to pray when life is good remember to pray when life is challenging remember to pray Come Rain or sunshine just pray regardless of the Season you're in you have to fight to pray and you're actually strengthened by those prayers one of the reasons why we have to be so strong in prayer is because as children of God we have enemies we have the devil and his demons to contend with and then we have the world and the flesh as enemies but I want you to understand that all of these enemies that we face as believers they have one thing in common they cannot win against the power of God they cannot overcome the blood of Jesus the enemies we face they cannot destroy a person who fears God they cannot overwhelm someone who's always found to be in the posture of Prayer now Psalm 34 verse 7 reads the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and he delivers them saints of God I encourage you to find a quiet place to pray that is your own find a prayer closet find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord a place to meet with your heavenly father in secret away from the constant notifications of a cell phone away from the endless chatter of the television and away from the interruptions of friends and family members the Bible says when you pray go into your room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in the secret place your father who sees in secret will reward you openly I believe that the Bible tells us to pray in this manner because we need to respect our time with God we need to give him his due reverence our prayer time ought to be sacred we need to give God honor by shutting off the world and focusing purely on him [Music] I changed my own prayer Life by treating it as a Divine appointment with the Lord no interruptions no distractions just time alone with Jesus so here's what I'd like to encourage you to do after finding a quiet place to pray Begin by repenting Begin by confessing your sins and asking for the Lord to have mercy on you because none of us are perfect as humans we sin knowingly and sometimes unknowingly so be mindful of that and then move to ask the Lord to show you if there's anything in your heart in your life that is hindering your walk with him pray from Psalm 139 verse 23 to 24 which says search me o God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and Lead Me in the way Everlasting Jesus spoke of a precious promise belonging to those who have a pure heart in Matthew 5 verse 8 which says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God don't you desire to see God don't you desire to see his hand move and work in your life don't you desire to see his goodness his protection and favor all at work in your life so I encourage you to begin treating your prayer time as a Divine appointment with the Lord my prayer today Lord is that I may be conscious and sensitive about giving you my full undivided attention my prayer today is that God would help me to find a place far away from the distractions of this world so that I can be fully immersed in his love and in his presence and for every believer listening I encourage you to follow Daniel's example make prayer a daily habitual practice get on your knees often lock yourself in a room with God often be in his presence often and the Lord will surely work wonders in your life Saints God is with us but we must not be blinded to the dangers of prayerlessness prayerlessness opens the door to the enemy prayerlessness results in a person becoming spiritually dull and desensitized to the things of God now we all know that praying is not easy praying should not be casual it is spiritual warfare that's why the Bible says for the weapons of our Warfare are not carnal But Mighty through God for pulling down strongholds prayer is a weapon that we can all use as children of God and so I encourage you dear friends do not neglect this weapon of Prayer if God is with us who can stand against us who can stand against Jesus no one no man no demon no devil so f