Teaching on Prayer #05

Transcript will be in progress soon.

Audio is available but very unclear.

…from various portions of Scripture and it would be perfectly the Word of God, because there was no change in It. And, as the people came back, and they found… in the temple the Lord they found the law of God written.

And they were utterly amazed that they found this book that had been lost for so many years, and they themselves, therefore, were greatly in error by what they believed from all the interjections made by the… especially the wives of Solomon and, you know, the ritzy crowd that had more time than they had brains to use.

So, they indulged themselves in illicit love affairs, and idolatries and everything else along with their adulteries.

So, it was a tremendous let-down to find out they were billions of miles off the Word of God. And that’s about how it was in light of the actual Word that was read by the scribes to the people.

And anyway, in Ezra the 8th chapter, there’s a verse that mentions there a commandment that says: “Let the priest go between the porch and the altar, weeping and confessing his own sins and the sins of the people.”

Now the actual fact of the matter is: that sin is unbelief, there’s only one. And faith is a revelation.

The only thing a person would be, actually, in sympathy and a hundred percent concerned with confessing, would be coming to the place of repentance where he knew he was off the Word of God and would faithfully ask the Lord to forgive him and begin to walk in the light.

The Bible say, “If we walk in the Light, as he is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, Gods son cleanseth us from all unrighteousness.”

Now, this does not obviate for one minute the fact that people do sin. As John said, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar.”

But he said, “If we sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And again It says, “Confess your faults.” James said.

And the word ‘fault’ is like the fault of an earthquake fault, which means an area that is flimsy, which could slide here, and slide there, you know, throw the people away from being truly anchored and stabilized and foundationalized.

But this Scripture is full of admonitions where people examine themselves in the light of the Word and especially in this hour of today.

Now you don’t go to the place where you become legalist, and you become looking at yourself till you finally get fed up, and there’s no pleasure in life.

It’s like years ago they told the joke about this prayer. This is actually supposed to be true; but I don’t know if it was or not.

But the man kept praying. He said, that he needed the Lord to fill him up; he was always so empty.

And so, this woman got so disgusted hearing him pray that she said, “O Lord, just stop all the leaks.”

And you know, there’s a lot of truth there. Where are the leaks in life? What will we find there, really, is the embarrassing situation before the Lord.

That’s where James says, “Confess your faults.” What are those weaknesses?

Now it doesn’t mean you simply go around confessing and say, ‘Now, look; I’m going to tell you something: “I have this terrible propensity to tell fibbers.”

Or, you know, like this women she went to Moody, she said, “Oh Brother Moody, I have a terrible time; I always exaggerate.”

He said, “Well, madam, just call it lying. Just call it lying.”

And you know, these are the things that you have to watch that Ezra’s bringing out. It’s an examination.

As Brother Branham said, “Smoking is not the sin, drinking is not the sin, lying is not the sin; stealing is not the sin.”

He said that, “The sin is unbelief; those are just attributes.”

Well, now the point is: we believe we do pray sincerely that the Lord, as we recognize our weaknesses, begin to ask the Lord, not for help to overcome, but would be more necessary to ask Him to bring us to the point where we will overcome with what he has given us.

Because, I’ve heard of people telling me how they were a sinner; that God just took away this, took away that… I really don’t find any Scripture for that.

Brother Branham said, after he got converted, and I don’t doubt his testimony one little bit, how from that point on he didn’t have such a terrible time with his anger.

Well, it might’ve been that one little thing that God had to do for him, so he would learn from that point to overcome all the rest.

But I personally do not find any Scripture where God takes away those temptations and takes away our propensities. He forgives us.

But I don’t know of any place… like Paul himself said, “Therefore, put off the old man, put off doing this, put off doing that.”

And It doesn’t mean, “Put it off and do it a little later on, when no one watches it.” Because that’s the way people often interpret Scripture.

Like they interpret the Scripture in the book of Ephesians where It says “Let him that stole steal no more: rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good” where they interpret It.

Saying “Let him that stole, steal; no more laboring with his hands.” So, you can take any Scripture you want, and you can pervert It to where you can destroy yourself.

So, it’s very important to know what Ezra was saying, that the priest, he said, “Going between the porch and alter, weeping and confessing his sins and the sins of the people.”

And that was the big thing right there, that they had found the Word, and now they found that all their thinking was wrong. Consequently, their worship was wrong.

Consequently, many things that they thought were okay were not okay, in the light of that Word.

So, prayer meeting in the church is greatly concerned… And you’re right back where Brother Branham put us.

We’re greatly concerned; not trying to get God to change His mind or getting God to do something, but putting ourselves in the position where God can help us by his Word, our consecration, dedication.

To see that we not only walk in the Light as to the passive faith, but we attempt also, with his Grace, to walk in the Light by reason of our active faith.

Now our most active faith is not going to be for you and me to pray for the sick and pray for this and pray for that and see how nice God works. He will help this sister over here; help that brother over there. That is not it at all.

The actual fact of the matter is, we couldn’t get this far in Brother Branhams message but we could be in the hour that Jesus said, “You will no longer ask the Father in my Name.”

In other words you will be so one with the Word that, as Brother Branham told Jack Palmer, “Jack, don’t ask God for things. Just get away from that.” But he said, “You begin to live before Him in that Word and watch God begin to do things.”

Now that’s what we’re looking at more than anything in this Message. The legalist will always try to add to it or try to put something to it or try to do something.

The man that’s truly liberated will say, “Lord, I’ve learned this one thing: that is, that all power is of God; and, if I want you working in my life, I’ve got to come to the place where I am so dedicated, or so in oneness with You and Your Word, that this Life will begin to flow through me.”

Now Pentecostal people got into clothes closets. Actually, some people locked themselves in and refused to budge, until they came up with gifts. A.A. Allen was one of those people, but he died a drunk.

The very day that he died under alcoholism is when people were saying, “Allen is dead; A.A. Allen is dead.”

And that very day that he died in alcoholism in California, that tape was on the air saying, he said, “People are saying I’m dead. Does this sound like the voice of a dead man?”

It came right back to haunt him. See? Pushing for things is not the answer—gifts, saturated with the Word of God. Believe what that Word says.

Now we’re going past the passive now; we’re going to the active.

And the active is not you and I forcing issues, but looking what has God said about all of these conditions: Is there something in here where I can take my attitude right; and, if there’s something to do in cooperation with Him in helping me, working with me, I might make certain moves.

And that is the way we must learn to do.

So, there’s a great deal of repentance and confession in this last day Message. And we’re right back to where I believe Ezra was and Nehemiah was those men of God.

So, as we go to pray today, again, every Scripture indicates that we’re not trying to change God’s mind. We’re trying to get in the position where God has changed our mind.

Then, when God has changed our mind, that we really know that we stand with this Word, Brother Branham said that you confess that Word.

And he said, “If you stay with that, [he said,] the day will come when that Word, God by that Word, will make your body obey your testimony.”

So, these are some of the things that I just wanted to bring to your attention. I’ve been all through the gamut of work, work, work, you know, all of those things.

It just is not the principle that we come at any time and think we’re going to win souls, we’re going to add to the church, we’re going to bulldoze the Kingdom of God, like, ‘The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.’

What does that actually mean? You can have a hundred interpretations from a hundred different people. What does it really mean? I don’t know what it really means. I don’t know.

The only one I can think of is: the Lord at the end time waking as a strong man from his sleep, violently angry at the present conditions and coming down and shaking everything up.

But for you and me to attempt to come to the place where we can become shakers and movers is not the thing.

It always comes back to where we are keeping in constant touch with the Lord through that Word that He’s given us and bring ourselves under His subjection more and more and more, so that our sewing is going to be one with that Word and our reaping one with that Word.

And that’s where the Bible says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the water.”

And this is the same as the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul.” You see? “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. And He watches over me.”

There to me, this is what we’re speaking of when the Lord descends at the end time, which He has with His mighty angels to avenge His Bride.

And he said, “At that time you’ll rest with us; you’ll come to relaxation.”

You already know it’s “live, die, sink or swim.” But this is now the relaxation; and God’s moving in our lives and us living those Christian lives and receiving the blessings of the Lord.

So, don’t strive for mastery, don’t strive for things. Strive within yourself to keep our spirits down and to do what the Word says: to sow with the Word.

And then, the Bible said, as you patiently wait, do not fear, God will bring that back to you what you’ve sown with that Word, because that Word cannot return unto Him void.

So, all right. That’s what we have in mind today. That’s what I thought of, thinking of Ezra telling the people.

Here’s the Word has been here all the time, but nobody knew what in It was hidden. The Seventh Seal hid that Word; now they’re open.

And so, the point is the contriteness in our heart, the broken spirit that does not despise, the neck that is not stiffened, the heart that is not hardened, but the open yieldedness to God.

Knowing that our sufficiency is of Him, putting ourselves more and more into His hands: any difficult problems, a difficult walk. Many things are very difficult.

But I’m going to tell you one thing: you will not get through this life without difficulty. You will not get through this life without your back being bent, your neck being unstiffened; you’ll never get through it.

You cannot get through this life without your heart. Sometimes you might say, “Well, you get old; you get soft.” That isn’t it at all.

The point is: God never intended, neither young nor old, to ever be stiff toward Him, but to learn to bear the yoke in our youth; remembering Him in the days of our youth; the constant remembering of the Lord, like Israel did, and constantly being tender toward Him.

I believe that this is going to be the great secret of every single thing that we’re looking for. But we have to look for it in this particular way. So, all right, let’s bow our heads; then, we’ll go to prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time we had together for talking together, knowing, Lord, that every one of your disciples, every one, that reaped in righteousness, had to sow in righteousness.

Those that have sown in iniquity, they have reaped that which is iniquitous, and they were very, very accountable.

And so, we pray that You’ll give us a contrite heart, Lord, a broken spirit, a mellowness toward You, O Lord, that we may be more and more mellow, and more and more sweet toward the things of God, so that, being unencumbered with those things that lie within us, the Word may have greater free course and be glorified.

Then, we will know, Lord, that our actions one toward another, and all the things we intend to do as Christians will be blessed of You, Father, and they will come forth in their due season.

Teach us this way, Lord, to gain patience, because we know it is the only way we gain patience. Many of us have already learned that, but we’re trying to learn more.

May this time, Lord, of prayer, as we pray together, be fruitful, and blessing each person, Lord, to be more amenable to Your Will; more and more filled with your Word and, thereby, more and more led by Your Spirit; more and more as Paul said, “Don’t just live in the Spirit, but walk in the Spirit.”

And that’s what we’re trying to obtain this afternoon, Lord, people who walk more and more in Your Spirit, because we believe we’re being more and more filled.

And so, what can we say, Father? We can only say that you told us that, if we’re willing, we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free: we will know the doctrine.

And today, Father, we want Your help; we have to have it, which we believe we do, to become more and more yielded and willing to walk in these paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake.

And to also, for the great and good for us and each other to build this church, not in numbers, but to build it in the grace and strength and beauty and nearness and all the things, which in You, Lord, that You have for us. This is what we want.

And today is another step, we believe, toward preparing us for this great and wonderful work that You’re doing in us, not to be seen of anybody. No! You already told us that, if they hated You, they’d hate us. They won’t like us; but, it’s not what we’re looking at, Father.

We already know that. We’re just looking at within… that we look within our heart and toward each other who are believers and become one with You, and You one with us, and all with each other, that we might be that expression that You want us to be.

So, help us, Lord, to gain strength at this time, as we kneel in Your Presence and pray for ourselves and for each other, that You might be glorified, and we, in turn Lord, be satisfied within our hearts that we know we’re walking and talking with You through this Word.

In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.