Divine Dialogues: The Life-Changing Power of Prayer

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Join us on a transformative journey through the life of John, an unwavering disciple of Jesus, whose profound commitment to prayer, even in the face of exile, illuminated the divine power within each of us. Imagine, being alone on an island, yet so deeply connected to the divine that you can hear the voice of God. This isn't a fiction, it's John's reality - a testament to the transformative power of prayer and faith.

We share personal stories that bring to life John's remarkable faith, drawing upon the poignant words of Peter, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' We challenge you to rethink your relationship with prayer, to see it not as a last-ditch effort, but as the first line of defense. Furthermore, we implore you to remember that every moment matters, and divine love and grace are always within your reach. As we wrap up, we invite you to join us in thanking Jesus and making a commitment to seek His divine love and grace every day.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's pray, heavenly Father, I'll give you thanks
today for the ability toContinue to come and share.
Lord, I, I know that You'veplaced this on my life Because,
as I've said and you put it onmy heart, there's no one I

(00:24):
wouldn't want to see in heaven.
I, I Thank you for everybodywho will take the time to listen
to this and I hope and I pray,lord, that you would speak to
them through me, that your wordswould come to fruition, that
your reality, your understanding, bring them understanding, lord

(00:45):
, bring them understanding,bring them the revelation that
is you, jesus, that is you, ah,coming to set things right and
all that goes with that.
Remind us, lord, that this,indeed, is a book of hope.
This is a book of anticipationand, yes, it is a book of

(01:11):
warning.
But the Lord always gives us away out, and I would pray today
for those who feel like they'veThey've walked their last mile,
that there's no turning back,that they, that they just can't.
They can't beat the addiction,they can't beat the, the, the,

(01:35):
the despair, the depression, theugliness.
They've done too much.
Remind them, lord, that youalways give away of escape, that
you are there, right there withthem, and all they need to do
is turn around and reach outtheir hand.
Lord, god, I give you thanksfor this study.

(01:59):
I give you thanks for this time, in Jesus name, amen.
We're gonna pick up right wherewe left off Last time and we're
gonna cover again one wholeverse.
We're gonna pick up again andwe're gonna cover one whole
verse, and it is.
It is Revelation 1, verse 10,new King James, and it says I

(02:25):
was in the spirit on the Lord'sday and I heard behind me a loud
voice as a trumpet saying Forthis week, I want to focus on
one thing, and one thing only,and it is the title of our
message today.
It is called the power ofprayer and, as I said, we're
gonna pick up right where weleft off last time.
John is about the Lord'sbusiness.

(02:47):
We learned that last week onthe island of Patmos.
We learned last time that Johnhad been imprisoned there for
preaching the gospel of therisen Christ.
As always, if you need to getcaught up, you can pick up all
past studies at the thoughts Ihave toward you calm.
I Told you last time that wewould find out what John was

(03:10):
doing when Jesus came to him.
So let's start out with what hewasn't doing.
He wasn't shaking his fist atGod, he wasn't Gryping about his
circumstances.
He wasn't in the corner and inthe fetal position, all weepy
over His losses, which, by theway, were many.

(03:30):
Nope, no, it's not what he wasdoing, as we'll see in a moment.
He was in the fight.
Let's take a step back andqualify a few things.
John was many things.
Can he name some of the mostobvious?
Can you name the most obviousthing that he was?
You might say that he was adisciple.

(03:53):
Well, that's true, he was oneof 12.
But then you might say, oh, butwait, he was an important
disciple.
He was the one Jesus loved.
That's also true.
And for the bible student outthere, you might even know that
he, he and his brother James,were referred to as the sons of
thunder.
That's also true.

(04:15):
Okay, all right, those werenone of the answers that I was
looking for.
Here's the answer you ready?
He was.
If I had a drumroll soundeffect, I'd do it right here.
He was a man, a man flesh andblood, a man prone to tiredness,

(04:40):
a man prone to frustration, manprone to all the sins that you
and I are prone to.
He was a man.
That's right, first andforemost.
First and foremost, he was aman, and I'm sorry to say to my
Catholic friends and, by the way, I love you all he was not a

(05:01):
saint.
He was just a man, a sinful sonof Adam, a man born into sin,
just like you and me.
The difference is, john knewhis savior.
He knew that the cross ofCalvary was empty and Jesus had
risen from the dead to defeatdeath and the grave.

(05:25):
He knew that.
He knew that.
Do you know that?
Spoiler alert?
That happened.
He knew his savior.
He knew him intimately.
He walked with him daily.

(05:46):
He had every right, by ourstandards, to shake his fist at
God, though he sure did.
Here he was on this rock, inexile for doing as he had been
commanded go forth and makedisciples of all men.
That's Matthew 28.
They boiled him in oil andslaughtered all of his brothers

(06:15):
They'd martyred.
They'd all been martyred, everyone of them.
Here he was the last one, aloneon this rock.
What does it say in verse 10?
What does it say?
It says I was in the Spirit onthe Lord's Day.

(06:37):
We're back in Revelation 110.
I was in the Spirit on theLord's Day.
John was in the Spirit.
He was praying.
He was praying, and you knowwhat?
John was a man.
He was laying out his cares andpraises at the feet of the

(06:57):
Almighty.
Here he was in thisunbelievable situation, having
to scrounge from forage for foodand other things and just basic
needs and whatever else, andhe's just.
It's a miserable situation andyet it reminds me of Philippians

(07:17):
4.13.
I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me.
That's Philippians 4.13.
Scripture doesn't give thecontents of John's prayer, but
because John was a man and assuch subject to all human faults
and sin, we can infer that Johnwas praying as we might, laying

(07:43):
everything at the feet of theLord.
I think he must have rememberedoften the words of Peter.
Let's turn there.
John, chapter 6, verse 68.
John chapter 6 is a really longchapter.
But Simon Peter answered himLord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternallife.

(08:05):
That's John 6.68.
Let's read it again.
But Simon Peter answered himLord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternallife.
We're indeed.
Jesus is not the answer to whatails us.

(08:26):
He's not an answer, rather, towhat ails us, he's the only
answer.
And Jesus is with us when wecommune with Him If I had a
nickel for every time.
Someone said to me well, all wecan do is pray.
All we can do is pray, friends.

(08:49):
Prayer is the first rule ofengagement, not the last resort.
And boy did John get an answer.
Boy, oh boy did John get ananswer.
Let's pick up and finish thissection.
This is verse 11.
We're gonna go back.
Actually, I want to read thewhole thing.
I want to go back to thebeginning here.

(09:09):
It says I was in the Spirit onthe Lord's Day and I heard
behind me a loud voice as of atrumpet saying.
And here's the rest of it,verse 11.
Verse 11, it says I am theAlpha and the Omega, the first
and the last, what you see rightin this book, and send it to

(09:30):
the seven churches which are inAsia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to
Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to
Laodicea.
That's Revelation 1, 10, 11.
John received his marchingorders, what you see right in a

(09:52):
book.
He's going to be shown thingsand, by proxy, so are we.
Do you ever read a passage likethat and say I wish God would
just come out and speak to melike that, directly and to the

(10:12):
point, so that I would know whatto do.
I get it.
You know, I get it.
I used to say when I was a newbeliever.
I used to say you know what, ifGod would just show up in my
living room, jesus would justshow up my living room, I'd
provide the white board and themarkers and even coffee, if you

(10:35):
just lay it out for me.
It was cute, got laughs.
But let's get real, folks.
We have everything that we needin order to get answers from
the Almighty.
When someone asked me that, orwhen someone makes that

(10:56):
statement, well, I guess all wecan do is pray, and I wish that
God would just, you know, tellme what I need to do.
And I don't know how you hearfrom God.
I don't know how God speaks toyou.
I don't get it.
I used to get that all the timetoo.
I always ask what your prayerlife like.
How are your devos?
How are your devos?

(11:18):
Do you set aside time andmorning for the Lord?
Do you set aside time at allfor the Lord on a daily basis?
If so, what does that look like?
Do you spend time in yourscriptures daily, not just
reading them, but truly studyingthem, digesting them, praying

(11:39):
through them.
God will speak to you throughprayer and study of His word.
He could speak audibly or viathat still small voice, but he
will speak.
It's been a long time since Itold this story, so I'm going to

(12:01):
give it to you.
I was saved on November 4, 2004in my basement.
I'm going to give you theelevator version If you want to
listen to the whole testimony.
It's the very first podcast Iever did.

(12:23):
It's called Humble Beginningsand you can find it on the
websitethethoughtsihavetowardyoucom.
But I was done.
We'll just leave it at that.
I was all done.
I was finished.
There had been a divorce, therehad been a mess, I had a young
child, I was single suddenly andI was an absolute disaster.

(12:48):
So I'm laying in the middle ofthe floor one night in my
basement and I'm not even angryanymore.
I'm just sad, just sad.
I thought you know, maybe I'llgo to sleep tonight and I won't

(13:09):
wake up.
That'll be okay.
I thought.
Well, if that's how it's goingto be, I want to listen to some
music before it's over.
So I turned on the music, turnedon my stereo, and boy, whatever
I had on there was just loudand gross.
So it was back in the day yourstereo had a little remote, so I

(13:31):
flipped the remote, started andI hit seek on the remote just
to find something to listen toand it landed on the Christian
radio station.
Caleb it's called.
You probably know it.
The call letters from myhometown are 91.1.

(13:52):
It landed there and out of thespeakers came this voice.
This guy is singing and he sayswho am I?
That the Lord of all the earthwould care to know my name and
would care to feel my hurt.

(14:17):
I broke down, I wept in themiddle of the floor and I rolled
over.
I'm on all fours.
I heard this voice.
I heard this voice and it saidget up, I'm not done with you
yet.
And I hit my knees and I toldhim I was sorry.

(14:45):
I told him I wanted to followhim, I told him I needed help
and I couldn't do it by myselfanymore.
And he saved my life.
And here I sit talking to youabout the living Christ, the

(15:08):
living Christ who wants arelationship with you.
And how do you get thatrelationship?
You might say, larry, mygoodness, I need that.
I'm so done.
Every time I tell that story,somebody reacts and somebody
responds and you might say Larry, I'm just done, I'm done, I get

(15:30):
it.
Well, you can just talk to him.
He's ready if you are, and allyou say to him is dear Jesus,
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry for all the thingsthat I've done that I know are

(15:54):
wrong.
I'm a sinner.
I'm in need of a savior and Ibelieve that you came to this
earth and that you walked thisplanet and that you ministered
to us and you taught us, andthen you were died and buried.
You died and were buried and onthe third day, god raised you

(16:19):
again from the dead.
I want to repent of all my sins.
I want to turn away from themnow and I want to follow you all
the rest of the days of my life.
I want you to be my Lord, myGod, my savior, my friend.

(16:39):
Thank you, jesus, for hearing me.
Amen, and I promise you, friend, I promise you that if you
prayed that prayer and you meantit, if you prayed that prayer
and you meant it, welcome to thefamily of God, and I'd sure

(17:03):
love to know about it.
I'd love for you to reach out,either on social media, at the
thoughts I have towards you, onFacebook or Instagram, or you
can shoot me an email at thethoughts I have toward you, at
the thoughts I have towardyoucom.
I'd sure love to know if you'vemade a commitment to Jesus.
I can give you some resourcesand help you out, point you in

(17:27):
the right direction.
Friends, jesus is coming backand in the meantime, be vigilant
and know that Jesus answersprayer.
Scripture tells us that prayerof a righteous man avails much.

(17:48):
God hears you and he works allthings together for the good of
those who call upon his name,all those who love him and call
upon his name.
That's Romans 8.28.
He loves you and he wants youto love him.

(18:11):
He wants you to call him Lordand friend and savior.
That's all the time we havetoday, friends.
Thank you so much for listening.
Make it count, gang, and beblessed.