- We are stewarding the 2023 Word of the Year: Dunamis

o Dunamis is God’s ability being put on display.

o Dunamis is when the Holy Spirit’s power goes from resting on you to
abiding/dwelling in you.

- Part of that prophetic word is that this year, we would be strengthening
and fortifying through prayer.

o This summer we are specifically focusing in on strengthening and
fortifying through prayer.

o If God wants to strengthen and fortify us through prayer, we should be
growing in our revelation and pursuit of prayer. So, let’s talk about
prayer today!

- Prayer IS a foundation of our faith.
o Christianity and prayer go hand in hand.
> Martin Luther said, “As is the business of tailors to make
clothes and cobblers to make shoes, so it is the business of
Christians to pray.”

- He also said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more
possible than to be alive without breathing.”
> What is Martin Luther saying? Prayer is absolutely necessary for
your walk with the Lord.
> I’d venture to say it’s non-negotiable.

- There are over 600 prayers listed in the Bible.
o You might not even notice them as you read, but they’re all over the
place.

For example:
> The Prayer of Jabez - Territory Expansion - 1 Chronicles 4:10
> Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom - 1 Kings 3:5-10
> Paul Prayer for Churches – All throughout the NT

- There are over 450 recorded answers to prayers throughout the Bible.

o We often forget about all of the stories of His faithfulness in the Word
of God.

o So, let me remind you. Here are a few examples that you may be
familiar with:
> David prayed, and God defeated his enemies – 2 Samuel 15:31;
16:20-23; 17:14-23
> Daniel prayed, and God gave him the ability to both tell
Nebuchadnezzar his dream and to give the interpretation of it –
Daniel 2:16-23
> Nehemiah prayed, and God moved the heart of the king of Persia to
grant him leave of absence to visit and rebuild Jerusalem –
Nehemiah 1:11; 2:1-6
> Esther and Mordecai prayed, and God exposed and defeated
Haman’s evil plans, and saved the Jews from destruction – Esther
4:15-17; 6:7-8
> The believers in Jerusalem prayed, and God opened the prison
doors and set Peter free, when Herod had plans to kill him – Acts
12:1-12

- Our God is faithful and He responds to the prayers of His people.
o What an honor we have to get to pray?
> You get to talk with the Creator of the World.
> And guess what? He responds. He’s the God who responds!
> The King of Kings desires dialogue with you.
> You have the opportunity to have conversation with God everyday.
> It is quite possibly the greatest honor of our lives to talk to God.

- Billy Graham says, “Prayer is a two-way conversation between
you and God.”

o This is one of my favorite quotes because one of the primary ways I
connect with God is through conversation.

o CWG Way – Conversation

o What’s a conversation? You talk and you listen.
> God wants to hear from you.
> God wants to speak to you.
> Example: We all know the people who are satisfied with one-way
conversations. God is not satisfied with that.

o Not only did Jesus make a way for us to dialogue and be with God
everyday, He modeled a lifestyle of prayer for us. He’s the greatest
example of a prayer life we have.
> Jesus must have deeply understood the weight of prayer. Of a short
three years He had on the earth for ministry, He spent a large
portion of that time in prayer.
> We tend to focus in on the incredible things He did without giving
equal focus to the place where those things were birthed – in
prayer.

- He was constantly getting away to pray. It was a normal part of His life
and ministry.

o 175 times in scripture, Jesus teaches on prayer or actually prays.

- Jesus would often go away to pray, then see signs, wonders, miracles,
healing, deliverance manifest through His prayers.

o Everyone started noticing that He was walking in Dunamis.
> Matthew 13:54 NLT - He returned to Nazareth, his hometown.
When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and
said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do
miracles?”
·
~Miracles = Dunamis

- Jesus’ prayer life released Dunamis everywhere He went, but it also
strengthened and fortified Him and others around Him.

o Jesus often invited the disciples to pray with Him. Eventually, they
worked up enough courage to ask Him to teach them how to pray.
> Luke 11:1 ESV - Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and
when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to
pray, as John taught his disciples.”

- When’s the last time you asked the Holy Spirit to teach you?

o PRACTICAL ADVICE: Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray.
> They saw Him do so many things, but they wanted to learn how to
pray. The disciples were on to something. They knew they needed
to learn to pray.

- Your prayer life is a KEY to you walking in the fullness of everything God
has for you. This is why there’s such a war against your prayer life.

o You ever notice?
> As soon as you start praying, you just get sleepy.
> As soon as you start praying, you remember the text message you
didn’t respond to.
> As soon as you start praying, you start thinking about everything
that needs to happen for the day.
> As soon as you start praying, you have a burning desire to get on
IG.

o LISTEN:
> Why didn’t you get sleepy when it was time to sleep?
> How come you couldn’t remember to text that person when you
were sitting with your phone on the toilet earlier in the day?
> Why do your kids incite WW3 in your living room every time you
think about going away to pray?
> What’s happening?

o There’s a war against your prayer life!

- The enemy doesn’t want you to walk like Jesus in the earth, so he wants
to do everything he can to keep you from praying like Jesus.

- How did Jesus pray?

o He prayed often.
> Over and over again, the Word says He went to pray.
> Luke 5:15-16 NIV - Yet the news about him spread all the more, so
that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their
sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

o He prayed authentically.
> Matthew 27:46 ESV - And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with
a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?”
> He wasn’t afraid to say the “hard thing” to God.

o He talked with sincerity to His Father.
> Luke 23:34 ESV - And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

o Jesus made prayer simple.

- One tactic the enemy uses to keep us from prayer is to make prayer
seem complicated or HARD. God doesn’t need more complicated
prayers from you. He just wants to hear from you and He wants to talk to
you.

o The other day, I found an old journal that used to write my prayers
in. I was marked by the authenticity and simplicity of my childhood
prayer life.

o EXAMPLE: Journal entry from when I was 8 years old.
> TEXT FROM LETTERS:

· ~ LETTER 1: 12/27/2000 - Dear God, you are going to be my Holy
Diary. Anytime I have to talk to you about something, you will
listen and help. God read everything I write in here and do
everything I need you to do.

- Lord, on the last sentence I don’t mean it like that, I just want
you to do that! Please!
·
~ LETTER 2: 3/1/2001 - Dear God, I hope today will be a good day.
No. Today will be a good day. The reason that I didn’t write you
last night is because I had to go to bed. Don’t let me get a bad
whoopin’ and let me get all good grades today. Love you!
·
~ LETTER 3: 3/1/2001 - Dear God, I know I wrote you this morning
but I’m going to write to you again because You are great. Today
was a great day. I got a good report from the teacher and got
good grades. Let tomorrow be great too. Oh and Lord, tomorrow
is Friday and I want the courage to tell more people about You.
Don’t let me have any bad dreams or no dreams. Love you!
Amen!

> This is how my prayer life began! You have to start somewhere!
Just tell Him what’s on your mind.

o PRACTICAL ADVICE: Be more concerned about talking with God than
you are with talking to God “correctly”. He cares most about talking
with you.

> Matthew 6:7 ESV - “And when you pray, do not heap up empty
phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for
their many words.
·
~ This is right before Jesus says what we know as the Lord’s prayer
in Matthew’s account. In this passage, Jesus is teaching the
disciples about prayer. This is one of the things He says…

~ Heap up empty phrases = battologéō – to blubber nonsensical
repetitions; using empty (vain) words

- Praying is HARD when you’re not actually talking to the One who moves
mountains.

o There are people all over the Body of Christ who have believed the lie
that prayer is HARD.

o Jesus is saying, “I know you’re tired and having a hard time in this
prayer space. You don’t have to strive to talk to me. Let me teach
you.”

> Matthew 11:28-30 NIV - “Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

- WATCH: If prayer is hard, maybe you’re doing it wrong.

o RELIGION makes it hard!

- The odds are, if prayer is hard for you, you might not be praying in
His presence.

o NOT praying in His presence could easily be likened to trying to have
a substantial conversation with your spouse from different rooms in
the house.

> You may be in the same house, but proximity still matters.

> The closer you get, the easier it is to talk to one another.
·
~ You catch every nuance, every expression, every tear, every little
grin. The closer you get, the more you see. The closer you get,
the better you hear.

> It’s not that you can’t talk to your spouse when they’re across the
room. It’s just that there’s a better time to talk about meaningful
things with them and it’s when they’re close.

o So often, we do this with the Lord! Have you ever tried to have
conversation with the Lord from “different rooms”?

> I know you’re “in the same space” – He’s everywhere, yes. But
proximity still matters.

> The presence of God is the Spirit of Jesus in the room. It’s not a
good vibe in the room or just a cool feeling, it’s Him. It’s Him in the
room.
·
~ There many different ways to express what it feels like for people
when He comes into the room.

- Personal Examples:

o PL – Chill bumps
o Me – Electricity in my body
o Disciples on the road to Emmaus – “Did our hearts not burn
within us?”
o Others – Weightiness in the room, stillness, warmth
o In a room – Gold dust on hands, oil pouring out of hands,
wind rushing through a room or in a small space, healing,
deliverance, etc.

- WARNING: We don’t base our relationship with God off of
feelings or manifestations, but He loves to make Himself
known. He loves to come close.

~ We get this question all the time - Omnipresent vs. Manifest
Presence?

- Manifest – clear or obvious to the eye or mind
o He’s always here, but sometimes His nearness becomes
more evident in the room.

- Yes, God is everywhere, but sometimes He will come with
His manifest presence. He will make it clear or obvious to
the eye or to the mind that He’s close.

o I want Him to make it obvious!

o If it were not true, James wouldn’t have made this
statement:

> James 4:8 ESV - Draw near to God, and he will draw
near to you.
- If God were only present, why would James
communicate the option of God drawing near?

o Even David understood -

> Psalm 73:28 ESV - But for me it is good to be near
God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may
tell of all your works.

~ We see this all throughout the Word – He’s omnipresent but He
makes His presence obvious to the eye or mind.

o Exodus 3 – Burning Bush (OT)

o Acts 2 – Pentecost – Mighty Rushing Wind (NT)

o When His manifest presence came, things happened.
> People got know Him more. They were strengthened. They
were fortified. They received Dunamis.

o We need Him to come into the room. You always need Him to
come into the room. And He wants to…

1. Make a place for Him.

a. Clean the bathroom. Wash the dishes. Make some queso.

i. You prepare the atmosphere so you can fully present when they
come.

b. What do you need to do to make a place for Him?

i. What needs to be done for you to freed up to engage with Him
intentionally?

ii. Examples:

1. I have a hard time focusing on the Lord if things are a mess.

2. Meeting the Lord outside = bugs, so I have to sweep webs
and stuff

3. I have to put my phone on Do Not Disturb OR I have to leave my
phone in another room.

2. Welcome Him.

a. Open the door for Him.

b. If you notice, we usually start our day in a corporate encounter with a
“Welcome Song” to the Lord.

i. “We don’t make room for you, we give you the entire room.”

c. Derek Prince once said, “If I have ten minutes to pray, I worship for 7
or 8 minutes and pray for 2 or 3 minutes.”

i. Why? What does it matter if you talk to Him if He’s not in the room
with you?

d. It’s relational. Did you know He’s real? He’s not an aethereal
idea/concept?

i. He will come where He is welcome.

3. Acknowledge Him.

a. “It’s so good to see you.”

b. What if you walked into someone’s house and they never
acknowledged you?

i. Ever go to a restaurant and no one ever comes to acknowledge
your presence? Makes you wanna go elsewhere.

c. We want you to learn how to discern when He comes close in the
room, so you can acknowledge Him.

i. When you have a friend or family member come over, you let
everyone in the house know they came in so we have a unified
acknowledgement and celebration of their presence.

1. Notice, we often say out loud when there’s a shift in the
atmosphere. We’re trying to teach you how to discern when He
moves in the room.

2. Corporately, we want to invite you into a moment of unified
acknowledgement and celebration of His presence.

3. In your personal encounter, you should be having those same
moments of the acknowledgement and celebration of His
presence.

d. EXAMPLE: Walking around Israel with PL.

i. He was being intentional to acknowledge Him.

e. Practical Advice: When you sense His manifest presence in the room,
acknowledge Him.

i. Physically respond.

1. Stop.
2. Bow down.
3. Lift your hands.
4. Take your shoes off, like Pastor Chris.

ii. Say it.

1. “There You are.”
2. “Thank You for coming.”
3. “I love it when You come.

4. Stay with Him.

a. When someone’s at your house and you start thinking about
everything that needs to be done around the house – you stay
present. You don’t get distracted because you want to be with that
person.

b. Choose to be present with Him.

i. Gaze at Him.

1. Meditate on the nature and character of God.

ii. Whisper “sweet nothings” to Him.

iii. John 15 was Jesus’ address to the disciples. By that time, they
knew who He was. They were following Him, but He was giving
them an invitation to go deeper.

1. John 15:4 ESV - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither
can you, unless you abide in me.

a. He’s saying STAY WITH ME.

2. John 15:7 ESV - If you abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

a. THIS was a key to prayer God gave the disciples that I ever
noticed! THIS is where we’re supposed to pray from.

b. When you’re in His presence, you pray His heart.

i. lot of Christians don’t pray from His presence and end
up participating in witchcraft. YOUR will is not in the
Lord’s Prayer. That wasn’t Jesus’ model for prayer for
a reason!

c. You’re supposed to pray from abiding with Him!

5. Pray with Him.

a. Pray in your heavenly language.

i. When you pray in the Spirit, the Lord speaks to you.

1. The Holy Spirit will tell you what to pray.

a. Example: Worship Team member (MM) + Suicidal Thoughts

2. The Holy Spirit will remind you of the Word of God.

a. Pray the Word of God.

i. We have to know the Word to pray the Word.

ii. John 14:16 NIV - But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

b. Ask Him what He wants to talk about. Let Him lead the dance.

1. Romans 8:34 NKJV - Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who
died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also makes intercession for us.

2. Romans 8:26-27 NIV - In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And
he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because
the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will
of God.

a. This doesn’t mean you can bring things to Him to talk about,
but when you do let Him lead you into what to pray.

- One of the most well-known moments we find Jesus praying with His
disciples is right before He’s taken away to be crucified. He invited a few
of the disciples to come pray with Him.

- The word for “prayer” used in this passage means “to exchange
wishes/desires”.

o Prayer is a place of exchange.

o Ever wonder why you go in feeling one way and come out feeling
another?

- He begins to release His desires in exchange for God’s desires. Instantly,
He’s strengthened!

o Strengthen – to be made strong enough to face necessary
confrontation

> The strengthening you’re looking for happens in the place of prayer.
The dunamis you’re looking/asking for happens in PRAYER.

> For Jesus, the necessary confrontation was going through the
unthinkable for us – whipped, bruised, etc.
·
~ It was so drastic, the ones who loved Him couldn’t even wrap
their minds around it. In fact, they tried to get in the way of what
God was doing.
·
~ But why? They hadn’t made the same exchange that Jesus
made.

- Jesus got up from prayer and went back to the disciples. They were found sleeping, exhausted from sorrow.

- According to this passage, they only went with Jesus to a certain place.
Jesus withdrew about a stone’s throw away. It doesn’t say He told
them to stay back.

o They were followers of Jesus, but it seems they were perfectly
content with not following Him into prayer.

- They had an opportunity to pray in His presence, but they weren’t willing
to press through the discomfort and maybe awkwardness they might’ve
been feeing to pray with Him.

o They tried to pray away from Him and struggled to pray.

> Maybe if they would’ve prayed with Him, they would’ve stayed
awake.

> Maybe if they would’ve prayed with Him, they wouldn’t have bowed
to their temptation.

> Maybe if they would’ve prayed with Him, they would’ve learned how
to pray.

> Maybe if they would’ve prayed with Him, they would’ve known what
to pray in a moment of deep sorrow.

> Maybe if they would’ve prayed with Him, they would’ve made the
same exchange that He made? Their will for the Father’s will.

o In this moment, Jesus’ prayer life allowed Him to do something that
was beyond His own ability. He didn’t want to.

> Luke 22:42 NIV - “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;
yet not my will, but yours be done.”

o The disciples didn’t have the strength Jesus had because they didn’t
pray like Him. Right after this moment, they denied him.

> Part of the word of the year released for 2023 is that we wouldn’t
lose one this year – that we’d be fortified in our faith.

> As I prayed into this weekend, the Lord reminded me of that word.
The disciples denied Jesus because they didn’t pray like Jesus.

o They couldn’t pray like Him, because they didn’t pray with Him.

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