Living Hope in Troubled Times

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction

Today is the first Sunday of the New Year 2024. This will be a year of blessing and opportunity for each one of us as we follow the Lord. It will be a year of blessing and growth for our church family as we reach more people for Jesus.

Today, our message is entitled Power of Prayer Awakening – Part 2. We are devoting the first two weeks of the year to prayer. Prayer for ourselves, our families, our church and our nation.

Matthew 18:20 (ESV) For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Prayer should always be a part of the gathering together of believers. God desires for our prayer lives to increase in 2024, both our prayer as individuals and our prayer with others in the church family. Prayer is very powerful because it connects the person praying with the all-powerful creator of the universe.

James 5:16b (ESV) The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

God works through prayer with great power. There is nothing that you can do as a believer that has greater power than prayer. One of the ways that our faith can be built is to look back at times when God has moved in special ways, both in the Bible and in our time.

This morning let’s look back about 40 years to what happened on Father’s Day 1995 in an ordinary service at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Evangelist Steve Hill was speaking about an encounter he had with the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, the Spirit began to move across the auditorium with half the crowd coming forward to repent and pray.

People began to be overcome with the power of the Spirit and began weeping. That service that began on Sunday morning lasted into the evening. Evangelist Steve Hill began to speak at daily evening meetings at what became known as the Brownsville Revival.

The revival continued for five years and over four million people came. Why did that revival happen? Evangelist Steve Hill and the church at Brownsville had been earnestly praying for God to bring revival and a spiritual awakening. Prayer was a hallmark of that revival as it continued for years.

Habakkuk 3:2 (NIV) LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Today, we look back at what God has done in the past and ask Him to move in our day, in our church, in our city. I pray that prayer will become an increasing mark of who we are and what we value. This morning we’re going to be looking at four important aspects of prayer that will make our prayers more powerful and effective.

Prayer Brings Bold Evangelism

God desires for every believer to be a witness for Jesus to everyone they meet. What holds us back? Often it is fear, fear of what others may think and fear of what others may do if we share our faith. Boldness overcomes fear.

Acts 4:29–30 (ESV) And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

The believers were undergoing severe persecution. Yet, they asked God for boldness to continue to witness about Jesus. They asked God to do a supernatural work as they spoke boldly. Boldness comes by moving from fear to faith.

Psalm 56:3 (ESV) When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

There’s a short verse to memorize. When you move from fear to trusting in the Lord, great things will happen. This year, pray that God will move you from fear to trust to boldness in sharing your faith. Prayer brings bold evangelism which is for every believer.

Living as Intentional Witnesses Through Prayer

This year of 2024, I want to introduce several tools that will help us all become bold witnesses starting with prayer. We are going to be talking about a Five Friend Focus. I’m going to ask each one of us to think of five friends that need more of Jesus in their lives.

Some you may know are lost. Others may not go to church or go to a church that does not preach the Gospel. These may be relatives, neighbors, workmates or other friends.

In your bulletin this morning is a white index card for you to fill in your Five Friends Focus for 2024. I’m going to pray and ask God to put names on your heart. As many as you think of, put them on the card and keep the card to take home.

I’m going to ask each of us to pray daily for the five names on the card. Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them and invite them to church. Maybe five names didn’t immediately come to mind, and that’s ok, just keep on praying.

All of us have neighbors, but many of us don’t know our neighbors. At AG General Council last year, they introduced a new app for your phone called Bless Every Home. It’s free and when you put your address in, it shows you the house number and names of all your neighbors so you can pray for them. Prayer brings bold evangelism.

Foster Unity in Prayer

John 17:20–21 (ESV) I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

In this prayer, Jesus is looking down the corridors of time and praying for us in 2024. He is praying that we would have unity with one another and with God. Jesus prayed for unity among believers so that the world might believe in Him.

Unity, particularly in prayer, is an essential aspect of evangelism. How do we foster unity in prayer? The answer is simple, we pray together.

We agree in prayer together. If there is an issue between believers in a church family, we seek to reconcile rather than damage unity.

Matthew 18:19–20 (ESV) Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

In these verses, Jesus speaks directly to the power of prayers of agreement. This is when a group of believers gathers together to pray in faith for the same things. Jesus says that those prayers will be answered.

He promises to be in the midst of believers who gather together to pray. God desires for us to grow in unity through prayer.

Growing Together Through Shared Prayer

What opportunities do we have at Life Church to foster unity in prayer? We have opportunities every Sunday morning for prayer, both corporate prayer and individual prayer. Do not be afraid or shy to come forward for prayer, either for yourself or for someone else.

God promises to answer the prayers of those who pray in agreement with other believers. Every Life Group that meets always has a time of prayer. Those are great places to not only discuss God’s Word, but to have ongoing persistent prayer for one another’s needs.

God intended for every believer to grow in unity in a church family with both a larger group and small groups. If you’re not part of a small group yet, make a commitment in 2024 to get involved. Both large and small groups are essential for spiritual growth and protection.

Activate Spiritual Gifts Through Prayer

1 Corinthians 12:1 (ESV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Spiritual gifts are not something optional for believers, as some suppose. Spiritual gifts are offered by God to every believer, but they are not given automatically.

1 Corinthians 14:1 (ESV) Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

Here God’s Word instructs us to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. That is quite different from the attitude that God will give me those gifts automatically. No, we must earnestly desire spiritual gifts.

As a believer, when you earnestly desire a gift from God, what must you do? You must pray and ask in faith for spiritual gifts to be activated in your life. Why do we need spiritual gifts?

1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV) To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Spiritual gifts are given primarily so that you can bless others, both within the church family and outside. Spiritual gifts help you in your spiritual growth. Spiritual gifts help you bless others in the church family. And spiritual gifts make your evangelism much more effective.

Luke 11:13 (ESV) If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Jesus is here speaking of the baptism in the Spirit, which must be sought and asked for. The baptism in the Spirit is the doorway to receiving the rest of the spiritual gifts. Activate spiritual gifts in your life through prayer.

Pursuing the Spirit’s Power for God’s Mission

Next Sunday, we’ll begin a new message series for 2024 from the book of Acts. The book of Acts shows us how the Spirit empowered the early church to change the world after Jesus ascended into heaven. They changed their world through prayer, bold witnessing and the power of the Spirit.

That strategy is God’s timeless strategy for every believer and every church. We look forward to growing in God, growing in prayer and the gifts of the Spirit in 2024. God has good gifts for each one of us who seek Him for them.

Seek Revival Through Prayer

Psalm 42:1 (ESV) As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

Revival is when God moves with supernatural power in a church, a city or a nation. Revival begins in people’s hearts who are seeking for personal revival. The psalmist in this verse speaks of panting and longing after a closeness with God.

Revival comes to our hearts and lives when we seek God first and foremost in our lives. Revival begins with one person or a small group of people who begin to seek God through prayer.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I believe this verse gives us the plan to bring healing to our lives, to our friends we are praying for, to our church family, to our city of St. Louis and to our nation. If we humble ourselves, we pray and seek God, and we repent of our sin. Then God will hear, forgive and bring healing and revival. We are to seek revival through prayer.

Committing Ourselves Together to Seek God

This last verse is addressed to my people, the people of God. We are to follow the instructions of this verse together in order to see revival come. Our Tuesday morning prayer at 6:30am is designed for people to come together and seek God for revival.

We encourage everyone to come join us as we seek revival through prayer. God has wonderful plans for blessing for your life, your family, our church and our city in this New Year. May God help us pray to bring His kingdom into reality among us.

Conclusion

This Sunday and last, we’ve gone over seven aspects of powerful prayer that brings awakening. Our AG family has made available some great 30-minute teaching videos on these topics. You can find them on our church website under Prayer Awakening.

You can sign up there to be reminded of each new video every other day for the next two weeks. Take the time to watch them this week and be encouraged in your prayer life. Share them with someone else. May we see great things in this New Year as we seek God in prayer at the beginning of the year and throughout the year.

📘 Continue the Journey

Reflect deeper and apply this week’s message with the Message Study Guide — perfect for personal devotions, family discussion, or your Life Group.

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