Regaining Lost Ground

Shane Idleman: See, from that fire within, that's how the fire goes without. John Wesley said, "You want to see the pew burn? Set the pulpit on fire, and people will come to watch you burn." Burn with the Holy Spirit of God. John the Baptist even said of Jesus, "He will come and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." There should be a burning, a passion, a desire to do things for God.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today's message on regaining lost ground is titled, "Preparing the Heart to Pray," and is part four from the sermon series, "The Bible Doesn't Say That."

In this powerful message, Pastor Shane reminds us of the call from our Lord to obediently seek him with a humble heart, allowing God's word to be the foundation on which we stand. Second Corinthians 10:5 says, "Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Join us today as Pastor Shane encourages us to prepare our hearts for a mighty prayer life, living for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the Idleman Unplugged weekly podcast. And now from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Shane Idleman: The message this morning is on prayer: preparing the heart to pray. When we sing those lyrics, "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me, wake me from my slumber, from my sleep," what can happen in the lives of all Christians if we're not careful is we can go from passion and having a fire for God and wanting to do things for God into sleep mode. Lullabies, go back to sleep, church. That's what the devil loves to do: go back to sleep. It's wonderful for a three-month-old, but it's terrible by the time we're in our 30s to sleep when God has called us to awaken.

So I want to encourage you this morning to maybe think about that. Has the Spirit of the living God fallen afresh on you, waking you from your sleep? We can often see that in worship. I know I mention this sometimes, but those who are awake and want to worship God and have this vibrant relationship versus those who are bored to death. The Spirit of the living God has not fallen upon them, because when that happens, you're filled with God's Spirit.

In the same way that Paul talks about being filled with alcohol or being filled with God's Spirit, either one of those spirits is controlling you. When you give over to alcohol, that spirit is controlling you and your speech is controlled, your actions are influenced by what's controlling you. Paul says, "But be filled with the Spirit of God so your speech is controlled by the Spirit of God, your actions are controlled by the Spirit of God." I would submit to you that most people walking within our churches in America are not filled with the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God has not fallen afresh on them. There's not a vibrant prayer life, there's not a heart of worship, and I'm hoping that can help this morning.

The title is "Preparing the Heart to Pray," and as you know, we've been in a series, "The Bible Doesn't Say That." Do you ever come across scriptures or you hear people quote scriptures and you say, "The Bible doesn't say that"? One that's been in the news lately is a doctor who actually performs abortions and thinks he's doing God a favor, and he uses the text of the Good Samaritan. As the Good Samaritan would go around doing good things, he uses that text to support his agenda.

What we're seeing also in America is they'll use scriptures such as "do not judge" and they want to pass every type of ungodly law under the banner of "God is love." Isn't it interesting they say God is love, but they forget that God is holy? God is righteous, a just judge. We can't look at certain attributes or certain scriptures; we look at the whole scripture of God. When it comes on this area of prayer, I was going to use this title but I changed my mind back to this one: "Ask and You Will Receive... Sometimes."

One of the scriptures that people take out of context is, "Ask and you will receive." Come on, brother, just believe it and you will receive it. That's where the "name it and claim it" comes from. Just name it and claim it. "Ask and you will receive." Oh, that Lamborghini is just months away, I can feel it. We start to have a wrong view of God because it's not about what I want; it's really about lining up your prayer life with the heart of God. What does God want? As God's heart lines up with your heart and you begin to pray, that prayer takes on power because now it's infused by the Spirit of God, because now you're praying according to God's will.

So yes, you can ask and you will receive, but there are conditions that often need to be met. The pattern of history and the Bible is this: before God moves in outward, visible power in the world, he also moves in inward purity in the hearts of his people. To say it a different way, before God moves outwardly and brings revival, brings awakening—"God, change my home"—do you ever pray that? "Change my work environment, change this, change that." Often he's going to change you first.

See, from that fire within, that's how the fire goes without. John Wesley said, "You want to see the pew burn? Set the pulpit on fire, and people will come to watch you burn." It's not a bad thing; it's a good thing. Burn with the Holy Spirit of God. We should talk about that more often. John the Baptist even said of Jesus, "He will come and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." There should be a burning, a passion, an unction, anointing to do things for God, but that only comes from the prayer closet.

Actually, preaching really comes from the prayer closet. People picture people on computers preparing sermons or sitting in their study writing down things; it really is developed in the prayer closet where God loads the weapon, the hammer is released, and the bullet goes out because what was loaded in the prayer closet comes out in the sermon. At least it should in the lives of most pastors.

So think about that. We're wanting God to move in our state. Do you know the numbers of how many people are leaving California weekly? It's way up there. "God, move in our state." I want to remind people, if it's coming, if it's happening in California, it's coming all across the United States. As California goes, so goes the nation. You can't go run and hide somewhere. We have to stand up and fight and hold our ground.

"God, change our state, change our nation. Lord, look at what's going on." Is not the culture getting worse? Folks, we're talking about murdering children at nine months, killing elderly people, those with Down Syndrome. Anti-Israel statements that hate the Jewish nation. Gay marriage is being promoted and pushed, and if you don't believe in it, you are a homophobe and a hater. It's actually the opposite is true.

People cannot shift on this issue. Morality doesn't shift; morality stays solid. People shift, morality doesn't. It has nothing to do with a hater; it has to do with a lover. We love people. Nobody's taken me up on this, but I want to offer them a lie detector test. You say I'm a hater? Let's take a lie detector test. I'll ask you questions, you ask me questions, and you'll find out. See, they smokescreen all of this.

So if God is going to move in our culture, if he's going to move in our nation, if he's going to move in your home and your community, he's going to move in you first. But don't we want God to do things without us? "Lord, you change it. I just want to stay comfortable. You deal with it. I just want to stay here. Comfortable Christianity." You won't find that concept taught in the Bible: comfortable Christianity, relaxed Christianity, lazy Christianity.

You'll find lukewarm. Is it a good thing? Jesus said, "Be hot or cold. If you're lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth." This battle is really fought in the prayer closet. If you want to have a passion for God, prayer has got to become a priority. A priority. Something we put on the calendar, something that is important to us. We must prepare the heart to pray. An athlete prepares, correct? Look up what an Olympic athlete does before their Olympics. It's a crazy schedule. They prepare, they prepare for a medal that fades away and is gone. The farmer prepares, a student prepares at school, soldiers prepare. How much more should Christians prepare their heart?

For me, I agree with Robert Murray M'Cheyne, who said many years ago that I spend most of my time praying, preparing to pray. So do you, I'm sure. You spend most of your time preparing to pray. So what I'm borrowing here is some notes from Al Whittinghill. He's going to speak next weekend. I think you have it as a handout. I grabbed some of the scriptures, and I think it's a wonderful way to get our hearts ready for this.

Here are keys to preparation: you need a willing mind, an open heart, and an obedient will. Are those not difficult? A willing mind. What's a willing mind say? "Lord, I'm willing to do this." An open heart. "Lord, whatever you want to do." And an obedient will. I wish I could do the whole sermon on this topic of obedience because there's power in simple obedience. I think the reason many prayers are not answered is because we're not obeying God in certain areas.

God says do this, I say no, but I'm going to keep praying. God says do this, no, I'm going to keep praying. "Lord, why aren't you opening doors? Why isn't this happening? Why aren't you doing this?" Go back to what I told you first: simple obedience. Moses obeyed God, David obeyed, Elijah obeyed, kings obeyed, priests obeyed, prophets obeyed, and God would move on their behalf. What happened when there was disobedience? God would not move.

He said, "Is my ear not heavy that I cannot hear you?" Of course he can hear you. "Is my hand not short that I cannot save you?" But what? "Your sins, your iniquities have hid my eyes from you so I cannot see you. I cannot turn to you and help you." Of course he could, but there's something called sin and disobedience that prevents many prayers from being answered. We think God will still answer my prayers even though I'm not obeying him.

I know it's convicting, but it's meant to be because without this initial first step, it's hard to get prayers answered. It's hard to get into a deep, abiding prayer life without obedience taking place. First John 5: "And this is the confidence that we have in him." So where's your confidence at? In your friends, in social media, checkbook, retirement? No, it's this confidence we have in God, that if we ask anything—anything—he hears us according to his will.

See what obedience does. Obedience lines you up with God's will. When I obey him, I'm lined up with his will. So as I'm lined up with his will, now my prayers change from self-focused to others-focused. Now it changes from what I want to what I need. So your prayer life lines up with obedience. Does that make sense? The more you obey him, the more you're filled with his Spirit, the more your prayers will shift.

Then of course it goes on to say, "We know that he hears us, and whatever we ask, our petitions, our desires." He yearns for us to lay hold of his promises and to fully trust him. This is remarkable because God yearns for us to lay hold of his promises. Do you know what pleases God? Faith pleases God. The Bible says it's impossible to please God without faith. Faith lays hold of God's promises and believes in God.

"Lord, your word says this. Your word says this, I trust you. Your word says this." It says that I will not leave you or forsake you. I know you won't. Your word says this. God, your word says you will hear me even if it's 2:00 in the morning crying out to you. Lord, your word says this, and you hold God to that; you hold his promises. "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. I'm the good shepherd. Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil because I hold you up with my hand. I will put a table in the front of your enemies. I will give you comfort and joy even when your enemies mock you and laugh you and ridicule you." God, I'm holding you to those promises.

That's trust. And what happens when doubt comes in? Oh, I'm doubting what God's going to do. I'm fearful. Fear and anxious. That's why the Bible says that God has not even given you, as a believer, a spirit of fear. That's not of God. Fearing what's going to happen. What? What? What? I can't believe this. What am I going to do, Lord? I can't bear this any longer. So trust him.

John 15:7: "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." See, if I'm abiding in Christ, I'm not going to ask for that Lamborghini. If I'm abiding in Christ and his word, I don't want the 8,000 square foot house in the hills. If I'm abiding in Christ, I don't want my enemies to die. That's prayers some people pray: "Lord, just kill that person. They've upset me, just kill them, just take them."

As you're abiding in Christ, that word abide means to live with and to stand with. So he's saying when you stand with Christ, when you live with Christ, when the word of God is deep down penetrating your heart and you live on that word and you obey that word, your thoughts actually change. You want God thoughts. Here's an interesting thing: you're going to have world thoughts or you're going to have God's thoughts depending on what you feed the most.

You will think like the world if you're feeding your mind with the things of the world. If you have the world's music, the world's entertainment, the world's news, the world's outlets, whatever it is constantly feeding on the things of the world. That's where your thoughts are going to be. That's why you'll see many people that you'll find divorcing, many times it's because they were feeding their mind with the things of the world and they think, "Oh, the grass is greener on this side of the fence." That's what the world tells me. But guess what's on that other side of the fence? Destruction. Exactly right. The grass is not greener; it's greener wherever you feed it.

So you have this battle inside. So if you're abiding with Christ and the word of God is in your heart, living in your heart, and you're quoting scripture and you're reminding yourself when you're tempted, "Hey, I know I'm tempted, but no temptation can overtake me, Lord. This is all common to man. God, you're faithful. You're not going to give me more than I can bear." I'm going to hold on to your promise and I'm going to seek you.

That word begins to penetrate your heart and your prayer life changes. "Oh God, would you save my children? God, strengthen my family." When the enemy comes in, when the devourer comes in like a flood, you're going to lift up a standard against him. God, I'm trusting in you. Your word is my weapon, your word is my shield. When the devil comes in and taunts with half-truths—you know that, right? You know the devil knows the scripture a lot better than we do.

He'll come in with half a truth. He told Eve, "Did God really say?" and he begins to—you begin to justify things. Half the truth. But if you have the whole truth in your heart, your prayer life changes. You begin to pray for people, and you're not in a hurry. If you find yourself saying, "I don't know what to pray for," it's because you're filled with the world a lot more than the things of God, because we can talk about the world all day long.

I know Christians that they'll say, "Shane, I can't pray, it's boring, I don't know what to pray for," but they can quote all the basketball stats you've ever even heard. Oh, did you hear this? And this person—I haven't even heard of these names. You know their batting average, you know their earned run average, you know how many games they've missed. How do you know all this? And you have such an interest for this and such a passion for these things. How do you have it? Because that's what you're filled with. No wonder the word of God is boring. No wonder you have no prayer life.

Because God says feed on the word. It's something that I've noticed about God's word, you know this is true too: the more you feed on it, the hungrier you become. Any chocolate lovers in here? What happens if you just get a little piece? That's all you get. Oh, you just opened the lion's cage on that one. I want more, I want more, I want more. Same thing: the more you get into God with worship and prayer and reading his word, the hungrier you become. The more you remove yourself from that, you'll begin to starve to death, spiritually speaking.

It's funny one of the Old Testament—not really funny, but it's even relevant today—one of the prophets said that God said a famine is coming. Not a famine of food or water, but of hearing of the word of God. See, that's a true famine. We have elected officials, we have pastors all across our nation where there's a famine. They're not hearing from the word of God. They're hearing from their own ingenuity and their own pride and arrogance.

Think about this: what possibilities, what a privilege, what a pressing need to simply obey God, abide in him, and watch your prayer life turn from boring to dynamic, turn from unanswered to answered, turn from irrelevant to very relevant. Because when you're filled with the Spirit of God, prayer is the priority. It's the engine that pushes the vehicle down the street, that being your spiritual vehicle. It's what pushes you, it's your engine. Mark 11 talks about having faith in God; do not doubt in your heart and your prayers will be answered.

See, that is a biblical truth as well. If you have faith in God and you do not doubt in your heart, your prayers will be answered. Now, it does come up, but Shane, how do I know to pray according to God's will? I figured this out the hard way. I'm going to share it with you this morning. You ready for this? Ask him. Is this your will? And what will begin to happen is that desire you had for it will begin to fade. The more you seek him, the more you ask for his—"Lord, is this your will?"—what you thought you needed or wanted, it's not even an issue anymore.

But if there's something that's a pressing need, God keeps bringing it back. Pray for this. "Lord, is this your will?" Because there's something now, like I told you I've been praying about the radio stations a year ago, and I told you there's something I'm praying for I can't tell you, and then I finally told you once it happened. There's something else I'm praying for that would be even bigger than that for—to help people. It's something I've been praying about; it's been logged in my Bible, it's in my journal. But I'm still praying, "Lord, I don't know if this is your will," but the desire doesn't go away. It keeps kind of coming back and coming back.

And this scripture jumped out: just have faith, do not doubt in your heart, and your prayers will be answered. But I still ask, "God, is this your will? Is this your will? Show me." And God says, "I love that heart. I will answer the prayers of that person." So if you don't know, ask. We see couples, obviously, and you know people dating. "Should we get married? God, is this your will? Should we get married?" Ask him. Ask him.

But start with what you do know. If there's not purity, living together, sleeping together, whatever it is, you've got to start there before God reveals his other will. Get it right in the first place, build on the right foundation of purity and holiness. See, now the lifestyle is lining up with God's word. Now you can ask. Because some of you, "Lord, I don't know if this is your—" Get out of sin and disobedience, then you can hear better.

Do you ever buy those good earplugs? I'm going to get some when the baby's born. On Saturday nights. I can't hear anything. Nothing. But see, that's what sin does hearing God's voice. I can't hear anything. "Lord, where are you?" "Would you take care of this issue? Then you can hear me." "No." "Would you still answer me?" "No. Take care of this issue."

Let me not give you the wrong impression here. God still hears us when we're in sin. Actually, one of the prayers of the Bible that God always hears is, "God, save me, a sinner." So if you don't know Christ, all you have to pray is, "God, save me, a sinner. I repent of my sin." But as a believer, you can still—you're struggling. Say, "God, I want to hear you. This is a stronghold in my life, I can't break free of this. God, would you help me? Would you give me the strength? Would you show me something? Show me what your will is."

I've never seen God let you down. When has God ever let you down when you truly petition him and were sincere and asked him? We sing that song, "God, you will never fail me. You've never let me down." Though the enemy comes at me, though the enemy's taunting me, God, you are standing like a rock. You will never let me down. Jesus actually said, "If you hear my words and do them, you will be like a man who built his house on the rock. And when the rains came, the floods came, and the storm beat upon that house, it did not fall." Why? Because the foundation, the footing, the grounding, the strength was in the rock. That's how powerful obeying God's word is. Every great revival or spiritual awakening in history has come in answer to sincere prayers from believers who have broken, humble, cleansed, and believing hearts.