Leading The Way

Guest (Male): Encouraging words from Dr. Michael Youssef as he begins today’s Leading the Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: This is the confidence that we have in approaching God. What’s that confidence? That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Someone said this is probably the Bible’s most important statement on prayer. But do you know why?

Because John the Apostle, who wrote the Gospel of John, heard with his own ears and he recorded in John 14:14 the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said, "Whatever you ask in My name, I’ll grant it to you."

Guest (Male): Welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. In a moment, Dr. Youssef shares life-changing words about prayer as he continues his series called Life At Its Best. Please keep in mind that Leading the Way is a listener-supported ministry using media as an impactful outreach tool. Dr. Youssef and the team rely on God’s provision through God’s people to do God’s work all around the world.

Learn more about Dr. Youssef and ways to stand with him at ltw.org. You can also call us at 866-626-4356 and speak with a personal ministry representative. Do that later, though, because right now Dr. Michael Youssef begins his practical message, Unlocking the Door to Answered Prayer.

Dr. Michael Youssef: To many people, the subject of prayer is puzzling and confusing. That is why many people get guilt-stricken when they hear a sermon on prayer. Very few people ever feel good or confident about their prayer life. Consequently, they begin to feel guilt.

The problem also, what I consider to be adding insult to injury, is that there are so many confusing teachings. Today, the Apostle John concludes his epistle that we have been looking at for some time now by clarifying, by crystallizing, by making very clear to us what prayer is all about. He tells us two things. He tells us about confidence in prayer and he tells us about privilege in prayer.

He tells us about having confidence in our prayer life. Very few people pray with confidence, and I’m going to explain to you why. You and I are familiar with how the term prayer is used in public, in people in general, or in the media particularly. When there is a crisis somewhere in the world or some problems or difficulties, you hear people in the media talk about how you have our best wishes and prayers.

I often wonder what they really mean by that. I think most times they really mean it’s wishful thinking about the situation. What they really mean is an expression of a deep desire regarding that situation, or wanting something to happen so badly and wishing it so hard that it may happen. Or sometimes they probably mean cajoling some sort of a heavenly entity, someone out there, to do something that they cannot do themselves. Or like asking a genie to do something magical for you, to grant you your wish.

In fact, most people think of prayer the way my children and I used to play a game when they were little. Probably some of you have played that same game. You know, when kids were really little, I would put the quarters in my hand and I’d say, "If you can pry my hand open, you’ll get it." Some of you know what I’m talking about.

They would sit on my lap and they’d keep working their way until they get to the coins. Then what happens is they take the coins, push your hand away, and run away with glee. That’s fine because they are kids and that’s a game. But the problem is there are some people, when they get into trouble, this is how they think prayer is.

Many people do the same thing with God. "God, help me pass my exam." Then they pass their exam and they run away. They come back and they say, "Oh God, help me find a job. Help me find a job. Help me find a job." Then they get the job. "God, help me find a spouse." Then they run away.

Beloved, that is not what prayer is all about. I want you to turn with me to what John said in chapter 5, verse 14 and 15. Here’s what John said: "This is the confidence that we have in approaching God. What’s that confidence? That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

Someone said this is probably the Bible’s most important statement on prayer. But do you know why? Because John the Apostle, who wrote the Gospel of John, heard with his own ears and he recorded in John 14:14 the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said, "Whatever you ask in My name, I’ll grant it to you."

Some people try to use this verse like the used-to-be American Express gold card with no credit limit. "God give me this, God give me this, God give me this, God give me this." It’s a credit card. They ask for the wrong things. They ask with the wrong motive. They ask with the wrong spirit. They ask for selfish and self-serving things. When their prayers are not answered, they say, "Where is God, who said ask in My name and I’ll answer it?"

Look at verse 14 again. "This is the confidence that we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Where does the confidence come from? It comes from a deep intimacy with God and His word. It comes from deep knowledge of God and His word.

It comes from deep love for God, His word, and His desire. It comes from deep commitment to the will of God in my life. It comes from a deep desire to obey God no matter what. It comes from a deep longing to please God. In the presence of this deep longing desire to please God, we find ourselves asking only for that which is in His will.

The scripture said, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you" what? "The desires of your heart." Now, I’ve got news for you. I’ve lived long enough to know that most people like to skip the first part. "Delight yourself in the Lord." They won’t even mouth it. They go straight to, "He will give you the desires of your heart."

Wait a minute. What comes first? The horse or the buggy? The horse. The horse here says, "Delight yourself in the Lord." If you don’t delight yourself in the Lord, you have no right to expect God to grant you the desires of your heart.

Listen carefully. Prayer is not wanting God to see things my way. Prayer is not extracting from God that which I want. Prayer is not cajoling God to do that which He’s reluctant to do. No. Confidence in prayer means a friend speaking to a friend, opening his or her heart to a friend.

That’s what it means. It means speaking to God in an unhampered way, in a relaxed way, in an open way and an open manner. Sure, with reverence. Sure, with respect. Sure, with submission. This confidence does not come out of arrogance, but because of His graciousness. This confidence is not because of who we are or what we think we did for God. No, no, no. It’s because of who He is and what He’s done for us.

Do you want to get your prayers answered? Answered prayer has everything to do with our desire to do the will of God. Look at verse 15. When you submit to the will of God as it’s revealed in the word of God, God doesn’t only hear us, He answers us.

Someone here may say, "Michael, I know I prayed according to the will of God. I know I prayed according to the word of God. I did not pray anything contrary to God’s word, and I know that I prayed for the glory of God. But my prayers have not been answered and I’ve been praying for a long time. I’m still waiting for an answer."

I’ve been there and I’m going to testify about this at the very end of the message, so stay tuned. Here’s what you need to know. God does not have a box on His desk entitled "Pending." If your prayer is according to the will of God, if your prayer is according to the word of God, if your prayer is according to the glory of God, God already answered it.

You say, "Wait a minute, Michael. What do you mean? You’re arguing with me. You’re telling me that God answered it? He has not answered it." Yes, He did. "He did not." Yes, He did. "He did not." Well, I don’t want to be argumentative with you.

But the fact that you have not seen it and experienced it, it doesn’t mean He had not answered it. You say, "Well, wait a minute. Where do you get that?" From the word of God. In the book of Daniel, chapter 10, I’m going to show you and I’m going to prove to you that when you pray according to the will of God and when you pray consistent with the word of God, God already answered your prayer, although you may not have experienced it yet, although you may not have seen it with your eyes yet. But God had answered.

In the book of Daniel, chapter 10, God reveals His will to Daniel. God appeared to him and He told him. There’s no doubt on this one. So Daniel, on the strength of that revealed will of God, he goes into prayer and fasting and mourning and humbling himself before God. He prays, and he prays, and he fasts. For how long? Three weeks.

He gave himself totally to praying according to the revealed will of God. First day, nothing happened. He prays again, cries to the Lord. "Lord, You told me." Nothing happened. Third day, nothing happened. Fourth day, nothing happened. End of the week. "God, You promised me and I’m praying on the strength of that revealed will that You have given me."

Second week. "Whatever happened, Lord? I’ve been praying." Third week. A messenger from the Lord appears to him. Now remember, Daniel was not praying for a Rolls-Royce. He was praying for the revealed will of God, what he already knows God wanted.

In chapter 10, verses 12 and 13, a messenger from the Lord appears to him. Here’s what he said. Listen carefully. "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard." That’s another word for being answered. Sometimes in Hebrew language we say heard meaning answered. "And I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me for 21 days."

When did the answer to Daniel’s prayer take place? Immediately. First day. When did Daniel experience that answer to prayer? Three weeks later. The reason given here, sometimes we don’t have reasons, sometimes we have reasons, but the reason clearly given here is that the head demon that is in charge of the Persian kingdom was creating havoc in the heavenly places and he was trying to delay that prayer from being experienced. It’s already been answered. It’s not been experienced for three weeks.

Beloved, let me tell you something. It is not arbitrary that the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Prayer is dependent on the willingness of the person who’s praying. Willingness to do what? Willingness to do spiritual battles, willingness to do spiritual war, willingness to align your life with the will of God. Pray, tell me, how can you pray the will of God in your life when you are living outside of the will of God in your life? Pray, tell me, how can you pray the will of God in your life when your life is contrary to the word of God?

In fact, the Bible gives us at least six reasons why our prayers are not answered. Listen to me. First, according to 1 Peter 3:7, marriage relationship that’s out of kilter can hinder answer to prayer. Secondly, according to Matthew 5:23, knowingly offending someone will hinder answer to prayer.

Thirdly, according to Matthew 6:14, unforgiveness will hinder answers to your prayer. Fourthly, in Malachi chapter 3 verse 8, lack of stewardship, unfaithfulness with the stewardship that God placed in your hand will hinder answers to prayer. Fifth, in 1 Samuel 15:22, deliberate disobedience can hinder answers to prayer. Number six, in Psalm 66:18, cherished sin, hoarded sin, unconfessed sin will hinder answers to your prayer.

That is why after John tells us about confidence in prayer, he goes on to tell us how to pray. Secondly, verse 16 and 17. Now I told you, first what he’s saying is this. He said that you need to pray for the brother or the sister in Christ who is caught in sin. Not to gossip about them, to pray for them. Earnestly pray for them. Not to talk about their sin with other people, but to intercede on their behalf.

But what is that sin that leads to death? The very purpose of the whole epistle will lead us to think that the sin that leads to death in the context of the whole epistle, the one thing that has been repeated over and over and over again, is that no one can have eternal life if they do not believe that Jesus and Jesus alone is the way to the Father.

That no one can have eternal life in heaven unless they believe that Jesus through His death and resurrection made it possible for you and me to go to heaven. That’s the whole point of the passage. That was the sin of the Gnostics to whom John was writing, the sin that John was fighting and trying to warn the Christians from it. Beloved, that’s the sin of the church today.

Oodles of churches have abandoned the truth that Jesus came from heaven to die and rise again so that He and He alone can give eternal life. That’s the bottom line. That’s the sin that leads to death. I told you I want to testify to you about my own prayer life, from my personal experience.

There were several big moments in my life, big issues in my life. The world can look at them and say it’s impossible. If people knew what I was praying for, they would say that my sanity has left me. But I knew I was praying according to the will of God, at least as I’m able to discern it in my spirit.

I knew I was praying consistently with the word of God. I knew that I was not praying for self-serving prayers, but for the glory of God. I knew that. I knew that I must persist in prayer. Yet, between the time that God had answered those prayers and the time that I have experienced answer to prayers can be measured not in weeks, but in years.

One time it was 18 months. Another time it was three years. Another time it was six years between the time I knew that God had answered my prayer and the time I’ve experienced it. What happened to me during that time? What happened to me during the time of waiting? Well, like Daniel when I was persistent in prayer, well I grew more like Christ.

I grew in my dependence on Christ. I grew in my love for Christ. I grew in my total reliance on Christ. Oh, but listen, let me not just tell you the good stuff. Let me also tell you that many times I was tempted to give up praying. Oh, I can’t even count them. That many times when I was tempted to give up in my persistence in prayer.

That many times that I was tempted to give up waiting to experience the answer to my prayer. But the grace of God sustained me, and I know that He’ll sustain you. Finally, John says, stay away from idols. You know, he just comes in this last sentence there. He’s closing and he says goodbye. He says stay away from idols.

He says, "What? Why sticking that thing in there? It doesn’t make sense." Yes, it does. Listen carefully. You see, an idol is anybody, could be a person or persons, or a thing that occupies the top place in your heart. Only you know this, as much as I know that for me. That’s an idol. Anything or anybody, it could be the nearest and the dearest to you, that is occupying the center place.

God doesn’t like to share that with anybody. That’s an idol. As long as there is an idol or multiple idols occupying that place, you’re not going to experience an answer to your prayer even though they may be answered in heaven. So give them up. Don’t give them up temporarily so you can get your prayers answered. Give them up permanently. Give them up for good. Surrender them to the Lord.

Maybe some of you who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ve never been born again, you’ve never invited Him to give you eternal life. Today you can say, "Lord Jesus, I surrender to You. I receive You as my savior. I accept what You did on that cross to be done for me in order to give me eternal life."

Guest (Male): Recognize that voice? That’s Dr. Michael Youssef, and this is Leading the Way audio. Did Dr. Youssef ignite some spiritual or some life questions as you were listening? Well, we invite you to talk through those with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor. You can start that conversation by filling out a short contact form at ltw.org/jesus.

For years, many have refused to talk about what’s happening. It was dismissed as "over there" in distant headlines. But now, it’s here. You see it on college campuses. You hear it in classrooms and conversations. Two radical ideologies, once openly hostile, now stand shoulder to shoulder.

In Dr. Youssef’s new book, An Unholy Alliance, he explains why this convergence is happening, where it comes from, and why ignoring it will only accelerate the downfall of our society.

Dr. Michael Youssef: The leaders of this Islamization of the West movement, they operate on one basis, and that’s fear.

Guest (Male): Most leaders stay silent. Many are afraid of the backlash. But silence has consequences. This is not about fear or political solutions. It’s about truth and the responsibility we have to speak it with courage and compassion.

Dr. Michael Youssef: We are to warn and to encourage and to bring those people to come to Christ, that we would say to them, "Jesus loves you." And that’s the message that we the believers have.

Guest (Male): It’s one of the most urgent messages of our lifetime. If we don’t speak up now, the next generation will pay the price. Order your copy of Dr. Michael Youssef’s eye-opening new book, An Unholy Alliance, and learn how you can make a difference for Christ.

An Unholy Alliance is a wake-up call to understand the danger of progressive political parties of today aligning with false religious systems, both determined to destroy Western culture and Christianity. For coming generations, this is a compelling read. It’s poised to make an impact on the trajectory of this country and really of the world.

So give us a call right now at 866-626-4356. Speak with a ministry representative to place your order. Or you can visit ltw.org. Again, that phone number: 866-626-4356. And online: ltw.org. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.