Praying Circles Around Your Walls – 9
Subject: A Cloud the Size of a Man’s Hand
by Rick Welborne
Joshua 6:1-5 (NKJV)
1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
1 Kings 18:41-46 (NKJV)
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
--In standardized math test Japanese children consistently score higher than their American counterparts. Are Japanese children truly that much smarter than American children?
--Researchers have found that it may have to do with effort more than with intellect. In one study, students were given a very difficult puzzle to solve. The researchers knew the kids could not solve the problem.
--They wanted to see how long each group would keep trying before they finally gave up. The American children lasted on average 9.47 while the Japanese children lasted 13.93 minutes.
--In other words, Japanese children tried about 40% longer. Is it any wonder that they score higher on math tests? They concluded it had to do less with their intelligence quotient and more on persistence quotient.
--What does this say…it says that whether it is math, athletics, music, or academics that there are no shortcuts. There are no substitutes. Success is a derivative of persistence. Strong consistent effort.
--More than a decade ago a study was done with musicians especially violinist. Three groups…world class violinist, good violinist, and those who would simply play professionally.
--In the study they found those who would become professionals logged about 4000 hours of practice time, good logged 8000 hours, and the world class logged over 10,000 hours.
--Of course, having natural ability dictates some of your potential but nothing can compare with someone who is willing to put in the time of persistent effort.
--Persistence seems to be the magic bullet and ten thousand hours seem to be the magic number.
Neurologist Daniel Levitin – The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianist, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.
--Question…Is prayer any different?
Batterson – It is a habit to be cultivated. It is a discipline to be developed. It is a skill to be practiced. And while I don’t want to reduce praying hard to time logged, if you want to achieve mastery, it might take ten thousand hours. This I know for sure: the bigger the dream the harder you will have to pray.
1. We all face droughts in our lives.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NRSV)
13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
--Several centuries before the drought that Honi faced there was another drought in Israel. For three years there was no rain and no puddles for the kids to jump in.
--This is important to hear and understand…God promised Elijah that He would send rain but like every promise, Elijah still had to circle the promise in prayer. He had to have persistent prayer.
--After being a youth pastor for fourteen years and a lead pastor for 27 years I still get amazed at the problems people have in their lives…when I think there couldn’t be anything new or strange, there is.
--Being the youngest in my family gave me a unique perspective that maybe my siblings did not have…I could watch and learn from their mistakes and not repeat the insanity they did.
--Today we have opportunity over and over again to learn from others mistakes and failures and maybe even learn from our own mistakes but we keep repeating the same junk hoping for a different outcome.
Proverbs 26:11 (NKJV)
11 As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.
11 As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.
--1 Cor. 10:13 gives us all a promise as we face these droughts in our lives…Paul tells us that many other people have been thru the same mess, and it is assumed that we understand, they survived.
--Paul also tells us that God will not test us beyond our ability or our strength to be able to survive the test. I know all of us have been at that point (including your pastor) when we felt like we passed that point days ago.
--Paul also says something that I find extremely powerful about God…He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. Again it is assuming we do not give up and that we keep praying.
--The most powerful thing that Paul shares with us is that God is faithful…say that with me…God is faithful! Again it assumes that as we trust God in the drought that God is faithful and will bring us out.
--As I was preparing this portion of the message God reminded me of His faithfulness to me and His promise to me. Eight years ago your pastor was going thru a drought. It was tough and tempting to just bail out.
--In the middle of that time three couples show up from Houston, Texas. They were assigned by their church to help them find a new pastor. The Superintendent from South Texas recommended me to them.
--They came to church to hear me preach and then we went to lunch. We talked for hours. They pretty much offered the church to us. I told them I could not give them an answer until I heard from God.
--God, is this your will to take me out of the drought I am in? I need to hear from You! While I am typing this the song is on Pandora “Thy will be done”. Lord, please speak to me.
--The couples left that afternoon waiting to hear what my answer would be…of course my heart was heavy and my head was spinning. What am I to do? Is it time to go?
--I am not sure why God can’t talk to us at 9:00am but at 3:00am the next morning God woke me up and said:
“I have ordained you to pastor Life Church Assembly of God and I have not changed My mind. If you will trust Me and remain faithful to Me, on the other side of this test (this drought) you will see growth and miracles like never before!”
--I said Yes, Lord, and called the church in Texas at 7:00am to let them know. The three couples had already been telling their people we were coming. They were just a little presumptuous.
--Of course, I thought God would immediately turn my drought and the church’s drought into a deluge of God’s mercy and blessings. It didn’t happen that way. I had to keep circling God’s promises. Look at us now!
2. We all have to wait for the cloud to appear.
1 Kings 18:41-44 (NKJV)
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
--God had promised Elijah that He would send rain, but like every promise Elijah had to continue to circle the promise in prayer…he would find out that he would have to pray hard.
--Elijah climbs to the top of Mt. Carmel, fell on his face, and prayed for rain. Don’t miss this…God had promised to send rain but Elijah had to do his part and pray.
--I really do not care what camp you are in…pray and keep praying hard or pray once and then start praising God for the answer. Praising is just another part of praying. Elijah knew rain was coming but he kept praying.
Luke 11:9-13 (NLT)
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!
13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
--The persistent widow kept coming to the judge repeatedly asking for justice…her persistence paid off. Six times Elijah told his servant to go and look for rain but there was no sign of rain.
--This is when most of us give up…nothing happening…I am done. Elijah was like Honi…I am not moving from this place until the rain comes. I believe Elijah would have prayed a thousand times.
--Something happened between the sixth and seventh prayer…something changed in the atmosphere…Elijah told his servant to go and look one more time.
--The surprised servant said I see something rising from the sea…I see a cloud about the size of a man’s hand. That’s not much but when God is involved that is more than enough.
1 Kings 18:41-46 (NKJV)
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' "
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
3. We cannot give up right before the miracle takes place.
--What if? What if Elijah had given up after the sixth prayer? Elijah would have forfeited the miracle that God wanted to send. You see, Elijah was not the only one who needed rain.
--We all need to keep praying…we need to pray hard…not just for us but for all those who will be impacted by our prayer. As we have kept praying here at Life Church, the growth and miracles are coming.
Luke 18:1 (NIV)
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Hudson Taylor – There are three great stages to every great work of God; first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done!
--Don’t stop praying…I see a cloud the size of a man’s hand and I hear the abundance of rain!
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