ABOUT EARLY MORNING PRAYER

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35 ESV)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21 ESV)

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As a child - my earliest memories are of my parents on their knees as I got out of bed every morning.  Whether it be my mom by her bed or my dad by his chair - they both have left a legacy of prayer that has been passed to their children and many grandchildren.

Let me ask a question of you this morning - How is your prayer life?  How is your time with God?  Are enjoying the time you spend with God and the opportunities to spend time with God in intercession and prayer.  Have you experienced that place where heaven comes down and fills your soul?  Are you standing in the gap for your children and grand children?  Are you fighting for your marriage on your knees and for the fate of your family.  Do you know how to wrestle for God's purposes in your life?

Prayer is a sacrifice.  It is a call to self-denial.   “Self-denial is the law of life.” I call you to a duty that some day will prove the most valuable habit of your soul. I call you to the “heights” where God through the blessed Holy Spirit will make your soul a theater of action and your eyes a fountain of tears – the soul He will act in, and the eyes He will weep through for a lost world.

“The men who have done most for God in this world have been early upon their knees. If God is not first in our thoughts, in our efforts, in the early morning, He will be last in the remainder of the day. The heart that is behindhand in seeking God in the early morning has lost its relish for God. A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing, and will do but little good for God after it has indulged itself fully.”  H.W. Hodge.

Early on in life I began the discipline to pray early. This early rising is no longer an experiment. In the beginning the physical man revolts against it. The body tells you to stay in bed. The devil puts doubts in your mind. All things in earth and hell protest against it. It can, at times, seem like a useless thing to do.

Don't listen to those opposing. “Self-indulgence is the law of death. Self-denial is the law of life.” The joy of being with God for hours before the world is awake will fully compensate you for all the trials and sufferings, and then the glory you will bring to His name will be inconceivable.

Yongi Cho has said that "the key to having early morning prayer is to go to bed early."  Well said.

It is so important that you must learn to "Pray Through."

• It is necessary to pray much, often and long in secret.
• You must select time when the world and family will not disturb.
• God wills that all men should pray everywhere lifting up holy hands.
• Pastors should pray more than any one else.
• It is the business of pastors especially to make intercession for their flock, their families and the lost world.
• Much prayer brings much reward.

And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:46 ESV)

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12 ESV)

Your prayer time is the pivotal point in the great fight between the powers of hell and God’s saints under Jesus Christ, our Captain. The devil makes his greatest effort here to dislodge the fighters and wrestlers who with tears and groans are holding out to the last on their knees, knowing that everything depends on this last stand for God. We must hold on until Jesus shows up and you sense His peace in your hear.

"For Noah, preaching 120 years without results meant choosing the hard road year after year. Nehemiah, building the wall of Jerusalem, faced constant harassment by
enemies from within and without. We cannot honestly, authentically, reasonably and deliberately serve our Lord without our willingness to accept difficulties and inconveniences." - K.P. Yohannan

Yes, it will be hard at times and your flesh will fight you to not spend time in prayer - but the results in your life and in that of your family will be known and seen as you bring Jesus to your life situations.

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mark 9:28, 29 ESV)