This is the Truth Network. Encouraging Prayer. God offers an open invitation for His people to talk with Him at any time about anything. I didn't want to, but just couldn't.
So, James, go ahead and take it from there. Yeah, recently I had something happen with my email, Robbie. I'd been using Windows Mail for several years, and one day, all of a sudden, it just stopped. Now, to be fair, Windows had sent warnings that they would no longer be supporting it, but I'd looked into it a bit, and I thought that it meant that they simply wouldn't be doing updates for it, that, you know, it would get outdated, but it would work for a while.
And that seemed to be the case. You know, they said it would shut down at the end of 2024, and it didn't. And then one day this week, I'm writing a work email, and my whole laptop just shuts down without warning. And then when I turn it back on, it won't let me into Windows Mail at all.
I have to use their new product, Outlook, and okay, I'll adapt, but it got me thinking. What if Heaven's doors were completely shut to my prayers? Oh, wow. I mean, that's not a happy thought at all.
No, no. And there are a couple of different ways we can go with this, but the main one is to realize that when you are a child of God, when you have received Jesus and know him, and, you know, he is such a vital part of your life, oh, the privilege that prayer is. And we need to go there. Yeah, I mean, that's so true. And it's something I know, you know, I take for granted sometimes. Yeah, me too.
And when I do, I have to wonder, what's behind that? Oh, yeah. I mean, I certainly understand that one. And usually, I take it for granted because really, I'm so busy, you know, pretty much handling things on my own, you know, I've got it. Yeah, yeah, I know.
Same here. Yeah, that's what we do, isn't it? And this is where I think we have to see prayer as this amazing and incredible gift, because the more we see it that way, the more we'll actually do it. And that's really the goal of our talk today. So, you know, let's talk about that for a moment.
Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, one of the things that I love about prayer is it is so comforting. You know, there's someone that you can always go to who loves you, who is there for you. You don't have to get the words just right. You know, you can go to God anytime, anywhere.
You don't have to have formalities. You know, it's the most wonderful thing in the world, just knowing how deeply we're loved. That's one of my favorite things. How about you? Yeah, you know, I love that.
And I think you gave me the idea about it years ago. It was just like when I lay my head down on the pillow and I just, on his chest, you know, and feeling that way and feeling like I'm right there with him as I, you know, those prayers right before I go to sleep are honestly some of the most cherished, because I just feel like, well, you know, you got this, right? You know, it's just an amazing feeling to feel in that true presence like that.
Yeah. Again, you know, the comfort of prayer, that's just a small part of it. I mean, what about the genius of prayer? You know, think about receiving God's wisdom and insights for practical things, and we're going to talk about this in our next talk. But, you know, understand that prayer is one of the most practical things we can do because it lets God in. And if you're letting God into the moment, you know, then everything's going to be better. Yeah. I always think about the Blues Brothers, you know, that I'm on a mission from God.
When you have this sense of, okay, this is the direction I'm headed with this, that you want me to go and I'm walking with you in it, then it takes all the stress out of the situation because essentially you get to say it yourself. It's all right. This is where I'm going. I'm on a mission from God.
Yeah. And, you know, so there's the genius of prayer. But you think about also how this applies to, I mean, that kind of applies to, you know, your own individual life and needing God's help. But think about the blessing of prayer, you know, praying for your loved ones, praying for your prodigals. You know, I've heard so many people who have read my book, Prayers for Prodigals, so many times and then eventually their prodigal comes home, you know. And not that every single case is like that, but you see these parents who have prayed so faithfully and they're so grateful because of what God has done. What better thing can you do for someone than to invoke God's presence in their lives as well? Yeah, I was just in the hospital room.
I mean, really right before I recorded this with a young lady who has the terminal from the doctor's standpoint, former brain cancer, one of those that they're saying they can't do anything more and there isn't but a day or two. And, you know, naturally we were anointing where they were praying. And when you say about the blessing of prayer, I hate to think what it would have been like to be in that room without it. You know, that opens up a whole other area, the peace of prayer. You know, think about that difficult moment and other difficult moments that we go through. You know, this peace that Jesus promised that surpasses all understanding, that really only comes when we go to him personally and receive more of his presence. And the way we do that is through praying. So, you know, again, we've got this incredible privilege and for me it just helps to realize, you know, if I couldn't do this, then where would I be? You know, I absolutely, I just, I have no idea. And it was so wonderful in spite of how tragic, I mean, unbelievably tragic, but by the same point in time, you could see, you know, them have a place to rest where there should actually not be any rest that, you know, transcends all understanding.
Believe me, I just saw it. You know, it's not about prayer for prayer's sake. You know, it's prayer because of Jesus, because of all that he is, because of all that our Heavenly Father is, all that the Holy Spirit is.
I mean, this love is the absolute best thing in our lives. And, you know, we really want to go there more and more. Let's just wrap up by going there. Let's pray. Father, help us to know just how much you've blessed us with this privilege and help us to just go there more and more, to talk to you more, to rest in you more, to find your peace, to bless others more.
Because there's nothing better than being with you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
