WEBVTT - Pray God-Sized Prayers | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:03.520 Hey, thanks again for being with us today. Always my 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:05.920 honor to be able to share God's word with you 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:08.760 and hopefully inspire you and encourage you. If you're enjoying 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:10.840 the podcast, I hope you'll share it with the friend 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.840 pass it along. Let's inspire some other people as well. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:15.560 But know that we love you. It's gold to be 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.040 a blessed day for you. Well, God bless you. It's 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:21.360 a joy to come into your homes. And if you're 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:23.639 ever in our area, please stop by and be a 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:26.440 part of one of our services. I promise you we'll 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:28.600 make you feel right at home. But thanks so much 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.200 for tuning in and thank you again for coming out today. 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.000 I like to start with something funny and I heard 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.640 about this old country farmer. He was taking his nephew 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:41.800 camping for the first time. His nephew had five degrees 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.000 was one of the smartest men alive. They set up 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:47.960 their tent and quickly fell asleep. In the middle of 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.080 the night, the farmer woke up. His nephew said, look up, 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.000 what are you see, neph You said, I see millions 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.520 of stars. Farmer said, I know that, but what does 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:59.840 it tell you? He said, astronomically? It tells me they're 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:03.680 millions of galaxies. Meteorologically, it tells me it's going to 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.440 be a beautiful day. Theologically it tells me God is 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:09.160 a great creator. What does it tell you? The old 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.280 farmer shook his head, said, it tells me somebody stole 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:17.360 our tent. Hold up your bible. Say it like you 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.480 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.800 says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:25.840 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.039 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:32.800 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.560 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.240 I want to talk to you today about praying God 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:44.800 sized prayers. How you pray will determine what kind of 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:49.800 life you live. If you only pray small, ordinary, get 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:53.720 by prayers, most likely you will live a small, ordinary, 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.320 get by life. But when you have a boldness to 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.640 ask God for big things, you ask him to open 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.880 doors that would normally not open. You ask him to 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.480 take you further than anyone in your family. When you 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.400 pray God sized prayers, you will see the greatness of 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:15.040 God's power all through the scripture, we see this principle. 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.440 Elisha prayed that it wouldn't rain. For three and a 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:21.800 half years, there was no rain. Joshua Wall prayed for 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:26.919 more daylight. God stopped the sun. One prophet prayed for protection. 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:31.000 The enemies standing right in front of him didn't recognize him. 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:36.560 God made him invisible. The common denominator is they ask 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:41.000 for the unthinkable. When was the last time you asked 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.600 God to do something impossible, something out of the ordinary. 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.480 One reason we don't see God do great things is 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:52.240 we only ask for small things. Most people pray over 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.960 their food, pray for protection, pray for wisdom. That's all good, 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.720 but it's limiting what God can do. There should be 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:04.080 something you're praying about, something that you're asking for that 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.600 seems far out. You can't accomplish it in your own strength. 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.400 The phrase I hear in my spirit is dare to 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.120 ask Your dreams may look impossible. You don't have the 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.680 funding the connections. God is saying, I dare you to 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.200 ask me to bring it to pass. I dare you 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.240 to ask me to show you a flood of my favor. 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.480 A lot of times we pray God, child's off course, 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.360 if you'll just turn him around, and that's good. But 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:37.280 that's an ordinary prayer. Ordinary prayers get ordinary results. God 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:40.080 meets us at the level of our faith. If you 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.400 ask small, you're going to receive small. A God size 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.840 prayer is God, I'm asking you to not only turn 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.960 my child around, but use him in a great way. 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:54.680 Let him make a difference with his life. An ordinary 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.040 prayer is God, help me to get by this month. 0:03:57.440 --> 0:03:59.600 God help me to pay my rent. And there's nothing 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.280 wrong with that. But a God size prayer is God, 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.120 I'm asking you to increase me in such a way 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.160 that I cannot only pay my house off, but help 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:13.120 pay somebody else's house off. An ordinary prayer is God, 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.000 just take me as far as my parents. God, help 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.839 me at least not to lose any ground. But a 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:22.320 God size prayer is God, help me to take our 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:26.000 family to a new level. Let me set a new standard. 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.120 When people look back one hundred years from now, God, 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.200 let them say it was that man that woman that 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:35.400 made a real difference. But I wonder how many of 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.479 your prayers are not being answered simply because you're not 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:43.359 asking well, Joel, God's God. If he wants to bless me, 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.240 he'll bless me. It says in James four to two, 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:50.320 you have not because you ask not. If you're not 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:55.440 asking big, you are shortchanging yourself. You will never reach 0:04:55.680 --> 0:05:00.120 the fullness of your potential if you only pray small prayer. 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:02.919 Now I'm not talking about just making a wish list 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:07.560 and praying every whim. I'm talking about asking God for 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:11.440 what He's already promised you. The scripture says, when you 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.800 walk in God's ways, you will lend and not borrow. 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.560 With long life. God will satisfy you. As for me 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.280 and my house, we will serve the Lord. There are 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:25.279 hundreds of promises that you have every right to pray 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:29.160 and ask God to bring to pass. Plus, there are 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:33.480 specific dreams desires that God's placed in your heart. They 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.479 didn't just randomly show up. The creator of the universe 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.200 put them in you. They are a part of your 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:45.080 divine destiny. In Psalms that talks about the secret petitions 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:48.400 of our heart, the hidden dreams that you haven't told 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:52.359 anybody about. One way you know that from God is 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:56.279 they're so big you cannot accomplish them on your own. 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.320 God does this on purpose so that it will take faith. Faith. 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.720 Faith is what pleases God. Faith is what allows him 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:09.000 to do the impossible. So God will put something big. Well, 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.520 you don't have all the talent, the education, the connections, 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:17.040 the confidence. God will even allow certain obstacles that we 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.200 can't overcome on our own. We can do one of 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.480 two things. We can think, well, too bad didn't work 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.560 out for me. I don't have the connections, or I 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.960 couldn't get the financing, or the medical report doesn't look good. 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:31.880 We can talk ourselves out of it. Or we can 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.719 say God, I can't do this in my own strength, 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.679 but I know you are all powerful. There's no limit 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.440 to you. So God, I'm asking you to make a way, 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.080 even though I don't see away. This is what David 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:48.240 did first Chronicle seventeen. God gave him the promise that 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.960 one of his descendants would always be on the throne. 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:54.839 He would have this lasting dynasty. David could have said, God, 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.800 I'm just a shepherd boy. I was out tending my 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:03.320 father's sheep. I don't have formal, true education experience. No, 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:08.000 David understood this principle. Even though it looked far out, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.800 he didn't dismiss it. He said in verse twenty three, God, 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.280 do as you have promised let one of my descendants 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.480 always be on the throne. Imagine the nerve David had 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.320 to ask for something so big. Verse twenty five gives 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:26.640 us the key. He said, God, I have been bold 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:30.360 enough to pray this prayer because you have spoken it 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.440 over me. In other words, God, I'm asking you to 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:36.720 do something amazing, not because I have all the talent, 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:42.360 education connections, but because you have promised it. Now, what 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:46.440 God has promised you, the dream He's placed in your heart, 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.280 may look impossible. But if you'll just dare, do like 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.679 David and say, God, you promised it. Now, I'm bold 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:57.200 enough to ask you for it. When you do, don't 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.320 be surprised if thoughts come saying it's never gonna have happen. 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.200 You don't have the talent, you come from the wrong family, 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:08.560 you made too many mistakes. The enemy gets stirred up 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:12.080 when you start asking God for big things. He'll leave 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.080 you alone as long as you pray small, ordinary prayers. 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:19.119 But when you start praying God decizes prayers, you start 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.760 asking God to take you where you've never been before. 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:25.240 That's when those thoughts will bombard your mind, saying who 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.040 do you think you are? Just smile and tell him 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:32.200 A child of a most High God. I read about 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.920 this seven year old girl named Jamie. She lived on 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.680 a farm with her family, and they had a cow 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.240 that was about to give birth, and her father had 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:43.760 already told the family that they weren't going to keep 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.400 any more cows. Every time one was born, they'd either 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.320 sell it or give it away. But for some reason, 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:53.840 little Jamie really wanted to keep this cow a desire 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:58.040 of her heart. She started pleading and pleading with their father, Daddy, 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.079 please let me keep it, Daddy, please, making an exception. 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.839 After a couple of weeks, she wore her father down. 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:07.880 He said, Jamie, I'll make a deal with you. If 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:10.959 the calf is born black, then you can keep him. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:13.760 But if he's brown or spotted, like the rest of 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.040 our cattle, we're gonna give him away. She agreed. Well, 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:20.600 little Jamie didn't know any better. She started praying and 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.520 praying every night before she went to bed. God, I'm 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:28.120 asking that this cow will be born black and that 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.880 there won't be any doubt that he belongs to me. Now, 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.920 most of us adults, we never pray anything like that. 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.960 That's far out, that's kind of radical. Do you know 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:42.960 what I've learned. Radical faith gets radical results. A couple 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.640 of weeks later, the little calf was born. It was 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:49.240 not only solid black, but right between his eyes do 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.840 you see it? There was a big jay. Her name 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:57.360 was Jamie. It's like God stamped at j He was saying, 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.719 I'm gonna make sure everybody knows this ca belongs to 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:04.559 little Jamie? What am I saying? When you pray God 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:08.000 sized prayers, God will show up in a big way. 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:19.120 He'll give you the desires of your heart. Are there 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.360 dreams that you've talked to yourself out of problems you'll 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.520 convince you'll never overcome. Why don't you do like little 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.920 Jamie take the limits off of God? What if the 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.920 only reason it's not happening is because you're not asking? 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.640 Jesus said in Luke twelve thirty two. It is the 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:41.760 Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God wants 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.960 to give you the desires of your heart. But you 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:47.640 have to have the faith of a little child and 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:51.520 be willing to ask. As a father, who would I 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.880 rather bless than my own children? Who would I rather 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.560 see increase and do great things? Nobody more than my 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:02.240 own children? It's the same way with our heavenly father. 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.240 It gives him pleasure to give you the kingdom. It 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.480 brings a smile to his face. But what if my 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.240 children never ask, and they acted like they were bothering me, 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:17.400 they were intimidated. That would make me feel badly. I'd say, 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:20.040 come on, step up to the plate. I'm your father. 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:23.200 I want to be good to you. Some of you 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:27.200 today need to step up to the plate. Quit asking small, 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.760 Quit acting like you're bothering God. Quit praying weak barely 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.720 get by prayers. Your father owns it all. He created 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.160 the whole universe, and if you're going to see the 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.079 fullness of what he has in store, you got to 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:45.520 learn to ask big. I pray every day, God take 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:50.040 our ministry where no ministry's ever gone before. I pray God, 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:56.240 let our children supersede anything Victoria or I have ever done. 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:59.800 There are prayers that I pray in private. Never told 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.559 anybody in the world the secret dreams of my heart. 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.040 If I told you, you say, Joel, are you kidding? 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:08.960 Do you really think that's gonna happen? The truth is 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.720 they may not all come to pass, but I'm not 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.839 going to let my lack of asking keep me from 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:18.560 reaching my highest potential. I don't want to get to 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:23.319 heaven and God say, Joe, I had all this for you, favor, 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:28.120 good breaks, divine connections, but you never ask. You stayed 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.199 in the safe zone. I wanted you in the faith zone. 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:34.760 You prayed ordinary prayers. I wanted you to pray God 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.280 size prayers. And I believe one reason that I've seen 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:42.480 God's favor is I have learned to ask big. When 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.360 my father went to be with the Lord nineteen ninety nine, 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.600 I had never ministered before. There was a bold prayer 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.880 to say, God, I'm asking you to help me not 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:55.160 only maintain what my parents have built, but helped me 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.400 to take it much further. When I walked into a 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:01.320 jewelry store and saw victim Or for the first time, 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.880 it was a bold prayer to say, God, let her 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:10.520 see how good looking I really am. I'm only kidding. 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.000 I didn't pray that, but I sure thought about it. 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.440 It was a bold prayer to say, God give us 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.800 the Compact Center where the Rockets used to play basketball. 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.320 When I look back over my life, I wonder what 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.760 wouldn't have happened had I not prayed these Bowld prayers. 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.199 Maybe I wouldn't have met Victoria, maybe I wouldn't be 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.839 up here, Maybe we wouldn't have this facility, says in 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:38.920 Psalm thirty one. God has blessings stored up for those 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:43.840 who honor him. Because you honor God. There are blessings 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:54.960 right now that have your name on them, stored up houses, businesses, ministries, books, movies, children, ideas. 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.480 They have your name on them. God wants to release them. 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.960 He's just waiting for you to ask. Will you have 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:05.800 a boldness to ask for things that even seem impossible. 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.000 It's good to ask for our needs, but I'm encouraging 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:12.760 you today. Ask for your dreams, as for your goals, 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.520 ask for the secret petitions of your heart. I heard 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.280 a story about a young mother. She and her family 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.600 moved to New York City back in the nineteen sixties 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.360 from Puerto Rico. They were very poor and they lived 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:30.760 in a rough neighborhood in government housing. Drugs, gangs, violence 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.840 all around. At the age of nine, her young son, Victor, 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.000 was recruited by a game. Everybody he knew, all of 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.440 his friends were in games. By the time he was twelve, 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:46.040 he was hooked on heroin. It had already been arrested, 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:50.280 involved in robbing, stealing, killing, all kinds of things that 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:54.640 weren't good. His mother was so heartbroken. She couldn't control 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.120 her son. She was a very small woman. She only 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:02.960 spoke Spanish, but she was very feisty. One thing this 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.560 mother knew how to do was pray. And every day, 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.800 seven days a week, and twice on Sundays, she would 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:13.720 go up to the little storefront church there in the 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.960 projects with her sister and they would pray for her son, Victor. 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.160 She didn't just pray for God to keep him out 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.960 of trouble. This mother knew how to pray God size prayers. 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.720 She said, God, I'm asking you to make my son 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.600 a minister, use him to touch people all over the world. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.520 Twelve years old, Victor would come home at three o'clock 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:40.120 in the morning, totally stoned. This mother would be in 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.240 the kitchen waiting for him with her arms held open. 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.800 She'd give him a hug and say, Victor, God's hand 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:50.320 is on your life. You have a destiny to fulfill. 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:52.760 God is not only going to save you, He's going 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.960 to make you a minister. She spoke faith into him. 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.880 The more she prayed, it seemed like the worse he got. 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:04.080 His teacher at school told the mother, your son is 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.000 going to end up in the electric chair. She let 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.320 those words go in one ear and out the other. 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:13.440 She kept praying month after month. Didn't look like anything 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.040 was happening. But what she couldn't see is while she 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:21.120 was praying, God was moving on a young man in 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.880 another state by the name of David Wilkerson, calling him 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:28.880 to come to the roughest streets in New York and 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.440 share the good news. One day, Victor ran into this 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:37.360 new young street preacher. Right there on the corner. God 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:41.160 touched Victor's heart. He knelt down, gave his life to Christ. 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.120 God set him free from the drugs, from the gains 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:48.160 from the violence. Today, Victor Torres is not only clean 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.400 and sober, but he's the pastor of a great church 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:57.480 in Virginia. They have amazing outreaches to drug addicts, to 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.840 gang members. He goes all over the world telling what 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.960 God has done for him. But I thought about where 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:07.679 would Victor be if this mother had not dared to 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:12.679 pray these God sized prayers. Maybe David Wilkerson would have 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.720 never shown up. Maybe it being the penitentiary even dead. 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:20.960 But when it looked impossible, when the odds were against her, 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:25.040 every voice told her you're wasting your time. Your son's 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:27.640 too far gone. He's never going to amount to anything. 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:31.080 She dug her heels in and said, God, you said, 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.640 as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. God, 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:37.960 you promised it, and like David, I'm bold enough to 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:41.399 ask you to bring it to pass. See, most people 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.639 would have prayed an ordinary prayer, something like God, just 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.120 help my child to not get in any more trouble. 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.760 But when you know how to pray these God sized prayers, 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.920 your children, your relatives, they don't have a chance. God 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.280 will move heaven and earth to bring that promise to pass. 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:01.240 Now you may have some sody in your life that 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.320 you are about to write off, somebody like Victory, where 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.400 they're making bad decisions, look like they'll never straighten up. 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:12.320 Keep praying, Keep asking God not only to bring them back, 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.560 but to do something great with their life. I found 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:20.720 when somebody is living radically the wrong kind of life 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.480 and God touches them, they will live radically the right 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:28.480 kind of life. God will use them to do amazing things. 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:32.600 Like this, Mother, we have the promise as for me 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:36.240 and my house. We will serve the Lord says in Psalms, 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:41.040 the seed of the righteous. That's your children, your grandchildren 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:47.399 will be mighty in the land. Not addicted, defeated, mediocre, No, mighty, 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:53.800 powerful history makers. Now, don't pray small prayers over your children. 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:57.359 Doesn't matter what they are or aren't doing. Right now, 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:01.639 pray bold prayers. God. I'm asked that my child be 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:05.320 mighty in the land. God, let them be history makers. 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.520 Let them leave a legacy of faith that will be 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:13.480 seen for generations to come. Dare to ask big. I 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:15.600 prayed for a college student right here at the altar 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:19.040 a few weeks ago, and she just finished her master's degree, 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:23.479 and she studied medical research. She was a scientist. I 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.480 don't even know why I said it, but I prayed God, 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:30.800 let her find the cure for cancer, let her do 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:34.399 something astounding with her life. Well, Joel, what if it 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:37.159 doesn't happen. What if it does happen, You have not 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:42.119 because you ask not. God is saying, ask me for 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:47.119 big things. I created the universe, I flung the stars 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.600 into space. Don't ask me for a two dollars raise. 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.240 Don't ask me to just keep your children out of trouble. 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.720 Don't ask me to just help you make it through life. 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:03.480 Ask me for compact centers. Ask me for cows with 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:07.719 your initial on it. Ask me to turn drug addicts around. 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.960 Ask me for children who will become history makers. Ask 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.040 me to part red seas, to bring water out of 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:18.400 a rock, to show your floods of my favor. God 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.080 is saying, I dare you to ask. I dare you 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:23.280 to stretch your faith. I dare you to take the 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:25.679 limits off of me. I dare you to pray God's 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:29.439 size prayers. A couple of weeks ago, we were in 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.000 the airport parking lot late one Friday night. We just 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.760 returned home from a night of hope in another state. 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:38.600 It's about two o'clock in the morning. When we got 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:42.560 to our cars, my mother's battery was dead. Something must 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:44.760 have been left on, and my brother Paul and I 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:48.359 and my friend Johnny got the battery cables and we 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.000 drove my car up there and put the cables on 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:54.119 my mom's car. Her lights came on, but the car 0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:57.399 wouldn't start, the engine wouldn't turn over, it all, not 0:20:57.520 --> 0:21:00.520 one sound. A mechanic came out from the air to 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:02.959 help us, and he worked and worked, but he couldn't 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.480 get anything going. Johnny was reading the owner's manual. It's 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:09.120 like we were missing something. The engine would not turn over, 0:21:09.760 --> 0:21:13.159 freezing cold out there. After about thirty minutes of trying 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:17.120 everything we possibly could, Paul said to my mom, Mother, 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:19.280 the car's not going to start. Why don't you just 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:21.840 ride with me and we'll come back tomorrow and get 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:25.040 it well. My mother was not about to leave the 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:28.320 airport without having her car. She said, no, Paul, I've 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:31.600 got two funerals to officiate tomorrow. I have to have 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:34.840 my car. It was two thirty in the morning. I 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:38.880 was tired, it was freezing. I said, Mother, take my car. 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:41.440 I'll ride home with Paul. You can drive it right now. 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:44.359 She said, Joel, I don't want your car. I want 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:48.080 my car. Let's go try again. We went over and 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:51.639 worked another fifteen minutes, doing everything we could. Still the 0:21:51.760 --> 0:21:54.679 engine never turned over one time. I said, Mother, we 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:57.000 could be here all night. The car is not going 0:21:57.040 --> 0:21:59.680 to start. We might as well go home. She said, 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:03.680 give me the keys. She had that look in her 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:07.240 eyes like, do not mess with me. I don't know 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:09.399 if she's mad at me or mad at the devil. 0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:13.439 But she got in that car and started praying. And 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:17.800 when my mother really means business, she prays loud. She 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:21.160 doesn't need a microphone. She makes sure that God will 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:23.960 hear her. I looked over. My mother was praying over 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:27.399 the steering wheel, praying over the radio, casting the devil 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:31.399 out of the engine. She knows no shame when I 0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:36.160 was growing up. When I was growing up, my mother 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:39.320 would pray over the dishwasher if it broke, she'd pray 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:41.639 over the lawnmower. And I'm over there with some of 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:44.400 my friends, getting a kick out of it, kind of laughing, 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:47.399 and all of a sudden, we hear the car crank 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:51.280 right up. That engine didn't struggle, it didn't turn over 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:55.119 and over. It immediately cranked up. My mother read that 0:22:55.280 --> 0:22:59.000 engine so loud she had to have that pedal on 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:02.159 the floor. It sounded like it was going to explode. 0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:05.399 We ran for cover. My mother put it in gear 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:09.159 and she started driving around in circles in that parking lot, 0:23:09.840 --> 0:23:13.159 eighty years old, doing donuts. Three o'clock in the morning. 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.920 I thought, dear God, we're gonna get arrested out here. 0:23:20.200 --> 0:23:24.320 I wanted to say, mother, you are grounded when she 0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:29.479 finally drove off, she didn't wave goodbye to us, she 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:32.240 didn't say thank you for at least trying. She didn't 0:23:32.280 --> 0:23:34.800 blow us a kiss. She just left us standing there 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:39.600 in her dusk. When you face situations in your everyday 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:43.840 life that seem impossible, God says, I dare you to pray. 0:23:44.840 --> 0:23:48.959 I dare you to ask me for that car to start, Joel. 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:52.280 God's got bigger things to deal with and me getting 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:55.600 my car started. Let me tell you are God's biggest deal. 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.160 You are the apple of his eye. Too often we 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.280 limit God. We have a small view of who he is. 0:24:03.440 --> 0:24:06.440 We think God is up there, somewhere, far away, running 0:24:06.480 --> 0:24:10.200 the universe. I can't bother him with this small problem. 0:24:10.520 --> 0:24:12.280