Have You Taken Hold of God

Isaiah chapter sixty four. We’re going to talk about prayer a little bit this morning. I’m going to read some verses. And we’re not going to get into all the verses. We’re going to read all the way to our text. Verse, though. Look at verse number one, just for context so you can see where we’re at. Isaiah sixty four, verse one says, O that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. As when the melting fire burneth. The fire causeth the waters to boil to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence. This is how big our God is, by the way. Pay attention to this. Verse three. When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down the mountains flowed down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen. O God, beside thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness. Thou that remember thee in thy ways, or those that remember thee in thy ways, behold, thou art wroth. For we have sinned, and those is continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Now we’re going to look at our text. Verses. Verse seven, it says. And there is none that calleth upon thy name. Pay attention to what’s being said. It says. There’s none that’s calling upon God’s name. There’s nobody that’s praying. That’s what the verse is saying. There’s none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. For Thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter, and we all are the work of Thy hand. Our focus is going to be in verse seven. There’s none that calls upon his name. And none that stirs himself up to take hold of thee. A question for you this morning. Have you taken hold of God? Have you taken hold of God? Let’s pray. Father, we love you. We thank you for your word. Lord, there’s so much just in this one passage dealing with, Lord, your omnipotence. You Being all powerful, the creator of the universe, dealing with, Lord, your divine wisdom, and nobody understanding the things that you have planned. But Lord, you know it all. There’s the reality of our sin and how our sin can come between us and you’d and our relationship with you. But Lord, the most striking thing in this passage is the fact that there was none that spent any time in prayer. Lord, I believe we live in a day and age today where there’s so many Christians going through the motions of Christianity but not spending time bending the knee, going through the motions of church attendance and going through the motions of reading our Bible. But we don’t spend time praying like we should. Lord, we’re never going to have your power if we don’t spend time in secret searching for it and seeking after you. Help us, Lord, to be able to take hold of you this morning as we look at Scripture and see what you require of us. Teach us now your word, we ask these things, your name, we pray. Amen. You can go ahead and be seated. Verse six here shows us what our sinful state is. Here it says, we are all as an unclean thing, you and I. Doesn’t matter how good we think we are. It doesn’t matter the good that you have done. We are all as an unclean thing, the Bible says. And then the Bible says that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The word filthy is the Hebrew word that’s spelled E D and it’s pronounced Eid A Y D eed. It’s defined as menstrual or soiling. More women would understand and relate with that than men. But if you’re married, you understand what this is talking about here. It’s talking about our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. They’re as soiled rags. Rags that would be used during a cycle, a time of month for a woman to be used and to be thrown away. They’re putrid. They are vile. They are unholy. They are nothing to be touched. Our righteousness, according to the word of God, is putrid and vile, abhorrent. It’s disgusting. It stinks. It’s something to be used and thrown away. And by the way, that’s how most Christians today. Listen up. That’s how most Christians treat their Christianity. That’s how most Christians treat church attendance. It’s to be used for a moment and then when I get what I want, I throw it away. That’s how most church. That’s how most Christians use counseling from the man of God. I’ll go and I’ll get what I want. But when he can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat, then I’m just going to go my own way and do my own thing. That’s the reality that we live in today. But in addition to this notice, verse six tells us that our iniquities have taken us away from God. But verse seven, I believe Brother Nick is the most painful verse. Now verse six mentions how bad we are. And verse six mentions that even in our righteousness that it doesn’t amount to anything in this world. And verse six is very damning on us as human beings. But verse number seven is the difficult one to process. Verse number seven tells us that nobody’s spending any time in prayer. Verse number seven tells us that there is nobody that is trying to take hold of God and trying to plead with God on behalf of mankind. We can correlate this verse with Ezekiel, chapter twenty two, verse number thirty, where God says, and I sought for a man among them should stand on the hedge and make up a gap before me for the land, but I found none. Here we can make the application in our lives that far too often we try to live in our own righteousness even though that is failing. And we fail to walk with God the way we should. We try to live in our own righteousness. And to God our own righteousness is its filthy rag. Our own, our own righteousness will separate us from our God. And we tried to live the Christian life without walking with God the way we should. Now we know that Paul told us in the New Testament. He said, I die daily. He said that he was crucified with Christ. He said that the way he lived his life was that Jesus Christ would live it through him. That’s what he told us in the New Testament. But here many times we live like this is stating in Isaiah here there was nobody that was calling on the name of God for deliverance. There was nobody who was taking hold of God in prayer because of their sin driving them far away from God. You see, your sins and my sins, they separate us from a holy and a righteous God. The Bible says back in Isaiah, chapter number fifty nine, verse number two, verse number one, it says, behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God. And your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. Many times we don’t get answers to prayer and many times we don’t spend time in prayer quite like we should, because we know that we are living in sin and that God will not hear us. But here we’re going to focus on some people in the Bible that chose to take hold of God. You see, all throughout the Word of God, there are men and women who took hold of God and they got victory over their sins. Our theme for this year is to be more than conquerors. It’s not just something that we preached about back in January and February. It’s something that we ought to live in our Christian life each and every day. That we ought to be more than conquerors through him who has saved us. And here there are scripture references and there are Bible characters who have taken hold of God and God gave them victory in their lives, and they were used mightily of God. Let me give you some illustrations. In the book of First Samuel, you’ll find the first three chapters. A character by the name of Hannah. Now, we know Hannah is a great prayer warrior, but many times what we fail to realize is she was living in a polygamous relationship. She had a husband who had two wives, and she was okay with that. That’s a problem. She was living in sin, but she spent quality time there at the altar. She spent so much time there at the altar praying and begging God and trying to take hold of God, that the man of God, Eli, at the time came in and thought she was drunk because she was talking to God so often more than he was. She thought that she was under the influence. But what happened? She begged God for a miracle in her life. And God gave her a baby boy. We know him as Samuel. Samuel became a great prophet for the land of Israel. We can go to the character there in Genesis, chapter number thirty eight and deal with a man by the name of Jacob, a man who was called a deceiver, a man who had tricked his father and his brother, a man who was on the run, a man who was a thief. But in chapter number thirty eight, the Bible says that he wrestled with God and he got ahold of God. And the Bible tells us that as he wrestled with God, he held onto him and he said, I’m not going to let go until you bless me. And God touched the hollow of his thigh, popped his hip out of joint, and he never walked the same again. You see, when you get ahold of God, you’ll never walk the same again. When you spend some quality time praying and quality time begging God for some things in your life when. When you spend some quality time on your knees Begging God to do a work in your family and in your life. You’ll never walk the same again. You see, when you spend time with God, people will take notice. We can look at the man in the book of Exodus by the name of Moses. We know in Exodus chapters one to three, Moses was a young man who had murdered an Egyptian. He was a young man who didn’t have any wisdom of his own, just of the world. He was educated in Egypt schools. Was he not the son of Pharaoh’s daughter? But he was called by God to do a great work. He spent some time on the back side of a desert. And in Exodus chapter thirty three and thirty four, Moses spent some quality time alone with God on top of Mount Sinai, did he not? And the Bible tells us that when he came down from Mount Sinai that his face shone with a glow and the people could not handle it. He had to put a veil over his face. Why? Because when you walk with God, other people may not be able to handle your spirituality. Here he walked with God when nobody else wanted to. And he was able to be used by God to deliver the children of Israel to Canaan land, even though he had his own problems. We can look at a man in first Samuel, chapter sixteen and seventeen, a young man by the name of David. How he was wholly given to the Lord. And the Bible says he was a man after God’s own heart. But this man, later in his life, when he was king, when there was a time where the kings went forth to battle, he chose to tarry back still in Jerusalem. And he chose to sin with his captain’s wife. Bathsheba had an illicit child, had an affair. God took that child. He. He ended up murdering Uriah on the battlefield. But in Psalms chapter fifty one, David begged God for mercy and he received forgiveness in his life. That didn’t just happen by chance. He spent some quality time begging God to forgive him, admitting and confessing his sin to God. You say? What are you saying this morning? This morning I’m saying that each of these characters, even though they had their faults, they got ahold of God. Even though they had their faults, they didn’t let their faults dictate and define who they became. They confessed it and they forsook it. But they spent the time necessary at an old fashioned altar, begging God to do a work in their lives. And by the way, when God forgave them, they were never the same again. Once God forgave David of his sin with Bathsheba, you don’t see him going out and taking another man’s wife and murdering him. You don’t see that anywhere. When God had saved or had answered Hannah’s prayer, you don’t ever see where she was authenticating the relationship that her husband was in in Jacob’s life after he had wrestled with God and walked differently. As a matter of fact, a few chapters later, you’ll see how he got alone with his brother and he was able to get forgiveness from his brother. So not only did he get forgiveness from God, but he got forgiveness from those that he had offended as well. Same thing with the life of Moses. Yes, he made his mistakes and yes, he was not able to go into the Canaan land, but he was able to lead God’s children there. We can look at the man Elijah and listen, there are so many more characters in the Bible. We can look at Elijah and how Elijah had held back the rain, how Elijah was a man of prayer and he got ahold of God. But Elijah was a man who struggled with depression. Elijah was a man who thought he was the only one serving God. And God said, no, big boy. There’s seven thousand others that didn’t bow the knee. There’s seven thousand others that didn’t compromise. As a matter of fact, because of his depression, he lost his position as a prophet of God and was replaced by Elisha. But God still used him and he’s still referenced in the New Testament and as a man who is fervent and effectual in his prayer life. Here let me give you a definition. We’re going to talk about prayer this morning, and I hope that you gather these truths. This is not going to be a shouting from the chandelier. This is going to be a listen on purpose message this morning. Okay? If you want it, it’s here. So sometimes we’re gonna have to focus on what the word of God says. Prayer has been defined as an asking with earnestness or zeal, as for a favor or for something that’s desirable. Prayer is defined as a petition or to ask for a favor. Prayer is defined as worship to address the supreme being with solemnity, reverence, to recognize who it is that we are coming before. You see, when you go to meet somebody who would be a dignitary from another country or even from our own country, you go and you have a meeting with the governor of our state or with the President of the United States, you’ll dress your best and you will represent yourself in the right manner. But realize here we get to meet with somebody on a daily basis. That’s more important than each of those. And that’s the creator of the universe. Yet we take that so nonchalantly. Yet we only pray when it’s time to eat. And we don’t spend any quality time begging the God of heaven for anything. That’s what the verse says. I’m not asking how many times did you pray before you ate? Outside of praying before you eat and praying before you go to bed. When do you pray? See, oftentimes we’re told when you get up in the morning, you got to pray to God. Okay, when you eat, you ought to pray to God. Ok, when you go to bed, you got to pray before you go to bed. Okay, that’s fine and dandy, but what other times do you pray in your life? Is there any quality time that we are spending bowing our knee and begging the throne of grace for God to do something in our lives? Listen, I’m convinced today. I’m convinced that we don’t see answers to prayer like they used to because we don’t pray like they used to. I’m convinced that we don’t see God move in lies because we don’t spend time begging God for that. I’m convinced that we don’t see souls saved, Brother Thoreau, because we don’t spend quality time on our knees begging God for souls to be saved. I’m convinced that we don’t see victory in our home life, in our families because we don’t spend time going to God on behalf of that. You see, I believe according to the word of God that we’d have more marriages. That would be God honoring if we spent more time in prayer together. This is all things that we can all work on. I’m not the greatest at it either, but here let’s look at two different aspects. First, first we’re going to look at what prayer is not and then we’re going to look at what prayer is. I fear, Brother Brandon, that most Christians today fall into the category of what prayer is not. This is what our prayer has become. So here, let me give you some thoughts here. Prayer is not a religious ritual. Prayer is not a religious ritual. The Bible tells us in the Gospels Jesus Christ said to be not as the Pharisees who come with vain repetitions and and long sayings. Just because you can pray for forty five minutes to open a service doesn’t mean that you are godly. It means that you’re catching up on your prayer life. Amen. I’ve been in some services where some people will spend some quality Time praying to open a service. It’s not my fault they didn’t pray to God before they got to church. Pray for the things you asked to pray for. Amen. Don’t catch up on your prayer life in front of everybody else. Amen. The only time your kids hear you pray, I’ll not be at church. They ought to hear you pray at home. They ought to hear you going to God on their behalf. There’s a story of John Wesley when he was in rebellion to his parents and he was out living in sin. He came home late one night and he thought he had snuck in and he thought everybody else was asleep and he heard some clamoring going on in the house. And he walks down the hallway to the back room where where his parents room was and he sees his mom knelt down beside the bed, begging God to protect him while he’s out living in sin, begging God to break his heart and get him right. Him seeing his mom weep for him is what convicted his heart and got him right with God. A praying mother. See, prayer is not a religious ritual. Our preacher had said this one time, beloved, it is not our long prayers, but it is our believing in God that gets the answer. Secondly, I want you to notice what prayer is not. It’s not a religious ritual. But prayer also is not a one way conversation. Prayer is not a one way conversation. Prayer is not just you going to God and telling God what you think he ought to do in your life. That’s not prayer. That’s some sense of entitlement that we have. How would you respond if your kids came up to you and said, give me this, this, this and this. But you do that to God. Isn’t that most of our prayer life? God, give me this man. If I went to my daddy and said, daddy, give me this, my daddy would have given me a right arm. Amen. A right cross. Praise the Lord. Here. It’s not a one way conversation. The Bible says in John fifteen, verse number seven, if ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Notice what the Word says? Put it up there. John fifteen seven, if ye abide in me, that means we’re spending quality time with God. And he says, and my words abide in you. John fifteen seven, hey, my words abide in you. What are his words? The word of God. His words cannot abide in us if we’re not in the word of God. So prayer is not a one way conversation. Prayer is us. Going to God. But we’ve got to be in our Bible and allow God to speak to us as well. You see, we speak to God through prayer and God speaks to us through Bible reading. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. Notice the answer to prayer doesn’t come until after the word of God has been ministering in your heart. The answer to prayer doesn’t come until after you and God have both done some communicating. Because sometimes when you pray and then you go to your Bible, God will tell you that your prayer is not the right prayer. You need to be praying. You know, we pray very selfishly many a times. God, I want this. God, I want that. God, I want a new house, I want a new car. I want this. I want kids that just obey, right? We pray for things, but many times we pray one sided and we pray. But we never go to God and ask what God thinks about things. We never go and ask God to speak to our hearts. You see, prayer is not one sided. God must speak to us before we have any liberty to speak to him. Let that resonate in your heart. God must speak to us before we have any liberty to speak to him. I didn’t say that. That’s a quote from another preacher. As a matter of fact, I think Spurgeon said that. Thirdly, I want you to notice prayer is not talking God into doing what you want him to do. Prayer is not negotiating with God. Sometimes we feel like we’re in an interrogation room and we got God in the cuffs. God, I want this and God, I want this and God, I’m sorry, prayer doesn’t work that way. Prayer is no negotiation. Prayer is not a means by which I seek to control God. I think Andrew Murray said this. Prayer is not a means by which I seek to control God. It is a means of putting myself in a position where God can control me. Prayer is not me controlling him. It’s yielding myself so he can control me. And we’re to present our bodies a living sacrifice, are we not? So prayer is not talking God into doing what we want him to do. Fourthly, prayer is not a substitute for action. Fourthly, prayer is not a substitute for action. Here. Preacher had said this. I’m going to give you some quotes here. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience. God, could you do this please? I wonder how many times we ask God to do things for us, yet we neglect to do anything. God’s told us to do. How dare us ask God to see somebody get saved but we never choose to go soul winning. Listen, I not the most intelligent guy in the world, don’t say Amen right there, but I have come to find this that if you don’t go fishing, you’re never going to catch any fish. If you don’t go to the woods and go hunting, you might get lucky and take one out on the back road somewhere. But most of the time you’re not going to get a deer. Here. If we don’t obey what God has told us to do, why would we expect God to give us more than what he’s already given us? If we can’t steward well what we already have, then why are we asking God for more? We’ve not shown our faithful in the little thing ourselves faithful in the little things. He’s not going to make us give us big things to try to be faithful in because we’ve not been faithful in the little things. That’s one of the things I’ve never understood. I’ve worked in a lot of businesses and I’ve come to find that promotion within businesses, promotion to higher levels, assistant manager, department supervisor, manager. Promotion is always best when it’s done from within an organization because there’s somebody that’s been there, somebody that’s proven themselves. But I’ve also noticed something, Brother Thoreau. There’s a lot of people who try to promote somebody with the hopes that they’re going to do this part better. If they didn’t do their job good where they were and you give them a leadership position, they’re going to be even worse at that because now they have less people underneath them and they’re going to expect less of them, not more. You get what you are, not what you want. And in the Christian life, many times we pray for things, but we’ve not shown ourselves faithful in the things God’s given us. Prayer is not a Substitute for Action CT Studd said this. It’s a long quote, so pay attention to this. We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the game. Prayer is good, but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Phariseeism. To your knees and to your Bible. Decide at once. Don’t hedge. Time flies. Cease your insults to God. Quit consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame lying and cowardly excuses. Enlist and pray. Connecticut Studd Great Evangelist Prayer is not a substitute for action lastly, notice Prayer is not Another activity for the church. Prayer is not another activity of the church. We have activities, we have events, we have things that we do. Prayer meeting is not an activity. Prayer meeting is a ministry. Are you listening? Church attendance is not an activity. Church attendance is worship. Singing songs is not an activity we do during the service. It is a form of worship to our Heavenly Father. The teens had an activity yesterday. That’s an activity. The girls were swimming into the cues. Boys won’t swim into masters. That’s an activity. There was fun and games, all different kinds of things. We’re going to go to youth conference at the end of July. There’s going to be a lot of preaching that’s there, but there’s going to be some activity time as well. The activity time will not take the place of the preaching and the praying, but the preaching and the praying is a specific time to worship and honor God. Activities are for fellowship with other believers. Prayer is not just another activity of the church. You see, prayer is not just getting ready for Christian service. Prayer. Prayer is Christian service. Prayer is worship. Prayer is service. Our walk with God is not just preparing us for something. It is us serving right then and right there. I’ve got a message I’m working on. Lord willing, I’ll try to preach it next week. Something God’s been stewing in my heart for the last month. And we’re going to look at worshiping and working and how they ought to go tandem. And too many times in Christianity, we’ve separated the two. And we’re going to show you by the word of God how we can put them back together. So we’ve looked at what prayer is. Not now notice. For the rest of the time, we’re going to focus on what prayer is. There’s four things I want you to notice about what prayer is. Hebrews, chapter eleven, Hebrews, chapter eleven, verse number six. Hebrews, chapter eleven. Prayer number one. If you’re taking notes, what prayer is. Prayer is worship. Prayer is worship. Hebrews chapter eleven, verse number six. It says, but without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God, that’s prayer. Must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. You see, anytime you bow your knee in prayer, you must consciously believe that God is. That’s what the Bible says. Must believe that he is. That means that you believe that God is alive. That means that you believe that God is able to. That means that you believe that God can adjust your life any way he chooses. That God is in control. You must believe that God is, and it says, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Can I say this? You and I know when we pray if we’re being diligent or not. Okay? Just be honest. We know if we mean business when we come to an altar and pray. That’s the reality. We know when we open the Bible if we’re serious about getting something from God. We know. But we also know if we’re just going through the motions. Are you listening? We also know that if we’re just here in body, but not in spirit. By the way, other people can tell too. It shows on our faces. Amen. But here, the Bible says, in order for us to get something from God, we must believe that he is and that He’s a rewarder. But then notice the requirements. For us, we must diligently seek Him. Which means our intentions have got to be checked out every single time when we go to God in prayer, you can’t fake humility. When you go to God in prayer, you also can’t fake arrogance. You see, we need to spend time, quality time with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is worship. Prayer is not a means of getting things from God. It is the means whereby we may come to know who God is. The Bible says in Jeremiah thirty three, three, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you. No, no, that’s in Matthew eleven. Sorry. Come unto me all you that labor are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew eleven twenty eight. He says to take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly at heart. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. That’s Matthew eleven twenty eight. Thirty. Jeremiah thirty three, three says, call unto me. That’s the right verse. And I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. You see, when we spend some quality time with God, call unto me, and I will answer thee. See, not only will God answer, but he’ll show us what we need to do, and he’ll show us how. And I’ll show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. You see, Prayer. I got this written down in my Bible right above that. Brother Nick gave a devotion here recently on Saturdays out of Jeremiah. I got it written up in my Bible that prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes me. See, when I pray, it doesn’t change the situation. It changed my perspective of the situation. It changes my attitude in the situation. It changes my reliance upon God and takes away my reliance of self. See, if coming to church is your only time of prayer and Bible reading, then your Christian life is going to be very shallow. It’s going to be very weak, and it’s going to be very anemic. And then you’re going to wonder why God doesn’t answer your prayers. Then you’re going to wonder if this Christian life is really worth it. Well, the reason people get to that point in their life, Brother Nick, is because they don’t do the work each and every day in their own homes. See, you can only. If you only eat three times a week, then you’re going to lose a lot of weight and muscle mass. You’re going to be very weak and malnourished. Are we listening, boys? Pay attention up here. You’re going to be very weak and malnourished. And so if we only eat three times a week, we won’t be able to do anything. Well, spiritual food, we do the feeding here. Bible says the man of God is supposed to feed the flock of God. So we do some spiritual feeding on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. But if that’s the only spiritual food you’re getting, then you’re failing in your Christian life. You’ve got to walk with God, too. You’ve got to read your Bible. You’ve got to spend quality time in prayer. Me, I’ve put on some pounds. Praise the Lord. Some pants get a little tighter. Amen. Why does that happen? Because you don’t miss a meal. Amen. It’s all that candy. I told you. Whatever. Because I don’t miss a meal. But listen, we can joke about that physically, but I wonder how many of us are growing spiritually. I wonder how many of us are growing spiritually. Have you outgrown some of the baby stuff? There comes a time in your Christian life where you got to outgrow the formula, where you got to graduate from the milk to the meat. Are you listening? There comes some time where that happens. And the Bible says that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So let me ask you, how much are you growing? Prayer is worship, but our prayer is directly related to our growth. If you’re not growing spiritually, it’s because you’re not praying like you should. Are you listening? Because we’re not praying. How much time do you spend praying to God? How much time do you spend praising God for what he’s already done in your life? Listen, some of Us go back and we can look and see the pit that God digged us out of and we can rejoice over that. But not just rejoicing on the day of salvation, but each and every day where God has brought us to today. How much time have you spent praising God for that? It’s rejoicing in where that you’re no longer where you used to be, but now God has you where you are, but then looking forward to what God has for you in the future. Prayer is worship. Go to Matthew, chapter twenty six. Not only is prayer worship, but I want you to notice that prayer is work. Prayer is work. You and I know if you spent any time trying to pray, you know that prayers work. How many of you, let’s be honest, how many of you have started praying and falling asleep? My hands up. Yeah. Yeah. You know why? Because it’s work. It’s exhausting. Yeah. The devil doesn’t want you to pray. Sometimes it’s easy to begin to fall asleep while you’re praying. I’ve heard many different preachers give many different illustrations on this. And sometimes while we’re praying, we need to make ourselves uncomfortable so we don’t fall asleep. You fall asleep when you get comfortable, correct? Laying your head on your pillow. But I’m praying. No, you’re not. No, you’re not just kicking back. I’m all about kicking back and looking up to the sky. But when was the last time you got into an uncomfortable position where you couldn’t help but stay awake while you prayed? I know there have been many times we’ve had twenty four hour prayer meetings here at the church. Brother Thoreau, There were many times where during that session I’d pray here at an altar. But then I’d get up and I’d walk and pace the floor, walk around the church in the auditorium and pray. There’s nowhere in the Bible says you can’t walk and pray. It says pray without ceasing first. Thessalonians five, seventeen. Notice here Matthew twenty six. Look with me. We’re going to hasten. Verse thirty six. Then cometh Jesus with them, talking about Peter, James and John, the inner three, to a place called Gethsemane. And saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. So here the disciples are all with them. He takes the inner crowd, Peter, James and John, and he goes a little further. Then saith he to them, My soul is exceeding and sorrowful unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with me. The word watch means to pray, verse thirty nine. And he went a little further and fell on his face, praying and prayed, saying, o my Father, if it be possible to let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. As he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them. What’s the next word? Asleep. Brother Brandon, you were in the military. You’re in the military. Y’ all would take different shifts where you had to stand watch. I’m sure you had to do that at different times. Brother shared with me different stories where he’s had to do that, where you had to stand watch and stand patrol many times. These three guys here, they weren’t standing watch. They were sitting and sleeping. They didn’t stand on patrol waiting and watching. They were not praying with Jesus. They were sleeping. Notice what it says. He findeth them asleep and saith unto Peter, what? Could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. I know. Well, some of you are thinking. Some of you are thinking, well, I want to pray. I just fall asleep. Yeah, the spirit’s willing, but the flesh is weak. So since the flesh is weak, don’t let the flesh get comfortable and make sure that you stay awake for it. He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, oh, my Father has come. May not pass away from me except I drink it. Thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples and saith unto them, sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand. The Son of Man is betrayed here on three different times over the span of at least three. Three different hours. Because he prayed the first hour and came back and they were asleep. He went and did it a second time, praying for another hour. He comes back and they’re asleep. He goes and he does it a third time. And when he comes back the third time, he says, go ahead and sleep on. The battle’s over. It’s done. They missed their opportunity to battle with the Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder. We realize prayer is work, but I wonder how many times, Brother Thoreau, we miss the opportunity to see God do a work because we were too interested in being comfortable and not praying. Now think about it. We say pray for so and so and. And we take prayer requests on Wednesday night even in Sunday school. But I wonder how often do we come to prayer meeting? Are you listening? Listen, I love you. But if we’re asking prayer for so and so, then why are we not coming and praying for so and so? Could it be? Could it be that many times we know that other people pray and so we want them to pray for our request knowing that we don’t spend time in prayer like we should? Could it be that we want the answer but we don’t want to do the work so we just ask somebody else that we know does the work and we depend on their prayer life and we never grow spiritually. I’ve got a list of different folks that I pray for, pray for our church families. I pray for different preacher friends of mine. I pray for our missionaries. We’ve got a missionary that we’ve got coming later this year. He’s going to come in September and present his work. I text him every week, let him know I’m praying for him. He texted me just recently and he sent it out to several folks. But it said to my special operations Christians he was asking special prayer for a survey trip they’re going on for God to do a work for God to give clarity. But why did he send it out to certain people? Because he knew certain people were praying. Not saying that in a braggadocious way, but how many people ask you to pray for things? And if people are asking you to pray for things, we don’t look down our noses at anybody. But I often wonder why are they asking for additional prayer for certain people now it could be that they are praying and they just want more people to pray. And that’s what I’m going to choose to believe. Okay, I’ll always. If I’m going to err on any side of anything, I’m going to err on believing in people more than probably I should. Alright, gonna err on that side. Something my youth director taught me. But I wonder how many times we ask people to pray for things knowing we ourselves haven’t prayed for it. I wonder do is this our mentality? If I ask others to pray, then God will hear them because they walk with God. Well, can’t God hear you? Are you not his child? If we’re his children, we can go to him, right? But that’s going to require a relationship. So we’ve got to put the work in. I Wonder how many times we don’t see prayers answered because of how we treat our God. Brother Thoreau used to say it all the time pastoring that we treat God like a fire extinguisher in case of emergency, break glass. We come to him only when things are at its brink. We treat church that way. Many times things are going to hell in a hand basket. I need to go to church. I need to go pray. I need to talk to somebody now because I don’t know what else to do. Well, what about six months ago when things just started to do that? Why didn’t we talk to God then? Here we want everybody to pray for us and our family, but we don’t even show up for the scheduled prayer times. See, prayer is worship, but prayer is work. Thirdly, I want you to notice we’re going to hasten. Prayer is warfare. Ephesians, chapter six. Ephesians, chapter six. I’ll read you some verses. Verse ten. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Verse thirteen. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Notice verse eighteen. Now praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto. I think it’s interesting, Brother Roberto, that right after the armor of God is mentioned, he says we need to spend time praying. Why? Because prayer is part of the spiritual battle. Listen. We put on the sword and spear. We put on all the armor. But listen, we have victory through our prayer life. There’s a song, Glory Bound with Heartland used to sing it. I’m a soldier winning battles by fighting on my knees. My captain is the author of the master strategy. When the arrows fly around me, I will not face defeat. Because I’m a soldier winning battles by fighting on my knees. You see, Satan is never more afraid of a child of God than When that child has a bended knee in prayer, that’s what the Bible says. The Bible says, draw nigh to God and he’ll draw nigh to you. Submit yourself, therefore, to God. How do you submit yourself to God? Bible reading and prayer. Submission is a sign of lowering oneself. So we submit by bending the knee. Isn’t that how they used to do it in Roman days? They would bend the knee to the emperor, they would submit. We submit our loyalty to God. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. The Bible says, resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. So how do we have victory prayer? It’s very simple. Prayer is warfare. In Genesis, I told you, chapter thirty two, where Jacob was wrestling with God. It was tough. He was physically exhausted, but he would not let go. The Bible talks about Shamgar, one of David’s mighty men, that he fought until his hands clave to the sword. Remember that story? That means he fought so much that his hands would not release the weapon. Some of you that were in the military, you may know how that is. Where you go out and you practice shooting and you’re doing the war games, you’re doing all the different things and you are exhausted to the point to where your hand will cramp around the handle of your gun and it’s locked in place. Here Jacob came to the realization of who he was in the eyes of God. This wasn’t until he was physically exhausted. This wasn’t until he stopped fighting. Then God answered. Brother Nick, you know why we see such great results at church camp? Because the kids get physically exhausted and they quit fighting against God. I was talking Brother Ed Loney this last week he preached during our church camp. Ethan and I went to Young Men’s Conference earlier this week and Brother Ed was still bragging on the second week of camp during the month of June. And what God did he preaches all over the country, at youth conferences, at church camps, all different things. And he says very rarely does he ever see a group of young people. There was over four hundred fifty people there that week. You saw, Miss Tasha, over four hundred and fifty campers there that week. He said, very rarely have I seen God move from the first night through the end of the week like that. Why? Because people came in and they were already physically exhausted. Their spirits were already ready for God to work. You see prayer, somebody had spent some time praying. Jacob was never the same again after this encounter with God. Prayer doesn’t always change things. Prayer changes us. When you spend quality time with God in prayer, then you will do something for God by way of action. Because you can’t help but to. When Jacob spent all that time with God, he could not help but go and do what God wanted him to do. Prayer is not a substitute for action. Prayer, write this down, is the beginning of action. It’s not a substitute. It’s the beginning. So prayer is worship. Prayer is work. Prayer is warfare. Lastly, prayer is waiting. Prayer is waiting. The Bible says in one Thessalonians five, seventeen, pray without ceasing. The Bible says in Matthew seven seven, ask, and it shall be given unto you. Seek, and ye shall find. Not knock, and it shall be open unto you. In each of those cases, the word shall is used. Shall is future tense. But it’s also a guarantee, which means you may not get it immediately when you ask for it. God’s not a genie in a bottle. It doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t just come out and grant your wishes when you so please. You see, prayer cures sickness and obtains pardon. Prayer rules over all gods and shuts the storehouse of rain. It unlocks the cabinets of the womb and quenches the violence of fire. It stops the mouths of lions and reconciles our sufferings and weak faculties with the violence of persecutions. It pleases God and it supplies our needs. This is what prayer does. But prayer is waiting. You see, God will give you one of three answers. Yes, no, or wait. I made the statement here recently. We like the yeses, right? I like having prayers answered. We like the yeses. We can tolerate the no’s. Okay? That’s not God’s will. But we absolutely hate waiting. Now, you may be different, but I’ve come to find the vast majority of people are not patient. Have you ever had a speeding ticket? Why? Because we’re not patient. I’ve had my fair share. You say I haven’t had a speeding ticket. Yeah, you just hadn’t got caught. Not because you weren’t speeding. It’s because you haven’t been caught yet. Don’t drive through Haley Van Hartshorn. They’ll catch you. Amen. Don’t drive through Kiowa and Savannah. They’ll catch you. Amen. Here. Prayer is waiting. So let me ask you, this morning, july nineteenth, twenty twenty six, have you taken hold of God? Is there something you are begging God for? Is there something you’re asking God for? Is there something that you are diligently waiting for God to do in your life? Is there something you’re going to the throne of grace on behalf of somebody else for? Is there a soul that you’re praying for right now? Is there somebody’s life that hangs in the balance that you’re praying for right now? Have you taken hold of God today? Stand with me with heads bowed with eyes closed this morning? Now is not the time to leave. Have you taken hold of God this morning? I understand it’s not normal message on a Sunday morning. I don’t care about normal. I’ll do what God wants. This is something we need. How’s your prayer life? If somebody needed you to pray, could you. Could you? Let’s pray. Father, we love you.

Scripture Reference

Isaiah 64:1-7

Introduction

Dr. Terry LeQuieu preached from Isaiah 64, centering on verse 7: “There is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee.” The sermon asks a straightforward but convicting question: Have you taken hold of God? Using stories from Scripture—Hannah, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah—Dr. LeQuieu shows that God moves when people truly wrestle with Him in prayer. He contrasts genuine prayer with the common shallow practices of modern Christianity, urging us to repent of prayerlessness and embrace prayer as worship, work, warfare, and waiting.

There is none that’s calling upon God’s name. There’s nobody that’s praying. That’s what the verse is saying.

Outline

Context and Conviction
1. Isaiah’s complaint (Isaiah 64:1–7)
  God is mighty and holy, yet Israel’s sin left them cut off. Verse 6 condemns our self-righteousness: “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Verse 7 adds the painful indictment—nobody calls upon the Lord.
2. Sin separates (Isaiah 59:1–2)
  Sin hinders prayer. If we persist in known sin, we must not be surprised when God’s face seems hidden. Repentance must precede many answers.
Examples of Those Who Took Hold of God
1. Hannah (1 Samuel 1–2)
  Though grieving and living in a difficult household, Hannah poured out her soul in prayer and obtained a mighty blessing—Samuel—who served God faithfully.
2. Jacob (Genesis 32)
  Jacob physically wrestled and would not let go until he received a blessing. The encounter changed his walk and name—wrestling prayer produces life-long change.
3. Moses (Exodus 33–34)
  Moses’ close communion with God left his face radiant. Walking with God produces a noticeable, lasting holiness that serves God’s people.
4. David (2 Samuel; Psalm 51)
  David sinned grievously, but his brokenness and confession brought restoration. Contrition plus prayer yields repentance and renewed service.
5. Elijah (1 Kings)
  Elijah’s fervent prayer brought drought and rain; even a man who struggled with depression was used by God because he prayed.
What Prayer Is Not
1. Not a religious ritual
  Prayer should not be formalism or vain repetition. True prayer flows from a heart, not merely a script or public performance.
2. Not a one-way conversation
  Prayer and Bible-reading belong together. John 15:7 requires abiding in Christ and His Word; we must listen as well as speak.
3. Not negotiation or manipulation
  We do not “talk God into” our will. Prayer humbly yields us to His control (Andrew Murray’s insight): prayer positions us to be controlled by God.
4. Not a substitute for action
  CT Studd and the preacher warn: praying instead of obeying is hypocrisy. Prayer is the start of obedience, not the excuse to avoid it.
5. Not merely another church activity
  Prayer meetings are ministries, not optional social events. Worship and prayer are central to Christian service.
What Prayer Is
1. Prayer is Worship (Hebrews 11:6)
  Approach God in faith, believing He exists and rewards those who diligently seek Him. Prayer reveals God to us and matures our faith.
2. Prayer is Work (Matthew 26:36–46)
  Prayer demands effort—watching and wrestling in Gethsemane. The flesh resists; prayer requires discipline and endurance.
3. Prayer is Warfare (Ephesians 6:10–18)
  Prayer is a battle-tool in the armor of God. We fight spiritual battles by fighting on our knees; prayer advances God’s cause.
4. Prayer is Waiting (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 7:7)
  God answers in His timing—yes, no, or wait. Waiting tests patience and grows dependence on God’s wisdom rather than our convenience.
Practical and Theological Implications
1. Personal holiness precedes power in prayer
  Repentance unlocks a praying life—sin separates, confession restores. If you want answers, first examine your walk.
2. Stewardship and faithfulness
  God entrusts more to those faithful in little. Pray for opportunities, but first be faithful where you are.
3. Corporate responsibility
  Intercession for families, missionaries, and leaders requires more than requests on a list; it requires regular dedicated prayer from the body.

Summary

Dr. LeQuieu’s sermon is a call to revival in our prayer lives. Isaiah’s indictment—“there is none that calleth upon thy name”—is a mirror for the church today. Prayer is not casual, not ritual, not a substitute for obedience, and not only an activity. It is worship that transforms, work that exhausts, warfare that gains victory, and waiting that matures faith. The examples of Hannah, Jacob, Moses, David, and Elijah teach us that sinners who take hold of God by earnest, believing, persistent prayer are changed and used by God.

When you get ahold of God, you’ll never walk the same again.

Application for the Week

Practical, actionable steps to begin taking hold of God right now. These are simple to start and require honesty and persistence. Use them with prayer, Bible reading, and accountability.

Examine and Confess
Tonight before bed, ask the Lord to search your heart (Psalm 139:23–24). Confess any known sin and repent. If there is an unresolved sin, bring it to a trusted pastor, elder, or mature believer and follow biblical steps of repentance.
Set a Daily Prayer Time
Begin with 10–15 minutes daily at a set hour this week. Use a simple pattern: adoration (worship), confession, thanksgiving, supplication (requests), and listening (read a short Scripture and ask God to speak). Increase time as you are able.
Create a Prayer List and Pray with Purpose
Write the names you’ve been given to pray for (family, missionaries, lost friends). For seven days, commit to praying for those names each morning. Don’t just ask—pray specific Scripture into each situation (for example, James 5:16; Philippians 4:6–7).
Join Corporate Intercession
Attend the next church prayer meeting and come prepared to pray, not merely to request. If your church has a midweek prayer time, be there. If you don’t have one, start a small group of 2–4 believers who meet weekly to pray.
Pair Prayer with Action
If you are praying for souls, go soulwinning this week at least once. If you pray for your marriage, commit to one concrete act of love and godly service this week. Let prayer lead to the obedient step God shows you.
Practice Perseverance
When you pray about a persistent need, record the request and date in a journal and return to it each week. Expect three possible answers—yes, no, or wait—and thank God in each case. Learning to wait is part of spiritual maturity.
Teach and Model Prayer
If you are a parent, intentionally pray aloud for your children this week at home. If you are single, find a younger believer to mentor in prayer. Let your life show that prayer is essential, not optional.

Begin with these small steps and ask God to make you one who “stirreth up himself to take hold of” the Lord. The promise for the diligent seeker remains: the God who rewards those who wait and seek will meet you in His time and change you by His grace.

In humility and faith, let us rise this week to wrestle with God, press toward holiness, and practice persistent, Scripture-saturated prayer.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Sermon Title: Have You Taken Hold of God

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