Prayers At Midnight

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[00:00:04] My name is Latoya, I want to thank you so much for listening.

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[00:00:15] Alright, and ladies, every Monday night at 8 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, I host

[00:00:20] the women's Bible study called The Equipping.

[00:00:23] So if you're looking to grow in the Word of God and just a community of sisterhood, you

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[00:00:45] Alright, today I'm going to talk to you all about Prayer Is At Midnight.

[00:00:50] So in that midnight hour, when you don't know how things are going to turn around and it seems

[00:00:55] pretty dark and you're pretty desperate.

[00:00:57] Let me tell you, even at that moment, as you pray unto God, God will hear you.

[00:01:03] And so in 2019 I wrote a book by the grace of God called Before The Promise, but leave

[00:01:09] in God for what you have yet to see.

[00:01:12] And in that book you can find that available on Amazon, again that's believed in God

[00:01:17] for what you have yet to see and the title is Before The Promise.

[00:01:22] So before you see the breakthrough, before you see the victory, before all of these things

[00:01:28] you have to still believe God in the end between.

[00:01:31] So we know that God is Alpha, we know that God is Omega, He's the beginning, He's the

[00:01:36] end, but how many of us know that He's also in the middle.

[00:01:40] He's in the middle when you're in the height of the storm, when you're in the eye of

[00:01:44] the storm, when you don't know how things are going to turn out, God is still there.

[00:01:51] And so today I want us to look at prayers at midnight, praying when it seems hopeless,

[00:01:57] praying when you don't know what the outcome is going to be.

[00:02:01] But trusting God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with

[00:02:06] all your strength.

[00:02:08] So if you will just turn to me to Acts chapter 16 and we're going to start at verse 16

[00:02:14] just so we can get the concepts of what's happening here in this passage.

[00:02:19] Right, again, that's Acts chapter 16 verse 16.

[00:02:24] Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with the spirit

[00:02:29] of devination met us who brought her master's much profit by fortune telling this girl

[00:02:36] followed Paul and us cried out and cried out saying these men are the servants of the

[00:02:42] most high God who proclaims to us the way of salvation.

[00:02:46] And this she did for many days, but Paul greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit,

[00:02:52] I commend you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and he came out that very

[00:02:58] hour.

[00:03:01] Verse 19.

[00:03:02] But when her master saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and

[00:03:07] silence and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

[00:03:11] And they brought them to the magistrates and said these men being Jews exceedingly trouble

[00:03:17] our city.

[00:03:18] And they teach customs which are not lawful for us being Romans to receive or to observe.

[00:03:24] Then the multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates tore up their clothes

[00:03:29] and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

[00:03:32] And when they had laid many stripes on them through them into prison commanding the

[00:03:38] jailer to keep them securely.

[00:03:41] And when she received such a charge, she put them into the inner prison and fastened their

[00:03:46] feet in the stocks.

[00:03:48] So let's just break this down very quickly so you have this slave girl who is possessed

[00:03:54] with the spirit of divination and Paul begins to cast that demon out of her and he commands

[00:03:59] the demon to come out of her.

[00:04:01] So she set free and now her bosses are highly upset because of all of the money that

[00:04:08] she was bringing to them.

[00:04:11] And so they, you know, pretty much seats with that Paul and silence are arrested but

[00:04:18] they're also beaten pretty badly and they're put into the prison cell.

[00:04:23] So now at this point it will look very dark for them and it looks like, you know,

[00:04:28] God where are you in the midst of all of this?

[00:04:31] And so even as they were doing the work of the Lord, opposition came, they had to begin

[00:04:36] to war and pray and go against just the spirit in this slave girl.

[00:04:43] Right?

[00:04:44] And so then we see what happens here which is so, so powerful in verse 25.

[00:04:50] So it says, but at midnight Paul and silence were praying and singing hymns to God

[00:04:55] and the prisoners were listening to them.

[00:04:58] And let me just tell you how you respond in the middle of the adversity often can show

[00:05:04] you who you are.

[00:05:06] So in the middle of a trial and the middle of a tribulation and the middle of going through

[00:05:11] certain things, you want to make sure that your heart is still posture towards God.

[00:05:17] And of course, where human and you may have questions and some things may cause you

[00:05:21] to get upset or certain situations but I want to encourage you that even in the midst

[00:05:26] of the storm, do you still believe God?

[00:05:30] Do you still believe everything that you said that you believe?

[00:05:33] Do you still believe that God is the same when you're in the mountain or when you're

[00:05:37] in the valley?

[00:05:39] And so Paul and silence being in this dark place, they still made a decision to pray

[00:05:44] and to sing hymns to God.

[00:05:46] And so verse 25 says, but at midnight Paul and silence were praying and singing hymns

[00:05:53] to God and the prisoners were listening to them.

[00:05:57] Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundation of the prison were shaken

[00:06:02] and immediately all the doors were open and everyone's chains were loose.

[00:06:07] Come on Holy Ghost.

[00:06:08] So not only were there chains loose but it says everyone's chains were loose.

[00:06:13] So even as they were praying, even as they were worshiping, God showed up and he responded

[00:06:20] and it says that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors

[00:06:27] were open and everyone's chains were loose.

[00:06:31] All right verse 27 and the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the

[00:06:37] prisoners doors open so posing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill

[00:06:44] himself.

[00:06:45] But Paul called with the loud voice saying do yourself no harm for we are all here.

[00:06:50] Then he called for a light ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and silence and

[00:06:57] he brought them out and said, sir what must I do to be saved?

[00:07:02] So they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved during your household.

[00:07:07] Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house and he took

[00:07:12] them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and immediately he and all his family

[00:07:20] were baptized.

[00:07:22] Now this is so beautiful to me because we know that Paul and Silas were being before

[00:07:27] they were put into prison and not only does their worship cause God to open the prison doors

[00:07:35] and to cause every chain to be loose in the prison and then the security guard or the

[00:07:44] guard on duty he now gets saved and he begins I love this part in verse 33 it says

[00:07:54] and he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes.

[00:07:59] How beautiful is that that this prison guard begins to wash the stripes of Paul and Silas

[00:08:06] and he also receives the word of the Lord and his family gets saved and so all of this

[00:08:12] happened in the midnight hour.

[00:08:15] In the midnight hour where it does not make sense when you do not know what God is doing,

[00:08:20] when you do not really see the hand of God but you have to understand that God never

[00:08:25] sleeps, God never slumberes and even as Romans 8 28 says that all things work together

[00:08:32] for the good of those that love the Lord, those that are called according to His purpose

[00:08:37] and so we don't really know why Paul and Silas were in prison and God allowed them to go

[00:08:43] through that beating and that imprisonment but we do see the hand of God when this prison

[00:08:50] guard gets saved and his household and so we don't always know the ways of God but

[00:08:56] we can trust God and one thing I love about God is that he never sleeps and he never

[00:09:02] slumbers.

[00:09:03] So in the midnight hour when you're crying tears, when you do not know how God is going

[00:09:08] to work things out when you do not know the outcome just know that even when you don't

[00:09:14] know the outcome you know that God is in the mist and as long as God is in the mist

[00:09:20] that's all that matters and I love how they were praising God in the prison cell so much

[00:09:27] so that when the doors were open they didn't even leave, they didn't even leave because

[00:09:31] they were not imprisoned in their mind and in their spirit they were free and so even

[00:09:40] when the physical chains broke they were so free spiritually to pray and to worship

[00:09:46] God that they sat there and they did not leave and so this is just so good to me and

[00:09:51] I want to encourage you to read it on your own time as well but understand that we serve

[00:09:56] a God who never sleeps and he never slumbers and all we have to do is put our trust in

[00:10:02] him regardless of what our eyes may see.

[00:10:06] We have to understand that when God is with us he's writing the story even the parts

[00:10:11] that we don't like that God is still with us to bring us to and expect it in and we

[00:10:17] just have to keep our focus on the Lord and so even after they were beaten and bruised

[00:10:23] Paul and Silas put their focus on Christ and they begin to worship and they begin to pray

[00:10:30] and they begin to just open up their mouths and I want to challenge you even in the midnight

[00:10:35] hour that you don't go into complaining that you don't go into gossiping that you

[00:10:40] don't go into bat biting that you don't go into bitterness and unforgiveness and revenge

[00:10:44] but maybe going to prayer going to worship begin to seek the face of the Lord begin to

[00:10:50] close out every other ear and sit and hear the voice of God for your life and for your

[00:10:57] situation and for whatever it is that God may be wanting to show you in this season of

[00:11:03] your life but I just have to say again that God he hears our prayers even the ones that

[00:11:10] don't come throughout the day maybe even the ones that come late at night when you're

[00:11:15] up and you don't even know how you're going to fall asleep or the things that are troubling

[00:11:20] you or the things that are keeping you bound God hears your prayers if you are believe

[00:11:26] or born again and give me a life to Christ and so continue to pray even in the midnight

[00:11:31] hour continue to pray and continue to trust God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So I just want to

[00:11:38] say a prayer with you and begin that passage from Acts chapter 16 starting with verse 16.

[00:11:45] So God I pray for every person God that listens to this podcast that in this season

[00:11:51] Lord even when it feels like midnight even when we don't see the breaking of day. God

[00:11:57] I just pray in the name of Jesus that we will take on the garment of praise for the spirit

[00:12:02] of heaviness. I pray in the name of Jesus that praise and worship will come from our hearts,

[00:12:08] come from our spirit, come from our lips. God that we will not give ourselves to complaining.

[00:12:13] I pray for every person that is listening God to this podcast that you will annoying them

[00:12:19] and tape them deeper, that even in the midnight hour God you have a plan. You have a purpose

[00:12:25] God that others will be saved that others will come into your kingdom that we will see

[00:12:30] you glorify that you will be exalted high and lifted up and so God be glorified in all things.

[00:12:36] We give you glory honor and praise and God I pray for those that may not be saved listening

[00:12:41] to this podcast that Lord you will touch their hearts that you would just draw them unto you

[00:12:47] to a place of repentance and the name of Jesus and so God we give you glory honor and praise

[00:12:53] and Jesus name amen amen. Listen this is the hour to make sure that you know where you stand

[00:13:00] with Christ and so I want to encourage you if you may be back slid in or you're not saved

[00:13:06] to truly truly truly give your life to Jesus to pray a prayer of repentance forgiveness of your

[00:13:11] sins and ask in Jesus to come into your heart to wash you and to cleanse you and to make you whole

[00:13:18] Hallelujah and so just want to say that and make sure you join us again next week. Also if you need any

[00:13:26] Christian apparel I will love you to check out a wake ChristianColdin.com again that's

[00:13:32] a-w-a-k-e ChristianColdin.com and please support there's so many designs on there about prayer

[00:13:39] and so I pray that you are blessed and you find some faith based apparel so that you can spread

[00:13:45] the gospel God bless you and thank you so much again for tuning in and have a victorious week.