Title: Watch and Pray, Never Be Silent
Meta: Isaiah 62:6 - On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest,  -- The Lord is telling us that He wants us to keep coming to Him in prayer.
Tags: prayer,throne of grace,tim conway,Isaiah,watchmen,petition

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Isaiah 62 verse 5.

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Now just listen to what this says.

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Now you have to realize this,

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Jerusalem;

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The church is the true Israel.

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In the book of Revelation you see

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the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven

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as a bride

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prepared.

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"For as a young man marries a young woman,

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so shall your sons marry you,

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and as the bride..."

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Now watch this,

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"as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

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so shall your God rejoice over you.

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On your walls, O Jerusalem

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I have set watchmen;"

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This is a picture

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of the church

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with men and women

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who are watchmen.

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And watch what they do.

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"All the day

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and all the night

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they shall never be silent."

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These are the praying people.

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God has set them on the wall.

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"You who put the LORD in remembrance,"

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What does that mean?

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That means,

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"Lord remember!"

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They're constantly coming,

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"Lord remember!"

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"Lord there's need!"

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"Lord!"

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"There's this."

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"Lord, there's that."

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And look what the Lord Himself,

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this is an inspired prophet.

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The Lord is saying this,

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"You who put the Lord in remembrance,

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take no rest."

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See what the Lord's saying?

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"Wear me out with your prayers."

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Do you remember the parable of the widow?

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With the unjust judge?

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You remember the man who went to his friend

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at night for bread?

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Importunity.

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You keep at it.

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The Lord is saying,

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"You know what my people,

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I'm pleased when you wear me out with your prayers."

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"I'm pleased when you keep coming."

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"I'm pleased with that."

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"Give me no rest."

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"You take no rest,

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and you give him no rest,

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until he establishes Jerusalem

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and makes it a praise in the earth."

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Unill He makes His church strong.

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Till He saves all the elect.

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Till He sanctifies them with the Word that is truth.

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Till He makes them spotless and blameless,

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before their God.

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You keep praying.

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You give Him no rest.

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Till He saves more people

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from the campus

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and out here in these city streets.

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You keep praying.

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You give Him no rest.

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Till He establishes Jerusalem.

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"The LORD has sworn by his right hand

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and by His mighty arm;

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'I will not again

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give your grain to be food for your enemies,

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and foreigners shall not drink your wine

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for which you have labored;

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but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD,

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those who gather shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.'

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Go through,

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go through the gates;

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prepare the way for the people;

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build up,

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build up the highway;

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clear it of stones;

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lift up a signal over the peoples."

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This is making the way to the Lord,

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straight.

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Keep reading.

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"Behold the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth:

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Say to the daughter of Zion,

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'Behold, your salvation comes;

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behold, his reward

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is with him,

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and his recompense before him.'

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And they shall be called the Holy People,

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the Redeemed of the LORD;

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and shall be called Sought Out

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a City Not Forsaken."

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This is the city of our Lord.

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This is the city of God.

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This is the dwelling place of God among His people.

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This is a picture of the New Jerusalem.

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And God raises up men and women to pray

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and He says, "Don't give me rest.

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You pray for the salvation of my people.

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You pray until she is perfected.

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And you keep praying."

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And He says, "Don't you give up.

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Don't you rest and don't give me any rest."

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Because He's going to do it.

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He's going to do it.

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It is not a waste of your prayers

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when you pray for the salvation of people.

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When you keep praying that God would perfect His church.

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God would save.

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God would continue to bring in the elect.

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God would save off these streets,

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and out of the highways and the byways.

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We go out and we seek to

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compel them to come in.

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He says, "You keep praying.

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You compel them to come in!

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You make straight the way.

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You lift up a signal over these people."

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You proclaim the cross,

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and you keep on your knees

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and God is going to do it.

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I mean He gives you...

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If there's anything you can tell from scripture,

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God is a God who hears prayer

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and He does not want His people to grow weary

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or faint

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as they pray

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as they seek His face.

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He gives us parables.

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You keep going,

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you get an answer.

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Can you imagine it?

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He gives us a parable

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of a woman whose a widow,

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who goes to an unjust judge,

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and gets what she wants.

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You see the point?

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If you have a father

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who sent His son into this world to tell us,

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"Pray in my name."

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"But you know what even though you're praying in my name,

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you need to realize

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my Father

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loves you.

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And He wants your joy to be full."

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If an unjust judge

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is going to give you

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what you want

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if you persevere with him.

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How much more the ever benevolent,

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ever kind and compassionate God,

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who gave up His only begotten son.

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How much more?

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Our prayers are not useless.

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You can

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fetch

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power

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against the devil.

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You can pray salvation down upon people.

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You say, "Is it possible?

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Is it possible that somebody would actually be saved cause I pray,

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and if I didn't pray they wouldn't be saved?"

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Yeah that sounds pretty consistent with what James says, right?

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You say, "Well if they're elect, they're going to get saved."

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Well that may be true.

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But if they are, God's also going to raise up people.

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Did you see that?

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God raises up watchmen for the wall.

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And the best way to be one of those watchmen

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is pray brethren.

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Just pray.

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Spend time praying.

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When God...

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Look.

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If you're in fellowship,

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and God calls you to pray.

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You feel the impulse.

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Go!

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You're watching a show,

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you feel that impulse.

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Go!

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You're sitting at lunch eating and God says,

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"Quit eating and go."

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You're laying there drifting off to sleep

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and suddenly you come wide awake

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and God is saying,

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"Come meet with me."

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Go!

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Don't blow off the advances of the Lord.

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Pray.

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Designate times.

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O imitate our brother in China

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who sets aside times

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to only intercede for others.

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I've said this before,

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I'll tell you.

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A big mark of maturity.

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I mean you want to right now at this very point in time

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put an accurate measure of your Christian maturity.

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How much intercessory prayer are you involved with?

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How much do you pray for others?

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One of the great indicators

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of immaturity

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is you pray

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99% of the time

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for you.

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The more mature Christians become

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the more consumed they become with praying

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for others.

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For God's glory.

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For the benefit

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and the good of the brethren.

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For other preachers.

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For saints in different places.

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For the government.

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For leaders.

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For the lost.