How Important Is Prayer?: Bill Johnson's Message on Breakthrough | Bethel Church

Good morning. Hello. Hello. Good morning. Sounded painful. How many of you made it to uh the Christmas bizaar marketplace yesterday? That was so I I look forward to that every year. I'm so glad I was I was able to be there again. How many of you spent money at the Christmas market here?

Yes. I I have a gift in my life. It's called my daughter. Yes. I pour money through her. It's kind of Jesus does to you and me. He pours money through us to others. I pour it through her. And uh it's it's our stocking stuffer day for our family.

So we we shopped cuz I was there. I was there. She would say, "We need that." And I'd buy it. That's the way it works. Some people have the gifts, others of us don't. So, I I uh she she helps me every year. And this was fun fun.

Yesterday, um Benny years ago half jokingly told the kids, "Let's not do stockings this year." Any of you do stocking stuffer? Yeah, we we do. And it was almost a revolt in our family. Almost a revolt cuz it's like the most fun thing. Except I got to buy bigger stockings because because I I get more than will fit and I just need to get bigger stockings.

So I need someone to help me get the jumbo kind cuz what >> Christmas? >> No. No, it's got to be stockings. It's it's No, I'm I'm a traditionalist. Yeah, it's got to be stockings. It just needs to be fat stockings. Big stockings because I want to be able to put things in there.

I I Well, never mind. Let's let's let's leave that where it is. I apologize for How many of you have have ever had a advent calendar for Christmas? Yeah. According to my chocolate advent calendar, there are only three days till Christmas. This was a priest. Father Brendan wrote this a year or two ago.

He said, "People be telling me that Christmas trees, holly and ivy and mistletoe are pagan." I respond by saying, "Yes, I do celebrate one of the holiest days of the year by bed decking my home with trophies of my vanquished foe. I like it. I like it. I read it cuz I like it.

My stomach is flat. It's just that the L is silent." Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I know. One more. One more. I've decided to leave my past behind me. So, if I owe you money, I'm sorry, but I've moved on. All right. Grab your Bibles, open to Luke chapter 2.

Uh, you know what? I I actually have more of a subject than a message, if that makes sense. I I felt so strong. Uh I've been pulled in two different directions this week in thinking and and praying for today. And um the the worship set this morning had so much to do with answers to prayer and specific decrees.

And so I I'm going to talk to you about prayer. I I want to talk to you about prayer. And uh but what we're going to do is I want I want you to look with me at two people that are in the Christmas story that are sometimes uh not emphasized as the heroes that I think they are a prophet and a prophetist and their ability to hear from the Lord and to discern what God was doing is really really extraordinary and uh they helped to set the stage for the coming of the Messiah.

So we asked the question how important is prayer? Now, what you're not going to hear today is that we need to pray more. What I want to tell you is we need to pray better >> there. We we sometimes get accustomed to the lack of a breakthrough and think that's normal >> and it's not.

We we cannot readjust Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, book of Acts to our lifestyle. We have to energize our lifestyle until we learn how to pray that the Holy Spirit actually directs us in in prayer because prayer was always meant to be a co-aboring relationship where we partner with God.

We hear his heart and we pray and decree things that uh that matter to him. Often times we we beg God to do what he's told us to do. And the assignment that we have is to pray into a position we where we make decrees where we we we speak to the mountain to be removed.

Jesus in his great uh teaching in Mark 11 on faith in and on the answers to prayer said you speak to the mountain and the mountain will be removed. And often times we beg God to do something that he's actually told us to do. And I I'll admit it.

This one is is uh baffling to me and I'm I'm just trying to learn it. But he said, for example, Randy Clark made a statement several years ago that really convicted me. He said, "For us to beg God to heal somebody is for us to assume we have more compassion than he does."

Some things have already been set in stone. They've already been accomplished. I mean, you know, Jesus doesn't need to return, die on the cross again to take care of yet another sin. He took care of it 2,000 years ago. The same happened with healing. It's just we have to learn how to pray effectively.

I remember years ago, in fact, I was standing right here as it was maybe 20 years ago. A gal came up. Uh we were we were prayer teams all over. We were praying for the sick and this gal came up came up. She had 10 years of m migraine headaches and uh was just really really tormented by this thing.

And so I I just I I prayed best I knew how. nothing happened. I I finally asked her the question, "Anything traumatic happened to you 10, 11 years ago?" And she said, "No, nothing that I can think of." I said, "All right." So, we prayed and and there was peace, but there just wasn't the breakthrough, you know, that we're we're looking for and accustomed to.

And um I was walking around praying for other people. She came to me maybe 20 or 30 minutes later. She said, "I remembered what happened to me 10 years ago." I said, "What?" She says, "I was raped." You would think that would be the first thing that would come to mind, but sometimes, you know, you move on with life and you just learn to dismiss the effect of certain things.

Well, it was still having an effect. And uh so all all I did is I said, "Well, let's take care of that." And so we we prayed together. We took care of the forgiveness issue, took care of the infirmity that was released because of that that that was done to her.

Remember, Jesus releases prisoners, those who have done something wrong, and captives, those who had something wrong done to them. Yes, >> he releases both. And she said, "Okay." So, we prayed through it just in a couple minutes and she's completely healed of 10 years of ongoing mind grief.

It wasn't the need to pray more. It was the need to find out how the Holy Spirit wants us to pray in a given situation. So, what I'm hoping is that the Lord will give every one of us the gift of dissatisfaction. >> Kind of like the birds do in the nest. you know, they pull all the feathers out and make them little sticks prick and poke until the bird finally wants to learn to fly.

And I'm hoping that this next year you and I will learn to fly and and effective prayer in ways that we've not known before. You know, I'm so thankful for what we've seen happen through the last almost 30 years. Incredible. But I know there's more. I ache for the more.

And I just pray that you get uh poked and pricricked. Sounds like a country western song, but we'll just leave it right there. Let's read through these two uh parts of the Christmas story. Um Luke chapter 2, read, we'll start with verse 25. We've got several verses to read.

Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and he blessed God and said, "Now Lord, you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.

For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for the before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. So what happened here? The Lord spoke to Simeon. Here's a man of in intense prayer life, intense focus on the purposes of God.

So much so that the Lord satisfied the cry of his heart and said, "You will not taste death until you actually see the Messiah, the King of Kings, come to earth." This is his moment. And he says, "Now I can depart in peace because you fulfilled it." The next scene is with Anna, a prophetus.

Verse 36, "And there was one Anna, a prophetus, daughter of whatever of the tribe of Asher, and she was of great age. and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. And this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

In coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of him to all who looked for the redemption of Israel. All right. What happened here? We have a prophet, a prophetus who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Let me change the language a little bit. We have a prophet and a prophetist who recognized the king of all kings when he was an infant.

It could be said that they recognized who it was because of their prophetic gifting, but I don't think so. I think their prophetic gifting was backed by their passionate prayers. And when you lean into something in prayer, it's much easier to recognize the answer in its infancy. It's much easier to recognize that which comes not fully formed, not fully shaped, not the way we'd expect a king to come, >> the Messiah to rule and to reign.

He didn't show up the way many expected, but because of the devotion to prayer and the that that sense. How many of you have had times where you've been praying and you can tell the Holy Spirit is riding on or saying amen to what you're praying? you you know that feeling.

I I wish I could say it's there all the time. It's not there all the time for me, but when it happens, make a note because you you've just engaged in what is called co- laboring. You've partnered with the Lord and you are actually praying not to God, but from God. >> You're joined with him in administrating his will in the earth. >> Now remember, every single part of our life falls under the assignment of his dream.

And his dream is, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." >> His dream, his desire, everything that he's done, every miracle that Jesus did, every word that he preached, everything that was done was to demonstrate the reality of that world and how it could have effect on this life, on this world.

Your assignment is to co- labor with God and to hear his heart. What happens often in prayer is that is that we pray. Let me back up. Start with whatever you think is a good idea to pray for. I I know this will sound not very spiritual. Don't ask for direction.

Start with what you have because it's easier to steer the car when it's when it's rolling. Start with what burdens your heart. You you you may be praying for a while and suddenly you feel this shift in the presence where he starts defi refining the prayer and it's almost like the Lord says you know if I answered your prayer it would be plan B but let me show you plan A.

And as we continue prayer and we sense that presence affirming and giving the amen so to speak to what we're praying we tap into that moment of co-aboring with God where we see things happen that we've not seen happen before. And I'm I talk about this every once in a while.

I'm going after it again because I feel like the next 12 months are supposed is supposed to be the most extreme and extravagant breakthroughs we've ever seen in prayer. That there are things that are yet have yet to happen that are going to happen not because because we, you know, are so intelligent, not because of anything except that we've learned to hear his heart.

We've learned to sense his heartbeat, what he's burdened for, what he dreams of. You only know that by interacting with him. We we often beg God to do things that he's commanded us to do. And it's just it's just not healthy. And what happens all through church history is when that takes place, we find we find people just blaming the absence of an answer on the sovereignty of God. when he's already purchased that miracle.

He's already taken care of that people being reconciled, that person being reconciled, whatever it might be. He's already done what's necessary to make it possible. Your job and mine is to discover how to collabor with him in such a way that his hand is released in the most impossible of all situations.

This is the privilege of our life. I am not interested in praying so that I can check the box >> and say I've done what I'm supposed to do as a Christian. >> How important is prayer? I think it was John Wesley that said prayer, God does nothing in the affairs of man except in answer to prayer. >> So how important is prayer?

It's unbelievably important >> that he didn't even send the Messiah without intercession. >> You would think if there was anything that God would just choose to do on his own without anybody asking for anything, it would be the sending of of his Messiah to earth. But he didn't.

He first provoked and stirred up the prophet, the prophetus. People had actually been praying for the Messiah to come for several hundred years. There was this cry of the people and when it came to this breaking point, Anna and Simeon, they had been so intensely devoted to praying for this that Simeon's life was dependent on this.

He literally would not be able to depart and to go into paradise until he had be had behold beheld the the Messiah, the son of God. And in this moment, he had been leaning into this direction in prayer so significantly that when the answer came in its infancy, he could recognize as the king. >> Wow. >> I I'm concerned with I'm concerned with my prayer life.

So I'm I'm cons I concern me. All right. So let's let's just be honest here. I I'm concerned that I find myself praying for things in a way that Jesus didn't pray for. And it's not that I want to make anybody paranoid. I just I I want to make sure that everybody hears an invitation to come and find because the Holy Spirit tells us in Romans 8, we don't know how to pray as we ought. >> Yeah.

Yeah. >> So, that's a good place to start. God, I don't know what I'm doing, >> but you invited me. So, this was your idea and I'm ready to learn. Show me how to partner with the spirit of God so that your purposes are accomplished in the earth and ahead of time.

I give you all the credit. I give you all the glory. >> Prayer is so important that the Messiah didn't even come. But do you know the return of Christ even comes in response to prayer >> because the Bible says, "And the spirit and the bride say come."

Our partnership with the Lord is so vital that there are things happening all over the world that he would love to put his hand into. But until there is I know this will sound strange to you, but permission given. Let me back up. Put it this way. If I own a home in town, then I'm renting and you're renting from me and you are renting my home.

I have the master key. I have the title deed. In fact, since this is my talk, my that house is paid for, you know, and it's a big house, too. I just want you to know since I'm doing the illustration, this is my house. It's a big house, and I pay I own it outright.

And you're renting from me. I can't go into that house anytime I want. Even though I own it and I have the master key, >> I can only enter legally at your invitation. >> The scripture says, "The earth was made for men. the heavens for God. >> Wow. >> He put humanity in charge and then he made a covenant with us.

You pray and I respond. You give me the invitation and I will enter. Sometimes it's not praying more. Sometimes it's praying differently. Sometimes we've been asking God to do something he told us to do and we finally realize actually I need to speak to the mountain myself instead of God asking God to remove the mountain. >> Sometimes it's taking ownership responsibility to our assignment considering carefully.

I I watch often as people abort answers to prayer. Answers are released the moment a prayer is prayed, but it's in its infancy. It's embriionic in nature, in size, and then somebody will speak against the very thing they prayed for. I've heard people pray for, you know, maybe a backsliden child, just not walking with the Lord, and and they'll pray and have that sense of God's promise, and the very next moment they say, "Oh, he's just so filled with rebellion.

I don't know how this could ever happen." What did they just do? They just fueled the enemy's assault on on that child. People will will pray for a miracle in their body. Listen, I I get this. This is a this is a challenging journey. But what I what I don't want you to do is abort the miracle.

Something was released in that anointed prayer and and oftentimes I I'll pray for somebody and and and really really sense breakthrough. Sometimes I, you know, I'm just doing my best. Always just praying, but I really sense that breakthrough. And as soon as I'm done praying, they'll say, "Well, I know God can do it." >> Well, what you just told me was, you know, he hasn't done it. say recently that you know he hasn't done it.

I'm not asking anybody to pretend, but let's be honest here. Does Jesus need to return to the cross to deal with any future sins? >> No, it's done. Well, does he need to return to the cross to deal with any any present or future illnesses? No. It was settled then and there. >> So, the question isn't his will.

The question is, will we collaboration to see his breakthrough come? Amen. >> Sometimes it's not more prayer that's needed. Sometimes addressing a situation is needed. >> Sometimes speaking the heart of God, the will of God. >> When Jesus taught on this incredible subject of faith in in Mark 11 where he talks about have faith in God or actually have the faith of God in a given situation.

He goes on and he says, "You speak to the mountain and you command it to be removed. You address the mountain, command it removed. There's a responsibility that I have. I I can't >> I can't make anything happen outside of his authority. >> That's right. >> But I need to make everything happen that's possible inside that authority.

And you do that by being a surrendered, yielded vessel in a given situation. >> He says, "Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven." Stop asking God to bind the devil. >> Wow. Talk to us. >> Yeah. >> He told you to bind him. >> And we bind him to the word of God.

The covenant that God given has given us in his word in his scripture. >> Yes. Yes. >> That you will trample on powers of darkness. What I'm hoping and praying for in these next 12 months is is that every one of us will see levels and realms and measures of answers to prayer we've never seen before.

I I uh I just I I keep coming back to this feeling like it's time. It's time. It's time. I don't know. I feel kind of like the pitbull. I'm going to lock my jaws on this one and just not let go cuz uh there are things that are supposed to happen.

Listen, I'm thankful. I've seen more than I could ever than I ever deserved. and uh I he doesn't ever have to do another thing for me and I will have a burning heart for him forever because of what I've what I've already seen. >> But I also know he's left me here for a reason.

He's left you here for a reason. >> And there is a measure of breakthrough. Listen, answers to prayer manifest glory. Man, answers to prayer manifest glory. You're you're giving me that look. Let let me just read this this to you. Jesus turns the water to wine which is a amazing story says he turns the water to wine.

The very next verse says uh verses says um the beginning of signs Jesus did in Canaa of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed. Answers to prayer literally released glory into the atmosphere. How do you think the glory of the Lord is supposed to cover the earth? >> It's not because of a military invasion.

It's not it's you know I I believe in the return of Christ. I absolutely believe Jesus is coming back. He said he's coming back. I believe he's coming back. I don't know how. I don't know when. I just know it'll be the shock of a lifetime. I I know that much.

But I do believe he's coming back for a glorious church. >> Yes. >> I do believe I believe he's coming back. Many people have greater faith in the return of Christ than they do in the power of the gospel. >> Wow. And it's not that we must diminish the expectation and hunger for the return of Christ.

We just have to elevate the faith and the power of the gospel. If it can change a life, it can change a family. If it can change a family, it can change a city. If it can change a city, it can change a state and a nation. >> It's a greater faith in the power of the gospel. >> And this power of the gospel is demonstrated quite frankly through answers to prayer. >> Yes.

Amen. >> Right now, we have visitations of God in what's called the 1040 window, the Islamic part of the world. Why? For, I think, 40 years, missions groups have been targeting that part of the world. And they've been praying that people outside of faith in Christ would experience God's love.

And t day after day after day, people will have dreams of a man in white. They'll see visions of a man in white. And they actually come to Jesus because of these encounters, these visitations, these dreams that I know of. That wasn't happening 100 years ago. >> When did it start happening?

When people decided to start praying in that direction. What happens if we choose to reject a segment of society and not pray for their salvation? What happens when we do? >> I'd like to suggest to you that the angelic activity is intensified over the groups of people, the individuals, the situations where we have given ourselves in prayer.

It's not the token prayer. It's stepping into a moment. It may be five minutes, it may be five hours, but it's the intensity of joining with his heart. How many of you have been in a prayer gathering? In fact, let me illustrate. Let's say we've got five or six people here together.

We're going to pray together in a group. And let's say we have one person who has a real burden for homelessness. We have another who has a real burden for children's ministry, another for uh for single adults, another for uh you know, for for whatever for world missions or whatever.

So, we've all got six people. Each have a burden for one thing. We're all going to lead in prayer for what we have a burden for. Is that right? Yes. But when you sense that presence of God come upon one of those areas, drop your prayer. >> Drop your drop what you're praying for.

You can deal with that later on your own. Drop what you're praying for. Why? Because God has just said amen on something and we got to step into that momentum and and not just repeat the same prayer. Oh, God, uh, heal so and so's cancer. Amen. Oh, God, heal so and so.

No, pray something different. Come at it from a different angle. Don't just repeat the same prayer because you're telling me you don't believe the last one was answered. >> All right. Well, >> um, I like God surprises. >> I like when he surprises me with stuff. And I feel like we should just announce the next 12 months as Christmas. >> What is it?

The 12 days of Christmas. Is that a song? >> 12. It's We're going 12 months of Christmas. >> We're going 12 months. I'm serious. I I I feel like we're we're just supposed to we're supposed to pick up an attitude about things that haven't worked out >> instead of yielding and just assuming, well, God works in mysterious ways.

Yeah, he does work in mysterious ways, but he works. >> He's not absent in mysterious ways. He works in mysterious ways. That was a good point, Bill. That's a good point right there. So, here here's what we're going to do. I wanted to take the last uh 13 minutes that we have to we're going to pray for specific needs.

How many of you you before the end of the year you actually need a very specific breakthrough financially? Put your hand up if that's you. All right. Only those with their hands up. Stand. Now we're going to experience the power of corporate prayer. Now, let me be honest with you about something.

I would rather have prayer from one person with real faith >> than a thousand people with a good idea, >> with hope. I'd ra it's not the amount of people, it's the quality of the faith. >> But I believe that the Lord is setting us up for a measure of breakthrough in corporate prayer. >> I I'm I'm interested.

I'm very curious what as what's going to happen in the next 12 months uh in corporate prayer. So I'm asking those of you that are sitting down, stand up quickly, lay hands on somebody that has uh that is standing and I want you to pray specifically over them that the windows of heaven would open.

In fact, I want you to declare it over them. You got just like two minutes to pray. The windows of heaven open over them. Pour out a blessing until there is no more need. Pour out a blessing until there is no more need. >> God, we pray for favor.

Favor in the marketplace. Favor in the courts. those who are in litigation. Favor in the courts right now. >> Favor with the IRS. Favor in impossible situations. >> Favor with relatives, with family. >> God, we call for you to fight on their behalf. And we declare the spirit of breakthrough to rest upon each person.

The spirit, the mantle of breakthrough now in Jesus name. in Jesus name. >> Amen. All right, you did good. Bless him. Good. Be seated. We got a couple more things to pray for. Now, I'm I'm real serious about this. So, I I hope you are. I I want you to write down what you prayed for.

Uh what you stood for. I want you to write it down. And I want you to put the date down cuz I want you to be able to tell the people that prayed for you. I want you to actually anticipate an answer. Some of you are going to have unusual breakthroughs within seven days.

Give us the report. Please give us the testimony. Don't just sit on it. Please give us. We need the prophetic release of testimony over this house. The next area we're going to pray for, how many of you have uh you need a miracle of reconciliation? There's something in a relationship, perhaps a family member, anything of that nature, you need a miracle of reconciliation and it's imp naturally impossible, but you know that God is able.

Put your hand up if that's you. All right, stand if that's you with your hands up. Now, I want you to surround these, you guys know what to do by now. Surround these folks and begin to declare over them the spirit of reconciliation. We bind the spirit of division, that Leviathan spirit that twists information.

Everybody, please be involved in this. Don't be just spectators. Please, please, we declare the spirit of breakthrough, reconciliation, restoration of lost family members. >> Let it be so. Let it be true in the name of Jesus. Let a spirit of revelation come upon people where they know what to do to be reconciled.

Birth in us the hunger for reconciliation at a measure we've never known before in Jesus mighty name. >> God we release right now literally the angels of the Lord. angels to be on assignment to these relatives, these family members, these these friends that you would help to um manage the circumstances of their life to where they see that you've been calling to them for reconciliation.

We pray this in Jesus name. >> Jesus name. Amen. Just declare reconciliation >> is the will of God. >> Say it with me. Reconciliation is the will of God. Amen. >> Amen. Go ahead and sit down. The last one for for now is u how many of you are you're you're facing a health issue and you really need a breakthrough before the end of the year.

Put your hand up if that's you. Your hands up. Please stand. >> Please stand. Amen. Yep. Amen. Breakthrough by the end of the year. You know, it's it's amazing to me. >> Miracles are quick. Miracles are quick. They're just so fast. Getting there is what's sometimes slow. So, let's just take the word of the Lord >> in our mouths.

By the stripes of Jesus, >> I was healed. >> By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Just declare that over them right now. >> Yeah. Just join around him. >> Thank you, >> Yep. >> Come on. >> Just declare. It's the will of God.

You know as well as I do. If Jesus were here in the flesh, every one of these would be healed. So, we're standing in his name to enforce and to bring about the will of God. >> Jesus declared earlier in our prayer time, I am willing be healed.

I am willing be healed. >> Thank you, Lord. >> Speak to the condition. Don't just ask God to heal him. He's already decided to speak to the condition. >> In Jesus name. Thank you Lord. >> Now I want you just to confess the blessing of the Lord over their bodies right now.

We confess, we declare over you the blessing of the Lord. Be blessed with strength. Be blessed with going out. Be blessed with coming in. The scripture says, "The Holy Spirit who lives in us gives life to our mortal body." So declare that over them right now. The Holy Spirit gives life to your mortal body.

The resurrection life of Jesus. >> Amen. Now, I want you to just say this with me. Everybody in the room, just stand if you would just say this with me. I receive the healing >> I receive the healing >> that Jesus bought for me. >> that Jesus bought for me. >> Let's say it together.

I receive the healing that Jesus bought for me. >> Wow. Wow. >> Wow. Wow. You know what? Tonight's going to be I think the most outrageous night of the year. I do. I think so. I'm so I am so happy about tonight. And it's not even tonight yet. >> And I'm already happy about tonight.

Oh, I'm just glad I have a reserve seat. Oh my. How about we get hungry for an impartation of the courage to face the impossible? If there's anything that this family carries, it's the courage to face the impossible. Wow. Wow. Wow. Let me ask a question. With this many people in the room, there's always the odds are high that there's people here that don't have a personal relationship with Jesus.

And the most important, the greatest miracle of all is that you would come to know Jesus, be forgiven of sin and be what the Bible calls born again, changed from the inside out. And it's available to everybody in the room, everybody online, our online uh audience is significant and large.

We bless you as well. And if this is your cry, this is your place of surrender today to say, "Yes, I want to surrender my life to Jesus. I want to come to know him. I want to know what it is to be forgiven and to be changed.

I want you just to put a hand up where you are and I want to make just an agreement with you. Wherever you are, just put your hand up high so I can see you. I just don't want to miss anybody. So, wave it if I miss you.

All right. I'm going to assume you're all in. >> Amen. Amen.