In Colossians 4:18, Paul says, "The salutation by my own hand, Paul. Remember my chains, grace be with you. Amen." The apostle Paul not looking for sympathy said, "I'm signing this letter with my own hand and I'm asking you to do something, remember." Remember that there's a personal cost to follow Jesus. Remember that the Christian life is not about convenience. Remember that you and I are not called to a life of self-gratification and ease. Now, some are unwilling to pay the cost, but my brother, my sister, when we stand before the throne of God one day, we'll see that there's a bigger cost to not following Christ, to not have been in His will. Only what we brought to Christ will matter in eternity. Everything we try to accumulate for ourselves in this life will be gone. May we remember the cost that was already paid by Jesus Christ on the cross, for us to discover the reality of that day. It's time to pray. Now.

Psalm 20, beginning at verse 7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are bowed down and fallen but we have risen and stand upright. Save Lord. May the King answer us when we call." Time and again, we have the witness of history that kingdoms which rise and rule through human effort alone never last. They rise only to fall, as all the others before them have done. But it's not so with the church of Jesus Christ. You and I have been raised by the power of God to testify of a kingdom which cannot fail. May the Lord save a multitude of lost souls through our witness and through our prayers. If ever there was a time in history to pray, that time is now. Remember, it's time to pray.

Colossians 1:9, "For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." This is the cry of my heart as a pastor, that God would fill you with the knowledge of His will. I pray that He would drive out all confusion and that you would go into your prayer closet and get into the Word of God declaring, "I know what I'm called to do." Now for all of us there's a commonality in that we're called to win the lost to Christ, but there are specific callings that God places in His body to do His will. May you receive this revelation and be filled with the spiritual understanding to walk it out by the grace of God. You will never know the unique will of God until you begin to pray. It's time to pray.

Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things." We are bombarded with negativity every day from the media. All the way down to conversation on the street, voices of accusation, doom, and anger seem to be abounding. How does one keep from getting swallowed up by all of this? Paul says that we can choose our focus. Elsewhere in the scripture, he tells us that, "Those whose minds are focused on the ways of God will be kept in perfect peace." Instead of letting this runaway train of human confusion occupy our thoughts, let's train our minds to stay on the right track. It's time to pray.

Today, I just want to remind you that honest prayers have always preceded every spiritual awakening throughout history. Now, there are different types of honest prayers. I think for a moment of Esther, who felt unlovely and unwanted. But in her heart, she said, "Well, I'll fast and pray. And I'm going to go into the King, and if I perish, I perish." It wasn't necessarily a faith-filled prayer, but an honest prayer that says, "If my life can make a difference, even if it will cost me something, I'm going to go in and I'm going to trust that God is going to answer the cry of my heart." God moves through weak people who have honest prayers. I don't care if you feel strong or not, we invite you to join us here in New York City, or you can join us live on the Internet every Tuesday night at 7:00PM Eastern Time, for our Worldwide Prayer Meeting. For you and I, strong or weak, it makes no difference. It's time to pray.

Revelation chapter 3, verse 14, "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth." This is a picture of some people's faith, they're neither passionate for the things of God or cool, they're just stuck in the middle. When we're in that condition, people are not interested in what we have to say or our opinions of God. If this is you today, stuck in your walk and indifferent towards the things of God, repent! God is willing to revive you if you are willing to ask Him to fill you again with the living waters from heaven that this world so desperately needs. It's time to pray!

Psalms 40, beginning at verse 16, "Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, 'The Lord be magnified!' But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God." You know sometimes we can feel all alone. The thought comes to our hearts, "does anyone really care about me?" And if we are not careful, the clouds above us can become so dark that we fail to see the loving eyes of God, looking straight at us, simply longing to be our friend, our strength and our guide. Ask God to move the clouds away today. Darkness must always give way to light. If you will ask, He is waiting to show you who cares. It's time to pray!

Joshua chapter 4 verses 3 and 6, "Command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight." Verse 6 says, "that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'" When God opened the waters, He told the people build a pile of stones as a reminder, of what God had done and was willing to do, if they would remain in a living relationship with Him. The testimonies of what God has done throughout our lives should be kept as reminders of who we are, of where we are going, and why God has saved us; not just for our sakes, but for the sake of our children, and for the sake of those who will ask around us. It's time to pray!

1 Samuel chapter 30 and verse 6, "Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." It can happen to the most victorious and optimistic of believers in Christ; just like a serpent coming into a garden, depression can strike before we know it's there. Sometimes it's for no reason. Other times it comes, as with David, when things seemed to have gotten out of control; often, it brings the poison of regret with it. David did what we should, he remembered how good God has been in his life and went back to the place of prayer. The end of the story is told in just three words, "David recovered all." It's time to pray!

God has something for you that is very unique to your life. When you set out to do what God is calling you to do, the Bible says, He will withhold no good thing from you. Everything you need will be granted to you, courage, wisdom, protection, provision, and direction. He could be calling you to start a Bible study, or to be a witness in your school, or maybe He is calling you to run for public office. Whatever it is God is asking you to do, He will equip you. When you step out in faith to do what He's calling you to do, He will be God to you. He will be God through you. And He will show you that even the hearts of Kings are still in His hands. God will move heaven and earth to get you, today and tomorrow, where you need to go. You will do things you weren't capable of doing apart from His presence. Trust God today with your calling. It's time to pray!