1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,480
I just had the privilege of sharing a

2
00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,120
few minutes ago at the Revival Conference here

3
00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,300
in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and I mentioned in

4
00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:10,740
that sermon a friend of mine, his name

5
00:00:10,740 --> 00:00:11,500
is Ian Dunn.

6
00:00:11,580 --> 00:00:14,600
He's a pastor up in Ontario, and he

7
00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,320
hears incredibly well from God, incredibly accurate.

8
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:20,780
And so the question about how we can

9
00:00:20,780 --> 00:00:22,760
develop our intimacy with God and our prayer

10
00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,380
life with God, I asked Ian last summer,

11
00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:27,740
Ian, how is it that you hear so

12
00:00:27,740 --> 00:00:28,640
well from God?

13
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,439
And his answer caught me off guard a

14
00:00:31,439 --> 00:00:31,840
little bit.

15
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,420
He said that he hears most often from

16
00:00:34,420 --> 00:00:37,520
God during his private worship times.

17
00:00:38,340 --> 00:00:39,760
Corporate worship is very important.

18
00:00:39,860 --> 00:00:41,400
I'm not arguing that there shouldn't be corporate

19
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:41,760
worship.

20
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:44,360
But he was telling me that during his

21
00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,220
times of private worship, where he just puts

22
00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:48,880
on some quiet worship music, and he's singing

23
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,840
and adoring on God and thanking God and

24
00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,700
expressing his worship to God, it's in that

25
00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:57,180
context that he hears best from God.

26
00:00:57,180 --> 00:01:00,540
And so times of private worship really help

27
00:01:00,540 --> 00:01:01,620
our prayer life.

28
00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:05,080
Of course, issues of fasting, which is a

29
00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,900
lost practice in many, many churches and amongst

30
00:01:07,900 --> 00:01:08,580
many Christians.

31
00:01:09,060 --> 00:01:10,740
The Bible doesn't say if you fast, it

32
00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:12,280
says when you fast, and so the Bible

33
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,040
assumes that we're going to be fasting.

34
00:01:15,300 --> 00:01:16,820
Quietness is another thing.

35
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,080
God typically doesn't shout.

36
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:22,560
He can, there's times in the Bible where

37
00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,140
it says the voice of God sounded like

38
00:01:24,140 --> 00:01:27,120
thunder, but most of the time, it's that

39
00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,720
still, small voice, and we don't have nearly

40
00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,040
enough quiet in our lives.

41
00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:33,680
I was listening not too long ago to

42
00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,140
a radio broadcast, a secular one, and they

43
00:01:36,140 --> 00:01:38,640
were interviewing a poet, and they were asking

44
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,680
the poet why poetry is not being written

45
00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:42,440
very much anymore.

46
00:01:43,180 --> 00:01:45,200
And the person said, the reason poetry is

47
00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,960
not being written very much anymore is because

48
00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:49,000
people are not walking.

49
00:01:49,900 --> 00:01:51,700
We drive, and we get in the car,

50
00:01:51,780 --> 00:01:53,580
we turn on our music and podcasts and

51
00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:55,900
things of that nature, and it's slam bang,

52
00:01:56,020 --> 00:01:57,760
and we're going to where we're going.

53
00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,280
But when we walk, there's much more time

54
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:01,820
for quietness and reflection.

55
00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,680
That not only affects poetry, but it also

56
00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:06,380
affects our ability to hear from God.

57
00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,180
And I'd also add to that simplicity.

58
00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:11,620
Our lives are way too busy.

59
00:02:11,700 --> 00:02:13,780
It's not just noisiness, but busyness.

60
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:15,840
And the more clutter that there is in

61
00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:17,580
our lives, the more that that drowns out

62
00:02:17,580 --> 00:02:18,380
the voice of God.

63
00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:20,460
So, I would say if people want to

64
00:02:20,460 --> 00:02:23,920
improve their prayer life, increasing their private times

65
00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:30,100
of worship, fasting, quietness, and adding simplicity would

66
00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:30,720
also be helpful.