Prayer: Our Number One Priority

Thank you, my brother. You may be seated. We are family.

Giving honor to the executive board, the general board, and our departmental leaders. Special thanks to our conference coordinators, Brother Chad and Sister Fallon Ericson, and to our general secretary, Josh Wilson, who never sleeps. Give honor to Sister Penny Carpenter, our First Lady Carpenter, that's going to make sure that everything is ALJC first class. Thank you to choirs, musicians. Thank you very much. Thank you to my family — my family tonight, that feel the burden of every conference.

Brother Hammond said about me telling about our baby daughter, Lauren. It would be years later that we would hire a youth pastor for our young people, Chad Ericson. He came and married our oldest daughter, Fallon. Hired Zack Hammond. He married our baby daughter. Brother Nolan, our son, came to me and he said, "Daddy, if you get ready to hire a woman, let me first see her."

Special high honors to our pastor tonight, Bishop Billy and Sister Betty McCool. They brought my wife and I the truth. They brought us the truth. They taught us the truth. And then Bishop Gray — they sent us out. They sent us out. We love them. We love them.

Our very first general superintendent, Bishop LaParent, had a burden for the Spanish-speaking people. He had a great burden. God led him to go to Chile. There he converted a young man by the name of Fuentes. From that conversion of Bishop Fuentes, literally thousands would come to this apostolic truth. But his ministry has blessed First Apostolic of Maryville, because one of the converts of Bishop Fuentes was a Brother [Stomanto], and his son, in years later, would come and be our pastor in Maryville, Tennessee. Maryville, Tennessee. Aren't you glad the work of God just keeps going? The work of God just keeps going.

Would you stand with me this evening? I want to be as bold as Bishop Gray. Call it prophesying. Call it whatever you like. God is going to minister to this body tonight. God is going to minister to this body — this body — tonight. There are some services where we reach for the lost, the prodigal. But there's some services that God just wants to minister to the body. Tuesday night He ministered to church planting. Last night He ministered to send those out. But God wants me to close this GMC out, ministering to the body.

Join me in Exodus chapter 33 and verse number 14. Moses is speaking with God. God spoke back to Moses. God said, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." And he said unto him, "If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth." And the Lord said unto Moses, "I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name." Moses responds and says — and he said, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory." And He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

Let's lift our voices up in prayer. Father, I pray for Brother Perez tonight. I pray that You would anoint our hearts. I pray that You will unite our hearts together. Lord, I pray for our Spanish-speaking brethren here tonight. Lord — churches from California to Florida — bind us together tonight. Send us out from Knoxville on fire to do a work for You. Lord, we'll give You the praise and the honor. In Jesus' name we pray. Give God praise before you're seated this evening. Give God praise right now. You may be seated.

My title comes from a text I received a few weeks ago. The text was from Bishop Joel Holmes, a great voice in the apostolic church today. I will read you the text: "Pastor Carpenter, I am still wondering what would happen to a church that made prayer their top priority." Top priority. So tonight, my title is simply this: Prayer, our number one priority. Prayer, our number one priority.

We can't plant churches without prayer. We can't go to other lands without prayer. We can't do anything without prayer. Prayer, our top priority.

Allow me a few moments to set the stage. Moses, from Exodus 19 to chapter 31, is on Mount Sinai receiving the law of God, the commandments of God, the building, the plans of the tabernacle. Chapter 32: the people get tired of waiting on Moses. A golden calf is made. The judgment of God falls. Three thousand die. God sends a plague on Israel. Chapter 33: God tells Moses that you're going to go to the promised land — you're going to go to the promised land — but I will not go with you. You will have the promised land, but not the God of the promise. The people mourn at the thought of no presence of God. They could have went to the promised land, but God said, "I'm not going with you." What good is a land without the God of the land?

Moses asked God about the presence. Moses pitched a tent and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. Anyone that wanted to seek the Lord went to this tent. This is the first mention of a prayer room in Scripture. In Exodus 33:8, Moses was the example of attending the prayer room. As Moses went out to the tent, it caused the people to stand at their tent door, in that their leader went to prayer. Moses starts out speaking to God, but God begins to speak to Moses. Whatever He spoke, it caused the people to want to worship God. Whatever God spoke to Moses caused the people to want to worship. Whatever God spoke to Moses caused the people to worship.

Just a side note tonight: maybe if the people are not worshiping, might be because we're not praying. It may not have anything to do with them, but it may have everything to do with us. As your superintendent tonight, the legacy that I want to leave behind is that I was a man that preached prayer, practiced prayer. Because unless we pray, the people don't worship. I wish somebody would shout, "Pray!"

Exodus 33:11: God spoke to Moses face to face, as friends. As friends. Can I tell you, the primary purpose of prayer isn't getting answers. The primary purpose of prayer is not getting answers, or getting blessings. The purpose of prayer — the primary purpose — is relationship. Is relationship. Relationship with God. The right relationship with God will bring the answers that we need. Relationship.

"Jesus, teach us to pray." Our Father who art in heaven — relationship. Our Father who art in heaven.

Brethren, something happened in prayer, because the current leader — the present leader, Moses — took a future leader, Joshua. And when Moses got ready to leave the prayer room, Joshua stayed behind. Had to be something that the future leader saw, that caused him to want to stay in prayer. We current leaders have a responsibility to set the example to another generation. Prayer. Prayer.

I would like to tell you where it started with me. It started in the 10th grade of high school, Academy Christian School, sitting in a classroom. There was a voice that was a little louder than even the teacher. It went something like this: "Oh God, we need You. Oh God, we need You. Oh God, keep Your hand on the church. Oh God, don't let us become worldly. Oh God, send Your Spirit." And Nolan — this 10th grader got permission to go to the restroom, but I didn't want to go to the restroom. I went down the hallway to the auditorium, and I opened the back door, and I saw my pastor around the front: "Oh God, we need You. Oh God, would You touch us, God? Hallelujah."

Moses' prayer inspired Joshua. He said, "My presence shall go with you. But Moses, it's going to take work. It's going to take work, Moses, because Moses made a request: 'Show me Your glory.' I've already told you, Moses, that My presence will go with you. That word means My face will be toward you. I know you by name. My face will be upon you. But that wasn't enough for Moses. He said, 'I want to see Your glory.' What's the difference? Here's the difference: His face sees us, but when we see His glory, we see Him. And Moses says, 'Show me Your glory.'"

"You want to see My glory? It's going to take work. You want to see My glory? You're going to have to hew out some stone for Me to write on." You know, God hewed out the first tablet, but Moses throwed them down and broke them. And the second time, God said, "You hew them out." It's amazing how much more you appreciate something that you — it's amazing how much something means to you when you pray it down. When you pray it down, it's amazing. You don't really walk away from things that you hewed out. You don't take for granted things that you hewed out.

"Go up to the mountain. God, show me Your glory. Show me Your glory." "Are you for real, Moses? Really? Are you serious? Show me Your glory. I saved you from the Nile River. I gave you a talking bush. Show me Your glory. How about the rod turned to a snake, the snake turned into a rod? Show me Your glory. You're asking Me to show— Didn't I give you a hand? Didn't I turn water to blood? Show me Your glory. Really? Seriously? How about frogs, lice, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of the firstborn? Really, Moses? Really? Are you serious? Pillar of fire, Red Sea divided, bread from heaven, water from a rock. Are you asking Me for Your glory?"

Listen to me. Listen, please. Listen. Yes. Because leaders and visionaries are thankful for what God has done, but leaders are not content with what God has done. Visionaries are not content with what has happened. "Show me Your glory!" Glory.

"Pat me on the back. Man, you something, Brother Carpenter. You and FAC Maryville, you're something. Build that $15 million, pay for it as you went." Don't slap me on the back. I didn't come up with that on my own. As a boy in the Knoxville church, I watched what they did. God spoke to me. He said, "I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Jacob. I am the God of Billy McCool. I'll be your God." "Show me Your glory!"

Come on, let's have a praise moment right now. Come on. Don't get content. Don't get satisfied. I know God's done something for you. "Show me Your glory!" I'm thankful. I'm thankful for that building in [Maryville], but I'm not satisfied. I'm thankful for it. There's nothing wrong with you, that you have a holy dissatisfaction, because there is more. As long as you're breathing, there is more. The fact that you're alive is a testimony that God is not through with you. Somebody shout, "More!" More! "Show me Your glory."

God said, "You want to see My glory? I'll show you My glory. I'm going to put you in the cleft of the rock, put My hand over you, I'm going to pass by you, I'm going to show you My glory." And it goes something like this: "I am the Lord God, merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth, mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

What did the glory look like? I missed it, till I really got in a deep study dive. What did the glory look like, Moses? I missed it. It's not what does the glory look like. It's what does the glory sound like? Because glory has a sound. When a preacher wants to preach His glory, it has a sound: goodness, mercy, forgiveness, forgiveness. He's a kind God. He's a loving God. He's a restoring God. He's a merciful God. It's not what does mercy — what does glory look like. It's what does glory sound like.

Man, we've got to stop preaching like we're delivering a bomb threat. You may be seated. We've got to stop preaching like doomsday people. That's not glory. Gloria.

Gloria — stepping out and looking at your B3 program: a bunch of men and women that some of them, by court order, have to be in that class. But you see them on Sunday. Some of them are tattooed from their head to their toes. But do you know what they deserve? Glory. That's why God added that little part where He said, "I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

You see, if you're not a praying church, you're looking for perfect people to walk in. If you're not a praying church, you want Aunt Bea and Mayberry to come in. I'm sorry, the Waltons are not here anymore. But if you want a church, preach glory. But you've got to be ready when they come in. They may not — they may not look like you think. I wish somebody would shout, "More!" More. You may be seated.

Nolan called me the other day. He'd been teaching a Bible study to a man. He said, "Dad, my Bible study wants to get baptized." I said, "Put him down, bud. Put him down." He said, "We've got a problem, Dad. He's got an ankle monitor on, court probation, and if it gets wet, $400." I said, "Well, whatever you do, baptize all of him." He said, "Dad, it's $400." I said, "We send thousands of dollars to win people. If it gets wet, we'll pay for it." Well, about that time, his brother-in-law Zack came along. Zack said, "I can fix it." He got a garbage bag and some duct tape — a garbage bag, and duct-taped him up. Nolan had the man's head. Zack had his feet. Nolan put him down. Zack put him down. Be baptized in Jesus' name.

You want to preach glory? Tell somebody about the goodness of God. You want to preach glory? He's a good God. He's a great God. He's a kind God. He's a loving God. He's a forgiving God. He's a restoring God.

Nolan baptizes at our church. He's one of the baptizers. He said, "Dad, I baptized a guy this morning, had a swastika on his forehead. Had tattooed under his eye, 'Satan.'" Well, do you know what? God must have not cared, because he came up out of the water speaking in tongues. I want more. I hope one day we translate Andrew, Chinese. I hope the general conference looks like the United Nations. More. Loving God. Anybody want more?

Moses had been on the mount for 40 days and 40 nights. I don't think I'm doing any harm to the Word. He's with God. He's with God. And he was — he was in a prayer meeting for 40 days. He's in a prayer meeting for 40 days, 40 nights. And on the 41st day, he comes down from the mount, and he doesn't realize something: his face is radiant with the glory of God. His face is radiant. He doesn't realize it. He walks into the camp, and the glory of God is shining on him. You always reflect what you have been in the presence of. I said, you always reflect what you've been in the presence of.

I'm sorry. I'm not going to spend much time right here. I don't have time for negative people. I don't have time for lobby hangouters. I don't have time for people that are always negative, because I don't want to reflect that. I want to ride with the revival. I want to ride with the visionaries. I want to reflect. I hope this makes sense. I'm sorry. No, I'm not.

We have prayer — 30 minutes of prayer before church. A few hundred people are in the prayer room. Now, I'm going to tell you something: it didn't always start out that way. You've got to be willing. One person has got to be willing. You may be the only one in the prayer room, but you stay in the prayer room, because it can get contagious.

I'm just talking to you from my heart tonight. And go back to my pastor tonight. When he sent me out to evangelize, he gave me this advice. He said, "When you get to these churches," he said, "ask the pastor if you can use one of the Sunday school rooms to pray in." He said, "Because if you'll get down there praying in that Sunday school room," he said, "there will be others that'll join." And man, I went to some places between here and Vietnam that was as dead as a hammer, ever how dead that is. But I could go in a dead church and ask the pastor for a Sunday school room to pray, and get in that Sunday school room and start saying, "God, we need You tonight. We need You tonight." People that had come to fellowship and talk about it being too cold at church, too hot at church, too loud at church, not loud enough — gossip, all of that. How can you gossip and talk about that, when you're hearing a sound come from a prayer room? Thank you, Assemblies. This is our hour. Pray.

I really am — so help me God, I really am sweet. That there's — there are some things that push my buttons. When I first went to Maryville, I'd pray in office — pray in my office. But there was a man in our church that felt led of something. We started at 7:30. He would come to my office at 10 after 7. He'd knock on the door: "Pastor, I want you to know there's just a handful here." 7:20: "Pastor, there's not many more here." Week after week, had all I could take. He knocked on the door, and before he could tell me there was nobody there, I said, "Brother, I know there's not anybody here. That's why I'm praying right now, because I know there's nobody here."

You reflect what you've been in the presence of. Be in the prayer room. You reflect the glory of God, man. Our prayer room can get crazy, but I love it. We've got preachers with their Bibles, and they're walking around prophesying. They're just telling: "God's going to move. God's going to touch. God's going to fill the Holy Ghost. Somebody's going to get healed. Somebody's going to get delivered. You're going to pour Your Spirit out." I love just walking through there. That's a lot better than walking through the lobby and hearing, "Did you hear the latest score? Did you hear the latest this? Did you hear the latest that?" I don't want to reflect that. "Show me Your glory."

Can we just lift our hands right now? Hey — you may be seated.

Several years ago, I announced to our church on a Wednesday night I was getting them a new pastor. To some, it was an answer of prayer. To others, it was a gasp. "I am getting you a new pastor. He'll be here Sunday, and his name is Kenneth Carpenter. You're going to [have] a new pastor, because I'm going to make prayer my top priority."

I'm not preaching against studying, and I'm not preaching against being a good orator, but we've got to spend time in prayer. Prayer is good — but He won't deliver— But give me a man that'll pray. God will use that man. He's a new Moses. It's a new Moses. The old Moses — they wanted to stone him. The old Moses — they were full of murmuring. The old Moses — "Would to God we had died in Egypt." But when that man came from a 40-day prayer meeting — when he came from a 40-day prayer meeting, and on the 41st day he was radiant with the glory of God, they began to say, "He's a new Moses. That's a new Moses right there. That's a new man right there." He had to put a veil over his face.

But can I tell you, from the new Moses to the end of Exodus, there's no murmuring. There's no complaining. There's no "would we [had] died in Egypt." You know what there was? Moses said, "I've got the plans to a tabernacle. I've got the plans for God to come down." And guess what happened? The people's hearts got stirred. Their spirits got willing. They began to bring offerings. Here's some of the things they brought: bracelets, earrings, rings, tablets, jewels — all the decorations of Egypt. They began to take off — they began to take off the decorations of Egypt.

Can I just give you a little something here tonight, like God gave me? I don't believe we've got a holiness problem. I believe we've got a prayer problem. I believe if we can get people praying, I believe a lot of things will start falling off. I don't believe we've got a holiness problem. We've got a prayer problem. Would you lift your hands and praise Him?

They stopped murmuring. Maybe — see, they stopped murmuring. They stopped complaining. They stopped wanting to go back to Egypt. Matter of fact, they got so stirred up that the workers came to Moses and said, "You've got to tell them to stop giving, because they've given more than enough."

Is it possible that through prayer, we could go from having to be cheerleaders — "Give me a J. Give me an E. Give me an S. Give me a U. Give me another S. What's that spell?" Look at Leo. Bishop, years ago, I was of the mindset, "This church [is] going to worship God. These miracle folks [are] going to worship God." Singing was going on. I went down the middle aisle. So help me God, I did. God — they passing Tupperware and everything else around. Huh? Going home. My wife got to laughing. I said, "What are you laughing about?" "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no." Now, you know how that is. You husbands know how that is. You know when they say, "Oh, no." "No. Oh, you tell me what you're laughing about. Why are you laughing?" "Oh, I don't want to tell you what." "I know you've got to tell me how you left." She said, "Well, tonight, when you went down the aisle like the wave at the Tennessee football game, you went by — their hands went up. And when you went by, their hands went down."

Can I tell you something? I believe if we get people to pray, it'll be like this: "Hey, y'all have got to be seated. I've got to preach the Word. Hey, go on. Run on back to your pew. Go on, dance on back to your pew. I've got to preach the Word. You want to get the Holy Ghost back there, to get it over here." "Show me Your glory." Let me— You may be seated. Let the musicians — musicians, come, please. "Show me Your glory."

Moses — 40-day prayer. On the 41st day, he comes down glowing with glory. Some time ago — Brother Wilson — God gave me a message about the number 40. The number 40. I studied the number 40 that day. I studied it out, Brother Wilson. And I literally thought God wanted me to speak — preach that Sunday night — on the number 40. So I could take you almost to the spot in our lobby. I came out of my office. I was walking to the prayer room, and the Lord said, "It's not about the 40th day. It's about the 41st day. You may go through 40 days of testing and trial, but there's a 41st day coming."

Let me help us out for a moment. It rained 40 days and 40 nights. Noah's ark was lifted from the earth on the 41st day. Noah looked out of the ark. On the 41st day, the spies returned from searching the land and gave their report. On the 41st day, Goliath defied Israel for 40 days, but David showed up. On the 41st day, Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days, but on the 41st day, He returned in the power of the Spirit.

I want you to stand with me right now. I want our men to get in place tonight. I feel it would be a sin — I feel it would be a sin to hear what we heard Tuesday and Wednesday, and not have something that we could leave GMC with, to track our growth. So in just a moment — just a moment — in each section, I have purchased small little tablets, little notebooks. And I want as many of you that will join me, starting tomorrow, on a 40-day journey. I'm giving you this little notebook so you can track day one, day two, day three, all the way through to day 40. And I just believe that if you'll follow that growth tracker, July the 29th is the 41st day. I believe by then there will be a spiritual difference. There will be a spiritual difference in your life.

How many believes, if it happened to Moses — how many believes [it can] happen [for us]? If you want to follow — if you want to come and get a tablet, a notebook — they're standing. If you all will move a little closer. Move a little closer. If you want to come and get one, and then come on up around the altar. Come on up around the altar right now.

"Show me Your face, Lord. Show me Your glory, God. God, I want more of You, God. God, we can't hear about church planting and not hear about prayer. God, we can't hear about sending people. It's in prayer that You speak to us, God. Show me Your glory, God. Show me Your glory, God. Show me Your glory, God."

Once you get this little tablet, just move up around the platform. Move out of the way so others can get. Come on. As they're coming, would you give us just a couple of lines of that song right now? Jesus. Oh God. Jesus, show me Your glory, God. God, there's a pastor that needs to see God's glory. Oh, there's a pastor here that's weary and worn. There's a pastor here. There's a pastor's wife here. You're ready to resign, but the prayer room is calling your name.

I challenge you tonight. I challenge the Assemblies tonight. I challenge every pastor tonight. Let's go on the journey. If God did it for Moses, God [will] do it for us. Come on, join me. Push in as close as you can. If we run out of books, I'm sorry. I believe we've got about a thousand. Help me. "Show me Your glory." Gloria. God, I can't be satisfied. I can't be satisfied. Show me Your glory. Your face.

I want you to know tonight: God wants to minister to the body right now. You can't be a church planter [and] be weak in your body. You can't be a missionary and be weak in your body. We're going to pray right now. There's some anxieties that need to be cast down right now. Fears that need to be cast down right now. Come on. Cast it down right now. "Fear, get out of my way. Fear, get out of my way. Anxiety, I rebuke you. I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." Come on. Do it. Do it. Do it. Pray it. Pray it. Pray it. I can't pray for you. Come on, anxiety. Get out of my way. "Roll back, Jordan. Red Sea, calm down. You can't stop me." I said, "Roll back, Jordan." I said, "Red Sea—" I said, "Fall down, Jericho. You can't stop me."

Church — Brother James Chesser, our ministry director. I want only the men — only the men praying right now. It's time that the men see the glory. It's time the men see the glory. It's time the men lead. Only the men pray.

"The Bible says to them that are at ease in Zion" — at ease is like a soldier in the middle of a war that takes off his armor. We're not taking off our armor. Pray with me, men, right now, in the name of Jesus. "Give us warring men. Touch these men tonight. The power of the Holy Ghost. Let Your kingdom rise within us. Give us men that can fight with their right hand and their left. Give us loyal men with undivided hearts. Give us men that know the time, know the hour, that are no longer at ease in Zion. Give us boldness. Give us holy boldness, to be men with faces like lions, that will triumph in prayer. We will be men of prayer. We will humble ourselves. We will have undivided hearts. We will pray in boldness. Let a boldness come upon us, to pray in our homes, to pray over our children, in the mighty name of Jesus. Lift up your hands, men. Receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost, of prayer, and not at ease. I prophesy from this moment forward: we will no longer be prayerless men. We will no longer be at [ease in] Zion. We are taking on our armor. We are taking our place in position. We will be men of understanding for the times, that will wage spiritual war, that will rebuild what's broken, with faces of lions, in Jesus' name."

I'm going to obey the Lord here. Pastor DJ [Shoulder] still in the house? I saw him earlier. Pastor, you still here? He's over there. Pastor, come up here. Come here quick, Pastor. When I walked by you on the way to church, God spoke to me, and God said He's got a touch for you tonight, right now. I want you to come up here. I want you to stand right here, Brother. Lay your hand over on Pastor's shoulders right there — shoulders. Hey. God. Come on. I need some men to help me pray. Brother DJ [Shoulder]. DJ: God has His hand on you. Has not forgotten you. Is not finished with you. Your work is not done. Your work is not done. "Sayeth the Lord." Your work is not done. You have come through a 40-day season. I give you a 41st day. Yes. Keep praying, Brother George. See Your [glory] more.

Sister — Sister Terry Scott, come around. Scott — she's our WE president. She's over our women. Only the women pray. Only the women pray. [Sister Scott prays:] Like a woman that travails in childbirth, we will birth a promise tonight in our prayers. For every lost child, for every unborn child, for every denied promise, for every promise that's on its way — God has a promise. For every sickness that might invade a body, it is rebuked, because a promise goes forth tonight over every family, every unsaved child, every marriage, every family. As we prepare a path — as our earth groans for His coming, we groan. We groan in prayer, and with a fervent [spirit], and a boiling over with a drunkenness in our spirit before God, as we don't let go of the horns of the altar. Lord, we give You glory, God. Lord, lift every woman in this building, God. Every girl, every young lady, every woman legacy. Everyone, God — every lady in our cities and in our churches and in our nation, God — let a revival flow from the heart of our homes, full of prayer, full of promise. Lord, let us flow in Your Spirit. Let us speak and administer and nurture in our homes, God, in our schools, in our nation, God. Every military family, God. Every family that goes out, God. Lord, we come before You, Lord, with a promise — birthing a promise, birthing a promise that belongs to the children of God. But we call on You, Lord. We call on You, Lord. We glorify You, Lord. We magnify You. [A passage of her prayer is not recoverable from the caption track.] Look at — amen. Amen. Yes.

Can I tell you — is Brother Phil Cook in the house? Cook. I texted him early. Brother Cook, are you here in the audience? Brother Cook, would you make your way to the platform, please? I'm going to tell you why we're praying. We can talk about — Jesus prayed for laborers to go into the harvest. Did Jesus not pray for laborers? You know what else He prayed for? He prayed for us to be one. It's not God's will — you hear me tonight? It is not the will of God for his church to be divided. It is not God's will for organizations to build fences. God only has one church, and we're not all of it. We're just a part of it.

You're going to hear a testimony of why you need to be one. Brother Cook, tell us about the Sunday, a couple weeks ago — talk to us just like you did, Brother Wilson and I, today in the morning, this past—

[Brother Cook testifies:] Three weeks ago on Sunday, we dismissed service. Brother Nolles preached that day. A divine interruption — after we left our meal, my son and daughter-in-law went one way, and we went the other way, and the evangelist headed to his next meeting. We received the phone call that no one wants to get. Our granddaughter called us hysterically, because they had been hit head-on at 55 miles an hour, by a— as we could. It was one of the worst wrecks that the police had ever seen. People in the oncoming vehicle had perished. And when I arrived there, I thought I had lost my family. My daughter-in-law laid in a ditch, and I thought she was gone. My son was in the front seat, coughing up blood. The paramedics were hurrying, trying to get to them as fast as they could. My granddaughters and grandson were sitting in broken wreckage, on a bloody spot on the ground. My grandson's arm was broken. The bridge of his nose was broken, and he had some breaks in the eye sockets. [Her leg] was twisted under her, and we thought that she had had a broken pelvis. Her jaw was broken so severely that Vanderbilt Hospital said it was one of the worst breaks that they had ever contended with. My grandson was bleeding from both eyes, and my granddaughter was bleeding from both ears. And we took our family there to the Madisonville emergency room, and we filled six or seven rooms. I was going room to room, praying with one another, not knowing at any minute that I was going to have to live to deliver bad news to one of them. They began to ship our families out to different cities. Chris and Kelsey went to Evansville. Our grandchildren — one was life-flighted, the other one was sent by ambulance to Vanderbilt Hospital. We didn't know the outcome. Brother Chris Cook was broken up terribly. His right ankle was broken. His back was broken. His left arm was broken. Our daughter-in-law's back was broken in two places. And we began to pray. We got on the superintendent line, and I put a call out for all of the superintendents to begin to pray. Churches all over the country began to pray. People stopped services and had prayer. When my son arrived at the next hospital, his foot was no longer broken. His arm was no longer broken. God moved on every person, and He spared my family — because of the prayers of the members of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus. I have a family today because we bound together as a body for another. Prayers matter. They made a difference in the life. God is good.

Prayer won. "Father, make them one."

Here's how we're going to end today. Please join me tomorrow for the first day. Write down in your little booklet — be a tracker — first day: I pray. Things may come to your mind — write them down. I'm believing God that by the 41st day, there's going to be the radiance of God on your life.

I want us to pray for one another right now. They're going to sing the song through again. After that's finished, consider yourself dismissed, in Jesus' name. Reach over and pray for somebody right now.