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Jesus Longs To Answer Prayer, Part One | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Turn with me, if you would. I want you to go with me, if you would, in your Bibles to Psalm chapter 78. I'm going to do something maybe a little bit different, sermon wise, just simply because there are some things that I want to not let go of, some light, some revelation that God has brought in times past, and I want to rehearse those things. Several months ago, God spoke to me and he said, I want you to be sure that you tell more of the stories and testimonies of your life and of your husband. And the reason God wants us to continue to hold to and tell our testimony to others is because there are answers in our testimonies for other people's lives. And testimonies are so important because we think, well, I need to hear the Word, but can I tell you this? The Word is a record of testimonies. What about the woman with the issue of blood? It was her testimony of healing that became God's Word. And he included that in the Holy Scriptures. Because we can look back at her testimony. No, all the circumstances may not be the exact same situation that it was in hers, but we can see truths revealed, we can see steps to be taken. And if we'll take the steps that she took, we'll get the results that she got. And so it's so important that we always continue to hold to and repeat testimonies. Now, not only repeating your own testimonies, but what about the testimonies of somebody else? If there's revelation and light in those testimonies, they should be held to, just like the woman with the issue of blood tell her testimony. When we're believing for our own healing, when we're believing for a need for our own lives to be met, we will rehearse her testimony. Because revelation belongs to us no matter whose life it came through. And so today we're going to touch into some testimonies of the past. I want to read to you out of Psalms chapter 78 and verse 1 through 7, it says this. Give ear, O my people, to my law. So we could say to his Word, incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old. The amplified says that a parable is something that important truths are uttered through. So Jesus, of course, taught by parables, because tucked away in that parable was the answers that many, many of the multitudes that they would need to hear. And so he says, here, I will open my mouth in a parable and will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us. Now listen to this. Our fathers told us the word was recorded because somebody told somebody else. And it's so important that we tell it to those coming after us what God has already done for us. Now, verse four says, we will not hide them. What is these, these parables, these testimonies of God? We will not hide them from their children, but showing them to the generation to come, the praiseworthy, the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done. So God is telling us the things he's already done. We need to be talking about that. The things that he's worked in our lives and answered in our lives. We need to be talking about that because somebody else is going to hear their help in that story. Verse 5 says this. He established a testimony and appointed a law in Israel. Now notice he made this a law. It wasn't just a suggestion, it was a law. What did he make a law? He commanded our fathers that they should make known. They should make them known to their children. And the generation to come might know them. And even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. So notice this. This says that God declared it a law that you have to take the praiseworthy deeds that God has already done in your life and pass them on to somebody else. Because in doing that, it says in verse, it says in verse seven, they will be able to set their hope in God. It's gonna affect their faith. It's going to affect what they believe. And so that's what God said to me. He said, I want you to make sure to share more stories and testimonies of your life and your husband's life, but not only that, of anybody's testimony that God has used in a strong way in our lives. I mean, I talk about dad Hagin's stories because he was our spiritual father. Those testimonies, Dr. Lester Sumrall was our pastor. We talk about his testimony. We don't let those things go because the revelation's for everyone. And even though they're not here, the revelation still holds the answers we need. You know, people say, well, you know, those people, you know, they don't live here anymore. Well, the woman with the issue of blood doesn't either. And we still rehearse what she received. All those that we talk about out of the word, Paul and Moses and all these different ones, they aren't here either. But the revelations, the light that came through their lives is still something we need. So I encourage you, go back, repeat over and over again the testimonies of what God has done in your family, in previous generations in your family. Maybe some of you have a great spiritual heritage to where you have grandfathers and grandmothers and mothers and aunts and uncles that God has moved through in strong ways. You need to hold to their testimonies because it's going to anchor you when you're faced with opposition. So I'm going to make sure that I share some of these things with you and keep them in front of you. Find your answer in them. I'm not just reliving a memory. I'm giving you a setting where revelation is held. You know, God said something to me years ago, a couple years ago, he said, what you rehearse, I repeat. So if we will tell it, he will repeat it. I remember maybe a year or so before my husband went home to be with the Lord. God spoke to him, and he said, you need to tell more about the time I paid off your building, because if you'll talk more about it, I'll do more of it. And so even though he went home to be with the Lord, I still talk about that because I want God to do more of that. So it's in keeping with what we read there in Psalm 78. Why does God want these things told to not only those around you, but to children, your children to come and future generations? Because God will repeat it. He will do and move in their lives. Maybe not in the exact same detail, but they'll all still receive their help and the answer they need. I was. And I so often go back to so many of Kenneth E. Hagin's books because, of course, as I said, he was our spiritual father. And even though he's not here, the revelation that he brought is still alive and still working and moving in these materials. And so I constantly go back to them. And there are some of these that have stood out to me in a particular way. And I'm gonna take a segment of time today in this service because I'm to read a good portion of a chapter that was in the book. I believe in visions. So dad Hagin had a period of years that I believe it was eight times Jesus appeared to him over a period of Seven years and talked to him. And dad Hagin recorded those experiences in the book called I believe in Visions. And so he has a chapter that. It's chapter five of that book, and the title of that is I have come to answer your prayer. So I'm going to read this passage and then I'm going to take some time and teach on it because this testimony holds answers for us. Dad Hagin writes, he says, at the close of my message one night in a service, a spirit of prayer descended upon the congregation and we all gathered around the altar to pray. We prayed for quite some time. After a while, I got off my knees and sat on the steps to the platform. I was sitting there with my eyes open, singing in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, when suddenly I saw Jesus standing about three feet in front of me. He said these words, I have come to answer your prayer. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I had been praying for some time for my wife, who had a goiter. It was growing larger and larger until now she was having choking spells. From the time we were first married, I had sensed in my spirit that my wife would die at an early age. Now, see, when he says that and he senses that, don't think, think that God was sentencing her to an early death. His spirit was picking up something of the spirit realm. And it wasn't God who authored that. And so he was perceiving that there was an assignment against her life so that she would die prematurely. So that's what he's sensing. It wasn't that God sentenced her to a premature death. He said, I had sensed in my spirit that my wife would die at an early age. And I thought that perhaps this time was approaching. I prayed all that night. I prayed all one night about this and said to the Lord, I have obeyed you. I have done your will. I have left my church and my family and have been in the evangelistic field for many years. My wife has stayed at home and has been faithful to raise our children. I'm still a young man because at that time I was in my 30s and we had been married for many years. He said, please let me keep my wife. Well, how many of you know when he's saying that? He's not saying that God's going to take her from him. He's saying, help me to release my faith. Teach me what I can do, to cooperate with you so that my wife's life can be spared. So in this. So he knew that he's telling. This is how he had Prayed. So when Jesus showed up, he knew that Jesus was referring to this thing that he'd been talking to him about. So in the vision, the Lord said to me, I have come to answer that prayer. Tell your wife to be operated on, for she will live and not die. Although I hadn't mentioned it to my wife, I had found felt all along that if she were operated on, she would die. She later told me that she had known for several years that she would die when she was operated on for that goiter. But the Lord said to me, she will live and not die according to the natural course of events. Without divine intervention, she would have died. But I have heard your prayers and I have come to answer them. She shall live. Then Jesus said something that absolutely melted me and I've never been able to forget it. He said to me, I did this, son, just because you asked me to. You don't know how I long to do for my children. If they would only ask me and believe me. Many times they beg, they cry, and they pray, but they don't believe. And I cannot answer their prayers unless they have faith. Because I cannot violate my word. But how often I long to help them if they would only let me. By taking me at my word and bringing me their problems, trusting me to undertake for them. Again. He said to me, tell your wife to be operated on. She will live and not die. And with those words he disappeared. Even though the doctors were greatly concerned about my wife's condition, my wife and I had great joy through it all because we knew the outcome in advance. What a great testimony. Are you kidding? To let these things be forgotten. What is taught through this experience that dad Hagin had. Now, I want to take some time and I want to break this down because I want us to get more understanding of some of the things he said. So I'm going to bring out several different points. I'm going to read again this one paragraph especially because this is. I'm going to point to other things. But this one paragraph stood out to me so much that I want us to camp on it for a little bit. Jesus said, I did this, son, just because you asked me to. You don't know how I long to do for my children if they would only ask me and believe me. Many times they beg and cry and pray, but they don't believe. And I cannot answer their prayers unless they have faith. Because I cannot violate my word. But how often I long to help them if only they would let me. By taking me at my word and bringing me their problems and trusting me to undertake for them. So let's go back to a few of these phrases he said. Jesus said, I long to do for my children if they will only ask and believe me. So know this. His longing to do for us shows his depth of interest. He's interested. He wants you to have every single need met. You know, sometimes we will, if I could say this, measure our needs. We'll call some more important than others. But you know what I've seen about God, Those things that we would call least important, he still shows complete interest in. And I want you to know it's not just the big things in life. He's interested in every single facet of your life. I cannot begin to tell, just as I was raising my children when my children wanted something, how many times I saw God move in their behalf because he heard a child's request, you don't have to be an adult paying taxes with a driver's license and have your house falling apart before God takes notice. He longs to do for you over the big things and the little things. Because his longing is not just toward one facet of your life. His longing is toward every facet of your life, big and small. And so this is one of the things we need to meditate on and get real. If it pertains to me, he's interested. And that is so huge for you to understand. If it pertains to you, Jesus is interested in it. Don't you dismiss him from something in your life because you think it's not big enough for his notice. He notices the big, he notices the small. And he wants to answer and help you in every single facet. So I love this phrase when he said to dad Hagin, I long to do for my children. Now notice this. If they would only ask me and believe me. So notice. He doesn't move for us just because we have a need. We have to ask. The Word says that God knows what we have need of even before we ask. But notice this. Just because he knows what we have need of, he won't move until we ask Him. The reason is, is he never intrudes into anyone's life uninvited. He will never move for you without your permission. He knows what you need. But just him knowing what you need does not mean he has your permission to help you. You know every unsaved person in the world. God knows what they need, but he cannot force salvation on them. Of course he makes it available to them. It's available to everyone. But he will not force it, although that's their greatest need. You can have a great need, but if you don't ask, he will not force his answer on you. And this is huge for you to understand because people will sit back and think, well, he knows I have need of it. He'll just give me the answer. Not if we don't ask. What did James say? James made this statement. He said, we have not because we ask. Not. So notice this. Just because you have a need does not give God permission. Now, don't misunderstand me. He longs to fill that need. But he doesn't have your permission unless you ask him. And asking is one way you release your faith in his ability to provide for your need. So Jesus said to dad Hagin, I long to do for my children if they would only ask me and believe. So listen to this. We not only have to have a need, we also have to have faith. Everyone in the world has a need, but not everyone gets their need answered. It's not enough to have a need. You have to have faith. Because Jesus doesn't answer needs. He answers faith. And that is so huge for people to understand. People, their religious mind will sit back and think, well, I have a need. So he'll answer me. He answers. He doesn't answer needs. He answers faith. And this is what he said to dad Hagin, I long to do for my children if they would only ask and believe. Now I want to remind you, what does it say over? In Mark 11:24, Jesus made a statement. Mark 11:24, Therefore I say unto you what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe. Couldn't we say it this way? When you ask, believe. Because in prayer you're asking something many times. So he says, when you pray, believe. So notice Bible praying is always joined with believing. If it's not joined with faith, it's not Bible praying. It's just emotional praying. It might be, you know, just a natural man praying, but Bible praying always has faith joined with it. And this is one thing he reiterated when he appeared to dad Hagin. He said, I long to do for my children, but if they would only ask me and believe. So that's what Mark 11:24 tells us. Now notice dad Hagin had a need for his wife's healing, but if he hadn't released faith, she would have never been healed just because she had that need. And you may have a need, but if we don't release our faith, we still won't receive our need met. Jesus went on and said, To Dad Hagin, he said, I long to do for my children if they would only ask and believe. But notice the next phrase. He said, but many times they beg, they cry, and they pray. So see, now notice, prayer is a spiritual act, but it's not a Bible act if it doesn't have faith joined to it. Bible praying has faith connected to it. Here he's rebuking the kind of behavior that we get his help because he can't give help to people that just beg, cry and pray. Now they're praying, but they're begging. They're not believing, they're crying. What's he talking about? They're in their emotional arena. You know, you can feel really strongly about something. But just because you cried doesn't mean he heard you. You have to have faith. Just because you cried doesn't mean he's going to move for you. He said he told dad Hagin, I cannot violate my word. What's his word? That when you pray, you believe. You have to believe. Why? Because crying is not faith. Now, there have been times, and I've seen this in my husband's healing ministry. I see it in my own ministry when I'm on the road traveling. Sometimes people will come into our services. They haven't been taught the Word. Some have. They know how to come and receive when you're having a healing line. Others don't know. Maybe that's their first service. And you'll see them. They'll come up in the line and they're just. They're crying. But you can tell it's not out of faith. It's not out of expectation. It's out of desperation. They are so afraid. If this doesn't work, I'm at the end of my rope. If I see someone crying like that, I've got to say, stop them from crying, because I can't get the anointing into that. I've got to bring them into a place of faith because it's believing that the anointing can enter into our need. But if they're crying, they're in desperation. You can tell they're overworked emotionally. They're just crying because maybe they've gotten a bad report. I'm not making light of that, but I just know this. Jesus is said, they beg, they cry and they pray. But he says, but I can't help them. See, it's not begging, it's not crying. It's believing. And so we have to make sure that even if, you know, I'm not saying that, everyone who cries is in unbelief. But I'm saying if you're not careful, you can be in the emotional arena, a mental arena, and you can get overworked and you can wail. But I tell you, just big crying will not be the release of faith. And this is what Jesus was correcting and pointing out. Believe that God's power goes to work for you the moment you pray. That's what he means in Mark 11:24. What things soever you desire when you pray. Believe. What are you going to believe? You're going to believe the moment I released my faith, power started moving in my behalf. You don't have to believe that the answer manifests. You have to believe the power began working in your behalf. God's not asking you to believe that something has manifested that hasn't, but he is saying that you have to believe that power is working on your need. And if you'll keep that switch of faith turned on, before long it will manifest. It will show up in the natural. You believe in the spirit realm. You lay hold of it with the hand of faith. You believe that you believe it's completed in the spirit realm. I mean, when you release your faith, you are so certain I'm healed. It's not because my body shows me, but because my faith in God's word assures me you're not. Even though it hasn't manifested, you can still believe that the power is working. Right now, it's working in my behalf. It's working to get the finances I need. It's working on my children that are away from God. It's working in my body, it's working in my home. The moment you pray, the moment you release your faith, you have to be. That power goes into action for you at that moment. Now, you need to understand this. God's power can be felt, but God's power can be unfelt. If you don't feel power, you don't have to wait to feel power before you believe. Power's working. Faith believes that the power of God is working even when you don't feel anything. So this is what Jesus was basically saying, is that people, because when they beg and they cry, they don't feel anything, so nothing happens. Well, you have to believe whether you feel anything or not, that power is working the moment you release your faith. And I don't know about you, but to me that's comforting that I don't have to wait to feel something before I believe that God's power goes to work for me now. Dad Hagin went on and made. Excuse me, Jesus went on and made this statement to dad Hagin in this experience, he said, I this just because you asked me to notice this. We don't have to earn his help. We get his help at the asking. It's available for the asking. We're not earning his help. And this is where a lot of people miss out on receiving their help because they think they have to earn something from God. It's available for the asking, not for the earning. We don't have to beg and cry. And as I said, as James said, we have not because we ask not. And then it goes on. And it says here, he made this statement to dad Hagin. He said, how often I long to help them if they would only let me. Ah, they don't realize begging and crying, getting into the emotional arena is not letting him. He said, I long to help them if they will only let me. Then he tells us how we let him help us if they would let me. By taking me at my word, bringing me their problems. That means not worrying about them. If you're bringing him your problems, you tell to him what is on your heart. You tell him what you're facing and you say, father, I thank you for, for undertaking for me. Jesus, thank you for undertaking me. So I'm going to leave it in your hands. And from here on out, I'm just going to thank you that you're working on it. That's called letting him. You don't take it back if you start worrying you're taking that back from his hands. So we let him by taking him at his word. You know, dad Hagin used to make this statement. He said when something would. A big problem would come up and people would say to him, what are we going to do about this? What are we going to do about this? He said, we're just going to act like the word is true. What's he mean? We're going to take God at His word. We're going to believe that whatever God says is, is. We're going to take him at his word. So let's let Jesus help. He wants, and he longs to help you no matter what your situation is, but he needs your cooperation. He cannot walk in our behalf without our faith. And our faith is simply us giving him permission to work. I don't know about you, but this thrills me. He longs to help me. Amen. Receive his help by releasing your faith in that. Amen. Hallelujah. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at defrainministries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner, or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of dufresne Ministries.