Por Qué Necesitas Oraciones Fervientes | Crossroads en Español

¿Les digo que emoción me da lo que Dios hace en Uptown? De verdad, pensar que hace medio año no estaba ni en planes, y ahora... Bueno, lo sabrán pronto, estaba. Estaba en el radar divino. Estaba en el radar divino. Es increíble, de verdad. Les digo, hace mucho que no me emocionaba tanto predicar. Siento que Dios está obrando algo dentro de mí, y solo deseo que ustedes se involucren. Quiero que se involucren. Pienso que Dios nos tiene algo bueno preparado para hoy. Este es un mensaje inspirado. Está inspirado por Dios, primordialmente. Pero también está inspirado por gente como Joey Keller y sus 21 acompañantes. Quizás no estén al tanto, pero este es un video de hace un año con 21 personas orando en el sótano de Crossroads Uptown. Porque oyeron que este era un sitio donde alumnos podían venir y conectar con Jesús en un idioma que entendieran. Hace un año, antes de que el liderazgo lo supiera, rezaban para que Dios trajera ese lugar de vuelta, y Dios lo ha traído de vuelta. 700 personas en asistencia. Porque oraron con fervor. Hablaré de eso hoy. ¿Qué implica orar con ferocidad? Por lo tanto, estoy inspirado por Joey Keller y sus 21 compañeros. También me inspira lo que Dios hace en estas noches de oración sanadora. Se los digo. Entonces, Tim Seneff envió un mensaje de texto a todo el equipo, indicando que en Mason este lunes, tuvieron 1,047 personas llenando el lugar para orar.

Para orar. Para orar. Solo como perspectiva, eso es el 40% de la asistencia de fin de semana de Mason en tres servicios. Dios está haciendo algo, y hubo muchísimas sanaciones por todos lados. Les daré dos historias. Quiero que se metan en esto. Quiero que se inspiren por lo que Dios hace. Un chico llamado Ben, dijo que justo anoche me hice un tirón, y posiblemente me desbloqueé el hombro jugando al béisbol. Estaba escuchando a Paul McConaughey, quien estará en Oakley y otros sitios durante las próximas semanas. Y hacia el final de la predicación, mi hombro sintió un frío, no como una bolsa de hielo, como la mano de Dios. Inmediatamente sentí que mi hombro se reubicaba a donde debía estar. Ahora puedo mover todo mi brazo libremente otra vez. Se los digo, Dios se está moviendo. Dios se está haciendo algo. Joan escribió esto. Dijo, esto no suena mucho, pero mientras tocaba la música de adoración, me puse derecha. Tengo artritis reumatoide, y no me había puesto derecha en todo el día. No estaba intentándolo. De repente pude ponerme recta.

El dolor de cuello bajó de un 5 a un 3. Así que estoy agradecida. Solo tengo que decirles, estamos viendo, y me encanta su historia. Les digo porque me encanta, me encanta porque ella no dice, y mi dolor de cuello se fue, y gané la lotería. No, ¿saben qué? Pasó de un 5 a un 3. ¿Saben lo que uno hace cuando el dolor de cuello baja de un 5 a un 3? Uno insiste y ora más. Uno insiste. Uno se vuelve feroz. Y quiero hablarles de eso hoy, porque estamos orando oraciones locas, y vemos a Dios contestar. Voy a pedirles que hagan algo ahora. Les voy a pedir que den un paso. De fe ahora. Quiero que saquen su móvil. Y quiero que abran su aplicación de notas. Lo que sea para ustedes, su aplicación de notas. Y les voy a pedir que hagan algo ahora mismo. Y déjenme añadir esto. Hemos estado en esta serie. Estamos hablando de la oración, y lo que me fascina de Crossroads es que estoy hablando con personas aquí que oran constantemente,

y estoy hablando con personas aquí que creen en Jesús, Dios y la Biblia. Y también hablo con gente aquí que quizás esté en un camino, y tal vez todavía no. O quizás tengan dudas sobre eso. Y oigan, quiero que sepan que están en el lugar correcto, sin importar donde estén en ese rango. Pero esto es lo que quiero que hagan en esa aplicación de notas. Quiero que escriban un par de frases sobre qué quieren que Dios haga en su vida ahora. Mismo, si Dios estuviera frente de ti, y fueran a orar, ¿qué orarían? Tal vez no creen en Dios. Piénsenlo así. Un ejercicio mental para ustedes. Si creyeran en un Dios, o si existiera un Dios, ¿qué le estarían pidiendo en este momento? ¿Sobre qué orarían ahora mismo? Quiero que plasmen eso en su aplicación de notas. Quiero que escriban esa frase. Quiero que escriban esa frase porque he estado orando por ustedes. He estado orando por ustedes. He estado orando por este fin de semana. Y esta es mi oración. Mi oración es que se pongan en posición

para tener una vida de oración feroz de modo que defina su 2026. Y sé que he estado usando la palabra feroz. Voy a explicar qué quiero decir con esa palabra, pero esto es lo que quiero decir. Quiero que sientan la presencia y el poder innegables de Dios en su vida. Sin preguntas. Quiero que sean transformados. No debido a mi mensaje, sino porque se van de aquí y adoptan la práctica de la oración ferviente porque estoy entusiasmado. Porque tengo una carga. Tengo una carga por ustedes. Tengo una carga por mí. Tengo una carga por nosotros. Les digo, gente, que necesitamos cambiar nuestra perspectiva sobre la oración. Tenemos que cambiar nuestra perspectiva sobre cómo concebimos la oración. So, muchos de nosotros o no oramos en absoluto, o solo oramos como última opción. Vemos la oración como algo preferencial cuando deberíamos verla como algo de supervivencia. ¿Oyen mi corazón en eso? Tenemos que darnos cuenta de que el mundo en el que vivimos

es un campo de batalla espiritual. It's a field of spiritual battle. In fact, thinking that you can go through life without relying on prayer is like trying to have a picnic on the beach in Normandy on a day-to-day basis. It's not going to work. It's not going to work, and I want you to know that every day your life matters, and every day your life is under pressure. And the greatest power that God has granted us in this world is prayer. Because prayer makes us depend on Him. And I want you to know today that there is a better way. There is a better way to pray. There is a better way to see God acting with prayer. And it starts with our mentality, going from prayer as a preference to prayer as fierce. So I don't give a title to all my messages, but I have a title for this one. It's practicing fierce prayer. Well, I've used that word a lot. What do I mean? What do you mean by fierce prayer? This is what I mean. I think fierce prayer is praying with fierce clarity, with fierce humility, and with fierce faith. And we will see the most improbable person in the history of Jesus to understand fierce prayer. Because I know that some of us don't pray fiercely because we don't know what it means. And we don't know how to do it. And I want to help you with that today. But some of us don't pray fiercely because we believe we are the exception. We don't believe we need it. And I'm praying today for God to change your mind.

For Him to show you that you are wrong. For you to get out of here ready to pray fiercely. Do you know what fierce means? Fierce means wild. Bold and wild. And I searched on Google and asked, What is the fiercest animal on the planet? What do you think? The fiercest animal on the planet. What comes to mind? Caiman, rooster, right? Lions, tigers and bears, right? We think of those animals. What would happen if I told you that you are four or six hours away, wherever you hear this, at least if you are in the tri-state area, you are only four or six hours away from the fiercest animal on the planet? Do you know what it is? It's a wolverine. It's a wolverine. Yes, it's a wolverine. Without a doubt. It's definitely a wolverine. The wolverine is the fiercest animal. It only weighs between 20 and 55 pounds. But this animal hits above its weight all the time. Wolverines are not afraid. They are aggressive. They are determined. You don't want to get in between a wolverine and its food.

And you don't want to get in between a wolverine and what it is forced to protect. I tell you, there are stories of wolverines taking fish from a bear's hands. Now, in that case, the wolverine died, but I love that it tried. I love it. I love it. But literally, there are these stories of wolverines that have knocked down wolves. There are wolverines that have knocked down bison. Think about the size of a bison compared to a wolverine. This is a fierce animal. A wolverine can knock down a bison. It turns out that they couldn't beat a buckeye this year, but they could knock down a bison. They could knock down a bison. What a way to divide the crowd, Chuck. What a way to get half the people to be on my side and the other half not. I understand. I understand. I'm a fan of the buckeyes. That's the deal. This is the deal. What would happen if you approached your life of prayer like a wolverine approaches his life? ¿Qué pasaría si el adversario de tu alma tuviera que tener claro y saber que no quieres interponerte entre Chuck y lo que él anhela fervientemente en Dios? ¿Y no quieres interponerte entre Chuck y lo que está llamado a proteger? ¿Qué pasaría si eso fuera cierto para ti? ¿Qué pasaría si abordáramos nuestra vida de oración ferozmente? Vamos a ver dos historias de vuelta atrás en la vida de Jesús para aparecer en la biografía de su vida. Capturando el libro de Mateo, porque de diferentes maneras nos enseñan todo esto de la oración feroz. La primera historia es Mateo 8, 1 al 3.

¿Dónde encontramos estas palabras? Dice así. Cuando descendió Jesús del monte, le seguía mucha gente. Y he aquí vino un leproso y se postró ante él diciendo, Señor, si quieres, puedes limpiarme. Jesús extendió la mano y le tocó diciendo, Quiero, sé limpio. Y al instante su lepra fue limpiada. Ahora bien. Quiero decirles, hay algo que cambia la vida en esas palabras. Si lo captas hoy, cambiará tu vida de oración. Cambiará cómo ves a Dios. Y no les diré que es hasta el final. Les haremos esperar por esa. Pero esto es lo que quiero que sepan. Hoy me centraré en tres aspectos. ¿Qué implica orar con ferocidad? ¿Por qué necesitamos una vida de oración feroz? ¿Cómo practicamos una vida de oración feroz? ¿Y por qué podemos tener fe en que una vida de oración feroz puede cambiarlo todo? Primero, hablemos de por qué necesitamos una vida de oración feroz. La necesitamos porque tenemos un adversario feroz. No sé si creen eso o no, pero Jesús no se anda con rodeos. Es directo sobre la naturaleza de nuestro enemigo. Nuestro enemigo espiritual. Satanás, el diablo, como quieran llamarlo. Ese es un ser real. Y ese ser está literal y metafóricamente empeñado en destruirlos a ustedes. Y destruirme a mí. Esto es lo que Jesús dice de él en Juan 8, 44. Dice que fue un asesino desde el principio.

Y no se mantiene en la verdad porque no hay verdad en él. Listen to this. When he lies, he speaks from his own character. He's a liar and the father of lies. I want to make this connection so you don't miss this. What's Jesus' name? A murderer. How does he murder them? With lies. We think, yes, I know Satan is a liar, and when he lies, he's just trying to make me have a bad day. No, he's trying to destroy them through lies. Let me tell you how powerful this is and why it's ferocious against this. You and I have 500 negative ideas every day. Every day. My friend who introduced me to this is right there. I was like, man, Michael, you said that. I'm like, I'm going to share this with the whole world. 500 ideas. You don't have to think about them. Negative thoughts every day. And they last about 14 seconds depending on how long they last in your mind. What that means, friends, if you add that up, you have two hours a day of negative thoughts. You have a complete movie. A completely new movie every day of negative thoughts. You and I have an adversary who wants to destroy us through lies. And it doesn't matter your identity, whether you're a believer or not in God. Even so, you have to face those two hours of falsehood every day. Maybe that's why the New Testament says,

Be sober and watchful. The adversary, the devil, hunts like a roaring and fierce lion, looking for someone to devour. And maybe that's why Jesus says, The thief only comes to steal and destroy. Now, maybe you ask yourself an obvious question. If that's true, why doesn't God just make the adversary disappear? Or why is the world like this? And here, there's a surprising answer that maybe you didn't expect to hear in church, but I'll give it to you. This answer has been shocking me a lot lately. God is not interested in giving you a life where He becomes unnecessary. I want you to assimilate it. God is not interested in giving you a life where He becomes unnecessary. And so, we think, Well, at some point, I won't have to deal with evil anymore. Obviously, God has bigger plans. Do you know what He wants? Instead of the total defeat of evil that will come one day, He wants your total dependence on Him today. Is there something for us to totally depend on Him today when we pray with ferocity? How do we develop a life of ferocious prayer? When we see a story, it comes right after the one of the leper. I think it's a powerful example of praying ferociously. In that same chapter of Matthew, verse 5 says, When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him. And just to give you context, a centurion was a Roman army officer who commanded between 80 and 100 men.

This was the power structure that was oppressing Israel. So this man has the ability, literally, to kill whoever he wants at any time. He literally has the ability to make anyone in the community do whatever he wants them to do. So this is a man who has a level of power. But it says that when he entered, the centurion approached him, begging him. Not forcing Jesus, but asking him with fervor, Lord, my servant lies paralyzed at home, suffering a lot. And he said, I will go and heal him. Jesus said, I will heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy that you enter under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. Because I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, go. And he goes. And to another, come. And he comes. And to my servant, do this. And he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. And he said to those who followed him, I truly tell you that in all of Israel, I have not found a faith like this. And then in verse 13. And to the centurion, Jesus said, Go, let it be done with you as you have believed.

And the servant was healed at that precise moment. And I want to tell you that this centurion models the ferocious prayer. What did I say was the ferocious prayer? Ferocious clarity? Fervent humility and fervent faith? Let's talk about the fervent clarity that he possessed. He says that when he entered Capernaum, he approached Jesus, begging him. This centurion knew that despite all the power that Caesar had and all the power that he had, that he had to go to a different source to obtain the power he needed. And I think we have to understand that there are things in our life that are out of our reach. There are things in your life that, I'm sorry, I don't care if you get all the education you can, it's not going to help you with that. I don't care if you have all the discipline you can, it's not going to help you with that. There are some things in my life that, frankly, if Jesus doesn't do something, nothing is going to happen. And that's why he calls us to pray fervently around those things. This man had clarity. He had clarity about this. I want that kind of spiritual clarity.

Permit me to tell you, I speak of praying fervently, not because it's fashionable, not because it sounds very Christian. I'm speaking of my own life of fervent prayer because, friends, I'm desperate for Jesus. I don't know if you know this or not, I need Jesus every moment of my life. No hay nada que pueda hacer sin él. No hay nada que vaya a conseguir sin él. No hay nada que pueda superar sin él. Estoy desesperado porque sé cuán quebrantado estoy. Sé cuán necesitado estoy. Sé cuán débil soy. Y por eso quiero una vida de oración feroz, porque tengo muy claro que necesito ayuda. Necesito ayuda más allá de mí mismo. El centurión comprendió eso. Asumió un riesgo personal y social tremendo al acercarse a Jesús de esta forma. ¿Te das cuenta de que si otro centurión lo hubiera visto llamar a Jesús Señor, en un contexto donde todo romano sabía que solo César era Señor, o eso creían, él habría sido ejecutado? Pero a él no le importó. ¿Cómo crees que se sintieron ciertos israelitas al ver al opresor venir a pedir ayuda a su Salvador? Pero a él no le importó. Tenía claridad. Y solo me pregunto, ¿tienes tú esa clase de claridad? ¿Tienes claro que solo hay un hombre bajo el cielo por el cual puedes ser salvado? Me pregunto si tienes la claridad de que solo un hombre murió por ti y por mí. Me pregunto si tienes la claridad de que solo hay una fuente de poder para lo que tú y yo necesitamos. Me pregunto si estamos tan claros. ¿Hay momentos en que estamos muy claros? Definitivamente estamos tan claros a veces. Te daré un ejemplo.

Si tú y yo fuéramos a comer, si nuestro mesero nos diera un servicio espantoso, me refiero a un servicio terrible, comida fría, mala educación, lo que se te ocurra, tú y yo no diríamos en nuestro enojo, ¿sabes qué? Tráiganme al ayudante de mesero. Tráigan al que está lavando los platos. Necesito hablar con él. No haríamos eso. No diríamos, oye, ve a buscar a esa mesera de medio tiempo que ya se va de su turno. Necesito hablar con ella. No. ¿Qué diríamos tú y yo si tuviéramos ese tipo de experiencia? Quiero hablar con el gerente y estoy aquí para decirte que Jesús es el gerente. Y si va a cualquier otro lugar por las cosas que necesita, está hablando a un camarero o se está apoyando en una persona a tiempo parcial. Jesús es el gerente. Y tenemos que tener suficiente ferocidad y oración para decir, quiero hablar con el gerente. Quiero hablar con el gerente de mi matrimonio. Quiero hablar con el gerente de mi salud. Quiero hablar con el gerente de mi vida. Eso es lo que necesitamos poseer. Esa clase de claridad tan fiera. Este centurión poseía esa clase de claridad feroz del gerente. Lo segundo es que tenía una humildad feroz. Me encanta lo que dice. Dice, no soy digno de que usted entre bajo mi techo. No sé qué entendía del reino espiritual. No sé qué entendía de Jesús. Pero claramente tenía algún entendimiento. No era un hombre común. Así que dijo, ni siquiera soy digno de que usted venga a mi casa.

Y no creo que lo dijera solo por la cultura de que un judío no entraría. Creo que entendía algo más profundo. Y me asombra. ¿Sabe qué? Pudo haber venido confiando en sus capacidades. Y creo que a veces hacemos eso. Confiamos en nuestra capacidad. Creo que algunos de nosotros, en realidad, intentamos hacer un alarde sutil al orar. Bueno, Jesús, sabes, hombre, estoy dando el diezmo y estoy dando a la iglesia. Como me debes, me debes, Jesús. No, no, no. Ni siquiera somos dignos de que Él venga bajo nuestro techo. No hay nada que puedas hacer para ganarte a Dios o ponerlo en deuda. No puedes hacerlo. No puedes hacerlo. Y este hombre tenía una humildad feroz. Aquí está lo otro con lo que creo que tuvo que lidiar y con lo que tenemos que lidiar. Tenemos que ser purgados de nuestro deseo de controlar el resultado. He estado lidiando con esto en mi vida de oración. Es como, tengo que rendirme. Tengo algunas ideas. Dios, si quieres, te las comparto. Puedo dibujar como creo que esto debería ir. Pero parte de lo que aprendo en la oración es que debo entregar los resultados y estar más interesado en decir, Dios, ¿qué sería lo mejor? Si estoy más cerca de ti después de esto, eso sería mejor que cualquier resultado por el que oro. Y eso no es una excusa. Es humildad decir, Dios, solo te necesito. Sabes, había una obra antigua y pensaba en ella. Se llama, Tus brazos son muy cortos para pelear con Dios.

Quizás necesites recordar hoy que tus brazos son muy cortos para pelear con Dios. Dios no nos debe nada. Venimos con humildad porque somos limitados. Pero afortunadamente, Dios es ilimitado. Y creo que este centurión lo sabía porque tenía una fe muy fiera. Él no solo dice, no soy digno de que vengas a mi casa. Pero escucha lo que dice. Él dice, no soy digno de que vengas bajo mi techo. Solo di la palabra. Ni siquiera tienes que venir a mi casa para sanar a mi siervo. ¿Qué entendió este hombre? Este hombre entendió algo que necesitamos comprender. Dijo, escucha, soy un hombre bajo autoridad. Con solo decirme, le digo a uno, ve. Y a otro, ven. Y él viene. Y a mi siervo, haz esto y lo hace. Ni siquiera necesitas venir a mi casa. Entendió que Jesús podía sanar a distancia. Y algunos de nosotros necesitamos darnos cuenta de que Jesús puede sanar a distancia. No hay distancia en la oración. Algunos piensan que deben estar en el lugar físico correcto. A veces, sí. Yes, you have to go to a physical place, but can I tell you that God is not limited by geography? He is not limited by time. He is not limited by space. And somehow this man had a fierce faith. And then something happens that I want to debunk because I don't want us to miss this. When this man speaks of this type of faith, I understand the authority. Jesus, you have authority. You can heal at a distance. He says that Jesus was amazed at him.

And this is what I want you to know about that word. That word only appears again in the whole New Testament. There are other words for astonishment. There are other words even for wonder. But this particular word, amazed, only appears again. Here is the other time it appears. When Jesus was in his hometown, the Bible says, because they looked at him like, aren't you the son of Joseph and Mary? Like, we know you. Like, what do you mean? They say, are you the Messiah? And it says that Jesus was amazed at his unbelief. The only other time that word is used is when Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith of the people who were closer to him, who thought they knew who he was, but misunderstood him. But in this situation, a man who is clearly a stranger, a man who is not a Jew, is not one of his disciples, and yet, this is the only time that Jesus is amazed at the faith of another person. He says, in truth, in all of Israel, I have not seen a faith like this. How would it look this year if Jesus was amazed at your faith? ¿Qué pasaría si se maravillara de tu fe? ¿Si se maravillara de la ferocidad de tuya y mi oración? Porque te diré esto. La práctica de la oración. Construye fe y conexión con Dios. Así que seré muy práctico. Quiero mostrarte las formas en que estoy practicando. Para apoyarme en la oración fiera. No he llegado allí. No estoy allí.

Esta palabra me está desafiando. Esto no es algo que diga, lo he descubierto. Déjenme decirles cómo descubrirlo. No, estoy en el viaje con ustedes. Pero aquí hay un par de cosas que estoy haciendo. Una de las cosas que hago, todos los días, solía hacer esto con mis colegas, así que lo estoy haciendo de nuevo. Todos los días comienzo mi día. Escribiendo un diario de una oración a Dios es lo primero que hago. Y la razón por la que lo escribo es porque mi objetivo es la conexión. Y gran parte de mi viaje de fe puede estar en mi cabeza. Cuando leo la Biblia, a veces me lleva a un camino intelectual. Y eso está bien. Me encanta lo intelectual y he aprendido mucho, pero necesito una conexión directa. Aquí va un ejemplo. Aquí hay un ejemplo de hace solo un par de semanas de mi diario matutino. Algo de flujo libre. Esto es lo que dice, buenos días, padre. No dormí bien. Es lo primero que digo últimamente. Chiu. No sé si es por la edad o qué, pero no dormí bien. ¿Y sabe por qué? Error del usuario. Así que estoy lento y cansado esta mañana. La oración y el ejercicio de hoy quizás no sean a tope. Pero estoy haciendo, disculpe, debo leer de aquí, pero estoy haciendo la rutina por consistencia y para tener confianza al hacer cosas difíciles.

Dios, ¿qué haces hoy? ¿Y cómo puedo unirme? Y eso es solo lo informal y de flujo libre. A veces es como, oye, gracias Dios, anoche estuvo genial. A veces la apertura es como, Dios, ayer fue difícil. Necesito ayuda. Sea lo que sea, solo anhelo conexión. Solo quiero eliminar la formalidad de la oración para empezar y ser relacional. ¿Saben lo que dice Dios? Dios dice, yo soy tu padre. Quiero que interactúes conmigo como un hijo interactúa con su padre. Y trato de hacer eso. Otra cosa que hago es que tengo una oración diaria que oro cada día. Y oro esto porque quiero estar atento a las cosas que son más importantes en mi vida. Y estoy presentando las mismas oraciones ante Dios porque quiero orar con ferocidad. Quiero ser consistente en esto. Voy a leer un par de estrofas de esta oración. Me toma como seis minutos orar, pero aquí está la primera. Empieza así, Padre, Jesús, Espíritu Santo, mi fuente y mi fuerza. Gracias por el aliento y el propósito en mis pasos. Antes de construir o tratar con alguien hoy, déjame descansar en ser tuyo primero. Restaura mi unión contigo. Jesús oró en Juan 17.

Recuérdame que mi identidad no se gana, sino que se recibe. Soy tu hijo amado. Ayúdame hoy a despertar, escoger la vida y ser libre. Tu amor es mi base, tu gracia es mi cobertura. Confío en que cuidarás de la gente que amo, de la gente a la que guío, y de las cosas de las que soy responsable. Así que empiezo en lugar de decir, necesito conectar. Necesito recordar mi identidad. Y necesito rendir muchas cosas que sabes, tiendo a ferrarme pensando que con mi poder puedo arreglarlo y solo pedirle a Dios que se muestre. Esa es mi primera estrofa. Y luego cambio a eso. Y oro esta oración sobre ser esposo. Digo, como esposo. Enséñame a amar y a valorar a María como Cristo ama y atesora a la iglesia. Con ternura, con valentía, con alegría y visión. Ayúdame a escuchar más de lo que hablo. A servir más de lo que busco, ser servido. A procesar el dolor y la ofensa contigo. Y a atesorar el regalo sagrado de nuestra vida, juntos. Y quiero decirles con total transparencia, le dije, oye amor, voy a leer esto. Y solo quiero que sepas que esto es lo que oro a diario. Y entonces se lo leo. Y ella dijo, bueno, solo sigue orando, solo. That's what she said.

So I just want you to know that I didn't make it. Obviously I didn't make it, right? And that's the first thing your wife says when you read that prayer. It's like, she's just praying. I'm going to pray that with you. I'm going to pray. Let me add some of my fuel to that prayer. I thought, you know what? That's very funny. I'm going to share it with everyone because it's honest. That really happened, but it's a practice. You know what? And like I said, ferocity doesn't mean that I already made it. Ferocity means that I'm going to pray for her again tomorrow. I'm going to pray for her again tomorrow. I want to be that type of husband. I want to be the husband that she needs. So I'm praying that way. Here's another practice that I have. I'm trying this this year. It's something I took from another preacher. I love it. I'm trying to make my vice out of prayer this year. What is a vice? A vice is the first thing we go to, right? For relief. When we celebrate. And we all have our vices. I have mine. And I'm trying to make my vice out of prayer. How does that look to me? Let me give you some very practical things about how it looks. There are many occasions when I have to pray when I'm in meetings or going from one place to another. And you know, like many of you,

it's very natural for me to do this, right? I'm checking my email. I'm watching and getting up to date with text messages or whatever. And I'm trying to be intentional about saying, You know what? I'm just going to pray. I'm just going to pray. And I'm discovering that there's a lot of time for that. It's incredible when you realize how much time you spend waiting for something. In the oil change. In the doctor's office. Wherever. And let me tell you something. When you're the only one in the waiting room who isn't doing this, you feel weird. Because everyone is on their screens. Everyone is on their phones. So I'm trying to say, Very good, head up, head up, head up, check. Now, this is a great opportunity to pray. Literally, yesterday I went to get blood drawn. And I say, okay, I'm going to pray. I'm not going to look at my phone while I'm here. I'm just going to pray. And it was an opportunity because I want to make this my practice. And I want you to know this. It's a practice. I'm not perfect. I'm not a prayer professional. I'm a prayer practitioner. There are no doctorates in prayer. But I'm committed to being a practitioner.

Another way I do it is by praying in the Crossroads app. And I pray for many of you while you put requests in there. And I put requests in there. And you pray. And I want to tell you, I did the calculations on this. I hope this cheers you up. I did the numbers because I misspell the prayers. I have 49 active prayers. But I calculated how many are still active. And I can tell you that by reviewing those 49 prayers that I did in the app, I have a 70% affirmative response from God. Frankly, God answered the prayer affirmatively. And I assure you that it's not because I'm a saint. It's because God loves me. It's because God is good. And that's why I've been praying. Let me give you concrete examples. One thing that many of us have been praying for is Brian and Libby. Our main pastor and his wife. I don't know if you're aware. Libby had her last radiation this week. God is good. God is good. He does good things. We celebrate them together. Another case. I prayed and some contacted me. My 89-year-old mother had the flu and pneumonia. It's not good for the 89-year-olds.

And I prayed for their healing. I was in Philadelphia last weekend. Mom is okay. She's recovering. She's coming home. And I tell you, God is good. God answered that prayer. And I'm very grateful for many of you who prayed with me. That's why here's another example. Many of us have been asking for a revival. I've asked God to act. Specifically, I've prayed. God, do something in the next generation. I don't know if you know. Do you know that there are groups of high school students who, not because they're Crossroads, but because they're on fire for Jesus, have started these clubs. And they're sharing the good news of Jesus. And the kids are coming to Jesus. And the kids are being baptized. And the kids are being set free. God is answering those prayers. And I just tell you, we can trust in Him. It's not based on me or what I do. I just want to practice it. I want to be fierce in prayer. And let me tell you, if it seems like this is a series where we're saying the same thing over and over again, it's because we're saying the same thing over and over again.

Friends, pray. Let's pray and close. That's all. Pray. Pray. Because God hears when you pray. And here's the point. Here's why I know that fierce prayer works. Because we have a fierce Savior. We have a fierce Savior. I want to go back. I told you that there's something in that story of the leper, which is very powerful if you catch it. I want to read it again. It's very moving. It's my favorite healing story in the Bible. In Matthew 8, 1 to 3, it says, As he descended from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And a leper approached him and prostrated, saying, Lord, if you will, you can cleanse me. Then Jesus extended his hand and touched him, saying, I want to be cleansed. And his leprosy was healed immediately. This is the reason why this story is so powerful to me. Leprosy at that time was social isolation. It meant that this man, maybe for years, had to live apart from any family he had. He could have been a husband, he could have been a brother, he could have been a father. But he had to physically separate himself from every person he loved. Not only that, but Hansen's disease,

which is what is called leprosy, The leprosy, Hansen's disease, takes away the ability to feel. was a disease that was a part of him. And it was a disease that was a part of him. You can literally put your hand on a stove and not feel it. And it was a disease that was a part of him. So this is a man who not only had no relational connection, And it was a disease that was a part of him. but he didn't have a physical connection for perhaps years. And this is what I love. How does Jesus heal this man? This is what it says. Jesus extended his hand and touched him. Jesus didn't have to touch him to heal him. He touched him because he is a tenacious lover. He touched him because he ferociously wants to make a connection with you and me. I think there are people here who feel like lepers. They feel as if they were unknown, not seen, not loved. And I want you to know that if they feel that way, there is a ferocious Savior who comes for you and is saying, I want you to be cleansed. You can be cleansed and healed of your secrecy. You can be cleansed and healed of your shame. You can be cleansed and healed of your guilt. He comes to you and touches you because he loves you. He is ferocious. He is tenacious, I would say. He is a tenacious lover for the unloved. He is a tenacious friend for the lonely. He is a ferocious healer for the wounded. He is a ferocious defender of the oppressed or abused.

He is a ferocious psychologist for those who struggle with mental illness. He is a tenacious philanthropist for the poor and needy in the spiritual, physical, and relational. He is a tenacious doctor for the sick. He is a tenacious redeemer for the broken. All the overwhelming, endless, and reckless love of God. There is no shadow that does not illuminate. There is no tower that does not climb. Coming for you. There is no wall that does not topple. There is no lie that does not destroy. Coming for you. All the overwhelming, endless, and reckless love of our ferocious Savior. He is like Wolverine in his love for you. He is like Wolverine in his desire to heal you, to see you, to find you. And I ask myself, how much do you desire him? Because he desires you a lot. He was willing to descend from the perfection of heaven and offer his life as a physical sacrifice so that there would not be a separation between you and him. And you and his Father. He loves you a lot. He loves you a lot. So I have a challenge for you. I told you before to download his application of notes. And write a prayer. Download again his application of notes. I want you to look at that prayer again. I'm going to guess some things. That some of you, when writing that prayer, were covered. And maybe you wrote something like, oh, this is what I really want. Or, oh God, well, maybe it was your will.

Maybe it's your will, right? Some of us did not ask for what we needed. We put something that sounded maybe light and easy. Maybe something that we thought God could do instead of really challenging him with what we really want. I want you to make that prayer more ferocious right now. I want you to edit. I want you to edit your thoughts. I want you to edit your limitations. I want you to edit your fears. I want you to edit the things that would make you go back. To ask this ferocious Savior what you want. I want you to rewrite that. I want you to rewrite that prayer now. And I want to tell you what my ferocious prayer is. Because it has to do with my family. It has to do with how I pray. It has to do with what I ask of God. There is a reason why this is the background. This is not my house. But it is symbolic of my house. And what do you see in that house? You see light. My prayer, my ferocious prayer. I have been praying this and I will continue to pray this. God, we ask for awakening. We ask for revival. I want it to begin in my house. I am asking God to revive my marriage. To take Maria and me to a place that we have not been able to access. But I know that God can take us there.

I not only ask that my children be Christians. I want my children to be burning for Jesus. I want my children to make a difference in this world. I am asking God to use our family to illuminate other homes in our neighborhood. To illuminate other homes in the city. And I know that it begins with me kneeling and saying, Jesus, this morning I want you to move in my home. I want you to move in my heart. I am praying for that with ferocity. I only ask if you prayed every day for the rest of 2026. For what you have in notes, what could happen? If that was the first thing you read when you woke up? Or if it was the last thing you read at night? Or if you read it at every hour of lunch? Whatever it is, I ask, what would happen? This is practice, not perfection. This is practice. I want to give you the opportunity to practice. We talk about these nights of prayer for health. Some of you were afraid to write that you want health. You know that is what you want. But you were afraid to write it because you are afraid to disappoint yourself. Because I love you. And because Jesus loves you. I ask you to pray ferociously for what you want. And one way to do it is by attending these nights of prayer for health. Jesus is healing people. I cannot guarantee that it will happen to you, but I can guarantee that if not, it will happen to you. If you take advantage of this opportunity, you could lose what He has for you.

There are seven more opportunities to participate in this. And let me say this. Some of you are looking at the date and say, I can't go to my home. I have other plans. Manage. No, I'm serious. Do you want something different? If you want something different, lead. You have seven opportunities for God to move. There is one in line. Come, be fierce. God will do something. Listen, let me be honest. You need to listen to this. There are things that you will not receive from God unless you pray. And there are some things that you will not obtain from God unless you pray persistently. How would it look? Be fierce about this prayer. Not by your strength, nor by mine. But in the power of God, who is so fierce for you. Whatever you want, you can not want more than God wants for you. Whatever you want, He wants to give you more than you want to ask for. Man, if you only came ferociously and said, God, I only come to you again. I come to you like that centurion. I think you have power. I think you are the power I need. I think God wants to unleash things in heaven. Simply because you choose to pray ferociously for it. While I was thinking about this weekend, I said, there is a song that I want us all to finish with.

So I want to invite you to stand up. Wherever you are, if you are at home, I want to invite you to stand up if you can. And I want you to be part of this moment. Because what I have remembered when thinking about the fierce prayer, is that it is not for my power, but for the power of the name of Jesus. Do you know that demons tremble before the name of Jesus? Do you know that the disease has to go before the name of Jesus? Do you know that reconciliation happens in the power of the name of Jesus? So we want to sing this song because there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain, to break every chain. Let's sing this together. Let's sing this right now. Come on, sing this with me. There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain. Let's sing it again. There is power in the name of Jesus. Believe that there is power in the name of Jesus. Even if you want to believe it, sing. There is power in the name of Jesus. Come on. To break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain. To break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain. There is an army. There is an army rising up. There is an army rising up. There is an army rising up with you. To break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain. He's got your back. To break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain. He's with you in the night.

To break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain. I want to pray. I want to pray. And I'm going to take an example from the centurion. I'm going to kneel right now. Jesus, you know, every problem here and the word that you were just putting in my mind. So I'll just say it because I think it's from you. God, there are some puzzles here. There are people who are confused by what is happening in their lives. They are disconcerted. They are perplexed. And the word that you gave me for us in this precise moment is that you are the master of puzzles. You can see the pieces that we don't see. You can make the connections that we can't. God, I don't know if they are physical puzzles. I don't know if they are medical puzzles. I don't know if they are relational puzzles. But you are saying in this moment, in this time, that you are the master of puzzles. And you want us to bring you those puzzles. And you have the ability to dismantle them and put them together, creating something better and different than what we had at the beginning. God, I pray that we have the mind of Jesus. That you would unload understanding, wisdom, and perspective that we don't have. It doesn't come from us, it comes from you. God, if there are doctors who need this understanding, would you give it to them? If there are psychologists who need it, would you give it to them? If there are leaders and officials in a job who need it, would you give it to them? God, I simply believe that you are saying that there are puzzles here that you want to solve. And this is what I know. I know that you are the master of puzzles and there is power in your name to clarify everything. Will you do it, God? Will you do it for us, in a powerful way? Will we experience what only you do?

God, we don't want to pretend to be a church. I don't want to pretend. I don't think you brought us here to play the church. We want to see your power manifest. We want to see your power flow. And I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, the solver of puzzles. Amen and amen and amen. Come on, fill this room together. To break every chain. To break every chain. I hear. Oh, I hear the chains falling. Oh. I hear the chains falling. Even when I can't see them. I hear the chains falling. I hear the chains falling. There is power. There is power. In the name of Jesus. There is power. In the name of Jesus. There is power. There is power. In the name of Jesus. There is power. There is power. There is power. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. There is power. There is power.