I am convinced, like Brian's been preaching, we're in a respite. I don't, meaning that, this is, of course, when Ronald Reagan got elected back many years ago, we felt that way too, that things were just going crazy, and now, oh, we got somebody to bring us back to some sanity. And we see that today in politics. We were just going in directions that were just crazy, and now we're starting to get back. But the trouble is, The real foundation, the educational system, the young people is not, you don't see that, a revival in that. And I'm familiar, I have some grandkids and other kids that are in our household that get sent to the educational system, public school, and it's, ooh, it's pretty, even in conservative Arkansas, you know. These kids don't have a biblical foundation. They don't go to church like they used to, and they're not taught the Bible, except for Chula doing some stuff, right? I mean, Chula, how many years you been doing Bible club? Have you noticed a biblical literacy of the kids coming in is higher or is it lower? Lower. Way lower. Adam, Eve, who's that? All right, and stuff like, I mean, it's just insane. And people are, we just have a culture. So that's why I think it's a respite that, you know, one of these days, I think the other side's gonna get stuff back. And when they do, it's gonna be ugly. They're gonna come with a vengeance, you know? And I think about Fayetteville Christian School a lot in our church. You know, right now, it's just incredible what's going on in Arkansas with, you know, with private schools. They are, you get a voucher, $6,800. And so that means that our school, I think I told you this before, your tuition is 100% paid for. And then there's $800 left over for parents to spend for supplies. And that's not even books. We take care of the books and the tuition. So I mean, can you imagine that? Nobody's paying tuition back there, in a sense. Nobody, except if you don't live in Arkansas, if you're a foreign kid, sorry. They have to. And the K-4 has to, for some odd reason. The Learns Act doesn't go down to preschool, the K-4. But then we found out that public schools, basically, they have K-4 now, right? I've been told you've got free daycare pretty much all the way to four-year-old you can do. And so it's a different world out there that we're living in. But in Arkansas, wow, what an opportunity to put your kids in a school that can teach them biblical values. It's right there. It doesn't cost you anything. Of course, property tax, you're paying. Somebody else is. Basically, people don't have any kids. They're paying property taxes and going to the schools. But that's the way it is in this world. But that's the interesting thing, that one of these days, we should really be appreciative of the times we're living in right now. We see a lot of things changing politically, and they're usually for the better. But I don't know how long that's going to last. I don't have a lot of faith in people. And you know where I got that from? The Bible. Jesus had no what? He didn't have faith in man, did he? The other day, I bought a car online. I don't know if it's online. Facebook Marketplace. And I arranged to go get it. And I thought to myself, this is crazy. I might not come back. The person I was getting it from, There was a grandpa that I was messaging, but he didn't speak English good enough. So he let me talk to his son. I had to call up his number. No, I couldn't call his number because his phone wouldn't receive calls. It could only make calls. So I'm sitting there, oh my goodness. And I got to go to Kansas City and pick it up, you know, and bring cash and meet him in a parking lot. Yeah, look at college, you're crazy. I like the chase. Anybody can go down to a car lot and buy something. That's no fun, is it, Andrew? All right, no, the chase. And so I'm recounting, me and Spencer went up, my daughter-in-law, and I'm just saying to her, I've done this before, and I've had quite a few memories of these ordeals. And it was perfect. But I didn't have much faith in mankind. And I was just imagining, oh, am I going to get robbed? Is the car going to fall apart on the way home? But we went up there. It was right off the freeway, because that was like, oh, where do I have to go to get this? And we did the deal in the parking lot of a barbecue place that we hate at. And the price was incredible. And nobody got robbed or anything. It turned out they were from Italy. That's what they said. I think there's a lot of people out there that are worried if they look foreign. I don't want to get reported. We're from Italy. Italy, all right? And we've been here so many months. It's like, I'm not going to turn in. Don't worry about that. But I got to talk to them a little bit about the Lord. But you take it for granted in our society that you can kind of do business without getting what? Ripped off. As we become less and less Christian as a nation, or Christ-affected, that's one of the things that you're going to get ripped off more and more. There's going to be more bars on the windows, you know, to keep people out. And that's the price we have to pay when our nation goes that way, and that's not a good thing at all. So as far as our school's going, state of the union for the school, things are going well. We've got all of our staff, pretty much. Amen. All right. And we've even got people that are going to be coming in the future. They're talking, you know, and I've got to figure out what to do with some of them. But that's good, because some of us are getting a little bit old around school, really. So that's looking good, that there's some interest. And with the Learns Act, we'll be able to give some remuneration to some people, so it won't be so difficult on them financially to help out in our school. So that's really nice. Now, in the kitchen, though, I do want to make a plug for my wife. She's in the kitchen, and that's not part of the Learns Act. And so it kind of runs on itself. But we need some help in the kitchen, all right? And I'm trying to get some people that just, if you could volunteer, or maybe we could give you some remuneration, to one day a week from 9 o'clock to 2 o'clock. If you can do one day a week, we're trying to get five different people, then that can be combined with the two people that are pretty much always in there. And we will have it fully staffed. How about you, Randy? What do you do these days? You want to work in the kitchen? Not yet? OK. But yeah, it's interesting to be involved in the school. Isn't it, Anita? How many years you been there, Anita? 30-something, yeah, it's amazing. So it's incredible to be a part of our school. Isn't it, Alan? That's right. Alan teaches government. How many people in here are teachers in our school or work in the school? We've got Lonnie and Otis back there and Alan, the back row people, I guess. Oh, go ahead, Adita. All right. But it's a blessing. you know, to be able to just share your faith. You know, I have to, I wanted to see Alan in his classroom the other day, and he was teaching, and he started to pray to start class. Well, it's 10 minutes. All right, you can take 10 minutes to pray if you want to, right, Alan? Amen. All right, and then you can talk about the Lord. Try to do that in other school systems. You'll get fired. They'll get rid of you. But I want to talk today about hindrances to prayer. Just want to do a few things. You know, prayer is a very, very important thing. What is prayer? It's talking to God, right? All right? Most people say it's what's just asking and receiving. You know, I've read a lot of books about prayer back years ago and some notes more than that, and it is. Prayer can also be thanksgiving and worship, you know, but a lot of prayer is asking and what? Receiving. That's what we want. What God tells us and encourages us to what? To pray. Just think about that. Who's telling us to pray? God, and what kind of resources does God have? All right? You know, if President Trump were to come up to you and say, hey, Larry, let me know anything you need. I'll help you. You'd be pretty what? Pretty happy. Let me see about that. All right? The God of the universe has told us, hey, if you need something, pray. but there are conditions on our prayer. And sometimes those conditions are not met and we have hindrances to our prayer. And one of the things is in Psalm, do we have our verse people up there today, Ron? Second stringers again. All right, I didn't give you a list. Usually we give them a nice list so they can know what's coming. But in Psalm 66 and verse 18, it tells us, Excuse me here. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Now, hear me is prayer, right? If I regard iniquity in my heart, what does that mean? If I sin, God won't hear me? Then no one could do it. To regard means to hold, all right? It means to cling to. And I know from personal experience that there are some times I can't pray. I literally cannot pray because I'm not following the rules. And one of them is, I need to be yielded to God. Think about your child. If they were to come to you and ask you for something, Mommy, Daddy, can I have this? And you had told them four things to do. And they totally disregarded and didn't do those four things. You know, clean your room, whatever it might be, and do this, do this, do this. And then the child comes back later and says, hey, Mommy, Daddy, I need this. I want some ice cream. Well, did you do that? No. Okay, here's your ice cream anyways. Would that be proper way to raise a child? No. The same thing with God. He expects us not to be perfect, but we're not to regard iniquity. We're not to walk in willful sin, unyielded, all right, and expect to get anything from God. I mean, he says it right there, doesn't he? Proverbs 28, verse nine, all right, is another verse. Similar. It says, he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. Whoa. Can your prayer, talking to God, be an abomination? You certainly can. All right? Because you did what? You turned away. You're not even listening to God. All right? You're just asking. You're just asking. Gimme, gimme, gimme. So turning away our ear, you know, that's the essential thing to be saved. John 5, 24, he that, what? Has my law and keeps it, hey, it is that loves me. We've gotta know God's law, his will for our life. The law meaning his will. If you're not gonna be doing God's will, your prayer is what? An abomination, can you believe that? And then in Matthew, what else can hinder our prayers? Anybody else? Anybody know? How about our relationship? So our relationship to God matters a lot. He wants us to be submitted to him. All right? For instance, if I suppose if God told me, hey, Brad, I want you to live in Fayetteville, and I go move off somewhere else, in my mind, I can't really have a great relationship to God. I've disobeyed Him. And any prayers that I throw up are gonna be thrown right back. No, you get back on track, what I want for your life, and then I'll listen to you, all right? It's different from just stumbling, you know, sitting, or whatever we might do. Occasionally, you know, occasionally, we do it a lot, all right? But to willfully just say, no, Lord, I'm not gonna go the direction or yield to you this area in my life, that is a boom. a barrier, a stop, an abomination, when those kind of things. And that's what I've been taught in this church. And that's a good thing to be taught, because that's reality. Because a lot of people think that God is a what? A lucky charm. He follows me. And when I have a need, I what? I pray. You're God. I mean, that's in essence how we treat Him, don't we? And it's the other way around. We follow God. And as we follow God, we'll have needs. And He will provide for those needs. All right? Because often, we can pray for things that take us out of the will of God. Lord, I need a bigger TV or whatever it might be. All right? More internet. Who knows? But also, not only in our relationship to God that matters, but how else can our prayers be hindered? by our relationship to other people. In Matthew, chapter five, verses 23 and 24. This is nothing new. I think most of you are pretty much veterans that are left here tonight, all right? And we all know this. And this is a great, this is why it's great to work at Fayetteville Christian School, you know that? Because if people get bent out of shape with each other, It's not just they're getting bent out of shape with each other. Who else is involved in the process? God is involved in the process. And I can tell people, hey, you need to get right with this other teacher down the hallway because God said so. And you can't move on in your life until you do that. We can't have a bunch of factions in our school, in our churches, all right? We've got to get along with one another. Now, there are some people that might annoy you. I'm not talking about that. But people that you have bitter grudges towards or unforgiving spirits towards them, God says you can't do that. What does it say in 5, 23 and 24? Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there, remember, thy brother hath ought against thee. Hey, this is if, not even if you're into, but you know that somebody's got a problem with you. You need to go, puts the onus on both people, all right? I've been offended or if I've offended somebody, both people are to react to that. Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way first and be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. Have any of you ever approached God and, I gotta get this right. Anybody that's happened to you? That's happened to me and it's like, especially when it deals with a certain person in my life. Guess who? The sun should not go down upon your what? Your wrath, all right? And one of the people that's most important is our mate in life, our wife or our husband, you know? And the scripture says specifically that our prayers are hindered. I believe it's James, I can't find it on my, I wrote a little bit small here. Let's see what I got. I put these little things in here though. James chapter four verses one through, okay. Nope, that's not the one. All right. But we're going to get to that one, huh? There we go, it's right here. All right, Stanley knows that one, apparently him and you know. All right, 1 Peter chapter three and verse seven, all right. It says, likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor to thy wife, as unto the weaker vessel, as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your, what? Prayers be not hindered. You know, you don't honor your wife, you don't treat her with respect. God's gonna have an issue with that. You know, hey, you better get right with your wife here, all right, and then you can come talk to me. It is a privilege to talk to God, all right? It's not a right. It is, in a sense, that Christ died that we might have that privilege, but there are conditions for us praying and for our prayers being heard, and we've gotta be right with one another, especially the brethren of all people, right? If Christians can't get along, I mean, people ought to come into churches. They're going to see arguments, I suppose, that hang around. But there should not be continual wars and fightings amongst you, right, that the Scripture talks about. It ought to be different in the house of God that people get along with one another. They forgive one another, all right? And that's an attractive thing. I don't go out into the world much. All right? I'm kind of in my own little cocoon back here, and I'm grateful. But the times that I have are people that I know that work in businesses or offices, you know? I can hear some stories that are just, whoa. I mean, as one of our former members said, he's a real estate guy, but he had described himself really, I work in an adult daycare. All right? It's just constantly having to deal with childish things with people. you know, wanting to get a leg up on one another and overrule one another. In James chapter 4, verses 1 through 3, whence comest the wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts, that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not. Ye kill, and desire to have. Ye cannot obtain. Ye fight, and ye war. Yet ye have not, because you what? There's another way. There's another way. Ye ask not. Ye ask not. All right? Where am I? I just, oh, there it is. Ye ask and receive not, because you ask what? amiss, amiss, that you may what? Consume it upon your own lusts. You know, I've seen some people that they really don't get really excited about prayer life or anything until it's come time maybe to buy a car. Oh, we're praying to God about buying this car or this new house, you know, and they're really concerned about that. But we ought to be concerned about what? The issues of people and souls, you know? What gets us really motivated in our prayer lives? Right? Because prayer is what? It's a tremendous resource. You know, the one thing that I've realized and that I do constantly is tell the Lord, I do not have what it takes to administrate the school. Lord, if you don't help me today, I am going to fail. And if I do have success, I got to remember what? Oh, I made it. Somebody said, oh, that's a great decision you made. All right. Oh, boy, you're so smart. No, I'm dumb. All right. And it's so easy to make a mistake and do the wrong thing. But if you tell the Lord, hey, Lord, this is your, because ultimately, the Holy Spirit of God is the what? the administrator, the one who's here on earth working in our minds. And when I pray, because Christ, I pray to my heavenly father because of what Christ did, and I ask that the Holy Spirit would what? Dwell in me and our staff and we'd make the right decisions and do the right thing. Because we what? Because we ask. The other way is what they have here, you can fight. Try to fight for position and rank and all those kind of things. That's what the world does, don't they? You can do it the world's way, you can do it God's way. All right? And a couple more verses in Proverbs, verses 28 and verse 9. Well, we already did that. Excuse me. He had to turn it the way of his ear. Excuse me. I didn't remove my little tab. I'm sorry. All right? So Psalm 66, 18, we started with that. All right? That what? If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So what could hinder our prayers? Our relationship to God needs to be yielded. Amen? And our relationship to others. What are we supposed to do? What are the two great commandments? Love God and love others. And God has designed prayer to be something that's interwoven. You want to talk to me? You want to receive? All right, do my will and get along with the brethren and get along with people as much as is what? Possible. You can't get along with everybody, all right? My mother was a, sometimes it's a fault. My mother had a fault. I saw she tried to get along with everybody, you know, and she'd agree with the Democrats, she'd agree with the Republicans, she'd agree with whoever was standing in front of her, you know. You can do that, but, you know, people can see through that to a great extent. You know, you need to agree with the truth, don't you? As much as possible, try to get along with people. And that's one of the great successes of our school, is we have teachers, for the most part, who walk with the Lord. Not all of them all the time, but most of them most of the time. Amen, Lonnie? And it makes it a pleasant place to come. Now, Lonnie, you work out in the world, and you come up here. Is it more refreshing up here, or is it more tense and terrible? Oh, you hesitated. You're fired. But you know, it ought to be a place that, hey, this is refreshing. You know the first place Lonnie goes when he comes to school? Kitchen. Kitchen. What's for lunch, Chelsea? All right. So he doesn't care if we pay him. We just got to what? Feed him. Just got to feed him one meal a day. All right. But isn't it good that the brethren dwell together in what the scripture says? Unity, and unity being the truth, all right? So let's strive for that in our lives, and especially in our prayer lives, that we wanna have, you know, effective prayer lives from a God who's got so much resource and desire to help us, that we need to make sure we're yielded to him and that we're what? Right with the brethren, amen? Amen. Brother Brian? I'm Brian.