Dharius Daniels - I Didn't Know I Needed That

I want to talk about this subject during our time together, family. I didn’t know I needed that. Clap your hands at 12:30 if you’re ready for God’s word. So, family, I want to LEAP into this lesson by sharing a quote credited to a North African bishop who was one of the most influential Church Fathers. You may have heard him referred to as St. Augustine. He is credited with this quote: «God will often bypass the prayers of our lips in order to answer the prayer of our heart.» In other words, there are hopes we have, passions we possess, and requests we may make that are reflections of what we think we need. But I’ve learned that God is not only a need meter; he’s a need assessor. Before he meets a need, he assesses it to determine the difference between what we think we need and what we actually need. Therefore, any answer God gives to any request is a good answer. If I make a request and the answer is yes, then it’s a good answer. But if I make a request and the answer is no, then no is a good answer because whenever he says no, it is his refusal to answer an inferior request. In other words, if he said yes to what we want, he would be saying no to what he knows is best for us. When you reach a place in your spiritual journey where you can look back on previous seasons and not only thank God for the yeses but also start thanking God for the noes, this means you have a proper perspective on what God is doing in your life. Is there anybody in this room who can look back over your life and see previous seasons where you wanted something, where you were hoping for something, where you were believing for something, and where you were upset? Real people, were you upset and agitated that you didn’t get it? And now that you look back on it, the same thing you were mad about, you are now praising him for! Come on! There’s a certain demographic of people that can only praise him for the doors he opens, but I believe I’ve got a few people in the room and a few online who say, «PD, in this season of my life, I’m not just praising him for the doors he opened; I’m praising him for the doors he closed.» Because some of those doors were trap doors, and the enemy wanted to trap me. But thanks be unto God that when I didn’t have enough sense not to walk through it, God had enough sense to close the door. Thank you, Jesus, for closing the door on that relationship. Thank you, Jesus, for closing the door on that opportunity. Thank you, Jesus, for closing the door that wasn’t the right door for my life. When you get this revelation, you see that rejection is protection. Did you hear what I just said? Rejection is protection. Because when the favor of God is on my life, favor becomes an usher. Come on here! Did you hear what I just said? An usher! What does an usher do? They show you to your seat. Come on here! And favor is an usher that will usher you into the rooms you’re supposed to be in and into the opportunities you’re meant to take advantage of. This means that if you’re supposed to get in the door, favor knows how to get you in there. If the front door is closed, favor takes you around to the back. If the back door is closed, favor gets you through a window. If the window’s locked, favor gets on top of the roof, digs a hole, and gets you to where you’re supposed to be. You can’t reject me from what’s for me; you can’t block me from what’s for me. Favor will get me what’s for me. Lord, I feel something at the 12:30 service! I need somebody right here to just praise God—not for finances, but praise God for favor! That’s my usher! How did you get in here? My usher! How did you seize that? My usher! My usher got me in here! Every answer is a good answer because God will bypass the prayers of my lips to answer the prayer of my heart. It makes sense to me. I’m glad he does not succumb to my senses. Come on here! Did you hear what I just said? I’m glad he won’t let me lead him where my head is at. Because sometimes I want to lead him; sometimes I think, «God, I know what I want, and I want you to make this happen.» But I’m so glad he’s got enough sense not to listen to me. Why, Marlin? Because we know not how to pray as we ought. He will bypass the prayers of my lips to give me the desires of my heart. Throughout Scripture, we see examples of this. One example is in the book of Acts, chapter three, where the Bible says there is an apprentice, a disciple of Jesus named Peter, who is accompanied by a man named John. There were specific hours designated for corporate prayer. This is important, essential—this is what an Acts church does. One of my spiritual mentors, when I was in college, said to me that someone asked him, «When are we going to see the miracles that are in Acts?» He answered them saying…