As Was His Custom

Tim Franklin
Freedom Christian Center
July 7, 2010


Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. NKJV

Oh, that the church in America would learn from Daniel! “AS WAS HIS CUSTOM…” (that sounds like Jesus.) A new law was written—No man shall bow to any other god or man except the king. It was endorsed by the King. It would be enforced by the authorities of the land. Daniel was not moved by this law. Daniel was not moved by the threat of death or imprisonment, or discomfort—Daniel was moved by his habit of prayer! Imagine that? A habit of prayer, established by years of the ‘custom of prayer’—THREE TIMES A DAY!

We are living in a time when the average American pastor is spending as little as 5-30 minutes a day in prayer depending on which source you read. It’s a day in which men’s knees are tender and their hearts are calloused. God is looking for a people so dependent on Him that their hearts are tender and their knees are calloused. Prayer is a powerful tool in the hands of a church that will embrace and use it. Yet, in the west, we have become soft and stopped praying when we have a ‘hang nail’ let alone a law like Daniel faced, that said you could not bow to another but the king. This is still the land of the free and the brave. Our president may not bow to our God or honor the National Day of Prayer, but that has nothing to do with our freedom to have a custom of prayer.

Ask yourself: “What will it take to stop me from praying?” To busy? To offended? To lazy? To afraid? To relaxed? To doubtful? Come on Brevard! We are better than this. The price of freedom has been paid. Jesus is His name! Let it be written of us in years to come… “They prayed as was their custom.”

MY HOUSE! A thread through the Word

Pastor Tim Franklin, Freedom Christian Center
February 26, 2010

Zechariah 1:16 'Therefore thus says the Lord: "I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it," says the Lord of hosts, "And a surveyor's line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem."' NKJV Haggai and Zechariah are two prophets sent by God for the purpose of rebuilding the House of Prayer.

Jesus declared in Mt 21:13, “My house, will be called a house of prayer.” We often focus on the prayer part of that passage, and we should. But think with me for a moment: Jesus is the one speaking, and His statement is “My House!” Wow! Jesus has a house! He has a place that has an identity and it can be found! It is called the House of Prayer. David initiated the House of Prayer under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. God wanted a house and He found a man to build it—David.

David vowed to create a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob! (Ps. 132:1-8) He vowed to live in extravagant devotion to seek the Lord with all his resources—time, talents, and money in order to see God’s house built. David literally shifted history when he created the tabernacle of worship! Night and day prayer, seven days a week, 24 hours a day! This was not a plan of man in the heart of David; this was the plan of God as revealed to David—“All this’, said David, ‘the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.” I Chron. 28:11-19. The plan: a revelation of 24/7 worship led by full time singers and musicians! When David became king he initiated the Tabernacle of 24/7 worship. When his son Solomon was about to become king, David gave him the plans that the Lord had given him for the temple along with the vision of 24/7 prayer and worship. And every restoration of the Old Testament Kingdom of Judah (7 total) was hallmarked by the restoration of David’s vision of night and day prayer and worship. Amos 9:11 declares that we will see once again at the end of the age a restoration of David’s tabernacle—24/7 worship! God will have His house and it will be called a House of Prayer! Jesus simply said, “That is My house—A House of Prayer!” I want to build that House!

Prayer is not an option! Worship is not an option! These represent the place of encounter with the Living God! It was David who said, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.” I want this region to encounter God. I want you to encounter God! I want to see a strong House of Prayer in East Central Florida! Why not here? Why not now?

So -- what do you think? Has your heart been stirred? Let me know, I value your comments!