Francis Chan is the best-selling author of books, Crazy Love & Forgotten God, and the host of the BASIC.series. He has also written the children’s books Halfway Herbert, The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village and Ronnie Wilson’s gift. Francis is the founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, and is the founder of Eternity Bible College. He also sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact. Francis now lives in Northern California with his wife, Lisa, and their five children.

This is my favorite theme ever of Catalyst, thi idea of being present. It was something I was getting really bad at.

There’s nothing worse than having a conversation with someone who’s not really there. You with me?

I remember several times staff people came into my office, and I wasn’t paying attention to them.

Staff people would come into my office and come for a minute or two and say, “I’ll come back later.”

You guys know what I’m talking about.

So then, I hate to imagine what our prayer lives are like. If someone human is looking in my face and pouring their lives out to me, and I still can’t focus, then what am I doing in my prayer life.

I think I got the best topic of the conference, “Being Present Means Dwelling in Him.” The title is, “His Presence Matters.” I think that’s the understandment of the year.

The question I kept asking myself, does anything else matter? In Scripture, did anything else matter? In the OT, who won the war? Whoever God wanted. In the lions den or the firey furnace, did his presence matter?

Right now if God in Heaven decided to make his presence known, isn’t that all that would matter? He could come down. I wouldn’t have to say another thing, and I wouldn’t have to say another thing, and there would be so much fruit in your ministry. To me that’s all that matters.

Jesus says in Jon 15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

If I’m connected to him and abiding in Him, there will be fruit, and if not, then this is just another message.

I gotta be honst with you, I was still wrestling with this this afternoon, because it gets tiring to ask for the presence of God and really to be present with him. It’s easier for me to just go, “I know I’ve got some notes that will work.”

Why am I afraid of just surrending to him right now. You may want me to say something that everyone will hate. It’s amazing grace that I’m just standing on this stage. I shouldn’t be in ministry with all of the failures of my life. I should be in hell right now… if you believe in that.

If it isn’t for his amazing grace, who am I to surrender myself to you. You’re God, you’re amazing.

“It is the spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all.” At all? Don’t we have to deliver it pretty well? Don’t we at least have to sing on pitch?

That’s why the Psalmist writes in Psalm 27: One thing that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…

When I’m in God’s presence, it’s like nothing else matters. Nothing can hurt me. That’s the one thing I ask for.

If I could get a transcript of your prayers over the last month, every prayer you’ve prayed, even the ones where you’re mind wanders, what would I say is the one thing you kept praying for? Was it to dwell in the house of the Lord?

The other day I was reading 1 Samuel 30. David and his men came to Ziklag, and it had been ransacked by the Philistines. David and his men wept. Their families had been taken captive. David was distressed, for the people had spoken of stoning him. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Many people say that’s when he wrote Psalm 40 and waited patiently for the Lord.

That’s it? David waited for the Lord? He strengthened himself in the Lord? Men, think about that, someone took your wife and kids? You’re ready to kill someone. They’re crying because it’s overwhelming. David’s balling, and all of the sudden all of the soldiers blame David and want to stone him.

And that’s when David strengthened himself in the Lord. Wait, just God? When I read that story I realized I’ve lost it over dumber things.

When’s the last time you went through a crisis with just God? When’s the last time I even heard someone talk like that? Yes, there are times we need the body. But when’s the last time you were so close to God. It’s almost like we don’t treat him like a real person. There’s a real intimacy you can have with him.

Everything depends on my connection with God. Satan knows this. He wants to distract me to focus on other stuff. I feel like the NBA player taking a free throw and everyone’s trying to distract me. Everyone’s screaming for your attention, so you’re constantly looking around rather than focusing on God.

If you abide in God, there’s going to be much fruit. If you don’t abide and get distracted, everything falls apart. If Satan can get us to not be present when we pray, then everything falls apart. If he can get us to model half-hearted prayer rather than being completely connected to him.

Hebrews 5:7 – In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers with loud cries and supplication… and he was heard because of his reverence.

I was shocked when I read that. Jesus was heard because of his reverence? It’s about this awe, this holy fear.

If I hadn’t read that verse to you, and I told you to fill in the blank, what would you have come up with? Because he was his son. And yet the writer of Hebrews says Jesus was heard because of his reverence.

God does not listen to all of our prayers. There are times when God says, I can’t even stand the noise of your songs, stop singing, that’s making me sick right now. In Isaiah He says, “You’re going to fast and pray, I’m not listening to that. Take care of the poor first.” He tells men to treat their wives as co-heirs so their prayers are not hindered. God doesn’t listen to Joshua until they stone Achan. What does James say? Some of you ask and don’t receive because you ask with selfish motives.. In James 1, he says God won’t hear you if you doubt.

It’s very clear there’s a posture we take of reverence. There’s a posture we take with other believers. We pray in faith. We take care of the needy.

I moved to San Francisco a few months ago, and we threw together this conference. I preached in the morning, and we had some worship, and then we went out to serve for 6-8 hours during the day, and then I preached again in the evening, and then we went out again in the evening to share our faith. It was just an amazing time. No one wanted to leave. It was a rush. It was so good.

So the Wednesday before the conference, the guy who was leading the rescue mission says, “We have no meat. We’re about to cook 10k meals with no meet.” These people have been fasting and praying all week for this conference. So he goes to his son and says, can I borrow your credit card. About an hour later, Trader Joes calls us and says, “All of our freezers just broke down. Will you take all of our meet.” So there’s this uhaul full of meat that comes pulling up.

Don’t you just love those moments when you’re like, “God, you were there.” It’s when we abide in Him that His presence is there.

Are you present enough in your prayer life that God is there?

I’m doing some stuff in my yard the other day, and some Jehovah’s Witnesses come by, and I ask if I can share some of the things that God has done in my life. The lady says, “God doesn’t hear all of our prayer.” I agree with her and start telling her stories. They start to walk away, and I follow them for a block and a half. I kept talking, telling them, I don’t think you understand my God. It’s like what John says in 1 John 1. I ‘m just sharing these things so that you can enjoy the fellowship I have with God.

Some of you, your eyes light up when I talk about answered prayers. And some of you are going, “What are you talking about?”

I’m sharing with you what I’ve seen and heard and experienced because I’m walking with God. This would make my joy complete if we could come together and share what God is doing.

I’m starting this new ministry. I don’t know if it’s going to work. It just started on Monday. In the inner city of San Francisco, there’s 586 apartment buildings in one square mile in a low income area. What if we had people adopt one of these buildings, get at least 10 of their friends and pray at least 2-3 hours a week. And then we have a grace team that just goes to peoples door and gives people stuff. Anything they want. And then to ask, how can I pray for you. You’re an atheist, then give me something crazy. Alright, you don’t want anything in particular? Alright, I’m just going to pray for you. So the grace team goes back to the prayer team and tells them what they can pray for. So the grace team can go back and ask the next week if anything happened and talk to people about it and give them a Bible and disciple those people. And the prayer is that one day we disciple people so well that they become the elder of their apartment building. And it’s all God. It’s like if God doesn’t answer these prayers, it’s the stupidest ministry in history. I like the things where if God doesn’t show up it can still be awesome. Ah, God wasn’t here, but the band was awesome anyway.

When’s the last time you were completely present with God? When’s the last time you had that moment? Because Satan is trying to distract you, because without that, you will bear no fruit.

Most of you have probably heard about the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. As Americans it is easy to look at the fact that no Americans were killed and move on. In fact, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t even be writing this post if it weren’t for the fact that the attack targeted an American Embassy. However, followers of Jesus must be concerned about all people, regardless of race or nationality. So, I’m asking you to take a couple of seconds to pray for the people of Yemen. Pray for their peace and security, and pray for them to come to know Christ.

My church has a saying (that I’m sure we did not originate), “Pray like it depends on God, and work like it depends on you.” I think it’s a pretty good saying. God is in control, and prayer is the most important thing we can do when faced with a difficult situation. However, God uses His people to do His work, so we have a responsibility not just to pray but to act as well. In other words, sometimes God uses us to answer our own prayers and the prayers of others.

But when it comes to the recent tragedy in Myanmar, I can’t do anything but pray. There’s no shortage of disaster relief waiting to go into the country; the government of Myanmar simply won’t let much outside aid into the country. Some have called for an invasion if necessary in order to bring in desperately needed food and supplies. I honestly don’t know whether or not I think that’s a good idea. I can see arguments on both sides and don’t know the country or region well enough to really judge.

So I’m asking you to join me in praying for both the people and the government of Myanmar. Pray that relief would be let in, pray for a government that respects the lives of its citizens, and pray that somehow through this tragedy, the people of Myanmar would come to know Christ.