Use It Or Lose It | Levi Lusko | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Use It Or Lose It

Fresh Life Church • Mar 24, 2025 • 54 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

Just as physical flexibility wanes without exercise, our spiritual capacity to pray and hear God's voice withers if it is neglected or unused. Effective prayer begins in quiet submission, expands through honest pouring out of our hearts, and continues as an unceasing daily conversation with God. By ruthlessly removing distractions and promptly obeying what God speaks, believers remain spiritually sensitive and fill heaven's bowls with lasting prayers.

Themes

Prayer and Spiritual RhythmsHearing God's VoiceSpiritual Discipline and ObedienceHonesty in PrayerPersistent Dialogue with GodEliminating Spiritual Distractions

Pastor's Points

1.

Be quiet

2.

Pour out your heart

3.

Don't hang up

4.

Crack the whip

5.

Do what he says

Key Points

1.
Be quiet: Prayer begins with stillness and giving God undivided, focused attention before rushing into requests.
2.
Pour out your heart: Authentic prayer does not require sanitizing your emotions, but bringing raw struggles and feelings to God so He can heal and realign your heart.
3.
Don't hang up: Praying without ceasing means maintaining a constantly recurring dialogue with God throughout every activity of daily life.
4.
Crack the whip: Believers must ruthlessly eliminate personal barriers and rearrange priorities to keep their inner life a house of prayer.
5.
Do what he says: Hearing God's voice requires active obedience, because repeatedly ignoring His prompting hardens the heart and dulls spiritual sensitivity.
6.
Spiritual flexibility and prayer capacity follow a "use it or lose it" principle; neglecting time with God causes spiritual strength to wither over time.
7.

Sermon Moments

“Prayer is a skill you can grow in, but if you do not use it, you don't just not take new ground, you also lose the ability to pray.”

“Studies show that when you lose joint mobility, you lose range of motion and time off your life... the same is true when it comes to the muscles and joints of your soul.”

“Silence guards the inner fire. The shutting of the door traps the heat inside and protects that inner fire.”

“How can we ever love our enemies if we don't first pray away our hate? Tell God all the hate, and He'll replace it with love.”

“Praying without ceasing doesn't mean constantly occurring; it means constantly reoccurring—like an ongoing text conversation running in the background of your day.”

“You and only you can rearrange the furniture in your own life to make room for prayer.”

“Ignore your teeth and they will go away—God's Holy Spirit is kind of like that when we repeatedly ignore His voice.”

This Week

Set aside dedicated time each day to sit in quietness before God, turning off electronic devices or putting your phone in another room to focus entirely on His presence.

Practice raw honesty in your prayers this week by laying down frustrations, fears, or envy before God rather than trying to sanitize your emotions.

Maintain an ongoing dialogue with God throughout your workday by sending short, frequent prayers during routine tasks and transitions.

Identify and remove one major distraction or habit that consistently steals your time and energy from morning or evening quiet times.

Identify the last instruction or conviction God gave you that you have delayed on, and take immediate steps to obey it this week.

Begin your prayer time with open hands, acknowledging God's presence and greeting Him before jumping into your list of requests.

Pray intentional, long-term prayers for your family, church, and community, knowing that every faithful prayer is stored in heaven's golden bowls.

Remember This

Prayer is a vital skill that grows through consistent practice, unceasing conversation, and prompt obedience—if you do not use it, you will lose it.

A Challenge for You

Go do the last thing God told you to do that you neglected, and then He will speak something new to you.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.