Prayer Week 1 • Colossians 4:2-4

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Well, good morning.

If you've got your Bible with you, and I hope you do, if you could open up to Colossians

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, which is where we are going to be today.

As Joel said, we are starting our new series covering prayer.

We're going to look at five different passages of Scripture that talk about prayer over the

next five weeks.

And our goal in this is that you and I, together as a congregation, as a family, as a church

body, that we can grow in prayer and seek to be obedient to God's Word and apply that accurately

to our lives.

One of the things that we're doing, and this whole message is going to kind of be built

around this, is we're walking through a prayer journey together.

We threw out this challenge, I believe, about a month ago to see if we could fill every hour

of every day of a week for five weeks so that the people of Willow Ridge Church are united

together in prayer, working through that together.

And I'm going to tell you guys, super excited.

We, as of this morning, had 103 of us had committed to do that.

So if my public school math does me correctly, that's 65 more of us that need to sign up.

You still have time this morning.

Here's the challenge.

Let's create a little awkwardness at lunch.

Wives, look at your husbands.

Say, did you sign up?

All right?

Husbands, look at your wives and say, did you sign up?

All right?

And if you haven't, then sign up together.

It'll be a wonderful time as we go through God's Word.

We do have these prayer guides that are here and want to make sure that you grab those and

make sure that you have an opportunity to pray with us as we go through this season and

as we go through this study together.

Also, our Utah Missions team is there.

Joel spoke to that.

They are safe and they are sound.

When Dustin Stopman spoke here this past spring, he said, man, summertime in Utah is wonderful.

Man, it's like peaking at like 80 degrees.

So where it's like 105 in South Carolina, it's low 80s in Utah.

And then we've like flipped that for the last several weeks.

And even though it's getting warmer here, it is staying at those temperatures there.

And so make sure that you're praying for them with that as they minister.

But also, and we're going to pray for them in just a minute, let's pray for the work that

they're going to do, the conversations they're going to be having.

And like Dustin shared with us, and I'm going to remind us every week as we think about this,

there are going to be men and women and families who've never heard the gospel, who've never

been invited to a church.

And our high school students are going to have the opportunity to engage them with the gospel

and invite them to a Jesus-loving, gospel-spreading church.

And so we're excited about that opportunity.

Before we go into God's word this morning, let's go ahead and go to him in prayer.

God, I just come to you this morning thanking you for who you are, Lord, for what you've done.

Lord, I thank you so much as we sang the song, Lord, that we proclaim that it's through you

and you alone that we find life and hope and freedom.

And so, Lord, we thank you for the grace of God.

We thank you for the cross and the powerful work that Christ did.

We thank you that he overcame the grave, Lord, and that we can rest fully in him, in who we are,

find our hope.

Lord, be with this missions team as they're there in Utah.

Lord, give them boldness that comes from you.

Lord, give them the words that come from you.

And, Lord, we pray that hearts would be drawn to you and that, Lord, men and women and children would come to faith in Christ.

Lord, keep them safe, keep them healthy, but more importantly, Lord, keep them bold for the gospel.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I'm going to be honest with you guys.

I am probably more excited about this message series than I've been excited about a message series in a long time.

Now, that doesn't mean that I haven't been excited about others, but as this anticipation has been moving forward

and knowing what we're going to do, as I signed up for my time, my time is 4 a.m. on Sunday morning,

so technically that starts next week, but I told Aaron we were getting ready to go to bed last night,

and I said, I'm going to think I'm going to start mine today, so this morning got up at 3.30 and headed on down to the church,

got here right at 4 and had my time in prayer for this service, for you guys, for what God is going to do.

Prayed for our first-time guests, just so many prayed for myself that God would give me his words,

and I'm excited to see the transformation of what God's going to do as we pause within the busyness,

within the chaos, within everything that's in our lives and said, you know what, Lord?

We're going to take some time and focus on prayer.

We're going to focus in on our relationship with you.

We're going to devote ourselves.

We're going to be watchful, and this is how we're going to come to you in prayer.

And I'm going to be honest with you.

I'm excited to see what God is going to do.

I'm excited to hear your individual stories through this journey,

but I'm also excited to see our journey as a body, as a church family,

of how God is going to take us and transform us and mold us and shape us

and renew us for his name and for his glory.

And so I am so excited as we're going to be navigating through these different passages of Scripture,

gleaning from it what God has for us, and then applying that to our lives.

And so let's go ahead and dive in and read from our first passage this morning,

Colossians chapter 4, starting in verse 2.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

Paul writes, and he says,

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word

to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison,

that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

So a couple of things that we're going to look at and we want to point at

and kind of lay as a foundation for us as we go through these passages of Scripture.

Each week we will not give a full exhaustive look at everything associated with prayer

and then wrap it up and say we're good to go.

Each week what we hope to do is continue to build one week after another of what God has for us.

And so I know that that summertime is crazy and I'm super encouraged as we look out into the auditorium

and say we've got like one small section that's not occupied.

So here's what I want to challenge you with.

Let's keep this up.

Let's keep this momentum as we look to grow in prayer and each week build on one another.

All right?

Also something I want to point to because I feel like so many of us are going to fall into one of these camps.

No matter where you feel like you are concerning prayer,

there will be both God's grace and God's truth for you.

And here's what I mean by that.

Some of you, when we talk about prayer, every insecurity in faith comes up for you.

I don't know how to pray.

I don't have the words to say.

I don't pray like I should.

I don't really know what to do.

And if that's you, let me say to you in this, there's God's grace for you in that.

There's God's grace for you in that as Satan's trying to speak into your life.

You can't, you can't, you can't.

God says you can through me.

All right?

The second group of us that may find their spots in here are the self-proclaimed prayer warriors.

I got it.

I'm good.

I pray.

This is what I do.

This is what I'm all about.

Well, I want to encourage you where there's God's truth for you, right?

That in this, there's areas for us, for you and I to still grow within here as we look

at God's word, as God's word is explained to us, and as we're continued to be transformed

and sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, all right?

So no matter what crowd you find yourself in, on either extreme or anywhere in between, that

we're going to see is God working in our life for God's grace and God's truth for prayer,

all right?

So here's going to be a kind of a working definition of prayer for us over the next five weeks.

Prayer is the expression of our faith in God and our dependence on God through requests and

declarations made to God.

And so each week, we're going to kind of continue to build on this and work through this.

If you were to say, like, if I were to say to you, like, what is prayer?

For us, this isn't an all-encompassing, but a working definition that we can go through.

Prayer is the expression of our faith in God and our dependence on God through requests

and declarations made to God, all right?

So a couple things about prayer before we even get into Colossians.

Number one, like, we pray to God, all right?

Now, for some of us, there might be a break or difficulty in that.

For some of us, depending on our background, depending on our worldview, depending on how

you got here and your history, this may be a disconnected.

For some of us, I mean, this is what I've known my whole life.

But let's look and establish that we pray to God.

We're not praying to ancestors.

We're not praying to people.

We're not praying to religious leaders.

That when we pray, we pray to God and not anyone else.

That as we pray, what we're doing is that prayer is a work and an action of faith.

It's saying that, God, I trust you, so I make my requests.

I make my declarations known to you because to you and you alone do I trust fully.

And it's why we're made to God.

That prayer shows our dependence on God.

So not only our faith, but our dependence.

We've talked a lot about this as we wrapped up our study in Luke, that we are fully dependent

on the Lord, that the more we mature in Christ, the more we realize we need him, the more we

cling to him, the more we're dependent on him.

And our prayers should be a reflection of that.

When we look at the Pharisee and the tax collector that came before that, that Jesus told about

it in that parable, right?

The Pharisee stands up and says, look at me, look at what all I've done.

And the tax collector proclaims his dependence on the Lord.

And that's where we want to fall in, that our faith and dependence is on God.

And this happens through two things.

It's going to happen through our requests and our declarations, all right?

I want to have just a moment of conversation and clarity when it comes to prayers that we

lift up to the Lord.

When it comes to requests, church, tell him how you feel.

Tell him what you want.

Tell him what you need.

Can we be honest and come to the Lord with all that has burdened us, with all that we feel

like we're carrying, with all that we're desperate for, and bring it before him?

But can we come also with our declarations?

Reveal to him your heart.

Reveal to him your desperation.

Reveal to him your sins and your need for forgiveness.

Because here's the thing of what scripture points to, he already knows anyways, right?

He already knows.

It's so funny, like Christians, we say that the Lord knows our heart, but yet there's areas

that we feel like we need to hold back from him.

And he knows every corner of it.

And so as we come with our requests and declarations, let's be open and honest before the Lord.

And this is as we go through for these next five weeks, I want this to just kind of ring

true, all right?

To understand that prayer is not a burden to God, that God loves prayer.

All right, I want to ask parents and grandparents a question in here, all right?

How many of you, by show of hands, have a kid or a grandkid or maybe multiple of them who

like to ask questions?

They're question askers.

Raise your hand.

How many of y'all, all right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Most of the hands are going up in the room and one of my kids is kind of sweating it right

now, all right?

Now, if you've got a question asker in your house, here's what they know.

They know over time they can wear you down with the amount of questions, right?

Like I'm seeing some parents like, yep, you've been in my house, you know what that's like,

right?

Here's the thing.

It's their gift, right?

They enjoy it.

They thrive in it.

They absolutely love it.

They're working like five more questions and dad is going to break.

Watch this.

Boom, boom, boom, right?

And as parents, like it can get frustrating, like in our depravity for us as moms and dads,

grandpas and grandmas, right?

No more questions.

Please stop.

I've told you, I don't know and legitimately, I'm confused right now and I don't know.

Stop asking me questions, all right?

This isn't God.

It's not.

It's not how God works.

In fact, in Isaiah chapter 62, here's what God says to his people.

Isaiah 62 · chapter mention

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I've set watchmen all the day and all the night, that they shall

never be silent.

You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and I love verse seven, and give him

no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

God here says, wear me out with your prayers.

Wear me out.

Because you can't.

Because you can't.

Do you know who God's not?

The parent on the road trip saying, hearing, are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Right?

That's not them.

That's not God.

That's not who he is.

God says, you got this burden?

Bring it to me.

Well, I already brought it to God.

Well, bring it again and bring it again and bring it again and bring it again and bring

it again.

God says, I can't be worn out.

I don't need to rest, but see if you can get me to this point.

See what this is going to be like, and that's how God works, and God loves it.

This past week, a friend of mine who's lost wrote this and broke my heart.

I know God has more important things to do than take care of my problems, but could you

please pray for me?

And he shared this request.

And there's the realization that there's so many of us who feel that way.

God has bigger things to take care of, bigger things that are on his heart or on his mind

than me, and I just don't matter.

God loves prayers.

He knows your requests.

Bring them to him.

God does not grow weary.

And so my prayer for us is that we take that challenge on and that we come before the Lord

and continually pour out to him.

So let's get started.

Colossians 4, I'm going to read it again.

Paul says, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare

the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which

is how I ought to speak.

So four things I want us to see, to take away from prayer this morning, to lay the foundation

for us is this.

Number one, prayer demands devotion.

Prayer demands devotion.

Paul begins off this passage by saying, continue steadfastly in prayer.

So let's look at this phrase real quickly.

Continue steadfastly means to devote oneself or to be strong in something.

So Paul says, hey, get strong in this, be devoted in this, be devoted in prayer, be strong in

prayer.

Don't let it be a weak spot of your life.

Don't let it be an afterthought of your life.

Don't let it just be something that's there.

Instead, allow this to be a defining moment in your life.

In fact, six times in the New Testament, this phrase is used, I think it's important, the

first three times that we see be devoted or be strong in prayer is found in the book of

Acts, describing the early church and what they were doing.

So they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to prayer.

Three times it says that in the book of Acts.

As the early church, as God's spirit begins to work and move in men and women, and in single

days, thousands upon thousands of men, women, children, and children came to faith in Jesus

Christ, even though death may await them.

And what we see as a practice within who the church was is they were devoted to prayer

and that this is who they are.

And then what we see later on in Paul's letters, what we've already seen in Colossians, what

we'll see in Romans, and what we'll see in Ephesians is three times Paul comes back and

has to remind them to be devoted in prayer.

So we see they're slipping from it.

And so Paul steps in and says, listen, if your effectiveness of what God is going to do

with you in the gospel has to be rooted, has to be central, and has to be grounded in prayer.

And so be devoted.

I love the imagery of what he gives, and it carries within the idea of being strong, of growing in strength, of working out.

Be strong, a progressive, continuing building of your life in prayer.

It's why I said to you, if you're a prayer warrior in here this morning, thank you, thank you, thank you for using the gift of what God has given you and continuing on in that.

But don't think that you'll arrive, because what you need to do is continue to build and work on it and stick to so that God can strengthen you even more.

And so as Paul describes prayer, he says, like, let it be like an exercise.

Set a time, set a commitment, and stick to it.

As you pray and as you battle through it, like, let it be tough.

Move away from the simple two or three phrases that we've memorized and try to dig down into it.

But then also, if you think about this with exercise, like, track your growth.

Here's where I was before.

Here's where I am now.

And here's where I hope to be.

Not of what we're accomplishing within ourselves, but what God is doing with us.

Devote yourself to prayer.

Make it a part of who you are.

Make it a part of your schedule.

Make it a part of your routine.

Continue steadfastly in prayer.

So the question comes, when we look at Scripture, so does the Bible say, devote yourself to prayer?

Does the Bible say, schedule it and have it be at this time and work in this and set this as a discipline of your life?

Or does the Bible say, pray without ceasing?

And which one is it?

And I would say, both.

Both.

Set the time, pray without ceasing.

Set the time, pray without ceasing.

Let prayer be the discipline, but also let it be the pattern and the rhythm of your life.

I read a pastor this week who described it this way.

He says, continual fellowship with God will grow from praying without ceasing.

But depth of intimacy will come from devotion and endurance of prayer over time.

So this pastor says they're both fruitful.

One of them, the prayer without ceasing, the continual conversation that we'll look at in a couple weeks,

that this will come in the prayer without ceasing, the continual relationship with God.

That's where the fellowship will come from.

But if you want to see what it looks like to dive down into deep layers of devotion,

deep layers of intimacy, deep layers of endurance over time,

it comes from devotion to prayer.

So it's both.

So this morning, we want to say, let's devote ourselves.

Let's devote ourselves.

It's been the heart of us setting this five-week plan for us.

That within us, within our lives, what we can build is a rhythm.

What we can build is a discipline.

What we can build is an endurance that it's part of who we are.

I'd be willing to bet if you stop and you look at your last week.

If you stop and you look at your yesterday.

If you stop and look at where this week is going.

That you can't tell me, because I've had to do the same thing within myself.

That you can't tell me within the 168 hours during the week that God has blessed you with,

you can't find one.

You can't find one.

But, Bo, I'm busy.

I know.

I know.

But, Bo, I'm tired.

I know.

I know.

But, Bo, you mean to tell me?

Yeah.

Go find the one.

Wear God out.

Be devoted to prayer.

The second thing that we see from prayer in this is a call to alertness.

Paul says, be watchful in it.

Literally, Paul says, like, stay awake.

Be aware.

And he gives the imagery like a guard on a tower.

I got to think, what makes a good watch guard?

I don't really care about your physical condition.

I don't really care about your mathematical abilities.

What I want in a good watchman is your eyes to stay awake.

For your eyes to be open so that you can look and see that you can be watchful within this.

And this is what Paul says, that in prayer, that there's this call to alertness for you and I, that we are watchful in it.

What we're going to see and what we'll journey through is that our willingness to dive into the depth of prayer will show our spiritual awareness of where we are and our growth in the Lord.

And as we dive in, as we're committed to prayer, what God is going to do are those areas of our heart that he sees that we may either be blind to or have ignored.

God's going to open our eyes more and more to see the sin that is in our life.

And God's going to open our eyes more and more to his will for our life.

And you and I can be alert for what God has for us.

And this has been a concept that Jesus is established with his disciples.

In Matthew chapter 26, Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

This is the garden where Judas would betray him, where Jesus would be arrested, where Peter would seek to attack.

And Jesus goes in in Matthew 26 into the garden.

He brings his disciples with him into the garden, leaves most of them behind, but takes into the depth of the garden, Peter, James, and John.

And Jesus gives these three some instructions.

He looks at him and says, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death.

Remain here, and I love these words, and watch with me.

And watch with me.

Notice that he doesn't say pray with me.

He says watch with me.

I'm going to go and I'm going to pray that I'm weary.

Here's what I need you to do.

I need you to be watchful.

I need you to be watchful.

And so he goes, the Bible tells us, a little farther.

He fell on his face.

And he began to pray, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, not as I will, but as you will.

And then he comes back, and he finds them sleeping.

And he finds them sleeping.

And he said to Peter, and I love these words in church.

This is where the Lord brought me to for our hour.

He says, you couldn't watch with me for one hour.

You couldn't watch for one.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

Years later, Peter is writing 1 Peter, and in chapter 5, he pens these words.

Be watchful because the devil prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour.

May we not miss the connection between the strength and the dedication and the devoted nature of our prayer to God

and overcoming the sin that Satan seeks to attack us with.

And for so many of us, we wonder why we can't get out of the spiritual rut.

Some of us wonder why we can't break the pattern of sin that we feel like we're enslaved to.

And the question I have for you is this, have we stopped all the self-help things we can figure out

and gotten on our knees broken and humbled and devoted and dedicated before the Lord?

And could that be our posture of where we are?

Could that be who we are in this watchful of everything that is going on around us,

everything that is in our heart, and our dedication before God?

And so we continue on.

So could we become more devoted in prayer over these next five weeks,

but could we also become more watchful of our own lives?

Could we become more watchful of those around us as what we're seeking to do is to grow in obedience,

as we're seeking to grow in application?

Like, I'm not taking this journey of prayer so at the end of it we can say,

well, look at what we did.

Look at what we've done.

168 of us walking through this journey.

My hope and my goal in this is that at the end of the five weeks,

what we're seeing is more daddies and husbands who love the Lord

and who sacrificially provide and live and lead their families.

What I'm praying for and hoping for is more mamas and wives who are coming alongside

and being the support system that is needed within the home.

What I'm hoping for is more children who are coming to know the Lord,

more neighbors who are coming to know the Lord.

What I'm hoping to see is more obedience within the body of Christ

so that we're saying, no, God, I'm watchful, I'm dedicated.

God, where are you taking me?

Where's the journey that I need to go on so we can become devoted and watchful?

But then lastly, we'll look at these, kind of a two-part.

We see the heart of prayer.

And I love what Paul gives here in Colossians 4.

He gives them the challenge, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it.

And then he says this, with thanksgiving, with thanksgiving,

that may our prayers be marked by being thankful.

Do this with thanksgiving, Paul tells us.

Now, here's what I want to lay out.

Here's what I know, times are tough.

Times are tough.

The reality is, this world is broken.

And it's just not going to get better until Jesus returns, okay?

Let's admit that.

Let's understand that the brokenness that is around us

has been the brokenness that's been around us.

And it's not getting better until Jesus returns.

And this isn't me declaring this.

This isn't me as a pessimist.

This is what God's Word says.

Romans 8, 22 tells us that creation groans in the pains of childbirth,

anticipating the return of Christ.

Even creation is like, now this is broken.

And it's not getting better until Jesus returns.

And so you have gone through, you are going through,

or you will go through suffering,

and a relationship with Jesus doesn't spare you from that.

And no one knows that better than Paul.

Where does Paul write this?

He tells us in verse 3.

He writes this from prison.

From prison.

Paul would be executed for his faith.

And Paul says, be thankful.

So we can pause, we can break,

we can look at all of the things that are going on in your lives.

And some of you right now, I'm telling you,

because I know your stories,

you're in the thick of it more so than anyone else

that I've seen in my entire time in ministry.

You're battling things that are bigger than you.

You're battling things that are more than you can carry,

more than you can bear.

Some of you have come out of seasons recently.

And I just want to go ahead and say,

because I know this is how this world works,

some of you are getting ready to walk through it,

and you have no clue what's on the other side of the door.

And Paul says, in spite of where you find yourself,

been through it, am in it, or going through it,

pray with thanksgiving.

Pray with thanksgiving.

So what are we thankful for?

What are we thankful for?

We can talk about our situations, they change.

But what are the things in your life and in my life

that were found in Christ that don't change?

What can you and I be thankful for?

Number one, we can be thankful for God himself.

He who never changes.

He who spoke this world into creation.

He who spoke life and brought it,

the Alpha Omega, God himself.

You can simply be thankful for him.

We can be thankful in spite of our circumstances

for God's gift of salvation

that is not dependent on your situation or mine.

We can be thankful for God's eternal love

that God has loved us, does love us,

and will always love us.

We can be thankful for God's presence in our lives.

Here's what I know.

Here's what I've walked in,

what I'm walking through,

and I pray that God will give me the faith

in the future to continue to walk through it.

That regardless of where you find yourself,

God is with you.

And you are not alone.

And that God's presence is in your life.

And the fifth thing,

God's provision and God's help.

He's there.

He's there for you.

He's there with you.

And then lastly, God's sanctification.

God's growing you through it.

He's growing you through it.

That every bit of life

that you feel like is breaking you

in the power of God,

in God alone,

when we are found in Him,

He is strengthening us.

And the last thing that we see,

right here from Paul,

is prayer needs to be gospel-focused.

Verse three and four.

At the same time, pray also for us

that God may open to us

a door for the word

to declare the mystery of Christ

on account of which I am in prison.

Love verse four.

That I may make it clear

which is how I ought to speak.

Notice what Paul says here.

Paul doesn't say,

oh, and when you're done with all this,

like, pray that I'm out.

Pray that something happens

and I get out of here.

Paul says, nope, nope.

Pray that God may open to us

a door for the word

to declare the mystery of Christ

on which I am in prison.

Here's the way that Paul viewed suffering.

Here's the way that Paul viewed prison.

Here's the way that Paul would tell you

to view sickness,

that Paul would tell you

to view the suffering

that you're going through,

the gossip and the slander

that surrounds you,

the world that tries to tear you apart

and beat you down,

the world that creates things

in your life which are unfair,

which you did not ask for.

Paul would say,

use it as an opportunity

to share the gospel.

That's it.

That's it.

And so for me,

church,

are our prayers

the gospel focused?

I get it.

That person that you're married to

is awful.

All right?

I get it.

I get it.

Maybe God has you there

to share the gospel.

I get it that person

that you work for

is terrible to you

and they won't listen to you.

Maybe God has you there

to share the gospel.

I get it that you're sick

and that the prognosis isn't good.

But maybe God has in that moment

for you a time

to make much of him

and the hope of life

that you have

that is beyond this earth.

I get it.

I get it.

It's not what we would have asked for.

It's not what we have chosen.

It's where we find ourselves.

And Paul says,

in that,

make much of him.

We're going to close now

in a time of prayer

and I want to

take some

liberty

and ask a request

from you guys.

If you are capable

and you are able to,

in just a moment,

I'm going to ask

if we could get on our knees

and pray before the Lord.

If you can't,

that's fine.

I understand.

Ladies,

you're like,

man,

I wish you had told me this

before I wore this skirt.

Like,

I get it, right?

You're like,

man,

my knees are bad.

I can't,

I get it.

I get it.

I get it.

But the Lord laid this

on my heart this morning

that I want us to take a time

if we can

to get on our knees

before him

in just a moment.

And we're just going to

spend some time in prayer.

We always pray

as we wrap up a message

and I feel like

often times

that you sit there

just like I've done

so many times

as I've sat out

in a congregation before.

And I'm sitting there

and I'm listening to

the person who's on stage

who's praying.

I'm amening in my heart

as he or she

lifts up

or says something.

But as I pray,

I want to just challenge you.

Just challenge you.

So maybe my words

aren't the words

of your prayer

that you need to have

this morning.

Maybe what you need to do

as we go into this time

of prayer

is beginning to cry out

to God yourself.

Begin to take this step

of being devoted

to him in prayer.

To being watchful

of the things

in the world

around you.

To be thankful

for who he is,

for what he's done

and what he plans

to do

in your life.

And then to see

how every area

and every aspect

in our lives

can be focused

on the gospel.

And so if you can,

would you get on your knees

and join me

in this time of prayer.

Lord, I come to you

this morning

and so grateful,

Lord, for who you are.

Lord, I thank you

that you love us.

That you give us salvation.

God, that you sent

your son Jesus

to die on the cross.

Lord, I thank you

that the tomb is empty.

Lord, I thank you

that you give us life

and hope.

Lord, I thank you

that our eternity

has been decided

in you

and in you alone.

Lord, I come this morning

just

in a heart of repentance

for my sin,

for my shortcomings,

for my failures.

Lord, I repent

of my pride,

my arrogance,

of my greed,

of my lust.

Lord, I pray

and thank you

that you

pour out your grace

on me.

Lord, I come to you

this morning

and I pray

for those

who are here,

the kids

who are in our next

building

who do not know you.

Lord, I pray

through my words

that are just not,

they're not perfect,

Lord,

but through

your drawing

that is

Lord,

that today

they could find

hope

in life,

in Christ

and in Christ alone.

Lord, I pray

for our students

in Utah

and our adults

who are with them.

Lord, may our adults

model for them

what needs to be done

and release these students

to share the love

of Christ

and the hope

of Christ.

Lord, for these families

that they'll interact

with, Lord,

I pray that they'll

be willing

to come

to the church,

Lord,

to hear the gospel

and to respond.

Lord, I pray

for those

who have bought in

and accepted

the love

of Mormonism,

Lord,

those who have

accepted the love

of an intellectual

system within

their own lives

and Lord,

that they could

cry out to you

and Lord,

find hope

through you

and you alone.

Lord, I pray

for the situation

in Haiti.

I pray for all

the turmoil

and strife

that is there.

There's no more

evidence of the

brokenness

that sin brings

into this world

than a lot

of the events

that are playing

out there.

Lord, I pray

for Bill

and for the team

that's there

or that have

given so much

to invest

in these villages

or to share

the gospel.

Lord, and I pray

that even though

so many of the

missionaries

have had to leave

or that the

groundwork

that's been laid

in the hope

of the gospel

will be shared.

Lord, I pray

for the whole

country of India

where this

morning, Lord,

in spite of

the promise

of death,

imprisonment

for those

who gather

in churches,

Lord, I pray

that men and

women and children

will gather

anyway because

they know

that their life

is not defined

by this world

but by you.

Lord, I pray

for Daryl

and the work

that's going on

in the Philippines

where so many

have been hindered

because of poverty,

and Lord,

through the gospel

and Lord,

through the ministries

that they have

that these villages

are given an

opportunity, Lord,

to have a meal

and to be encouraged

and be blessed

and to hear the gospel

and respond to it.

Lord, I pray

for Rick and Tina

in Greece.

Lord,

come out of a country

that COVID

continually shuts down

but Lord,

in the midst

of COVID

shutting something down,

Lord,

you continue

to open up hearts,

Afghan Muslim hearts

for the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Lord,

I thank you so much

that you took a man

and a woman

who worked in construction

and food service,

Lord,

and you called them

to your mission field

and they're there,

Lord,

sharing the gospel

of Jesus Christ

in ways that

five years ago

they never would have

dreamt,

but you called them.

Lord,

I pray for the work

going on in North Africa

as so many

are hindered

to even hearing

about the truth

and so Lord,

today I pray

for private conversations

that are whispered

in coffee shops

and private conversations

that are whispered

in homes

and private conversations,

Lord,

that are whispered

on street corners

so that men and women

may have faith

and Lord,

I pray against all

the terrorist groups

that are seeking

to recruit more,

Lord,

as you're building

and you're saving

men and women,

may their hope

be found there.

Lord,

I pray for the work

that's being done

in Toronto

where refugees

from all over this world

are pouring into

and they're bringing

their faiths

that they know

are broken

and they're looking

for something different

and they're finding

a group of believers

that are scattered

amongst the city there

that is growing

ever more lost

but a remnant,

Lord,

that's there

of believers

who are living boldly

for their faith

and sharing hope.

Lord,

I pray for VBS

that'll happen here

in one short week.

I pray for all

the workers

who are gonna be here

who are gonna give

and sacrifice

of their time.

I pray for the family,

some, Lord,

that call Willow Ridge home

but, Lord,

as we've seen

the registration,

many that are coming

in off the street

that we do not know

and I pray, Lord,

it's a time

to share the love

of Christ

and that not only children

but moms and dads

and maybe grandparents

and neighbors

will come to faith

in Jesus

through a VBS.

Lord,

I pray for the families

of our church

Lord,

I pray that our

our dads

and husbands

Lord,

could lead

not as we decide to

but as

you showed us

as Christ

loved the church.

Lord,

I pray for our

wives

and our moms

here,

Lord,

that they would

then lead

and respond

Lord,

how the church

responds to you.

Lord,

I pray for the next

generation

for these

kids

of what is modeled

to them

and what is shown

to them,

Lord,

they will not

turn from it

but that the

gospel word

will be implanted

in their heart

and they will

grow and mature

in their faith

and continue

forward.

Lord,

I pray for the

lost

that surround

us.

Lord,

may you give us

times and opportunities

and moments

not simply

just to love

people

but to share

the very hope

of the gospel.

Lord,

I pray for this

season of prayer.

May our knees

become sore

but may our hearts

be strengthened

as we kneel

before you

and as we cry

out to you.

Lord,

I thank you

for all

that you've

done.

Lord,

I thank you

for all

that you're

doing

and Lord,

for all

that you're

going to do

and it's

in Jesus'

name we pray.

Amen.

We're going

to respond

to him

in worship.

You're fine

if you want

to stand up,

sit down,

you're good.

But maybe

you want

to continue

on in prayer.

Maybe right

where you are

or maybe down

front.

Maybe you

want to come

pray with me.

I'll be right

here with my

family.

We'd love

to pray

with you.

Bring it

before the Lord.

thanks again for

thanks again for

listening to the

Willow Ridge

Church weekly

podcast.

We hope that you

enjoyed listening to

this week's message.

If you'd like to

learn more about

who we are

or explore

additional resources,

visit us online

at www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching

for Willow Ridge

Church on Facebook

and Instagram.