Pray
Heavenly Father, I come to You now to renew my place in
You. I acknowledge that You are the Creator of all things and the Provider of all I
need. You are the Great I AM. The First and the Last, the King of kings and
Lord of lords. You alone are life. No one comes before You, and today, I will
pursue life in You as my greatest passion.
Father, thank You for ransoming me with the life of Your
Son. Jesus, thank You for being my substitute and paying for all of my sins. I
believe in Your resurrection, and it is through my faith in You that I can now
approach my Heavenly Father with freedom and confidence. I claim the power of
Your resurrection in my life and I now bring every aspect of my life, including
my family [name your spouse and/or children] and my work under Your authority
and Your Kingdom.
In You, Jesus, I have received a new life and have been
raised to walk in the newness of that life. I ask that Your Holy Spirit search
me, know me and reveal to me any aspect of my life that is not pleasing to You.
Show me the things in my life that prevent me from knowing Your will, and give
me the strength to repent. Holy Spirit, I also ask you to awaken my heart to
everything You want to do through me and the steps You want me to take for You.
Jesus, I believe You have new things to declare for my life and I ask in Your
name that You make them known to me.
Jesus, I
also ask You to reveal to me in every way possible those in my current
relationships for whom I should intercede in prayer and reach out to in Your
name. I pray today for opportunities to be Your light in their life so they
will grow in the knowledge of You.
Father,
I pray for all of the leaders at Stonecreek Church who join with me for this
time of prayer. Search us, break us and unify us as men and women of the one
true living God so new things can be accomplished for Your Kingdom in our
homes, our community and around the world.
Holy
Spirit, fill Your church with the strength and endurance to bring spiritual
revolution in these times. Stir our hearts to pray as never before and to have
discernment and a boldness to share the life we have in Jesus.Now,
Father, I pray for 10/10/10 and every new thing You will bring about in me, my
community and our church. You are able to do immeasurably more than all I
can ever ask or imagine. To You be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, forever and ever!
Amen.
Reflect | Pursue Life
I will
pursue life in You as my greatest passion.
Life in . . .
We can complete these two words with our favorite hobby, a vacation destination or a passion we follow. And we can find glimpses of life in these things. Even Coca-Cola once advertised that we could find life in their soft-drink with the tag line "Coke adds life." There are many different ways to pursue life, and many different activities or associations that make us feel "alive."
Apart from Jesus, however, the life we ultimately find is only temporary. Jesus is the author of our story. He is our life, and we will only find our true life in pursuit of Him. In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." He also says in Matthew 10:39, ". . .whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." In other words, we give our (former) life to Jesus, and He replaces it with the (new) life for which we were created.
But what does it mean to pursue life in Jesus as our greatest passion? It begins with realizing that God does not compete for our attention. When the religious establishment asks Jesus what He considers to be the greatest commandment, Jesus responds by saying, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37 NIV, emphasis added) In whatever you do, do it for God with all of you. In everything you do, do it for God like your life depends on it. And in the process, you will not only find Him, but also your life.
Respond
Make a list of the things in life that truly make you come alive. As you think about each of the things on your list, what about
them really speaks to you?
Are pursuing life in Jesus with the same
passion and intensity that you pursue these other interests?
What former things do you need to hand over to God in order to make a new pursuit of Him the most important thing in your life today?
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