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 | Share Your Story
Stir our hearts...to have
discernment and a boldness to share the life we have in Jesus.
The definition of News is "to inform by the factual reporting of something significant that has happened." In today's frenzy of 24/7 shock and awe reporting, the nature of what gets communicated can often leave us less informed and more anxious or overwhelmed.
For many people, what they have heard about Jesus has also left them feeling anxious or ill-informed. They may have a misconception of Jesus' purpose from a past religious experience. They could have missed the news of forgiveness in Christ due to a home environment void of His grace. They may have discounted the message of God's love and comfort in the midst of a tragic life event. For these reasons and more, we pray for the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts to share what Jesus has done in our life with boldness, and in a discerning way that meets others where they need Him most.
In 1 Corinthians 15:1-7, the apostle Paul makes the message of the gospel plain:
"I would remind you...of the gospel...that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day...and that He...appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive."
The heart of the gospel is that "Christ died for our sins...was buried...was raised...and appeared to more than five hundred people." The fact that Paul says many of these witnesses are still alive shows how factual the gospel is. He was reporting to his readers that first and foremost they could know the opportunity to have life in Jesus was real because first-hand witnesses were available.
What will we do with the facts? Will we choose not to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others? Will we simply pass on the basic facts of who Jesus is and some of our beliefs to friends, neighbors and co-workers? Or will we internalize the gospel in a way that the real story becomes what others experience from the new life we have in Jesus Christ?
Respond
If someone were to write a news story about your life, what words would they use to describe your life before you chose to follow Jesus? What about when you decided to follow Jesus? What words would they use to describe your life after?
Between now and 10/10/10, with whom can you begin to share your story about the life you have in Jesus?
If you have a story you would like to share about something you feel God is doing through this One Prayer Journey, please share it with us online.
