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 | Faith of Friends
...reveal to me in every way possible those in my current relationships for whom I should intercede...
Read Mark 2:1-12
Whether he was born paralyzed or became paralyzed - the end result was the same: total dependence on others. When people looked at him, they didn't see the man, they saw a body in need of a miracle. But what the people saw was not what Jesus saw as a result of the faith of his friends.
What would have happened had the friends given up? What if they had shrugged their shoulders and mumbled something about the crowd being too big? Afterall, they had done a good deed in coming this far. Who would fault them for turning back? You can only do so much for somebody. But, these friends had not done enough. One friend said that he had an idea. The four huddled over the paralytic and listened to the plan to climb to the top of the house, cut through the roof and lower their friend down with their sashes.
It was risky. It was dangerous. It was unorthodox. And it was intrusive.
But it was their only chance to see Jesus and their only hope to get healing for their friend. So they climbed the roof.
Faith does these kinds of things. Faith does the unexpected. And faith gets God's attention. Faith is not the belief that God will do what we want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. And, faith requires action. In this moment, these friends believed for their friend what he had a hard time believing for himself. They believed Jesus could heal him and they were willing to do everything they could to put him at the feet of his Healer. Healing begins when we do something. Healing begins when we reach out. Healing begins when we take a step.
Adapted from He Still Moves Stones, by Max Lucado
Respond
Who in your sphere of influence needs to experience God's grace, healing and restoration?
Do you believe that God will do what is right for them?
As
an act of faith, what step will you take to reach out and intercede on
behalf of someone you know that needs to experience the compassion and hope that comes from faith in Jesus Christ?
Share a story with us through our online form, or e-mail us at updates@stonecreekchurch.org.
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