Category: God’s Love Church’s Prayer

Let’s read out loud today’s transmission.

Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV) – “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Together, caught up in the love of God and the empowering of the Spirit to earnestly pray, God corporately takes the church to new places and new possibilities in their faith, into new revelation and experience of his love for one another, and into the unfolding of his power at work in and through them.

Let’s worship and sing to the song, “Fullness” by Elevation Worship (click here).

Prayer: Lord, help us grasp the magnitude of Christ’s love for us, and love in return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– TR

Luke 22:39-44 (NIV) – Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

“Jesus submitted to the will of God in the garden (Luke 22:42), but that did not prevent him from praying “earnestly” (22:44). Once we realize that prayer does change things, we can be bold to “storm the gates of heaven” with earnest prayer for God’s intervention.” [Fernando, Ajith; Acts (The NIVAC) 317]

Jesus’ prayer is a request to God the Father to enable him to carry out the unspeakable task before him so that the promises of God may be fulfilled, and God’s plan of salvation could come to all. Likewise, the church continued in this prayer asking God to work through them this gospel of Jesus by his Spirit. May all our prayers be shaped in this way.

Let’s sing and worship to the song, “By the Grace of God” by Bethel. (Click Here)

Prayer:  Lord, teach me to pray so that the Gospel is the lens through which I pray for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-TR

Matthew 19:14-15 (NIV) – Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

“Dad told us to join hands with the person next to us and pray. Even though I had done this before, this time something happened. A warm sensation permeated my whole body, and I started to cry. As the sounds of the people praying filled the room, in that moment it was as if I were being hugged tightly yet gently at the same time; so loved that it brought tears of joy to my eyes. When we finished praying, the woman next to me said, “Chrissy, did you feel that?” “Yes, I did!” For the rest of my life this presence of God—God coming so close that you feel like you are being embraced by perfect love—would both haunt me and compel me.” [Toledo, Chrissy Cymbala. Girl in the Song (p. 24)]

Our children and teens are to grow up with these types of experiences, knowing God’s love, and church prays. Let’s pray for them to have supernatural encounters early in their lives so that God’s perfect love will compel them all the days of their lives.

Let’s prophetically sing over our children this song, “One Thing” by Hillsong.  (Click Here)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, draw each of our children and teens into your perfect love today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-TR

Ephesians 3:10-12 (NIV) – His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Let’s read aloud together these excerpts from The Cape Town Commitment, “We love the people of God.”

For ‘since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another,’ and thereby ‘be imitators of God…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.’…This Church is a community of grace, obedience and love in the communion of the Holy Spirit, in which the glorious attributes of God and gracious characteristics of Christ are reflected and God’s multi-colored wisdom is displayed. As the most vivid present expression of the kingdom of God, the Church is the community of the reconciled who no longer live for themselves, but for the Savior who loved them and gave himself for them.

What a beautiful depiction of who we are as the church. Let’s pray based on this confession, asking the Lord to continue to use our churches to display his manifold wisdom and saving love in Christ through us.

Let’s worship and sing to the song, “All Praise (Sing Praise)” by Matt Redman. (Click Here)

 

Prayer: Lord, empower us to be the community of the reconciled who live for our Savior. Thank you, Jesus, for loving us and giving yourself for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– TR

Acts 12:5, 14 (NIV) – So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him…When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

“The word translated “earnestly” (ektenos) literally means “stretched out” and could thus mean continuous, in which case it carries a similar idea as it does in 1:14, which gave us the idea of prevailing prayer…This idea of earnestness comes from the idea of hands stretched out to God in fervent supplication. It gives the impression of wholehearted, urgent pleading to God. While Peter was fast asleep in prison in the middle of the night (the angel had to wake him—v. 7), the church was engaged in vigilant prayer for him.” [Fernando, Ajith. Acts (NIVAC) p. 314]

God’s love, bestowed in his miracles, is tangible when the church earnestly prays for its people and loved ones. Take this moment to pray asking the Lord to come and fill your heart with his supernatural love and Spirit-led earnest prayer this week. And then “stretch” your hands to the Lord and earnestly pray for our loved ones in our churches, missional groups or campus ministries that need God’s intervention or rescue in supernatural ways.

Let’s worship in singing to the song, “All Things New” by Hillsong. (Click Here)

Prayer: Lord, continue this earnest praying in my life and our church this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

– TR