21 days of prayer – week 1

Like I said in my post about prepping for 21 days of prayer, it’s one of my favorite seasons and it’s such a good way to get in the habit of intentionally taking time out of our day to grow in our relationship with God.

[photo from Church of the Highlands social media]

Every morning (Monday – Saturday), there is a 10minute message prior to our time of worship + intimate prayer and I love taking notes during this time and being able to share them with you. I hope you can gleam something from them.

 

{all scripture is from the NIV version unless otherwise noted}

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Monday || 8.8.16 - Chris Hodges

Acts 4:23-31 ~ “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of Godboldly.”

Peter and his friends were having a ton of success, but they knew it was important to keep praying.

They found scripture that perfectly fit their situation and they prayed it.

3 things of Spirit-filled prayer:

1. United Prayer – pray with other believers
2. Scriptural Prayer – declare God’s word over your situation
3. Bold Prayer – pray prayers that make Jesus stand up from his seat next to the Father

 

TUESDAY || 8.9.16 - Hamp Greene

Have you ever had negative thoughts while you’re praying?

Prayer is not a skill set, it’s a mindset.

Philippians 4:8-9 ~ “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

1. Pray for a position of victory
2. Pray from a position of power

 

WEDNESDAY || 8.10.16 - Layne Schranz

Have you ever felt like your prayers were insignificant?

Prayer is doing more than I can think because God is doing more than I can see.

1 Corinthians 3:5-11 ~ “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

3 things I’m doing while I’m praying:

1. Planting
2. Watering
3. Building

 

THURSDAY ||8.11.16 - Blake Lindsey

Mark 4:35-37 ~ “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.”

Have I ever had a “without warning” kind of moment? Good or bad. Something that I wasn’t prepared for.

Mark 4:38 ~ “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?””

God is cool, calm and collected. God is never caught off guard.

Mark 4:39 ~ “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

What is Jesus wasn’t just speaking to the wind when he told it to be calm, what if he was also talking to his disciples?

1. Make this season of 21 days a season of listening.
2. Make an asking list and a listening list.

3 ways you can listen to God:

1. Through the Holy Spirit & silence whatever might be clouding that
2. Through His Word – read it and pray it
3. Invite others into this journey with you

 

FRIDAY || 8.12.16 - Mark Pettus

It’s not just about what God is doing for us, but what he is doing in us.

Psalm 34:4-8 ~

 

SATURDAY || 8.13.16 - Dino Rizzo

James 5:13-16 ~ “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

How to pray the prayer of faith:

1. It’s a prayer based around the integrity of God’s truth
2. It’s a prayer that causes us to do it together
3. It’s a prayer where you get a little tenacity (the quality of being able to grip something firmly)

 

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I hope you can find some encouragement in this post today. Feel free to watch the service yourself at http://21days.churchofthehighlands.com/