Deepening Love and Mission Through Prayer

Devotional

Sermon Summary

Sermon Clips



"Like, prayer may be a desperate plea or a joyful rest in his presence. Like, it's just sitting with an old friend in a state of complete peace. Just fully known, fully understood, fully loved. Like, that's the kind of relationship Christ has purchased for you. And it's where nothing is hidden. Nothing's ignored or trivialized. Where your guard can finally be let down because you know you're actually seen and known and loved. You're not loved blindly." [00:09:45] (30 seconds)


"There's now a hyper-awareness in our hearts of our own inadequacy before this holy God. There's this block, this barrier, like a boundary line, and our fickle attempts to cover that sin, that shame, that inadequacy, even our best works, they're like wilting fig leaves that are disconnected from the vine and destined to rot and leave us fully exposed. This is the human condition before a holy God." [00:14:17] (26 seconds)


"Fully loved, fully forgiven, fully seen, fully accepted to then approach God as you are in this moment. Clothed in, covered by the very righteousness of Jesus Christ, the son himself. This is what it means to send your roots deep in the love of God and Christ on a soul level. Amen. It draws us out, it draws us in and he fills us up." [00:16:00] (29 seconds)


"After all, the strong don't need help, right? Even from God. Like, that's for the weak. Nietzsche famously said, religion is simply a crutch for the weak. You ever heard that? But you know what? Nietzsche was wrong. healthy who don't. And the truth is, is that we're all in a desperate need, but it requires humility to cry out." [00:25:09] (45 seconds)


"Those who don't know how to pray will see little of lasting significance remain from their lives. The great 18th century English evangelist, John Wesley, famously said, I am convinced God does nothing on earth except in answer to prayer. Jesus told his followers, when you pray, because he said, it is an expectation, not an optional extra for supercritical prayer. Christians, when you pray. He even said, when you've asked." [00:28:26] (30 seconds)


"Pray for that joy, even. Again, this all flows out of having your roots deep in his love. Hebrews 12 tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him. It was the heart of God, his purpose, his mission, his love that would flow like a river through him to all of creation. That was his joy. That was his motivation." [00:46:24] (25 seconds)


"But if your life is leveraged for his kingdom and his glory and you're rooted in his love, if it's his love, then you're going to be able to endure as long as his energy that's working so powerfully within you, then even when you face trials of many kinds, they become joy. It becomes an offering of worship. It becomes a catalyst that simply stokes your affections for the one who's worth it all." [00:47:14] (23 seconds)


"He's already promised to do abundantly more than we could ask, think, or imagine according to the power at work within us. Amen? But he does require that we ask and keep on asking. The truth is, he's way more prone to praying small and general than large and specific. But big specific prayers are faith-filled prayers." [00:53:24] (22 seconds)


"God's word is his active power. And when you hear God speaking to you in his word, when you study his word, when you hear his voice to you in his word, that is his power coming into your life. That is his reality coming into your life. If you want to make sure that your prayer life is meaningful, then you need to be deep into the word of God." [00:57:32] (25 seconds)


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