Recharging Our Souls Through Prayer and Forgiveness

Bible Reading:
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1. 1 Thessalonians 5:17: "Pray without ceasing."
2. Matthew 6:9-13: "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"
3. 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
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Observation Questions:
1. What does 1 Thessalonians 5:17 suggest about the frequency and nature of prayer?
2. In Matthew 6:9-13, what are the key elements that Jesus highlights in the Lord's Prayer?
3. According to 1 Corinthians 10:13, how does God respond when we are faced with temptation?

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does "Pray without ceasing" in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 apply to our daily lives and interactions with others?
2. What does it mean for God's "kingdom to come" and His "will to be done on earth as it is in heaven" as stated in Matthew 6:9-13?
3. How does the promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will provide a way out of temptation provide comfort and reassurance in times of struggle?

Application Questions:
1. How can you incorporate the principle of "praying without ceasing" into your daily routine? Can you identify specific times or situations where you can remind yourself to pray?
2. Reflect on a recent situation where you faced temptation. How could you have sought God's guidance and the "way out" He promises in 1 Corinthians 10:13?
3. In what ways can you actively seek to align your will with God's will, as instructed in Matthew 6:9-13, in your personal life, work, or relationships this week?
4. Can you think of a person in your life whom you need to forgive or seek forgiveness from? How can you apply the principles of forgiveness from Matthew 6:9-13 in this situation?
5. How can you express gratitude to God as Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace, and El Roi, the God who sees and cares about each individual, in your prayers this week?

Day 1: Seeking Divine Guidance in Conflict

In times of exhaustion and temptation, especially during family conflicts, it is crucial to seek God's guidance. Wisdom and kindness from God can help make the right choices and navigate through these challenging times. [01:15:00]

Bible Passage: James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent family conflict. How could seeking God's wisdom and kindness have changed the outcome?

Day 2: The Power of Consistent Prayer

Maintaining a constant connection with God through prayer is essential. Prayer should be simple and consistent, like having a conversation, and it should be a regular part of our daily lives. [01:30:00]

Bible Passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - "Pray without ceasing."

Reflection: How can you incorporate consistent, simple prayer into your daily routine starting today?

Day 3: Overcoming Temptation through Prayer

Temptation is common to all mankind. Praying to God, asking Him to lead us away from temptation and to help us avoid falling into its trap, is a powerful tool in overcoming these daily challenges. [01:45:00]

Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

Reflection: What specific temptation are you facing today and how can you use prayer to overcome it?

Day 4: The Transformative Power of Forgiveness

Dealing with sin in our lives is important. Taking ownership of our actions and seeking forgiveness from God for our wrongdoings is a key step in this process. The power of forgiveness is made possible through the love of Jesus. [02:00:00]

Bible Passage: Ephesians 1:7 - "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace."

Reflection: What is one sin you need to take ownership of and seek God's forgiveness for today?

Day 5: Prioritizing God's Kingdom

Prioritizing God's kingdom above all else is crucial. Surrendering control of our lives to God and aligning ourselves with His will allows us to experience the supernatural presence of God in every aspect of our lives. [02:15:00]

Bible Passage: Matthew 6:33 - "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to surrender control to God and align with His will?

Hello everybody.

And that is just... Can you hear me? Am I in house? I can scream; I'm very loud.

But that is just a little taste of what our team is doing in the Philippines.

Is this ever going to work? Okay, that's fine. This one is not working. Oh, there you go.

So that is just a little bit of what our team is doing over there in the Philippines. I think they're having too much fun. I think they need to just come back and start working, like really.

Now, but they have been just a blessing to the people in the Philippines. It has been just such a great time. And honestly, they have been receiving as much as they have been given. So praise God for all of that.

But today, we get to talk about prayer. Today is the last message of our prayer first series, and honestly, I am sad to see it go. It has been amazing. I think that every single person that has spoken has just given us a little something extra that we can use in our prayer time.

I think that every single time that we have come together to pray at noon has been just so refreshing. So if you have not been a part of that, I want to invite you to join this last seven days because it really has been life-changing, just being able to connect and pray together.

There is just something that happens when we, as a body of Christ, come together and pray. It is just beautiful.

But something that has been really, really good for me, at least with this prayer series, is that we are understanding the deeper meaning of prayer. Because a lot of times, we tend to just put prayer in a box, and we think that prayer is just a protocol that we need to follow in order for God to do something that we need, right?

And we say, okay, so I need A, B, and C, so what I need to do is go and pray. And prayer is so much more than that. Prayer is what makes us get closer to God. The purpose of prayer is to draw us near to Him, to really talk into His heart, to get a real relationship with God, with the creator of everything.

We get to pray. It is not just about the things that we can get out of prayer; it is about what happens in us because we are spending time in prayer.

And I do believe that taking time out of your morning or your evening to sit down and read your Bible and pray, those are times that are just important for all of us as believers. We need to have that.

But many of us say amen and move on with our day, right? We're like, okay, I spent my 30 minutes with God, now I'm gonna go on and do whatever it is happening to me today. And we forget that God’s still there, right? We say, okay, amen, I'll talk to you tomorrow and go on.

So 1 Thessalonians 5:17 puts it this way: Pray without ceasing. We're not supposed to stop praying. It is a prayer at all times. Do this consistently; never stop without ceasing.

And this doesn't mean that you truly never stop talking. What it means is that you never consider your communication with God done for the day. It is that you understand that that relationship has to keep on going no matter what you're doing or where you are.

See, I love my phone. I love my phone. I do everything with my phone. I think that 90% of the things in my life happen because of my phone, right? Like all of my schedules are in there, all of my alarms are in there. My kids will not go to school if I didn't have my phone because I will not know when they are supposed to leave.

Like now, the brand's not around, and I have been driving my kids back and forth to soccer and to different things. That GPS in my phone, whew, that's a beautiful thing that I never knew because I get lost really, really quickly.

I manage your social media pages here at the church, and I do that with my phone. I talk to my family in Mexico; I go either via text messages or FaceTime, and that happens with my phone.

But if my phone is not charged, it is not good to me at all. It is a very beautiful and expensive paperweight. That's it. My phone needs to be charged in order for me to be able to use it. I need to be able to put it in the power source so that it can get fully charged so that I can take advantage of what is inside of that phone.

And the same thing happens with us. I don't know about you, but I plug my phone to the charger a lot during the day because there is nothing more panic-inducing for me than seeing the little yellow battery in the corner go from green to yellow. And if that goes from yellow to red, oh, you better believe I'm gonna run, and I'm gonna unplug anybody's anything to plug my phone because I need my phone to be fully charged.

And we understand this with technology, but we neglect it in our soul. We are walking around with low battery souls. Our souls are flashing red, and we are still just going because my devotion is tomorrow. You know, so like whatever happens tonight, well, we will recharge tomorrow.

But we need to recharge constantly. Smith Wigglesworth said it this way: I don't often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying.

And that is my invitation for you today. I want to challenge you to pray throughout your day, not just a chunk in the morning or a chunk in the evening, but all day long. Have a communication with God throughout the whole entirety of your day.

You already do this; at least I do. I talk to myself all the time. I need expert advice on things, and I need to talk to the cool people, so I talk to myself. It is the same thing but a little bit different.

So what if instead of you saying to yourself, "Man, this is going to be a really, really rough conversation," you said, "God, it's going to be a really rough conversation. Can you be in the room with me?"

What if instead of celebrating yourself and saying, "Man, I did so good. I cannot believe that I actually did that," you said, "God, did you see that? I did good, man, like I was so proud of myself. Are you proud of me? Like I did good."

It is the same thing but with so much more power behind it.

So that is what I want us to do.

So today we're going to be using the Lord's Prayer as our prayer model. My husband, a couple of weeks ago, talked about his favorite prayer pattern, and today I'm going to share mine. I would like to say that we saved the best for last, so, you know, nobody's here to say otherwise.

This is the model of prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, and we know it as the Lord's Prayer. This is found in Matthew 6, and this is where we're going to spend the rest of our time together, just looking into it and how we can use it in our daily lives.

So it says, "And when you pray, pray like this."

So I want us to stop there because Jesus is giving us a pattern for prayer, not a recipe for prayer. He is not saying memorize this and repeat this and nothing but this because when we do that, it just becomes words, and it is just something that you just do monotonously because you know that you just need to repeat this over and over and over and over again, and sometimes it loses meaning.

So Jesus is telling us, "Pray like this," not "Pray just this."

Okay, so that's the first thing that we need to understand. This is a pattern for prayer, not a recipe for prayer.

But it says, "And when you pray, pray like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

Have you ever heard that before? I think that most of us know it; we have heard it, we have read it, we are familiar with it.

So how can we use this model that Jesus gave us to pray throughout our day? Well, let's check it out.

So we're going to be going phrase by phrase, and we're going to see where we can put those into our daily lives.

Okay, into just a whole day.

So your alarm goes off.

So picture this with me. Okay, you're in bed. Your alarm goes off. It's loud, it's annoying; you don't want to wake up yet, but it is time, right?

So you open your eyes. First thing in the morning, what do you do? You get up with gratitude. That is the first thing that we do. We get up with gratitude.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."

Jesus' model of prayer begins with the Father, helping us recognize that He has the authority over everything. He is God. His name is holy. He has the authority to do anything.

So the first thing that we do in the morning when we wake up is not grabbing our phone to check social media. It is not checking on our emails. It is not turning on the news or doing anything else.

The first thing that we do in the morning is praise. We are grateful because we are alive. We are grateful because God gives us a new day. We are grateful because we are in His family. We can call Him Father.

Sorry, our Father, my Father. Just think about that. What does that say about God's heart for you and for me?

That Jesus didn't just come to the earth so that we can go freely through the throne of God, but He is inviting us to call Him Father. He is saying address Him in a way that is personal, that is close.

He is not a faraway God. He is not out to get you. He is not just the one that sits on the throne and is just looking down. He is close. He is your Father. You are His child, and He has your best interest in mind. He is trustworthy.

He is our Father, and we get to call Him Father. So we can be grateful because we are part of His family.

So that is the first thing that we understand: God, you have all of the authority, and I still get to call you Father. You are my Father. Thank you.

Don't start your day with a running list. Start your day thanking God because He loves you so much that He grafted you into His family.

Start your day recognizing that His name is worthy to be praised. That is what "hallowed" means. It is to honor, to give respect, to praise.

We say, "Hallowed be your name." Your name is worth honor and respect.

And then we start thinking about the different names of God. We were seeing some of His names this morning, and it is beautiful for us to understand all of the different names that God has throughout the Bible because each and every one of them represents a characteristic or something distinct about God and what He means to us and how He relates to us.

So we can say, "Thank you today, Lord, because today you are Jehovah Shalom. You are my peace, and I don't have to go throughout my day in fear. I don't have to go throughout my day in worry and uncertainty, but I can have perfect peace because you are Jehovah Shalom."

Thank you because you are El Roi, and you see me. A lot of people might ignore me; people might just overlook me, but you see me. You care about me.

If you don't know the names of God, Google it. Learn about them because each and every one of them has a promise with it for you. So bless His name.

So when we open our eyes, the first thing that we do is we focus on God.

How much different will your day be if that is something that you do every day?

How much different will you approach your day if the very first thing that you do in the morning is recognize that you are a child of God and you get to call Him Father?

I think that it will change a lot of things in us if we wake up with an attitude of gratitude.

So don't wake up with grumbling. Don't wake up with grunting. Don't wake up with grudges. Wake up with gratitude.

So after we woke up with gratitude, and then you went and you showered and you brushed your teeth and you took your third cup of coffee and whatever it is that you do in the mornings, and now you're ready to start your day.

You're either on your way to the workplace or you're on your way to school or you're on your way to run some errands. Then that is when the second part comes, and we're going to get our priorities in order.

That is why we say, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

There is something much bigger than what is waiting for you at your desk. There is something more important than the test that you're taking today. There is something that has to have priority number one in all of your to-do lists, and that is to see God's kingdom come.

And by us saying, "God, your kingdom come and your will be done," we are saying, "God, you are the king."

And if we're asking your kingdom to come and your will to be done, that means that I'm surrendering. That means that I am giving all of my control. I relinquish the control of my life.

The only thing that I want to do today is serve you. I am a servant of the king.

And the thing that you need to do at this time is just align yourself with God. It doesn't have to be a super long prayer. None of this do. You don't have to spend 45 minutes in each and every one of these portions.

But it is just saying, "God, as I am getting into work, I align myself to you. You know that I have a lot of things that I need to accomplish today, but you are priority number one. So whatever you want me to do today, I'm going to do that. Lead me in my conversations. When I am talking to somebody on the phone, Holy Spirit, if you need me to say something, just put it in my heart; I will do it.

Lord, when I'm walking the hallways at school, if you need me to stop and say hello to somebody or do anything, I am available to you. Your kingdom first, your will first, my to-dos second.

Your kingdom come. We make room for the supernatural to happen everywhere we go. It is not about us anymore.

And when we really embrace this, when we really say, "God, I really desire your kingdom to come and your will to be done," then we're going to be uttering the presence of God everywhere we go.

You will start seeing the supernatural happening at your job. You will start seeing the supernatural happening at your school. You will see the supernatural happen at the grocery store, everywhere you are because you are aligning yourself to what God wants you to do.

So you got up with gratitude. You got your priorities in order.

And by this time, you're hungry because it's lunchtime. And this is where number three comes: We are going to share our needs.

We share our needs at lunch: "Give us this day our daily bread."

See, if you read the gospels in the Bible, Jesus cared for the needs of the people. He never overlooked anything, even if it looked just ordinary. He cared for every single person.

He instructed His disciples to feed a multitude of people because they were hungry. He went around healing the sick because they were sick. He even made a coin appear in the mouth of a fish so they could pay taxes.

Jesus cared for all of the needs of the people. He didn't say, "Hey, just focus on heaven and stay in need." No, He did both. He provided relief for their souls, but He also gave them what they needed at the moment.

He cares about you. Actually, the word for daily bread in this passage is the word "epiousios." I probably am butchering that, but it translates something close to "grocery list."

It is not word for word "grocery list," but it kind of comes to that. So He's saying, "Tell me what you need."

And actually, this is the only time that that word is used in the whole New Testament, just here. So He's telling you, "What do you need?"

Bread represents the resources. Bread represents money, the thing that sustains you, the things that you need.

See, when we sit down for dinner or for any meal together, my daughter, Kelsey, she always wants to pray. She is the only one that can pray. If anybody else prays, she gets offended because apparently that's her job in the family. She prays for her meals, and her prayer is the most cutest thing I have ever heard.

She always says, "Dear Jesus, help us with this food. In Jesus' name, amen." I don't know why we need help with the food, but it's adorable.

But we need to pray a little bit longer than that, right? We don't need to just say grace. When we are already talking to God at lunch, we can spend a few extra minutes and let Him know what is bothering us, what we've been carrying, all of those things that are just burning in us.

He cares for us. So you are already talking to God. Take a few extra seconds and say, "God, I need strength today. I am exhausted, and I don't know that I can keep on going.

Lord, you also know that I need to pay some bills, and there's more zeros in that paper than my bank account. Be my provider.

Lord, I'm sick, and I just cannot shake this. Be my healer today."

Wherever it is that you need, bring it to God. He wants us to depend on Him. That's why He says, "Give us today our daily bread."

He wants to be your source every single day, just the way that He was with the Israelites when they were in the desert. He provided manna for them every single day, and they were instructed not to hoard it.

They were instructed not to just grab a bunch for later, but God told them, "Grab only the things that you need today. I will give you what you need tomorrow."

He taught them how to be dependent on Him, and He wants us to learn how to be dependent on Him as well.

So what do you need? Ask.

And while you're in the spirit of asking, ask for the people around you because I don't know if you noticed, but this verse says, "Give us this day our daily bread." It doesn't say, "Give me my stuff." It says, "Give us."

So at this time, you also pray for the people that you know, that are in your life, the people that you love, the people that you might have as friends on Facebook, people that you might not even know very well, but that you know that they are in need.

You pray for them. You say, "God, you know that they are in need. Please be with them."

Use this time. It can look something like this: "God, thank you for my lunch, and I ask, Lord, that you will give me patience because people are trying me, Lord.

And I also ask for you to just provide for me for all of my needs, Lord. I don't want to skip any payments this month.

And I also ask for John, Lord. You know that he's been struggling with anxiety and depression. I ask that you will be his joy. In Jesus' name."

Big bite of my taco.

We don't have to make it complicated. We just need to keep on talking to God. Take those extra moments, and I can guarantee you that when you go back to your activities, you will go feeling lighter, happier, refreshed because you took care of all of those things that were weighing you down at lunch.

So don't just feed your body; feed your soul too.

So you got up with gratitude. You got your priorities in order. You shared your needs.

But the day keeps on going, right? It doesn't stop there.

And I don't know about you, but I love people. I love being with people. I love hanging out with people. Put me in a room with people, and I'm happy. I just want to be with people.

But you know what stresses me out a lot? People. Because you all are great until you aren't.

And because people push your buttons more than anybody else. And because they can act goofy, and because they can say things that hurt you, and because they can do things that are just plain nasty.

And by this time in the afternoon, two, three o'clock, I have already a big pile of bad attitudes and grudges and thoughts that were not what I was supposed to be thinking about because of people.

So at this time, we are going to ask for forgiveness: "And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."

So we're going to take a prayer break. You know you take water breaks, and you take bathroom breaks, and you take mental breaks. Let's take a soul break.

And you go to God, and you say, "God, is there anything in my life that I have done to this point that you didn't like? Is there anything in my life? Did I do something that you were not happy about? Is there anything that I need to clean out? Because I don't want to carry it to the end of the day. I want to take care of it right now."

We need to be able to just say, "God, show me."

And if He does, then you repent, and you ask for forgiveness.

See, in my house, we have this corner where the whole closet meets the bathroom wall, and it's just a corner. And we put our trash there daily, and it's my son's job to take it outside.

However, that doesn't always happen. And there are days the trash just piles up there until mama cannot take it anymore. And I'm like, "Jaden, you need to take the trash outside."

Because what happens when the kitchen trash just sits there for two days? It stinks! Yes! The house starts stinking.

So what Jaden does is he comes downstairs, and he's always so sweet. He's like, "Yes," and he puts his shoes on, and he grabs the bags, and he goes outside. He puts the trash in the trash can and comes back inside.

It takes less than a minute because taking the trash out doesn't take a long time, but it prevents your house from stinking.

So taking the sin out of your life doesn't have to take a long time, but it keeps your soul from stinking.

And a lot of us keep all of that sin piled up, and then we are wondering why we're walking around with stinking attitudes and stinking feelings and stinking thoughts, and we don't get it!

Well, we have not dealt with a sin that is just piling up in our lives. We need to just own up to whatever we're doing.

We say, "God, I'm sorry. I sent an email, and I should have not responded that way. I am sorry.

Lord, the things that I was thinking when my coworker was speaking, not cool. I will not be happy if somebody was thinking that about me. Forgive me; I want to do better.

Lord, all of the things that I was wanting to say, I didn't say them though, so I'm getting better, but I still was thinking about them. Help me."

And at this time, we ask for forgiveness: "Lord, forgive me. I don't want to be like that."

And since I am already here, "Lord, I forgive Jill. She said many things, and honestly, it hurt me. But I don't want to keep grudges in my heart.

I don't know if she meant it or not, but if she did, just deal with her. If she didn't, just let me forget. I just don't want to have anything against her. I forgive."

And I ask for forgiveness. We just move on, and we ask God to help us.

Forgiveness is so powerful, but it is only available to us through the love of Jesus. If we are not connected to Jesus, it's going to be really difficult for you to forgive.

So by us understanding that we also need forgiveness, then we can approach forgiving others as well.

So forgive and ask for forgiveness.

So you got up with gratitude. You got your priorities in order. You shared your needs. You asked for forgiveness.

And now it's five o'clock. We're all going home. It's finally the time to just relax and be happy.

You know, maybe it's this time when you finish school, and it's your time to go home, or you just finish your activities, and you're ready to just enjoy some me time, right?

And it's at this time that we're going to ask for help.

The Bible says, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

When you're tired, your resources are low, you're short-tempered, you don't want to be bothered.

Have you ever heard the whole, "I just want to sit here in silence. I deal with people all day long. I just need you all to go to your room and do whatever it is that you do?"

We actually figured it out. We found out that most of the family fights happen right before dinner for the most part because everybody's coming home, everybody's tired, everybody has had it for the day, and then you put a bunch of these people that are being selfish at the moment together, and then boom, it explodes.

So this is the perfect moment to ask God to help you make the right choices, to help you be wise, to help you to be kind.

Because like Pastor Jerry says, we all are only one step away from stupid. And it's true. It sounds harsh, but it's true.

We are only one step away from doing something that we shouldn't, something that can hurt somebody else or that can hurt ourselves.

So at this part of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus is reminding us that we have an enemy. There's an evil one, and he's out to get you. He doesn't want what is best for you.

So he's gonna tempt you, and he's gonna mislead you, and he's gonna want to see you fail. So he's gonna throw everything that he can whenever you are ready to just rest because that's when you start wanting to do things that you're not supposed to be doing, right?

The enemy will tempt you. The TV will tempt you. Your phone will tempt you. The internet will tempt you. The fridge will tempt you. Amazon will tempt me, and I am still working on it. Not perfect; I'm working on it.

But when all of this is happening, if we are not careful, if we're not on guard, it is really easy for all of us to fall into the trap of self-gratification and self-indulgence.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "Not temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind." Temptation is common. We all are tempted.

All of us. Not a single person in this room, including myself, is not tempted daily. There are things that sound good to you that you're not supposed to be doing.

There are things that look good, smell good, feel good. They give you that momentary high, but they are not bringing you anywhere closer to Jesus.

There are things that you want to do that you're not supposed to be doing. So this is the moment that we need to say, "God, lead me not into temptation. I don't want to fall into that."

So I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that temptation is coming. The bad news is that it's going to be here forever.

We are not going to get rid of it. None of us are immune to it.

But I have even more good news. I like double good news, and that is that the verse doesn't end there.

And it says, "And God is faithful." God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. He will give you courage. He will give you strength. He will give you the resolve to say no.

But you need to pray because if you are not connected to God, then it is really easy for you to just fall off the wagon.

So we need to ask God to help us do what He wants us to do, to deliver us.

And you need to say, "God, deliver me from the things that I would like to tune in when I get home. Deliver me from the things that my mouth wants to say that are not productive, that are not building up.

Deliver me, Lord, from all of the extra glass of wine or for the frugal spending that is going to have me just stressed out later. Deliver me from wherever it is that sounds good to me, but it doesn't align to you.

Because it is only by His power and only by His might that we can resist. But we have a promise. He said He will provide a way out.

But the promise is not valid if you don't apply it to yourself. If you don't claim it every single day, you say, "God, deliver me from the evil one."

And I know that when the temptation comes, and I know that when I really want to just do what I want to do, you're going to give me the strength to resist.

So get up with gratitude. Get your priorities in order. Share your needs. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for help.

And now you already have your PJs on. You're ready for bed. You made it. It's the end of the day. Everything that needed to happen during the day happened, or maybe not, but it's over, right?

And I don't know if it happens to you, but it happens to me that at night my brain wakes up. It gets real creative, and it starts just showing me all of the things that I failed to do and how I wasn't accomplishing everything else, and it just gives me all of the worst-case scenarios, right?

And like this is not going to work, and that is not going to work, and tomorrow when you wake up, you're going to have just all of this pile of work, and you just start stressing out.

And for some reason, nighttime is like the prime time for me to get messages about issues with other people.

Like people are just like, "Hey, by the way, I wanted to let you know that this is happening in my life," and I'm like, "Oh my goodness," and I am just stressed out.

So it is hard for me to go to bed.

So at this point is when we're going to speak truth: "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."

Amen.

At the end of the day, when you're stressed out, when you've been carrying the pain from the day or the disappointment of the day, there is nothing more comforting than knowing that God is with you, that God is in control, and that He has the power.

That He has the power to change wherever it is that is going on in your life.

And this is in this moment when you can say, "God, my circumstances are not final because you have the powers. Yours is the power. The politicians are not in control; you are. My boss is not in control; you are. My teachers are not in control; you are. My kids are not in control. They might disagree, but they are not in control; you are."

We recognize in this moment His authority as the king. We recognize that He has all power, that we serve an all-powerful God.

We need to speak truth, and then we close with a moment of worship: "For yours is the glory. You deserve the glory. You deserve the praise. My heart sings to you, Lord. I connect with you because you are amazing, because you are good, because you love me. You are my strength. You are my song. Jesus, I love you."

So I start my day with praise, and I end my day with worship.

When I pray this way, I can just feel this lifting. I can go to bed with more confidence knowing that God's got it, that I don't have to worry about it, that He has the power.

He is the only one that can do something about my circumstances anyway.

So I speak truth, and I just trust in Him: "God, you're in control. You have all of the power. You have all of the authority over everything, and I know that you love me. God, you are worthy of praise. Good night, Lord. See you in the morning."

That is us praying the Lord's Prayer throughout our day because we need to remember that it is not only about spending big chunks of time with God; it is about never forgetting that He is with us.

It's getting in this habit of just talking to Him day in and day out. It's understanding that the heart behind the prayer is to make a habit to talk to God and have a relationship with Him.

And you're not going to have a relationship with somebody that you're not spending time with.

It is about inviting Him into everything that we do, not just putting Him in a box: "This is my spiritual box, so you stay over there."

It is saying, "I'm going to do everything with you. Everywhere I go, I'm going to have you in mind."

So we get up with gratitude. We get our priorities in order. We share our needs. We ask for forgiveness. We ask for help, and we speak truth.

And as we close today, we're going to be singing a song. Actually, the worship team is going to help us to sing the Lord's Prayer.

But before that, I want to pray for you, and I want to ask God to just continue giving you passion for prayer and a bigger desire to pray.

That He will increase your awareness of His presence everywhere you go. That as you start praying throughout your day, that He will just make Himself known to you.

That your relationship with Him will just become so close like never before, that you could truly say that I am a friend of God. We walk together; we do life together.

That it will be the closest relationship you have in your life. That it will become rare for you to not have prayed in a couple of hours.

They'll be like, "Man, I have not spoken to God in an hour and a half. Woo, unheard of."

That it will just be something that you do naturally because you have created that relationship with Him.

So I'm going to invite you to stand up, and we're going to pray, and then we're going to close singing.

Jesus, thank you for your love. Thank you because you want to have a relationship with us.

I ask, Lord, that you will give us a bigger desire to pray. Lord, that we will not just move on with our day, that we will not say amen and goodbye, but that it will be, "And I'll talk to you later."

That we will desire to continue our conversation with you everywhere we are.

Lord, I ask that you will give us the awareness of your presence in everything that we do. That we really will be committed to see your kingdom come and your will be done.

Help us, Lord, to see and recognize the moments where we need to ask for forgiveness.

Lord, that we will be able to bring you our needs, but also the needs of those around us.

Lord, that we will just praise you because you are our Father, because you love us so much that you allow us to call you Father.

You actually invite us to call you Father. Thank you, Jesus, because you have the power, and yours is the glory forever. Amen.

That when the days are good, the glory is yours. The day that is bad, the glory is yours. The day that is happy, the glory is yours. The day that is sad, the glory is yours.

Because you deserve the glory no matter what. Thank you, Jesus, and I ask that prayer will be the mark of each and every one of us.

That none of us will live a life that is running low on our spiritual battery, but that we will be connected to the power source.

That we will be fully charged everywhere we are.

In your name, we pray. Amen.

Let's worship.

Sing it.

Hello. Do you want me to go inside? Do you need me to keep it on? Should I just turn it off? Do you want me to keep on speaking?

Hello, hello. One, two, three. One, two, three. Hi, it's on me. That's what I tell my kids to say.

Hello, hello. Hello, hello, hello.

I know, they are trying to test it because I had to use a hand-hold.

Okay, thank you.

Not ready.

There you go. Thank you.

Let it rain on.

I don't normally see him.

1. "We just need to keep on talking to God. Take those extra moments. And I can guarantee you that when you go back to your activities, you will go feeling lighter, happier, refreshed because you took care of all of those things that were weighing you down at lunch." [01:12:47]

2. "My phone needs to be charged in order for me to be able to use it. I need to be able to put it in the power source so that it can get fully charged. And the same thing happens with us." [55:12]

3. "We are walking around with low battery soul. Our souls are flashing red and we are still just going because my devotion is tomorrow. You know, so like whatever happens tonight, well, we will recharge tomorrow. But we need to recharge constantly." [56:12]

4. "I want to challenge you to pray throughout your day. Not just a chunk in the morning or a chunk in the evening, but all day long. Have a communication with God throughout the whole entirety of your day." [57:11]

5. "Temptation is common. We all are tempted. All of us. Not a single person in this room, including myself, is not tempted daily." [01:20:05]

6. "We need to just own up to whatever we're doing. We say, God, I'm sorry. I sent an email and I should have not responded that way. I am sorry." [01:15:49]

7. "That your relationship with him will just become so close, like never before. That you could truly say that I am a friend of God. We walk together. We do life together." [01:27:54]

8. "Thank you today Lord, because today you are Jehovah Shalom. You are my peace. And I don't have to go throughout my day in fear and I don't have to go throughout my day in worry and uncertainty. But I can have perfect peace because you are Jehovah Shalom." [01:03:05]

9. "Thank you because you are El Roi. And you see me. A lot of people might ignore me, people might just overlook me. But you see me, you care about me." [01:03:43]

10. "So when we open our eyes, the first thing that we do is we focus on God. How much different your day will be if that is something that you do every day. How much different will you approach your day if the very first thing that you do in the morning is recognize that you are a child of God and you get to call him father." [01:04:33]