21 Days of Prayer 1.7.24

21 Days of Prayer January 7, 2024 Good morning and Happy New Year! Today we are announcing our LifeGroup launch and throughout the month we want you to meet the people who have been selected to lead a LifeGroup this semester (which begins in February). You find more details and information on all the available groups in the lobby at the LifeGroup table where you will find Joshulyn and Katie. I'm going to share 3 with you this morning... SHELLEY ISAACS Women's New Believer Group * This group is for new believers * They will be studying Matchless by Angie Smith with the goal of encountering Jesus. * I believe they will meet twice a month. BILLY WALTER Family Focus Group * This fun interactive group is designed for families with children to help build relationships and sharpen faith, all while strengthening family connections. JASON & ERICA SHAW "Chosen" * This is a group for young adults and older teens between the ages of 17-30. * The focus of the group will be for those navigating singleness, dating, engagement and marriage. * The curriculum used will be Life and Love by Ben Stuart. * The goal is to provide an opportunity for conversations about God's thoughts on love and relationships regardless of which stage you are in. LifeGroups are designed to create meaningful connections with people who have common interest, doing life together. PRAYER When you came in today you should have received our new 21 Days of Prayer/Fasting Guide (raise your hand if you didn't). This is yours to keep and if you need additional copies, you can get them at the Welcome Center in the lobby. We are beginning today 21 DAYS of focused prayer and fasting to seek the face of God as we enter this new year. A lot has happened this past year in our world and even more is coming... * We must be spiritually SENSITIVE to what is taking place around us. * We must be spiritually FOCUSED for the assignment God has given us personally and corporately. * We must be spiritual EQUIPPED to serve our family, community and world. The path to that is prayer and fasting. I'm looking for 100 people to join Shelley and me. There was a simple card fixed to your guide and you can fill it out and drop it off as you leave or you can text PRAYER to 440.557.2822. 100 persons praying as ONE... I remind you of what God's word says about our prayers... (2 Chronicles 7:14) Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. Life change occurs when people pray and while we should and do pray every day, this 21 DAYS OF FOCUSED PRAYER will bring our church together, spark a spiritual focus and grow our spiritual lives. During the next three weeks, Pastor Dustin and I will speak from three powerful passages on prayer. This week we begin with Philippians 4:6-7... STAND to READ (Philippians 4:6-7) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. I like simple. Complexity stresses me. I made the switch in 2003 to Apple products because they are so user-friendly. I like Skecher's new slip in shoes. I don't do socks. As much as possible I live by--Keep things simple. I feel the same about prayer. I've struggled at times by making prayer too complex, too big and overthought. That's why I really like this passage and chose it as our starting point...it says 4 simple things that almost anyone can follow... 1. Don't worry 2. Pray about everything 3. Tell God what you need 4. Thank him for all he has done Then Paul goes on to promise that the resulting blessing of such praying is to "experience God's peace" guarding your hearts and minds as you live for Jesus. Let's break it down to grasp it... DON'T WORRY Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. * We are prone to worry-it's our nature. * I wanted to understand the research to know just how much we worry? o On average, you and I have 3 to 4 identifiable worries per day. o The outcome of our worry? * 91 percent of worries were false alarms * the remaining 9 percent of (true) worries had better outcomes than expected (33% of the time). * Excessive worrying can take a toll on our health. o Mentally, it can lead to anxiety and depression o Physically, it can elevate our stress levels and weaken our immune systems. 3 Reasons Why We Worry 1. Trying to figure out how to solve problems. * By nature, humans are problem-solvers. * The more emotionally invested we are in a problem, the more worry we feel. * Worry is caused by the anticipation of a future negative event. 2. Fear of losing control * While people may worry for a wide variety of reasons, it mostly comes from a place of fear - either a fear of being judged or a fear of something happening that they can't control. * We may worry because we have a lot of responsibility at work or at home, and we worry because their life is just generally chaotic and uncertain, 3. Caring too much * Anxious people may have trouble stopping themselves from getting overly invested in other people's problems. * Anxiety as a problem of "caring too much" and overthinking. One solution to worry and anxiety is worship. (man with high anxiety beating a pillow) Pray About Everything Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Paul suggests that in place of worry we should substitute more prayer! Song... O what peace we often forfeit. O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Everything means there is nothing too small to bring to him. * What does it mean to "pray about everything" o We should cultivate an "attitude of prayer" and be in the frame of mind to pray at any moment about anything. o As a spiritual habit, prayer should come as naturally to us as breathing; that is, we will always be praying. (Psalm 1:1-2) the person whom God blesses "meditates on his law day and night." (Psalm 88:1-2) Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out before you." o It means praying whenever a need arises. (James 5:13-14) 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. ... (Luke 18:1) Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Ephesians 6:18) pray in the Spirit on all occasions ... always keep on praying. What kind of praying are we doing? * When was the last time you prayed audacious and dangerous prayers? * When did you pray about something that was impossible? * Healing * Finances * Family (Ephesians 3:20) Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, So, how often should we pray? o Routinely... o Occasionally... o Always! Tell God What You Need Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. * The word here implies "urgency" to the point of demanding... * Because He's God and OMNISCIENT--He knows all our needs before we ask Him. * Yet, He delights to have that expression of our confidence in Him which intelligently utters our needs in detail in communion with Him. (Hebrews 4:16) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. o As a child with confidence comes to a parent to express what is needed, God wants you and to have that same confidence in our relationship to Him! Thank Him For All He Has Done Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. * Effective prayer is connected to Praise. * How can we address God without feeling the need to also praise Him? * King Jehosaphat-singers were sent out first. (2 Chronicles 20) * There is victory in praise! * Confidence for the future is based on what God has done in the past. Conclusion: I love the game of golf and over the 50 years or so that I've played golf, I learned that to be good at golf you have to play the game (not watching TV, videos or read magazines)-you have to play. To be effective with prayer-you have to pray. I want you to find 4-5 other people and I want you to form a group to pray together. You can join hands but you don't have to...but we are going to pray together in a few minutes of focused prayer. I want you to decide who is going to be the prayer leader in your group. * Prayer 1-each of you pray for the person on your right or left (you may have to ask their name). You pray and I'll call you back to order in a couple of minutes. * Prayer 2-your group will choose a country of the world to pray for-the earthquake in Japan, the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel, the famines in Africa, the unrest in the United States, the immigrant families camped on our southern borders. * Prayer 3-each of you in your group will announce the first name of someone you want to bring to Jesus this year and the group will pray over that person with you. * Prayer 4-the leader of the group will invite each person to share a miracle need they have and the group will pray over each need that is expressed. Don't finish until each need has been prayed over. God I am a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe Jesus will forgive my sins I choose Jesus