Pray Through

21 Days of Prayer / Part 1 / Pray Through / 7.30.23

Welcome / Announcements:

Welcome Guests

I’m so glad to be back

I hope I still remember how to preach

We had a great time

I spent time with God, Kara, Family, Brothers

I serve 2 churches… one has 4 people in it… my wife and our 3 sons.

More convinced than ever before that we are doing what God has called us to do… City Hills is called to be in Knoxville for such a time as this.

I honor the staff team here.  I honor you for leaning in.

Exciting season

West Campus Launch - Aug 20

Photo of last week’s interest meeting.

It’s at Bridgewater event center

Help us pioneer

Help us share Jesus

A smaller experience… not everyone enjoys being in a large room like this…

Help foster community and connection.

Help us pioneer again.

21 days of prayer begins today (Mon-Fri 6-7, Sat 9 *family)

I like to orient us around this season of prayer

FIRST WEDNESDAY THIS WEEK

Over the next 21 days… we are going to talk all about prayer…

Lots of confusion about prayer.

Just for the super spiritual

Prayer Questions:

What even is prayer?

Does prayer even work?

That is for super spiritual people… not me.

Prayer is an excuse for passivity

How do I pray?

VIDEO: Meet the Parents Prayer Clip

Prayer seems daunting.

Maybe that is your fear to get asked to pray in public.

Over the next 21 days if you will take the journey

Maybe you are new to prayer

Middle Schooler

Or you are a veteran prayer warrior,

We are going to see what God can do as we seek him!

(James 5:13-16 NIV) 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.

James’ is one of the most practical book in NT.

Lots of practical wisdom about what you should do

like taming the tongue, choosing our attitude, etc…

BUT the book ends with an emphasis on prayer b/c

All of us face things that we can’t fix in our own power

Prayer is the difference

Between the best I can do

And the best God can do

Story of City Hills began in prayer

The vision for City Hills came in a time of prayer in this time of year in 2012

PHOTO: Our first 21 days of prayer 8 years ago.

(21 days is the church birthday… NOT our first service)

God has moved as we have prayed!

My job… to take you to a place of sacrifice where you have not been before and to get you to trust God..

What I feel like every 21 days… I hope people come.

Things change when you get past your comfort zone

To Pray Through

My grandparents… didn’t just believe in prayer, they believed in praying-through!

“You need to pray through”

That meant to get past just casual praying and pray through some barriers

James gives us 3 barriers to prayer… that we need to pray through.

(James 5:13 NIV) Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

#1 Pray through your PAIN

Prayer puts my unknown future in the hands of an all-knowing God.

Your current pain will keep you from truly praying.

Betrayal, Uncertainty, Disappointment

Your pain wants you to worry instead of pray!

Question: What are you worried about right now?

Worry is worthless… never will help you.

Worry is faith in the negative.

It takes the same amount of effort to pray about something as it does to worry about it.

But you have to pray through.

Philippians 4:6-7 MSG Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Prayer turns pain into peace

I experienced this this first week of my sabbatical.

Felt so many emotions… First time truly disconnected from the church.

I began to intercede and a since of calm came.

How to pray prayers that bring peace and calm

C - Control belongs to God

A - Ask God for help

L - Leave your worries with God

M - Meditate on good things

(James 5:14-15 NIV) 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.

#2 Pray through your  IMPOSSIBILITY

Prayer puts my hopeless situation in the hands of an all-powerful God

We feel like things are hopeless.

With God there is no such thing as a hopeless situation

… and no such thing as a hopeless person

(Romans 4:18-21 NLT) Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was FULLY CONVINCED that God is able to do whatever he promises.

Have a bad doctors report?

Have a family member far from God?

Maybe you have put their names on prayer cards before.

Acknowledge that God is not done with this situation!

Write the prayer request again.

Pray through it…

Pray with a Godly imagination! See God doing something good and speak it!

God has the power! Speak it!

Tyler P - “Sometimes you have to preach to the atmosphere”

Sometimes you have to speak things that are not as though they were… TAKE YOUR AUTHORITY in CHRIST!

The prayer card & The lifesaver

Was there ever a time in your life when someone would have looked at you and thought you would never be following Jesus?

Raise your hand & look around the room.

If God did that for you… why couldn’t he do that for others?

Hopeless…

You don’t know what God can turn into something

Photo:  of our first meeting at Bridgewater… what God can do in places that feel hopeless.

Don’t quit.. Don’t give up

PRAY THROUGH!

(James 5:15-16 NIV) 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..

This may be your issue… you think “I’m not righteous”

If you knew my past…

If you knew what I struggle with…

I’m not at a good place…

#3 Pray through your PAST (KEYS BEGIN HERE)

Prayer puts my broken life in the hands of an all-forgiving God.

Don’t allow your past mistakes to keep you from pursuing God!

Today can be a fresh start FOR YOU!

Whose righteousness is it?

Religion says it is your righteousness… what you do.

The Gospel says it is what God has done!

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Conclusion: The Yellowstone Lodgepole Pines (PHOTO)

Everywhere in yellowstone… lodgepole pines

Why?  Because of FIRES.

Lodgepole pines multiply in fire.

When fires take out other species of trees… lodgepoles grow..

Their cones that contain seeds are covered with a resin that must be melted in fire for the cone to open and release seeds.

When a fire moves through the forest, the cones open and the seeds are distributed by winds and gravity.

I thought… that’s a believer in Jesus!

The fire is not here to destroy you… it is here to distribute you!

The fire is going to be used for good… if we pray!