Resurrection Lutheran Church Prayer Page

I haven't used this page for quite a while.
Question:
Those who are following- would you follow this page if I started posting prayer content?
I am deciding if I want to discontinue this page or start using it more intentionally.
Thanks!

Talk with Jesus today about where you have stopped looking for signs of God's power and love and just started to focus only on what the enemy is doing and what is wrong with the world.

July 28, 2021 – Isaiah 7:10-14
10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."

God wants us to be more focused on what he is doing than on what the Enemy is doing. When we refuse to press in to God during times of challenge, we are not honoring God, we are rebelling against him.

The enemies of Judah have allied together to attack, and king Ahaz is worried. Into that worry, God sends Isaiah to encourage the king that the enemies will not prevail. In that conversation, God starts to speak to Ahaz, and invites him to ask for a sign to confirm Isaiah’s words of hope are trustworthy. Instead of asking God for a sign, Ahaz refuses to put God to the test. God did not take that as a sign of humble respect, he took it as a sign of rebellion. Luckily for Ahab, God offered to give him a sign anyway. The sign of which he spoke was that a virgin would bear a child who would be called Immanuel. That would be the sign that Judah’s enemies would not prevail. That same prophecy would speak toward another child who would be born to make sure the enemies of God’s people would not prevail. That sign of God’s provision would be Jesus.

Where am I being opposed by the enemies of God’s purposes in my life? Am I trying to defeat the enemies by pressing in and putting God to the test, or by using my own resources? God is saying, “Trust me. Press in to me. Let me give you assurance the enemy won’t prevail,” yet I think I am being humble by saying I am not going to put God to the test. That is not humble respect of God, it is rebellion. He wants me to press in!

God has given me a sign that nothing can separate me from his love. He has given me a sign that I have forgiveness and eternal life. That sign is the child born to the virgin. His name is Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. That sign in the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God’s presence and power living in me.

It’s time to stop giving the enemy all of my attention and press in to God and say, “Show me you are real. Show me you can be trusted. I will put all of my trust in you. Show me I am not making a bad choice in doing so.” That is not disrespect of God. That is taking God seriously.

Father, show me a sign today that the enemy will not prevail so I can have hope and keep living out the life you have called me to live without fear. Give me divine encounters and appointments today to help me be more aware of the fact that the enemy is bound to be defeated. He already has been defeated by Jesus on the cross. AMEN

Pray this risky prayer today - "Here I am. Send me!"

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Talk with Jesus about how accurately you see the world. Do you see and live according to the truth and beauty of God's kingdom or according to the lies and ugliness of the counterfeit the Enemy seeks to peddle as real?

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Talk with Jesus about your net contribution to the world. Is it to multiply love, peace and reconciliation, or is it to multiply division, hate and brokenness?

July 25, 2021 – Isaiah 3:1-5
1 See now, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
2 the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.
4 “I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them.”
5 People will oppress each other— man against man, neighbor against neighbor. The young will rise up against the old, the nobody against the honored.

When honor is replaced with division, it is a symptom that a nation has forgotten God.

When those who serve and protect are removed or devalued, it is a symptom that a nation has forgotten God.

When justice has become politicized, it is a symptom a nation has forgotten God.

When the creativity and freedom of the individual is devalued to enhance the wealth and control of the powerful, it is a symptom that a nation has forgotten God.

When those who hear God’s voice and speak in God’s name are silenced or ignored, it is a symptom that a nation has forgotten God.

Isaiah was warning the people of Jerusalem and Judah that judgement was coming because they had forgotten God, and he shared what that judgment would look like. It seems to me he could have written the same words to America today. It is time to remember and honor God before it is too late.

Father, forgive us for not honoring you. Jesus, forgive us for not valuing the freedom you have paid for with your blood. Holy Spirit, forgive us for being led by voices which open the door to killing, stealing and destroying rather than to your voice which is about multiplying freedom and love. AMEN

Speak with Jesus today about what it means for you to be the temple of God through which others are meant to encounter God's presence.

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Talk with Jesus today about whether you are living as if God is an indispensable part of your life or just an optional add-on?

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Talk with Jesus about the intensity of his love for you. It is not weak, it is as strong as death. It is not easily broken, his zeal for you to know his love is stronger than the grave.

July 21, 2021 – Song of Songs 8:6-7
6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Love is as strong as death. Jesus, you said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Thank you for having such great love as to lay down your life for me.

Love’s jealousy is unyielding as the grave. Jesus, you loved me so much that even the grave could not keep you from claiming me as your own. Thank you for defeating even the grave to claim me as your beloved.

Love burns like a fire, like a mighty flame. Holy Spirit, you set my heart on fire with the love of God. Fan the flame of love in me when it starts to go out.

Many waters cannot quench love. Holy Spirit, when the floods of life cause me to forget who I am, what I'm here for and who my Father is, remind me.

If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned. Jesus, you gave up all of the riches of heaven to empty yourself so I could be filled with the love of God, yet I have scorned and despised you by not fully appreciating the sacrifice you made. Thank you for being willing to give up everything for this world you love, even though you knew many of us would despise and reject you.

Father, baptize me in your love so that I would start living a life of love toward you and others which is as strong as death, like a mighty flame, immovable by the flood, and ready to lay down all of what I have for the sake of that love. I pray this in Jesus’ name. AMEN

Talk with Jesus today about your walk with him. Are you just lukewarm, going through the motions, or are you on fire, living life fully and intentionally?

July 20, 2021 – Song of Songs 5:2
2 I slept but my heart was awake.
Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
my dove, my flawless one.”
I have slept through much of my life with regards to God’s pursuit of intimacy with me. I pray that my heart would be awake today to hear and respond to God’s knocking.

As I read from Song of Songs this morning, I am reminded of Jesus’ words to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. They think they have all they need, but they don’t realize that their relationship with Jesus has been deteriorating to the point they don’t know how little they really have of what is truly important. He tells them he is about to spit them out of his mouth because they are neither cold nor hot, just lukewarm. Yet, he is not ready to give up on them. He tells them that he is standing at the door and knocking. If they open, he will come in and set them on fire with his love and restore intimacy with them.

Jesus, where I have become lukewarm in my relationship with you, awaken my heart to hear and respond to your knocking on the door. Come in and remind me of the love you have for me and the delight you have in me. Reverse my slow death and resurrect me with your love. AMEN

Talk with Jesus about the gifts he has given you for your sake. Then, ask him to show you how you are being sent to be a gift to others for their sake.

July 18, 2021 – Ephesians 4:11-13
11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

We don’t just receive gifts of God’s grace for our sake, we also become gifts of God’s grace for the sake of building up those around us.

Paul says that the gifts we are given by God are really to equip us to become gifts he can give to our neighbors and to the world. When all of us use our gifts in unity, to love and serve one another, the body of Christ becomes mature, and God’s kingdom can have maximum impact on the world.

God gives some of us as apostles to lead others to take the risk of going into new territory and possibilities. Without apostles, we would never leave our comfort zones and take risks for the sake of God’s kingdom. Who have been the apostles who have pulled you out of your comfort zone to take new territory in your life? Are you called to be an apostle to others?

God gives some of us as prophets to help keep the line of communication open so God’s voice can be heard more clearly and followed more fully. Without prophets, we may have people who lead us into new territory, but who do it based on their agendas rather than God’s. Prophets don’t just hear God for us, but they help all of us to hear God for ourselves. Who have been prophets in your life, helping you to hear God’s voice and leading? Are you called to be a prophet for others?

God gives some of us as evangelists to keep the message of his love, salvation and kingdom being communicated to those who haven’t heard, and who are living according to the propaganda of the world or the Enemy instead the truth of God. Who have been evangelists who have shared the good news with you? Are you called to be an evangelist to others?

God gives some of us as pastors who help protect, heal, love and encourage us. Without pastors, we may take risks, hear God’s voice and share the good news with others, but we may get beaten up by the world and by the enemy and become discouraged and forget who we are and what we are here for. Who have been pastors to you? Are you called to be a pastor to others?

God gives some of us as teachers who help equip us to fully understand who we are, who God is, what the kingdom of God is all about, and how to live out our callings. Without teachers, God’s work will be done by a few leaders, but most of us will just remain as sheep waiting to be told what to do rather than hearing God and building God’s kingdom in our spheres of influence. Who have been teachers of the life of faith to you? Are you called to be a teacher to others?

God, thanks for giving me gifts of grace for my sake, but I want more than that. I want you to give me all you want me to receive so I can become a gift of grace to help bless the world and serve my neighbor so your kingdom comes and my neighbor lives out the fullness of who they were created to be. AMEN

Talk with Jesus today about your relationship with God. Is it mostly intellectual, or is it also intimate. Is it based on rules and behavior, or is it based on love and delight?

July 16, 2021 - Song of Songs 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.

My journey through the Old Testament has been a real blessing. Each section brings me more fully into my understanding of are relationship with God. From the beauty of God’s creation, to the call of Abram and his descendants to be blessings to the world, to God’s power and deliverance in the Exodus from Egypt, to God’s provision in the wilderness, to the fruitfulness of the promised land, to God’s deliverance through the Judges, to God’s faithfulness to Israel and Judah, to the choosing of a pr******te from Jericho named Rahab and the choosing of a widow from Moab named Ruth to be part of the genealogy of Jesus, to the freely poured out emotions and prayers of the people of Israel to God in the Psalms, to the wisdom of Proverbs, now I am entering the part which may be the most necessary (and hardest) for me to learn. Intimacy with God and the delight of God.

Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon) is an invitation to move beyond the wisdom taught by Solomon to the intimacy described by Solomon. From the head to the heart can be a very challenging journey for many, and many will never complete that journey. I want to fully make it to the end of that journey in my life.

I am good at knowing information about God, the rules of God, the commission of God, and rituals related to the ministry of the church, but God wants more than all of that in his relationship with me. He wants intimacy, delight and joy. He wants me to see his beauty and get a taste of the beauty he sees in me and the delight he has in me.

Workers are good at spreading religion. Lovers are what is needed to spread the kingdom of God in all its fullness.

Father, may I be faithful in gaining knowledge about you, diligent in serving you, reverent in my worship and rituals, and faithful in my calling as a Pastor. But, today, I also ask for much more than that. I ask that you would bring me into an intimacy with you where I experience that your love is more delightful than wine. I pray this in Jesus’ name. AMEN

Talk with Jesus about the way you live your life. Are you mainly reactive to challenges when they come, or are you proactive to be ready for the challenges before they come?

July 15, 2021 – Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”

The time to invest in important relationships is before things get challenging. This is the case with human relationships and the case in our relationship with God.

Many of us become more intentional about turning to God when we are in times of crisis and have no place else to go. It is good to turn to God in times of trial, but why do we wait until we are in times of trial before we invest in our relationship with God?

The time to invest in our relationship with God is when we are young, so that when the troubles of health, finances and other challenges come, we already have a good connection with God.

The time to invest in our marriages and families is when things are going well, so that when tensions and challenges arise, we already have a good connection with each other.

The time to invest in our health is when we are healthy, so that when aging and illness start taking their toll, we already have a strong body which is more able to be resilient.

The time to develop a relationship with a counselor or doctor is when we are healthy, so that when physical or emotional issues arise, we already have a good connection and history with each other.

The time to develop strong Christian friendships is before challenges arise, so that when they do, we already have a support system to walk with us through those challenges.

Father, I spend too much time and energy being reactive, just responding to challenges after they have arisen. Help me to be proactive with my faith, my health, my marriage, my family, my work, so that I develop the connections and support systems I need so they are there when I need them. May I start by investing more intentionally in my relationship with you. AMEN

Talk with Jesus about your walk of faith. Are you satisfied with disunity in the body of Christ, or are you committed to unity? Are you satisfied with a shallow faith for yourself and others in the body, or are you committed to working for the day when everyone is fully mature in their walk with Jesus?

July 14, 2021 – Ephesians 4:1-7,12-13
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Living a life worthy of the calling God has on my life depends on valuing and striving for unity and maturity. When each person is fully using the gifts they have received from God for the sake of building up the whole body, the world will be blessed and the works of the Enemy will be destroyed.

Our society needs more than just a divided church if we are going to address our many societal needs. Our society needs more than an immature church with few strong leaders and many spiritually immature followers who do not have their own intimacy with God, but depend on their leaders to tell them what to believe and do if we expect to see true freedom and healing.

Leadership which unites and empowers is desperately needed in our society today. The Enemy has been so effective at dividing and degrading our churches and society, we cannot settle for maintaining the status quo any longer. May I not abdicate my responsibility as a leader in the kingdom of God to fully seek unity and maturity in the body of Christ.

Father, destroy the works of the Enemy that keep your people weak and divided. Fill us with your Holy Spirit. Give us gifts, and then give us the love and courage to use those gifts as the united body of Christ until we reach full maturity and inflict maximum damage on the kingdom of the Enemy. AMEN

Talk with Jesus today about how you use the power and influence you have. Do you use it to bless, empower and serve others, or do you use it to benefit yourself at the expense of others?

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Talk with Jesus about the existence or nonexistence of Christian community in your life. If it exists, give thanks. If it doesn't, ask him to help build it around you.

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Talk to Jesus about the season and time you are in. Are you just focused on getting past this season or time to the next, or are you seeking everything God wants to do in and through you to make you more alive and beautiful in this time?

July 11, 2021 – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8&11
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Our Heavenly Father wants to do more than just save us by the skin of our teeth. He wants to make us beautiful and fully alive.

God makes everything beautiful in its time. Am I living fully in the time in which God has me, giving him access to fully utilize the opportunities this time has to offer to bring out my beauty? Or, am I failing to live fully in the time he has me in now, so that he has little access to bring out my beauty?

Father, are you birthing things in me, or are you killing things in me? Your will be done in this time.
Are you planting things in me or uprooting things in me? Father, your will be done in this time.
Are you tearing down things in me or building things in me? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time to be weeping and mourning or time to be laughing and dancing? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time to be scattering my efforts or focusing them? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time to be seeking something new, or time to be appreciating what I have? Father, your will be done in this time.
Are you tearing things or mending things in me or in my relationships? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time for me to boldly speak, or time for me to remain silent? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time to love what is right or to hate what is wrong? Father, your will be done in this time.
Is it time to go to battle, or time to seek peace? Father, your will be done in this time.

Father, when I try to set and manipulate the times and seasons of my life, I just become less alive and uglier. When I fully live in and give you access to the times and seasons you have set, I become more alive and you make me beautiful. Help me to see the time I am in and give you access to make me beautiful in this time. AMEN

Ask Jesus to give you the knowledge and wisdom to see what he his calling you to do in the world, and then to fill you with the love and faith to do what you are being called to.

July 9, 2021 – Ecclesiastes 1:18
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.

The more you know, the more there is to grieve and worry about. Knowledge without love and faith is not the pathway to fullness of life. It is the pathway to emptiness and discouragement.

Solomon, the wisest man of his time, begins Ecclesiastes not with a praise of how much his wisdom and knowledge have made life easier, but with a statement about how they have left him feeling empty, sorrowful and full of grief. As of the end of Ecclesiastes 1, he has not made a great sales pitch for knowledge and wisdom.

The more we know, the more we are responsible for. That responsibility, according to Solomon, brings with it sorrow and grief. With the weight that comes with knowledge and wisdom, the only way to properly carry that weight is by seeking faith and love to the same extent as you have sought knowledge and wisdom.
Love motivates us to do something about the weight brought on by knowledge and wisdom, and faith gives us the resources to start making a difference.

My concern is that we are living in a cult of human knowledge, wisdom and correctness that has chosen to respond with control and correctness rather than love and dependence on human resources rather than faith in God. This cult of human knowledge and correctness has succeeded in bringing the weight of what they see and know into the world, but has not responded in any helpful ways to lift that weight. Until love and faith are married to knowledge and wisdom, there will only be heaviness and lack of freedom, life, love and joy.

Father, may I learn what you want me to learn of knowledge and wisdom, and may I be willing to take on the responsibility and weight which come with that knowledge and wisdom. But, may I not remain in the heaviness of knowledge and wisdom. May that responsibility lead me to love and faith which help to lift the weight and start replacing the heaviness with joy, freedom and beauty to define life rather than heaviness, control, division and coldness. AMEN

Talk with Jesus about the efficiency of your love receptors. Have they been damaged by the words or actions of others, never fully formed in our families of origin, or deactivated by our own bad choices, shame and guilt? If so, ask him to come into your heart and fill you with the Holy Spirit to heal, build and reactivate them.

Talk with Jesus about your relationship to the things of the world. Do they turn your focus toward God in thanks and trust, or away from God in fear and trust in self?

July 7, 2021 – Proverbs 30:8-9
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,
9or I shall be full, and deny you,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I shall be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.

Our relationship with the things of the earth often has a direct bearing on our relationship with God. When we are worried about having enough, our view of God is likely to be diminished, and when we have more than we need, our interest in God may disappear completely.

The Enemy wants us to live our lives based on our lack or our surplus. He wants us to question God’s goodness during times of lack, and he wants us to forget about God completely during times of plenty. Anything that turns us away from God to depending totally on self is a victory for the Enemy.

God’s kingdom is experienced by those who trust in him during times of lack and who respond to having plenty by living lives of thanks toward God by giving of their excess to bless and serve their neighbors in their time of lack.

Look at your relationship to the things of the world. Is it turning you toward God or away from him? Is your insecurity turning you away from faith in God to striving to provide for yourself, or toward him to discover his faithfulness? Is your security turning you away from God because you have given yourself credit for getting what you have and see no need for God, or toward God to help you be a good steward of the blessings you have received?

Father, I want neither poverty nor riches if they turn me away from you. Help me turn whatever condition I find myself – poverty, having just enough, or riches – into a reason to trust and come to know you more rather than to turn away from you. AMEN

Talk with Jesus today about how you set your priorities. Do you set them primarily according to the wisdom of the world and to please people? Or, do you set them primarily according to the revelation of God and to glorify God and serve people?

July 6, 2021 – Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

A world defined by human knowledge and wisdom alone is a world destined for destruction. It is only as people hear God’s voice and are led by his Spirit that there is the potential for true life and blessing.

The best human wisdom, knowledge and influence can do is make us woke. It is only when we open ourselves to God that we can be truly awakened. Proverbs 29 talks about the need for prophetic vision and revelation. It talks about being led by God’s law and not just human knowledge and wisdom. True life, joy and peace can never be attained by the counterfeit revival of human wokeness. They can only be attained by the true revival of an encounter with Jesus and a relationship with the living God.

Commitment to the counterfeit may be the greatest barrier to the emergence of the true. Shutting out God’s voice is what will keep us from seeing that we have settled for a counterfeit. That is why the Enemy is so intent on silencing any questions about the complete sufficiency of wokeness.

This post may very well get censored or the algorithm suppressed by social media for questioning the orthodoxy of the woke religion in America. Does that mean I should not post it? No. Now is not the time to be afraid of what people will do. In verse 25 of Proverbs 29, the writer goes on to say, “The fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe.” I’m done allowing the snare of human approval to keep entrapping me.

Are you allowing God to speak into your life, or just other human voices? Are you being led by the Spirit, or just the need to please people? This life was not designed to be fully experienced without the voice, presence, power and the leading of God. Anyone who tells you differently is peddling a counterfeit reality that human knowledge and power is all that is necessary.

Holy Spirit, open my eyes to your visions, my ears to your voice and my mind to your dreams. May I not settle for the counterfeit revival the world is trying to peddle. May I continually strive for the revival that will only happen when my Father’s kingdom comes and his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN

Talk with Jesus about how aware you are of the needs of those around you and how responsive you are to those needs. If your focus in so much on yourself that you are not seeing and responding to the needs of others, you may be in spiritually dangerous place.