PRAYING THROUGH THIS SEASON

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Oliver Watkins
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1 PRAYING THROUGH THIS SEASON WEEK 2 As we see God answering our prayers, we look forward to being able to look around in awe and say together: This is the Lord s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:23)

2 What a Friend We Have in Jesus by Joseph Scriven What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear; May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer. Soon in glory bright, unclouded, There will be no need for prayer Rapture, praise, and endless worship Will be our sweet portion there.

3 As we prepare to make the transition from two campuses to one, unified campus in Montgomery County, we desperately need the Lord to prepare our hearts. In order to make any lasting, spiritual impact, we must be completely dependent upon His power and wholly submitted to His will. Jesus put it this way to his disciples: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5) That is our desire in launching this new, unified campus. We want to bear fruit in Montgomery County for the glory of God. And yet, this is a major change for all of us. Some of us thrive in the midst of change. We love the thrill of the unknown and we are reenergized by the possibilities that await us. Others of us feel a sense of anxiety when we know change is coming. What will happen? How will this affect me? What changes will be made and what if I don t like those changes?! So, during this period of transition, we believe that the most effective and reassuring thing we can do is seek God together. This prayer guide is designed to enable us to move forward on our knees as Pastor Lon often says. Each week leading up to our first united worship service in the new building, we will provide a daily prayer guide with reflections on Scripture and ways to pray. Feel free to use this in your personal and family prayer life, and even in your discipleship groups.

4 MONDAY 6/1/15 John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. An important question we must answer during this time is, how do we prepare ourselves to bear fruit? Jesus helps us answer this question in John 15. The answer is simple: we prepare to bear fruit by abiding in Christ. The most effective people for the cause of the Gospel are not those with the best skills but those who walk closest with Christ. Nearness to Jesus is the aim of the Christian life and fruitfulness in ministry is the glorious overflow of that relationship. But what does it look like to actually abide in Christ? Jesus points out three clear things in verses 4-11: spending time in his word, in prayer, and in keeping his commandments. Each day we will dive deeper into one of these three ways to abide in Christ, and on the last day we will focus on the end results of our abiding in Christ, namely bearing fruit for the glory of God and the joy of all peoples. In Practicing His Presence, Frank Laubach noted We shall not become like Christ until we give him more time. This is a simple, but profound observation. The most essential element of abiding in Christ is simply giving him more time. So let s be intentional to spend more time with Christ this week. After all, he is better! Better than TV, sleep, social media, hobbies, and even our family and friends. We will never regret a moment spent with him. 1. Am I abiding in Christ? Do I enjoy his presence? Is it the aim of my life to be near to him? 2. How can I set aside time in my daily schedule to intentionally abide in him? 1. Pray that we, as a united congregation, would be a people who abide in Christ, who love his presence, and who pursue him wholeheartedly. 2. Pray that all staff and congregants most affected by this transition will find much joy and comfort in nearness to Christ during this time. 3. Pray that our close relationships with Christ will overflow to bear much fruit in Montgomery County.

5 TUESDAY 6/2/15 John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. We prepare to bear fruit by abiding in the word of God and letting his words abide in us. We abide in Christ by spending time in his word. We draw near to Christ by internalizing the Word of God because, as we see in John 1:1, Christ is The Word! Therefore we must not only read the scriptures but we must internalize them by memorizing and placing these wonderful truths of Christ firmly in our hearts and minds. Memorizing the Word of God is of utmost importance because it is a key to unlocking intimacy with Christ. It is a unique way to abide in Christ because it allows us to meditate on his words all throughout the day, even without an actual copy of the Bible in front of us. This is why the writer says in Psalm 119:97 Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. The quote from Frank Laubach, included in yesterday s devotional, could just as easily say We shall not become more like Christ until we give more time to his Word. To do so, we must believe, as we said about his presence, that it is better. The writer in Psalm 119:103 says, How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. The words of Christ are better, sweeter, more enjoyable, more desirable, more wonderful, more reliable, and more trustworthy than any other words from anyone else! It is no wonder that those who abide in those words bear much fruit and glorify God with their lives. 1. Do the words of Christ abide in me? What steps can I take this week to start letting His words abide in me? (Memorizing the passage this week is a great first step!) 1. Pray that we will be a people of the book, who spend time in the Scriptures and are intentional to let the words of Christ abide in us. 2. Pray that God will bear much fruit in Montgomery County through his people who are abiding in the words of Christ.

6 WEDNESDAY 6/3/15 John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. We prepare to bear fruit by abiding in Christ in prayer. We abide in Christ by spending time in prayer and speaking with him. Even more specifically, by asking for whatever you wish! Now whatever you wish does not mean a bigger house, cooler car, and better life. God is not a genie in a bottle. However, when we abide in Christ our wishes are changed and conformed to the wishes of Christ. We can see from this passage that whatever we wish includes joy in Christ, the glory of God, and a fruitful life. We can also imply from this text that we should also wish for a love for God s Word, for the grace to keep his commandments, and for a greater understanding of the love of the Father. These are things that are certainly in the will of God and that we can pray for with confidence that he will answer. And they are way better than anything this world can offer! What we also see here is that praying is abiding and abiding is what releases the power of prayer. Praying is a way to abide in Christ, to spend time with him in his presence. Setting aside time on our knees with God is a gloriously practical way to actually abide in Christ. And then those who abide in Christ have their prayers answered, they ask whatever they wish and it is done for them. To be near to Christ is to have power in prayer. To continue repackaging the Laubach quote from day one: We shall not become more like Christ until we give more time to Him in prayer. So let s pursue abiding in Christ through prayer this week and may God see fit to give our prayers power and answer them for His glory! 1. Am I abiding in Christ by spending time in prayer? Do my prayers have power because I walk closely with Jesus? 2. How can I set aside time in my daily life to spend time with Christ in prayer? 1. Pray that we will be a church of prayer, who abides in Christ through prayer and who have power in prayer because of our close walk with Christ. 2. Pray for whatever you wish! Dream about what God can do in Montgomery County to glorify His name and then ask Him for it! Dream about what God can do in your own life to glorify His name and ask Him for it! 3. Pray for our leaders that they will walk closely with Christ and there receive great wisdom to lead through this transition well.

7 THURSDAY 6/4/15 John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love. We prepare to bear fruit by abiding in Christ through obedience. We abide in Christ when we keep his commandments. This makes plenty of sense when we realize that sin is what separates us from God. Now praise God that as his children nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! (Romans 8:39). Yet at the same time, as we still struggle in the flesh, sin clouds our view of the wonders of Christ and leads us on paths that point away from Christ instead of towards him. Therefore obedience to Christ and his commands is an essential aspect of abiding in him. To obey is to abide. This may at first seem burdensome but the beauty of this truth is that the love of Christ for his people (which is like the love the Father has for the Son!) is what motivates and compels us to obey. Then the obedience takes us into a greater experience of His love, and so the cycle continues. As Paul says in Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. It is all from and through and for Christ! To give you a taste of what this is like, here is another great quote from Frank Labauch s Practicing His Presence: I have tasted a thrill in fellowship with God which has made anything discordant with God disgusting. This afternoon the possession of God has caught me up with such sheer joy that I thought I never had known anything like it. God was so close and so amazingly lovely that I felt like melting all over with a strange of blissful contentment. Having had this experience, which comes to me now several times a week, the thrill of filth repels me for I know its power to drag me from God. And after an hour of close friendship with God my soul feels clean, as the new fallen snow. (PHP 13) This kind of relationship with God is possible and powerful so let s pursue abiding in Christ by keeping his commandments! 1. Do I pursue obedience for the sake of being near to Jesus or more out of obligation? 2. Is my abiding in Christ hindered by any consistent sin in my life? If so, take this time now to repent and ask God for grace to obey in this area of your life. 1. Pray that we will be a church who abides in Christ by keeping the commands of Christ. Pray that we will be a holy people, who run to Christ and away from sin. Pray that our desires will be changed and that we will so love Christ that sin becomes unattractive! 2. Pray that the people of Montgomery County will see the difference in our lives and give glory to God. 3. Pray that we will be a unified campus, who abides in Christ and obeys Christ together.

8 FRIDAY 6/5/15 John 15:8,11 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. The fruit we bear is the glory of the Father and the eternal joy of all peoples. There are great and glorious things to pursue! Our abiding in Christ has both an inward and outward effect, and these things go hand in hand. Our joy in Christ overflows so that others may have joy in Christ and glorifying God with our lives overflows so that God may receive glory from others. We make a mistake when we disconnect our personal relationship with God from our influence for God. It is clear in this passage and in the scriptures that the two are very connected. As verse 5 says apart from me you can do nothing. We must abide in Christ privately to do anything useful for his kingdom publicly. It is amazing the reason Christ gives for speaking these specific words, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. There is no joy greater and fuller than that of Christ and he offers it to us! Infinite, perfect, never ceasing, always expanding joy is at our fingertips through abiding in Christ. And this is what we offer to the world, joy that is full and forever and so much better than anything they can find elsewhere. The description found in Acts 8:8 is a great thing to focus on at the end of this devotional week. It tells us that after Philip s missionary activity in Samaria, there was much joy in that city. This is our prayer for Montgomery County, that the people will be joyful and God will be glorified! 1. Do I pursue abiding in Christ with a view towards participating in the work of God in the world? 2. Am I experiencing the joy Christ offers through abiding in Him? 3. Am I currently living to glorify the Father and take the joy of Christ to all peoples? How can I be more proactive to do so? 1. Pray that we as a church we will be a people who abide in Christ for the sake of the glory of God in the world. Pray that our ministry will bear fruit for the glory of the Father. 2. Pray that we will be a uniquely joyful people and that this will be a testimony to the world around of us about our amazing God. 3. Pray that there will be much joy in Montgomery County because of the work of God through this unified campus!

PRAYING THROUGH THIS SEASON

PRAYING THROUGH THIS SEASON WEEK 3 As we see God answering our prayers, we look forward to being able to look around in awe and say together: This is the Lord s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm