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Praise Thursday

Your Heart: Secret VS Show

Back to Praise Thursday here on the Drive!
This week we talked about praying in secret versus praying for show.

Scripture reveals that Jesus prayed in secret or alone, but in contrast, the religious leaders most always prayed in public because they wanted to impress people and convince them that they were holy, spiritual, giants.
Matthew 6:5
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
It’s a great thing to feel loved and respected, but we have to keep in mind that when we’re serving God, we have to have an attitude of humility and be pointing everything back to Him.Praying in public isn’t a bad thing, and we see examples of people praying in public in the bible (Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and even Jesus prayed in public). They were leading others to focus on God, not to impress or fish for praise. And they also weren’t afraid to pray in public.
We must remember that God created us and He owns us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. His opinion is the only one that matters, and seeking Him above all else should be our number one priority and be a motive in our life. We must crucify any pride whenever we pray. Hypocrisy must go, fear of man must go. Leading others in prayer is a serious responsibility that’s never meant to spotlight the person praying, but to focus on God alone.
Jesus’ statement, “When you pray…” implies that your default daily prayer life should be to, “go into your private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)
Anyone praying for show already has the only reward they will ever get.  Whatever feeble notoriety you get is the only reward.  It’s not blessings or provisions from God.
“The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)
“These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)
Secret prayer allows you to remove distractions and put the attention on adoring God.

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

The father sees you in the secret place, and He rewards you for it. If the Son of God primarily sought His Father in secret, and commanded us to do it, why shouldn’t we? Our answer exposes our hearts.

Even if we pray in secret, then go brag about it our pride is exposed. Your true heart is best exposed in secret. The secret you is the real you. It’s what you think when no-one knows, or hears. It’s what you do when no-one sees.
“As he thinks in his heart, so he is.” Proverbs 23:7
That’s why seeking God in private is so powerful. It tests us and tells on us.
Getting alone with God is a great way to choose Him above everyone and everything else. When we give Him our full attention, to love Him, to worship Him, to read His word, to listen and obey Him- He’s pleased and honored.
The secret to your success will come from your secret place and the secret to your failure will come from your failure in the secret place. So go there. Abide there. Escape there. Worship there. Pray there. And keep it a secret.

Oh Lord, show me why I pass up so many opportunities to get alone with You. Help me realize my time with You in quiet is priceless. It’s where I can hear from You best, be the most honest before You, and enjoy the most blessings of Your presence and rewards. Thank you, Lord, for choosing to be so near to me, and for inviting me to spend time alone with you, just the two of us. Help me to die to my pride and then delight in spending time alone with You.
Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

 

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Prayer: Faith vs. Doubt

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YOUR HEART: FAITH VS. DOUBT
James 1: 6-7 reminds us:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

When we pray, the Lord prompts us to ask in faith!  Our doubts can create roadblocks.

Like Peter, we may sometimes quietly deny God’s faithfulness, goodness or ability.  This lack of faith can clog up our prayer life.  We can’t get close to God if we don’t trust Him or believe that He is good.

So if you’re struggling with prayer or don’t feel much like praying at all, you might be dealing with one of these misconceptions about God’s heart and identity.

Misconception #1: God doesn’t know or understand my needs. 

He DOES know you.  He knows you better than you know yourself.  Matthew 10:29-30… “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[a] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”  He knows before we ask him!
So why does he want us to pray?  What’s the point? It’s about intimately knowing, loving and worshipping God.  It’s about conforming our lives to his will and his ways. Prayer is about accessing and advancing his power, kingdom and glory.  ALL of these require interaction.

Misconception #2: God isn’t able to help.

The apostle Paul answered this objection with one of the most resounding exclamations in the Bible. He declares that God is able to not only do whatever we can imagine Him doing, but He is able to do ABOVE and BEYOND all that we could ever ask or think (Eph 3:20).
The original Greek of this scripture carries the idea of superabundance, exceedingly high amounts, an ability that goes beyond all forms of human measurement. That’s exactly what God has. That’s who He is. Total ability and power. Omnipotence. When you look at the stars, or look in a mirror, you see God’s ability to do things well. If you truly believe this, then it should be no trouble for you to believe that ‘if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). We can also believe that with faith, no larger than a mustard seed, we can say to the mountains, whatever the mountain is, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move (Matt. 17:20).

God truly can do anything, and even Jesus said “With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26).

Misconception #3: God doesn’t care.

The question that we all like to ask, even after a person accepts God’s omniscience and omnipotence is: “If He knows everything, and can do everything, then why won’t He help me? To know and not care? Isn’t that the worst quality of all?”
Here’s the important part. Repeat this over and over until it makes sense…
A lack of immediate action should NEVER be interpreted as a lack of concern. God cares for the birds of the air, and if He cares for them, how much more, then, does He care for you? Every breath we take is a gift from God. A gift that is God shouting from above that He does care about us.

Misconception #4: God isn’t likely to do anything anyway.

Mark 11:24 says the opposite: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

God is willing to listen, respond, counsel, comfort, encourage, direct and rescue.

Mark 1:40-41 tells the story of the leper: “A man with leprosy[a] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus was indignant.[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

We are the ones who are weak and unwilling.  Unwilling to believe, wait, accept or to have all of our questions answered.  Jesus was willing to go to the cross for you!  Even now, he is praying and working.  He isn’t a genie who just grants our wishes and we should be happy for that!  God gives us the capacity to trust that His reasons are in keeping with His wisdom and His will.

Here is a prayer that can help us with having faith vs. having doubt:

“Lord, I believe in your perfect knowledge and understanding of me.  I believe in your total, unlimited ability to accomplish your holy will.  I believe you care and are willing to help me. That I can be certain that you will take the best, most loving, most appropriate actions towards me and my needs.

So keep me coming to you, Lord, where all my hopes are safe and secure; and keep me asking you, in faith, knowing you are aware, able, caring, willing and likely.  In Jesus name, Amen!”

Thanks for listening!
– Emily (in for Lilly and Joe)

 

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Prayer: Unity vs. Division

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Today we are live at the 2017 Dan Emmett Music and Arts Festival, but also continue our summer-long series on prayer, inspired by The Battle Plan for Prayer by Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

This week we explore the importance of unity and praying for unity.

Genesis 11 is the story of the Tower of Babel.  What do we learn in verses 1-9?

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

We learn that even ungodly people can be powerful in unity…but imagine the power we tap into when we worship the God of the Universe. THIS is why the enemy specializes in sowing seeds of mistrust and disunity.  He knows what the alternative is – a powerful opponent.

United prayer is powerful.  We need to work to remove bitterness, pride, and selfishness.

John 17 reminds us that Jesus prayed for his people to be unified into one body; God loves and blesses unity.  Unity draws attention to Jesus, who died for us and now lives to intercede for us.

When people see unity, they see what?  Purpose, love and power. It’s attractive and beautiful. The early church in Acts was devoted to prayer and each other.  The unity was so powerful that God’s hand was upon them and they grew.

Acts 2:43 – “everyone was filled with AWE at the many wonders and signs…”

What do we communicate when we are divided?

We communicate pride, selfishness and ignorance.  Ephesians 4:1-3

As prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

God’s blessings fall when we dwell together in unity.  He moves when we remove our hearts of sin.

Mark 11:24-26 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26]

I John 4:20-21 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Unity must dwell in a home for it to flourish – the same goes for the church!

Romans 12:18 reminds us to live peacefully with everyone – but when it’s beyond our influence, we pray. We pray for unity with other believers and that we will not allow Satan to divide us over secondary issues.

We fight back against the enemy by CHOOSING to seek the Lord in humility and unity – remember revival happens with a humble and repentant heart.

What would it look like if churches actually worked together within a city to win the lost?  Sharing resources and not caring who gets the credit?

If you want a powerful, unified movement of God among a willing people then you must pray for it and fight for it! Ask the Lord to link you with others who share that mindset.

It’s been done before. Jeremiah 33:3 promises: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

The Chapter 15 Prayer: “Lord, I’ve seen the kind of damage that can result from being in conflict with others, when we’re keeping our distance, especially among fellow believers. I’ve felt the hypocrisy of it all.  I’ve kept seeing the same names and faces when convicted about people I struggle to get along with.  But it’s hindering me, Lord. In my prayer and in my freedom.  Help me take whatever steps necessary to bring healing to any broken relationships. And to desire unity with everyone who claims the name of Christ.  So that together, we can work for your kingdom and the glory of your name.  Amen.”

Thanks for listening!
-Joe and Lilly

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Repentance Vs. Pride

How do you approach God in prayer? Humbly? Or pridefully?
In humility, we more clearly see our need for God’s guidance, grace, and forgiveness. And in humility we honestly admit our sin and willingly cry out to Him while turning away in repentance from anything that displeases Him. Pride, however resists this attitude – too vulnerable, beneath us, a sign of weakness. Pride assumes self sufficiency, and boasts of self righteousness.
We get in to trouble any time we overlook the fact that our lives are a gift from God, and we are undeserving of the mercy, grace and blessings He’s given us.

See Galatians 6:3 and Proverbs 6:16-17

Prideful people see themselves as wise. They’re looking to gain honor believing they likely deserve it. But a prideful attitude hurts and disqualifies us, while a humble attitude is what God blesses and builds up.

See Proverbs 29:23

To sum up, God hates pride and loves humility. It’s that simple. This truth should be branded on our hearts as we seek to walk closely with Him. The only way to properly approach a holy, sovereign, omnipotent God is in total humility and in total confession of sin. We must stay at war with our own pride, resolving to quickly deal with anything that displeases Him so we can stay unhindered in our relationship with Him, and mighty in prayer. Humility is a fundamental attitude of the heart for maintaining intimacy with God and a vibrant prayer life. By repenting of our sins and humbling ourselves daily before Christ, we please the Lord and pray much more frequently and much more powerfully.

 

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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The Locks of Prayer

God has given us rules to help our prayer life and battle plan be successful.

Stephen and Alex have categorized these biblical principles into the locks and keys of prayer.  The locks are things that can bring down or muddy our prayer life.  The keys give prayer a boost beyond any earthly limits.

There are ten locks:
1. Praying without knowing God through Jesus (John 14:6)
Like people who don’t share much common ground in a relationship have a hard time keeping conversations going, those who haven’t believed in God for the forgiveness of their sins cannot expect God to feel obligated to respond.

2. Praying from an unrepentant heart (Psalms 103:14)
God looks at our hearts and He knows when we are broken by our sin. Being broken by our sin isn’t the problem. The real trouble comes when our hearts aren’t broken by sin at all, and when we’re cold and indifferent toward His word and our transgressions.

3. Praying for show (Matthew 6:5)
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites.” Public prayers that have not been seasoned by private prayers are hardly worth the hot air it takes to speak them. Don’t forget that when you’re leading others in prayer, you’re still praying to the audience of One.

4. Praying repetitive, empty words. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Prayer can be off the cuff, it can be written out and read word for word, it can be so deep and heartfelt that out only comes out as single syllables. The thing that makes prayer a string of wasted words is when we talk and talk but we’re not listening to anything we’re saying.

5. Prayers not prayed (James 4:2)
The most ineffective prayers are the ones we never even take the time to pray. How many times do we just ‘motor’ past God, not even braking for direction or advice? We’re too busy or in too much of a hurry to seek His counsel. We mean to pray; we thought about praying; we just never got to work it in to our schedule.

6. Praying with a lustful heart (James 4:3)
If lust, greed, bitterness or pride are our motives to request something, then God will not be pleased to respond. Like a wise parent with a pushy child, God knows what to give us for our good, and what not to give us for our good as well. If we love Him most, He takes delight in giving us good things.

7. Praying while mistreating your spouse (1 Peter 3:7)
When we’re not treating our spouses with respect, God makes a special mention of that as an inhibitor to prayer. How can we expect to be at unity with God while sowing disunity throughout our homes? Being ugly to our spouses is a backbreaker in prayer.

8. Praying while ignoring the poor (Prov 21:13)
When you show compassion to those in need, God shows favor on your request. But the opposite is true as well. If you snub the poor and destitute like they’re less than human, an eyesore, or invisible, expect to feel a blockage in your prayer.

9- Praying with bitterness in your heart toward someone (Mark 11:25-26)
It’s sinful to receive God’s forgiveness then consider ourselves exempt from ‘forgiving if we have anything against someone.’ Bitterness is a toxin that’s not only harmful to us spirtually, mentally, and physically, but it also poisons the effectiveness of prayer and the full experience of our relationship with God.

10- Praying with a faithless heart (Hebrews 11:6)
Whenever we don’t trust someone’s ability to do something a breach clouds that relationship. We should ask in faith without doubting because anyone who doubts is driven and tossed by the wind. Lukewarm belief is the weakest form of prayer, and doubt locks us out of our prayer closet.

Here’s the prayer from the end of the chapter…
“Lord , reveal to me anything that is hindering my prayer life, and help me get rid of it quickly. IF there is any arrogance in me, pretense, manipulation, bitterness, ruthlessness, or a lack of faith in You, Forgive and cleanse me Lord. Lord I forgive those who have wronged me as you have forgiven me, I thank You for your kindness and patience, I am tired of being the one who is blocking myself from being as close to You as possible, and receiving what You desire to give me. Unhinge me, I pray, from any locks of prayer. Open me up so You can work, without hindrance, through me.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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Postures of Prayer

 

Can our posture intensify our praying?
Can we study the word to see how our postures can help us?
There are 7 different postures we can look at…

1. Bowing: this is a physical expression of honor and allegiance; the act of bowing is associated with worship.  Just the bowing of our heads alone communicates that we are addressing the One to whom we’ve pledged our loyalty.

Bowing also sometimes is called dropping to our knees: Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:13 is given as he knelt down in front of the entire congregation of Israel.  Daniel kept kneeling three times a day despite the risk.  Philippians 2:10 reminds us that one day, every knee will bow before Christ.

2. Lying prostrate
This could be like Ezra in Nehemiah 8:6 with your face to the ground (prostrate meaning still or not moving while lying down).

Jesus does this in Matthew 26 in the garden before his arrest.  Also in Revelation 1:17, John fell at his feet like a dead man when he saw Christ resurrected!

Just like prayer drives us lower to the ground in surrender, it can lift us up from our earthly existence.

3. Lifted hands
I Timothy 2:8 “I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension.”

You can fall to your knees but also lift your hands.

4. Lifted eyes: this helps us set our sights on heaven

Jesus does this in John 11:41 and Luke 9:16.

5. Silence: Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that He is God.” When we are awed and amazed, we are often in silence.  Psalm 62:1 about our souls waiting in silence for Him, since He is our salvation.

God can hear our silent prayers.  Share story of Hannah from 1 Samuel 1:13.

6. Lifted voices: this is the opposite of silence, from Psalm 141 and Psalm 77.

7. Crying out: Psalm 55:17; this carries the idea of something intense and loud or even shrieking in pain.  This is something intense and loud, heavy and heartfelt.

John tells us in Revelation twenty times that the words being spoken in heaven are identified as a loud voice.

There’s a difference between the prayers we do when we’re on our back fighting sleep and the ones we do where we take a specific posture.  Posture is not mandatory or specifically prescribed, but can be deliberate.

Lord, take all of me – my hands, my eyes, my feet, my voice. Use all of these gifts you’ve given me so they return to you as clear expressions of my worship, love, devotion and submission.  I so easily lose sight of you going through the motions of religion.  Lord, turn even my posture of prayer into a means of steadying my wandering mind and opening my ears to YOUR voice.

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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Scheduled & spontaneous prayer

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Today we continue our summer series on prayer, inspired by the book The Battle Plan for Prayer, from Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

Our thoughts today focus on both scheduled and spontaneous prayer.

SCHEDULED? There are times in life when we may be motivated to pray – but prayer should also be part of a daily schedule.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 reminds to “pray without ceasing.” That means never being far from the attitude of talking and listening to God.  Our goal is to make prayer a natural part of our thinking.  We pray in the quiet moments and in the chaos.

Prayer is an ongoing opportunity. It’s a critical part of the life of a believer.  A priority and a passion.

David made prayer a habit even as he was king (Psalm 55:17).  Daniel prayed to God three times a day, even when he knew it could cost him his life.  Jesus modeled the habit of prayer in Mark 1 and Luke 5.

We can do this.  We can schedule this.  Individual prayer, family prayer, small group prayer over coffee, etc.  When we want something bad enough, we will make time in our schedule to do it.  Jesus offers us eternal treasures from his Word. So let’s stop making excuses for not scheduling prayer!

Plan to spend time to be with the Lord and watch what He does with it in your life!

SPONTANEOUS? Sometimes unplanned events give us the chance to respond to life with prayer…at a moment’s notice.  This is how we engage with whatever comes at us.  We learn to use spontaneous prayers.

Psalm 32:6 says, “Let everyone who is Godly pray to You in a time when You may be found.”

What are those times? An unexpected blessing. A crisis for you or someone you know or care about. When you need wisdom and clarity in a financial situation.  When you need courage to share your faith.  Prayer can be an immediate reflex rather than a last resort.

What can prompt us to pray? Here some things we experience on a regular basis:

  • Newness – when we begin something new (project, relationship, year)
  • Needs – physical, emotional or spiritual needs; He is Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides. Matthew 6: 8-11 reminds us that He knows what we need even before we ask Him
  • Blessings – as God provides, protects, guides and forgives, thank Him!
  • Burdens – take these to the Lord and stop trying to solve them all on your own; this means not just your burdens, but those of your friends and family (Galatians 6:2)
  • Crisis – these are the life-changing events where we turn to Him; Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble…I shall rescue you.”
  • Worries – we can turn worry into prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 and I Peter 5:7
  • Sin – anything related to sin should lead us to pray. Jesus instructed his disciples to pray when tempted.  We have to humble ourselves and confess our sin.  I John 1:19 reminds us that we can trust that He will forgive and cleanse us!

Our circumstances should launch our prayers.  We can pray for anything and everything!

With all of this in mind, our Word of the Day is spontaneous (spon-TAIN-ee-us), an adjective meaning something that arises from a momentary impulse.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

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God’s Answers to Prayer

Good afternoon! I hope you’re having a great day! Today on the show I talked about the 5 different answers that God has to your prayers.
We first must establish that ‘no’ is an answer to prayer, and there are two answers to prayer that God gives us that actually involve the answer of ‘no’.

1. “Yes. Immediately”.
Sometimes what we pray is exactly in line with God’s will, as well as his timing, and His answer will arrive on the spot. We also need to realize that God is answering our prayers before we even pray the prayer. He says that ‘before they call, I answer.” God is simply not bound by time. He may start answering prayers ten years before you pray it/ He is, now, preparing things for you through the prayers you have yet to pray.

2. “Yes, in due time.”
We need to understand that a delay is not a denial. This answer is basically a “yes, but you’re not ready for it yet.” God is working behind the scenes in your life, waiting for a more perfect moment to unveil His amazing ‘yes’. If it is a “yes, but not now’ answer, what He is giving us is the faith and patience to wait for the right time to arrive.

3. “Yes, so you’ll learn from it.”
Sometimes God gives us what we want because He knows that it will teach us a lesson. We’re much better off trusting God to give us what we need, when we need it, and when we’re ready for it. There are moments when, if God gave us what we asked for, we would one day regret it, and we would thank Him for saying ‘no’. We need to pray freely using the Luke method (or the Hillary Scott method) by saying ‘not my will be done, but yours’, which is sometimes the hardest thing to pray in tough situations.

Now we enter into the realm of the tough answers. No.
This #4 is a toughy to hear…

4. “No, because your heart isn’t right”
Sometimes a no isn’t a ‘wait’, sometimes it’s us asking and not receiving because we are asking with the wrong motives, so that we may spend it on our pleasures. This is insanely hard to hear, but it is very good to have our hearts aligned with God, and having our requests, again, focused not on our will, but His. God isn’t saying no forever, but He realizes that we are not in a position to appreciate the gift or to handle it well. Besides, if it’s not God’s will, do we really want it anyway?

5. “No. I’ve got a better plan.”
Obviously, God knows what is best for his children, and we know that He has a plan for us, it tells us that in Jeremiah 29:11. Sometimes we ask too small, confined by our own limits and knowledge, not thinking outside of what we’ve seen and experienced.
We pray for a handful when God wants to give us a houseful.
WE ARE ALLOWED TO PRAY BIG PRAYERS! Never be afraid to pray boldly and for big things. When we ask for big things, we need to realize that God may just choose to amaze us even further. That’s why praying ‘Lord, will you do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or imagine in this situation?” because we know that He is a powerful God that can do just that, which it tells us in Ephesians 3. One of my favorite verses.

Here’s the prayer for today…

“Father, my default has been to think You probably weren’t listening, and even if you were, You’d probably say no. I bow before you today – more convinced than ever that I am in wise, loving, caring, powerful hands. Convinced that I can trust you. Convinced that every ‘no’ is some way to an even better ‘yes’. You said You withhold no good thing from those who love You. Thank You for letting me ask, and thank you for letting me know that Your desire is truly for my ultimate good. May I trust You even more and pray with even greater faith knowing You want to be glorified through my answered prayers.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Thanks as always for listening! Pray boldly.
– Lilly

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Praises for shoe boxes, ACTS & festivals!

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A big show today on the Afternoon Drive!  We shared our monthly spotlight on Operation Christmas Child and also continued our focus on prayer. Then at 5pm, we joined the Big Blue Crew at the Danville-Howard Turkey Festival.

OCC is giving away hashtag shirts this month that say #WeMakeDisciples. It reminds us that the ministry of Operation Christmas Child does so much more than just deliver shoe boxes. They offer a 12-step discipleship course called The Greatest Journey. Find out more by clicking here.

Our prayer focus this week was on the types of prayer, namely the ACTS model of prayer. This stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The book The Battle Plan for Prayer by Alex and Stephen Kendrick shares that you can approach God in any and all of these areas as needed.  They can provide a natural progression as you pray.

Adoration: prayer that praises and worships God (hallowed be thy name)

Confession: prayer that gets honest about sin and staying right with God (forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us)

Thanksgiving: God-directed, humbly expressed gratitude (thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever)

Supplication: asking for something from God; a petition or appeal (give us our daily bread; lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil)

We hope to see you at the Danville-Howard Turkey Festival – find out more here!

Thanks for listening!
-Joe and Lilly

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