Friday Devotion and Prayer Prompts

Crowds of people came to hear [Jesus] and to be healed of their sickness. But he often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:15b-­‐16).1 

I believe that the eternal fruit that has happened in our midst this past year has been due to God's grace unfolded first through prayer and then the efforts of many people! LORD, a big thanks for Pastor John Mark challenging us to grow in this area.

It’s been a privilege to serve our church in the area of prayer; God has done so much in the way of building this ministry these past twelve months – over a dozen weekly prayer groups, hundreds of people getting the Monday Prayer Feed, a weekly blog on prayer, etc. But I believe God wants to continue to lengthen, widen and deepen this ministry of prayer at Apex Baptist. Private prayer brings public power! Please join with me in praying towards that end.

A relationship with the Father and the ability to bring the needs of others to God’s throne of grace and mercy are among the greatest gifts God has given to mankind (Heb 4:16). However, in order to function in these capacities, times of solitude with the LORD are absolutely essential.

We must publicly worship and pray, consistently proclaim the wonders of God, and do the daily tasks of life and work; however, vital to all these things are times of solitude with God. And yet how few of us strongly desire these quiet times with the LORD of life or quickly turn them into an obligation, a reading assignment, or study session.

Isaiah 26:9 declares that one day God will have a people who say, “My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.” Wow! LORD, help me to have that type of a heart! May I follow in Jesus’ footsteps, especially as mentioned above.

Jesus withstood the many demands that pressed upon his life in order to have times of solitude with God. As followers of Jesus, if we are too busy for regular times of solitude, our lives and values are out of priority. In fact these quite times, away from the press of life, are essential for sustaining our effectiveness and quality of life in God.

Unfortunately, our alone times with God are easily stolen from us by things of lesser value. But what could be better than to sit quietly in God's presence, fellowshipping with him? I wonder how different things would be, if our question was not "How much time must I spend alone with God?" but rather, "How much time am I allowed to spend?"

Maintaining regular times of solitude in our lives is the gray door that few walk through, because it is unappealing. Yet behind that door are the glory of God and the life of God and the key to all that is good and holy. In our natural body, it is the unseen organs that are the most vital to the life of the body; so also is it with the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12ff). Praying 1 See also Mark 1:35, Matt. 14:23, and Luke 9:18. often in secret (Matt 6:5-­‐15) is definitely a vital but hidden ‘organ that pumps blood’ into every area of our individual and community lives.

FRIDAY PRAYER PROMPTS 

1. Lord, continue to build ABC into a house of prayer; help our leaders to:
a. Seek your heart above all else (Jer 10:21).
b. Not cave into the pressures of life (Matt 26:40) or the demands of ministry (Acts 6:1-­‐7) that call them away from prayer and the preaching of your Word.

2. Thank you LORD for the dozens of people that serve our Treasured Friends, our ministry to our shut-­‐ins. May we care for them with your heart of love and continue to see them as precious in your sight and vital to our church.

3. 2014 National Day of Prayer: LORD, use our church to gather and serve the great Apex area on May 1st.
a. LORD, we want to at least double the churches and people involved in this event from last year.
b. Give Pastor John Mark, Peter Dubbelman and those serving with them favor with the pastors of other churches, as they approach them to join this effort.

4. Prayer Guide: God we want to utter your prayers that usher in your kingdom to our lives, our families, our church, ...
a. Use this booklet for that purpose; don’t let the words on the page be dry and lifeless. Help us to pray your prayers, straight from the Bible and your heart and purposes.
b. Give Peter and those who assist him in this effort your heart in these matters.

5. LORD may your administrative blessing be on our church:
a. Help us to do things ‘decently and in order’.
b. Keep our people safe as they travel in our vehicles on mission for you.
c. Pour open the windows of heaven upon us with such a blessing that we are not able to contain it.
d. May our people work as unto you in the kitchen, maintenance, housekeeping, security, transportation, … areas of our church.
e. Strengthen and protect us through the Sunday morning safety and security ministry of our church.
f. Help us to be wise stewards of the resources your give us.

Tuesday Devotion and Prayer Prompts

Chapters four and five of the book of Revelation contain an amazing description of heavenly worship. John saw a throne in heaven with a rainbow surrounding it. Flashes of lighting and sounds of thunder were coming out of the throne. There were four living creatures who day and night proclaimed: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” (4:8). John also saw twenty four elders who knelt down and cast their crowns before the throne saying: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (4:11).

John saw God the Father as the One seated upon the throne with a scroll sealed with seven seals in his right hand. He saw God the Holy Spirit as seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. He saw God the Son as the Lamb who was slain.

One of the elders called John’s attention to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David; when he looked, he saw a Lamb who was slain. An angel was asking: “who is worthy to take the scroll from the hand of the One sited on the throne?” Nobody in heaven or on earth was worthy to take the scroll. Finally, one of the elders said to John that the Lamb who was slain was worthy to take the scroll. When the Lamb took the scroll something remarkable happened. The whole creation worshiped the Lamb. Like a symphony in crescendo, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders were followed in praise by the thousands upon thousands of angels, who were followed by every created thing in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-­‐10)

We are purchased people, bought by the blood of Jesus to be a kingdom of priests to worship Him. Having a time to worship God privately is something that all believers can and ought to do, but having the experience of worshiping God corporately with believers from other races, languages, and nationalities is like participating in a heavenly experience. Jesus redeemed us from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Together we can worship God.

I am so glad that at Apex Baptist, we are willing to experience a piece of heaven worshiping God with people from different races, languages, and nations. Currently during the time of worship in our en Español ministry, the Lord has given us people from 11 different nations. We have a new song to sing, the song of the redeemed, the song of praise and gratitude for having all of our sin forgiven and for making us a new creation in Christ. We have a new position; he has made us a kingdom of priests and we will reign with him. What a privilege and honor!

TUESDAY PRAYER PROMPTS: 

1. Pray for wisdom for pastor Alex to lead our en Español ministry. To finish his doctoral work (comprehension exams in October 7 & 8, and for dissertation).

2. Pray for leadership development in the different ministries en Español; women, men, married couples, singles, worship, greeters, youth, life groups, home groups.

3. Pray for numerical growth; that we develop a heart to reach out to the lost.

4. Pray for spiritual growth. We want to emphasize the vital aspect of being a disciple of Christ.

5. Pray for increasing integration with the English speaking church as we transition to a new schedule of services. We want to have the opportunity to serve and interact with other ministries in the church.

6. Pray for the Medical-­‐Dental Van ministry (April 11-­‐12, 2014). Pray that we can recruit volunteers to serve in the different medical-­‐professional capacities, dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, medical doctors, optometrist, and nurses.

Monday Devotion & Prayer Prompts

In the past few weeks I’ve read the New Testament book of Acts again, and God’s word continues to scream at me that American “Churchianity” is not biblical Christianity. At the end of almost every chapter, I said “WOW,” either to myself or just bursted it out loud. Certainly there are some “WOW” things happening in some American Churches, but those are the exceptions rather than the norm. In Breakout Churches, Thom Rainer reports that 8 out of 10 American churches are in decline or erosion (174) – Yuck!

So what was different about the Early Church? What made it so powerful? I believe there are many lessons we can learn from them, but we must note at least two. First, prayer was a major priority for first century Followers of Jesus. The Early Church was born during a prayer meeting (Acts 2). The early Church prayed and God showed up to save souls, to purify the Fellowship (Ananias & Sapphira), to heal the sick, to set the captives free and so much more. In the American Church prayer is often neglected, stagnant, minimal or an after thought. Let’s pray boldly this week – just as the Early Church did.

Secondly, the Early Believers lived the Gospel. They didn’t just understand that their purpose was to advance the Kingdom of God – they did it. The researchers behind Breakout Churches found inconsistencies in declining churches’ in their willingness to practice their beliefs. “The clearest example of this reality was in the area of evangelism. They might believe that Christ is the only way of salvation, but they are unwilling or unable to share the Gospel with non-­‐Christians” (177). In contrast, Breakout church members, like Early Church Members, “are passionate about reaching others for Christ personally” and “do not expect all evangelism to be done by the staff or a select few from the church” (177).

The early church prayed fervently, then put feet to their prayers and “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) -­‐ good lessons!

MONDAY PRAYER PROMPTS: 

1. Lord, forgive us for being lame in our prayer lives. May we make prayer a top priority in our personal lives, in our families and in our church.

2. Set us free Father from our timidity, our insecurities, our fears and from our unfruitful past. Lord Jesus, wreck us with your love. As we pray, give us “Christ-­‐like eyes” to see others as you see them. Then, grant us wisdom and sensitivity to respond redemptively.

3. Lord we certainly pray defensively for the protection of our students, but like the Early Church, we also pray for their boldness. Their schools are tough, but ripe, fields for evangelistic harvest. Empower them to be salt & light on their campuses. Give them persistence & courage and help them to work together to advance your Kingdom’s Glory. Help us as parents and church leaders to equip our children for evangelistic success and to model a disciple-­‐making lifestyle.

4. Give us wisdom Father as we sharpen our church’s mission efforts. Use us to be a blessing to our local, regional and global ministry partners.

5. The Bible is our guide for our individual lives and for our church. Grant us courage to follow its examples and principles.