February 22, 2021 Prayer - Renew, Reform, Refresh, Revive Church Leaders

God of Reformation and Revival,

We praise you and thank you for the ways in which you have loved, blessed, and guided your people - especially when they have turned from your Truth and Righteous Way.  Thank you that you always provide a way for us to return to you in genuine repentance so the broken relationships between you and your People are restored.  Thank you that even though you see through our corruption, foolishness, misguided hearts, moral darkness, and idolatry, you are continually wooing us with your Voice of Love back to a place of purity, holiness, and joy in communion with you.  Today we pray for the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers you have set into place to equip your people for works of service.  We know your desire is for the Body of Christ to be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  And we know that, in your wisdom, you have set people of very real human frailty into those positions of leadership and influence.  So, today we pray for Holy Spirit's renewal, revival, reformation, and refreshing to be poured out upon those who oversee your church.  May they be without blame before others. Guard their marriages and their parenting so they can be an example for others.  May they be sensible, well-behaved, hospitable, spiritual shepherds, and ones who are living a disciplined life.  Break any chains of addiction, anger, argumentativeness, lust for power or wealth, and pride. Where there has been darkness, despair, or dryness in the wilderness of their lives, we pray for streams of holy, living water to flow for their healing and refreshment.  God, prepare these overseers to lead their people well through these Last Days. You said that in the Last Days you would pour out your Spirit on all men and women - that we would prophesy, dream dreams, have visions, and see signs and wonders in the heavens and the earth.  You said that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, so we pray that these church leaders, first and foremost, would call upon you to be true, total, and irrefutably Lord in their lives.  May the men and women you have placed into places of leadership be people who guide those around them into deep and honorable relationships with you. God, prepare these church leaders for the Great Harvest that is coming. Prepare them to lead local churches where the Lost and Prodigals are coming to faith and salvation.  You are doing new things in our world; help the leaders you have set into place to have pure hearts before you so they can see your works and your ways.  By the power of Holy Spirit and in the strong and mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen!

"Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored]..." (Joel 2:12 AMP)

"Throughout human history the fingerprints of God were upon them, yet they refused to honor him as God or even be thankful for his kindness. Instead, they entertained corrupt and foolish thoughts about what God was like. This left them with nothing but misguided hearts, steeped in moral darkness. Although claiming to be super-intelligent, they were in fact shallow fools. For only a fool would trade the unfading splendor of the immortal God to worship the fading image of other humans, idols made to look like people, animals, birds, and even creeping reptiles!" (Romans 1:21-23 TPT)

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)

"If any of you aspires to be an overseer in the church; you have set your heart toward a noble ambition, for the word is true! Yet an elder needs to be one who is without blame before others. He should be one whose heart is for his wife alone and not another woman. He should be recognized as one who is sensible, and well-behaved, and living a disciplined life. He should be a “spiritual shepherd” who has the gift of teaching, and is known for his hospitality. He cannot be a drunkard, or someone who lashes out at others, or argumentative, or someone who simply craves more money, but instead, recognized by his gentleness. His heart should be set on guiding his household with wisdom and dignity; bringing up his children to worship with devotion and purity. For if he’s unable to properly lead his own household well, how could he properly lead God’s household? He should not be a new disciple who would be vulnerable to living in the clouds of conceit and fall into pride, making him easy prey for Satan. He should be respected by those who are unbelievers, having a beautiful testimony among them so that he will not fall into the traps of Satan and be disgraced." (1 Timothy 3:1-7 TPT)

"It shall come about after this

That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions.

“Even on the male and female servants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

“I will show signs and wonders [displaying My power] in the heavens and on the earth,

Blood and fire and columns of smoke.

“The sun will be turned into darkness

And the moon into blood

Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Will be saved [from the coming judgment]."  (Joel 2:28-32 AMP)

"I looked and behold—I saw a white cloud, and sitting upon it was one like the Son of Man, wearing a golden crown and holding a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, shouting out to the one sitting upon the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, for the time of reaping the harvest has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe!” So the one sitting upon the white cloud gave his sickle a mighty swing over the earth and reaped its harvest." (Revelation 14:14-16 TPT)

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)

February 18, 2021 Prayer - Praying for Pastors

Shepherding God,

Thank you that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Thank you that you are the Good Shepherd who gave up his life for us on the Cross so we could know eternal life in you.  Thank you that you know those who are yours and they know and recognize you.  Thank you for the many men and women you have put into places of leadership in your Church.  Thank you for all those you have appointed with your Grace to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.  We pray that by the power of Holy Spirit they would be able to fulfill their calling to nurture and prepare all the holy believers to do their own works of ministry so the Body of Christ is enlarged and built up.  We pray that each of them would have hearts that are set on You.  May their relationships with spouses be pure and godly.  May they be sensible, well-behaved, self-disciplined, hospitable, not lovers of money, patient, kind, generous, and gentle.  May their hearts be set on guiding their households and their local churches with wisdom and dignity, bringing up physical and spiritual children to worship with devotion and purity.  Protect them from falling into pride or greed or ay other sin that would damage and disgrace their testimony.  We pray for those in Church leadership who are struggling with fear, sin, discouragement (even despair) and/or overwhelming circumstances.  We pray for Holy Spirit to pour out upon them the grace, strength, courage, wisdom and discernment they need.  We know that your weapons of warfare include your divine power to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.  So, we pray in the name of Jesus that you would break the power of every wicked stronghold, burden or scar in their lives.  Take every thought and action captive to you, and help them to come out of the darkness into the fullness of your love.   Give them encouragement, peace, and joy as they go about the ministry work you have set before them.  We pray that the blessings of divine grace and supernatural peace that flow from God our wonderful Father, and our Messiah, the Lord Jesus, be upon their lives and ministries, in Jesus's name.  Amen and Amen. 

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

"I am the Good Shepherd who lays down my life as a sacrifice for the sheep....I alone am the Good Shepherd, and I know those whose hearts are mine, for they recognize me and know me, just as my Father knows my heart and I know my Father’s heart."  (John 10:11, 14-15 TPT)

"And he has appointed some with grace to be apostles, and some with grace to be prophets, and some with grace to be evangelists, and some with grace to be pastors, and some with grace to be teachers. And their calling is to nurture and prepare all the holy believers to do their own works of ministry, and as they do this they will enlarge and build up the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-12 TPT)

"If any of you aspires to be an overseer in the church; you have set your heart toward a noble ambition, for the word is true! Yet an elder needs to be one who is without blame before others. He should be one whose heart is for his wife alone and not another woman. He should be recognized as one who is sensible, and well-behaved, and living a disciplined life. He should be a “spiritual shepherd” who has the gift of teaching, and is known for his hospitality. He cannot be a drunkard, or someone who lashes out at others, or argumentative, or someone who simply craves more money, but instead, recognized by his gentleness.

His heart should be set on guiding his household with wisdom and dignity; bringing up his children to worship with devotion and purity. For if he’s unable to properly lead his own household well, how could he properly lead God’s household?  He should not be a new disciple who would be vulnerable to living in the clouds of conceit and fall into pride, making him easy prey for Satan.  He should be respected by those who are unbelievers, having a beautiful testimony among them so that he will not fall into the traps of Satan and be disgraced." (1 Timothy 3:1-7 TPT)

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV)

"May the blessings of divine grace and supernatural peace that flow from God our wonderful Father, and our Messiah, the Lord Jesus, be upon your lives." (Philippians 1:2 TPT)

"Freedom"

Step out of the shadows, step out of the grave

Break into the wild and don't be afraid

Bring all of your burdens, bring all of your scars
Come back to communion, come back to the start

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

There is freedom, there is freedom

Come out of the dark just as you are

Into the fullness of His love

Songwriters: Edward Goltsman / Kim Crawford; "Freedom" lyrics © Worshiptogether.com Songs, So Essential Tunes, Sixsteps Music, Capitol Cmg Genesis, Be Essential Songs

Weary of waiting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iWj8wPhimE

"We Will Wait"

We will run and not grow weary

We will walk and will not faint

For the Lord will go before us

And His joy will be our strength

Mounting up with wings as eagles

As our spirits start to soar

When we come into His presence

And we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

For in His presence is fullness of joy

And our strength will be restored

As we wait upon the Lord

CCLI Song No. 833465

© 1992 Integrity's Hosanna! Music

Martin Nystrom | Tricia G. Allen

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water. (Ps. 63:1 NIV)

I've written two blog entries this week and have the start of another one. However, this blog/prayer entry is very specific: I want to pray for the search process for our church's new pastor. We have been without a permanent pastor for 18 months now and actively searching for a year. I am (personally) becoming weary of the process, the waiting, the unknowns - and I'm on the search committee. Tomorrow night we interview (via Skype) three potential candidates.

The past two weeks we have been praying this scripture from Colossians 1 over ourselves and the new pastor. Now I ask you to pray it with us.

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (NIV)

We pray for knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

We pray that we and he may live a life worthy and pleasing to God, bearing fruit in every good work.

We pray we would continue to grow in the knowledge of God.

We pray we will be strengthened with all power according to God's glorious might.

We pray for great endurance and patience.

We pray for joy to inhabit this situation.

And we join with the words of the Psalmist:

² We have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

³ Because your love is better than life,
our lips will glorify you.

⁴ We will praise you as long as we live,
and in your name we will lift up our hands.

⁵ Our souls will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips our mouths will praise you.

⁷ Because you are my help, we sing in the shadow of your wings.

⁸ Our souls cling to you;
your right hand upholds us. (Ps. 63 NIV)

Uphold us, God; help us not to be weary. Help us run with endurance the race set before us. Help us trust your ways, your thoughts, your timing. Give us strength and hope - and patience. May our hearts be in tune with yours and our spiritual ears be able to hear your voice. May our wills do what you want and may your Kingdom be honored and furthered. In the strong and comforting name of Christ we pray. Amen.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isa. 40 NIV)

"Sheeple" and Leadership

In the last few days I've been thinking a lot about leadership.  Our church is in the process of searching for our next pastoral leader and Sunday we had a conversation with the district leader about that position.  The church is at a point in her history and growth where good leadership continues to be critical.  There are currently incredibly talented people in lay and staff leadership positions, and our next pastor will need to be a compliment to and crucial element of that leadership. 

(Painting a picture with a wide brush and a grain of salt now:)  Our nation seems to have a lot of "leaders" who are strictly out to further their own or party's agenda.  Our society seems to discourage godly leadership within the home.  People in our culture seem to be led like sheep ("sheeple") by entertainment, sports, or political celebrities.  Thoughtful people pine for times when thoughtful, careful, leaders looked at the best thinking around them and how to apply it to current situations.  And while I recognize that in every generation there are leaders and "sheeple," somehow it seems there are a lot more sheeple than quality leaders right now.  

This weekend I read Peggy Noonan's column in the Wall Street Journal.  Most of it was a response to the criticisms of Sarah Palin.  But the last few paragraphs I believe are profound and important for thinking citizens and church folk to consider. (You can read the whole article at: 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html)  

I won't reprint the whole thing here, but the last paragraphs I believe apply both to the Church and to our nation.

The era we face, that is soon upon us, will require a great deal from our leaders. They had better be sturdy. They will have to be gifted. There will be many who cannot, and should not, make the cut. Now is the time to look for those who can. And so the Republican Party [or any church following Jesus!] should get serious, as serious as the age, because that is what a grown-up, responsible party [church/pastor] —a party [church/pastor] that deserves to lead—would do.

It's not a time to be frivolous, or to feel the temptation of resentment, or the temptation of thinking next year will be more or less like last year, and the assumptions of our childhoods will more or less reign in our future. It won't be that way.

We are going to need the best.

We are going to need the best -- both for our nation and our church.  So we pray...

God, 

 We love you, O LORD, our strength.

 The LORD is our rock, our fortress and our deliverer; 

our God is our rock, in whom we take refuge.   (Ps.181:2a NIV, alt.)

 Turn your ear to us, come quickly to our rescue; 
       be our rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save us.

Since you are our rock and our fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide us.  (Ps.31:2-3 NIV, alt.)

O LORD, hear our prayer, listen to our cry for mercy; 
       in your faithfulness and righteousness come to our relief.

Let the morning bring us word of your unfailing love, 
       for we have put our trust in you. 
       Show us the way we should go, 
       for to you we lift up our souls.

Rescue us from our enemies, O LORD, 
       for we hide ourselves in you.

Teach us to do your will, 
       for you are our God; 
       may your good Spirit 
       lead us on level ground.  (Ps. 143:1, 8-10 NIV alt.)

We need leaders who are tuned in to you, 

both for our church and for our nation.  

We need men and women who seek first your kingdom and righteousness 

and want to serve you in their roles.  

Prepare our next pastor and upcoming/future civic leaders 

for the leadership roles you have for them.

Show your church and your people the ones you 

have anointed for leadership.

Give your leaders the fortitude and patience of David 

as he waited for your timing to become the leader 

God had anointed him to be. 

Give your leaders the courage and faith 

of Joshua and Caleb, to see Your Promised Land and 

speak your truth to the people.

Give your leaders the joy of Abraham and Sarah 

as they watched Isaac grow, knowing your promises are "yes and amen."

Give your leaders the focus and vision for ministry 

the apostles and early church had so we are effective in our mission and ministry.

Give your leaders a desire to be genuinely humble 

and allow you to raise us up to exalted places.

Guide our feet into the paths of peace 

for your righteousness and for the glory of your name.

Amen

Peace be with you,

JV

Fearfully and wonderfully made

 ^1-6 God, investigate our lives; get all the facts firsthand. 

   We're an open book to you; 
      even from a distance, you know what we're thinking. 
   You know when we leave and when we get back; 
      We're never out of your sight. 
   You know everything we're going to say 
      before we start the first sentence. 
   We look behind us and you're there, 
      then up ahead and you're there, too— 
      your reassuring presence, coming and going. 
   This is too much, too wonderful— 
      We can't take it all in! 

 ^7-12 Is there anyplace we can go to avoid your Spirit? 
      to be out of your sight? 
   If we climb to the sky, you're there! 
      If we go underground, you're there! 
   If we flew on morning's wings 
      to the far western horizon, 
   You'd find us in a minute— 
      you're already there waiting! 
   Then we said, "Oh, he even sees us in the dark! 
      At night we're immersed in the light!" 
   It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; 
      night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. 

 ^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped us first inside, then out; 
      you formed us in our mothers' wombs. 
   We thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
      Body and soul, we are marvelously made! 
      We worship in adoration—what a creation! 
   You know us inside and out, 
      you know every bone in our bodies; 
   You know exactly how we were made, bit by bit, 
      how we were sculpted from nothing into something. 
   Like an open book, you watched us grow from conception to birth; 
      all the stages of our lives were spread out before you, 
   The days of our lives all prepared 
      before we'd even lived one day. 

 ^17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! 
      God, we'll never comprehend them! 
   We couldn't even begin to count them— 
      any more than we could count the sand of the sea. 
   Oh, let us rise in the morning and live always with you! 
      And please, God, do away with wickedness for good! 
   And you murderers—out of here!— 
      all the men and women who belittle you, God, 
      infatuated with cheap god-imitations. 
   See how we hate those who hate you, God, 
      see how we loathe all this godless arrogance; 
   We hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred. 
      Your enemies are our enemies! 

 ^23-24 Investigate our lives, O God, 
      find out everything about us; 
   Cross-examine and test us, 
      get a clear picture of what we're about; 
   See for yourself whether we've done anything wrong— 
      then guide us on the road to eternal life.  (Ps. 139, MSG, alt.)

All Knowing God,

We thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
Body and soul, we are marvelously made! 
We worship in adoration—what a creation! 
You know us inside and out, 
you know every bone in our bodies; 
You know exactly how we were made, bit by bit, 
how we were sculpted from nothing into something.

Let us rise in the morning and live always with you! 
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good! 

 Investigate our lives, O God, find out everything about us; 
Cross-examine and test us, get a clear picture of what we're about; 
See for yourself whether we've done anything wrong— 
      then guide us on the road to eternal life.

Prepare your Church worldwide for our next chapter of ministry.

Embolden its leaders to search for and serve you even more passionately and with even more humility.

Prepare pastors for the paths to which they are called

Stir up a hunger within your Church worldwide to seek you and follow you.

Stir up a hunger within your Church to see all the lost invited into relationship with you.

Pour out your Spirit on men and women, old and young alike; give us wisdom to know your road to eternal life.

Amen