Morning Prayer Notes for Friday, October 1, 2021

  1. “Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist

Pastor Dustin…

Thank you for joining us this morning for prayer. Wherever you’re at, let’s just put our focus and our attention on Jesus, and let’s just do our best to just try to shut out the world around us.

I’m sure you probably know this. God will speak to you, I mean, primarily the way that the Spirit of God will lead you is internally first. It’s like this knowing deep on the inside of you. And so sometimes you’ll be praying, and a word will come. If you feel like you need to pray out that word, just say that word. You don’t have to add anything to it. Don’t switch over to what you think about that word and what you know about that word. Just be faithful to pray it out. Sometimes you’ll get a sentence or a phrase, and you might not understand how it connects to what you feel like God is doing right now, but just be faithful to pray it out.

Sometimes God will speak to you through your imagination. And so you’ll have like an image or a picture in your mind. I didn’t know this for years. I grew up in church. I prayed in tongues most of my life, and I didn’t know that God could speak to me through my imagination. And so I would be praying, and my mind would just go all these places. Like I would see things. I would see myself preaching on a stage. Or just different things. And sometimes I felt like it was just me getting carried away in my mind. But then I began to learn that one of the ways God will speak to you is through your imagination. So sometimes when you’re praying, you’ll see something. Sometimes that’s just for you to know, but sometimes you need to pray those things out.

I remember early on, I might’ve shared this in here before, but I remember when I was 19, I was in a worship service. I had no direction for my life. I felt no purpose. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I felt like I was floating around at sea getting tossed around. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with my life. And I remember during a time of worship, I just had this… It didn’t feel like a very supernatural moment. I didn’t have angels come down from heaven and whisk me away in the chariot. I didn’t have a special light from heaven shining on me. But I just remember, as I was worshiping, I just had this imagination. I just had this idea. I had this picture in my mind and I was up on this platform and there was this huge crowd of people. We were in Minneapolis and the sun was setting and the clouds were … I don’t know if there were clouds or what it was, but something was stirring above the people. And there was this worship team alongside of me that I didn’t recognize. And I remember I went like this, and it just fell on people and people start getting healed and delivered and set free and all that. I mean, it was just powerful. It’s like a move of God, just this amazing move of God.

And so, I was 19 and I had that picture in my mind and at first, I was like, “Okay, I gotta focus on worship,” and I began to push it away. But the Lord began to speak to me after that about that vision, about that picture that I had in my mind. And He spoke to my heart. I didn’t hear an audible voice. He just spoke to my heart and it was almost like He said to me, “That’s your high calling. That’s the place I’m calling you to be.” And then He said, “I’m going to give you steps. And I want you to walk in obedience. And as you walk in obedience and do what I’m directing you to do, I’ll see to it that you get to that place.”

So now I had vision for my life. And so He began to give me little steps. He directed me to start greeting here at the church. And I’m like, “God, how is saying “hi” to people at the door going to get me to that?” But it wasn’t for me to understand. It wasn’t for me to figure out. It was for me to be faithful.

So as I started greeting, I felt like I was in God’s plan for my life. And then He directed me to do evangelism and I could see how something was starting to take shape. But as I did evangelism, I had it on my heart that I should do the internship here. As I did the internship here, opportunities began to open to me. I began to step into those things. And then we became youth pastors here. And what I’m trying to say is during times like this, God can speak to you and it changes everything. God can speak to you during this time through a word, through an imagination, through an image, through a picture, or whatever. God can speak to you during this time. And it can change everything. It can be the word that you’ve been waiting for.

I wasn’t expecting to get a picture of my high calling that night during worship, but I just shifted my focus off of school and all of my own personal issues. I shifted my focus off of that and onto Jesus. And as I was worshiping Him, He showed me something. That was 11 years ago. And that’s still my anchor. That’s still the thing that’s giving me momentum. That’s still the thing that I’m moving toward. So don’t discount it if it seems crazy or seems far off.

I’ll share one more story before we start. I don’t know why, but I think this is important to talk about before we pray today. I really genuinely believe God’s going to speak to some people. I believe He’s going to reveal some things. And it might come in the form of an imagination. And I don’t want you just to throw it away because it doesn’t make sense or you don’t see how you could get there right now.

Another time during worship, I had my focus on God and I was downtown Minneapolis, and I remember the river was on my side, the Mississippi River. I was on a stage again with people that I didn’t recognize. There was a band that I didn’t recognize. I saw myself going up on the stage, and I remember seeing the power of God falling on people. And so I logged that one away as well. What do you do with a vision like that? You seek the Lord, but then at some point you have to keep moving with your life. And so I kind of like set it aside. I’m making decisions, I’m doing things, I’m accepting responsibilities and stuff like that. Trusting that God is taking me where He needs to take me.

And so my wife and I accepted the role here as youth pastor. And you know how sometimes you do what you believe God’s directing you to do, but sometimes there’s just this little haunting, aching, nagging feeling in the back of your mind that’s like, “Is this the right thing? Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?” I was wrestling with that a little bit. This is before the Pulse event a few years ago.

To make a long story short, I ended up getting asked to speak at this Pulse event. I was super nervous and I’m preparing and I’m praying, “God help me. Don’t let me look like an idiot.” I’m trying to get into faith, you know? And I was about to get up and speak. This was the National Day of Prayer. And it was the year before the Pulse event was at US Bank Stadium. And so if you’ll remember, that event was outside in downtown Minneapolis. I remember I was about to go up on stage; it was my turn to speak. I had five minutes, and before I did, all of a sudden I realized the sun was setting like I saw in my vision, and the Mississippi River is over here. There’s a stage that I’m about to stand on. There are all these people behind me. This band behind me that I didn’t recognize. And so I walked up on the stage, and I began to share what I had in my heart and some of the things they directed me to say. But I was literally standing in that moment in the place and in that moment that I had saw seven years prior during worship.

Are you hearing what I’m saying? God gave me a vision during worship that seemed crazy. That seemed farfetched. And then He directed me to just take these little steps of obedience and He’ll get me there. And so as I’m questioning Him, “Is it the right thing for me to be doing this job?” It was that job that opened the door for me to step into that place that I had saw seven years ago. And so it was the biggest confirmation I’d ever had in my life. Thank you, Lord. This is the right thing. I am going in the right direction. I am doing what you’ve called me to do.

So this morning, if God gives you a picture, an imagination, don’t just write it off. Don’t just say, “Well, I must’ve had too much coffee and my mind is racing.” Take it to the Lord and ask Him, “What is this?” And if you don’t have all the answers, that’s okay. He’ll reveal it to you when you need to know but trust Him in this moment. And let’s agree together that God is going to speak to us. He’s going to give us insight, direction, wisdom. We’re going to pray things out accurately. It’s one of the things that I love the most about this time of corporate prayer. We’re all in this thing together, praying together.

And sometimes we just pray from our own understanding and that’s okay. That’s fine. But we can’t be limited to that because God knows the beginning from the end. And He’ll have you praying about things that aren’t even going to happen for seven years. He’ll have you praying about things that aren’t even going to happen for 10 years. He’ll give you pictures of what’s to come in three years. So let’s not limit God this morning to our own understanding. Let’s put our focus on Him, open up our hearts, allow Him to speak to us and let’s be faithful to pray out and declare what He gives us. And I believe that as we do that, we’ll accomplish everything that we need to. He’s going to answer some questions that you have.

Prayed…

Father, we just thank you for this opportunity that we have this morning to worship you

Thank you for all the things that you have brought us through your faithfulness over the years

We thank you that you are revealing things to people’s hearts… the plans that you have for them

Group began to worship…

Barb led prayer…

So receive the reward of your faith … He’s handing out decorations today… decorations like a highly decorated officer … He’s handing out decorations to you today… receive the reward of your faith… as He told so many “go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole, receive the reward of your faith.” … for He has given us the victory… we have the victory through the blood of Jesus Christ and we receive the reward of believing that He has given it to us… we’re walking in that place of victory in Jesus’ name, by His grace… by His very own faith that He put on the inside of us … glory to God… that spirit of faith that rises up on the inside when something looks impossible, glory to God, He rises up inside of you… oh, glory… that faith comes up and out of your mouth and declares the truth… so today, Father, we receive our reward… we receive that decoration, that reward of our faith… that victory… complete manifestation of your glory, Father… we declare it to be so … we declare that we are the head and not the tail … we are above and not beneath … we exceed and we abound unto every good work… we walk in the things that you have called us to walk in all those things that you have prepared for us, Father God… we are walking in them in Jesus’ mighty name… we are possessing the land… Hallelujah… We do not lack for any good but we are fully supplied unto every good work … and the auction of your Spirit resides on the inside of us… we are not pinned in or pinned down … but we rise up in you victorious in every situation …

Pastor Dustin…

Somebody needs to stand up. Maybe somebody here, maybe somebody online, but you just need to stand up right where you’re at and you just need to declare these things for your life. You need to hear yourself say “I am healed. I am whole. I will live and not die. And I will declare the works of the Lord. I will accomplish everything He’s called me to do.”

Barb…

There’s no shame. Shame has been removed from our lives. Sin is far removed from us … we’re freed from sin… we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus… the blood of Jesus cries out for us… we’re free from all guilt. Hallelujah. free from every burden … free from all bondage… every chain that would try to bind us, God has released us and set us free by His mighty hand… in whom there is no shadow of turning… You have never changed your mind about us … you have a good plan… You have good things planned for us… in the days ahead… good things… not fearful things, but good things, great things, mighty things, abundance of peace…

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