Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Ken…
Well, hello and good morning, everyone. Welcome to the chapel. My name is Ken Olson. Good to have you guys with us.
The all-encompassing effect of prayer…
This morning, I thought I would share a couple of things before we dive into some prayer. I just like this. It’s a good reminder of the all-encompassing effect of prayer, how prayer affects more than just things in the spirit dimension. But, in fact, increasingly science and research are showing that prayer impacts us…
In a very natural way
In an emotional way
In a mental way, for that matter.
Article: “Science Reveals How Prayer Rewires Your Brain.”
This article is a short synopsis of a much bigger body of research that was done in recent years and is still being conducted. It’s entitled, “Science Reveals How Prayer Rewires Your Brain.” I don’t know about you, but I’m glad to hear that that is what happens, at least one of the things that happens. We all need a tuneup in our brain from time to time in this crazy, chaotic, incessantly distracting world.
But the article says…
“Prayer engages attention, emotion, and meaning at the same time. When practiced consistently, these mental states activate neural circuits linked to focus, compassion, and emotional regulation.” In other words, prayer is linked to your ability to focus your compassion levels and your ability to emotionally regulate.
It goes on to say…
“Brain imaging studies show when you pray, changes in areas involved in stress control, self-awareness, and emotional processing during prayer activity increases in regions tied to calm and decreases in fear-based circuits.” So prayer tones down and begins to diminish the level of anxiety and angst and fear that you feel. It begins to process it and deal with it and reduce it as you yield to Him in prayer.
Prayer reduces stress hormones…
“Prayer influences the central nervous system. The slowed down habit of prayer reduces stress hormones. Over time, prayer trains the brain to recover more efficiently from stress, strengthening resilience and internal balance rather than remaining locked in threat mode.
Finally, it says…
“What makes prayer powerful is repetition. The brain learns what it repeatedly practices. Prayer becomes more than belief. It becomes training. Science now confirms that meaning-driven focus such as prayer…” And I would imagine meditation on the Word falls into that same category. “…creates new neural pathways.” In other words, little roads in your mind and brain that allow you to think a certain way. “What many once dismissed as purely spiritual is increasingly understood as a biological process that gently rewires the brain toward calm, connection, and psychological strength.”
Prayer is making a big difference in your life…
Isn’t that good? So just put that in your hip pocket as a reminder that as we pray this morning that your prayers are not only having a big difference in the situations and circumstances and lives of people we’re praying for, but it’s making a big difference in your life in this moment.
Book by Kenneth E. Hagin, “The Interceding Christian”
Then I wanted to read a couple of excerpts from a book called “The Interceding Christian” by Kenneth E Hagin. And this is an older book, but still some really great truths in here that are good to be reminded of. And he writes about the interceding help of the Holy Spirit.
And this one passage, he says this…
“1st Corinthians 14:14, If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit by the Holy Spirit within me prays. Groaning in prayer and speaking with tongues is the Holy Spirit helping us to pray in spiritual intercession. One of the mightiest weapons to be used in prayer is praying in tongues.”
We’re going to pull down strongholds today!
In chapter two of this book, we looked at the scripture in 2nd Corinthians 10:4, where it says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” Somebody say, “Strongholds.” Come on now! We’re going to pull down some strongholds today!
“There are forces of the enemy, strongholds of Satan that will never be pulled down until we learn to use the weapon of praying in tongues. In connection with this, notice something else concerning spiritual travail and intercessory prayer. The two are related. Writing to the churches throughout Galatia, Paul said, My little children of whom I travail in birth until Christ be formed in you.”
There’s a birthing process in prayer…
In other words, there’s a birthing process in prayer. When you pray, you birth things from the spirit realm into this natural realm. You birth lives into the kingdom. There are some that will only come to faith in Christ as we travail, as we yield to the Spirit and even groan in our prayer language or just in groanings, more or less. That’s called travail. There will only be some that will come to faith in Jesus as we give ourselves to that. There will be some that’ll only be healed as we give ourselves to travail, as we give ourselves to birthing out what God has in mind for people’s lives, for situations, for our whole nations.
I’m going to skip over to one more part here where he writes…
“As we look again at the scripture in Romans 8:26, which says ‘Likewise the spirit also helpeth or takes hold together with us against our infirmities, against our weaknesses, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself make it intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit.’”
In other words, the Holy Spirit knows what’s on the mind of God. He knows what God’s plan is, what His strategy is, what His will is for people’s lives, for nations, for churches, for situations because “He maketh intercession.” He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Tongues is heaven’s supernatural technology…
That’s why I like to refer to tongues as supernatural technology, because it’s your ability to co-labor with the genius of heaven, the Holy Spirit, the one who knows all things, including the future. And so when we yield to that prayer language on the inside of us… yes, by faith. And, yes, your understanding doesn’t comprehend or understand what you’re praying in the spirit. But make no mistake about it, the Bible says you’re praying in another tongue, a language of men or of angels. And as you do so, you’re taking hold together with the Holy Spirit against the enemy’s forces, against your lack of understanding about a situation so that you can apply the genius understanding of the Holy Spirit to that situation. Why? Or how? By praying according to the perfect will of God.
Your book of destiny…
I’ll say it again. But I believe that when you pray in other tongues, you are praying sentences, paragraphs, whole chapters right out of your book of destiny. Each of us has a book of destiny. There’s a book of destiny for every individual. And I’m sure God has a destiny for lots of situations and whole nations. And when we yield to the Holy Spirit, He gives us words to speak out of God’s book of destiny so we can pray it out so in the days ahead, it can be walked out and experienced.
So Brother Hagin goes on to say…
“We see how they also relate to travail in prayer on behalf of others. There are some who will only be saved because they hear the truth and respond to it. But there are others who will never be saved unless somebody intercedes for them. Only intercessory prayer will break the power of the Devil over them and release them. There are people who will be healed simply by believing God’s Word. But there’ll be some who will be healed only by prayers of others and by the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil. But some will never be healed by any of these methods. Somebody will have to make intercession for them. Intercessory prayer and travail on behalf of others works.”
He says…
“But intercession overpowers the works of the Devil to the pulling down of strongholds, 2 Corinthians 10:4.”
That’s a good reminder, isn’t it? Glory to God.
Prayed…
So, Father, we lift up the name of Jesus and we thank you for your faithfulness.
We thank you that prayer pulls down the strongholds of the enemy.
We thank you, Father, that we can come into agreement across digital platforms today.
And we can unite and pray for situations.
Breaking up. Break it up. Break it up. Liberated, hungry countries.
We lift up countries this morning.
We pray over our own nation this morning, according to the perfect will of God.
Open our nation, Lord, to an awakening.
We pray today the mysteries of your plan and your purpose. May they be unfolded now.
Breaking it up. Liberated. Yes, Lord, set in motion now the plans and mysteries of heaven.
We lose your plan, Father, may your plan be released across this nation today.
We speak out the works of God. We speak out the plan of God to be deployed.
May it be resourced. Your plan for revival, your plan for awakening.
Lord, let the winds of heaven breathe holy fire.
