Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Worship leader…
Good morning, everybody. It’s always good to come and sit with Jesus in the morning.
I’m going to read some verses from the Song of Songs from the Passion translation. I like how it describes our relationship with Jesus and how we can look at Him. And it gives language to some things sometimes that are hard to describe about how wonderful He is.
Song of Songs, chapter five…
Chapter five says this: “He alone is my beloved. He shines in dazzling splendor, yet is still so approachable without equal as He stands above all others, outstanding among 10,000. Looking at His gentle face I see such fullness of emotion, like a lovely garden where fragrant spices grow. What a man! No one speaks words so anointed as this one. Words that both pierce and heal. Words like Lillies dripping with myrrh. See how His hands hold unlimited power, but He never uses it in anger. For He is always holy, displaying His glory. His innermost places are a work of art, so beautiful and bright. How magnificent and noble is this one covered in majesty.”
Prayed…
Hallelujah. Jesus, we praise you. You are the most beautiful one in all of the universe. Help us to look at your face. Not just your hands, not just what you’ve done, but your face is where we see how much your love is displayed in your eyes and in your smile. So we thank you, Jesus, and we praise you.
He wants to sit with us…
I feel like I’m hearing Him just remind us that He wants to sit with us sometimes. It’s good to come to Him with all of our needs, right? And all the stuff we’re believing for. But sometimes He just wants to sit with us. Just like your best friend sometimes you want to just sit with them. You don’t call them all the time just because you need stuff. You just want to talk to them. You just want to be with them or maybe your spouse. Jesus is the same way. Sometimes He wants us to come and just be with Him and sit and listen and look at Him, find out what’s on His heart.
Sometimes I have to remind myself to ask Him what’s on His heart. Because I’m so busy with my own. But I find when I stop and ask Him what’s on His heart, He takes care of what’s on mine. And when I just come and sit and be with Him, He takes care of everything. I mean, He doesn’t really need my help to do it all anyway. And I find this song talks about finding rest for your soul. Well, that’s where it is. Just being with Him. So we’re going to do this song again, because I know I need to sit and be with Him this morning, and I’m just sensing that a lot of us do. So don’t try to focus on all of the things that you’re needing and wanting and believing for. And that’s very good. And we should be doing that. But right now, just focus on Him. Focus on who He is.
Pastor Heather prayed…
We just want your presence. And we lay down all our agendas, our motives, any selfish desires that we have. Father, we just lay it at your feet because we know as we seek you first, you will add all of these things unto us. You take care of us when we keep our focus on you. And so now we do that, Father.
We put our focus on you, on your goodness, on who you are, not who we are but who you are, Father.
Not what we’re doing, but what you are doing.
Not our plan, but your plan.
Not our strength, but your strength.
Not our wills, but your will.
Not our glory, but your glory.
Revelation 2:2–5 in Passion
I’m just going to read a few scriptures to kind of set our sails where I feel like He wants to take us today. And the first is Revelation 2:2–5 in the Passion translation. This is Jesus speaking to the Church of Ephesus in Revelation. “I know all you’ve done for me. You have worked hard and persevered. I know that you don’t tolerate evil. You have tested those who claim to be apostles and prove that they are not. They were imposters. I also know how you have bravely endured trials and persecutions because of My name, yet you have not become discouraged.”
They left their first love…
Sounds like they’re doing really good, right? They’re persevering. They’re standing against evil. It sounds like they’re doing all the right things. But then He says, “But I have this against you. You have abandoned the passionate love that you had for Me at the beginning.” Or you have abandoned your “first love” as we know in other translations. “Think about how far you have fallen. Repent and do the works of love you did at first.” I think a lot of us are doing good works, but are we doing those works of love that we did at first? “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place of influence if you do not repent.”
Prayed…
Father, we repent. If we’ve been caught up in works, caught up in busyness, and we’ve lost sight of who you are and that love that we first had and that love that you always have for us. We just repent. We shift our focus back onto you. We lay down every work, every trophy, every award, every medal. We know it’s just all rubble and we just lay at your feet.
Remind us of that first love, Father, that passion that we first had when you came and pulled us out of the miry clay. You rescued us from ourselves. You loved us when we were unlovely. And so now we focus back on that first love, and we say thank you and we love you. We stir that up right now. We stir up that first love.
How do we stir up that first love?
And how do you do that? You remember.
You remember His faithfulness.
You remember His goodness.
You remember the times that He loved you when you were unlovely.
You remember the times that He forgave you.
You remember the times He extended grace and mercy when you did not deserve it.
You remember how He shed His blood, that you could come and be in communion with Him and fellowship and talk to Him anytime! The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords! The creator of the universe! The creator of you! laid everything down to have this relationship.
And so today we say, thank you, Father. Thank you, Jesus. You are our first love, and we remind our hearts of who our first love is.
Matthew 11:28–30 in the Message Bible…
“Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion? Come to me, get away with me, and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take real rest. Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly, the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Prayed…
And so we do that now. We come to you. We get away with you, Father. We pause our busy lives and we step away. We step out of the traffic, we step out of the busyness, and we come and quiet our hearts to be with you today. And we thank you for your presence.
Already, I know your tangible presence is here, and I know it’s in the homes of those watching online. Thank you, Father, for your presence. One moment in your presence changes everything. And so now we give you that liberty to change everything, to go in and to change those things in us, to transform us to be more like you—from glory, to glory, to glory, to glory that you continue to rub off our rough edges. You continue to make us more like you, that as we look in the mirror of your Word, as we spend time in your presence, you are making us more like you every day at Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:2–6 in the Message Bible…
“This is the way God put it. They found grace out in the desert. These people who survived the killing, Israel.” And you can put your name there. “Out looking for a place to rest met God out looking for them. God told them, I’ve never quit loving you, and I never will. Expect love, love and more love. And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again. Dear Virgin, Israel. You’ll resume your singing, grabbing tambourines and joining the dance. You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards on the Samaritan hillsides and sit back and enjoy the fruit. Oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests. The times coming when Watchmen will call out from the hilltops. On your feet. Let’s go to Zion. Go to meet our God.”
Prayed…
Father, thank you for that love. We come out to meet you, and we see that you’re already waiting for us. As we come to you, you are always waiting for us, always welcoming us into your presence. And we’re so thankful that we can come before you—
The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords
The Alpha and the Omega
The Beginning and the End
The Creator of the universe
You set every star in place. You set the worlds in motion. And so today, we thank you that even though you created this vast universe and everything in it, you care about everything, down to the smallest detail of the hairs on our head. What an amazing God you are.
If it’s been a long time since you’ve felt His presence, He has something to say…
Maybe you are watching online or you’re in this room and it’s been a long time since you felt His presence. Today, He wants to say that He’s with you. He’s never left you and He never will. He’s been holding you this whole time. You’re safe. You’re held. You are loved beyond anything you can comprehend. So don’t allow your emotions or your mind or the enemy or others to tell you otherwise because His Word and His promises are true. They are “yes and amen.” And so whether you feel it or not, you say “Yes and amen.” I receive your love today, Father. I welcome your presence. Whether my emotions are in check today or whether I feel it or not, I know that you are who you say you are. Always. Regardless of how I feel, regardless of what my mind may think, regardless of what others say, I choose to believe that you are who you say you are:
Faithful.
Loving.
True.
Friend.
Savior.
Comforter.
Redeemer.
The Lord gives Pastor Heather an analogy about His presence…
I want to share a quick story as we’re closing. Forgive me if you’ve heard it before. I feel like someone needs to hear it today. I think there are seasons and times that we go through life where it’s difficult to feel His presence. And I was praying about that once and I was asking the Lord about that. “Why are there seasons where I feel your presence and it’s so tangible and it’s so real. And then there are times that I feel like I know what your Word says but where are you? Where are you in this? I can’t see the forest through the trees.”
A trip to Target…
And He showed me an analogy. I’ve shared this before, like I said. When my kids were little, I would take them to Target. And before we’d go into Target, I’d get in their little faces and I’d say, “Okay, we’re going to go shopping. You need to stay right by me. At all times. If you can’t see me, then I can’t see you. You need to stay right by me at all times. Don’t wander. Stay right next to me.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
And so we get into the store and we’re shopping and they’re being patient. They’re waiting to go to the toy section. So we get to the toy section and I already know I have lost them. They’re playing with things that are beeping and things are making noise and lighting up and everything’s sparkly and new. It’s like, “Okay, guys, come on. We’re going to go to the next aisle.” And they’re caught up in whatever they’re caught up in. Whatever new toy there was at that time.
I said, “Okay, come on. I’m going.” They’re not listening. They’re playing with their little toy. And so what I would do… don’t think I’m a bad mom. What I would do is I would go around to the end of the aisle where they couldn’t see me, but I’m going like this. And I’m watching them. I’m waiting to see how long is it going to take for them to realize that I’m not with them anymore. I’m not next to them. Now this whole time they’re safe, because I’m watching them. But they weren’t staying by my side like I asked them to.
And so I’d be watching around the corner and it wouldn’t be too long before they’re done. They’ve exhausted all the buttons on the toy they’re playing with. It’s done lighting up and the song is done playing. And “Mommy! Mommy!” And they’re looking around. Immediately I’d always step out and go, “I’m right here, but what did I say? You have to stay by me. Because you need to be safe.” And so it was a lesson.
I feel like God is sometimes like that with us. Like we’re in our whatever shiny new thing that we’re distracted with, right. And our focus becomes on that. And He’s like, “All right, we’re moving, we’re going up a step, or we’re going to this next place.” And we’re focused on whatever distraction of the day it is. It could be anything really. And He’s saying, “I told you, you got to stay by Me. You got to stay by Me at all times. We’re safe. He’s with us. But we don’t sense His presence because He’s moved on and we’re supposed to be moving with Him. We’re supposed to be right up with Him, next to Him, so close that when He moves, we move. And when He moves, we move. Instead of being distracted with whatever new flashy thing or even worries, cares, distractions, and so when He showed me that, it was like, He never leaves us, but we do get distracted and wander off. Right? We’re no better than little kids sometimes. “Ooh, something’s shining and new” and we’re off. And we’re forgetting that thing that He told us: “Stay close, stay with Me.” That’s where that safety is. That’s where that protection, that peace is, right?
Prayed…
And so today, Father, we lay down every distraction and we remind ourselves that you are who we long for. You are who we pursue. Let us not get distracted by the things of the world or stuck in a place because we’re focused on something other than you, Father. But let us stay so close, that when you move, we move. When you want to flow, we’re ready to flow with you. When you want to go, we’re ready to go. That we stay in step with you.
Today, we just lay down every distraction. We repent if we’ve gone off on paths that are not paths that you wanted us to go on. We know you still love us. We know you’re still with us. You’ve never left us. But we want that closeness again, that presence. And so we thank you for that. And we thank you that even if we can’t feel it, it doesn’t mean it’s not true that you are who you say you are. And so we declare that today too.
