Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Heather…
Good morning. Welcome to Morning Prayer. My name is Heather and I’m one of the pastors here at Living Word.
I’ve been preparing to go on a road trip…
I’m getting ready to go on a road trip with my daughter. We’re going to Chicago right after I leave here. And so planning for that road trip, of course, I had to think ahead last night. We had to make arrangements of where we were going to stay. We had to buy tickets for the event that we’re going to. We had to do all these things in preparation. Then this morning, get up early, make sure I have everything packed, make sure I have all the things that I need, right? And as we were singing this morning, I was just thinking about preparation. And we know that Jesus is returning soon, right? We’re all getting ready to go on a big road trip.
But are we ready?
Are we prepared?
Are our hearts ready?
Are we doing the things that we should be doing that lead up to His return?
We need to prepare for our road trip with Jesus when He returns…
Because there’s preparations that have to be done before His return. And most of those preparations are in our hearts, in prayer, going into all the world and declaring the Gospel, making disciples. All those things. So are we busy about that?
So I’m taking just a little road trip to Chicago, and I had to make all these big arrangements. But thinking in a larger scale of, like, His return is coming soon. And are we ready? Are we prepared as a bride, as a church? Are we awake? Are we alert? Are we thinking about “What is that going to be like,” and “When is that going to happen,” and “What are the things I should be doing right now to make myself ready for that?”
You see what I’m saying?
A big part of that is prayer, obviously. Praying. Obeying. Listening. And I’m going to read in Luke 9:28 out of the Amplified. And it’s about Jesus’s transfiguration.
It says…
“Now about eight days after these teachings, Jesus took with Him Peter and John and James and went up to the mountain to pray. And as He was praying…” As He was praying. Jesus was praying. As He was praying, what happens? “The appearance of His countenance became altered, different, and His raiment became dazzling white, flashing with brilliance of lightning. And behold, two men were conversing with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in splendor and majesty and brightness and were speaking of His exit from this life, which He was about to bring to realization at Jerusalem.”
So they’re talking about what’s to come. They’re preparing. They’re talking about the plans of His crucifixion, His resurrection. So they’re just chit-chatting on the top of the mountain while Jesus is glowing and bright. And, of course, Peter… We love Peter. “And those with Him were weighed down with sleep.” They’re always sleepy. That sounds like us. Sounds like the church, right? “But when they fully awoke, they saw His glory.”
So when we fully awake, we can see His glory.
“Splendor, majesty, and brightness, and the two men who stood with Him. And it occurred as the men were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is delightful and good that we are here. And let us construct three booths or huts, one for You, one for Moses, one for Elijah,’ not noticing or knowing what he was saying.”
How many of us are like that, too? Not knowing what we’re saying sometimes?
“But even as he was saying this, a cloud came and began to overshadow them. And they were seized with alarm and struck with fear as they entered into the cloud. Then there came a voice out of the cloud saying, ‘This is My Son, My chosen One, My Beloved. Listen to Him, yield to and obey Him.’ And when the voice had died away, Jesus was there alone. And they kept still and told no one at that time any of these things they had seen.”
But I love this part and it just made me think; it said…
“As He was praying.” As Jesus was praying, His appearance and His countenance changed. I think we forget, obviously, we’re here. Those of you online, you know the importance of prayer because you’re here today. But I don’t know that we put the weight on it that we should. The reverence of it… How it changes not only us, it changes atmospheres, it changes situations.
“And as they were praying” moments…
I’m speaking to the choir now because you are the people that are coming out to pray and are coming online to pray. But it just made me curious. I was reading that, like how many times in the Bible is there a “and as they were praying” moment? So we’ll just go through some, and then we’re going to pray.
Luke 3:21…
“When all the people were baptized and Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the heavens opened.” So when Jesus was baptized, it says He was praying and then the heavens opened. And then, we know the Holy Spirit came down like a dove.
Luke 5:16…
“But He would often withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Obviously, we know Jesus was always going from place of prayer to place of prayer. And you see before He did anything important, any big decision, you’ll see how He went up alone in the mountain to pray. Before He picked His disciples, before Jerusalem, before the cross, you see Him praying, He’s praying, He’s praying. What is He doing?
He’s getting direction.
He’s lining up His heart.
He’s checking in with Dad. “Dad, am I on track here? How is it going? What’s on the agenda for today?”
He’s fellowshiping with His Father because the three are one in the Holy Spirit?
Luke 6:12–13…
“He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer. And when the day came, He called His disciples.” So here we are talking about before He called all His disciples, a major decision, He prayed. He had to know He was picking the right people. What if He didn’t pick Judas? What if He didn’t pick Peter? What if He picked the wrong people? Obviously, we know He’s perfect in every way. Why? Because He’s praying. And He’s getting specific words and directions from heaven on what to do.
Luke 9:18…
“Now it happened that as He was praying alone and the disciples were with Him…” So there again, as He was praying. And then this leads into that moment where it’s like, “Who do you say I am? Who do…” And Peter declares who He is, right?
Luke 9:29…
“And as He was praying, the appearance of His face was altered.” That’s what we just read, the transfiguration.
Luke 11:1…
“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place,” and then that’s when His disciples say, “Teach us how to pray.” So there must’ve been something about how Jesus was praying that it was different from anything they had seen, right? I think they probably up until then, there was very religious prayers, and they probably would read scripture or pray Psalms. But now here comes Jesus, and they’re like, “Teach us how to pray.” Like they wanted to pray how He prayed. So there was something about the way He prayed.
Luke 22:41–44…
“And He withdrew and knelt down and prayed.” And that, of course, is the Garden of Gethsemane. He’s getting ready to face the cross.
And then Luke 23:34…
“Father, forgive them…” While Jesus is up on the cross, what is He doing? He’s praying for us. Prayer, prayer, prayer. Then of course, we get into Acts 1:14…
“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.” And what happens right before Pentecost? They were united in prayer, and then the Holy Spirit comes in, right?
Acts 1:24-26…
“And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord…’” Okay? And this is where they’re praying because now they’re getting ready to select somebody to replace Judas.
Acts 2:42…
“They devoted themselves to prayer.” You see the early church devoting themselves to prayer.
Acts 4:24-31…
“And when they heard it, they lifted their voices, and when they had prayed, the place was shaken.” That’s the power of prayer.
Acts 6:6…
“These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.” This is before they’re commissioning them out. So again, prayer.
Acts 9:11…
“Because he is praying.” This was the turning point in Paul’s life.
Acts 10:9–16…
“Peter went up to pray, and he fell into a trance.” Aren’t we thankful that he went up to pray that day? And because he went up to pray, the Word went to the Gentiles. And you and I are here today, and we got to hear that word. We got to hear about Jesus. We got to hear that word went across oceans.
Acts 12:5–12…
“Earnest prayer was made for Peter. And behold, an angel came.” And now we’re talking about when the prison doors were all opened. They were in prison, and what were they doing? Were they crying? Were they like, “Lord, we missed it. Oh, how could you let this happen to me?” No. They were praying. They were praising. And what happens? The place was shaken, and the doors just open, right?
Acts 13:2–3…
“While they were worshiping, fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Separate from me.’” So again, another moment of prayer where the Holy Spirit speaks a direction for the disciples.
Acts 14:23…
“With prayer and fasting they committed them.”
Acts 16:25–26…
“About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying, and suddenly there was a great earthquake.” What were they doing? Praying. Breakthrough happens when we pray.
Acts 20:36…
“And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.”
Acts 21:5…
“Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed.”
You can continue to go through the entire Bible. Those are just a few little examples of through the Gospels and through Acts where it was, like, “as they were praying.” Not after they prayed. While they were praying. So we know there’s some after we pray moments, right? But even while we are praying, to know that that power while we are praying, things are happening.
Prayer isn’t like UPS or the Post Office…
I think sometimes we think it’s like the Post Office. Like for Mother’s Day, hopefully, my mother-in-law’s not watching. We sent out a package UPS. And I just got a notice, “Oh, it’s going to be a little late. We’re having a delay.” And, of course, I was hoping she would get it for Mother’s Day. Sometimes we think our prayers are like that. It’s UPS or it’s the Post Office. It’s just going to be a while.
No! He’s immediate. It’s instant.
The actions are instantly happening as we pray. Might be a while before we see the fruit of it or before we see the results of it, but knowing that when we are engaged in prayer, things immediately change in the spirit realm. The natural realm sometimes takes a while to catch up. But immediately in the spirit realm, angels are going out. Things are changing. Principalities and powers of darkness are being bound up. And sometimes we just take a little while to catch up in the natural.
