Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Heather…
I just want everybody to do something. I do this from time to time. It’s an exercise that I do when I’m feeling overwhelmed, anxious, alone, have a situation. Everybody close your eyes.
I want you to picture Jesus walking in the back door of the chapel, or the door of your room at home, wherever you are.
See Him walking in.
See Him come and sit next to you.
Feel His presence. Feel His arms wrapped around you, holding you safe and secure.
Smell the aloe in His robe, the sweetness of His presence.
And allow Him to hold you to tell you that you’re safe, you’re secure, that He has you.
Allow Him to calm the fears in your heart.
Allow Him to speak peace to the storms in your life.
Allow Him to remind you that He is Lord, that He is in control and you are not. And He has you.
He’s walked out before you and prepared the way.
He’s placed everything you need within your hands’ reach. No problem, no sickness, no shortage.
Nothing is bigger than He is in your life right now.
He is king and He reigns in your life over every issue, every fear, every lack, every disease, every situation.
So we speak peace over hearts right now. Hearts that are troubled. Minds that are troubled.
Prayed…
Jesus, you hold them. You renew minds. You heal broken hearts. You are the answer to every problem we face. And so now we remind our hearts, you are in control. And we trust you because you are a good, good Father. You are the lover of our souls. You are our first love. And so now we thank you that you take that rightful place again in our hearts, in our lives, in our minds, over every situation. You are more than enough.
And so continue to picture Him just holding you.
You are not alone.
You are not without help.
He will never leave you.
He will never forsake you.
You will never be left alone begging.
You are not an orphan.
You are a son and a daughter of the Most High, and nothing is impossible for Him.
Nothing is impossible for Him.
Shared…
I just had in my heart this morning, with the holidays and all, checking in on everybody… How are the introverts out there? How are you doing? Lots of hosting, lots of people, lots of busy.
I was reading about Jesus and how often He got off on His own in the solitude and the wilderness. The introvert in me loves that about Him. So I’m going to read a few verses. You can continue to close your eyes and just allow Him to just keep washing peace over you.
Luke 5:16, “So he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
Luke 4:42, “Now then when it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place and the crowd sought him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.”
Matthew 14:23, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now, when evening came, he was alone there.”
Mark 1:35, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place. And there he prayed.”
Mark 6:46, “And when he had sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray.”
Luke 6:12, “Now, it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.”
Luke 9:10, “And the apostles when they had returned told him all that they had done, and he took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.”
Luke 9:18, “And it happened as he was alone praying that his disciple joined him and they asked him saying, Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Luke 9:28, “Now it came to pass about eight days after these sayings that he took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.”
Luke 11:1, “Now it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased that one of the disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
John 6:15, “Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, He departed again to the mountain by himself alone.”
As I was reading all this, I’m thinking of Jesus and the pressures that He could have felt as a human. We know He was fully human, fully God. The pressures that He could have felt to just give into those multitudes. Just constantly pressing, pressing.
The holidays can feel like pressure…
And I know for a lot of us, the holidays can feel like that. There’s a lot of people that want a lot of you, and there’s that constant pressing. And the multitudes and the parties and the… “I got to get this gift and I got to do this and I got to prep the house and I got to host and I have to. I have to. I have to. I have to…”
Jesus is our example…
But through all this, Jesus is our example. He continually went into the wilderness. He got off by Himself to pray. Now, if the Son of God needed to get off by Himself to pray often, how much more do we need that? And sometimes I had to remind myself of that because especially being in ministry, there is a tendency to feel like you always have to be available to people, accessible to people. Your phone always has to be on. You always have to be on.
But even Jesus knew there were times to dismiss the crowds and get off on His own to pray. Because that’s where you get filled. That’s where you have enough to give to others. And if we’re continually giving, giving, giving, then we don’t have that time to get filled on our own.
Jesus went to the wilderness…
I like just the word wilderness too. If you think of that. The Strongs Concordance says about the Greek word Eremos, that it is a desert, wilderness, a solitary place, desolate. Derived from the Greek root, meaning “desolate or solitary.” The term is used in the New Testament to describe a place that is uninhabited, barren, or deserted. It often refers to a physical location such as deserts or wilderness areas, but it can also metaphorically describe a state of spiritual desolation or solitude. In the New Testament Eremos is frequently associated with places where individuals go for prayer, reflection, or testing.
Eremos holds significant spiritual symbolism…
And you think Jesus being tested in the wilderness. In the biblical context, the wilderness or desert Eremos holds significant spiritual symbolism. It is often seen as a place of testing, purification, and encounter with God. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, a period that shaped their identity and faith.
Similarly, John the Baptist preached in the wilderness and Jesus spent 40 days in the desert where He was tempted by Satan. The wilderness is a place of both challenge and divine revelation. In the Help’s Word studies, it says, Eremos properly is an uncultivated, unpopulated place. A desolate, deserted area. Figuratively, a barren, solitary place that also provides needed quiet, freedom from disturbances.
I like that.
In scripture, a desert is ironically also where God richly grants His presence and provision for those seeking Him. The limitless Lord shows Himself strong in the limiting, difficult scenes of life, deserted by others, deprived of aid and protection of others, especially of friends, acquaintances, kindred or feeling bereft.
The days before cell phones…
So these are all the definitions of wilderness. But I love that Jesus intentionally went to those places. He intentionally went into the uninhabited places. He intentionally went to those places. This is obviously before cell phones. I mean, we’re in a day now where it’s like everybody can always reach me whenever they want at any time. Unless I am intentional and say, “Okay, you know what? Right now I am in a desolate, solitary place. I’m going to put my phone down and I’m going to intentionally go into this place where I’m focusing on Him. I’m in solitude with Him. I’m allowing Him to bring revelation.”
And I often wonder, sometimes people say, “If you could go anywhere or visit any part or scene in the Bible or place, where would you go?” I would want to be up on the mountain when Jesus was praying. I always like to imagine like, what would that look like? What did that feel like? What did they talk about? Did they talk? I’m sure He did. But I feel like there was a lot of listening to what His Father was telling Him. Refilling Him.
Mountaintop moments…
And I want my time with Him to be like that. Those mountaintop moments where I, withdraw, I retreat from the busyness of life, from the busyness of ministry, from the busyness of work. Even family. But where you put your phone in another room. And the Lord’s rebuking me a little bit on that. Because I do feel like I always have to have my phone with me. “What if somebody calls?” “What if the plumbing at the church breaks?” “What if the alarm goes off?” “What if…”
God will take care of it, right? Because there are times where I just… there’s something about completely detaching and not having that connection. It’s there.
So that’s been the thing that the Lord has been sharing with me. Like, “Hey, get a paper Bible, get a notebook and a pen. Leave your phone in another room.” Because I’m very digital and I love to copy and paste and I’m going to look in the Strongs. I’m going to look in this. And that’s the beauty of technology. But also as I am studying, up pops a text. “Hey, do you know where the blah blah blah is?” Right? “Oh it’s just a quick text. I’ll just quick text him back.” And then, “Okay, now where were we, Lord?
It takes a while to get back into that place with Him and remembering and reminding myself that I am entertaining the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And He is worthy of my undivided attention. So I’m preaching to myself too. Because I have to get better at that. I’ve gotten to the place where I’ll put it in the counter in the kitchen, and so it’s just a couple feet away as I’m praying in my porch.
He will meet you in the wilderness…
But I need to get better. So be encouraged as I’m encouraged. That was the word that the Lord gave me today. But just pressing into the wilderness with Him. The solitary, the deserted places. And sometimes you can feel like you’re in a wilderness or a deserted place in your life, where you feel deserted. He can meet you there. He will meet you there if you’re seeking Him and you’re looking for Him and you’re inviting Him into that place. Honestly, my favorite encounters with Him have been in the wilderness. And I think all of us can be honest if we’ve had hard times in our lives and He’s met us in those places. There’s nothing like that. There’s nothing like Him sweeping in and taking care of a situation or meeting you in a tough time, meeting you in your grief. He’s not causing those things. But He meets you in it.
He doesn’t leave you alone.
