Morning Prayer Summary for Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today

Pastor Heather…

Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us for morning prayer.

Having to deal with our flesh…

Something that the Lord has been really impressing on me. We’re doing a fast. Pastor Mac has asked us to fast. And through it all, I always realize how fasts tend to pull out the worst of me. We get there, right? But that is really what a fast is supposed to do. Just bring that flesh up that you have to deal with it. “I want, I need, I want…”

But fasting the things I think I need, the things that I think I want… fasting those things to really focus on the one thing that I know that I need, that I know that I want. But I let all those other things get in the way sometimes.

Luke 21:34–36…

I want to read something that’s been coming alive for me. I’ll start with the Amplified and then I want to read it in the Passion translation too. Luke 21:34–36. Jesus just finished talking about His return. He’s talking about the days that we’re in now. We’re going to see wars. We’re going to see rumors of wars, pestilence, earthquakes. And I mean, we are seeing some of those things, just the crazy things that are happening in the world. And so He goes on to talk about all those things and that when you see all those things, you know that My return is coming soon. We see those things. We know His return is coming soon.

We must protect our hearts from worldly ways…

But then He says, “But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed, weighed down with giddiness and headache.” I don’t know how those two go together. “…nausea, self-indulgence, drunkenness.” Obviously, we don’t want to have those things in our lives. But then He goes on to say, “…and worldly worries and cares pertaining to the business of this life.”

I had to read that a few times. “Worldly worries and cares pertaining to the business of this life. Guard your hearts that they do not be overburdened and depressed, weighed down with the worldly worries and cares pertaining to the business of this life. Unless that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose, for it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth. So keep awake and watch at all times. Be discreet, attentive, and ready, praying that you may have full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things taken together that will take place and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”

We need to ask ourselves—Am I ready?

And it’s one of those verses that, you’re like, “Whoa, this is serious. I need to really look at my heart. Am I keeping awake? Am I ready? Am I attentive? Am I vigilant? Am I guarding my heart from those worries, from those cares?”

I want to say most of us in here aren’t going out getting drunk and doing things like that, right? That’s safe to assume in Jesus’ name. If you are, well take your rebuke this morning. I would say most of us probably fall, could fall if we’re not careful into that trap of letting the worldly worries and cares pertaining to this life weigh us down and depress us.

Don’t let cares wear you down…

You hear a lot about depression, anxiety. A lot of that comes from that burden of the worries of the cares of this life. “What do people think about me? How am I going to pay that bill? What is that lady at work going to say to me today? Why is my kid being difficult right now?” Whatever. All those things… Just the things that come with life. But not letting that wear us down, right? Keeping our eyes on the main thing—Jesus.

Be ready so you can be counted worthy…

So that when He comes, we are worthy to stand in the presence. I want to be counted worthy. I know you want to be counted worthy too. He calls us worthy. But also, what am I doing to put myself in that position where I’m ready. I’m attentive. My heart is soft before Him.

The same verse in the Passion translation…

“Be careful that you never allow your heart to grow cold. Be careful that you’re not caught off guard or your heart will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the worries of this life.”

And, you know, drunkenness, all that, that’s an escape. The world does that to escape, right? We do other things to escape. Maybe you go on Netflix to escape. Maybe you read to escape. Maybe you eat to escape. I’m not looking at anybody. I found myself doing things to escape, going on social media, whatever… We all have little mini-ways that we escape. We don’t want to deal with that pressure. We just want to get away for a minute.

“And the worries of this life, and that that day will come upon you suddenly like a trap. Don’t let me come and find you drunk or living carelessly like everyone else.”

And I would say the majority of the world is living like that right now. They’re checked out, medicated, drunk, filled with distraction, phones, digital, social media, all of that, right? Because they can’t handle being present in the pressure of the world that we’re in. They have to escape it.

“…for that day will come as shocking surprise to all. Keep a constant watch over your soul and pray for courage and grace to prevail over these things that are desired to occur, that you will stand before the presence of the Son of Man with a clear conscience.”

This is basic Christianity 101…

And so we just press into that today. I have other things, but I think that’s where we just need to park today, is just that waking up of our soul, waking up to be present to Him, to what He’s saying, to what He’s doing, not to the distractions of the world. And it’s basic Christianity. It’s Christianity 101.

Is He your main thing or just the sprinkles on your cupcake?

But how does it get so easily missed in the busyness of our day to day? How many of us, it’s like we would say Jesus is our main focus. He’s our main thing. We’re pressing on toward what God has called us to. But then also, how many of us might be honest and say He’s kind of an accessory to my life. He’s kind of like the sprinkle on top of the cupcake of my life. He’s not the heart of it. He’s not, do I make Him all of my life, all of my heart, all of my soul? Do I love Him with all of that?

Or do I go about the busyness of my day and then every once in a while, “Oh yeah, Lord, can you help me with that? Oh, hey, Lord, can you come here? I just need your help with the situation.” Right? Maybe I’m the only one. I’ll just speak for myself. But I find myself doing that from time to time where I’m living and I’m forgetting to invite Him into every moment.

Learn to practice His presence…

I love the book, “Practicing His Presence.” I would say yearly, maybe twice a year, I always come back to that book. Because how much of me forgets to really… I don’t like the word “practice,” but be in His presence, dwell in His presence, invite His presence into every situation, every thought.

What if every thought we had was supposed to be a prayer?

There’s one time I was reading it and it was like, “What if every thought we have…” This is me. Because I’m a wonderer. “What if every thought we have would really supposed to be a prayer?” What if all the thoughts that we think, you know, the minute you get up and if you’re like me, it starts going… You get up and you’re like, okay, what do I have on my calendar today? What do I have to do? Okay, I have to remember to pick up the groceries. I got to bring the kids and I got to do this, and I got to… And the ticker tape starts going the minute my eyes open in the morning.

What if all of that is supposed to be prayer? I really think it is, honestly. “Okay, God, I thank you. I have so much on my calendar today. I invite you into that, Father. How am I going to handle that? No, you’re going to give me grace in this situation. I got to stop and get gas. Okay, Lord, tell me which way to go to get gas…” Whatever. Just like the little things, like what if every thought we have is really, instead of a conversation with ourself, what a waste of time. It’s supposed to be a conversation with Him. And if we’re honest, I think that’s what it’s supposed to be. But a lot of times, we’re talking to ourselves and we’re going, “Okay, I got to figure this out and how am I going to do this? And okay, when I see her, what am I going to say and how am I going to handle the situation? And I have to pay that bill. Don’t forget to pay that bill.” What if that’s supposed to be a conversation with Him? Crazy. I know.

Prayed…

So, Father, we focus our hearts on you. We focus our thoughts on you. You are all we need. You are literally all that we need. Help us remember that. And when there’s just slight ways, Father, that we’re pulling in this direction or seeking a thing or seeking a resolution or seeking anything besides you, Father, show us. Because it’s subtle sometimes. It sneaks in. Even good things can distract us from what you are doing and who you are. Like Martha and Mary.

Martha was serving. She was doing good things, but she wasn’t focusing on the one thing—the main thing. So help us, Jesus. Help us to have a merry heart, a merry mind, even while we serve, even while we do, Father, but that we aren’t distracted by the busyness of life, by the distractions. Let our hearts not be worn down, but that we guard our hearts.

So if you’re feeling worn down this morning, that’s pretty normal in the world that we live in. But it’s also a sign that you’re pulling from maybe your natural resources. You’re pulling from your wisdom; you’re pulling from your self-effort. Give it all to Him this morning.

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