Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Heather…
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to morning prayer. Thank you all so much for joining us today. My name’s Heather Sibinski. I’m one of the pastors here at Living Word.
David wrote about God’s fierce love He has for us…
I’m just going to read portions of Psalm 18. It’s a long psalm, so I’m just going to highlight some of my favorite parts. I’m reading out of the Amplified. David wrote this after he was rescued, delivered from the hand of Saul and his enemies.
I think a lot of us dwell on the love of God. And that’s a good thing. We should do that. But also we have to remember the fierceness. It’s a fierce love. It’s a powerful love. Gentle with us, but fierce in the way He rescues us, fierce in the way He battles our enemies. God is not this weak and fair-weathered friend. He’s fierce, He’s strong, He’s powerful, and He loves us with that fervent love. And I love how David describes Him throughout Psalm 18. This is David, and he’s talking about him, but we can read this and just picture Jesus coming and doing this for you.
Psalm 18…
1 I love You fervently and devotedly, O Lord, my Strength.
2 The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
4 The cords or bands of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and the torrents of ruin terrified me.
Imagine that. Imagine how David felt hiding out in the wilderness from Saul. I don’t think we can fully understand what that was like. Our wilderness would be maybe camping in a little pup tent for the weekend. But he had to live out in the wilderness and survive and make a living while he’s running from this army that’s trying to kill him.
5 The cords of Sheol (the place of the dead) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted and came upon me.
There was probably many times he was literally on death’s doorstep.
6 In my distress [when seemingly closed in] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (heavenly dwelling place), and my cry came before Him, into His [very] ears.
Your cry goes into His very ears. Just picture that. We’re not praying to a God that can’t hear us. Your cry goes to His very ears.
7 Then the earth quaked and rocked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they moved and were shaken because He was indignant and angry.
Why is He angry? For us! To rescue us.
8 There went up smoke from His nostrils; and lightning out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.
This is your king. This is your God.
10 And He rode upon a cherub [a storm] and flew [swiftly]; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret hiding place; as His pavilion (His canopy) round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 Out of the brightness before Him there broke forth through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, amid hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and He flashed forth lightnings and put them to rout.
15 Then the beds of the sea appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He reached from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated and abhorred me, for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness
And what’s that? Right standing with God. Not something we earn.
“…(my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him); according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me.”
We have clean hands because of the blood of Jesus.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His ordinances were before me, and I put not away His statutes from me.
23 I was upright before Him and blameless with Him, ever [on guard] to keep myself free from my sin and guilt.
We have the blood of Jesus that does that for us today. It cleanses us.
24 Therefore has the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness (my uprightness and right standing with Him), according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25 With the kind and merciful You will show Yourself kind and merciful, with an upright man You will show Yourself upright,
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure, and with the perverse You will show Yourself contrary.
27 For You deliver an afflicted and humble people but will bring down those with haughty looks.
28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Who has some walls they need to leap over today?
30 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.
31 For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God,
32 The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect?
33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You can do that with your prayers.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness and condescension have made me great.
36 You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
And then he goes on to talk about beating his enemies and how they cried out for help. And the Lord was with him. And in verse 46…
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted,
47 The God Who avenges me and subdues peoples under me,
48 Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence.
49 Therefore will I give thanks and extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name.
50 Great deliverances and triumphs gives He to His king; and He shows mercy and steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
So just picture that. God just blasting the sea open to come down and to rescue you. You’re not alone in whatever you’re in right now. You have a God that loves you with a fierce, fierce love. And He’ll go over any mountain, split any sea, whatever He has to do to get to you.
Prayed…
So Father, today we just thank you that you love us like that.
Not because we deserve it, but you call us sons and daughters of God.
Because of what Jesus did, you see us righteous. We’re in right standing with you.
We can come boldly before you.
But also, Father, we reverence that power. We reverence who you are. And we worship you today.
We magnify you, who you are, Father.
Let us never take that power for granted or feel like you are powerless in a situation.
Direction…
Just worship Him now. Tell Him how much you love Him.
Prayed…
Thank You, Father, that You love us with a fierce, fierce love. Thank You that Your anger is kindled against our enemies, that we’re safe under the shadow of Your wings, that we’re safe in the cleft of Your rock, that You put us in wide open spaces.
We’re not closed in. It might feel like we’re closed in. It might feel like our enemy is encamped around us, but no, you put us in wide open spaces. You go before us. You go behind us. You live within us. You are upon us.
If God be for us, who could be against us? Nobody. Nobody. Nothing. Not hell, no angel, no demon. Nothing can stand against us because God, the living God, the commander of angel armies, is living and breathing and dwelling inside of us.
Thank you for that power. Thank you for that honor that we carry your presence. We are carriers of your presence. We are carriers of the presence of God. The very Spirit, the very Holy Spirit of God lives and dwells inside of us. We are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Question…
How are you treating your temple today?
I just heard the Lord say that. How are you treating your temple today? That’s where the Holy Spirit dwells. Don’t talk bad about your temple. Don’t neglect your temple. No, no. Take care of that temple. You have things to do, places to go. Take care of that temple.
Response…
Yes, help us to be aware that we are temples of the living God. Yes, and aligning now. And aligning of our thoughts. And aligning of our wills. For His purpose, not for our purpose. For His way, not for our way. For the eternal, not the temporary.
Arise, body of Christ. For you are temples of the living God, the commander of angel armies.
Where are His hands? Where are His feet? Where is His mouth?
Arise, arise, arise, arise. It’s time to arise. Let the body of Christ arise. Be vigilant.
Prayer for Living Word…
Let’s pray for the body of Living Word. A calling back now. Everybody in places.
Where do you belong? We call back those people into the body of Living Word that have left, that need to come back.
You need to come back now. Get in your rightful place.
Those that are running, those that are searching, those that have been offended.
Come back now. Come back to your body. There’s much to be done. Get back in your place.
Yeah, there’s no shame, there’s no guilt. Just come back. Come back to your family, to your community.
A gathering. Come back. For there’s much to be done.
Every part of the body must play its part. We can’t be limping along.
So, thank you, Father. You’re calling back those members of the body that have been missing, that have been absent, that have been running, that have been maybe even just focusing on just their own things right now. You’re calling them back.
Yeah, it’s a reunion. Yeah, because the time is near. An outpouring of His Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit in manifestation now. Miracles, healings, breaking chains.
The gifts in operation.
Yeah, so a refiring now.
No, no, no more playing church.
Pressing in. There’s much to be done. And we need every member to play their part.
