Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Pastor Ken…
It’s Wednesday morning. Hello, everyone. Good to have you with us for prayer today. Many of you know, but if in case you don’t, my name is Ken, and I’m one of the pastors here at Living Word. It’s my privilege to be a part of prayer here today.
Research that confirms scripture…
This morning I thought I would share something real quick with you. From time to time, I share different bits of research that comes out that corroborates and supports and confirms scripture and the power and the purpose of prayer. And I probably have shared some things in the past. But I came across one recently that has to do with neurological research that shows the results and the real power of prayer.
Excerpt from Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine…
The summary of this particular study goes: “When somebody prays for you, it can actually show up as real changes in your brain activity.” A study, not too many years ago, was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging scans [in other words, a brain scan] on people who were prayed for. The people whose brains were scanned were unaware that others were praying for them in another room.”
The effect of prayer on the frontal lobes…
So the study was that there were certain rooms at this university (or whatever this was) where there were a group of people who were receiving this magnetic resonance brain scan. Unbeknownst to them, there were rooms maybe across campus or something or in the same building, I don’t know, who were praying for them specifically. So the scans show that the frontal lobes, you know that part of your brain, your frontal lobe, and other regions as well in your brain of these people’s brains who are being scanned were activated during times of prayer even though they didn’t know somebody was praying for them and not activated when they were not prayed for.
James 5:16…
And this has been confirmed through a number of studies now, that when you pray for somebody… You know, the Bible says, “Bear one another’s burdens.” That prayer as James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” One translation says, “Produces or makes much power available, and that it’s dynamic in its working.”
The power of Paul’s, “I make mention of you in my prayers…”
So something is activated in people’s psychology, in their soul, when you pray for them. I suppose that’s why Paul said, “I make mention of you in my prayers.” So even just somebody comes across your mind today that you haven’t thought of for a while, or maybe it’s a close family member or something, simply make mention of them. “Lord, I lift up so and so to you today.” And, of course, pray out whatever else you see, but just make mention of them before the throne. When you yield in your heavenly prayer language, you are doing real work from the kingdom standpoint to affect people’s hearts and lives.
This study goes on to say…
“What does this mean? When someone prays for you, even at a distance, it creates measurable changes in the parts of your brain that are related to emotional resilience, calmness, peace of mind, and healing. Prayer, in other words, is more than nice intentions. It is doing real neurological work, and God is working through our intercessions to effect change in others’ lives.”
I suppose that’s why the Bible admonishes us that we’re to pray without ceasing, to not grow weary in well-doing but to stay in there because your prayers are making a whole lot more difference than you recognize in your natural understanding. You’re probably familiar with this passage, but in Ephesians 6:18–20 it says, (Amplified Classic) “Pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season.”
Somebody say, “Every season.”
“In the Spirit with all manner of prayer and entreaty. To that end, keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints, God’s consecrated people.” Let me pause there for a second and just say one of the things I love to do is when I’m even getting ready in the morning or going about my day, if I’m prompted or I think of it, I am conscious to keep my heart open to God.
Prayer is a matter of surrender first and foremost.
Prayer is not us manufacturing the best string of words we can put together to articulate to God as to what we want to have done.
Prayer is surrendering your will to His.
Prayer is surrendering your heart and your agenda to His.
Prayer is opening up your life and being receptive to the operation of the great prayer coach, the Holy Spirit.
The first order of business…
Because He grants prayer. He inspires prayer. So the first order of business, I think, when it comes to prayer, is to just say, “Lord, here I am. I am open to you. I am open and I believe I receive, for example, Your healing mercies. They’re flowing to me today.”
Let your life be a conduit for God…
Oh, come on now. You don’t need a preacher to prompt you to say that. You don’t need somebody to thump you over the head with a spiritual mallet to get you to do that. Leverage your life to be of a conduit through which God can speak forth His truth and His promises.
Quote from Pastor Lynne…
Pastor Lynne said on Monday at a prayer gathering, “God wants to use your mind and your mouth. So surrender to Him.” Why does He want to do that? Because the more He’s able to collaborate with you through your mind and your mouth and your life, the more He’s able to get His will into the earth.
Quote from Pastor Bill Johnson at SW Believers Convention…
Bill Johnson at the Southwest Believers’ Convention here just a few weeks ago made this statement. It stuck with me, and I wrote it down when I heard it. He said, “We are brokers of another world. We’re here to release heaven into the earth.”
Come on now.
That’s why we want to surrender. That’s why we want to turn our lives over to Him today and every day. It’s not just one time at an altar or once upon a time in a land far, far away that you came to an altar and surrendered. No, this is a daily walk with Him to surrender our hearts, our lives, our mouths, our attitudes, our thoughts to Him. The Bible says we’re to love Him, in fact, with all our heart, soul, and mind. Even in your thoughts, love Him! With your words, love Him.
Prayer is a matter of being open to Him…
And it’s a powerful prayer when you’re just, maybe you’re doing your morning exercises, or maybe you’re getting yourself ready or whatever, just to say…
“Lord, I thank you that you’re my healer today.
I believe that the healing mercies of Jesus are flowing into my life, driving out all sickness, causing my joints and muscles and every aspect of my physicality to be made strong.
In fact, your Word says I’m being renewed like the eagle.
My youth is being renewed like the eagle’s.
That good breaks are on the docket, are on the agenda for me today.
Open doors will swing wide to invite me and say, ‘Hello.’
Good breaks, opportunities, solutions will show up at the right time, and I’ll grab hold of them.
For this is the day the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Hiding the Word in your heart…
You’re not hiding the Word in your heart for no reason. You’re hiding your Word in your heart to make declaration. Just a declaration while you’re getting ready in the morning, or driving down the road, or paying a mortgage bill, or whatever. That declaration releases the faith of God and sets heaven in motion. We’re here to release heaven into the earth. We’re to be brokers of faith, brokers of hope, a people who daily and even moment by moment turn the key so that Jesus can get His way.”
What was His way?
He said, “My way is that it would be on earth as it is in heaven. But I need you, Church, I need you, my son, my daughter, to participate in that process of establishing heaven in the earth. Shining light, speaking truth, preaching grace, declaring the way of the Lord so that it can be constructed and made possible.
Charles Capps says confession builds a road…
Remember, somebody said years ago, I think it was Charles Capps, that confession builds a road. In other words, your faith proclamation, your annunciation of the Word, your declaration of the way it’s going to be today, not the way the enemy is insinuating it’s going to be. You can sit and take it, or you can say, “No, I’m not going to sit and take your insinuations, Devil. I’m not going to sit and ruminate over what didn’t work out or what didn’t happen. I’m going to say, ‘This is the way it’s going to go today.’” For I hear, as the Old Testament records, a voice behind me saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Building an expressway for God…
So your faith declarations build a road over which faith hauls its mighty cargo. In other words, you want to build a road, a really good expressway for the blessings of God, for the purposes of God, for next steps in the plan of God to show up at your door with express delivery? Then get involved in saying what God is saying in your heart. Get involved in saying what He’s declared in His Word and say the same thing. Faith is essentially saying the same thing God has said.
About the nation
About the midterm election
About your personal finances
God is faithful…
And don’t be discouraged. Don’t despair. Don’t get down when something doesn’t change in a day or a month or even a year. We know God is faithful. I bet He’s demonstrated that to each and every one of us in very personal ways, and we just need to, like David, remember that we once killed a lion, we once killed a bear. God was right there to supernaturally equip us to do what we couldn’t do, and there He was. He was there.
Either way, we win!
God’s timing is perfect. Don’t get it mixed up. Not your timing, His timing is perfect. Either way, we win. Even if you don’t see the manifestation or the fullness of it today, guess what? You’ve already won! You can celebrate the win in advance of seeing the win. Whoo! Just the fact that the Spirit of the Living God dwells on the inside of us, that’s something to be stirred up about. That’s something to praise God about. The fact that we’ve been redeemed out of the grasp of darkness and depravity and dysfunction, and brought into, as the Bible records, the very light and into communion and community and family with the children of God. The fact that we’re called by His name, that we’ve been made co-laborers with Him.
Oh my gosh, we could go on and on and on!
