1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,400 Good morning, everyone. 2 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:02,400 Good morning. 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,400 That was a tough one to follow. 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:08,400 Thank you. 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:21,400 My name is Marissa Cantu, and I've been here with the church almost three years now, and 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:34,400 it's been nothing but blessings and growth and the privilege of reaching out in need, 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:40,400 in joys, sharing life together. 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:48,800 And I get to talk about a subject that I absolutely love today, which is prayer. 9 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,800 And we talk about different things. 10 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,600 I'm just going to talk about what your favorite foods are. 11 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,600 So anybody shout out what your favorite foods are. 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:01,600 Anybody? 13 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,600 Sushi, mac and cheese. 14 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,600 Biscuits and gravy. 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,600 Tacos. 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:10,600 Tacos. 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,600 Chips and dip. 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:13,600 Pizza. 19 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:14,600 Steak. 20 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:15,600 What's that? 21 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:16,600 Pizza ranch. 22 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,200 Pizza ranch, she said a whole restaurant. 23 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,200 Forget the favorite food. 24 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,200 I love crab legs myself. 25 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:25,200 Shrimp. 26 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,200 Anybody else? 27 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:35,800 So does anybody ever eat your favorite food gluttonously? 28 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:41,600 You're going to just burst if you eat another bite, but you eat the other bite anyway because 29 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,600 you just love it so much. 30 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:44,600 Anybody? 31 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,600 We've all been there, done that. 32 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,300 Last week I made a chicken taco casserole that I had not made in a while. 33 00:01:53,300 --> 00:02:01,200 And I served myself one serving and I went back for a second serving and I'm like, oh 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:06,200 my gosh, if I eat a third serving of this, it would be so terrible for me, but guess 35 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:07,200 what? 36 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,200 Guess what? 37 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:13,720 I did it anyway. 38 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:18,080 I just did half of a third serving. 39 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,080 It's winter time, guys. 40 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:25,080 We got to like, it's hibernation here in a little bit, so we got to fluff up a little 41 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,080 bit. 42 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:33,400 But, you know, getting to the point where we're that full of something is, could be 43 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:34,400 a great thing, right? 44 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,200 It's super satisfying, right? 45 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:41,280 But what other things like make us happy when we're full of those things? 46 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,800 Like a full glass of our favorite drink. 47 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,000 It could be Coca-Cola for me. 48 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,680 I like Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper. 49 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,040 It could be a full wallet. 50 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,120 Anybody like a full wallet? 51 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,160 Full bank account? 52 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,680 What about a full tank of gas? 53 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:07,160 I don't know about you guys, but when I have a full tank of gas, I feel like I'm rich. 54 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:14,800 I'm just like, just driving around like I have a full tank of gas. 55 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:15,800 Full of love? 56 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:16,800 Anybody there? 57 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:17,800 Yeah? 58 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:25,960 Yeah, just embracing someone full of love. 59 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,720 Full of what? 60 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,440 Full arms, like big arms. 61 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:30,680 Yeah, full. 62 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:31,680 Anybody else? 63 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,920 Anything that you just absolutely love being full of? 64 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,400 A full night's sleep. 65 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:50,120 Oh, I think we need to plan a sleepover with meditation and silence. 66 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,600 A full heart with your loved ones, your family. 67 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,760 Yes, full of respect. 68 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:02,960 All of those things that make us think of pleasant things to be full of, right? 69 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:11,360 Even if we were full of prayer, if the question today was, what is your favorite prayer? 70 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,200 Would it be as easy as talking about your favorite food? 71 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,720 Maybe, maybe not. 72 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:22,720 For some of us, maybe if I ask the question, how often do we brush our teeth? 73 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,400 We might say once a day, twice a day, three times a day. 74 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:31,040 We might lie, but how many times do we pray a day? 75 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:32,960 Once a day, twice a day, three times a day. 76 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:39,400 We might exaggerate a little bit, but for some of us, it's more than others, right? 77 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,760 Some of us, we find more reasons to pray. 78 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,680 Some of us, it comes naturally. 79 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:52,840 And today, I get to talk about being prayerful and how we can respond to that question, what's 80 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,800 your favorite prayer? 81 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,440 Or what did you last pray for? 82 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:07,520 And hopefully that we can answer that as easily as we do what's our favorite food, right? 83 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:19,160 So prayer isn't something that naturally comes to us by something that we do every day, not 84 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,920 all of us at least. 85 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:30,320 But I wanted to share that prayer is merely a conversation with God. 86 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,920 It doesn't have to be anything fancy. 87 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,280 It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. 88 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:40,600 It doesn't have to be anything that blows people's mind away, and you came up here and 89 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,980 you were so eloquent with your words and your prayer. 90 00:05:43,980 --> 00:05:49,480 It's merely a conversation with God. 91 00:05:49,480 --> 00:06:02,360 Shouting, whispering, crying, silent. 92 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:23,920 Hopeful, desperate, thankful, grateful, arms wide open, kneeling, sitting face to the floor. 93 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:39,920 Prayer. 94 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,760 I know that there's different instances in our lives where we've felt all of those emotions 95 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,560 and prayers. 96 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:53,120 We've been in situations where maybe we're shouting out to God or we're silent. 97 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:54,640 There's just no words that come out. 98 00:06:54,640 --> 00:07:00,040 It's a silent whisper maybe in church where you're together or you're just praying for 99 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:01,760 something else. 100 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:06,960 Crying, tears of fear or hopefulness. 101 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:15,320 A lot of our prayers come in times of needs. 102 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:20,880 When does prayer happen at all times in the morning, at noon, at night, breakfast, lunch, 103 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:21,880 dinner? 104 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:28,960 It's the kind that prayer just for our meals, just when we have a need. 105 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,640 Where can prayer happen? 106 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,760 Anybody have an answer for that? 107 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:35,760 Anywhere. 108 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:41,000 Prayer doesn't have to happen in these four walls. 109 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:47,080 Prayer can happen anywhere that you're at. 110 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:48,920 Why does prayer happen? 111 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:56,600 Usually prayer is based on a circumstance that we're in or sometimes a ritual. 112 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:57,600 Pray for our food. 113 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,600 We pray in the morning when we wake up. 114 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:01,600 Nighttime prayers. 115 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:07,640 I used to pray with my daughters when they were little. 116 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,200 It was three prayers in a row. 117 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,840 It became something that they could mutter in their sleep if I ever woke them and said, 118 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,640 we forgot our prayers, they become rituals. 119 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,720 They become something that we can repeat on a daily basis. 120 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:29,200 We just did a prayer today, our Father who art in heaven, hallow be thy name. 121 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,000 They become things that are part of us. 122 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,480 If they're rituals, they just come naturally. 123 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:35,480 Pray for our food. 124 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,480 We pray before bed. 125 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:44,560 We pray our daily bread. 126 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:52,960 My hope is that our prayer never becomes just a religious thing. 127 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:58,960 My hope is that when we are praying that we're feeling our prayers and that we're looking 128 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:05,240 forward to an answer. 129 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:14,840 If you guys could stand with me, if you're able, as we go into the scripture, we're going 130 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:26,600 to be in Mark chapter 11, verses 22 to 24. 131 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:34,600 This is the context of Jesus talking to his disciples and giving different parables and 132 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:39,800 examples of life, just as they live life. 133 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,400 I wish Jesus was in my pocket sometimes. 134 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,000 Just live in life with me and explaining things as we go. 135 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:53,480 This is what he was doing after he had cursed a tree and it had withered. 136 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,000 They were like, oh my gosh, you made that happen. 137 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,040 He's like, of course. 138 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,120 It's me. 139 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,520 Mark chapter 11, verses 22 to 24. 140 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,720 Have faith in God, Jesus answered. 141 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:15,160 Notice it doesn't say have faith in your pastor, have faith in the human next to you. 142 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,400 It says have faith in God, Jesus answered. 143 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:23,400 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received 144 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,120 it and it will be yours. 145 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,360 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your 146 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,320 father in heaven may forgive you of your sins. 147 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:39,080 Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea and 148 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:45,360 does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say, believes that what they say 149 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,040 will happen, it will be done for them. 150 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:50,040 Let's pray. 151 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:56,120 Father God, we just thank you so much for this time of fellowship that we have together. 152 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:04,920 And during this time of your word, allow us to just focus on what you have for us today. 153 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:12,200 Allow us to leave here fuller than we came in. 154 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,200 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 155 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,280 You guys can be seated. 156 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:27,680 I'm going to say that this is one of my favorite things to do because prayer often turns itself 157 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:32,000 into a lot of worship songs in the Christian world. 158 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,440 A lot of verses turn into worship, turn into prayer. 159 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:44,240 And especially when you're going through difficult moments, it's easy to naturally feel like 160 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,160 you can pray. 161 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:53,800 There's many different prayers that are listed in the Bible, but today I just want to talk 162 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:58,320 about three different types of prayers. 163 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,840 Prayer of supplication, which is a need. 164 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,480 Prayer of thanksgiving. 165 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:11,520 And a prayer of praise. 166 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:18,280 The majority of our prayers, we're usually asking for something. 167 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:20,840 Maybe we're in desperation. 168 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:27,280 I think the most common thing that we do as humans when we see something sad or someone 169 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,920 sick is, can everybody say it with me? 170 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:31,920 I'll pray for you. 171 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,040 Can you guys say that with me? 172 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,160 I'll pray for you. 173 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:44,760 Social media, prayer hands go up, we type, I'll pray for you. 174 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,400 How many times do we actually do it? 175 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:53,280 I encourage us to actually just take the moment in that moment, even if it's for 10 seconds, 176 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:58,920 30 seconds, and actually pray for someone. 177 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:10,360 Prayer of supplication is asking for healing, asking for a miracle, asking for our hearts, 178 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:14,400 asking for just any petition that we're asking for. 179 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:20,400 It could be for God to do a miracle in our lives with our finances, with our family, 180 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,880 with our loved ones. 181 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:29,200 In Philippians 4 verses 6 through 7 it says, be anxious for nothing but in everything by 182 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,560 prayer, in supplication, with thanksgiving. 183 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:36,200 Let your requests be known to God. 184 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,200 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and 185 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,440 minds through Christ Jesus. 186 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:52,400 So when we're asking for these things, the word of God is telling us to not be anxious 187 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:53,400 while we're asking. 188 00:13:53,400 --> 00:14:00,840 And so it's already telling us to have a belief factor in what we're asking for. 189 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:06,040 It's already telling us to have faith in what we're asking for. 190 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,200 And it's telling us to be at peace. 191 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,920 And basically the word of God is telling us, you know what, if you pray about it, you're 192 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,320 giving it to God. 193 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,200 It's always easier said than done, right? 194 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:29,880 But the word of God is telling us, whatever you are asking of me, count it as done. 195 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,120 It might not be in our time. 196 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,880 It might be weeks, hours, months later. 197 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,760 It might even be a year later. 198 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,080 Sometimes we have to look back and see where God has brought us, right? 199 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,960 And sometimes the things that we pray for now or that we're not happy with now, we prayed 200 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:53,400 for like a year ago and God gave it to us and we're still asking and we still need more 201 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,520 and we don't remember that this is what we asked for. 202 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:01,920 I remind my daughter who's in college right now, you have been wanting to be in college 203 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:07,880 like since you were 12 years old, like and now you're there and you're complaining about 204 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:08,880 it. 205 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:09,880 You were made for this moment. 206 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:10,880 Girl, go shine. 207 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:11,880 You know? 208 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:19,160 So we remind ourselves where we've come from. 209 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:26,200 Philippians 4.19 says, and my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in 210 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:32,200 glory in Christ Jesus. 211 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:39,400 I know a lot of times we've said, you know, if we're rich in finances and the things that 212 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:46,480 we have materialistically make us feel better, money makes us feel better, material things 213 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,880 make us feel better. 214 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:57,720 But this tells us that he will supply all of his needs according to his riches in glory. 215 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,000 Like there's unlimited supply up there. 216 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:09,840 Like when our prayers go up, it's unlimited supply of riches in his glory and his kingdom. 217 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:16,920 And I don't know about you, but I would much rather be richer in my faith, in my love and 218 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:24,320 the fullness of those around me and joy and happiness and the things that we often take 219 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,560 for granted every single day. 220 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:33,880 But according to his word, it's unlimited, like it's not a bank account where there's 221 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,200 a limit of funds. 222 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,640 It's unlimited riches in glory up in heaven. 223 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:48,280 And I'd rather have that kind of withdrawal availability than to go to my bank account 224 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,020 or any of our financial gains. 225 00:16:52,020 --> 00:17:01,760 And so we're to ask, we're to ask in prayer as if it's an unlimited supply. 226 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,000 Amen? 227 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:12,360 Did anybody take psychology here or love psychology theories? 228 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:20,720 Can anybody tell me what the if this then that theory is called? 229 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:26,160 It's conditioning. 230 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,640 Conditional theory. 231 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,040 If you do this, then this will happen. 232 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:38,360 A lot of us go to God. 233 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:48,840 God, if you answer this prayer today, I promise I won't do it again. 234 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:55,520 If you answer this prayer for me today, I promise I will not eat a third serving of 235 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,000 my favorite food. 236 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,480 Make me skinny one more time. 237 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:06,900 God doesn't work in conditional theory. 238 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:11,720 God is not a God of if you do this, then this will happen in prayer. 239 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,680 Now I'm here to say in prayer, it doesn't work that way. 240 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,680 There's a lot of things that God asks of us and requires of us. 241 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:29,000 But my favorite phrase is I am far from perfect, but I know the one that is. 242 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,600 So our prayers are not conditional theories. 243 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:38,960 It's not if this happens, if you do this for me, then I will do this for you. 244 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:40,760 It's unlimited. 245 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:48,680 His riches and his glory and his faithfulness and his love for us is unconditional. 246 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:54,320 It has no conditions to, well, I'm only going to answer this prayer if you were living right 247 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,440 the last 24 hours. 248 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,160 If you were without sin the last 24 hours, then I'm going to answer this prayer for you. 249 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:03,600 It doesn't work that way. 250 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:12,240 Like our prayer comes from our faith in him and his goodness in our lives. 251 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,440 Prayers of Thanksgiving. 252 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,280 The word of God says rejoice always. 253 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:26,920 Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 254 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,480 Pray continually. 255 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,760 Pray without ceasing. 256 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,040 Giving thanks in everything. 257 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:40,800 I don't know about you, but I know for a fact that there have been situations in my life 258 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,280 that I did not want to thank God for. 259 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,000 I don't want to thank God for sickness. 260 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,720 I don't want to thank God for brokenness, for family problems, for deaths. 261 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:58,220 There's a lot of things that I don't want to thank God for. 262 00:19:58,220 --> 00:20:09,200 But because God is in us and God's love is in us and his word is in us, then we are called 263 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:15,080 to give thanks in everything. 264 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:21,960 Amen? 265 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,160 I know it's not easy. 266 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:29,120 Giving thanks in everything, giving thanks without ceasing, praying without ceasing, 267 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,640 it can't be easy. 268 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:40,000 And nobody said this road as brothers and sisters and Christians was ever easy. 269 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,360 It's not easy. 270 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,720 The road is narrow. 271 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:58,080 Now how do we give thanks without ceasing in everything when it's breaking us? 272 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:05,440 How do we give thanks when the person that we love is sick in the hospital? 273 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:11,980 How do we give thanks when there's not enough money to pay the bills? 274 00:21:11,980 --> 00:21:21,680 How do we give thanks when we're going through divorces or broken families or children without 275 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,840 food? 276 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,040 How do you give thanks and all that? 277 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,760 We just do, right? 278 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:30,760 We just do. 279 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,840 And we're not just saying religiously, just pray about it. 280 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,280 Everything will go away. 281 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:42,200 I so hope that you have a support system, that you have people that will love you and 282 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,280 pray with you and support you. 283 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:50,360 And if you do not, please make sure you reach out to somebody here. 284 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:55,600 And if there's anybody watching today, please reach out to the house. 285 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,440 Because it's really hard to do these things alone. 286 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:07,040 So praying continuously without ceasing and giving thanks and everything. 287 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:13,440 The last time that I shared a message, I talked about God incidences. 288 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:18,440 And this morning was a God incidence. 289 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:23,160 Because Pastor Greg doesn't ask us for our notes. 290 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:28,800 He doesn't, you know, he has faith in those that he has to come up and share the word, 291 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:30,140 right? 292 00:22:30,140 --> 00:22:38,040 The last prayer is that I'm talking about today is prayer of praise, of adoration, prayer 293 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,680 of honoring him. 294 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,240 And I have the song, Great Are You Lord. 295 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,960 I knew we were going to sing it today. 296 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:54,120 And I wanted us to be able to sing that song today together. 297 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,440 And Greg did that. 298 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:05,040 Before knowing that I had it in my notes for us to sing it together. 299 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:14,720 The words in this song, it's your breath in our lungs. 300 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:19,040 So we pour out our praise. 301 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:20,300 We pour out our praise. 302 00:23:20,300 --> 00:23:24,460 It's your breath in our lungs. 303 00:23:24,460 --> 00:23:29,880 So we pour out our praise, you only. 304 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,120 You give life. 305 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,000 You are love. 306 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,840 You bring light to the darkness. 307 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:36,840 You give hope. 308 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,600 You restore every heart that's broken. 309 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,280 Great are you, Lord. 310 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:51,960 Psalms 150 says, praise the Lord, praise God in his sanctuary, praise him, his mighty heavens. 311 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:57,960 Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing greatness. 312 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,840 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet. 313 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,680 Praise him with the harp and lyre. 314 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,720 Praise him with the timbre and dancing. 315 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,200 Praise him with the strings and pipe. 316 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,160 Praise him with the clash of cymbals. 317 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,800 Praise him with resounding cymbals. 318 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,680 Let everything that has breath. 319 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:17,880 Praise the Lord. 320 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:23,960 Praise the Lord. 321 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:32,200 There's so many Psalms, so much scripture in the Bible that talks about praising him. 322 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:40,680 And prayer of praise is a way to honor God and give him back the worship and the praise 323 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,160 that he deserves. 324 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,240 It's not asking for anything. 325 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:52,720 It's simply adoring God. 326 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:58,680 It's simply honoring God for all that he's done in our lives. 327 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:06,080 I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I look back because sometimes I just get stuck. 328 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:14,800 And I have to look back to see where God has brought me to get unstuck, to remember how 329 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:21,960 amazing he's been in my life. 330 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:29,420 And so prayer of praise is something that we need to balance the prayer of supplication 331 00:25:29,420 --> 00:25:32,120 and the prayer of thanksgiving with. 332 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,440 Because balance is good, right? 333 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,920 We talk about food and our favorite foods and a good balance of nutrients and maybe 334 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:46,840 not so many third servings and milk and dairy and legumes, all those stuff that we're supposed 335 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:48,320 to eat. 336 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:54,640 So maybe our prayer should be a little more balanced. 337 00:25:54,640 --> 00:26:04,120 Maybe our prayer should add a little more adoration and a little less supplication. 338 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,120 That will add a dabble of thanksgiving. 339 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:13,280 Whatever you want to balance your prayer, I hope that when we think about prayer, we 340 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:29,560 look at ways that we're honoring God in ways that we have faith in God, in ways that we 341 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,480 have hope in God. 342 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:43,600 So if our goal is to be more prayerful and for it to come more naturally, I like to leave 343 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:51,400 a couple practical ways that maybe our lives can be more prayerful. 344 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,920 And we have to do this daily because the Bible also talks about the armor of God. 345 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:02,040 Can you imagine, I know it's the spiritual armor that we put on, but can you imagine 346 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:04,840 going to sleep with heavy metal clunky armor? 347 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:10,440 You've got to take it off every day and you've got to put it back on every day. 348 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:15,280 And so prayers from yesterday don't just roll over into today. 349 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:22,760 You've got to kind of do them every day so that they could be effective in our lives. 350 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,880 And so a couple of ways to be more prayerful. 351 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:35,280 Put timers on your phone, maybe a 7 a.m. whenever you wake up, a little bit earlier than when 352 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:37,640 you wake up. 353 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:43,560 Put timers on your phones for different times that maybe prayer could be a little more implemented 354 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,880 in your life. 355 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,800 Create a space in your home for prayer. 356 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:56,040 Sometimes creating an intentional space makes us use it more, right? 357 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:03,160 Like a prayer wall, a prayer corner, a prayer chair, a prayer space in your bedroom, a prayer 358 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:08,960 closet. 359 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:15,280 Like I mentioned before, when you say, I'm praying for you on a friend's post, take 360 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:20,960 that moment to actually pray. 361 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:30,800 There's apps on our phones that give us daily prayers, daily devotions. 362 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:38,480 Being a little more thankful when we receive things, when people do things for us. 363 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:43,960 Just being a little more thankful for those things. 364 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:54,160 And this last one I'll leave you with is the most important because I think that it would 365 00:28:54,160 --> 00:29:01,280 implement a little more fully in our lives. 366 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:09,240 When making decisions, we're making decisions all the time, constantly. 367 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:16,800 When we wake up, when we're driving, how we're treating others, if there's difficult things 368 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:23,240 that we have to decide at work, with family, in relationships, we're constantly making 369 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,280 decisions. 370 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,640 And if you're going through something, how often has someone told you, well, have you 371 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,440 prayed about it? 372 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:41,400 And then sometimes I'm like, oh yeah, I could do that, huh? 373 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:47,200 So I know there's tough things that we go through in life, but even in the great and 374 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:52,480 beautiful things that are going on in our lives, are we praying about them? 375 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:55,680 Are we giving thanks for them? 376 00:29:55,680 --> 00:30:01,440 In those tough decision-making things at work or with relationships, have you prayed about 377 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,680 it? 378 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:11,240 I challenge us all today that when we're making any decisions throughout our day, to be more 379 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:17,960 prayerful about them and actually pray. 380 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,400 Pray about those decision-making things. 381 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,320 And let's close in prayer. 382 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:31,360 Father God, we just give you honor. 383 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:40,040 We thank you so much for who you are in our lives. 384 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:50,040 Thank you for all you've done and what you're going to continue to do in our lives. 385 00:30:50,040 --> 00:31:01,680 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.