Corlis [00:00:00]:
Well, welcome everybody, for those who are here and those who are online. We're happy you made it to the 3rd day of 21 days of prayer. So I'm Corliss, and I'm going to be talking to you tonight about or my the title is So the first thing

Corlis [00:00:16]:
I see in the morning when I get up is, thank you, God, for this beautiful day, for waking me to this beautiful day. And I'm going

Corlis [00:00:16]:
to be talking to you tonight about or my the title is, Praising God with Prayer and So the first thing I see in the morning when I

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get up is, thank you, God, for this beautiful day, for waking me to this beautiful day. The act of thanking God for circumstances that are both good and bad Well, I shouldn't say bad, but good and unfortunate always make it into my prayers. I have yet to be at a loss for something to be grateful for. Sometimes, singing to God is a great substitute for praying to God. I only sing when no one is listening, and no one can hear me except God. But my song is full of gratitude and praise. If you ever find it difficult to pray the right words, here's the solution. Sing your favorite praise song to God as loud and proud as you can.

Corlis [00:01:08]:
As loud and proud as you can. While putting this talk together, I was reminded that a blessing we can all thank God for is the gift he gave to musical artists to create lyrics, music, and song that address the conditions of our environment, what's going on around us, and the conditions of our heart. Music sometimes gives us the ability to hear a story with elevated emotion. It increases the love we feel for our God like that song just did. It increases the love that we feel for our spouse, our children, our nation, etcetera. There are songs that bring me to tears or elevates my emotions, if you will. I love our country, and I'm grateful for the protection from our military. So whenever I hear this song, my heart swells with pride.

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A lump forms in my throat that cues tears to fall. And as I place my hand on my heart and listen to the words of I'm proud to be an American, I am overwhelmed at how much we can love something that isn't even tangible. Here are the lyrics, and I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her till the end because today I'm sorry. Because there ain't no doubt I love this land. God bless the USA. It's so cool that this author, this artist wrote a prayer into a patriotic song. Our lives would feel so empty without being able to sing our favorite song to emphasize the joy we feel.

Corlis [00:03:11]:
Singing our praise can make us feel like dancing or lifting our hands in the air to reach God's outstretched hand. Many times, we end up in grateful prayer after singing along to the lyrics of a song that touches us to the core. Then there are then there's the other end of the spectrum, the blues. This is when we feel defeated and a song that spells out how far down that rabbit hole we have fallen. It's so easy to wallow in our own pity party for a while. God wants us to be happy. So we must reverse that melancholy mood by praising God in song. Any song any song that gives glory to God.

Corlis [00:03:58]:
This action will bring you peace will bring you the peace you that will bring you the peace you need to overcome your pain. Give praise, offer prayer, offer prayer and song to God in all circumstances, and he will touch your soul. Almost all of us have had times when we reached the end of the road and felt like we couldn't go on. You know this one. Jesus, take the wheel. Hands because I can't do this on my own. I'm letting go. So give me one more chance and save me from this road I'm on.

Corlis [00:04:42]:
Oh, Jesus. Take the wheel. When we earnestly pray and give our cares and worries to God, he saves us again and again. And if we are faithful and patient, we might learn the reason the outcome is what it is. I've had a situation like this happen to me. A tragic, heart wrenching event occurred, and the reason it occurred was unknown to me at the time. Of course, the devastation was incomprehensible to me and as much as I might have prayed about it, no answer came and the hurt left a scar on my heart. I'm referring to the loss of my sister who was my best friend and my mother in a broad sense.

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But later circumstances revealed why I needed to experience that enormous hurt, and it was and it was to help me through an even greater challenge down the road, the loss of my husband. This was total devastation. Going through it a second time seemed cruel to me at first. Why was God punishing me? World to me were taken away. In retrospect, I could manage the loss of my husband a bit better as I recognized what God was trying to teach me in the loss of my sister. When I lost her, I learned to lean into God completely for peace and comfort. It was a very long process. So although losing my husband was painful, God had prepared me to cope with that loss by showing me how to lean into him completely.

Corlis [00:06:27]:
That scar is my reminder of how much God loves us. I'm guessing some of you have experienced the supernatural phenomenon and were in as much awe as I was when God revealed his plan and how the pain of that incident became a gift. Few more incidents that I know, without a doubt shows that God is alive. And he hears our prayers, the prayers we whisper, sing, or shout about when we focus on him and pray. My friend Sandy had 2 boys and was pregnant with her 3rd child, a girl. They were ecstatic. At around the 20 week mark in her pregnancy, the test that's done to predict possible abnormalities was performed. She was told that her daughter would be born with profound birth defects and was given the option to abort the fetus.

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Sandy and her husband were devout Christians. They prayed and refused to accept the fate that fate for their daughter. And after the doctors providing the counseling they did, the doctors accepted her decision to keep the baby. Sandy and her husband prayed incessantly. They prayed earnestly and had others praying with them. God heard their prayers and bless them with a perfect little girl. The doctors could not give an explanation, but God could. I could imagine all the angels and saints in heaven rejoicing and singing songs of praise.

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Fire test the purity of silver and gold, but the lord test the heart. It takes intense heat to purify gold and silver. Similarly, it often takes the heat of trials for the Christian to be purified. Through trials, God shows us what is in our hearts and clears out anything that gets in the way of complete trust in him. It says in 1st Peter 1 through 7 1st Peter 1 verse 7, excuse me, these trials will show that your faith is genuine. How many of us are strong enough How many of us are strong enough and faithful enough to do what Sandy and her husband did. Dive into prayer. Ask God for your heart to be purified and eliminate anything that gets in the way of trusting God in all matters.

Corlis [00:09:24]:
When it comes to believing, if God hears our prayers, here are a few truths. I'm sorry. There are few facts actually that I believe. Fact 1, our God loves us more than we could ever fathom. He is interested in what our hearts desire. Fact 2, our God creates miracles and sometimes uses them to increase our faith. Fact 3, our God hears our prayers. We will hear him respond by reading his word and listening carefully to his reply or for his reply.

Corlis [00:10:01]:
Fact 4, our God answers prayers in his time. Fact 5, our God knows that there are times when we doubt these truths. We can think of all we can think of examples of these truths, can't we? Perhaps we have experienced it personally or no situations that have occurred with our family and friends. My sister experienced a miracle recently. I'd like to share her story with you. She is a believer and her faith has increased many times over as this is not the first time God has come to her rescue. So my sister left home one evening to deliver a meal to someone. She turned down a heavily used side street with a slight downward slope and quickly realized that she had no breaks.

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She began praying. This was terrifying because she knew that at the end of this street was a 6 lane major intersection. She found herself calling out to God to save her and her daughter from a horrible anticipated car crash that could gravely involve many. She saw no alternative to this predicament. One block before that major intersection at another usually busy intersection, she found an opening. No cars coming up the street, no cars at the cross street, no cars in front of her at the light, and no pedestrians in sight. This is usually not the case at that hour. She was able to turn left onto the street and the car came to miraculous stop in what is usually used as a bus rest stop but without a resting bus in it.

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She began praying, thanking our heavenly father for saving them. She was in shock and didn't believe that she was saved from devastation. Coincidence. She refuted this and explained to these non believers that the coincidence they referred to was not because the universe was paying attention to her plight as they suggested. Clear action from her

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god, the most powerful god of

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the universe, and it will be forever. And so, the universe was paying attention to her plight as they suggested. Rather, she stated boldly to them without a doubt that it was a clear action from her god, the most powerful God of the universe, and it will be forever known to her as God incidents. By his grace and mercy, she and her daughter were unharmed. Having God on her on your side protecting you in a situation like this is no coincidence. Days later still in awe of how much God loves her and in the and in awe that she lived to share this story, she was listening to a song from Casting Crowns called All Because of Mercy. I can stand here unashamed, that it was because of how she tried to I'm sorry. I lost my place.

Corlis [00:13:18]:
Let me start again. I know the only reason I can stand here unashamed. It's not because I'm worthy. It's all because of mercy. She knew that it wasn't because of how she tried to live a good life that she was spared. She was spared from an awful crash because of God's divine intervention, his mercy and his love, God incidents, not coincidence. God's present in her life is surely her joy. Have you taken time recently to recall all the big and little miracles that God created in your life and all the blessings that landed in your lap with no effort on your part.

Corlis [00:14:02]:
Don't take God's presence for granted. Thank him. Worship him in song and prayer. Give him praise. Give him your heart. Scripture. In 1st Thessalonians 5 5 versus 16 to 18, the apostle Paul is providing some final reminders to the Thessalonians. Always be joyful.

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Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you, who belong to Christ Jesus. To our father God with thankful hearts, worship him unceasingly by prayer or song. Praise him for all he has done. Have an expectant and hopeful attitude. Know what you want and believe God can provide it. God wants to meet our needs. Pray and talk to God like you're talking to a friend.

Corlis [00:15:06]:
Let our gratefulness to God be genuine. God loves us so much that he created an individual plan for each of us. His plan is the best. Lean into him and savor the peace and joy he offers. It's ours for the taking. This is our joy and privilege to speak directly to our father, the God of the universe. Give him honor and praise and listen. I think I hear him calling your name.

Corlis [00:15:42]:
Thank you. God bless you. We're, going to take some time right now. I hope you had a refreshing time with God. At this time, let's pray for those who have specific prayer needs. We have a prayer request from a sister who asks for prayer for the pain she feels as she navigates through life and looks to find purpose. She also asks to have God reveal to her his plan for her and her son. So father, we ask that the holy spirit land on her and give her comfort for the pain she endures, whether it be spiritual, financial, emotional, or physical.

Corlis [00:36:58]:
Father, we pray for her to be in your word so that she can know the mission and direction of her life according to your plan. Thank you, Jesus. We also have a second prayer here. Father, we continue to pray for our friends who are loving on and watching over their aging parents. Mom has stage 4 liver cancer and dad has been hospitalized several times but without a diagnosis. We pray that mom will continue to be strong in the Lord and that dad will have his heart be softened to know Jesus and have strength and peace to continue his journey. We also pray that you will enlighten the minds of his doctor for definitive prognosis so they can treat him accordingly. We pray for our sister who is recovering from pneumonia.

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Pray that God will touch her, heal her, and fully restore her to good health. Father, we continue to pray for our dear brother and sister from who are facing difficult trials right now. We pray that our brother will not be discouraged by the lies that the devil is trying to get him to believe and sway his thinking. We pray that he will turn back to you and find his comfort in you. We pray that his health will improve and that he will lean on you for peace. We also pray for his wife whose mother passed recently and has another family member in the hospital. We pray for her to find rest that the stress of all that sits on her shoulders be lifted from her. Father, please bless her and take her in your arms to comfort her and renew her spirits.

Corlis [00:39:02]:
And merciful father, merciful father god, we pray for our Lahaina community as they come upon the 1 year anniversary of the devastation. We pray that the devastation and loss they experience has begun to heal. We pray that each person will be able to start new and get back to living life. We know, father, that life will never be the same, but we pray that their needs be met. Father, we also pray that you will send disciples into the community that will show them the power of your love, grace, and mercy. Father God, we press into you and ask a blessing on our congregation and all those who tune in online. We pray for this dear community of saints and ask that you continue to hold each person close to you. Father, we also pray for the weekend gathering.

Corlis [00:40:10]:
Please send us more people, father. Let us minister to more people in our community. Even on Saturdays, although this is Even on Saturdays, although this is kind of a remote area, we still have people coming here on Saturday. So we pray that whether it's Saturday or Sunday, you just send the masses. We're ready to handle the masses and bring them to you. And finally, unless anyone else has a prayer request, we're praying for the upcoming 25th anniversary. We will celebrate it soon on 25th. 25th anniversary on 25th.

Corlis [00:41:03]:
It's a great time. So, for those of you who haven't heard, we're going to have a big party that day at Ho'okele on 25th. So please join us. We'll have food and refreshments and games and music and all kinds of celebration. So thank you every everyone for joining us tonight. God bless you and keep you safe. Good night.