 Good morning. Welcome to morning prayer in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo. We are on day five of Seek and Send. And our prayer focus today is deliverance. And we are going to stand in the gap this morning, and we are going to contend hard for the deliverance of our loved ones, our prodigal and unsaved family members and friends and those in our spheres of influence. And so we're going to begin just by reading Luke chapter 15. It's the story of the prodigal son. Of course, there's two sons, the younger son asks his dad for his inheritance prematurely and then he goes off to a foreign land as you know the story so well and he squanders his inheritance. He ends up in a famine in that land and he's feeding pigs and hitting rock bottom. And in verse 17 of Luke chapter 15, it says, but when he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I'm dying here. I will get up and go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. So he got up and he came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said, father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. Bring the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and has been found and they began to celebrate. And so Lord, we thank you for this beautiful depiction of your heart as Abba father, that you are the God who this very morning is running to meet those who will just turn in your grace, turn and repent and come home to Abba father. Lord, I thank you that you're ready with the ring and the robe and the sandals, all depicting identity. And so Lord, we ask that as we enter into worship, declaring who you are as this beautiful father, as this kind hearted God, as this compassionate one, we pray that as we worship and make much of you that you would reach down in grace, that you would bring loved ones to their senses, that you would draw them with chords of loving kindness this morning, even while we're worshiping, even while we're praying, begin to encounter, talk to them in the language of their heart as only you can. Those who are sleeping, visit them even now in the morning hours in dreams. We thank you in advance, God, for the many deliverances because you are the God of deliverance in Jesus' name. Prophecy that over our soul. We just say you are the one, the center of our hearts and in the center of our heart. Thank you that you lavishly give us grace to seek after you. We're gonna go into our first prayer cycle and if you're just joining us, we're focusing on deliverance today in our seek and send prayer emphases. And we're gonna pray specifically for our prodigal loved ones. And I just wanna go ahead and turn to Jeremiah chapter 31 if you have your Bibles. This little passage that we'll be reading is one that's near and dear to my heart as one who stood for almost a decade in the gap on behalf of a prodigal son and saw the Lord do amazing things and bring him home. And I just wanna declare this and pray this together over our prodigals. It can be a tender subject because our hearts get bruised and the accuser hurls accusations against us. But if we just bring that mustard seed of faith into the gap this morning, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think. Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 16, thus says the Lord, restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears. For your work will be rewarded declares the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future declares the Lord and your children will return to their own territory. And so Lord, we thank you that even as you declare this over your prodigal Israel, that you declare these truths over our children, over prodigal spouses and siblings, God and extended family members and friends, that you are the God of hope. And with you there is nothing that is too difficult. There is nothing that is impossible. You still split the Red Seas of impossibility, Father. And we thank you this morning that you are the God of many deliverances. And that as we bring our broken hearts, as we bring our mustard seed size faith to you this morning, Lord, that you are hearing and that you are answering and that you are moving in the hearts and the minds and the lives of our prodigal loved ones. And so Father, I thank you for the foundations that have been poured in these lives of our prodigal loved ones. And we declare over them, your work, parents will be rewarded. Your work will be rewarded because they will return. And so Father, we ask now, every family represented this morning here in this room and in the live stream and across our family of radiant, God, I'm asking that you would pour out a spirit of revelation now that awakens our prodigal loved ones to their senses. Suddenly God of breaking in, even now as we stand in the gap, Lord, I'm asking would you break in with the revelation of your goodness, of your compassion, of your mercy, of your love, of your desire for them, of your enjoyment of them, of their destiny and identity in you. God, release a spirit of revelation that brings them to awakening just like the prodigal son when he stood among the swine. Awaken them in Jesus' name. This is our cry that you are fluent in the language of every heart. Thank you, Jesus, that you know exactly what to say and what to reveal. So we're asking, Lord, as we stand in the gap and at this altar in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I'm asking, Abba Father, that you would break into hearts, that you would break into minds, that you would bring divine interruption, Lord, divine arresting of the course on which they're treading. Open their eyes to see the beauty you possess, Abba Father. Open their minds, God. Open their hearts to endurize them again. I pray that their ears would be fine-tuned to the frequency of heaven that they would hear you calling them home, Father. Even now, invade dreams. Today, give visions. Lord, let there be divine appointments where messengers are sent to just sow those seeds, to water the seeds already sown, to call them back home again. We're praying, Holy Spirit, for those moments of suddenly in the hearts and minds of our prodigals today in Jesus' name. Holy Spirit. And so, Lord, we just declare hope now over every heart of every loved one contending for this return of a prodigal loved one, over every parent, God, standing in the gap on behalf of a wayward son or daughter, over every spouse contending, Lord, for a prodigal spouse into your heart for the return of their sister or brother, asking that you would release now grace to hope. There were the enemy has hurled accusations of shame and condemnation. You didn't do it right. You didn't raise them right. If you had done more of this or less of that, God, we just break off that lie over parents' hearts in Jesus' name. Fear, what if they don't turn? What if they don't? What if they succumb to this? What if they're swept away by the sway of this world? We silence that spirit of South all fear and anxiety over our hearts and homes with God, that you are the God of many deliverances, that with you all things are possible and with you nothing is impossible. So over every home, God, loved ones right now, we declare the hope. Thank you for faith. Thank you for your grace, God, to stand again today, believe in Jesus' name. Your transcendent beauty, your Jasper-like holiness, just one glimpse. Fear dissolves and unbelief flees. Hopelessness is crushed with just one glimpse of who you are. Oh, we love to love you, Father. We love to gaze upon you, Jesus and have our hearts enlarged again. Take those deep breaths of hope, those deep breaths of faith again. There's no one like you, God. There's no one like you, Jesus. Well, we're gonna turn and go into another prayer cycle, just leaning in to the heart of God for his deliverance for our prodigal loved ones. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Isaiah chapter 49, beginning in verse 24. It says, from the mighty man, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued. Surely, thus says the Lord, even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away. And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued, for I will contend with the one who contends with you, and I will save your sons. And I'm wondering if we could do something right now just in the room and those of you joining us online. If we could just stand again, let's just stand and lean forward because the Lord's talking about contending and we wanna be with him where he is. And there's a sound that we can make here. I just wanna take just a moment and let's just begin to pray in the spirit. If you have your prayer language, just begin to use it. If you don't just begin to thank the Lord, this is who he is. Kurama sidriende la ramasa. Inrianda la ramasodriende la revede. Let's just begin to pray it out. Kurama sidriende la ramasodriende la. Using our prayer languages of your prodigal loved ones, just pray in the spirit over them, be taken from the mighty man, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued. It's the question we cry out, often in trepidation and anxiety. It's the question the enemy asks in a taunting mocking voice. But it's the question Abba father is asking this morning, do you believe with even a mustard-sized seed of faith, do you believe that your prodigal sons and daughters, the pray, that your prodigal loved ones, the pray can be taken from the tyrant of the spirit of this age, of fear and addiction, says the Lord. Everybody just shout out, surely, surely, surely we shout it before every tyrant. We shout it before the predator, the spirit of this age, surely, thus says the Lord. Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away. And the pray of the tyrant, what will be rescued? So father, we lean in to the truth of your word. You said surely it's done in heaven, it is done. Faith this morning, God, and we pull down to earth that which has already been released in heaven, the rescue mission of our prodigal sons and daughters and loved ones. You said surely we just say right now, take every must room and those represented on the live stream everywhere across the city, God, or loved ones are daring to surely in heaven, concerning their loved ones, that there's a surely that's already been hit, the gavel has already fallen, surely, says the Lord. They will be rescued, ever to believe this, with a mustard-sized seed of faith. I'm asking God that you would aim like the stones that David threw at the giant, that they would, our loved ones, and just right now, release the rescue strategies, release the rescue missions, God, for every family all across this city, in Jesus' name. Pray of the tyrant, every son and daughter caught in the deception of this fallen world, every son or daughter, God, confused in their sexual identity, every son and daughter believing the ideologies and the doctrines of demons, every son and daughter under the influence of addiction. Lord, you said surely they will be rescued, and that you would contend with those who contend against us, and that you will save them. So Lord, we pray right now that you would contend against the spirit of this age, a spirit of deception, blinding the eyes and the hearts and the minds of our sons and daughters and our loved ones. We just say, let that stone strike that giant now in Jesus' name, clear their minds, suddenly let them see, open their ears, every son or daughter in the prison cells of addiction, God, contend with alcoholism, contend with pornography, contend with drug addiction. You said surely so we stand in Jesus' name. We're back at noon and 6.30 this evening, but as we go, I just wanna declare just a part of Psalm 126, over hearts that are standing in the gap believing for this rescue of loved ones. Psalm 126, the whole Psalm is wonderful, I just encourage you to read it today, but I'm just gonna read verse five and verse six. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seeds shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. And so Lord, we thank you that though there is sowing in tears and though there is that leaning in to that place of contending warfare on behalf of our sons and daughters, I thank you for your promise that though we sow in tears right now, Lord that there will be a joyful reaping in a harvest that you will give in your grace according to your promises that you will bring our children home, God, as our harvest. And we thank you in advance, Lord, for all that you are doing and all that you will do. And we bless your name in Jesus' name. Well, God bless you. Thank you for coming out on this Friday morning. Thank you for joining us on the live stream. Again, we'll be back here at noon today and 6.30 this evening.