 Good morning! Welcome to Morning Prayer. It's also day two of Seek and Send. We have families and homes all over western Michigan, opening their altar boxes and making their home and altar a place for the Lord to come and dwell. Today's topic is the Word of God and the scripture is Isaiah 54-13. All your children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children. It's also the same passage. We'll get to it when we're praying later in verse 17. No weapon formed against you will prosper and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you will condemn and that's what we're praying this morning that the tongues that rise up against our kids in judgment that they would have the Word of God, the sword of God, the sword of the spirit in their mouth and that would be the weapon by which they condemn the tongue of shame, the tongue of guilt, the tongue of whatever the spirit of the age is pressing down on them and that's why it's urgent that the the Word of the Lord dwells richly in our kids and so we're going to go before the Lord and worship here in the city center even at home I just encourage you right now to put away distraction to push aside do your phone to do list later get to text later find another time to be able to think through those things you're going to put those aside right now and enter into his presence with thanksgiving and boldness and invite his presence so let's go before him Lord we we want your praise to be on our tongue Lord we want the Word of God on our tongue to dwell richly inside of us and so we want to be well versed in thanksgiving and praise Lord we want our tongue to sing of your goodness and your praise each morning and so we just begin by giving you the fruit of our lips Lord we begin today by offering our thanksgiving and our gratitude and our praise Lord you are worthy of our affection Lord we know the big way that the Word of Lord dwells richly as we sing it and so Lord we just ask that you would put your word on our lips that we would respond to you with with thanksgiving and revelation this morning as we enter into your courts you as you are but honestly what we're singing right now is about obedience to the Word and how when we're obedient to the Word it actually brings freedom it actually brings strength and it brings power to our lives because we're not doing it in and of our own strength we're submitted to the Lord and so right now I feel like this is a moment for us to actually grab onto this this isn't just like a chorus that we're singing because it sounds good it's a chorus that we're actually choosing to put our obedience to we're saying yes Lord your way is good your way is better your way is higher and we're going to actively pursue what it looks like to be submitted to the Lord and submitted to his word so we're going to sing this again we're going to build it up and I actually want us to actively go before the Lord and bring those areas of our lives where we haven't fully been submitted or maybe even there's a wrestle where you're like what I want to but I haven't been able to let's do that together let's do this together this is a me thing too it's not me telling you it's like I am as I'm singing this like yes yes there's joy there's peace there's love and surrender and I'm actively doing it so let's sing this together I don't think we're done here there's love there's love and surrender surrender there's love peace joy and submission to you mission to you Lord and surrender even since as we were singing this is how I fight my battles that individually realizing the ways that we were fighting in our own strength in different circumstances and scenarios and even people that we were trying to do it trying to figure out solutions in our own strength and the Lord was just reminding us doing the this is how I fight my battles saying no this is we submit ourselves before his word as we are singing this love joy peace and submission and surrender just want to start by doing that in parallel we surrender our hearts and ourselves to you we submit ourselves we come underneath the word of God Lord we we go low just thinking of in passion week you you had two kisses Judas who kissed the face of Jesus and Mary who kissed the feet the same act but one by going low and ministering to the feet kissing the feet of Jesus showing submission and affection and the other arrogance pride thinking of himself to be equal Lord we go low and surrender and bow to Jesus we lay ourselves at your feet we submit ourselves to the word of God Lord we're sorry for where we've come out of alignment Lord we repent for areas that we know your word has spoken and yet we justified action or we justified thought Lord we bring ourselves into realignment under the word of God in the name of Jesus there surrender is victory below to be exalted tells into alignment with the word of God stepping into the the place of intercession on our topic Isaiah 54 13 all your children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children and righteousness you shall be established you shall be far from oppression for you shall not fear and from your terror for it shall not come near you indeed they shall surely assemble but not because of me whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake behold I've created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire who brings forth an instrument for his work and I have created the spoiler to destroy but no weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue which rises against you and judgment you shall condemn this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is from me says the Lord Lord as we surrender and bring ourselves into alignment where we come under the authority of your word Lord for our homes and our families Lord we say there is no word that is exalted above you you are the word Jesus that is exalted above all things in our homes there is no word of the spirit of the age Lord there is no word of comfort there is no word of pride there is no word of lust Lord there is no word of division Lord there is no word of affliction there is no word of infirmities Lord that is above the name of Jesus which is exalted in our homes and Lord we do that even in our our hearts Lord we acknowledge your Lordship in our homes Lord we know we can't make you Lord of our home you are already Lord Lord but we submit ourselves to your Lordship and specifically we submit ourselves to the word of God and we say no weapon formed against our families will prosper because we will rise up and condemn every tongue that exalts itself above the knowledge of God and Lord we just ask for an impartation of your word in our mouth Lord we know it's not our own words that condemns the tongue that rise against us but it is the word of God in our mouth it is the sharp two-edged sword it is the weapon of your word and so Lord this is our prayer for our homes for our places where we abide Lord for our kids Lord to have the word of God in their mouth to have the word of God on their lips and so Lord we ask that the word of the Lord would draw richly in us and in our homes Lord we ask for Bibles to be open Lord that you would give us as as parents that you would give us wisdom for how to teach the word how to bring our kids into the narrative of the word of God how to have it on our lips and to have it on our tongue Lord to have fascination of your word Lord where we have let other words take preeminence Lord we repent we tear down every altar in high place Lord that the word of Netflix Lord the word of video games Lord would not be exalted above the word of God Lord I just asked for an explosion of creativity for how to do this with our kids Lord I thank you just for that the creativity and innovation of the Seek and Send Week with these altar boxes Lord in these ways Lord that we can pass from one generation to another we can declare the good works of God Lord we just ask for more creativity Lord through song and singing Lord we just ask even that that prayer meetings and worship music would permeate through our homes Lord that our that our kids would actually love and ask for prayer meetings they would love and ask for worship to be played because it's a place for them to sing and declare the word of God Lord we stand on this promise of Isaiah 54 13 that all of our children will be taught not primarily by us but by the Lord and that's why we want to come on in alignment with you because we are not the teachers Jesus you are the great teacher you are the great rabbi we are not the word we are not trying to instill our personal dreams and hopes into our kids to validate our own insecurities but we are standing in alignment to the great rabbi the great teacher the word of God we say we want you to teach and instruct our kids and that we as parents would just come into alignment with the work of the spirit that is already being done and so right now we submit ourselves to that work and we repent for trying to be Lord over our kids for trying to be king for trying to be judge Lord and we step off that throne and we give you the place of preeminence and we ask for all of our children to be taught by the Lord in the name of Jesus swiftly and be glorified in our homes God I ask that you would give us deep love for your word Lord I break off a spirit of confusion Lord and shame when it comes to approaching your word Lord where there is cloudiness where we haven't been diligent and faithful to read your word Lord as parents or as young adults without kids Lord whatever walk of life Lord where we have allowed shame to creep in where the cloudiness where we haven't understood certain things and that's caused us to feel shame and so we have not approached your word oh God I ask for the gift of delight Lord we ask that you would take us from duty to delights Lord that you would take us from a checklist Lord to this book being a place of encounter Lord that it would be a living word sharper than a two-edged sword Lord it would be living an active Lord it would be dividing in our hearts and in our souls Lord that it would divide flesh from spirit Lord that it would bring clarity and revelation Lord we ask for those those illumination moments Lord like like Paul Lord in Arabia where you came and you opened up his eyes to see things from your word Lord where David prayed open my eyes to see marvelous things things that blow my mind things that take me past religious duty into a encounter and intimacy and relationship Lord that you would give us an insatiable hunger for your word Lord give us a hunger and a thirst Lord where we could not make it a single day without opening up this book Lord that we would not just read it but we would read it we would write it we would say it we would sing it we would pray it Lord that we would meditate day and night that we would murmur and mutter that would be on our lips that would be the song that we sing down the hallway Lord it would be the meditation late at night Lord that it would be the first thought in the morning Lord that it would be our safety and our shelter and our portraits that we run into oh god we just ask that you would take us from duty to delight Lord help us to fall in love with your word Lord help us to have great affection and affinity and love for your word Lord instill in us a great love for your word the name of Jesus hearts with joy for the word of God things that fall from the table into this both at home and and here in the room I just I just feel there's there's an invitation in to ask for that deeper love for the word and I just even in the room if you have felt just recently in the last season there's been two things I felt was either confusion or there's distraction it feels like every time you crack open the word of God you you could feel so clear and then you you begin to read and all of a sudden distraction just comes in and it feels like you can't even think of the words on the page and you're frustrated and even mad at yourself or or that there's confusion that that you feel like you don't understand what you're reading and it gives you discouragement and that that you're even feeling like man I even want to give up if that's you in the room go ahead and put up your your hand right now we're just going to pray there's no there's no shame in that we've all experienced that in many seasons yeah just leave your hand raised let's gather around those just keep your keep your hand up for a minute let's just begin lay hands if you're at home I encourage you to actually still lift your hand in this moment we're going to pray for you over the livestream but but lift up your hand and we're going to just ask for those two things to be broken off so Lord you said every tongue which rises against in judgment we will condemn and so right now we condemn Lord every tongue of judgment every every curse the enemy has spoken about their understanding and love for your word Lord I even ask where there has been shame and guilt where the enemy has made you tried to make you feel dumb or like you're a second rate Christian because you don't understand certain things though we just break there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk according to the spirit and not the flesh but where there has been a spirit of distraction toward like a noise that has sucked up their attention oh god we just ask for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Lord that you would take them into the inner courts of love for your word God I ask for tear-stained pages that it would not just feel like a duty but but Lord that you would strike their hearts in such a deep way Lord tears would fill the pages of their Bible Lord anything shameful that has been spoken over them even I just even said some things from from teachers that spoke things educationally over some that that called you names and that is actually created a barrier Lord we rebuke every curse and every lie Lord even about their minds that would comprehend and understand Lord we declare they have the mind of Christ that you have not given a spirit of fear but of love power and a sound mind Lord we just ask that you would take them into the inner courts and the inner chambers of intimacy with your word Lord that it truly would be a love letter Lord that it would truly be the father's affection poured out over them God we just ask for revelation Lord that you would make things click things would make sense Lord things would would would would come together in their mind and and and just be an excitement and a thrill Lord that the word of God would dwell richly in them in the name of Jesus we're gonna we're gonna keep praying we're just gonna let the prophetic singers prophesy over you as well just keep prophesying over the singers that's understanding of your word voice of accusation you are the word of God and it is our joy to follow you to express our love through obedience to your word as we just have this last few minutes here I just want to turn our intercession and pray specifically for moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas those gatekeepers of the home from Deuteronomy chapter 6 if you have your bibles you can turn there beginning in verse 1 says now this is the commandment the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes and commandments which I command you all the days of your life that your days may be prolonged verse 7 you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house when you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise up you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead and you shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates and so Lord we thank you that as you grant grace to us as the gatekeepers of our families to find joy in your word and a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you grace us in obedience father it's to turn and impart these things to this next generation Lord that they our sons our daughters our grandchildren would walk in obedience to you as sons and daughters of righteousness as friends of the bridegroom so Lord as we set apart this week as we esteem your word in prayer even today God I'm asking that you would open up the heavens over moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and the leaders God of these family lines and homes and I'm asking that you would give us grace God to impart these anchors of truth from your word into little hearts and teenage hearts and young adult hearts father I'm asking that you would raise up the gatekeepers of the homes Lord strong in your word bold in your word filled God with the word of God and the joy of the Lord that as we open our mouths in the daily patterns of life God the breakfast table the dinner table driving in the car to and from school and sports practices Lord the bedtime routines I'm asking father let your word go forth and be sown into little hearts in Jesus name grace would you give them sing this out we declare this over our families homes and dads would you give them a spirit of grandmas and grandpas grace over mothers and fathers grandmothers and fathers would you give them a spirit of grace over mothers and fathers to lead our homes grace as the reason mothers and fathers would you give them a spirit of moms and dads older generation grace over mothers and fathers to speak your word would you give them us would you give them us we are asking Holy Spirit that you would break in to homes this week even today Lord as we focus on the centrality of your word in our home I'm praying that you would impart to moms and dads Lord a special grace an increase of grace Lord to even think about your word and how to impart it that spirit of creativity Lord that it wouldn't be a forced thing but it would just flow in your grace we would just speak we'd open our mouths and you would fill it in the moments God the mundane moments those patterns of life that we just walk through with our families God I pray that as as moms and dads just take that step as grandmas and grandpas just open their mouth to speak Lord that you would fill it that you would hang the weight of glory on simple words and weighty truths that they would land in fertile soil of little hearts and bear fruit God we're asking impart to us Lord grace and strength as leaders of homes to be intentional about raising up the next generation strong in truth in Jesus name we pray raise up moms and dads who are teachers of your word grandmas and grandpas who are mentors in the truth of God among all things but you fill their mouths as they teach spirit of wisdom and who is down Lord help us to see to capture those moments with intentionality but I see every moment opportunity the times at the altar but those spontaneous times Lord give us grace give us grace to speak in the moment the conversations in the car the walks down the sidewalk I'm asking Holy Spirit fill us fill us as leaders of our families with grace upon grace to mentor to capture every opportunity to make the most of every opportunity to sow your word that it would dwell richly in little hearts richly in our homes we need you Holy Spirit as we sow simply we know there's a spirit of multiplication upon words spoken in obedience in the presence of God is as five hours in the speed is too small we give you the moments Lord the moments Lord give you our vocabularies and all the limitations of it we give you our understanding we just say Lord use us even us to raise up a generation rooted and grounded in the love of God it and grounded in truth movable unshakable anchored to you let it begin today God even today God that there would be an older generation that turns around and gives the younger generation the truth of who you are the truth of your word that models that submission and surrender joy we invite you Holy Spirit to do all that you long to do in our homes in our family lines and as we just end I just want to release a declaration over our families those online joining us this morning from Colossians 3 verse 16 we've already prayed it but I just want to release it as a declaration let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual psalms singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God Lord I pray that this would be our testimony in our homes that this altar ministry of your word dwelling richly in us and us declaring it back to you and to our children and the singing of praise and worship and spiritual songs God I pray that you would bring this to reality in our families in our homes this week and beyond let it be the trajectory of our family God the generations yet to come let it begin today we love you Jesus and we thank you for who you are and all that you do we thank you for your faithfulness to our sons and our daughters that all that you have promised you are faithful to accomplish in them they will be taught by the Lord and great will be their peace we love you Lord in Jesus name well thanks for joining us this morning for morning prayer we're back here at noon praying again just in line with see consent and also for the nations and at 6 30 tonight we'd love to see you in the prayer room God bless you