 Good morning. Welcome to those of you who are here, those of you who are joining us online today for morning prayer. What a beautiful day it is, an awesome day. The Bible says this is the day that the Lord has made and we rejoice in it. So rejoicing is just a decision and a posture of our hearts today where we decide that even though we don't know what today holds, we know the one who has already gone before us, prepared. Not only everything that we need, that's our daily bread but he's also, his presence is waiting for us and so it gives us every reason to rejoice this morning. Just to kind of set the stage before we go into a time of worship and ministering to the heart of the Lord and then going into a time of prayer and intercession and praying through an apostolic prayer out of Colossians chapter one this morning. Want to set the stage by just reminding us about the King that we're worshiping, that we're not just in a prayer room here in Kalamazoo or in a living room wherever we might find ourselves today but even though we're in those locations the Bible says that we're joining in with a greater story. We're joining in with a greater worship service that's been going on from even before the beginning of time and will continue on forever and ever and John the Revelator got a glimpse of this in the Book of Revelation John 4 or Revelation 4 and 5 he's invited up into the very throne room of heaven where God's throne is established and where angels worship where saints and angels bow before him and imagine what it must be like the greatest arenas of the earth cannot compare with this scene and it says as he began to behold the one who was on the throne it says in verse 6 and between the throne or the throne of God and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns that means perfect authority seven eyes which means complete sight and knowledge which are the seven spirits or the full expression of the Spirit of God in all of the earth and this lamb that is Jesus it says he looked and he took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne that's God the Father and when he had taken the scroll the four living creatures in the 24 elders fell down before the lamb each holding a heart and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints and they sang a new song they said worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you've ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation to our God and they shall reign on the earth and then their song was this worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power wisdom and might and blessing and when they did that all of heaven bowed before him it was Jesus's blood that was shed for you and for me that gave him the power and the authority to break the seals of God's covenant and to step in as the king over all of history just like the angels as they behold him and the saints bow before him today wherever we're at our voices our prayers are joining it in this prayer service and we bow down we get low in the presence of the Lord and we join with the song of heaven we worship the one who's on the throne so wherever you're at in this room or at home let's just close our eyes and even right now let's just lift up holy hands before him no one else to see it just him and we say worthy is the lamb Jesus the Lamb of God worthy are you from every people group from every nation you've ransomed us to yourselves and we worship you we draw near to you with the harp of our heart to express our gratitude and our worship to you we join in with the song of heaven glorious king beautiful savior worthy lamb let's worship when you see us with us that you love us works you look through the issue paid to redeem us to yourself jesus get back at you you with a a disappointing and offended i lord we never want to have offended hearts towards you but we want to love us save us call us your prized possession you would take criminals and turn us into worshipers ashes off of our head and replace it with a cough of us and envelop us in a robber full attention span to you this morning that he's searching for in the wilderness this coming out of the wilderness but that's how you look at us and to open your bibles to the epistle to the Colossians the book of Colossians we're gonna we're gonna pray this morning take a few moments pray this apostolic prayer that's been written into scripture breathed by the holy spirit but it's a prayer that paul prayed for the church and so we're gonna pray it over ourselves and for the church because it's still it still has life in it it's long as you and i are awaiting the return of jesus this prayer is a prayer that we need to pray for ourselves and for jesus's church Colossians one verse number nine paul says and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with all knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work increasing in the knowledge of god and being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy so we're going to take this as we often do take this apostolic prayer we're going to pray it sing it and i want to encourage you even at home today as we pray this as i begin to pray this i want you to add your verbal amen to it we just say amen and say it out loud it's one of the greatest ways that we can praise to pray the bible back to god and when the singers take and prophesy and sing these verses you sing it as well your voice matters your prayers matter so father we come before you and we present this prayer before you that you've given to us and said you want to know how to pray pray this so father we add to this prayer ceasing devotion we say it to you father would you fill us again with supernatural knowledge of your will and an understanding lord so as we read the pages of scripture lord with supernatural insight and leadership today lord we recognize and we submit to your leadership first and foremost and we say Jesus you are lord your will not ours we do not live for ourselves we're not trying to get you to do a ship into our lives today again and submitting to you and asking for you to supernaturally with knowledge and spiritual understanding so that we know your will and we can do your will jesus you said the holy spirit when he comes would lead and guide us into all truth and that we should live our lives in pursuit discerning what your will is for our lives we say that this morning we want your lord would you fill us in the places where we're void of knowledge of your will as we submit to the leadership of the holy spirit today god we want your leadership in our life just tell him that lord i need your leadership i want your leadership i submit to your leadership spiritual understanding and insight that i might know your will today give me the hunger and the thirst to seek out your will to not be indifferent about it to not just come to you after my will has not worked and to say okay i'll do it your way now lord that has to be led by a bit or else we won't move lord we want willing hearts we want our eyes locked in on you and your leadership our hearts stirred to go to the bible and go to the scriptures saying lord leadership today jesus says we might walk in a manner worthy of the lord fully believe every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god lord this is why we want your will because we want our lives to count and lord we want to know how we're supposed to walk in a manner that's worthy of you lord walking through this world is like walking through a minefield we need your leadership and we don't want to walk ignorant of the enemy's devices his tactics and his strategies lord we don't want to walk in a way that we're indistinguishable from the rest of the world from those who do not know you you said in your word in Ephesians chapter 2 says that the sons of disobedience they walk in a certain manner but that's not how we walk anymore lord we want to walk circumspectly before you and before the world we want to walk and live our lives take daily steps make daily decisions prioritize daily things in a way that is worthy of the price that you paid for us jesus lord we don't want to look at the cross and say to you thank you for giving everything now what's the bare minimum that we have to give to you you said anyone who would follow me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me jesus you put it all on the cross so today we put it all at the foot of the cross we say your way is our way lord because we want to please you we want to please you we want you to be pleased with our lives we don't want to miss out on the good works and the eternal purposes that you foreordained for us because we chose the cheap because we chose the temporary because we chose consensus lord we want to walk the narrow road because at the end of it we want to see you with a smile on your face saying well done good and faithful servant we want to please you today we want to bear fruit today we want the world to be different because of the way that we live our lives today and we want to know you more in the process jesus verse 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious mind for all endurance and patience with joy father we have need of endurance or do we have need of strength or your word is true when it says we can do nothing of our own in and of ourselves our heart is deceptive in and of ourselves lord we faint we grow weary well lord if you would grant to us new power today from online new strength from your holy spirit fresh anointing upon our lives that fills us with holy endurance steadfastness patience work of your holy spirit in us dunamis power cuts right through the spirit of this age that cuts right through the resistance lord to have joy in the midst of trouble or as we look around the world as we look around our city even in our own lives jesus your words are true when you said in this world you will have trouble but you said take heart for i have overcome the world today lord we step into that victory with you your victory is our victory you said what is the victory that overcomes the world our faith and today lord our faith is in you our trust is in you our dependency is in you and in response lord your triumph in your victory becomes ours lord today we receive brand new power from online brand new strength from your holy spirit endurance we say we will finish the race we say greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world when our strength is depleted your strength is more than enough in our weakness your strength is perfected lord i pray grant endurance and strength and power and joy staying power and patience by your glorious might in the might and the strength that comes from you today in the lives of every saint than he that is in the world and he that is in the world close us with power close us with power you're back to us you're not even just like waiting for us to come and find you your direction and you move global before you and to know that we can trust you to make our prayer before you and to know that you answer lord i pray that today even though we step out of a prayer meeting we step into our daily tasks in life lord let your presence go with us moses said if your presence doesn't go with us then we don't want to go lord we don't want to go into our daily life and not have your presence but lord would you go with us today an awareness abiding in you jesus divine the true by order our steps every conversation everything that we put our hand to lord today we do it as an act of worship live in a ceaseless awareness of your presence with us as a sacrifice of praise and we said all of this before you this morning in jesus name i want to thank you for joining us this morning go with the presence of the lord join us today at noon maybe you can break away on your lunch break maybe you can take the kids bring them down for an hour downtown and join us here in the prayer room at noon tonight at 6 30 p.m we'd love to see you as we lift up prayer and worship from the heart of our city morning noon and night god bless you