 Good morning, welcome to morning prayer on this beautiful Wednesday morning from Kalamazoo where we are crying out to the heart of God from the heart of our city for God to move in our lives, for him to move in our families, for him to move in our city. Right now as a church, we are joining other churches here locally, praying for our city specifically, praying for unity in the church, praying for God to move within his bride in a powerful way and later on in our time we will move to a very intentional time where we will pray for our city, where we will pray for unity within the church. But this morning, I feel a slight weight in the room. I feel a slight weight, maybe even in my life and maybe you're feeling that weight in your life that you are needing God to answer you in a very specific way, that you are looking for God to bring about resolve or breakthrough in a specific way in your life, in your situation, in your city, in your circumstance, whatever it may be. And this morning with that weight in mind, I want us to look at Psalm chapter five, one through three real quick. The Psalmist who is David here says, give ear to my words, oh Lord, consider my groaning. Because oftentimes our prayers are not articulate with words but not eloquent, they're sounds. And those sounds are, they resonate with the heart of God. He interprets our groanings. He interprets our size as the Psalmists later say. Give attention to the sound of my cry. My King and my God, for to you do I pray. Oh Lord, in the morning, you hear my voice. In the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and I watch. And I watch, you know, later on in Psalm chapter 50, the Psalmist says, thanksgiving is the sacrifice. It's the sacrifice that glorifies God. This morning, I want us to tangibly practice and practically put into practice, Psalm five, one through three. So whether it's a groan or a sigh or whether it's a cry, I want us to, in the place that we are at right now, whether you're in this room or you're at home, you're on this live stream, regardless of where we are for us to lift up our voices to God, to our God, to our King who hears us, who hears our size, who hears our groats, who hears our pleas. And just like the Psalmists, it's early in the morning. And so for us to be intentional and to prepare a sacrifice to him and for us to watch for him to respond, we don't just articulate and seek him and pray and then go about our day, but we watch and we wait for him to respond. He responds to his children. He responds to his people. And so right now, I want you to lift up your voice. I want you to lift up your sound. I want you to articulate to God and it could just be a groaning. It could just be a sigh. But for you to say, God, would you hear me this morning? This is my need. This is my plea. This is my circumstance. This is what I'm going through. And God, I need you. Thanksgiving sacrifice that pleases him, that glorifies him. Harvest grows from beer. It's the story of the master. Through the cross, he reached a throne. And like him. They not just be a script on a screen, the actions of our lives. Or may we truly live this out. We don't gather. We don't wake up, come to prayer. We're a religious karaoke. We're worthy. Because you are holy, you are magnificent, you are awesome. We do it because you are worthy, Lord. More of you in our lives, more of you in our lives. So teach us, Lord, to live more like you, to be more like you, to think more like you. Teach us, Lord. Soften our hearts, Lord. Open our minds. Lord, we pray the words of John. Lord, you increase in our lives. Would you increase in our lives? And because you increase God, we therefore decrease. Increase in us, God. Fill us to the brim, overflowing God. Teach us, Lord. Teach us in a way that removes the hostility from our hearts. Teach us, God. In a way that removes the anger from our attitude. Teach us, God. Teach us, Lord. That removes the triggers of our temptation. Teach us, Lord. Teach us to live out this song. Teach us to live out these words. Teach us, God. Teach us. Oh, Master, would you teach us? Lord, would you teach us? Keep us in step, Lord. You are the example, God. Not our politics, not our ideologies. Not a denominational idea. You are the example. So teach us, Lord. Teach us to live out the lie that you lived. Teach us, Lord. That we may walk with you in a practical, day-by-day way. Teach us, Lord. Teach us. Right now we are joining churches all across our city, and maybe you're on the live stream, and you're not in this city, but that God would unite his church, that he would unite us, even though we may do things differently and have some differences of opinion on some things we are uniting around the centrality of Jesus. Around Jesus being the center, around Jesus reaching this city. And so even in your city, you may not be with a church that is under such a prayer initiative. You can be praying for such a prayer initiative to take place. So right now I wanna turn our focus on the intercession for our city. In Romans chapter 15, it means great apostolic prayer, the apostle Paul says, may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in one accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and the Father of Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you to the glory of God. Lord, I pray for endurance in your bride. Right now, Lord God, I pray for encouragement in your bride. Lord, despite what everything is being said on the news, despite all of the things and the pressures and the tensions that are coming against your church, Lord, I pray that there will be a swell of encouragement, God. A mighty swell, a mighty wave of encouragement that comes through Kalamazoo and Portage and Richland and Ossego and Plainwell and Battle Creek, God. I pray for a mighty wave of encouragement to sweep across Southwest Michigan, God, and that encouragement would give us endurance, endurance to live for you, endurance to go after you, endurance to unite together, Lord God. Lord, would you give us harmony with one another that we may live as Christ live, that we may be the people and be the church that Christ has made us to be, Lord? Would you fill us with encouragement, God, in Jesus' name? Call us to be. Verse six, I wanna read that again. It says that together you may with one voice glorify that God is Christ. So Father God, I pray that declares that you are king, that with that one voice, that with that one mouth, we proclaim your truths, that we proclaim your opinions, that we proclaim what you have said is right. God, if we have opinions that are different from yours and what you have given us, God, we cast that aside, we take it captive and we make it obedient to your thoughts and to your will. And so God strengthen the church here in Kalamazoo, the states all over the world, Lord, just strengthen us and unite us. And that is the opinion of Jesus Christ with one truth. And that is the truth of Jesus Christ. Lord, if it doesn't edify and it doesn't build up, if it doesn't encourage and it doesn't bring life, Lord, we don't wanna speak truth and life and encouragement, so God, if it doesn't, let us keep it in and let us take that captive and make it around the centrality of Jesus, which unifies us. Would you bond us together? Would you bring us together in a way? Would you unite us, Lord? Lord, would you bring one voice to your church in Kalamazoo? Lord, may it be a voice that declares the worthiness of who you are, the holiness of who you are, the awesomeness of who you are. Lord, just like there is unity around your throne that cries out day in and day out over and over again, holy, holy, holy, holy. Lord, may there be from this area, from Southwest Michigan, may there be one unified voice declaring your holiness, declaring your worthiness, Lord. Would you unite us, God, just the way they are united around your throne, Jesus? Unite us, Lord, unite us. I want to get, I want to turn up the heat a little bit and I want us to engage in these last moments in a pocket of spiritual warfare at a whole other level, if you will. In Ephesians chapter six, starting in verse 10, the apostle Paul says, finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, so not ours, but his. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil and heavenly places. I want us to be very intentional right now and know that we do not war against corporations. Right now there is a massive polarity taking place that all of us are feeling that many of us are engaged in and I'm not weighing an opinion there. What I'm telling us is we are not warring against corporations right now. We're not warring against corporations. We are warring against cosmic powers of darkness in this present age. And so right now I want us with your voice, with your mind, from your heart, I want us to all war in the heavenlies, to literally cry out in spiritual warfare right now. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We do not wrestle against corporations. We wrestle against cosmic powers. And so Jesus right now, we take you at your word Lord and we take up our strength in you. Lord, we right now, command ourselves to be strong and to find our strength in your strength God. We find our strength in you Lord and right now we intentionally put on the whole armor of God. We dress ourselves in who you are. We dress ourselves in who you are God. We put on the whole armor of God that we take strength in you Lord and we engage into this war. We do not sit idly. We do not sit by and just watch. We do not just sit by and boycott Lord. We wrestle back. We fight back. We strike back. Intercession. And we say not on our watch. Not on our watch. To the in key, put you on notice and we say not on our watch. Not in Kalamazoo. You will not take our children by confusing them with sexuality. The church to be silent. With the darkness, we push back the cosmic powers, the forces of evil of this age. And we say not on our watch in Jesus name. And having put on the breastplate, breastplate of righteousness. And as shoes for your feet, put on, there's the intentionality, the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all, not some, but all, the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Lord, right now I pray that you would call the church of Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo region to put on the whole armor of God. Lord, I pray that your church right now in this evil day that we find ourselves in and the tensions and the pains and the frustrations that we are having. Lord, I pray that we would not focus on them, but Lord, that we would focus on you and that we would truly put on the whole armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes, the gospel shoes of peace. Lord, that we would take up the shield of faith that we would, Lord God, wear the helmet of salvation and that Lord, we would swing the sword, the sword of the spirit and we would not just have it in its sheen, Lord God, but that we would truly utilize the sword the way it's meant to be used. Lord, would you, Lord God, call your church in this area to action? Just take it stand, Lord God, to pray at all times in the spirit. Lord, to keep alert and to make prayers and supplications for all of your people, for all of your church, Lord God. Lord, I pray that your church would truly get dressed the way she is meant to be dressed. We are ending all of our sets during this time as we are praying for unity in this region amongst the church by praying a prayer that one of our local pastors wrote out and he sent and he's the one who's actually initiated this time and he's labeled as the King Jesus Prayer and it should come up on the screens and I just want you to pray it with me out loud as we close this morning. King Jesus, awaken the sleeping giants of your church in our city as we pray and collaborate to seek the common good of our region. Open our eyes and hands to the marginalized and our voices for the voiceless. Lord, we endeavor to live such counter cultural lives that our places of work and neighborhoods will experience the beauty and the power of the gospel. Give us such an unquenchable passion for you and your word that we can't help but tell others about Jesus and his unstoppable kingdom for the glory of Jesus and the advancement of his kingdom. We all say amen. Amen. I want to encourage us to take this seriously and to keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints today. I want us to stand and watch as we started out in Psalm five all day long for the Lord to move in our midst. Thank you for joining us this morning. Continue to pray for your area if you're not here in Kalamazoo that God would unite his church. In Jesus' name, have a great day.