 Good morning, welcome to morning prayer from the heart of our city in Kalamazoo to the heart of God, to the throne of God. We are crying out, we are asking God to move, we are seeking God to move, we are pursuing for him to touch us and revive us. And right now in different pockets across our country, specifically on college campuses, God is moving in really incredible ways. And he is touching hearts, he is changing lives, he is marking people forever. And what is happening in those locations, I believe that as I read scripture, that the heart of God is that he wants to be doing that everywhere. He has a heart to do that everywhere. He wants to revive us. He wants to restore us. He wants to do incredible things in our midst. He wants to bring dead things to life. And this morning I feel an urge. I was spending time preparing for it today, late last night, and the Lord just kept bringing this theme up to my heart about revival. And we talk about it a lot here at Radiant Church. We pray for it, we teach on it a lot. We are contending for revival in our city and in our families and in our lives and in this nation. And so I wanna continue along this theme that I believe the Lord is highlighting and breathing on. But before we do, I just always feel this desire or this push to come to the Lord with our hearts ready and prepared. So whether we are in this room or whether we're in our cars driving to work, whether we're at home and we're working from home or we have our little ones with us at home, like I want us to come to him with our hearts open and with our minds open and with us ready to receive all that he wants to do and all that he has for us. And I believe firmly that, and especially the psalmist, but throughout scripture, we see this regular drive for us to come to the Lord in a certain way. And that drive is with thanksgiving and with praise. Thanksgiving and praise opens up things that no other thing does. And in Psalm 88, verse nine, he says, every day I call to you, oh Lord, and I spread my hands to you. And the spreading of our hands, the lifting of our hands is one, is exaltation. It's adoration. Two, it's surrender. Lord, I am yours. Lord, I am here. But three, it's also reception. But Lord, I'm here to receive from you. And so I want us to, whether we're at, if you're driving your car, don't do this. But if you're in this room or if you're at home or you're at your office right now and you can do this, I wanna ask us just to lift our hands. As a sign of exaltation, as a sign of surrender, as a sign that I am here to receive from you, God, and just begin to lavish him with thanksgiving. Thank him for this day that he has made. Thank him for the breath in your lungs. Thank him for the roof over your head. Just begin to thank him. Thank him for the job that you do have, even though you want a new job. Thank him for the job you do have. Just begin to thank him. Thank him for the cross, not just what we have, but thank him for what he has done. Thank him for who he is. Jesus, we thank you for so good. See you this morning with exaltation, with praise. And surrender. We surrender our will. We surrender our mind. We surrender our affections. We surrender our desires and to receive from you, God. Would you pour out your spirit upon us this morning? As we thank you, as we lavish you with praise. As we thank you for salvation. We thank you for life and life more abundantly. We thank you for joy. We thank you for hope. We thank you, God, for your steadfast love. Best to hit in your face. Praise him with thanksgiving. Through your courts, with praise. We come to your presence, with praise, God. Many of us know with two sisters in the gospel. Luke chapter 10, it says now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the feet and just listened to Jesus. I just wondered today, how many of us have welcomed him, but have we gone past welcoming? And are we at a point where we're just saying, Jesus, we just want you? I believe that Jesus is looking across churches, across the landscape of our homes, and saying, I've been welcomed into your home, but am I wanted? Am I wanted? Am I wanted? A.W. Tozer in the pursuit of God said, he waits to be wanted. And then he says, he goes on to say, it's too bad though that he waits for so long in vain. Meaning we welcomed him in, but we haven't wanted him around. Lord, we repent of not wanting you. Lord, we want you. Lord, we want every bit of you. If that just means to sit at your feet and look up at you and look up at you and listen to you or not even hear you speak, but just look up at you and be enthralled and fascinated with your presence, God, that we would become fanatics of your presence, God. That's what we want. Lord, we want you. We want you in our lives. Not just in the mornings from eight to nine and not just on Sundays, but Lord, we want you in every detail of our lives, in every area of our home, Lord God, in every closet space, in every room, in every square inch of our residence, God, both physically and spiritually in our physical home and in our spiritual home, our body, God, we want you. We want you, Lord. And so I just feel this urge, like for you with your words, not from my words and not from Hannah's song, she's gonna sing it again to begin to express to him that you want him. I'm a sincere heart. If you can't say it with sincerity, then don't. But if truly you want him, just begin to say it with where he is not that you want him invited into, that you are welcoming into, that you're gonna celebrate his entrance into. Jesus, come, we want you. We want you, Lord. We want your presence. We want your face. We want your word. Would you speak to us, Lord? The person who needs to be shouted to, would you shout? Lord, for the person who needs to just be whispered to, would you whisper? Lord, like C.S. Lewis said, it's your desire to rouse a deaf world. Lord, would you rouse us with your voice this morning? Would you speak, Lord, from the balcony of heaven, and would you look down upon us and speak? Would you rend open the heavens and speak, God? Would you speak to us? We want you, Lord. We want everything that you have and everything you are, Lord. We don't want bits and pieces. We don't want fragments, Lord. We want all of you. We want all of you, God. Speak to us. We want you. We need you. As the psalmist said, would you restore us again? Would you restore us again, oh God? Would you restore us? Would you do it again, Lord? Would you do a mighty work in our midst again, God? Revive us, God. Revive this land, this parched, dried out, scorched land. We have drifted far from you. Lord, I pray that we would return to you. Lord, may revival be marked with a great return may return, Lord, of men and women, young and old, returning to you because they want you, because they want you, God. We return to you, Lord. We have drifted far. We have wandered. We have strayed. We have made you to be something that you are not. We have made your word to say things that it does not say, God. We return to you. We return to your word, God. Restore us again, God. Restore our families that are broken. Restore our children that have wandered. Restore our marriages that are falling apart. Restore our nation that is gripped with darkness. Restore us again, oh God. Restore the joy of salvation to your people once again, God. Restore hope to us, God. We're our children, Lord. We sing that. Places of work, we sing this. Oh, come. All of Missou, we sing this. All that's been lost. Sing this over our lives. Children to your people, God. I want to continue to intercede and cry out to the Lord for revival, what he's doing on college campuses at Asbury and Lee University, Cumberlands right now, other places, other college campuses and other places around the world we want to continue to ask for and cry out for right here in our lives in our city. And as I said this morning, the Lord has just put this burden on my heart to pray for a revival according to his word. And so I want to pray through a small section of Psalm 119 starting verse 25 says, my soul clings to the dust. Give me life according to your word. When I told of my ways, you answered me. Teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts. I will meditate on your wondrous works. And then verse 28, my soul melts away for sorrow. Strengthen me, which also means revive me according to your word. Lord, I pray that you would revive us according to your word, Lord. I pray that there will be a revival of your word within our lives today. That there would be a holy fire that burns within us, Lord God. A desire, an insatiable desire for your word. Like the Psalmists say on repeat, we hope in your word and your word alone. Your word is where we take comfort. It is your word that we comfort in. It is your word that we hope in. We don't hope in a doctor's diagnosis. We don't hope in their word. Lord, we don't hope in a president's word. We don't hope in a government's word. We don't hope in anyone's word, but your word, Lord. And so Lord, I pray today that there will be a revival within us. A revival within this church. A revival within your church across this nation. A revival within Kalamazoo of your word, God. Revive us according to your word. Strengthen us according to your word, Lord God. May there be the strengthening of your word, Lord. I pray that you begin to wake us up in the middle of the night with a desire to run to your word. Within us a passion, a longing for your word, Lord. It's in your word that we hope. So strengthen us and revive us according to your word in Jesus' name. In Psalm 119, verse 31 says, I cling to your testimonies, O Lord. Let me not be put to shame. I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart. So Father, I pray for an enlarging of our hearts today, God, enlarge our hearts to love our families more. Let us men cling to our wives and to our children as we seek to follow you with all that we have. Enlarge our hearts. Enlarge our passion for the lost, for those who have fallen far from you. God, we wanna see revival. We wanna see it sweep the nation, but let it start in me. Let it start in our homes. I pray for every person, for every soul who feels that spark of revival. Lord, create a fire from that spark. Put your spirit on it, God. Pour it out. And I also pray for every person who has allowed that fire to die out. Father, remind them of that moment when they first fell in love with you. Remind them what that fire feels like. Remind them that you love them and reignite that fire and let it burn hotter than ever. Let them burn for you once again. Father, we make our thoughts obedient to you and we say, have your way. We choose to walk on the narrow road. We choose obedience to your word. We choose repentance. Like you said in 2 Peter 3 that you are not slow to fulfill your promises. You don't want anyone to perish, but you want everyone to reach repentance. So send us, Lord. They need to know about you so that they can reach repentance. So give us the words to teach. Give us the words to speak to them. So Lord, here we are, contending in this moment for revival. Let it start in us. Let us boldly proclaim your word. Let us declare who you are in our workplaces, in our schools, in our homes, wherever we are, Lord, let us proclaim you are glorious. God, enlarge our hearts. Not only for you, but for those around us. Stir revival. Stir it up, God. You've done it before, so we're asking you. Do it again. Let the cry of our hearts be, Maranatha, Maranatha, come. And then going over to verse 40, commandments, which I love, Lord, Lord, we love your word. We delight in your word. So Lord, revive us according to your word. Lord, I pray that you would agitate us to fall deeply in love with your word. That you would lead us in your commandments and that we would truly take delight in them, God. That we would not see them as burdens, but as delight. That we would see your word as delight and that it would truly be a fire. Like Jeremiah said, a fire shut up in our bones that we cannot hold in, God. Lord, would you ignite a revival fire? All of us today, God. Praying these last three verses from Psalm 119, starting verse 105, it says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted. Give me life, revive me, oh Lord. Lord, this is our prayer this morning. This is our petition, Lord, would you send? Would you bring revival to us according to your word? Lord, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. And so Lord, I pray that as we go about this day that we would walk in the fullness of it and everywhere we go, every foot, every place that our foot takes step that we would be carriers of revival because we are carriers of your word. Lord, we love you, we worship you, we adore you. And Jesus is joining us this morning. Right now, we are gonna continue, Lord, pursuing the Lord with a devotional set. And so we would invite you to stay for the next hour as we continue to seek it. Please do so quietly out the back. If you wanna have conversation, we invite you to join each other down in match head and spend time with each other there. Right now, we're gonna continue to seek the Lord.