 Good morning to those of you who are joining us from home, online, from wherever you're at this morning, from morning prayer, live from the prayer room here in the heart of our city, Kalamazoo, the radiant city center in our prayer room. What a delight it is every time that we have an opportunity to come together and to pray together. You know powerful things happen when God's people join together and pray. I think it's Acts 4 verse 32 it says, when they had prayed. List off these incredible things that happened. The place where they were at shook. There was an earthquake. It says that many people were saved. Signs and wonders broke out. They spoke the word of God with boldness. There's powerful things happen when God's people unite and we pray and we intercede. We minister to the heart of the Lord. When we do that, God always shows up. God's looking for people that will draw near to him with hunger and thirst in their hearts. Psalm 63 this morning. Just as I woke up, this was a song that was just resonating in my heart. David writes, he says, Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I will seek you. My soul thirsts for you and my flesh and veins for you is in a dry and a weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary of beholding your power and glory because your steadfast love is better than life. My lips will praise you and so will I bless you as long as I live in your name. I will lift up my hands. David just understood what it is that goes on on the inside of our hearts as we live our lives in the middle of darkness in a dry and a weary land. Challenges the difficulties that come with everyday life that come with trying to navigate being a believer in exile, a foreigner, stranger living in this land not feeling at home. David identified that longing, that ache in our hearts. He said, this is spiritual hunger where we're hungry for the presence of the Lord. David remembered the times when he had encountered the Lord in the Tabernacle, in the tent, the presence of the Lord. He said, it's better than life. Your presence is better than anything else in this life. He said, and because of that, I long for it again. I thirst for you again. That's why I'm going to seek you early. New King James says, or I think the King James says, early in the morning will I seek you, earnestly with my whole heart will I seek you. So this morning, I just want to encourage us as we draw near to the Lord as our first ministry, even before we are sent into the world as ministers anointed by the Holy Spirit to minister to other people. And even before we petition God to do anything for us, our number one ministry and calling is to be kings and priests before the Lord and minister to his heart. Because as much as we hunger and thirst for him and his presence, God hungers and thirsts to be near us and to be intimate and close with us as his children. He said to the people of Israel, he said, I will be your father and you will be my people and I will dwell in your midst. So today, let's do what David said. I will lift up my hands in your presence. Let's just lift up our hands wherever we're at, even in our living rooms or bedrooms. The church sanctuary someplace in a prayer room, Lord, today we lift up our hands and we will bless you as long as we live with our whole hearts because your presence, Lord, is better than life. God, you are so good, faithful, steadfast, wise. You promised that you would never leave us and that you would never forsake us. That when we draw near to you, you draw near to us. So, Lord, we're drawing near to you this morning and we say we're hungry, God. We're hungry for more of you. We're thirsty. Oh, Jesus, we're thirsty for more of you. So with our hands raised up, Lord, in our hearts, fully coming awake this morning in your presence, we determine we're going to awaken the dawn of Monday with praise. We're going to awaken the dawn of a new day and declare our God reigns. We awaken the dawn over the city today and we say Jesus is Lord of all. We awaken our hearts. We awaken our praise. Glory to the Holy One. Honor to your name, Jesus. Worship to you. Let's join in with worship this morning and let's get us started to the heart of our Father. Be like a banner over the city, Jesus. High and lift it up. Jesus, I love you. Express our affection. Collise that out to the Lord. You know, your words bless his heart. Your words touch his emotions. Thus, Lord, our response. Keep ourselves in the love of God as it says in Jude. Keep ourselves in the love of God because your love, your perfect love casts out all feet. Today, Lord, we put our focus in on your love, the love with which you first loved us, so that we can respond as children by saying, Abba, Father, we love you. Or we choose not to love the things of this world. We choose not to love the applause and the praise of man. Good for you. We belong to you. Father, we belong to you. Lord, it's our joy to draw near to you. It's our joy to know you. It's a joy to call upon your name, to praise you, to touch your heart, to move your emotions, to catch your eye, to know that we have an audience with you, that we've been made the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ because of the sacrifice that your son Jesus made on the cross where he who knew no sin became sin for us. Jesus, you, by your perfect blood, made a new and a living way for us. Come behind the veil into the very throne room of God, the God of the Creator of the universe, the Heavenly Father, God of all spirits. We are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. So, Lord, today we plead the blood as we come before you, as the righteous, as the redeemed, as the holy, no shame, no guilt, no condemnation in Jesus to make our requests known to you, Lord. Thank you for the blood of Jesus. Thank you for the cross, for this great salvation that has made us kings and priests before our God. Well, this is how we come. We appropriate from Jesus the precious flow that came from Emmanuel's veins that's washed us, cleansed us, redeemed us, renewed us. Holy Spirit, would you come today and anoint us in a fresh new way to intercede, to minister? We say on this Monday morning we need a fresh touch of your anointing, a fresh outpouring of the oil of your presence in our lives. Just ask Him right where you're at. Holy Spirit, fill me afresh and today, Lord, I need a new anointing, a new today's daily bread. I need that fresh outpouring of your presence upon me. New oil in my heart today. Holy Spirit, come and fill the lamp as we've given out, Lord. We need to pour out new oil on your people in this hour today, a new anointing, anointing, a new empowerment, a new grace that only you can give. Jesus, you said that when the Holy Spirit comes, dwells within us, it would be like a spring of water that wells up and overflows. Lord, today, unstop whatever things, whatever debris, whatever battles, whatever doubt, whatever sin has like soil clogged up the well. Today, Lord, would you just bust through that today and let the springs of your presence begin to flow and overflow out of us all over again. This is what we're asking for. Isaiah 61, description of the Holy Spirit's anointing. We're going to be praying this, that God would pour out a friend understanding, revelation of His anointing upon our lives. Jesus made reference to this in Luke 4, when He stood in the synagogue and He read from the scroll of Isaiah, He said, this is fulfilled. Really, what Jesus was describing was the Holy Spirit's anointing that was on Him to do the work of the ministry of His Father. Well, the same anointing that Jesus walked in is the same anointing that every believer is called to walk in. And so we're going to pray this, we're going to ask the Father to release fresh anointing in our lives. It's the anointing that breaks the burden, the heavy yoke off of people's necks. It's the fresh anointing that we need that as we walk through our communities, our jobs, raise our kids, lead churches, that we're doing it under the unction of the anointing. In Isaiah 61, it says, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. And He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor in the day of God's vengeance and to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes and the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. That they might be called oaks of righteousness, the planning of the Lord, that He might be glorified. This is Isaiah one or chapter or 61, one through three, if they can pop that up on the screens here as we pray. So let's just take some time here and let's pray into this description that God gives us of how the Holy Spirit anoints these people. Lord, today we come and we confess our deep need of you. Lord, we confess just like Jesus did in John 519 that we can do nothing of our own, but only that which we see the Father doing. We can do nothing in our own strength, just as your word says it's not by might, it's not by power, but it's by my spirit declares the Lord. And Holy Spirit, we need you. We need you young and old, men and women, moms and dads, young person, older person, professional, pastor, it doesn't matter who we are. Lord, we deeply need the anointing and the empowerment of you, Holy Spirit. So Lord, we come to you with your word and we're saying Lord, we believe that you've anointed as you said in 1 John that every believer has an anointing from God. We have the same anointing that you put on Jesus. Lord, today we're asking you for a fresh touch, a fresh understanding, a fresh revelation, a deeper insight into our need and the availability of your anointing. That Lord, when we let go of the strength of our own arm and we trust you for the release of your power in us, your strength is made perfect in us. That's what we want more than anything, Holy Spirit, is your anointing, your presence, your power and leadership in our lives. So Lord, we submit to you and to your leadership, Holy Spirit, for a greater anointing in this hour when the spirit of this age is at work, dominating the hour. Lord, let a new anointing come on your church, a fresh anointing on your people to walk in the strength and the power of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, you're within us and you're upon us and it says that your anointing is on us for a kingdom agenda that we would walk in strength and power undoing the works of the enemy, walking in fullness and in partnership with you, Father. It says that you've anointed us to bring the good news to the poor. So Lord, I'm praying for an anointing of evangelism and bold proclamation of the gospel to be upon your people today, to be upon us, Lord, that we would have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, that we would walk in boldness, Lord, that sharing the good news, telling people about Jesus, ministering to people in their moment of need, their poverty, their spiritual poverty, their hunger, their thirst, they're looking for answers, they're looking for truth, they're looking for the meaning of life, they're looking for God to move miraculously in their life, Lord. These are not opportunities for us to shy away, but to proclaim good news, I've got good news, Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus delivers, Jesus sets free, God anoint us as evangelists, anoint us with the good news, unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but bold ambassadors under the anointing, not doing it out of our own sense of obligation, but Lord, that it just wells up within your people to tell others what Jesus has done in their life, Lord. Let that anointing rest upon a generation, raise up young people, Lord, that are anointed to go into the highways and the byways and to boldly proclaim Jesus is Lord, God, would you anoint us today with the heart of an evangelist, how much you care for people, to the extent that which you've gone through to save and to deliver us, and so, Lord, today we're also asking what you would anoint us and send us to bind up the brokenhearted, Lord, you see the brokenhearted and your heart is moved with compassion. Matthew 9 says, when you saw the crowds, you saw that they did not have leadership and that they had been abused and taken advantage of, Lord, when you healed the sick, you saw the devil had oppressed them and you were moved with compassion. Father, today would you release a new compassion in our hearts for those who are bound and broken, and Lord, would you send us to those who are brokenhearted, Lord, those that have been devastated by life, tragedy to those, Lord, who've been disappointed, who have had dreams that have been aborted, dreams and desires in our hearts, Lord, that have been hijacked by the enemy, those who've been taken advantage of and abused by the enemy and made slaves to sin, who've been blinded by the God of this age, and who've been broken emotionally and even psychologically, Lord, spiritually broken by the enemy, taken captive by him to do his will. Lord, you're the one who heals the brokenhearted. Would you anoint us, Lord, today as those who speak life to those who offer hope, to those who come up along the broken, and don't condemn them and dash them down, but Lord, we wrap our arms around them and our prayers around them the way that you did, and we offer hope in this hour. Lord, release an anointing, an anointing of compassion, even for the poor and the downtrodden dog, that we would not become hardened and cynical, that our hearts would be soft and pliable, that we would see people, we would see the broken the way that you see the broken today. Anoint us, send us to the brokenhearted today, places where people's lives are unraveling. You're the one that can put it back together. Lord, anoint us and send us today. Give us eyes to see today. When Jesus quoted this scripture in Luke 4, he said, give sight to the blind, and we're praying, Lord, today for the anointing to open eyes. Healing physical sight, but Lord, even opening spiritually blinded eyes today, or that we might be anointed to open the eyes of people's unbelief, that by seeing you and us, their eyes would be opened, Lord, by being able to pray that people's hearts would be awakened and they'd be able to see you for who you truly are. Your word says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 that the God of this age is blinded. Those who are in unbelief so that they might not see the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're praying today, Lord, for an anointing that breaks off the spiritual cataracts, removes the veil so that they can see you, Jesus, in your glory. Anoint us, Father, to open eyes, to heal physical eyes, or that there would be healing and physical eyes and spiritual eyes, that their eyes of their heart might be open to see the glorious gospel of Jesus. To give people a perspective, to show them the truth, to give them a circumference around their heart, to say that I'm trapped and I did not know it, I was blind and I did not know it, but Jesus has opened my eyes, Lord. Would you anoint us today in our words and in our deeds to help people to see you, Jesus, the way you truly are? Even beyond religion, false perceptions and idols that people have made out of you, Lord, that we would be anointed to help people see you as you really are. Anoint us today to proclaim freedom to those who have been captivated by the enemy. Lord, anoint us to proclaim freedom for those who are bound. Lord, anoint us to minister to those who are bound in addiction, who have been taken captive to besetting sin, to those whose hearts have been deceived. Lord, I'm praying for anointing on your people to expose the work of darkness and to offer the hope of salvation, the hope of freedom. Jesus, you alone can set free, but you gave the keys of the gospel to the church. Lord, today help us to walk as freedom warriors, God, who bring people out of slavery, out of captivity and into the freedom that's found in Jesus. Lord, you are freedom. You said where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Wherever you are, Lord, there's freedom. Anoint us with the oil that gives off the fragrance of freedom to those who have been bound to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, that God has not left us in our prison cells, but he's thrown them open and said, everyone who wants to be free can be free. Lord, anoint us today to walk in freedom and to offer freedom to those who are bound. Lord, that they might come into the favor of the Lord, that they might step into a place no longer of mourning, but the oil of gladness, God. No longer in bondage, but in the glorious freedom that's found in Jesus. Lord, this is the anointing that we long for. Lord, anoint us. Thank you for your presence and your touch and your power that you release in us as your people today. Lord, and as we go throughout the highways and the byways of this city and even other cities, help us to be agents of change. Lord, that we would give off the light and the beauty of our God and all the praise and all the glory would be returned to you. In Jesus' magnificent name, the holy and anointed one, we say, amen. Thank you for joining us. Those of you who are at home, thank you and want to encourage you to join us in person, the prayer room today at noon tonight at 6.30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thank you. Have a great day. God bless you.