Week 10 Day 3
I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence:
Be still for a moment. “Lord, I give the day that is now past to you. It is yours. I give the day that is to come to you; help me to see where you are working and to join you there. Speak to me during these moments. I commit them and myself to you.”
II. Prayer of Confession:
“Lord, you are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin when I confess it to you. I confess my sin(s) of ______________. Thank you for forgiveness.” (1 John 1:9)
III. Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Choose to be thankful, speak out loud of what God has done.
“Thank you, Father, for _________________. Fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude throughout this day.”
IV. Scripture Reflection
Read:
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 28:30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflect:
Acts 1:8 outlines the entire book geographically and spiritually. The church would begin in Jerusalem then break out into the surrounding areas and eventually reach to the ends of the known world. This is the geographic story but the spiritual story is “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” The power was given so they would be effective witnesses to the reality of the gospel. This was not a man-made movement it was a “Spirit-powered” one. The book is called the “Acts of the Apostles” but it is better called the “Acts of the Spirit.” It is important to note that the church only broke out of Jerusalem and into wider geographic and demographics because of persecution. God used the bad actions of enemies of the gospel to further his powerful purposes. The book ends with Paul in house arrest waiting what would be his eventual death, boldly and with no hindrances, making the Gospel known in the very heart of the Roman Empire.
Respond:
What is holding back the Spirit’s power in your life? It may not be what you think. Your personal challenges are not holding you back from effective ministry…they are likely what he wants to use to unleash powerful ministry. What trouble, difficulty, opposition, or suffering is present in your life that God wants to use to “unhinder” his power in your life? Are you fighting God on this rather than asking him to “unleash” his power through your weakness?
V. Prayer for others:
Pray specifically for the concerns of your life and the lives of others.
VI. Prayer of commitment:
“Lord God, I commit to love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself. Empower me today to love you and others with everything that I am.” (Luke 10:27)
This Month’s Scripture Memory:
Matthew 6:9-13
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.