House of Prayer (Isaiah 56)

I recently had the honor and privilege to participate in 24 hours of prayer. It was held at our church for the purpose of humbly offering our hearts to the Lord to ask for His wisdom, guidance, knowledge, blessings, and grace... and to honor and glorify Him! The night started with songs of worship with nearly 80 people in attendance... lifting up prayers and praises to Jesus. Throughout the night there was continuous prayer interspersed with worship, scripture reading, and testimonies.

There were powerful times, when the Holy Spirit was moving through that place, touching hearts... tears flowed and prayers continued to be lifted up. Prayers for healing, prayers for knowledge and wisdom, prayers for specific needs of the church body, for specific needs of people, for friends, loved ones, pastors and elders.

At times there were 5 or 6 people praying silently... at other times there was one person praying out loud... and at times everyone was lifting up worship to our Lord and King. The Lord, in some way, blessed everyone who participated... and the blessings continue.

We can tell that the Holy Spirit is moving, because the enemy has stepped up attacks to disrupt our work... stress, illness, and disruption are examples of the enemy's attempts. But we continue to pray in Jesus' name that that we will be able to stand our ground, that with the full armor of God, we will prevail.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13

Worship and prayer continued throughout the 24 hours, with the last two hours being devoted to praying for those with terminal illnesses such as cancer. The Lord specifically brought people there that night to hear testimonies, to pray and to be prayed for, and to glorify our heavenly Father.

Lord, we thank you and ask for your continued wisdom, grace, and blessings as we honor you with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength... Amen.

-Andy G.

"...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Isaiah 56:7

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord

I've recently been reading through the letter to the Ephesians. My practice lately has been to read through a particular book in the Bible more than once, so that I can meditate on certain aspects of it, pray through it, and ask the Lord to reveal His wisdom as I study the book. I just started this with Ephesians, and although I've read it a few times in my life, I've never really appreciated how rich this book is in wisdom and practical application to daily life.

Something stood out to me today, however... it was in Chapter 5, verse 19... "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual song. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord."

Wow! How many times do we "sing and make music in your heart to the Lord"? You may find that most of the time our heart is focused on what we need or what we want and not on worshiping the Lord.. even if we are contemplating the word of God and and even if we are seeking Jesus, still ask yourself... how often are you making music in your heart to the Lord? This is an amazing example that a heart focused on the Lord would be doing.

I am going to ask the Lord to help me focus on this... singing and making music in my heart to the Lord... this will undoubtedly push my agenda out of my heart to make room for His.

-Andy G.