by Matt Grant

Justin Schaeffer led our devotional this morning on hearing and ACCEPTING Gods’ will for your life. This was a follow up to Pastor Mark’s latest sermon on Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. See below for the notes from Justin’s devotional and Shoreline’s weekly prayer requests.

NOTES FROM 8.3.08

Our Purpose (Romans 15:30 paraphrased): I urge you brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayer to God the Father for the glory of the name of Jesus.

Our prayers will go unheard if we do not obey God’s word to us.

During Pastor Mark’s sermon last Sunday he concluded with 11 lessons we can learn from Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. He posed them as questions for prayerful heart examination, meditation, and discussion.

#8 was “Do you pray to both hear and accept God’s will for your life?

1 Samuel 3:10 “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Isaiah 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord”

John 5:19-20 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.

James 2:2-4
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Matthew 23-24 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you[1] of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

From “The Making of a Leader” by Dr. J. Robert Clinton

Watchman Nee provides us with an excellent illustration involving inner-life growth in obedience. He sensed a need to begin printing gospel tracts and then prayed for the money to distribute them. God revealed that there were hindrances to his prayer. Many in his church were criticizing another believer and Watchman silently agreed with them. When he prayed further about the money, God spoke to him about this sin. God required that he go and confess his guilt to his sister.

Afterwards, I considered doing so, but, when coming face to face with her, I hesitated five times even though I wished to confess to her. It was because I was concerned that she, who had all along been admiring me so much, would then despise me. I said to God, “It would be all right if You ordered me to do anything else, but I am unwilling to confess to her.” I still kept asking God for the printing money, but He would not listen to my reasoning and insisted on my confessing. The sixth time, through the grace of the Lord, I confessed to her. With tears, we both confessed our faults and then forgave each other. We were filled with joy and from then on loved each other all the more in the Lord.

Not long after this event, a postman delivered a letter that contained fifteen U.S. dollars. The letter read “I am fond of distributing gospel tracts. Please condescend to accept.”

STRATEGIC PRAYER REQUESTS

• Continue to pray for Gary Kingsbury’s recovery

• Pray for the potential building in Lynnwood.
  • We have an in-house meeting today to discuss feasibility and a possible bid proposal
  • Bids are due Friday

• Pray for Pastor Steve as he prepares to preach on Sunday

• Pray for the second week of the Back to School Drive

• Pray for the August 16^th Vision House prayer night, that it would be well attended and that this project to house homeless single mom’s would be bathed in prayer.

• Pray for MH Shoreline VBS August 11-15th. Pray for Matt Grant as he ties up loose ends with logistics and planning; and that the gospel will be clearly presented and permeate the hearts of the children who attend.

• Pray for wisdom and fruitful participation from our campus as we plan for Fall mid-week.