>> All right. Well, good evening, everyone. We're here for praise and prayer. We do this about once a month or so, and this is a time that's dedicated to singing worship to God and coming together to pray with him, pray to him together. Today, I'm going to read from Psalm 148.

I'll give us a short moment to pray before I open up in prayer and the praise team takes over here. Psalm 148, it says, "Praise the Lord. "Praise the Lord from the heavens. "Praise Him in the heights. "Praise Him, all His angels. "Praise Him, all His hosts. "Praise Him, sun and moon.

"Praise Him, all stars of light. "Praise Him, highest heavens and the waters that are above the heavens. "Let them praise the name of the Lord, "for He commanded and they were created. "He has also established them forever and ever. "He has made a decree which will not pass away.

"Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters and all deeps, "fire and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind fulfilling His word, "mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, "beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged fowl, "kings of the earth and all peoples, "princes and all judges of the earth, both young men and virgins, "old men and children.

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted. "His glory is above heaven and earth. "Praise for all His godly ones, "even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. "Praise the Lord." I hope that we can sing genuine and honest praise to God before we come to Him in prayer, that our hearts are oriented around Him, that our desire is truly for His glory.

So I'll give you just a minute to pray on your own, and then I'll open us up in prayer. (sighs) (sighs) (sighs) (sighs) (sighs) (sighs) (sighs) (footsteps) (footsteps) (footsteps) (footsteps) (footsteps) Father, we know that all creation declares Your glory. We know, God, that all created things point to You.

Father, it's the human that chooses not to. But tonight, God, I pray that we would be true believers who have been redeemed by You. God, that we would be true worshipers, that this would not be something we do only when we come together. Father, for those of us who have been near to You and those of us who have been walking far, I pray, Lord, that we would come and we would worship You because You are worthy of all worship.

God, You are to be glorified and honored. And Father, I pray that You would be pleased with our songs, with our music, with our prayers, Lord, that they would not be empty tonight. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Church, why don't we stand together as we come before our Lord and sing these two hymns.

♪ ♪ Hope is built on nothing less ♪ ♪ Than Jesus' blood and righteousness ♪ ♪ I dare not trust the sweetest strain ♪ ♪ But wholly lean on Jesus' name ♪ ♪ On Christ the solid rock I stand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ ♪ Darkness veils ♪ ♪ Darkness veils His lovely face ♪ ♪ I rest on His unchanging grace ♪ ♪ In every high and stormy gale ♪ ♪ My anchor holds without price ♪ ♪ On Christ the solid rock I stand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hope is covenant, is mine ♪ ♪ Support me in the whelming flood ♪ ♪ When all around my soul gives way ♪ ♪ That is all my hope is there ♪ ♪ On Christ the solid rock I stand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ ♪ We shall come with trumpet sound ♪ ♪ Only I can in Him be found ♪ ♪ Trust in His righteousness sound ♪ ♪ From us who stand before the throne ♪ ♪ On Christ the solid rock I stand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ On Christ the solid rock I stand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ ♪ ♪ On a hill far away ♪ ♪ Stood an old rugged cross ♪ ♪ The emblem of suffering and shame ♪ ♪ And I love that old cross ♪ ♪ Where the dearest and best ♪ ♪ For a world of lost sinners was slain ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Till my trophies at last I lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ And exchange it someday for a crown ♪ ♪ ♪ The old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Stolen, despised by the world ♪ ♪ Has a wondrous attraction for me ♪ ♪ For the dear Lamb of God ♪ ♪ For the dear Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Left His glory to bear to dark Calvary ♪ ♪ To bear to dark Calvary ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Till my trophies at last I lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ And exchange it someday for a crown ♪ ♪ ♪ The old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Stained with blood so divine ♪ ♪ A wondrous beauty I see ♪ ♪ For 'twas on that old cross ♪ ♪ Jesus suffered and died ♪ ♪ To the pardoned and saved at my feet ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Till my trophies at last I lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ And exchange it someday for a stature ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ Till my trophies at last I lay down ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ And exchange it someday for a crown ♪ ♪ I will cling to the old rugged cross ♪ ♪ And exchange it someday for a crown ♪ Okay.

If we can -- I'm sorry for A.V. If we can go back to the chorus of that last song that we just sang, "I Will Cling to the Old Rugged Cross." And it says, "So I'll cherish the old rugged cross Till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross And exchange it someday for a crown." And we sing that.

And many times we are at risk of just singing words. And we recognize that even this part of the chorus, when we look at it, we can say with our words very easily that we will cherish the old rugged cross, but it's our lives and our decisions that we make and the things that we do that will actually tell where we are currently.

And I know that we're coming together, and that's the beauty of these praise songs. It reminds us of the truths that we believe and the purpose as to why we live. And so I wanted to bring attention back to it, where it says here, "Till my trophies at last I lay down." We're cherishing the old rugged cross, and we're rejecting the trophies that we once counted as our gain.

And it says, "I will cling to the old rugged cross And exchange it someday for a crown." And so we're going to be looking at Philippians 3:1-16 today. If you could turn there with me. Philippians 3:1-16. Philippians 3:1-16. You're starting with verse one here. It says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you." And so if we could go back here. So this is the first thing that it says. It's a command that's given for us to rejoice. Whenever we come across a command in Scripture, one of the cool things that we can do is to know that there is a reason for that command.

And so it takes a little bit of evaluation and thought for us to kind of think about that. Why is it that he's commanding us to rejoice? Four very quick things here. One reason why he might be commanding us to rejoice is because there's great temptation for us to not be joyful.

We could be coming here with great ingratitude or grumbling or complaints, difficulties, tiredness, lots of things. That's not joy. And so as we walk through those doors, are we people that are filled with joy? And if we are not, the command is here for us where it says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." And then he says to write the same thing because he's been talking about rejoicing all book long.

It didn't have to do with your circumstances. It doesn't have to do with all the things going on around. That the command to rejoice is there because there is a temptation for us not to be joyful. Are we resisting that temptation? Or are we giving in to that flesh?

Are we filled with things that are causing us to not be joyful? And that would say that something about our sight has gone awry. Another reason why the command to rejoice might be there is because of the hardships and difficulties in our lives. In James 1, he says, "Count it all joy, my brethren, when all these difficulties are coming into our lives." And he says it in the midst of these hardships and trials.

And so that command is there because our trials and our hardships have a tendency to strip us of joy. But even then, we're called to come with great joy. I feel like when we come into church settings, it's very easy to pull on a mask. Regardless of what's been going on in our lives, that we're supposed to smile, right?

But we come in with genuine joy, even if things have been difficult in our lives, even when we feel beaten down. A third reason why he might command us to rejoice is because perhaps there's apathy or jadedness in us. Perhaps we feel deadened or hardened. We feel like we're just kind of going through the motions.

And so that command is there. Rejoice in the Lord. To say the same thing to you is no trouble for me. And a fourth one is there might be a temptation to rejoice in fleeting things. We might not be rejoicing in the Lord. We might be rejoicing in the things that the world has given.

And so perhaps we're happy today because we've been given a raise. We're happy today because things are going well, because I feel like I got up on the right side of the bed this morning. But he says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me." And here's the word that's key.

It is a safeguard to you. That command to rejoice is a safeguard to our souls, to our hearts. It guards us. The word there is for barracks. It's like a barrack. It defends our hearts. Later on in the book of Philippians, God instructs us to think upon the things which are good, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

To think upon these things that will cause us to be able to be people who rejoice. That this will safeguard us. This kind of rejoicing is going to protect us. So today, where is your heart? Are you rejoicing? And then he continues in Philippians 3, verse 2, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.

For we are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I have far more.

Circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal of persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law found blameless." And so from this command, rejoice, he says, be careful, beware, because something is out to get you.

Look out for something, pay attention, be sober, be on guard. God has already instructed us, God has already informed us how to beware. How is it that we are to beware? By rejoicing. By rejoicing. And not just rejoicing, but rejoicing in the Lord. That's going to safeguard us. We have to beware, we have to be careful.

And he says here, don't take joy in the things of this world, don't take joy on the things that are flippant and passing. Not on our own accolades, not on our own abilities, not on our own eyesight, that we will not trust in these things, we will rejoice and trust in the Lord.

Everything will fail around us, everyone will fail around us, all will fail, but God will not. And so we rejoice in him, and only in him. And so our joy doesn't shake, our joy doesn't move. Because God, because it's in God. Now if you look, how many times does Paul repeat this?

Three times. He says, "Beware, beware, beware." He says, "Stop looking at these false things around." Many times it's not even a conscious effort that we make, we're surrounded by a world that's preaching these things to us. Surrounded by a world that's causing us to take our eyes off of God, and to say, "You can rejoice in the things that this world has to offer." And he says, "Beware of these things, place your joy only in the Lord." We worship in God, we glory in Christ, we don't glory or place fleshly confidences, even that is repeated three times.

Don't place confidence in your flesh. Don't place confidence in your flesh. Don't place confidence in your flesh. And in all of that, he begins to list it out. Why does he do that? Because he's proud of his past? No, he's making a point. These things that he's listing out are the things that he used to glory in, the things that he used to rejoice in.

These were the things he used to meditate upon. He would put his money into these things. He would strategically plan how he could advance in these things. He placed confidence in his own flesh. And he says, "Beware of this." And moving on to Philippians 3, verse 7, it says, he continues, "But..." So he completely pivots away from the things that he used to glory in, but now everything is different.

"But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.

I may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Now I know these are big chunks, and I'm going to give you time to meditate on these things on your own.

But the basic things here is that he has rejected, he is no longer rejoicing in, meditating upon, placing his heart on the things that he used to once do that on. A big turning point has happened in his life. And there are two things that Paul, he places on a ledger, on a scale, I have a picture of a scale.

This is what he does. Everything that he used to count, gain, he puts on one side, and then he puts Jesus on the other. All his confidences, all the things he used to meditate on, glory in, love, think about, go after, pursue, invest in, everything that he could possibly pile up on one side, and his singular Jesus Christ on the other.

That's what he puts down. And then he says it doesn't even compare. It's not even close. It's not even much of a struggle when you look at it. That's why we sing that song. We sing that song because we're clinging to an old rugged cross, but that old rugged cross is like a symbol of doom, a symbol of torture and death.

We cling to it. We love it until we lay down our trophies. That we crucify and mortify our flesh, our confidences in the things of this world, the things that are stripping us of joy. And we put our joy on the only one who can handle the weight of our worship.

Even here, he repeats this idea three times. He counts the things he once saw as gain, and what happens? He now counts it as loss. He counts all things as loss. And the third time he says he counts all things not just as loss but as rubbish. Three times he's repeating these things.

He uses these threes on purpose. And there's a progression here. Things he used to see as good as loss. And that's not enough. He's saying all things are loss. And that's not enough. So he says all things, now I consider it as rubbish, as dung. Compared to, and here's the point, the ledger.

Compared to Christ. The point he is making is not simply to hate the things of this world. The point he's making is that we have encountered a Christ who is infinitely more beautiful and of greater worth than anything he has come across. And that's why in this passage we see that.

Compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord. Surpassing value. Some translations say excellencies. Compared to Jesus Christ. It does not even compare. Something bigger, better, greater, of more infinite worth. Surpassing value. In Matthew 13.44, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man found and hid again." And from, it says from joy.

From joy over it he goes and sells all that he has. That key word is joy. It is not in sadness like the rich young ruler who hangs his head and walks away from Christ. Who thinks about all the things I must give up. It is because I have found a Christ who is far better.

Have you walked into this building tonight with that kind of joy? Or are you robbed of joy? This passage to just conclude what we're looking at today. Philippians 3.12, "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus." Brethren, I do not regard as having laid hold of it yet.

But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God and Christ Jesus. Let us therefore as many as are perfect have this attitude. And if anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.

And that's part of my prayer today. Have this attitude, if our attitude is different from that which is written here in Scripture, God to reveal that to us. However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Paul is saying here in this part that he knows he's a work in progress.

He isn't perfect yet. There is a weakness that we are beset in the flesh. But he believes what he wrote in the beginning of the book of Philippians. "For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." So what that means is we do not need to come and try to pursue Christ because we feel guilty.

We need to ask God to open our eyes to see him. So that our response would be one that is filled, yes, with the mortification of the flesh. But it is being led by our love for Christ. That's why we pray. We pray in joy. We actively put away these things.

We actively fight the temptations that come. That there is a present-day war. And I hope that we can battle tonight together in prayer. I have a paper for you. And in just a moment, we're going to turn the lights on. And Avey will turn on some music so that we can just kind of work on this for about 10 minutes.

And after those 10 minutes are done, it's just going through Philippians 3, 1 through 16. You don't need to do it all if you don't want to. But it's a time given for meditation. That before we just sit down and start praying, and that we kind of just jump into it.

That the word of God will kind of pull us apart a little bit. And that we would evaluate where we truly are. Because God doesn't want us to come and just cover over all the things that are in our heart. He wants these things to be exposed and ripped open so that we can truly and genuinely come before him as we are.

And so use the next 10 minutes or so to go through that. And then afterwards, we're going to sing another song. And then I'm going to give instruction for just a large chunk of prayer that we're going to have. So I'll give you about 10 minutes here until about 8.15 to work through that.

If Avey can turn on the lights here. Just give you about a minute longer and then we'll get up to sing a song together. Let me take a moment to pray for us and we'll stand together. Heavenly Father, I pray God that your word would search us and God that your Holy Spirit would speak to us.

We ask you God for hearts that are cleansed and purified before we're able to even lift up prayers that are to be for your glory and for your kingdom, for your will. Again Lord, that our words might not be empty. Father, that ultimately more than anything, that our love for you is genuine as we come to you.

Father, help us to put all these things aside and remember to keep our eyes squarely fixed upon you. Lord, that whatever it is that comes next as we spend a chunk of time in prayer, that it would be your will because we love you. Father, help us, for we're weak.

Help us God, because we do desire what it is that you want. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. All I once held dear, build my life upon. All this world reveres and wars to own. All I once thought great, I have counted lost, spent and worthless now. Compared to you.

Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness. And I love you, Lord. Now my heart's desire is to know you more. To be found in you and known as yours. To possess by faith what I could not earn.

A sufficing gift of righteousness. Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness. And I love you, Lord. Oh, to know the power of your risen life. And to know you in your sufferings. To become like you in your death, my Lord.

So with you to live and never die. Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness. And I love you, Lord. Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness.

You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness. You're my all, you're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness. And I love you, Lord. >> Well, tonight I'm going to give you a really solid chunk of time on personal prayer. Maybe about 25 minutes or so. And that will mean that it's going to be a little difficult for some of us to get through that 25 minutes.

But sometimes as Pastor Peter comes and really encourages us to do what it takes to really engage in that battle, in that fight, to press on, even in prayer. That tonight, even though it is a bit long, and there are interludes where you might drift in and out, to strive to be with God, to meet with him, to pray to him, all those things, I hope that you'll be able to do that.

For a little bit of structure, many of you know the Acts style of prayer. The first is A, Adoration. Just to help a little bit, you can start before all the supplications that we give to pray. Pray after a moment of reflecting on who God is. Reflect on his holiness, justice, wrath.

Reflect on his love, patience, kindness, and grace. Pray truths of who God is back to God. So the idea of this is really to see who God is, see who Christ is, and pray an adoration to God. Worship. Even as we sang the psalm in the very beginning, that we praise the Lord.

That is part of our prayer. The second thing is the C in Acts, Confession. Pray, if you have not yet done so, to pray confessing your sins. If there are things that we have yet unyielded, unrepentant things in our lives, then it is not possible for us to be able to say, "God, your kingdom come, your will be done." That we have to let go of our will.

We have to confess our sins and those things that we have been holding so tightly on to. We need to take that time to pray those things. Confessing to God the need for his grace in our lives. Honest and genuine, hopefully, sorrow and grief. This is a practice of really seeing ourselves.

Thirdly is Thanksgiving. Praying Thanksgiving to the Lord. Pray thanking God for things in your life you have not yet said. You have not yet said thank you for. Pray thanking him for good things. Pray for things that are difficult and troublesome in your life. Pray a prayer of gratitude to God.

Spend some time praying the adoration, confession, Thanksgiving. Lastly, we will just put it up. I know it is small, but supplication. Pray all your requests up to God. At that point, hopefully, your heart is ready to engage in the battle for supplication. Praying our requests up to God. Again, it is kind of small.

There are a couple strips of carpet up here if you would like to come up and pray. If you cannot see, you can kind of move closer. There are still chairs here and there up here. These are just some examples. Pray anything. Pray everything coming before God. 25 minutes is going to take us to about 8.50 and then we are going to close tonight.

I will come back up here to give about a two-minute warning before that prayer time is done. Then our praise team will close us in a final song. Let me pray for us and then we will enter. Father, I pray that you would help us to pray to you.

That even in prayer, God, that you would teach us. That your spirit would instruct us. Father, that we would take such joy in knowing that our Abba Father listens. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) - In about two minutes, the praise team will come up to lead us in our final song.

So if you can begin to slowly wrap up. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) ♪ Turn your eyes upon Jesus ♪ ♪ Look full in His wonderful face ♪ ♪ All the things of earth will grow strangely dim ♪ ♪ In the light of His glory and grace ♪ ♪ Turn your eyes to the little sign ♪ ♪ Where justice and mercy reign ♪ ♪ There the Son of God gave His life for us ♪ ♪ And our measureless debt was erased ♪ ♪ Jesus, to You we lift our eyes ♪ ♪ Jesus, our glory and our prize ♪ ♪ We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You ♪ (soft piano music) (soft piano music) ♪ Turn your eyes to the Lord ♪ ♪ And see Christ the Lion awaking ♪ ♪ What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone ♪ ♪ For we carry His life in our hearts ♪ - Sing Jesus.

♪ Jesus, to You we lift our eyes ♪ ♪ Jesus, our glory and our prize ♪ ♪ We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Turn your eyes to the heavens ♪ ♪ Our King will return for His own ♪ ♪ Every knee will bow and every tongue will shout ♪ ♪ All glory to Jesus the Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus, to You we lift our eyes ♪ ♪ Jesus, our glory and our prize ♪ ♪ We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You ♪ - Sing more, Jesus.

♪ Jesus, to You we lift our eyes ♪ ♪ Jesus, our glory and our prize ♪ ♪ We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You ♪ (soft piano music) - Father, I pray, God, that our eyes would remain fixed upon You as we leave and so we would continue in prayer.

Father, that we would be that praying church that we so long to be. And Father, that we would know that all these things that we've given now rest in Your hands. I pray, God, for simple obedience and faithfulness on our end. That we would not be praying things that we do not mean.

And Father, that all that we've prayed for is something that our ambitions will go towards. For those that we've prayed for, the ones that we love, I pray that we would reach out to them, that we would continue to pray for them, that we would love them tangibly. I pray, God, that all the things that we've confessed and given up, that we would continue to yield those things into Your hands.

And Father, that we would live in great surrender. God, keep our eyes fixed upon You. Teach us, Lord, to fix our eyes upon You. Thank You, God, for giving us privilege of prayer that tonight we're able to do that together as a church. God, would Your kingdom come and would Your will be done.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, well, that concludes tonight. If some of us could help kind of reset the chairs up here, the logistics team maybe they would like that help. Other than that, we'll see you on Sunday. (soft piano music) ♪ Oh God, before the mountains were brought forth ♪ ♪ Oh, the days of spring and summer filled the earth ♪ ♪ From everlasting, You are God ♪ ♪ You are God ♪