Our 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting are almost over! To conclude this special season in the life of our church, we are having an all night prayer gathering from 8:00pm Friday, November 17^th until 7:15am Saturday, November 18^th. Learn more and sign up on the event page for a time to come pray with us.

The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives—altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it.

Richard Foster

I don’t know about you, but I’d say that is a paragraph worth reading again, to be reminded that all is of grace, and to be encouraged to pray not based on our worthiness or qualification, but coming only in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. We pray, by grace.

Begin with Adoration

This week we are going to continue to let the great hymns of the Church teach us about adoration. After reading the lyrics to this hymn, use it like an Old Testament Psalm, allowing the words to become your own words of adoration and praise.

O Worship the King

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

William Kethe (1561)

Continue with Confession

This week, we will trust the Spirit to use Proverbs 28:13 to prompt our confession. Remember the power of sin is its secrecy. You are not alone in your sin, and confession brings not condemnation, but forgiveness in Christ. If the Lord so prompts you, confess your sin to a Christian brother or sister, for in so doing you will experience the grace and love of Christ…and freedom (James 5:16).

Proverbs 28:13

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

As the Spirit brings any sin to mind, confess it (agree with God that it is sin) and turn from it (repent). Thank God that He forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness on the basis of the finished work of Jesus and the promise of 1 John 1:9.

Now offer words of Thanksgiving

Start by adding one to two things to the list of things you are grateful for that happened in 2017.

Continuing with Psalm 116:12…

We render thanks. Consider the “benefits” of God toward you, and thank him specifically for them. For example, another benefit of God toward us is His daily provision—life, breath, food… “God thank you for daily bread…”

Conclude with Supplication & Intercession…

Remember, supplication is making our own needs known to God and asking that He meet them. Intercession is making the needs of others known to God, and asking Him to meet them. Both are petitions and are “the heart of prayer.” God invites and delights in our asking.

Let’s begin by praying for those we know who do not yet know Christ.

Secondly, let’s continue to pray for people who may think they are Christians, but who have not personally put their trust in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

Now, considering your own needs, is there something you need from God for this day? Ask Him…

We will conclude our time of supplication and intercession by praying for specific prayer requests that our lay leaders are praying for Fellowship. We are making their prayers our corporate prayers…

• That the Holy Spirit would overwhelm us as a body so that the community would take notice and be drawn to Jesus and the gospel. That we would be the hands and feet of Christ to the lost and hurting here in Brentwood, Franklin, and Nashville.
• That we would be a church where life changes would happen because of the gospel and the Holy Spirit (like the church of Acts)…miracles, healing, fellowship, growth, evangelism, mission. REVIVAL!!!
• I want to be used at Fellowship. I want to be used till I don’t resemble the man I am today. I want people to see Jesus. My prayer is that we would all have this desire.
• That we would be a city on a hill. That we would be truth in a world of lies and self-delusion.