Prayer, joy, peace and love…

Read:

Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV): “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Act:

Let us be determined this week to:

Continue to pray like never before. Sometimes our prayers require perseverance, discipline, dependence on God, and a whole lot of faith! Whether we are experiencing a mountain top or the darkest of valleys, may we remember to fix our eyes on Jesus. May we not grow weary in praying – rather persevering with courage, and believing that in and through God all things are possible.

Find our joy and peace in surrendering all to our Heavenly Father. We lose so much joy and peace when we don’t trust God with our lives and circumstances. May we declare again today: “Lord, we surrender all to You. We cast all our cares upon You. Please fill us afresh with Your hope, joy, peace and love”.

Make serving and loving God and others our highest calling in life. Love is central to our Christian life. In the New Testament, Jesus is clear that there is no commandment greater than to love God and love people. He calls us to do life together as a community in unity – to serve and encourage one another. Let us serve God and love on others in this time and in this generation – without fear, and in the boldness that He gives to us! May we lean into the promises and plans of God, asking Him to show us how to be a witness for Him. May we answer this question today: “Who will we take with us to heaven?”

Pray:

Father, we thank You. We thank You that You are a merciful God, filled with grace. We thank You that You have given us a joy that surpasses understanding, just as You have given us a peace that surpasses understanding. Our joy is accompanied by peace because we know that You are in control. We don’t have to be anxious Lord, come fill us with Your joy again today.

Father God, I pray that we would become truly encapsulated by Your Word, truth and love. When the enemy starts feeding us lies, doubts and fears, we can boldly and faithfully respond like Jesus did in the wilderness, and say ‘It is written’. We can hold to the truth and promises that You provide, and we can proclaim what You have declared about our lives.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your Word and that it is truth. Father, we thank You that while we are here in the land of the living, You guide us. We desire that Your Word would be a lamp to our feet, and that we would be super-intentional and self-discipled to keep our eyes fixed on You. We thank You Lord Jesus that in difficult times – in the valleys and in suffering – You are always with us. We can count it all joy and we can look forward to a hope and a future that is blessed and abundant because of You.

Lord Jesus, our heart’s cry is to love You above everything and everyone else. We want to be obedient to this great command, and to the second command – to love others as we love ourselves. Would You help us, so that we can put this into practice in the next couple of weeks.

Thank You God, that by Your Holy Spirit we are stirred. Thank You God, that by Your Holy Spirit we have power. Where I may fail to bring the miraculous – the wonder works that You do – could I ask that I then come in the power of Your Word? Where I may fail in the power of Your Word, could I then come in the power of Your example? Where I may fail in the power of Your example, could I then come in the power of relationship – my relationship with You Jesus? May this deeply affect the lives of the people around me, Lord. May our greatest reward when we stand before You one day be the lives of those we have touched and influenced – who then stand alongside us and embrace the life that You give. Amen.

Amen.

(This WRAP is with great appreciation to Willem, Janine, Mike, Suria & Kristen)

Subscribe to our Podcast Channel