Week 8: WVCF Prayer

52


Day 55: “The Ugly”
1. Center Down
Our breath prayer for today. As you inhale, whisper, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God...“ As you exhale whisper, “... have mercy on me a sinner.”
2. Slowly read aloud the following Scripture
atch the first part of this salm expressed in video httpb.linksalma
ook on me with a heart of mercy God according to our generous love.
ccording to our great compassion
wipe out every conseuence of my shameful crimes.
horoughly wash me inside and out of all my crooked deeds. leanse me from my sins.
or am fully aware of all have done wrong and my guilt is there staring me in the face.
t was against ou only ou that sinned
for have done what ou say is wrong right before our eyes.
o when ou speak ou are in the right.
53


When You judge, Your judgments are pure and true. For I was guilty from the day I was born,
a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me.
But still, You long to enthrone truth throughout my being; in unseen places deep within me, You show me wisdom.
Cleanse me of my wickedness with hyssop, and I will be clean. If You wash me, I will be whiter than snow.
Help me hear joy and happiness as my accompaniment,
so my bones, which You have broken, will dance in delight
instead.
Cover Your face so You will not see my sins,
and erase my guilt from the record.
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
restore within me a sense of being brand new.
Do not throw me far away from Your presence, and do not remove Your Holy Spirit from me.
Give back to me the deep delight of being saved by You; let Your willing Spirit sustain me.
If You do, I promise to teach rebels Your ways and help sinners find their way back to You.
Free me from the guilt of murder, of shedding a man’s blood, O God who saves me.
Now my tongue, which was used to destroy, will be used to
sing with deep delight of how right and just You are.
O Lord, pry open my lips
that this mouth will sing joyfully of Your greatness.
I would surrender my dearest possessions or destroy all that I prize to prove my regret,
but You don’t take pleasure in sacrifices or burnt offerings. What sacrifice I can offer You is my broken spirit
54


because a broken spirit God
a heart that honestly regrets the past ou wont detest.
e good to ion grant her our favor. ake erusalems walls steady and strong.
hen there will be sacrifices made
burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings
ith right motives that will delight ou.
nd costly young bulls will be offered up to our altar only
the best. salm )
For further exploration:
Video: http://word.video/BPSin http://word.video/BPTransgression http://word.video/BPIniquity
Article: http://b.link/22Words4Sin 3. Kingdom Prayer
Loving Father, thank You for providing this special time of year for us to examine our lives. Thank You for Your Word which is a lamp to guide our feet and a light for our path. Thank You for sometimes allowing us to suffer afflictions and trials, for You are always faithful to bring us out with a greater knowledge of who we are in Christ. Thank You for the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us to lead and guide us every day. How good it is when we come together as a Body of Christ to sing praises to You! Throughout our lives, You
55


have been faithful to heal our broken hearts and bandage our wounds. You support the humble but bring the wicked down into the dust. We sing out our thanks to You, Lord. Your delight is in those who fear You; who put our hope in Your unfailing love. We give You glory! You have truly blessed us within our own homes. You send peace across our nation and satisfy our hunger with the finest wheat. We praise You, Lord!
Heavenly Father, we know that only those whose hands and hearts are pure can stand in Your Holy presence. We cannot worship idols and we must never tell lies. We know that if we want to receive Your blessing, we must first have right relationship with You. We are intentionally taking the time to examine ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to show us where we have sinned. As the Body of Christ, we prepare our hearts and lift up our hands to You in prayer. We denounce our sins and leave our iniquity behind us. As we repent, we expect our faces to brighten with innocence. We will be strong and free of fear. Misery has to flow away from us like water and our righteousness is brighter than the noonday. We look forward to being in Your presence. Father, we come before You, running with purpose in every step, not just shadowboxing. We commit to discipline ourselves to do what we should so that our witness to those who do not know You will not be disqualified.
Holy Spirit, in our own strength, our efforts to change are futile. We ask You to help us release total control of our lives into Your hands. With Your help we can overcome our sinful ways. Lead us daily and remind us that we have been bought with a high price. Remind us of the spiritual laws You have taught us and help us to store the Father’s
56


commands in our hearts. Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and get away from depending on our own understanding. Remind us to seek the Father’s will in all that we do. Help us not to be impressed with our own wisdom, but instead, strengthen us to fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Merciful Father, forgive us collectively and individually for the sins that we have committed against You. Forgive us for being prideful and deceiving ourselves. Forgive us for repeatedly making empty promises to You. Forgive us for being so quick to rush into sin. Forgive us for spending more time watching TV, texting, tweeting, and talking on Facebook and Instagram, than praying, studying Your Word, and manifesting Your Kingdom by helping others. Forgive us for behaving disrespectfully toward our spiritual leaders when they rebuke our disobedience. Forgive us for lying, gossiping, and holding grudges against our brothers and sisters in Christ. (You will have a time during the examine at the end of today’s lesson to list your specific sins)
Holy Spirit, remind us all of those we need to forgive and help us to be quick to forgive. As for me, Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance those I need to forgive. (Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you names or faces of people that You may need to forgive. As He reveals them say, “I forgive name of person(s).” Now, trust the Lord to heal any wounds in Your soul caused by unforgiveness.)
57


Holy Spirit, help us not to yield to temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
Magnificent King, You count all the stars and call them all by name. You are great and Your power is absolute. Your understanding is beyond comprehension! All glory to You alone, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are Yours before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
4. Concepts to Consider
Today we encounter “the ugly” that is sin. No true self- examination is complete without confronting our wrongdoing and wrong thinking.
In the Bible “sin” comes in many (20+) metaphorical linguistic shapes and sizes, whether one “misses the mark” (Hebrew: "khata"/ Greek: "hamartia"), “steps over the line” (‘asham/parabasis) or “strays from the path” (rasha/ planao), etc., all reveal aspects of humanity’s marred and diminished Godly image-bearing ability and authority (see: Genesis 1-3). At a basic level, sin arises from a self-referenced disposition that does not reflect God’s attributes of love, justice, mercy, kindness, etc., i.e., when we define “good” and “evil” on our own terms, rather than on God’s terms. The remedy to all of this is two-fold: 1. The “root” of sin or “original sin” is precisely what Jesus came to take care of. Our self-referenced disposition toward God, self, and others is the genesis of all of our daily sins and requires Creator-level intervention to overcome.
58


2. Our decision to participate in God’s rehabilitation plan for humanity means opening ourselves to the healing work and love of the Holy Spirit so that we become “perfected in love” (1 John 4:17-19) i.e., we become more of who were originally designed to be, and we are supernaturally re-enabled to love God, self, and others in holy, life-giving ways.
John Wesley (founder of the Methodist movement, 1703-1791) described the above rehabilitative process as “sanctification.” Wesleyans believe that in this life one may not be entirely free from unintentional mistakes arising from ignorance, but that followers of Jesus can be free from purposeful and thematic patterns of wounded-ness that can lead to sinful behaviors. The grace of God, mediated through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is sufficient to cover our baseline “bent to sinning,” our unintended missteps, and is able to set us free from willful, habitual sin, and release us into a life characterized by wholeness and joy.
(more info: podcast on Wesley’s sermon “Christian Perfection:” http://b. link/ChristianPerfection; hear John Wesley’s sermon: http://b.link/
WesleySermon35)
With hope we join our brother, the Apostle Paul, in proclaiming,
“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers [and sisters], I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14, HCSB)
59


So today as we approach the step of confession during Examen, try out these traditional steps of “T’shuvah” (t’SHOOV-ah, תשובה) or “Turning/ Repenting” from our known sins:
1. Confess. Speak your sins aloud to God. (Numbers 5:6-7; 1 John 1:9-10) (Important note: being tempted is not sin. Giving into temptation is sin.)
2. Forgiveness. Receive God’s forgiveness, seek forgiveness from others, and forgive others for their wrongs. (Matthew 6:7-14, Jesus’ Model prayer)
3. Take Steps to Change. No repentance (change of heart and mind) is complete without abandoning the sinful practice and seeking the accountability and help we need to let go of our self-referenced behaviors. God, in His grace, is there to aid us in our quest to abandon harmful patterns and processes. (Proverbs 26:11)
4. Walk in Your Freedom. Jesus came to set us “free indeed” (John 8:36). Our destiny is not to live weighted down by “sins that so easily beset us” (Hebrew 12:1-3) but to live free from willful and habitual sins.
5. Embrace a Future Characterized by Love. Because of Jesus, our past does not have to dictate our future. We can confidently walk into our future knowing that as we release more and more of our “selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3) and allow the Holy Spirit to do the ongoing work of renovation and transformation, we will begin to reflect more of God’s love than our brokenness into the world around us (1 John 1:9-10).
60



62


Day 56:
“Healing the Future”
1. Center Down
Our breath prayer for today. As you inhale, whisper, “You are the One Who was...” As you exhale whisper, “...and is and is to come.”
2. Slowly read aloud the following Scripture
o roll up your sleeves put your mind in gear be totally ready to receive the gift thats coming when esus arrives. ont laily slip back into those old grooves of evil doing just what you feel like doing. ou didnt know any better then you do now. s obedient children let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by Gods life a life energetic and blaing with holiness. God said “ am holy you be holy.”
ou call out to God for help and he helpshes a good ather that way. ut dont forget hes also a responsible ather and wont let you get by with sloppy living.
our life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. t cost God plenty to get you out of
63


that deadend emptyheaded life you grew up in. e paid with hrists sacred blood you know. e died like an unblemished sacrificial lamb. nd this was no afterthought. ven though it has only latelyat the end of the agesbecome public knowledge God always knew e was going to do this for you. ts because of this sacrificed essiah whom God then raised from the dead and glorified that you trust God that you know you have a future in God.
ow that youve cleaned up your lives by following the truth love one another as if your lives depended on it. our new life is not like your old life. our old birth came from mortal sperm your new birth comes from Gods living ord. ust think a life conceived by God himself hats why the prophet said
he old life is a grass life
its beauty as shortlived as wildflowers
Grass dries up flowers droop
Gods ord goes on and on forever.
his is the ord that conceived the new life in you. eter G)
For further exploration:
Videos: http://b.link/BPHope http://b.link/VideoamenOption
Article: http://faiths.church/Mounce 64


3. Kingdom Prayer
Loving Father, we thank You for Your love. Thank You for the plans that You have for each of our lives, plans for good and not for disaster so that we may each have a future and a hope. Thank You that all of Your promises in Christ are “Yes” and in Him, “Amen,” to Your glory through us. Lord, we are joyful because we trust in You. You have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If we tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, we would never come to the end of them. Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.
Glorious Father, You send Your Word out and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all that You want it to, and it prospers everywhere that You send it. Father, we declare that we will continue to circle the promises that You have made in Your Word and confess them daily, trusting that Your Word will produce fruit in our lives. We will remain persistent in prayer and expect the Jericho Walls in our lives to come down in Jesus’ Name. We will not grow weary while we wait for the manifestation of Your promises. We know that endurance develops strength of character which strengthens our confident hope of salvation; and we know that this hope will not lead to disappointment. We decree that we will rejoice in our confident h ope, be p atient in trouble and keep on praying. We confess that we walk by faith and not by sight. We refuse to give up on You. We refuse to gie in to small goals and we refuse to gie out to fatigue, disappointment or despair. Oerwhelming ictory is ours through Christ esus who loes us
65


What promises of God are you still waiting for? Find those promises in His Word, and confess them over your life daily:
Holy Spirit, help us to remember daily that our hope rests in our Heavenly Father who loves us. Father, some of us have experienced so many disappointments that we have a hard time believing Your promises. Please help us to get the help we need to process our past so we will not cripple our present or future through unbelief. Holy Spirit, please help each of us to identify those God-given dreams and visions that we have put on the shelf and to start praying, praising and believing that in due season, those dreams and visions will become earthly realities.
Gracious Father, forgive us for trusting people and things instead of You. Forgive us for not praying emphatic, passionate prayers. Forgive us for doubting You and the promises You have given us. Forgive those for growing weary while waiting on the manifestation of promises and visions. Lord, forgive me for (list any sins that you have committed).
66


Holy Spirit, remind us all of those we need to forgie and help us to be uick to forgie. s for me, Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance those need to forgie. (Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you names or faces of people that you may need to forgive. As He reveals them to you say, “I forgive name of person(s).” Now, trust the Lord to heal any wounds in your soul caused by unforgiveness.)
Holy Spirit, help us all not to yield to temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
All glory, majesty, power and authority are Yours, King Most High, before all time, in the present and beyond all time. You are the One who is and always was. You have assumed Your great power and have begun to reign! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
4. Concepts to Consider
Today we conclude our xamen adventure by looking into the future with hope, not “pie in the sky,” circumstantial optimism, but deep, God-oriented hope. Because God has been faithful in the past, we can look forward to a future that is qualitatively better than our “now.”
f faith is the resolute confidence of and foretaste of things hoped for based on the actions and promises of od and the eidence of things not yet seen, but on their way Hebrews 11:1, then healing our future means
6


re-aligning our expectations and hope with God’s imminent and already-on-its-way “New Creation.”
At a very practical level in order to live into our future hope, today we must ask for the daily bread we need in order to be sustained on the journey. We move forward by faith and “make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12)
We take our leave from our study this week with one final pragmatic thought from Dr. Linn’s book, Sleeping with Bread:
Healing the future happens whenever we can ask the two Examen questions about what gives and takes life. What do I fear will take life in the future? What gives (or, in the future, could give) me life as I face [whatever lies ahead]? When I know my needs and the resources [that are] available to me, the future loses its power to terrify me.
May we cease living out of loss and lack, and begin to embrace our joyfully sufficient and abundant future in Christ Jesus! Amen.
5. Reflection Questions
a. Personal Reflection. As you look back over this week and your Examen experience, what have you learned about yourself? What areas of your life need a deeper experience of God’s Presence and healing?
68


b. Kingdom Reflection. How will you share your experience of God in xamen with those around you? How will your prayers for your family, church, nation, and world change?
69


72




Windsor Village Church Family
6011 W. Orem, Houston, TX 77085 713-723-8187
Prayer Power Line: 713-721-4821 www.kingdombuilders.com www. facebook.com/incitewindsor www.prayerinstitute.com
Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, Senior Pastor