The Bridge RSM

Have you ever felt like something was so hopeless it wasn't even worth praying? You're not alone! But where discouragement would try to have us sit out, there is great joy to be found when we step into contending prayer from a place of secured, ultimate victory in Christ and begin to seek the Lord for His way of seeing our circumstances. New levels of trust and intimacy open up as we continue to draw near to God in prayer!

What feels off that you don't feel like can ever change? There are things in our lives and in the surrounding world that just don't seem to budge, no matter how hard we push. These strongholds are often actually spiritual issues that can't be overcome by flesh and blood efforts. They require spiritual answers. Enter prayer! The weapons of our warfare are spiritual and through persistent, submitted, contending prayer we will see strongholds fall as the Kingdom of Heaven comes to earth and restores all things!

How do you throw a punch at something that's invisible? That is the crux of contending prayer. In intercession we engage in a spiritual battle against spiritual bondage that comes from the sway of demonic powers in our world. But God is stronger; He is greater than any of those forces and when we truly contend for ourselves and others in prayer we will see people set free in the name of Jesus!

Do you pray with authority? Jesus told Peter that the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were his to use and the same is true for us as the Church today! We have the keys, but we have to use them! God is inviting us to pray with authority and love in action to see the Kingdom of Heaven advance and push back the work of demonic powers that would otherwise seek to cause death and decay in the world around us. We pray from an ultimate victory and in the mighty name and character of Jesus.

Where does spiritual authority come from? It starts with knowing your identity, which is both a simpler and more profound thing than it sounds. It's simple because we don't have to invent it or craft it, but it's profound because the God of the universe calls us His sons and daughters and it's from this relationship that the flow of authority runs.

Have you ever wondered why some prayers seem to carry real weight, and others just fall flat? In this first message of a brand new series on intercessory prayer, we get to the heart of it — starting with a single question that changes everything about how you pray. Come discover what it really means to pray with authority, and why it all comes down to how well you actually know Jesus.

On Baptism Sunday, we're stepping back to ask a question worth sitting with: do you really understand the power that's at work in you? Using the simple image of a cucumber becoming a pickle, this message walks through the story every follower of Jesus carries — spiritually dead, then made alive, raised up, and seated in a place of authority we rarely live like we actually have. It's not a message about trying harder. It's an invitation to stop settling for a life smaller than the one grace has already given you.

Pray Like Paul: Learning to Pray Through Ephesians 3

Where we look matters. Have you ever been walking and looking at someone you're talking to so you don't see a step coming? Or gotten sick on a boat looking at the waves and not the shore? Jesus instructed His followers to lift up their eyes and maintain their focus on Heaven. The invitation is to not be distracted by unhelpful priorities, but stay focused on the mission of Heaven to seek and save the lost so that all people might come to know intimately the love of their Heavenly Father.

Do you tell God what you actually want in prayer? Or do you catch yourself minimizing or "sugar coating" you prayers? Pastor Grace Kladnik looks at the prayer of Hannah before she gave birth to the Prophet Samuel and how she poured her heart out to God. There was no buttoned-up approach, no well-thought-out language, and no pretense. There was simply Hannah, Praying Honest Prayers to God.