Willow Park Church

Day 7: Remember Me 

Today we visit the story of Hannah. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. In 1 Samuel, we read of Peninnah’s taunts towards Hannah for not having children while she easily bore children. Hannah was ridiculed and humiliated and pleaded with God, weeping her words, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life." (1 Samuel 1:11) 

Despite the difficult circumstances she faced, Hannah persistently prayed to God. and verse 10 says, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.” 

God wants our emotions; He made us emotional beings. In verse 16, Hannah, in her brokenness, declares to Eli, the priest, "I have been praying here out of great anguish and grief.” Is there something you desperately want from God? It is almost inevitable at some point; we will feel the “distress of the soul” described in the Amplified version of this verse. Others describe it as “the wall” or the “dark night of the soul.” It is so easy for us to feel bitterness at the circumstances of life. Embitterment is different than anger because although it involves the same outrage, it also involves feeling helpless to change things. Hannah clearly felt this. 

Do we let bitterness eat away and create decay as we hold onto our pain, or do we bring our bitterness, let the Lord bear it, and ultimately take it? To ask the same God who allowed your pain to then take your bitterness away requires setting aside resentment. It means a difficult, faithful acknowledgement of His place as your Creator and faithful provider. 

Every year in my devotionals I include Romans 8:26. This story seems fitting of this verse, “the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” "Hannah prayed wordless prayers before Eli, and that caused him to ask if she was drunk. But this is the Spirit interceding for us." 

After God answered Hannah's prayers and granted her the blessing of her son Samuel (plus five more over time) Hannah recognises God's faithfulness. “There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides You. There is no rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2) She continued to pray and give thanks, acknowledging from whom her blessings came. As we know, her son, Samuel, became the greatest prophet in Israel's history, maintaining direct communication with God throughout his life. 

Lord, thank you for your answers to prayer, which You give when we pour our souls to You. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that You pray on our behalf when we pour out our anguish. You are the God who hears us. Lord, hear our deep prayers today for our lives and those around us. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) Amen. 

Reflect and Respond 

- Are you discouraged or despairing? Ask the Holy Spirit to join in your prayer for your situation. 

-Write a prayer of thanks for your situation, thanking God for His faithfulness and sovereignty. Write out some promises that God has given you for your situation. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Prayer Focus Pray for our communications, tech, admin and custodial teams here at the church: Communications Director: Ian Richardson Communications Team: Vanessa Dobson, Marissa Price, Jen Peters, Luke Madden Tech Director: Adam Price Tech Team: Dru Carlson, Karl Dobson, Sam Lamb and all of the volunteers Admin and Ministry Coordinators: Cheryl Carlson, Vicki Burger, Des Rypstra, Louisa Wiebe, Michelle Collins, Morley Cruikshank Custodians and Janitors: Percy Lujan, Kurtis Knuth, Brady Welsh Pray for your three prayer points.

Day 6: Audacious Prayer

Through Joshua's prayer, we will look at a miracle for which we still have no explanation. In his prayer, Joshua asks God to keep the sun still in the sky. Israel is fighting a battle in which daylight is essential. To be victorious, Joshua boldly goes before the Lord and asks Him to keep the sun and the moon from moving. This impossible prayer is prayed in direct encouragement from God's promise to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands.” (Joshua 10:8)

Remember that Joshua had seen miracle upon miracle over time, Red Sea deliverance, God's provision of manna, and Jericho's walls coming down. Because of these testimonies and because of the promise, he prayed an audacious prayer.

God answers, “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day” (Joshua 10:13), and Israel wins the battle.

There are many interpretations of “how” the sun stood still. Lots of rational explanations and scientists have their answers. In writing this, I crawled out of the rabbit hole of research and whether it was a cosmic refraction, an eclipse, the sun stopped shining, a day-long hail storm or a supernatural miracle - what we do know is that God answered and fulfilled his promise to Joshua, “I have given them into your hands.”

The same God who went before Joshua is still the same God who fights on our behalf today. Invite Him into your battle today. Ask Him to go before you; ask Him for his strength, power, wisdom, and love to flow through you. Ask Him to do the extreme for you. Steven Furtick writes, “Audacious faith is the raw material that authentic Christianity is made of. It's the stuff that triggers ordinarily level-headed people like you and me to start living with unusual boldness. If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform.”

My family friend, Barb, in a small Church of England church audaciously prayed for my sake in 1984, and it led to my seemingly impossible healing. Message me ([email protected]) if you’d like to know more of this story!

Lord, thank you that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That the same power that stopped the sun, heals our broken bodies, fights our battles and raised Christ from the grave lives in every one of us. I pray that we will live our lives according to this bold truth. Amen.

Reflect and Respond

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer Focus

Day 5: Glory to Glory

Today I would like to focus on Moses' prayer of five simple words, “Please, show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18) God answered and hid Moses in a little cleft on Mt. Sinai and covered his view until He stood before him. God removed his hand and allowed Moses to view Him from the back. After this, Moses so greatly resembled God’s brilliance that he had to wear a veil over his face so the Israelites could look at him.

The Hebrew word for glory is kabod, meaning abundance, rich or heavy. God’s glory is God’s weightiness in wonderful qualities such as might, beauty, goodness, justice, and honour.

Having witnessed all he had of God, Moses wanted more; he wasn’t settling for past experiences, but more than anything else, he wanted God’s presence.

The Lord promises him, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (v.14) This is what God promises to you. Moses says, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” (v.15) Moses would rather die in the wilderness than to go on without the Lord. We need to be worshippers who declare the same. When Moses had spent time in the Presence of the Lord, “his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord” (34:29)

This is the background to Paul’s extraordinary words in 2 Corinthians 3. Paul says that we can enjoy something far greater (though more subtle) than Moses experienced. We can be even bolder than Moses “who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away” (v.13) Paul writes, “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:16–18) God’s manifest presence, the power of the Holy Spirit within us, makes experiencing kabod possible. When we pray, "Lord, show me your glory," we're actually praying, "Father, reveal to me who you are." And if the Lord does give us a revelation of his glory, it's a revelation of how He wants to be known by us. Paul is telling us, Once you get this revelation of God's glory - of his love, mercy, grace, long-suffering and readiness to forgive - the Holy Spirit will continually open your eyes to more of these aspects of his nature and character. You'll have an ever-increasing revelation of God, in the way He wants to be known to you!

Lord, Thank you that we are all created for your glory. I pray as we enter this new season and we contemplate, behold, and commune with You, that we are transformed, resulting in us reflecting You to all we encounter. From glory to glory! Amen.

Reflect and Respond

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer Focus

Day 4: Fellowship with God

We will now spend time in our daily devotionals journeying through scripture and hearing about audacious, bold, quiet and questioning prayers. I hope they encourage you and ignite the flame of prayer in your life.

One of the most beautiful gifts of prayer is fellowship with God. We'll begin in the book of Genesis with a man named Enoch. If you have heard of him, your first thought might be, “isn't that the one who God took straight to heaven?” Yes, that's him. Genesis 5:22 states that Enoch, “walked with God.” The word for walk is halak, which indicates communion or intimacy with God, indicating that Enoch had a lifestyle characterised by his devotion to God.

Enoch was great-grandfather to Noah who was also described as one who walked with God and lived in the days of wickedness and ungodliness. As described in Genesis 6, this walk wasn't a retreat in the mountains; this was living in the thick of it. He was also a vocal prophet who preached about the coming judgement and the need for repentance (Jude 14-15).

To be known for your fellowship with God is an amazing legacy. And, although he's only mentioned a few times in scripture, Enoch made it to the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. “By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5)

Our goal is to know him, not simply to know about him.

Be encouraged that God desires that you walk in fellowship with Him; “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) Such fellowship takes place as we respond to a special invitation to dinner, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." (Revelation 3:20)

And the great news of such quality fellowship with God is that you will naturally experience fellowship with believers. Those with the richest fellowship with God have the richest fellowship with each other. A unity of the Spirit that comes from shared beliefs, convictions, and behaviours and such fellowship produces our cooperation in God's worship, work, and will being done in the world.

Lord, we invite you in. I pray that our walk with You will be characterised by a life of devotion and your favour surrounding us. That our fellowship will result in knowing You more, and our obedience will encourage boldness for You. For your glory, Amen.

Reflect and Respond

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer Focus

Day 3: First Things First

As we read through the gospels, we see that prayer was Jesus' habit, His top priority. So whether we pray is not a matter of available time or your capacity, as Jesus had the same 24 hours as us; it was a matter of priority. Jesus often withdrew to lonely, desolate, out-of-the-way places. Love drew Him there in the dark of night and the light of dawn.

Is being with the Father your deepest desire? This is about love, not a weekly grading on how much you spend with Jesus. Intimacy and abiding in Him through prayer is where it all begins, and this is how we keep Him as our first love.

Let us learn from Jesus. As the disciples witnessed Him praying to His Father, they wanted to know more. Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He finished, one of his disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray…" Luke 11:1, not how to but simply to. They saw the importance and priority of prayer and that Christ's prayer life was the source of His holiness and power.

Amazingly, the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them how to tell a parable, multiply the loaves, heal the sick, walk on water or turn water into wine, but they asked Him to teach them to pray.

God calls us to pray alone, with others and for others. As Jesus spent considerable time alone with His Father, Luke 9:28 says, "He took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray." Jesus often gathered his closest for prayer and connection. Matthew 18:20 reminds us, “for where two or three gather in my name; there am I with them.” Jesus also prayed when He was baptized, before He chose the Twelve, after Peter’s confession at the Transfiguration as He prepared to face Jerusalem, and when He was in the Garden, even as the guards approached to take Him prisoner—not to mention on the cross itself. We also see Jesus praying regularly for others, "for children, for those who were unwell, for both his current and future followers, and for us today, as He intercedes for us before the Father."

In his book, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer says: “If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus… He offers his apprentices a whole new way to bear the weight of our humanity: with ease. At his side. Like two oxen in a field, tied shoulder to shoulder. With Jesus doing all the heavy lifting. At his pace. Slow, unhurried, present to the moment, full of love and joy and peace. An easy life isn't an option; an easy yoke is.”

Holy Spirit, as we set aside these days to pray, help us to follow Jesus' lifestyle of prayer. Please help us commune with You first, focus our attention upon You, help us to recommit our lives every morning and recount your goodness every night. Amen.

Reflect and Respond

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer Focus

Part of being a Christ-follower means realizing that we’re in a spiritual battle. Too often, though, we forget that we have an enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy anything good and godly in our lives. Here’s how to recognize his tactics, resist him, and stand firm in your faith.

1) Our culture often portrays the devil as a man dressed in red clothes, with a tail and horns, who just wants to break some rules and have fun. Because of this portrayal, amongst other reasons, the reality of the spiritual battle that we’re in is often overlooked or forgotten. What is your experience with learning or hearing about the spiritual battle within the church? Is it something that you are aware of, or is it a relatively new idea?

2) The enemy, from the beginning, has targeted God’s people. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy them and all that is good and godly in their lives. And Satan has many goals in targeting us. Phil shared a list of his goals and it included blinding unbelievers to the gospel, to cause believers to fall away from faith, to stop the spread of the gospel, and to break our fellowship with God, among others. Have you experienced the enemy targeting you with any of these goals? Have you ever thought that you have a “target on your back” because of your faith in Jesus? How does it make you feel?

3) His tactics include lies, temptation, persecution, accusation, guilt, doubt, fear, jealousy, pride, sin, discouragement, amongst others. What are some of the tactics that you experience in your life? Are these been used regularly against you, or was it during a specific season of life?

4) We have so many reasons to hope and to fight this battle, and we fight it with God. The enemy is a defeated enemy, and our God has won the war. We already have victory in Jesus, and we fight to experience that victory every day. Our weapons include prayer, God’s rhema words to us, his Word, his truth, his presence, community, worship, and more. What weapons have you used in the fight? What do you find most helpful? How important is community in the fight?

Day 2: My Kingdom Go 

Let’s begin day two with the first assignment in scripture, found in Genesis 1, verse 26. “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” 

The Hebrew word translated “rule” here indicates that Adam, Eve and their descendants were God’s managers. We read in Psalm 115:16, “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.” Here the Hebrew word translated as “given” means “to assign.” God didn’t give away ownership of the earth but assigned humanity the responsibility to govern it. So when Jesus taught his disciples to pray that God’s kingdom would come, this was what He had in mind - the responsibility to be God’s managers on earth. The person who prays "Your kingdom come" is surrendering his will to the reign of God in his life. 

The word for kingdom is taken from basileia, the word for king, and simply means "the reign of the king." The king’s domain or all of the territory of His realm. 

Let’s think about some examples of praying for His kingdom to come: "Jesus tells us to pray for labourers of the harvest." Didn’t Paul ask for prayer that the Word would spread rapidly (2 Thessalonians 3:1)? Elijah prayed for rain seven times after a seven-year drought (1 Kings 17 and 18). Abraham asked the Lord for mercy over Sodom and Gomorrah. Throughout the Bible God’s children noticed that prayer is their responsibility in connection with the original call of humanity to be managers or stewards on earth. Here are A.W Tozer thoughts on the Lord’s prayer: “What are we praying for? Should we edit that prayer so that it becomes a confrontation? ‘My kingdom go, Lord: Let Thy kingdom come!’ Certainly, His kingdom can never be realised in my life until my own selfish kingdom is deposed. It is when I resign when I am no longer king of my domain, that Jesus Christ will become king of my life.” 

If you pray "Your kingdom come," you are inviting the King, Jesus Christ, to move into your life and the lives of others and breathe His Holy Spirit into you and them. You are praying for new and eternal life, "You are praying, “My kingdom go, and your kingdom come." We are Good News people; we have the resurrection breath of God in our lungs and are partnering with and empowered by God. 

Lord, 

As our youth pastors pray with young people, Your kingdom come. 

As our teachers teach in the classroom, Your kingdom come. 

As our community leaders make decisions, Your kingdom come. 

As parents at home wonder about their bigger purpose, Your kingdom come. 

As the grocery store cashier touches the hand of the lonely, Your kingdom come. 

As desperation is seen in the eyes of those with those we encounter, Your kingdom come. 

As we wash the dishes, vacuum the carpet, empty the garbage, and drink cold tea, In wakeful nights and spinning thoughts. 

I pray, Your kingdom come. 

On earth, as it is, in heaven. Amen. 

Reflect and Respond 

- Ask the Lord if there is any area in your life where you need to respond to “my kingdom go.” 

- Ask the Lord where He would like you to participate in His kingdom work more actively. 

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) 

Prayer Focus 

- Pray for the upcoming Board retreat on January 20-21st - for wisdom and insight. Pray for God’s direction as the board meets monthly. Pray for the elders as they engage in more prayer initiatives. Pray for ongoing wisdom, as the elders seek to guide the vision of the church. Pray for your three prayer points.

Day 1: Let Us Pray

Thank you for joining our journey of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. I am anticipating all that God will do in our lives and church community. C. H. Spurgeon once said, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.”

I pray as we journey through the next 21 days that these devotionals will encourage you and your faith journey. Each devotional will start with a thought, then onto a time of reflection and journaling. We have a natural tendency to remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember. I have found that journaling is the best antidote to spiritual amnesia. Following our reflection, we will follow prayer points for our Willow Park community and beyond, and of course pray for our three prayer points.

As we begin our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, we decide on our three specific prayer requests, three areas that will help us pray with purpose. The Lord is encouraging us to pray bold prayers. He is encouraging us to come before Him in holy anticipation, to be specific - so that we can point the glory directly to God. Prayers for the seemingly impossible. Let’s focus our 21 days on the unseen realm and get our headlines from His word. It’s no coincidence that being watchful and prayerful are coupled by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” When Paul uses the word watchful, he refers to the ancient watchmen on the walls, who saw first and looked out across the horizon. As we enter this focused prayer time, let us see ourselves as His watchmen. In the words of theologian Walter Wink, “History belongs to the intercessors.” That’s us! We are given a unique opportunity to change His-story.

We are all familiar with the challenging verse, “Be Still and know that I am God.” But we often stay there. If we continue to read, we find this encouragement: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Tyler Stanton writes, “That’s the destination of this prayer, the promise we become aware of in holy stillness.”

Be still. Remember who God is. Remember who you are in Him.

Lord, we dedicate the next 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting to You. Help us to focus each day. Speak to us your truths. We are expectant and know You are faithful and will answer. Amen.

Reflect and Respond

WPC Prayer Focus

Sermon notes coming soon! Happy New Year!

Sermon notes coming soon! Merry Christmas!