Morning Prayer | Wednesday 1/7/26 | Gateway Church Live

Good morning, let's stand to our feet. Let's welcome the presence of God today. Welcome to day three of prayer. Let's exalt the name of Jesus. Amen. ((music playing)) I'll praise in the valley and praise on the mountain. I'll praise when I'm sure and praise when I'm doubting. ((music playing)) I'll praise when outnumbered and praise when surrounded.

Praise is the water my enemies drown in. And as long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise ((music playing)) the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. And I'll praise when I feel it and praise when I don't. ((music playing)) I'll praise cuz I know you're still in control.

Cuz my praise is a weapon. It's more than a sound. My praise is the shout that brings Jericho down. And as long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise ((music playing)) the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. And I won't be quiet, my God is alive.

How could I keep it inside? We sing praise ((music playing)) the Lord, oh my soul. ((applause)) ((music playing)) We exalt you, Jesus. Come on, we declare our praise cuz you're sovereign, praise cuz you reign, praise cuz you rose and defeated the grave. I praise cuz you're faithful, praise cuz you're true, praise cuz there's nobody greater than you.

I praise cuz you're sovereign, praise cuz you reign, praise cuz you rose and defeated the grave. I praise cuz you're faithful, praise cuz you're true, praise cuz there's nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise ((applause)) the Lord, oh my soul.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Oh, I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? We sing praise the Lord, oh my soul.

Oh, we give you praise. We bless your name. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. We exalt you, Jesus. ((music playing)) I am an instrument of exaltation. ((music playing)) And I was born to lift your name above all names. You hear the melody of all creation. But there's a song of praise that only I can bring.

And who else is worthy? Come on, church. Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Why not? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. You are the infinite God of the ages. Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place.

You healed my brokenness, showed me your glory. So I have songs of things not even angels sing. And who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. ((music playing)) Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above.

The righteous one who shed his blood, you proved to us the Father's love. Jesus Christ, be lifted up. Holy, holy Lamb of God, anointed one, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, come on, church. The righteous one who shed You proved to us the Father's love.

Jesus Christ, be lifted up. And who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. There is no one. Only you, Jesus. There is no one. Only Only you, Jesus.

((music playing)) Only you, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Say his name. Come on, campuses, say his name. Jesus. The righteous one who shed his blood. Oh, Lord, more power. Lord, we thank you for your presence today. Move and work in us today. We're doing the work of the ministry this morning. So, Lord, we sense your presence already.

Lord God, we ask, Father, that you would have your hand upon each one of your kids here, sons and daughters of the most high God. Let them sense your presence. Let them hear your voice. In the strong name of Jesus Christ, we ask it. Everybody said Amen. Amen.

Amen. Hey, hey. Blessings, guys. So, I'm Steve from the North North Fort Worth campus. Hey, okay. Yeah, all right. Thank you. And uh So, just want to kind of go over the the plan. Maybe this is your first day. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. We love you. Glad you're here.

Bring 12 tomorrow. No problem. No pressure. Uh so, we'll have a short devotion right now. Then we'll move into a time where of corporate prayer. We will take a couple of prayer requests. We'll get ourselves comfortable, moving around, praying. Whatever posture you take, uh we want you to um spend some time interceding for these requests cuz these these are family, right?

These are congregation. They're our folks. This is what's close to their hearts. It's close to God's heart. We want you to do that. So, that makes sense? Uh and just a moment um after the devotion, we'll move to that time of corporate prayer and um it'll be a fantastic time, powerful time.

So, here at here at Southlake, we've got cards in the back. So, if you sitting toward the back, go that direction. We had some traffic control problems last night, like yesterday. If you're in the front, come up here, take a couple of cards, then we'll move straight into prayer.

Make sense? All right. All right. All right. So, um Let me tell you about my favorite service. You can have a seat. Have a seat. Have a seat. So, at at North Fort Worth, we have a 1:00 service. At Grand Prairie, we have a 1:00 service. And I got to serve at both those campuses, and 1:00 is my favorite service.

Now, I will say um most people at the 1:00 service think it starts at 1:25. And we walk in the in your in the auditorium, and you're looking around going, "Dear God, is anyone coming? Do we have Was there a time change?" But then you turn around, and it's full.

But here's what I love about it. The altar time at the end. Because there is a sense of desperation. There's a sense that, "Lord, if you don't show up, we're not going to make it." It's also a really great time because there's not much religion in the room.

Does that make sense? Uh folks are pretty raw, and they're saying, "We just need Jesus to show up." And so, when we pray today for these requests, we want to have the same desperation that says, "God, I'm praying for one of your kids, whether they're away from you, or they need healing, or they need a breakthrough, or whatever the next step is, Lord, you know."

So, with the same same heart as if it was my son or daughter, I'm going to intercede over these requests and see God show up in a powerful way. Does that make sense? So, just a a little bit of reminding you of what the truth you already know, okay?

Um as we break into prayer over these things, I want Well, look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14. He says, "I will pray with my mind, and I will also pray with my spirit. I'll sing in the spirit. I'll sing with my understanding." All right? So, first of all, we're going to pray with our minds, which we seem to think we got that pretty good.

We're going to read these requests. We're going to go, "Man, I know what's going on. I hear what's happening, and um I'm going to I'm going to bombard heaven with the passion of what God's heart is towards that person." In a loving way, reaching out, right? So, we're praying over these requests.

Uh we're listening for what God might say. Now, can I give you a spoiler alert? Is that okay? A little spoiler alert? Sometimes, we get into um workshopping the plan mode. ((music playing)) God, I think this is the way you should move. Uh I think you should do this, and then do B, and then do C, and then do D, and that needs to be done by Thursday.

And that's not prayer. That's the illusion of control. Does that make sense? Sometimes, we overstep our bounds in prayer, and we think, "I'm going to tell God how to move and when he needs to do it. Thank you. Amen." Any Anyone have a problem with control here? Anybody?

Anybody? Okay, the rest of you are lying, and you're saying, "I will not be controlled. I will not raise my hand this morning." We want to wrestle control. And so, we're going to leave space for what God says and what his plan and his purpose is. We're going to bring the request to him, but we don't have to solve it.

We don't have the resources to solve it. We We bring the requests. We entrust it to a loving heavenly Father. We put it in his hands, and then we're good. Make sense? Make sense? So, in that sense of releasing that control and releasing the order of the steps, I now can just concentrate on God, "This is your son.

This is your daughter. What do they need next? Lord, I want to agree with your heart on this." And um so, that that part about Paul saying I'm going to pray with the spirit also, that's one of those great ways to put to death my desire to be in control is to begin to pray in the spirit.

Because then I'm not really engaging my mind. I'm not really praying for an interpretation. I'm just saying, "Lord God, I want to align myself with your heart and your spirit." I I'm going to begin to speak in that unknown tongue, and I'm going to begin to pray knowing that I have the mind of Christ.

I don't have to stress about outcomes. I don't have to think that it's all up to me. I'm recognizing, man, this is the work of the spirit. And I'm bringing this to the Lord so that he'll be job one in showing up and taking care of it. You know, sometimes, the greatest prayer of faith is to say, "Lord, I don't even know how to pray."

((music playing)) And then God says, "Well, I was waiting for that, Steve. Now, I'm showing up." Um And when God shows up, it's big. It's not small. So, one of the prayer requests we're praying for at North Fort Worth, um I read a request yesterday from a mom who said, "I want you to pray for my two sons.

One of my sons is getting ready to go in the military, and we're praying that he has the right job, the right location, the right specs, everything. So, pray for his protection. Pray for the next step. And one of my sons is going into prison. I want to pray for his protection and his release."

That's a desperate prayer, right? And to be honest with you, no matter what's going on in your life, we're all desperate. If Jesus doesn't show up, only you, Jesus. If Jesus doesn't show up, we're not going to make it. So, that's the attitude of prayer today is to lean in and say, "You know what?

I'm going to have the heart of God for these requests. I'm going to quiet my mind and engage my spirit. I'm going to pray with my intellect, but I'm also going to pray in the spirit. And we're going to see God move. God move. God move in these uh requests and in answered prayer."

Also, come back and tell us when God shows up big. We love to hear the report. "My son got saved." "My daughter now has a job." Whatever it is, we love to hear that. Sometimes, we want to get to hear the good news. Does that make sense? So, uh praying praying with the spirit really aligns ourselves to Lord, and it's one of those ways to put to death that spirit of control that we seem to want to wrestle back.

So, sometimes, there's unlikely intercessors, and we're all intercessors this morning. Um Mary's parents, my my uh in-laws, they're in they're with the Lord now in heaven now. But when we first married and were dating and everything, they didn't know Jesus and wanted nothing to do with it. And it was the prayers of our 4-year-old daughter that said, "Papa, I'm praying for you that you'll be in heaven with me."

How long do you think it took? It was not long. And they didn't miss a service. Their lives were radically changed. There was a real salvation, and man, things changed. So, do I think, you know, all preschoolers uh should be intercessors? Well, not all. My prayers at 4 years old was I had two older sisters, which meant I had three moms.

Does that make sense? Anybody with older sisters? I had three moms. I'd pray stuff like, "Dear God, take them home." They're always getting me in trouble. So, not an intercessor. But the purity of heart that says, "I just want my grandfather to be in eternity with me." That moves the heart of God.

That softens the heart. Pastor Daniel said, "Having a positive impact a positive Christian experience with those around." So, what we're praying for is that the God will use us to bring his kindness and his grace that leads to repentance. Make sense? So, all campuses, anywhere you're at, we're asking that our communities and in our communities, that it becomes extremely hard for someone to choose hell.

Cuz we want to be the kindness of God showing up, leading them towards repentance, and seeing miracles. Okay, campuses, I'm going to pray in just a minute, and at that point, your pastors will come up and give you some brief instructions about how you guys need to organize your requests.

But let's pray right now. So, Lord Jesus, we're asking that starting this week, the catalyst for a harvest that makes your name famous will begin. That Lord, you would get all the glory. That you're the one that's worried worthy. That you're the one that we turn our eyes towards.

You're our help. You're our defense. So, Lord, would you do that in our midst? A harvest that makes your name famous. In the strong name of Jesus Christ, we ask it. Everybody said All right, campuses, you got it. Southlake, here's the deal. Requests at the back. Requests in the front.

Grab a couple. Move around and pray. Now, I know how you pray at home. Sometimes, you shout down the neighbors. Today, we want you to exercise energy, but if you're the only voice you hear, you might want to turn the volume down. Does that make sense? Love you guys.

Let's pray. Yes, Lord. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) >> In the beginning You were the promise. One with the Father Born as a man For our forgiveness Freely you offered To go to the altar And die as the lamb Cuz you are the one true God Jesus ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) >> I'm not demanding a sign ((music playing)) or a work of your hand.

I have all I need to believe. Whether I'm in the waiting or the promised land, I have all I need to believe. Christ is enough for me. Christ is enough for me. ((music playing)) Whether you give, whether you take, my song will be the same. Christ is enough for me.

There is power in my weakness. ((music playing)) I don't want to strive. I have all I need to believe. ((music playing)) Cuz your grace is sufficient and it never runs dry. I have all I need to believe. ((music playing)) I have all I need to believe. ((music playing)) Christ is enough for me. ((music playing)) >> You are so worthy.

((music playing)) You are so worthy. ((music playing)) You are so worthy. ((music playing)) Jesus Christ. You are so worthy. You are so worthy. ((music playing)) You are so ((music playing)) worthy. ((music playing)) Jesus Christ. ((music playing)) All the glory, all the honor, we will give to you. You are king. Our devotion and our worship, we will give to you. You are king.

And all the glory, ((music playing)) all the honor, we will give to you. ((applause)) You are king. Our devotion and our worship, we will give to you. ((applause)) You are king. And all the glory, all the honor, we will give to you. You are king. Our devotion and our worship, we will give to you.

((music playing)) You are king. And all the glory, all the honor, ((music playing)) we will give to you. ((music playing)) You are king. Our devotion and our worship, we will give to you. ((music playing)) You are king. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) Oh, come on every campus. Let's clap our hands. He is worthy, worthy, worthy, right? Well, if you would at every location, come as close as you possibly can.

And we're going to gather around our prayer topic today. And today we're praying for small groups and community in our church. And I don't know if you know this, but the model of the New Testament church was they met, we're going to read it in a second, they met in the temple.

So, they met in a large group setting. So, us getting together on the weekend is how they started out in Acts. And then the Bible says they met in homes. They met in smaller groups and and you'll see in the days ahead that as we continue to move forward together, groups will become a It's a very dear thing to my heart, a very important thing I think in the life of the church because couple things.

One, you got to have You got to figure out a way to make a big church feel small for people. And then you also you've got to have people around you. You can't just be a face in the crowd. Everybody needs to be needed and known. Need to be needed and known.

In other words, they need a place to serve and they need a place to belong. And small groups is the way that we facilitate that and it's the way that we can care for a whole lot of people in a church that is our size. The Bible says this in Acts 2:46 and 47.

And kind of gives us the early model of how the church operated. It says, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. And they broke bread in their homes." So, something about Christians, we've always liked food. They broke bread in their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the of all the people.

And listen to this, "And the Lord added to their number daily." So, not just on Sunday. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. So, there was something happening in this community, these small groups, that showed showed shine the light of Jesus that every day people were coming to faith in Christ.

And so, we're going to pray around a couple things for small groups in our church in the coming year. One, we're praying for meaningful connections and for spiritual growth. That's what we want to happen in a small group. We want people to take a next step. You know, spiritual growth it isn't complicated, it's just you taking next steps.

And if you'll look back, if you're been walking with the Lord long, you look back over your life, it's just a series of next steps. You took the step of reading your Bible. You took the step of being in church. You took the step of water baptism. You That's what we want to do, help people take their right next step in their journey of faith.

And so, that's what we want for people. We want a place where they can take the mask off and say, "I'm not okay." And people need a safe environment to do that. We want to pray for that. Number two, we want to pray for life transformation to take place in our groups.

We want We want real life transformation to take place. And then number three, we're going to pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up leaders. Because the the people to put in groups isn't the problem. I don't know if y'all notice, there's a lot of people showing up on the weekends.

But we need leaders that are steward people really well. Love people well. Actually, I'm going to challenge you that if you're here at 6:00 a.m., you have a level of commitment to Jesus, you need to think about leading a group this year. Think about We have a new small groups semester launching in January.

You need to ask God today, "God, am I the answer to that prayer?" Let's just don't pray for leaders, let's be the answer to the prayer. Can I get a better amen? Yeah. You're like, "You already got me up at 6:00 a.m., Pastor. What do you mean? I'm going to lead a small group, too?"

Exactly, yes, you are. We're raising the level of commitment, okay? So, let's go to the Lord in prayer at every location. I'm not You're not As I say, you're not here to hear me pray, we're here to pray together, okay? So, let's pray around these three things. We're going to pray for meaningful connections.

We're going to pray for spiritual transformation. And we'll pray that God of the harvest would raise up leaders to lead these groups. So, let's pray together right now. Father, we come before you. And we just want to say we thank you for who you are. We love you.

We honor you today. And God, we're thankful that even in the New Testament, at the birth of the church, you gave us this beautiful model of gathering corporately where we worship you and beautiful things take place. But then you gave us this model of gathering at homes. And And God, I I'm I believe it's transferable today around coffee shops and in offices and at conference tables, Lord, where we could gather in meaningful connection and that's what we're praying for.

Lord, I'm praying that no one that walks through the doors of our church goes, "I just can't find a place here. I can't seem to connect here." Lord, would that be would that shift in this place where God meaningful connections happen, deep relationships happen. God, I'm praying for friendships to happen that last a lifetime.

God, I pray that people would walk in and they would just there would just be this sense of of community. Lord, I pray that that there would just kind of be this this tide rise in our church of people coming and they just make friends. Lord, there's just real connections and and lunches start happening and and groups start forming and and people inviting over to their house, Lord, start happening.

I just pray that there would be this this sense of openness that we wouldn't walk into the doors just what do we get on the weekend, but Lord, we'd have eyes to see that we'd have hearts that want to connect. Lord, I pray for Lord, real heart transformation to take place.

Lord, I I don't we don't want to go through religious motions and we don't want to check religious boxes, Lord. God, we want true hearts transformation. We want to be made new. We want to be renewed. Lord, we want iron to sharpen iron. God, we want there to be this sense of we're growing together in a place where we can take the mask off.

Lord, I pray that there would be groups formed where real James 5:16 happens. That there's an a a safe place to confess your sins one to another so that people can receive healing in the areas where they're broken and they're struggling. Lord, I pray that there would be bands of brothers and bands of women that come together, Lord, that lock arms and go, "I will walk through hell and high water with you.

That I am your 2:00 a.m. call. That I will be there when you're in the hospital and I'll be there when you're on the mountaintop. I'll be there when you're in the valley and I will be there when you are celebrating the greatest moments of your life." God, we're asking for those kind of connections and and the kind of spiritual growth that happens in there.

Would the word come alive? God, would prayer happen? Would we contend with one another? Would we stand with one another? God, would we battle in the spirit with one another? Lord, I pray that that would happen across our entire church, Lord, and as a result, would next steps be taken?

Lord, I pray for people that they've said yes to you, but never been water baptized. I pray it because of a small group leader, would they take the step of water baptism? Lord, I pray that our our our hunger for your word and reading your word and praying every day and letting it speak to us and examine us.

Lord, would the tide of that rise because of of accountability that happens in small groups? Would we get better? Would we get stronger? Would we fall more in love with Jesus because of that? And Lord, finally, come on, let's pray together for leaders. God, we you would you tell us the harvest is plentiful.

Pray the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the field. And so Lord, I just pray that you would put on the hearts of thousands of people in our church, Lord. I'm asking for thousands of people to get a burden to lead a small group, to create a space, to invite people into their world, to lay down some of their time, to sacrifice the what it takes to be a leader and God that they would embrace that mantle and they would invite people into their world for the purpose of seeing heart transformation in the lives of others.

For a place to create community, a place to create connection, a place where people can get vulnerable and honest so their wounds and their past and their issues can be healed in their life. Father, we're praying today, Lord, even in the coming weeks, this week, next week, Lord, raise up leaders.

God, would a tide of leaders come up? Put it on their heart, Holy Spirit, and would they respond in obedience? And would you use them for your glory? Lord, we thank you that on day three, God, you are already answering prayers. You're already responding. God, we're full of faith.

We're full of trust and we believe that these next uh six mornings together, we believe in the night of worship that we're going to see you continue to do the miraculous. So, we give you all the honor and all the glory and all the thanks. And the church said a big amen.

Amen. Amen. Come on, let's clap our hands if we believe it today. ((music playing)) God is doing great things. Had several people stop me in the foyer here at Southlake today and just say, "I got to tell you about an answer to prayer already." It's only day three, everybody. How many of you know God's just getting started?

And uh so make sure you're here in the morning. It's going to be a great great time together, day four. And uh then I also want to remind you, you know, next Friday night will be a night of worship and prayer. And uh so make sure you're in the room for that.

It's going to be a powerful time. And uh begin inviting somebody now. Hey, you need to come with me. And uh we're going to we're going to pray over every need that is represented and I don't know, I just have this sense. I'm not saying God told me.

I'm not one of those people, you know, that um but I I have a sense that we're going to see God do some remarkable things. Some remarkable things that night. I'm full of faith for it. I'm just telling you, you can't fast for this many days and then come together and worship and pray.

I think God has to do something, right? I think he's The Bible says the eyes of the Lord are scanning the earth to and fro. That's King James. To and fro, looking for those who he may show himself strong on their behalf. And uh I believe the eyes of the Lord are zeroing in on the DFW and Jackson Hall right now as we seek him in prayer.

All right. I love you so much. Have a wonderful day and we will see you tomorrow morning.