Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness to Your people. Yet too many of us are absolutely fine with indulging our fleshly lusts, agreeing with sin and satan, and drifting on the current of this fallen world. Your Church appears so weak and ineffective because we are trying to live for you in this world by our own strength and ideas rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of Your Word.
We have not rejected Your Word outright. Yet we have compromised Your truth by mixing it with the lies of the devil. We have allowed the enemy of our soul to establish strongholds in our lives. And thus, our lives, in practice, look no different from those who do not know and follow You. By the power of Your Holy Spirit and Your Word, demolish the strongholds and arguments that are raised up above the knowledge of God as we take every thought captive to obey You.
Cause Your word to burn in our hearts like a fire that we cannot hold in. Do not let us fall in love with the emotional highs of 'church services' rather than gathering together to worship You. May we no longer be comfortable in our secret sins while we feign love for You. May Your manifest presence be so great upon us that we can no longer go through the motions. Bring us to the place where we stop pretending to love You above all else while we coddle our sin.
Bring a godly sorrow to our souls over our sin, produce in us repentance that we may experience the sanctifying work of Your Spirit in our lives. Revive us that we may rejoice in You again. Break us from wanting to fit in, from being liked and popular, and from the fear of man and death. Bring us to the place where our only motivation is to bring Your glory and please You in everything. We do not know what to do and cannot do anything apart from You. May we be a people desperate for You, who cling to You because we realize that there is no one or nothing else worth having in this world besides You. Help up to fully avail ourselves to You, withholding nothing.
As I pray this, I am not just thinking about others but of my own heart and life as well. Please show me the error of my ways and my own wayward heart. Help me to see and remove the beam from my own eye that I may be used to help others take the speck out of theirs. Move me by Your Holy Spirit to confess and repent of my sin that You may revive me again. As You do, I ask You to use me to fan the flames of revival in the hearts of my brothers and sisters. Help me to build others up and not tear them down as we grow in maturity looking more and more like Jesus. Amen!!!
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