Morning Prayer ~ Empty Out Every Thought That Is Stealing Your Peace — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02Before we pray, let's first take a
2. 0:04moment to listen to God's word and then
3. 0:07we'll pray together.
4. 0:09There is a kind of tiredness that has
5. 0:12nothing to do with our bodies.
6. 0:15It is the tiredness of the mind,
7. 0:18the exhaustion that comes from carrying
8. 0:21thought after thought, worry after worry
9. 0:25until the mind itself becomes a crowded
10. 0:28room with no space left to breathe.
11. 0:32I believe many of us know this tiredness
12. 0:34well. We wake up and before our feet
13. 0:37even touch the ground, our minds are
14. 0:40already racing.
15. 0:42We are thinking about the bills, the
16. 0:44argument from yesterday, the diagnosis
17. 0:47we are still waiting on, the child who
18. 0:50is not doing well in school,
19. 0:53the marriage that feels distant,
20. 0:56the job that is uncertain,
21. 0:58thought after thought after thought,
22. 1:02and none of them are asked to leave.
23. 1:06They simply pile up and over time they
24. 1:10begin to steal something precious from
25. 1:11us.
26. 1:14They steal our peace.
27. 1:17The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians
28. 1:1910:5,
29. 1:21casting down imaginations
30. 1:24and every high thing that exalteth
31. 1:26itself against the knowledge of God, and
32. 1:28bringing into captivity every thought to
33. 1:31the obedience of Christ.
34. 1:34I find this verse so instructive because
35. 1:37it tells us plainly that thoughts are
36. 1:39not passive. They are not harmless.
37. 1:44Left alone, they exalt themselves.
38. 1:48They grow and begin to tower over the
39. 1:51knowledge of God in our hearts until we
40. 1:54can no longer see him clearly through
41. 1:56the clutter.
42. 1:58This is why the word does not tell us to
43. 2:00simply ignore these thoughts.
44. 2:03It tells us to cast them down, to bring
45. 2:06them into captivity,
46. 2:08to actively empty them out before they
47. 2:11take root.
48. 2:13I think of Martha in the Gospel of Luke.
49. 2:17The Bible tells us in Luke 10
50. 2:2140-41
51. 2:22that Martha was cumbered about much
52. 2:24serving. And when she complained to
53. 2:27Jesus about her sister, he answered her,
54. 2:31"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and
55. 2:34troubled about many things."
56. 2:38Martha was not lazy or unfaithful.
57. 2:41She loved the Lord enough to open her
58. 2:43home to him. But her mind was so
59. 2:46cluttered with many things that she
60. 2:48could not sit still in his presence the
61. 2:50way her sister Mary did.
62. 2:52She was surrounded by the Lord himself
63. 2:55and still could not access peace.
64. 2:58Because her thoughts had taken up every
65. 3:00open space in her heart.
66. 3:04I wonder how many of us are like Martha
67. 3:06today, close to the Lord,
68. 3:10yet too cumbered to receive what he is
69. 3:12offering.
70. 3:14This is why today's devotion is a call
71. 3:17to emptying,
72. 3:19a call to consciously and deliberately
73. 3:22empty out every thought that has been
74. 3:24stealing our peace
75. 3:26so that something else can take its
76. 3:28place.
77. 3:30The word gives us a pattern for this in
78. 3:32Philippians 4 6-7.
79. 3:37It says, "Be careful for nothing, but in
80. 3:41everything by prayer and supplication
81. 3:43with thanksgiving, let your requests be
82. 3:46made known unto God.
83. 3:48And the peace of God which passeth all
84. 3:51understanding
85. 3:53shall keep your hearts and minds through
86. 3:55Christ Jesus."
87. 3:57Notice the order here.
88. 4:00First we are told to be anxious for
89. 4:02nothing. Then we are shown what to do
90. 4:05with the anxiety instead of carrying it.
91. 4:09Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving.
92. 4:13It is as though the Lord is handing us a
93. 4:15container and saying, "Do not hold on to
94. 4:18that troubling thought. Pour it out to
95. 4:21me instead."
96. 4:23This is the emptying that today's
97. 4:26message is about.
98. 4:28We do not just sit and try to think
99. 4:30positively.
100. 4:31We take the actual thought, the specific
101. 4:34worry, and we consciously hand it over
102. 4:37to God in prayer.
103. 4:411 Peter 5:7 puts it even more simply. It
104. 4:45says, "Casting all your care upon him,
105. 4:48for he carth for you."
106. 4:51This is a command with a promise
107. 4:53attached.
108. 4:54Cast it. Let it go. release your grip on
109. 4:58it. And the reason we can do this is
110. 5:01because he cares for us.
111. 5:04We are not throwing our anxious thoughts
112. 5:06into empty air. We are placing them into
113. 5:09the hands of a father who is attentive,
114. 5:12who is able, and who is willing to carry
115. 5:15what we cannot.
116. 5:18I believe many of us have never truly
117. 5:20emptied out our thoughts before God.
118. 5:24We pray about our situations. Yes.
119. 5:27But we keep a firm grip on the worry
120. 5:29itself.
121. 5:31Picking the thought right back up the
122. 5:33moment we say amen.
123. 5:35That is not emptying.
124. 5:38That is only borrowing God's attention
125. 5:40while still carrying the full weight
126. 5:42ourselves.
127. 5:44The prophet Isaiah gives us the reward
128. 5:46of true emptying in Isaiah 26:3.
129. 5:51It says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect
130. 5:54peace whose mind is stayed on thee
131. 5:57because he trustth in thee." Perfect
132. 6:00peace is not given to the mind that is
133. 6:02stayed on its problems, on its fears, on
134. 6:06its endless calculations.
135. 6:09Perfect peace is given to the mind that
136. 6:11is stayed on God.
137. 6:14This means there is an exchange that
138. 6:16must happen.
139. 6:18The thoughts that have been occupying
140. 6:19the throne of our minds must be removed,
141. 6:23emptied out so that God himself can
142. 6:27occupy that space.
143. 6:30We cannot have a mind stayed on our
144. 6:32worries and a mind stayed on God at the
145. 6:34same time.
146. 6:36One must be emptied out for the other to
147. 6:39take its place.
148. 6:41And this is an invitation that Jesus
149. 6:44himself extends to us.
150. 6:47In Matthew 11
151. 6:5028- 29, he says, "Come unto me all ye
152. 6:55that labor and are heavy laden, and I
153. 6:58will give you rest.
154. 7:02Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,
155. 7:05for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
156. 7:09you shall find rest unto your souls."
157. 7:13He does not ask us to fix our minds
158. 7:15ourselves.
159. 7:16He asks us to come. He asks us to bring
160. 7:20the heavy load, the laboring thoughts,
161. 7:23the burdened mind straight to him. And
162. 7:26he promises rest in return.
163. 7:30So today I want to invite you into this
164. 7:33process of emptying.
165. 7:36Whatever thought has been sitting in
166. 7:37your mind stealing your sleep, [music]
167. 7:40stealing your joy, stealing your peace,
168. 7:44I want you to see it clearly today.
169. 7:47Name it before God. Do not let it hide
170. 7:50in the corners of your heart any longer.
171. 7:54As we go into prayer now, come ready to
172. 7:57pour out every single thought that has
173. 7:59been weighing you down and receive in
174. 8:02its place the peace that the world
175. 8:04cannot give. and cannot take away.
176. 8:08Let us pray [music] together.
177. 8:14Heavenly Father, I thank you for your
178. 8:16word that has shown me plainly that my
179. 8:19mind was never meant to be a storoom for
180. 8:22every troubling thought that comes my
181. 8:25way.
182. 8:26I thank you for showing me that I have a
183. 8:29choice.
184. 8:31That I do not have to carry what I have
185. 8:34been carrying.
186. 8:36That I can empty it all out before you
187. 8:39right now.
188. 8:41Lord, today I bring before you every
189. 8:44thought that has been stealing my peace.
190. 8:49I bring the worry about my finances, the
191. 8:52fear about my health, the anxiety about
192. 8:55my children, the uncertainty about my
193. 8:58future,
194. 9:00the bitterness I have held toward people
195. 9:02who have hurt me, the regret over
196. 9:05decisions I cannot undo,
197. 9:08and every other thought that has taken
198. 9:10residence in my mind without my
199. 9:12permission.
200. 9:14Father, I lay them all before you now. I
201. 9:19do not want to hold on to a single one
202. 9:20of them any longer.
203. 9:23I confess, Lord, that I have not always
204. 9:26brought these thoughts to you.
205. 9:28Many times I have tried to think my way
206. 9:30out of them. I have replayed the same
207. 9:33worries over and over,
208. 9:37hoping that if I turn them around in my
209. 9:39mind enough times, I would find an
210. 9:42answer.
211. 9:43But all I have found is exhaustion.
212. 9:47All I have found is a heavier heart and
213. 9:50a more troubled spirit.
214. 9:52Forgive me, Lord, for trying to carry
215. 9:55what you never asked me to carry.
216. 9:58Forgive me for holding on to
217. 10:00imaginations
218. 10:01that exalted themselves above the
219. 10:03knowledge of you.
220. 10:05Forgive me for allowing fear to speak
221. 10:07louder than your promises
222. 10:10and for letting anxious thoughts sit on
223. 10:12the throne of my mind where only you
224. 10:15should sit.
225. 10:17Father, I ask today for the grace to
226. 10:20truly cast my care upon you from the
227. 10:23depth of my heart. Your word says in
228. 10:26first Peter 5:7
229. 10:28that I should cast all my care upon you
230. 10:31because you care for me. And today
231. 10:34[music]
232. 10:34I choose to take you at your word. I am
233. 10:38done pretending to release these
234. 10:40thoughts while still gripping them
235. 10:42tightly.
236. 10:44Lord, help me to open my hands and my
237. 10:46heart and let them go completely.
238. 10:49Where I have prayed but kept the burden,
239. 10:52teach me now what it truly means to hand
240. 10:55it over and walk away lighter.
241. 11:00Lord Jesus, you said in Matthew 11 that
242. 11:03I should come to you when I am weary and
243. 11:06heavy laden and that you would give me
244. 11:09rest.
245. 11:11I am coming to you now. I am laying down
246. 11:14this heavy load of thoughts that has
247. 11:16weighed on my shoulders for far too
248. 11:18long. I take your yoke, Lord, and I lay
249. 11:22down mine. The yoke of overthinking. The
250. 11:25yoke of trying to control every outcome.
251. 11:28the yoke of imagining the worst before
252. 11:30it even happens. I receive your rest in
253. 11:34exchange.
254. 11:36Let my soul find the rest that only
255. 11:38comes from being near to you.
256. 11:42Father, I ask that you help me bring
257. 11:45every thought into obedience to Christ,
258. 11:48just as your word instructs in 2
259. 11:51Corinthians chapter 10.
260. 11:55where there are imaginations that have
261. 11:56grown tall in my mind, imaginations of
262. 12:00failure, imaginations of shame,
263. 12:05imaginations of things falling apart.
264. 12:09I ask that you would tear them down
265. 12:11today.
266. 12:12Let no thought stand in my mind that
267. 12:15contradicts what you have said about me
268. 12:18and about my life.
269. 12:21Let no fear stand where your promises
270. 12:24should stand. I bring every thought low
271. 12:27before you, Lord.
272. 12:29And I ask that you establish only what
273. 12:32is true, only what is good, only what
274. 12:36aligns with your word in its place.
275. 12:41I also ask, Father, that you would teach
276. 12:43me the discipline of prayer and
277. 12:45thanksgiving that your word speaks of in
278. 12:49Philippians chapter 4.
279. 12:52Instead of being anxious about anything,
280. 12:56let me learn to bring everything to you
281. 12:58in prayer with a thankful heart,
282. 13:01trusting that you hear me.
283. 13:04Lord, help me build this as a daily
284. 13:06habit and not just something I do in a
285. 13:09moment of desperation.
286. 13:12Let it become the natural response of my
287. 13:14heart so that the instant a troubling
288. 13:17thought arises,
289. 13:19my first instinct is to bring it to you
290. 13:22rather than to sit with it and let it
291. 13:25grow.
292. 13:27Father, I decree today that my mind is
293. 13:30being renewed.
294. 13:31I speak peace over every anxious thought
295. 13:34that has troubled me. I speak peace over
296. 13:38my finances, peace over my health, peace
297. 13:42over my family, peace over my future,
298. 13:46peace over every situation that has felt
299. 13:49uncertain and overwhelming.
300. 13:52I declare that my mind is stayed on you
301. 13:54from this day forward.
302. 13:57and according to your word in Isaiah
303. 13:59chapter 26,
304. 14:01I receive the perfect peace that you
305. 14:04have promised to those whose minds are
306. 14:06fixed on you.
307. 14:08Let that peace guard my heart and my
308. 14:10mind through Christ Jesus, just as your
309. 14:14word promises.
310. 14:16Let it stand as a wall around me that
311. 14:19fear cannot break through and worry
312. 14:22cannot climb over.
313. 14:24Father, I release every relationship I
314. 14:27have been carrying resentment over. I
315. 14:30empty out every grudge, every offense,
316. 14:34every conversation I keep replaying in
317. 14:36my mind, trying to win an argument that
318. 14:38has already ended.
319. 14:40I let it go, Lord. I choose forgiveness
320. 14:43over rehearsing pain.
321. 14:47I choose your peace over the temporary
322. 14:50satisfaction of holding on to
323. 14:51bitterness.
324. 14:54cleanse my mind of it completely.
325. 14:57Thank you, Father, for receiving every
326. 15:00thought I have poured out before you.
327. 15:03Thank you for the promise that whoever's
328. 15:05mind is stayed on, you will be kept in
329. 15:09perfect peace.
330. 15:12I believe I am receiving that peace
331. 15:14right now,
332. 15:16flooding my heart, my mind, my soul, and
333. 15:21my spirit.
334. 15:23I believe that from this day forward, my
335. 15:26thoughts will be filled with what is
336. 15:28true,
337. 15:30what is good, and what honors you rather
338. 15:34than what steals my peace and my joy.
339. 15:39Glory to your name, Lord Jesus.
340. 15:42To you alone belongs all the praise.
341. 15:45In Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen.
342. 15:52I hope this devotion encourages you to
343. 15:54empty out every thought that has been
344. 15:56stealing your peace and to trust God to
345. 15:59keep your heart and mind through Christ
346. 16:01Jesus. We pray that every word spoken in
347. 16:04this prayer comes to pass in your life.
348. 16:07If you have any special prayer requests,
349. 16:10we would be honored to pray for you.
350. 16:12Feel free to share them in the comments.
351. 16:15And if Grace Oasis Ministry has blessed
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356. 16:26ministry as we continue sharing God's
357. 16:29word every day. If you are not able to
358. 16:31support today, [music] that is
359. 16:33completely okay. Your prayers and
360. 16:35support means so much to us. May the
361. 16:37peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
362. 16:39you always. God bless you.