Well, hey everyone and welcome. We want to say thank you for being here today at all of our locations. Even at Church online. You picked an incredible Sunday to be here. I just want to take a moment to say how honored we truly are each and every week that you choose to come be a part of the family here Adventure.

It hasn't this series just been amazing 21 days of prayer and all of our locations. I would just say man. It's been so cool and you've been consistent of coming and being a part of this and so we just want to take a moment and say thank you. Thank you for investing your time in this you could pick anywhere else in the world to be but you choose to be here and man. I think that's a blessing in my prayer today is that God would honor you for that in the midst of the rain and the dreariness that it seems that you would come in and God that would just he would just lie to fire underneath.

So do me a favor really quickly at all of our locations even at church and I don't want you to turn to somebody just somebody around you and say you look better last week. Now I'm just kidding. Not just kidding. It's better with you here. It's better now.

Go back to that same person and say I'm just did what he told me to do and say it's better with you here. It's better with you here. It's better with you here because when the family is together, it's incredible to see how God moves and he begins to shape things and take us to places like he's taking us in 21 days of prayer. It's been incredible to see just how he's moved. Haven't you enjoyed these messages on gratitude.

I'm telling you for me the the two messages on gratitude that Pastor Jeff preached. It'll work in my heart something that I really needed. And then Kyle's message a couple of weeks ago talking about why even pray what's the importance of prayer? All of these have gotten me in my family to a place of where we're we're praying and we're we're enjoying it and seeking after the Lord and my prayer for you today is that it would be the same way going into 2023 because here's the thing as we get to the end of the 21 days of prayer Seasons we get to Of this and it culminates and we're walking off the mountain with the Lord, right? We ask the question each and every year I ask this question.

I know that probably some of many of us do in the room online this so what what now what do we do coming out of 21 days of prayer? How can we take what we've learned and begin to apply it actively in our lives. So today here's what I want to do. I want to unpack a couple of things just two tips two things that you can take with you today and begin to implement in your life so that we can take this season of 21 days of prayer into all of our year so that it doesn't just stop with January but it continues on in February March April to the entirety of the year so that we can begin to give God praise and Orient not just that the first of the year, but Orient our entire lives towards God so I'm gonna give you the first thing. All right, you ready?

I'm gonna give you the first tip you got your notepad out if I got your pen ready to go online. Here it is. Here's the first thing that you need in order to build. Life of Prayer that is awkward for you as it was for me. Silence Stillness Solitude finding those moments alone with the Lord and beginning to walk in that way a place of silence and y'all it's awkward.

It can be so difficult to find moments of silence and Stillness. In fact, just like a moment like that even when we're alone and we don't have anybody looking at us it can still be tough to be silent before the Lord. There's always something to do right. There's always some place to go another meeting to attend the family member to talk to somebody calling you on your phone or on your tablet or on your watch or on your computer on your earbuds, you know, there's so many different things that are vying for your attention and I want to tell you this it is a conspiracy. To move you away from what's important to focus on what's urgent?

It's the tyranny of urgency. And everything in this world is trying to pull you away from that still small voice. The presence of God, but I'll just take my word for it. I want us to dive into a Psalm together. I can think of no better place to end our time together in 21 days of prayer then go into the Psalms and looking at a Prayer by David that he gave to the temple as the prayer of praise to God a way of seeing an orienting our lives around prayer and how does prayer look in our lives?

How do we begin to see God through prayer Psalm 46 and I'd love for us to dive in to that together as we begin to walk off the mountain of 21 days of prayer and into the rest of our year. Let's look at Psalm 46 starting in verse 1. I love this Psalm. It says. God is our refuge and strength.

And we could just stop right there and I'll go home that's good enough. God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore. We will not fear though. The Earth may give way in the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though.

It's Waters Roar and foam in the mountains Quake with their surging then he pauses and says there is a river who streams make glad the city of God the holy place where the most high dwells God is within her. She will not fall. God will help her at break of day nations are an uproar. He says that sounds familiar kingdoms fall. He lifts his voice though in the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our Fortress come and see what the Lord has done the desolations that he has brought on the earth. He makes the worst to cease to the ends of the Earth. He breaks the bow and he shatters the spear and he burns the shields with fire. He says be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the Nations. I will be exalted in the Earth. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our Fortress today after just a few minutes my prayer for you is this is that you would leave here today with a full understanding of what it means not just to to pray to God. To talk to God or to learn about God but to be with God and from that place of being with.

Finding more strength and foundation for your life. Than you ever have before. Would you pray with me Father we pray that you would take these words not my words, but yours father that they wouldn't move in our hearts in a way like we've never encountered before God would you speak to us? We sit in your presence today. We rest in you.

We love you. So Jesus name we pray and everybody said amen, you know, I love Psalm 46 but one of the reasons that I love it so much is that makes me so uncomfortable. It's just so hard to get around the whole be still and know that I'm God because I'm not like that. If you can look at me on the stage back and forth back and forth. I can't be still there's just no way for me to do it.

So I'm constantly saying to God God, I would love to do anything for you. What do you want me to do? You're gonna go over here and do something over here. You only talk to this person. You're gonna go and do this thing.

But when I get to this point of Psalm 46:10 where he says be still and know that I'm God things go off the rails for me. It's really difficult. It's especially difficult right now because we live in that really wild season of Life called early Parenthood. Anybody know about this, we have a four-year-old little girl and a two month old little boy and there is no such thing as silence in our house. It doesn't exist.

I don't know why God's telling me to be still because I have to chase a toddler in an infant. Well, the infant can't go anywhere, but he's still pretty loud. Things are wild right now and any time where I would normally want to find a little bit of quiet time a little bit of me time. It doesn't normally for me like quiet time is in the car, right Ryan and listening to them to my playlist, but that doesn't exist anymore because I'm a taxi service. There's there's this either one kid or both kids are in the car.

Now. Henley. Grace are a little four year old. She loves to sing in the car. That's her thing.

She loves to sing. In fact, she tells us all the time Daddy. I want to be a veterinarian and a worship leader when I get older and I'm like, that's it girl go for it. I love that but that comes with some challenges right now, which means that she wants to listen to music every time we get in the car and sing at the top of her lungs. Or right now a couple of weeks ago.

I took her to her first Southern Miss basketball game. And so she has been all about the Southern Miss like band music. And she wants to sing like the Southern Miss fight song at the top of her lungs every time we get in the car and she's got this little Pom-Pom within one little stick the black and gold and she'll do it furiously while she's singing that fight song. Well she sits right behind me. And so that pom pom every time that I'm driving down the road over here to Sir the Mississippi to the top to Over and over and over again and trust me.

I love my Southern Miss but like this is nuts. There is no silence. And so if I'm looking like this when I'm talking to you today, it's because the Pom-Pom. Because it's it's incessant. It doesn't quit, but that's just with one kid.

We've got another kid and the other seat that he does not like to be in the car seat. And so he will let us know that very quickly. And so he starts crying and now Henley Grace feels like it's her mission in life to make sure that Hatcher are two month old doesn't cry. So how does she do this by turning and looking at him and singing happy birthday at the top of her lungs? I ask her say Henley Grace why a happy birthday?

Well, it's a good song Daddy. Well, that makes so much sense. Yeah, so then Hatcher's crime and he's screaming and hindley Grace is singing happy birthday and January. His birthday is in November and all of this is happening. So Lauren and I just like look at each other and smile and crank up the radio.

And we just put our worship playlist on and so there is no such thing as silence in the Houston household right now. However, The other day Henley gets in the car after preschool and she says Daddy I want to play a game and I said anything to keep us away from the Pom-Pom, baby. If you want to play Let's play the game. And so she I said what's the game babe? And she said the game is my teacher taught it to me.

Can we play it? I said sure what do you want to play? She said it's called the quiet game. Yes, baby, we can absolutely play the quiet game for sure. Let's play.

Okay, Daddy one, two, three quiet. For 27 seconds It was the best quiet I've ever experienced in my life until I look back in the rear view mirror and my daughter's eyes were about to bulge out of their head like this. Daddy I can't do it anymore. I can't take it anymore. I got to say I tried to win but I can't and I said that's okay baby.

You made it 27 seconds. That's a start that gives me what I need to make it through the next decade of life. Thank you. But she couldn't handle it once the silence it got to her for 27 seconds. She gave it everything that she had and then she just had to say something that she had to talk and aren't we so similar in how we bring ourselves into prayer, isn't it?

So similar in our own lives where we get to that moment. We're like, okay God we're gonna be with you today. I'm gonna experience your presence today. This is gonna be new and I'm gonna experience something incredible and we're gonna sit here and I'm gonna be in your presence. I can't do it.

Because there's another thing to do. There's another meeting to go to there's a note another notification on my phone. There's another friend that's texting me asking me what am I doing tonight? There's another thing that's got to happen and on and on and on and on it goes and we become just like a child. Who went in the presence of their father?

We want to go do something else. We're gonna go right we're gonna be we want to go work and do. But that's precisely the point of why God and verse 10. He brings us to this first point of being still this is why Psalm 46 is so important. Because yes, there are a lot of things in our life that want our attention.

The God wants to bring us to this place of recognizing that he is the only one worthy of that attention. He is the most important. Psalm 46 10 is important because of what happens in front of it. Let's take a look again at psalm 46:1 Then just go through this see what God says about himself that makes it so important for us to be still in verse 1. It says God is our refuge and strength.

He is a very present help in trouble. He's near to our circumstances in verse one. We see that he's a present help. He's not far away from us. He's close.

He wants us to see that. Go to verse 5 if you look in verse 5, it's talking about the city of God. There's a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is within her in verse 5. She's not going to fall and God will help her at the break of day.

He's a provider. Not only is he an ever-present help? But he's a provider for our needs. If you're in need of something today, if there's something that you feel inside of the that you don't have maybe it's you need peace in the middle of anxiety. Maybe it's that you need some help with a relationship or you need to connect back into a relationship or forgive someone maybe you need forgiveness in your life for someone or from someone.

Whatever that looks like. God is our provider. He has ever-present verse 5. It shows he's our provider and then in verse 8 it goes on to this. It says come and see what the Lord has done the desolations that he has brought on the earth.

He makes War cease to the ends of the Earth. He breaks the bow and he shatters the spear and he burns the shields with fire and you're asking yourself. What does that mean? What does that verse even means it means that he is powerful. He is powerful y'all.

So often we can get caught up in the busyness of our own lives and we don't recognize that the Creator God of the universe. Who with his very words can melt the Earth or build it up with this very breath can make trees to sprout in oceans to stop where they're supposed to stop that can make mountains lay low. This God is in our midst. And because we're too busy to see it. We miss him.

Because we can't be still so you're saying well Blake. Are you telling me like I need to find like a really quiet place and like, you know in the prayer Claws and I need to you know, block off two and a half hours and have an ambient music and essential oils. Like that's that's not what I'm saying. Right? Like I'm not trying to deprive you of your like peppermint and thieves blend but like it doesn't have to be that I love all of those things but there's a deeper meaning that God's bringing us to with this phrase be still in fact a true translation more deeper meaning would be to see striving.

He's striving. Cut it out. What God is saying here is chill out. You're working and you're working and you're doing and you're doing and you're doing and you're zooming past me. Because you can't pause and just stop your striving enough to see me.

Stop trying to build your own kingdom. Stop trying to unpack it yourself. Stop trying to solve your own problems. Stop trying to build everything in and of yourself pause for a moment take a breath and recognize that in that breath and in your midst. Is the King of Kings and the Lord of lords?

The other day Henley and I were sitting at the table and she loves being a helper right now. It's a really cool phase and one thing that she loves to do. She loves to take her little cup and she loves to go to the refrigerator get some ice and get something to drink. She just she loves doing that. I'm like, yeah, baby go for it.

And so she was going to do it. We were sitting at the time. She's a Daddy. Can I go get something to drink? Absolutely.

So she takes her little Olaf cup. You start trying to undo it. She can't get the lid open. So she's a grand. I'm just watching her.

She's trying her hardest to get this lift open and I say well, maybe once you let Daddy do it Daddy can help you no, Daddy. I got this. Trying her best baby that is right here. I'll just open the lid and you can go to the refrigerator. No Daddy and she's trying her hardest with every ounce of energy that she has to open this cup me all the while saying I'm right here.

I'll help you out. So finally she gets so frustrated that she stands up grabs the cup throws it down and marches to her room. She's like her mama. He's more like me. And I'm sitting there thinking I was right here the whole time.

All you had to do was hand the cup to me. Let me open it and you could go and get the water. How often do we look God in the face with the problems of our lives with the difficulties in our lives the cups the the cups with the lids won't open in our lives and we look out in the face and say I've got this I've got this. See that's what leads us to the second piece. Once we be still we begin to know God.

This is what the whole piece of it is all along when we are still enough. He says in verse 10 be still and know that I am God. Because being still allows us to recognize this. He is God. I'm not.

He is God. I'm not. He is strong I am weak. He has everything I have nothing. But he loves me.

And he gave him his life he gave his son for me. So that I could be in relationship with him not for his gifts not for what he has to offer before his presence to be with him. And this is a very special thing because in Psalm 46 when we go back and we look at it. Look at the phrase again. This is be still and know that I am God.

Know what know that No, something no information. This was very it was typical of David and his writing he would say I want to know something about God. I want to know your character because this is how he got to know God was from a distance was looking at God from almost from behind a veil. It was literal because in the Old Testament in those days, the only way to have any kind of connection with God was to a sacrificial system that was full in the in the temple and you had to go to the temple anytime that you sin because sin man is separates us from God. It keeps us at a distance from and we can't be in his glory whenever we have sinned and Romans says that we have all sinned.

We all fall short of his glory. And so the the solution in the Old Testament was this is that if I sin and that's in the wrong I had to go to the temple had to offer up a sacrifice then a priest would come and he would take the sacrifice and do everything with it and then would go to God through the holy of holy so there was distance between us and God. We can know that he was God. But don't we have a deep-seated hunger in our lives to know God? This is what David longed for this is why it says that he was a man after God's Own Heart.

He didn't want to just know about God. He wanted to know him. And so what does this look like in our life? As we are as we be still and know God with the beauty of it is that we live on the other side of the cross. We live on the other side of Jesus.

That Jesus came and he gave his life for us so that no longer we would have to go to some Temple or some sacrificial system or go through some Veil but the veil was torn into and now we have direct access with the creator of the universe through Jesus. This is the great Scandal of the Gospel is that we who were far from God he we who were distant for him. We were destined for wrath. We were destined for Darkness. We were destined to be stuck in our sin for the entirety.

But God Ephesians says being rich in Mercy because of his great love for us. Came and sent his son. So that we might have life and connection to his presence. Not just that we would know about him. But that we would know him.

And so Jesus comes under the scene, right? He's preaching and he says about he says the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. So repent the kingdom is coming it is here and then the disciples in Matthew chapter 6. I love this because we're moving it away from Psalm 56. We're coming into the New Testament in Jesus gives us a very clear picture of how to know God.

In Matthew 6 the disciple says Lord teach us to pray and instead of giving a lesson on prayer teaching a sermon on prayer. He just starts praying. Now a lot of us we know about the Lord's Prayer, right? It's what we recite at halftime when we're losing. And you know we go up there and we're like we get in the locker rooms.

All right, we better call the big guns Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be their name their kingdom come there will be done on Earth is you know, that's the second best thing. The first best thing is right in Philippians 4:13 on your wristband. That's like the first best thing to do. We all know the Lord's Prayer we're comfortable with it. It's part of our culture.

But I'd like to point out. Maybe one thing that you haven't thought about. Is that the Lord's Prayer isn't just teaching us to pray. It's not just a template. It's not just our way of going up to God.

But through his very words. Jesus is bringing knowledge of God down to us. He's teaching us about the character of God. Let's read it together in Matthew chapter 6 starting in verse 9 going to verse 13. It says this this then is how you should pray.

Our Father Who is in heaven? Hallowed be your name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from the evil one. Can you see here how Jesus isn't just teaching us a prayer, but he's also telling us the very character of God. Jesus says in John he says if you want to know the father you have the first know me.

The only way to the Father the only way to know God is through Jesus and Jesus gives us a template a style God for this in Matthew chapter 6. Let's unpack it together little by little So foundational for us, especially in the light of Psalm 46, how does it start? Our Father if I were the disciple that grew up in a temple culture and first century Jerusalem, that would have blown my mind. We're so used to it, but Think about the word r isn't it funny that Jesus never says he didn't start with my father. Everywhere else.

He says my father. He prays to his father. But in this prayer as he's teaching us to pray he says our father. This was revolutionary in their minds and it should be revolutionary to us. That he's not just some God far away, but that he is our father.

That he is building a community of people that he is bringing together a family that for or from all walks of life that are different. There is nothing other than the banner of Heaven that unites us, but the thing that does United us is greater than anything that can divide us. The name of Jesus are father. We are markedly different as a people. When God called us he sealed us and he said we you were going to be my children now.

This is a new way of living. This is a new way. This is our father and then the second very second word father. If the first word was enough to raise eyebrows, the second one would have blown their minds because never in the history of praying in the history of anybody trying to reach God did anybody ever call him father? Yahweh yes Jehovah.

Yes God. Yes, absolutely. But for the very first time these disciples as they were gathered in a huddle Around Jesus and he uttered the words Our Father everything changed. Because God was now just something not someone that was Far distant off in a cloud of fire or pillar of smoke, but he is saying I am now Abba. I'm father.

And I want a relationship with you. This changes everything Our Father who is in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name? Why do we hallow the name of God? What does that even mean? It means to set apart as holy.

Why do we do that? It was to recognize that he takes the prime place in our life. This is what we know about God that he deserves honor. He deserves praise. He is the one who is powerful right?

He is God. I am not. So every time that we go into prayer and we say Hallowed Be Your Name we are saying yes to him and know to everything else. No to our busyness no to our ego no to our schedules know to everything but yes to him Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. What about his kingdom coming?

Is this a resignation because the world is terrible. No. This is saying hey the kingdom is here. This is what we we live for y'all the kingdom is here in the lives of the people around us this as we build community as God is building his church the kingdom of God, it's not just coming it is here and he is bringing something about because of it. He is bringing newness in life.

This is what we're gonna be talking about next series as we begin next week. You're gonna want to be here. It's a serious called as it is and we're gonna be talking about do we want to live our lives as they are now or would we rather live our lives as it is in heaven? And spoiler alert is the latter. Because something is changing the kingdom is here.

Your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. He's our provider. He gives us this creator of the universe the one who set the solar system into motion is so concerned for your well-being and your welfare that we can look to the father and say can I have some daily bread today Lord? And he willingly gives it.

His provider forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. He is a God of Grace. And it got a mercy a God of Victory and he calls us to be the same because we have been given much we've been given salvation. We've been given New Life. We've been given new breath.

We are now called to turn and walk in the same way. To be a people of Grace in the mercy and then he says and lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from the evil one. He's a present help. You see this. You see how some 46 in the Lord's Prayer come together.

They're talking about the same God. He's a present help right? He's our refuge and strength. He delivers us from Temptation. He's our provider.

He's the one who with whom the river flows into the city of God. He's our foundation. He gives everything in Psalm 46. Give us today our daily bread. Here's our provider.

And then finally, he's powerful. We see it. It's all in Psalm 46. He'll break the bow. He'll shatter the spirit and set the shield on fire.

Hallowed be your name there's only one difference between these two. Do you see this in Psalm? 46 we see God from a distance. But when Jesus comes on to the scene, he turns everything over on his head and he says when we're still we don't just know about God we know him. Our Father so what does this latest do today?

How do we unpack this? How do we continue this in our lives? How do we begin to build off of this as we move into 2023? And I think the best way to begin it is to commit ourselves to being a people of Prayer. To just pray to be still to know God and just pray.

You may say yourself like I don't know how to do that. That's really hard. It can be awkward. What if what if God doesn't answer my prayer in the way that I want to I would agree with all of you and I would say that it's the same thing for me. Struggle with it I try my best to engage with it, but it seems so hard.

Sometimes it seems so difficult. This is the reason I love the Psalms. Is because there's not any one certain way that David prayed if you look there's 150 Psalms David was excited. He was joyful. He was exuberant.

He was sad, he was anxious. He was angry. He was frustrated and for every different thing that he felt and for every different song There was a different way that he prayed. And so here's how I would encourage you today. If you feel daunted by prayer, if you feel like it's not something that you can begin and Implement into your life in a regular rhythm.

Don't pray like you can't. Pray, like you can We have so often so many different ways that people tell us to pray or things to learn about prayer and I will tell you that's all well and good but start Where You Are. And pray like you can not like you can't if that just means that you're in the car and you got to park the car for five minutes before you go into work because it's the only time that you can get along with God if it means that you have to get up a little bit earlier if you're early bird if you need to stay up later, whatever. It looks like you just need to sing songs to let it be just whatever it is. Just praying.

Begin to let God into your life because it changes us. It's not just about us reciting up a list to him so that he can come that back down with answers when we step foot into the presence of God through prayer. It changes us it moves us it lays low the mountains in our lives. It makes low the pride in our lives where we begin to recognize that he is God that Jesus has one victory in our lives and when we come to God In Prayer, it changes us forever. Just pray meet with him.

Be with them. Don't let the world steal that from you. Take steps to build that in your life. I want to speak to the person who's watching today, maybe online. Maybe you came to a location and one of our campuses and you said Blake.

I've never uttered a word of Prayer in my life. I'm just here today because it was the last Stitch effort. And there was nothing else left for me and I'm just trying this Jesus stuff out because everything else in my life has gone wrong. And I just need something. But I'm not worthy of prayer.

I'm not worthy of what you're talking about. Can I encourage you with this? That even one phrase uttered from a thief on the cross. Was enough to turn the love of God towards him. When he says remember me when you enter into your kingdom.

And the savior of the World Turns and looks at him in the midst of his pain. And he says today you will be with me in Paradise. Call out to the name of Jesus. Don't let the enemy take it from you. Reach out to him.

And just pray Lord. I need you. I need help. So where do we go from here? 21 days of prayer has come to an end.

We step foot into another year. And I can think of no better way. To end our time together at all of our locations in a church online. Than to pray. You don't need to hear from me anymore.

You don't need any more clever stories or words or anything like that as a church. Can we commit to this to being a people of prayer and saying right here? I'm drawn A Line in the Sand and the world will have no other place lunch can wait. Everything else can wait my time. My next meeting can wait right here right now.

We step foot into the presence of God. We're going to pray in a few moments. The band's going to come out. They're gonna lead us like they do it's one of my favorite things about our experiences together is that we have an opportunity to respond. And we would encourage you to do so, maybe the Lord is leading you to respond by coming up to the Cross.

We have the cross available at all of our locations. You want to write something down Pin It To The Cross you can totally do that. Maybe you want to reflect on what Jesus has done for us and this person's work and his resurrection by taking communion we have communion available. For everyone. We also have our prayer team.

Maybe you just need somebody to pray with you. Men don't be ashamed of that come and get prayer with somebody from the prayer team. Let that be your first act not your last resort. I love the quote that says that prayer should never be or spare tire. It should always be our steering wheel.

I would encourage you to lean into that today, but right now we're going to get to all of that. But right now we're gonna sit in silence. Is it gonna be awkward? Yes. It's gonna be difficult probably.

For many of us myself included. How do we even begin because we're so addicted to the noise and the performance and what comes next and it's very hard to sit in the moment with the Lord, but I'm going to ask that we would all bow our heads and every one of our locations including online. I want you to sit alone with the Lord. To fill his presence. Maybe you're saying I don't know what to do it during this time one easy thing that you can do is just recite everything that you're grateful for.

Just start thinking God for every little thing God. Thank you that I have breath. Thank you for waking me up today. Thank you for the place that I live. Thank you for my job.

Thank you for the opportunity for have the internet if I don't have a job so I can look for one father. Thank you for the for the my daily bread. Right. Maybe you just want to recite the Lord's Prayer right now. Begin to learn what it looks like to incorporate prayer in your life, or maybe for someone who needs them for the very first time in your life.

You need to call out to Jesus. You need to ask him say Lord. Will you save me give me new life? Turn yourself over to him today. No matter what.

Let's start this new year off, right? But being still by knowing God and just pray