Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Grace Ops Podcast. Brian Phillips here with you today. I'm going to dedicate this episode to Prayer. I've been thinking a lot lately about repetitions. And when you get out of sync as an athlete, like, what are you returning to? And you got to have good repetitions. And prayer is one of those things in our spiritual disciplines, in our culture, it's under the value of war, engaging the spiritual disciplines. And so today, let's just pray together. We're going to pray and. And we're going to draw near to God. We're going to stir our hearts. So whether you're in your car, your office, or your house, wherever you're at, just engage a few minutes of prayer with me. Today we're going to pray out of Psalm 23. And you might know it. Most of us probably heard of this before. David wrote this psalm, says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That's a huge opening.
[00:00:46] Huge. I mean, what are the things we want for? We want for success, prosperity, careers, healthy marriages, healthy families. All these things can be good, right? But they can be distractions to, like, the Lord being my shepherd. Do we know our shepherd's voice? Jesus said that, didn't he? Said, the sheep will know my voice. How close are we to God? Do we know God? Are we just giving lip? Know that's a thing. That's a real thing. That is a real thing, dude. Lip service. Just running your mouth and running your jaws. And guess what? I'm guilty of it, too.
[00:01:15] We all can talk a good game. We can all say we do one thing and then we do another. Bible says the flesh is willing.
[00:01:21] Well, says the Spirit's willing and the flesh is weak. So let's pray that. Father, we're just going to read the word and pray the word, Father. Thank you. We just declare this psalm over our lives, over our hearts today that you are our shepherd. Father, we renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. Today we renounce those wants that drive us away from your presence, those things that pull us away. And, God, we're asking for you to shepherd us. We're asking for you, Father, to be that voice that is close to our hearts. Help us to hear your voice. Help us to be good men who love you and go after your presence. Today we declare that over our own lives and hearts that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I'm satisfied in him, Father, help us to be satisfied in you. Help us to behold your beauty. Help us to behold your power so we can be satisfied in you. It goes on. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Father, lead us today.
[00:02:20] You lead us today, Father, in those green pastures, those place of refreshment, those place of renewal, you lead me besides still waters. Oh, I love the nature, Father. I love going to nature. I love going out to the lake. And I just love pondering and sitting and thinking and praying. Lord, we're asking you today, we're declaring that you're the leader of our lives. You're the shepherd of our lives, a shepherd of our hearts. And we're asking for you to lead us by still waters. Lead us those place of rest, Lord, where we're busied and worried and anxious and just moving and we're just excited. Father, we pray that you would harness that God, harness that as our shepherd and help us to draw near to you. Help us draw near to your fire today, Father, restore our soul, God, restore my soul today.
[00:03:08] Lord, I don't have yesterday, I don't have tomorrow, but today, restore my soul.
[00:03:14] The soul pain I carry, Father, the triggers, the hurts, the traumas, the things I've gone through, my ups and downs, my disappointments, my failures, my successes, Father, I carry all that with me today, and I give it to you. And I know this isn't magic.
[00:03:29] This isn't some magic formula I'm following. You're a good God and you're my shepherd. And today teach me, discipline me, help me, help me, Father, to be restored in my soul today more than I was yesterday.
[00:03:44] Help me to unpack the finished work of the cross, that I'm restored now.
[00:03:50] Bring that over my heart right now. Teach me how to love my neighbor, but by loving myself the way you love me. Help me learn that today. Lead me. He leads me in passive righteousness for his name's sake. I love this, Father, lead us today. Lead the men who are listening to this today. Lead us on the path. The paths. There's so many ways that seem right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. God. Lord, lead us down the path, the countercultural path, for your name's sake. Not my 401K, not a richer, bigger bank account. Lord, if you want to prosper us and do all that, that's great, it's even good. But Lord, I'm asking that we would glorify your name today and that we would advance your kingdom and that you would get the glory on this field. Right? Father, we're just asking for you to lead us in path of righteousness, for your name's sake. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff that comfort me. Father, I thank you that whether in the valleys or the mountaintops, when we go through the valleys, I thank you, Father, that you're a good shepherd. And your rod and your staff, they comfort us. Lord, they protect us from the wolves in the valley. They protect us from evil. Father, because of you being our shepherd, I don't have to fear evil. I don't have to fear anything. I can fully trust in you.
[00:05:15] Verse five. Lord, we thank you that you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Lord, today you are a God that calls us. You sent your son to model this. You told us to love our enemies. So, Father, today help us to love our enemies. Lord, today I ask that you would prepare a table in the midst of our enemies. A table of redemption. A table where we come together and we connect.
[00:05:42] And you do things that only God can do in those situations. But, Lord, our heart is even open to our enemies.
[00:05:50] Just like Jesus said on the cross, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Help us to be like him. Help us to be like him. So, Lord, today in prayer, we pray that you would open dooRs. We bless our enemies today, Father, we bless them. Lord, I pray for anyone who's my enemy, Lord, that you would bring a table of redemption in the future.
[00:06:14] All right, guys. And the last one says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's just saying I'll dwell in God's presence. I'm going to be where God is. So, Father, we thank you that your goodness and your kindness and your mercy and your grace and your favor and your overwhelming love for us. I added a lot of that in there, but we're praying. Lord, we thank you that those things will follow us all the days of our life. Lord, every day we wake up, you are pursuing us. Lord, we thank you for your love. Thank you for your unrelenting devotion. Lord, we thank you that even when we are faithless, you remain faithful, for you cannot disown yourself. We thank you that when we drop covenant, you never drop covenant. Lord, we thank you that you model for us what you call us to live. O Lord, we thank you for your goodness and your mercy today. And, Father, help us to be men today who renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. And we live self controlled, upright and golly lives. Help us to be men who draw near to your presence and we live where you are. We live close to you today. Draw us close today in Jesus name. Amen. All right, guys, say that was Psalm 23. That's a powerful way to pray. It actually has helped me have more zeal and just fun in my prayer life is just reading the Bible and then just praying the Bible. It's really awesome. So remember to download our app. If you haven't done so already, go to the app stores and search grace Ops. We've got amazing devotionals out now. We have six, seven day devotionals that you'll be able to get on our website soon. And if you want some, I mean, you really need to get your hands on. They're actually in the app. The PDF version were in the app, but it's really powerful. Take all those printed versions and give them to a friend. It's a great way to introduce our culture to men. Got some new stuff we'll be rolling out soon. We're framing a whole simple if you're part of grace Ops, this is what you commit to. It's going to be awesome. All right. God bless you. Until next time, live upright.
