If you missed out last week, we did kick off a new series here at church in 1 Samuel.
Let me give you the shortest summary I can.
Basically, Hannah doesn't have a baby.
She's not real happy about it.
She prays, she gets one.
There's a bit more going on there, but hopefully you heard a bit more detail.
We're going to look at the second half of Hannah this week,
so hopefully you'll get enough of the picture to know where we're going.
But I'm going to pray and pray that God will help us to concentrate and focus as we get stuck in.
Father God, we do thank you for your word.
We thank you that you've given it to us so that we might know you.
And God, I want to ask that tonight you'd give us the humility to maybe recognize where we have reduced you
or where we've made you fit into the box that we want you to fit in.
And I pray that instead you might open our eyes to see you in all your majesty and splendor.
And God, I pray that having seen you, our lives might be lived in response to that.
Amen.
Sometimes in our exuberance, we can get a little bit overexcited about things.
I don't know if you remember a little while ago, KFC decided an experiment in health food was a good idea.
And they launched the burger without a bun.
It was basically a chicken patty, cheese, bacon, cheese, and then another piece of chicken.
It was amazing.
Hard to eat, but very good.
But I repeatedly, when that came out, told people that it was the best thing that has ever been invented.
Now, at the time, you know, I kind of meant it.
But in reality, I may have got a little bit excited.
There's probably one or two things that have been invented in the history of humans that are a little bit above the old KFC double down.
But sometimes we get overexcited.
I was trying to think of other examples here, and Tashi sprung to mind, but I couldn't think of one example.
Everything that Tashi says is potentially overexuberant.
And that's why it's so great to have you around, Tashi.
But I wonder if, as we read this prayer from Hannah, as Ali read it out for us, if you begin to feel like it's a little bit overstated.
It's a little bit overenthusiastic.
I mean, without playing down the genuine despair that we saw last week and the pain that Hannah was going through,
it's kind of like her whole world has changed.
But we know the story, and her whole world hasn't changed.
You know, she starts getting really excited.
She's saying things like,
The mighty are broken.
Those who stumbled find strength.
The barren woman has seven kids.
The woman with kids has none.
The hungry are well fed.
The full are hungry.
Like, it's like everything is different.
If we turn back just one page and a few years to Hannah's first prayer,
she's bitterly weeping.
She's crying out to God to look on her in affliction.
And now she's like exploding with joy.
It's like she's jumping on the spot because she's so excited about her life.
Now, again, it's a big deal that she was barren and now she's not.
That is significant.
But is that a sufficient reason for a prayer like this?
It's not.
And that's because it's not the reason for this prayer.
It would be understandable to assume that,
but Samuel being born is the occasion on which this prayer came out.
But it's not the basis for the prayer.
There's more going on for Hannah.
And there's a few clues in what we looked at last week.
If you remember in Hannah's prayer in chapter one,
what she prays for is God to remember her.
She sees her situation in a bigger picture.
She sees her situation as part of the whole nation that needs to be remembered by God,
a nation that thinks God's love has wandered away.
And so she sees her little situation as part of a bigger work that God is doing.
Now, if you look with me in chapter one, just flick back quickly to verse 23.
Elkanah, this is Hannah's husband, says something quite profound in verse 23.
This is when Hannah has had the boy, and then instead of going back up to go to the temple,
she says, I'm going to wait a little bit longer until the boy is ready to be handed over.
And he says,
Do what seems best to you, Elkanah, her husband, told her.
Stay here until you have weaned him.
Only may the Lord make good his word.
Now, I don't know if you noticed that when it was read out last week,
but up to this point in 1 Samuel, God hasn't spoken at any point.
It's been Hannah speaking, and then the other wife, Peninnah, speaking,
and Elkanah has spoken, and the priest Eli has spoken,
but God has not spoken.
So what does Elkanah mean when he says, establish his word?
I mean, Hannah's the one who made a promise.
What he's getting at is that there is a bigger word that God has made.
There is a bigger plan that is unfolding through history,
and both Elkanah and Hannah, it's catchy,
both Elkanah and Hannah recognize that this little situation in their family
is part of something bigger.
They might not get every part of how significant it is,
but they can see that something extra is going on.
Because at this point in history, Israel has almost lost sight of who God is.
I mean, it's not that many generations back that they were rescued dramatically
out of slavery in Egypt, that the Red Sea parted,
and they wandered through on dry land.
It's not that many generations ago that they went to the mountain in the desert,
and God came down, and the mountain was shaking,
and there was lightning and thunder.
I mean, they're still kind of going through the motions of worshiping God.
They're still kind of acting like God is important for them as a country.
But if you look closely, and we're going to find out next week even more,
even the worship that they're doing,
even the church services they're holding have become corrupt and dishonest.
They've basically forgotten who God is.
They've gone from being people who were scared of Him, who feared Him,
to being people who kind of treat Him like He doesn't matter,
and there's nothing He can do about it.
Israel's forgotten their God, but in Hannah, we have God pushing His way back in.
God is making sure that He is remembered,
and He is making sure that Hannah knows, and we know,
that God will keep His word.
God will keep the promises that He has made to His people.
Now again, chances are that Hannah had no idea just how significant her son was in God's plan.
But she does seem to understand that this is about more than her little family.
She seems to have at least a glimpse.
God has revealed Himself to Hannah,
and this prayer is not just about Samuel.
This is Hannah having seen God and responding.
It's her pouring out her heart, her heart overflowing with excitement,
because she has seen God again.
Having started to maybe forget Him a little bit, along with everyone else,
she has seen Him again.
And the question for us tonight, the thing that I want you to wrestle with,
is have you settled for a smaller vision of God?
Have you, like Israel, progressively taken this exciting God that you started following,
and just trimmed Him down until it was a little bit more convenient?
Until it didn't really impact the bits of your life that it didn't want to impact?
If you think back to when you chose to follow God,
and the joy and fear and absolute commitment you had at that point,
have you, like Israel, shrunk God down,
so that He doesn't actually make a difference to you?
Well, tonight, Hannah wants to show you in this prayer,
and God wants to show you three things about Himself
that will change your life.
Firstly, God stands alone.
Look again at verse 1 with me.
Our God stands alone.
Even the fact that Hannah calls Him our God back then,
and we come to church tonight and call Him our God now,
says something about His significance.
He's not constrained by time.
He didn't exist for one generation of people.
He's not limited to one nation.
It's not like just one family got really excited about Him
and kept teaching their kids.
Our God is bigger than that.
Our God is not like any other God.
He's all-consuming and all-encompassing.
Now, that might sound like a kind of obvious statement for us in church tonight,
the idea that God stands alone.
I mean, in our context, at most,
there's probably a small handful of gods that we would acknowledge.
We might talk about the God of Muslims, the God of Hindus,
the God of...
There's a handful that we would probably acknowledge as gods-ish.
But for Israel, every nation had an absolute multitude of gods.
Gods for sun, gods for water, gods for farming, gods for fertility.
They would invent gods every other day.
And so Israel is surrounded by this catalogue of gods.
And Hannah suddenly gets this picture that her God is not like those other gods.
Her God stands alone.
He is not to be compared to these other gods.
He is not even in the same category.
And maybe this is more poignant for us than we think.
It might not be that we use the language of gods or worship
when we look at the things in our world.
But it could be that there are just as many things in our culture today
that we worship instead of God.
Or that we are convinced are more important than God.
It could be that there are just as many fake gods now as there were then.
Israel's trap in Hannah's day wasn't the trap of outright rejecting God.
It was the trap of diluting him.
Of rocking up to church and going,
Yes, God, you're the most important.
God, please help me with this issue.
But then turning around and praying to the farming God as well
just to cover their bases.
It's not that they'd walk away from God altogether
because that's obviously wrong.
But they would just grab these extra things and add them in.
They'd do what he asked them
but then they would dilute him down.
And I wonder if we do something similar.
When we say we're following God,
when we say we treasure Jesus,
have we reduced down our infinite creator
to the point where in actual fact in our lives
he's just one of the choices among a whole bunch of valid options
for us to go after, for us to obey,
for us to treasure and value.
When it comes to religion,
one of the ongoing conversations is always comparison.
Which religion is best?
Which one is most helpful?
Most right?
Which God is most impressive?
Most powerful?
And as Christians, we get in on these conversations.
We say our God is best because...
But even in our need to defend him in those conversations,
I wonder if that says that we have a slightly small view of him.
We actually do look at our God next to these other gods
and feel the need to compare statistics.
But to even think of comparing our God to anyone or anything else,
you need to reduce him so much
that he no longer resembles God as he has revealed himself in Scripture.
Now, it's not to say there's not a place for those sorts of conversations,
for religious debate,
but you've got to realize that you're not comparing apples with apples,
so to speak.
You're not even comparing apples with oranges.
It's almost like comparing apples with people.
And that doesn't even do it justice.
The gods that we compare our God to
are not even in the same category.
Hannah finally grasps,
surrounded by an infinite number of gods,
promising an infinite number of things,
that there is no one like our God.
There is no one who compares.
And Hannah celebrates three things specifically
that make him unique.
Firstly, his holiness.
It's there in verse 2.
There is no one holy like the Lord,
none who is so pure and perfect and just.
God is set apart from everything else that exists.
These other gods are within creation.
They're limited by the amount of time that creation stays around,
but God is set apart from it
because he is too pure and perfect.
And there is nothing that rightfully sits next to God.
He is holy and set apart.
Second thing, he is a rock.
Again, verse 2,
there is no rock like our God.
He is a mighty fortress,
a secure, immovable, unchanging foundation,
and in him people find refuge.
There is no storm too powerful for God.
There is no trial, no opposition,
which he does not have complete control over.
He is stronger and more powerful than anything else
because he made everything else.
Because every power that exists is from him,
from his power.
He is holy.
He is a rock like no other.
And thirdly, he is a deliverer.
There in verse 1.
For I delight in your deliverance.
Our God is the God who saves people.
He is the rescuing God.
He is the God who rescued Joseph from his brothers.
He is the God who rescued Isaac and his whole family from famine.
The God who rescued Israel from Egypt.
And the God who rescued Hannah from her barrenness.
And even though we haven't seen it yet,
God is the God who will use Samuel
to continue his plan to rescue people for himself.
No other God can claim this.
No other God has delivered on his promises.
No other God has rescued like the God of Israel,
like the God of Scripture, like our God.
No other God answers prayer like our God.
No other God looks down on Hannah's situation
and cares like our God.
And because Hannah gets this,
because she sees her holy, secure, mighty, delivering God,
standing alone and without equal,
everything changes.
This prayer is not a response to her life being completely different.
This prayer is a response to her vision of God being clear.
Look with me at verse 3.
Do not keep talking so proudly,
or let your mouth speak such arrogance.
For the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are hungry hunger no more.
She who is barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
The Lord brings death and makes alive.
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth.
He humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap.
He seats them with princes,
and he has them inherit a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's.
Upon them he has set the world.
Having seen God,
her world and her situation are redefined.
Having seen God,
Israel's situation is suddenly brought into sharp focus.
She no longer fears the taunts of her enemies.
She no longer fears the woman who teases her
for not having children.
She now defiantly reminds them,
you will answer to my God.
You will answer to the God who knows all things,
the God who is ever-present,
the God who is the rightful judge of all creation,
because it's his.
Suddenly, Hannah's perspective is unrecognizable.
From a bitter, weeping woman,
she now sees hope.
She is no longer limited by what's possible,
what she is capable of.
The bows of the mighty are broken.
The weak and feeble are given strength.
Israel's situation is suddenly less hopeless.
The armies queuing up around them to take over,
suddenly not so scary.
Not because they're not mighty.
Not because they're not more powerful than Israel.
But in the face of her mighty rock God.
Look again at the picture she paints.
The mighty are broken.
The feeble are strengthened.
The full are hungry.
The hungry are full.
The barren woman has kids.
The woman with kids has none.
Why?
Because it's the Lord who gives life.
It's the Lord who kills.
It's the Lord who gives everything.
Nothing exists except by his will.
And suddenly Hannah realizes that the injustice within Israel
and the oppression from outside
will not go unanswered before a sovereign God.
She sees that God has not left.
God will keep his promise
and he will bring justice.
He's the one who spoke the earth into existence.
And he is the one who will hold it accountable.
For Hannah, this new picture of God
redefines everything that she sees.
There's this fantastic quote from C.S. Lewis
where he says,
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen.
Not only because I see it,
but because by it I see everything else.
Without God, at best we see silhouettes.
We are fumbling around in a dark room.
But when we see him,
the world is illuminated.
Because he is the power that created
and the power that sustains,
he is the defining reality for all that exists.
We need to wrestle with what that means for us today.
Because it made Hannah weird.
Hannah's perspective in this passage isn't normal.
We don't look at the world and go,
you know what, the rich people,
I feel sorry for them.
The people who are healthy,
who are unlucky.
Or the woman who's got lots of kids,
that must be terrible.
Although we might sometimes say that.
Hannah's perspective isn't normal, is it?
It's weird.
She has seen God and suddenly she sees the whole world
in a way that no one else does.
She's not seeing what most people see.
I had an interesting conversation with my brother.
It was about a week ago.
He was staying with me just for a night.
My brother used to be really involved in church.
I don't know if he's a Christian.
That's between him and God.
But I would say if he is,
he doesn't take it very seriously.
But there was a time when church was really high on his priority list.
When ministry was really important.
And we were just chatting about an old Bible study group
that he used to be in when he was about 20 or 21.
And he was reflecting to me how that group was full of full-on Christians.
The extreme kind.
And he wasn't being particularly rude about them or anything like that.
But these were guys who had become missionaries and gone overseas.
Guys who had gone into ministry.
He didn't say that I was one of those.
But I feel like it might have been in brackets.
Just a subtle.
But we were having this conversation.
And in my head I was going,
I understand what you're saying.
They've kind of just basically thrown their whole life up in the air
having met Jesus.
But here's the thing.
That's not extreme.
That's what a Christian is.
Hannah's position feels weird.
It feels full-on.
It feels like it's at the extreme end.
But it's not like she's had some unique revelation of God.
It's not like some angel appeared and told her a secret that no one else knows.
She just reflected on God who had been revealed in history.
God as he was revealed in Scripture.
And that is sufficient to change her perception of everything in her life.
Change her perception of what success is,
of what matters,
of how her relationships work.
And so again,
I come back to the question.
How does your view of God
shape the decisions that you make?
How does your view of God
and his power and his significance
change the way
that you see possibilities in your life
or limitations in your life?
How much of an impact does it have
on the ambitions that you have?
The things you want to achieve?
The desires you have?
If our God is
incomparably great and powerful,
if he is all-consuming
and the source of everything that exists,
if our God will come to judge everything,
then it must affect
every part of our life.
It must shape even the little decisions,
even the seemingly mundane.
And so again,
I ask you,
do you look at the world any different
to the people who don't know God?
Or are you pretty much the same
as everyone else?
One of the fun parts of my job
is teaching scripture.
And this year,
so this week,
I was teaching year six and year three.
And we're doing roughly the same lesson,
slightly different.
And we opened the lesson this week
with a question.
It was a what would you do if scenario.
And the scenarios went something like,
you've got a sports final this weekend,
and your coach has told you that training's on tonight,
and if you don't go,
you won't be playing.
And you're at home ready to go,
and mum says,
I've got a headache.
Do you,
A,
tell her tough,
drive me to training,
otherwise I don't get to play my final.
Or B,
let her rest,
so that her headache can get better.
It's amazing how much more selfish year six got.
But the other thing that I noticed is,
year three were maybe naive,
or just really,
really selfless.
They were all like,
oh, mum looks after me so much,
I'll do the right thing,
and I'll let her rest.
I wonder if that would be true in the actual situation,
but they all knew which answer they were supposed to give.
But year six was really interesting.
They knew which answer they were supposed to give.
They knew there was something not quite right about saying,
I just want to look after myself.
So what they did was invented every possible other scenario
where they could do both.
I would let mum rest and hitchhike.
I would catch a taxi.
I would ring my friend.
I would do all this,
and I said,
no,
it's not an option.
You need to choose to do one or the other.
And it just went round and round,
and circles,
and it became really obvious that,
you know,
they didn't want to admit that ultimately,
they cared about themselves more,
but their refusal to agree to a scenario
that meant them missing out was quite telling.
Now,
I'm not having a crack at my year six class
because I'm sure I'm the same.
But the reality is,
we live in a world that is inherently self-obsessed.
The unspoken mantra of our culture is,
if I don't look after me,
then who will?
We've got this sense of what we've earned,
this sense of entitlement.
It's ours.
It's mine.
So I should be able to do with it what I want.
But I wonder how that fits with Hannah's vision of God.
Have a look again at verse six.
It's God who provides.
It's God who blesses.
He's the God of knowledge.
He's intimately involved in every situation that you face.
He knows your fears,
your concerns,
your desires.
Just like he heard and responded to Hannah's cry,
his ears are attentive to you in your life.
And in response,
Hannah warns us,
not by might shall a man prevail.
It's God who gives.
You can work as hard as you want.
Unless God gives it,
you will get nothing.
Hannah sees God and recognizes that everything
comes from his generous hand.
And everything that he has given her
exists for a specific purpose.
His purpose.
His glory.
And ultimately,
everything that exists
will return to him one day
for judgment.
Last week,
I was sharing with you
that there was something about this story
that annoyed me.
How could Hannah be so upset
about not having a child,
have a child,
and then hand him over?
It still messed with me,
but I was looking at it again this week.
But I think this prayer answers it for us.
Hannah knew that everything that she had,
including this gift of a son,
was a gift from God
for God's glory.
Even her family was something
that God had given her
for his purposes.
She rejoices.
She rejoices in the gift of Samuel.
But this prayer is not about that.
This prayer is her rejoicing
in the chance to use that gift
in the right way
in service of her worthy
and unmatchable God.
And I wonder if that is how you view
the things in your life
that are precious to you.
I wonder if that is how I view my son.
Does my son exist for me?
Or for God?
The time that you have free
on a weekend
after a hard week of work or study,
is that yours?
Or is it God's?
If you are not sure,
it's really just a question
of ownership.
I do have a responsibility
for my son
and for the money God's given me
and for the time and energy
that I use in whatever direction,
but do I use it as mine?
So do I view it as mine
to use however I want?
Or do I view it as God's?
Is the starting point
for everything in my life
Him?
Do I wake up each day
and say I have this many hours,
this much energy,
this much money,
these individuals,
these relationships
and say God,
how can I use all of it for you?
Or do I say God,
I've got a couple of hours here,
couple of hours there,
you can have this relationship,
you can have this much of my money.
What does it say
about our view of God?
Hannah recognizes
that everything
comes from God.
You and I exist
to glorify God.
That's why we are breathing
right now.
To know God,
to treasure Him,
to represent Him,
the goal is
and will always be
His glory.
And everything else
in your life
exists
to that end.
Holidays,
your job,
your school marks,
whatever's in your life
right now.
That is just
an opportunity
that God has given you
to glorify Him.
That is the purpose there.
Ask yourself this question.
If Jesus came back
right now,
would I be happy about it
or would I be disappointed?
Would you feel like
you'd missed out
on the chance
to enjoy something
that you'd earned?
Maybe a holiday
you've been looking forward to?
Maybe some money
that you've been saving up
to spend
in a particular way?
Or would you just rejoice
that God
was being glorified?
God changes
everything.
Following Him
is not a hobby.
It's not a choice
among other things.
It's all-consuming.
It's the central reality.
It defines everything.
And if God
doesn't shape
the way we view everything,
then we've either settled
for a dodgy version
or we're just going
through the motions
to keep someone else happy.
God is the defining reality
and change in us
comes not from
trying harder
to make Him
the defining reality,
but it comes
like it did for Hannah
when we see Him
clearly.
And thankfully,
Hannah gives us
the answer
on where to look.
Look at verse 9 and 10.
Hannah's prayer finishes
at the only logical place.
having begun
with her incomparable
holy God,
she finishes
with Him bringing
justice and judgment
in His creation.
Judgment for the wicked
and vindication
for the faithful.
When God judges,
He weighs the actions
of all people.
He won't look
at what's on the outside.
He won't look
at how strong you are,
how rich you are,
how influential you are.
He will look
at your heart.
He will look
at whether your heart
recognizes Him
as the giver
of every good gift.
Hannah looks forward
to the victories
that God will win
on behalf of His people
and we're going to see
a couple of them
in the next few chapters,
but she looks past
the short term.
She is looking
at the final
and ultimate victory
that God will work
for His people.
She is looking forward
to the time
when all these things
that she's talked about,
where the poor
are made rich,
where the hungry
are filled up,
will be fully realized.
She is praying
for God's eternal King,
God's chosen one
to come.
Israel's about
to get some kings.
They're about to get Saul,
they're about to get David
and that's all important,
but she's looking
beyond that.
There's a good chance
she didn't know
exactly what she was
praying for,
she didn't understand
the full significance
of it,
but ultimately
her prayer points
to Jesus.
There in verse 10,
He will give strength
to His King
and exalt the horn
of His anointed.
His anointed
is His Saviour,
His Christ.
Thousands of years
before Jesus
came into the world,
Hannah knew
that her God
would save her.
She didn't understand
fully how,
but she knew
that God
would send someone
to save
because her God
is the delivering God.
Let me read to you
very briefly
the prayer of another woman
in the New Testament.
This comes out
of Luke's Gospel
in chapter 1.
And Mary said,
My soul glorifies
the Lord
and my spirit
rejoices in God
my Saviour
for He has been
mindful of the
humble state
of His servant.
From now on
all generations
will call me blessed
for the Mighty One
has done great things
for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy
extends to those
who fear Him.
From generation
to generation
He has performed
mighty deeds
with His arm.
He has scattered
those who are proud
in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down
rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up
the humble.
He has filled
the hungry
with good things
but has sent
the rich away empty.
He has helped
His servant Israel
remembering to be
merciful to Abraham
and his descendants
forever
even as He said
to our fathers.
what changes
in this story
in 1 Samuel
for Hannah?
What's different
for her
between chapter 1
and chapter 2?
Answer is
not a lot.
She was praying
to God
when she was barren
and she's praying
to God afterwards.
She has the same
husband.
She still has to
share that husband
with a woman
who she doesn't
get on with
very well
and at this point
Israel continues
to ignore God
and we're going
to see it
in really vivid detail
in two weeks time.
Her circumstances
don't shift enough
to warrant
a prayer like this
do they?
A child is an
amazing gift
but a prayer like this
says something
more significant
has gone on.
What shifts
for her
is her view
of God
and that
should
challenge us.
She had
but a vague
idea
that Jesus
would come
and when you
hear about
how her whole
life was
redefined
it probably
should intimidate
you a little bit
because I think
it would be fair
to say that
for most of us
our view of God
is pretty small
in comparison
to hers.
We still fear
the things
that the world
tells us to fear
we still feel
the limitations
of our own
strength
or capacity
our view
of God
doesn't look
very impressive
next to her view
let alone
next to God
himself
but the great
encouragement
of Hannah
and of Mary's
prayer from Luke's
gospel is that
we live
in light
of what Jesus
has already done.
Jesus came
to earth
for people
who have
a small view
of God.
he came
to earth
for people
like you
and me
who had
this vague
idea
but had
kind of
domesticated
it.
He came
to forgive
self-dependent
people
to forgive
self-focused
selfish people
like you
and me.
He came
to reveal
God
so that we
would see
him clearly
just like
Hannah did.
In Jesus
we have
certain hope
we have
an anchor
which will
withstand
whatever
life throws
at us
and if
you're
feeling
guilty
right now
because
your life
doesn't
reflect
the God
of the
universe
I want
to say
that that
is God's
gift to
you right
now
because
he will
use that
to drive
you back
to the
one place
where you
will find
salvation
in the
incomparable
God
who delivers.
if you're
feeling
a weight
tonight
the goal
is not
to walk
out of
here
and try
harder
the goal
is to
look to
Jesus
and like
Hannah
rejoice.
Let's
pray.
Father
God
we
we want
to acknowledge
that
so often
we do
trim
down
just how
impressive
and majestic
and glorious
you are
in so many
areas of
our life
we act
like you
don't
matter
in so
many
things
we are
more
consumed
with our
own
capacity
than with
your
power
at work
in us
and
God
we want
to ask
that you
would
open
our
eyes
to
see
you
clearly
we want
to thank
you
that you
sent
your
son
that we
might
know
you
that we
might
know
your
love
and your
justice
and your
power
over sin
and death
father
we want
to ask
that
you
would
show
us
areas
in our
life
where
we're
living
as if
you
have
no
power
lord
and as
we
confess
those
things
please
consume
the
desires
of our
hearts
with a
desire
to
glorify
you
father
god
if there
are
people
in this
room
tonight
who
don't
even
know
you
yet
who
still
think
that this
idea
of living
a whole
life
because
of who
you
are
is
weird
and
extreme
i pray
that you
would
show
them
your
majesty
that
they
would
look
to
jesus
crucified
and
risen
and
understand
that
you
are
worth
that
and
so
much
more
god
and for
those
of us
who
do
know
you
give
us
great
joy
as
we
seek
to
sacrifice
our
lives
for
the
sake
of
your
purpose
and
your
call
father
thank
you
for
your
love
even
when
we
don't
deserve
it
thank
you
for
your
son
in
whom
is
our
hope
amen