There is no zoom prayer room in July, we resume in August.

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 

• John 15:1-8

PRAYER GUIDE

On his last night with the disciples, Jesus provides a metaphor through which to understand our relationship with God. It is akin to the relationship between a vine and a branch. 

What can we say about this relationship? It is a relationship of dependence, intimacy, refining, and fruitfulness. Over the month of July, we will spend our Tuesdays praying into these aspects of our relationship(s) with Jesus. We’ll pray for ourselves, for our loved ones, for our church, and for the Big C Church in our region. 

Today, let’s focus on dependence. He is the Vine. Jesus alone has access to the root system. He alone is truly alive. As John says, “in Him was life.” (Jn 1:4) Our life is, therefore, is totally derivative, meaning that we depend on Jesus for life. 

Apart from the vine, a branch is deadwood. In the vine, a branch is alive and fruitful. It is a relationship of total and complete dependence. The branch’s vitality is completely contingent upon the vine and its connection to the vine. 

The greatest lies ever told to the human race, the primordial deception of the serpent to Eve, is that we can be like God. We can find life apart from God. And we not only does this lie live inside each of our fallen natures, but it is reinforced by nearly everything around us. In Rhode Island, the Independent Man stands upon the top of the state house. Rugged individualism is a hallmark American value. And we live out this value every day. 

A central part of being a healthy, vital human being and a disciple of Jesus is to unlearn this value and way of independence and to discover the beauty of dependence upon Jesus. 

For the truth is that apart from Jesus we will surely die. Apart from Jesus we will wither. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing of eternal, lasting value. 

This is the first principle of spiritual life. God is God and we are not God. Disconnected from our ongoing relationships with God, we wither and perish. 

Everything depends, therefore, on our dependence upon Jesus. 

So, how dependent are we on him? How aware are we of our need for him? 

The first place it shows up is in our prayer life. And the first step to dependence is repentance of independence.

PRAYER PROMPTS

• Let’s ask the Spirit to reveal our self-reliance, independence, and lack of reliance upon God.
• Starting with our own lives. Schedules. Prayer rhythms and habits. 
• Let’s ask God to speak to us about our families, homes, friend groups and how he wants us to trust and depend on Him in these areas.
• Let’s pray for a total renunciation of independence in the Church.

Tuesday Prayer Room – 9am 

4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[a]; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; 13 the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. – EXODUS 35

PRAYER GUIDE

The tabernacle foreshadows the ultimate dwelling place of God, when God will dwell with his people forever in the New Jerusalem. In the meantime, the Church is his dwelling place. It is the tabernacle of the New Covenant era. In many ways, our purpose has always been to partner with God in hosting his presence. It was thus in the Garden, thus in the tabernacle, thus in the temple, thus in the upper room, and it will be so when Heaven comes to earth. One way to understand our primary purpose as God’s people is to host his presence. We do this through by building the temple with our own offerings, given with willing hearts. As Jesus took the bread and the loaves in the gospels and used them to feed the 5000, God accepts our gifts, willingly given, to create a resting place for his presence.

Even though heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool, yet God out of love for us and his desire to partner with human beings and inhabit our human efforts, God, uses and honors our offerings to create a dwelling place where He can be in close intimacy and relationship with us. 

In this passage, in the era of the tabernacle, the Israelites offered their resources, their skills, and their time. And while God didn’t NEED any of this from his people, he honored it. And in our own moment, it is good for our own souls to make our own contribution so that the people of God can host the presence of God. When we do so, we fulfill our deepest purpose.

This morning, let’s pray for willing hearts. Let’s pray for offerings of time, talent, treasure. Let’s pray God uses his people to create a space for Himself to dwell in our own time.

PRAYER PROMPTS

• Meditate and ask the Spirit for insight on what it could look like today in the 21st Century for God to build his temple/tabernacle in our midst through our contributions of time, talent, and treasure.
• Pray into that.
• Let’s pray for willing hearts, moved by God’s Spirit.
• Let’s continue to pray for a longing and priority for the presence of God. And for a visitation of God’s spirit.
• Let’s pray for God’s people to prioritize the work of making a home for him.

Tuesday Prayer Room – 9am 

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. – 1 Corinthians 14:1

PRAYER GUIDE:

What do we eagerly desire? What do we ardently long for? Some of us eagerly desire a partner, a soul mate, a spouse. Others of us long to be successful, or to be financially stable. Some of us long to be healthy, or to be free, or to get out of a difficult trial or situation. Some of us eagerly desire to be famous, or important, or to make our mark. 

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14 to eagerly desire the things of the Spirit. The verb he uses for “eagerly desire,” zeilo’o, is a strong verb in the Greek. It refers to ardent longing, in some of its tenses, it even suggests a kind of jealousy.

The problem with many of us and much of the church is not that our desires are too strong, but that often they are not strong enough…and that they are not aimed at the right object of desire. 

In Psalm 27, David said this: “One thing I ask, this alone do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple.” God is honored by and looking for this kind of desire. David was thinking, of course, about the presence of God in the tabernacle. His longing was to build God a permanent dwelling, a temple, where his presence could rest. 

His descendent, Jesus, ended up building this very temple. It is not a physical temple, but a community of people who host the presence of God. The people of God are called to be a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2-3), where God dwells by his Spirit. This is why Paul tells us to ardently long for the Spirit and the things of the Spirit…because it is our purpose to be a living temple for the presence of God. 

So often, on a Sunday morning, however, the last person people expect to meet in church is God. But in times of renewal and times of revival, the reigning impression is the same sense of surprise Jacob had at Bethel when he exclaimed: “Surely the Lord is in this place, though I didn’t know it…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen 28:16-17)

But notice the connection between our desire and the manifest presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God rarely shows up when he is not wanted or not welcomed. He is looking for the heart of David in Psalm 27. He is looking for a people who obey Paul’s command to “eagerly desire the things of the Spirit…the things the Spirit does.” God comes where he’s wanted. 

PRAYER PROMPTS:

• Pray for eager and earnest desire for the presence of the Holy Spirit and for the manifestations of His presence in the church.
• Pray for the church to grow unsatisfied with religious activity devoid of presence
• Pray for believers to prioritize God’s presence in their daily lives, in their homes and families, in their churches, in their city and our region.
• Pray for the church to become people of the presence of God. 
• Ask the Spirit how else to pray, and lean in.