Prayer on Fire #3 of 3 Contemporary

In one paragraph

Don Young closed out First B's Prayer on Fire weekend with a message on the love of the Father. He traced the damage done when that love is missing, named the "orphan spirit" as the thief that steals it, and led the congregation in practical declarations and a time of receiving that love. It was the final session of a weekend that had also covered hunger for God, the manifest presence of Christ,...

Read together

1. Job 42 (end of Job) Amy quoted Job saying he had heard of God only by hearing of the ear, but now his eyes had seen Him
2. Psalm 92:1 it is good to declare your steadfast love in the morning
3. Jude 21 keep yourself in the love of God
4. John 15:9 as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you, now remain in my love
5. 2 Corinthians 5:14 the love of Christ controls us
6. Romans 8:15 you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba Father
7. John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you
8. Colossians 3:3 you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God
9. Luke 11 disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave the model beginning with Our Father in heaven
10. Lamentations 3:22-23 the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, they are new every morning
11. Romans 8:38-39 neither death nor life, angels or demons, present or future can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
12. 2 Chronicles 20:21 give thanks to the Lord because his love endures forever, declared during life's battles
13. Proverbs 21:31 victory belongs to the Lord, declared following life's victories
14. Jude 24-25 closing benediction: to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you before his glorious presence without fault

Talk about it

1. Don told a story about his daughter Shelly, and how his sons eventually learned that love came before asking. What does that story say to you about how you approach your heavenly Father in prayer?
2. Don described pastors in India and Africa who had never experienced the love of an earthly father and found it hard to understand God's love as a result. How has your own experience with your earthly father shaped the way you see God?
3. Don laid out a comparison between the father's love and what he called the orphan spirit, things like freedom versus fear, acceptance versus rejection, abundance versus poverty. Which side of that list do you find yourself living from most often, and why do you think that is?
4. Don said there is nothing you can do to earn God's love, that it is given unconditionally, and that the voice telling you God does not love you comes from the pit of hell. Have you ever believed that lie? What did it cost you?
5. Don gave five ways to live in God's love, starting and ending your day declaring it, receiving it at the beginning of prayer, holding onto it during hard times and battles, and giving thanks after victories. Which of those five feels most natural to you, and which feels hardest?