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Last night was part three of the four week series called “LIFE REMIXED” that I am teaching on Wednesday evenings at our Revive mid-week service. The title for last night’s message was “PRAYER REMIXED”, where we looked at a way to remix our prayer life.

(Giving credit where credit is due, I first heard the idea for this message many years ago when hearing a similar message by Louie Giglio at 722 in Atlanta, Georgia.)

We looked a common prayer (or different variations of that common prayer) that we often pray – “God, bless me.” We are so captivated with receiving the blessings of God. Listen closely to prayers and you will hear tons of petitions directed towards God to bless me, bless my family, bless my friends, bless my church, bless my finances, bless my grades, bless my sports teams, bless my relationships, bless my country, bless my dog, bless my coffee table, etc.  You name it, we probably ask God to bless it.

Why do you think Dan Wilkerson’s Prayer of Jabez book was so popular when it was released in 2000? This book that focuses on a man in the Bible named Jabez’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 sold more than 9 million copies in its first two years. Why? Because many believed Jabez’s prayer was the key to receiving more of God’s blessing.

After diving into God’s Word a little more, I found out that Abraham was promised a lot of blessing. Check these verses out when you have time: Genesis 12:2-3 (Abraham receives a promise of blessing), Genesis 17:3-4 (Abraham receives a promise to become the father of nations), and Genesis 22:17-18 (Abraham receives another promise of blessing and that all nations would be blessed through his offspring).

In America, we live in a very consumer-driven society. A society where we cannot get enough stuff. There is always something bigger and better. Heather and I are saving our money right now for a large, flat-panel TV. Why? We already have 4 TVs of some kind already in our house. Maybe we look at God’s blessings with the same consumer-driven mentality.

In studying I found out that the term “Bless you” is used 36 times in the Bible – 34 in the Old Testament, 2 in the New Testament. The term “Bless me” is used 6 times in the Bible – 6 in the Old Testament, 0 in the New Testament. The term “Bless” is used 89 times in the Bible – 84 in the Old Testament, 5 in the New Testament.

Isn’t that interesting? Seems there is a fundamental change and shift when it comes to blessings in the Old Testament and the New Testament. So what changed? That question can be answered in one word – JESUS! 

With Jesus we have received the ultimate blessing. Through Jesus, Abraham’s blessing came to fruition and we were blessed more than we could possibly imagine (Read Galatians 3:14 – really, really cool).

So here is how I was asking them to remix their prayer life:

Instead of always praying “GOD, BLESS ME.” Remix that by praying “GOD, LET ME BLESS YOU.” Live a life that blesses God. Live a life worthy of the incredible blessing that you have been given through Jesus. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God with everything you do. Realize that you are blessed beyond your wildest dreams and live a life that brings a huge smile to God’s face.

In response time, I challenged them to think of specific ways they could bless God with their lives. I asked them to write them down. It was amazing to see them brainstorm about specific ways of how they could bless God with their life. Commitments were made last night to honor God by maintaining sexual purity until marriage, to honor God by never submitting to drugs and alcohol, sharing God with specific friends, and even being a catalyst for revival in their schools, their cities, and their world. It was powerful seeing all these commitments to bless God through their lives.

That was PRAYER REMIXED. Thanks for reading this far.

With that being said…BLESS GOD today.