God speaks in the quiet of a Sunday morning, whispering truths about my life and the lives of others. I recognize a need in myself, a need for more empathy-- to see life through the lens of others. To be a better friend, leader, brother, son, healer, colleague.
For the Christian, prayer is the time to gain this perspective. Constant prayer is how we maintain it. If we are prayerful throughout the day, the Holy Spirit will cause our soul and spirit to see and care about the thoughts, feelings, and needs of others. On Sunday mornings, I'm especially reminded of the love of Jesus. This helps me see my deficiencies as symptoms of deeper spiritual bankruptcy, not merely as character flaws, and also to be reminded of our perfect example of empathic, selfless, furious love. Prayer and corporate worship brings my thoughts, emotions, and will in line with God's, and thereby has the power to multiply my emotional wealth.
I have a friend who made a prayer guide for our house church this week. I didn't do a great job of sticking to it, but one thing that stood out was yesterday's injunction to pray for each member of house church, specifically regarding our spiritual gifts. As we've thought about our gifts together, it's helped me see strongholds in my own heart and the hearts of others close to me. Few things are more important than praying to break down the strongholds of sin in our hearts with the overwhelming grace of God.
Father, be gracious to us. Our spiritual weakness stems from prayerless faithlessness. Forgive us. As you drew near to the Israelites when they repented, make your Presence known in our lives today as we serve you and love your people. We praise you that you are always faithful to forgive and heal. You never forsake us. Help us long to never forsake you.
For the Christian, prayer is the time to gain this perspective. Constant prayer is how we maintain it. If we are prayerful throughout the day, the Holy Spirit will cause our soul and spirit to see and care about the thoughts, feelings, and needs of others. On Sunday mornings, I'm especially reminded of the love of Jesus. This helps me see my deficiencies as symptoms of deeper spiritual bankruptcy, not merely as character flaws, and also to be reminded of our perfect example of empathic, selfless, furious love. Prayer and corporate worship brings my thoughts, emotions, and will in line with God's, and thereby has the power to multiply my emotional wealth.
I have a friend who made a prayer guide for our house church this week. I didn't do a great job of sticking to it, but one thing that stood out was yesterday's injunction to pray for each member of house church, specifically regarding our spiritual gifts. As we've thought about our gifts together, it's helped me see strongholds in my own heart and the hearts of others close to me. Few things are more important than praying to break down the strongholds of sin in our hearts with the overwhelming grace of God.
Father, be gracious to us. Our spiritual weakness stems from prayerless faithlessness. Forgive us. As you drew near to the Israelites when they repented, make your Presence known in our lives today as we serve you and love your people. We praise you that you are always faithful to forgive and heal. You never forsake us. Help us long to never forsake you.
No comments:
Post a Comment