Sunday Prayer: Thank You For Life

Heavenly Father,

I approach You with a heart full of gratitude for the gift of life that You have given me. I thank You for sustaining me, protecting me, and guiding me in all my ways.

Lord, You have entrusted me with the responsibility of caring for my life, and I recognize that it is only through You that I can make wise choices that lead to life. Grant me Your wisdom and discernment, that I may choose the path of life that leads to You.

Help me to stay connected to You, the source of all life, through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Strengthen me to follow Him, even when it is difficult, so that I may experience the abundant life that He offers.

I declare today that I choose life, and I ask for Your guidance and protection as I walk in this path. May my life bring glory to You and be a testimony of Your goodness and grace.

In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

Questions to Answer

 

Every so often I ponder two questions from Jesus found in the Gospels. When these questions come to mind I often reflect on how I would respond to them. To be honest, at different times in my life, I find myself with different answers.

The first question is the same one that Jesus posed to Peter after His resurrection. As you may recall, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times before the crucifixion, and after the resurrection, Jesus approached Peter to restore him. The restoration process involved asking Peter the same question three times: "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" (John 21:15; ESV).

It's easy to say that we love Jesus more than anything else, but our actions often betray our words. We may love our families, recognition, jobs, alcohol, or hobbies more than Jesus. Personally, I know that I often place Jesus in the backseat, even when it comes to ministry.

Since we tend to relegate Jesus to the back corners of our lives, it's crucial for us to answer this important question. Every day, we must affirm our love for Jesus through prayer and commitment. It's essential that we take the time to hear Jesus' question and respond to it. We must tell Jesus that we love Him and demonstrate that love through the way we live our lives.

The second question is the one that Jesus asked of blind Bartimaeus. As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was walking by where he was begging. Bartimaeus cried out to get Jesus' attention: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:47; ESV). Despite everyone else telling him to be quiet, Bartimaeus continued to yell, and eventually, Jesus called for him to come. When Bartimaeus reached Jesus, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51; ESV).

What do I want Jesus to do for me? 

I believe that we often expect too little from Jesus. We come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive our sins, bless us with good health, or take care of our families. Don't misunderstand me; these are good things, and in some ways, they are essential things. However, I believe that these requests are similar to Bartimaeus asking for an endless supply of money so he could stop begging. It would be wonderful for Bartimaeus to quit begging, but it misses the point. He got it right when he said, "I want to see."

What do I want from Jesus? I want life. I want to be free from fear and sin. I want to obey God and follow Jesus with my whole heart. I want to make a difference in this world for the Kingdom. I don't want to settle for a life of my own making; I want to live the life God created me to live. The only way I know this can happen is by asking Jesus to give it to me.

Certain questions require us to take the time to reflect and respond because our answers will determine the direction of our lives. This is especially true when Jesus poses the questions. So, what is Jesus asking you?

Prioritize Love

 

As Christians, we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. This commandment is central to what it means to demonstrate God character in this world and it requires us to show compassion and kindness to everyone, even those difficult people in our lives. 

We know that loving our neighbor is not always easy. It can be challenging to find time in our busy schedules to reach out and care for others. But for us to truly bear God’s image in this world, we must be prioritize loving our neighbor over our own agendas.

The fact that God commands His people to love means that love is more than a feeling. Love, the type of love God wants His people to have, is an intentional choice. In other words, love is an action that we choose to do. 

In 1 John 3:18, we are taught that Christian love is "not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." If our love is not expressed by the things we do, then we are not obeying the command to love our neighbor.

While it might be convenient to add times service to our to do lists, loving our neighbors can't simply be blocked off on our schedules. The reality is that opportunities to love people often appear in our lives during inconvenient times. This forces us to choose between our agendas and God's command. 

For example, we may be rushing to get to work when a friend calls asking for help. Or we may have plans to spend time with friends when a neighbor knocks on our door asking for assistance. In these moments, we must choose to prioritize loving people over the plans we made. The only way we will consistently choose to help and serve is  when we have chosen to make love a primary value of our lives.

Jesus demonstrated this kind of sacrificial love throughout his ministry. 

In the Gospels we see how Jesus stopped and helped people in need, even when it meant interrupting his own plans. One of these occasions is found in Mark 6:30-44. In this passage, Jesus wanted to take his disciples to a remote area for some rest, but the crowds followed them. In verse 34 Mark wrote that Jesus “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”

In Luke 10:25-37, when Jesus was asked “who is my neighbor,” he told the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable the Samaritan stopped to help a man who had been beaten and left for dead. The Samaritan was inconvenienced by this act of love, but he chose to prioritize caring for the injured man over his own schedule.

For us who follow Jesus, we are called to prioritize loving our neighbor over our own agendas, just like Jesus did. This requires us to be flexible and willing to put aside our own plans when someone is in need. It also requires us to be intentional about looking for opportunities to love by helping and serving those around us. Prioritizing love will also require that we step out of our comfort zones and be open to the different ways God is calling us to love people.

Loving our neighbor is one half of the central commandment of the Christianity. To obey God’s command for us to love requires us to have compassion and kindness for those around us, even when it is inconvenient. As we follow Jesus' example, we must prioritize loving our neighbor over other things in our lives.

Prayer and What We Believe about God

 

Prayer is an integral part of the Christian life. Through prayer we communicate with God, seek His guidance, offer thanks and praise, and ask for His intervention in the world.

I believe the way we approach prayer reveals what we truly believe about God.

If we believe that God is distant and uninterested in our lives, we will not see the point in praying. If, on the other hand, we believe that God cares deeply for us and is actively working on our behalf, then we will be motivated to pray at every opportunity about the things that weigh on our hearts.

Remember, the Bible tells us that God is a loving and caring Father who is deeply concerned for His children. Jesus taught us to pray to "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9). Addressing God as our Father is a powerful reminder of the love and care God has for us. This truth can motivate us to approach God with confidence, knowing that He loves us and desires the best for our lives.

Yet, it can be hard to remember the love and care God has for us. The circumstances of life can cause us to doubt God. When we face trials and difficulties, we can wonder if God really does care about us. We may question why He has allowed us to experience pain and suffering. 

Yet, it is during times like these that prayer becomes even more important.

How do we pray when we don’t feel like praying? When we doubt the goodness of God?

I don’t know if I have a good answer for that, except, that we fall back on the discipline of prayer. This is why it is crucial to develop a habit of prayer, so we will follow through the with the actions of faith, even when the feeling of faith is not there.

I am confident that as we come to God in prayer, we are reminded of His faithfulness and love for us. We are reminded that He is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

Prayer is also the way we align our hearts and minds with God's will. When we pray, we seek God's guidance and direction for our lives. We acknowledge that we need His wisdom and understanding to navigate the challenges that we face. As we pray, we remember of God's sovereignty and power. We remind ourselves that He is in control, even when things seem to be spiraling out of our control.

Prayer is a spiritual discipline that reveals what we truly believe about God. If we believe that God is distant and uninterested in our lives, we may not see the point in praying. But if we believe that God cares deeply for us and is actively working on our behalf, then we will be motivated to fall on our knees and cry out to Him.

As we pray, we are reminded of God's love and care for us. We are also reminded of His sovereignty and power. May we be encouraged to pray with faith and confidence, knowing that God hears our prayers and is actively working on our behalf.