“Jesus hallowed the Father’s name by always praying in a way consistent with God’s nature, ways purposes, and especially His will. He would never pray anything contrary to the nature of God. This is where we must think both before we pray and while we pray. This will help keep us from praying outside the Father’s revealed will and nature, or outside Jesus’ commands and truth, or outside what we know of the Holy Spirit’s nature and activity.”
Henry Blackaby, experiencing prayer with jesus, p. 62.
Daily Devotionals: Ascent’s Mission – Loving God, Loving People and Impacting Our World. Each day’s devotional will guide us through a scriptural thought based on the mission God has called us to follow.
We spent last week focusing on the first part of our mission, Loving God. We turn this week to the second part of our mission: Loving People.
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Engage the Word: Loving People
Read Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Connect the Heart
For most of us, no doubt, it’s hard enough to tolerate difficult people, let alone live up to the standard Jesus sets for us. Jesus defines our enemies as those who hate us, curse us, and selfishly exploit us. Isn’t it more natural to avoid our enemies? Or… more likely, try to get back at them to bring justice to an unjust situation? Biblically, Christian love is an act of the will, not simply an emotion, and Jesus has street cred when it comes to having enemies. In fact, Romans 5:10 tells us that He loved us when we were HIS enemies. But pray for them and bless them? This may seem like an expectation too unrealistic to even consider. However…if we want to follow Jesus, we will pray for those who persecute or even hate us. And Jesus knows firsthand that when we pray for our enemies and the difficult people in our lives, we will find it easier to love them. Are you willing to try?
Reflect on the Truth
- Take a moment to think of someone who has betrayed you, or cursed you, or has even expressed disdain or hatred toward you in some way. Picture their face. Say their name. Now, take a moment to pray a prayer of blessing over them and ask the Lord to bring them favor.
- What happens in your heart when you consider this selfless act of love toward someone you might consider what Jesus calls an “enemy?” Do you feel something emotionally – even physically? Pay attention to what you feel. It is an act of your will to move beyond your feelings to bless your enemy.
Depend on the Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that these thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “Lord, this person has seriously wronged me and I’m not sure they even know it. I’m finding it very hard to pray for them, let alone bless them. I want to follow Your example. Please help me.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His Word, His Spirit, and His people.
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For Prayer
As you conclude your devotional time, pray for our church family today as we gather to worship together. Pray that our church will be known for its love in our community, even (or especially) toward those who believe or live differently.
Fasting
Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as, together, we seek the heart of God.
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Some parts of our 21 Days devotionals are adapted using various resources on scripture and prayer like The Bible Exposition Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, The New Bible Commentary, Logos Bible Software and other resources.
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