“In His praying, as well as in every aspect of life, Jesus was consciously seeking the glory of His Father. That is why He could say at the end of His ministry, ‘I have glorified You on the earth’ (John 17:4).”
henry blackaby, experiencing prayer with jesus, p. 135.
Share a Comment: Consider sharing a comment in the box below with something God is showing you either about fasting, prayer, or making room in your heart – as an encouragement to others.
Daily Devotionals: As we step into this next season in the life of our church, we are asking the Lord to help us “Make Room in our Hearts” – for the people Jesus loves, and the people Jesus brings. During these 21 Days, our whole church will be reflecting and meditating on these same thoughts and prayers together, with one mind, guided by and depending on one Spirit.
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Engage the Word: Making Room in Our Hearts
Read Romans 2:4-5
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Connect the Heart
The Apostle Paul is pretty fired up in Romans chapter 2 with some wrathful language about Christians judging others and what that says about their hearts. Inside his main point is a nugget about God’s character: “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” God’s kindness. When you and I and every individual of the human species was a wicked sinner (and we still are)…God, through Jesus, was radically kind. All of us have been vile, detestable, and cruel; yet Jesus is kind. He doesn’t dwell on what we did or what we do—He looks at what we are…and loves us. That’s humbling. Romans 2:11 really hits home when I grumble (or worse) about others when it says, “God shows no partiality.”
Reflect on the Truth
- What is the source of my thoughts of condemnation toward others? Do I push toward forgiveness or hold onto my frustrations and hurts? How might Jesus’ radical kindness help my heart?
- If God’s kindness leads to repentance, how does that affect my desire to be his hands and feet to our community?
- How might Ascent Church be radically kind to our community?
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, “God, people legitimately bug me sometimes and I am not kind. Please transform my heart to see people as you do, without partiality, so that I may me be your hands and feet of love.”)
The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His Word, His Spirit, His people.
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For Prayer
As you conclude your devotional time, pray that Ascent Church would be known as a people who are radically kind to all of those around us – where we live, work and play. Even those who may cause frustrations or hurts to us personally. Pray that we would be known as a church that is always kind, knowing that everyone is fighting a great battle.
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.
Previous Posts
To read yesterday’s blog post devotional, please click here.
To read our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Introduction, please click here.
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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.
Share a Comment: Consider sharing a comment in the box below with something God is showing you either about fasting, prayer, or making room in your heart – as an encouragement to others.
Thanks Jason. This is timely guidance for me (and maybe all of us). God’s word in Romans 2 is a firm call to transform our hearts, even in the most fragile and sensitive areas of our lives
Amen – the world does not need another knee or elbow. A smile, a helping hand, and listening intently can go a long long way and stands in stark contrast in a world that can be so harsh.