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“Remember, no one has time to pray; we have to take time from other things that are valuable in order to understand how necessary prayer is. The things that act like thorns and stings in our personal lives will go away instantly when we pray; we won’t feel the smart any more, because we have God’s point of view about them. Prayer means that we get into union with God’s view of other people.”
oswald chambers, prayer: A holy occupation, p. 97.
Weekly Tuesday morning prayer: Join us this morning upstairs in the Student Center, 8:15-9am, for our weekly time of prayer, seeking the wisdom and direction of the LORD for our church, our families and our community.
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 Matthew 26:6-13
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
Connect the Heart
This beautiful thing the woman did for Jesus is wonderful…as long as I don’t put myself in the scenario. Because, if I’m honest, I would be on the side of the disciples on this one. I don’t like waste. Truth be told, I often think God can be pretty wasteful. I mean what’s up with all the pollen? Moreover, I can sometimes feel pretty judgmental in my own heart about how I perceive other people spending money. This gets real when God starts talking to me – through His Spirit, through His word, and in prayer – about my heart of generosity.
This extends beyond the general concept of generosity to God’s biblical call to generosity toward His Kingdom work. Do I trust that God is working through my church for His purposes even when I personally struggle with certain expenditures? This certainly calls for wisdom to be able to differentiate between my personal opinion and leadership decisions that might differ from a choice I would prefer to make. But figuring out the difference isn’t easy for me… how about you?
Reflect on the Truth
- Where do I fall on the spectrum in considering whether certain church-related expenditures seem “utilitarian” or possibly appear to be “extravagant”? Is there a right answer or a wrong answer?
- Where do I fall on the spectrum in considering church finances being invested locally vs globally? Do I have strong opinions about what is considered acceptable? Does my opinion affect how I trust or distrust my church leadership’s execution of its mission?
- Do I trust my church leadership with finances? If not, how might this be hindering what God can accomplish not only through my church but through me? How might God align my heart to that of my church’s mission?
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, I sometimes hold back because of disagreeing with how I see my church function. Help me see that holding back isn’t the right answer because I’m really hold my heart back from YOU. Rather give me wisdom and courage and a heart that leans in to help, support, encourage, and (when warranted) hold leadership accountable… so that your purposes blossom and produce the harvest you are after.”) 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 that we will be a church full of people who are diligently seeking ways to Make Room in our hearts for the people Jesus loves, for the people Jesus brings, and for our community to experience the hope, healing and freedom that Jesus offers everyone.
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.
Love this! God is pretty wasteful, but when He can make everything out of nothing He can afford to be the extravagant dad He is. He can just make more.
If I get alone with those facts to face my belief or disbelief, and allow Him to drill down through what I try to hide behind, then He can lovingly show me what is in His character to provide, pour out, multiply, or refill. Armed with the facts of His character, I can in faith choose bravely to live this same way.
So well said!
That Bible story is convicting to me that we might not always agree with what God decides. I had never thought of it applying to church leadership which was also convicting. It can definitely apply to all our relationships where God might be leading us differently than we expect or even like.
Yes, there are so many different expectations on so many levels – depending on any given situation. Grace and trust (both given and earned) are essential parts of the equation.