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Prayer Tip: Final Words

April 2, 2023
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Daily Scripture

John 13:34-35 (CEB), Luke 22:24-26 (The Message)

John 13

[Jesus said to his disciples,] “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

Luke 22

Within minutes [the disciples] were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: “Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It’s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.”

Daily Reflection & Prayer

“Being the living Christ today means being filled with the same Spirit that filled Jesus. Jesus and his Father are breathing the same breath, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the intimate communion that makes Jesus and his Father one. Jesus says: ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’ (John 14:10) and ‘The Father and I are one’ (John 10:30). It is this unity that Jesus wants to give us. That is the gift of his Holy Spirit.
Living a spiritual life, therefore, means living in the same communion with the Father as Jesus did, and thus making God present in the world.”
(Henri Nouwen from https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/gods-breath-given-us/)

This Lenten Season, I have been doing lots of reading on prayer. This week, I feel like Henri Nouwen woke me up.

I have always known that God lives in my heart through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we read things and nod and move on without fully understanding. John 20:21-22 says, Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” I thought how intimate breath is. The Holy Spirit is in us, a gift from Jesus, and because Jesus and God are one, we are one with all three.

We get to take all of the steps of our lives in step with the living breath of Jesus in our hearts. Jesus is always with us. We are connected to the divine when doing holy tasks like worship, but also when we are shopping. God wants to be with us. God wants to connect with us and the way we connect with the living spirit of God in our hearts is through prayer.

If God sent us an invitation to meet for 20 minutes, which of us wouldn’t accept that invitation? Who among us would turn down coffee with Jesus? We do this every day, though, when we don’t make time to be with God. For me, some of this may be fear. I am afraid to sit with God and ask, “What would you have me do with my life?” I am afraid the Holy Spirit will tell me, and it will be hard. So many of our lives, mine included, are beige when they could be vibrant, love-filled lives because we don’t take that time to sit in God’s presence.

This week I encourage you to spend 20 minutes a day in prayer. If you need help, try one or more of the following prayers:

  • Envision a prayer cart or room filled with candles. As you pray for your loved ones and your enemies, those in need of emotional wellness and physical wellness, imagine each candle lighting up.
  • Take a breath in and name something you’re grateful for. As you breathe out say, “Thank you, Jesus.”
  • Take a breath in and say, “Show me your way.” As you breathe out, say, “I surrender to you.”
  • Say The Lords Prayer. Sit in stillness with God for the rest of the time.

God has given himself for us and to us. Let’s focus on accepting that gift to the fullest as we follow his ways.

Dear Jesus, we take breath for granted but it is life sustaining. The spiritual gift of your breath creates everlasting life. Help us to fully understand this gift and revel in our time spent in your presence. Amen.

Prayer

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Ashly Cooley

Ashly has been on staff since 2015 and this is the best job she has ever had. She is passionate about serving the Lord, normalizing mental health care, and is a self proclaimed bibliophile. She enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, extended family and friends as well as dancing badly and snuggling her dog, Bessie.

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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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