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Written by Richard Rohr, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life.”

I believe that God gives us our soul, our deepest identity, our True Self, our unique blueprint, at our own “immaculate conception.” Our unique little bit of heaven is installed by the Manufacturer within the product, at the beginning! We are given a span of years to discover it, to choose it, and to live our own destiny to the full. If we do not, our True Self will never be offered again, in our own unique form … Our soul’s discovery is utterly crucial, momentous, and of pressing importance for each of us and for the world. We do not “make” or “create” our souls; we just “grow” them up. We are the clumsy stewards of our own souls. We are charged to awaken, and much of the work of spirituality is learning how to stay out of the way of this rather natural growing and awakening. We need to unlearn a lot, it seems, to get back to that foundational life that  is “hidden in God.” Yes, transformation is often more about unlearning than learning, which is why the religious traditions call it “conversion” or “repentance”…All we can give back, and all God wants from any of us is to humbly and proudly return the product that we have been given—which is ourselves…This finished product is more valuable to God than it seemingly is to us…Holding our inner blueprint, which is a good description of our soul, and returning it humbly to the world and to God by love and service is indeed of ultimate concern…We are here to give back fully and freely what was first given to us—but now writ personally—by us!

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Gelasian Sacramentary, a book of Christian liturgy, which is the oldest western liturgical book that has survived.  The book is linked to Pope Gelasius I. It was compiled near Paris around 750.

Lord, listen

kindle our souls by your Spirit,

that being filled with your divine gifts,

we may shine like blazing lamps

in the presence of your Son Christ at his coming; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Written by Wayne Muller, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from his book “Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives.”

We meet dozens of people, have so many conversations. We do not feel how much energy we spend on each activity, because we imagine we will always have more energy at our disposal. This one little conversation, this one extra phone call, this one quick meeting, what can it cost? But it does cost, it drains yet another drop of our life. Then, at the end of days, weeks, months, years, we collapse, we burn out, and cannot see where it happened. It happened in a thousand unconscious events, tasks, and responsibilities that seemed easy and harmless on the surface but that each, one after the other, used a small portion of our precious life. And so we are given a commandment: Remember the Sabbath. Rest is an essential enzyme of life, as necessary as air. Without rest, we cannot sustain the energy needed to have life. We refuse to rest at our peril—and yet in a world where overwork is seen as a professional virtue, many of us feel we can legitimately be stopped only by physical illness or collapse…If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the website of Christ Church London.

God of rest,
Today I make the active choice
To enter into your rest,
And to join with you
In delighting in this good world you have made,
And dreaming of the perfect world you will remake.

I choose to tune out,
Of demands and deadlines,
Of performance pressures,
Of flickering screens,
Of that which robs my soul of joy,
And the ways in which the world
Seeks to define and shape my identity.

I choose to tune in,
To your affirmation and love,
To the celebration of freedom,
To worship and your word,
To the enjoyment of that which fills my soul with joy,
And reminds me of my identity in Christ,
As a deeply loved child of God.  Amen.

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Written by Sheila Schweiger-Rhodes, a contemporary writer.

When I first began driving, I was terrified that, while checking my blind spot, that I would run into something else. The thought of turning around while your car is going forward was overwhelming. Nevertheless, after months of driving, I became more comfortable with checking my blind spot. I realized that not checking it was even more overwhelming because of the danger of having an accident and hurting others. As human beings, we all have areas in our lives which are weaknesses. There are areas in our lives we know from our own personal experience that we need to keep checking so we don’t crash…Spiritual blind spots make you look in the mirror and exactly what is going on around you. The good news is that we have the Holy Spirit who lives within us to help us expose those blind spots. The Bible talks about spiritual blindness and how it affects our souls and those around us. None of us are perfect. If we believe we are perfect, we are lying to ourselves. We are walking in spiritual darkness because the enemy has blinded us. But, Jesus chose to cleanse us from our sin and die for every imperfection, including our blind spots…If we live in God’s light, not only do we have fellowship with each other and are forgiven and have fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! This is why community is so important! It is vitally important to have God-fearing Christians around you who will be honest and love you enough to tell you what you can’t see for yourself…Blind spots are tough! You have to use caution and check them constantly. Don’t be afraid to ask someone you trust to help you when you feel like you are overwhelmed with it all. Sometimes, you need help in changing lanes to get you back on course with God.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is the prayer David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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Written by Randy Cordell, a contemporary pastor.

I believe that the greatest challenge facing the Christian community today is to correct our misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Biblical worship. We have made people believe that worship consists only of what we do for an hour or so on Sunday mornings at the place we call the church. We have made it something we “go to” and “leave from” at the appropriate times. In doing so, we have reduced to an hour what God said must be our entire lives. True worship is the offering to God of one’s body, one’s entire life. Worship is a life given in obedience to God. When we meet together to encourage, teach, and equip for service, we are being obedient and therefore worshiping, but no more than when we obey Him anywhere else at any other time. A man may say he is going to the assembly to worship God, but he should also say he is going to the factory, the office, the school, the ball field, or the restaurant to worship God. Real worship is offering every moment and every action of every day to God.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Gelasian Sacramentary, a book of Christian liturgy, which is the oldest western liturgical book that has survived.  The book is linked to Pope Gelasius I. It was compiled near Paris around 750.

Into your hands, O God, we commend ourselves and all who are dear to us this day. Let the gift of your special presence be with us even to its close. Grant us never to lose sight of you all the day long, but to worship and pray to you, that at eventide we may again give thanks unto you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Written by Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), an American evangelical who taught the joy of Christ throughout a difficult life.

There are times in our lives when delirium makes us utterly unaware of the presence of our most careful and tender nurses. A child in delirium will cry out in anguish for its mother and will harrow her heart by its piteous lamentations and appeals, when all the while she is holding its fevered hand, and bathing its aching head, and caring for it with all the untold tenderness of a mother’s love. The darkness of disease has hidden the mother from the child but has not hidden the child from the mother. And just so it is with our God and us. The darkness of our doubts or our fears, of our sorrows or our despair, or even of our sins, cannot hide us from Him, although it may, and often does, hide Him from us. He has told us that the darkness and the light are both alike to Him; and if our faith will only lay hold of this as a fact, we will be enabled to pass through the darkest seasons in quiet trust, sure that all the while, though we cannot see nor feel Him, our God is caring for us, and will never leave nor forsake us.

Prayer:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern day Annaba, Algeria) and is viewed as one of the most important church fathers in Western Christianity.

 Almighty Father, come into our hearts, and so fill us with your love that forsaking all evil desires, we may embrace you our only good. Show us, O Lord our God, what you are to us. Say to our souls, I am your salvation, speak so that we may hear. Our hearts are before You; open our ears; let us hasten after your voice. Hide not your face from us, we beseech you, O Lord. Open our hearts so that you may enter in. Repair the ruined mansions, that you may dwell therein. Hear us, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of your only son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, Amen.

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Written by Alistair Begg, a contemporary pastor and head of Truth for Life teaching ministry. This is an excerpt from his work “Stand on the Gospel.”

When we picture soldiers on the frontlines of battle, we often imagine firearms, artillery, and other tactical equipment. But there’s a piece of gear we often overlook, without which a soldier would be utterly ineffective: his boots. Without appropriate footwear, no soldier, and therefore no army, can hope to defend a position… The gospel provides us with firm footing. Even when everything else around us is shaking, we always have a place to stand. Even when temptation is fierce, we never need to retreat. What was it that empowered Martin Luther to stand against the tide, nail his theses to the church door at Wittenberg, and then proclaim before an emperor, “Here I stand; I can do no other”? Gospel shoes. What was it that enabled the English Protestants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley to face with courage the horror of being burnt at the stake for their faith? Gospel shoes. What is it that sees our brothers and sisters in so many places around the world joyfully proclaim their faith in Christ even as they are threatened with death? Gospel shoes. When you go to your workplace, to your school, to your unbelieving family and friends, or into your local community, what will give you the power to stand for Jesus? Only the gospel shoes that Christ provides. If you try to stand on your own strength, you will inevitably stumble and fall. But when you enter each new day with your feet rooted in the hope, peace, forgiveness, and assurance of the gospel, then you will find yourself able to stand firm, even through the fiercest opposition from the world and temptation from the devil. So before you go and get on with your day, rehearse the gospel to yourself. Enjoy its truths. Praise your Savior. Or, to put it a different way: put your shoes on.

Prayer:

Written by Christine Batchelder, a contemporary social media specialist at Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Father today we put on the shoes of peace and pray that they will be firmly grounded in the good news of what Jesus did on the cross. Please help us today to dig deep if the enemy throws anything at us — remind us that You, God, have everything under control. You give us peace – a peace that surpasses all understanding. We thank You, because with You, we have everything we need. The battle seems tough, but Lord we know YOU are greater. Lead us, guide us, and steady us on the path. We ask all these things in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

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Written by Greg Laurie, a contemporary American pastor and founder of Harvest Ministries.

Many people today who are searching for happiness will never quite find it. That’s because they’re searching for it in the wrong way. We learn from the Bible that happiness is a by-product of holiness. And when we get our priorities in order, happiness will soon follow. That is why nonbelievers never will know true happiness. They keep going after the devil’s cheap counterfeits; they have no deep well from which to draw. In Psalm 119, we find God’s original design for finding and maintaining holiness…And as a result, we will discover happiness. From the very beginning of our lives, we learn the importance of walking. It’s interesting how little children immediately start moving in that direction. But they don’t quit after they take their first steps. They keep trying. We grow as Christians in the same way. When we commit our lives to Christ, we begin to walk in the way of the Lord. And if we fall, we need to get up and keep trying. Walking speaks of progression, of moving forward as opposed to simply standing still. And if we want to be truly happy and holy people, then we should not only avoid what is wrong but also actively engage in what is right. People who are merely trying to avoid evil are missing the point. It is not merely a matter of what we don’t do. It’s also a matter of what we do. We must engage in spiritual growth and in godly living. We must walk in the way of the Lord.

Prayer:

Written by Lysa Terkeurst, a contemporary American author.

  Lord, may nothing separate me from You today. Teach me how to choose only Your way today so each step will lead me closer to You. Help me walk by the Word and not my feelings. Help me to keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions. And keep me from being distracted by MY wants, MY desires, MY thoughts on how things should be. Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity… rather than a personal inconvenience. I consciously tuck Your whisper of absolute love for me into the deepest part of my heart. I recognize Your love for me is not based on my performance. You love me warts and all. That’s amazing. But what’s most amazing is that the Savior of the world would desire a few minutes with me this morning. Lord, help me to forever remember what a gift it is to sit with You like this. Amen.

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Written by Thomas a Kempis (1418-1427), a German-Dutch canon and author. This is an excerpt from his book “The Imitation of Christ.”

To what have we come, Lord? Behold, we bewail a temporal loss. We labor and fret for small gain, while loss of the soul is forgotten and scarcely ever returns to mind. That which is of little or no value claims our attention, whereas that which is of highest necessity is neglected—all because man gives himself wholly to outward things. And unless he withdraws himself quickly, he willingly lies immersed in externals.

Prayer:

Written by Paige Deane, a contemporary author.

 Lord, you are so good to me. I don’t deserve your love and grace but I am so thankful for it. Your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Please help me submit fully to your lordship in my life. Give me the strength to resist the desires of my flesh. Help me to deny myself, and relinquish all that I have, and all that I am for you. Destroy my attachment to this world so that I can fully rely on you in every situation. I want to develop a strong relationship with you and to be your disciple. Help me to continue to pursue this goal every day, and to help others do the same. I give my entire self over to you Lord. Amen.

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Written by Chris Webb, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “God Soaked Life.”

During one of the persecutions that afflicted the early church, the prefect of Rome arrested a young deacon called Lawrence. The prefect knew that one of Lawrence’s responsibilities was the care of his congregation’s property, and he demanded that Lawrence arrange to hand over all the wealth of church. Lawrence asked for three days to comply, time that he used to prepare for his next meeting with the authorities. After the three days had passed Lawrence came into the prefect’s presence surrounded by beggars and paupers: the lame and blind, the maimed and outcast, the widows and orphans gathered up from the backstreets of Rome. Lawrence waved his hand grandly over the pathetic crowd. “Here they are!” he announced. “Our pride, our glory, our treasure. I offer them to you. Behold, prefect: here is the wealth of the church!”

Prayer:

Written by David Platt, a contemporary pastor and author.

So God, we need your help today. Help us to live in absolute surrender to you for what you say is most important. Not for what this world says is most important. Help us. Help us to live differently, to think differently, to desire differently according to your word, not according to the ways of this world. We need your help. In every way today, in my life, and in the lives of those who are listening. Help us to believe that many who are first will be last and the last first and to live accordingly. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Written by Pete Grieg, a contemporary pastor and author.

Learning to hear God’s voice—his word and his whisper—is the single most important thing you will ever learn to do. I’m not exaggerating. Hearing God is not peripheral; it is integral to human history. Neither is it an optional extra for wild-eyed mystics and those who happen to be spiritually inclined. Hearing God is essential to the very purpose for which you and I were made. Without it everything falls apart. But when we learn to love God’s Word—to listen and obey—everything aligns.

Prayer:

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary teacher, writer,  speaker, and President of Reflections Ministries.

Lord, teach me the wisdom of taking the time and care to listen to Your voice and seek Your wisdom and will for me. May I pause to hear what You want to tell me, and may I regularly make room for this to happen in my life. When I am busy and driven, I cannot hear what You want to tell me, and I crowd You out as I rush from one thing to the next. Instead, I ask for the grace to expose myself to Your Word and listen to its life-giving counsel. I also ask for a greater capacity to give attention to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit as He counsels, comforts, exhorts, convicts, encourages, and inspires me. May I additionally listen to the collective wisdom and insight that is available through the communion of saints, so that I will not endeavor to live the spiritual life on my own without these rich resources that You have given to me. Amen.

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