Week: Justice - living the right way
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Mighty God, open our eyes, stir our hearts and teach us how, ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly’ with You today. (Micah 6:8)
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Zoë
Jeremiah 9:24
[The Lord says] What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.
Jeremiah 9:24b (CEV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
This week we will be REFLECTING on the letter that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote to the Jewish Christians who were living outside of Israel.
Read by Zoë
James 1:26-27
People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their ‘religion’ is worth nothing. Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.
James 1:26-27 (NCV)
James wrote this letter to the Jewish believers in Jesus, and so when he uses words like ‘religious’ and ‘religion’ he’s talking about God’s laws in the Old Testament and the people who believe in them.
But James reminds us that believing in God is just the first step. Loving God and following Jesus is really about how we care for others, especially those who struggle to care for themselves.
James says that people who say they believe in God, but don’t live like it are ‘fools’. In lots of countries, 1st April is called ‘April Fools Day’, where people play pranks on each other. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When have we played a prank or an ‘April Fools’ joke on someone? How did it go?
And now let’s ask God to help us and others.
Lord Jesus, we ASK You to help us be do-ers and not just hear-ers of Your Words. Help us to live lives of love and justice wherever we are.
In today’s Bible verses, James talks about caring for orphans – that’s children with no living parents. The country with the most orphans in the world is India with about 30 million.* Maybe we could check how many there are in our country too?
Father God, the Bible says that You long to put the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6). We ASK You to be especially close to every orphan today – to every child without parents. May they know that You are a Good Parent, and we also ASK You to please put them in families who will love them and care for them.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
James 1:26-27
People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their ‘religion’ is worth nothing. Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.
James 1:26-27 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we say YES to being hearers of Your Words – to listening carefully to everything You say to us. And we say YES to being do-ers of Your Words too – to doing what You ask us to do. Help us to live lives of love and justice.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Jeremiah 9:24
[The Lord says] What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.
Jeremiah 9:24b (CEV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
*Countries with the Most Orphans 2025: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-the-most-orphans
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Zoë Thandeka (Thandi) is 13 and she lives in Guildford, in the UK, with her family. She loves football (her favourite football team is Liverpool FC), Top Gear and car-spotting. When she’s older, Zoë wants to be a photographer or work with animals in some way.
