Week: The Way of the Kingdom of God
As usual, 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
Lord Jesus, we open our minds to learn new things, so that we know more about You. We open our hearts to be filled with Your love, so that we become more like You. And we open our hands to receive all we need to live our lives for You.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Kumi
Matthew 6:10
May your kingdom come and what you want be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re returning to a series of sayings that Jesus taught the crowds who had gathered to listen to him – we know them as ‘the Beatitudes’ – and we’re REFLECTING on the first of these sayings.
Read by Kumi
Matthew 5:2-3
Then Jesus began teaching the people. He said, ‘Great blessings belong to those who know they are spiritually in need. God’s kingdom belongs to them.’
Matthew 5:2-3 (ERV)
‘Beatitudes’ is an old word that simply means ‘blessed’. We sometimes use the word ‘bless’, don’t we? We ask God to bless our family or bless our nation and maybe we say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes! And when we say these things, what we mean is that we want good things to happen to our families or our nation or the person who might be catching a cold.
That’s kind of what Jesus is saying here too. Instead of ‘Great blessings’ we could say ‘God’s goodness belongs to those who know they are spiritually in need’. Jesus is teaching that when we know that we need God’s help, and when we are humble enough to ask for it, it’s ‘good’ for us because we will reach out to God for that help. And where God is helping us, that’s where God’s Kingdom is.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What good news have we seen or heard recently?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Father God, thank you for blessing us, thank you for all the good things that You do in and through our lives. We ASK You to help us remember that we always need You, that we can’t do without You.
And now let’s think of other people who we want God to bless today – people who need some of God’s goodness in their lives. Maybe they don’t know Jesus yet, or maybe they have some other need.
Loving God, as we think of these people – friends, family members, people we know at work or at school, even people we don’t know but who are in our hearts right now – we ASK You to bless them. Do good things in their lives. May Your Kingdom come in their lives!
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.
Matthew 5:2-3
Then Jesus began teaching the people. He said, ‘Great blessings belong to those who know they are spiritually in need. God’s kingdom belongs to them.’
Matthew 5:2-3 (ERV)
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 seeking first God’s Kingdom in our lives, and in the world – to putting God first and living the way You show us to. We want our lives to be blessed – to be filled with Your goodness.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Matthew 6:10
May your kingdom come and what you want be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 (NCV)
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.
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Kumkanikazi (Kumi) is 12 years old, and lives In Johannesburg, South Africa with her parents and 4 siblings.
You’ll often find her in a stylish outfit, baking up a storm or creating videos.
