Week: Me and God
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
Jesus, You came to bring peace and healing, and because of You we can now be reconciled with God, with ourselves, with other people and with the whole world. We’re ready for You to restore our relationships a little bit more today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Ruby
2 Corinthians 5:20
Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
2 Corinthians 5:20b (MSG)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re continuing to REFLECT on a story that Jesus told about a father and his two sons. Yesterday, we read about the younger brother, but today, we’re going to reflect on the story of the older brother:
Read by Ruby
Luke 15:25-29,31
The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. So he called to one of the servants and asked what all this meant. The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back…’ The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends.’ The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.’
Luke 15:25-27a,28-29,31 (NCV)
The older brother was angry when he found out about the party. Instead of being happy that his brother had returned home, the older brother could only think about himself. It wasn’t fair. He’d done everything right. He’d worked hard for his father, while his brother had just wasted money. Why hadn’t his father put on a party for him too?
Sometimes we feel a little bit like this too. We focus on ourselves, on what’s fair or not fair, on what other people have got but we haven’t… and we forget that we are all God’s children, and that everything we have is a gift from a generous, loving God.
In today’s story, the father was excited because the son he thought he’d lost had been found again. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question: Have we ever lost something for a long time and then found it again? What was it?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Father God, like the older brother, sometimes we feel like we’ve got to earn Your love by doing the right things, and we forget that we’re Your children. We ASK that You’d help us remember that You can’t possibly love us more than You already do!
Most families experience the ups and downs that Jesus describes in his story about the father and his two sons.
Father God, we ASK You to be with the families that we know, including our own. Help our families to love each other and listen to each other. Help our families to get through the difficult times together, and also celebrate the good times. Thank you for being with us through all of this, and thank you again that we are all Your children!
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.
Luke 15:25-29,31
The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. So he called to one of the servants and asked what all this meant. The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back…’ The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends.’ The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.’
Luke 15:25-27a,28-29,31 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, thank you for Your generous love, for forgiving us, for celebrating us. We say YES to expressing the same love and kindness towards others too.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
2 Corinthians 5:20
Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
2 Corinthians 5:20b (MSG)
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.
Ruby is 12 and she lives in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland with her family. Ruby is a gymnast who never sits still! She loves dogs (but her mum won’t get her one), she loves her friends and she’s always up for a laugh. Ruby would love to work with animals when she’s older.
