Week: Me and Others
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 Kumi
Colossians 3:14
Clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Have we ever fallen out with someone? Maybe there’s someone in our minds right now who we’ve been arguing with? Today we’re REFLECTING on what Jesus said about how to work out the problems that we have with others.
Read by Kumi
Matthew 18:15-16
[Jesus said] ‘If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell them – work it out between the two of you. If they listen, you’ve made a friend. If they won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again.’
Matthew 18:15-16 (MSG)
Jesus says that instead of telling other people how annoyed or angry we are, the first thing we should do is go to the person who’s made us feel that way and try to put things right. And if we can’t put things right on our own, Jesus says that we should ask a couple of friends to try and help us. That’s what reconciliation means – to put things right between people.
It’s not always going to be straightforward and we aren’t always going to get on with everyone, but we should try to. Sometimes people might not want to be reconciled to us and that can be hurtful. Also, being reconciled is not something we have to do just once, it’s a lifelong journey we have to keep working at.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: How have we felt when we’ve reconciled with a friend after falling out?
Is there someone that we need to make things right with today?
Loving God, we ASK for Your help. Give us words to heal and not hurt. Help our actions show Your love and bring people together.
Let’s think for a moment of someone we know who is good at bringing people together, at seeing people on the edges, who may feel unloved or unwanted, and including them.
Holy Spirit, we ASK that You would give them wisdom to know how to follow the message of Jesus in bringing reconciliation to others.
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 18:15-16
[Jesus said] ‘If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell them – work it out between the two of you. If they listen, you’ve made a friend. If they won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again.’
Matthew 18:15-16 (MSG)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Jesus, we say YES to doing as You taught us – we will try to put things right with other people, even if it’s hard.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Colossians 3:14
Clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14 (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.
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.
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.
