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.
Today we’re REFLECTING on part of a letter that Paul wrote to the early church in Galatia that challenged them to think about how they were treating other people.
Read by Kumi
Galatians 3:26-28
You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26-28 (NCV)
Paul wasn’t saying that everyone was exactly the same in every way – of course they’re not. We all look different and we speak different languages. We have different skills and talents, and we even love different things on top of our ice creams! What Paul meant is that no person or no type of person is more loved or more valuable to God than any other, and so we should treat everyone equally.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: In what ways are we the same as other people? In what ways are we different?
And now let’s ask God to help us and others.
Lord Jesus, we have all treated other people unfairly at some point – whether that’s because of the things that they do or like, or because of their gender, or because of where they’re from. We ASK You to forgive us, and to help us to see others the way that You see them everyday.
Around the world there are all sorts of conflicts based on people’s differences, such as their religion, their culture and nationality, their opinions, and other things too.
Loving God, we want people to be reconciled to each other, and also to You. We ASK You to make peace in those places of conflict. Send peacemakers… and help us to be peacemakers wherever we can too.
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.
Galatians 3:26-28
You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26-28 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, we say YES to being reconciled with other people who we may have previously treated unfairly or just seen as being different to us. We say YES to loving people more like You do.
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.
