Week: Mark's Gospel
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, we hear You inviting us, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Bella
John 14:12
[Jesus said] ‘I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these.’
John 14:12a (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Jesus lived, died and was resurrected – He came back to life – around 2000 years ago. After He was resurrected He went back to be with God the Father. Today, we’re REFLECTING on some of what Jesus said about how and when He would return.
Read by Bella
Mark 13:26-27
[Jesus said] ‘Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven.’
Mark 13:26-27 (NCV)
The things that Jesus said about how and when He would return aren’t easy to understand or even imagine. Maybe we feel a bit confused, or even a bit scared, by some of what we’ve read or heard. However, although there are some things that we don’t understand about Jesus’ return, there are some that we can be sure of.
First, that God will live with us. In the book of Revelation, Jesus’ disciple John wrote that God ‘will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone.’ (Revelation 21:3-4) And second, as we read just now, ‘there [will be] a great number of people, so many that no one [can] count… from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth.’ (Revelation 7:9)
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: How many different nations can we name? Let’s start with one beginning with ‘A’, and see how many letters of the alphabet we can cover.
Let’s pray for Christians – for those who follow Jesus – in the nations that we’ve just listed.
Lord God, we are a tiny part of Your big family around the world. We ASK You to be with those who love You and serve You in the nations that we’ve just mentioned. Be with them today – comfort them and strengthen them and give them what they need.
If we know the names of Christians in any of the nations that we listed, let’s pray our own short prayers for them now.
And now, let’s pray for places around the world where there are no Christians yet.
Lord Jesus, we pray for every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language where people do not yet know You. We ASK You to send Christians to tell them the good news about You.
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.
Mark 13:26-27
[Jesus said] ‘Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven.’
Mark 13:26-27 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we look forward to the day when You will return – the day when God will live with us forever, when there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, but only joy and peace instead. And so we say YES, come Lord Jesus.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
John 14:12
[Jesus said] ‘I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these.’
John 14:12a (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.
Bella is 13 years old and lives in Buckinghamshire, England, with her mum, dad and cocker spaniel Summer. She loves art, performing and Jesus!
