Week: Justice and Righteousness
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 God, we look forward to discovering more of Your wisdom in the Old Testament. Show us the way You want us to live, and help us to walk in it today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on the words of the prophet Micah, who was chosen by God to warn the Israelite leaders about their behaviour.
Read by Eli
Micah 6:6, 8
You say, ‘What can I bring with me
when I come before the Lord,
when I bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?’
The Lord has told you, human, what is good;
he has told you what he wants from you:
to do what is right to other people,
love being kind to others,
and live humbly, obeying your God.
Micah 6:6, 8 (NCV)
Israel had not been doing things well. They hadn’t been wise or fair with their money and their resources, and the people and the whole nation had suffered because of bad leadership. Micah challenged them, telling them that they already knew what they needed to do! It was time for Israel to pay attention to what God had already taught them and put it into practice – to do what was right, to love being kind, to live humbly and not be proud.
This is what justice is all about. This is how God wants us to live too.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When we hear that phrase, ‘live humbly’, what does it make us think of? What do we think it might mean?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Lord God, we ASK you to help us live the things that you’ve already taught us; to be humble, not to be proud, and to look after everyone and everything well.
Sadly, there are lots of people around the world who do not have enough to live well. It is estimated that this includes 356 million children who are living in extreme poverty.*
God of justice, as we think of the children who have to survive on very little, and of people in other countries who have so much, we ASK for your help. We ASK you to help leaders and governments to take justice and fairness more seriously, so that everyone can live well.
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.
Micah 6:6, 8
You say, ‘What can I bring with me
when I come before the Lord,
when I bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?’
The Lord has told you, human, what is good;
he has told you what he wants from you:
to do what is right to other people,
love being kind to others,
and live humbly, obeying your God.
Micah 6:6, 8 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
God of Justice, thank you for the wisdom that we’ve heard from Your Word today. We say YES to walking the way that You want us to. And we say YES to doing what is right, YES to being loving and kind, and YES to living humbly too.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s see if we can remember our memory verse and say it together:
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (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.
* Taken from https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/annual-report [Accessed 15/3/23]
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Eli is 11 and lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his mum, dad and two younger sisters. He enjoys music, reading, riding his skateboard and playing soccer.
