Week: Holy Hospitality
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 Noelle
2 Peter 1:3
Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to live and to serve God.
2 Peter 1:3 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Things were pretty desperate in Zarephath when Elijah was sent by God to visit. There hadn’t been any rain for a long time, so there wasn’t any water for crops to grow. Today we’re REFLECTING on what happened when Elijah asked a woman for some bread and water.
Read by Noelle
1 Kings 17:12-13
The woman answered, ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Elijah said to her. ‘Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son.’
1 Kings 17:12-13 (NCV)
This is an outrageous story! The woman was about to run out of food – she would literally have nothing left after making this final meal – and here’s Elijah asking her to give it to him!
The incredible thing is that the woman agrees. Generously and sacrificially, she makes food for Elijah… and that’s when God does a miracle! The jar of flour and the jug of oil that she uses to make the food doesn’t run out – and Elijah promises that it won’t run out until the rains come back. God used the woman’s generous hospitality to do something miraculous.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: If we were going to ask God for a miracle, what would we ask for and why?
The woman was outrageously generous towards Elijah. She shared the last of what she had. Let’s pause for a moment and ask God where He might want us to be generous in our hospitality – maybe with a meal, a gift, or even with our time and attention.
Generous God, sometimes we think we don’t have enough to share with others but we ASK you to help us to be generous whether we’ve got a little or a lot.
Today in our world there is an all-time high of 205 million people across 45 countries who don’t have enough food to eat*.
Father God, we think of places around the world where millions of people are desperately hungry because of a lack of food. We ASK that You would miraculously multiply what they have and help organisations who are working to supply food to these most needy people.
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.
1 Kings 17:12-13
The woman answered, ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Elijah said to her. ‘Go home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son.’
1 Kings 17:12-13 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, 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 YES to using the things that we’ve got – our time and energy, even our attention – to being outrageously generous in our hospitality towards others.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s see if we can remember our memory verse and say it together:
2 Peter 1:3
Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to live and to serve God.
2 Peter 1:3 (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.
*https://www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk/our-impact/stories/the-hungriest-countries-in-the-world
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.
Noelle is 11 and lives in Kansas City, Missouri USA, with her parents, sisters and dogs. She loves animals, playing basketball, creating art and teamwork. Noelle gives the best hugs.
