Week: Justice – Esther
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
Our Father in heaven, we know that You are with us and that You want to talk with us – so we respond very simply by saying: ‘Here we are, we’re ready. Teach us how to pray.
Susanna Wesley knew how to rely on God in difficult times. Let’s REFLECT on what the Bible says about this with some words from the book of Psalms.
Read by Kate
Psalm 32:7-8
You are my hiding place.
You protect me from my troubles
and fill me with songs of salvation.
The Lord says, ‘I will make you wise and show you where to go.
I will guide you and watch over you.’
Psalm 32:7-8 (NCV)
Susanna Wesley was born in England in 1669. It was common for families to be quite big back then, but Susanna’s family was huge. In total, she had 19 children – imagine that! Susanna wanted them all to learn about God so she started a Sunday school in the kitchen. Pretty soon, all the neighbours joined in as well, so they had to move into a barn!
Life wasn’t easy for Susanna. 9 of her 19 children died, her husband spent time in prison and their house was burnt down twice. But she understood what it says in today’s passage – that God was her hiding place, someone she could always turn to. With so many children at home it was hard for Susanna to find a quiet place to pray, so she came up with a clever solution – she would pull her apron over her head. The children quickly learned that when their mother did this, she was not to be disturbed because she was talking with God.
When two of her sons, John and Charles Wesley, grew up, they started the Methodist Church. Having learned from their mother’s example, John and Charles helped hundreds of thousands of people to follow Jesus and they touched millions of other lives through their powerful sermons and songs. Their amazing influence is still felt today, hundreds of years later, and all of this started at home, with the example of a busy, prayerful mum!
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: Who has inspired and encouraged us to follow Jesus?
By doing something as simple as hiding under her apron, Susanna found a really creative way to make space for God in her life. Let’s ASK God to inspire us to find new ways to pray and make space for Him.
Father God, we ASK You to help us to find creative and exciting ways to make time to talk with You and learn from You, just like Susanna Wesley did.
Susanna’s care for her children had a huge impact. Let’s think of someone in our lives who teaches us about God and how to follow Him better – it might be a family member, a friend, a teacher, a pastor or youth leader – and let’s ASK God to encourage them.
Father God, thank You for their love and faithfulness. We ASK You to fill them with Your Holy Spirit and encourage them to keep on showing and sharing Your love. May they see the impact of Your love in the lives of those they teach.
Susanna knew that prayer and worship aren’t just something to do in church. ‘Help me, Lord’, she said, ‘to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church… but that everywhere I am in Thy Presence.’* Susanna knew that Jesus was with her wherever she was.
And now, let’s say YES to God together,
Loving God, we say YES to faithfully following You in the ordinary, everyday moments of our lives. Teach us to pray to You wherever we are and however we are feeling. As we do, may we know Your love and peace with us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 33:5
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psalm 33:5 (NIV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
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.
* Susanna Wesley, cited in William Barclay’s study on Matthew 17, https://bibleportal.com/pt/commentary/section/william-barclay/the-instruction-of-peter-matthew-171-8-continued
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.
Kate lives in Melbourne Australia, with her parents, younger sister, and puppy Leo. Kate loves visual arts, reading, playing basketball and spending time with her family.
