Week: Jesus' Questions
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 Jesus, the questions that You ask teach us more about who You are, who we are, and the life that You’ve called us to live. We’re listening, and we’re ready for You to ask us some new questions today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Bea
Colossians 3:17
Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Colossians 3:17 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
When Jesus asked his disciples one day, ‘Why do you worry about clothes?’, He wasn’t suggesting that they stop wearing clothes altogether, but that they stop worrying. Let’s REFLECT on why Jesus said that we don’t need to worry.
Read by Bea
Matthew 6:25-27
[Jesus said] ‘Don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.’
Matthew 6:25-27 (NCV)
We probably don’t have to worry about whether we’ve got clothes or not, but maybe we do worry about whether we’ve got the right clothes. Are we wearing the right colours, do we have the right brand of trainers, are we wearing the same style as our friends?
Jesus points to how beautiful birds are – look how beautifully God has clothed them – and then he says that we are worth much more than the birds to God, and it’s got nothing to do with the clothes we wear!
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What is the most crazy, outrageous, or funny thing we’ve ever worn? Maybe it was for a fancy dress event or fundraiser.
And now, we ASK God to help us and others.
Loving God, when we’re worried about things like what clothes we’re going to wear today, we ASK that You would help us to remember that we are loved and valued by You and that is more important than anything we could wear.
Around the world there are hundreds of millions of people who simply don’t have the money to buy new clothes and they rely on the generosity of others.
Loving God, we ASK you to help and guide organisations and charities supporting and bringing clothing to those in need today. We want to see an end to global poverty, where the resources of the earth are shared fairly. Change us and change our leaders.
Maybe we could have a look through our cupboards and see if there are clothes that we could donate to a local charity.
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.
Matthew 6:25-27
[Jesus said] ‘Don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.’
Matthew 6:25-27 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Heavenly Father, we say YES to being loved by You. You hold us and provide for our needs. We want to learn to trust, not worry.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Colossians 3:17
Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Colossians 3:17 (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.
Bea is 14 and she lives in Hampshire, in the UK, with her family. Her favourite football team is Manchester United, even though she lives a loooong way from Manchester. Bea likes horse riding and running, and when she’s older, she wants to become a vet, or a professional horse-rider.
