A Year of Prayer: Season One Weekday DevotionalsSample

Have you ever noticed that the disciples and Jesus are asked a LOT of questions? All day, every day, and then on into the night.

You'll know how difficult it is if you’ve ever tried to organise something with food or wrangling a group. The phrase ‘herding cats’ comes to mind. People need to know details, times, locations, allergies, have permission to leave, permission to park, questions about alternative routes or plans or proposed themes – and then sometimes they don’t even show up!

It’s a never-ending circus of clarifications. And that’s not to mention the times you must repeat yourself because the person just wasn’t listening, didn’t read the email, or is otherwise disengaged. It can burn us towards any future organising, as the situational anxiety alone is just too much to bear.

Others asked the disciples and Jesus hundreds of questions. The disciples asked many, many questions of Christ. Jesus asked questions of his followers and the crowd. He also asked questions of God. But the endless clarifications brought life and hope—a promise that the answer was more beautiful than the question because of Jesus! They were listening, they were open, they responded, and most of all, they changed.

In today’s scripture, Peter replied to the question that the crowd had for him. The prior verse says the crowd was ‘pricked to the heart’ after hearing Peter’s speech about Christ. The word for this emotive response in Greek is ‘katanyssomai,’ meaning to ‘pain the mind sharply.’ They wanted to know what to do, and Peter replied that they needed to ‘repent.’

The Greek word for repent is metanoeō, meaning to change one’s mind heartily. There’s a connection here between the heart and mind being woven together, feeling the conviction of the words of the cross together, and choosing together to turn towards the Lord.

How open are your heart and mind today? Is Jesus Christ, saviour of humanity, capable of speaking to you right now do you think?

We invite you to join us in prayer:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your ways are so far above and beyond our own. Your thoughts are so much higher and deeper still. Yet you draw close and invite us into personal and intimate knowledge of your loving kindness. Help me not to shrink back from the edge but dive deep and right into your word and your works.

Forgive my hard-heartedness at times, and always make me tender.

In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Action: Take some time today when you go to the bathroom to be alone with your thoughts and this idea of metanoia, of turning towards God and changing your mind. What will you choose to see differently today?