100 Days to a Healthier ChurchSample

Day 83

Today’s Big Idea: Responding with gratefulness. Prayer requests are interesting. We can spend weeks, months, even years praying for something, then after the need is met, we give God a quick thank you (sometimes not even that) and go on our way. Jesus never did that. He was always grateful.

Key Verse: “For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Luke 10:24).

Thoughts to Consider: After the seventy-two had returned with a good report and Jesus had assessed their efforts with follow-up instructions, He paused to pray. In His prayer, He was so “full of joy through the Holy Spirit” that He was overwhelmed with thankfulness to the Father. After His prayer, He reminded His disciples that they were living in momentous times, great days that the great saints of the past would have been awestruck to see.

We live in such an age ourselves. Jesus is building His church. The Holy Spirit lives inside us. And greater times are yet to come. Are you ready for it? Are you grateful for it? Are you excited by it? I hope so. The mission deserves nothing less than that kind of passion.