How to Pray for My School - a Guide for ParentsSample

SHINE

Devotion

Yesterday we discussed the glory of the Lord, and we're continuing that topic today.

John Piper said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” He is quite right with that statement. We grow in our satisfaction in the Lord as we grow in intimacy with Him. Our being satisfied in Him means we look to Him for our fill, and that is exactly what the Lord Jesus meant in His response to Satan's temptation to turn a rock into bread. Jesus said, “Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 LEB).

Have you ever jumped into a pool of crystal clear water, and felt the adrenaline as you soared through the air and crashed into the water, splashing everyone around you? Or have you ever ridden a bike and felt the wind in your hair and the tingle upon your face as you picked up speed? It made you feel alive, didn't it? So it is with the person who orders their steps in ways that will bring God honor, lives in intimate relationship with Him, and allows the Holy Spirit to lead their thoughts. And when we look at Christ and what He did in the biblical account, we are witnessing the Glory of God. Man’s satisfaction increases, and we become alive."God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." That is when we start to shine.

We are called to shine. To shine means to “emit rays of light," and it means “to be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished.” The Gospel of Matthew notes that Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others…” (Matthew 5:16, LEB) The Greek word lampō – from which we get our word lamp– means to “radiate brilliance” and to “give light." It seems the more we study the meaning of the word shine, the greater the beauty associated with the word becomes.

Christ says we are a lamp not to be put under a basket, but rather to be put upon a stand and allow our light to shine. Jesus gives us both the outcome (the end result) and the conduit (the means) when He says, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5;16, LEB) We “radiate brilliance, and give light” when we do good works (how). And this will result in people glorifying God our Father who is in heaven because the good works are radically good, radically different, and indeed not obscured by selfish intention.

You might be thinking, “As beautiful as all this sounds, how does this apply to schools?” We are called to behold Christ (2 Cor 3:18). We are called to know Him through prayer and a personal relationship with Him, and the rest is up to the Holy Spirit, who transforms us from our current degree of glory into an even greater degree of glory (we become like Christ).

Dr. Abraham Kuyper, prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901-1905, was a fervent Christian theologian. He realized that we need to teach biblical Christianity––a true relationship-with-Christ lifestyle––to the next generation. This is not only done by means of words (though this is extremely important), but through our deeds as well. If we say, “Christ died for my sin, and now I have a new life,” we need to allow that new life to permeate every area and sphere of our existence. We should prevent ourselves from putting our “religion and relationship with Christ” in two separate boxes marked, “private” and “Church." We need to allow the Holy Spirit to move through us, so that we put our relationship and faith on display. As it is written in James 1:22-25:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

When You Pray:

Pray that you and your family shine in radiant brilliance as you reflect Christ to this world. Pray that you do not “hide your light under a basket” (Matthew 5:15, LEB), but that Christ, who put you and your family on a lamp stand (in the many different areas in your life), will empower you to reflect His character through the good works you do.