How Do I Pray for Them?Намуна

Step 4 – PRAY FOR AWARENESS AND WISDOM

Many of us want the people around us to know God, but we don’t want to come off weird or pushy. How did Jesus do it? How did Jesus draw people to Him?

Jesus was constantly making invitations and having conversations. He was opening doors and sitting at tables. He was even going up to people who didn’t follow Him yet and inviting them to have a meal with him. (Luke 14, Luke 19, Matthew 9)

In Luke 7, the religious people of Jesus’ day called Him “a friend of sinners” as if it was the world’s worst insult. But for Jesus, it was a sign of success, because it was exactly what he came to do. Jesus was known for the relationships He had and He wants us to be too.

How would our lives be different if we stopped seeing the call to share Jesus as a rigid mandate to convert and instead saw it as the freedom to continuously make invitations and have conversations with those right next to us? How would our days be spent differently if we knew the mission of Jesus was not a call to make people more religious but a call to have more relationships? I believe more people we come across would know how loved and valuable they are.

When I was first trying to share Jesus with my little brother Elijah, I started sending him videos of my spoken word poems and messages, thinking that would be the best way for him to know God. It turned out, Elijah didn’t need a preacher. He needed a big sister. I was spending a lot of time sending video links to him to explain God’s love. I wasn’t spending as much time with him, showing God’s love.

Why would anyone believe that the God we’re talking about wants to be with them if we don’t even want to be with them?

Instead, let’s pray for a heightened awareness of the people around us– the new people at church, the neighbors that just moved in, and the person who is posting online that they are struggling. May we make the most of every opportunity to show His love. Like Jesus, let’s go and invest in relationships. Let’s be kind to those around us without overthinking it. As we pray for Him to grow our awareness, I believe we’ll start seeing more ways we can show up, serve, and love those right in front of us.

PRAY FOR AWARENESS AND WISDOM

Pray that God gives you wisdom in your everyday life. Pray that as you go grocery shopping, go to work, and go to birthday parties that God gives you a heightened awareness of the people around you. Pray that you are able to make the most of every open door around you.

REFLECT

Think of someone you come across on a regular basis. Think of a way you can intentionally strike up a conversation, and show interest in that person’s life. How can you be “with” someone today who might need a friend?

PRAYER

God, please give me wisdom today. Show me who I can build a friendship with. Help me to manage my time wisely so I can invest in others. I pray that you would give me empathy and compassion for others, and that I would always be aware of how I am representing you to those who don’t know you. Amen.