With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
Making the sign of the cross, I say,
Your people are called by your name. We call upon you and demons flee. I begin today in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. All other ways are dead ends. I come to the Father through you. (John 14:6)
Confession
Paul said in Romans, “Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase?” Father, I confess that I have abused your grace by treating it lightly, flippantly, even disrespectfully. You forgive me, and I keep coming back with the same sins. You cleanse me, and I have not amended my life. You have mercy, and I remain as I have always been. I have desecrated what was costly. I have cheapened your love. I’m the one at fault. But I see the cross. I know your love cost something, the life of your Son. Because of him, I ask you, “Will you forgive me once again?”
Word: Acts 1:8; 2:1-4
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Meditation
The mission that Jesus began in-person with the sending of the twelve disciples (Luke 9) and later the seventy-two (Luke 10), he continues through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church. It is the day the Church was empowered through the Holy Spirit to take the message of Christ crucified and risen from the dead to the ends of the earth.
It’s worth noting that while the apostles may have started many of the first Christian communities, they usually didn’t stay in one place very long. No more than a few years and certainly not long enough to oversee the sustained growth that eventually led to the overthrow of the most powerful empire in the world just a few centuries later. No, it was the unnamed “others” in the story. Those faithful, unnamed, everyday sort of Christians going about their lives, serving their neighbors, and giving witness to their faith in Jesus.
This same mission continues today as the Holy Spirit breathes new life into the Church of every generation. Every Christian is empowered to be both a disciple and a missionary. Every Christian is sent into the Lord’s harvest field.
Prayer for the Church
- For my local congregation, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
- For Christians across my community and city.
- For my denomination or church body.
- For repentance where God’s people have failed or erred.
- For the mission of God given to his people, that all nations know Him.
- For the church where she is persecuted for Christ’s name.
- For church plants and mission frontiers.
- For workers in the harvest: pastors, teachers, evangelists, servants.
- For the everyday, ordinary Christian to serve and witness as the priesthood of all believers.
- For the small, overlooked, and undervalued parts of the body of Christ.
Prayer
Lord of the Church, you have made us your own people. Show us your way. Lead us in truth. Give us life abundant to share with the world. Amen.