Rest is good. We’re taking a break from producing content over the summer. Enjoy this previously produced pattern and meditation.
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
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) O Lord, I am lowly and humble. You alone are my inheritance. Amen.
Word: John 18:36
Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.
Meditation
The first Tuesday in November is election day. Many Christians are freaking out, as if the kingdom of God depended on the outcome of a vote. Both political parties have said this election is for “the soul of America.” I don’t want to diminish its importance, but the kingdom of God does not depend on the ballot box.
Politics and policies are very visible things. It’s natural that people would look to the obvious things for evidence of God’s work. But think about how the kingdom of God came in the first century. Not by King Herod or by Caesar. Not by the religious elite, Caiaphas or Annas. It came by a carpenter named Jesus of Nazareth. He had no office or position. The most visible power brokers of the first century were Roman emperors named Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. When is the last time you’ve heard their names? They are all footnotes in ancient history. But 2,000 years later, the world knows of the meek carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth.
The kingdom of God comes in hidden ways. Not by military force or democratic elections, but by a baby born to a teenage mother in a barn. He converted the world by truth, not the power of the state. By grace, not guns. By sacrifice, not the sword. By a cross, not a campaign. The Kingdom of God was established in hidden and unseen ways that are easy to miss. Today, take a second look at the world around you. Don’t miss all that God is doing, even in the unseen.
Prayer for Family
· For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
· For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
· For close friends that are as family to me.
· For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
· For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
· For provision where there is need in my family.
· For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
· For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Closing Prayer
O God, you work in ways we do not understand. Give me faith to see your kingdom. Bend my will to yours. In Jesus’ name. Amen.