Weekly Devotion no 6
8 May 2020
Bible reading – Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in
and eat with that person, and they with me.
Reflection - What is prayer?
This
week, we’re starting a new series thinking about prayer. We’ll look at what
prayer is, why we pray, and how to pray.
When
we were little, and maybe throughout our life, we might have thought of prayer
as asking God for things or speaking to God in times of need. We might have asked
God to bless our family and friends, to heal those we love who have been sick, or
to provide for our material needs. We might, even now, be asking God to keep
people we know safe from COVID19. Or we might be finding it hard to speak to
God because we are anxious about things and don’t know how to approach him.
As
Christians, we have a relationship with Jesus. He is our Lord and Saviour and
his Father is our Father. Our relationship with Jesus was initiated by him – by
God’s grace he has sought us out. And, as we see in this verse from Revelation,
he wants to spend time with us. He is there. He is standing at the door,
knocking. He is speaking to us. He wants to engage with us. More than that, he wants
to eat with us – sharing a most intimate interaction over a meal. And all we
have to do is open the door and let him in.
The
door is a metaphor for our heart. And it is through prayer that we let Christ
into our heart, to spend this intimate time with him, to ‘eat’ with him. It has
been said that prayer is the breath of our soul. It is the essence of our relationship
with Jesus. Prayer is what enables us to commune with Christ at the deepest level,
and it is initiated by him, not by us.
Prayer
is deeper than words: it is the attitude of our heart and mind, an attitude
that directs our hearts towards God.
Jesus
wants to be with you. Will you open the door and let him in?
Hymn
Verse 1
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer
Verse 2
Have we trials and temptations
Is there trouble anywhere
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer
Verse 3
Are we weak and heavy laden
Cumbered with a load of care
Precious Saviour still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev'rything to God in prayer
Joseph
Medlicott Scriven © 1855 Public
Domain CCLI:69198
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
you are all I want and I find in you
more than I could possibly need.
Lord, though I know this now and
swear that I will never leave you,
yet I realise I will go searching
after other things
in order to fulfil my never-ending
wants and desires.
Fountain of everlasting life, spring
up in my heart and satisfy all my needs
so that I will never wish to leave
you again. Amen.
It’s me O Lord! Michael Hollings & Etta Gullick