Devotion Roulette

This past week we had our P-Squad debrief in Istanbul. We got to talk and debrief what we experienced as teams and as individuals over the past four months. It was a time filled with one on one coffee shop visits, adventure days, worship nights, and Bible studies. One particularly fun night we all came prepared with a devotion topic and spun the wheel! We got to listen to some pretty incredible devotions on a range of topics and verses. I however did not get to share what I had studied and brought so I will be sharing that here. Hope you enjoy my study on “Why It’s not enough to just pray.” 

Far too often as Christians our reflex is to shoot a message saying that we are “praying.” Maybe we even will send our ‘Thoughts and Prayers.” How special! Someone experiencing some of the most challenging and difficult times of their lives has you thinking about them, maybe, if you remember. Now don’t get me wrong, prayer is a powerful tool and amazing thing as long as its followed with Jesus’s greatest commandment, love. 

In the words of John Mayer, love is a verb. Its an action and it takes getting dirty sometimes. Heaping up empty prayers does nothing but make yourself feel good. Matthew 6:7-8 tells us that our Father (God) already knows what we need before we ask, so why add all the extra pomp or circumstance. Where a simple prayer and an action could easily do the will of God people like to complicate it. 

If we live out the love that is described time and time again throughout the Bible in part with our prayer we will be well on our way to pleasing God and helping those whom He loves. The word Prayer is mentioned an estimated 375 times throughout the Bible in a few different forms. From this we can note that it is an extremely important act within the Christian faith. We put so much emphasis on the amazing act of prayer but then look past the word Love which is mentioned a whopping 714 times! There is a reason why Jesus named loving the Lord our God and loving your neighbor as yourself as the two most important commandments in which all other laws depend on (Matthew 22:37-40.) 

1st John 4:8 goes even further in calling out Christians stating “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Wow! What a convicting statement for Christians. Its not enough to just think about someone and maybe shoot up a prayer, but we must love each other. If we don’t, we don’t even know God. Now you might ask me if someone can simply pray in love and that be enough. To that I would give you another verse from 1st John, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in dead and in truth (1st John 3:18.) In dead and in truth. Love is a verb!

As Christians we like to get caught up in the gifts and things we receive from being in relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes we will suffer and be persecuted for his name but there is everything to gain for doing so. The common one that Christians love to fantasize and day dream about are the gifts of the spirit. The mystical and powerful gifts from the Holy Spirit that allow followers of Christ to prophecy and speak in tongues. These are some crazy and powerful gifts that we see used in amazing ways in the New Testament. If you’re looking for a good read about some of these incredible gifts and acts of the spirit, I would read Acts and 1st Corinthians. While these things are cool and kinda crazy there is a verse in 1st Corinthians that a lot of Christians tend to overlook in lieu of the more exciting stuff. That verse is 1st Corinthians 13:8-10 “8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” Love is the only thing Jesus set apart so that it might never end. Thats how powerful Gods love for us is. That perfect love which we hope to emulate and give to our Savior and our neighbor. 

For those of you who pray for your neighbor and friends, don’t stop! It is good and God listens to  your prayers, but don’t be so naive to think God wont use you to help answer your prayers for those you are praying for. Jesus clearly states in Matthew 25:31-46 that when the final judgement day comes He will separate those who cared for and loved the least of these from those who walked by oblivious to their neighbor on the ground. I think the whole passage is so powerful and so convicting. It shows us how to act out in Gods greatest commandments. How one is not apart from the other and how love is an action, not an empty prayer.

““31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? ’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””

Matthew 25:31-46 ESV

Wow. As a church, as the body of Christ my challenge to everyone is to live out this love that Jesus describes time and time again. The love that the Bible mentions 714 times. Let us clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and welcome the stranger into our homes. 

I love you and Jesus loves you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know how I can act out my love for you all. 

God Bless and Love Y’all

Jaden