Monday January 8, 2024

Today is Monday, January 8 and we are learning what the Bible says about Sabbath.

As I begin this time of prayer, I quiet my mind, slow my breathing and focus on God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As a new year begins I seek to learn how God wants to bless me through the practice of Sabbath.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, you created me and you know what is best for me. Teach me how to stop my busyness, rest in your love and delight in your presence. I want to live the rhythm of life you designed for me. Amen.

I praise God for his goodness and rejoice in the comforting words of Psalm 23.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3

Pause and Pray

Sabbath is a way of being in the world. It is a practice that invites God’s people to cultivate a spirit of restfulness in all of life. The word “sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word “shabbat” which means to stop or cease. God created us and God knows that we need appropriate rest. We need time to pause from all our doings and distractions, comings and goings, searching and clicking. We need time to be free from the alerts on our phones and interruptions of social media. A time set apart for renewal and refreshment. Out of all of God’s ten commandments, the fourth one is the lengthiest of them all.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

On the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, God ceased his creative work. He commanded his people to keep the seventh day holy as a sign of his Covenant, as well as to use it for their own benefit, especially for rest and worship. It was designed to provide the rest God desires for his people and give them a day to reconnect with him. The Sabbath is important to God. Right up there with the commands to not steal, kill or commit adultery is to remember the Sabbath. Yet it is the most frequently broken commandment today.

Ask: How do I currently observe the Sabbath? Does time set aside for rest and renewal appeal to my soul?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, you designated a day of rest. You blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. You command me to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Forgive me for following the current secular customs and neglecting this sacred practice. Teach me what adopting a Sabbath life might look like for me and my family. I read the words from the Ten Commandments again and listen for the message you have for me.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God established a rhythm for the human body he created. There are to be six days of work and one day of rest. God created me. God knows what is best for me. He knows my physical body needs enough sleep at night and freedom from the pressures of modern society. God commands this day of rest and renewal because he knows it is essential to the abundant life he wants for me. Sabbath is good for me and will bless me. I carefully study the words from the fourth Commandment – to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. I consider what that might look like in my life. Perhaps there is a small change I can make this week to honor the Sabbath day.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, you care about every detail of my life. Show me what it means to stop and rest. Reveal the negative effects of an overly busy existence where activity never ceases and life won’t stop. Teach me what it would look like to practice Sabbath in 2024. Amen.

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 5:12-14a

I leave this time of prayer refreshed and renewed, I go to labor for others in love and do good work for the Lord my God.

Amen