Monday January 23, 2023

Today is Friday, January 20 and we are exploring what it means to yield our lives to Christ.

Jesus, I am yours. In the stillness of the morning, I seek the grace of your divine presence. Come and envelop me with the embrace of your steadfast love. With each breath, I inhale your goodness and steady my mind from worldly distractions.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, hear my prayer. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. Amen. (The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, part 2)

I kneel before the Lord my God and praise him with the words of Psalm 95.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice. Psalm 95:6-7

Pause and Pray

This week we continue our reflection on John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer often used by early Methodist Christians at the beginning of a new year. This is the way for faithful believers to begin again. I am invited to start a new venture, not by reaching for the stars, but by bowing down on my knees before the one true God and Lord of all. I seek his power and direction for my future. His alone. Today’s scripture comes from the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 45, God’s plan extends beyond the return of his people from the Babylonian exile to their homeland in Jerusalem. God’s salvation will ultimately spread through them to all nations and redemption will extend to the ends of the earth. This is the good news of Jesus, God’s Son, our Savior. God alone is the judge of all humanity, and he is sovereign over all.

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. Isaiah 45:22-24

God invites me to turn to him and be saved. God is the one true God and there is no other. God’s holy word will not be diminished, forgotten or revoked. Before the Sovereign God every knee shall bow, including my knee. Before the Sovereign God every tongue will confess, including my tongue. I proclaim alongside the ancient peoples that only in the Lord my God will there be salvation, deliverance and strength. I consider how often I have sought strength in other places and failed to turn to God. I reflect on the times when I have put my trust in others and failed to place my trust in God alone.

Ask: How does the action of bowing and kneeling before God inspire humility within me? Where in my life do I need to yield my will to his will?

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, you are above all and through all and in all. In the early hours of the dawning day, I yield myself to you. In the poverty of my spirit, I turn to your mighty power and seek the salvation of my sorry soul. In you alone, Lord, there is deliverance and strength. In you alone, Lord, there is joy and peace. There is no other God but you, the one true God. I humbly bow before you and confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and no other. I read the words from Isaiah again and listen for the message you have for me.

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. Isaiah 45:22-24

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

Whichever word or phrase stands out to me today, I reflect on how God might be using it to guide my spiritual journey. I reflect upon the past, present and future and consider where I place my trust. Am I willing to yield my plans and intentions to my Lord and Savior? Am I ready to lay down my life to serve him fully? When I consider the current circumstances and struggles in my life, where do I turn for help and strength? Is it my first inclination to turn to God or to someone or something else?

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, you are Lord of my life. I yield myself completely to your plans and purposes and endeavor to trust you with all things. Come and reveal the places in me that resist your leadership. I bow myself to your Lordship and seek to live a life of joyful obedience. Amen.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

I leave this time of prayer to yield myself in humble service demonstrating love to God and others.

Amen