Thursday September 1, 2022

Today is Thursday, September 1 and we are praying through the Beatitudes.

I turn to the Lord my God and ask Him to fulfill His plans and purposes for my upcoming day. I relinquish my cares, concerns and requests into His mighty hands and trust Him with every detail of my comings and goings.

Pause and Pray

Father God, I worship You in the stillness of the dawning day and seek Your abiding presence. Open the ears of my heart to receive the specific message You have for me this morning. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and mercy and praise Him with the ancient words of Psalm 25.

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Psalm 25:4-6

Pause and Pray

Pope Francis published a book in 2016 called The Name of God is Mercy. He explains that the first attribute of God is mercy. God does not want anyone to be lost and God’s mercy is infinitely greater than all of our sins. The dictionary defines the word mercy as compassion, forgiveness and kindness shown to someone when they are deserving of punishment. The word mercy or merciful is used 276 times in the Bible. God is a God of mercy. God shows abundant mercy to me as a lost sinner – his Son Jesus suffered and died for my sins. I am expected to show mercy to others. In Matthew 5:7, Jesus discloses the next Beatitude – blessed are the merciful.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:6-7

The more I am filled with the holiness of God and the more my hunger and thirst are satisfied with His goodness, the more tenderly I will show concern for those who are without God. John Wesley defines the merciful as the compassionate and tenderhearted who earnestly grieve for those who do not recognize their hunger and thirst for God. The merciful are those who love their neighbor as themselves and lament for those who are separated from God, dead in their transgressions, asleep in their contentment and lost from the Lord. (Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount: Discourse Two by John Wesley, edited by William Abraham).

Ask: Who do I pray will come to know Jesus Christ and His great love? Who do I know who is most in need of God’s great mercy?

Pause and Pray

Come Holy Spirit, fill me full with the goodness of God, sanctify me in your grace and help me grow in goodness and perfect love. I pray that out of the holiness you put in me, a heart of mercy will grow. Fill me with a deep love and affection for my neighbor, a lament for those who are lost and a heart of forgiveness for those who have trespassed against me. I read the words from Matthew again and listen for the message you have for me.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:6-7

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

The greatest teachings of Jesus are contained in these verses on the Sermon on the Mount. The message of the Beatitudes spoken millenia before, is for me in this day and time. What is Jesus revealing to me? Do I believe God’s mercy is infinitely greater than all of my sin? Do I comprehend my great need for God’s mercy? How does God want me to understand the opportunities I have to show mercy to others? Who in my life might God want me to forgive? From whom might I need to seek forgiveness?

Pause and Pray

Merciful Savior, Redeemer and Friend, Jesus you taught me to pray, “Forgive me my trespasses, as I forgive those who trespass against me.” Give me a heart of mercy, compassion and love. Teach me to walk the way of forgiveness and reconciliation – giving and receiving mercy and kindness in all my relationships. Amen.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36

I leave this time of prayer a recipient of God’s abundant mercy; I go to show mercy and compassion to others.

Amen