Tuesday September 6

Today is Tuesday, September 6 and we are praying through the Beatitudes.

Loving God, as a new day begins I breathe deeply and pause to rest in You. Quiet my mind, still my wandering thoughts and fill my heart with love. Lead me into the mystery of holy silence and hold me close to Your heart.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord Jesus, I have come here to listen to Your voice and receive the wisdom of Your teaching. Shine your light on the path of my life and reveal the way You want me to proceed in all things. Amen.

I rejoice in the goodness of God’s steadfast love for me, I praise Him with the words of Psalm 11.

For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face. Psalm 11:7

Pause and Pray

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins with eight blessings called The Beatitudes. Today I reflect on the sixth Beatitude – blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. More than requiring purity of heart for the believer, God will create purity of heart in the believer. Those who are cleansed from sinful desires, who are motivated by the highest integrity, who are filled with only faithful intentions, God blesses with the clearest communication of His Holy Spirit. God will show himself to the pure in heart. His presence will go continually before them and the light of his countenance will shine upon them. They will see God.*

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

I can humbly ask God as I go throughout my day, Lord, show me Your glory! If I pay attention and look with faith, I begin to see God in all that surrounds me, in the beauty of nature and God’s created world. John Wesley said, “The pure in heart see all things full of God.” I see God in the heights of heaven, the shining of the sun and the moon, the beauty of the clouds, the wings of the wind and the blessings of rain. I see God’s hand working for good in my life, protecting me, arranging my circumstances, guiding me with wisdom and mercy. I see God in the church – in worship, prayer, scripture and fellowship.*

Ask: Where have I seen God today? How can I be more attentive to observe His presence?

Pause and Pray

Come, Holy Spirit, purify my heart and soul, cleanse my mind and motivation, clarify my intentions and give me integrity of spirit. Blessed Lord, show me your glory! Open my eyes so I can see. Reveal yourself in the everyday comings and goings of my daily existence. I read the words from Matthew again and listen for the message you have for me.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

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 wants to reveal something to me today about my ability to see him at work in the world around me. Maybe my heart is clogged with impurities and I need the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit to remove resistant debris – anger, pride, selfish ambition, grief, doubt, discontent. Perhaps I am blind to God’s presence, unaware of His work or too preoccupied to notice. What does God want to reveal in my soul that is preventing purity of heart? How does God want to heal the blindness of my soul that is preventing my ability to see?

Pause and Pray

Lord Jesus, I invite you into the dark recesses of my heart which continue to grope unseeing and undiscerning. Open my eyes to observe the truth of Your glory. Purify my heart so all my actions are rooted in good intentions and grounded in a right spirit. Amen.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? Mark 8:18

*Resources: Sermons on Several Occasions, Volume II – Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount: Discourse Three, by John Wesley, edited by William J. Abraham, 2021.

I leave this time of prayer to see the glory of God in the world and circumstances around me. I go to reveal his goodness to others in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen