Week 3 - Day 4
THE RELATIONSHIP
Daily Directions
KEEP IT FRESH
Missionary and educator Frank Laubach once wrote:
If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are. (Man of Prayer: Selected Writings of a World Missionary)
Good point! Now that you have been using the Daily Directions for two weeks, the last thing we want is for them to put you to sleep or become a weary religious routine.
The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah said this about the people of his day:
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
Once again, the last thing we want the Daily Directions to be are merely human rules that don’t actually help us connect with Jesus. Instead, the hope is that the Daily Directions will help you develop a personal, intelligent and interactive relationship with Jesus. And if they do great. But if they don’t, don’t use them. Try something else or switch things up now and then.
For example, Jesus gave us a model prayer. It’s called the Lord’s Prayer or better yet, the Disciple’s Prayer. You could use that.
Matthew 6:9-13 (CSB)
You should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
And the footnote:
Some later manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Why did Jesus say, pray like this rather than pray this?
Try using the Lord’s Prayer as a template to guide your own prayer. Try this…
Our Father in heaven. I thank you that You are our Father because …
Your name be honored as holy in …
Your Kingdom come. May Your rule and reign come to …
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What is Your will for …? And now help me to obey by …
Give us today our daily bread. Meet our daily needs of …
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgive my sin of … and I forgive … of their sin against me of …
And do not bring us into temptation. Help me to withstand the temptation of …
But deliver us from the evil one. Satan is attacking me by … and I need Your help.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
From now on once a week we’ll use the Lord’s Prayer instead of the Daily Directions. The hope and prayer is this combination of using the Lord’s Prayer and the Daily Directions will really help you grow in your personal, intelligent and interactive relationship with Jesus. Whatever you do, don’t let either of them become just religious exercises or empty rituals. Use them to personally and passionately connect with Jesus.
We hope your group will continue to the third map called The Mission. In this Map, you’ll discover the Mission of a follower of Jesus. You’ll join Jesus in being a blessing to those around you. (7-week journey)