“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe…” Acts 2:42-43
Heavenly Father, by your grace, I’ve known Jesus for 50 years and have been ordained into the ministry of the gospel for the past 40 years. But the past three days have been a profound reminder of the glorious gift and essential practice of heart-engaging fellowship in the gospel.
It’s easy to get so busy with life’s demands and delights that we forget to give ourselves—to devote ourselves to “the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We need you, Father. We need each other. We need what you alone give us through your Word by the Spirit in the gospel.
It’s been so refreshing to fast Fox, CNN, USA Today and other news outlets on this retreat. It’s been so life-giving to read the Bible slowly with friends, looking for Jesus, owning our weaknesses, discovering fresh grace, and encouraging each other.
As a pastor and seminary professor, I’ve been reminded again that doing things for Jesus isn’t the same thing as spending time with Jesus—that teaching others the truth isn’t the same thing as, me personally, being alive to the beauty of Jesus in the Bible. Father, thank you for the gentle, firm, kind, and clear convicting work of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for showing all eight of us our inherent gospel-amnesia. Thank you for wooing us back to the disciplines of grace, habits of the heart, and the importance of mutual encouragement.
Father, I close by praying for the many women and men who join me in these daily prayer devotions. Restore to us the joy of our salvation. Always be re-centering us on Jesus. Refresh our Bible reading, prayer life, and worship.
Don’t allow us to get used to heart-drift, a cooling of our affections for you, or the loss of peace, joy, and hope. It’s your kindness that leads us to repentance, and your grace that meets our every need. Thank you, Father. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.
