“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” – Luke 6:12

When it was time to make the critical decision regarding which of His disciples should be sent out as apostles, Jesus spent the night in prayer and solitude. The sinless Son of God Who enjoyed perfect fellowship with God the Father spent the entire night in prayer!

How much more should we, His imperfect followers, devote to prayer? Yet we often struggle to sustain more than a few minutes of prayer before our mind or attention wanders. How much greater impact could we have for God’s Kingdom if we slowed down and were willing to spend entire nights in prayer? Most Western Christians like prayer, but we don’t really “get” it. We don’t understand how to be still and silent before the Lord. We don’t understand how to speak and listen, how to pray Scripture, praise, ask, and give thanks. We don’t have the patience, tenacity, or comprehension to devote hours and hours to prayer.

No doubt Jesus spent hours praying about which disciples to appoint as apostles, but He probably spent even more hours in prayer lifting each of them to God. Jesus understood the power of prayer and the power of interceding in prayer for others. We’re surrounded by darkness and everyone struggles at times. Prayer is our greatest tool and weapon in the spiritual battle we’re engaged in. It’s our all-access pass to the Almighty Creator of the Universe. Through prayer we can seek God’s will, receive His help, and enlist Him in supporting, strengthening, and protecting our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Do you value prayer the way Jesus did? Do you devote hours, days, or nights to it? If not (and most of us don’t), what will you do to create protected, undistracted, focused time with God in prayer? What will you do to deepen your understanding and practice of prayer? What will you do to make prayer a priority as it was for Jesus?

“But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.” – 2 Kings 13:23

Israel had been deeply disobedient and sinful for years, decades, and centuries. God had used neighboring nations to discipline and punish Israel for their pagan practices and idolatrous worship. However, He didn’t give up on Israel. God remained committed to His covenant promise to their ancestors that He would be their God and that through them He would bless all nations. Though they didn’t deserve such patience and rock-solid faithfulness, God loved them anyway. He was gracious toward them. He was compassionate toward them.

Though we’re far removed from the trials and tribulations of ancient Israel, God hasn’t changed. He is gracious, compassionate, and completely faithful. This is a great comfort! His love for all mankind was demonstrated in the New Covenant of grace that was established at the cross with the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus. That love and that covenant will never end. God’s compassion toward us, in all our sinfulness and failure, will never end. God is gracious toward us.

He offers forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption, and love to every person who puts their trust in Jesus Christ. We don’t deserve these things, but God pours out grace through faith because He’s fundamentally gracious. Once reconciled and adopted, God’s love and compassion toward us will never end. Even in difficult times and as we’re occasionally disciplined, corrected, or made to live with the consequences of our actions, God will never cast us from his presence, praise be to God!

“And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’” – Luke 5:30-31

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you must let His priorities set your priorities. Jesus came, “to seek and the save the lost” and so you must too. Jesus prioritized time and attention spent with those who knew they were far from God. Jesus ate with those rejected by the religious establishment, outsiders from the mainstream culture, and those understood to be betraying the values of the nation. This was shocking to the religious elite who tried to protect themselves from contact with such people.

Jesus however knew that they were the ones most open to the good news of God’s love and grace rather than the people who thought they had it all figured out. These were the people who knew at some instinctual level that they couldn’t get themselves right with God but were desperately hungry for His love anyway. Are you prioritizing people like that? Are you getting to know them, their stories, and their hurts? Are you sharing with them the hope that there is One who loves them and makes it possible for them to get right with God despite whatever lies in their past or present?

Perhaps you feel like one of those hopeless outsiders and rejects. Perhaps you feel unclean, guilty, or ashamed. Perhaps you feel beyond God’s love, care, or reach. You aren’t! God loves you and sent His Son Jesus to be your physician, to heal your spirit and bring you into relationship with God. Let Him! Seek to understand Jesus and believe in Him.

“For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’” – Luke 5:9-10

As experienced fishermen, Simon and his friends were blown away by the difference between working in their own strength, skill, and experience and working in Christ’s power. Indeed, when they obeyed Jesus, their boats nearly sank from catching so many fish. Jesus, of course, wasn’t particularly interested in fish, for He came to seek and save lost people.

The fundamental task of every follower of Jesus is to “catch” people. Inviting them into God’s Kingdom. Rescuing them from a life separated from God and doomed for eternity. Welcoming them joyfully into new life through faith in Jesus Christ. Guiding them into greater Kingdom life, power, and obedience to Christ. This is the fishing Jesus wants you to devote your life to as one of His followers.

Are you fishing for Him? Regardless of your job or family situation, do you recognize that Jesus has called you to be a catcher of people, representing Him and presenting Him. Sharing hope and offering life. Loving people and shining the light of Christ by your words and your actions. Teaching less mature Christians how to more fully follow Jesus, while learning from more mature Christians how to do that yourself. Do not be afraid; you’re called to fish for people!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.”
– Psalm 119:105

We live in a confusing and ever-shifting world. World events and cultural currents change more rapidly than ever before. Planning more than a few steps in advance has become a frustrating impossibility. It’s easy for even the most ardent lover of God to stumble and fall spiritually, mentally, and emotionally as he or she walks this road of life.

There is, however, one sure and certain way to remain on God’s path and know how and where to take your next step. God’s Word, the Bible, is a true and unchanging guide for your walk and your ways. God’s Word is the light that reveals how to think, speak, and act in a manner that glorifies God no matter what’s happening around you.

It isn’t enough to simply like the Word (in a social media sense). To gain the illumination of the Word, you must be in the Word yourself. You need more than a single verse and a brief devotional each day. You must be reading (or hearing) paragraphs, chapters, and pages You must be immersing yourself in the Bible daily and letting God’s Spirit use His Word to anchor your heart, mind, and soul to His path.

Get in the Word, stay in the Word, meditate on the Word, pray through the Word. Make the Word the lamp for your feet and the light for your path through this very dark and confusing world!