Day 25: Belonging
Jesus chose us to belong and we have a place of honour right in His presence. “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” Ephesians 1:6
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
John 17:10 “All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory.”
Philippians 2:1-2 “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.”
- We all long to belong. God’s purpose was to give us the desire to become part of His family. Today let’s focus our prayer on the local church. God desires the church to be a place of belonging. Together we can use our spiritual gifts and practical talents to serve and work together in furthering God’s kingdom on earth. The body of Christ is a place for sinners to find loving acceptance while they're encouraged to turn away from sin.
o Pray for your local church to be a place where everyone feels welcomed and a sense of belonging whether they are Christ followers yet or not.
o Pray our local churches will be a place where diversity is welcomed.
o Pray for the teams who welcome, greet and usher to cultivate an environment of welcome, safety and deep connectedness.
o Pray for the body of Christ within our churches to be inclusive, invitational and accepting. Pray for a revival of community life, where we embrace gifts and serve together taking our unique place in the body of Christ!
- Pray about how you can be more aware of finding women who are sitting alone in the back row, at the grocery store, or at the hockey rink and who might be waiting for an invitation to belong. Warmly welcome them into your home, a small group, to a women’s Bible study.
- What lies are you believing about yourself that you are not enough and therefore don’t measure up enough to belong? Ask God if there are any ways you might be ‘self-excluding’ from certain groups of people telling yourself you don’t measure up.
- Consider who you might invite to Gather Rise on Oct. 1. Gather is a place where we all belong. There is a seat at the table for you.
Julianne August, Prayer Catalyst