Pause
As you reflect throughout day seven of 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, ask the Lord to help you both celebrate and persevere to finish this first week.
Ask Him to help you establish or improve your own spiritual rhythms of discipleship (pausing for intentional prayer, reading scripture, etc.), so that you will continue in them long after 21 Days—not for the sake of routine or religiosity but to develop your relationship with God.
If you have missed a day of prayer, or faltered in your plan to fast, give yourself grace like Jesus Himself has given you. You can start again today! Lean into Him as a son or daughter of God—not away from Him based on your performance. He loves you!
Reset
Matthew 5:43-48 New International Version
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Here are a few of the same verses in The Message paraphrase:
“I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst… If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?… If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal?”
Walk with God
What from this passage did the Holy Spirit point out to you?
Jesus is referencing scripture from the book of Leviticus with the words, “Love your neighbor,” but He is also quoting an addition that had been socially added to it: “Hate your enemy.” Jesus is challenging these added words in front of all those listening. Does Jesus’s challenge of a socially accepted interpretation of scripture change the way you see the passage or of how you see Jesus?
Do you have someone that you would consider your enemy? How does this passage of scripture impact the way you think about or treat that person? Jesus says to love and pray for those who seem like enemies to you. So, let’s pray! Pause and consider whom you could be loving and praying for instead of feeling offended by. And remember that Jesus Himself fulfilled this command. Receive His grace as you navigate these relationships in your life.