Welcome to Week 41 of A 2020 Prayer Life!
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our prayer lives.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Take one day at a time.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading only. Spend time in prayer. And allow your prayer time to be guided by each day's reflections and instructions.
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our prayer lives.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Take one day at a time.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading only. Spend time in prayer. And allow your prayer time to be guided by each day's reflections and instructions.
October 7
In John's account of the Last Supper, Jesus says to His disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches." (John 15:5 NASB)
It is one of the seven "I am" statements by Jesus recorded in the Fourth Gospel. And it is also an explicit statement of relationship, featuring two relational terms. Accordingly, we want to spend this week deepening our prayer life -- our relationship with the Lord -- by pursuing the truth that He is "vine" and you are "branch."
In your prayer time just now, make that your title for the Lord. Call Him "Vine," and make that part of how you address Him all this week. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Vine" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Vine" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Vine" impact and influence my relationship with You?
It is one of the seven "I am" statements by Jesus recorded in the Fourth Gospel. And it is also an explicit statement of relationship, featuring two relational terms. Accordingly, we want to spend this week deepening our prayer life -- our relationship with the Lord -- by pursuing the truth that He is "vine" and you are "branch."
In your prayer time just now, make that your title for the Lord. Call Him "Vine," and make that part of how you address Him all this week. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Vine" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Vine" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Vine" impact and influence my relationship with You?
October 8
All of the many, wonderful relational titles for God in Scripture suggest counterpart terms for us. Sometimes those terms are straightforward and clear (e.g., Shepherd and sheep), while other times the title for God may be paired with a variety of counterpart terms (e.g., God as Refuge). In the cases of the teaching from John 15, Jesus Himself identifies the counterpart term: "branch."
In your prayer time just now, identify yourself as "branch." And as you do, talk with the Lord about these questions.
(1) What does that counterpart title reveal about me?
(2) What does that counterpart title reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How might that counterpart title impact and influence my relationship with You?
In your prayer time just now, identify yourself as "branch." And as you do, talk with the Lord about these questions.
(1) What does that counterpart title reveal about me?
(2) What does that counterpart title reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How might that counterpart title impact and influence my relationship with You?
October 9
As we have noted again and again this year, relationships carry explicit or implicit expectations. In a marriage, we make the expectations of love, faithfulness, and commitment explicit in the wedding vows. And we go through each day of married life with implicit expectations of things like attention, concern, communication, and such.
Relational expectations depend heavily, of course, upon the quality of the other person involved. We reasonably have higher expectations of a good boss than we do of a bad one, of a good friend than we do of a poor one. And each time we have identified a relational term for the Lord, we have prompted ourselves to think in terms of what we might expect from a good version of that relationship.
And so, today, we are invited to ponder this question: What can I reasonably expect from a good Vine in my relationship with Him? Jot down what comes to mind.
Now, in prayer, call Him "Vine," and talk to Him about what you have learned. Talk to Him about your understanding of your reasonable expectations. Thank and praise Him for these. And talk to Him about your experience in relation to Him as your good Vine.
Relational expectations depend heavily, of course, upon the quality of the other person involved. We reasonably have higher expectations of a good boss than we do of a bad one, of a good friend than we do of a poor one. And each time we have identified a relational term for the Lord, we have prompted ourselves to think in terms of what we might expect from a good version of that relationship.
And so, today, we are invited to ponder this question: What can I reasonably expect from a good Vine in my relationship with Him? Jot down what comes to mind.
Now, in prayer, call Him "Vine," and talk to Him about what you have learned. Talk to Him about your understanding of your reasonable expectations. Thank and praise Him for these. And talk to Him about your experience in relation to Him as your good Vine.
October 10
Relational expectations are almost always a two-way street. And so, just as we meditated yesterday on what the branch could reasonably expect from the vine, today we want to switch the emphasis. Today, we want to explore what the vine can reasonably expect from a branch.
Spend a few minutes thinking about this matter. Jot down whatever occurs to you.
Then, with your notes before you, talk with the Lord about what you learned.
Talk with Him about the unequal nature of the relationship between the vine and the branch. Talk with Him about dependence and independence. Talk with Him about about the kind of vine He has been to you and the kind of branch you have been to Him.
Spend a few minutes thinking about this matter. Jot down whatever occurs to you.
Then, with your notes before you, talk with the Lord about what you learned.
Talk with Him about the unequal nature of the relationship between the vine and the branch. Talk with Him about dependence and independence. Talk with Him about about the kind of vine He has been to you and the kind of branch you have been to Him.
October 11
A part of the larger teaching of John 15 includes these words from Jesus: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5 NASB)
In your prayer time, meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
In your prayer time, meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
- What does it mean for me to "abide in" You?
- How am I at abiding in You?
- Have I done it better at other times in my life?
- How is my life different when I abide in You?
October 12
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5 NASB)
In your prayer time today, continue to meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
In your prayer time today, continue to meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
- What does it mean for You to abide in me?
- Is that a constant thing or does it vary?
- If it varies, what does it depend upon?
- If it is constant, why don't I feel more constant?
October 13
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5 NASB)
In your prayer time today, continue to meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
In your prayer time today, continue to meditate on this passage. Then, talk with the Lord about these questions:
- What do You mean when You say that apart from You I can do nothing?
- What has been my experience of that?
- What is the "fruit" that comes from my abiding in You?
- What people have I known along the way whose "fruit" was evidence that they abide in You?