DAY 1: PRAY FOR HUMBLE HEARTS – PASTOR HEIDEN RATNER
PASTOR HEIDEN RATNER
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SCRIPTURE
Nehemiah 1:6a
“let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants…”
DEVOTION
Nehemiah was a man of God who found favor in the eyes of the King of Persia, Artaxerxes. He was the cupbearer to the King, which essentially gave him more access than most could ever dream of. Nehemiah could have easily seen himself as someone in higher rank than most, however in his recorded prayer in Nehemiah 1, he describes himself as a servant.
Nehemiah didn’t see his position as one of power, rather as a place to serve the Lord and those around him. Let me ask you a question today: How do you see yourself? As someone who deserves to be waited on and served? Or, as a sinner saved by the grace of Jesus, ready to serve Him and His people? The latter is the answer I pray we would all strive for.
If you were to call Jesus to the stand today, and ask Him the same question, I imagine His answer would be similar to His words in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
As we kick off 21 days of prayer today, I encourage you to go in with a humble attitude. The heart and attitude of a servant. For we serve a better KING than any King of this world, and He out-served everyone in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. His name is King Jesus and He modeled servant leadership, just as Nehemiah prayed. Let us now pray with that same humble fervor and look for people and places to serve, as we serve Him.
PRAYER
Father, we come to You now in Jesus name, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, we ask You to strengthen us for this 21 Day journey and help us to have the heart of a servant. Lord, help us to keep our eyes and ears attentive to where, when, and how we can serve.
We thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to serve us first by laying His life down in our place. We pray You would serve others now through us. Help us to work hard and stay humble and to give You the glory along the way. We pray all this in Jesus name, amen!
ACTION STEP
- Serve someone today.
IDEAS:
- Hold the door for someone.
- Clean your house or car.
- Do the dishes.
- Sign up to serve on the Dream Team at WALK Church.
FITNESS
IDEAS:
- Run the first mile out of the total of 21.
- Walk around your neighborhood.
- Do 10 sit-ups and 10 push-ups.
