Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, You said to Your disciples, “Come, follow me”. Help me to hear the same call to follow You. Enable me by Your Spirit to prioritise and honour You in my work, my relationships, my thoughts, words, and actions. Use me to point others to You, so that they may give glory to You. I ask this in Your Name. Amen.

Scripture

Devotion

In Matthew 4, we see that Jesus calls His First Disciples. He calls two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and James and John. All of these men are fishermen. Notice that when Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, He says, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people”. We’re told that at once they left their nets and followed Him.

What does this tell us? It tells us that Jesus’ call was disruptive. It changed their lives and involved total commitment. So it should be the same for us. In traditional cultures, you get your identity from your family. James and John leave their father. These men are prioritizing Jesus ahead of their families. In more Western individualistic cultures, you get your identity from your career. All of these men left their nets, they left their livelihoods. They prioritized Jesus ahead of their jobs.

Remember, these men don’t know Jesus fully yet. But there is something about Him that compels them to leave everything and follow. Now, of course, following Jesus doesn’t mean abandoning our jobs and families. But Jesus said to them, and He says to us, “Follow me. Spend time with me. Learn from me. Leave all your other priorities behind and make me your supreme pursuit. Everything else comes second.” Later on, Jesus will say to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” In what ways will you hear Jesus’ Call and prioritise Jesus today?

Intercessory Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray for those with emotional struggles or mental illness. We realise that the COVID pandemic has increased the pressure on those in society who have struggled in this area. We particularly pray for the younger generation, who have faced increased challenges in this area. We pray for school teachers, counsellors and church workers as they seek to show love and concern. We pray for doctors as they serve those who are struggling. We pray for any who may feel a sense of hopelessness at this time. Jesus the Messiah, You are Our Only Hope. Help our church communities to become places of healing. Give us wisdom to be able to minister to those affected. We especially pray for those involved in suicide prevention. We pray in Jesus’ Name for anyone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts. Lord, You are the Giver of Life, manifest Your Sovereign Presence in their lives and help us to become communities that extend Your Love to all with emotional struggles or mental illness. We break the power of suicidal thoughts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!