Week: Mark's Gospel
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Jesus, we hear Your invitation, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Selah
Proverbs 3:5
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today we’re REFLECTING on a miracle that Jesus performed whilst on a boat with His disciples.
Read by Selah
Mark 4:37-39 (NCV)
Mark 4:37-39
A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves came over the sides and into the boat so that it was already full of water. Jesus was at the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a cushion. His followers woke him and said, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning!’ Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind stopped, and it became completely calm.
Can we remember being kept awake by a thunderstorm, or when the wind was howling and the rain was pelting outside? Sometimes storms can get really loud and scary even when we’re safe inside our homes. Imagine what it was like for the disciples in their small boat, being thrown around by the waves!
Sometimes our lives can feel a bit like this… like we’re being thrown around and we don’t know what to hold onto, or it all feels noisy and all we want is some peace and quiet, or maybe we’re afraid about something? What we learn from this story is very simple… whatever is happening in our lives, Jesus is with us and He can calm our storms.
Let’s press pause and be really honest with one another as we talk about today’s question, which is: What things are we worried about? What feels a bit ‘stormy’ in our lives at the moment?
Now, let’s close our eyes and imagine that Jesus is sitting beside us. First He smiles at us, and then He turns to the storms and the worries swirling around us, and He says ‘Quiet! Be still!’
In this moment of quiet let’s imagine the storms and our worries calming down.
We often hear about storms and floods and forest fires and other disasters happening around the world. If there’s one in particular that we know about right now, let’s pray for the people who have been affected.
Lord Jesus, we ASK You to calm the storms, the earthquakes, the floods and fires, and we ASK You to help those who are suffering because of them.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Mark 4:37-39
Mark 4:37-39 (NCV)
A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves came over the sides and into the boat so that it was already full of water. Jesus was at the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a cushion. His followers woke him and said, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning!’ Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind stopped, and it became completely calm.
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
Let’s say YES to God together.
YES, Lord Jesus, it’s Your voice that brings peace and change. Help us to listen to You, and to do what You say so that we can play our part in bringing peace to others.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Proverbs 3:5
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Selah is 14 and she lives in the middle of The USA in Kansas City, with her parents, sisters and dogs. Selah loves adventures and plays (and watches) all kinds of sports. She also enjoys science and likes inventing and building things…especially if they help others in some way.