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| SUNDAY | March 21 |
So often our prayers are more about what we can get as opposed to what we should become. Think about your own prayers, or about the prayers that you hear others pray. No matter how legitimate the concerns are, what category do most of them fall under: What can I get, or what can I become? How do we understand this tendency in light of what Jesus says to us below?
“ ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ ” (Matt. 6:33, NKJV). What does Jesus mean when He tells us to seek “first” the kingdom of God? Why seek that first? See Matt. 16:26.
How does Romans 14:17 help us understand what the kingdom of God is?
Notice that righteousness, peace, and joy are the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, we should seek first the fruit of the Spirit before anything else. In the end, we can have everything the world offers, but what does that mean if we don’t have righteousness, peace, and joy?
If someone were to ask, “But does this mean that Jesus isn’t interested in my physical or financial well-being?” how would you answer in the light of Christ’s command to put the fruit of the Spirit before physical or material needs?
A concerned mother said, “Pastor, please pray for my boy, he is out of the faith, and he has lost his job. Pray that he will find work.” Was this concerned mother seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness for her son? Keeping in mind that the priority of the Christian life is not to get but to become, what should her request for her boy have been?
What are your main concerns as revealed not just by your prayers but by your life in general: getting what you want for yourself or becoming what God wants you to become? What does your answer tell you about your priorities?
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