“We are communal beings made in the image of a communal God.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 8, 2024
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 2 Timothy 1:3-4, CSB
One of life’s greatest gifts is the ability to journey with someone else in their time of sorrow or trial. By design, the Lord has made us for one another, communal beings made in the image of a communal God. As he says of the first humans, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). The longer we live, the more deeply we encounter the truth of these words.
However, the gift of community and mutual burden-sharing does not simply happen by accident. It requires intentionality and attentiveness to the needs and requests of others. To give but one example, think of the many times people ask you to keep them in their prayers. How seriously do you take this request? It would be easy and understandable to hear it as nothing more than a request for sympathy. Or, perhaps you offer a single prayer in passing and then move along to whatever is next. However, if we believe in the power of prayer and the nearness of God at all times and in all places, can we learn to hear in such a request nothing less than an invitation into a shared space of holiness, drawing near, together, to the one in whom all things live and move and have their being? (Acts 17:28).
The next time someone asks you to pray for them, remember Paul’s words to Timothy: “I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3). First, there’s an inherent challenge built into these words. In order to take them to heart, it is assumed that we are at prayer night and day, every day! The first step in this journey, therefore, is one of sustainable and intentional prayer, carving out time to be with the Lord at the bookends of our day. Once this rhythm has been established, we then learn to incorporate others into our life with God, keeping their tears and their sorrows on our hearts as we rest in the renewing presence of the Lord.
“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Prayer
Father, thank you for the privilege of remembering others in our prayers. Give us hearts that are open to them, and open to you, that we may together journey deeper and deeper into your love, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
As you build and maintain a daily rhythm of morning and evening prayer, begin keeping a prayer list so you can remember others before the Lord in an intentional and deliberate way.
Related Reading
Luke 10:30-37; John 13:34; Hebrews 10:24-25
Worship Resource
Gateway Worship: Cast Your Burden
Donate
If you are blessed by these daily devotionals please prayerfully consider a donation to support Wisdom Hunters Resources. We are trusting the Lord for His provision.
Download our app!
