Today’s Reading: Matthew 6:5-13
Today’s Question: Do you believe that God has called you to serve or to be served by others?
Today’s Commentary:
There are two kinds of theology in the world: Dog Theology and Cat Theology. Feed a dog and he will believe you are God. Feed a feline and the cat will believe she is God. (told by Erwin Lutzer on the 1/13/11 radio broadcast)
This is a good assessment of our world today. There are some who bow to God as the Lord and submit to His will. The majority, however, choose to live for themselves and do as they please. These act a though they are self-made and expect to be served by others.
One of the greatest obstacles to answered prayer is selfishness. The “have it my way” mentality is not in God’s plan.
Prayer is not our fine tuning of God’s plan for us. It is allowing God to direct our plans, goals, desires, and ambitions. The prayer that glorifies God is when we come to God with a clean slate and ask God to write the story of our lives as He sees fit.
God the Son had this exact attitude. In Jesus’ prayer the night before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to the Father and stated, “I have brought You glory on the earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do.” (John 17:4) There is no way that we can bring glory to God while choosing to live for ourselves. Likewise, there is no way we can do the work of God if we are attempting to intercept God’s glory for ourselves.
“Follow One, Lead Others” Principle #30: Followers of Christ must look to Him for direction in all decisions, goals, and plans; for He is our Lord.
Today’s Prayer Point: Prayer is powerful because it places us in step with the work of God. Ask God to show you where He wants you to go, what He wants you to do, how He wants you to treat others, and what it means to truly “follow Christ.”
Note for Next Week– The “Summer School with Jesus” series will continue on Monday with a closer look at prayer. We will look at five essentials of the Disciple’s Prayer (or the Model Prayer), which include:
-Prayer that Recognizes God -Prayer that Aligns with God -Prayer that Depends on God -Prayer that Cleanses People -Prayer in the midst of a Spiritual War
Shepherding Well 