Monday Mission - Monday, January 4, 2010
Each Monday, we here at Faith and Grace Today set out on a mission; a challenge if you will. The purpose of the Monday Mission is to strengthen your faith, discover and overcome spiritual strongholds you may not be aware of, and increase your frequency and level of prayer, through weekly challenges in practical applications, and in everyday life situations.
Each week, the Monday Mission affords you the opportunity to learn more about yourself and the world around you.
This Weeks Monday Mission - Monday, January 4, 2010
This week we have a three-fold prayer mission. Everyday this week, in addition to your regular prayer, pray for:
- A Family Member Who Doesn't Live With You
- A Complete Stranger
- An Enemy
A Family Member Who Doesn't Live With You
Often times we allow ourselves to get out of touch with distant relatives. And the term distant is relative. It's very common in this day and age, to have relatives who live in the same city or town that we just don't take the time to keep up with anymore. If that's the case for you, that family member can be considered a distant relative for this exercise. If possible, try to pick a new distant relative each week. See if you notice how your concern for them grows. See if you start to wonder how they're doing and how they've been. See if you decide to maybe pick up the phone and give them a call, or drop them an email, or send them a card. My mother always liked the sayin, "Give me my flowers while I'm here, not after I'm gone." In other words, this week, take time to remember your distant family members while they're still with you, in prayer; it could lead to more than you think.
A Complete Stranger
Each day this week pray for a complete stranger. Try to pick a new complete stranger each day. This exercise will force you to pay attention to your surroundings, and to someone other than yourself. You'll discover that you still have the instincts for empathy, and concern. This complete stranger could be someone you've never seen before of course, but it could also be someone you see daily or almost daily, that you don't actually know. Maybe someone you see day in the coffee frequent each morning. Or the same persone you buy your morning paper from, maybe someone you ride the bus or train with. Someone, anyone, you don't have a relationship with. You'll start to notice yourself noticing, and paying attention to others. You'll start to sense a need for those who are in need for prayer, comfort, and maybe even conversation. This one will surprise you.
An Enemy
I'll tell you two right now:
- This one is going to be hard.
- And this one is gonna cause some you trouble.
This task is going to be a true challenge; but I promise you, of the three, it will bring you the most clarity, the most relief, and therefore, the most blessing. Now let me define an enemy, for the purposes of this exercise:
- An enemy is anyone, or any thing, that you allow to cause you emotional, spiritual, or behaviorial chaos.
That means it could be an ex, a boss, a co-worker, a bill collector, an in-law, etc. It can be a temporary enemy, a new enemy, or one you've considered an ememy for quite some time. I mentioned above two things about this exercise; well we know why it's going to be difficult. But let me tell you why it's going to cause you trouble. Satan won't like this mission one bit! It's way to selfless, way too humbling, and way to Jesus-like for him, and he will try to make you pay for it...starting on day one! Trust me, almost as SOON as you get the prayer out of your mouth, all hell will break lose. Your challenge, if you chose to accept it, is to hold on through the storm, and watch the peace, revelation, clarity, and comfort you get from it, when the rainbow shows up! If you do this in sincerity, you will recieve a gift of spiritual, mental, and emotional cleansing phenomanal porportions.
Come back Sunday, and in the Monday Mission Report box below, let us, and all of your fellow Faith and Grace Today friends, know how it went for you, what you discovered, and how God touched your life. We can't wait to hear!
God Bless,
Faith and Grace
