Bible passage:
Knowing the heart of God:
Hosea 6:6 - For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
1 Tim 2:4 - God our Savior desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
John 17:24 - Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 14:13 - Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of His government and peace. There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Knowing the needs of the people (while feeding 5000/ 4000):
Mark 6: 33 - 37a - Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he [Jesus] went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
Mark 8: 2, 3 - I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.
In Day 2's devotion, we read about Moses standing in the gap and interceding, and also about Jeremiah praying when God asked him not to (Ex 32:10, Jer 14:11). When God clearly said He was going to destroy the Israelites, what gave these priests (Moses and Jeremiah) the audacity to continue to intercede with God? Isn't it because they knew the heart of God? From the Scriptures and our personal relationship with Him, we also can know so much about the heart of God: (i) He is zealous for His glory - His character expressing itself in beauty, (ii) He is zealous for establishing His kingdom, (iii) He desires for all to be redeemed and have an eternal fellowship with Him. Are our prayers aligned with His heart?
As priests, we also are to know the needs of the people around us. In Mark 6, we read Jesus having compassion on the crowd as they lacked shepherds. In Mark 8, we read that his compassion was for their physical needs. Do we at each moment recognize the true needs of the people around us? Are we praying for the specific spiritual and timely physical needs of our friends, or are we too generic in our prayers? If we were there in Mark 6, would we have discerned and prayed to God for godly shepherds or like the disciples, merely for our friends to be able to find food themselves?
Prayer points:
Pray that you will grow in steadfast love and the knowledge of God and His heart.
Pray that you will desire what God desires - His glory, His kingdom, and the Salvation of all.
Pray that God will give you compassion for those around you.
Pray that God will reveal to you the deeper needs of those around you, and give you His wisdom and Spirit to pray for them accordingly.
If you can, try memorizing 1 Tim 2:4
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