Ohana Prayer 281 – Luke 9

1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,

2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Praise the Father of heavenly lights, our Father God in heaven. Thank you for giving us all the good and perfect gifts. You do not change like shifting shadows. “ Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”

Thank you for nurturing us with the word of God through your careful design, according to your unique plan for each of us. We are like a kind of first fruits of all you created. We are sanctified, belong to you and live for you.

Praise the Lord Jesus. You are Christ, the Messiah, the Savior. Salvation is found in no one else but you, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

Thank you Lord Jesus! You did not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save them. You are going to prepare a place for us in heaven. You will come back and take us to be with you that we also may be where you are. It is because you are the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through you.

Thank you, Holy Spirit for putting up with us who live in a generation of unbelief and disobedience. The pandemic, difficulties, and disheartening occurrences have caused our thoughts and emotions to erupt like a volcano. The lava of anger, restlessness, anxiety and bitterness has covered the fields we have cultivated for years and our works of hard labor has been buried. Our light of faith is burning out.

However, your gentle sighs, along with our prayers to God, help us breathe in the oxygen in your holy words. Your whispering hope lights up the lamp in our hearts, transforms the prison of the pandemic into an altar of life. In the confinement of darkness, you ignite the message and light of life. We may see clearly that what is around our neck is not a chain and what is on our feet is not fetters but cords of kindness and ties of love. It is your blessings in disguise so that we can revise our version of the Pilgrim’s Progress.

Holy Spirit, please help us to seize the day so that we will not look back while we put our hands to the plow. May we do one thing: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, pressing on toward the goal.

We pray in the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!