Ohana Prayer 278 – Luke 6

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to

God.

13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also

designated apostles:

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there

and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region

around Tyre and Sidon,

38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and

running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to

you.”

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the

plank in your own eye?

42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you

yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your

eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes

from briers.

45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings

evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will

show you what they are like.

48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.

When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well

built.

49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built

a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it

collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Praise the Lord Jehovah, our Father God in heaven. You are full of compassion and love. When

we get up early in the morning, we look to you and wait quietly for your salvation. We have

hope in our hearts because you have promised that you will give grace to all who wait for you

and seek you in their hearts.

The worsening pandemic is poisoning us like bitter herbs. The uncertainty of the future saddens

our hearts like drinking gall. The unceasing chains of problems and difficulties leave us no

breathing room. Yet, we still have a firm hope in our hearts. We will not perish because of your

love; we will not be cut off because of your mercy. We truly believe every morning is a new day

for great is thy faithfulness.

You are my Lord! My Lord Jesus! In the past, you led the disciples up the mountain to pray. You

prayed through the night for God's guidance and selected twelve apostles from them. Similarly,

today you have sent us to be apostles in the family and apostles in the church. You send us to

serve in different churches and groups, showing the crowd that we are apostles who obey your

words. When caring for others, we experience your overflowing blessings. Before removing the

speck in the eyes of others, we have to first pay attention to the plank in our own eyes. When

facing difficult times, we are confident that the future rewards in heaven will be great and we

can be kind to the ungrateful and the evildoers.

Thank you, Holy Spirit for confirming with our heart that we are children of God: our spirit is

justified by faith and we have the promise of salvation though our mind and flesh are yet to be

justified. Holy Spirit, please come to live in our hearts so that we will only follow you. It is

because “The mind governed by the flesh is death but the mind governed by the Spirit is life

and peace.”

Holy Spirit, please be the engineer of our lives: supervise us to dig down deep, lay the

foundation on the rock of Christ and build every brick and every tile with faith and care every

day. In this way, not only can we withstand the torrential floods in our daily lives in the world;

we will be rewarded on the Day when the quality of our works survives the test of fire.

Otherwise, if it is burnt up, we will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one

escaping through the flames. In the days ahead, may the Holy Spirit lead us through the

profound experience of turning suffering and curses into blessings.

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