Ohana Prayer 286 – Luke 14

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”

11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.

13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,

14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,

33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Praise the almighty, sovereign and everlasting king who sits on the throne; Lord of the Sabbath; our Father God in heaven. We thank you for you have done amazing things for us. You are able because before we know how to pray, through your mighty power at work within us, you have accomplished infinitely more than we can ask for. May you be glorified in the church, forever and ever. Amen!

Early in the morning, may your Holy Spirit lift us up from the bottom of the well of ignorance according to your glorious, unlimited resources so that our hearts will be strengthened and Christ will dwell in our hearts again. In this way, our roots will grow down into your love and keep us strong. We will have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep your unconditional love is.

Lord Jesus, please forgive our sins. We only care about and love the people and things we own. We have ignored the Sabbath and despised your church. We are hypocrites: we have harsh demands for others but lack discipline for ourselves. We value others' praises, covet vain honor, pay no attention to God’s good works and look for all kinds of excuses to shirk responsibility and mission. We are unwilling to give up our own way, take up the cross and follow you. We have become salt that has lost its flavor and are no longer worthy to be your disciples.

Lord Jesus thank you for reaching out to the humble. We are all poor, crippled, lame and blind in body, mind and spirit. However, you did not despise us. You call us and choose us to participate in your work so we can enter your feast in the end of days.

Thank you, Holy Spirit you enlighten us with the Holy Word. When we don’t know what God wants us to pray for, you pray for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Please teach us to transform the words and promises of the Bible into the words of our prayers, and put them into practice in our daily lives. Especially in the face of the unrelenting pandemic, help us to learn to pray in the Spirit, give thanks always, depend on your grace and strength in everything and build ourselves up in your truth.

Holy Spirit please remind us to stand firm, conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ and work together for the gospel we believe. Then we will always honor and please the Lord, our lives will produce every kind of good fruit and our prayer will have great power with wonderful results.

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