October 13, 2024 - Acts 20‬:‭35

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”” Acts of the Apostles 20:35 NLT

Lord, we want to follow Paul’s example. He worked so hard to spread your name throughout the world. He endured so many trials and it would have been so easy to find an easier way to live, but he understood your commission to us. You gave him such a burden to spread your name to those who didn’t know you. He was willing to take your name to those far away. He endured long boat rides across the Mediterranean. He didn’t even allow being shipwrecked to stop him. Even with being imprisoned multiple times, he never quit declaring your truth to the lost. We ask for you to give us and your church more of the passion that you gave Paul for making your name known.

Give us an overwhelming desire that we can’t ignore to help those in need. Let it not just be with the little that we have left after we have “helped ourselves” but show us how to give more than we receive. Not just with our finances, but in every area of our lives. Jesus, let your words, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”, be a way that the world around us could define us. Lord, help us restructure our lives if needed to make them line up with how you are calling us to live. Give us more of your heart for the world around us. Let it drive us forward more than the things of this world.

In Jesus name, amen.