Disrupt - Day 29
March 29 - When Jesus came closer and saw the city, he wept. (Luke 19:41)
Today begins Holy Week with Palm Sunday. The crowd shouted in celebration, but Jesus wept because the people failed to recognize God’s salvation offered through Him, and the city would be destroyed by the Romans about forty years later.
This is a tender moment in the story. It reveals the depth of Jesus’ genuine love and compassion, which is the heartbeat of prayer for others. His response reflected the Father’s heart.
When we pray like Jesus, we pray passionately and personally because each person is known and loved by God. When we pray for others, it’s not cold, routine, or distant prayer. It’s declaring God’s great promises over someone’s desperate need, which evokes a visceral response. Perhaps, like Jesus, we weep when we consider how fiercely someone has rejected God and how deeply that pains Him.
When you pray for others, do you see them the way God sees them?
When our perspective changes, so does our compassion.
Prayer Prompt: Lord, as I think about my family and friends who are far from you, I ask that you would have mercy on them. Please open their eyes to see your majesty and grace. Please disrupt their spiritual status quo to experience your salvation and life change.
“It is not the body of the words, but the heart that makes the prayer.” -E.M. Bounds