Let It Rise: Sacred Ingredients for a Life of PrayerSample

Sabbath: A Culture

We all know what it’s like to have a wonderful time, a holiday meal, a birthday, or another special celebration with loved ones. It brings fellowship, love, laughter, and a shared experience that lingers long after the guests are gone, and the family is tucked in bed. For the next several days we reflect on the memories made, the conversations had, and the blessed fellowship shared. Well, the same is true for Sabbath. Although Sabbath is only one day, the spirit of the Sabbath is infused into every day of the week! Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are marked as remembering days (see Exodus 20:8). Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the prepare-observe-keep mentioned in Deuteronomy 5:12. You see, “special” doesn’t just happen; it takes planning, shopping, and preparing, and that’s where the excitement and anticipation of the gathering time grows.

Making Sabbath a part of our lives takes intentionality. When I first began integrating the Sabbath into my life, I quickly discovered the busyness of the week didn’t change. Friday night crept up on me, and I had nothing planned. Eventually, I purchased a blackboard (intentional planning) sectioned off by lateral pieces of wood, one for each day of the week. Next to each day, I wrote a word that would keep Sabbath on my mind:

• Sunday: Reset
• Monday: Remember
• Tuesday: Revelation
• Wednesday: Plan
• Thursday: Prep
• Friday: Presence (Bread)
• Saturday: Linger

Each week I fill in what to do that day—a Scripture to meditate on, a handwritten note to send, a meal to plan, guests to invite, etc. The intentionality brings anticipation for the holy, set-apart day, which is then savored all week. It’s so fun and yet so transformational. God used Sabbath to answer prayers I had prayed for years, many of which I didn’t even know to pray!

We can learn so much from our Jewish brothers and sisters. Just look at the fruit of blessings that have kept these chosen ones together all these years. Yes, this grafted-in Gentile had a lot to learn. Let us not ignore that provoked-to-jealousy desire but instead hold it up as an offering and declare, “Teach us, Lord. Teach us!”