Commissioned: Pray First: Unlocking Hearts Through PrayerSample

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Often in the Gospels, we see “the scribes” arguing with Jesus and opposing him. This passage from Mark’s Gospel recounts one of the few times that Jesus had a positive response from one of the scribes! The scribes were scholars who copied the sacred Hebrew scriptures and studied them with great care. The scribes knew that the scriptures included 613 commandments and many of the scribes made a great show of obeying all of the commandments to the letter. In addition, some spiritual leaders added many commandments based on religious traditions. As a result, the scribes had rules for every aspect of life; however, as the expression says, sometimes they failed to see the forest for the trees. They did not keep the main thing the main thing. Fortunately for the scribe in this passage, he realized the truth when he heard it—love for God and for those around us is at the center of God’s will for our lives.

One of the great dangers in becoming more religious is that the particular practices we adopt can become such a focus for us that we lose sight of why we are doing them in the first place. All the practices of our life of faith should flow from love for God and love for others. The Prayer-Care-Share model for evangelization is simply a way to give expression to our love for God and for others. It enables us to intentionally focus on a few persons in order to form ourselves into a lifestyle of love for God and others.

Prayer-Care-Share is not meant to be a set of rules that must be followed or demands to be met. When the scribe said, “‘To love (God) with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices,” Jesus knew that he had his priorities straight. Jesus commended him: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” As we grow in our practices of prayer, acts of kindness, and sharing our faith, let’s ask God to enable us to grow in our love for Him and for others. That’s the most important thing.

Stop, think and pray:

Let’s begin by expressing our love for the Lord and others through the Act of Love prayer: “O my God, I love Thee above all things with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask pardon for all whom I have injured. Amen.

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with His love as we pray today for the five people we have chosen. Let’s ask for wisdom as we show them God’s love in simple acts of kindness. Let’s consider their lives and their needs and think about what would be meaningful to them.