INTRO

Welcome friends and thank you for being here. This devotional was inspired and adapted from the Lectio 365 app developed by 24-7 Prayer. Our hope is that this time together will not only be a blessing to you today, but that it would encourage you to consider using the Lectio 365 app as a way to develop a daily prayer rhythm, deepening your relationship with Jesus. 

Lectio Explanation* 

Lectio Divina is a way of meditating on the Bible that’s been used by Christians for centuries. 

Together we will pray (P.R.A.Y) very simply:

PAUSING to be still,

REJOICING with a Psalm and REFLECTING on Scripture,

Asking for God's help, and

Yielding to His will.  

Perhaps you walked into this room today feeling tired, overwhelmed, anxious or carrying a burden that feels impossible. And so, I’m grateful that we have a space to slow down, to pause and steward our awareness of God’s presence here, right now.

Isn’t it incredible to think that He’s here; He’s already in the room!

PAUSE*

As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still, to breathe slowly, to re-center my scattered senses upon the presence of God.

PRAYER OF APPROACH*

Jesus, the true vine, my source of life, I choose to abide in obedience. 

Father, the gardener, shaper of my life, I surrender to your pruning.  

Holy Spirit, the helper, sustainer of my life, I welcome your presence as I seek your word.

REJOICE AND REFLECT*

I choose to rejoice in God’s promises today, joining with the ancient praise of all God’s people in the words of Psalm 16…

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:5–11 (NIV)

Today I am reflecting on a passage in which God the Father, portrayed as a gardener, is tending to His crops - removing what’s dead and pruning that which has the potential for life.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:5–8 (NIV)

Jesus, the very source of life, described in this passage as the vine, invites us to remain in Him. Other translations use the term Abide, which means to continue in relationship.

Relationship with Jesus is the whole point of spiritual discipline, yet it is often the last thing we actually seek. We seek His blessings, but do we seek to know Him? It is only through relationship, through abiding, that we learn to discern the voice of God.

Author Tyler Staton writes that:

“Most of us get about knee-deep in the Christian life, discover that the water feels fine, and stop there. We never swim in the depths of the divine intimacy Jesus won for us.” **

As we gather on this Commissioning weekend, a time for celebration - yes, but also a time of reflection and spiritual renewal, let us consider the ways in which we have perhaps been distracted or complacent in our relationship to Jesus. Are there places in our walk with God where He might be calling us to deeper waters?

Could it be we are just too busy?

  • Are you tired and overwhelmed?

  • I wonder if perhaps in our attempts to do the most good, we sometimes forget that Jesus Himself demonstrated the need for rest.

  • Corrie Ten Boom once said “If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect - they cut off your connection with God.” ***

  • Where might God be encouraging you to create margin in your schedule enabling you to come away with Him to a quiet place and get some rest?

Are you anxious?

  • If the news isn’t enough to make you worried, then the thought of inclement weather, finances and the wellbeing of your family will surely test your ability to stay calm.

  • How do we cope with all that fear, the stress and the worry? What do we turn to in those moments?

Perhaps you’ve been let down or disappointed?

  • When life gets hard, sometimes we’re tempted to blame God, to push Him away.

  • Yet, some of the most profound things that God has done in my life came as the result of massive disruptions.****

  • What feels like a prolonged period of discomfort could become the source of deep encounter if in those moments we seek God.

I have often viewed stress, anxiousness or fear as attacks from the enemy. What would happen if instead we viewed those things like the check engine light of a car – an indication that something needs tending to? What if the very things that seek to steal our joy, were repurposed as invitations from the Holy Spirit to return to God - to seek the only one who can “fix” what needs repair?

ASK

Lord Jesus, as I seek to hear your voice today, I ask that you bring to mind an area of my life that is perhaps in need of pruning. Am I too busy? Does worry claim the altar of my heart? Am I entangled in a destructive habit, behavior or thought pattern that is causing my soul to wither and decay? Could my life benefit from a harvest of love, joy or peace?

(Pause)

Father God as you tend to the garden of my heart, remind me of your great love for me, make known to me the path of life.

YIELD*

As I return to the passage, I look out for a particular word or phrase that the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting to me today… 

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:5–8 (NIV)

I take a moment to reflect now on any word or phrase that the Holy Spirit is highlighting for me.

(Pause)

Evangelist and teacher Oswald Chambers identifies that “the value of our public activity for God depends on the moments of profound private communion spent with him. A person’s effectiveness in serving God publicly isn't measured by activity itself, but by the deep, private connection they maintain with God.” *****

I’m drawn to the phrase:

“apart from me you can do nothing”

Are there times when I miss the invitation to simply abide and linger with God, distracted by the chance to “build something” or respond to a practical task?

“apart from me you can do nothing”

Where in my life, might I be relying on my own strength, my own capacity?

Are the resources, the events, programs and initiatives I help create and participate in, saturated in prayer and surrendered to God?

Friends, apart from Him we can do nothing

“LORD, If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

Exodus 33:15 (NIV)

In another quote from Corrie Ten Boom, she asks:

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

YIELDING PRAYER

Jesus, thank you for the reminder to seek you in all things. How good it is to serve a Heavenly Father who longs to be in relationship with His children. May anything we do in service to you, flow from a place of love. Holy Spirit, as you continue to identify the places in our lives that need tending to, may we experience freedom and joy in your presence.

YIELDING PROMISE*

And now, as I prepare to take this time of prayer into the coming day, the Lord who loves me says in Zechariah:

Not by might nor by strength, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah 4:6

CLOSING PRAYER*

Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to you in every way.

Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet.

Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.

Amen

DOWNLOAD

THE LECTIO 365 APP

*These sections are taken directly from the Lectio 365 prayer app.

** Staton, Tyler. Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer. (Zondervan, 2022), p.05

*** Comer, John Mark. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World. (WaterBrook, 2019), p. 20.

**** Staton, Tyler. Familiar Stranger Podcast, YouTube, 6 May 2025, https://youtu.be/OBEK89bVEqk?si=YM8py6W1cg2mXIbZ

*****Chambers, Oswald. "Worship."My Utmost for His Highest, (Discovery House Publishers, 1935), 6 Jan.