iBelieve - Christian Women Inspirational Devotionals

Your Nightly Prayer

A Grateful Response to God’s Mercy
Your Nightly Prayer
By Robert Hampshire

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1, ESV

SOMETHING TO PONDER

In this passage, Paul urges or calls followers of Christ to present their "bodies" to God. It would make sense if he had said to present our “heart” or “soul,” because we are more used to that language in the church. But he said to present your body because he is talking about ALL of you. Not just our “spiritual” or religious selves, but our physicality, mind, emotions, words, hobbies, relationships, and everything else. God doesn’t just want or deserve our songs on Sunday or our minds when we’re praying, but all of us and all the time. The Christian life is meant to be holistic. Anything less than that is (to be honest) hypocritical and what James called “double-minded.”

And what does he urge us to do with our whole selves? He calls us to offer them as “living sacrifices.” This phrase reminds us that offering ourselves to God is not a one-and-done thing but a consistent, daily, over and over sacrifice. As I heard someone say, the hardest part of a living sacrifice is that it keeps walking off the altar. So then we keep offering it!

But Paul doesn't just call us to radical devotion without a good reason. He says to do this "in view of" or "by" the mercies of God. Mercy is not getting what we actually deserve. So we offer ourselves to God in light of, in appreciation of, and in gratefulness to the endless, daily supply of the mercy of God. It is not the other way around: we are not working to get God’s mercy, we are responding to it. We love and serve because he first loved and served us. That sequence is important.

And when we do this, God sees us as "holy," he considers our offerings as "acceptable," and we get to experience true, spiritual worship.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
Thank you, that you who see all things and know all things have called us beloved and holy, and you accept our offerings of worship. Thank you for your mercies that are new every day. And because of that, we, with grateful and fully surrendered hearts, offer ourselves back to you today.
In Jesus's name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. List some ways that God has given you mercy instead of judgment.

2. Picture your body parts as representing the different aspects of who you are that God wants. For example, your head symbolizes your mind and thoughts, your heart symbolizes your emotions and attitudes, your hands symbolize your work and hobbies, and your feet symbolize your traveling and vacationing.

3. Confess any areas in your life that you struggle to give fully to God. Thank God for his conviction, repent, and ask him to help you see him as worthy of you giving your all to him.

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Robert Hampshire is a pastor, teacher, writer, and leader. He has been married to Rebecca since 2008 and has four children: Brooklyn, Bryson, Abram, and Aubrey. Robert attended North Greenville University in South Carolina for his undergraduate and Liberty University in Virginia for his Masters. He has served as a worship pastor, youth pastor, family pastor, church planter, and Pastor of Worship and Discipleship. He now serves at Calvary Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina. He furthers his ministry through his blog site, Faithful Thinking, and YouTube channel. His life goal is to serve God and His Church by reaching the lost with the gospel, making devoted disciples, equipping and empowering others to go further in their faith and calling, and leading a culture of multiplication for the glory of God. Find out more about him here.