A Prayer about Good Food and Glad Hearts
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
(Acts 2:46–47 NIV)
Jesus, I just got home from a feast. The food was amazing and the fellowship was priceless. I’m not sure when I’ve been as glad to belong to you and your people. The music almost made even me want to dance. Deep-dish apple pie never tasted so good. Multiply these precious, holy, joyful moments. Surely it’s to your praise when we can put aside the busyness and madness of our schedules and simply enjoy enjoyment and enjoy one another.
And to think, I almost didn’t go. Forgive me, Lord. I repent of not wanting to go before we went. I repent of being such a stick in the mud toward my wife. I repent of thinking about the three people I was most dreading being there. I repent of being so small hearted. Grow me up in the gospel, Jesus. Expand the chambers of my heart to take in more of your grace. Free me to be genuinely intrigued with other people. Jesus, that kind of freedom was a sure evidence of your Spirit’s work in the early church.
Indeed, Jesus, this little taste of rich community tonight has me thinking about our church. We’ve become so good at talking about and defending the gospel, but we don’t really seem to be enjoying it right now. We’ve run off the legalists and moralists, but have we simply become “grace legalists”— self-righteous about the gospel? How could that be?
Restore to us the joy of your salvation, Jesus. Bring us back to the childlike wonder of our early days of knowing you. May your welcoming heart once again be ex- tended to stranger and friend alike. Oh, to enjoy the favor of those around us sim- ply because you are so clearly in our midst. I pray in your welcoming and renewing name.
Amen.