“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46
Prayer Points
Pray for people in your church or friendship group to experience a breakthrough in their relationship with Christ, finding a deeper appreciation of God in prayer or some greater experience of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Pray this for yourself too!
Check your value system! Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be’ (Matthew 6:21) Where is your heart? Worldly goods will never satisfy and they all need to be placed after the pursuit of God.
Pray for your church that the immense value of the kingdom of God will be seen in the services this Sunday. Pray that people will be drawn to make astute life choices to pursue Christ.
Pray for our society that the emptiness of materialism will be exposed rather
than exalted in the media this week.
DAY 5 : SEEKING
Imagine finding a treasure chest overflowing with gold coins and precious gems. It is the stuff of fairytales! It’s the day – the moment – your life changes forever. From now on you can buy whatever your heart desires, go to anywhere in the world, first class, and lavish wonderful gifts on all your friends.
Fantastic! This is how Jesus describes the kingdom of God: a treasure in a field or a pearl of great price. Nothing is ever the same once we have found this treasure.
The man in Jesus’ parable was lucky. He almost stumbled upon the treasure. He knew he had found something more valuable than everything he owned, so he was willing to sell everything to gain this treasure. It was not a financial risk, it was astute. It was the same with the merchant. All he had was less than the value of that one pearl. Selling everything to get the pearl was a bargain.
Why do we seek God? Why do we spend time like this? Why are we willing to pray or to fast? Is it because we think it is just something we should do, a worthwhile process to fine-tune our spiritual lives? If so then we have missed the point. When Jesus speaks about prayer he talks about persistence in asking, knocking and seeking (Luke 11:9-13). That is because thereis something to be given, a door to be opened and something to be received. It’s not just a process, it achieves something– treasure!
The best thing that we can ever achieve in life is to know God. All that we have pales into insignificance compared to the abundant life he provides for us. He is the greatest treasure this life has to offer. He is worth seeking.
Pray
* Pray for your ‘big issue’
* Pray for your ‘three friends’
* Pray for a new wave of revival.