40 Days of Prayer and Fasting 2006 - Day 35

Focus: It’s not About Me.
By Charles White, IOC


Scripture Reference:
“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. The one who comes from above is above all…” (John 3:29-31a).

Devotional:

A devotional could be written about verse 29 but it is only included here as context for verse 30. Early in my Christian walk I learned about verse 30. I had been a Christian for only about 6 months when a friend at our church invited me to lunch. During that lunch he asked me to consider teaching a short course with him, “Living the True Christian Life”. I was cool on the outside but panicking on the inside! Who was I to teach anyone about Christianity when I still had so much to learn myself? My mind was racing for excuses and then, suddenly, I knew I had the answer that would get me out of doing this. I smugly told my friend, in a most humble way (sarcasm here!), that I really could not assume such responsibility because I just was not big enough to handle it yet. My friend smiled at me and the next words he uttered have stuck with me since that day: He said, “Charlie, it is not about how big you can be, but how small you can be and understanding how big our God is.” John the Baptist understood this perfectly. He had been getting a lot of attention but understood who Jesus was and is and put himself in the rightful place. John said it even more clearly in verse 31a,”The one who comes from above is above all…”

Prayer Points:

* Pray that we will understand and truly realize in our daily lives that this life is NOT about us but about Him.

* Pray that Mercy Ships corporately will continue to seek His will in all we undertake.

* Pray that we all individually will continue to grow in His likeness and will decrease as He increases.