Presence

Jesus waits, silent and unseen, to come into my heart.
I will respond to His call.
He comes with His infinite power and love.
May I be filled with joy in His presence.

Freedom

Heavenly Father, make me conscious of whatever burden I am carrying today and give me the grace to place it at the foot of Your Cross and so enter freely into this time of prayer.

Consciousness

Conscious of Your presence, Lord,
I look over my recent past.
Let me be honest with myself about how I’ve been
And what I’ve done,
because I know You love truth in the heart
and accept me just as I am.

The Word of God

³⁷While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. ³⁸The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹So give as alms those things that are within and then everything will be clean for you.

Inspiration

Another table situation, where a Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him. The Pharisee was overly concerned about ritual cleanliness and washing beforehand. Lord, while we value external cleanliness, we pray that we may be blessed in having clean hearts.

Jesus drew attention to the internal, giving examples of the cup and dish. What they contained within was more significant than how they appeared on the outside. May we be wise enough to know what to value and keep our focus on that, while giving freely of ourselves and what we have, as Jesus asked.

Conversation

Friends don’t keep secrets from one another.
As I pray, can I look at Jesus as my friend
and share my innermost thoughts with Him,
trusting that He understands?

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen