GATHER
Alone or with your family, community group, or friends, get comfortable in a quiet space. Grab a candle and matches. Dim the lights, and clear the space of the things that compete for our attention: iPads, phones, snacks or toys. We are going to look back over our entire week with God, and we don’t want to get distracted from seeing the times when Jesus has been with us.
(*Note*: families with very young children may wish to invite the children to simply reflect on one day, to keep it simpler.)
ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE
LEADER: We invite Jesus, the light of the world, to shine on our lives and help us see God. (Light the candle)
RESPONSE: The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
LEADER: Holy Spirit, shine your light on all that we have done in the past week. We are so grateful that you have been near us every day.
REFLECT ON MY DAY
Think back over your entire week.
- What did you do each day? Where did you go? How did you feel when you woke up in the morning?
- (Young children will need to be walked through their week with reminders: “Monday is the day we have music class! Do you remember anything that happened that day? Tuesday is when we have dinner with Grandma” - and so on.)
Ask God to help you remember the things you were thankful for this week:
- Was there a time I knew that Jesus was walking next to me? When did I know that someone loved me? What made me laugh this week? What did that feel like?
Ask God to help you remember the sad parts of your week:
- Is there anything I don’t want anyone to know that I did this week? Did I say anything I wish I could unsay? Did I cry this week? Did God ever feel far away?
OFFER MY DAY TO GOD
Take a deep breath. Let the moments that you remembered play like a movie in your mind. Ask God to show you why those are the moments he wanted you to remember. Ask God to show you where he was in your week (or in your day, for children who are just reviewing today).
Close in prayer from Isaiah 43:
We do not fear, O Lord our Creator, because you have redeemed us. You have called us by name: we are yours! Our days belong to you, and our nights too. Help us to see your saving hand always around us. Amen.
DAILY PRAYERS
MONDAY, MARCH 20
Psalm 19 announces: “The heavens tell about the glory of God. The skies show that his hands created them. Day after day they speak about it. Night after night they make it known.” Today, ask God to give you eyes to see him in the world he has made.
TUESDAY, MARCH 21
We live in a city full of so many different kinds of people! Every single person shows us something different about the God who made them. Pray for the grace to see God in every stranger we pass today.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22
Every person that we encounter in our neighborhood today — at school, at work, at the gym, on our sports teams, at our music lessons — has been made in the image of God. Ask God to help us look for his image in every person we talk to today.
THURSDAY, MARCH 23
It’s easy to go in and out of church and only pay attention to our friends. Ask God to help us see every person that worships with us on Sunday morning as our brother and our sister. Pray that we will pay attention to the Holy Spirit who draws us all together and tells us to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
FRIDAY, MARCH 24
Sometimes our family members drive us crazy! Sometimes we are so used to them that we take them for granted. Ask God today to help us remember that he made our family members, and that each of them bears God’s image in a special and unique way.
SATURDAY, MARCH 25
Today in prayer, repeat the words “I belong to God, and God dwells in me.” Ask God to help you remember that nothing can separate you from his love, and to grow in your daily awareness of his presence.