Wednesday - The Letter of James (Luke 12:15-21)
Welcome to Daily Prayer. This week we've been exploring the prophetic warning of James that he
gives to the rich who take advantage of their workers and hoard wealth. Today we look at Jesus'
warning about the foolishness of living to accumulate possessions.
As we begin our time together, let's quiet our hearts and minds before the Lord.
Lord, we come to you to be restored.
Only you can satisfy.
Satisfy us with your unfailing love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Protect us from the evil one and all the temptations of this life.
Without you we can do nothing, Lord.
Inspire us to see and act on the wisdom of your Word.
A Scripture reading from Luke 12:15-21:
"15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 'This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.'"
A prayer of adoration:
Lord, you have made the riches of your kingdom available to us. You have showered us with grace and
kindness. You've shown us the meaning and purpose of life. You've displayed your great love for us,
and you've made known to us the path of life.
You are the great treasure of this life, and we rejoice that we are your children.
A prayer of confession:
Lord, you tell us to watch out for all kinds of greed. but we confess that we've not been on guard.
We have not taken seriously that it can enslave us and capture our hearts.
Lord, you've taught us where your treasure is, that's where your heart's going to be.
We confess that even though you've shown us the purpose of life, we have turned to other things.
We want ease and happiness and have not had your glory or the good of others as guiding values in
our lives. Forgive us, Lord.
There is nothing greater, no one greater than you, but we have lived as if you were one of many
things worth living for.
We're full of anxiety and fear about the future, so we've accumulated for ourselves.
Forgive us for not trusting that you will take care of us.
Forgive us for being short-sighted and unbelieving. We've hoarded wealth.
We have guarded against others joining our friendships.
Lord, in so many ways we've been greedy.
Forgive us for not taking your Word or warning seriously.
Forgive us for not trusting in your generosity and goodness.
Forgive us for acting like orphans in the world.
A prayer of intercession:
Lord, I pray that you would fill us with a revelation of eternity and fill us with the values of your kingdom.
Oh God, we are your children. We want to display great faith and hope and love.
I pray for those who are caught up in the cares of this life. Do what needs to be done to set them
free from any trap the enemy has set.
Lord, wake us up. Let us see things as they really are.
We pray for those who are experiencing financial difficulty or uncertainty. May their hope rest in
you in the middle of this unknown season.
And Lord, show us how to be rich toward you.
Help us to take your promises seriously.
and make us a generous and kingdom-minded people.
Let your light shine through our lives.
A moment of reflection:
Lord, you call us to act wisely and faithfully with our resources, and we don't want to deceive
ourselves about our motives. You tell us to watch out for all kinds of greed. We ask for your help,
Lord. Would you show us anywhere where we're excessively storing up resources, and you want us to
take the extra and share it with others in need? Would you show us, Lord?
Lord, we want to joyfully share with people in need.
We say yes to you doing a work in us.
Oh God, we want people to see how valuable you are.
Holy Spirit, open our hearts to be generous to others.
Let's listen to the passage again:
"15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 'This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.'"
And now our weekly verse to memorize and embrace together:
James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
A closing prayer:
Father, free us to live with open hands and an undivided heart.
Help us to receive earthly blessings with gratitude as gifts, to enjoy what you give and share
freely with others with humility.
Teach us to place our hope fully in you,
to be rich in good works, and to invest our lives in the things that matter forever.
May all we say and do bring honor and glory to you.
In the name of Jesus,
amen.