Daily Prayer Guide - Praying to a God Who Knows You By Name

Read: John 20:11-18

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Also, John 10:3-4

Consider:

We can get so caught up in the circumstances of our lives.  When we face great challenges, concerns, doubts, fears and pain it can be so difficult to see anything else that may be happing around us.  Mary was distraught to the depths of her soul.  She was feeling the very real pain of the death of someone she loved, but also the confusion and despair of her own life.  Jesus had taught her so much, about God and about herself.  But now her grief kept her from seeing anything but her painful circumstance.

The glory of God’s presence filled the tomb.  Angels sitting where his body previously laid, but she couldn’t sense it.  Could these have been some of the same angels who had previously been part of the heavenly choir and proclaimed his birth while the infant Jesus laid in a manger?  Now they came from heaven to roll away the stone and linger on the cold stone slab where Jesus dead body had just been? Where ever they go they bring God’s glory. 

In compassion they asked Mary, ‘why are you crying?’.  They could see what was going on, they could see their Lord and God standing right behind her.  But she couldn’t see who it was that was really with her, she couldn’t see them as angels, nor when she turned could she see that the man standing there was the one her heart was breaking for.  That was beyond the capabilities of her vision in the moment.  Can we not be the same way?  So caught up in the challenges of the moments that we fail to see God’s presence with us?

And then Jesus says her name.  “Mary.” That is all it took for the cloud of circumstances to be lifted.  His voice cleared her mind.  His call immediately soothed her heart and in amazement she calls out “Teacher”! 

Jesus taught them that he was the good shepherd and that his sheep would know his voice and now Mary’s heart proved that lesson true.  Jesus knew her by name.  He knew her personally.  He knew her past, he knew the pain of her present situation and he knows the life that is ahead of her.   The presence of Jesus always brings clarity to any situation.  He tells her of the extraordinary relationship she now has with God the Father through himself.  This unbelievable encounter with Jesus shakes her of the consuming hold that her circumstances have gripped her.  His presence frees her to enter back into her day with energy, joy and the news that will ultimately change the world.  The presence of Jesus always brings clarity and power to overcome any circumstance and gives us a message that can change the lives of people in our world. 

Prayer: Father, Thank you that Jesus, our good shepherd, knows us and calls us by name.  Thank you that Jesus always brings clarity to the situations of our lives and we can sense his presence with us.

·      Thank God that you belong to him and that your name is in his book.

·      Thank him that his presence brings clarity into your situations.

·      Ask him to help you deal with the challenges & confusion of your day and to help you to see his glory.

·      Ask him to be near those who are struggling with sickness, death and loss due to COVID19.

·      Ask that our leaders would know and hear his voice as they make difficult decisions today.

·       

Father, Thank you that you are always for your children, to care for, led and be near us.  Help us to be aware of you throughout our days so our lives may bring you glory.   Amen 

Meditate: John 10:3-4

³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.