Pray. Act. Pray Again. A 40-Day Walk with God
Week 4: Mary Endures the Unjust Accusations against Jesus
Download the full Study Notes: https://www.peterboroughumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Pray-Act-Lenten-Study-2021-Study-Notes.pdf
When Jesus sees His mother, His pain is multiplied as he sees that His pain is causing untold anguish. He is disfigured with blood and sweat, with dust and spittle. It is hard to imagine the grief felt by Mary as she witnessed these terrible events.
As a contrast, consider the Song of Mary (Magnificat) when she finds she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God:
From Book of Common Prayer:
My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath helped his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever.
Through the prayers this week, consider what we might learn from the mother of Jesus and how she responded.
• Day 17, Monday: We Love Fervently.
• Day 18, Tuesday: We Wait Patiently.
• Day 19, Wednesday: We Resist Evil.
• Day 20, Thursday: We Trust Fully.
• Day 21, Friday: We Abide in Faith.
• Day 22, Saturday: We Face Troubling Times.
• 4th Sunday in Lent
Focus Verse: Day 18 – Wait on the Lord (Adapted from Psalm 27:1, Psalm 33, 20-22) My soul waits for You, Lord. From You I gather strength and trust. Yes, I wait for You, Lord. You are my help and my shield. My heart rejoices in You because I trust Your holy name. I ask for Your loving kindness to be upon me, Lord, as I have waited for You. Amen
Sometimes the most difficult action is to wait. It means that we have to trust in God, to continually look to him for help and to be in a state of expectation that He will act on our behalf. It is particularly hard to wait when we witness terrible things happening around us and wonder whether God will ever bring justice to the world.
Study Questions:
1. Have there ever been times in your life when you have seen a loved one treated unfairly. How have you responded?
2. What do the prayers for this week tell you about the nature of man? What do they tell you about the nature of God?
3. What is your personal response to waiting on the Lord, and abiding in His love? How can we exercise fervent love in the face of evil and trouble?
Week 4 of Lent
Day 17 Focus: Our Fervent Love Glorifies God
(Monday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) Our focus for this week is on how Mary, the mother of Jesus, endures seeing her son unjustly accused and eventually executed. When you sit today to rest for five minutes, reflect on how quickly uninformed judgments and mob rule can destroy a person’s reputation. Ask God to show our Beloved Community how to be patient so we do not we rush to judgment of others.
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After Reading the scripture adaptation, take 5 minutes to concentrate on the part that speaks to you today.
Adapted from I Peter 4:7-11. Dear Lord, I ask to be of sound judgment and sober spirit in order to keep an open link with You through prayer. Above all keep me fervent in my love for others, because Your love covers a multitude of sins. Help me to be hospitable to others without complaint. Help me to recognize and acknowledge that each one has received a special gift and help me to encourage others to employ their gift in serving one another so that all will be good stewards of Your manifold grace. I pray that when I speak, let me speak utterances pleasing to You; when I serve, let me do so by the strength that You supply, so that in all things You may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer and marking the part that speaks to you, write about your thoughts.
Level 4: (30-60 minutes) You may have noticed that the prayers in our book are written in the first person, and our emphasis is on each person forming a personal relationship with Jesus. This year I am trying to expand the concept by opening up the relationship to include forming Beloved Communities that understand how God wants us to love and will not pit us against each other. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked frequently about forming Beloved Communities. Certainly in 2018, forming this would be a worthy goal. So when I read, “I pray that when I speak, let me speak utterances pleasing to You; when I serve, let me do so by the strength that You supply,” I am convicted. It is so easy to be critical of people with whom we disagree. What can we do to show God’s fervent love to the world? How can we be united even if we see the world differently? How can we help people like Mary who watch their loved ones endure cruelty at the hands of ill informed and impatient people? What kind of restorative work could we do if “when we spoke, we only uttered words that were pleasing to God; and when we served, we did so by the strength that God supplies”?
Day 18 Focus: When we wait patiently, we are protected from rushing into calamity.
(Tuesday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) As you breathe deeply today, try smiling. Think of times when you were patient, and if none come to mind, think of a time when you saw someone be patient. Does a patient person help you to slow down?
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After Reading the scripture adaptation, be patient. Do not rush to discover what words from this scripture inspire you. Adapted from Psalm 27:14, Psalm 33:20-22, Psalm 130:5- 6. My soul waits for You, Lord. My soul waits, and in Your word I do hope. My soul waits for You more than those who watch for the morning — Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. From You I gather strength and trust. Yes, I wait for You, Lord. You are my help and my shield. My heart rejoices in You because I trust Your holy name. I ask for Your loving kindness to be upon me, Lord, as I wait for You. Amen.
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer, take 5 minutes to write about the word or phrase that inspired you.
Level 4: (30-60 minutes) Waiting is difficult. I read recently that one of the more irritating stress points for people happens when someone “cuts in front of a group that has been waiting patiently.” Then I remember a woman in a Bible Study I was leading. She talked about being in a check out line at the grocery store where a woman behind her was making all kinds of unkind remarks about how slow the teller was. The woman from our group turned and said, “I can see that you are really stressed, why don’t you go next in front of me.” The woman who was stressed was surprised, but she became quiet and gladly swapped places. Later a man in the same line behind our classmate asked why she let that rude woman in front of her, and she replied, “I really am not in rush, and she obviously was. She may have had a sick child or a meeting that was important. I just wanted to be kind.”
We had a robust discussion that night about “taking our turn,” but I left thinking the woman who allowed someone to go in front of her was consistently kind and did not put herself first. Her character was peaceful beyond understanding. I have a mug that a dear friend gave me with the verse from Jeremiah 29.11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” It is my “go to” cup in the morning. The words that inspired me from this scripture today are: “I wait for You, Lord. You are my help and my shield. My heart rejoices in You because I trust Your holy name. What actions can we practice as a Beloved Community to show we do trust in God and in God’s timing? When has waiting made a difference in your life?
Day 19 Focus: God’s eternal grace gives us the strength to resist evil.
(Wednesday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) As you breathe deeply today, let God’s grace permeate your entire body.
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After reading the scripture adaptation, take 5 minutes to consider how God’s Grace will strengthen us as individuals and as a Beloved Community.
Adapted from I Peter 5:6-10. Help me, Lord, to humble myself under Your mighty hand, that You may exalt me at the proper time. I cast all my anxiety upon You, because You care for me like no one else can. I ask to be of sober spirit on the alert. I know that my adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But with Your power I can resist him, firm in my faith, knowing that all Christians in the world are experiencing temptation and suffering. Even if I must suffer for a little while, I know that You, the God of all grace, who calls us to Your eternal glory in Christ, will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish me. I claim all of this with a joyful heart in the name of Jesus. Amen
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer, take 5 minutes to write about what humility means to you?
Level 4: (30-60 minutes) Humility is tricky. If you win the award for being the most humble—does the award negate the action? I mean if we strive to be the most humble, isn’t that a bit audacious? Humility is the ability to say—“God, I need help.” Then, when help comes, I need to accept it. Have you ever been strengthened by God or by another person in such a way that you were humbled, perfected, confirmed, and strengthened beyond what you knew you were able to accomplish? Have you ever witnessed God’s grace empower an entire Beloved Community?
Day 20 Focus: We can trust our hearts to God.
(Thursday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) As you breathe deeply today, focus on your ability to trust that God loves you—just as you are.
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After Reading the scripture adaptation, take 5 minutes to respond to this prayer personally and collectively.
Adapted from Psalm 28: 6-9. Blessed is the Lord, because You hear the voice of my supplication. Lord, You are my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in You and I am helped. Therefore my heart exults and with my song I thank You! You are my strength and a saving defense to Your anointed. By Your grace continue to bless the people of Your inheritance and be my shepherd forever. Amen.
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer, take 5 minutes to write about when you have experienced being able to trust God and/or others?
Level 4: (30-60 minutes)
Day 21 Focus: Prevenient grace abides in us always.
(Friday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) As you breathe deeply today, focus.
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After Reading the scripture adaptation, take 5 minutes.
Adapted from I John 4:7-21. Dear Father, help me to love others, for love is from You and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. If I cannot share Your love, then I do not know You, for You are pure love. I believe in faith that You sent Your only begotten Son into the world so that I might live through Him. In this is love, not that I loved You, but that You loved me first and sent Your Son to be the propitiation for my sins. I therefore confess that Jesus is Your only Son, that You abide in Him and He in You. I have come to know and believe the love, which You have for me through Jesus. Thereby give me the power to love my brother as fervently as You have loved me. Amen.
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer, take 5 minutes to write about?
Level 4: (30-60 minutes)
Day 22 Focus: God is our strength and our shield in troubling times.
(Saturday)
Level 1: (5 Minutes) As you breathe deeply today, focus.
Level 2: (10 minutes) Do Level 1. After Reading the scripture adaptation, take 5 minutes.
Adapted from Psalm 37. Dear Lord, give me the strength and wisdom not to fret because of evil doers, not to be envious toward wrongdoers for they wither quickly like the grass. Instead I trust in You, Lord, to do good. I delight myself in You, Lord, and You give me the desires of my heart. I commit my way to You, Lord, and trust only in You. You bring forth Your righteousness as the light and Your judgment as the noonday. I rest in You, Lord, and wait patiently for You. I will not fret because of the men who carry out evil schemes. I cease from anger and forsake wrath. Fretting leads only to evildoing. I claim the promise for myself that those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land. You, Lord, establish my steps, and I delight in Your way. If I fall, I shall not be hurled headlong because You, Lord, are the One who holds my hand. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. You are my strength in time of trouble. It is only You, Lord, who helps me and delivers me. Amen.
Level 3: (15 minutes) After pausing to breathe and reading the Scripture prayer, take 5 minutes to write about?
Level 4: (30-60 minutes)
Day 22. Strength in Time of Trouble
Adapted from Psalm 37. Dear Lord, give me the strength and wisdom not to fret because of evil doers, not to be envious toward wrongdoers for they wither quickly like the grass. Instead I trust in You, Lord, to do good. I delight myself in You, Lord, and You give me the desires of my heart. I commit my way to You, Lord, and trust only in You. You bring forth Your righteousness as the light and Your judgment as the noonday. I rest in You, Lord, and wait patiently for You. I will not fret because of the men who carry out evil schemes. I cease from anger and forsake wrath. Fretting leads only to evildoing. I claim the promise for myself that those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land. You, Lord, establish my steps, and I delight in Your way. If I fall, I shall not be hurled headlong because You, Lord, are the One who holds my hand. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. You are my strength in time of trouble. It is only You, Lord, who helps me and delivers me. Amen.
