Pray, er?

Today during my school fellowship's prayer meeting, I realized that when we pray for other people's prayer requests, we often just repeat what they say. And frankly, there's not really a point in being so redundant. We always say we want to pray for someone's prayer request but we often focus more on the request than the person him/herself. If that was the way to pray for people, then we might as well start each prayer with "Dear God", then coldly read a list of requests and end with "Amen". When we pray, let's pray specifically FOR the individual and try to see what God wants for this person. Pray intentionally to encourage, uplift and with a caring heart. God made us unique and individual, with individual plans for each one of us, so let's pray specifically for the individual.

Come to serve and not be served

Matthew 20:27-28 writes:
"and whatever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransome to many."

I was reflecting on this passage and also reading a book that was speaking on this passage as well. What a challenging passage - that if we want to be first and if we want to be recognized; we need to serve others. I was contemplating how as Christians our lives would influence others? Isn't our influence through service? Think about how you affect and influence people? Is it through your power and how strong you maybe? or is it through the simple acts of love and kindness? Is it more about how you serve and care for something that really shakes up someone's life?
May you have the heart of a servant.