Welcome to the Young Life Global Day of Prayer! As is our custom, we invite you to enjoy time alone with Jesus and then gather in teams to intercede for kids of all kinds. We've provided a Solitude Guide and a Guide for Teams to serve you in both efforts. May you experience the tender care of the Good Shepherd today, and may kids everywhere come to know the One who laid down His life for His beloved sheep. Thank you for joining the chorus of people across the planet who are praying on behalf of kids and the mission of Young Life.
Stealing Away With Jesus
Drawn from Mark 1:35-38.
There is an intriguing new app that can help you locate yourself on the planet without plugging in an address. Did you know that every 10 square feet of the globe has been mapped out and can be identified with a unique combination of three words? For example: mountain, meadow, river; or beach, boardwalk, pizza, would land you in two exact and different locations. It would be interesting to use the same technique to locate the disciples in the gospels. For example, if we plugged in perplexed, frustrated and annoyed, we might find Simon Peter and his friends standing over Jesus with their hands in the air and their voices on blast in Mark 1:37.
As was His custom, Jesus had disappeared very early in the morning to “a solitary place, where he prayed.” Imagine the disciples waking up hours after Jesus had slipped away, roused from their sleep by a clamoring crowd. It seemed everyone was always looking for Jesus, and this morning was no exception.
If this day were like most others, there would have been fathers pleading for healing for their daughters; mothers begging for deliverance for their sons; friends bearing the weight of broken bodies; and lepers looking to throw themselves at the feet of the Great Physician. A world of need was pressing in from all sides. Where in the world was Jesus?
When the disciples finally found the missing Master (at the crossroads of unhurried, surrendered and free) they couldn’t contain their exasperation. They exclaimed, “Everyone is looking for you!” It’s surprising how Jesus responded to His frustrated friends. Better yet, it’s surprising how Jesus did NOT respond.
Jesus did NOT say, “Oh, I’m sorry! I should have known the crowds would be clamoring for me this morning. Hurry up! Our work is calling! Let’s go give them everything they need!”
Jesus did NOT say, “This ministry we’ve launched in this community is clearly gaining momentum! We can’t stop now. Let’s ride this wave!”
Instead Jesus looked at His anxious disciples with counter-intuitive clarity and said, “Let’s go somewhere else … ”
“Let’s go somewhere else … ”
Who was this man? And how did He move about so freely in a broken world of desperate need? Jesus was clearly filled with compassion for the sick, hungry, blind and lame, yet here we discover He could also walk away from the clamoring crowds without looking back over His shoulder. He engaged and disengaged with loving detachment, the organic by-product of a deep and abiding intimacy with His Father. Who was this man? Who is He still today? And what does it mean to follow Him as we seek to reach a hurting world in His name?
There is certainly important and urgent work to be done in Young Life. There is a world of need pressing in from every side. Yet the greater the need, the noisier the crowds, the more important it is that we take our cues from the Master.
Jesus made it a regular practice to steal away to a solitary place and keep company with His Father. He attuned Himself to the Father’s voice and enjoyed an intimate relationship of mutual knowing and self-giving love. This relationship of deep knowing and generous love is what released Jesus to walk about freely in a hurting world, lovingly detached from the demands of the crowd, securely attached to the heart of His Father. It’s the same relationship that Jesus invites us to join Him in today.
This is the good news. Not just good news for a world of lost kids waiting to be found, but first and foremost it is good news for our own souls longing to be fully known and deeply loved.
Let’s come alongside Jesus, then, and start this Day of Prayer according to His custom. Let’s steal away to a solitary place, keep company with the Father, and become fully known and deeply loved by Him in prayer.
Sometimes it can seem impossible to find a solitary place to keep company with Jesus. If you live in a city, are tied to the office or have a house full of kids, retreating into silence and solitude might be a challenge. The good news is, there is a sacred space within each of us where we can steal away with Jesus. We are the temple of God, and within that temple is the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10:19), where the Father, Son and Spirit wait to greet us with grace and peace.
The Lord is glad to gently lead you into that secret and sacred place, just as He is glad to welcome you when you arrive. Take a moment to become more aware of God’s presence within you and all around you. Take a moment to ask Jesus to lead you into that solitary place within.
Feel His warm welcome, and begin to relax in His presence, just as you are.
As you settle into silence, what three words would you share with Jesus that help locate your soul today?
Unpack the words that come to mind with Him. Show up as yourself in His loving care.
Pause for a moment and consider, what three words would Jesus like to offer you in return? What would He like you to know about His position and His posture as He welcomes you in these moments?
This simple prayer might be helpful to anchor you in His presence: “Lord, here I am, and I am _________, _________ and __________. Lord, here You are, and You are ________, ________ and ________. Thank You for receiving me as I am, and for offering Yourself to me. Lord, here we are.”
Linger in the company of Jesus before moving on.
Who Is This Man?
Drawn from John 9:1-25.
Jesus was often misunderstood, and the work He did sometimes created confusion among those who witnessed His work firsthand. For example, one day Jesus came across a man born blind, which provoked a theological conversation among the disciples. A theological conversation about a person who lived daily with deep pain. What the disciples actually said was, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The gist of the discussion, however, was, “Jesus, who can we blame for suffering in this world?”
In response, Jesus diverted the disciples’ attention from the man in question and turned their attention to His Father. Jesus delivered the man born blind from an identity rooted in fear and shame and revealed him as a cherished son who was created to display God’s glory. Certainly he was not an object to be analyzed for settling theological debates. Then Jesus did the unexpected. He mixed spit and dirt to make mud and put it on the man’s eyes. Immediately the man was healed and “came home seeing.”
Jesus’ medical technique was anything but orthodox, but putting mud in a man’s eyes was not what got people talking. The blind man’s neighbors and larger community immediately devolved into chaos and confusion. Everyone had questions. Who is this man who was supposedly healed? Isn’t he a sinner? How is it that he can now see?
Finally, they dragged the man before the religious leaders for a thorough investigation. The entire community was now swirling with questions, but now it was Jesus who was in the eye of the gathering storm: ‘Who is this man who allegedly healed you?’ the religious leaders asked. ‘Isn’t he a sinner, too? Clearly, he is not from God, because he healed you on the Sabbath!’
The man born blind offered a single, clear-eyed answer. “One thing I do know,” he said to the suspicious leaders. “I was blind but now I see.”
Pause and reflect.
Consider your own experience of Jesus. If you were to be caught in a storm of swirling questions about Him, how would you complete the sentence, “One thing I do know … ” What is it that you know about Jesus? What do you know so deeply that it can withstand a swirling storm? (You may want to list more than one thing!)
How did you come to know what you know most deeply about Jesus?
If Jesus were caught in a swirling storm of questions about you, how would He complete the same sentence? What is one thing (or many) that He knows deeply about you?
Consider your answers to these questions. What do they reveal to you about your view of God? What do they reveal about how you perceive God’s view of you?
What conversation would you like to have with the Lord about this?
May the Lord give you eyes to see Him as He is, a loving God full of kindness and compassion who is entirely smitten with you. (See Song of Songs 7:10.)
The Good Shepherd
Drawn from John 10:1-15.
The unfolding account in John 9:1-25 is worth reading — if you like chaos and confusion and a pointed discussion about who is blind and who can actually see. In John 10, however, Jesus cuts through the chaos and confusion with piercing clarity.
After the man who could now see refused to denounce Jesus, the Pharisees threw him out of the synagogue. Jesus quickly went to find the man to console him. Some of the Pharisees were apparently following him, perhaps keeping a jaundiced eye on the man, looking for the next opportunity to ensnare him. Then, in a dramatic move that forever changed our understanding of Jesus, the Master stepped boldly between the circling wolves and their chosen prey with a pointed declaration.
“Among those who care for God’s people there are thieves, robbers and strangers,” Jesus said, giving the Pharisees three stinging words and daring them to locate themselves on the planet.
Then Jesus located Himself in our lives forever with three words that stood in stark contrast to the Pharisees’ coordinates. He said, “I am the good shepherd.”
Again, it is helpful to consider what Jesus did NOT say. He did not say, “A good shepherd.” He said, “The.” He did not say, “The great shepherd,” or “The best shepherd ever.” He said, “good.” And He did not say, “The good coach; or the good task master; or the good general marching an army up a hill.” He said, “The good shepherd.”
Pause and reflect.
What do you suppose Jesus was trying to tell us by locating Himself in our lives with these three words? What questions come to mind for you? What observations? What encourages you? Do you notice any resistance within you? If so, what is that resistance trying to tell you?
Compared to “great” and “best ever,” “good” is a humble word that invites us to plumb the depths of its meaning. In Exodus 33:18, Moses asks to see God’s glory; God replies by offering to show Moses His goodness. In Scripture, “glory” is a synonym for God’s “essence.” It seems God is trying to tell Moses, “My essence is goodness.”
What does it mean to you that Jesus would choose the word “good” to describe His essence as a shepherd?
Recall a time when you’ve tasted and seen that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8). What did His goodness “taste” like?
Take a moment to remember and savor the taste of His goodness as you’ve experienced it in the past. Trust that you will experience it again in the future. Give thanks to God.
Known and Loved
Continuing with John 10:1-15.
Jesus chose three words to locate Himself in our lives, then He unpacked those three words for the Pharisees and the man who could now see.
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. “I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Pause and imagine for a moment the man who could now see, sitting on the steps of the synagogue, bits of dried mud still stuck to his cheeks, arms sore from where the religious leaders had grabbed him to throw him out onto the street. His clear eyes are fixed on Jesus, drinking in every contour, line and feature of His face like a cup of cool water after decades of severe drought.
Jesus locks eyes with this man and penetrates his soul with a wordless gaze. Suddenly the man who can now see is hearing — rather — he is feeling the words of Jesus wash over him and through him like a cleansing rain or a healing balm.
He knows me, the man thinks. He really knows me. Then, from deep within, something opens up inside of him that feels like the warm sun rising at the break of dawn. From that warm light deep within he hears his own soul whisper, I am known.
Now imagine yourself as the man (or woman) who can now see. Imagine that you’re now the one Jesus has locked eyes with in this tender moment. You’re the one now sitting beneath the weight of His loving gaze. What do you see in His face? What do you feel in your body? What would Jesus like you to know deeply within your soul?
Pause and reflect.
Take a moment to turn to Psalm 139:1-6. Read the words of David slowly and more than once. As you read, be mindful that you’re reading under the loving gaze of the Good Shepherd. Ask Him for the grace to recognize His kind and gentle voice and to feel His tender care.
What words or phrases are you drawn to in the passage? What is the Lord stirring in you with those words and phrases? An image? A feeling? A thought? A desire? Express to the Lord what you’re thinking or feeling or wanting in these moments. Listen for His gentle response to you.
Lingering in Love
We’d like to invite you to end this time of solitude and silence by taking a moment to write yourself a loving letter from Jesus in your journal or on a notepad. Here are some prompts to help:
Dear precious child of mine,
As I gaze upon you, I see …
(Consider thoughts, feelings, desires, struggles. What does Jesus see in you in these moments? Be as specific and detailed as you can be. Take a moment to feel fully seen.)
I see you. I know you. I love you. My heart is filled with delight when I think about you. I am so filled with delight in you, there is no room for criticism or condemnation or shame. I hope you will take a moment to feel the deep gladness and joy I feel in your presence. Would you be willing to feel it now with Me?
(Perhaps write what God’s delight in you feels like — or might feel like, if you are having trouble accessing that feeling. To what would you compare it? How would you describe the feeling of delight-filled love?)
I know there are also parts of you that you’ve hidden away because you think they are unpresentable. You think I couldn’t possibly look upon those parts of you and still love you. I’m glad to tell you that you’re wrong about that. You’re wrong about Me. I long for every part of you to feel the weight and warmth of my loving gaze. Would you be willing to bring …
(Name whatever part(s) of you that you consider unworthy of God’s love.)
… out from the shadows? Would you be willing to let me know all of you and love all of you in this way?
(Take a few moments to accept the Lord’s invitation and feel His warm welcome to all of who you are. You might say, “Lord, I want to offer you _____________,” and name the part(s) of you that you’re bringing into His loving care.)
My precious child, what would you like to say to Me in these moments?
(Take a moment to respond to Jesus in writing.)
Thank you for stealing away with Me to this solitary place to be deeply known and loved.
~Jesus
As you begin to transition out of solitude and silence into the world that awaits, what treasures from this time would you like to take with you? Write them down, and give thanks to God.
Here is one more treasure, this one from Tim Keller:
“To be loved and not known is superficial.
To be known and not loved is our nightmare.
Only Jesus knows us to the bottom and loves us to the sky.”
Only Jesus. The good shepherd. What a privilege to be known and loved by Him.
© 2004-2023 Young Life. All rights reserved.