September 5 – Preparing and prepared for Sunday

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who seeks finds…” – Matthew 7:7-8a 

Scripture reading: Psalm 1:1-6

Tomorrow is Sunday. When I was young, it was common for families to prepare for worship. There were shoes to be polished, Sunday clothes laid out, and shirts ironed. Many women prepared the Sunday meal in advance, so it only needed to be heated up the next day. Why all this work on Saturday? Because Sunday was a day of rest to delight in God and receive His instruction.

Sunday is the day believers are to be prepared to ask the Spirit of God all things which are necessary for life in Christ. If you are rushing right up to Sunday morning, pulling your shoes on as you hop out the door and grab a coffee from a drive-through before going to church, you will arrive at church breathless, distracted and unprepared for the blessings in store.

Look at the calm serenity of the man of Psalm 1. He has distanced himself from the ungodly. He has begun to meditate on the Law of the Lord. When the people of God gather, he will be steeped in the word of God, acquainted with His will, and ready to ask God for whatever is needful for life in a whirlwind world that is opposed to God.

Perhaps Sundays have lost that aspect of delight for you? How prepared are you to receive from the hand of God His blessings? Have you separated yourself from the world, so that by delighting in Jesus, you are re-charged and ready to declare His goodness to everyone you meet in the coming week?

Suggestions for prayer

Spirit of God, teach me to prepare for the Sunday so that I may be ready to receive the blessings the Father has prepared for me in Christ. Ask that your joyful anticipation of Sunday may be an inspiration to others.

Rev. Richard T. Vander Vaart and his wife Carolyn are now in their seventh year living in Moncton, NB. with Redemption Prison Ministry as a pastor in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Canada. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com