30 Days of Prayer Day 9: The Pearl of Great Price

Jesus give us a parable, found in Matthew 13, about the kingdom of God.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

(Matthew 13:45-46)

Looking for the fine pearl

The merchant was looking for something.

In terms of evangelism, this can be a great sign of spiritual thirst, if we know what spiritual thirst looks like.

We see lots of signs of spiritual thirst in the New Testament and my conversations with people often touch upon themes of spiritual thirst.

The merchant was motivated to find the object of his search.

With that motivation, he searched, searched, and searched.

People who know they are spiritually thirsty are open to conversations, open to learning about Jesus, and open to learning about what it means to follow Jesus.

At the same time, they are open to reading whatever they can find about whatever religion they can read about in the local book store.

Their spiritual thirst propels them to look.

Pray that you will be in the right place at the right time to speak into their life.

Pray also that their search will lead them towards Jesus.

He found one of great value

When he saw it, he knew he had it.

There was a recognition of it’s worth, simply at a glace.

Like one who appreciates fine art and is moved by the details and story of the painting or sculpture, this man knew the value when he encountered it.

A violin is a violin.  But if you can prove that Stradivarius made the violin, it’s no longer a violin.  The value just went up astronomically.  The most recent highest price for such a violin was 3.54 Million USD (Source).  The value is in the eye of the beholder, as well as the story of the violin.

We pray that people who are seeking truth will see the astronomical value of the kingdom of heaven.

We pray that spiritual blindness will be removed so that our friend will see the value that causes them to surrender themselves to Christ.

Today’s Prayer

Lord, You know the hearts of my friends that I’m praying for.

You know what thirst they have.

Some know they are thirsty and are seeking answers to their questions.

Give me the eyes to see their spiritual thirst.

Grant me insight into their thirst.

Remove their spiritual blinders that keep them from seeing the value of the message of the kingdom of heaven.  Remove their blindness that they may see their need and the preciousness of salvation.

And then use me in such a way that I’ll point them to the river of living water, the bread of life.

Let me have conversations with them that may help answer questions and point to next steps.

Today’s Action

If you are praying through your list of friends, go one by one down the list and ask the Lord to show you who is like the merchant.

Ask the Lord to show you who is spiritually thirsty and ask the Lord to show you what that spiritual thirst is.

Then listen to see if you need to setup a coffee time with that friend to talk about their spiritual thirst.

Read this Evangelism Coach Tutorial on spiritual hunger

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