May 15 - Prayer - Comments/Questions - Verses

May 15

Heavenly Father, as I think about the fact we are called to be "set apart" from those who are not Your children, I can't help but think about the different ways we find ourselves "set apart" at different times and in different situations. I have had times where I was shunned and "set apart" not of my own choosing, but because of someone else's decision to not like me or not accept me, sometimes for something I have said or done, but in all honestly it is usually about being snubbed because I'm not thin enough, rich enough, smart enough, pretty enough...or any of the "enoughs" the world wants to attach to me. I can't help but wonder what Jesus was shunned for. Although there were many who flocked to hear Him preach and see Him perform miracles, it wasn't always for the right reasons that they wanted to be near Him. Of course He could see right through them and knew their motives better than they did.

As I am thinking about being "set apart" I know it needs to be that I am "set apart" from the world because I belong to Jesus, not these other reasons we sometimes find ourselves on the outside looking in. Father, give me the strength to do the things You call me to do so I would set myself apart from the world and the people in the world who focus on living a life of pleasure rather than a life that reflects You and Your love. Help me be obedient, sure footed and proud to be shunned because I love Jesus. If that is why I am "set apart", let me go all out as I work to represent Him and You well. Help me always remember that Your call might not be easy, but it is always worth it. It might not "feel" worth it in the moment, but Father, help me rely on what I know and not how I feel. Help me remember the value in my life, is knowing Jesus, not anything I can claim to have done.

Let me be set apart for His name.

Let me be set apart for Your glory.

Let me be set apart because I shared You with a lost and dying world.

In Jesus' name.

Amen!