A 30 DAY SEASON OF DAILY PRAYER STARTING SEPTEMBER 9TH
This devotional will focus on reaching the unreached in the mornings and in the evenings the devotionals posted earlier this year, on Jesus in the Psalms will be re-posted. Each day for 30 days posts will be uploaded starting September 9th
The ends of the earth ..ARE NOW ON OUR DOORSTEP!
Currently, there is a significant opportunity in Europe for those unreached, and those on fire for Jesus to come together as one. “The nations are bringing passion back to the church in Europe. The biggest churches in London are Nigerian. Latin Americans are bringing passion to the church in Spain”.[1] At the same time migrants and asylum seekers are coming to Europe. Some are already Christian, many are unreached. Europe was evangelized by missionary monks over 1000 years ago. It is time to pray for a new army of missionary monks, wild horses, released from the nations to this new frontier here in Europe.
Jesus revealed himself in the scriptures on the road to Emmaus, and Cleopas’ heart burned within him. As we read the Old Testament together in the light of the New Testament, and see Jesus revealed, in this 30 day devotional, may our hearts be kindled afresh with a passion for Jesus the Living word, and to see Him revealed to the least, the last and the lost in Europe.
Each day there will be prayer for one of the 30 largest unreached people groups in Europe, and you will be directed to the Joshua project website for more information to help you pray. Each day there will be prayer for one of the 30 largest unreached people groups in Europe, and you will be directed to the Joshua project website for more information to help you pray.
Lord, unblock the well of the Living Word!
[1] Mandryk, J and Riviera, JM. ‘Make the church in Europe one!’ In: Waters, JJ et al. United Prayer: Rising Tides. 2019: 4.
CONTENT
This devotional prayer guide will do the following:
1) Focus on Jesus, revealed in the Hebrew scriptures, the Old Testament. This is how Jesus interpreted the Hebrew scriptures on the road to Emmaus with Cleopas.
2) Remind us of our spiritual history and the missionary monks who evangelized Europe over a 1000 years ago.
3) Encourage us to pray for the largest 30 unreached people groups in Europe, the current frontier missionary opportunity on our doorstep, and the unleashing of another missionary monastic movement.
4) Include a daily devotional looking for Christ in the psalms. When Augustine read the psalms in the light of Paul’s insights about Christ’s crucified human humility, Scripture opened up to him.
HOW TO USE THIS DEVOTIONAL: UNBLOCK THE WELL OF THE LIVING WORD
Our hearts are like wells. They are to be guarded for they are a well-spring of life. How did Jesus guard his heart? He woke up early in the morning to talk to his Father, and the psalms were clearly his prayer book.
Are you thirsty for Jesus the Living Word? Jesus said: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4). This original expression means ‘is continually coming out of the mouth of God’; it is like a stream pouring forth and, like the stream of a fountain, it is never static.”[1]
MORNING DEVOTIONAL
HEBREW SCRIPTURES
Each morning you will be guided through the Old Testament in the order of books that constitute the Hebrew Scriptures. This devotional will highlight the reading of the Old in the light of the New, seeking to meet Jesus the Living Word in the books of the Old Testament, inspired by Jesus on the road to Emmaus. SeeLuke 24:13 -35,[2] below
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.”
When Luke says that their eyes were opened and they recognised him, the disciples’ faculties of perception were opened in such a way that they now not only recognised Jesus but also recognised the Scriptures to have been opened by Jesus’ readings. Richard Hays says that reading the Old Testament anew in the light of the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection opens both text and reader to new previously and unimagined possibilities. When we read the Scriptures in this way as Jesus revealed them to Cleopas and his friend, God’s burning heart of love is revealed for us. This is the fellowship of the burning heart.’ It is not a passive, docile love, it is a volcanic desire in the heart of God. As the Father loves us, with that same intensity, we are to love Him. This is the essence of what salvation is all about. Salvation is so much more than escaping hell, and it is so much more than a ministry mandate – we are called to the fellowship of the burning heart.’[3] As we read the bible backwards, with Jesus the exegete, the definitive interpreter of “the things about himself in all the scriptures” starting with the New Testament, we read of a jealous God, with a burning heart, who is jealous like a bridegroom for his bride. We need to love him with all our heart, mind soul and strength and to be reminded of the importance of the “fear of God.” Then we will have an appropriate response to Jesus, our bridegroom, king and judge. The appropriate response to a bridegroom is to love Him, to a judge is to fear Him and to a king is to obey him.
MISSIONARY MONKS
Each morning this devotional will look at a missionary monk who went before us in laying apostolic foundations in Europe. A Discipleship Making Movement (DMM) has already happened in Europe! It all began over 1500 years ago! We can be inspired by what happened in the past and ask the Lord to do it again!
A monastic well of devotion to Jesus was opened, which became a missionary monastic movement, when Anthony became the legendary pioneer of Egyptian monasticism. From the beginning “solitude” was seen by the Egyptian monks as a basis for ‘compassionate ministry to ones neighbour’. A missionary emphasis did not feature until the third and fourth century monasticism but early on, Egyptian monks were very committed to hospitality. Contemplation and service went hand in hand. Egyptian monasticism spread to France and the British Isles. Martin of Tours was the first monk-bishop in the western church to demonstrate missionary convictions. Augustine of Hippo’s “Exposition on the psalms” influenced Western missionary monasticism over the centuries that followed his death. Ninian, Patrick, Colomba and Aiden all established huge legacies for Europe, following monastic lifestyles that had a huge effect on spreading Christianity across Europe. Although Benedict’s rule was not explicitly evangelistic, small groups of Benedictine monks became like a beacon set on a hill and were hugely influential in transforming Europe with a biblical Christian worldview. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to England. Colombanus left Ireland and started many monasteries, which were a base for mission across modern-day France and into Italy. Wilfrid and Cuthbert had monastic lifestyles and were responsible for the further Christianizing of the British isles. Willibrord, Boniface and Alcuin of York, were missionary monks who brought the Gospel and established missionary monasteries in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Anskar and Sigrid of Sweden did much the same for Scandanavia. Cyril and Methodius did the same again for Eastern Europe. Cyril’s bible translation was the reason he created what is now known as the Cyrillic script, now used by 250 million peoples in Eurasia. Francis of Assisi, Peter Waldo and Dominic de Gusman were all spiritual fathers of humble lay monastic movements that were strongly missional and continued to preach the Gospel and live out a kingdom lifestyle across Europe and beyond. Missional monasticism was however undermined by the growth of academies and universities across Europe that became increasingly influenced by the Reformation and the Enlightenment, that focussed on right doctrine and objective knowledge rather than on Jesus.
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS IN EUROPE
Each morning this devotional will encourage prayer for one of the thirty largest unreached people groups in Europe. [4] (listed in descending order below). Data provided by Joshua Project. Each morning click on unreached people group in bold and you will be directed to the Joshua Project website. (Data provided by Joshua Project https://www.joshuaproject.net)
| People Group | Location | Number | Primary religion | Primary language | |
| 1 | South Asian general, | United Kingdom | 3,062,00 | Hinduism | Hindi |
| 2 | Turk | Germany | 2,802,000 | Islam | Turkish |
| 3 | Bosniak | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 1,606,000 | Islam | Bosnian |
| 4 | Albanian | Kosovo | 1,500,000 | Islam | Albanian |
| 5 | Arab,general | Italy | 1,203,000 | Islam | Arabic,Libyan |
| 6 | Arab Moroccan | Spain | 792,000 | Islam | Arabic, Morocco |
| 7 | Berber, Kabyle | France | 710,000 | Islam | Kabyle |
| 8 | Gujerati, | UK | 635,000 | Hinduism | Gujerati |
| 9 | Turk, | Bulgaria | 503,000 | Islam | Turkish |
| 10 | Albanian- Macedonian, | Macedonia | 521,000 | Islam | Albanian |
| 11 | Algerian-Arabic, | France | 474,000 | Islam | Arabic, Morocco |
| 12 | Jewish French, | France | 442,000 | Ethnic religion | French |
| 13 | Arab Moroocan, | France | 441,000 | Islam | Arabic, Morocco |
| 14 | Bosniak, | Germany, | 435,000 | Islam | Bosnian |
| 15 | South Asia general | Italy | 412,000 | Islam | Urdu |
| 16 | SouthAsia, Bengali, | United Kingdom, | 353,000 | Islam | Bengali |
| 17 | Arab Moroccan, | Belgium, | 344,000 | Islam | Arabic, Moroccan |
| 18 | Turk, | Netherlands, | 309,000 | Islam | Turkish |
| 19 | Arab Moroccan, | Netherlands, | 309,000 | Islam | Arabic, Moroccan |
| 20 | Arab Iraqi, | Germany | 308,000 | Islam | Arabic, Mesopotamia |
| 21 | Afghani, general, | Germany | 295,000 | Islam | Dari |
| 22 | Jewish, English | United Kingdom | 288,000 | Ethnic Religion | English |
| 23 | South Asian, | France | 273,000 | Hinduism | Hindi |
| 24 | Tatar Crimea, | Ukraine, | 253,000 | Islam | Crimean Tatar |
| 25 | Arab Moroccan, | Germany | 237,000 | Islam | Arabic, Morocco |
| 26 | Azerbaijiani, | Georgia | 232,000 | Islam | Azerbaijiani |
| 27 | South Asian, | Netherlands | 230,000 | Hinduism | Hindi |
| 28 | Turkish Cypriots , | Cyprus | 228,000 | Islam | Turkish |
| 29 | Kurd Kurmani, | Germany | 224,000 | Islam | Kurdish |
| 30 | Turk | France | 220,000 | Islam | Turkish |
[1] Gumbel, N. The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Day 41. Hodder and Stoughton, 2018,
[2] Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
[3] Bickle, M. Growing in Prayer: A Real-life Guide to Talking to God. Charisma House, 14.
[4] Data provided by Joshua Project https://www.joshuaproject.net
EVENING DEVOTIONAL
DEVOTIONAL ON JESUS IN THE PSALMS
Each evening this devotional will look for Jesus in the Psalms.
Matthew Henry says concerning the Psalms: “There is no one book of Scripture that is more helpful to the devotions of the saints than this, and it has been so in all ages of the church.”[1] This prayer devotional encourages the reading of all 150 Psalms for 30 days, five psalms each evening, but focussing on one psalm and particularly a few verses from that psalm.
In his book “Finding God in the Psalms” N.T. Wright says, “The Psalms are among the oldest poems in the world and they still rank with any poetry in any culture ancient or modern from anywhere in the world …and astonishingly it doesn’t get lost in translation.”[2] The Psalms transform our worldview. He says “People have often supposed that the main difference between the world view of the early Christians and the world view most of us grew up with, is that the first is ‘ancient’ and the second is modern”[3] He says “This ..is radically misleading .. the main difference .. has nothing to do with “ancient and modern”..(it) is that the first Christians being first-century Jews believed that Israel’s God had fulfilled his ancient promises in Jesus of Nazareth, and …that God had promised to return and dwell in their midst,” whereas in the modern western world, we have a very different worldview that could be described as Epicurean. “Epicurus.. proposed that the world was not created by God or the gods and that, if such beings existed, they were remote from the world of humans. Our world and our own lives were simply part of the continuing self-developing cosmos in which change, development, decay and death itself operated entirely under their own steam… This is the philosophy that our modern Western world has largely adopted as the norm ”[4]. This rationalist Enlightenment philosophy that universities have adopted has strongly influenced the church and hindered it from seeing the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word revealed figuratively in the Old Testament, and the Psalms. Old Testament professor Alec Motyer reminds us that the “Old Testament is Jesus predicted, the gospels are Jesus revealed, Acts are Jesus preached, the Epistles Jesus explained and Revelation, Jesus expected.” It’s all about Jesus!
Craig Carter says [5]“A number of years ago I learned an interesting fact about Benedictine spirituality in reading ‘The Rule of St. Benedict.’ I discovered that the monks have traditionally chanted the entire Psalter in worship every week. “Why the Psalms?”… Why not the Gospels? Why not Romans? Why not the Bible as a whole? It is because for Augustine both Christ and the church speak frequently in the Psalms. This was the perspective of the church fathers. When Augustine read the psalms in the light of Paul’s insights about Christ’s crucified human humility, scripture opened up to him. One way this happened was that he now saw Christ using the Psalms to explain himself. The Psalms do not merely speak of Christ; rather, in the Psalms Christ actually speaks. Many of the early church fathers in the second and third centuries, saw that Christ and the church speak through the psalms, in this way. “Second-century writers like Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus continued this Christological reading; so did Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen in the third century.”[6]The evening devotional is an invitation not to study the Psalms but as N.T.Wright encourages us, to pray and live them. Christ invites us to pray with Him.
[1] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc.i.html
[2] Wright, N.T. Finding God in the Psalms, SPCK 2014,2.
[3] Wright, N.T. Finding God in the Psalms, SPCK 2014,16.
[4] Wright, N.T. Finding God in the Psalms, SPCK 2014,18.
[5] Carter, C.A. Interpreting Scripture and the Great Tradition, Summary, 201- 205.
[6] Cameron, M. Christ meets me everywhere, 168, referenced in Carter, C.A. Interpreting Scripture and the Great Tradition.
UNBLOCKING THE WELL OF THE LIVING WORD 
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