⁶ In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. ⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Romans 12:6-9

Dear God, it was the “do it gladly” at the end of verse 9 that caught my eye this morning. Do it gladly. How many of us (and this definitely includes me) don’t do what we are called to do gladly? How many of us don’t live into our gifting gladly?

Leadership is one that kind of floats to the top here for me. First, I confess that I am one of those people who seems to fill the void if there is ever a leadership vacuum. For example, when I was only 27 I served on a jury and, even though I was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, person in the room, I ended up being a presiding juror (the word they used for foreman). It just kind of happens to me. And there are a lot of times when I find myself in a situation that needs leadership–that could use my leadership–but I am reluctant to do it because of the commitment. Will it require too much of me? Too much of my time? Like I don’t have mountains of time I waste every day. I’m not maxed out. I could give a little more. But when I am asked to do it, too many times I don’t do it gladly.

One of the things I really don’t do gladly that you call me to do is pray more–especially for others. I have a friend right now whose home and city were hit by a big storm. He has a lot of damage and no electricity. We texted about it, but it didn’t occur to me to pray for him about it until he said, pray for electricity to be restored. I thought, Oh, yeah. I should pray about that. There is a family in our town who tragically lost a child in an accident last Sunday. I’ve prayed for them a little, but I haven’t really, in a focused way. asked for you to just cover them in your Holy Spirit. To minister to them through your angels in the spiritual realm and your church and their friends in the physical realm. No, I don’t pray gladly.

Father, help me to embrace the gifts you’ve given me. I like to give. Help me to give gladly. I live to serve others. Help me to serve gladly. I have leadership gifts. Help me to lead, when appropriate, gladly. Help me to love my wife and family gladly. Help me to pray for all of them, my friends, my community, and my world gladly. Help me to carry your joy in my heart. Help me to do it all gladly so that I might experience the fruits of the Spirit you have for me, and I might take you to a world that is looking for you.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen