⁵ Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, ⁶ but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. ⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!“

Matthew 10:5-8

Dear God, I wonder this is where the original 12 first misinterpreted Jesus’s instructions and thought that he was here only for the Jewish people. Later, in Acts 10 and 11, they have to go through a process for breaking this paradigm of Jewish-only evangelism.

So I guess it makes me wonder why he did give them this limitation. Why no Samaritans? Why no Gentiles? Was it a concern for their safety? Was he just trying to build up knowledge of who he was among the Israelites of the time? Was he setting up crucifixion week? I’m sure there was a reason that was beyond, “I love the Israelites more than I love the Gentiles and Samaritans.” But is that how they interpreted it?

But what is your call on me? First, how boldly am I supposed to pray? I wrote an article in a newsletter recently about praying more boldly. And I have. But has it been consistent or bold enough? No. Am I supposed to heal? Cast out demons? Raise the dead? These are obviously gifts you gave the original 12 in that moment (Matthew 10:1). I know some of that is available to us now because I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes (mainly the healing from illness, not resurrection from the dead). Am I bold enough? I’m preparing to be with a lot of my wife’s extended family this weekend for a funeral. There are relationships among us that are broken or damaged. Am I praying faithfully enough about their healing? Am I praying over my wife enough as she goes into this environment? Am I expecting enough of the Holy Spirit to do something special?

Father, I want to first pray for my wife. She has a special role to play in the funeral we are attending. I pray that you will prepare her heart for everything she will encounter as she goes through this weekend. Love her well. Help her to feel completely surrounded by you. Help her to feel safe. Give her words to say. Give her ears to hear. Give her eyes to see. Help her to bask in your presence. And help all of these, well, all of these hurt people, including me. Let forgiveness and repentance flow freely. Let your love flow into each heart. Use the pain of this loss to guide each heart on the journey you have for us. Don’t let it be wasted. And as for the demons who are messing with all of us, in the name of Jesus, I pray that they would lose their grip and be sent on their way. Cast out into the swine or whatever needs to happen. The demons of addiction. The demons of entitlement. The demons of offense. The demons of self-righteousness. The demons of lies. I pray that all of these would be bound by Jesus and seen no more.

I offer all of this to you only through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit of the Lord, God Almighty,

Amen