A United Cry for Rest: Sabbath as Resistance and Renewal
Each Tuesday, we release a prayer guide with the hope that, together, we can unite our hearts in a laser-focused way through prayer. Today, as the Underground, we lift a united cry for Sabbath renewal—in our homes, in our communities, and in every context where disciple-makers serve.
Strategic Focus: Rest in God’s Rhythm
Today’s Scripture: Exodus 20:8–11; Matthew 11:28–30; Hebrews 4:9–11. Take time to slowly and prayerfully read the following passages:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth… but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8–11
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me… and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28–30
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God… Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:9–11
Move #1: Contemplation and Meditation
As a disciple-maker in your context, meditate on the idea of Sabbath. Consider these reflection questions:
When was the last time I truly kept a Sabbath?
What is endangered in my life by not keeping Sabbath?
What hinders me most from observing it regularly?
What do I most look forward to in practicing Sabbath rest?
Now close your eyes and imagine a 24-hour space of true rest in your life.
Let the Spirit bring to mind images, emotions, people, or places that stir delight and shalom.
Ask: What would it look like if rest became a witness in my context?
Move #2: Contending Prayer
1. Turn Your Reflections into Prayer
Bring your awareness before God. For example: “Lord, I confess my addiction to productivity. Teach me to trust Your sufficiency.”
“I sense You calling me to deeper rest. Help me resist the idol of busyness.”
“Show me how to prepare well so I can cease with joy.”
2. Pray for Others by Name
Who in your life needs Sabbath rest?
Intercede for weary leaders, stressed families, anxious students, overextended parents, burned-out workers.
Pray: “Lord, let Your rest interrupt their striving. Give them grace to cease.”
3. Ask for a Culture of Sabbath to Take Root
Using today’s scriptures as a guide, pray for:
A deeper trust in God’s provision
A release from anxiety, striving, and false identity
Rhythms of worship, delight, and communion to grow in our microchurches
A counter-cultural witness of rest in the heart of a restless world
Declare over your context:
“There remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God... and we will enter that rest.”
Move #3: United Cry for Every Context
Now, remember every context within the Underground—each microchurch, hub team, and missionary presence across the city.
Pray that Sabbath would take root as resistance—resistance to hustle, to hurry, to mammon, and to burnout.
Ask for:
Practical rhythms of rest to form in every household
Leaders who model and multiply Sabbath
Microchurches that celebrate holy rest as worship
A city that sees the people of Jesus not just working hard, but resting well
Final Invitation: Sketch Your Sabbath
As you pray, ask the Spirit to help you imagine and commit to a Sabbath rhythm in your own life:
When will I Sabbath? (Pick a day or a time block. Write it down. Make it recurring.)
What must I cease from? (List work, distractions, productivity, performance.)
What will I feast on? (List joy-filled practices: music, meals, play, Scripture, beauty.)
“May we be the kind of leaders who disappear into the garden of God’s grace. May our rest become a signpost to the world: We are not slaves. We are sons and daughters.”
Go further in shaping your Sabbath rhythm with the “Designing Sabbath” tool.