A Prayer Journey for the Places God Has Sent Us: My Relational Networks
During this prayer series, we are praying in widening circles from our own hearts to our homes, streets, relationships, city, and ultimately the harvest. This week, the circle widens again to the relational networks to which we already belong.
Along the way, we are asking God to help us pay attention, pray specifically, and recognize where he is already at work.
My Relational Networks: My Own People
Sometimes when we think about being sent by God, we imagine going somewhere new. But sometimes Jesus sends us back to the people who already know us.
In Mark 5, Jesus restores a man whose life had been completely overtaken by darkness. When Jesus is preparing to leave, the man begs to go with him. But Jesus gives him a different assignment: “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”Jesus sends him back into relationships that already existed.
All of us have “our own people.” We are part of networks of relationships formed through family, friendship, work, shared interests, experiences, and the ordinary rhythms of life. Some of those relationships are deep. Others may be casual. But these are people with whom trust, connection, or shared life already exists.
This week, we are going to bring those relationships before God. Who has God already connected you to? Where might he already be at work among them? And what might it look like to become more attentive to what he is doing among your own people?
Read: Mark 5:18–20
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Notice
Now think about your own relational networks. Who are the people already woven into your life? Think beyond your closest friends or family. Consider the different groups of people you regularly interact with through work, school, shared interests, activities, friendships, or other parts of your everyday life.
Take a few moments to write down the different relational networks you are part of. Under each one, write the names of the people who come to mind. Don’t worry about making the list complete. Simply pay attention to the relationships God has already placed around you.
As you look at the names, notice what rises to the surface. Who are you especially grateful for? Who is carrying something difficult right now? Where is there spiritual curiosity or openness? Is there someone you haven’t thought about in a while who draws your attention?
Ask God: Who among my own people do you want me to pay attention to right now?
Give yourself time to listen. Notice any names, relationships, or situations that continue to come
to mind.
Pray for Your Relational Networks
Look at the people and relationships you have written down. Begin bringing them before God by name.
Pray for what you already know about their lives. Where someone is carrying something difficult, ask God to meet them there. Where there is joy or something good happening, thank God with them. Where you sense spiritual curiosity, openness, or searching, ask God to continue drawing them toward himself.
For the people you know less about, resist the temptation to assume what they need. Instead, ask God to help you become more attentive and curious about what is happening in their lives.
As you pray, ask: God, where are you already at work among my people? Who might be searching for you, even if I can’t see it yet? Who are you inviting me to pray for more intentionally?
Stay with the names that continue to draw your attention. Ask God to deepen your love for them and help you see what he sees.
Consider
Jesus did not send the man back to his people with all the answers. He simply told him to tell what the Lord had done for him and how he had experienced God’s mercy.
As you think about your own relational networks, consider where your story with Jesus is already visible. How has he met you, changed you, carried you, or shown you mercy? Where might someone in your life already have a window into what God is doing in you?
Ask God: Is there someone among my people with whom you are inviting me to be more open about what you are doing in my life?
This does not have to mean forcing a spiritual conversation. It may begin with listening more closely, asking a better question, sharing something honestly when the opportunity comes, or simply being willing to talk about Jesus when the door opens.
Ask God to help you recognize those moments and to give you the courage to respond naturally when they come.
Pray for the Network
Now widen your prayer beyond your own relational networks. Think about the hundreds of relationships represented across the Kansas City Underground through families, friendships, workplaces, schools, shared interests, and everyday life.
Ask God to help us recognize the people he has already connected us to. Pray that we would genuinely love the people in our lives, listen well to them, and become increasingly attentive to what God is doing among them.
Pray for people across our relational networks who are searching, hurting, curious, or open to God. Ask God to make his presence known to them and to draw them toward himself.
Pray that we would be ready to share honestly about what Jesus has done for us when opportunities come. Ask God to give us courage without pressure, attentiveness without agenda, and a growing expectation that he is already at work among our own people.