21 Days of Prayer – Make Room for What Matters Most

Hey Access Church, welcome to day 18 of the 21 Days of Prayer.

My name's Andy, and today we're going to be talking about making room for what matters most.

The key passage we're going to be looking at today comes to us from Luke chapter 10, verses 41 and 42.

Luke 10:41

Martha Martha, the Lord answered, You were worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

One of my favorite things to do is clean out the garage.

I'm sorry, did I say favorite?

I meant to say despised.

One of the most despised things I get to do is cleaning out the garage.

There, more truthful.

But as much as I dislike this activity, it is very necessary to do on occasion.

The whole point of my garage is firstly to give us space to safely park the car, and secondly, to storm necessities.

But what ends up happening is that non-necessities end up getting put in there too from time to time.

Like that old footstool my wife wants me to get rid of, but I want to continue using.

So it ends up in the garage taking up way too much space for no reason.

If I'm not careful, pretty soon the main reason for having the garage is no longer even possible because there is so much clutter taking up so much space.

Martha was a friend of Jesus's.

When he came into her home, she was honored to make his visit comfortable and enjoyable.

She served him tirelessly while her sister sat lazily in her view, at the feet of Jesus, taking in his very presence.

When she voiced her displeasure with her sister to Jesus in hopes of him admonishing her lazy sister, she was surprised to face a bit of a gentle rebuke instead.

Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

It is important to note that Jesus was not saying, Hey lady, serving me doesn't matter.

Just sit and do nothing.

In fact, serving others through action can be one of the greatest displays of love and one of the greatest instruments of spiritual growth as we become more like the one who came not to be served, but to serve Jesus Himself.

It is clear that his rebuke of her was more to draw her attention to her need to be filled in his very presence so she could serve others more effectively.

If you want to make a true impact in your world in the coming year, you need to be intentional about making room for what actually matters by clearing out the clutter.

You cannot give something you don't have inside of you.

So if you want to show people Jesus' love, you must be well acquainted with his love through spending time in his presence.

Resist the urge to fill your time with things that are not as important and instead make room for what is truly important by clearing out the clutter.

Let's pray together.

Lord, I admit my tendency to make the lesser things primary.

In this way, I fill my time with things that don't matter as much at the expense of what matters most.

Help me to make room for your presence in my life by prioritizing it over activity.

As I do this, I ask you to empower my actions as your spirit fills me.

Amen.

Thanks for listening today and join us again tomorrow for day 19 of 21 Days of Prayer.