A Prayer for the Sabbath
By Rick Warren
“You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me.” Exodus 20:9 GNT
Rest is so important to God that he put it in the Ten Commandments. He wants you to take a day off every week. That’s called the Sabbath, which literally means a day of rest, and God wants us to do it every seventh day. (The day isn’t important. It doesn’t have to be a certain day, just every seventh day.) It’s so important that even God rested on the seventh day when he created everything — not because he was tired but to give us an example of how we should rest.
What do you do on this Sabbath day to actually have it be a day of rest?
1. Rest your body.
God has made us so that we need rest. If your car engine heat light were showing red, you would stop because you would know it’s going to damage the engine. God says if you don’t take one day out of seven to rest, if you keep pumping the adrenaline all day, every day, seven days a week, your engine is going to explode somehow. So your best requires rest. You have to take the time to rest.
2. Recharge your emotions.
Just be quiet! Or maybe you need to reconnect in your relationships. Maybe there’s some kind of recreation that rejuvenates you. I’m not talking about competitive recreation. Some of you aren’t recharging your emotions out on the golf course. You’re just getting angry at the other guy!
3. Refocus your spirit.
During your Sabbath, you don’t take a day off from God. You worship! Worship puts life into perspective. If you’re too busy for God, you’re just too busy. To make this happen, you have to schedule it. Psalm 127:2 says, “It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?” (MSG)
God enjoys giving rest to those he loves. Be intentional about taking your Sabbath, and make it count!
Dear Lord, help me to make every Sabbath about you. Quiet my heart, give rest to my soul, and refocus my spirit—for true renewal comes only from you. Holy Spirit please help me to be intentional with my time and worship, and encourage me to find rest in you alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Editor’s Note: Portions of this content taken from the Daily Hope with Rick Warren devotional, What Does a Sabbath Look Like?, written by Rick Warren. You can read that piece in full here. All rights reserved.
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