Day 10: A Place at God’s Table
Bible passage: Luke 14:15–24
An Invitation to a Feast
Today is Monday 10th of January 2022. Welcome to Day 10 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. It may seem strange to talk about a banquet in the middle of a fast, but that is exactly where Jesus takes us today.
Jesus is at a dinner when one of the guests remarks how blessed it will be to eat in the Kingdom of God. Jesus replies with a story.
The Parable of the Great Banquet
The Excuses
A man prepares a great feast and sends out invitations. When everything is ready, the guests begin to make excuses. One has bought a field. Another has bought some oxen. Another has just got married (Luke 14:18–20).
None of those things is wrong. Land, work and family are good gifts. The problem is that good things had become more important than the host. These guests were too busy, too settled and too full to come.
Notice too that every excuse was about something new: a new field, new oxen, a new marriage. New things easily capture our hearts. At the start of a new year, it is worth asking what is competing for first place.
The Guests Who Came
So the host sends his servant into the streets and alleys to bring in people who are poor, disabled and overlooked. They come. They have no fields to inspect and no reason to pretend they are not hungry. They know their need, and they have room.
So That the House Will Be Full
The Heart of the Host
Even then there are empty seats. The host sends his servant further still, out to the country lanes, with this instruction: bring them in “so that the house will be full.” Luke 14:23 (NLT)
That is the heart of God. He is not reluctant. He is not rationing His goodness. He wants His table crowded with people who will enjoy Him. Psalm 36:8 says He lets us feast from the abundance of His own house.
Making Room
Check your excuses. What good thing has been crowding out your time with God? Fasting is how we tell our appetites that He comes first.
Come hungry. Psalm 34:8 invites us to taste and see that the Lord is good. Bring Him your real hunger today.
Go and invite. The servant was sent out three times. Who could you invite to church or to your home this month?
The psalmist says the poor will eat and be satisfied, and all who seek the Lord will praise Him (Psalm 22:26). There is a seat with your name on it. Do not leave it empty.
Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You for inviting me to Your table. Forgive me for the times I have been too busy and too full of other things to come. I lay down my excuses. Make me hungry for You again. And send me out to invite others, so that Your house will be full. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep going
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