Day 12: Peace on the Road to Emmaus
Bible passage: Luke 24:13–36
Walking Away Disappointed
Today is Wednesday 12th of January 2022. Welcome to Day 12 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Today we join two disciples on a seven-mile walk they never forgot.
It is the afternoon of the first Easter Sunday. Two followers of Jesus are leaving Jerusalem for a village called Emmaus. Their faces are sad. When a stranger joins them and asks what they are discussing, they pour it all out, and one phrase says everything: “We had hoped” (Luke 24:21).
Jesus Draws Near
He Walks and He Listens
The stranger is Jesus, but they do not recognise Him. Notice what He does. He comes alongside them. He asks a question. He lets them tell the whole story, confusion and all.
Jesus is not put off by our disappointment. He does not wait for us at the finish line. He walks the road with us.
He Opens the Scriptures
Then He takes them through Moses and the prophets and shows them how it all pointed to Him. Their circumstances had not changed, but their understanding had. Later they would say that their hearts burned within them as He explained the Scriptures (Luke 24:32).
God’s Word does that. It takes the pieces we cannot make sense of and places them inside a bigger story.
Recognised at the Table
Stay with Us
When they reach the village, Jesus acts as if He is going further. They urge Him to stay. At the table He takes bread, blesses it and breaks it, and suddenly they know who He is.
They get up at once and hurry all the way back to Jerusalem in the dark. And while they are still telling the others, Jesus Himself stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.” Luke 24:36 (NLT)
From Disappointment to Peace
Tell Him your “we had hoped”. What did you expect God to do that has not happened? Say it to Him honestly. He already knows.
Let the Word speak. During this fast, give Scripture the first and best part of your day. Ask the Holy Spirit to make your heart burn again.
Ask Him to stay. Do not rush your time with God today. Linger. He reveals Himself to those who make room.
Go and tell. Who needs to hear what Jesus has done for you?
Psalm 146:5 says that those whose help and hope are in the Lord are truly happy. And Psalm 10:17 promises that He knows the hopes of the helpless and that He listens and comforts.
Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, thank You that You walk with me even when I do not recognise You. I bring You my disappointments and the questions I cannot answer. Open the Scriptures to me and let my heart burn again. Stay with me, open my eyes and speak Your peace over me today. Amen.
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