8.1.25 Luke 1:46-49

Prepare

The prophet Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Take a moment to be still.

Read – Luke 1:46-49

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.”

Reflect

Mary’s response in worship is a beautiful psalm of praise to God. She is overwhelmed with gratitude and awe.

Her soul glorifies God, not because her life will be easy but because of who God is—faithful, holy, and mighty.

Think about how great God is, how fascinating Jesus who was in Mary’s womb is. As we read in Philippians 2

6 Who, being in very nature God,

    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

How can you, like Mary, allow your soul and spirit to rejoice in the greatness of God today? Can you think of what attributes of God you find the most fascinating?

Think of those for a minute

Be

Lord, we glorify your holy name.

Help us to be mindful of your presence in our lives and to rejoice in your goodness.

May our hearts overflow with gratitude as Mary’s did. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we’ll want to glorify him, the more we recognise how worthy he is to be our Lord, our King of Kings.

Become

Jesus, help us to see your greatness in our lives and to respond with praise and humility. Let’s become people of praise. People who’s lips speak words of blessing and of the greatness of our God. Let’s become completely humble as Jesus is.

God transform me into a humble person.

Do

May Mary’s words of praise inspire us to glorify God in all we do today. Let our actions and attitudes reflect a heart of gratitude and trust in the Mighty One.

Practice:

Spend time praising God for His faithfulness in your life. Write down three specific ways He has shown His goodness. Three things you are thankful for

Consider how you might encourage someone today by sharing how God has been good to you.

Spend some time now just thanking God for who he is.

You might want to put on some worship music and praise God now that we’re finishing or later today. He’s worthy of our praise, as Mary said ‘my soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour’.

Let today be a day of rejoicing and praising God.