grave clothes

Opening Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you brought me from death to life.  Free me now from the things that bind and hinder me from the life and the love you desire me to know and experience.

Read: John 11:43-44

Reflect:

“Lazarus come out!”

The dead man came out,

His hands and head

Wrapped with strips of linen,

And a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them,

“Take off the grave clothes

And let him go.”

It reads like a poem.  Because we know, all too well, exactly what he means.  He’s talking to us too.  The things that bind us and keep us from the life he desires for us must be removed and left behind.  Yes, he has raised us from death to life and brought us out of the tomb, which is glorious indeed, but still there is work to be done in order for us to live fully and freely.  Walking with God in newness of life means leaving the grave clothes behind.

Journal: What still binds you?  What grave clothes do you need to leave behind in order to live fully and freely in the newness of life Christ is offering you?

Pray: Ask God to show you how you still need to be unbound, so that you can live fully and freely in him.  Listen to what he says.

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, free me from anything and everything that binds me and keeps me from the life and the love you want me to experience.