121 Days of Prayer

Blessed Are You Who Hunger Now, for You Shall Be Satisfied

The purposes of this prayer are: Glorify God/Worship, Increased Faith, Sustenance and Humility.

Loving God, Luke recorded when Jesus delivered what came to be known as his Sermon on the Plain (“Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place,” Luke 6:17, NASB), to a large crowd of people that had assembled from all over Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon. Jesus began by saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” Luke 6:20–26 (NASB). Comparison of Luke’s recording of Christ’s Sermon on the Plain to Matthew’s augments our understanding of Luke’s use of the terms “poor” and “hunger” through the use of additional descriptive words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God,” and, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:3, 6 (NASB). We may understand poor in spirit to mean humble and repentant, very much aware of our sins and our need for a Savior. It is this awareness of our fallen and iniquitous state that causes us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Gracious Lord, forgive us our sins and lead us to repentance. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.