GENESIS 2:1
Reading:
On the seventh day He rested… (Genesis 2:1)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God stops creating.
Prayer
Dear God,
Lord, it's not like you needed to take a break due to exhaustion,
but the seventh day for you was really a day to stop working.
With everything complete and the work done, you ended your time
of creating. You also blessed that day and made it holy. You stopped
to reflect on all the good you did-a celebration of creation.
Today, you ask us to use that seventh day to celebrate all that
you have done for us. You stopped to give us an example. We too
must stop what we are doing and take a breath from the hustle
of this world. Our minds must focus on you instead of us. As my
day of rest approaches, I need to make time for worship and not
skip by it with a full agenda in hand.
Additional Prayer
" God you have a lot to do, but you
stopped to rest. I need to rest…
" I work and strive too hard in the areas of…
" I want to stop and thank you for…
GENESIS 2:7a
Reading:
The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground… (Genesis
2:7)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: The creation of man is retold. Man is created
out of dust.
Prayer
Dear God,
In a way it's depressing to think we are nothing more than common
everyday dust, but it's true. When we die and our body decomposes,
nothing is left but dust. The dust around our house is a mixture
of dirt and our shedded skin. We are coming apart! The fact that
you made us from dust helps to remind us of our humility and mortality.
How dare common dust elevate itself to a status worthy only of
the Creator! We have just a brief moment on this earth to enjoy.
The clock is ticking. Time is running out. Soon, before we know
it, we will be dust once again. We must make today count and live
for you. We don't want to be, as the song goes, just dust in the
wind.
Additional Prayer
" God, you can take dust and make
a magnificent living, breathing human being, like me…
" You see such potential when others see dust…
" I must make valuable use of my time by…
GENESIS 2:7b
Reading:
He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life… (Genesis
2:7)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God's breath turns dust into man.
Prayer
Dear God,
These "dusty" bodies are more than just creatures living
on earth. The fact that we think, reason, question, create, feel
compassion, weep, experience joy and worship proves that we have
an extra ingredient in our system. That ingredient is life, breathed
into us at creation. It was a spiritual CPR. Now, we are more
than animals operating on instinct. We can now see the world as
you see and live it as you live it. Nothing else on this Earth
has been given such a wonderful gift. Thank you for the breath
of life. Every breath today I pray that I experience it more fully.
Additional Prayer
" I breathe life into…
" I haven't been living life to its fullest because…
" I need resuscitation in the areas of…
GENESIS 2:8
Reading:
God planted a garden in the east, called Eden… (Genesis 2:8)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God creates a paradise on earth.
Prayer
Dear God,
To think that the first place you created for us was paradise.
Your heart has always been to give us the best-the most perfect.
Eden expressed your love for us, a place of peace, harmony, beauty,
problem-free, sickness-free. Everything we could want to eat,
all natural, pure, whole. We won't see another place like that
until we get to heaven. The vision of heaven expressed in your
Word (Revelation) shows us a very similar eternity and the best
part is, we cannot mess this place up. It will be your home that
you allow us to enter and stay with you…forever.
Additional Prayer
" I find paradise when I go to…
" I pray for a place of peace in the area of…
" I pray that others will experience the paradise of heaven…
GENESIS 2:17
Reading:
You can eat from any tree in the garden, except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil… (Genesis 2:17)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God tells man not to eat from one tree in the
garden.
Prayer
Dear God,
You set very distinct boundaries in our lives. You tell us very
clearly what we should do and what we should not do. Sometimes
we don't understand how harmful those areas really are, but we
must trust the law-giver. Eating from an ordinary tree doesn't
seem like that big of a deal. However, because you instituted
a hands-off policy, it suddenly became a big deal. There are boundaries
around areas of my life, distinctly marked (a neighbor's spouse,
a co-worker's job, a friend's reputation), that I should not touch.
Messing with them will surely bring a sort of death, probably
the death of my relationship with that person. Breaking the eating-from-the-tree-rule
broke man's connection with you and caused a disintegration of
the God-human relationship. Touching what we're told not to touch
will do that. I pray that I keep my hands to
myself today.
Additional Prayer
" I lust for…please forgive me…
" I desire/covet…please forgive me…
" I need to restore a broken relationship with…
GENESIS 2:18
Reading:
It is not good for man to be alone… (Genesis 2:18)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God decides man needs companionship.
Prayer
Dear God,
From the very beginning of man's existence on earth, you've seen
it important that we have companionship. We were created in your
image and you desire relationship. You exist as a multi-personal
God, three in one. You created man to have someone to express
this overflowing love. We desire those things too so we need tangible
expressions of love in our world. When we are children, we love
our parents. Soon thereafter, we enjoy friendships. Ultimately,
we have the capacity to love a member of the opposite sex and
create children, where we will understand how it is you love us
as your children. I pray for all those relationships today, for
what they give to me and for what I give to them.
Additional Prayer
" I pray for my companion…
" I pray for a companion some day…
" I want to appreciate my companion as a gift from you…
GENESIS 2:24
Reading:
Be united to his wife and become one flesh … (Genesis 2:24)
Time: Approximately 4000 BC
Characters: God, Adam, Eve
Place: Garden of Eden (modern day Iraq)
What's Happening: God "marries" Adam to Eve.
Prayer
Dear God,
The idea of marriage is more than just two people living together.
It's two people existing as one. If I were to live inside of my
partner, then I would feel everything he/she feels, enjoy everything
he/she enjoys, hurt every time he/she hurts. I would see the world
from a different perspective. I would understand life from another
point of view. That requires a tremendous amount of selflessness
and humility. No wonder the percentage of divorce in our world
is so high. I don't want to be that statistic. To live as one
does not require an elevation of self, but a reduction of self,
to make room for the other person inside myself. To succeed at
marriage I must change my perspective of this world. Help me to
put my-self aside so I can truly unite with my partner.
Additional Prayer
" To make room in my life for another
person I must…
" It helps to have another perspective on life because…
" I pray for those who are experiencing the pain of divorce…
