• Read Psalm 33:1-5

  ¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
      it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
  ² Praise the Lord with the harp;
      make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
  ³ Sing to him a new song;
      play skillfully, and shout for joy.

  ⁴ For the word of the Lord is right and true;
      he is faithful in all he does.
  ⁵ The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
      the earth is full of his unfailing love.

  and sing 1-2 songs

The first words of Jesus in Mark were telling people to “repent.” This means to change our whole way of thinking because God’s ways are so different from ours. One area is how we view ourselves. We need a new understanding of life with God and what He can do in our lives. The next words of Jesus were "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Every disciple of Jesus is called to live out this twin call to follow Him and fish for men. Our sacrificial commitment to Jesus transforms daily life and all our relationships. Let’s encourage each other to continually repent, follow and fish!

A couple of weeks before Jesus’ death, He and His followers were in a town called Jericho. As they left to travel the 24 km up the mountain to Jerusalem, a blind man calls out to Jesus trying to get his attention. This story tells us what happened next.

³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”⁴³ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

• Jesus has great compassion for people! He asked the blind man an amazing question, “What do you want me to do for you?” Then He met the man’s needs. In John 14:12-13

  ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

  Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” As followers of Jesus, we take the initiative to show compassion for people in the power of the Spirit by asking people the same Amazing Question and by meeting their needs in practical ways.

One way that you can show compassion to the people in your Daisy Chain is to offer to pray for their needs. 

Ask them what they would like Jesus to do and then let them hear your prayer. Keep your prayer short and use words that they will understand.  You may want to even keep your eyes open if that would make people more comfortable. 

• When you pray, pray to Jesus (Acts 4:12

  ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

  and Philippians 2:9-11). 

  ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
  ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
  ¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

   God is a term used in many religions, but Jesus is our redeemer and the way to the Father in heaven. Make your prayer as easy and as short as possible. If the situation allows, let your friend pray after you.

If you want to lay on hands, then ask first if it’s alright for them and lay your hands on a spot that doesn’t hurt or make anyone feel embarrassed. Shoulders are always a good option and God is powerful enough to heal body parts you aren’t touching directly.

Ask immediately afterwards how the person you prayed for is feeling.

If you have prayed for physical healing and they can’t say it in words, use a scale of 0–10 (“Is the pain the same as before praying? On a scale of 0–10 what is the pain like now?”) This may vary between 0 (complete healing) to 10 (no change). It doesn’t matter so much what number we get, because a little bit of healing is still significant.

The goal is to pray with them, trusting the Holy Spirit will do something in their lives to reveal Jesus.

What if nothing happens? No problem. You can relax completely. Firstly, they will see that it’s not dependent on you and it will show that you are authentic, and secondly it gives you an opportunity to pray again some other time. If Jesus heals, then it will be clear who was doing the healing.

Even if nothing happens, people will still get to experience how you have a personal relationship with God.

Two things people will always experience when you pray:

1. You have a personal relationship with God.
2. They feel Jesus’ love through your prayer.