You can use the questions and prayers below, either alone or in a small group, to help you think and pray about where God is calling you.
The calling of the first disciples
Read Matthew 4:18-22
Peter would not have been in a position to initiate church growth at the point of his calling, but Jesus spotted the potential that lay within him.
How might your potential and personal gifts be used to serve God in the Church and the world?
Prayer
Lord, help us to believe that we are all ordinary people made extraordinary through your vision and your power.
Take our insecurities and feelings of inadequacy, and give us the courage to see ourselves and others as you see us, with gifts and potential to transform your world and build your Kingdom.
Amen
The calling of Mary Magdalene
Read John 20:1-18
Mary was charged by the risen Jesus to be the first Christian evangelist: not to hold onto Jesus and string out the glory of that extraordinary moment (as the disciples had earlier tried to do on the Mount of Transfiguration), but to go and share her story.
The idea of evangelism can be daunting, but in the Gospels it is very simple – just talking to someone else about the life that faith in Jesus can bring.
How might you help each other to take the fear out of faith-sharing, so as to make it joyful and accessible?
Prayer
Lord, you call us by name.
Help us to be confident in our own unique identity. Help us to find opportunities to develop our specific gifts and passions.
Enable us to hear and recognise the call of Jesus in our lives, and in those of others.
Help us to find appropriate and life-giving ways to share your Good News in a way which draws others to you and helps them experience your radical and extraordinary love.
Amen
The calling of Esther
Read Esther 4:1-14
Are you struggling to see how you can use the expertise and experience you’ve built up over the years to further the work of God?
It is likely you are already making a huge difference, or could do. How can we help and encourage each other to understand how this is happening? How might we see each other as a ‘means of grace’ for others?
Is God using someone prophetically or creatively to bring a new perspective to a job or situation, even where they seem to be swimming against the tide? How might we be strengthened and better equipped to do this?
In Esther’s story we see the power of speech being used to change the course of history. How might that same power be released, given the courage required in speaking of God?
Prayer
God of every aspect of our lives,
Help us to hear clearly what you are asking of us each day, whatever situation we find ourselves in.
You are the God who calls us to stay where we are or to move at your bidding: to seek and speak courageously, sharing your love, defending the vulnerable and bringing dignity to those who have no voice.
Help us to sense your presence, in perseverance and in hope, in those everyday places which can be continuously renewed by your grace.
Amen
Read Luke 10:1-12, 17-21
Joy is the overriding emotion in this chapter of Luke (as in much of Luke’s writing). Responding to a vocation provides a deep sense of purpose in life.
How do you cultivate an ethos of security and adventure in your Christian life?
Are there opportunities to get involved in “having a go” at ministry in your Church?
How might you help foster links between your church and your community?
Prayer
Lord, enable your Church to be the safe harbour as we search and explore a vocation in life and in ministry.
Help it to be the lighthouse too, enabling us all to navigate our lives with skilfulness and joy, risking adventure in Christ as we follow his leading, believing against the odds that we will discover the vitality of a new vocation.
Amen
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Do you feel you are an unlikely person to fulfil a calling in the Church or world?
This Bible passage reminds us that David was a shepherd, the ‘runt’ of the family, apparently unqualified for the role, and yet the person called by God — something that came as a surprise even to the prophet Samuel himself. Perhaps it was something about his care for his flock, making him the forerunner of our great Good Shepherd.
Samuel was convinced God had chosen the immediately obvious, handsome, physically strong sons of Jesse, but God had other ideas.
Are there other hidden people who might be encouraged to think more about what vocation means for them? Are you one of them?
What are you passionate about in terms of serving God? Are you a pioneer, keen to start something new, or does your passion fit within the existing structures of your local church, the wider Church or the community beyond?
Prayer
God who calls us all to contribute to your Kingdom,
Take our insecurities and vulnerabilities and weave them through with your holy confidence, which reassures us that we have something to offer.
As we explore what you are asking of us, we pray for integrity of heart, clarity of mind, and a yearning to love and serve others wherever that may take us;
For deep peace about this next step, and for your light in our eyes.
Amen
Explore further
For more biblical stories of unlikely heroes called to extraordinary ministries, take a look at the passages below.
Consider reading these together with others so you can discuss and pray about them in fellowship.
