We engage the Lord through daily personal encounters by welcoming the Holy Spirit, asking the Lord to speak to us, praying the Lord's Prayer and listening for His response.

It is easy to hear God when you are in His presence.

Here is a guide to help you encounter God daily!

Compassion Overview:

You connect with God through compassion. You are the heart and the hands of the body of Christ. You feel the closest to God when you are serving the least of these because when you serve others you are doing it unto Jesus. When you lavish the Father’s affection on other people, you feel the Father’s love lavished on you. You are the first to aid a person who is in need and delight in being able to minister to those who are often forgotten. Where a funeral or a hospital room may be intimidating to some, you are drawn to those places because you see them as an opportunity to minister heaven on earth. You encounter God powerfully in these moments. You feel God’s presence strongly when you are giving encouragement to someone. Jesus cared for the sick, the demon-possessed, the outcasts and the lost. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing, and you have the desire to do what your Father is doing as well. You have a unique awareness of how God sees His people and how He cares for them. You love connecting people to the Body of Christ. You feel the closest to Jesus when you are showing compassion to others, because this is what Jesus did for you.

Some Encouragement For Compassion:

Your value is not in what you do, but in who you are. The Holy Spirit gives you the grace and strength to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but remember that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It is not your responsibility to take on the weight of the world, but to love people well so they see Jesus through you. When your identity becomes what you do, ask God to tell you who you are and listen to His response. When you connect with God through compassion, take to heart that you are first a son or a daughter. Take time to receive from from the Holy Spirit before you pour out onto people. You can’t pour from an empty cup. The Father was well pleased with Jesus before He ever started His public ministry. The same is true for you! He is pleased with you not by your works, but because of whose you are.

- Compassion allows others to experience the love of Jesus through you.

- You don't have to change someone's life to make a difference—you simply have to be willing.

- Small acts of kindness often have eternal impact.

- Compassion is rarely convenient, but it is always worthwhile.

- The Holy Spirit often interrupts our schedules to accomplish God's purposes.

- Every person you meet is someone deeply loved by God.

- Compassion doesn't require having all the answers; it simply requires a willing heart.

- As you serve others, you'll often discover that God is transforming your own heart.

- Sometimes the greatest miracle you can offer is your presence.

(1) Connect With God Through Compassion

Here are some practical ways that you can connect with God.

Pray for Someone in Need:
Set aside time each day to intentionally pray for someone who is hurting, sick, discouraged, or far from God.

Perform an Anonymous Act of Kindness:
Bless someone without expecting recognition or anything in return.

Examples:
- Pay for someone's meal.
- Leave an encouraging note.
- Buy groceries for a family in need.
- Secretly bless a coworker or neighbor.

Visit Someone Who Is Lonely:
Spend time with someone who may feel forgotten.

Visit:
- A nursing home resident.
- Someone recovering from surgery.
- A widow or widower.
- A church member who has missed several weeks... Sometimes your presence is the greatest gift.

Listen Before You Speak:
Offer someone your full attention without interrupting or trying to immediately fix their problem.

Compassion often begins with listening.

Encourage Someone:
Send a text, write a handwritten note, make a phone call, or speak words of life to someone who needs encouragement.

Serve Someone Practically:
Look for tangible ways to meet a need.

Examples:
- Cook a meal.
- Mow someone's lawn.
- Help someone move.
- Babysit for exhausted parents.
- Volunteer at church.

Pray with Someone:
Instead of saying, "I'll pray for you," stop and pray with them right then if appropriate.

Forgive Quickly:
Compassion includes extending the same grace you've received.
Choose forgiveness over bitterness.

Notice the Overlooked:
Ask God to help you see the people others often miss—the lonely, the hurting, the struggling, the overlooked.

Be Generous:
Compassion is often expressed through generosity.
Share your time, resources, talents, and finances with those in need.

Speak with Gentleness:
Compassion isn't only what we do; it's how we speak.
Choose words that heal rather than wound.

Ask God Each Morning:
"Lord, show me someone I can love well today."
Then be attentive throughout the day.

(2) Worship & Pray in the Holy Spirit

Start with your favorite worship song and pray in your heavenly language.

(3) The Lord's Prayer

A starting guide when praying to God every day!

"Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name...

Begin praying by declaring,
“Father, you are HOLY!”

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven...

Pray for God's perfect will to be done in your life.
"God, not my will, but yours!"

Give us this day our daily bread...
Tell God what it is that you need. He is our Provider!

And forgive us our debts...
Repent. Lay down your sins before God and ask for forgiveness.

As we also have forgiven our debtors...
List by name those you need to forgive and ask God for help!

And lead us not into temptation...
Grace is a gift we all have access to. Open the gift and accept God's grace to overcome sin.

But deliver us from evil...
Declare, "No spirit but the Holy Spirit" is welcome in your life!

(4) Go Through Your Personal Prayer List

Begin by praying for:
Yourself
Your Family
Your Friends & specific people as they come up in your spirit
Your Job
Your City
Your Church & Church Leaders
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
(Psalm 122:6)
+ Add your own

(5) Read the Word

Find a devotional plan that challenges you:

Include:
15 Minute Scripture Reading:
READ:
1 Chapter in Psalms
1 Chapter in Proverbs
1 Chapter in one of the Gospels

30 Minute Scripture Reading:
READ:
1 Chapter in Psalms
1 Chapter in Proverbs
1 Chapter in one of the Gospels
1 Old Testament Chapter
1 New Testament Chapter
1 Chapter in Revelation

(6) Give God Room to Speak to You

"Speak Lord, Your servant is listening!"

(7) Ask Him to Teach You His Ways

Exodus 33:13b says, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”

After He speaks to you, ask Him to teach you.

(1) Repeat what you heard God say out loud.
(2) Write down what He says and obey Him.

This is a way we steward God’s words!

(8) Close in Prayer

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the incredible compassion You have shown me. While I was still far from You, You pursued me with love, extended mercy instead of judgment, and welcomed me into Your family through Jesus Christ. Help me never to forget the grace I have freely received.

Lord, shape my heart to look more like Yours. Open my eyes to see people the way You see them... not as interruptions, but as opportunities to demonstrate Your love.

Give me a heart that is quick to forgive, eager to serve, generous in spirit, and willing to meet the needs of those around me.

Give me spiritual eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart of understanding. Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.

Show me the people You want me to encourage, comfort, serve, and love today. Make me sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and give me the courage to respond with obedience.

Help me to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever I go. Let my words bring hope, my actions reflect Your kindness, and my life point others to Your goodness. May those who encounter me experience the compassion, mercy, and love that only You can give.

Teach me to love without expecting anything in return, to serve without seeking recognition, and to give freely because You have so freely given to me. Let compassion become more than an occasional act... it would become a way of life that reflects Your heart each and every day.

May I never grow indifferent to the needs of others. Instead, let my heart be moved by what moves Yours, so that I may faithfully live out Your purpose and carry Your presence into every conversation, every relationship, and every opportunity You place before me.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Additional Key Compassion Scriptures

Matthew 9:36
"When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Colossians 3:12
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

Luke 10:33-37
The Good Samaritan demonstrates that compassion moves beyond emotion into action. "Go and do likewise."

Ephesians 4:32
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

James 2:15-17
"Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food... faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

Matthew 25:40
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me."

Micah 6:8
"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

1 John 3:17-18
"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Recommended Books:

Love Does
Bob Goff

Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution Through Serving
Dino Rizzo

In the Heart of the World
Mother Theresa

Compelled by Love
Heidi Baker

A Wellspring Thought:
Compassion is more than meeting a need... It is revealing the heart of God.

Every act of kindness, every word of encouragement, and every sacrifice made in love becomes an opportunity to encounter Jesus. As we love people the way Christ loves us, we don't just represent His presence—we carry it into the lives of others.

This thought fits beautifully with Wellspring's vision because it reinforces that we encounter His presence personally and then live out His purpose by becoming His hands and feet to the world around us.