What Does God Say About Discipleship?Sample

Day 4

Pray for Women to Disciple

Luke 6:12-13

During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them whom he named apostles.

Making disciples is the one thing that has almost singlehandedly changed my life. When I spend my time investing in other women, it keeps me sharp, grounded in God’s Word, and surrounded by godly community who are all working together to build one another up. 

But when I’m searching for women to disciple, I don’t pick them on a whim. Discipleship is a commitment. I need to be sure that the women I select will be the ones God has in store for me to disciple. So my first step is to take it to God. 

When I do this, I pray for two things: for God to lead me to women, and for God to send women to me. If we are looking to Christ as our example, we see that He invited all of His disciples to journey with Him. None of the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “I want to live life with You.” Jesus approached and asked them all. But before He approached them, He prayed for them. All night actually. 

Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus spent all night in prayer directly before selecting twelve from among the disciples. We have reason to believe Jesus had somewhat of a following at this point beyond the twelve we know as His disciples. He had a bit of notoriety among the locals—at the very least as a rabbi and teacher. He’d probably encountered most of those He called at one point or another, because they knew enough about Him to drop what they were doing and come when He called them. You have the same opportunity: you have a pool of people around you in various areas of your life who may only know you by name or reputation. Pray as Jesus did before inviting some of them into a discipleship relationship with you. 

As you are praying, be thinking about the areas of influence you already have in your life. You may have connections in a Life Group or Sunday School class, friendships with neighbors, old friends from college, newly/nearly married ladies in your circles, young or single moms, co-workers, young professionals or college women, classroom moms of your children, high school girls, and so on. Ask yourself whether you already feel and sense a leading toward a certain group of ladies. Follow where you already have a passion to serve.

When we start making disciples, it becomes the foremost ambition of your life; praying about the people you should start with is the first step toward accomplishing the mission Jesus tasked us with.