Saint Patrick's BreastplateSample

"Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me" [Illustrations included in this devotional are not visible in this view. Illustrations are only supported in the Bible App for iOS, Android, and at Bible.com] Start by praying the whole prayer and then reread today’s section. Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. Saint Patrick’s Breastplate naturally moves from recognizing that Christ is with me, to acknowledging that, and praying that Christ is in everybody with whom I engage. It is both a prayer that every person will come to know Christ and the merciful love of God, our loving Father, and also a challenge to myself that he may already be operating through every other person that I encounter. This part of the prayer reminds me that God can speak to me through even the most unlikely people. It reminds me that I don’t know every detail of another person’s story. It is a challenge to listen to others and to give people the benefit of the doubt, rather than judge them hastily. Read Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and notice how Paul operated when he came to them. He trusted in God working through him and it was this that convinced and convicted them. It would have been easy for the people of Corinth to judge Paul and not hear and see God working through him. How many times do we make this same mistake? Saint Patrick’s Breastplate reminds us that God may have something to say to us today in the words or actions of other people in our lives. Dare we really look and listen? Saint Paul continues in chapter 2 to encourage us to trust in the Spirit of God dwelling within us. Today try to listen to the Holy Spirit and try to speak and act as prompted by the very Spirit of God.