Day 5: Friday

4 Surely he took up our pain

    and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

    stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all

In the economy of the Gospel, there is no "us" versus "them." We are all wandering sheep. When we pray for the lost, we aren't praying from a place of superiority; we are just one beggar telling another where to find bread. 

The ultimate breakthrough is the "Great Exchange": Jesus took the weight of the world’s sin—including the sins of those who frustrate or oppose us—so we could walk in His peace. He died for the "lost sheep" just as He died for us.

• Consider someone who feels distant or difficult to relate to. Remind yourself: "Jesus bore their iniquity, too."

• Ask God to help you see them with the eyes of a Shepherd who is still searching for them.

• Pray for humility and compassion for the lost.