Usually, communion is something we receive together as a church family. That is the normal pattern we see in the New Testament. Believers gathered together to remember the body and blood of Jesus Christ, affirm their unity in Him, and proclaim His death until He comes again.
The video below is a clip from a communion service at Rockwell Church. I am sharing it because the Scripture and guided prayer may encourage you in your own relationship with Jesus. You can use it to prepare your heart before communion at church or simply to spend time examining your life, confessing sin, thanking God, and renewing your trust in Him.
Learning to Wait on the Lord
Lamentations was written during an extremely difficult time. Jeremiah had witnessed suffering, destruction, and loss, yet he continued to place his confidence in God. He wrote, “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:24–25).
Waiting on God is not always easy. Sometimes we become impatient and run ahead of Him. We want immediate answers to our prayers, clear direction for every decision, and relief from whatever difficulty we are facing. God always answers prayer, but His answer may be yes, no, or wait. His timing is often different from ours, but we can trust that He knows what is best.
Communion gives us an opportunity to stop running ahead of God and renew our commitment to wait on Him. It is a time to remember what Jesus has done for us and honestly evaluate our relationship with Him. We may need to admit that we have not stayed as close to God as we should or that we have been trying to handle life without seeking His direction. We can ask Him to strengthen our faith, help us follow Him, and teach us to trust His timing.
Examine Your Ways and Return to the Lord
Jeremiah continued, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven” (Lamentations 3:40–41). Those words fit naturally with communion because the Lord’s Supper is a time for believers to examine their hearts and consider where they are in their relationship with Christ.
This does not mean we must somehow make ourselves worthy before coming to Jesus. None of us can do that. We are all sinners who need the salvation, forgiveness, and righteousness that only Christ can provide. We do not come to the Lord’s Table because we have lived perfectly. We come because Jesus gave His body and shed His blood to save us.
If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can turn to Him today. Admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, ask Him to forgive and save you, and commit yourself to following Him. Salvation is not earned through communion, good works, church attendance, or religious activity. It is received by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
When we receive Christ, we are born again and become a new creation. God gives us His Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life. We also receive the privilege of bringing our prayers to Him with confidence. He hears and answers His children, although His answer and timing may not always be what we expected.
Remember What Jesus Has Done
The apostle Paul wrote, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” After supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23–25).
The bread reminds us that Jesus willingly gave His body for us. He lived among us, experienced the pain and difficulties of this world, and remained perfectly faithful to His Heavenly Father. He was pierced for our transgressions and endured the shame of the cross. He gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to God.
The cup represents the blood Jesus shed on the cross. Scripture teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Jesus established the new covenant through His blood and provided everything necessary for our salvation. Communion directs our attention away from our own goodness and back to His finished work.
Take Time for Personal Prayer
During the communion service in the video, I lead the church through a time of personal prayer. Whether you are preparing for communion or simply spending time alone with God, you can use these questions to examine your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any sin you need to confess. You might need to confess wrong thoughts, selfish motivations, misplaced priorities, anger, bitterness, gossip, dishonesty, or the way you have treated another person. Be specific with God instead of hiding behind general words.
You may need to ask God to help you restore a damaged relationship. Perhaps you have not been putting Him first in your schedule, spending time in His Word, or using your resources wisely. Maybe anxiety has been controlling your thoughts, and you need to place a difficult situation back into God’s hands. Whatever the Holy Spirit brings to mind, confess it honestly and ask God to help you change.
Prayer should also include praise and thanksgiving. Tell God what you appreciate about Him. Thank Him for the prayers He has answered and the ways He has provided for you. You can also thank Him for carrying you through a difficult situation, even when you do not yet know how it will turn out. Faith does not require us to know every detail of the future. It means trusting the God who does.
A personal relationship with Jesus involves more than repeating familiar religious words without thinking about them. God speaks to us through the pages of Scripture, and we respond to Him honestly and personally in prayer. This kind of prayer gives us an opportunity to listen to God’s Word, speak openly with Him, and bring our lives back into alignment with His will.
Proclaiming His Death Until He Comes
Paul concluded, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Communion looks backward to the cross, but it also looks forward to Christ’s return. Jesus died, Jesus rose again, and Jesus is coming back.
Until that day, we gather with other believers and remember Him. We examine our ways and return to the Lord. We wait on Him, place our hope in Him, and trust Him with whatever we are facing. Most importantly, we proclaim that our forgiveness, salvation, and hope are found in Jesus Christ alone.