P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
As we begin Tuesday, we come to 1 Samuel to meditate on the idea that our God is a God who uses unexpected things and unexpected people to accomplish his plan in our world.
Together we will pray (P.R.A.Y.) each day – ‘P’: Pausing to be still as we come into the presence of the Lord. ‘R’: Rejoicing as we remember who our God is and what He has done, and Reflecting on His word. ‘A’: Asking God to help us and others. And ‘Y’: yielding to His will in accordance with His word.
As I come before you to pray, I still my thoughts and quiet my mind. I seek to make you the center of my focus.
Prayer of Approach
As I enter into your presence, I wait on you, my God. You are a shield about me. You are my glory and the lifter of my head. I cry aloud to you today and I trust that you will answer me from your holy hill. (Psalm 3:3-4) I surrender this time to you and refix my gaze on who you are.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 34:1-9…
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
Psalm 34:1-9
Today we reflect on 1 Samuel 17:12-18, where we read:
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
1 Samuel 17:12-18
For forty days, Goliath stepped forward and took his stand looking for a brave warrior of Israel fight him. Men who have seen battle and have trained for such a circumstance, but no one stepped up. The narrative shifts from the battlefield to the shepherd’s field. We are introduced to a young shepherd named David. His bio reads as a man who is not needed or wanted in this situation. It feels odd in the midst of the story to hear about him at all. He is the youngest of eight sons. He is not on the battlefield like his older brothers. He travels back and forth to make sure the sheep are okay, but also to bring things to his brother. He is an errand boy for his father to make sure his brothers are well.
God is going to use David. God is going to take this unexpected shepherd and make him the hero of Israel. His peers, the soldiers around him, don’t believe he should even be there. He doesn’t have the qualifications or the training of a soldier. He spends his days in the fields and not on the battlefield.
What David did have was humility. He had a heart that exemplified that the power was not his, but it was God’s. He was a man who looked around and knew he wasn’t the guy to do this in his own strength, but he did know and trust the Lord’s strength.
Lord Jesus, show me where the pride is in my life. Reveal to me where I cling to my own status, power, and strength instead of your power in my life. Give me your Spirit now to convict me. God show me if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.
Reflection Questions:
1) Where do I see pride in my life?
2) How is pride an obstacle in my relationship with God today?
Lord, I come to you on behalf of my brothers and sisters in your Church. Would you make us people of humility? Would you reveal to us where our pride is an obstacle for those around us in coming to faith in Jesus? Teach your Church that humility is the pathway to strength. Encourage us today.
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word…
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
1 Samuel 17:12-18
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, your Spirit has revealed the pride that clogs my heart. Give me strength right now to surrender it to you. To surrender my titles, my gifts, my talents, my resources that build me up in my own strength. I lay down my life knowing that my pride in my own power is an obstacle to the freedom you have for me. Release me from the bondage of my pride. Make my heart one of humility.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me says to me in James 4:6-10…
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:6-10
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we pray, that we might be grounded and settled in your truth by the coming of your Holy Spirit into our hearts. What we do not know, reveal to us; what is lacking within us, make complete; that which we do know, confirm in us; and keep us blameless in your service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.1
1St. Clement of Rome