P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
As Thursday begins we are reminded that we serve a God who fights our battles for us.
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 46…
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46
Today we reflect on 1 Samuel 17:41-47, where we read:
And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
1 Samuel 17:41-47
The beauty of David’s faith is astounding. As a giant is coming towards him with a sword and a spear all of David’s trust rests in the Lord fighting this battle for him. This couldn’t have been a one time thing in David’s life. It wasn’t just in this huge, climatic moment that David trusted the Lord to fight for him. You have to imagine day in and day out David has been giving all of the battles in his life to the Lord. The minor ones and the major ones were all given to the Lord. He has seen the Lord’s faithfulness and in this moment all Goliath may see is a young man with some stones, but what he misses is that David worships a God who fights for his people. The same God that met David that day against Goliath is the same God who meets his people today.
Lord, what battle am I fighting with my own sword and spear right now in my life? Where do I live like the battles that I am facing are in my hands and not yours?
Reflection Questions:
1) What does it mean for the battle to be the Lord’s in my life?
2) Where am I fighting my own battles without asking for the Lord’s assistance?
Lord, I come to you on behalf of my brothers and sisters in this world who are persecuted because of their faith in you. I ask that you fight their battles for them today. Would you fight for them physically and protect them from physical harm? Would you fight for them emotionally and encourage their hearts today? Would you fight for them mentally and keep the evil one’s doubts far from their minds.
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…
And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
1 Samuel 17:41-47
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I surrender all of my battles to you this morning. I no longer want to fight the battles in my life on my own. I invite you into all the situations that are troubling and that trouble my soul today. I yield to you in faith, trusting that your hands are far better than the any sword or spear that I can yield on my own.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Exodus 14:14…
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
Exodus 14:14
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