P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Welcome to Week Two of our series “As it is in Heaven: Praying the Prayers of Jesus”. Last week, Jesus taught us how to pray using the Lord’s Prayer. This week, we get a glimpse into Jesus’ personal prayer life with the Father.
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
Lord, as I enter into your presence I am trusting your promise that when I draw near to you, you will draw near to me (James 4:8). As I draw near to your throne in prayer meet me here, right where I am at in my life. I approach your throne with the utmost confidence knowing that you are the God who controls all things. Not just that, but that the God who controls all things loves me as his child and wants to hear from me.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 23…
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23:1-3
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in John 17, where we read:
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
John 17:1-5
This week we come to what is now known as “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. What we will see as we study it this week is how beautiful of a prayer it is, the content of what Jesus prays is astounding. The context of the prayer is also astounding. Immediately after this prayer Jesus and his disciples will walk to the Garden of Gethsemane where he will be betrayed. We get an inside look at what was on the eternal Son of God’s mind right before his passion will begin.
Jesus opens the prayer by asking God the Father to glorify him for the purpose of God the Father receiving the glory in the end. Jesus’ mission is for people to know the Father through what he is doing here on this earth. And he prays for that. Through his life and through his subsequent crucifixion the goal is for the Father to be glorified in the Son’s actions. It is fascinating to see Jesus pray to the Father. He has been given all authority over flesh and has the ability to give eternal life, yet we see him communicating and being in a relationship with his Father. He desires to be in a relationship with the Father and he knows that prayer is one of the ways to do that. Jesus’ prayer matches the desires of his heart. He wants God to be glorified so he asks for that to happen. He knows it is going to happen, yet he still prays for it. Jesus wants God to be glorified in him, that’s the bottom line of Jesus’ heart and the opening of this prayer.
God, I ask that you would reveal to me where I desire glory for myself. Where am I seeking to take the glory that you deserve in my life? Fill me with your Spirit and reveal to me the desires that are in my heart.
Reflection Questions:
1) Where am I seeking glory for myself?
2) How can I glorify the Father today?
God, pour out your Spirit of unity on your Church in South Florida. Break us of our pride and ego that wants to divide and build our own little kingdoms. Revive our hearts to the truth that you are a God of unity. Let us unify under the banner that Jesus Christ was crucified for his people. Let our unity be seen by a world that is searching to be known and loved. Unify us so that you are glorified.
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…
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
John 17:1-5
Yielding Prayer
God, I give you all the glory today. I surrender my life now that it is not about me anymore. That every action, every conversation would be in the end about your glory being known in this world. I yield to the truth that you alone deserve everything, so let my life show that as I seek to live it out today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 43:7…
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
Isaiah 43:7
Closing Prayer
Lord, bury the truths that I have read today in my heart. Teach my heart to trust you as I live the life you have called me to today. Fill me with your Spirit. Pour out your love in my life so that from that overflow I may love people well. Make me your light in this dark and broken world so that I may glorify you with my life. Amen.