P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Our final day of Personal Worship this week we are faced with the question of whether will we eat of the flesh of Jesus and drink of his blood or not? And we will see why this isn’t as weird as it sounds.
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
Heavenly Father, as I come before you today, I take a deep breath. I am aware of my mind and heart slowing, as I find rest in your presence. I sense the fragrance of your Holy Spirit and lay a sacrifice of praise at your feet.
“Praise the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For his mercy endures forever-and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 33:11b NKJV *
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 37….
“Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.”
Psalm 37:16-19
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in John 6, where we read:
“The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.”
John 6:56-59
As crazy as the words of Jesus sound, they are not crazy. As humans, we need substance to live. Eventually, if we stop eating and drinking we will die. We get that. As Christians though, it is easy to fool ourselves into believing we don’t need to come to Jesus for our spiritual lives as much as we need to come to food and drink to survive. We need to feast on Jesus just like the schedule of when we eat and drink. I don’t know of a day in my 28 years of life where I forgot to eat and drink to survive, but sadly the number of days I decided I didn’t need to come to Jesus for his sustenance is too many to count. Jesus is yelling from the rooftops that this world cannot satisfy and yet I don’t trust him enough to believe him. He has the answer for us if only we will trust him with our lives. He is the nourishment that we are searching for so will we go to him today for that?
Jesus, you are what I need. I ask that you would give me a longing for you like I long for food and water in this life. Make my desire for you like my hunger pangs for food or my dry mouth for water.
1) What would my life look like if I went to Jesus for spiritual nourishment as often as I go to physical food for nourishment?
2)What needs to change about my schedule to make room for Scripture and prayer each day to satisfy the longings of my heart?
Lord, come down and meet with your people again. We long for your presence here on this earth in a supernatural way. Revive the desires of our hearts. Open our eyes to the truth that satisfaction is not found in the things of this earth, but you came so that we can have life. Show us your face.
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…
“The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.”
John 6:56-59
Yielding Prayer
Lord, no one loves me as you do. Break me of my desires to be satisfied by all I can see and touch. Let me trust that you came to do the Father’s will and that will is for my good and his glory. I yield my calendar to be with you more. I ask that you would satisfy me with who you are. Do not let me be put to shame in this life.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 6….
“This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
John 6:58
Closing Prayer
Thank you, Lord, that when we offer praise and thankfulness to you and fix our eyes on you, even in the midst of what seems to be the worst, you meet us right where we are. Truly we know in these times, the meaning of the word “sacrifice” when co-joined with praise. Your Holy Spirit embraces us and empowers us to live a life worth living! Glory to you Lord God. Amen.*
*Prayers by Tina Rosewell
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.