P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we look at what it looks like to follow Jesus by his own definition of what it looks like to follow him.
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, I ask that you would meet with me at this moment. Let me experience you deeply. Pour out your Spirit on this time. Let me rest in the fact that you know everything about me and that there is nothing I can hide from you, yet you promise to draw near to me when I draw near to you. You are the God who draws near to his people and I ask that you would do the same for me now.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 131:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 131:1-3
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Mark 8, where we read:
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38
Jesus, if he truly is God gets to define what it looks like to follow him. Take note that this passage starts with Jesus calling the whole crowd to him. This call to follow is not just for the disciples, but it is for all who seek to follow Jesus. And the call is serious. Jesus says if you want to follow him you first must deny yourself. He doesn’t say that you must deny all the sin in your life, which is a part of it, but it goes further. Our sinful nature makes us the most important thing in this world. It makes our first filter in this life all about us. It makes us think that we are god in our own lives. Jesus says that has to change first. We have to get off the little thrones of our own hearts and give them back to Jesus. That the most important thing if we seek to follow Jesus is Jesus. Our life is no longer about us, it is now all about Jesus. That’s the first step. The second step is taking up our cross. Hear that with 1st-century ears. To us, the cross is the symbol of all that Jesus did for us and we wear it around our necks. To them pre Jesus’ sacrifice, a cross is a place where the worst of the worst of society is executed publicly for the horrific things they have done. I don’t think Jesus is calling any of us to a physical execution on a cross, but he is calling us to die to ourselves. In our modern world each and every day we have to make the decision to lay down our lives to follow Jesus. In practicality that changes what we hope for and what we strive for. It changes how we view our schedules and money. It changes how we view all of our relationships. It changes everything because no longer is it all about us. Jesus knows that this is a serious call and in his graciousness, he shows us why this call is so beautiful. When we follow Jesus we find life again. Not just eternal life, but a purposeful life on this earth. Everything that is not eternal around is wasting away and will one day be gone. But everything that we do for Jesus as we follow him will have eternal repercussions and that is why his call is so beautiful.
Lord, I ask that you make me take this call on my life seriously. I ask that I would see this call as costly in my life. I ask that you would show me the beauty of what it looks like to follow you.
1)Do I want to follow Jesus if this is what it means?
2)Where do I need to deny myself?
3)What needs to be crucified in my life?
4)Where am I looking to find my life outside of Jesus?
5)Am I on a path where I will gain the whole world yet in the end lose my soul?
Lord, revive your people by drawing us to yourself. As we seek to abide, ask, and follow you over this next season would you do only you can do? Revive our hearts and pour out your Spirit among us. Wake those who are asleep and resurrect those who are spiritually dead. We ask that you come in a supernatural way to meet with your Church as we unify under one banner and cry out to you
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 calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38
Yielding Prayer
Lord, let me hear this call and lay down everything in order to follow after you. Give me strength and wisdom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit because I can’t die to myself on my own. I surrender it all to you today and tomorrow and every day for the rest of my life
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:8
P.S.
I didn’t just get lazy and forget to change this all week. I just want this promise buried in our hearts as we start Pray First on Monday!
Closing Prayer
Lord, you have met with me today. You have poured out your Spirit and wisdom on me. Let me now leave being renewed by who you are and who I am in you. Let me be a light in a dark world that points people to your glory.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.