P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We continue with the power category of the spiritual gifts as we look at the gift of faith.
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 give me a heart of praise and thanksgiving for who you are. Please focus my heart, letting all distractions and worries fade away as I meet with you. This world will have enough troubles of its own today, so let me take heart because you have overcome the world.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in John 8:
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture, where we read:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
We see that the gift of faith is mentioned in this passage. Again, like we have seen in the past as we have studied the spiritual gifts all Christians have faith! Generally speaking, the New Testament mentions three kinds of faith or three contexts where faith is exercised. The three contexts where faith is exercised are conversion faith, continuing faith, and charismatic faith (the gift of faith). Conversion faith is the faith through which we are justified. The faith that has trust, confidence, or belief in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that occurs at the moment of conversion. It is what Paul refers to in Ephesians 2:8-9: “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast”. Every Christian has this kind of faith. Then there is continuing faith, which is the faith we exercise daily as we look confidently to God to do in and through our lives all that he has promised to do. This faith varies in intensity, but all believers have it. The last category is the charismatic faith or the gift of faith. A gift given by the Holy Spirit to some believers at certain times. This is a special faith that enables a believer to trust God to bring about certain things for which he or she cannot claim some divine promise recorded in Scripture, or some state of affairs grounded in the very structure of the gospel. The gift of faith is the ability that God gives certain members of the body of Christ to discern with extraordinary confidence the will or purpose of God for his work. The gift of faith is a Spirit-given ability to see something that God wants to be done and to sustain unwavering confidence that God will do it regardless of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. This gift more than any of the others seems to be spontaneous and not a residential gift! A gift that is truly edifying in certain situations to the body of Christ
Lord, open my eyes to what you have for me. I want to have everything that you have created for me to have. Give me the desire to pursue the gifts that your Spirit has given me. Give me wisdom and discernment to identify and use what you have bestowed upon me.
1)How does the gift of faith build up the body of Christ?
2)How can this gift be applied and used?
3)What characteristics does someone who has been given this gift have?
4)Have I been given this gift, why or why not?
We pray that by your Spirit living and breathing through us, we would be light and love in a world that so desperately needs your hope. Draw many to know you as Savior and Lord. Shine your light, and push back the forces of darkness that surround. By your great power Lord, open blind eyes and release those still imprisoned.
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 there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I want everything you have for me. I earnestly desire the more that you want to give me. I yield and surrender my life to whatever you have for me. I thank you for the gift of faith that you have given some in your body. I thank you for the gift that cuts through cynicism and doubt here on this earth. A gift that trusts confidently in you and what you will do. Give me this gift if you desire if not I trust you anyways.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 16:33:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
John 16:33
Closing Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me with love. Fill me with joy. Fill me with peace. Fill me with patience. Fill me with kindness. Fill me with goodness. Fill me with faithfulness. Fill me with gentleness. Fill me with self-control. Let me walk in your Spirit today as I leave here.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.