P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we are in the Book of Judges looking at what happens when a generation does not know the Lord and the works that he has done for them.
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 approach your throne today let me feel the gravity of both your holiness and your mercy. That you are the King of Kings, yet as your child, you invite me into your throne room. I ask that you would meet me and care for me during this time
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 30:4-5:
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:4-5
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Judges 2, where we read:
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
Judges 2:8-19
Joshua, Moses’ successor who lead the people into the Promised Land, dies and Israel descends into chaos during the time of the Judges. The Book of Judges is a cyclical book. And the cycle goes like this: Israel turns from God and chases after other gods, then God gives them what they want and hands them over to their enemies, then the people cry out for deliverance, and God mercifully raises up a judge to deliver them, peace follows until the cycle starts back up at the beginning. The key phrases of Judges are “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25) and “Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer.” (Judges 2:15). This happens over and over again in the Book of Judges. What caused this?
The next generation of the people of Israel did not know the Lord and they forgot all that the Lord had done for them in the past! They did not know God as their deliverer and they forgot their own history of being delivered by the Lord. This book reminds us of our need to be reminded and taught. We need to remind ourselves of who God is. We need to remind ourselves that he is the God who delivers his people. Secondly, we need to teach the next generation the long history of deliverance that God has shown his people. We need to raise up a generation who knows the history of God and remind them that the same God who was at the Red Sea is the same God who is with them in their lives. It is a beautiful testament to discipleship in a multi-generational church.
Lord, I ask that you would show me and remind me of who you are today. Remind me that you are the same God through all generations and trials. Let me trust that you are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
1)Where do I need to be reminded that God is a deliverer?
2)How do I remind myself of that?
3)Where am I pouring into the next generation so that they know who the Lord is and what he has done in the past and will do in the future?
Lord, I want to see revival in this world, in my country, in my city, and in my home. Begin that revival with me. Wake me in the places I have fallen asleep. Clear out the cobwebs of my soul. Break me of the mute idols that I cling to. Set me ablaze and let that fire spread for your glory and your glory alone.
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 Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
Judges 2:8-19
Yielding Prayer
Lord, make me a student of your past works. Give me obedience to be reminded by your Word of who you are. Fill me with your Spirit of Truth that reminds me that you are a God who delivers. You have not forgotten your people. Let me cry out to be delivered today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 32:7:
ou are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Psalm 32:7
Closing Prayer
Lord, enable me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love you today with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to serve you today, by loving and caring for others as I do my own self; and, to exalt you today, by telling the people in my world about the abundant and eternal life found only through faith in Jesus.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.