P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Paul fights back against the Judaizers using one of their heroes.
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, in your presence, is where I find life. As I enter into your presence would you show me who you are and let me experience all that you have for me? Fill me with your Spirit in this time and renew my spirit.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 68:
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Psalm 68:19
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 3:6-9, where we read:
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Galatians 3:1-9
The Judaizers were all about adding Jewish traditions and laws as a necessity in coming to faith in the gospel. Paul here appeals to one of their heroes of the faith, Abraham. We meet Abraham in Genesis 12 where God calls him to leave his homeland and head out in faith. The Judaizers would have loved to skip ahead to Genesis 17 where circumcision was introduced as the sign and seal of the covenant between God and Abraham. Where is the moment of faith for Abraham though? It comes in Genesis 15. After God had promised Abraham that he would make a great nation in Genesis 12, yet in his old age he was still childless. At this moment God comes back to Abraham and reassures him of his promise, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and this is the big moment. Genesis 15:6 says, “6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” How beautiful is that! Abraham believed the Lord, he trusted the Lord, he had faith in the Lord and because of that God counted him as righteous! It didn’t have to do with Abraham’s own righteousness, but God imputing, God giving, and counting him as righteous in his sight. He is righteous due to his faith in God. Abraham had faith even though his current circumstances didn’t match the promise of God. He was over 75 years at this point and still was childless. Amidst all the doubt Abraham chose to believe and trust.
God, show me what it looks like to have faith in you in spite of my current circumstances. Show me that you are a God who can be trusted at all times.
1)Where am I waiting on God to fulfill a promise in my life?
2)How can I trust in Jesus even when my circumstances are bleak in my own sight?
Lord, revive my heart today. If revival is to come let it begin in my own heart and soul. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can burn for you like a lamp that sits on a hill. Let me experience the steadfast love that you have for me and let that transform my heart to love you more and more minute by minute.
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.
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Galatians 3:1-9
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield to your promises in my life. Even when my sight fails will you give me the strength to cling in faith to you? Would you today give me the courage to lay all of my doubts and disappointments at your feet? Would you take those things today and in turn fill me with faith and trust in who you are? You are all powerful and all-knowing let me hold fast to that today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Corinthians 1:20:
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20
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.