P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Paul continues his stern warnings about adding to the gospel today.
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, it is for freedom that you have set me free. As I enter into your presence I enter confidently, not because of who I am, but because of who you are. You are the God who loves me and you want to hear from me. Fill me with your Spirit that I may hear what you have for me today.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 50:1-2:
The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Psalm 50:1-2
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 5:2-4, where we read:
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Galatians 5:2-4
Paul is repeating what he has already said. It may seem to us that all the repetition is a little overkill, but it has a purpose. We must remember that when Scripture repeats itself it is because we need to listen and then to listen again and again. It is an either-or decision the Galatians are making. Either they are saved by faith alone or they will choose to go the route of self-salvation by works. It cannot be both. We cannot add to the gospel without subtracting from it. Jesus and his work on the cross are either all of our value or he is without value. Verse 4 seems to hint at an actuality of losing salvation if the Galatians continue down that course. We will see tomorrow that Paul shows us where our assurance lies as Christians. The bottom line for today is that all Christians need to hear the warning in these verses. Paul is saying that no matter if you insist that you have been converted or you feel like Christ has changed your life. If you are living in such a way that your salvation rests in any way on your performance, you are actually denying salvation by faith alone in Christ and you cannot be saved by him. This is the test and what a beautiful one it is. Paul is preaching that our hope does not rest on our own perfection but on the perfection of Jesus.
Lord, in the repetition in your Word would you bring clarity? Would you remind my forgetful heart today of who you are?
1)What are the modern “circumcisions” that we add to the gospel in our modern day?
2)Why do I think Paul’s language is so strong in this text?
3)What do I learn about the heart of Jesus through Paul’s writing in this passage?
God, you are infinite and all-powerful. There is nothing that happens on this earth that you are unaware of. I pray that you would look upon the state of your people and you would have mercy on us. Pour out your Holy Spirit and wake us from our slumber. Set us ablaze to live this life for an audience of One. Take our hearts of stone and raise them back to life so that our one and only desire is to glorify you this day.
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.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Galatians 5:2-4
Yielding Prayer
Lord, let it be in my life as Paul says. I desire for you to be all of the value to me in my life. Fill me with your Spirit and convict me on where I am trying to add to you and likewise devalue what you have done for me. Give me eyes to see how beautiful your gospel is. Remind my wandering heart today that you are the God who loves me and died for me and my only response has to be trust in that alone.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 8:36:
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36
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.