P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We look elsewhere in the New Testament to think about our hearts and money.
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, you promise in James 4:8 that you draw near to those who draw near to you. At this moment my desire is for your presence so I ask that you fulfill that promise to me today and draw near to me. Meet me in your grace and mercy as I come to you.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 95:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Psalm 95:6-7
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Matthew 6 and 1 Timothy 6 where we read:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Jesus comes to us in Matthew 6 and makes it clear that there are only two options for where we are storing our treasure. We either store it in heaven where it remains eternal. Or we store it on earth where it is either stolen or destroyed. The reason this matters is that it shows us where our heart is. We spent the week looking at the Rich Young Ruler and it was clear where his heart was. His heart was stuck on money.
1 Timothy 6 shows us what the goal is in this life. Godliness with contentment is great gain. The desire to be rich is a temptation that has the ability to bring destruction. It shows us that money itself is not bad, but money the love of money is and it is a root for all kinds of evils. The Bible is trying to protect us from making money our god because it is an awful god to follow in this life.
Jesus, let me hear the words of Scripture today. Send your Spirit on me now and convict me of where I love money and where I store my treasure.
1)What does contentment look like for me in this season of life?
2)Where am I storing my treasure?
3)Where am I tempted to fall into the love of money?
4)Why do I think the desire to be rich is a snare that plunges people into ruin and destruction?
5)Is my relationship with money making me more godly or less?
Lord, throughout history, you have met your people and poured out your Spirit on them. I ask that you would do the same in our world today. Would you bring revival to your people? Wake us wear we are sleepy and draw us to repentance where we are stuck in sin. We ask to see your glory spread throughout our city, our country, and our world.
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.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Yielding Prayer
Lord, protect my heart from the love of money. I live in a culture that handles money in the exact opposite way that your Word calls me to. Let me trust your Word and obey it above all else. Let my treasure be stored in heaven and let me make eternal impact with how I use my money.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8:32:
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32
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.